COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 821/97 of 6 May 1997 on additional quantities of textile products to be made available to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 (1) of 12 October 1993 on common rules for imports of certain textile products from third countries, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 447/97 (2) and in particular Article 8 thereof,

Whereas for certain categories of textile products Vietnam issued export licences in 1996 for amounts in excess of its 1996 quota levels; whereas it is willing to take appropriate export management measures in 1997 to take account of the overlicensing;

Whereas for a number of the product categories export licences have been presented to the competent authorities in the Community in respect of quantities in excess of those actually authorized by the Vietnamese authorities when the licences were issued, with the result that levels for those categories have been exceeded; whereas Vietnam is working in close cooperation with the Community to establish the cause of the discrepancies, which may be the result of fraud;

Whereas the overruns for other product categories are the result of communication problems between the central licensing board and its regional branches;

Whereas this has led to a situation where some importers are unable to get an import licence for goods which have already been shipped to the Community, and the goods are consequently blocked in the port of arrival;

Whereas Vietnam and the Community are currently making efforts to establish a system of control which will greatly reduce the risk of any recurrence of such overshipments;

Whereas the quantities in question, in relation to total imports of these products into the Community, are unlikely to cause market disruption if the goods are released into free circulation;

Whereas Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 allows the Commission to open up additional opportunities for imports under particular circumstances;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Textile Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The following quantities shall be made available to allow the release into free circulation of products for which Vietnam has issued 1996 export licences:

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Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 6 May 1997.

For the Commission

Leon BRITTAN

Vice-President

(1) OJ No L 275, 8. 11. 1993, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 68, 8. 3. 1997, p. 16.