CELEX: 
Language: en
Date: 1974-12-03 00:00:00
Title: Council Decision of 26 November 1974 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the People's Republic of Bangladesh on trade in jute products #Agreement between the European Economic Community and the People's Republic of Bangladesh on trade in jute products

No L 323 / 18                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                 3 . 12 . 74
                                                               II
                                       (Acts whose publication is not obligatory)
                                                     COUNCIL
                                                 COUNCIL DECISION
                                                  of 26 November 1974
             on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Economic Commu­
                  nity and the People's Republic of Bangladesh on trade in jute products
                                                         (74/589/ EEC)
             THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
             Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in
             particular Article 113 thereof ;
             Having regard to the recommendation from the Commission ;
             Whereas the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the People's
             Republic of Bangladesh on trade in jute products should be concluded ,
             HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
                                                           Article 1
             The Agreement between the European Economic Community and the People 's Republic
             of Bangladesh on trade in jute products is hereby concluded on behalf of the Community.
             The text of the Agreement is annexed to this Decision .
                                                           Article 2
             In application of Article 1 1 of the Agreement referred to in Article 1 the President of the
             Council shall notify the other Contracting Party that as regards the Community the proce­
             dures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement have been completed (').
              Done at Brussels , 26 November 1974 .
                                                                               For the Council
                                                                                The President
                                                                                ). LECANUET
             (') The date ot the entry into forte of this Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of
                 the European Communities.
 ---documentbreak--- 3 . 12 . 74                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                No L 323 / 19
                                                            AGREEMENT
               between the European Economic Community and the People 's Republic of
                                          Bangladesh on trade in jute products
               THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
               of the one part,
               THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH ,
               of the other part,
               hereinafter referred to respectively as .' the Community' and ' Bangladesh ',
               DESIROUS of ensuring the development of the use of jute products and the orderly development of
               trade in these products between the Community and Bangladesh ,
               NOTING the Joint Declaration of Intent on the development of trade relations with Ceylon ( now
               Sri Lanka), India, Malaysia, Pakistan (now Bangladesh and Pakistan ), and Singapore , annexed to the
               Final Act of the Treaty of Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the Kingdom of Norway
               and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the European Economic Commu­
               nity and the European Atomic Energy Community, of 22 January 1972 ,
               CONSCIOUS of the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,
               HAVE in a spirit of mutual cooperation , DECIDED TO CONCLUDE THIS AGREEMENT :
                           Article 1                                  shall suspend the existing quantitative restrictions on
                                                                      the imports of the products defined in Article 4,
This Agreement concerns manufactured jute products,                   subject to Bangladesh applying such measures as are
as defined in Annex A, originating in and coming                      necessary to keep exports intended for internal
from Bangladesh .                                                     consumption in the Community within the ceilings
                                                                      set out in Article 4 .
                           Article 2
                                                                                              Article 4
1.      Pending a solution within a multilateral context
and as a means of extending its system of generalized                 1.    For the calendar year 1974 the initial ceilings are
                                                                      as follows :
tariff preferences , the Community shall apply auto­
nomously to the products referred to in Article 1 the
duties of the Common Customs Tariff suspended in                      — categories 4 + 5                      4 075 metric tons,
accordance with the rates and timetable set out in
Annex B.
                                                                      — category 6                            7 000 metric tons .
2.      In Denmark , Ireland and the United Kingdom                   2.    For each following year, each ceiling shall be
tariff adjustments resulting from the application of                  increased with reference to the preceding year by
paragraph 1 may be introduced gradually .                             10% of the initial ceiling .
