CELEX: 51980PC0091
Language: en
Date: 1980-03-06
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) CONCERNING COMMON IMPORT ARRANGEMENTS FOR CERTAIN JUTE PRODUCTS ORIGINATING IN INDIA (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (80) 91
Vol. 1980/0030
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983,
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit
règlement.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243,
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5
der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.
 ---pagebreak---    COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                                                   COM(80)91 final
                                                                                   Brussels . 6th March 1980
                              .   rv
                           A       ir   •'               "  .      •"  V
                          * \         -V                                  V
                       Λ>--Λ '                 ->                     V/ \
                      h- .             S-              Cj '               \:--y
                     !-               <? '           .                      ; -
                     [7,                          <!Y         ,             ;f • I
                      \!i j             ■?"        ■            's         '-.u
                       A    '   '           '•                          ,   - , -
                         PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
                        CONCERNING COMMON IMPORT ARRANGEMENTS FOR
                      CERTAIN JUTE PRODUCTS ORIGINATING IN                               INDIA
                    ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
COM ( 80 ) 91 final
 ---pagebreak---                         EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.   By decision of 23 November 1979 the Council authorised the Commission to
open negotiations with India for the conclusion of a new agreement on trade
and commercial cooperation in jute products as the previous Agreement expired
on 31 December 1979 .
      In accordance with this decision the Commission / in consultation with the
Article 113 Committee , conducted negotiations in January this year .    These
negotiations culminated in a draft Agreement initialled by both Heads of
Delegation on 30 January 1980 .                    '     -                 .
     The new Agreement , approved by the Article 113 Committee , cannot formally
enter into force , however , until the necessary procedures have been completed
on both sides ( for the Community , . conclusion by the Council ). The Commission
will shortly be submitting a recommendation concluding the Agreement .
      However , since it is desirable that the results of the negotiations be put
into effect as promptly as possible , it was agreed by exchange of note
verba les  that pending completion of the necessary procedures , the Agreement
would be applied de facto from 1 March 1980 . The annexed proposal for a
regulation contains provisions to establish import arrangements for the products
concerned , as agreed wtih India in the framework of the Agreement .
2.   The new Agreement provides inter alia for the voluntary restraint by
the Indian authorities , within the quantitative limits agreed , of exports
to the Community of certain jute products and for a system of Community control
of compliance with those limits .
      In order to make such control possible , this proposal for a regulation
provides fop th% Introduction of arrangements making Imports Into the Community
of the products in question subject to quantitative limits .
                                                                    ./.é
 ---pagebreak--- 3.   The Agreement which has been initialled is concerned only with products
originating in and coming from India . The Indian authorities will therefore
apply voluntary restraint only to direct exports to the Community . Thus products
covered by the Agreement and originating in India may be freely exported to the
Community through non-member countries . The Community may oppose such indirect
exports , for by the Agreement it is - only obliged to admit products originating
in and coming from India which are accompanied by an export authorization as required
by the Agreement .
                                                       - -          i
     Since such indirect imports run counter to the objectives of the Agreement
the import arrangements introduced by the Community must be applied to products
originating in India irrespective of where they come from.               ■
4.   It is proposed to administer the Community quantitative limits in accordance        '
with the procedure for administering Community quantitative quotas established
by Council Regulation ( EEC ) No . .1023/ 70, and in particular Article 11(1 ) thereof .
Under this procedure the Council has to determine the criteria for allocating
the quantitative limits . <
      \  •     ' '    •        •
     The criteria referred to are primarily those taken as a guide for allocating
the ceilings of the previous Agreement .
     However , in the tight of experience with the functioning of the previous
Agreement , and since under the present Agreement the voluntary restraint
arrangements apply to a narrower range of products , these criteria have adjusted
to give a breakdown of the . agreed volumes between the Member States more in
line wit,h current trade patterns .                                   ,
5.   The Agreement which has been initialled provides for the auotmatic ,
immediate , acceptance by the Community authorities of imports subject to limitation ,
upon production by the importer of an export authorization issued by the Indian
authorities certifying that the quantities have been set off against the agreed
quantitative limits . This provision therefore obliges the Member States'
authorities to grant import authorizations automatically as soon as a request
 ---pagebreak--- is made accompanied by an export authorization , provided that the agreed
limits are observed .
