ࡱ> u@  bjbj :BHHH\8@4t\X,:΄΄΄$R#HCCC#HH΄΄$CH΄H΄C2HH ΄ DwRa .9<X .\ \\HHHHH |qLh##\D 8Y'\ Ytrade regime Institutional Framework The Treaty on European Union (EU), signed in Maastricht on 7February1992, entered into force on 1 November 1993. Under the treaty, the EU is based on three main pillars. The first pillar continues integration under the Treaties establishing the European Community, which currently also covers the matters formerly covered by the European Coal and Steel Community (now expired), and the European Atomic Energy Community. The second and third pillars, introduced by the EU Treaty, are on foreign and security policies, and justice and home affairs, respectively. The most important change to the institutional framework of the European Communities (EC) since its last Trade Policy Review was introduced by the Treaty of Nice, adopted in December 2000 by the European Council and put into force on 1 February 2003 after ratification by member States. The main objective of the treaty is to gear the workings of the European institutions to the arrival of new members. Under the current institutional framework of the EC, the main decision-making bodies are the Council of the European Union (generally referred to as the Council), the European Parliament (EP), and the Commission of the European Communities (generally referred to as the European Commission). The key responsibilities of the Council include: passing EC laws, coordinating broad economic policies among member States, concluding international agreements to which the EC is a party, approving the EC's budget, (jointly with the EP), taking decisions concerning common foreign and security policies, and adopting measures in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The EP exercises supervision over all EC institutions, and shares (with the Council) the power to legislate and approve the EC budget. The Commission is the executive body of the EC and has responsibility for: proposing legislation to Parliament and Council; managing and implementing EC policies and budget; enforcing EC law (a responsibility shared with the Court of Justice); and representing the EC on the international stage, including that of negotiating trade and cooperation agreements. The aim of the Court of Justice of the EC (also referred to as the European Court of Justice) is to ensure that, in the interpretation and application of the Treaty on the EU, the law is observed. The purpose of the Court of Auditors is to ensure the reliability of the revenue and expenditure accounts of the EC, and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, on which it reports annually to the European Parliament and the Council. The European Ombudsman is in place to receive complaints from EC citizens, or from natural or legal persons residing or having their legal domicile in a member State, and also to help uncover maladministration in EC institutions and bodies. The financial bodies of the EC are: the European Central Bank, which frames and implements the monetary policy, conducts foreign exchange operations, and manages the payment system (Chapter I(1)); and the European Investment Bank. Its advisory bodies are: the European Economic and Social Committee, which represents the views and interest of organized civil society vis--vis the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament; and the Committee of Regions, which puts forward local and regional points of view concerning EC legislation. The inter-institutional bodies are the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities and the European Communities Personnel Selection Office. Decentralized agencies have been established under Community Acts for specific technical, scientific or managerial tasks; as of August 2003, there were 19 such agencies, six of which had been established since the last TPR of the EC, mainly to attend to safety concerns. Institutional changes are expected to take place with the adoption of the draft Constitutional Treaty of the EU, prepared by the Convention on the Future of Europe. Policy Formulation and Implementation The EC's trade policy is formulated and implemented by means of Community acts. These consist of regulations, with general application, binding and directly applicable in all member States; directives, requiring transposition into member State law and practice; decisions, binding upon their addressees; decisions of general application; and recommendations and opinions, which have no binding force. The EC also has competence to conclude international agreements. The EC has exclusive competence in formulating and ensuring the implementation of the Common Commercial Policy (CCP), which covers trade in all goods, and most services. Under the Nice Treaty, the CCP was extended to cover the negotiation and conclusion of agreements on all aspects of trade in services and commercial aspects of intellectual property. Depending on the type of Act and the issue, the final decision has to be taken by the Council and/or the Parliament, and may involve the Court of Auditors and the EC's financial and advisory bodies. Decisions by Parliament are taken by absolute majority of the votes cast by members. Most Council decisions, including on trade and trade-related issues, are taken by qualified majority vote (QMV). However, in some sensitive areas, for instance taxation, adoption of a decision requires unanimity. The Council can amend proposed acts before adopting them, in some cases, with Parliamentary approval. The procedure used to pass an Act depends on whether the issue under consideration requires co-decision, assent or consultation. Under the co-decision procedure, the EP shares legislative power equally with the Council. The EP can amend proposed Acts and its approval is required for them to be passed. Issues covered by this procedure are mainly related to the internal market and include: customs cooperation, services, right of establishment, internal market, free movement of workers, education, health, trans-European networks, environment, culture, and research. Under the assent procedure, the Council has to obtain Parliament's assent before a decision is taken. Assent requires an absolute majority of the votes cast; however, Parliament cannot amend a proposed Act. Areas covered by this procedure include: accession of new member States, association agreements, other "fundamental" agreements with third countries, and structural and cohesion funds. Under the consultation procedure, Council seeks the opinion of Parliament, as well as of other relevant EC institutions or bodies, before the Act is adopted as it is or with amendments. The Council is not bound, however, by the EP position but only the obligation to consult it. Areas under this procedure include: agriculture, economic policy, competition rules, and tax arrangements. In areas such as anti-dumping and safeguard actions, decision-making has generally been delegated from Council to the Commission. However, definitive anti-dumping measures are decided by the Council upon proposals from the Commission. Community acts, including trade and trade-related acts, are implemented at the Community level or at member State level, overseen by the Commission. The Council and/or European Parliament may delegate powers to the Commission, which then takes decisions, assisted by a committee composed of member State representatives (comitology) and operating under the advisory, management or regulatory procedure, depending on the EC Treaty provisions that apply to the matter. The number of comitology committees increased from 244 in 2001 to 257 in 2002. In 2002, a total of 3,610 opinions were delivered by the committees and 3,077 instruments were adopted by the Commission. Reforms to improve the legislative process have been ongoing since the last TPR of the EU. They are an outcome of the Commission's White Paper on European Governance, issued in July 2001, calling for a renewal of the "Community Method" by involving more people and organizations in shaping and delivering EC policy. Consultations with a broad section of interested parties, including civil society and third countries, have since taken place and enabled the Commission to come up with recommendations to simplify and improve the regulatory environment; promote a culture of dialogue and participation; and systematize impact assessment by the Commission. An action plan, developed in June 2002, is being implemented to simplify the regulatory environment. General principles and minimum standards for consultations were adopted by the Commission in December2002 to promote a culture of dialogue and wider participation throughout the legislative process. In this respect, the EURLEX (portal to EC law), PRELEX (database on inter-institutional procedures), and CELEX (search engine for EC laws) sites, are detailed in their presentation of the legislative process in the EC. Interested parties (including from third countries) that wish to submit comments on a policy proposal can do so through the CONECCS (Consultation, the European Commission and Civil Society) database, or through special information sheets. Prior authorization from the Council is required before the Commission commences negotiating trade agreements. The negotiations are conducted under directives from the Council, and in consultation with a special committee appointed by the Council in accordance with Article 133 (3) of the Treaty establishing the European Community. The assent of the Parliament is required for the conclusion of certain agreements going beyond the scope