CROATIAN GOVERNMENT SETS QUOTAS FOR WTO IMPORTS

ZAGREB, April 10 (Hina) - Products to be imported this year from World Trade Organisation countries into Croatia in certain quantities and under preferred tariff rates include beef and pork, wheat, chocolate and food products containing cocoa, and raw and cane or beet sugar. #L# Under a government decree on import quotas, legal persons, registered for production or trade, and physical persons, registered in line with the Crafts Act, will be able to import these products under preferred tariff rates. According to the WTO quotas, Croatia will this year import 1,200 tonnes of fresh or frozen beef and another 300 tonnes of high- quality beef, from animals raised exclusively on grazing. A tariff rate of 15 percent has been set for both types of beef. A 10 percent tariff rate has been determined for the import of 1,000 tonnes of frozen pork whereas 26,666.7 tonnes of wheat and rye and wheat flour will be imported under a 15 percent rate. Three different rates have been introduced for the import of three types of sugar - a 15 percent rate for raw sugar without flavouring or colouring additives, a 10 percent rate for cane sugar and a 'free' tariff rate for refined sugar. The import quota for all three types of sugar is 15,000, 25,000 and 6,600 tonnes respectively. Chocolate and other food products containing cocoa will be imported with a tariff rate of 20 percent. That the defined rates are preferred can be seen from data from the Agriculture Ministry which say that the common tariff rates for chocolate imports, cane sugar and refined sugar are 42, 116 and 123 percent respectively. The Economy Ministry will allocate import quotas in line with suggestions by a special commission including two representatives each from the Economy Ministry and Agriculture Ministry and one representative each from the Finance Ministry, Customs Administration and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. The quotas will be granted on the basis of public bids, which will be invited in the press ten days before the granting of quotas at the latest. The first bids should be invited in late April or early May. Several criteria will be taken into account as regards the allocation of the quotas, primarily whether domestic producers use imports for manufacturing final products. The number of employees, regularity in the fulfilling of financial obligations toward the state, production scope and regional representation as well as exports to WTO countries will be taken into account as well. (hina) rml