CELEX: 21977A0728(01)
Language: en
Date: 1977-07-18 00:00:00
Title: Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on trade in textile products

No L 188/2                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28 . 7. 77
                                                      AGREEMENT
             between the European Economic Community and the Socialist Federal Republic
                                      of Yugoslavia on trade in textile products
             THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
             of the one part, and
             THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA,
             of the other part,
             DESIRING to ensure the orderly and equitable development of trade in textile products between the
             European Economic Community (hereinafter referred to as 'the Community') and Yugoslavia, and
             having regard to their respective levels of development,
             HAVING regard to the provisions of the Arrangement regarding international trade in textiles here­
             inafter referred to as 'the Geneva Arrangement'), and in particular Article 4 thereof,
             HAVE DECIDED, in a spirit of mutual cooperation and in conformity with the Geneva Arrange­
             ment, to conclude this Agreement and to this end have designated as their Plenipotentiaries :
             THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES :
             THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA :
             WHO HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS :
                         Article 1                                of its receipt to any request made by Yugoslavia for
                                                                  such re-allocation . It is understood that any re-alloca­
                                                                  tion so effected would not need to be confined within
1 . The parties recognize and confirm that, subject               any limits set in flexibility provisions established else­
to the provisions of this Agreement and without preju­            where in this Agreement.
dice to their rights and obligations under the General
Agreement on tariffs and trade, the conduct of their
mutual trade in textile products shall be governed by
the Geneva Arrangement.                                                                     Article 2
2. This Agreement shall apply to trade in those
categories of textile products, originating in and                1 . The Community undertakes, in respect of the
coming from Yugoslavia, set out in Annexes I and II               categories of textile products to which this Agreement
to this Agreement.                                                applies, and subject to the satisfactory operation of
                                                                  this Agreement, not to introduce new quantitative
                                                                  restrictions, to suspend immediately the application of
3 . Yugoslavia shall establish quantitative limits on             any at present in force and to refrain from invoking
exports to the Community in accordance with the                   Article 3 of the Geneva Arrangement provided that
table in Annex I.                                                 exports to the Community of such textile products
                                                                  originating in and coming from Yugoslavia do not
                                                                  exceed the quantitative limits established under this
4.    Quantities of the quota shares set out in Annex I           Agreement.
not taken up by a Member State of the Community
may be re-allocated to another Member State within
the limits fixed by the Community in accordance                   2. The Yugoslav authorities undertake to take all
with the procedures in force in the Community. The                appropriate measures to ensure that the agreed quantit­
Community undertakes to respond within four weeks                 ative limits are not exceeded.
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 7. 77                         Official Journal of the European Communities                           No L 188 /3
3. The Community shall not object to the agreed              2. The Community may, whenever imports of
quantitative limits being exceeded in the event of addi­     products originating in and coming from Yugoslavia
tional demand on the Community market, on the                and listed in Annex II cause real risks of market
understanding that the additional quantities shall be        disruption (within the meaning of Annex A to the
fixed by common agreement between both parties.              Geneva Arrangement), request consultations with
                                                             Yugoslavia with regard to these products in accor­
                                                             dance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 5.
                        Article 3
                                                             3.     If it is ascertained that there is an excessive
1 . Imports into the Community of textile products           concentration of trade in a product within a category
to which this Agreement applies which are for immed­         for which quantitative limits have been established by
iate re-export or for inward processing and subsequent       the Community under the terms of this Agreement or
re-export outside the Community shall not be subject         which is otherwise subject to the provisions of this
to the quantitative limits established under this Agree­     Article and if, in the opinion of the Community, there
ment, provided they are entered as such under an             is a risk of such concentration causing real market
administrative system of control in force for this           disruption in respect of this product, the Community
purpose within the Community.                                may request consultations with Yugoslavia under the
                                                             same procedure as that specified in paragraph 5.
