Commercial Information Circulars

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e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : CR EIC 230/2/1/1/1

22 October 2007

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 386/2007

European Union (EU)* : Import Arrangements for Certain Chinese Textiles
and Clothing Products in 2008

Further to the Commercial Information Circular No. 377/2007 dated 10 October 2007, the European Commission ("the Commission") has published the updated import arrangements for eight categories of textiles and clothing (T&C) products from the Mainland of China (the Mainland) in 2008.

DETAILS

2. The Commission announced on 9 October 2007 that the EU had reached agreement with the Mainland to implement a system of joint import surveillance for eight categories of T&C products originating in the Mainland for one year in 2008:

3. The Commission published a Regulation on 18 October 2007 (the Regulation) setting out the updated import arrangements for the aforesaid products, which is available from its website at  (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2007/l_275/
   l_27520071019en00160018.pdf.
   To monitor the trends of imports of these products as much in advance as possible, the EU will establish a prior surveillance system by means of a double checking system applicable for a period of one year from 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2008. Reference on the rules or detailed arrangements could also be drawn from Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No. 3030/93 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/consleg/
   1993/R/01993R3030-20070101-en.pdf).

4. The Regulation also stipulates that the release for free circulation of products originating in the Mainland subject to agreed levels under the EU/Mainland Memorandum of Understanding 2005 and shipped before 1 January 2008 continue to be subject to that import regime until 31 March 2008. From 1 April 2008, the regime of double-checking surveillance will be applicable and import authorizations will be issued against the export licence issued for those goods.

ENQUIRIES

5. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact Mrs. Tracy Kwan/Mrs. Janet Tam at 3403 6352 or the undersigned at 2398 5427.

Yours faithfully,

(Ms Carmen Shiu)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.