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Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 75-B/94 — Aprova, para ratificação, o Acordo Que Cria a Organização Mundial do Comércio, seus anexos, decisões, declarações…

Tipo Resolucao-Assembleia-Republica
Publicação 1994-12-27
Última atualização 2013-01-17
Estado Em vigor texto desatualizado
Texto Tal como publicado
Ministério Assembleia da República
Fonte DRE
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artigos 599

Este é o ato tal como foi publicado. As alterações posteriores não estão incorporadas no texto: cada uma é um ato autónomo neste repositório e uma entrada no historial desta lei.

3 atos modificativos · 2013-01-17, Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 1/2013 — Aprova as alterações à lista de comprom…

Aprova, para ratificação, o Acordo Que Cria a Organização Mundial do Comércio, seus anexos, decisões, declarações ministeriais e o Acto Final, que consagra os resultados das negociações comerciais multilaterais do Uruguay Round

Histórico de alterações JSON API
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All information that is by nature confidential or that is provided on a confidential basis for the purpose of the application of rules of origin is treated as strictly confidential by the authorities concerned, which shall not disclose it without the specific permission of the person or government providing such information, except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial proceedings.

(nota 2) With respect to rules of origin applied for the purposes of government procurement, this provision shall not create obligations additional to those already assumed by Members under GATT 1994.

(nota 3) In respect of requests made during the first year from the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement, Members shall only be required to issue these assessments as soon as possible.

Article 3

Disciplines after the transition period

Taking into account the aim of all Members to achieve, as a result of the harmonization work programme set out in Part IV, the establishment of harmonized rules of origin, Members shall ensure, upon the implementation of the results of the harmonization work programme, that:

a)

They apply rules of origin equally for all purposes as set out in Article 1;

b)

Under their rules of origin, the country to be determined as the origin of a particular good is either the country where the good has been wholly obtained or, when more than one country is concerned in the production of the good, the country where the last substantial transformation has been carried out;

c)

The rules of origin that they apply to imports and exports are not more stringent than the rules of origin they apply to determine whether or not a good is domestic and shall not discriminate between other Members, irrespective of the affiliation of the manufacturers of the good concerned;

d)

The rules of origin are administered in a consistent, uniform, impartial and reasonable manner;

e)

Their laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application relating to rules of origin are published as if they were subject to, and in accordance with, the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article X of GATT 1994;

f)

Upon the request of an exporter, importer or any person with a justifiable cause, assessments of the origin they would accord to a good are issued as soon as possible but no later than 150 days after a request for such an assessment provided that all necessary elements have been submitted. Requests for such assessments shall be accepted before trade in the good concerned begins and may be accepted at any later point in time. Such assessments shall remain valid for three years provided that the facts and conditions, including the rules of origin, under which they have been made remain comparable. Provided that the parties concerned are informed in advance, such assessments will no longer be valid when a decision contrary to the assessment is made in a review as referred to in subparagraph h). Such assessments shall be made publicly available subject to the provisions of subparagraph i);

g)

When introducing changes to their rules of origin or new rules of origin, they shall not apply such changes retroactively as defined in, and without prejudice to, their laws or regulations;

h)

Any administrative action which they take in relation to the determination of origin is reviewable promptly by judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures, independent of the authority issuing the determination, which can effect the modification or reversal of the determination;

i)

All information which is by nature confidential or which is provided on a confidential basis for the purpose of the application of rules of origin is treated as strictly confidential by the authorities concerned, which shall not disclose it without the specific permission of the person or government providing such information, except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial proceedings.

PART III

Procedural, arrangements on notification, review, consultation and dispute settlement

Article 4

Institutions

1 - There is hereby established a Committee on Rules of Origin (referred to in this Agreement as «the Committee») composed of the representatives from each of the Members. The Committee shall elect its own Chairman and shall meet as necessary, but not less than once a year, for the purpose of affording Members the opportunity to consult on matters relating to the operation of Parts I, II, III and IV or the furtherance of the objectives set out in these Parts and to carry out such other responsibilities assigned to it under this Agreement or by the Council for Trade in Goods. Where appropriate, the Committee shall request information and advice from the Technical Committee referred to in paragraph 2 on matters related to this Agreement. The Committee may also request such other work from the Technical Committee as it considers appropriate for the furtherance of the above-mentioned objectives of this Agreement. The WTO Secretariat shall act as the secretariat to the Committee.

