WRITTEN QUESTION E-0978/00 by Niels Busk (ELDR) to the Commission. T5 forms.
C 374 E/196 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 to initiate an investigation. This could end up before the WTO Disputes Settlement Body, thus offering the Community the prospect of Koreaís practices being penalised. The Commission is prepared to propose using all the trade policy instruments available to find a solution to the sectorís problems, consistent with its international obligations. The shipbuilding industry in Japan, also affected by aggressive Korean competition, has noted the possibility of WTO action against Korea. The Japanese authorities have said that they will participate in any WTO proceedings initiated by the Community. The American industry has written to its authorities to demand trade action of this kind against Korea. The Commission is paying particular attention to this issue and to the effects of unfair competition by Korean shipyards on the Community shipbuilding industry. (1) OJ L 349, 31. 12. 1994. (2000/C 374 E/230) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0978/00 by Niels Busk (ELDR) to the Commission (31 March 2000) Subject: T5 forms Further to my previous question (P-2817/99) (1), will the Commission base its answer on the fact that responsibility remains with the exporter, whereas, after stamping, the form is in the possession of the authorities and, therefore, under their sole control. Will the Commission take steps to ensure that responsibility for returning T5 forms is transferred to the authorities since they are in possession of the form? (1) OJ C 225 E, 8. 8. 2000, p. 209. Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (19 May 2000) The Commission maintains that it is not necessary to transfer responsibility for returning T5 forms to the competent authorities since it is already legally their responsibility. As far as it is aware the situation described by the Honourable Member is not usual in one or more Member States. If in a particular case it is found that the competent authorities have not fulfilled their obligation to return the original control copy T5, the exporter still has the option, as the Commission pointed out in its Answer to the Honourable Memberís Written Question P-2817/99, to seek confirmation that the goods comply with their intended use or destination. As a last resort, exporters can exercise their rights, including through the courts, notably where a Member State may have failed to fulfil its Community obligations and particularly where they may have suffered injury as a result. While it is not for the Commission to interfere in individual cases such as these, it will nonetheless remind Member States of their obligations in this matter with regard to general compliance with Community law