CELEX: 31975R3012
Language: en
Date: 1975-11-17 00:00:00
Title: Regulation (EEC) No 3012/75 of the Council of 17 November 1975 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for cocoa butter and a tariff quota for soluble coffee originating in developing countries

29 . 11 . 75                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  141
                               REGULATION (EEC) No 3012/75 OF THE COUNCIL
                                                     of 17 November 1975
              opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota
              for cocoa butter and a tariff quota for soluble coffee originating in developing countries
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                           arise in the ACP States following the implementation
                                                                   of the generalized preference scheme;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community ;
                                                                   Whereas tariff preferences have been applied as from
                                                                   the second half of 1971 ; whereas it is expedient to
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ;                continue to apply them throughout 1976;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European
Parliament (1 );                                                   Whereas in respect of cocoa butter and soluble coffee
                                                                   originating in the countries and territories listed in
                                                                   the Annex the Community should therefore open for
Whereas, within the context of UNCTAD , the                        1976 two Community tariff quotas within the respec­
European Economic Community offered to grant                       tive limits of 21 600 metric tons and at a customs
tariff preferences on certain processed agricultural               duty of 8% for cocoa butter and of 18 750 metric
products of Chapters 1 to 24 of the Common                         tons and a duty of 9% for soluble coffee ;
Customs Tariff originating in developing countries ;
whereas the preferential treatment proposed in that
offer consists, in respect of certain goods which are
subject to the trade arrangements laid down in                     Whereas, in accordance with Protocol 23 to the Act
Regulation (EEC) No 1059/69, of a reduction in the                 of Accession (2) the generalized tariff preference
fixed component of the charge applicable to such                   scheme became fully applicable in the new Member
goods by virtue of that Regulation, and, in respect of             States on 1 January 1974 ;
products which are subject to the single customs duty,
of a reduction in such duty ; whereas preferential
imports of the products concerned could be effected                Whereas for the said products this scheme would,
without quantitative restrictions ; whereas it appears             however, involve the application in the new Member
appropriate, however, in view of the sensitiveness of              States in 1976 of customs duties higher than or very
the cocoa butter and soluble coffee sectors generally              close to those which will be applied by the new
and of the need to safeguard the interests of the ACP              Member States to non-member countries in general
 States in this field, to lay down for those two                   on the basis of the provisions of the abovementioned
products special conditions consisting in a reduction              Act ; whereas this situation would comply neither
of the customs duty applicable to these two products               with the spirit nor with the very nature of the gener­
 within the limits of Community tariff quotas ;                     alized preference scheme ; whereas, in order to main­
                                                                   tain an equivalent preferential margin for these prod­
                                                                    ucts also, reduced customs duties should be applied
Whereas the offer by the Community includes a                      to them, in accordance with detailed rules based on
 clause stating that it is made on the assumption that              the principle of maintaining, in the new Member
 the main industrialized countries which are members
                                                                    States, a preference proportional to that which exists
 of the OECD participate in granting preferences and                between the duties of the Common Customs Tariff
 make similar efforts in this direction ; whereas,                  and the duties given in Article 1 of this Regulation ;
 moreover, it is evident from the conclusions worked                whereas, with a view to granting the beneficiary
 out in UNCTAD that this offer, while being of a                    developing countries the best possible treatment, in
 temporary nature, does not constitute a binding                    accordance with the objectives of the preference
 commitment and in particular, may be withdrawn                     scheme, the duties given in Article 1 should also be
 wholly or in part at a later date ; whereas this                   applied wherever the duties calculated according to
 possibility may be adopted inter alia with a view to
 remedying any unfavourable situations which might
 (*) OJ No C 257, 10 . 11 . 1975 , p. 30 .                          (2) OJ No L 73 , 27. 3 . 1972, p. 14.