2 - There shall be established a Technical Committee on Rules of Origin (referred to in this Agreement as «the Technical Committee») under the auspices of the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) as set out in Annex I. The Technical Committee shall carry out the technical work called for in Part IV and prescribed in Annex I. Where appropriate, the Technical Committee shall request information and advice from the Committee on matters related to this Agreement. The Technical Committee may also request such other work from the Committee as it considers appropriate for the furtherance of the above-mentioned objectives of the Agreement. The CCC Secretariat shall act as the secretariat to the Technical Committee.

Article 5

Information and procedures for modification and introduction of new rules of origin

1 - Each Member shall provide to the Secretariat, within 90 days after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement for it, its rules of origin, judicial decisions, and administrative rulings of general application relating to rules of origin in effect on that date. If by inadvertence a rule of origin has not been provided, the Member concerned shall provide it immediately after this fact becomes known. Lists of information received and available with the Secretariat shall be circulated to the Members by the Secretariat.

2 - During the period referred to in Article 2, Members introducing modifications, other than de minimis modifications, to their rules of origin or introducing new rules of origin, which, for the purpose of this Article, shall include any rule of origin referred to in paragraph 1 and not provided to the Secretariat, shall publish a notice to that effect at least 60 days before the entry into force of the modified or new rule in such a manner as to enable interested parties to become acquainted with the intention to modify a rule of origin or to introduce a new rule of origin, unless exceptional circumstances arise or threaten to arise for a Member. In these exceptional cases, the Member shall publish the modified or new rule as soon as possible.

Article 6

Review

1 - The Committee shall review annually the implementation and operation of Parts II and III of this Agreement having regard to its objectives. The Committee shall annually inform the Council for Trade in Goods of developments during the period covered by such reviews.

2 - The Committee shall review the provisions of Parts I, II and III and propose amendments as necessary to reflect the results of the harmonization work programme.

3 - The Committee, in cooperation with the Technical Committee, shall set up a mechanism to consider and propose amendments to the results of the harmonization work programme, taking into account the objectives and principles set out in Article 9. This may include instances where the rules need to be made more operational or need to be updated to take into account new production processes as affected by any technological change.

Article 7

Consultation

The provisions of Article XXII of GATT 1994, as elaborated and applied by the Dispute Settlement Understanding, are applicable to this Agreement.

Article 8

Dispute settlement

The provisions of Article XXIII of GATT 1994, as elaborated and applied by the Dispute Settlement Understanding, are applicable to this Agreement.

PART IV

Harmonization of rules of origin

Article 9

Objectives and principles

1 - With the objectives of harmonizing rules of origin and, inter alia, providing more certainty in the conduct of world trade, the Ministerial Conference shall undertake the work programme set out below in conjunction with the CCC, on the basis of the following principles:

a)

Rules of origin should be applied equally for all purposes as set out in Article 1;

b)

Rules of origin should provide for the country to be determined as the origin of a particular good to be either the country where the good has been wholly obtained or, when more than one country is concerned in the production of the good, the country where the last substantial transformation has been carried out;

c)

Rules of origin should be objective, understandable and predictable;

d)

Notwithstanding the measure or instrument to which they may be linked, rules of origin should not be used as instruments to pursue trade objectives directly or indirectly. They should not themselves create restrictive, distorting or disruptive effects on international trade. They should not pose unduly strict requirements or require the fulfilment of a certain condition not relating to manufacturing or processing as a prerequisite for the determination of the country of origin. However, costs not directly related to manufacturing or processing may be included for purposes of the application of an ad valorem percentage criterion;

e)

Rules of origin should be administrable in a consistent, uniform, impartial and reasonable manner;

f)

Rules of origin should be coherent;

g)

Rules of origin should be based on a positive standard. Negative standards may be used to clarify a positive standard.

Work programme

2 - a) The work programme shall be initiated as soon after the entry into force of the WTO Agreement as possible and will be completed within three years of initiation.

b)

The Committee and the Technical Committee provided for in Article 4 shall be the appropriate bodies to conduct this work.

c)

To provide for detailed input by the CCC, the Committee shall request the Technical Committee to provide its interpretations and opinions resulting from the work described below on the basis of the principles listed in paragraph 1. To ensure timely completion of the work programme for harmonization, such work shall be conducted on a product sector basis, as represented by various chapters or sections of the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature.

i)

Wholly obtained and minimal operations or processes. - The Technical Committee shall develop harmonized definitions of:

  • The goods that are to be considered as being wholly obtained in one country. This work shall be as detailed as possible;
  • Minimal operations or processes that do not by themselves confer origin to a good.

The results of this work shall be submitted to the Committee within three months of receipt of the request from the Committee.

ii) Substantial transformation - Change in tariff classification:

  • The Technical Committee shall consider and elaborate upon, on the basis of the criterion of substantial transformation, the use of change in tariff subheading or heading when developing rules of origin for particular products or a product sector and, if appropriate, the minimum change within the nomenclature that meets this criterion.
  • The Technical Committee shall divide the above work on a product basis taking into account the chapters or sections of the HS nomenclature, so as to submit results of its work to the Committee at least on a quarterly basis. The Technical Committee shall complete the above work within one year and three months from receipt of the request of the Committee.

iii) Substantial transformation - supplementary criteria. - Upon completion of the work under subparagraph ii) for each product sector or individual product category where the exclusive use of the HS nomenclature does not allow for the expression of substantial transformation, the Technical Committee:

  • Shall consider and elaborate upon, on the basis of the criterion of substantial transformation, the use, in a supplementary or exclusive manner, of other requirements, including ad valorem percentages (ver nota 4) and/or manufacturing or processing operations (ver nota 5), when developing rules of origin for particular products or a product sector;
  • May provide explanations for its proposals;
  • Shall divide the above work on a product basis taking into account the chapters or sections of the HS nomenclature, so as to submit results of its work to the Committee at least on a quarterly basis. The Technical Committee shall complete the above work within two years and three months of receipt of the request from the Committee.

Role of the Committee

3 - On the basis of the principles listed in paragraph 1:

a)

The Committee shall consider the interpretations and opinions of the Technical Committee periodically in accordance with the time-frames provided in subparagraphs i), ii) and iii) of paragraph 2, c), with a view to endorsing such interpretations and opinions. The Committee may request the Technical Committee to refine or elaborate its work and/or to develop new approaches. To assist the Technical Committee, the Committee should provide its reasons for requests for additional work and, as appropriate, suggest alternative approaches;

b)

Upon completion of all the work identified in subparagraphs i), ii) and iii) of paragraph 2, c), the Committee shall consider the results in terms of their overall coherence.

Results of the harmonization work programmeand subsequent work

4 - The Ministerial Conference shall establish the results of the harmonization work programme in an annex as an integral part of this Agreement (ver nota 6). The Ministerial Conference shall establish a time-frame for the entry into force of this annex.

(nota 4) If the ad valorem criterion is prescribed, the method for calculating this percentage shall also be indicated in the rules of origin.

(nota 5) If the criterion of manufacturing or processing operation is prescribed, the operation that confers origin on the product concerned shall be precisely specified.

(nota 6) At the same time, consideration shall be given to arrangements concerning the settlement of disputes relating to customs classification.

ANNEX I

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN

Responsibilities

1 - The ongoing responsibilities of the Technical Committee shall include the following:

a)

At the request of any member of the Technical Committee, to examine specific technical problems arising in the day-to-day administration of the rules of origin of Members and to give advisory opinions on appropriate solutions based upon the facts presented;

b)

To furnish information and advice on any matters concerning the origin determination of goods as may be requested by any Member or the Committee;

c)

To prepare and circulate periodic reports on the technical aspects of the operation and status of this Agreement; and

d)

To review annually the technical aspects of the implementation and operation of Parts II and III.

2 - The Technical Committee shall exercise such other responsibilities as the Committee may request of it.

3 - The Technical Committee shall attempt to conclude its work on specific matters, especially those referred to it by Members or the Committee, in a reasonably short period of time.

Representation

4 - Each Member shall have the right to be represented on the Technical Committee. Each Member may nominate one delegate and one or more alternates to be its representatives on the Technical Committee. Such a Member so represented on the Technical Committee is hereinafter referred to as a «member» of the Technical Committee. Representatives of members of the Technical Committee may be assisted by advisers at meetings of the Technical Committee. The WTO Secretariat may also attend such meetings with observer status.

5 - Members of the CCC which are not Members of the WTO may be represented at meetings of the Technical Committee by one delegate and one or more alternates. Such representatives shall attend meetings of the Technical Committee as observers.

6 - Subject to the approval of the Chairman of the Technical Committee, the Secretary-General of the CCC (referred to in this Annex as «the Secretary-General») may invite representatives of governments which are neither Members of the WTO nor members of the CCC and representatives of international governmental and trade organizations to attend meetings of the Technical Committee as observers.

7 - Nominations of delegates, alternates and advisers to meetings of the Technical Committee shall be made to the Secretary-General.