of the common commercial policy (CCP), including the ϲʹ, and association and cooperation agreements. Agreements that go beyond the Community's internal powers conferred on it by the Treaty of Nice, or that go beyond what is necessary for the achievement of one of the Community objectives, also require the approval of member States. With an enlarged EU, the requirement of approval of both the Community and member States could delay the conclusion of such agreements. In order to systematize the impact assessments, proposed acts/agreements under negotiation are evaluated by external consultants with the main aim of identifying their economic, environmental, and social effects, and proposing flanking measures to mitigate their adverse effects and amplify their benefits. The studies are intended to play a major role in decision-making without substituting for political judgement. Trade Policy Objectives The objective of the EC's Common Commercial Policy as enshrined in Article 131 of the Treaty of Nice is to" contribute, in the Common interest, to the harmonious development of world trade, the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and the lowering of customs barriers". This objective is in consonance with the general aims of the Treaty "to promote, throughout the Community, a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and social protection, equality between men and women, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life, and economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Members". The EC's common trade policy covers all the main measures affecting trade in goods and services and almost all trade-related issues. Within the internal market, goods, services, capital, and labour are allowed to move freely. Trade-related areas partially covered by the common trade policy include: company law, indirect taxation, standards and other technical regulations, community patent, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The non-harmonization of all trade policy measures in these areas, as well as the implementation challenges where harmonized legislation exists, hinders trade amongst member States. For instance, the Commission estimates that the non-application of the mutual recognition principle (Chapter III(2)(ix)) cuts intra-community trade by up to 150 billion. Therefore, through its internal market strategy, the Commission seeks to improve free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour within the Community, via a wide range of regulatory measures and actions, including on: indirect taxation, mutual recognition, standardization, harmonization of national rules governing unfair commercial practices, air traffic control management, railways sector, elimination of double taxation, public procurement, Community patent, enforcement of intellectual property rights, and corporate governance. All these have been prioritized to be dealt with over the 2003-06 period. According to the Commission, the EC intends to continue to give priority to the liberalization of its trade regime at the multilateral level through the Doha Development Agenda. It is further liberalizing trade at the regional and bilateral level through ongoing negotiations on reciprocal preferential trade arrangements, as well as through non-reciprocal preferences it is granting to leastdeveloped and developing countries (section (5)(iii)). Trade Regulations and Business Environment The European Community Treaty provides the main legal framework for trade and trade-related issues. Apart from pure commercial considerations, EC trade and trade-related legislation takes into account the protection of human, animal, and plant life, the environment, cultural heritage, and endangered species. International agreements concluded by the EC are binding on the Community institutions and on its member States. During the period under review, the EC has revised/amended parts of its trade-related legislation (Chapter III). Beyond the EC trade legislation, member States can take national measures affecting imports and exports on grounds of public morality; security; protection of human, animal, and plant life; and protection of national treasures and the environment. Under the Treaty establishing the European Community, all restrictions on the movement of capital and payments between member States, and between member States and third countries are prohibited, subject to few exceptions. Restrictions exist on foreign direct investment flows to or from third countries in areas such as real estate, provision of financial services, and capital markets (admissions of securities). Furthermore, the application of tax law by each member State makes it necessary to distinguish between taxpayers on the basis of their residences and the place where the capital is invested. Differences in capital market structures, corporate governance rules, and corporate tax systems, across member States, are however preventing investors from taking full advantage of the benefits of an integrated market. The Commission estimates that costs associated with the lack of harmonization of company tax systems represent between 2% to 4% of total corporate income tax. These concerns are being addressed through a series of recently adopted or proposed measures. The Statute for a European Company, adopted in 2001, is due to enter into force on 8October2004. It will give companies operating in more than one member State the option of being established as a single company under Community law. This will allow them to operate throughout the EC under one set of rules and a unified management and reporting system, rather than under the different national laws of each member State where they have subsidiaries. This is expected to reduce their administrative costs and provide a legal structure adapted to the Union as a whole. A 2002 Regulation requires listed companies to use international accounting standards by 2005. This is expected to bring transparency and greater comparability between the consolidated financial statements of EC listed companies, provide investors with adequate information, and lead to better capital allocation within the EC. In May 2003, the Commission adopted an action plan on "Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the EC". The plan aims to strengthen shareholders rights, reinforce protection for employees and creditors, and increase the efficiency and competitiveness of businesses, with special attention to cross-border issues. It is based on a set of proposals for action covering several years. The initiatives considered by the Commission to be the most urgent are: the need for listed companies to include in their annual documents a coherent and descriptive statement covering the key elements of their corporate governance structures and practices; the need for the development of a legislative framework aimed at helping shareholders to exercise various rights (including cross-border voting rights); a recommendation aimed at promoting the role of (independent) non-executive or supervisory directors, and another on directors' remuneration; the creation of a European corporate governance forum to help encourage coordination and convergence of national codes, and of the way they are enforced and monitored. The Commission has also proposed a prospectuses directive aiming to simplify the ability of European companies to raise capital across the EC, through the use of one document instead of 25. In response to the increased number of investors in the financial markets and to the complex and wide-ranging services and instruments being offered, a new investment services directive has also been proposed. It aims to establish a single market, based on home-country supervision; protect public goods and investors; and to strengthen the enforcement of the prospectuses directive throughout the EC. Furthermore, during the period under review, a series of initiatives to address specific tax obstacles have been put in place or have been under consideration. In particular, the scope of the Parent-Subsidiary Directive has been extended to a broader range of companies, including the European company and the European cooperative society. A similar proposal has been presented for the Merger Directive. An "EU Joint Forum on Transfer Pricing", was established, to discuss non-legislative solutions to tackle transfer-pricing issues, notably high compliance costs and potential double taxation. In June 2003, a directive to eliminate withholding taxes on payments of interest and royalties, made between associated companies of different member States, was also approved, as part of a package of three measures. Other measures in the package were a directive allowing effective taxation of interest income received by individuals from cross-border investment of savings, and a code of conduct for business taxation, aimed at tackling harmful tax competition in the EC. Measures being considered include the preparation of a communication on tax decisions by the European Court of Justice; an initiative to tackle limitations on cross-border loss relief within the EC, thus allowing parent companies to take into account losses incurred by subsidiaries located in other member States: and a legal analysis of the possible conflicts between the EC Treaty and the bilateral double taxation treaties that member States have concluded with each other and with third countries. In addition, in the long-term, the Commission intends to provide companies with a common consolidated tax base for their EU-wide activities. The