SECTION 1 — Temporary withdrawal
1. The preferential arrangements provided for in this Regulation may be temporarily withdrawn, in respect of all or of certain products, originating in a beneficiary country, for any of the following reasons:
(a)
serious and systematic violations of principles laid down in the conventions listed in Part A of Annex III, on the basis of the conclusion of the relevant monitoring bodies;
(b)
export of goods made by prison labour;
(c)
serious shortcomings in customs controls on export or transit of drugs (illicit substancesor precursors), or failure to comply with international conventions on money-laundering;
(d)
serious and systematic unfair trading practices which have an adverse effect on the Community industry and have not been addressed by the beneficiary country. For those unfair trading practices which are prohibited or actionable under the WTO Agreements, the application of this Article shall be based on a previous determination to that effect by the competent WTO body;
(e)
serious and systematic infringements of the objectives of regional fishery organizations or arrangements to which the Community is a member concerning the conservation and management of fishery resources.
2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the special incentive arrangement referred to in Section 2 of Chapter II may be temporarily withdrawn, in respect of all or certain products included in this arrangement, originating in a beneficiary country, in particular if the national legislation no longer incorporates those conventions referred to in Annex III which have been ratified in fulfilment of the requirements of Article 9(1) and (2) or if that legislation is not effectively implemented.
3. The preferential arrangements provided for in this Regulation shall not be withdrawn pursuant to paragraph 1(d) in respect of products which are subject to anti-dumping or countervailing measures under Regulations (EC) No 384/96 ( 8 ) or (EC) No 2026/97 ( 9 ) , for the reasons which justify those measures.
1. The preferential arrangements provided for in this Regulation may be temporarily withdrawn, in respect of all or of certain products, originating in a beneficiary country, in cases of fraud, irregularities or systematic failure to comply or to ensure compliance with the rules of origin of products and the procedures related thereto, and to provide the administrative cooperation as required for the implementation and the control of the respect of the arrangements referred to in Article 1(2).
2. The administrative cooperation referred to in paragraph 1 requires, inter alia , that a beneficiary country:
(a)
communicate to the Commission and update the information necessary for the implementation of the rules of origin and the control of respect thereof;
(b)
assist the Community by carrying out, on request of the customs authorities of Member States, subsequent verification of origin and communicate its results in time;
(c)
assist the Community by allowing the Commission, in coordination and close cooperation with the competent authorities of the Member States, to conduct Community administrative and investigative cooperation missions in that country, in order to verify the authenticity of documents or the accuracy of information relevant for granting the benefit of the arrangements referred to in Article 1(2);
(d)
carry out or arrange for appropriate inquiries to identify and prevent contravention of the rules of origin;
(e)
comply or ensure compliance with the rules of origin in respect of regional cumulation, within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93, if the country benefits therefrom;
(f)
assist the Community in the verification of conduct where there is a presumption of origin-related fraud. The existence of fraud may be presumed where imports of products under the preferential regimes granted under this Regulation massively exceed the usual levels of exports of the beneficiary country.
3. The Commission may suspend the preferential arrangements provided for in this Regulation in respect of all or of certain products, originating in a beneficiary country, where it considers that there is sufficient evidence that temporary withdrawal would be justified for the reasons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, provided that it has first:
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informed the Committee;
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called on the Member States to take such precautionary measures as are necessary in order to safeguard the Community's financial interests and/or secure compliance by the beneficiary country with its obligations;
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published a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union stating that there are grounds for reasonable doubts about the application of the preferential arrangements and/or compliance by the beneficiary country with its obligations, which may call into question its right to continue enjoying the benefits granted by this Regulation.
The Commission shall inform the beneficiary country concerned of any decision taken in accordance with this paragraph, before it becomes effective. The Commission shall also notify the Committee thereof.
4. Any Member State may refer a decision taken in accordance with paragraph 3 to the Council within 1 month. The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within 1 month.
5. The period of suspension shall not exceed 6 months. On conclusion of the period, the Commission shall decide either to terminate the suspension after informing the Committee or to extend the period of suspension in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 3.
6. Member States shall communicate to the Commission all relevant information that may justify suspension of preferences or its extension.
1. Where the Commission or a Member State receives information that may justify temporary withdrawal and where the Commission or a Member State considers that there are sufficient grounds for an investigation, it shall inform the Committee and request consultations, which should take place within one month.
2. Following the consultations, the Commission may decide, within 1 month and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(5), to initiate an investigation.
1. Where the Commission decides to initiate an investigation, it shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union announcing the investigation, and notify the beneficiary country concerned thereof. The notice shall provide a summary of the information received and state that any relevant information should be sent to the Commission. It shall specify the period, which may not exceed four months as from the date of publication of the notice, within which interested parties may make their views known in writing.
2. The Commission shall provide the beneficiary country concerned with every opportunity to cooperate in the investigation.
3. The Commission shall seek all information it considers necessary including the available assessments, comments, decisions, recommendations and conclusions of the relevant supervisory bodies of the UN, the ILO and other competent international organisations. These shall serve as the point of departure for the investigation as to whether temporary withdrawal is justified for the reason referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1). The Commission may verify the information received with economic operators and the beneficiary country concerned.
4. The Commission may be assisted by officials of the Member State on whose territory verification might be sought, if that Member State so requests.