2. Where Community authorities ascertain that
imports referred to in paragraph 1 have been retained        4. The request for consultations referred to in para­
for use within the Community, the latter will notify         graphs 2 and 3 shall be followed within a reasonable
the Government of Yugoslavia quarterly of the                period (and at the latest within 21 days) by a report on
amounts involved. Yugoslavia shall in such cases and         the conditions on the Community market which, in
at the request of the Community set off such amounts         the opinion of the Community, justify such a request.
against the quantitative limit or limits in question for     This report shall contain information demonstrating
the current Agreement year or for the following year.        the existence of real risks of disruption to this market
                                                             (within the meaning of Annex A to the Geneva Arran­
3. Where the competent authorities in the Commu­             gement). The consultation procedures referred to in
nity ascertain under an administrative system of             this paragraph shall be used in moderation and only
control in force that imports of textile products            in the event of substantial changes in the level of
covered by this Agreement have been set off against          exports of Yugoslav products to the Community and
quantitative limits established under this Agreement         shall be applied with due regard for the principles and
but have been subsequently re-exported outside the           aims of the Geneva Arrangement.
Community, the competent authorities concerned will
inform the Yugoslav authorities of the quantities            5. Pending a mutually satisfactory conclusion of the
involved and authorize imports of equivalent quanti­         consultations provided for in paragraph 2, Yugoslavia
ties, which shall not be set off against the quantitative    shall limit its exports of the product or products in
limits under the Agreement.                                  question to the Community to the higher of the
                                                             following two levels :
4. Re-imports into the Community of textile
products to which this Agreement applies carried out          (i) one hundred and seven per cent ( 107 %) of the
after working or processing in Yugoslavia of products              exports of the product or products to the Commu­
which have been temporarily exported by the Commu­                 nity during the most recent 12-month period
nity in accordance with the procedures in force in the             preceding the month in which the request for
Community shall not be subject to the quantitative                 consultations was made for which statistics are
limits established under the Agreement.                            available for the two parties, or
                                                             (ii) the average annual exports of      the product or
                        Article 4                                 products from Yugoslavia to the     Community for
                                                                  any three-year period within         the six years
                                                                  preceding the month in which        the request for
1.    Both Parties agree to enter promptly into consul­           consultations was made for which statistics are
tations with each other, at the request of either and in          available for the two parties.
conformity with the Geneva Arrangement, on any
matter concerning their trade in textile products and
in particular on any problems arising from this Agree­       6. The Community shall authorize the importation
ment. Consultations held under this Article shall be         of goods dispatched from Yugoslavia before the date
approached by both parties in a spirit of compromise         on which the request for consultations was made.
and with a view to the conciliation of differences           Moreover, the Community shall examine attentively
existing between them .                                      and give its favourable consideration to arrangements
 ---pagebreak--- No L 188 /4                         Official Journal of the European Communities                             28 . 7. 77
for goods for which export authorizations have been           (iii) within heading No 55.09 (other woven fabrics of
issued on the basis of bona fide contracts and letters              cotton), to heading No ex 55.09 (cotton fabrics,
of credit. If the Yugoslav authorities consider that the            other than unbleached or bleached), provided that
application of these provisions gives rise to problems              such transfers do not exceed 7 % of the quantita­
which damage the trade interests in question, Yugo­                 tive limit for the heading to which they are made.
slavia may request consultations with the Community
in accordance with paragraph 2.                               4. The flexibility provisions set out in paragraphs 1 ,
                                                              2 and 3 must not, in any given Agreement year, result
7. Consultations shall be held at the request of              in the quantitative limit for any category being
Yugoslavia in order to review the need for the mainte­        exceeded by more than 1 5 % of the quantitative limit
nance, modification or abolition of any quantitative          for that heading for that Agreement year.