Meetings

8 - The Technical Committee shall meet as necessary, but not less than once a year.

Procedures

9 - The Technical Committee shall elect its own Chairman and shall establish its own procedures.

ANNEX II

COMMON DECLARATION WITH REGARD TO PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN

1 - Recognizing that some Members apply preferential rules of origin, distinct from non-preferential rules of origin, the Members hereby agree as follows.

2 - For the purposes of this Common Declaration, preferential rules of origin shall be defined as those laws, regulations and administrative determinations of general application applied by any Member to determine whether goods qualify for preferential treatment under contractual or autonomous trade regimes leading to the granting of tariff preferences going beyond the application of paragraph 1 of Article I of GATT 1994.

3 - The Members agree to ensure that:

a)

When they issue administrative determinations of general application, the requirements to be fulfilled are clearly defined. In particular:

i)

In cases where the criterion of change of tariff classification is applied, such a preferential rule of origin, and any exceptions to the rule, must clearly specify the subheadings or headings within the tariff nomenclature that are addressed by the rule;

ii) In cases where the ad valorem percentage criterion is applied, the method for calculating this percentage shall also be indicated in the preferential rules of origin;

iii) In cases where the criterion of manufacturing or processing operation is prescribed, the operation that confers preferential origin shall be precisely specified;

b)

Their preferential rules of origin are based on a positive standard. Preferential rules of origin that state what does not confer preferential origin (negative standard) are permissible as part of a clarification of a positive standard or in individual cases where a positive determination of preferential origin is not necessary;

c)

Their laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application relating to preferential rules of origin are published as if they were subject to, and in accordance with, the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article X of GATT 1994;

d)

Upon request of an exporter, importer or any person with a justifiable cause, assessments of the preferential origin they would accord to a good are issued as soon as possible but no later than 150 days (ver nota 7) after a request for such an assessment provided that all necessary elements have been submitted. Requests for such assessments shall be accepted before trade in the good concerned begins and may be accepted at any later point in time. Such assessments shall remain valid for three years provided that the facts and conditions, including the preferential rules of origin, under which they have been made remain comparable. Provided that the parties concerned are informed in advance, such assessments will no longer be valid when a decision contrary to the assessment is made in a review as referred to in subparagraph f). Such assessments shall be made publicly available subject to the provisions of subparagraph g);

e)

When introducing changes to their preferential rules of origin or new preferential rules of origin, they shall not apply such changes retroactively as defined in, and without prejudice to, their laws or regulations;

f)

Any administrative action which they take in relation to the determination of preferential origin is reviewable promptly by judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures, independent of the authority issuing the determination, which can effect the modification or reversal of the determination;

g)

All information that is by nature confidential or that is provided on a confidential basis for the purpose of the application of preferential rules of origin is treated as strictly confidential by the authorities concerned, which shall not disclose it without the specific permission of the person or government providing such information, except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial proceedings.

4 - Members agree to provide to the Secretariat promptly their preferential rules of origin, including a listing of the preferential arrangements to which they apply, judicial decisions, and administrative rulings of general application relating to their preferential rules of origin in effect on the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement for the Member concerned. Furthermore, Members agree to provide any modifications to their preferential rules of origin or new preferential rules of origin as soon as possible to the Secretariat. Lists of information received and available with the Secretariat shall be circulated to the Members by the Secretariat.

(nota 7) In respect of requests made during the first year from entry into force of the WTO Agreement Members shall only be required to issue these assessments as soon as possible.

AGREEMENT ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES

Members:

Having regard to the Multilateral Trade Negotiations;

Desiring to further the objectives of GATT 1994;

Taking into account the particular trade, development and financial needs of developing country Members;

Recognizing the usefulness of automatic import licensing for certain purposes and that such licensing should not be used to restrict trade;

Recognizing that import licensing may be employed to administer measures such as those adopted pursuant to the relevant provisions of GATT 1994;

Recognizing the provisions of GATT 1994 as they apply to import licensing procedures;

Desiring to ensure that import licensing procedures are not utilized in a manner contrary to the principles and obligations of GATT 1994;

Recognizing that the flow of international trade could be impeded by the inappropriate use of import licensing procedures;

Convinced that import licensing, particularly non-automatic import licensing, should be implemented in a transparent and predictable manner;

Recognizing that non-automatic licensing procedures should be no more administratively burdensome than absolutely necessary to administer the relevant measure;

Desiring to simplify, and bring transparency to, the administrative procedures and practices used in international trade, and to ensure the fair and equitable application and administration of such procedures and practices;

Desiring to provide for a consultative mechanism and the speedy, effective and equitable resolution of disputes arising under this Agreement;

hereby agree as follows:

Article 1

General provisions

1 - For the purpose of this Agreement, import licensing is defined as administrative procedures (ver nota 1) used for the operation of import licensing regimes requiring the submission of an application or other documentation (other than that required for customs purposes) to the relevant administrative body as a prior condition for importation into the customs territory of the importing Member.

2 - Members shall ensure that the administrative procedures used to implement import licensing regimes are in conformity with the relevant provisions of GATT 1994 including its annexes and protocols, as interpreted by this Agreement, with a view to preventing trade distortions that may arise from an inappropriate operation of those procedures, taking into account the economic development purposes and financial and trade needs of developing country Members (ver nota 2).

3 - The rules for import licensing procedures shall be neutral in application and administered in a fair and equitable manner.

4 - a) The rules and all information concerning procedures for the submission of applications, including the eligibility of persons, firms and institutions to make such applications, the administrative body(ies) to be approached, and the lists of products subject to the licensing requirement shall be published, in the sources notified to the Committee on Import Licensing provided for in Article 4 (referred to in this Agreement as «the Committee»), in such a manner as to enable governments (ver nota 3) and traders to become acquainted with them. Such publication shall take place, whenever practicable, 21 days prior to the effective date of the requirement but in all events not later than such effective date. Any exception, derogations or changes in or from the rules concerning licensing procedures or the list of products subject to import licensing shall also be published in the same manner and within the same time periods as specified above. Copies of these publications shall also be made available to the Secretariat.

b)

Members which wish to make comments in writing shall be provided the opportunity to discuss these comments upon request. The concerned Member shall give due consideration to these comments and results of discussion.

5 - Application forms and, where applicable, renewal forms shall be as simple as possible. Such documents and information as are considered strictly necessary for the proper functioning of the licensing regime may be required on application.

6 - Application procedures and, where applicable, renewal procedures shall be as simple as possible. Applicants shall be allowed a reasonable period for the submission of licence applications. Where there is a closing date, this period should be at least 21 days with provision for extension in circumstances where insufficient applications have been received within this period. Applicants shall have to approach only one administrative body in connection with an application. Where it is strictly indispensable to approach more than one administrative body, applicants shall not need to approach more than three administrative bodies.

7 - No application shall be refused for minor documentation errors which do not alter basic data contained therein. No penalty greater than necessary to serve merely as a warning shall be imposed in respect of any omission or mistake in documentation or procedures which is obviously made without fraudulent intent or gross negligence.

8 - Licensed imports shall not be refused for minor variations in value, quantity or weight from the amount designated on the licence due to differences occurring during shipment, differences incidental to bulk loading and other minor differences consistent with normal commercial practice.

9 - The foreign exchange necessary to pay for licensed imports shall be made available to licence holders on the same basis as to importers of goods not requiring import licences.

10 - With regard to security exceptions, the provisions of Article XXI of GATT 1994 apply.

11 - The provisions of this Agreement shall not require any Member to disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.

(nota 1) Those procedures referred to as «licensing» as well as other similar administrative procedures.

(nota 2) Nothing in this Agreement shall be taken as implying that the basis, scope or duration of a measure being implemented by a licensing procedure is subject to question under this Agreement.

(nota 3) For the purpose of this Agreement, the term «governments» is deemed to include the competent authorities of the European Communities.

Article 2

Automatic import licensing (ver nota 4)

1 - Automatic import licensing is defined as import licensing where approval of the application is granted in all cases, and which is in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 2, a).

2 - The following provisions (ver nota 5), in addition to those in paragraphs 1 through 11 of Article 1 and paragraph 1 of this Article, shall apply to automatic import licensing procedures:

a)

Automatic licensing procedures shall not be administered in such a manner as to have restricting effects on imports subject to automatic licensing. Automatic licensing procedures shall be deemed to have trade-restricting effects unless, inter alia:

i)

Any person, firm or institution which fulfils the legal requirements of the importing Member for engaging in import operations involving products subject to automatic licensing is equally eligible to apply for and to obtain import licences;

ii) Applications for licences may be submitted on any working day prior to the customs clearance of the goods;

iii) Applications for licences when submitted in appropriate and complete form are approved immediately on receipt, to the extent administratively feasible, but within a maximum of 10 working days;

b)

Members recognize that automatic import licensing may be necessary whenever other appropriate procedures are not available. Automatic import licensing may be maintained as long as the circumstances which gave rise to its introduction prevail and as long as its underlying administrative purposes cannot be achieved in a more appropriate way.

(nota 4) Those import licensing procedures requiring a security which have no restrictive effects on imports are to be considered as falling within the scope of paragraphs 1 and 2.

(nota 5) A developing country Member, other than a developing country Member which was a Party to the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures done on 12 April 1979, which has specific difficulties with the requirements of subparagraphs, a), ii), and a), iii), may, upon notification to the Committee, delay the application of these subparagraphs by not more than two years from the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement for such Member.

Article 3

Non-automatic import licensin

1 - The following provisions, in addition to those in paragraphs 1 through 11 of Article 1, shall apply to non-automatic import licensing procedures. Non-automatic import licensing procedures are defined as import licensing not falling within the definition contained in paragraph 1 of Article 2.

2 - Non-automatic licensing shall not have trade-restrictive or-distortive effects on imports additional to those caused by the imposition of the restriction. Non-automatic licensing procedures shall correspond in scope and duration to the measure they are used to implement, and shall be no more administratively burdensome than absolutely necessary to administer the measure.

3 - In the case of licensing requirements for purposes other than the implementation of quantitative restrictions, Members shall publish sufficient information for other Members and traders to know the basis for granting and/or allocating licences.

4 - Where a Member provides the possibility for persons, firms or institutions to request exceptions or derogations from a licensing requirement, it shall include this fact in the information published under paragraph 4 of Article 1 as well as information on how to make such a request and, to the extent possible, an indication of the circumstances under which requests would be considered.

5 - a) Members shall provide, upon the request of any Member having an interest in the trade in the product concerned, all relevant information concerning:

i)

The administration of the restrictions;

ii) The import licences granted over a recent period;

iii) The distribution of such licences among supplying countries;

iv) Where practicable, import statistics (i. e. value and/or volume) with respect to the products subject to import licensing. Developing country Members would not be expected to take additional administrative or financial burdens on this account;

b)

Members administering quotas by means of licensing shall publish the overall amount of quotas to be applied by quantity and/or value, the opening and closing dates of quotas, and any change thereof, within the time periods specified in paragraph 4 of Article 1 and in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with them.

c)

In the case of quotas allocated among supplying countries, the Member applying the restrictions shall promptly inform all other Members having an interest in supplying the product concerned of the shares in the quota currently allocated, by quantity or value, to the various supplying countries and shall publish this information within the time periods specified in paragraph 4 of Article 1 and in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with them.

d)

Where situations arise which make it necessary to provide for an early opening date of quotas, the information referred to in paragraph 4 of Article 1 should be published within the time periods specified in paragraph 4 of Article 1 and in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with them.

e)

Any person, firm or institution which fulfils the legal and administrative requirements of the importing Member shall be equally eligible to apply and to be considered for a licence. If the licence application is not approved, the applicant shall, on request, be given the reason therefor and shall have a right of appeal or review in accordance with the domestic legislation or procedures of the importing Member.

f)

The period for processing applications shall, except when not possible for reasons outside the control of the Member, not be longer than 30 days if applications are considered as and when received, i. e. on a first-come first-served basis, and no longer than 60 days if all applications are considered simultaneously. In the latter case, the period for processing applications shall be considered to begin on the day following the closing date of the announced application period.

g)

The period of licence validity shall be of reasonable duration and not be so short as to preclude imports. The period of licence validity shall not preclude imports from distant sources, except in special cases where imports are necessary to meet unforeseen short-term requirements.

h)

When administering quotas, Members shall not prevent importation from being effected in accordance with the issued licences, and shall not discourage the full utilization of quotas.

i)

When issuing licences, Members shall take into account the desirability of issuing licences for products in economic quantities.

j)

In allocating licences, the Member should consider the import performance of the applicant. In this regard, consideration should be given as to whether licences issued to applicants in the past have been fully utilized during a recent representative period. In cases where licences have not been fully utilized, the Member shall examine the reasons for this and take these reasons into consideration when allocating new licences. Consideration shall also be given to ensuring a reasonable distribution of licences to new importers, taking into account the desirability of issuing licences for products in economic quantities. In this regard, special consideration should be given to those importers importing products originating in developing country Members and, in particular, the least-developed country Members.

k)

In the case of quotas administered through licences which are not allocated among supplying countries, licence holders (ver nota 6) shall be free to choose the sources of imports. In the case of quotas allocated among supplying countries, the licence shall clearly stipulate the country or countries.

l)

In applying paragraph 8 of Article 1, compensating adjustments may be made in future licence allocations where imports exceeded a previous licence level.

(nota 6) Sometimes referred to as «quota holders».

Article 4

Institutions

There is hereby established a Committee on Import Licensing composed of representatives from each of the Members. The Committee shall elect its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman and shall meet as necessary for the purpose of affording Members the opportunity of consulting on any matters relating to the operation of this Agreement or the furtherance of its objectives.

Article 5

Notification

1 - Members which institute licensing procedures or changes in these procedures shall notify the Committee of such within 60 days of publication.

2 - Notifications of the institution of import licensing procedures shall include the following information:

a)

List of products subject to licensing procedures;

b)

Contact point for information on eligibility;

c)

Administrative body(ies) for submission of applications;

d)

Date and name of publication where licensing procedures are published;

e)

Indication of whether the licensing procedure is automatic or non-automatic according to definitions contained in Articles 2 and 3;

f)

In the case of automatic import licensing procedures, their administrative purpose;

g)

In the case of non-automatic import licensing procedures, indication of the measure being implemented through the licensing procedure; and

h)

Expected duration of the licensing procedure if this can be estimated with some probability, and if not, reason why this information cannot be provided.

3 - Notifications of changes in import licensing procedures shall indicate the elements mentioned above, if changes in such occur.

4 - Members shall notify the Committee of the publication(s) in which the information required in paragraph 4 of Article 1 will be published.

5 - Any interested Member which considers that another Member has not notified the institution of a licensing procedure or changes therein in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1 through 3 may bring the matter to the attention of such other Member. If notification is not made promptly thereafter, such Member may itself notify the licensing procedure or changes therein, including all relevant and available information.

Article 6

Consultation and dispute settlement

Consultations and the settlement of disputes with respect to any matter affecting the operation of this Agreement shall be subject to the provisions of Articles XXII and XXIII of GATT 1994, as elaborated and applied by the Dispute Settlement Understanding.

Article 7

Review

1 - The Committee shall review as necessary, but at least once every two years, the implementation and operation of this Agreement, taking into account the objectives thereof, and the rights and obligations contained therein.

2 - As a basis for the Committee review, the Secretariat shall prepare a factual report based on information provided under Article 5, responses to the annual questionnaire on import licensing procedures (ver nota 7) and other relevant reliable information which is available to it. This report shall provide a synopsis of the aforementioned information, in particular indicating any changes or developments during the period under review, and including any other information as agreed by the Committee.

3 - Members undertake to complete the annual questionnaire on import licensing procedures promptly and in full.

4 - The Committee shall inform the Council for Trade in Goods of developments during the period covered by such reviews.

(nota 7) Originally circulated as GATT 1947 document L/3515 of 23 March 1971.

Article 8

Final provisions

Reservations

1 - Reservations may not be entered in respect of any of the provisions of this Agreement without the consent of the other Members.

Domestic legislation

2 - a) Each Member shall ensure, not later than the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement for it, the conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures with the provisions of this Agreement.

b)

Each Member shall inform the Committee of any changes in its laws and regulations relevant to this Agreement and in the administration of such laws and regulations.

AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES

Members hereby agree as follows:

PART I

General provisions

Article 1

Definition of a subsidy

1.1 - For the purpose of this Agreement, a subsidy shall be deemed to exist if:

a.1) There is a financial contribution by a government or any public body within the territory of a Member (referred to in this Agreement as «government»), i. e. where:

i)

A government practice involves a direct transfer of funds (e. g. grants, loans, and equity infusion), potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities (e. g. loan guarantees);

ii) Government revenue that is otherwise due is foregone or not collected (e. g. fiscal incentives such as tax credits) (ver nota 1);

iii) A government provides goods or services other than general infrastructure, or purchases goods;

iv) A government makes payments to a funding mechanism, or entrusts or directs a private body to carry out one or more of the type of functions illustrated in i) to iii) above which would normally be vested in the government and the practice, in no real sense, differs from practices normally followed by governments; or

a.2) There is any form of income or price support in the sense of Article XVI of GATT 1994; and

b)

A benefit is thereby conferred.

1.2 - A subsidy as defined in paragraph 1 shall be subject to the provisions of Part II or shall be subject to the provisions of Part III or V only if such a subsidy is specific in accordance with the provisions of Article 2.

