Parltrack

Activites

• 2011/05/31 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2011/511
  • OJ L 145 31.05.2011, p. 0019
• 2011/05/11 Final act signed
• 2011/05/11 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2011/04/11 Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
• #3081
• 2011/04/11 Council Meeting
• 2011/02/17 Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T7-0061/2011 summary

    The European Parliament adopted by 495 votes to 16 with 75 abstentions a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council implementing the bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement. It adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments are the result of a compromise agreement between Parliament and Council. It should be noted that a first series of amendments were adopted on 7 September 2010 but the issue had been referred to the competent committee for reconsideration on the same date. The amendments made here replace the amendments adopted on 7 September 2010. The main amendments to the Commission's proposal are as follows : Definitions: several definitions in the proposal are clarified. The definition for "Union industry" has been amended and a new definition for "interested parties" has been inserted. The concept of threat of serious injury has also been amended in order to stress that a determination of the existence of a threat of serious injury shall be based on verifiable facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility. A new definition of "products" meaning goods originating in the Union or Korea, has been inserted.   Types of safeguard measures: safeguard measures may take one of the following forms: suspension of further reduction of the rate of customs duty on the product concerned provided for under the Agreement; or increase in the rate of customs duty on the product to a level which does not exceed the lesser of: (a) the most-favoured-nation ('MFN') applied rate of customs duty on the product in effect at the time the measure is taken; or (b) the base rate of customs duty specified in the Annex 2-A to the Agreement.   Monitoring based on evolution of statistics: the text provides that the Commission shall monitor the evolution of import and export statistics of Korean products in sensitive sectors potentially affected by duty drawback from the date of application of the Agreement and shall cooperate and exchange data on a regular basis with Member States and the Union industry. Upon a duly justified request by the industries concerned, the Commission may consider extending the scope of the monitoring to other sectors. The Commission shall present an annual monitoring report to the European Parliament and the Council on updated statistics on imports from Korea of products in the sensitive sectors and those sectors to which monitoring has been extended.. For the purposes of this article, at least the following products shall be considered as falling within the category of sensitive products: textiles and clothing, consumer electronics, passenger cars and also those products included in the additional list drawn up in accordance with the text. For a period of five years following the date of application of the Agreement and upon a duly reasoned request from the Union industry, the Commission shall pay particular attention to any increase in the import of finished sensitive products originating in Korea into the Union where such an increase is attributable to increased use of parts or components imported into Korea from third countries which have not concluded a free trade agreement with the Union and which are covered by the provisions on customs duty drawback or exemption from customs duty. Initiation of proceedings: the text provides that an investigation shall be initiated upon request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of the Union industry, or on the Commission's own initiative if it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify such initiation. The request to initiate an investigation shall contain evidence that the conditions for imposing the safeguard measure are met. It shall generally contain the following information: the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses, and employment. This list is not exhaustive and other relevant factors may also be taken into consideration by the Commission for its determination of the existence of serious injury or threat of serious injury, such as stocks, prices, return on capital employed, cash flow, and other factors which are causing or may have caused serious injury, or threaten to cause serious injury to the Union industry. An investigation may also be initiated in the event that there is a surge of imports concentrated in one or several Member States, provided that there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the conditions for initiation are met. The text also contains provisions clarifying the rules and time-limits regarding the conclusion of the investigation:  six months of its initiation, which may be extended by a further period of three months in exceptional circumstances such as the involvement of an unusually high number of parties, or complex market situations. . Prior surveillance measures: where the trend in imports of a product originating in Korea is such that it could lead to market instability, imports of that product may be subject to prior surveillance measures. The Commission may introduce prior surveillance measures for a limited period in the event that there is a surge of imports of products falling into sensitive sectors concentrated in one or several Member States. Provisional safeguard measures: the text provides that provisional safeguard measures shall be applied in critical circumstances where a delay would cause damage to Union industry which would be difficult to repair. In cases of imperative grounds of urgency, the Commission shall adopt applicable provisional safeguard measures immediately. On-line platform: in cases where an investigation commences, the Commission shall ensure password-protected online access to the non-confidential file ('online platform'), which it shall manage. All relevant, non-confidential information must be disseminated. Interested parties to the investigation as well as Member States and the European Parliament shall be granted access to this online platform. Procedure for the application of Article 14 of the Rules of Origin Protocol: Parliament wanted the establishment of criteria for the application of Article 14 of the Rules of Origin Protocol, in order to ensure the effective operation of the mechanisms provided for therein and to provide for a comprehensive exchange of information with relevant stakeholders. In this regard, the Commission shall, from the date of application of the Agreement, monitor closely the evolution of relevant import and export statistics.   Confidentiality: no information of a confidential nature or any information provided on a confidential basis received pursuant to the Regulation shall be disclosed without specific permission from the supplier of such information. Report: the Commission shall make public an annual report on the application and implementation of the Agreement. The report shall include information about the activities of the various bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Agreement and fulfilment of the obligations arising from the latter, including obligations concerning barriers to trade. The report shall also present a summary of the statistics and the evolution of trade with Korea. Specific mention shall be made of the results of the monitoring of duty drawback. The European Parliament may, within one month from the Commission making public the report, invite the Commission to an ad hoc meeting of its competent committee to present and explain any issues related to the implementation of the Agreement. Procedural rules: the text also makes amendments to the rules on the adoption of provisional and definitive safeguard measures, prior surveillance measures and the termination of investigation and proceeding without measures.   Declarations: it should be noted that in Statement annexed to the text, the indicates that it will present a yearly report to the European Parliament and Council on the implementation of the EU-Korea FTA and will be ready to discuss with the responsible committee of the European Parliament any issues arising from the implementation of the Agreement. It places some emphasis on the particular attention to the small car sector.   In a joint declaration, the Commission and the European Parliament agree on the importance of close cooperation in monitoring the implementation of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Safeguard Regulation. Towards this end they establish the rules to be followed where the European Parliament adopts a recommendation to initiate a safeguard investigation.

