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port restrictions and flow over into the country which maintains the restrictions. The Rome Treaty has a provision to take care of this roblem during the transitional period of the Common Market. Unde Article 115 Member States maintaining q.r.s. on any product, either generally or from a particular source or sources, are permitted to control imports of these products coming through other Member States. After the end of the transitional period, however, this provision must be used more sparingly and it can only be invoked with the permission of the Commission. No doubt the Commission will in due course attempt to use these powers in order to try to force agreement on a common policy on liberalisation and import controls as part of the common commercial policy.
Proposals for a Common Import Policy
21.
This is the situation the Community has been facing in trying to draw up a common import policy as part of their overall common commercial policy. After several false starts the method proposed by the Commission for dealing with the problems involved was finally accepted by the Council. This was first to set aside the question of relations with State trading (Communist) countries for separate consideration. Secondly, in the case of other countries, including low cost countries, it was proposed that all the items at present liberalised in all the Member States should be put into a common E.E.C. liberalised list, and that procedures should be esta- blished for dealing with the rest. This resulted in the adoption, in December, 1968, of three regulations, namely:
(a) A Common liberalisation list for imports into the E.E.C. from third countries. This list contains the products liberalised by all the Member States. It covers approximately two thirds of the items in the Common Customs tariff. Provision has been made for the list to be added to by decisions of the Council. Similarly items already on the list cannot be removed without the approval of the Council. Among the items of interest to Hong Kong not on the original list are fibres and fabrics of cotton wool and mmf, most clothing, footwear, umbrellas, jewellery, electrical appliances, radios, cameras and toys.
(b) A common procedure for the administration of import quotas. This establishes common rules for the administration of Community import quotas and procedures for allocating quotas agreed upon. A Committee is to be set up for the administration of these quotas.
(c) Special procedures for the importation of certain products from certain non-member countries. This regulation provided that those products which could neither be liberalised nor restricted at the outset from certain countries should be watched closely (surveillance procedures) and, on the basis of information acquired, should subsequently either be liberalised or placed under quotas from the countries concerned. A third alternative for these products was for special arrangements to be made with the countries concerned covering the price and quality of these items as well as, perhaps, agreement for export restraint.
22.
In the light of these Regulations the Commission are now. going through all the items in the common customs tariff where one or more. Member Countries maintain import restrictions on any non-communist countries with a view to proposing whether these should be liberalised, replaced by Community quotas (applying to one or more countries), be subject to surveillance (again from one or more countries). In other words the aim is to place every item in categories (a), (b) or
or
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