Commission has stated clearly, however, that it is not advocating full EC company tax harmonization. Trade Agreements and Arrangements Overview The EC is an active participant in the ϲʹ. It also has in place a wide variety of preferential trade agreements and arrangements motivated by economic, historical, development, and geo-political considerations (Tables II.1 and AII.1). As a consequence, its purely MFN regime applies to nine ϲʹ Members, which account for some 36% of its merchandise trade. The Commission estimates that 74% of the EC's trade is under the MFN regime; this implies that MFN trade with its preferential partners represents some 38% of its overall trade. According to the Commission, since 1999, the EC's approach to preferential agreements has been to pursue all existing mandates and ongoing negotiations on preferential agreements, but not to begin any new negotiations in order to focus efforts on multilateral negotiations. The EC's preferential trade agreements have so far resulted in free trade in industrial goods, and limited liberalization of trade in agricultural goods; in some cases, these agreements also cover trade in services. Liberalization under its reciprocal preferential agreements is often undertaken asymmetrically (with the EC liberalizing at a faster pace) and over different transition periods. The agreements also cover, inter alia, the harmonization of technical requirements (including standards), intellectual property protection, investment, competition policy, government procurement, trade defence instruments, and dispute settlement mechanism. Increasingly, negotiations are with, or seek to encourage, other regional groupings (e.g. MERCOSUR, Economic Partnership Agreements with ACP countries, and the Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area); negotiations also take into account environmental considerations through a sustainability impact assessment. The EC's web of preferential trade agreements, with different trade liberalization agendas and trading rules (including rules of origin), further complicates its trade regime. The limited liberalization (so far) of agriculture under the agreements has hindered its exposure to competition. Furthermore, for preferential trading partners, absence of, or delays in, the alignment of their regime may lead to trade diversion to the detriment of their exports. Table II.1 Typology of the EC's regional agreements, May 2004 Type of trade regimeName of agreementCountries involvedSingle marketEuropean Economic Area (EEA)Iceland, Liechtenstein, NorwayCustoms unionTurkey, Andorra, San MarinoFree-trade areaBulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Faroe Islands, FYROM, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Romania, South Africa, Switzerland, TunisiaPartnership and cooperation agreements (MFN treatment)Russia and other former Community of Independent States countriesNon-reciprocal: contractual preferencesMediterranean Agreements, Cotonou AgreementsAfrican, Caribbean and Pacific countries, Algeria, Egypt, SyriaNon-reciprocal: autonomous preferencesGeneralized System of Preferences (GSP), and Stabilization and Association Agreements.Other developing countries and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo)Purely MFN treatmentAustralia; Canada; Chinese Taipei; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Republic of Korea; New Zealand; Singapore; and the United States.Source: ϲʹ Secretariat based on Lamy, P. (2002), Stepping stones or stumbling blocks? The EC's approach towards the problem of multilateralism and regionalism in trade policy. The World Economy, November 2002, vol. 25, No. 10, pp.1399-1413(15) . The results of empirical analyses of the economic impact of preferential trade agreements (including those concluded by the EC) are ambiguous. The results are dependent on, inter alia, the comparative advantages and complementarities of members' economies vis--vis each other, and vis--vis the rest of the world; the degree of liberalization, particularly of sectors where protection levels are high; the level of technical barriers and of their harmonization; the liberality of the rules of origin; and the level of domestic anti-competitive practices. In general, most studies find the welfare impact on countries participating in preferential trade agreements to be positive, although relatively small in most cases. Other studies however identify negative welfare effects resulting from public revenue losses outweighing net trade creation benefits (trade creation versus trade diversion), and from structural constraints in participating countries. With regard to third countries, the extent of trade diversion depends on the relative price changes following regional integration, and on the ease with which imports can be switched from non-preferential to preferential sources. Depending on the case, the net trade creation effects may be positive or negative. The studies conclude that liberalization on a multilateral MFN basis would eliminate the adverse trade diversion effects. All studies observe that multilateral trade liberalization yields the greatest global welfare gains. In the Commission's view, for regional trade agreements to achieve their full potential benefits and reinforce the multilateral trading system, they need to provide for deep across-the-board internal liberalization, avoid raising barriers to trade with third parties, and pave the way for further multilateral liberalization. Therefore, the Commission considers that the EC's preferential trade agreements (concluded mainly with developing countries) form part of a wider policy of promoting multilateralism. ϲʹ In the ϲʹ, the Commission speaks on behalf of the EC on the basis of a Community position on the issues under discussion. The EC's ambitions for the future development of the multilateral trading system include: (i) further liberalization of trade in goods and services, and investment, with clear rules and a reasonable time-table; (ii) strengthening of existing ϲʹ rules and the development of rules in new areas; (iii) full participation by developing countries in ϲʹ's decision-taking processes, with a view to helping them integrate into the world economy; and (iv)more openness, accountability, and effectiveness of the ϲʹ through discussion with other groups and organizations. As a leading trading entity, the EC has been instrumental in advancing the Doha Development Agenda by tabling proposals in several areas. It has spearheaded initiatives in the liberalization of trade, strengthening of ϲʹ rules, and promotion of sustainable development. On market access for goods, it is of the view that liberalization should be carried out on a comprehensive basis, rather than in a sectoral manner, and that negotiations should help developing countries get better access to the markets of developed countries; and that trade barriers between developing countries should also be significantly lowered. On agriculture, it proposes to reduce its import tariffs and trade-distorting farm support by more than a half and has offered to eliminate export subsidies on a list of products of interest to developing countries. It also stresses that the negotiations on agriculture must take into account non-trade concerns as well as the better protection of geographical indications. Further market access for services is also advocated. The EC has presented more than 100 initial requests for improved access to third-country markets and has received several initial requests from third countries. It advocates the need for multilateral environmental agreements to mesh smoothly with agreements in the multilateral trading system in mutually supportive ways. The EC has called for tariff- and quota-free access for goods from least developed countries, as well as special and differential treatment based on the level of development and capacity of developing countries. It has also been behind initiatives to finance and support trade-related technical assistance aimed at helping developing countries to accede to the ϲʹ, to implement ϲʹ rules, and to participate more actively in the multilateral trading system. As regards trade defence measures, the EC has been advocating stricter mechanisms and greater transparency. It also argues for improvements of trade facilitation rules; a more transparent and predictable climate for investment; and the promotion of fair competition and procurement policies. The EC's tariff commitments are in Schedule CXL. With the exception of a few transition provisions, new EC members have to adopt the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) upon their accession to the Union. As a consequence of the enlargement to EC-25, the procedures relating to re-negotiations of tariff concessions under GATT Article XXIV:6 began during the period under review. In April 2003, the EC notified the ϲʹ of its intention to replace the GATS schedules and list of Article II (MFN) exemptions of its 15 members with consolidated ones (ChapterIV(6)(i))).As a consequence, the EC is undertaking renegotiations with 17 Members that have registered a claim of interest. A similar process of consolidation is expected to take place in relation to the enlargement to EC-25. The EC has generally met its notification obligations; this has contributed to the transparency of its trade regime. Since 2002, all notifications requirements have been met except for a few under the Agreement on Agriculture (Table II.2). Table II.2 Selected recent EC notifications to the ϲʹ, as of May 2004 Agreement and requirementSymbolDateAgreement