• 2010/09/07 Text adopted by Parliament, partial vote at 1st reading/single reading
  • T7-0301/2010 summary

    The European Parliament amended, under the ordinary legislative procedure (the former co-decision procedure), the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council implementing the bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The final vote on the legislative resolution has been postponed to a later session. The main amendments made to the Commission proposal are: Definitions: Parliament made a number of amendments with the purpose of clarifying the definitions used in the proposal. In particular, they amended the definition relating to "Union industry" and that relating to "threat of serious injury", and added a new definition for "interested parties" which means parties affected by the imports of the product in question. Members also added the following definitions: "products": this means goods produced in the European Union and the Republic of Korea. It does not include goods or components the production of which is contracted out to external manufacturing zones. Before the regulation's scope can be extended to include products contracted out to external manufacturing zones, it shall be amended in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure; "such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause": this includes such factors as the production capacity, utilisation rates, currency practices and labour conditions of a third country with regard to the manufacturing of components and materials incorporated into the product concerned. Regional safeguard measures: Parliament proposes that there should be the option of applying safeguard measures at regional level in exceptional cases in order to cause the least possible disruption to the internal market. The aim is to take due account of the major differences between the specific circumstances obtaining in each Member States and the fact that the FTA with South Korea may have a very different impact on the industry in each. Accordingly, where industries in one or more Member States are particularly severely affected, it should be possible for 'regional' safeguard measures to be brought to bear in order to enable them to adjust to the new situation. Statistical monitoring and surveillance measures: for safeguard measures to be used effectively, the Commission (Eurostat) shall present an annual monitoring report to the European Parliament and the Council on updated statistics on imports from Korea impacting sensitive sectors in the EU as a result of the Agreement (in particular, the automobile sector). In case of a proven threat of injury reported to the Commission by the Union industry, the Commission may consider broadening the scope of the monitoring for other impacted sectors. Monitoring: the Commission shall monitor the evolution of import and export statistics of Korean products, and shall cooperate and exchange data on a regular basis with Member States and the Union industry. The Commission shall ensure that Member States provide adequate and good quality statistical data diligently. The Commission shall closely monitor Korean and third party statistics and forecasts for the range of products potentially affected by duty drawback from the day of entry into force of the Agreement. Surveillance measures: where the trend in imports of a product originating in the Republic of Korea is such that they could lead to one of the situations referred to above, imports of that product may be subject to prior European Union surveillance. The decision to impose surveillance shall be taken by the Commission. Surveillance measures shall have a limited period of validity. Unless otherwise provided, they shall cease to be valid at the end of the second six-month period following the first six months after the measures were introduced. Surveillance measures may be restricted to the territory of one or more regions of the Union where necessary. Timing and deadlines: Parliament wants the investigation period to last a maximum of 200 days instead of the six months, renewable for three months proposed by the Commission, so as to ensure that industry is not left unprotected while an investigation is in progress. The investigation period will be deemed to have started on the day the decision to initiate an investigation is taken or the day on which provisional safeguard measures are adopted. Criteria applicable to the opening of an investigation procedure: in the context of an investigation, the Commission shall assess evaluate all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of the Union industry, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses, and employment. This list is not exhaustive and other relevant factors may also be taken into consideration by the Commission for its injury determination, such as stocks, prices, return on capital employed, cash flow, and other factors which are causing or may have caused serious injury, or threaten to cause serious injury. In the event that third-country content commonly accounts for a significant amount of the manufacturing cost of the product concerned, the Commission should also