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PROTOCOL

renewing the cooperation agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Thailand on manioc production, marketing and trade

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

on the one hand,

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND,

on the other hand,

HAVING held, at the request of the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand, consultations under Article 9 of the cooperation agreement between the Kingdom of Thailand and the European Economic Community on manioc production, marketing and trade, hereinafter referred to as the cooperation agreement,

TAKING into consideration the fact that, since entry into force of the cooperation agreement, the Kingdom of Thailand has become a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),

RECOGNIZING that the cooperation agreement has been properly applied,

TAKING into account that not all the objectives of agricultural development and diversification could be realized in Thailand in the course of the initial five-year period and that, therefore, efforts in this context should be pursued, including, if necessary, examination at ministerial level,

AFFIRMING their willingness to maintain the cooperation agreement in force,

HAVE DECIDED to renew the cooperation agreement as supplemented and amended in respect of the relevant provisions of its Articles 1, 3 and 9 by this protocol and to this end have designated as their plenipotentiaries:

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES:

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND:

WHO, having exchanged their Full Powers, found in good and due form,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The cooperation agreement shall be extended for a four-year period starting on 1 January 1987.

It shall thereafter continue to apply for subsequent four-year periods based on the quantities established for the four-year period 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1990 if it is not denounced by either party at least one year before expiry of the initial or any subsequent four-year period. A denunciation will take effect at the end of the four-year period in which it has been notified.

However, before notifying the denunciation of the agreement, either party should enter into consultation with the other party in order to seek solutions or to agree upon amendments, which would make it possible to maintain the cooperation agreement in force.

Article 2

1. For the four-year period 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1990 and for each subsequent four-year period the total export quantity shall be 21 million tonnes for each period. However, exports shall not exceed a total of 5,5 million tonnes in any one year.

2. In order to maintain a continuity of supply of manioc between the years 1986 and 1987 and between subsequent extensions starting in 1991, and subject to the annual maximum quantity as specified in paragraph 1 above, export certificates to cover an additional quantity of up to 500 000 tonnes may be issued for export by Thailand in the last quarter of 1986, 1990 and in the final year of any subsequent four-year period. This quantity will be charged against the export quantity determined for the immediately following four-year period.

Article 3

1. For the agreed quantities the European Economic Community will continue to apply a maximum import levy of 6 % ad valorem to manioc roots and products as imported at present under the cooperation agreement, which includes those hard pellets resulting from a process in which manioc roots are first reduced to flour/meal before pelletizing. It is recognized that technological improvements in the processing of manioc for the purpose of facilitating its transportation and/or of solving environmental problems should be kept under review in the joint working group set up by Article 7 of the cooperation agreement.

2. The provisions in paragraph 1 will not be prejudiced by entry into force of the new harmonized system of tariff classification.

3. The provisions embodied in this Article do not however affect or prejudge the future definition of either:

(a) the products covered by the Community's initial GATT binding, which is at present suspended; or

(b) those products covered by the present GATT arrangements, consisting in a temporary suspension of the Community's GATT binding, which has been replaced by a tariff quota.

4. Any future definition or interpretation of the Community's GATT binding or temporary suspension arrangements specified in paragraph 3 shall not affect the cooperation agreement.

Article 4

This protocol shall be drawn up in two copies in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai languages, each text being equally authentic.