CELEX: 31973R3507
Language: en
Date: 1973-12-18 00:00:00
Title: Regulation (EEC) No 3507/73 of the Council of 18 December 1973 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a tariff quota for cocoa butter and a tariff quota for soluble coffee originating in developing countries

28 . 12 . 73                        Official Journal of the European Communities                        No L 358 / 117
                              REGULATION (EEC) No 3507/73 OF THE COUNCIL
                                                 of 18 December 1973
              opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a tariff quota for cocoa
                 butter and a tariff quota for soluble coffee originatingTin developing countries
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                      Whereas in respect of cocoa butter and soluble coffee
                                                               originating in the countries and territories listed in
                                                               Annex A the Community should therefore open for
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­             1974 two Community tariff quotas within the respec­
pean Economic Community;                                       tive limits of 21 600 metric tons and at a customs
                                                               duty of 8% for cocoa butter and of 18 750 metric
                                                               tons and a duty of 9% for soluble coffee;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ;
Whereas, within the context of UNCTAD, the Euro­               Whereas, in accordance with Protocol No 23 to the
pean Economic Community offered to grant tariff                Act of Accession (1), the generalized tariff preference
preferences on certain processed agricultural prod­            scheme will be fully applicable in the new Member
ucts of Chapters 1 to 24 of the Common Customs                 States from 1 January 1974;
Tariff originating in developing countries ; whereas
the preferential treatment proposed in that offer
consists, in respect of certain goods which are subject        Whereas for the said products this scheme would,
to the trade arrangements laid down in Regulation              however, involve the application in the new Member
(EEC) No 1059/69, of a reduction in the fixed com­             States in 1974 of customs duties higher than or very
ponent of the charge applicable to such goods by               close to those which will be applied by the new
virtue of that Regulation, and, in respect of products         Member States to non-member countries in general
which are subject to the single customs duty, of a             bn the basis of the provisions of the abovementioned
reduction in such duty; whereas preferential imports           Act; whereas this situation would comply neither
of the products concerned could be effected without            with the spirit nor with the very nature of the gener­
quantitative restrictions ; whereas it appears appro­          alized preference scheme; whereas, in order to main­
priate, however in view of the sensitiveness of the            tain an equivalent preferential margin for these prod­
cocoa butter and soluble coffee sectors generally and          ucts also, reduced customs duties should be applied
of the need to safeguard the interests of the associa­         to them, in accordance with detailed rules based on
ted countries in this field, to lay down for those two         the principle of maintaining, in the new Member
products special conditions consisting in a reduction          States, a preference proportional to that which exists
of the customs duty applicable to these two products           between the duties of the Common Customs Tariff
within the limits of Community tariff quotas ;                 and the duties given in Article 1 of this Regulation ;
                                                               whereas, with a view to granting the beneficiary
Whereas the offer by the Community includes a                  developing countries the best possible treatment, in
clause stating that it is made on the assumption that          accordance with the objectives of the preference
the main industrialized countries which are members            scheme, the duties given in Article 1 should also be
of the OECD participate in granting preferences and            applied wherever the duties calculated according to
make similar efforts in this direction ; whereas, more­        the abovementioned detailed rules prove to be higher
over, it is evident from the conclusions worked out            than them ;
in UNCTAD that this offer, while being of a tempo­
rary nature, does not constitute a binding commit­
ment and in particular, may be withdrawn wholly                Whereas the benefit of these tariff quotas should be
or in part at a later date; whereas this possibility may       reserved for products originating in the countries and
be adopted inter alia with a view to remedying any             territories under consideration ; whereas to this end,
unfavourable situations which might arise in the               the provisions concerning the definition of the con­
associated countries following the implementation of           cept of 'originating products' should be applied in
the generalized preference scheme ;                            respect of the implementation of the tariff preferences
Whereas tariff preferences have been applied as from
the second half of 1971 and whereas it is expedient
to continue to apply them throughout 1974;                      (x) OJ No L 76, 27. 3 . 1972, p. 14.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 358/ 118                        Official Journal of the European Communities                             28 . 12. 73
granted by the Community to the products from the               based on a single allocation among the Member
developing countries, for the period from 1 January             States ; whereas, moreover, the allocation set out by
to 31 December 1974 ; whereas, provision should be              this Regulation in no way prejudices the possibility
made, however, for an amendment to be made to                   of adopting the general method of allocation of
list A annexed to these provisions concerning cocoa             Community tariff quotas comprising the setting up
butter;                                                         of a reserve share; whereas at this transitional stage
                                                                it appears feasible that such allocation could be made
                                                                according to the percentages set in the above table;
Whereas it is necessary to ensure equal and con­
tinuous access for all Community importers to the said
quotas and the uninterrupted application of the rates           Whereas the percentage for the shares of the Member
laid down for these quotas to all imports of the                States in the Community tariff quotas, in view of
products concerned into all Member States until                 their duration and their amounts, does not appear in
these quotas are used up ; whereas, having regard to            this instance to compromise the equal access for
the principles set out above, the Community nature              Community importers to Community tariff quotas ;
of the quota can be respected by allocating the Com­            whereas for this same reason it would appear ex­
munity tariff quota among Member States ; whereas,              pedient to allow each Member State to choose the
moreover, to this end and in the context of the utili­          system for administering its share ;
zation system, the actual charges against the quota
may relate only to products which have been entered             Whereas provision should be made for measures
for home use and which are accompanied by a certi­              enabling any serious disturbance within the sector
