Decision No. 2/1999 Of The Joint Committee Of The Free Trade Agreement Between The Republic Of Latvia And The Republic Of Poland On Amendments To The Protocol 3 On Rules Of Origin To The Free Trade Agreement Between The Republic Of Latvia And The Republic Of Poland

THE JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Latvia, of the one part, and the Republic of Poland, of the other part, signed in Warsaw on 28 April 1997, and in particular Article 38 thereof and Article 36 of the Protocol 3,

Whereas within this Protocol 3 the definition of the term "originating products" needs to be amended to ensure the proper operation of the extended system of cumulation which permits the use of materials originating in the European Community, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Turkey, the European Economic Area (hereinafter referred to as the EEA), Iceland, Norway and Switzerland;

Whereas it would seem advisable to revise the Articles concerning the amounts in order to fully take into consideration the entry into force of the euro;

Whereas, to take account of changes in processing techniques and shortages of certain raw materials, some corrections must be made to the list of working and processing requirements which non-originating materials have to fulfil to qualify for originating status,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Protocol 3 concerning the definition of the concept of "originating products" and methods of administrative cooperation is hereby amended as follows:

1. In Articles 21 and 26 the word "ECU" shall be replaced by "euro".

2. Article 30 shall be replaced by the following:

" Article 30

Amounts expressed in euro

1. Amounts in the national currency of the exporting country equivalent to the amounts expressed in euro shall be fixed by the exporting country and communicated to the importing country.

2. When the amounts exceed the corresponding amounts fixed by the importing country, the latter shall accept them if the products are invoiced in the currency of the exporting country. When the products are invoiced in the currency of another country referred to in Articles 3 and 4, the importing country shall recognise the amount notified by the country concerned.

3. The amounts to be used in any given national currency shall be the equivalent in that national currency of the amounts expressed in euro as at the first working day of October 1999.

4. The amounts expressed in euro and their equivalents in the national currencies of Latvia and Poland shall be reviewed by the Joint Committee at the request of Latvia or Poland. When carrying out this review, the Joint Committee shall ensure that there will be no decrease in the amounts to be used in national currency and shall furthermore consider the desirability of preserving the effects of the limits concerned in real terms. For this purpose, it may decide to modify the amounts expressed in euro".

3. Annex II shall be amended as follows: