Commission Regulation (EC) No 2331/2003

of 23 December 2003

implementing Article 12 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004 and amending that Regulation

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 of 10 December 2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 20041, and in particular Article 12 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

The tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 should be removed in respect of products, originating in a beneficiary country, of a sector which has met, during three consecutive years, either of the criteria laid down in Article 12(1) of that Regulation.

(2)
Tariff preferences which had been removed under previous schemes and under Council Regulation (EC) No 815/20032, should be re-established in respect of a sector that has not met, during three consecutive years, the criteria laid down in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001.
(3)

The condition in Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001, whereby paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 12 do not apply to beneficiary countries whose exports to the Community account for less than the threshold mentioned in that condition, has been met by Argentina, Iran and Uruguay.

(4)

Tariff preferences which had been removed under previous schemes and under Regulation (EC) No 815/2003, should be re-established in respect of sectors of all beneficiary countries whose exports to the Community account for less than the threshold mentioned in Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001.

(5)

The most recent and complete statistics, which are those for the years 1999 to 2001, should be used in order to establish which sectors meet the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001.

(6)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 should be replaced in order to reflect the removal or re-establishment of tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Generalised Preferences Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.

The tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 shall be removed according to Article 12(1) of that Regulation in respect of products originating in the beneficiary countries listed in Annex I to this Regulation, falling under the sectors mentioned in that Annex alongside each country concerned.

2.

The tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 shall be re-established according to Article 12(2) of that Regulation in respect of products originating in the beneficiary countries listed in Annex II to this Regulation, falling under the sectors mentioned in that Annex alongside each country concerned.

3.

The tariff preferences which had been removed under previous schemes and under Regulation (EC) No 815/2003, shall be re-established according to Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 in respect of all beneficiary countries listed in Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 2

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 shall be replaced by the text set out in Annex III to this Regulation.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2005.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 December 2003.

For the Commission

Pascal Lamy

Member of the Commission

ANNEX I

Sectors in respect of which tariff preferences shall be removed

Country code

Beneficiary country

Sector

Description

BR

Brazil

XXXIV

Other base metals and articles of base metal

CN

People's Republic of China

XXV

Jewellery and precious metals

MX

Mexico

XXXI

Automobiles

PK

Pakistan

XXII

Clothing

RU

Russian Federation

XXXIV

Other base metals and articles of base metal

TH

Thailand

XXIV

Glass and ceramic

ANNEX II

—Sectors in respect of which tariff preferences shall be re-established in application of Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001

Country code

Beneficiary country

Sector

Description

BR

Brazil

XXIII

Footwear

IN

India

XVII

Leather, raw hides and skins

TH

Thailand

XVIII

Articles of leather and fur skins

—Countries in respect of which all tariff preferences previously removed shall be re-established in application of Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001

Argentina

Brunei Darussalam

Belarus

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Iran

Kuwait

Macao

Mauritius

Philippines

Ukraine

Uruguay

ANNEX III

Beneficiary countries and territories of the Community's scheme of generalised tariff preferences
  • Column A

    code according to the nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Community

  • Column B

    name of country

  • Column C

    sectors not included in the general arrangements for the beneficiary country concerned (Article 7(7))

  • Column D

    sectors in respect of which tariff preferences have been removed for the beneficiary country concerned (Article 7(8) and Article 10(3))

  • Column E

    countries included in the special incentive arrangements for the protection of labour rights (Title III Section1)

  • Column F

    sectors included in these arrangements for the beneficiary country concerned (Article 8(1) and (2))

  • Column G

    countries included in the special incentive arrangements for the protection of the environment (Title III Section 2)

  • Column H

    countries included in the special arrangements for least developed countries (Article 9)

  • Column I

    countries included in the special arrangements to combat drug production and trafficking (Title IV)

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

AE

United Arab Emirates

AF

Afghanistan

X

AG

Antigua and Barbuda

AI

Anguilla

AM

Armenia

II, XXVI

AN

Netherlands Antilles

AO

Angola

X

AQ

Antarctica

AR

Argentina

AS

American Samoa

AW

Aruba

AZ

Azerbaijan

II, XXVI

BB

Barbados

BD

Bangladesh

X

BF

Burkina Faso

X

BH

Bahrain

BI

Burundi

X

BJ

Benin

X

BM

Bermuda

BN

Brunei Darussalam3

BO

Bolivia

X

BR

Brazil

I, VI, IX, XI, XII, XVII, XIX, XX, XXVI, XXXIV

BS

Bahamas

BT

Bhutan

X

BV

Bouvet Island

BW

Botswana

BY

Belarus

II, XXVI

BZ

Belize

CC

Cocos Islands (or Keeling Islands)

