Considerations on COM(2024)297 - EU position in the Partnership Council regarding modifications to Annex 3 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the United Kingdom

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dossier COM(2024)297 - EU position in the Partnership Council regarding modifications to Annex 3 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the ...
document COM(2024)297 EN
date September 23, 2024
 
table>(1)The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part (the ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’), was concluded by the Union and approved by means of Council Decision (EU) 2021/689 (1) and entered into force on 1 May 2021.
(2)Chapter 2 of Title I of Heading One of Part Two of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and Annexes 2 to 9 thereto lay down provisions on the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation.

(3)Pursuant to Article 7(4), point (c), and Article 68 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Partnership Council may amend Chapter 2, ‘Rules of origin’, of Title I, ‘Trade in Goods’, of Heading One, ‘Trade’, of Part Two, ‘Trade, transport, fisheries and other arrangements’, and the related annexes such as Annex 3, which establishes the Product Specific Rules of Origin, i.e. the respective working or processing required to be carried out on non-originating materials in order that the product manufactured can obtain originating status and which is currently based on the Harmonised System (‘HS’) 2017 version.

(4)The Partnership Council is to adopt a Decision modifying Annex 3 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to align the wording of certain chapters, headings or sub-headings and to adapt the product specific rules of origin with the HS 2022 version. For reasons of clarity the Annex should be replaced in its entirety, taking into account the number of amendments that need to be made in the Annex.

(5)Decision No 1/2023 of the Partnership Council (2) provides that Annex 3 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is not to be amended for products listed in Annex 5 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, except when the amendment is due to updates of the HS. No amendments are foreseen with regard to products listed in Annex 5 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The draft Decision of the Partnership Council attached to this Decision is therefore in any event compliant with Decision No 1/2023 of the Partnership Council.

(6)The adoption of the Decision by the Partnership Council is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2024.

(7)It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Partnership Council, as the Decision of the Partnership Council will have legal effect in the Union,