out by the organizations authorized to do so under Russian law shall be issued, in accordance with Protocol A to the Agreement, for all products covered by this Protocol. This certificate shall bear a reference to the prior authorization mentioned in paragraph 6 above as evidence that the processing operation it describes has been carried out in Russia.8. The Community shall provide Russia with the names and addresses of, and specimens of the stamps used by, the competent authorities of the Community which issue the prior authorizations referred to in paragraph 6 above.9. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 8 above, Russia and the Community shall continue consultations with a view to seek a mutually acceptable solution enabling both Contracting Parties to benefit from the Agreement's provisions on outward processing traffic and so ensure the effective development of trade in textile products between Russia and the Community.Annex to Protocol C (The product descriptions of the categories listed in this Annex are to be found in Annex I to the Agreement) OPT QUOTAS >POSIÇÃO NUMA TABELA>Agreed Minute No 1 In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Russian Federation on trade in textile products, initialled at Brussels on 12 June 1993, the Parties agreed that Article 5 of the Agreement does not preclude the Community, if the conditions are fulfilled, from applying the safeguard measures for one or more of its regions in conformity with the principles of the internal market.In such an event, Russia shall be informed in advance of the relevant provisions of Protocol A to the Agreement to be applied, as appropriate.For the Delegation of the Russian FederationFor the Delegation of the European CommunitiesAgreed Minute No 2 Nothwithstanding Article 7 (1) of this Agreement, for imperative technical or administrative reasons or to find a solution to economic problems resulting from regional concentration of imports, or in order to combat circumvention and fraud of the provisions of this Agreement, the Community will establish for a limited period of time a specific management system in conformity with the principles of the internal market.However, if the Parties are unable to reach a satisfactory solution during the consultations provided for in Article 7 (3), Russia undertakes, if so requested by the Community, to respect temporary export limits for one or more regions of the Community. In such a case, these limits shall not preclude the importation into the region(s) concerned of products which were shipped from Russia on the basis of export licences obtained before the date of formal notification to Russia by the Community about the introduction of the above limits.The Community shall inform Russia of the technical and administrative measures, such as defined in the attached note verbale, that need to be introduced by both Parties in order to implement the above paragraphs in conformity with the principles of the internal market.For the Delegation of the Russian FederationFor the Delegation of the European CommunitiesNote verbale The Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission of the European Communities presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and has the honour to refer to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Russian Federation on trade in textile products, initialled at Brussels on 12 June 1993.The Directorate-General wishes to inform the Ministry, that the Community has decided to apply, starting from 1 January 1993, the provisions of paragraph 1 of Agreed Minute No 2 to the Agreement, initialled at Brussels on 12 June 1993. Consequently, the corresponding provisions of Articles 7 and 12 of Protocol A to the Agreement shall also be applied as of the above date.The Directorate-General for External Relations avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation the assurance of its highest consideration.Agreed Minute No 3 In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Russian Federation on trade in textile products, initialled at Brussels on 12 June 1993, the Parties agreed that Russia shall endeavour not to deprive certain regions of the Community which have traditionally had relatively small shares of Community quotas of imports of products serving as inputs for their processing industry.The Community and Russia further agreed to hold consultations, should the need arise, in order to avert any problems which might occur in this respect.For the Delegation of the Russian FederationFor the Delegation of the European CommunitiesAgreed Minute No 4 In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Russian Federation on trade in textile products, initialled at Brussels on 12 June 1993, Russia agreed that, from the date of request for and pending the consultations referred to in Article 7 (3), it shall cooperate by not issuing export licences that would further aggravate the problems resulting from the regional concentration of direct imports into the Community.For the Delegation of the Russian FederationFor the Delegation of the European CommunitiesExchange of notes The Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission of the European Communities presents its compliments to the Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Communities and has the honour to refer to the Agreement on textile products between Russian Federation on trade in textile products, initialled
