1.   This Regulation applies to imports of products originating in the third countries referred to in Annex I, with the exception of textile products covered by Regulation (EC) No 517/94.

2.   Imports into the Community of the products referred to in paragraph 1 shall take place freely and so shall not be subject to any quantitative restrictions, without prejudice to the measures which may be taken under Chapter V.

1.   Consultations may be held either at the request of a Member State or on the initiative of the Commission.

2.   Consultations shall take place within eight working days following receipt by the Commission of the information provided for in Article 2 and, in any event, before the introduction of any Community surveillance or safeguard measure.

1.   Consultations shall take place within an advisory committee, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’, made up of representatives of each Member State with a representative of the Commission as chairman.

2.   The Committee shall meet when convened by its chairman. He shall provide the Member States, as promptly as possible, with all relevant information.

3.   Consultations shall cover in particular:

4.   Consultations may be conducted in writing, if necessary. The Commission shall in this event inform the Member States, which may express their opinion or request oral consultations within a period of five to eight working days to be decided by the Commission.

1.   Where, after the consultations referred to in Articles 3 and 4, it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient evidence to justify an investigation, the Commission shall initiate an investigation within one month of receipt of information from a Member State and publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. This notice shall:

The Commission shall commence the investigation, acting in cooperation with the Member States.

2.   The Commission shall seek all information it deems to be necessary and, where it considers it appropriate, after consulting the Committee, endeavour to check this information with importers, traders, agents, producers, trade associations and organisations.

The Commission shall be assisted in this task by staff of the Member State on whose territory these checks are being carried out, provided this Member State so wishes.

Interested parties which have made themselves known in accordance with the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, as well as the representatives of the exporting country, may inspect all information made available to the Commission within the framework of the investigation, as distinct from internal documents prepared by the authorities of the Community or its Member States, provided that it is relevant to the defence of their interests and not confidential within the meaning of Article 7 and that it is used by the Commission in the investigation. To this end, they shall address a written request to the Commission indicating the information required.

3.   Member States shall supply the Commission, at its request and following procedures laid down by it, with the information at their disposal on developments in the market of the product being investigated.

4.   The Commission may hear the interested parties. Such parties must be heard where they have applied in writing within the period laid down in the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union, showing that they are actually likely to be affected by the outcome of the investigations and that there are special reasons for them to be heard orally.

5.   Where information is not supplied within the time-limits set by this Regulation or by the Commission under this Regulation, or the investigation is significantly impeded, findings may be made on the basis of the facts available. Where the Commission finds that any interested party or third party has supplied it with false or misleading information, it shall disregard the information and may make use of facts available.

6.   Where it appears to the Commission, after the consultations referred to in paragraph 1, that there is insufficient evidence to justify an investigation, it shall inform the Member States of its decision within one month of receipt of the information from the Member States.

1.   At the end of the investigation, the Commission shall submit a report on the results to the Committee.

2.   Where, within nine months of the initiation of the investigation, the Commission considers that no Community surveillance or safeguard measures are necessary, the investigation shall be terminated, within one month, after consulting the Committee. The decision to terminate the investigation, stating the main conclusions of the investigation and a summary of the reasons therefore, shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3.   If the Commission considers that Community surveillance or safeguard measures are necessary, it shall take the necessary decisions in accordance with Chapters IV and V, no later than nine months from the initiation of the investigation. In exceptional circumstances, this time-limit may be extended by a further maximum period of two months. The Commission shall then publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union setting forth the duration of the extension and a summary of the reasons therefore.

4.   The provisions of this Chapter shall not preclude the taking, at any time, of surveillance measures in accordance with Articles 9 to 14 or, where a critical situation, in which any delay would cause injury which it would be difficult to remedy, calls for immediate intervention, safeguard measures in accordance with Articles 15, 16 and 17.

The Commission shall immediately take the investigation measures it considers to be still necessary. The results of the investigation shall be used to re-examine the measures taken.

1.   Information received in pursuance of this Regulation shall be used only for the purpose for which it was requested.

2.   The Council, the Commission, the Member States and the officials of any of these, shall not reveal any information of a confidential nature received in pursuance of this Regulation, or any information provided on a confidential basis, without specific permission from the supplier of such information.

