RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and New Zealand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union

25.6.2018 - (10670/2017 – C8‑0121/2018 – 2017/0137(NLE)) - ***

Committee on International Trade
Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and New Zealand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union

(10670/2017 – C8‑0121/2018 – 2017/0137(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the draft Council decision (10670/2017),

–  having regard to draft Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and New Zealand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union (10672/2017),

–  having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 207(4) and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8‑0121/2018),

–  having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4), and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0220/2018),

1.  Gives its consent to conclusion of the agreement;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of New Zealand.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The present agreement between the EU and New Zealand was negotiated following the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. With the accession of Croatia, the European Union enlarged its customs union. Consequently, under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules (Article XXIV:6 of the GATT 1994) the EU has to enter into negotiations with WTO Members having negotiating rights related to the tariff schedule of Croatia in order to eventually agree on a compensatory adjustment. Such adjustment is due if the adoption of the EU’s external tariff regime results in an increase in tariff beyond the level for which the acceding country has bound itself at the WTO.

This was the case for trade between Croatia and New Zealand, in particular in relation to imports of certain meats, where EU tariffs are higher than the tariffs established by Croatia before its accession. The compensation negotiated aims to be proportional for the products affected. Similar agreements have been reached with for example Brazil, to which the European Parliament gave its consent on 15 March 2017.

Negotiations with New Zealand resulted in a draft Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters that was initialled on 18 May 2017 and signed on 13 March 2018.

The results of the Agreement are the following:

1. Add 1 875 tonnes to the EU tariff rate quota (TRQ) 'Meat of bovine animals, frozen – Edible offal of bovine animals, frozen', tariff item numbers 0202 and 0206.29.91, maintaining the present in-quota rate of 20%. The new tariff rate quota shall be 54 875 tonnes;

2. Add 135 tonnes (carcase weight) to the allocation for New Zealand under the EU tariff rate quota 'Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen', tariff item number 0204, maintaining the present in-quota rate of 0%. The new tariff rate quota allocation to New Zealand shall be 228 389 tonnes.

The rapporteur considers these increases appropriate. Moreover, as New Zealand is currently not using its full TRQs, the immediate impact of the increases is likely to be very limited.

The Rapporteur considers that the European Parliament should grant its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title	Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and New Zealand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union
References	10670/2017 – C8-0121/2018 – COM(2017)0333 – 2017/0137(NLE)
Date of consultation / request for consent	19.3.2018
Committee responsible        Date announced in plenary	INTA 16.4.2018
Rapporteurs        Date appointed	Daniel Caspary 10.7.2017
Discussed in committee	17.5.2018	21.6.2018
Date adopted	21.6.2018
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	31 2 0
Members present for the final vote	William (The Earl of) Dartmouth, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Tiziana Beghin, Salvatore Cicu, Santiago Fisas Ayxelà, Eleonora Forenza, Nadja Hirsch, Yannick Jadot, France Jamet, Elsi Katainen, Patricia Lalonde, Danilo Oscar Lancini, Bernd Lange, David Martin, Emmanuel Maurel, Anne-Marie Mineur, Sorin Moisă, Alessia Maria Mosca, Franck Proust, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández, Tokia Saïfi
Substitutes present for the final vote	Goffredo Maria Bettini, Reimer Böge, Klaus Buchner, Dita Charanzová, Danuta Maria Hübner, Sajjad Karim, Sander Loones, Lola Sánchez Caldentey
Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present for the final vote	Czesław Hoc, John Howarth, Dietmar Köster
Date tabled	25.6.2018

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

31	+
ALDE	Dita Charanzová, Nadja Hirsch, Elsi Katainen, Patricia Lalonde
ECR	Czesław Hoc, Sajjad Karim, Sander Loones
EFDD	Tiziana Beghin, William (The Earl of) Dartmouth
GUE/NGL	Eleonora Forenza, Anne-Marie Mineur, Lola Sánchez Caldentey
PPE	Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Reimer Böge, Salvatore Cicu, Santiago Fisas Ayxelà, Danuta Maria Hübner, Sorin Moisă, Franck Proust, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Tokia Saïfi
S&D	Goffredo Maria Bettini, John Howarth, Dietmar Köster, Bernd Lange, David Martin, Emmanuel Maurel, Alessia Maria Mosca, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández
VERTS/ALE	Klaus Buchner, Yannick Jadot

2	-
ENF	France Jamet, Danilo Oscar Lancini

0	0

Key to symbols:

+  :  in favour

-  :  against

0  :  abstention