       The new Agreement also stipulates that products entering the Community
customs territory under inward processing or other suspensory arrangements ■
and subsequently re-exported from the Community must not be set off against
the agreed quantitative limits .
6.     The previous Agreement expired on 31 December 1979 ;     as it was not possible
to hold the negotiations for the new Agreement before then , the Council ,
by agreement with the non-member countries concerned , adopted Regulation
( EEC ) No 3019 / 79 of 20 December 1979 ( 1 ), extending for the first three months
of 1980 the import arrangements in force for 1979 for certain jute products
originating in Bangladesh , India and Thailand , and stipulating that the
quantities imported under the provisional arrangements would be charged
against any limits eventually fixed under the new agreements ( negotiations
or consultations with Bangladesh and Thailand are currently under way ).       Now
that a new Agreement has been negotiated with India , the provisional arrangements
should no longer apply to that country from the entry into force of this
regulation .
7.     So that the objectives of the Agreement may be attained promptly
the Commission proposes that the Council adopt the draft Regulation
annexed hereto as soon as possible .
1
  0J No L 340 , 31.12.1979 , p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                                PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION
                     concerning common import arrangements for certain jute
                                                                   4
                     products originating in .India
                 .      ί                                        Τ
                          )                                      T
The COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
paving regard to the,Ti»eaty establishing the European Economic Community ,
'fend in particular Article 113 thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Whereas the European Economic Community and the Republic of India have negotiated
an Agreement on trade and commercial cooperation in jute proucts ; whereas
the Commission has put before the Council a recommendation for a regulation
concluding that Agreement ;
Whereas , in order to implement that Agreement , specific common import arrangements
must be introducted for the products concerned originating in India ;
Whereas to this end. the appropriate provisions valid in the Community for
the years 1980 to 1983 should be adopted ;
                      Λ
Whereas under the Agreement the Community is obliged to admit imports of
certain jute products within agreed quantitative limits ; whereas application
of the quantitative limits in conformity with the Agreement negotiated with
India requires the introduction of a special administrative procedure ; whereas
the common administration should be decentralized by the allocation of the
quantitative limits among the Member States , and the Member States' authorities
should issue import authorizations ti accordance with the bilateral control
system laid down in the Agreement ;
                   i         •
Whereas , to ensure optimum utilization of the quantitative limits in question ,
they should be allocated both in accordance with the criteria taken as a
guide in allocating the quantitative limits under the previous Agreement
with India , and taking into consideration the fact the new Agreement establishes
such limits for a smaller number of products than under the old Agreement ,
making it possible to take fuller account of the supply requirements of the
various Member States ;
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas in view of th « fact that considerable disparities nevertheless still
                       t
exist in the conditions upon which imports of the products in question may
fee admitted into different Member States , it will only be possible to
^tandarize such conditfpns on a gradual basis ; whereas allocation can therefore
only progressively be aligned on supply requirements ;
                         t  • .   .     .
Whereas steps should be taken to ensure that the objectives of the Agreement
afjp not thwarted by indirect imports of products originating in India ;
Whereas imports should be set off against the quantitative limits fixed for .
the year during which the goods were shipped from India ;
Whereas products which enter the Community's customs territory under inward
processhg or other suspensory       arrangements and are re-exported from that   -
territory in their original condition or after processing should not be set
off against the abovementioned quantitative limits ;
Whereas Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 3019/ 79 extended until 31 March 1980
the import arrangements in force for 1979 for certain jute products origi­
nating in Bangladesh , India or Thailand ; whereas , from the . entry into force
of the present Regulation,' the provisions of that Regulation must no longer
apply in respect of India ;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION     :
1 0J No L 340, 31.12.1979 , p.1
 ---pagebreak---                                 Article 1
   1.    Imports into the Community of the jute products listed in Annex A which
   origi nate in India and are shipped between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1983    >
   shall be subject to the quantitative limits agreed between the Community and
   India . and set out in the Annex referred to above .