3.   Each request for confidentiality shall state the reasons why the information is confidential.

However, if it appears that a request for confidentiality is unjustified and if the supplier of the information wishes neither to make it public nor to authorise its disclosure in general terms or in the form of a summary, the information concerned may be disregarded.

4.   Information shall in any case be considered to be confidential if its disclosure is likely to have a significantly adverse effect upon the supplier or the source of such information.

5.   Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not preclude reference by the Community authorities to general information and in particular to reasons on which decisions taken in pursuance of this Regulation are based. These authorities must, however, take into account the legitimate interests of the legal and natural persons concerned that their business secrets should not be divulged.

1.   Examination of the trend in imports, of the conditions in which they take place and of the serious injury or threat of serious injury to Community producers resulting from such imports shall cover in particular the following factors:

2.   In conducting the investigation, the Commission shall take account of the particular economic system of the countries referred to in Annex I.

3.   Where a threat of serious injury is alleged, the Commission shall also examine whether it is clearly foreseeable that a particular situation is likely to develop into actual injury. In this regard account may be taken of factors such as:

1.   Where the Community’s interests so require, the Commission may, at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative:

2.   The surveillance measures shall have a limited period of validity. Unless otherwise stipulated they shall cease to be valid at the end of the second six-month period following the six months in which the measures were introduced.

1.   Products under prior Community surveillance may be put into free circulation only on production of a surveillance document. That document shall be issued by the competent authority designated by Member States, free of charge, for any quantity requested and within a maximum of five working days following receipt by the national competent authority of an application by any Community importer, regardless of his place of business in the Community. That application shall be deemed to be received by the national competent authority no later than three working days after submission, unless it is proven otherwise.

2.   The surveillance document shall be made out on a form corresponding to the model in Annex II.

Except where the decision to impose surveillance provides otherwise, the importer’s application for a surveillance document shall contain only the following:

3.   The surveillance document shall be valid throughout the Community, regardless of the Member State of issue.

4.   A finding that the unit price at which the transaction is effected exceeds that indicated in the surveillance document by less than 5 % or that the total value or quantity of the products presented for import exceeds the value or quantity given in the surveillance document by less than 5 %, shall not preclude the release for free circulation of the product in question. The Commission, having heard the opinions expressed in the Committee and taking account of the nature of the products and other special features of the transactions concerned, may fix a different percentage, which, however, should not normally exceed 10 %.

5.   Surveillance documents may be used only for such time as arrangements for the liberalisation of imports remain in force in respect of the transactions concerned. The surveillance documents may not in any event be used beyond the expiry of the period which shall be laid down at the same time and by means of the same procedure as the imposition of surveillance, and which shall take account of the nature of the products and other special features of the transactions.

6.   Where the decision taken under Article 9 so requires, the origin of products under Community surveillance must be proven by a certificate of origin. This paragraph shall not prejudice other provisions concerning the production of any such certificate.

7.   Where the product under prior Community surveillance is subject to regional safeguard measures in a Member State, the import authorisation granted by that Member State may replace the surveillance document.

8.   Surveillance document forms and extracts thereof shall be drawn up in duplicate, one copy, marked ‘Holder’s copy’ and bearing the number 1, to be issued to the applicant, and the other, marked ‘Copy for the competent authority’ and bearing the number 2, to be kept by the authority issuing the document. For administrative purposes the competent authority may add supplementary copies to form 2.

9.   Forms shall be printed on white paper free of mechanical pulp, dressed for writing and weighing between 55 and 65 grams per square metre. Their size shall be 210 × 297 mm. The type space between the lines shall be 4,24 mm (one sixth of an inch). The layout of the forms shall be followed precisely. Both sides of copy No 1, which is the surveillance document itself, shall in addition have a yellow printed guilloche pattern background so as to reveal any falsification by mechanical or chemical means.

10.   Member States shall be responsible for having the forms printed. The forms may also be printed by printers appointed by the Member State in which they are established. In the latter case, reference to the appointment by the Member State must appear on each form. Each form shall bear an indication of the printer’s name and address or a mark enabling the printer to be identified.

