Commercial Information Circulars

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

17 December 2007

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 513/2007

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

Further to the Commercial Information Circular No. 386/2007 dated 22 October 2007, the European Commission ("the Commission") has issued a Notice to Economic Operators concerning the import arrangements of eight^# categories of textiles and clothing (T & C) products from the Mainland of China (the Mainland) for the year 2008. 

DETAILS

2. On 15 December 2007, the Commission issued a Notice to Economic Operators, setting out the practical issues concerning its import arrangements of the aforesaid products. The Notice is available from the Commission's website at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2007/c_304/c_30420071215en00250028.pdf. The Commission will apply a double checking surveillance system to goods shipped from the Mainland from 1 January 2008. An import licence will be issued upon presentation of a valid export licence for the release of goods into free circulation.

3. In respect of goods shipped during 2007, the Notice has stipulated the following rules -

1. Imports, for which applications for import licences are presented on or before 31 March 2008, will be subject to the agreed quantitative limits set out in Annex V to Regulation (EEC) No. 3030/93.

2. Imports, for which applications for import licences are presented from 1 April 2008, will fall under the provisions of the double checking surveillance system described in para.2 above. 

The Notice also encloses a list of licensing offices of the Member States that are responsible for issuing the import authorizations.

ENQUIRIES

4. 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 8 categories are: Cat.4 (T-shirts), Cat.5 (pullovers), Cat.6 (trousers), Cat.7 (blouses), Cat.20 (bed linen), Cat.26 (dresses), Cat.31 (brassieres) and Cat.115 (flax or ramie yarn).

* 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.