Date: 2020-10-30Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1588 of 25 June 2020 amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing volume thresholds for tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates, gold ores and concentrates, tin oxides and hydroxides, tantalates and carbides of tantalum
Issued by European Commission
· Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security
**Executive Summary:**
This delegated regulation (EU) 2020/1588, dated June 25, 2020, amends Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 by establishing volume thresholds for specific tantalum, niobium, gold, and tin minerals and metals. These thresholds determine which Union importers are subject to supply chain due diligence obligations. The regulation entered into force twenty days following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Purpose:** To establish volume thresholds for tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates, gold ores and concentrates, tin oxides and hydroxides, tantalates and carbides of tantalum, as outlined in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2017/821.
* **Thresholds:**
* Tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates (Ex26 15 90 00): 100,000 kg
* Gold ores and concentrates (Ex26 16 90 00): 4,000,000 kg
* Tin oxides and hydroxides (Ex28 25 90 85): 3,600 kg
* Tantalates (Ex28 41 90 85): 30 kg
* Carbides of tantalum (Ex28 49 90 50): 770 kg
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Union Importers:**
* *Impact:* Those importing volumes of the specified minerals and metals exceeding the newly established thresholds will be subject to supply chain due diligence obligations as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/821.
* *Action Required:* Assess import volumes against the new thresholds to determine if due diligence obligations apply.
* **Member States' Customs Authorities:**
* *Impact:* Continue collecting customs data based on the Integrated Tariff of the European Communities TARIC subdivisions.
* *Action Required:* Enforce the regulation based on the updated thresholds.
Key Entities Referenced
European Union: A political and economic union of member states located primarily in Europe.
European Commission: An institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU.
Regulation EU 2017/821: A regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
European Parliament: The parliamentary body of the European Union that shares legislative power with the Council of the European Union.
Council of the European Union: A body composed of government ministers from each EU member state to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies.
Ursula VON DER LEYEN: The President of the European Commission.
Brussels: The de facto capital city of the European Union, located in Belgium.
Combined Nomenclature: The goods classification system of the European Union for customs and statistics purposes.
30.10.2020 E N O f f i c i a l J o u r n a l o f t h e E u r o p e a n Union L 360/1
II
(Non-legislative acts)
REGULATIONS
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2020/1588
of 25 June 2020
amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council by
establishing volume thresholds for tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates, gold ores and
concentrates, tin oxides and hydroxides, tantalates and carbides of tantalum
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down
supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating
from conflict-affected and high-risk areas(1), and in particular Article 1(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 contains a list of minerals and metals within the scope of that Regulation and
sets out certain annual import volume thresholds with regard to those minerals and metals.
(2) In accordance with Article 1(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/821, that Regulation does not apply to Union importers
where their annual import volume of each of the minerals or metals concerned is below the thresholds set out in
Annex I to that Regulation. Those thresholds are set at a level that ensures that no less than 95 % of the total
volumes imported into the Union of each mineral and metal is subject to the obligations of Union importers set out
in that Regulation.
(3) At the time the Regulation was adopted in 2017, there were no sufficiently disaggregated Combined Nomenclature
codes with regard to five of the specific minerals and metals listed in Annex I. As a result, the import data with
regard to those minerals and metals were not available and five volume thresholds in Annex I are therefore still to
be established.
(4) Pursuant to Article 1(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 the Commission is to establish the volume thresholds that
remains to be set out in Annex I by adopting a delegated act, in accordance with Articles 18 and 19 of Regulation
(EU) 2017/821 in order to amend Annex I. If feasible, the delegated act should be adopted by 1 April 2020 but no
later than 1 July 2020.
(5) Regulation (EU) 2017/821 created five new Integrated Tariff of the European Communities (‘TARIC’) subdivisions
corresponding to the five minerals and metals with thresholds that are yet to be established, with respect to which
the customs authorities of the Member States have collected customs data since the Regulation entered into force in
June 2017.
(6) Pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 the Commission is to rely on the import information for each
Union importer provided by the Member States for the previous two years, hence for 2018 and 2019.
(7) Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 should therefore be amended accordingly,
(1) OJ L 130, 19.5.2017, p. 1.L 360/2 E N O f f i c i a l J o u r n a l o f t h e E u r o p e an Union 30.10.2020
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Delegated Regulation.
Article 2
This Delegated Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal
of the European Union.
This Delegated Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.
Done at Brussels, 25 June 2020.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN30.10.2020 E N O f f i c i a l J o u r n a l o f t h e E u r o p e a n Union L 360/3
ANNEX
Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 is amended as follows:
(1) in ‘Part A: Minerals’, the table is amended as follows:
(a) row three is replaced by the following:
‘Tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates Ex26 15 90 00 10 100 000’
(b) row four is replaced by the following:
‘Gold ores and concentrates Ex26 16 90 00 10 4 000 000’
(2) in ‘Part B: Metals’, the table is amended as follows:
(a) row two is replaced by the following:
‘Tin oxides and hydroxides Ex28 25 90 85 10 3 600’
(b) row five is replaced by the following:
‘Tantalates Ex28 41 90 85 30 30’
(c) row seven is replaced by the following:
‘Carbides of tantalum Ex28 49 90 50 10 770’