Union tariff rate quota for high quality beef from Paraguay

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) 2019/216 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards Union tariff rate quota for high quality beef from Paraguay.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, the Union and the UK notified the other Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that their current market access level will be maintained but apportioned respectively between the Union and the United Kingdom. The methodology for this apportionment, as well as the new EU-27 volumes, are laid down in Regulation (EU) 2019/216 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Paraguay has a tariff rate quota of 1 000 tonnes for high quality bovine meat (order number 094455), which is not included in the EU’s WTO schedule. This tariff rate quotas was erroneously included in the apportionment exercise and thus reduced to 711 tonnes on the EU-27 side without any corresponding volume being opened on the UK side.

This means Paraguay’s market access has been reduced from 1 000 tonnes to 711 tonnes with application as of 1 January 2021. It is therefore appropriate to restore this tariff quota to its original volume.

This initiative is in line with the EU’s ongoing actions to ensure that the consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU are dealt with in an orderly manner.

CONTENT: the Commission proposes to amend Regulation (EU) 2019/216 in order to restore the correct volume (1000 tonnes) of tariff quota No 094455 for EU-27.

The row relating to order number 094455 (High quality meat of bovine animals, fresh, chilled or frozen from Paraguay) would thus be deleted from the Annex, Part A of Regulation (EU) 2019/216.