AGREEMENT between the European Economic Community and the Russian Federation on trade in textile productsTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,of the one part, andTHE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,of the other part,DESIRING to promote, with a view to permanent cooperation and in conditions providing every security for trade, the orderly and equitable development of trade in textile products between the European Economic Community (hereinafter referred to as 'the Community') and the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as 'Russia'),RESOLVED to take the fullest possible account of the serious economic and social problems at present affecting the textile industry in both importing and exporting countries,HAVE DECIDED to conclude this Agreement and to this end have designated as their plenipotentiaries:THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,WHO HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:Article 11. Trade in textile products listed in Annex I and originating within the Contracting Parties shall be liberalized for the duration of this Agreement under the conditions set out therein.2. Subject to the provisions of this or any successive Agreement, the Community undertakes, in respect of the products listed in Annex I, to suspend the application of quantitative import restrictions currently in force and not to introduce new quantitative restrictions.Quantitative import restrictions shall be re-introduced in case of denunciation or non-replacement of the present Agreement.3. Measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions on the importation into the Community of the products listed in Annex I shall be prohibited for the duration of this Agreement.Article 21. Russia agrees to establish and maintain for each calendar year quantitative limits on its exports to the Community in accordance with Annex II. Such exports shall be subject to a double-checking system as specified in Protocol A.2. In administering the quantitative limits referred to in paragraph 1, Russia shall ensure that the Community textile industry shall benefit from utilization of the said limits.More particularly, as regards categories 1, 2, 2a and 3 Russia undertakes upon request from the Community to reserve to the Community textile industry, as a priority, 30 % of the quantitative limits concerned for industry users during a period extending between 1 January to 31 May of each year. For this purpose, contracts made with the industry during the period in question shall be taken into consideration.3. To facilitate the implementation of these provisions the Community shall provide the competent Russian authorities, before the end of each year, with a list of interested Community manufacturers and processors and, if possible, of the quantity of products requested for each firm. To this end, the firms concerned are invited to make direct contact with the relevant Russian enterprises as early as possible during the reservation period mentioned in paragraph 2, in order to make their purchasing intentions known.Article 31. Imports into the Community of textile products covered by this Agreement shall not be subject to the quantitative limits established in Annex II, provided that they are declared to be for re-export outside the Community in the same state or after processing, within the framework of the administrative system of control which exists within the Community.However, the release for home use of products imported into the Community under the conditions referred to above shall be subject to the production of an export licence issued by the authorities of Russia, and to proof of origin in accordance with the provisions of Protocol A.2. Where the Community authorities ascertain that imports of textile products have been set off against a quantitative limit established under this Agreement, but that the products have subsequently been re-exported outside the Community, the authorities shall inform the Russian authorities within four weeks of the quantities involved and authorize imports of identical quantitaties of the same products, which shall not be set off against the quantitative limit established under this Agreement for the current or the following year, as appropriate.3. The Community and Russia recognize the special and differential character of re-imports of textile products into the Community after processing in Russia as a specific form of industrial and trade cooperation.Provided that they are effected in accordance with the regulations on economic outward processing in force in the Community, these re-imports are not subject to the quantitative limits set out in Annex II when they are subject to the specific arrangements laid down in Protocol C.Article 41. In any Agreement year advance use of a portion of the quantitative limit established for the following Agreement year is authorized for each category of products up to 5 % of the quantitative limit for the current Agreement year.Amounts delivered in advance shall be deducted from the corresponding quantitative limits established for the following Agreement year.2. Carry-over to the corresponding quantitative limit for the following Agreement year of the amounts not used during any Agreement year is authorized for each category of products up to 7 % of the quantitative limit for the current Agreement year.3. Transfers in respect of categories in Group I shall not be made from any category except as follows:- transfers between categories 2 in paragraph 2 above fail to lead to an agreement within 30 days of the Community's request for consultations, the Community may, until these