                                                                       v
 ---pagebreak--- 142                                        Official Journal of the European Communities                             29 . 11 . 75
the abovementioned detailed rules prove to be higher                  Whereas, without affecting the Community nature of
than them;                                                            the tariff quotas under consideration, it appears poss­
                                                                      ible to provide temporarily for a utilization scheme
Whereas the benefit of these tariff quotas should be                  based on a single allocation among the Member
reserved for products originating in the countries and                States ; whereas, moreover, the allocation set out by
territories under consideration ; the concept of                      this Regulation in no way prejudices the possibility
'originating products' being determined in accordance                 of adopting the general method of allocation of
with the procedure laid down in Article 14 of Council                 Community tariff quotas comprising the setting up
Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 (*) of 27 June 1968 on                     of a reserve share ; whereas at this transitional stage
the common definition of the concept of the origin of                 it appears feasible that such allocation could be made
goods;                                                                according to the percentages set out in the above
                                                                      table ;
Whereas - it is necessary to ensure equal and con­
tinuous access for all Community importers to the                     Whereas the percentage for the shares of the Member
said quotas and the uninterrupted application of the                  States in the Community tariff quotas, in view of
rates laid down for these quotas to all imports of the                their duration and their amounts, does not appear in
products concerned into all Member States until these                 this instance to compromise the equal access for
quotas are used up ; whereas, having regard to the                    Community importers to Community tariff quotas ;
principles set out above, the Community nature of the                 whereas for this same reason it would appear ex­
quota can be respected by allocating the Community                    pedient to allow each Member State to choose the
tariff quota among Member States ; whereas, more­                     system for administering its share;
over, to this end and in the context of the utilization
system, the actual charges against the quota may                      Whereas provision should be made for measures
relate only to products which have been entered for                   enabling any serious disturbance within the sector of
home use and which are accompanied by a certificate                   the Community's economic activity to be avoided,
                                                                      and to this end the Commission should be em­
 of origin;
                                                                      powered to re-introduce in part or in full the normal
                                                                      duties in order to avoid such disturbance ;
Whereas the available statistical data as yet cover only
a relatively brief period ; whereas, in this particular
case, they should be weighted on the basis of the                     Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the King­
estimates which may be made in respect of the quota                   dom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of
year ; whereas the shares in the quota amounts may                    Luxembourg are united in and represented by the
 be set out as follows :                                              Benelux Economic Union, all transactions concerning
                                             metric tons
                                                                      the administration of the shares allocated to that
                                  cocoa butter soluble coffee         Economic Union may be carried out by any one of
      Germany                              800           900          its members,
      Benelux                           12 150         1550
                                                                       HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
      France                               100           250
                                                                                              Article 1
      Italy                                 50            50
      Denmark                               50            50
                                                                       1 . From 1 January to 31 December 1976 Com­
      Ireland                               50            50          munity tariff quotas shall be opened within the Com­
                                                                      munity for imports of the products listed below and
      United Kingdom                     8 400        15 900           under the conditions stated :
 H OJ No L 148 , 28 . 6 . 1968 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak--- 29 . 11 . 75                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                             143
                  CCT                                                                       Volume in
                                                                                                             Rate
                heading                              Description                               metric
                                                                                                            of duty
                   No                                                                           tons
                 18.04      Cocoa butter, including cocoa fat or oil                          21 600          8%
                 21.02     Extracts or essences of coffee; preparations with a
                            basis of those extracts or essences :
                           ex A. Extracts or essences of coffee; preparations with
                                   a basis of those extracts or essences :
                                   — Extracts of coffee or 'soluble coffee' obtained
                                       by a water method of extraction from roasted
                                       coffee, put up in powder form, granulated,
                                       in grains, in tablets or in a similar solid form       18 750         9%
On importation into Denmark, Ireland and the                                                                   metric tons
United Kingdom, there shall be applied to the above­                                                  cocoa butter soluble coffee
mentioned products the customs duties determined                            Germany                         800            900
by multiplying, by a coefficient equal to the margin
of preferences existing between the duties given in                         Benelux                       12 150          1550
the first subparagraph and the Common Customs                               France                          100            250
Tariff duties applicable, the duties obtained by reduc­
ing by 80% the difference between the lowest duty                           Italy                             50            50
applied on 1 January 1972 to the developing coun­
tries set out in the Annex and the Common Customs                           Denmark                           50            50
Tariff.                                                                     Ireland                           50            50
                                                                            United Kingdom                 8 400        15 900
However, the duties given in the first subparagraph
shall be applied where the duties resulting from the                                           Article 3
abovementioned calculation are higher than them.                     1 . The Member States shall ensure free access to
