Considerations on COM(2023)55 - EU position in the Trade Committee established with Viet Nam on amending of Protocol 1 concerning the definition of ‘originating products’ and administrative cooperation

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dossier COM(2023)55 - EU position in the Trade Committee established with Viet Nam on amending of Protocol 1 concerning the definition of ...
document COM(2023)55 EN
date April 25, 2023
 
(1) he Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (‘the Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by Council Decision (EU) 2020/753 3  of 30 March 2020 and entered into force on 1 August 2020.

(2) Pursuant to Article 36 of Protocol 1 to the Agreement, the Committee on Customs may submit a proposal for a Decision to review the provisions of Protocol 1, to be adopted by the Trade Committee.

(3) Pursuant to Article 17.1 (Trade Committee) of the Agreement, the Trade Committee shall evaluate and adopt decisions, where provided for in this Agreement, regarding any subject matter referred to it by the Committee on Customs.

(4) The Trade Committee is to adopt a Decision amending Annex II to Protocol 1.

(5) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the Committee on Customs and in the Trade Committee, as the Decision of the Trade Committee will be binding on the Union.

(6) Amendments were introduced on 1 January 2017 and on 1 January 2022 in relation to the nomenclature governed by the Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (‘HS’). The Decision is needed to update Protocol 1 and its annexes to reflect the latest version of the HS.

(7) There is no condition in Annex II to Protocol 1 for considering knitted or crocheted products of Heading 6212 to be sufficiently worked or processed. The rule of Chapter 62 of Annex II to Protocol 1 may not be applied to those products, since it is limited to products ‘not knitted or crocheted’. Therefore, a specific rule should be added for knitted or crocheted products of Heading 6212.

(8) The required working or processing for products classified in Chapter 41 is missing in the relevant column in Annex II to Protocol 1. It should be added.

(9) The word ‘individual’ in the third and fourth conditions of the required working or processing for products of Chapter 19 of Annex II to Protocol 1 may be interpreted in different ways as regards the content of materials of Chapter 4 and of sugar. To clarify the rule, the word ‘individual’ should be deleted in both instances.

(10) The tolerances for textile products of Chapter 62 of Annex II to Protocol 1 are not referred to in the different alternative rules of the required working or processing. This should be corrected.