                                                                      3 . The Community shall be prepared to give
                           Article 3                                  special consideration to the overwhelming depen­
                                                                      dence of Bangladesh on trade in jute products and
The Community shall not subject imports of the                        therefore shall not object to the above ceilings being
products referred to in Article 1 to new quantitative                 exceeded in the event of additional demand deve­
restrictions . The Community is willing to examine ,                  loping in the market of the Comnumitv , on the under­
together with Bangladesh , appropriate solutions to                   standing that the . idditional quantities shall lie fixed
problems arising out of the current quantitative restric­             by common agreement between the Contracting
tions . To this end , and as a first step , the Community             Parties .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 323 / 20                       Official Journal of the European Communities                               3 . 12 . 74
                          Article 5                            production situation and of the external demand for
                                                               the abovementioned products, Bangladesh agrees to
1 . Unused quantities, not exceeding 10% of the                take all appropriate steps to ensure that the needs of
corresponding annual ceiling, may be carried over and          the Community market in industries in such products
added to the ceiling for the following year.                   are met in a non-discriminatory manner.
2.    Each annual ceiling may, within a 10 % limit of
this ceiling, be exceeded in anticipation of the ceiling                                Article 10
for the following year, subject to prior consultations         1.      A Joint Cooperation Committee shall be set up
with the Community. Bangladesh shall nevertheless             and entrusted with :
endeavour to ensure as regular a supply as possible of
the products concerned in the course of each annual           — the examination of any problem which may arise
period .                                                           as a result of the implementation of the Agree­
                                                                    ment ;
3.    Quantities used in anticipation shall be deducted       — exploring possibilities, and formulating sugges­
from the ceiling for the following year.                           tions, in matters of cooperation in the fields of
                                                                    research and use of advanced technology, of de­
                          Article 6                                velopment of production and uses of jute products,
                                                                   of promotion , marketing and publicity thereof ;
The ceilings shall be administered using a system of
double checking along the lines defined in Annex C.           — developing contacts between representatives of the
                                                                   jute trade and industries of both the Community
                          Article 7                                and Bangladesh .
                                                               2 . The Joint Committee shall be composed of
1.    Bangladesh and the Community shall exchange              representatives both of Bangladesh and the Commu­
all useful information relating to trade in jute products      nity.
between the Contracting Parties .
                                                               3.     The Joint Committee shall be convened at the
2.    Should it transpire during the validity of the           request of one of the Contracting Parties and in any
Agreement that the provisions of the Agreement do              case at least once a year.
not fully satisfy its interests, Bangladesh shall have the
right to make specific representation to the Commu­                                     Article 11
nity for finding satisfactory solutions .
                                                               This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day
                          Article 8                            of the second month following the date on which the
                                                               Contracting Parties have notified each other of the
The implementation of the provisions of the Agree­             completion of the procedures necessary for this
ment shall not disrupt normal trade channels between           purpose ('). Subject to such amendments as may be
Bangladesh and the Community for the products                  mutually agreed during its period of validity , the
concerned .                                                    Agreement shall be valid until 31 December 1975 .
Should one of the Contracting Parties inform the
                                                                                        Article 12
other that abnormal difficulties have arisen in connec­
tion with normal trade channels , then both Parties            The Annexes constitute an integral part of the Agree­
shall consult each other on measures necessary to              ment .
remedy the situation .
                                                                                        Article 13
                          Article 9
                                                               This Agreement has been drawn up in two copies in
Subject to the policies of the Government of Bangla­           the Danish , Dutch , English , French , German , Italian
desh concerning the regulation of its exports, its             and Bengali languages, each text being authentic .
                                                               (') The elate of entrv into force of this Agreement will be
                                                                   published in the Officii /! Jour/nil of tin- lii/ ropa / n
                                                                   Cumm / D/ itics.
 ---pagebreak--- 3 . 12 . 74                          Official Journal of the European Communities                             No L 323 / 21
                                                          ANNEX A
                             Definition of categories of jute products covered by Article 1
            Category 1 : Jute fabrics weighing more than 500 grammes per square metre and of a width of not
                          more than 1 50 centimetres, and bags of jute fabric weighing more than 500 grammes
                          per square metre .
            Category 2 : Jute fabrics weighing not less than 310 grammes per square metre but not more than
                          500 grammes per square metre and of a width of not more than 150 centimetres, and
                          bags of jute fabric weighing not less than 310 grammes but not more than 500 grammes
                          per square metre .