evaluate, as bearing on the situation of the Union industry, the production capacity, utilisation rates, currency practices and labour conditions of the third countries concerned. Moreover, in the investigation, the Commission shall evaluate, the observance by the Republic of Korea of the social and environmental standards laid down in Chapter 13 of the Agreement and any consequent effects on price building or unfair competitive advantages potentially leading to serious injury or the threat of serious injury to producers or specific sectors of the economy in the European Union. The Commission shall also evaluate observance of the Agreement's rules on non-tariff barriers to trade and any serious injury to producers or individual sectors of the economy in the European Union that may result therefrom. Evidence: Members consider that the type of evidence required in order for a proceeding to be initiated needs to be clearly defined, in order to place industries that may be affected in a more secure position. They propose that the adequacy of the evidence supplied should be determined on the basis of the factors that the regulation lays down for the investigation phase. The range of factors should be extended to include others that could be relevant when determining whether serious injury is being caused or there is a threat of it being caused. Involvement of industry and Parliament: Members propose that industry and Parliament should be able to request that an investigation be opened and provisional measures be applied, and should be afforded access to information relating to the investigation process. An investigation shall be initiated upon request by a Member State, the European Parliament, the Domestic Advisory Group, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of the Union industry and representing at least 25% of it or on the Commission's own initiative if it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify such initiation. It is proposed that an online platform be set up, on which all non-confidential information supplied to the Commission will be shared. The information must be kept up to date, so as to ensure that the latest information on safeguard proceeding investigations is available. The tasks of following up and reviewing the Agreement and, if necessary, imposing safeguard measures should be carried out in the most transparent manner possible and with the involvement of civil society, as well as interested parties. Duty drawbacks: because it will not be possible to limit customs duty drawback until five years after the Agreement comes into force, it may be necessary, on the basis of this Regulation, to impose safeguard measures in response to a serious injury or threat of serious injury to Union producers that is caused by duty drawback or exemption from duty. Therefore, from the day of the Agreement's entry into force, the Commission should monitor particularly closely, in particular in sensitive sectors, the rate of inclusion in products imported from the Republic of Korea of components or materials from third countries, any changes in that rate and the impact of such changes on the market situation.Members also want criteria to be drawn up concerning the application of Article 14 of the Rules of Origin Protocol in order to ensure that its provisions are properly applied and that there is close cooperation and effective information sharing with stakeholders. Reintroduction of a request for a safeguard clause: if the European Parliament expresses an objection to the draft decision not to impose bilateral safeguard measures, on the grounds that this decision would negate the intention of the legislator, the Commission shall re-examine the draft decision. Taking the reasons for the objection into account and within the time-limits of the procedure underway, the Commission may submit a new draft decision to the committee or submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with the Treaty. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the committee of the action which it intends to take and of its reasons for doing so. The Commission shall publish a report setting forth its findings and reasoned conclusions reached on all pertinent issues of fact and law with due regard to the protection of confidential information. Reporting: Parliament asks that the Commission should duly substantiate decisions to terminate proceedings without imposing safeguard measures or to impose measures. It also proposes that it should publish an annual report providing an overview of the requests to initiate investigations that have been submitted, the investigations conducted and their outcome, and decisions to impose provisional or definitive measures, together with statistics showing the trends in trade with Korea, with specific reference being made to duty drawback data. Parliament or the Council may, within one month, summon the Commission to appear before the competent committee of Parliament or of the Council to present and explain any issue related to the application of the safeguard clause, the duty drawback or the FTA in general. Comitology: amendments as regards comitology were also proposed.