on Agriculture Article 10 and 18.2 - export subsidies (ES:1 to ES:3)G/AG/N/EEC/4411/06/2003Article 16.2 - Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net-Food Importing Developing Countries (NF:1 items (1) to (4))G/AG/N/EEC/4627/06/2003Article 18.2 - domestic support (DS:1 & as appropriate supporting tables DS:1 to DS:9)G/AG/N/EEC/4901/04/2004Article 18.2 - tariff and other quota commitments (MA:2)G/AG/N/EEC/4827/02/2004Article 18.3 - domestic support (DS:2)G/AG/N/EEC/4729/07/2003Article 5.7 and 18.2 - special safeguard provisions (MA:5)G/AG/N/EEC/4305/06/2003Agreement on Government Procurement 1994 Article XXIV:6GPA/W/22612/12/2002Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 Article 16.4 - ad hocG/ADP/N/11618/04/2004Article 16.4 - semi-annualG/ADP/N/112/EEC08/03/2004Article 5.8G/ADP/N/100/EEC21/01/2003Article 18.5G/ADP/N/1/EEC/2/Suppl.414/04/2003Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures Article 7.3G/LIC/N/3/EEC/6/Corr.112/11/2003Article 1.4(a) and 8.2(b)G/LIC/N/1/EEC/2/Add.410/01/2003Agreement on Safeguards Article 12.1(a) initiationG/SG/N/6/EEC/317/03/2004Article 12.1(b) findingG/SG/N/8/EEC/216/03/2004Article 12.1(c) decisionG/SG/N/10/EEC/216/03/2004Article 12.4G/SG/N/7/EEC/206/11/2003Article 12.5 - Joint communicationsG/SG/6206/03/2003Article 12.5 - suspension of concessions referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 8G/SG/43/SUPPL.120/06/2002Article 12.6G/SG/N/1/EEC/1/Suppl.114/04/2003Article 9.1 footnote 2G/SG/N/11/EEC/2/Suppl.116/03/2004Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Article 25.11 - ad hocG/SCM/N/110 01/04/2004Article 25.11 - semi-annualG/SCM/N/106/EEC11/03/2004Article 32.6G/SCM/N/1/EEC/2/Suppl.414/04/2003Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade Article 10.7G/TBT/10.7/N/4429/01/2003Table II.2 (cont'd)Article 2.9G/TBT/N/EEC/6023/03/2004Article 5.6G/TBT/N/EEC/5303/02/2004Article multipleG/TBT/N/EEC/52/Add.110/03/2004Article unspecifiedG/TBT/N/EEC/5724/02/2004Agreement on Textiles and Clothing Article 2:1G/TMB/N/60/ADD.5/Suppl.413/11/2002Article 2:11G/TMB/N/46916/03/2004Article 2:17G/TMB/N/444/ADD.3/Corr.102/10/2002Article 3:1G/TMB/N/64/ADD.2/Suppl.103/04/2002Article 3:3G/TMB/N/42420/02/2002Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Article 7, Annex BG/SPS/N/EEC/24207/04/2004Decision of the Committee on Government Procurement 1994 of 27 February 1996GPA/W/285/Add.429/01/2004Decisions of the CONTRACTING PARTIES (BISD 31S/12 BISD 31S/222 BISD 32S/12 BISD 32S/93) Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (G/L/59) biennialG/MA/NTM/QR/1/Add.9/Corr.120/03/2003GATS Article III:4 or IV:2S/ENQ/78/Rev.218/06/2002Article V:7(a)WT/REG2/617/10/2002Article XXI:1(b)S/C/N/231/Corr.115/08/2003GATT 1994 Article XVII:4(a) - Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVIIG/STR/N/3/EEC 23/07/2002Article XXIV:7(a) - Free-Trade AreasWT/REG142/N/1/Rev.124/12/2002Article XXIV:7(a) - Interim Agreement (Free-Trade Areas)WT/REG164/N/118/02/2004Article XXVIII:5G/MA/12012/12/2002GATT Concessions under the Harmonized Commodity description and coding system (BISD 39S/300) Procedures to implement changes in the harmonized system (Annex to L/6905)G/SECRET/HS02/EEC/228/03/2002Source: ϲʹ documents. The EC is an active user of the ϲʹ dispute settlement mechanism. Between January 2002 and February 2004, it ranked joint first with the United States in terms of complaints. During the period under review, it has been a complainant in seven cases, three of which were brought against the United States, two against India, one against the Republic of Korea, and one against Australia. It has been a respondent in 14 cases. The EC joined as a third party in 19 disputes, 15 involving the United States. Moreover, pursuant to the Doha Ministerial Declaration in 2001, the EC is involved in negotiations to clarify and improve the dispute settlement mechanism of the ϲʹ system and has submitted proposals in that respect. These proposals essentially relate to: the establishment and composition of panels; third parties' rights; panel procedures; the appellate body and surveillance; and the implementation of recommendations of the Dispute Settlement Body. Preferential trade agreements and arrangements Agreements with European countries/groupings Acceding countries On 1 May 2004, ten countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia), out of thirteen candidate countries, acceded to the EU. Accession into the Union implies meeting the so-called Copenhagen criteria: stable institutions guaranteeing democracy; the rule of law; respect for protection of human rights and minorities; existence of a functioning market economy; capacity to cope with market forces and competitive pressures within the Union; and ability to take on the obligations of membership. The latter implies the adoption of the EC's acquis communautaire, also in the areas of trade and trade-related legislation, including the CCP. However, a few transitional arrangements on specified areas apply to new members (Chapter III). The Europe Agreements and Association Agreements, signed between the EC-15 and the acceding countries (a requirement of the accession process), had already introduced free trade in almost all industrial products. Therefore, in terms of market access opportunities in non-agricultural goods, the anticipated changes are not likely to be significant. However, even though agricultural trade was liberalized under the Europe Agreements, there remained some tariff and tariff-quota restrictions. Hence, market access opportunities are expected to be greater for agricultural goods. Increased market access opportunities are also expected to occur in services, as services liberalization under Europe Agreements did not go as far as within the EC-15. As part of their EU obligations, new members States will have renounced their bilateral trade agreements with third countries upon accession and will have applied, as from 1 May 2004, all bilateral and regional agreements concluded by the EC. It is expected that more than 60 existing agreements will have been superseded or terminated, thereby consolidating trade relations within Europe. More precisely, the Europe Agreements and the Association Agreements between the acceding countries and the EC will have terminated, while the trade-related aspects of all existing agreements among acceding countries, as well as those between the latter and third parties will have been repealed. An enlarged EC membership will have also extended the geographical coverage of the EC's own trade agreements, thereby increasing market access to EC's preferential partners, while third countries without such preferential market access will find it more difficult to compete on the EC market. Several studies confirm that the Europe Agreements stimulated substantial growth in trade between the EC and acceding countries. However, other studies suggest that, while there remains potential for increased trade, some of the acceding countries might have reached their trade potential. Drawing from the experiences of Ireland, Portugal, and Spain, the European Commission anticipates an additional 5-9% economic growth in the new member States over the ten years following accession, while existing members are expected to increase growth by 1.5%. The growth is expected to be driven by more efficient allocation of resources, strong boosts to foreign direct investment resulting from increased business opportunities, increased cross-border trade between old and new members; and higher productivity as a result of increased competition among member States. Trade liberalization among countries that trade extensively with one another is likely to contribute to income convergence. In general, given that EC tariffs are lower than acceding countries', the adoption of the CCT is expected to put downward pressure on prices in new member States. However, for acceding countries with relatively lower customs duties (see Annex I.1 for statistical tables on Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta), there could be a rise in prices. Furthermore, prices of certain agricultural products are expected to rise as a result of the adoption of the common agricultural policy (CAP). Unemployment could also rise in some acceding countries as their economies adjust to the new environment. European Free Trade Association (EFTA) The EC's free-trade agreements with individual members of EFTA, concluded in the early 1970s, remain in force for Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The creation of the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1994 extended the EC's internal market to six members of EFTA (Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Sweden). Switzerland decided, after a referendum, not to participate; three other members (Austria, Finland, and Sweden) joined the Union in 1995. The EEA Agreement provides for freedom of movement of goods (with some limitations on agriculture and fisheries produce), of persons, services, and capital. Horizontal provisions apply to social policy, consumer protection, environment, company law, and statistics. Protocols on rules of origin provide for diagonal cumulation of origin on industrial products between the EC, the ten acceding countries, the EFTA countries, and Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. On 1 June 2002, seven bilateral agreements between the EC and Switzerland entered into force. These agreements cover free movement of persons, trade in agricultural products, public procurement, technical barriers to trade, air