                                                                     each of the shares which have been allocated to them
                                                                     for importers of the products concerned who are
2. These tariff quotas shall apply solely to products                established on their territory.
originating in the countries and territories listed in
the Annex. However, those imports which enjoy                        2. The extent to which shares of Member States
exemption from customs duties under other prefer­                    have been actually filled shall be determined on the
ential tariff arangements granted by the Community                   basis of imports of the said goods which have been
may not be charged against these tariff quotas .                     entered for home use, and which are accompanied
                                                                     by a certificate of origin in accordance with the rules
                                                                     referred to in Article 1 (2).
For the purposes of this Regulation the concept of
originating products shall be determined in accord­                  3 . Goods may qualify for a tariff quota only if the
ance with the procedure laid down in Article 14 of                   certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 2 is
Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 .                                         submitted before the date on which the levying of
                                                                     duties is re-introduced.
                                                                                               Article 4
                        Article 2
                                                                     Member States      shall    inform    the   Commission     at
                                                                     monthly intervals of imports of the products in
                                                                     question actually charged against their shares. This
The Community tariff quotas mentioned in Article 1                   information shall show both the value expressed in
shall be allocated, in respect of each Member State,                 units of account and the quantity expressed in metric
in shares the amounts of which are set out below :                   tons .
 ---pagebreak--- 144                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                             29 . 11.75
                        Article 5                              within a maximum period of 10 working days from
                                                               the date of receipt of the request and shall inform the
If the Community should find that the products                 Member State of the action it has taken.
benefiting under the arrangements provided for in
Article 1 are being imported into the Community                3 . Each Member State may refer the measure taken
in quantities or at prices such as to put or be likely         by the Commission to the Council within a period
to put Community producers of similar or directly              of 10 working days following the date it was noti­
competitive products at a serious disadvantage or to           fied. The fact that the matter has been referred to the
create an unfavourable situation in the ACP States,            Council shall not constitute the suspension of the
the customs duties applied within the Community                measure. The Council shall meet without delay.
may be re-introduced in part or in full for imports            Acting on a qualified majority, it may amend or
of the products in question from the country or                repeal the measure in question.
countries or territory or territories which are the
cause of such disadvantage. Such measures may also
be taken in the event of a serious disadvantage,                                       Article 7
 either actual or foreseeable, which is confined to a
 single region of the Community.
                                                               Articles 5 and 6 shall not prejudice the application
                                                               of the protective clauses drawn up in connection
                        Article 6
                                                               with the common commercial policy pursuant to
                                                                Article 113 of the Treaty.
 1 . In order to ensure that Article 5 is applied, the
 Commission may, by way of a Regulation, re-intro­                                     Article 8
 duce normal duties for a fixed period.
2. If the Commission has acted at the request of a              This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
 Member State, the former shall give its decision               1976 .
               This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
               States.
               Done at Brussels, 17 November 1975 .
