1. Subject to Article 5, specific tariff quotas are hereby opened in relation to imports into the Union of ferro-alloys falling under the CN codes (7202 11 , 7202 19 , 7202 21 , 7202 29 , 7202 30 , 7202 99 30 ) (Annex II) for a duration of three years.
2. A part of tariff-rate quotas is allocated to the countries specified in Annex III, another part is allocated to other countries, and for the periods specified in Annex III.
3. Where the relevant tariff-rate quotas are exhausted or where imports of the product types do not benefit from the relevant tariff-rate quota, an out of quota variable duty applicable to the products listed in Article 1.1 shall be the difference between the established price threshold listed in Annex II and the net free-at-Union-frontier price, before duty, if the latter is lower than the former. No duty shall be collected where the net free-at-Union-frontier price is equal to or higher than the established price threshold listed in Annex II.
4. The drawings on each quarterly quota shall be stopped on the twentieth working day of the Commission following the end of the quarterly period. At the end of each quarter, the unused balances of the tariff-rate quotas shall not be transferred to the next quarter. The unused balances at the end of the last quarter of each year of application of the definitive tariff-rate quotas shall not be transferred.
5. The anti-dumping/countervailing duties on imports of the products listed in the Annex II shall be applicable until the pertinent tariff quotas are exceeded and the safeguard measure becomes applicable.