  ,2 .  These quantitative limits shall be allocated among the Member States in
   accordance with the procedure laid down in Council Regulation ( EEC ? No 1023/ 70
   of 25 May 1970 establishing a common procedure for administering quantitative
   quotas ( 1 ), and in particular in Article 11 thereof , in such a way as to
   ensure the expansion and orderly development of trade in jute products and to
  permit amounts to be carried over or brought forward from one year to another .
   3.   The jute products referred to in paragraph 1 originating in India shall be
   imported within the framework of the bilateral control system defined in the
  Agreement whereby the. authorities of the Member States concerned shall , within
   the quantitative limits presecribed , automatically authorize the import of the
  products referred to in paragraph 1 immediately upon production by the importer
  of the original copy of the export authorization issued by the Indian authorities
  and containing the particulars set out in Annex B.
   4.   Authorized'imports shall be set off against the quantitative limits established
   for the year in which ^ he products were shipped from India . # In issuing import
   authorizations in respect of the quantitative limits established for 1980, the
   authorities of the Member States shall take into account authorizations . already
   issued to cover products subject to quantitative, limitation under the provisional
   arrangements provided for by Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 3019 / 79 .
   5.   Products admitted into the Community 's customs territory under inward processing
   or other suspensory " arrangements , provided they are declared under such arrangements
   to be for re-export from that territory in their original condition or after
   processing , shall not be set off against the quantitative limits referred to
   in paragraph 1 .                                                                     '
V 0J No L 124, 8.6.1970, p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                               Article 2
      Regulation ( EEC ) No 3019/ 79 shall no longer be applicable in respect
of India .
                              Article 3
      This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
      This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States .                .
Oone at Brussels .                               For the Council
                                                   The President
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                   ANNEX A
                            Quantitative limits referred to in Article 1(1 )
                                                                                   ( tonnes )
                                                                                Quantitative limits
Category   CCT      Nimexe                   Description
 No      i Heading Code                                                      1980     1981     1982  1982
           57.10 B|   57.10-61 Woven fabrics of jute or of other bast
                   le* 57.10-65 fibres of heading No 57.03 :
                                 ex B.  of a width of more than 150 cm .   4 330    4 763    5 240  5 763
                                        but not exceeding 310 cm. other
                                        than those of Category 7
           57.10 Β    57.10-70   woven fabrics of jute or of other textile
                                 bast fibres of heading No . 57.03 ;
                                 ex B.  of a width of more than 150 cm .,  2 .555   2 759     2 979 3 218
                                        wholly or partially bleached ,
                                        dyed or printed and having no
                                        visible selvedge in the width *
                                                                                Quantitative limits
                                                                                  for Bénélux
                                                                             1980 | 1981       1982  1983
           57.06      57.06-11 ; Yarn of jute or of other textile bast
                            15 ; fibres of hading No 57.03                 7 500    8 100    [8 750 9 450
                            30
 ---pagebreak---                                                           ANNEX xB
          Particulars referred to in Article 1(3 )
Export authorizations issued by the Indian authorities in respect
of the products covered by this Regulation shall contain the following
particulars :
                                                                 • ;   •  _ 1   /
    (a)  Member State of final destination
    (b)  Sériât nurnber ;                                                '    .
    ( c) Importer's name and address ;-
    ( d) Exporter's name and address ;
    ( e) Net weight ( in kg or tonnes ) and value ;
    (f)  Category and classification of the product ;
    (g)  Certification by the authorities of the Republic of India that
         the quantity has been set off against the quantitative limits fixed
         for the year in which the products were shipped , i.e. placed on
         board in India for export to the Community ( Member State of final
         destination ) or , where appropriate , are for immediate re-export or
         are for processing and subsequent re-export outside the Community ;
    ( h) Year during which the products were shipped , that is , were
         placed on board in India for export to the Community.
1
  For Category 4 products , the width in centimetres must also be given ;
this specification will be required until the NIMEXE classification is
amended so that headings Nos . 57.10-61 and 65 reflect the description
                   Z'   -
of products falling within the current definition of Category 4 .