
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2331/2003 of 23 December 2003 implementing Article 12 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004 and amending that Regulation 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 of 10 December 2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004, and in particular Article 12 thereof,
Whereas:

(1) The tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 should be removed in respect of products, originating in a beneficiary country, of a sector which has met, during three consecutive years, either of the criteria laid down in Article 12(1) of that Regulation.

(2) Tariff preferences which had been removed under previous schemes and under Council Regulation (EC) No 815/2003, should be re-established in respect of a sector that has not met, during three consecutive years, the criteria laid down in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001.

(3) The condition in Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001, whereby paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 12 do not apply to beneficiary countries whose exports to the Community account for less than the threshold mentioned in that condition, has been met by Argentina, Iran and Uruguay.

(4) Tariff preferences which had been removed under previous schemes and under Regulation (EC) No 815/2003, should be re-established in respect of sectors of all beneficiary countries whose exports to the Community account for less than the threshold mentioned in Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001.

(5) The most recent and complete statistics, which are those for the years 1999 to 2001, should be used in order to establish which sectors meet the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001.

(6) Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 should be replaced in order to reflect the removal or re-establishment of tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Generalised Preferences Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 

1. The tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 shall be removed according to Article 12(1) of that Regulation in respect of products originating in the beneficiary countries listed in Annex I to this Regulation, falling under the sectors mentioned in that Annex alongside each country concerned.
2. The tariff preferences provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 shall be re-established according to Article 12(2) of that Regulation in respect of products originating in the beneficiary countries listed in Annex II to this Regulation, falling under the sectors mentioned in that Annex alongside each country concerned.
3. The tariff preferences which had been removed under previous schemes and under Regulation (EC) No 815/2003, shall be re-established according to Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 in respect of all beneficiary countries listed in Annex II to this Regulation.
Article 2 
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 shall be replaced by the text set out in Annex III to this Regulation.
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2005.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 23 December 2003.
For the Commission
Pascal LAMY
Member of the Commission
ANNEX I

Sectors in respect of which tariff preferences shall be removedCountry code Beneficiary country Sector Description
BR Brazil XXXIV Other base metals and articles of base metal
CN People's Republic of China XXV Jewellery and precious metals
MX Mexico XXXI Automobiles
PK Pakistan XXII Clothing
RU Russian Federation XXXIV Other base metals and articles of base metal
TH Thailand XXIV Glass and ceramic
ANNEX II
— Sectors in respect of which tariff preferences shall be re-established in application of Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 


Country code Beneficiary country Sector Description
BR Brazil XXIII Footwear
IN India XVII Leather, raw hides and skins
TH Thailand XVIII Articles of leather and fur skins

— Countries in respect of which all tariff preferences previously removed shall be re-established in application of Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 

Argentina

Brunei Darussalam

Belarus

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Iran

Kuwait

Macao

Mauritius

Philippines

Ukraine

Uruguay

ANNEX III

Beneficiary countries and territories of the Community's scheme of generalised tariff preferences

Column Acode according to the nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the CommunityColumn Bname of countryColumn Csectors not included in the general arrangements for the beneficiary country concerned (Article 7(7))Column Dsectors in respect of which tariff preferences have been removed for the beneficiary country concerned (Article 7(8) and Article 10(3))Column Ecountries included in the special incentive arrangements for the protection of labour rights (Title III Section1)Column Fsectors included in these arrangements for the beneficiary country concerned (Article 8(1) and (2))Column Gcountries included in the special incentive arrangements for the protection of the environment (Title III Section 2)Column Hcountries included in the special arrangements for least developed countries (Article 9)Column Icountries included in the special arrangements to combat drug production and trafficking (Title IV)

A B C D E F G H I
AE United Arab Emirates       
AF Afghanistan      X 
AG Antigua and Barbuda       
AI Anguilla       
AM Armenia II, XXVI      
AN Netherlands Antilles       
AO Angola      X 
AQ Antarctica       
AR Argentina       
AS American Samoa       
AW Aruba       
AZ Azerbaijan II, XXVI      
BB Barbados       
BD Bangladesh      X 
BF Burkina Faso      X 
BH Bahrain       
BI Burundi      X 
BJ Benin      X 
BM Bermuda       
BN Brunei Darussalam       
BO Bolivia       X
BR Brazil  I, VI, IX, XI, XII, XVII, XIX, XX, XXVI, XXXIV     
BS Bahamas       
BT Bhutan      X 
BV Bouvet Island       
BW Botswana       
BY Belarus II, XXVI      
BZ Belize       
CC Cocos Islands (or Keeling Islands)       
CD Democratic Republic of Congo      X 
CF Central African Republic      X 
CG Congo       
CI Côte d'Ivoire       
CK Cook Islands       
CL Chile       
CM Cameroon       
CN People's Republic of China XXVI III, IV, VIII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XX, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXXII, XXXIII     
CO Colombia       X
CR Costa Rica       X
CU Cuba       
CV Cape Verde      X 
CX Christmas Islands       
DJ Djibouti      X 
DM Dominica       
DO Dominican Republic       
DZ Algeria       
EC Ecuador       X
EG Egypt       
ER Eritrea      X 
ET Ethiopia      X 
FJ Fiji       
FK Falklands Islands       
FM Federated States of Micronesia       
GA Gabon       
GD Grenada       
GE Georgia II, XXVI      
GH Ghana       
GI Gibraltar       
GL Greenland II      
GM Gambia      X 
GN Guinea      X 
GQ Equatorial Guinea      X 
GS South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands       
GT Guatemala       X
GU Guam       
GW Guinea-Bissau      X 
GY Guyana       
HM Heard Island and McDonald Islands       
HN Honduras       X
HT Haiti      X 
ID Indonesia  X, XIX, XXIII     
IN India  XVIII, XXI     
IO British Indian Ocean Territory       
IQ Iraq       
IR Iran (Islamic Republic of)       
JM Jamaica       
JO Jordan       
KE Kenya       
KG Kyrgyzstan II, XXVI      
KH Cambodia      X 
KI Kiribati      X 
KM Comoros      X 
KN St Kitts and Nevis       
KW Kuwait       
KY Cayman Islands       
KZ Kazakhstan II, XXVI      
LA Lao People's Democratic Republic      X 
LB Lebanon       
LC St Lucia       
LK Sri Lanka       
LR Liberia      X 
LS Lesotho      X 
LY Libyan Arab Jamahiriya  XIII     
MA Morocco  XV     
MD Moldova (Republic of) II, XXVI  X All except II and XXVI   
MG Madagascar      X 
MH Marshall Islands       
ML Mali      X 
MM Myanmar      X 
MN Mongolia       
MO Macao       
MP Northern Mariana Islands       
MR Mauritania      X 
MS Montserrat       
MU Mauritius       
MV Maldives      X 
MW Malawi      X 
MX Mexico  XI, XIV, XXIV, XXVI, XXXI     
MY Malaysia  X, XVI, XIX, XXIX     
MZ Mozambique      X 
NA Namibia       
NC New Caledonia       
NE Niger      X 
NF Norfolk Island       
NG Nigeria       
NI Nicaragua       X
NP Nepal      X 
NR Nauru       
NU Niue Island       
OM Oman       
PA Panama       X
PE Peru       X
PF French Polynesia       
PG Papua New Guinea       
PH Philippines       
PK Pakistan  XVII, XVIII, XXI, XXII     X
PM St Pierre and Miquelon       
PN Pitcairn       
PW Palau       
PY Paraguay       
QA Qatar       
RU Russian Federation II, XXVI XIII, XV, XXXIV     
RW Rwanda      X 
SA Saudi Arabia  XIII     
SB Solomon Islands      X 
SC Seychelles       
SD Sudan      X 
SH Santa Helena       
SL Sierra Leone      X 
SN Senegal      X 
SO Somalia      X 
SR Suriname       
ST São Tomé and Príncipe      X 
SV El Salvador       X
SY Syrian Arab Republic       
SZ Swaziland       
TC Turks and Caicos Islands       
TD Chad      X 
TF French Southern territories       
TG Togo      X 
TH Thailand  II, XI, XVI, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXIX     
TJ Tajikistan II, XXVI      
TK Tokelau Islands       
TL East Timor       
TM Turkmenistan II, XXVI      
TN Tunisia  XV, XXII     
TO Tonga       
TT Trinidad and Tobago       
TV Tuvalu      X 
TZ Tanzania (United Republic of)      X 
UA Ukraine II, XXVI      
UG Uganda      X 
UM United States Minor outlying islands       
UY Uruguay       
UZ Uzbekistan II, XXVI      
VC St Vincent and Northern Grenadines       
VE Venezuela       X
VG Virgin Islands (British)       
VI Virgin Islands (USA)       
VN Vietnam       
VU Vanuatu      X 
WF Wallis and Futuna       
WS Samoa      X 
YE Yemen      X 
YT Mayotte       
ZA South Africa XXVI      
ZM Zambia      X 
ZW Zimbabwe       

