CELEX: 31977R2709
Language: en
Date: 1977-11-28 00:00:00
Title: Council Regulation (EEC) No 2709/77 of 28 November 1977 opening preferential tariffs for developing countries for raw or unmanufactured tobaccos falling within subheading 24.01 A ex II of the Common Customs Tariff

No L 324/ 102                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                19 . 12 . 77
                                          COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2709/77
                                                       of 28 November 1977
                 opening preferential tariffs for developing countries for raw or unmanufactured tobaccos
                             falling within subheading 24.01 A ex II of the Common Customs Tariff
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                              whereas, it appears appropriate however, in view of the
                                                                      sensitiveness of the tobacco sector generally and of the
                                                                      need to safeguard the interests of the associated coun­
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                tries and of the ACP States in this field, to lay down for
 Economic Community, and in particular Article 43                     these raw or unmanufactured tobaccos special condi­
 thereof,                                                             tions consisting in a reduction of the customs duty ap­
                                                                      plicable to these products within the limits of a Com­
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                   munity tariff ceiling;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia­
 ment ( 1),                                                           Whereas the offer made by the Community includes a
                                                                      clause stating that the Community drew up the offer on
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                      the assumption that all the main industrialized countries
Social Committee (2),                                                 which are members of the OECD would participate in
                                                                      granting preferences and would make similar efforts in
                                                                      this direction; whereas, moreover, it is evident from the
Whereas in the Joint Declaration of Intent on the de­                 conclusions worked out in UNCTAD that this offer,
velopment of trade relations with Sri Lanka, India,                   while being of a temporary nature, does not constitute a
Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore (3), the Community                   binding commitment and, in particular, may be with­
declared its readiness to seek solutions to the problems              drawn wholly or in part at a later date ; whereas this
which may arise in the field of trade for the countries               possibility may be adopted inter alia with a view to
referred to as well as for developing countries situated              remedying any unfavourable situations which might
in the same geographical region ;                                     arise in the ACP States following the implementation of
                                                                      the generalized preference scheme;
Whereas, particularly for Indonesia, raw or unmanufac­
tured tobaccos, other than Virginia type, falling within              Whereas, moreover, the conference of Heads of State or
subheading 24.01 A ex II, represent an important ex­                  of Government of the Member States and the States
port product; whereas the generalized preferences                     acceding to the European Communities held in Paris
scheme may constitute a solution for problems arising                 from 19 to 21 October 1972 invited the Community
in this connection ; whereas these types of tobaccos                  institutions and the Member States progressively to
should therefore be included in the generalized prefer­               adopt an overall policy of development cooperation on
ences scheme;                                                         a world-wide scale comprising in particular the im­
                                                                      provement of generalized preferences with the aim of
Whereas, within the context of UNCTAD, the Euro­                      achieving a steady increase in imports of manufactures
pean Economic Community offered to grant tariff pre­                  from the developing countries;
ferences on certain processed agricultural products of
Chapters 1 to 24 of the Common Customs Tariff which
originate in developing countries; whereas the preferen­             Whereas tariff preferences have been applied as from
tial treatment proposed in that offer consists, in respect            the second half of 1971 ; whereas, however, for certain
of certain goods which are subject to the trade ar­                   types of tobacco the said system of tariff preferences has
rangements laid down in Regulation (EEC) No                           been made applicable from 1974 ; whereas it is appro­
1059/69, of a reduction in the fixed component of the                priate to extend this system also for tobaccos falling
charge applicable to such goods by virtue of that Regul­              within subheading 24.01 A ex II;
ation, and, in respect of 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 without quantitative restrictions;                  Whereas it is expedient, therefore, that the Community
                                                                      should open for 1978 for the said raw or unmanufac­
                                                                      tured tobaccos, other than Virginia type, originating in
                                                                      the countries and territories listed in the Annex, a
H OJ No C 266 , 7. 11 . 1977, p. 16 .                                Community ceiling of 2 500 tonnes, at a customs
(2) Opinion delivered on 26/27 October 1977 (not yet pub­            duty rate of 7% with a minimum charge of 33 units of
     lished in the Official Journal).                                account and a maximum charge of 45 units of account
(3 ) OJ No L 73 , 27. 3 . 1972 , p. 195 .                            per 100 kilograms net weight;
 ---pagebreak--- 19 . 12 . 77                             Official Journal of the European Communities                           No L 324/ 103
Whereas, in accordance with Protocol 23 to the Act of               mined in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Accession ( 1), the generalized tariff preference scheme            Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 .
became fully applicable in the new Member States on 1
January 1974 ;                                                      3 . Subject to Articles 2 and 4 this suspension shall be
Whereas it is essential to reserve the benefit of this tariff
                                                                    granted for the tobaccos in question up to a Community
                                                                    ceiling of 2 500 tonnes.
suspension for products originating in the countries and
territories under consideration, the concept of 'originat­
ing products' being determined in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 14 of Council Regu­                                            Article 2
lation (EEC) No 802/68 of 27 June 1968 on the com­
mon definition of the concept of the origin of goods (2);
whereas the charging of imports against a ceiling must              As soon as the ceiling calculated in accordance with the
be carried out as and when the tobaccos concerned are               provisions of Article 1 (3 ), which is laid down for
presented for customs clearance under cover of declara­             Community imports of products originating in all of the
tions that they are intended for home use and are ac­               countries and territories referred to in Article 1 (2 ), is
companied by a certificate of origin ; whereas this                 reached at Community level, the levying of customs
method of administration must make provision for the                duties on imports of the tobaccos from all the countries
re-introduction of customs duties as soon as the ceiling            and territories concerned may at any time be re-intro­
is reached at Community level;                                      duced until the end of the period referred to in
                                                                    Article 1 ( 1 ).
Whereas such method of administration calls for very
close and particularly rapid cooperation between
Member States and the Commission, which must, in
particular, be able to observe the extent to which                                            Article 3
charges are made against the ceiling and inform
Member States thereof; whereas such cooperation                     1 . Imports of the products in question shall be charged
should be particularly close in view of the need for the            against the Community ceiling as and when the tobac­
Commission to be able to take appropriate measures to               cos in question are entered for home use, and provided
re-introduce customs duties either generally or individu­           that they are accompanied by a certificate of origin
ally, when the ceiling is reached;                                  pursuant to the rules laid down in Article 1 (2 ).
Whereas measures should be provided for which will
enable any serious disruption in any sector of the                  2 . Goods may be charged against the ceiling only if the
economic activity of the Community to be avoided ;                  certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 1 is submit­
whereas to this end, the Commission should be empow­                ted before the date on which the levying of duties is
ered to re-introduce partially or wholly the levying of             re-introduced .
customs duties in order that such disruption may be
avoided,                                                            3 . The extent to which the ceiling has been used up
                                                                    shall be determined at Community level on the basis of
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                        the imports charged in accordance with paragraphs 1
                                                                    and 2 .
                           Article 1
 1 . From 1 January to 31 December 1978 , the duties
under the Common Customs Tariff relating to raw or                                            Article 4
unmanufactured tobacco, other than Virginia type, fal­
ling within subheading 24.01 A ex II shall be suspended
at 7% within a minimum charge of 33 units of account                 1 . The Commission, in close cooperation with the
per 100 kilograms net weight and a maximum charge of                Member States, shall take all necessary measures to
45 units of account per 100 kilograms net weight.                    ensure that the above provisions are applied.
2. This tariff suspension shall apply solely to products            2 . The Commission shall issue a Regulation to re­
originating in the countries and territories listed in the          introduce the levying of customs duties in respect of all
Annex. However, those imports which enjoy exemption                 the countries and territories referred to in Article 1 (2)
from customs duties under other preferential tariff ar­             in accordance with Article 2 .
rangements granted by the Community may not be
charged against the ceiling referred to in paragraph 3 .
For the purposes of the application of this Regulation
the concept of 'originating products' shall be deter­                                         Article 5
                                                                     Member States shall inform the Commission period­
(!) OJ No L 73 , 27. 3 . 1972, p. 14.                                ically of imports of the products in question charged
(2) OJ No L 148 , 28 . 6 . 1968 , p. 1 .                             against the Community ceiling laid down in Article 1
 ---pagebreak--- No L 324/ 104                         Official Journal of the European Communities                             19 . 12 / 77
(3 ). This information shall show both the value, expres­         2 . In the event of such action being requested by a
sed in units of account, and the quantities expressed in          Member State, the Commission shall decide within a
tonnes.                                                           period of not more than 10 working days after the
                                                                  request has been received and shall inform the Member
                                                                  States of this decision .
                         Article 6                                3 . Any Member State may refer to the Council the
                                                                  measure taken by the Commission, within a period of*
                                                                  not more than 10 working days after it has been in­
When products benefiting from the treatment provided              formed thereof. The fact that the matter is referred to
for in Article 1 are imported into the Community at               the Council shall not cause the measure to be sus­
such prices that Community producers of products simi­            pended. The Council shall meet immediately. It may, by
lar to or in direct competition with them suffer or are           acting on a qualified majority, amend or rescind the
likely to suffer from serious disadvantage, the levying of        measure in question.
customs duties may be reintroduced in whole or in part
on the products in question in respect of the countries
or territories which are the cause of the disadvantage.                                  Article 8
Such measures may also be taken in the case of actual
or potential serious disadvantage in a single region of           Articles 6 and 7 shall not prejudice the application of
the Community .                                                   the protective clauses drawn up in connection with the
                                                                  common agricultural policy pursuant to Article 43 of
                                                                  the Treaty nor those drawn up in connection with the
                                                                  common commercial policy pursuant to Article 113 of
                         Article 7
                                                                  the Treaty.