limits established under this Article, whenever the
market conditions which led to the establishment of           5. The flexibility provisions set out in paragraphs 1 ,
such limits no longer prevail .                               2 and 3 may be applied by Yugoslavia only following
                                                              written notification to the Community by the
8 . In the event of the parties being unable to reach         Yugoslav authorities.
agreement in the consultations provided for in this
Article, either of them may, as a signatory to the
                                                                                        Article 6
Geneva Arrangement, refer the matter to the Textiles
Surveillance Body in accordance with Article 1 1 of the
Geneva Arrangement. Either party choosing such a              Yugoslavia shall make every endeavour to ensure that
course of action shall immediately notify the other           exports of all textile products for which quantitative
party of its intention .                                      limits may be established under this Agreement are
                                                              spaced out as evenly as possible over each Agreement
                                                              year, due account being taken, in particular, of
                          Article 5                           seasonal factors.
1 . Portions of any quantitative limit established                                      Article 7
under this Agreement which are not used during any
Agreement year may be carried over and added to the
corresponding quantitative limits for the following           The two parties agree to exchange all relevant informa­
year, within a limit of 10 % of the latter.                   tion concerning their mutual trade in textile products
                                                              in order to ensure the smooth functioning of this
2. Within a limit of 10 % of each quantitative limit          Agreement.
established under this Agreement, advance deliveries
shall be authorized from the corresponding quantita­                                    Article 8
tive limit in force for the following Agreement year.
Amounts dispatched in advance shall be deducted
from the quantitative limits for the products in ques­         1 . The parties agree that the quantitative limits esta­
tion for the following year.                                  blished under this Agreement shall be managed under
                                                              a system of double checking, the details of which are
                                                              set out in Annex III .
3 . Within any one Agreement year, unused
portions of quantitative limits established under this        2. Yugoslavia therefore undertakes to furnish the
Agreement may be transferred to another quantitative
limit under the conditions set out below :
                                                              Community with precise statistical information quar­
                                                              terly on all export authorizations issued by the
  (i) to heading No 55.09 (other woven fabrics of             Yugoslav authorities for all categories of textile
      cotton) and, therein, to heading No ex 55.09            products exported to the Community covered by this
      (cotton fabrics, other than unbleached or               Agreement.
      bleached) from heading No ex 62.02 B (bed linen,
      table linen , toilet linen and kitchen linen , of       3 . The Community shall likewise forward to the
      cotton ; curtains and other furnishing articles of      Yugoslav authorities quarterly precise statistical infor­
      cotton), provided that such transfers do not            mation on imports of such products into the Commu­
      exceed 10 % of the quantitative limit to which          nity.
      they are made,
 (ii) to subheading ex 62.02 B (bed linen, table linen,                                 Article 9
      toilet linen and kitchen linen , of cotton ; curtains
      and other furnishing articles of cotton) from            1.     Both parties shall take all appropriate measures
      heading No 55.09 (other woven fabrics of cotton),       to ensure that the traditional trade flows and commer­
      provided that such transfers do not exceed 7 % of       cial practices are maintained between the Community
      the quantitative limit to which they are made,          and Yugoslavia.
 ---pagebreak---  28 . 7. 77                            Official Journal of the European Communities                         No L 188 /5
 2.     Should either party inform the other that the            tions laid down in that Treaty, and, on the other hand,
 functioning of this Agreement has given rise to diffi­          to the territory of the Socialist Federal Republic of
 culties regarding the maintenance of existing commer­           Yugoslavia.
 cial relations between Community importers and
 Yugoslav suppliers the parties agree to consult                                        Article 12
 together in accordance with the procedures set out in
 Article 4 ( 1 ).                                                 1 . This Agreement shall enter into force on the
                                                                 first day of the month following the date on which
                          Article 10                             the parties have notified each other of the completion
                                                                 of the procedures necessary for that purpose. It shall
 Without prejudice to the other provisions of this               remain applicable until 31 December 1977.
