CELEX: 31977R2707
Language: en
Date: 1977-11-28
Title: Council Regulation (EEC) No 2707/77 of 28 November 1977 opening tariff preferences in the form of a suspension of customs duties for jute manufactures originating in India, Thailand and Bangladesh and for coir manufactures originating in India and Sri Lanka

19 . 12 . 77                             Official Journal of the European Communities                             No L 324/93
                                         COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2707/77
                                                      of 28 November 1977
                 opening tariff preferences in the form of a suspension of customs duties for jute
                 manufactures originating in India, Thailand and Bangladesh and for coir manufactures
                                                originating in India and Sri Lanka
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                             Community has considered that is is advisable in gen­
                                                                     eral to extend for 1976 the preferential tariff scheme
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                which was in force for 1975 ; whereas the same scheme
Economic Community,                                                  has also been for Bangladesh but exclusively for its jute
                                                                     products, whose situation is appreciably the same as
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                   that described above; whereas for 1977, on the basis of
Having regard to the opinion of the European                         the negotiations with India and Bangladesh, new tariff
Parliament (*),                                                      suspensions have been applied, as in respect of Thailand
                                                                     and Sri Lanka;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee (2),                                                Whereas, under the Agreements between the Com­
                                                                     munity and India of the one part and Bangladesh of the
Whereas, within the context of UNCTAD , the                          other, duties are to be completely suspended for the
European Economic Community offered to grant tariff                  second half of 1978 ; whereas it seems advisable to put
preferences on finished and semi-finished products                   this measure into force right from the beginning of the
coming from developing countries; whereas the                        1978 preference year;
preferential treatment proposed in that offer covers,
generally speaking, all finished and semi-finished                   Whereas in view of the ad hoc measures agreed between
industrial products covered by Chapters 25 to 99 of the               the Community and Sri Lanka in respect of coir manu­
Common Customs Tariff which originate in developing                   factures and between the Community and Thailand in
countries;                                                            respect of jute manufactures, an equivalent preferential
                                                                      tariff scheme may be adjusted as regards these two
Whereas the offer made by the Community includes a                    countries;
clause stating that the Community drew up the offer on
the assumption that all the main industrialized countries            Whereas, in accordance with Protocol 23 to the Act of
which are members of the OECD would participate in                    Accession (3 ), the generalized tariff preference scheme
granting preferences and would make similar efforts in                became fully applicable in the new Member States on
this direction; whereas, moreover, it is evident from the             1 January 1974 ;
conclusions worked out in UNCTAD that this offer,
while being of a temporary nature, does not constitute a             Whereas the benefit of these suspensions should be re­
binding commitment and, in particular, may be                        stricted to the said products originating in India, Ban­
withdrawn wholly or in part at a later date ; whereas                gladesh, Thailand and Sri Lanka, the concept of 'origi­
this possibility may be adopted inter alia with a view to            nating products' being determined in accordance with
remedying any unfavourable situations which might                    the procedure laid down in Article 14 of Council Regu­
arise in the ACP States following the implementation of              lation (EEC) No 802/68 of 27 June 1968 on the com­
the generalized preference scheme;                                   mon definition of the concept of the origin of
                                                                     goods (4),
 Whereas, however, as regards jute and coir products,
 the said offer includes the elimination of customs duties
 only where special arrangements have been made with                 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
 the developing exporting countries;
Whereas the Agreements concluded between the                                                     Article 1
Community and India on jute and coir manufactures
expired on 31 December 1975 ; whereas pending the                     1 . From 1 January to 31 December 1978 , the Com­
conclusion of a new Agreement with this country and                   mon Customs Tariff duties on the products listed
with particular reference to terms enabling the special               hereinafter shall be suspended, at the following preferen­
arrangements referred to above to be put into effect, the             tial rates :
 (*) OJ No C 266 , 7. 11 . 1977, p. 16 .
 (2) Opinion delivered on 26/27 October 1977 (not yet pub­            (3 ) OJ No L 73 , 27. 3 . 1972 , p. 14 .
     lished in the Official Journal).                                 (4) OJ No L 148 , 28 . 6 . 1968 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 324/94                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                    19 . 12 . 77
                   CCT                                                                                       Prefential
                  heading                                         Description                               rate of duty
                    No                                                                                           %
                  57.06           Yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading No 57.03                0
                  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 m2 :
                                         I. Less than 310 g                                                       0
                                        II. Not less than 310 g but not more than 500 g                           0
                                      III. More than 500 g                                                        0
                                  B. Of a width of more than 150 cm                                               0
                  58.02           Other carpets, carpeting, rugs, mats and matting and 'Kelem',
                                  'Schumacks' and ' Karamanie' rugs and the like (made up or
                                  not):
                                  A. Carpets, carpeting, rugs, mats and matting:
                                      ex      I. Coir mats and matting, and tufted carpets of
                                                 jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading No
                                                 57.03 and of coir                                                0
                                      ex 11. Carpets, carpeting, rugs, mats and matting, of
                                                 jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading No
                                                 57.03                                                            0
               ex 59.04           Twine, cordage, ropes and cables, plaited or not, of jute or of
                                  other textile bast fibres of heading No 57.03                                   0
                  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                              0
                                            b) Of fabric weighing not less than 310 g/m2 but not
                                                 more than 500 g/ m 2                                             0
                                            c) Of fabric weighing more than 500 g/m2                              0
2. The benefit of the suspensions referred to in para­                    Member States, shall take all necessary measures to
graph 1 shall be restricted to products originating in                    ensure that the foregoing provisions are applied.
India until 31 December 1978 . Products originating in
Bangladesh and Thailand, except coir mats and matting
and tufted carpets of coir, shall also benefit from these
suspensions . Coir mats and matting and tufted carpets                    2 . The Member States shall, on request, inform the
of coir originating in Sri Lanka shall also benefit from                  Commission of imports benefiting under the preceding
the suspensions. For the purposes of This Regulation,                     provisions .
the concept of 'originating products' shall be deter­
mined in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 .
                                                                                                  Article 3
                          Article 2
                                                                          This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
1 . The Commission, in close collaboration with                            1978 .
 ---pagebreak--- 19 . 12 . 77                        Official Journal of the European Communities                            No L 324/95
             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