
Article 1 
The procedure provided for by this Regulation shall be applicable when action by a third country or by its agents restricts or threatens to restrict free access by shipping companies of Member States or by ships registered in a Member State in accordance with its legislation to the transport of:

— liner cargoes in Code trades, except where such action is taken in accordance with the United Nations Convention on a Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences;
— liner cargoes in non-Code trades;
— bulk cargoes and any other cargo on tramp services;
— passengers;
— persons or goods to or between offshore installations.
This procedure shall be without prejudice to the obligations of the Community and its Member States under international law.
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Regulation:

— ‘home-trader’ means a shipping company of a third country which operates a service between its own country and one or more Member States;
— ‘cross-trader’ means a shipping company of a third country which operates a service between another third country and one or more Member States.
Article 3 
Coordinated action may be requested by a Member State.
The request shall be made to the Commission; the latter shall make the appropriate recommendations or proposals to the Council within four weeks.
The Council, acting in accordance with the voting procedure laid down in Article 84 (2) or the Treaty, may decide on the coordinated action provided for in Article 4.
In deciding on coordinated action, the Council shall also take due account of the external trade policy considerations as well as the port interests and the shipping policy considerations of the Member States concerned.
Article 4 

1. Coordinated action may consist of:
(a) diplomatic representation to the third countries concerned, in particular where their actions threaten to restrict access to trade;
(b) counter-measures directed at the shipping company or companies of the third countries concerned or at the shipping company or companies of other countries which benefit from the action taken by the countries concerned, whether operating as a hometrader or as a cross-trader in Community trades.Those countermeasures may consist, separately or in combination, of:
((i)) the imposition of an obligation to obtain a permit to load, carry or discharge cargoes; such a permit may be subject to conditions or obligations;
((ii)) the imposition of a quota;
((iii)) the imposition of taxes or duties.
2. Diplomatic representations shall be made before countermeasures are taken.Such countermeasures shall be without prejudice to the obligations of the European Community and its Member States under international law, shall take into consideration all the interests concerned and shall neither directly nor indirectly lead to deflection of trade within the Community.
Article 5 

1. When deciding upon one or more of the countermeasures referred to in Article 4 (1) (b) the Council shall specify, as appropriate, the following:
(a) the developments which have caused countermeasures to be taken;
(b) the trade or range of ports to which the countermeasures are to apply;
(c) the flag or shipping company of the third country whose cargo reservation measures restrict free access to cargoes in the shipping area concerned;
(d) maximum volume (percentage, weight in tonnes, containers) or value of cargo which may be loaded or discharged in ports of Member States;
(e) maximum number of sailings from and to ports of Member States;
(f) amount or percentage and basis of the taxes and duties to be levied and the manner:in which they will be collected;
(g) the duration of the countermeasures.
2. Where the countermeasures envisaged by paragraph 1 are not provided for by the national legislation of a Member State they may be taken in accordance with the Council Decision referred to in the third paragraph of Article 3 by the Member State concerned on the basis of this Regulation.
Article 6 

1. If the Council has not adopted the proposal on coordinated action within a period of two months, Member States may apply national measures unilaterally or as a group, if the situation so requires.
2. However, Member States may, in cases of urgency, take the necessary national measures on a provisional basis, unilaterally or as a group, even within the two-month period referred to in paragraph 1.
3. National measures taken in pursuance of this Article shall be notified immediately to the Commission and to the other Member States.
Article 7 
During the period in which the countermeasures are to apply, the Member States and the Commission shall consult each other in accordance with the consultation procedure established by Decision 77/587/EEC every three months or earlier if the need arises, in order to discuss the effects of the countermeasures in force.
Article 8 
The procedure provided for by this Regulation may be applied when action by a third country or its agents restricts or threatens to restrict the access of shipping companies of another OECD country where, on a basis of reciprocity, it has been agreed between that country and the Community to resort to coordinated resistance in the case of restriction of access to cargoes.
Such country may make a request for coordinated action and join in such coordinated action in accordance with this Regulation.
Article 9 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1987.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 22 December 1986.
For the Council
The President
G. SHAW