1.   Products under regional surveillance may be put into free circulation in the region concerned only on production of a surveillance document. That document shall be issued by the competent authority designated by the Member State(s) concerned, free of charge, for any quantity requested and within a maximum of five working days of receipt by the national competent authority of an application by any Community importer, regardless of his place of business in the Community. That application shall be deemed to have been received by the national competent authority no later than three working days after submission, unless it is proved otherwise. Surveillance documents may be used only for such time as arrangements for imports remain liberalised in respect of the transactions concerned.

2.   Article 10(2) shall apply.

1.   Member States shall communicate to the Commission within the first ten days of each month in the case of Community or regional surveillance:

The information supplied by Member States shall be broken down by product and by country.

Different provisions may be laid down at the same time and by the same procedure as the surveillance arrangements.

2.   Where the nature of the products or special circumstances so require, the Commission may, at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, amend the timetables for submitting this information.

3.   The Commission shall inform the Member States.

1.   Where a product is imported into the Community in such greatly increased quantities or on such terms or conditions as to cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to Community producers of like or directly competing products, the Commission, in order to safeguard the interests of the Community, may, acting at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, alter the import rules for that product by providing that it may be put into free circulation only on production of an import authorisation, the granting of which shall be governed by such provisions and subject to such limits as the Commission shall lay down.

2.   The measures adopted shall be communicated forthwith to the Council and the Member States and shall take effect immediately.

3.   The measures referred to in this Article shall apply to every product which is put into free circulation after their entry into force. In accordance with Article 17 they may be confined to one or more regions of the Community.

However, such measures shall not prevent the release for free circulation of products already on their way to the Community provided that the destination of such products cannot be changed and that those products which, under Articles 10 and 13, may be put into free circulation only on production of a surveillance document are in fact accompanied by such a document.

4.   Where intervention by the Commission has been requested by a Member State, the Commission shall take a decision within a maximum of five working days of receipt of such a request.

5.   Any decision taken by the Commission under this Article shall be communicated to the Council and to the Member States. Any Member State may, within one month following the day of communication, refer such decision to the Council.

6.   If a Member State refers the decision taken by the Commission to the Council, the Council may, acting by a qualified majority, confirm, amend or revoke the decision of the Commission.

If within three months following referral of the matter to the Council the latter has not taken a decision, the measure taken by the Commission shall be deemed revoked.

1.   The Council may, in particular in the situation referred to in Article 15(1), adopt appropriate measures. It shall act by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission.

2.   Article 15(3) shall apply.

1.   While any surveillance or safeguard measure applied in accordance with Chapters IV and V is in operation, the consultations within the Committee provided for in Article 3 shall be held, either at the request of a Member State or on the initiative of the Commission. The purpose of such consultations shall be:

2.   Where, as a result of the consultations referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission considers that any surveillance or safeguard measure referred to in Chapters IV and V should be revoked or amended, it shall proceed as follows:

Where this decision concerns regional measures of surveillance, it shall apply as from the sixth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

1.   This Regulation shall not preclude the fulfilment of obligations arising from special rules contained in agreements concluded between the Community and third countries.

2.   Without prejudice to other Community provisions, this Regulation shall not preclude the adoption or application by Member States of:

The Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures or formalities to be introduced or amended in accordance with this paragraph. In the event of extreme urgency, the national measures or formalities in question shall be communicated to the Commission immediately upon their adoption.

1.   This Regulation shall be without prejudice to the operation of the instruments establishing the common organisation of agricultural markets or of Community or national administrative provisions derived therefrom or of the specific instruments adopted under Article 308 of the Treaty applicable to goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products. It shall operate by way of complement to those instruments.

2.   In the case of products covered by the instruments referred to in paragraph 1, Articles 9 to 14 and Article 18 shall not apply to those in respect of which the Community rules on trade with third countries require the production of a licence or other import document.

Articles 15, 17 and 18 shall not apply to those products in respect of which such rules make provision for the application of quantitative import restrictions.