consultations have produced a mutually satisfactory solution, temporarily refuse consignments of the product in question at prices under the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 above.5. In totally exceptional and critical circumstances, where consignments of products are being imported from Russia into the Community at prices abnormally lower than the normal competitive level, such as to cause injury which it would be difficult to repair, the Community may temporarily suspend imports of the products concerned pending agreement on a solution in the course of consultations, which shall be opened immediately. The Contracting Parties shall do their utmost to reach a mutually acceptable solution within 10 working days' notice of the opening of such consultations.6. Should the Community have recourse to the measures referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 above, Russia may at any time request the opening of consultations to examine the possibility of eliminating or modifying these measures where the causes which made them necessary no longer exist.Article 111. The classification of the products covered by this Agreement is based on the tariff and statistical nomenclature of the Community (hereinafter called the 'combined nomenclature', or in abbreviated for 'CN') and any amendments thereof.Where any decision on classification results in a change of classification practice or a change of category of any product subject to this Agreement the affected products shall follow the trade regime applicable to the practice or category they fall into after such changes.Any amendment to the combined nomenclature (CN) made in accordance with the procedures in force in the Community concerning categories of products covered by this Agreement or any decision relating to the classification of goods shall not have the effect of reducing quantitative limits introduced pursuant to this Agreement.2. The origin of the products covered by this Agreement shall be determined in accordance with the rules in force in the Community.Any amendment to these rules of origin shall be communicated to Russia and shall not have the effect of reducing any quantitative limit established in Annex II.The procedures for control of the origin of the products referred to above are laid down in Protocol A.Article 121. Russia shall supply the Commission with precise statistical information on all export licences issued for categories of textile products subject to the quantitative limits set out in Annex II, expressed in quantities and in terms of value and broken down by Member States of the Community, as well as on all certificates issued by the competent Russian authorities for products referred to in Article 9 and subject to the provisions of Protocol B.2. The Community shall likewise transmit to the Russian authorities precise statistical information on import authorizations issued by the Community authorities and import statistics for products covered by the system referred to in Article 5 (2).3. The information referred to above shall, for all categories of products, be forwarded before the end of the month following the month to which the statistics relate.4. Upon request by the Community, Russia shall supply import statistics for all products covered by Annex I.5. Should it be found on analysis of the information exchanged that there are significant discrepancies between the returns for exports and those for imports, consultations may be initiated in accordance with the procedure specified in Article 15 of this Agreement.6. For the purpose of applying the provisions of Article 5, the Community undertakes to provide the Russian authorities before 15 April of each year with the preceding year's statistics on imports of all textile products covered by this Agreement, broken down by supplying country and Community Member State.Article 131. Russia shall create favourable conditions for imports of textile products originating in the Community listed in Annex I and, where appropriate inter alia, accord to them non-dicriminatory treatment as regards the application of quantitative restrictions, or any measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions, and the granting of import licences.Article 141. The Contracting Parties agree to examine the trend of trade in textile products and garments each year, in the framework of the consultations provided for in Article 15 and on the basis of the statistics referred to in Article 12.2. If the Community finds that in the cases foreseen in Article 13 of this Agreement it is placed in an unfavourable position as compared with a third country, it may request consultations with Russia in accordance with the procedure specified in Article 15 with a view to taking appropriate action.Article 151. Save where it is otherwise provided for in this Agreement, the consultation procedures referred to in this Agreement other than those referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, shall be governed by the following provisions:- as far as possible consultations shall be held periodically. Specific additional consultations may also be held,- any request for consultations shall be notified in writing to the other Contracting Party,- where appropriate, the request for consultations shall be followed within a reasonable period (and in any case not later than 15 days following the notification) by a report setting out the circumstances which, in the opinion of the requesting Party, justify the submission of such a request,- the Contracting Parties shall