Considerations on COM(2016)44 - Amendment of common rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not agreements, other arrangements or by other specific Union import rules

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dossier COM(2016)44 - Amendment of common rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not agreements, other arrangements or ...
document COM(2016)44 EN
date February 15, 2017
 
table>(1)Regulation (EU) 2015/936 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) lays down the common rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not covered by bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrangements, or by other specific Union import rules.
(2)The release of political prisoners in the Republic of Belarus on 22 August 2015 was an important step which, together with several positive initiatives undertaken by the Republic of Belarus over the last 2 years, such as resumption of the EU-Belarus Human Rights Dialogue, contributed to the improvement of relations between the Union and the Republic of Belarus.

(3)EU-Belarus relations should be based on common values, in particular with regard to human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and it should be recalled that the human rights situation in the Republic of Belarus remains of concern to the Union, in particular with regard to issues such as the death penalty, which should be abolished.

(4)Those positive political developments between the Union and the Republic of Belarus should be recognised and bilateral relations further improved. Accordingly, this Regulation should repeal the autonomous quotas on imports of textiles and clothing originating in the Republic of Belarus, provided for in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EU) 2015/936, without prejudice to the Union’s ability to have recourse to quotas in the future should the human rights situation in the Republic of Belarus seriously deteriorate.

(5)The removal of autonomous quotas on imports of textiles and clothing originating in the Republic of Belarus implies that the quotas on outward processing traffic are no longer necessary. As a result, Article 4(2) and Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2015/936, together with Annex V thereto should be deleted. Article 31 of that Regulation concerning the adoption of delegated acts should also be amended accordingly. The limited use of autonomous and outward processing quotas on imports of textiles and clothing originating in the Republic of Belarus implies that the removal of those quotas would have a limited impact on Union trade.

(6)In order to correct erroneous Combined Nomenclature codes in categories 12, 13, 18, 68, 78, 83 (Group II B), 67, 70, 94, 96 (Group III B) and 161 (Group V), Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2015/936 should be amended.

(7)The official name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should be used in Annexes II, III and IV to Regulation (EU) 2015/936.

(8)In order to facilitate administrative procedures, the period of validity of import authorisations laid down in in Article 21(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/936 should be increased from 6 to 9 months,