CD

Democratic Republic of Congo

X

CF

Central African Republic

X

CG

Congo

CI

Côte d'Ivoire

CK

Cook Islands

CL

Chile

CM

Cameroon

CN

People's Republic of China

XXVI4

III, IV, VIII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XX, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXXII, XXXIII

CO

Colombia

X

CR

Costa Rica

X

CU

Cuba

CV

Cape Verde

X

CX

Christmas Islands

DJ

Djibouti

X

DM

Dominica

DO

Dominican Republic

DZ

Algeria

EC

Ecuador

X

EG

Egypt

ER

Eritrea

X

ET

Ethiopia

X

FJ

Fiji

FK

Falklands Islands

FM

Federated States of Micronesia

GA

Gabon

GD

Grenada

GE

Georgia

II, XXVI

GH

Ghana

GI

Gibraltar

GL

Greenland

II

GM

Gambia

X

GN

Guinea

X

GQ

Equatorial Guinea

X

GS

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

GT

Guatemala

X

GU

Guam

GW

Guinea-Bissau

X

GY

Guyana

HM

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

HN

Honduras

X

HT

Haiti

X

ID

Indonesia

X, XIX, XXIII

IN

India

XVIII, XXI

IO

British Indian Ocean Territory

IQ

Iraq

IR

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

JM

Jamaica

JO

Jordan

KE

Kenya

KG

Kyrgyzstan

II, XXVI

KH

Cambodia

X

KI

Kiribati

X

KM

Comoros

X

KN

St Kitts and Nevis

KW

Kuwait

KY

Cayman Islands

KZ

Kazakhstan

II, XXVI

LA

Lao People's Democratic Republic

X

LB

Lebanon

LC

St Lucia

LK

Sri Lanka

LR

Liberia

X

LS

Lesotho

X

LY

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya3

XIII

MA

Morocco

XV

MD

Moldova (Republic of)

II, XXVI

X

All except II and XXVI

MG

Madagascar

X

MH

Marshall Islands

ML

Mali

X

MM

Myanmar

X

MN

Mongolia

MO

Macao

MP

Northern Mariana Islands

MR

Mauritania

X

MS

Montserrat

MU

Mauritius

MV

Maldives

X

MW

Malawi

X

MX

Mexico

XI, XIV, XXIV, XXVI, XXXI

MY

Malaysia

X, XVI, XIX, XXIX

MZ

Mozambique

X

NA

Namibia

NC

New Caledonia

NE

Niger

X

NF

Norfolk Island

NG

Nigeria

NI

Nicaragua

X

NP

Nepal

X

NR

Nauru

NU

Niue Island

OM

Oman

PA

Panama

X

PE

Peru

X

PF

French Polynesia

PG

Papua New Guinea

PH

Philippines

PK

Pakistan

XVII, XVIII, XXI, XXII

X

PM

St Pierre and Miquelon

PN

Pitcairn

PW

Palau

PY

Paraguay

QA

Qatar

RU

Russian Federation

II, XXVI

XIII, XV, XXXIV

RW

Rwanda

X

SA

Saudi Arabia

XIII

SB

Solomon Islands

X

SC

Seychelles

SD

Sudan

X

SH

Santa Helena

SL

Sierra Leone

X

SN

Senegal

X

SO

Somalia

X

SR

Suriname

ST

São Tomé and Príncipe

X

SV

El Salvador

X

SY

Syrian Arab Republic

SZ

Swaziland

TC

Turks and Caicos Islands

TD

Chad

X

TF

French Southern territories

TG

Togo

X

TH

Thailand

II, XI, XVI, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXIX

TJ

Tajikistan

II, XXVI

TK

Tokelau Islands

TL

East Timor

TM

Turkmenistan

II, XXVI

TN

Tunisia

XV, XXII

TO

Tonga

TT

Trinidad and Tobago

TV

Tuvalu

X

TZ

Tanzania (United Republic of)

X

UA

Ukraine

II, XXVI

UG

Uganda

X

UM

United States Minor outlying islands

UY

Uruguay

UZ

Uzbekistan

II, XXVI

VC

St Vincent and Northern Grenadines

VE

Venezuela

X

VG

Virgin Islands (British)

VI

Virgin Islands (USA)

VN

Vietnam

VU

Vanuatu

X

WF

Wallis and Futuna

WS

Samoa

X

YE

Yemen

X

YT

Mayotte

ZA

South Africa

XXVI

ZM

Zambia

X

ZW

Zimbabwe

3

Beneficiary country without development index.

4

Only the products of sector XXVI which are underlined in Annex III are not included for the People's Republic of China, pursuant to Article 7(7).