Agreement, Yugoslavia agrees that the quantitative
 restrictions on imports into Ireland of the following           2.    This Agreement shall be applicable from 1
 textile products from Yugoslavia may be maintained              January 1976.
 until 30 June 1977 at the latest :                              3. Either party may at any time propose modifica­
      Brussels                                                   tions to this Agreement or denounce it provided that
       tariff                     Description                    notice is given at least 120 days before the expiry of
   nomenclature
                                                                 any 12-month period. In the latter event the Agree­
                                                                 ment will come to an end at the expiry of the said
55.05             Cotton yarn, not put up for retail sale        12-month period.
55.06             Cotton yarn, put up for retail sale            4. The Annexes to this Agreement shall form an
55.07             Cotton gauze                                   integral part thereof.
                                                                                        Article 13
                          Article 11
                                                                 This Agreement shall be drawn up in two copies in
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the              the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian
territories in which the Treaty establishing the Euro­           and Serbo-Croat languages, each of these texts being
pean Economic Community is applied, on the condi­                equally authentic.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 188 /6                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                        28 . 7. 77
                                                           ANNEX I
            Products in respect of which Yugoslavia will exercise voluntary restraint 'vis-à-vis' the
                         Community as a whole from the entry into force of the Agreement
            The Community hereby informs Yugoslavia that the quantitative limits for the textile products listed
            below will be allocated between the Member States as follows :
                                                                                                         Quantitative limit
                                                                                                             (tonnes)
     CCT
    heading        NIMEXE code                    Description                    Member State
      No                                                                                              1976               1977
   55.09      01 to 98             Other woven fabrics of cotton           Germany                    2 774              3  097
                                                                           France                       863              1   012
                                                                           Italy                      6 443              6  475
                                                                           Benelux                    1 264              1   367
                                                                           United Kingdom               525                 675
                                                                           Ireland                        10                  15
                                                                           Denmark                      900                 905
                                                                           EEC                       12 779             13 546
of which                           Cotton fabrics, other than
ex 55.09                           unbleached or bleached                  Germany                      459                 497
                                                                           France                        94                 116
                                                                           Italy                        372                 374
                                                                           Benelux                      238                 244
                                                                           United Kingdom                21                   31
                                                                           Ireland                         4                   5
                                                                           Denmark                      237                 238
                                                                           EEC                        1 425              1 505
ex 62.02 B    1 1 ; 41 ; 43 ; 47 ; Bed linen , table linen , toilet linen  Germany                      276                 299
             71 ; 73 ; 81          and kitchen linen, of cotton ; curtains France                       175                 189
                                   and    other furnishing articles, of    Italy                        186                 193
                                   cotton                                  Benelux                      190                 191
                                                                           United Kingdom                21                   31
                                                                           Ireland                         5                   6
                                                                           Denmark                       99                 100
                                                                           EEC                          952              1 009
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 7. 77                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                      No L 188 /7
                                                          ANNEX II
                  Products subject to the special consultation procedure provided for <n Article 4
                      CCT
                                                                        Description
                   heading No
                55.05                 Cotton yarn, not put up for retail sale
                56.07                 Woven fabrics of man-made fibres (discontinuous or waste)
           ex 60.03                   Men's socks
                60.04                 Under garments, knitted or crocheted, not elastic or rubberized
           ex 60.05 A                 Knitted or crocheted outer garments
                61.01                 Men's and boys' outer garments
                61.02                 Women's, girls' and infants' outer garments
                61.03                 Men's and boys' under garments, including collars, shirt fronts and cuffs
           ex 62.02                   Bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen, other than of cotton ;
                                      curtains, net curtains and other furnishing articles (other than the products
                                      listed under subheading ex 62.02 B in Annex I)
                                                          ANNEX III
           As agreed between the parties in Article 8 of the Agreement, the management of textile imports
           from Yugoslavia will be based on a system of double checking. The details of this system have been
           agreed between the parties and are set out below.