transport, transport by road and rail, and research. Negotiations under way cover: liberalization of trade in processed agricultural products; liberalization of services; adaptation of the agreement on the free movement of persons to EU-25; improved cooperation against fraud; and participation in various EC schemes on research, environment, border control, and asylum. Western Balkans Since the break-up of the Former Yugoslavia, the EC has been pursuing a stabilization and association strategy with the countries in the region. The strategy is being implemented at three different levels. At the bilateral level, the EC has granted non-reciprocal preferences to the Western Balkans. These include duty-free access for all goods imported from the beneficiary countries, with a few exceptions. The exceptions relate to tariff concessions on baby beef, and tariff quotas on wine and six fishery products. Autonomous quotas also continue to apply to textiles with respect to Serbia and Montenegro. In addition, the EC is progressively concluding stabilization and association agreements (SAAs) with the countries concerned. So far, SAAs have been signed with FYROM (9April2001) and Croatia (29 October 2001). The SAAs focus on respect for democratic principles and strengthening of the links between the countries of the region and the EC. They foresee the establishment of a free trade area with the EC, based on reciprocity after a transition period. They also cover issues relating to, inter alia, competition and state aids, and intellectual property and services. On 31 January 2003, negotiations were launched for an SAA with Albania; negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro are yet to be launched. At the regional level, and to complement the SAAs, the EC is co-sponsoring the establishment of a network of bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) among countries of the Western Balkans, including Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova. By the end of 2003, all the relevant bilateral agreements foreseen under this network had been signed. The implementation phase of the network has now started; the network aims at developing intra-regional trade, thus facilitating future integration of these countries in the EC. The countries of the region are encouraged to explore possibilities to harmonize their free-trade agreements with a view to establishing a regional free-trade area in the medium-term. At the multilateral level, the EC has been strongly supporting the accession of the countries in the region to the ϲʹ. Albania, Croatia, and FYROM are already ϲʹ Members, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro have started their accession process.  Other European agreements Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey are candidate countries for EC accession. The Thessaloniki European Council in June 2003 noted that "the objective is to welcome Bulgaria and Romania as members in 2007", and expressed support for Turkey's on-going efforts to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria for opening accession negotiations. As part of their respective Europe Agreements, Bulgaria and Romania have free-trade arrangements in goods and services with the EC. The Europe Agreements provide for a free-trade area in goods, with selected agricultural products being subject to tariff reductions and progressive liberalization; the agreements also cover liberalization in some services subsectors. Turkey entered into a customs union arrangement on non-agricultural and processed agricultural products with the EC in 1996. There is no timetable for the integration of agriculture into the customs union; however, a preferential agreement covers some agricultural products. The Europe Agreements and the customs union agreement make use of the pan-European system of (diagonal) cumulation of origin, and cover technical barriers to trade, competition policies, and protection of intellectual property rights. Customs union agreements are in existence with Andorra and San Marino, and a free-trade agreement with the Faroe Islands. Agreements with non-European countries/groupings Association agreement negotiations between the EC and MERCOSUR (comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) began in June 2000, with the aim of establishing a comprehensive political and economic partnership covering: political issues, cooperation, and trade. The trade chapter aims at reciprocal liberalization of trade in goods and services. With respect to agriculture, cooperation between the two parties seeks to promote mutual trade in agricultural products and to increase the compatibility of sanitary and phytosanitary legislation. To this end, a mutual information system for dangerous products and a rapid alert system will be established. The negotiations also seek to implement certain environmental provisions. A separate wines and spirits agreement is to be discussed. Trade in all non-agricultural goods is under consideration for liberalization. The negotiations also cover the protection of intellectual property rights, competition policy, disciplines in the use of trade defence instruments, and the establishment of an effective and binding dispute settlement mechanism. As part of the on-going negotiations, the EC is supporting MERCOSUR in its goal of becoming a common market by 1 January 2006. Since 2002, negotiations have been pursued actively on several issues, including market access in goods and services, customs procedures, standards and other technical regulations, ecommerce, competition policy, intellectual property rights, dispute settlement, and rules of origin. Origin criteria are similar to the pan-European system (Chapter (III)(2)(v)). Furthermore, economic cooperation discussions are being finalized in several sectors, including agriculture, services, fishing, environment, and tourism. In 2002, EC trade with MERCOSUR amounted to 42.3 billion for merchandise and 8.2 billion for services. The EC has a trade deficit in agricultural products with MERCOSUR; this amounted to 12.6 billion in 2002. Incomes, real exchange rates, and infrastructure for exports are observed to be important factors influencing trade flows between the blocs. A recent World Bank study, in analysing different simulation scenarios, concludes that the EC-MERCOSUR arrangement is net trade-creating for the countries involved, but third countries lose from the arrangement. The study finds gains from multilateral liberalization to be four times greater. On 18 November 2002, the EC and Chile signed an Association Agreement to conclude the negotiations launched in November 1999. On goods, progressive and reciprocal liberalization will take place, over a transitional ten-year period, for 97.1% of bilateral merchandise trade, i.e. 100% of industrial goods, 80.9% of agricultural goods, and 90.8% of fisheries products. On services, the agreement provides for a free-trade area and for the liberalization of investment, payments, and capital movements. It provides for reciprocal opening of government procurement markets, and for the adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights. General rules have also been established in areas such as customs and related procedures, and standards and other technical regulations. Specific rules facilitating trade in wines and spirits, animals and animal products, and plants and plant products are contained in the Agreement. Provisions also exist for cooperation between competition authorities and dispute settlement mechanism. The bulk of the agreement has been applied on a provisional basis since 1 February 2003. According to a sustained impact assessment, carried out on behalf of the Commission, the trade part of the EC-Chile Agreement should generate additional 0.5% annual growth to Chile s economy and increase living standards. In 2001, bilateral trade between the EC and Chile amounted to 8.8 billion. The EC-Mexico free trade agreement came into force on 1 July 2000. In accordance with the established asymmetric liberalization schedule, all duties on industrial imports from Mexico were removed by the EC in 2003. Mexico is expected to lift all duties on EC industrial goods by 2007. The phasing out of duty in preferential agricultural and fishery trade will be achieved in 2010. During the first two years of the agreement, bilateral trade between the two parties increased by 28.3%. In 2001, bilateral trade between the EC and Mexico totalled 22.3 billion, however, in 2002, it decreased by 1.7% due to the difficult global economic situation. Investment flows are on the rise; in 2003, about 5,000 businesses in Mexico had their parent offices in the European Union. Mexican businesses in the EC are also noted to be increasing. The establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Free-trade area, the so-called "Barcelona Process", has a target date of 2010. It is expected to lead to free trade in industrial goods and progressive liberalization of trade in agricultural goods, as well as in services, between EC members and 12 Mediterranean partners. The process will also be aimed at removing technical barriers to trade; harmonizing plant and veterinary standards, and customs rules and procedures; modernizing agriculture, taking into account environmental concerns; harmonizing rules of origin with the pan-European system (Chapter (III)(2)(v)); and will cover intellectual property protection and competition policy. Once completed, it will cover some 40 states and around 700 million consumers. An essential part of the process is the