COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3831/90

of 20 December 1990

applying generalized tariff preferences for 1991 in respect of certain industrial products originating in developing countries<(BLK0)LA ORG="CCF">EN</(BLK0)LA>

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 proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Whereas, in accordance with its offer made within the context of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the European Economic Community opened generalized tariff preferences commencing in 1971, notably in respect of finished and semi-finished industrial products from developing countries; whereas the initial 10-year period of application of this system of preferences ended on 31 December 1980;

Whereas, however, the positive role played by this system in improving access for developing countries to the markets of the preference-giving countries was recognized at the ninth session of the UNCTAD Special Committee on Preferences; whereas it was there agreed that the objectives of the system of generalized preferences would not be fully achieved by the end of 1980, that consequently it should be prolonged beyond the initial period and that an overall review of the system has started in 1990;

Whereas in the interval before the results of this review are reached, the 1990 scheme of generalized preferences should be extended into 1991 as an interim measure, subject to a number of adaptations required by external circumstances;

Whereas, the Community has therefore decided to apply generalized tariff preferences, in the context of the conclusions agreed in UNCTAD in accordance with the intention expressed in the said Committee, in particular by all the preference-giving countries;

Whereas the temporary and non-binding nature of the system means that the offer can be withdrawn wholly or in part at a later date, thus maintaining the possibility of remedying any unfavourable situations which might arise following implementation of the system, including such situations in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP States);

Whereas, since the extension of its generalized tariff preferences scheme for a second 10-year period (1981 to 1990), the Community has decided to modify one of the fundamental characteristics of it to give the beneficiary countries a more equitable access to the preferential advantages; whereas, in order to attain this, the Community had decided to apply a preferential treatment which takes account of the particular situation of each of the beneficiaries and to proceed to a system of individual tariff ceilings for certain sensitive products; whereas the least-developed countries are not subject to ceilings; whereas, ever since then, the annual adaptations of the Community scheme have responded, for the most part, to the double imperative of the differentiation of the preferential advantages and of simplifications; whereas the identification of the products and the countries to treat selectively takes place with regard to the sensitivity of the sectors and to the Community market situation of the products in question as well as consideration of the degree of industrial development and the competitiveness of these countries;

Whereas preferential tariff treatment is applicable to industrial products of Chapters 25 to 49 and 64 to 97 of the Common Customs Tariff, with the exception of products:

- covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community,

- contained in the list of primary products in part 1 of Annex II,

- entitled to exemption from customs duties in the Common Customs Tariff;

Whereas the tariff ceiling arrangements mentioned above must be applied in such a way as to differentiate between products in Annex I; whereas the tariff regimes necessary to implement these arrangements consist, on the one hand, of fixed duty-free amounts for products originating in the most competitive countries and, on the other hand, by means of ceilings for products in Annex I originating in other less competitive countries;

Whereas the other products covered by this Regulation should as a general rule, be made subject to surveillance for essentially statistical purposes;

Whereas, since the intermediate revision of the scheme for the years 1986 to 1990, the Community has established that:

- the latter responds satisfactorily to the fixed objectives,

- the beneficiary countries continue, however, to use the preferential advantages in an unequal manner,

- the objectives of the scheme have been reached in certain cases by the most competitive beneficiary countries;

Whereas, on the basis of these considerations, the Community has decided:

- to maintain for the second half of the decade the fundamental characteristics of the scheme, notably the grant, within certain limits, of the total suspension of custom duties,

- to accentuate the differentiation of the preferential advantages from which the most competitive countries benefit and to enlarge at the same time the preferential access to the least competitive countries;

Whereas the products/countries, to which a 50 % reduction in preferential amounts applies, following the differentiation process started in 1986, are marked by two asterisks in Annex I to this Regulation;

