Commission Regulation (EC) No 1555/98 of 17 July 1998 establishing administrative procedures for the 1999 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1555/98 of 17 July 1998 establishing administrative procedures for the 1999 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 520/94 of 7 March 1994 establishing a Community procedure for administering quantitative quotas (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 138/96 (2), and in particular Articles 2(3) and (4), 13 and 24 thereof,
Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 519/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports from certain third countries and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 1765/82, (EEC) No 1766/82 and (EEC) No 3420/83 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1138/98 (4), introduced annual quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China listed in Annex II to that Regulation; whereas the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 520/94 are applicable to those quotas;
Whereas the Commission accordingly adopted Regulation (EC) No 738/94 (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 983/96 (6), laying down general rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 520/94; whereas these provisions apply to the administration of the above quotas subject to the provisions of this Regulation;
Whereas certain characteristics of China's economy, the seasonal nature of some of the products and the time needed for transport mean that orders for products subject to quota are generally placed before the beginning of the quota year; whereas it is therefore important to ensure that administrative constraints do not impede the realization of the planned imports; whereas in order not to affect the continuity of trade flows, the arrangements for allocating and administering the 1999 quotas should accordingly be adopted before the start of the quota year;
Whereas after examination of the different administrative methods provided for by Regulation (EC) No 520/94, the method based on traditional trade flows should be adopted; whereas under this method the quotas are divided into two portions, one of which is reserved for traditional importers and the other for other applicants;
Whereas this has proved to be the best way of ensuring the continuity of business for the Community importers concerned and avoiding any disturbance of trade flows;
Whereas, however, the introduction of a Community system must ensure progressive access by non-traditional importers; whereas in the light of all these factors a balance must therefore be sought in determining the portions to be allocated to the two categories of importers; whereas, to this end, it is appropriate that the portion set aside for non-traditional importers should be increased as compared to 1998;
Whereas the reference period used for allocating the portion of the quota set aside for traditional importers in earlier Regulations on the administration of these quotas should be updated to ensure open access to the quotas; whereas in order to allow a greater flexibility to the benefit of traditional importers it is considered appropriate to allow them to set their reference period as either 1996 or 1997, which are the most recent years representative of the normal trend of trade flows in the products in question; whereas traditional importers must therefore prove that they have imported products originating in China and covered by the quotas in question in the year 1996 or 1997;
Whereas it has been found in the past that the method provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94, which is based on the order in which applications are received, may not be an appropriate way of allocating that portion of the quota reserved for non-traditional importers; whereas, consequently, in accordance with Article 2(4) of Regulation (EC) No 520/94, it is appropriate to provide for allocation in proportion to the quantities requested, on the basis of a simultaneous examination of import licence applications actually lodged, in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94;
Whereas in order to ensure that the quotas can be efficiently allocated and used, any speculative applications should be excluded, and it is furthermore necessary to allocate economically significant quantities; whereas to this end the amount that any non-traditional importer may request should be restricted to a set volume or value;
Whereas for the purposes of quota allocation, a time limit must be set for the submission of licence applications by traditional and other importers;
Whereas the Member States must inform the Commission of the import licence applications received, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94; whereas the information about traditional importers' previous imports must be expressed in the same units as the quota in question;
Whereas in view of the special nature of transactions concerning products subject to quota, and in particular the time needed for transport, the import licences should expire on 31 December 1999;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the committee for the administration of quotas set up pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94,