9.1.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L 4/29 COMMISSION DECISION of 27 December 2000 pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 to suspend the examination procedure concerning obstacles to trade in cosmetics in the Republic of Korea (notified under document number C(2000) 4128) (2001/15EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 328694 of 22 December 1994 laying down Community procedures in the field of the common commercial policy in order to ensure the exercise of the Community's rights under international trade rules, in particular those established under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (!), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 356/95 (%), and in particular Articles 11 and 14 thereof, After consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: A. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND (1) On 2 April 1998, Colipa, the Liaison Committee of the European Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, lodged a complaint under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 (hereinafter ‘the Regulation’) on behalf of those of its members which export to Korea or wish to do so. (2)  The complainant alleged that Community sales of cosmetic products in the Republic of Korea were hindered by three obstacles to trade within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Regulation, i.e. a practice adopted or maintained by a third country and in respect of which international trade rules establish a right of action’. The alleged obstacles to trade were: (i) Conformity assessment procedure: testing on imported cosmetics carried out by the Korean administration, in Korea, often requiring a period of three months in order to complete the different stages of the procedure; (i) Administrative tracking of products: obligation for importers to keep, for three years, registers containing customs, commercial and quality-related information on all cosmetic products that they import. In addition, importers also required to send an annual report to the Korean Cosmetics Industry () O] L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 71. () O] L 41, 23.2.1995, p. 3. Association (KCIA) containing sensitive commercial information; (iti) Authorisation procedure for advertisements: alleg- edly leading to discrimination. (3)  The complainant alleged that the conformity assessment procedure and the administrative tracking requirements were burdensome and unnecessary and that the proced- ures for testing imposed on imported goods differed from those for domestic products and were therefore discriminatory. The complainant also alleged that the flexible interpretation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law with regard to advertising led to discrimination against imported products. The complainant therefore asserted that the Korean practices mentioned above contravened Articles 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and Article II(4) of GATT 1994. (4)  The complainant also claimed that its members were suffering adverse trade effects within the meaning of Article 2(4) of the Regulation and that they were in danger of being more adversely affected in the near future. The complainant claimed that additional costs were incurred due to the rigorous conditions imposed on imports of cosmetics in Korea, those costs being in the order of 1,5 % of net sales of products imported into Korea. Those additional costs arose from an excessive workload for its administrative and technical staff, the supplementary costs involved in the tests themselves and the handling and warehousing of the stocks during tests. In addition, the complainant asserted that the discrim- ination affecting advertising for imported products made it more difficult for them to increase their market share to help compensate for the additional costs incurred by the conformity assessment procedure and excessive administrative requirements. (5 The Commission decided therefore, after consultation of the Advisory Committee established by the Regulation, that there was sufficient evidence to justify initiating an examination procedure for the purpose of considering the legal and factual issues involved. Consequently, an examination procedure was initiated on 19 May 1998 (). () O] C 154, 19.5.1998, p. 12.