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AGREEMENT

IN THE FORM OF AN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS AMENDING CERTAIN ZERO-DUTY TARIFF QUOTAS OPENED BY THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR 1981 IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROTOCOL 1 OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND

SIR ,

IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROTOCOL 1 OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND SIGNED IN BRUSSELS ON 5 OCTOBER 1973 , THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS SINCE 1 JANUARY 1974 OPENED TARIFF QUOTAS FOR COATED PRINTING PAPER AND WRITING PAPER ( SUBHEADING EX 48.07 D OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF ) AS WELL AS FOR KRAFT PAPER FOR LARGE-CAPACITY SACKS ( SUBHEADING EX 48.01 C II OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF ) . THE PERMISSIBLE MAXIMA FOR THESE QUOTAS WERE FIXED ON THE BASIS OF STATISTICS AVAILABLE FOR THE PERIOD 1968 TO 1971 .

WITHIN THE QUOTA FOR COATED PRINTING AND WRITING PAPER THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS ESTABLISHED A SUBQUOTA FOR LIGHTWEIGHT COATED MECHANICAL PAPER WEIGHING LESS THAN 65 G/M2 ( LWC ) .

DURING RECENT YEARS THE DEMAND FOR LWC HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ELSEWHERE . AS IN 1979 AND IN 1980 THE PAPER IN QUESTION IS PRESENTLY IN SHORT SUPPLY IN THE COMMUNITY . IN VIEW OF THIS CONTINUED SHORTAGE IT IS THEREFORE PROPOSED THAT THE PERMISSIBLE MAXIMUM FOR THE QUOTA WHICH THE UNITED KINGDOM MAY OPEN IN 1981 FOR COATED PRINTING AND WRITING PAPER BE INCREASED BY 7 571 TONNES TO A TOTAL OF 29 074 TONNES , IT BEING UNDERSTOOD THAT THE INCREASE WILL BE CONFINED TO THE SUBQUOTA FOR LWC . BY WAY OF COMPENSATION THE PERMISSIBLE MAXIMUM FOR THE QUOTA FOR KRAFT PAPER FOR LARGE-CAPACITY SACKS WILL BE REDUCED FOR 1981 BY 7 571 TONNES TO 46 041 TONNES . THE QUOTA FOR THIS TYPE OF PAPER HAS BEEN UNDER-UTILIZED DURING RECENT YEARS .

I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD CONFIRM THAT YOUR GOVERNMENT IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE ABOVE .

PLEASE ACCEPT , SIR , THE ASSURANCE OF MY HIGHEST CONSIDERATION .

ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

SIR ,

I HAVE THE HONOUR TO ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF YOUR LETTER OF TODAY'S DATE WHICH READS AS FOLLOWS :

" IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROTOCOL 1 OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND SIGNED IN BRUSSELS ON 5 OCTOBER 1973 , THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS SINCE 1 JANUARY 1974 OPENED TARIFF QUOTAS FOR COATED PRINTING PAPER AND WRITING PAPER ( SUBHEADING EX 48.07 D OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF ) AS WELL AS FOR KRAFT PAPER FOR LARGE-CAPACITY SACKS ( SUBHEADING EX 48.01 C II OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF ) . THE PERMISSIBLE MAXIMA FOR THESE QUOTAS WERE FIXED ON THE BASIS OF STATISTICS AVAILABLE FOR THE PERIOD 1968 TO 1971 .

WITHIN THE QUOTA FOR COATED PRINTING AND WRITING PAPER THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS ESTABLISHED A SUBQUOTA FOR LIGHTWEIGHT COATED MECHANICAL PAPER WEIGHING LESS THAN 65 G/M2 ( LWC ) .

DURING RECENT YEARS THE DEMAND FOR LWC HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ELSEWHERE . AS IN 1979 AND IN 1980 THE PAPER IN QUESTION IS PRESENTLY IN SHORT SUPPLY IN THE COMMUNITY . IN VIEW OF THIS CONTINUED SHORTAGE IT IS THEREFORE PROPOSED THAT THE PERMISSIBLE MAXIMUM FOR THE QUOTA WHICH THE UNITED KINGDOM MAY OPEN IN 1981 FOR COATED PRINTING AND WRITING PAPER BE INCREASED BY 7 571 TONNES TO A TOTAL OF 29 074 TONNES , IT BEING UNDERSTOOD THAT THE INCREASE WILL BE CONFINED TO THE SUBQUOTA FOR LWC . BY WAY OF COMPENSATION THE PERMISSIBLE MAXIMUM FOR THE QUOTA FOR KRAFT PAPER FOR LARGE-CAPACITY SACKS WILL BE REDUCED FOR 1981 BY 7 571 TONNES TO 46 041 TONNES . THE QUOTA FOR THIS TYPE OF PAPER HAS BEEN UNDER-UTILIZED DURING RECENT YEARS .

I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD CONFIRM THAT YOUR GOVERNMENT IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE ABOVE . "

I HAVE THE HONOUR TO CONFIRM THAT MY GOVERNMENT IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE CONTENTS OF YOUR LETTER .

PLEASE ACCEPT , SIR , THE ASSURANCE OF MY HIGHEST CONSIDERATION .

FOR THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND