Considerations on COM(2006)616 - For duty-free treatment for specified pharmaceutical active ingredients bearing an "international non-proprietary name" (INN) from the World Health Organisation and specified products used for the manufacture of finished pharmaceuticals and amending Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

 
dossier COM(2006)616 - For duty-free treatment for specified pharmaceutical active ingredients bearing an "international non-proprietary name" ...
document COM(2006)616 EN
date February 12, 2007
 
table>(1)In the course of the Uruguay Round negotiations, the Community and a number of countries agreed that duty-free treatment should be granted to pharmaceutical products falling within the Harmonised System (HS) Chapter 30 and HS headings 2936, 2937, 2939 and 2941 as well as to designated pharmaceutical active ingredients bearing an ‘international non-proprietary name’ (INN) from the World Health Organisation, specified salts, esters or hydrates of such INNs, and designated intermediates used for the production and manufacture of finished products.
(2)The results of the discussions, as set out in the record of discussions, were incorporated into the tariff schedules of the participants, annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol to the GATT 1994.

(3)Participants concluded that representatives of the WTO members, party to the record of discussions, would meet under the auspices of the WTO Council for Trade in Goods, normally at least once every three years to review the product coverage with a view to including, by consensus, additional pharmaceutical products for tariff elimination.

(4)In the course of three such reviews it was concluded that a certain number of additional INNs and intermediates used for production and manufacture of finished pharmaceuticals should be granted duty-free treatment, that certain of these intermediates should be transferred to the list of INNs, and that the list of specified prefixes and suffixes for salts, esters or hydrates of INNs should be expanded.

(5)Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (1) established the Combined Nomenclature (CN) and set out the conventional duty rates of the Common Customs Tariff.

(6)Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 should therefore be amended accordingly,