enter into consultations within one month of notification of the request at the latest, with a view and by whatever other means. Accordingly, Russia and the Community agree to establish the necessary legal provisions and administrative procedures permitting effective action to be taken against such circumvention, which shall include the adoption of legally binding corrective measures against exporters and/or importers involved.2. Should the Community believe on the basis of information available that the present Agreement is being circumvented, the Community will consult with Russia with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution. These consultations will be held as early as possible and at the latest within 30 days from the date of request.3. Pending the results of the consultation referred to in paragraph 2, Russia shall, as a precautionary measure, if so requested by the Community, take all necessary measures to ensure that, where sufficient evidence of circumvention is provided, adjustments of quantitative limits liable to be agreed following the consultations referred to in paragraph 2, may be carried out for the quota year in which the request to open consultations in accordance with paragraph 2 was made, or for the following year if the quota for the current year is exhausted.4. Should the Parties be unable, in the course of the consultation referred to in paragraph 2 to reach a mutually satisfactory solution, the Community shall have the right:(a) where there is sufficient evidence that products originating in Russia have been imported in circumvention of the present Agreement, to set off the relevant quantities against the quantitative limits established under the Agreement;(b) where sufficient evidence shows that false declaration concerning fibre content, quantities, description or classification of products originating in Russia has occured, to refuse to import the products in question;(c) should it appear that the territory of Russia is involved in transhipment or re-routing, as referred to in paragraph 1, of products not originating in Russia, to introduce quantitative limits against the same products originating in Russia if they are not already subject to quantitative limits, or to take any other appropriate measures.5. The Parties agree to establish a system of administrative cooperation to prevent and to address effectively all problems arising from circumvention in accordance with the provisions of Protocol A to this Agreement.Article 71. The quantitative limits established under this Agreement on imports into the Community of textile products of Russian origin will not be broken down by the Community into regional shares.2. The Parties shall cooperate in order to prevent sudden and prejudicial changes in traditional trade flows resulting in regional concentration of direct imports into the Community.3. Russia shall monitor its exports of products under restraint or surveillance into the Community. Should a sudden and prejudicial change in traditional trade flows arise, the Community will be entitled to request consultations in order to find a satisfactory solution to those problems. Such consultations must be held within 15 working days of their being requested by the Community.4. Russia shall endeavour to ensure that exports of textile products subject to quantitative limits into the Community are spaced out as evenly as possible over the year due account being taken in particular of seasonal factors.Article 8In the event of denunciation of this Agreement as provided for in Article 19 (3), the quantitative limits established in Annex II shall be reduced on a pro rata temporis basis unless the Contracting Parties decide otherwise by common agreement.Article 9Russia exports of cottage-industry fabrics woven on hand- or foot-operated looms, garments or other made-up articles obtained manually from such fabrics and of traditional folklore handicraft products shall not be subject to quantitative limits, provided that these products originating in Russia meet the conditions laid down in Protocol B.Article 101. Should the Community consider that a textile product covered by this Agreement is being imported into the Community from Russia at a price abnormally lower than the normal competitive level and is for this reason causing or threatening to cause serious injury to Community producers of like or directly competing products, it may request consultations under Article 15, and in that event the following specific provisions shall be applicable.2. If following such consultations it is acknowledged by common accord that the situation described in paragraph 1 exists, Russia shall take, within the limits of its powers, the necessary steps, notably as regards the price at which the product in question will be sold, to remedy the situation.3. In order to determine whether the price of a textile product is abnormally lower than the normal competitive level, it may be compared with:- the prices generally charged for like products sold under the ordinary conditions by other exporting countries on the market of the importing country,- the prices of like national products at a comparable marketing stage on the market of the importing country,- the lowest prices charged by a third country for the same product in the course of ordinary commercial dealings in the three months preceding the request for consultations, and not having led to the adoption of any measure by the Community.4. Should the consultations referred to in paragraph 2 above fail to lead to an