           The competent authorities in the Community will, automatically and without delay, accept imports
           of textile products on submission of the importer's application together with the original export
           licence issued by the Yugoslav authorities. The competent authorities in the Community will be
           entitled to request the presentation of an export authorization in respect of goods originating in
           Yugoslavia of the categories shown in Annex I and, where Article 4 has been invoked, in Annex II.
           These export authorizations will be issued by the Yugoslav Government authorities up to the total
           amount of the agreed quantitative limits .
           The export authorization must specify :
           1 . destination ;
           2. serial number ;
           3. importer's name and address ;
           4. exporter's name and address ;
           5 . net weight (in tonnes) and value ;
           6. category and classification of product ;
           7. certificate issued by the Yugoslav authorities showing that the quantity has been debited against
               the agreed quantitative limit for exports to the Community or, where appropriate, is for immed­
               iate re-export or for processing and subsequent re-export outside the Community.
           The competent authorities in the Community will not raise difficulties in the event of a discrepancy
           between the weight indicated on the export authorization and the shipment or import weight
           provided it is within reasonable limits, while the Yugoslav authorities, for their part, will endeavour to
           keep any discrepancies to a minimum .
 ---pagebreak--- No L 188 /8                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                   28 . 7. 77
            In the event of total or partial withdrawal of an export authorization the Yugoslav authorities will
            notify the competent authorities in the Community of such total or partial withdrawal. The compe­
            tent authorities in the Community will take the appropriate measures in accordance with their
            existing administrative provisions.
            The Yugoslav authorities will forward to the competent authorities in the Community, via the embas­
            sies of the Member States of the Community and directly to the Commission, quarterly returns
            showing the total net weight in tonnes covered by the export authorization issued against the ceilings
            for exports to the Community, as well as the allocation of these authorizations among the Member
            States of the Community for each category of textile products exported to the Community subject to
            a quantitative limit under the Agreement.
                                                          ANNEX IV
            Exchange of letters concerning the Agreement between the European Economic Commu­
                 nity and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on trade in textile products
                                                                                                  Brussels,
            Madam ,
            In concluding the negotiations held between the Community and the Government of Yugoslavia
            which have led this day to the signing of the Agreement on trade in textile products, the Community
            has the honour to inform you of the following :
            As stated in Article 3 (4), the Agreement does not apply to re-imports from Yugoslavia of textile arti­
            cles produced by the working or processing of products temporarily exported from the Community.
            The Community recognizes the economic importance of such working and processing operations for
            Yugoslavia. While reserving, therefore, the right to adopt unilateral measures governing this trade by
            subjecting it to authorization the Community will endeavour to maintain such trade channels as exist
            under the current arrangements .
            I should be grateful for your confirmation of your Government's agreement with the above.
            Please accept, madam , the assurance of my highest consideration .
                                                                          For the delegation of
                                                                   the European Economic Community
                                                                                                    Brussels,
            Sir,
            I have the honour to acknowlege receipt of your letter of today's date worded as follows :
                 'In concluding the negotiations held between the Community and the Government of Yugoslavia
                 which have led this day to the signing of the Agreement on trade in textile products, the Commu­
                 nity has the honour to inform you of the following :
                 As stated in Article 3 (4), the Agreement does not apply to re-imports from Yugoslavia of textile
                 articles produced by the working or processing of products temporarily exported from the
                 Community.
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 7. 77                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No L 188 /9
               The Community recognizes the economic importance of such working and processing operations
               for Yugoslavia. While reserving, therefore, the right to adopt unilateral measures governing this
               trade by subjecting it to authorization, the Community will endeavour to maintain such trade
               channels as exist under the current arrangements.
               I should be grateful for your confirmation of your Government's agreement with the above.'
           I have the honour to confirm the agreement of my Government with the above.
           Please accept, sir, the assurance of my highest consideration .
                                                                           For the delegation
                                                                   of the Socialist Federal Republic
                                                                             of Yugoslavia