Commercial Information Circulars

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 176/97

European Union (EU) : Regulation Prohibiting Leghold Traps and Imports of Pelts and Manufactured Goods of Certain Wild Animal Species

urther to Commercial Information Circular No. 139/97 of 16 September 1997, the Department has arranged with the Hong Kong Fur Federation (the Federation) to issue the certificates required by the European Commission (EC).

DETAILS

Certification Requirement

2. As foreshadowed in Commercial Information Circular No. 139/97, the EC will enforce the import ban on certain pelts and related products on 1 December 1997. The list of fur products subject to the ban is at Annex I. Exemption from the import an will however be granted to certain countries (listed in Annex II) which do not use leghold traps or use internationally agreed humane trapping standards. In implementing the exemption, the EC requires exporters to accompany their shipments of the affected pelts and related products by a certificate as prescribed under Commission Regulation (EC) No. 35/97 (Specimen at Annex III). Exporters are required to declare n the certificates the description of the goods and units, the EU tariff code, the scientific name of the species and whether the animals were born and bred in captivity and if not, the country where the animals were caught.

Exemption from the Certification Requirement

3. The certification requirement may be waived if the prohibited pelts and related products are -
   1. covered by a procedure for temporary admission and which are not for sale in the EU but are intended for re-export;
   2. for personal and private use;
   3. being reintroduced into the EU following an outward processing procedure and proof is given that they were processed from pelts or goods previously exported or re-exported from the EU; or
   4. subject to the prior presentation of an import document issued under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Procedures for Applying the Certificates

4. The Hong Kong Fur Federation has started to accept applications for the certificates with effect from 27 November 1997. Applications for the certificates must be accompanied by supporting documents to prove the origin of the pelts concerned. The application procedures are set out at Annex IV. For further enquires concerning the application procedures of the certificates, please contact Miss Brenda FUNG of the Hong Kong Fur Federation at Room 603, Chevalier House, 45-51 Chatham Road South, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong at telephone number 2367 4646.

Transitional Arrangement

5. The EC will not provide any transitional arrangement when implementing the import ban and the certification requirement. Goods concerned arriving in the EU on or after 1 December 1997 have to be accompanied by the original of the certificates. The Trade Department will assist traders in the event of customs clearance problems.
   
   
6. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Helen YUNG)
for Director-General of Trade

Note :
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.