5. Where information requested by the Commission is not provided within the period specified in the notice announcing the investigation, or the investigation is significantly impeded, findings may be made on the basis of the facts available.
6. The investigation should be completed within a year. The Commission may extend this period, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(5).
1. The Commission shall submit a report on its findings to the Committee.
2. Where the Commission considers that the findings do not justify temporary withdrawal, it shall decide, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(5), to terminate the investigation. In that case, the Commission shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union , announcing the termination of the investigation and setting out its main conclusions.
3. Where the Commission considers that the findings justify temporary withdrawal for the reason referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1), it shall decide, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(5), to monitor and evaluate the situation in the beneficiary country concerned for a period of six months. The Commission shall notify the beneficiary country concerned of this decision and shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union , announcing that it intends to submit a proposal to the Council for temporary withdrawal, unless, before the end of the period, the beneficiary country concerned makes a commitment to take the measures necessary to conform, in a reasonable period of time, with the conventions referred to in Part A of Annex III.
4. Where the Commission considers temporary withdrawal to be necessary, it shall submit an appropriate proposal to the Council, which shall decide within 1 month by a qualified majority. In cases referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall submit its proposal at the end of the period referred to in that paragraph.
5. Where the Council decides on temporary withdrawal, such decision shall enter into force 6 months after it was taken, unless it is decided before then that the reasons justifying it no longer prevail.
SECTION 2 — Safeguard clause
1. Where a product originating in a beneficiary country is imported on terms which cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to a Community producer of like or directly competing products, normal Common Customs Tariff duties on that product may be reintroduced at any time at the request of a Member State or on the Commission's initiative.
2. The Commission shall take a formal decision to initiate an investigation within a reasonable period of time. Where the Commission decides to initiate an investigation, it shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union announcing the investigation. The notice shall provide a summary of the information received and state that any relevant information should be sent to the Commission. It shall specify the period, which shall not exceed 4 months from the date of publication of the notice, within which interested parties may make their views known in writing.
3. The Commission shall seek all information it deems necessary and may verify the information received with the beneficiary country concerned and any other relevant source. It may be assisted by officials of the Member State on whose territory verification might be sought, if that Member State so requests.
4. In examining whether there are serious difficulties, the Commission shall take account, inter alia , of the following factors concerning Community producers where the information is available:
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market share,
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production,
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stocks,
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production capacity,
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bankruptcies,
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profitability,
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capacity utilisation,
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employment,
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imports,
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prices.
5. The investigation shall be completed within 6 months after the publication of the notice referred to in paragraph 2. The Commission may, in case of exceptional circumstances and after consultation of the Committee, extend this period in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(5).
6. The Commission shall take a decision within 1 month, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(5). Such decision shall enter into force within 1 month as from its publication.
7. Where exceptional circumstances requiring immediate action make an investigation impossible, the Commission may, after informing the Committee, take any preventive measure which is strictly necessary.
8. Where imports of products of section XI(b), as referred to in Article 14(1), originating in a beneficiary country:
(a)
increase by at least 20 % in quantity (by volume) as compared to the previous calendar year, or
(b)
exceed 12,5 % of the value of Community imports of products from section XI(b) from all countries and territories listed in Annex I during any twelve months period,
the Commission, on the 1st of January of every year during the period of application of this Regulation, on its own initiative or at the request of a Member State and after informing the Committee, shall remove the preferences referred to in Articles 7 and 8 with respect to products from section XI(b). This provision shall not apply to countries benefiting from the special arrangement for least developed countries referred to in Article 12 and to countries whose share of imports into the Community as defined in Article 14(1) do not exceed 8 %. The Commission shall notify a beneficiary country of the removal of the preferences. The removal of the preferences shall take effect two months after the publication of the Commission's decision to this effect in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Where imports of products included in Annex I to the Treaty cause, or threaten to cause, serious disturbance to Community markets, in particular to one or more of the outermost regions, or these markets' regulatory mechanisms, the Commission, on request of a Member State or on its own initiative, may suspend the preferential arrangements in respect of the products concerned after consulting the management committee for the relevant common market organisation.
1. The Commission shall inform the beneficiary country concerned as soon as possible of any decision taken in accordance with Article 21 or 22 before it becomes effective. The Commission shall also notify the Council and the Member States thereof.
2. Any Member State may refer a decision taken in accordance with Article 21 or 22 to the Council within 1 month. The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may adopt a different decision within 1 month.
SECTION 3 — Surveillance measures in the agricultural sector
Products in Chapters 1 to 24 originating in beneficiary countries may be subject to a special surveillance mechanism in order to avoid disturbances in the Community market. The Commission, on its own initiative or on the request of a Member State, shall decide the products on which this surveillance list shall be applied.
All periods mentioned in Article 21 which exceed 2 months shall be reduced to 2 months in the following cases:
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when the beneficiary country does not comply with the rules of origin or does not provide the administrative cooperation required in Article 17, or
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when imports of products in Chapters 1 to 24 under the preferential regimes granted under this Regulation massively exceed the usual levels of exports of the beneficiary country.
SECTION 4 — Common provision
Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the application of safeguard clauses adopted as part of the Common Agricultural Policy under Article 37 of the Treaty, or as part of the Common Trade Policy under Article 133 of the Treaty, or any other safeguard clauses which may be applied.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