  • Results of vote in Parliament
• 2010/09/07 Commission response to text adopted in plenary
  • SP(2011)2217
  • DG Trade, DE GUCHT Karel
• 2010/09/06 Debate in Parliament
• 2010/06/28 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A7-0210/2010
  • INTA INTA/7/02256 ZALBA BIDEGAIN Pablo EPP
• 2010/06/23 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • INTA INTA/7/02256 ZALBA BIDEGAIN Pablo EPP
• 2010/06/08 Committee draft report
  • PE441.080
• 2010/06/07 Deadline Amendments
• 2010/02/25 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • INTA INTA/7/02256 ZALBA BIDEGAIN Pablo EPP
• 2010/02/09 EP officialisation
• 2010/02/09 Legislative proposal
  • COM(2010)0049 summary

    PURPOSE: to lay down rules on implementing the bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. BACKGROUND: on 23 April 2007 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with the Republic of Korea with a view to conclude an EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The agreement was then initialled on 15 October 2009. The agreement incorporates a bilateral safeguard clause that provides for the possibility of re-imposing the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) rate when as a result of a trade liberalisation imports take place in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the Union Industry producing the like or directly competitive product. In order for these measures to be operational, such safeguard clause must be incorporated in EU law not least because the procedural aspects of the imposition of safeguard measures as well as the rights of interested parties, such as the right of defence, need to be specified. CONTENT: this proposal constitutes the legal instrument for the implementation of the safeguard clause of the EU-Korea FTA. The main points are as follows: Principles: a safeguard measure may be imposed in accordance with the provisions set out in the Regulation where a product originating in Korea is, as a result of the reduction or the elimination of the customs duties on that product, being imported in the Union in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the Union industry producing a like or directly competitive product. Safeguard measures may take one of the following forms: suspensions of further reduction of the rate of customs duty on the good concerned provided for under the Agreement; or increases of the rate of customs duty on the good to a level which does not exceed the lesser of: (i) the MFN applied rate of customs duty on the good in effect at the time the measure is taken; or (ii) the base rate of customs duty specified in the Schedules in the Annex of the Agreement. The terms "serious injury", "threat of serious injury" and "transition period" are defined in the text. Initiation of proceedings: the proposal lays down detailed provisions on the initiation of proceedings. The Commission should receive information including available evidence from Member States of any trends in imports which might call for the application of safeguard measures. If there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding the Commission will publish a notice as provided for in the Agreement in the Official Journal of the European Union. The investigation: the proposal lays down detailed provisions on the opening of investigations, access and inspections by interested parties to the information gathered, hearings for the parties involved and the opportunities for those parties to submit their views as provided for in the Agreement. The Commission shall notify the Republic of Korea in writing of the initiation of an investigation and consult with the Republic of Korea as far in advance of applying a bilateral safeguard measure as practicable, with a view to reviewing the information arising from the investigation and exchanging views on the measure. Pursuant to the Agreement, the proposal sets time limits for the initiation of investigations and for determinations as to whether or not measures are appropriate, with a view to ensuring that such determinations are made quickly, in order to increase legal certainty for the economic operators concerned. Imposition of provisional safeguard measures: an investigation should precede the application of any safeguard measure. However, there is the reservation that the Commission be allowed to apply provisional measures in critical circumstances where a delay would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair, pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good from Korea have increased as the result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under the Agreement, and such imports cause serious injury, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry. Provisional measures shall not apply for more than 200 days. Termination of investigation and proceeding without measures: where bilateral safeguard measures are deemed unnecessary the investigation and proceeding shall be terminated. Imposition of definitive measures: where the facts as finally established show that the circumstances set out in the text are met, a decision to impose definitive bilateral safeguard measures shall be taken in accordance with the Comitology procedure referred to in the proposal. Duration and review of safeguard measures: a safeguard measure shall remain in force only for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy the serious injury and to facilitate adjustment. That period shall not exceed two years, unless it is extended. The initial period of duration of a safeguard measure may exceptionally be extended by up to two years provided it is determined that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting. The total duration of a safeguard measure may not exceed four years, including any provisional measure. A safeguard measure shall not be applied beyond the expiration of the transition period, except with the consent of the Republic of Korea. Lastly, the proposal lays down rules on confidentiality, committee and decision making process. IMPACT ASSESSMENT: not applicable. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: not applicable.

  • DG Trade, DE GUCHT Karel

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2010)0049
• Committee draft report: PE441.080
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A7-0210/2010
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0301/2010
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2011)2217
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0061/2011
• : Regulation 2011/511
• : OJ L 145 31.05.2011, p. 0019

Votes

A7-0210/2010 - Pablo Zalba Bidegain - Legislative resolution

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)