negotiation of Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements between the EC and individual Mediterranean countries; the agreements are replacing the non-reciprocal Cooperation Agreements of the 1970s. The EC also supports free-trade arrangements amongst the Mediterranean countries, as a means of regional integration (for example the Agadir Agreement recently concluded between Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan). Since 2002, three new Association Agreements have entered into force with countries in the Mediterranean, with Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, and have increased the number of Association Agreements signed to eleven. Negotiations on the twelfth agreement, the EU-Syria Association Agreement, were completed on a technical basis in December 2003. The free-trade agreements with the Mediterranean partners provide for asymmetric liberalization of trade, with the EC liberalizing faster; industrial products from the Mediterranean partner country, immediately upon entry into force of the respective agreements, benefit from duty- and quota-free access to EC markets. Under the association agreements, the Mediterranean partners will fully liberalize their trade in industrial goods over a 12-year transition period (15 in the case of Egypt). The agreements also provide for reciprocal liberalization of imports of raw and processed agricultural and fishery products, where mutual concessions are given in various forms, including zero tariff, reduced import duties (both within and out of quota), and increased tariff quotas. These agreements also cover the liberalization of services and the right of establishment, capital movements, public procurement, competition rules, origin rules, and intellectual property rights. Studies examining the impact of the EC-Mediterranean association agreements suggest that, in general, the static efficiency gains lead to small but positive net welfare effects, with most of the welfare gains resulting from the reduction in administrative red-tape barriers and the harmonization of regulatory regimes. They estimate that welfare gains would increase if trade in agricultural goods and petrochemicals were liberalized more thoroughly; economic effects would be optimal if deeper multilateral liberalization were pursued vis--vis the rest of the world. Some studies however obtain negative results. The objective of the EC's trade relations with countries in the Gulf region is to enhance political dialogue and to foster economic integration between both parties, with a view to diversifying and increasing their bilateral trade in a sustainable way; and to promote regional integration within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). After a break of more than ten years, negotiations between the EC and GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) resumed in March2002, following the adoption of new negotiation directives from both sides and the commitment on behalf of the GCC to establish a Customs Union, which entered into force in January 2003. The current negotiations have progressed at an accelerated pace over the period under review. Offers have been exchanged on goods, and negotiations are focusing on liberalization modalities and product coverage. In 2002, EC bilateral trade with the Gulf region amounted to 54 billion. The ongoing negotiations for a trade and cooperation agreement between the EC and Iran aim to promote their bilateral economic relations. The EC signed a Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA) with South Africa in October 1999. The TDCA provides for the asymmetric (in favour of South Africa) establishment of a free-trade area between the two parties over a transitional period of 12 years. At the end of the transition period, South Africa and the EC will grant free-trade status to each other's products. The trade-related provisions of the TDCA have been applied provisionally since January2000. Non-reciprocal preferential arrangements The Cotonou Agreement The Cotonou Agreement between the EC and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries was signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 and entered into force in April 2003. The Agreement builds upon three interlinked pillars: a political dimension; development and finance cooperation; and economic and trade cooperation. Under the latter, ACP countries, except for South Africa, benefit from non-reciprocal trade preferences during an interim period (2001-07). These include duty-free treatment on industrial, processed agricultural, and fishery products, subject to a safeguard clause. For certain products (bananas, beef and veal, and sugar), the EC provides special market access under "commodity protocols". The preferential rules of origin contain product-specific requirements, and allow for regional cumulation. At the end of the interim period (31December2007 at the latest), such unilateral preferences will be replaced by ϲʹ-compatible reciprocal economic partnership agreements (EPAs) between the EC and individual ACP countries or groups of countries. The primary objectives of the EPAs are to foster sustainable development, integrate the ACP into the world economy and fully comply with the prevailing ϲʹ rules. The basic guiding principle for EPAs is to build on and reinforce ACP regional integration processes, and provide for appropriate differentiation and asymmetry to take account of the level of development and their socio-economic impact on ACP countries. EPAs will provide for the progressive elimination of tariffs and non-tariff measures between the parties, on both goods and services. They are also expected to address technical barriers to trade, as well as other trade-related issues. Development concerns will be reflected through flexibility vis--vis depth of liberalization, its asymmetry, length of transition periods, trade coverage and exceptions, and through the granting of EC support measures. Formal, all-ACP/EC negotiations of the EPAs started in September 2002 to define the format, structure, and principles for the negotiations and horizontal issues of interests to all parties. A joint report taking stock of Phase I of the negotiations was adopted by the ACP Council of Ministers and the EC Commissioners for Trade and Development in October 2003. Phase I has brought convergence on a number of issues, but all-ACP/EC discussions are set to continue. At the same time, Phase II negotiations on individual EPAs have been opened between the EC and Central Africa (CEMAC, and Sao Tome and Principe) on 4 October 2003, West Africa (ECOWAS and Mauritania) on 6 October 2003, and Eastern and Southern Africa on 7 February 2004. In 2002, EC merchandise trade with the ACP countries totalled 58.5 billion; the EC imported some 30.5 billion and exported some 28 billion. EU exports to the ACP in 2002 consisted mainly of machinery and mechanical appliances (26%), ships/boats (12%), vehicles (8%), and products of the chemical or allied industries (10%). In 2002, eight products accounted for 62% of total ACP exports: petroleum oil was the most important product (28%), followed by diamonds (9%), cocoa (8%), fish (6%), wood (4%), sugar (3%), aluminium (2%), and tobacco (2%). The share of imports from the ACP in the EC's total imports decreased from 6.7% in 1976 to 3.11% in 2002. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) The objectives of the EC's GSP for the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004 are to simplify and harmonize procedures of various arrangements in order to improve the access of developing countries to its market, while ensuring the promotion of fundamental social and environmental standards. To achieve these objectives, the GSP scheme comprises a general arrangement and various special arrangements dealing with least developed countries, labour rights, environment, and the combat of drug production and trafficking. The scheme is available to 143 independent States and 36 dependent countries. Under the general arrangements, products covered under the GSP are classified as either sensitive or non-sensitive. With a few exceptions, almost all agricultural goods are classified as sensitive, whereas non-sensitive products slightly dominate non-agricultural goods. Non-agricultural sensitive products include textiles, clothing and apparel, carpets, and footwear. Non-sensitive products benefit from the suspension of tariff duties, whereas sensitive products enjoy tariff reductions by 3.5percentage points on the CCT duties for ad valorem rates, and 30% on specific duties. However, products in chapters 50 to 63 of the GSP (mainly textiles and clothing) benefit from a 20% reduction in the CCT duties. Tariffs are totally suspended where preferential treatment results in advalorem duties of 1% or less, or in specific duties of 2 or less. In order to encourage regional groupings, regional cumulation of origin is possible. The scheme provides for the exclusion of beneficiary countries on grounds of the degree of development, i.e. if classified by the World Bank as high-income countries and also having achieved a specific level of industrial development in accordance with a formula set out in the regulation. To achieve the social and environmental objectives, the GSP provides an additional incentive of 5 percentage point reduction in the CCT (thus taking the cumulative reduction to 8.5 percentage points for ad valorem duties) to countries complying with specific labour and environmental standards. The labour standards include provisions of the