                                                                                      For the Council
                                                                                       The President
                                                                                       E. COLOMBO
 ---pagebreak--- 29 . 11 . 75                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                145
                                                          ANNEX
                   List of developing countries and territories enjoying generalized tariff preferences
                                             INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES
Afghanistan                               Haiti                                     Qatar
Algeria                                  Honduras                                   Romania
Argentina                                India                                      Rwanda
Bahamas                                  Indonesia                                  Saudi Arabia
Bahrain                                  Iran                                       Senegal
Bangladesh                               Iraq                                       Sierra Leone
Barbados                                  Ivory Coast                               Singapore
Bhutan                                   Jamaica                                    Somalia
Bolivia                                  Jordan                                     Sri Lanka
Botswana                                  Kenya                                     Sudan
Brazil                                    Khmer Republic                            Surinam
Burma                                     Korea ( South )                           Swaziland
Burundi                                  Kuwait
                                                                                    Syria
Cameroon                                 Laos                                       Tanzania
Cape Verde Islands                       Lebanon
                                                                                    Thailand
Central African Republic                  Lesotho
                                                                                    Togo
Chad                                     Liberia
                                                                                    Tonga
Chile                                    Libya                                      Trinidad and Tobago
Colombia                                 Malagasy Republic                          Tunisia
Congo, People's Republic of              Malawi
                                                                                    Uganda
Costa Rica                               Malaysia                                   United Arab Emirates :
Cuba                                     Maldive Islands                                 Abu Dhabi
Cyprus                                   Mali                                            Dubai
Dahomey                                  Mauritania                                      Ras al Khaimah
Dominican Republic                        Mauritius                                      Fujairah
Ecuador                                   Mexico                                         Ajman
Egypt, Arab Republic of                   Morocco                                        Sharjah
El Salvador                              Nauru
                                                                                         Ummal Qaiwain
                                                                                    Upper Volta
Equatorial Guinea                        Nepal
                                                                                    Uruguay
Ethiopia                                 Nicaragua                                  Venezuela
Fiji                                     Niger
                                                                                    Vietnam , Republic of
Gabon                                    Nigeria                                    Western Samoa
Gambia                                   Oman
                                                                                    Yemen , People's Democratic
Ghana                                    Pakistan                                   Republic of
Grenada                                  Panama                                     Yemen Arab Republic
Guatemala                                Papua New Guinea                           Yugoslavia
Guinea                                   Paraguay                                   Zaïre
Guinea Bissau                            Peru                                       Zambia
Guyana                                   Philippines
 ---pagebreak--- 146                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                           29 . 11 . 75
                                            COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
     dependent or administered, or for whose external relations Member States of the Community
                                   or third countries are wholly or partly responsible
     Afars and Issas (Territory of the)
     Angola (including Cabinda)
     Australian Antarctic Territory
     Belize
     Bermuda
     British Antarctic Territory
     British Indian Ocean Territory (Aldabra, Farquhar, Chagos Archipelago, Desroches)
     British Pacific Ocean (1)
     Brunei
     Cayman Islands and Dependencies
     Christmas Island
     Cocos (Keeling) Islands
     Comoro Archipelago
     Corn Islands and Swan Islands
     Falkland Islands and Dependencies
     French Polynesia
     French Southern and Antarctic Territories
     Gibraltar
     Heard Island and McDonald Islands
     Hong Kong
     Leeward Islands (2)
     Macao
     Mozambique
     Netherlands Antilles
     New Caledonia and Dependencies
     Norfolk Island
     Pacific Islands administered by the United States of America or under United States trusteeship (3 )
     Portuguese Timor
     St Helena (including Ascension, Gough Island, and Tristan da Cunha)
     Saint Pierre and Miquelon
     Sâo Tome and Principe
     Seychelles (including Amirantes)
     Sikkim
     Spanish territories in Africa
     Territories for which New Zealand is responsible (Cook Islands, Niue Island, Tokelau Islands
          and Ross Dependency)
     Turks and Caicos Islands
     Virgin Islands of the United States (St Croix, St Thomas, St John, etc.)
     Wallis and Futuna Islands
     Windward Islands (4)
     Note: The above lists may by amended subsequently to take account of changes in the inter­
              national status of countries or territories.
    (l) Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu, British Solomon Islands, New Hebrides Condominium, and Pitcairn Islands .
    (*) Antigua, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, British Virgin Islands .
    (s) The Pacific Islands administered by the United States of America include : Guam, American Samoa (including
        Swain 's Island), Midway Islands , Johnston and Sand Islands, Wake Island and the Trust Territory of the Pacific
        Islands (the Caroline, Marianas and Marshall Islands).
    (4) Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent.