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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act approves a provisional commercial agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Belgo‑Luxemburg Economic Union. Mechanically it gives most‑favoured‑nation treatment and specific tariff concessions, primage‑duty exemptions and a Belgian quota and duty for plain clear sheet glass; detailed schedules list the affected tariff items, rates and permitted exemptions. Who it affects: importers, exporters, Australian producers and Customs. Importers pay or save duties set by the schedules; the government decides quotas, Tariff Board referrals and must administer classifications, permits and compliance.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Trade Agreement (Belgium) Act 1936.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
TRADE AGREEMENT (BELGIUM).
No. 57 of 1936.
An Act to approve a Provisional Commercial Agreement between the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Government of Belgium and Undertakings given in relation to that Agreement.
[Assented to 23rd November, 1936.]
BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows :—
Short title.
Approval of Agreement and undertakings.
THE SCHEDULES.
FIRST SCHEDULE. Sec. 2.
PROVISIONAL COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA AND THE BELGO-LUXEMBURG ECONOMIC UNION.
The Government of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Government of Belgium acting both on its own behalf and by virtue of existing agreements on behalf of the Government of Luxemburg, desiring to facilitate and extend still further the commercial relations between Australia, on the one part, and the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, on the other part, have agreed as follows :—
Article I.
Articles, produced or manufactured in Australia, on their importation into the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, and articles produced or manufactured in the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, on their importation into Australia, shall not be subjected to other or higher duties or charges than those paid on the like articles, the produce or manufacture of the most favoured foreign country.
Article II.
(1) Articles enumerated in Schedule ‘A’ to this Agreement, produced or manufactured in the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, shall, on importation into Australia, be accorded the benefits of the Australian Intermediate Tariff.
(2) Articles enumerated in Schedule ‘B’ to this Agreement, being the produce or manufacture of the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, shall not, on importation into Australia, be subjected to a higher duty than that specified in the said Schedule.
(3) The stipulations of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall not be deemed to exempt the said articles from liability to sales tax or, except as provided in paragraph (4), from payment of primage duties.
(4) Articles enumerated in Schedule ‘C’ to this Agreement, produced or manufactured in the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, shall not, on importation into Australia, be subjected to higher primage duties than those specified in the said Schedule.
(5) Outside packages and outer coverings containing articles enumerated in Schedule ‘D’ to this Agreement, produced or manufactured in the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, shall, on importation into Australia be exempt from duty.
Article III.
Articles enumerated in Schedule ‘E’ to this Agreement, produced or manufactured in Australia, shall not, on importation into the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union, be subjected to higher duties than those specified in the said Schedule.
Article IV.
During the currency of the present Agreement, Belgian plain clear sheet glass (Australian Tariff Item 242 (b)) shall benefit in Australia from the import regime set forth in this Article.
(1) During any year in which the consumption of plain clear sheet glass in Australia is estimated not to exceed 7,500,000 square feet the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia shall permit the importation into Australia of 2,152,500 square feet of Belgian plain clear sheet glass.
First Schedule—continued.
(2) If the consumption of plain clear sheet glass in Australia during any year is greater than 7,500,000 square feet the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia will grant to Belgium a supplementary quota of plain clear sheet glass equal to 35.8725 per centum of the difference between the figure for the actual Australian consumption during the year in question and 7,500,000 square feet.
(3) In the event that the Australian glass makers are unable to supply the full quota reserved to them and that it becomes necessary to authorize the importation of additional quantities of plain clear sheet glass, the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia will grant a supplementary quota to Belgium. The supplementary quota granted to Belgium shall be equal to 71.745 per centum of the total additional quantity authorised to be imported under the conditions set forth in this paragraph.
(4) Belgian plain clear sheet glass the importation of which into Australia is authorised under this import regime shall be subjected to a duty of four shillings (4/-) per hundred square feet and shall be exempt from primage duty. However, if this duty is reduced or suppressed in favour of any other foreign country, the same reduction or suppression shall be applied to Belgian plain clear sheet glass.
(5) In the event of a cessation of production of plain clear sheet glass in Australia, the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia shall have the right to abolish all restrictions on the importation of this product. In that event, Belgian plain clear sheet glass shall be admitted into Australia either under the rates of duty specified in paragraph (4) or under the most favourable rates of duty granted to any other foreign country, whichever is the lower.
(6) The quotas allocated to Belgium shall be divided between glass of the various qualities and weights in the following proportions :—
| per centum of total quantity allocated. | |
|---|---|
| Horticultural glass | 11.25 |
| Other qualities:— | |
| 16 oz. glass | 43 |
| 21 „ „ | 40 |
| Heavier than 21 oz. glass | 5.75 |
In the case of glass heavier than 21 oz. import permits shall be granted, within the limits of the specified percentage, in such weights as Australian consumers require.