1 . The Commission may decide, by means of a Regu­                                       Article 9
lation, to re-introduce the levying of customs duties for
a specified period, in order to ensure that Article 6 is         This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
applied.                                                          1978 .
               This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
               Done at Brussels, 28 November 1977 .
                                                                                       For the Council
                                                                                        The President
                                                                                            L. OUTERS
 ---pagebreak--- 19 . 12 . 77                                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                                          No L 324/ 105
                                                                              ANNEX
                              List of developing countries and territories enjoying generalized tariff preferences ( 1)
                                                              I. INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES
660    Afghanistan                                      260 Guinea                                                              801 Papua New Guinea
208    Algeria                                          257 Guinea Bissau                                                      520 Paraguay
330    Angola                                           488 Guyana                                                             504 Peru
528    Argentina                                        452 Haiti                                                               708 Philippines
453 Bahamas                                             424 Honduras                                                            644 Qatar
640 Bahrain                                             664 India                                                              066 Romania
666 Bangladesh                                          700 Indonesia                                                          324 Rwanda
469 Barbados                                            616 Iran                                                                819 Samoa
284 Benin                                               612 Iraq                                                                311 Sao Tome and Principe
675 Bhutan                                              272 Ivory Coast                                                         632 Saudi Arabia
516 Bolivia                                             464 Jamaica                                                             248 Senegal
391 Botswana                                            628    Jordan                                                           355 Seychelles and Dependencies
508 Brazil                                              696    Kampuchea, Democratic                                            264 Sierra Leone
676 Burma                                               346    Kenya                                                            706 Singapore
328 Burundi                                             728    Korea, Republic of                                               342 Somalia
302 Cameroon                                            636 Kuwait                                                              669 Sri Lanka
247 Cape Verde Islands                                  684 Laos                                                                224 Sudan
306 Central African Empire                              604 Lebanon                                                             492 Surinam
244 Chad                                                395 Lesotho                                                             393 Swaziland
512 Chile                                               268 Liberia                                                             608 Syria
480 Colombia                                            216 Libya                                                               352 Tanzania
375 Comoros                                             370 Madagascar                                                          680 Thailand
318 Congo, People's Republic of                         386 Malawi                                                              280 Togo
436 Costa Rica                                          701 Malaysia                                                            817 Tonga
448 Cuba                                                667 Maldive Islands                                                     472 Trinidad and Tobago
600 Cyprus                                              232 Mali                                                                212 Tunisia
338 Djibouti                                            228 Mauritania                                                          350 Uganda
456 Dominican Republic                                  373 Mauritius                                                            647 United Arab Emirates
500 Ecuador                                             412 Mexico                                                               236 Upper Volta
220 Egypt                                               204 Morocco                                                              524 Uruguay
428 El Salvador                                         366 Mozambique                                                           484 Venezuela
310 Equatorial Guinea                                   803 Nauru                                                                690 Vietnam
334 Ethiopia                                            672    Nepal                                                             652 Yemen
815 Fiji                                                432    Nicaragua                                                         656 Yemen, Democratic
314 Gabon                                               240    Niger                                                             048 Yugoslavia
252 Gambia                                              288    Nigeria                                                           322 Zaire
276 Ghana                                               649 Oman                                                                 378 Zambia
473 Grenada                                             662 Pakistan
416 Guatemala                                           440 Panama
 (*) The code number preceding the name of each beneficiary country or territory is that given in 'Geonomenclature 1977', published by the Statistical Office of the European
     Communities.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 324/ 106                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                                         19 . 12 . 77
                                                       II. COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
            dependent or administered, or for whose external relations Member States of the Community or third
                                                     countries are wholly or partly responsible
            890 Australian Antarctic Territory
            421 Belize
            413 Bermuda
            890 British Antarctic Territory
            357 British Indian Ocean Territory
            812 British Pacific Ocean
            703 Brunei
            202 Canary Islands
            463 Cayman Islands and Dependencies
            205 Ceuta and Melilla
            802 Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
            529 Falkland Islands and Dependencies
            822 French Polynesia
            890 French Southern and Antarctic Territories
            044 Gibraltar
            740 Hong Kong
            743 Macao
            377 Mayotte
            476 Netherlands Antilles
            809 New Caledonia and Dependencies
            808 Pacific Islands administered by the United States of America or under United States trusteeship ( x)
            329 St Helena and Dependencies
            814 Territories for which New Zealand is responsible (Cook Islands, Niue Island, Tokelau Islands)
            454 Turks and Caicos Islands
            457 Virgin Islands of the United States
            811 Wallis and Futuna Islands
            471 West Indies
           Note: The above lists may be amended subsequently to take account of changes in the international
                     status of countries or territories.
           (*) 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).