Agreement on gradual trade liberalisation for textile products is signed

Brussels, 22/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The EU and the Ukraine have signed, in Brussels, an agreement aimed at liberalising - on a reciprocal base - their trade in textile products. Under the terms of the agreement, Ukraine will bring the customs duties that it applies to textile products into line with those that the EU applies to Ukrainian products. In exchange, the EU will do away with all its quotas on imports of textiles from Ukraine. This means in substance that, once the agreement is fully implemented during 2001, the two parties will mutually grant themselves the same customs treatment for their trade in textiles and clothing.

Pascal Lamy, European Trade Commissioner, welcomed this agreement and said: "This agreement comes within Community strategy, which consists in actively seeking access to the market of third countries for textiles and clothing. It also shows the European Union's determination to grant reciprocity by granting partners better access to its own market through an increase, or as in the case of Ukraine, complete abolition of quotas".

In guise of the first step in the liberalisation, the Ukraine and the EU agreed to immediately implement the following concessions:

• Ukrainian duties applied to clothes and manufactured articles (chapter 61 and 63 of the harmonised system) will be lowered to 13%, while those for carpets (chapter 57) are now set at 17%;
• The EU increases some of its main contingents on the imports of textile products from the Ukraine: category 5 (pullovers): +40%; category 6 (men's shorts, trousers): +70%; category 7 (shirts and blouses): +70%; category 15 (women's coats): +40%; category 16 (men's suits): +30%; category 26/27 (women's dresses and skirts): +70% and category 29 (women's suits, jackets and outfits): +30%).

These new contingents can be consulted on the Commission's integrated licensing system (SIGL) at the following address: http: //sigl.eu.int.