Whereas the reasons that justified the differentiation remain valid and whereas the maintenance of preferential benefit for the most competitive countries is not justified and a redistribution of the supply is necessary; whereas it is appropriate to pursue the differentiation started in 1990 and to initiate the suppression of the preferential benefit for certain countries for five additional products per country, designated by a footnote, and which have previously been reduced by 50 %;

Whereas, however, in the multilateral trade negotiations, in accordance with paragraph 6 of the Tokyo Declaration, the Community reaffirmed that special treatment should, whenever possible, be granted to the least developed among the developing countries; whereas, therefore, preferential imports of products originating in the least developed of the developing countries listed in Annex IV to this Regulation should not be subject to fixed duty free amounts or Community tariff ceilings;

Whereas the unification of Germany leads to an increase in the level of consumption in the Community, and consequently the preferential amounts and the reference base should be increased by a flat rate;

Whereas it is necessary on account of the introduction of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System in 1988 to take that year into account for the purpose of calculating the reference bases used in examing the situation of preferential imports of other products covered by this regulation;

Whereas the reference bases for 1991 correspond in general to 6 % of the total imports into the Community in 1988 of each of the products concerned originating in a third country; whereas products subject to reference bases corresponding to 2 % only of the said importations are indicated in part 3 of Annex II;

Whereas such tariff exemptions should be reserved for products originating in the countries or territories under consideration, the concept of 'originating products` being determined by Regulation (EEC) No 693/88 (1);

Whereas Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia have seen their economic situation decline to the point where they face similar problems to those countries to which the generalized preferences have applied in the past; whereas they should therefore benefit, on a transitional basis, from the system of generalized preferences in order to increase their export earnings with a view to stimulating their economic development, to promote their industrialization and to accelerate their rate of growth;

Whereas, on 8 November 1990, the Commission recommended to the Council that it authorize it to negotiate European Agreements with those three countries providing for the progressive establishment of a free-trade area; whereas, this being the case, those countries should benefit from the generalized preferential arrangements in 1991 until tariff concessions are granted under those Agreements;

Whereas the economic situation of Bulgaria is similar to that of the three aforementioned countries; whereas it should therefore also benefit from the preferential arrangements in 1991;

Whereas the situation in Romania justifies treatment indentical to that granted to the four countries referred to above; whereas equivalent preferential arrangements should consequently be established for that country in 1991;

Whereas it is appropriate to add to the list of beneficiary countries Mongolia, at the request of that country, and Namibia, which has gained its independence;

Whereas the Community preference arrangements applicable to Yugoslavia result exclusively from the Agreement between the Community and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1);

Whereas the Republic of Korea does not treat the Community on an equal footing with other trade partners and whereas it has taken discriminatory measures in respect of the Community in the sphere of the protection of intellectual property; whereas, therefore, it is inappropriate that the Republic of Korea should benefit from the scheme of generalized tariff preferences as long as this situation continues;

Whereas, since 1 March 1986, the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic have applied the Community system of generalized preferences, in compliance with Articles 178 and 365 of the Act of Accession;

Whereas, regarding the fixed duty-free amounts given in Annex I, the method of management was formerly based on an apportionment of most of the amounts between the Member States; whereas the analysis of the utilization of these volumes shows a state of differing situations among the Member States, one or two reaching their individual amounts very quickly, while others disposed of their unused quantities until the end of the exercise; whereas, regarding the fact that they are Community measures and with the view to the achievement of the internal market foreseen by the 'White Paper` for 1992, it is not appropriate to foresee an apportionment among Member States; whereas the new method of management is open, furthermore, to improve the utilization of the said fixed duty-free amounts in that it allows the covering of the needs there where they are seen; whereas it is appropriate, besides, to foresee the possibility for the Member States to effect drawings by reason of quantities corresponding to their needs; whereas it is appropriate in respect of certain highly sensitive products to administer the fixed duty-free amounts over successive periods of six months rather than over a single period of 12 months;