agreement within 30 days of the Community's request for consultations, the Community may, until these consultations have produced a mutually satisfactory solution, temporarily refuse consignments of the product in question at prices under the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 above.5. In totally exceptional and critical in transit across the territory of Russia prior to their importation into the Community. This information may include at the request of the Community copies of all available relevant documentation.5. Where sufficient evidence shows that the provisions of this Protocol have been circumvented or infringed, the competent authorities of Russia and the Community may agree to take the measures set out in Article 6 (4) of the Agreement, and any other measures as are necessary to prevent a recurrence of such circumvention or infringement.Annex to Protocol A, Article 2 (1) >REFERÊNCIA A UMA IMAGEN>Annex to Protocol A, Article 7 (1) >REFERÊNCIA A UMA IMAGEN>PROTOCOL B referred to in Article 9 Cottage industry and folklore products originating in Russia1. The exemption provided for in Article 9 in respect of cottage industry products shall apply to the following types of product only:(a) fabrics woven on looms operated solely by hand or foot, being fabrics of a kind traditionally made in the cottage industry of Russia;(b) garments or other textile articles of a kind traditionally made in the cottage industry of Russia obtained manually from the fabrics referred to above and sewn exclusively by hand without the aid of any machine;(c) traditional folklore products of Russia made by hand, in a list to be agreed between the Community and Russia.Exemption shall be granted in respect only of products covered by a certificate conforming to the specimen attached to this Protocol and issued by the competent authorities in Russia. These certificates must indicate the reasons justifying their issuance; the competent authorities of the Community will accept them after having checked that the products concerned have fulfilled the conditions established in this Protocol. The certificates concerning the products envisaged in (c) above must bear a stamp 'FOLKLORE' marked clearly. In the case of a difference of opinion between the Parties concerning the nature of these products, concultations shall be held within one month in order to resolve these differences.Should imports of any product covered by this Protocol reach proportions liable to cause problems within the Community, consultations with Russia shall be initiated as soon as possible, with a view to resolving the situation by the adoption if necessary of a quantitative limit, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15 of this Agreement.2. The provisions of Titles IV and V of Protocol A shall apply mutatis mutandis to the products covered by paragraph 1 of this Protocol.Annex to Protocol B >REFERÊNCIA A UMA IMAGEN>PROTOCOL C Reimports into the Community, within the meaning of Article 3 (3) of this Agreement, of products listed in the Annex to this Protocol shall be subject to the provisions of this Agreement, unless the special provisions below provide otherwise:1. Subject to paragraph 2, only reimports into the Community of products affected by the specific quantitative limits laid down in the Annex to this Protocol shall be considered reimports within the meaning of Article 3 (3) of the Agreement.2. Reimports not covered by the Annex to this Protocol may be made subject to specific quantitative limits following consultations in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 15 of the Agreement, provided the products concerned are subject to quantitative limits pursuant to the Agreement, to a double-checking system or to surveillance measures.3. Having regard to the interests of both Parties, the Community may at its discretion, or in response to a request under Article 15 of the Agreement:(a) examine the possibility of transferring from one category to another, using in advance or carrying over from one year to the next, portions of specific quantitative limits;(b) consider the possibility of increasing specific quantitative limits.4. However, the Community may apply automatically the flexibility rules set out in paragraph 3 above within the following limits:(a) transfers between categories may not exceed 20 % the quantity for the category to which the transfer is made;(b) carry-over of a specific quantitative limit from one year to the next may not exceed 10,5 % of the quantity set for the year of actual utilization;(c) advance use of specific quantitative limits from one year to another may not exceed 7,5 % of the quantity set for the year of actual utilization.5. The Community shall inform Russia of any measures taken pursuant to the preceding paragraphs.6. The competent authorities in the Community shall debit the specific quantitative limits referred to in paragraph 1 at the time of issue of the prior authorization required by Council Regulation (EEC) No 636/82 which governs economic outward processing arrangements. A specific quantitative limit shall be debited for the year in which a prior authorization is issued.7. A certificate of origin made out by the organizations authorized to do so under Russian law shall be issued, in accordance with Protocol A to the Agreement, for all products covered by this Protocol. This certificate shall bear a reference to the prior authorization mentioned in paragraph 6 above as evidence that the processing operation it describes has been carried out in Russia.8.