International Labour Organization conventions on the abolition of forced labour; freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and abolition of child labour by the beneficiary country's national legislation. The environmental standards required are those internationally acknowledged, mainly those of the International Tropical Timber Organization. The EC's GSP scheme incorporates the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative under which, the EC extends duty-free access, without any quantitative restrictions, to products originating in the least developed countries, with the exception of arms and ammunition. These market access opportunities have been in operation since 2001, with temporary exceptions for bananas, rice, and sugar. Free access for bananas, through a process of gradual tariff elimination, was introduced on 1January 2002 and is expected to result in full liberalization on 1January 2006 when all duties on bananas are to be suspended. A similar process of tariff liberalization for rice and sugar is expected to take place over the period 2006-09. Other special GSP arrangements are aimed at promoting political, economic, and social stability in specific countries threatened by drug production and trafficking. These entail the complete suspension of CCT duties applicable to selected industrial and agricultural goods. The scheme also includes safeguard provisions allowing the Commission to suspend tariff preferences and reintroduce CCT duties, where a product originating in a beneficiary country is imported on terms that cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to an EC producer of like or directly competing products. The action can be initiated by the Commission, including at the request of a member State. The GSP scheme has helped to enhance the ability of developing countries to favourably access EC markets; for many developing countries, the EC remains the major trading partner. Nonetheless, there is a declining trend in trade shares and low ratios of GSP utilization. In general, the conclusions of numerous empirical studies are that GSP schemes have underperformed, yielding at best a "modest" increase in imports from beneficiary states, with some of those gains due merely to trade diversion. Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) The EC has granted duty-free treatment on all products originating in the OCT on a non-reciprocal basis since 1963, subject to a safeguard provision. Origin rules provide for cumulation with the Community and the ACP, without limits, except for rice and sugar. The agreement also has provisions on trans-shipment. A Council Decision on the OCT Association Arrangements was adopted on 27 November 2001 to continue the regime until the end of 2011.  Treaty on European Union, OJ C 325, 24.12.2002 [Online]. Consolidated version available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/treaties/dat/EC_consol.pdf.  Treaty establishing the European Community, OJ C 325, 24.12.2002 [Online].  The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002; this marked the end of one of the foundational structures of the EC.  Treaty of Nice, OJ C80 of 10.03.2001 [Online].  For a detailed presentation of the EC institutions, visit: http://europa.eu.int/inst-en.htm.  The Council of the European Union is also referred to as the Council of Ministers. This differs from the European Council; the latter brings together the Heads of State or Government of the member States of the European Union and the President of the European Commission, and gives political direction to the EC.  ϲʹ (2002).  The projects financed by the European Investment Bank are intended to contribute to the balanced development of the EC.  Those attending to safety concerns include the: European Food Safety; European Maritime Safety Agency; European Aviation Safety Agency; and the European Body for the Enhancement of Judicial Co-operation.  The convention was composed of 105 representatives of national governments and parliaments from member States, as well as the European Parliament and the European Commission. Consultations were also held with civil society.  The exclusive competence of the Community in trade in goods has been made clear in a series of judgements by the European Court of Justice. For instance, in Opinion 1/75, [1975] ECR 1355, on the Understanding of Local Cost Standard, the Court ruled that the Common Commercial Policy was conceived in the Treaty "in the context of the operation of the common market, for the defence of common interests of the Community", and that any claim of concurrent power on the part of member States would entail the risk of "compromising the effective defence" of those interests.  The legal base for legislation and agreements concerning international transport services is the EC Treaty provisions on transport policy.  Areas requiring QMV include: changes in tariff rates; conclusion of tariff and trade agreements relating to trade in goods and services and commercial aspects of intellectual property; achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalization; export policy; and measures to protect trade such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties.  Council Decision 1999/468/EC, 28 June 1999.  EC COM(2002), 275 final, "European Governance: Better lawmaking" [Online]. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/cnc/2002/com2002_0275en01.pdf. The public consultations on the Commission's White Paper on Governance ended on 31 March 2002. Some 8% of the contributions came from third countries.  EC COM(2002), 704 final, "Towards a reinforced culture of consultation and dialogue - General principles and minimum standards for consultations of interested parties by the Commission" [Online]. Available at : http://europa.eu.int/comm/governance/docs/comm_standards_en.pdf.  Available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html.  Available at: http://europa.eu.int/prelex/apcnet.cfm?CL=en.  Available at: http://europa.eu.int/celex/htm/celex_en.htm.  Available at: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/civil_society/coneccs/index_en.htm. The objective of the CONECCS database is to provide a channel through which the civil society organizations are consulted in a formal or structured way.  The Commission strives to allow at least eight weeks for reception of responses to written public consultations and 20 working days notice for meetings.  OJ C 325, 24 December 2002; this special committee (sometimes referred to as the 133 committee) consists of experts from member States and functions as a permanent regulator to the Commission.  Shared competence applies in: the internal market; the area of freedom, security, and justice; agriculture and fisheries (excluding the conservation of marine biological resources; transport and trans-European networks; energy; social policy; economic, social and territorial cohesion; environment; consumer protection; and public health.  For a critical appraisal of the EC Common Commercial Policy, see Hermann (2003).  COM(2002), 276 final Brussels, 5 June 2002, "Impact Assessment" [Online]. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/cnc/2002/com2002_0276en01.pdf.  Treaty of Nice, Article 2.  COM (2003), 238, "Internal Market Strategy, Priorities 2003-2006" [Online]. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/cnc/2003/com2003_0238en01.pdf.  In exceptional circumstances, where movements of capital to or from third countries cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties for the operation of the economic and monetary union, the Council may take safeguard measures for a period not exceeding six months, if strictly necessary. Member States can take measures to prevent infringements of national laws and regulations (for prudential supervision of financial institutions purposes); and lay down procedures for the declaration of capital movements on grounds of administrative or statistical information, and public policy or security.  Regulation 2157/2001, 8 October 2001.  European Commission Press Release, IP/01/1376, 8 October 2001.  The standards must be established by the International Accounting Standards Board, or by independent international accounting standard-setting organizations.  European Commission Press Release, IP/02/827, 7 June 2002.  European Commission Press Release, IP/03/716, 21 May 2003.  European Commission MEMO /02/257, 19 November 2002.  European Commission Press Release IP/03/787, 3 June 2003.  European Commission Press Release IP/03/1593, 25 November 2003.  European Commission MEMO /03/237, 25 November 2003.  In general, the EC can be described as a "hub" in a complex web of preferential trade arrangements.  These are: Australia; Canada; Chinese Taipei; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Republic of Korea; NewZealand; Singapore; and the United States.  For a detailed discussion, see Lamy (2002).  For example, with South Africa, Mexico, a number of Mediterranean partners, MERCOSUR, stabilization and association agreements, and the coming economic partnership agreements for which negotiations were launched in September 2002.  ϲʹ (2004).  OECD (2003d); and Sampson, and Woolcock (2003).  European Commission (2002g).  European Commission, "Cancun special: Advancing the Doha Development Agenda. The challenges ahead" [Online]. Available at: http://europa.euEC.int/comm/trade/issues/newround/doha_da/cancun/index_ en.htm.  The EC and its member States together accounted for about 63% of contributions to the ϲʹ Trust Fund in 2003. According to the Commission, the EC and its member States account for almost half of all trade-related assistance worldwide.  