            Category 3 : Jute fabrics weighing less than 310 grammes per square metre and of a width of not
                          more than 150 centimetres, and bags of jute fabric weighing less than 310 grammes per
                          square metre .
            Catego ty 4 : Jute fabrics of a width of more than 150 centimetres but not more than 230 centime­
                          tres, irrespective of weight per square metre .
            Categoiy 5 : Jute fabrics having a width of more than 230 centimetres, irrespective of weight per
                          square metre .
            Categoiy 6 : Jute yarns .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 323 /22                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                      3 . 12 . 74
                                                            ANNEX B
                                           Tariff suspensions covered by Article 2
                                                                                       Rate of íeduction to be
              CCT heading                                                                       applied
                   No                           Description of goods
                                                                                   1 . 1 . 1974         1 . 1 . 1975
                 57.06       Yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres of
                             heading No 57.03                                         40 %                 60 %
                 57.10       Woven fabrics of jute or of other textile bast
                             fibres of heading No 57.03 :
                             A. Of a width of not more than 150 cm and
                                 weighing per square metre :
                                   I. Less than 310 g                                 40 %                 60 %
                                  II . Not less than 310 g but not more than
                                        500 g                                         40 °/ o              60 %
                                 III . More than 500 g                                40 %                 60 °/o
                             B. Of a width of more than 150 cm                        40%                  50%
                  62.03      Sacks and bags, of a kind used for the packing
                             of goods :
                             A. Of jute or of other textile bast fibres of
                                 heading No 57.03 :
                                 II . Other :
                                       a) Of fabric weighing less than 310 g/m2       40 %                 60 %
                                       b) Of fabric weighing not less      than
                                          310 g/m2 but not more than 500   g/m2       40 °/ o              60 %
                                       c) Of fabric weighing more          than
                                          500 g/m2                                    40 ° /o              60 %
             The Community hereby undertakes to continue to suspend customs duties on a 11 the imports
             of products used for packing goods, in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Con­
             vention on temporary imports of packing items .
 ---pagebreak--- 3 . 12. 74                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                                            No L 323/23
                                                                      ANNEX C
                                         System of double checking referred to in Article 6
           1 . In the Community, the competent authorities shall accept, without delay, imports of products
               listed in Article 4 of the Agreement upon production of the importer's request together with the
               original copy of the export permit (').
           2. The competent authorities in Bangladesh shall deliver export permits for all the products listed in
               Article 4 of the Agreement within the limits of the ceilings set out in that Article .
           3 . The export permit must mention :
               (a)  the    destination ,
               (b)  the    serial number,
               (c)  the    name and address of the importer,
               (d)  the    name and address of the exporter,
               (e)  the    net weight (in kilogrammes or metric tons) and the value,
               (f) the category and the classification of the product,
               (g) the certificate delivered by the authorities, stating the ceiling under which the products come .
           4 . In the Community, the competent authorities shall accept, within reasonable limits, differences
               between the weight as stated in the export permit and the cargo weight or the imported weight . In
               Bangladesh the competent authorities shall , however, endeavour to reduce such discrepancies to a
               minimum .
           5 . The competent authorities in Bangladesh shall notify the competent authorities in the Commu­
               nity of any withdrawal, or part withdrawal , of an export permit . The latter shall , within the context
               of the administrative regulations governing such matters, take appropriate steps .
           6. The competent authorities in Bangladesh shall forward every six months to the competent authori­
               ties in the Community, via the Embassies of the Member States and directly to the Commission , a
               summary of the export permits delivered. These summaries shall state, for every category of
               product, the net weight in metric tons of the authorized exports, their assignment to the various
               ceilings and the Member States of the Community to which the goods have been consigned .
           (') where import licences are required under the regulations in force 111 one or other Member State , such licences shall be issued auto­
               matically , within a limited number of days .