Whereas, in respect of these fixed duty-free amounts, it is necessary in particular to ensure equal and continuous access for all Community importers and to ensure uninterrupted application of the rate laid down for those amounts to all imports of the products concerned into all the Member States until the amounts are used up; whereas, to this end, and in the context of such an arrangement, the actual charges against the amounts could relate only to products entered for free circulation and accompanied by a certificate of origin;

Whereas, if any unused balance of a fixed duty free amount remains in one or other Member State, it is essential that that Member State returns it as soon as possible in order to prevent a part of that amount from remaining unused when it could be used in other Member States;

Whereas, in the case of the Community tariff ceilings listed in Annex I, the desired objectives may be attained by applying a method of administration based on the charging at Community level, against the abovementioned ceilings, of imports of the products concerned as and when these products are entered for free circulation and are accompanied by a certificate of origin; whereas this method of administration must make provision for the reintroduction of the levying of customs duties, in accordance with the appropriate procedures, as soon as the said ceilings are reached at Community level;

Whereas, having regard to the rules applying to the repayment or remission of import or export duties, and in particular to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1430/79 (2) and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3040/83 (3), a procedure should be laid down to regularize imports actually made within the fixed duty-free amounts and preferential tariff limits opened under this Regulation, and thus provision should be made for the Commission to be able to take appropriate measures; whereas, in order that these regularizations do not lead to tariff ceilings being considerably exceeded, it is appropriate to foresee at the same time that the Commission can take measures to stop the import charges;

Whereas, in the case of the products other than those listed in Annex I, provision should be made for the possibility of reintroducing the levying of customs duties in exceptional cases and in accordance with appropriate procedures and rules; whereas, taking into account the necessity of initiating the examination of certain economic factors relating to the importations of a specific product, it is appropriate that the reintroduction of the levying of custom duties is preceded by an appropriate exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission and an exchange of views;

Whereas such methods of administration call for close and particularly rapid cooperation between Member States and the Commission; whereas such cooperation should be particularly close in view of the need for the Commission to be able to take appropriate measures to reintroduce the levying of customs duties when any of the ceiling are reached;

Whereas it is necessary to establish complete statistics on imports admitted in accordance with the provisions of the present Regulation and to apply to the collection, preparation and transmission of these statistics Council Regulations (EEC) No 1736/75 (1) and (EEC) No 3367/87 (2);

Whereas, in order to ensure a better transparency of the system, it is necessary to publish both the annual charges recorded against the tariff measures and the tariff ceilings which have reached the 100 % level;

Whereas, for the purposes of applying this Regulation, the rates of conversion into national currencies of the value in ecus in which the preferential amounts are expressed shall be these fixed on the first working day of October 1989 and they shall remain in force from 1 January to 31 December 1990;

Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are united within and jointly represented by the Benelux Economic Union, all transactions concerning, in particular, the administration of fixed duty-free-amounts may be carried out by any one of its members,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. From 1 January to 31 December 1991 the duties of the Common Customs Tariff shall be totally suspended for products covered by this Regulation.

This Regulation applies to products of Chapters 25 to 49 and 64 to 97 of the Common Customs Tariff, with the exception of products:

- covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community,

- contained in the list of basic products in part 1 of Annex II,

- entitled to exemption from customs duties in the Common Customs Tariff.

For the products of Annex I this tariff suspension shall be accorded within the framework of fixed duty-free amounts and ceilings. The other products covered by this Regulation shall, as a general rule, be subject to

statistical surveillance every three months on the reference base referred to in Article 8.

Spain and Portugal shall apply to the importation of the aforementioned products the customs duties established according to Articles 178 and 365 of the Act of Accession of 1985.

2. The preferences provided for in paragraph 1 shall apply solely:

- to each country or territory listed in column 4 of Annex I, for each of the products or groups of products listed in columns 2 and 3,

- for the same products or groups of products listed in Annex I to every other country or territory listed in Annex III, excepting Yugoslavia,

- to each of the countries or territories listed in Annex III, for other products. As regards Yugoslavia, preference is not granted to products subject to Community tariff ceilings within the framework of the Agreement between the Community and Yugoslavia.The preferential benefit provided for in paragraph 1 is not applicable to countries listed in footnote (d) to Annex I or to countries listed in part 2 of Annex II for the products specified for those countries.

3. The preferences granted by this Regulation are suspended, on a temporary basis, for products originating in the Republic of Korea.

4. The admittance to the preferential benefit system established by this Regulation is subordinated to the definition of origin of the products which is determined by Regulation (EEC) No 693/88.

5. Fixed duty-free amounts, Community tariff ceilings and other tariff limits, shall be administered in accordance with the provisions set out below.

SECTION I

Provisions concerning the administration of fixed duty-free amounts relating to products listed in Annex I

Article 2

The total suspension of customs duties within the framework of the fixed duty-free amounts referred to in Article 1 (1) shall be granted to each country or territory listed in column 4 of Annex I, for the products specified in columns 2 and 3 against the name of the country or territory concerned, together with details in column 5 of the individual amount.

Article 3

The fixed duty-free amounts shall be administered by the Commission.

If an importer presents in a Member State a declaration of entry into free circulation, including a request for

preferential benefit for a product, accompanied by a certificate of origin and subject to a fixed duty-free amount, and if this declaration is accepted by the customs authorities, the Member state concerned shall draw, by means of notification to the Commission, a quantity corresponding to its needs.

The requests for drawing, with the indication of the date of acceptance of the said declarations, must be communicated to the Commission without delay.

The drawings are granted by the Commission following the date of acceptance of the declaration of entry into free circulation by the customs authorities of the Member State concerned, to the extent that the balance of the said amount permits.

If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn, it shall return them as soon as possible to the corresponding fixed amount.

If the quantities requested corresponding to a certain date are greater than the available balance of the fixed duty free amount, allocation shall be made on a pro rata basis with respect to the requested quantities. Member States shall be informed by the Commission of the drawings made.

Article 4

1. The Commission shall keep account of the quantities drawn by the Member States in accordance with Article 3, and, on receiving the notifications of drawings, shall inform each of them of the extent to which the volumes opened have been used up. It shall ensure that the drawing which uses up any of these amounts is limited to the balance available and, to this end, specify the amount to the Member State which proceeds to the last drawing.

The fact that the fixed amounts have been exhausted shall forthwith be brought to the notice of Member States. This communication shall be the subject of a publication in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities ('C` Series).

2. The Member States shall take all the appropriate measures to ensure that the drawings that they effect pursuant to Article 3 may be charged without interruption against the fixed duty-free amounts.

Each Member State shall guarantee free access to these amounts to the importers of the products in question as far as the balance of the volumes opened permits.

Article 5

By 29 February 1992 at the latest, Member States shall notify the Commission of the final total of the quantities charged at 31 December 1991. Up to the limit of the balance remaining, and at the request of the Member States, the Commission shall authorize the Member States to make any necessary regularization of the quantities charged against imports actually made

during the period referred to in Article 1 (1). The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof.

However, for the products appearing in Annex I, for which half-yearly fixed duty-free amounts have been fixed, the date on which the Member States shall notify the final total of quantities charged shall be:

- 31 August 1991 for the fixed amounts applicable from 1 January to 30 June 1991,

- 29 February 1992 for the fixed amounts applicable from 1 July to 31 December 1991.

SECTION II

Provisions concerning the administration of the Community tariff ceilings relating to products listed in Annex I and the reference base relating to products other than those listed in Annex I

Article 6

Subject to Articles 7 and 8 the preferential tariff ceiling arrangements shall be accorded for products in Annex I, to each of the countries or territories listed in Annex III, other than those listed in column 4 and Yugoslavia. The limits of these ceilings are specified in column 6 against each product or group of products.

Article 7

As soon as the individual ceilings, as fixed in accordance with Article 6 and which are laid down for imports into the Community of products originating in any of the countries or territories referred to in Article 1 (2), are reached at Community level, the levying of customs duties on imports of the products in question originating in each of the countries and territories concerned may be reintroduced until the end of the period referred to in Article 1 (1).

Article 8

Where the preferential importation of products other than those listed in Annex I, originating in one or more beneficiary countries, causes or threatens to cause economic difficulties in the Community, or in a region of the Community, the levying of customs duties may be reintroduced, once the Commission has had an appropriate exchange of information and an exchange of views with the Member States.

The reference base to be considered when examining the situation underlying the damage shall be, as a general rule, equal to 6 % of the total imports into the Community, originating from third countries in 1988. The said reference base has been increased by 5 %.

Article 9

1. The Commission shall reintroduce the levying of customs duties in respect of any of the countries or territories referred to in Article 1 (2), under the conditions laid down in Articles 7 and 8, by means of a Regulation.

In the case of such reintroductions, Spain and Portugal shall reintroduce the levying of customs duties that they shall apply to third countries on the date in question.

2. By means of a Regulation, the Commission may, even after 31 December 1991, take measures to stop quantities being charged against one or other preferential tariff limit, if, particularly as a result of regularizations of imports actually made during the period referred to in Article 1 (1), these limits are exceeded.

The Member State which makes such regularization shall communicate the figures of import charges relating to this as and when it occurs to the Commission. The Commission, on receiving these communications, shall inform the other Member States thereof.

Article 10

Articles 7, 8 and 9 shall not apply to the imports in question originating in the countries set out in Annex IV.

SECTION III

General provisions

Article 11

1. For the purposes of the application of this Regulation, the rates of conversion into national currencies of the value in ecus in which the preferential amounts are expressed shall be those obtaining on 1 October 1990 and they shall remain in force from 1 January to 31 December 1991 (1).

2. Imports of the products in question shall be charged against the preferential tariff limits as and when the products are entered for free circulation, on the basis of the customs value of the said products, accompanied by a certificate of origin in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 1 (4).

3. Goods may be charged against a ceiling or other preferential tariff limit only if the certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 2 is submitted before the date on which the levying of duties is reintroduced.

4. The extent to which the fixed duty-free amounts, ceilings or other preferential tariff limits have been used up shall be determined at Community level on the basis of the imports charged in accordance with paragraph 2.

Article 12

1. The Member States shall, within six weeks of the end of each quarter at the latest, forward to the Statistical Office of the European Communities the relevant statistical data for the products entered for free circulation in the quarter concerned under generalized preferential treatment in accordance with the provisions of the present Regulation. This data, transmitted according to the codes of the combined nomenclature and, where applicable of the Taric, shall show the country of origin, value, quantity and any supplementary units as defined by Regulations (EEC) No 1736/75 and (EEC) No 3367/87.

2. However, in the case of products in Annex I subject to ceilings, the Member States shall forward to the Commission, at its request and by the 11th day of each month at the latest, the list of charges effected during the previous months.

At the Commission`s request, when the level of 75 % of the ceiling is reached, the Member States shall forward to the Commission the lists of charges every 10 days; these lists shall be forwarded within five days from the end of each 10-day-period.

3. The Commission shall ensure the publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities ('C` Series) of the tariff ceilings as and when they reach 100 % utilization.

It shall see that the Statistical Office of the European Communities ensures the publication of the annual state of import charges.

Article 13

The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure that this Regulation is complied with.

Article 14

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1991.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 December 1990.

For the CouncilThe PresidentG. RUFFOLO

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PART 2 (a)

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Council Regulation (EEC) No 3831/90 of 20 December 1990 applying generalized tariff preferences for 1991 in respect of certain industrial products originating in developing countries

Corrected by