ϲʹ document S/DCS/W/EEC, 22 April 2003. The commitments are common to 12 members and specific to Austria, Finland, and Sweden.  Upon agreement, the three-months period for the renegotiations has been extended to 1June2004.  In 2002, these included the special safeguard clause and export subsidies.  ϲʹ document TN/DS/W/38, 23 January 2003.  For the thirteen candidates, preparation for accession began in June 1993. For the ten countries the earliest accession negotiations started in March 1998 and were all concluded in December 2002; their accessions have been ratified through national referenda. Trade relations between the EC and the acceding countries are described in ϲʹ (2000b) and ϲʹ (2002). The other three candidate countries are Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.  In general, acceding countries are required to renounce or amend international agreements with third countries that are incompatible with the EU acquis.  Fisheries agreements concluded by new member States with third countries will be managed by the Community.  See, for example, Baldwin (1994); and Nilson (2000).  DG Enlargement (undated).  Ben-David, Nordstrom, and Winters (1999).  For detailed discussion on the economic impact of enlargement, see European Commission (2001).  EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. EFTA's membership has been reduced by accession to the EC of Denmark and the United Kingdom in 1973, Portugal in 1986, and Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995.  Further details are available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/eea/index.htm, and at: http://secretariat.efta.int/Web/EuropeanEconomicArea/EEAAgreement/EEAAgreement  Further details are available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/switzerland/ intro/index.htm.  Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2000, OJ No L 240, 23 September 2000, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2487/2001, OJ No L335, 19 December 2001.  Albania, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro.  Pending ratification of the SAAs, the trade related parts of these two agreements are in force by means of Interim Agreements. The SAA with FYROM entered into force on 1 April 2004.  A Memorandum of Understanding on trade facilitation and liberalization was signed by these countries in 2001 under the auspices of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, which commits them to conclude a network of bilateral FTAs among themselves.  ϲʹ membership is a precondition for the negotiation of SAAs.  For more information on EU bilateral trade relations with Balkans, see EU online information at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/balkans/index_en.htm; and http://europa.eu.int/comm/ external_relations/see/index.htm.  Some 57 items at the HS six-digit level (ϲʹ, 2004). See detailed information in Decisions 1/98 of the EC Turkey Association Council of 25 February 1998 on the trade regime for agricultural products (98/223/EC).  Further information is available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/ regions/mercosur/index_en.htm.  First meeting of the EU-MERCOSUR bi-regional negotiations committee [Online], Available at: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/mercosur/ass_neg_text/concl_bnc1.htm.  Further information on EU relations with MERCOSUR are available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/mercosur/intro/index.htm#3.  Martinz-Zarzoso and Nowak-Lehmann (2001), show that exporter and importer incomes have a positive influence in bilateral trade flows. Furthermore, the improvements in the exporting country's infrastructure, as well as real exchange rates, increase bilateral trade flows.  These gains will be significantly reduced to MERCOSUR countries if agricultural liberalization is minimal.  Harrison, Rutherford, and Gurgel (2003).  Details of EC relations with Chile EC are available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/bilateral/chile/index_en.htm; and http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/ chile/assoc_agr/index.htm.  Adoption proceedings were completed by the Chilean Congress in January 2003. The European Parliament gave its assent at its plenary session of 12 February 2003, but national parliaments have to still ratify the Agreement. The Association Agreement was notified to the ϲʹ in ϲʹ document WT/REG164/N/1 of 18 February 2004.  Planistat (2003).  See ϲʹ (2002) for details.  Trade in industrial goods represents more than 95% of total bilateral trade.  Details of the EC's relations with Mexico are available online at: http://europa.euEC.int/comm/external_relations/mexico/intro/index.htm; and http://europa.euEC.int/comm/ trade/issues/bilateral/countries/mexico/index_en.htm.  The 12 Mediterranean partners are Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.  Signed in 1997 and entered into force in May 2002. ϲʹ document WT/TEG141/N/1, 20December2002.  Signed in 2002 and entered into force on an interim basis on 1 March 2003. ϲʹ document WT/REG153/N/1, 4 June 2003.  Signed in June 1999; trade and trade-related provisions entered into force on an interim basis on 1January 2004.  Cyprus and Malta, with which the EU has Association Agreements, are among the ten acceding countries. Turkey also entered into a customs union with the EU in January 1996.  A Protocol on rules of origin endorsed at the Third Euro-Mediterranean Trade Ministerial Conference (Palermo, 7 July 2003) provides for the harmonization of rules of origin in the Euro-Mediterranean region by extending the pan-European system of cumulation of origin to the Mediterranean partners. To become operational, the Protocol needs to be inserted in the present agreements, as well as those to be concluded; including agreements among the Mediterranean countries such as the Agadir Agreement.  In some cases, this could result in a loss to the Mediterranean countries if the trade creation benefits do not outweigh the revenue losses.  Baert (2003).  Brown et al. (1997) estimate the net welfare effects of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement with Tunisia to be slightly negative in the short run, due to the adjustment costs associated with the degree of intersectoral capital and labour mobility. Konan and Maskus (1997), also find that in the case of Egypt, a "shallow agreement" would be merely trade diversionary and lead to a small decline in welfare.  Five rounds of negotiations took place between March 2002 and March 2003.  More information on the EC's bilateral trade relations with the Gulf are available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/gcc/index_en.htm; and http://europa.eu.int/comm/ external_relations/gulf_cooperation/intro/index.htm.  See ϲʹ document WT/REG113/N/1 of 21 November 2000.  48 African States, covering all sub-Saharan Africa, 15 States in the Caribbean and 15 States in the Pacific (the Democratic Republic of East Timor acceded to the Cotonou Agreement in May 2003).  South Africa is a signatory of the Cotonou Agreement but its membership of the ACP Group is qualified (Protocol 3 on South Africa attached to the Cotonou Agreement). The provisions of the TDCA between the EC and South Africa take precedence over the provisions of the Cotonou Agreement.  The Agreement is under the cover of a ϲʹ waiver approved at the Doha Ministerial Meeting, expiring on 31 December 2007. See ϲʹ document WT/MIN(01)/15 of 14 November 2001.  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EC documentACP/00/118/03 Rev.1 ACP-EC/NG/NP/43, dated 2 October 2003, available online at: http://trade-info.cec.eu.int/doclib/docs/2003/november/tradoc_114136.pdf.  CEMAC is the Communaut conomique et Montaire de l'Afrique Centrale.  ECOWAS is the Economic Community Of West African States.  For most of the ACP countries  and for virtually all African ACP countries - the Community is the main trading partner. In 2001, trade with the EC represented 31% of total ACP exports (35% of total African ACP exports) and 29% of total ACP imports (37% of total African ACP imports). Further details of trade between EC and ACP countries is available online at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/ acp/index_en.htm  The EC's GSP for 1 January 2002 to 31December 2004 is governed by Council Regulation (EC) No.2501/2001. OJ L 346/1, 10.12.2001 [Online]. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/ 2001/l_346/l_34620011231en00010059.pdf.  With the exception of undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% or higher; ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any strength, where the specific duty reduction is 15%.  Commission Regulation No.2454/93.  Regulation (EC) No. 416/2001; and ϲʹ (2001).  See, for example, Ozden and Reinhardt (2003). A similar survey of the literature by Panagariya, A. (2002) concludes that "trade preferences have had little beneficial impact beyond the obvious rent transfer accompanying duty-free entry of goods". Similar conclusions had been drawn by an earlier study by Whalley (1990), where it was observed that special and differential treatment, especially through GSPs had had only a marginal effect on countries' economic performance. Brenton (2003) and Panagariya (2002) discuss the underperformance of the GSP Scheme.  The 1971 decision was notified under GATT 1947 Article XXIV and examined in a working party (GATT document L/3611, 18S/143, 9 November 1971). 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