ficate of origin;                                               of the Community's economic activity to be avoided
                                                                and to this end, the Commission should be em­
                                                                powered to reintroduce in part or in full the normal
Whereas the available statistical data cover only a             duties in order to avoid such disturbance ;
relatively brief period and whereas, in this particular
case, they should be weighted on the basis of the
estimates which may be made in respect of the quota             Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the King­
year; whereas the shares in the quota amounts may               dom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of
be set out as follows :                                         Luxembourg are united in and represented by the
                                                                Benelux Economic Union, all transactions concerning
                                                                the administration of the shares allocated to the
                                   metric tons
                                                                Benelux Economic Union may be carried out by any
                        cocoa butter       soluble coffee       one of its Members,
         Germany                800             900
         Benelux            12 150             1550
         France                 100             250
                                                                HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
         Italy                   50              50
         Denmark                 50              50
         Ireland                 50              50                                     Article 1
         United Kingdom       8 400          15 900
                                                                1 . From 1 January to 31 December 1974 two Com­
 Whereas, without affecting the Community nature of             munity tariff quotas shall be opened within the Com­
 the tariff quotas under consideration, it appears pos­         munity for imports of the products listed below and
 sible to provide temporarily for a utilization scheme           under the conditions stated :
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 12. 73                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                      No L 358 / 119
                  CCT                                                                          Volume in
                                                                                                               Rate of
                 heading                               Description                                metric
                   No                                                                              tons
                                                                                                                duty
                  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                                                              ttt metric tons
United Kingdom, there shall be applied to the above­                                           cocoa butter            soluble coffee
mentioned products the customs duties determined
by multiplying, by a coefficient equal to the margin                           Germany                   800                900
of preferences existing between the duties given in                            Benelux                12 150              1 550
the first subparagraph and the Common Customs                                  France                    100                250
Tariff duties applicable, the duties obtained by reduc­                        Italy                      50                 50
ing by 40°/o the difference between the lowest duty
                                                                               Denmark                    50                 50
applied on 1 January 1972 to the developing coun­
tries set out in Annex A and the Common Customs                                Ireland                    50                 50
Tariff.                                                                        United Kingdom          8 400            15 900
However, the duties given in the first subparagraph
                                                                                                Article 3
shall be applied where the duties resulting from the
abovementioned calculation are higher than them .
                                                                       1 . The Member States shall ensure free access to
                                                                       the share which has been allocated to them for im­
2. These tariff quotas shall apply solely to products                  porters of the products concerned who are estab­
originating in the countries and territories listed in                 lished on their territory.
Annex A. However, those imports which enjoy
exemption from customs duties under other prefer­                      2. The extent to which shares of Member States
ential tariff arrangements granted by the Community                    have been actually filled shall be determined on the
 may not be charged against these tariff quotas.                       basis of imports of the said goods which have been
                                                                       entered for home use, on the basis of the customs
 For the purposes of implementing this Regulation                      value of the said goods, and which are accompanied
 the concept of originating products shall be that laid                by a certificate of origin in accordance with the rules
down by the provisions of Commission Regulation                        referred to in Article 1 (2).
 (EEC) No 3614/73 (1), applicable to the products bene­
 fiting from tariff preferences granted by the Com­                    3 . Goods may qualify for a tariff quota only if the
 munity to the developing countries for the period                     certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 2 is
 from 1 January to 31 December 1974.                                   submitted before the date on which the levying of
                                                                       duties is reintroduced.
                          Article 2
                                                                                                Article 4
 The Community Tariff quotas mentioned in Article 1
 shall be allocated, in respect of each Member State,                  Member States shall inform             the    Commission       at
 in shares the amounts of which are set out below :                    monthly intervals of imports of the products in
                                                                       question actually charged against their shares. This
                                                                       information shall show both the value expressed in
                                                                       units of account and the quantity expressed in metric
 (x) See p. 132 of this Official Journal.                               tons .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 358/ 120                      Official Journal of the European Communities                             28 . 12. 73
                        Article 5                             2. It the Commission has acted at the request of a
                                                              Member State, the former shall give its decision
If the Community should find that the products                within a maximum period of ten working days from
benefiting under the arrangements provided for in             the date of receipt of the request and shall inform the
                                                              Member State of the action it has taken.
Article 1 are being imported into the Community
in quantities or at prices such as to put or be likely        3 . Each Member State may refer the measure taken
to put Community producers of similar or directly             by the Commission to the Council within a period
competitive products at a serious disadvantage or to          of ten working days following the date it was noti­
create an unfavourable situation in the associated            fied. The fact that the matter has been referred to the
countries, the customs duties applied within the              Council shall not constitute the suspension of the
Community may be reintroduced in part or in full              measure. The Council shall meet without delay.
for imports of the products in question from the              Acting on a qualified majority, it may amend or
country or countries or territory or territories which        repeal the measure in question.
are the cause of such disadvantage. Such measures
may also be taken in the event of a serious disadvan­                                 Article 7
tage, either actual or foreseeable, which is confined
to a single region of the Community.                          Article 5 and 6 shall not prejudice the application
                                                              of the protective clauses drawn up in connection with
                                                              the common commercial policy pursuant to Article
                        Article 6                             113 of the Treaty.
                                                                                      Article 8
1 . In order to ensure that Article 5 is applied, the
Commission may, by way of a Regulation, reintro­             This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
duce normal duties for a fixed period.                        1974.
              This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
              States .
              Done at Brussels, 18 December 1973 .
                                                                                   For the Council
                                                                                    The President
                                                                                 J. CHRISTENSEN
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 12. 73                         Official Journal of the European Communities                           No L 358/ 121
                                                      ANNEX A
                   List of developing countries and territories enjoying generalized tariff preferences
                                             INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES
Afghanistan                               India                                     Rwanda
Algeria                                   Indonesia                                 Saudi Arabia
Argentina                                 Iran                                      Senegal
Bahamas                                   Iraq                                      Sierra Leone
Êahrain                                   Ivory Coast                               Singapore
Bangladesh                                Jamaica                                   Somalia
Barbados                                  Jordan                                    Sri Lanka
Bhutan                                    Kenya                                     Sudan
Bolivia                                   Khmer Republic                            Swaziland
Botswana                                  Korea ( South)                            Syria
Brazil                                    Kuwait                                    Tanzania
Burma                                     Laos                                      Thailand
Burundi                                   Lebanon                                   Togo
Cameroon                                  Lesotho                                   Tonga
Central African Republic                  Liberia                                   Trinidad and Tobago
Chad                                      Libya                                     Tunisia
Chile                                     Malagasy Republic                         Uganda
Colombia                                  Malawi                                    United Arab Emirates :
Congo, People's Republic of               Malaysia                                       Abu Dhabi
Costa Rica                                Maldive Islands                                Dubai
Cuba                                      Mali                                           Ras al Khaimah
Cyprus                                    Mauritania                                     Fujairah
Dahomey                                   Mauritius                                      Ajman
Dominican Republic                        Mexico                                         Sharjah
Ecuador                                   Morocco                                        Ummal Qaiwain
Egypt, Arab Republic of                   Nauru                                     Upper Volta
El Salvador                               Nepal                                     Uruguay
Equatorial Guinea                         Nicaragua                                 Venezuela
Ethiopia                                  Niger                                     Vietnam, Republic of
Fiji                                      Nigeria                                   Western Samoa
Gabon                                     Oman                                      Yemen, People's Democratic
Gambia                                    Pakistan                                  Republic of
Ghana                                     Panama
                                                                                    Yemen Arab Republic
Guatemala
                                                                                    Yugoslavia
                                          Paraguay
                                                                                    Zaire
Guinea                                    Peru
                                                                                    Zambia
Guyana                                    Philippines
Haiti                                     Qatar
Honduras                                  Romania
 ---pagebreak--- No L 358/ 122                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                                28 . 12. 73
                                                   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, Des Roches)
            British Pacific Ocean (*)
            Brunei
            Cape Verde Islands
            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 MacDonald Islands
             Hong Kong
             Leeward Islands (2)
             Macao
             Mozambique
             Netherlands Antilles
             New Caledonia and Dependencies
             Norfolk Islands
             Pacific Islands administered by the United States of America or under United States trusteeship (3 )
             Papua-New Guinea
             Portuguese Guinea
             Portuguese Timor
             St Helena (including Ascension, Gough Island, and Tristan da Cunha)
             Saint Pierre and Miquelon
             Sao Tome and Principe
             Seychelles (including Amirantes)
             Sikkim
             Spanish territories in Africa
             Surinam
             Territories for which New Zealand is responsible (Cook Islands, Niuwe Island, Tokelau Islands
             and Ross Dependency)
             Turks and Caocos 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 be amended subsequently to take account of changes in the inter­
                         national status of countries or territories .
              p) Gilbert and Ellice Islands, British Solomon Islands, New Hebrides Condominium, and Pitcairn Islands.
              (2) Antigua, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, British Virgin Islands.
              (3) 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, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent.
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 12. 73                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No L 358/ 123
                                                             ANNEX B
            In List A annexed to the provisions referred to in Article 1 (2), second subparagraph, the following
            heading shall be inserted with the corresponding rule :
                    Products obtained
                                                 Working or processing that does   Working or processing that confers
                                                    not confer the status of       the status of 'originating products'
                                                      'originating products'           when following conditions
                  CCT                                                                            are met
               heading No       Description
                 18.04       Cocoa butter,                                          Manufacture from
                             including                                              'originating' cocoa beans
                             cocoa fat
                             or oil