Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 7/2010 opening and providing for the management of autonomous tariff quotas of the Union for certain agricultural and industrial products

Autonomous tariff quotas of the Union are needed for products where production in the Union is insufficient to meet the needs of the user industry in the Union for the current quota period. In response to requests from several Member States, the Commission, together with the government experts concerned, considered whether to open autonomous tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products.

On 22 December 2009 the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 7/2010 opening and providing for the management of autonomous tariff quotas of the Union for certain agricultural and industrial products so that Union demand for the products in question could be met under the most favourable conditions.

Tariff quotas of the Union should be opened at zero or reduced rates of the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duty for appropriate volumes, without disturbing the markets for such products. Discussions at meetings of the Economic Tariff Questions Group (ETQG) showed that the Member States were ready to open two new quotas, to increase the volumes for three existing quotas and to amend the product description for the quota with order No 09.2633, without disturbing the markets for such products. It was also necessary to close the tariff quota for order No 09.2767 since an autonomous tariff suspension will be opened as of 1 July 2012 for the product concerned.

The proposal is in line with agricultural, trade, enterprise, development and external relations policies. Especially this proposal is not at the expense of countries enjoying a preferential trading agreement with the EU (e.g. GSP, ACP regime, candidate and potential candidates).

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)161: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:161:FIN

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