(7) In the event that the Australian demand for horticultural glass in any year is less than 11.25 per centum of the total Australian demand for plain clear sheet glass of all qualities, the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia will use its best endeavours to arrange that the allocations of horticultural glass to Belgium shall coincide with the actual percentage. In this case the difference between the figure representing 11.25 per centum of the total Belgian quota and the figure representing the actual percentage shall be divided between the other categories as follows :—
| per centum of quantity allocated. | |
|---|---|
| 16 oz. glass | 48 |
| 21 oz. glass | 45 |
| Heavier than 21 oz. glass | 7 |
The percentage allocated by this paragraph to glass heavier than 21 oz. may, if the Belgian Government so desires, be distributed between glass of 16 oz. and 21 oz. weights.
(8) With a view to permitting the application of paragraphs (6) and (7) of this Article, the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia shall continue to take all the necessary measures to ascertain the actual annual demand in Australia for horticultural glass.
(9) Since the demand for glass of horticultural quality is seasonal and occurs almost entirely during the months of January to April in each year the Belgian Government will assist the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia in all measures that may be necessary to meet the demands of the market within that period and to assure the equitable treatment of the various interests concerned.
(10) In the event that this Agreement is terminated before the expiration of any year and that as a result of such termination the quotas for horticultural glass allocated to Belgium are greater than 11.25 per centum of the total Belgian quota, the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia shall communicate with the Belgian Government with a view to arriving at an equitable adjustment of the quantities for each category of glass.
First Schedule—continued.
(11) To facilitate the administration of the import regime set forth in this Article the Belgian Government shall use its best endeavours to advise the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia not later than the 15th day of October in each year as to the proportions in which the Belgian quota shall be divided amongst the several Belgian exporters.
(12) For the purposes of the import regime set forth in this Article a year shall be deemed to commence on the 1st day of November and to end on the 31st day of October of the next following calendar year.
Article V.
During the currency of the present Agreement, Barley (Tariff No. 51 f)), Wheat (Tariff No. 51 b) 1.), and Frozen Beef (Tariff No. 2 b) 1.) originating in and coming from the Commonwealth of Australia shall not be prohibited from importation into the Customs Territory of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union.
Article VI.
In the event of the Government of either party adopting in respect of any products specifically mentioned in this Agreement any measures which, even though they do not conflict with the terms of this Agreement, are considered by the Government of the other party to have the effect of nullifying or impairing any of the advantages of this Agreement, the Government which considers its interests adversely affected may, within three months of the adoption of such measures, request the opening of negotiations with a view to effecting a mutually satisfactory adjustment of the matter. If agreement is not reached within two months of the receipt of such request the party which considers its interests adversely affected may take such action as it thinks proper to re-establish the equilibrium of the present Agreement.
Article VII.
Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to affect the rights of either Government to impose or maintain prohibitions or restrictions—
(a) relating to public security ;
(b) imposed on moral or humanitarian grounds ;
(c) occasioned by the necessity of securing the safety of persons ; and
(d) imposed for the protection of animals and plants
provided that such measures are applied under the same conditions to like articles imported from any other foreign country.
Article VIII.
(1) Nothing in this Agreement shall entitle the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union to claim the benefit of any treatment, preference, or privilege which may at any time be in force exclusively between the territories under the sovereignty of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, or under His Majesty's suzerainty, protection or mandate.
(2) Neither party shall invoke the provisions of Article I of this Agreement to secure the advantages which result from any Customs Union to which the other may become a party.
(3) The stipulations of this Agreement shall not apply to the advantages which the Governments of the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union have granted or may grant to contiguous States to facilitate border traffic within a limited zone on each side of the frontier.
Article IX.
The present Agreement shall, as from the date of its coming into force, supersede the arrangement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Belgo-Luxemburg Economic Union concluded by the Exchanges of Notes on 19th November, 1934, and on 23rd October, 1935. It shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Canberra as soon as possible. It shall come into force fourteen days after the exchange of instruments of ratification or such earlier date as may be agreed upon and, except as otherwise provided, shall remain in force and effect until six months from the day on which either Government shall have given notice of its intention to terminate it.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized to that effect have signed in duplicate this Agreement drawn up in the English and French languages and have affixed thereto their seals.
Done at Canberra this third day of October, 1936.
l.s. H. S. GULLETT.
l.s. ARMAND NIHOTTE
First Schedule—continued.
SCHEDULE A.
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This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.