Without prejudice to Article 2 (5) and to Article 13, this Regulation shall apply to imports of textile products listed in Annex I, originating in third countries with which the Community has concluded bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrangements as listed in Annex II. The relevant provisions of this Regulation shall also apply to imports of textile and clothing products originating in China in respect of Article 10a.
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 of 12 October 1993 on common rules for imports of certain textile products from third countries
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 of 12 October 1993 on common rules for imports of certain textile products from third countries
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,
Whereas the Community has accepted the extension of the Arrangement regarding international trade in textiles on the conditions laid down in the Protocol for the extension of the Arrangement and the conclusions adopted by the GATT Textiles Committee on 9 December 1992 and annexed to that Protocol;
Whereas the Community has negotiated an extension for three years of the existing agreements on trade in textile products with a number of supplier countries;
Whereas the agreements in question establish Community quantitative limits for 1993, 1994 and 1995;
Whereas the Community has negotiated new bilateral agreements and other arrangements with a number of supplier countries;
Whereas the Community has negotiated agreements in the form of Additional Protocols on trade in textile products to the Europe Agreements and/or the Interim Agreements, with a number of supplier countries;
Whereas it is necessary to ensure that the purpose or each of these agreements, protocols and other arrangements should not be evaded by deflection of trade; whereas it is therefore necessary to determine the way in which the origin of the products in question is checked and the methods by which the appropriate administrative cooperation is achieved;
Whereas compliance with the quantitative limits on exports established under the agreements and protocols is ensured by a double-checking system; whereas the effectiveness of these measures depends on the Community's establishing a set of Community quantitative limits to be applied to imports of all products from supplier countries whose exports are subject to quantitative limits;
Whereas products placed in a free zone or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system) should not be subject to such Community quantitative limits;
Whereas agreements concluded by the Community with certain third countries contain special provisions for imports of folklore and handloom products into the Community, and it is therefore necessary to lay down appropriate procedures for implementing their provisions;
Whereas provision should be made for special rules for products re-imported under the arrangements for economic outward processing and for the management of the relevant Community quantitative limits;
Whereas, in order to ensure that Community quantitative limits are not exceeded, it is necessary to establish a special management procedure whereby the competent authorities of the Member States will not issue import licences before obtaining prior confirmation from the Commission that there are still amounts available of the quantitative limit in question;
Whereas it is also necessary to introduce efficient and rapid procedures for altering Community quantitative limits and their allocation to take account of the development of trade flows, needs for additional imports and the Community's obligations under the agreements negotiated with supplier countries;
Whereas, in the case of products not subject to quantitative limits, the agreements provide for a consultation procedure whereby, in the event that the volume of imports of a given category of products into the Community exceeds a certain threshold, agreement can be reached with the supplier country on the introduction of quantitative limits; whereas the supplier countries also undertake to suspend or limit their exports from the date of a request for such consultations, at the level indicated by the Community; whereas if no agreement is reached with the supplier country within the period stipulated, the Community may introduce quantitative limits at a specific annual or multiannual level;
Whereas, in certain exceptional circumstances, it may be more appropriate for such quantitative limits to be applied at the regional level rather than at the Community level and it is therefore necessary to lay down efficient procedures for deciding upon appropriate measures which do not disrupt unduly the functioning of the internal market;
Whereas the agreements, protocols or arrangements with certain countries foresee the possibility for the Community to subject textiles and clothing imports to a system of surveillance and it is therefore necessary to lay down the administrative procedures for introducing and implementing such surveillance measures;
Whereas, as a result of the completion of the internal market for textiles and clothing products on 1 January 1993, Community quantitative limits are no longer broken down into Member States' shares; whereas the agreements with third countries provide for consultations in the event of any problems which may arise as a result of regional concentration of direct imports into the Community and it is necessary to lay down an effective procedure for implementing these provisions;
Whereas the agreements, protocols and other arrangements with certain third countries provide for a system of cooperation between the Community and the supplier countries with the aim of preventing circumvention by means of transhipment, rerouting or other means; whereas a consultation procedure is established under which an agreement can be reached with the supplier country in question on an equivalent adjustment to the relevant quantitative limit when it appears that the agreement has been circumvented; whereas supplier countries also agreed to take the necessary measures to ensure that any adjustments could be rapidly applied; whereas, in the absence of agreement with a supplier country within the time limit provided, the Community may, where clear evidence of circumvention is provided, apply the equivalent adjustment;
Whereas in order inter alia to comply with time limits set in the agreements it is necessary to lay down a rapid and efficient procedure for introducing such quantitative limits and concluding such agreements with the supplier countries;
Whereas the provisions of this Regulation must be applied in conformity with the Community's international obligations, in particular with those arising from the abovementioned agreements with supplier countries,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1 Scope
1.
