§ Mr. Mulleyasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the conventions and protocol adopted recently by the European Customs Union Study Group and now open for signature in Brussels; and what is the attitude of His Majesty's Government with regard to them.
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Mr. H. WilsonThe Conventions in question are (a) a Convention on nomenclature for the classification of goods in Customs tariffs, (b) a Convention on the valuation of goods for Customs purposes, (c) a Convention establishing a Customs Co-operation Council. All three Conventions, which are subject to ratification, were signed on behalf of the United Kingdom in Brussels on 21st February, 1951.
These Conventions embody the practical results of technical studies made by the European Customs Union Study Group in the last three years. They are not, however, confined to the European Governments who are members of the Study Group but are open for signature or accession by any Government. The Convention on nomenclature provides for the adoption by the contracting parties of common tariff headings and of notes and general rules related thereto but leaves each contracting party free to adopt in its Customs tariff any sub-divisions it requires. The Convention on valuation provides for the adoption by the contracting parties of a common definition of value of imported goods for Customs purposes and for its introduction into their domestic law. The Convention establishing a Customs Co-operation Council sets up a technical body designed to ensure the uniform interpretation and application of the other two 240W Conventions as well as of any future agreements of a technical nature in the Customs field, and generally to promote uniformity in the operation of the Customs procedures of the member Governments.
The implementation by the United Kingdom of the Convention on valuation would involve only minor changes in our law and practice. The legislation required will be put forward in the near future. The only commitment involved in the Convention on nomenclature relates to reclassification, but even this will mean a recasting of the form of the United Kingdom tariff; the steps needed to implement the Convention will need considerable further study. A precise estimate of the changes necessary in existing legislation cannot be made until the new tariff has been constructed.
A Protocol has also been signed on behalf of the United Kingdom dealing with the finances of the European Customs Union Study Group and providing for the sharing, as from 1st January, 1951, of the expenses of the Study Group (hitherto borne by the Belgian Government alone) among the Governments concerned. Arrangements are being made for the publication of the texts of the Conventions and of the Protocol on the finance of the Study Group as White Papers.