2.
For the purposes of paragraph 1, textile products falling within Section XI of the combined nomenclature shall be classified in categories as set out in Annex I.
3.
The classification of products listed in Annex I shall be based on the combined nomenclature (CN), without prejudice to Article 2 (6). The procedures for the application of this paragraph are laid down in Annex III.
4.
Subject to this Regulation, the importation into the Community of the textile products referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be subject to quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect.
5.
The origin of the products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined in accordance with the rules in force in the Community.
6.
The requirements regarding proof of origin of the products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be as laid down in Annex III and in the relevant Community legislation in force. However, proof of origin presented in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1541/98 may also be accepted in place of the proof of origin required by bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrangements which lay down more stringent requirements.
The procedures for verification of the origin of those products shall be as laid down in Annex IV and in the relevant Community legislation in force.
7.
The Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall amend Annex X of this Regulation in order to integrate the remaining products listed in Annex X into the WTO in three stages as follows:
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on 1 January 1998, products which in 1990 accounted for not less than 17 % of the total volume of 1990 imports into the Community of all textiles and clothing products covered by the ATC,
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on 1 January 2002, products which in 1990 accounted for not less than 18 % of the total volume of 1990 imports into the Community of all textiles and clothing products covered by the ATC,
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on 1 January 2005 the remaining products.
Before each integration stage referred to above, the Commission shall present to the Council a report on the respect by third countries of their commitments under the GATT rules and disciplines referred to in Article 7 of the ATC.
8.
By way of derogation from this Regulation, the import of the following textile products shall not be subject to quantitative restrictions, licensing or requirements regarding proof of origin:
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Samples of textile products which are of negligible value and can be used only to solicit orders for goods of the type they represent with a view to their being imported into the customs territory of the Community. The competent authorities may require that certain articles, to qualify for the exemption, be rendered permanently unusable by being torn, perforated, or clearly and indelibly marked, or by any other process, provided such operation does not destroy their character as samples. ‘Samples of textile products’ means any article representing a type of goods whose manner of presentation and quantity, for goods of the same type or quality, rule out its use for any purpose other than that of seeking orders.
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Representative samples of textile products manufactured outside the customs territory of the Community intended for a trade fair or similar event, provided that they
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are identifiable as advertising samples of low unitary value;
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are not easily marketable; or
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in their total value and quantity, are appropriate to the nature of the exhibition, the number of visitors and the extent of the exhibitor's participation.
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Article 2 Quantitative limits
1.
Importation into the Community of the textile products listed in Annex V originating in one of the supplier countries listed in that Annex shall be subject to the annual quantitative limits laid down in that Annex.
2.
The release for free circulation in the Community of imports subject to the quantitative limits referred to in Annex V shall be subject to the presentation of an import authorization issued by the Member States' authorities in accordance with Article 12.
3.
The authorized imports shall be charged against the quantitative limits laid down for the year in which the products are shipped in the supplier country concerned. For the purposes of this Regulation, shipment of products shall be considered as having taken place on the date on which they were loaded onto the exporting means of transport.
5.
The release for free circulation of products the importation of which was subject to quantitative limits before 1 January 2005, as listed in Annexes Va and VIIa and which were shipped before that date shall continue, until 31 March 2005, to be subject to the presentation of an import authorisation that shall be issued under the import regime in force before 1 January 2005. Shipment of the goods shall be considered to have taken place on the date of their loading in the country of origin on to the exporting aircraft, vehicle or vessel.
6.
The definition of quantitative limits laid down in Annex V and the categories of products to which they apply shall be adapted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17, where this proves necessary to ensure that any subsequent amendment to the combined nomenclature (CN) or any decision amending the classification of such products does not result in a reduction of such quantitative limits.
7.
In order to ensure that quantities for which import authorizations are issued shall not exceed at any moment the total Community quantitative limits for each textile category and each third country concerned, the competent authorities shall issue import authorizations only upon confirmation by the Commission that there are still quantities available of the total Community quantitative limits for the categories of textile products and for the third countries concerned, for which an importer or importers have submitted applications with the said authorities.
8.
At the request of the Member State concerned, textile products in the possession of the competent authorities of that Member State, particularly in the context of bankruptcy or similar procedures, for which a valid import authorisation is no longer available, may be released into free circulation in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17(2).
9.
The release for free circulation in one of the new Member States acceding to the European Union on 1 January 2007, namely Romania and Bulgaria, of textile products which are subject to quantitative limits or to surveillance in the Community and which have been shipped before 1 January 2007 and enter the two new Member States on or after 1 January 2007 shall be subject to presentation of an import authorisation. Such import authorisation shall be granted automatically and without quantitative limitation by the competent authorities of the Member State concerned, upon adequate proof, such as the bill of lading, that the products have been shipped before 1 January 2007.
Such licences shall be communicated to the Commission.
10.
The release for free circulation in one of the two new Member States acceding to the European Union on 1 January 2007, namely Bulgaria and Romania, of textile products which are subject to quantitative limits or to surveillance in the Community and which have been shipped before 1 January 2007 and enter the two new Member States on or after 1 January 2007 shall be subject to presentation of an import authorisation. Such import authorisation shall be granted automatically and without quantitative limitation by the competent authorities of the Member State concerned, upon adequate proof, such as the bill of lading, that the products have been shipped before 1 January 2007.
Such licences shall be communicated to the Commission.
11.
The release for free circulation in the Member State acceding to the European Union on 1 July 2013, namely Croatia, of textile products which are subject to quantitative limits or to surveillance in the Community and which have been shipped before 1 July 2013 and enter the new Member State on or after 1 July 2013 shall be subject to presentation of an import authorisation. Such import authorisation shall be granted automatically and without quantitative limitation by the competent authorities of the Member State concerned, upon adequate proof, such as the bill of lading, that the products have been shipped before 1 July 2013.
Such licences shall be communicated to the Commission.
Article 3 Folklore and handloom products
1.
The quantitative limits referred to in Annex V shall not apply to the cottage industry and folklore products specified in Annex VI which are accompanied on import by a certificate issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin in accordance with the provisions of Annex VI and which fulfil the other conditions laid down therein.
2.
The release for free circulation in the Community of the textile products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be granted only for those products covered by an import document issued by the competent authorities of the Member States, provided that similar machine-made products are subject to quantitative limits.
The said import document shall be issued automatically within a maximum of five working days from the date of presentation by the importer of the certificate referred to in paragraph 1 issued by the competent authorities of the supplier country.
The import document shall be valid for six months and shall state the grounds for exemption as given in the certificate referred to in paragraph 1.
3.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to Brazil, Hong Kong or Macao.
4.
Where exports from China of the products referred to in paragraph 1 reach 15 % of any Community quantitative limit laid down in Annex V, China shall refrain from issuing further certificates.
Article 4 Temporary imports
1.
The quantitative limits referred to in Annex V shall not apply to products placed in a free zone or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system)(1).
Where the products referred to in the preceding subparagraph are subsequently released for free circulation, either in the unaltered state or after working or processing, Article 2 (2) shall apply and the products so released shall be charged against the quantitative limits established for the year for which the export licence was issued.
2.
Where the authorities in the Member States establish that imports of textile products have been charged against a quantitative limit laid down in Annex V and that these products have subsequently been re-exported outside the customs territory of the Community, they shall inform the Commission within four weeks of the quantities concerned, which shall be recredited to the quantitative limits provided for in Annex V and used in accordance with the provisions of Article 12.