(nota 1) In accordance with the provisions of Article XVI of GATT 1994 (Note to Article XVI) and the provisions of Annexes I through III of this Agreement, the exemption of an exported product from duties or taxes borne by the like product when destined for domestic consumption, or the remission of such duties or taxes in amounts not in excess of those which have accrued, shall not be deemed to be a subsidy.

Article 2

Specificity

2.1 - In order to determine whether a subsidy, as defined in paragraph 1 of Article 1, is specific to an enterprise or industry or group of enterprises or industries (referred to in this Agreement as «certain enterprises») within the jurisdiction of the granting authority, the following principles shall apply:

a)

Where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, explicitly limits access to a subsidy to certain enterprises, such subsidy shall be specific;

b)

Where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, establishes objective criteria or conditions (ver nota 2) governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered to. The criteria or conditions must be clearly spelled out in law, regulation, or other official document, so as to be capable of verification;

c)

If, notwithstanding any appearance of non-specificity resulting from the application of the principles laid down in subparagraphs a) and b), there are reasons to believe that the subsidy may in fact be specific, other factors may be considered. Such factors are: use of a subsidy programme by a limited number of certain enterprises, predominant use by certain enterprises, the granting of disproportionately large amounts of subsidy to certain enterprises, and the manner in which discretion has been exercised by the granting authority in the decision to grant a subsidy (ver nota 3). In applying this subparagraph, account shall be taken of the extent of diversification of economic activities within the jurisdiction of the granting authority, as well as of the length of time during which the subsidy programme has been in operation.

2.2 - A subsidy which is limited to certain enterprises located within a designated geographical region within the jurisdiction of the granting authority shall be specific. It is understood that the setting or change of generally applicable tax rates by all levels of government entitled to do so shall not be deemed to be a specific subsidy for the purposes of this Agreement.

2.3 - Any subsidy falling under the provisions of Article 3 shall be deemed to be specific.

2.4 - Any determination of specificity under the provisions of this Article shall be clearly substantiated on the basis of positive evidence.

(nota 2) Objective criteria or conditions, as used herein, mean criteria or conditions which are neutral, which do not favour certain enterprises over others, and which are economic in nature and horizontal in application, such as number of employees or size of enterprise.

(nota 3) In this regard, in particular, information on the frequency with which applications for a subsidy are refused or approved and the reasons for such decisions shall be considered.

PART II

Prohibited subsidies

Article 3

Prohibition

3.1 - Except as provided in the Agreement on Agriculture, the following subsidies, within the meaning of Article 1, shall be prohibited:

a)

Subsidies contingent, in law or in fact (ver nota 4), whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon export performance, including those illustrated in Annex I (ver nota 5);

b)

Subsidies contingent, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon the use of domestic over imported goods.

3.2 - A Member shall neither grant nor maintain subsidies referred to in paragraph 1.

(nota 4) This standard is met when the facts demonstrate that the granting of a subsidy, without having been made legally contingent upon export performance, is in fact tied to actual or anticipated exportation or export earnings. The mere fact that a subsidy is granted to enterprises which export shall not for that reason alone be considered to be an export subsidy within the meaning of this provision.

(nota 5) Measures referred to in Annex I as not constituting export subsidies shall not be prohibited under this or any other provision of this Agreement.

Article 4

Remedies

4.1 - Whenever a Member has reason to believe that a prohibited subsidy is being granted or maintained by another Member, such Member may request consultations with such other Member.

4.2 - A request for consultations under paragraph 1 shall include a statement of available evidence with regard to the existence and nature of the subsidy in question.

4.3 - Upon request for consultations under paragraph 1, the Member believed to be granting or maintaining the subsidy in question shall enter into such consultations as quickly as possible. The purpose of the consultations shall be to clarify the facts of the situation and to arrive at a mutually agreed solution.

4.4 - If no mutually agreed solution has been reached within 30 days (ver nota 6) of the request for consultations, any Member party to such consultations may refer the matter to the Dispute Settlement Body («DSB») for the immediate establishment of a panel, unless the DSB decides by consensus not to establish a panel.

4.5 - Upon its establishment, the panel may request the assistance of the Permanent Group of Experts (ver nota 7) (referred to in this Agreement as the «PGE») with regard to whether the measure in question is a prohibited subsidy. If so requested, the PGE shall immediately review the evidence with regard to the existence and nature of the measure in question and shall provide an opportunity for the Member applying or maintaining the measure to demonstrate that the measure in question is not a prohibited subsidy. The PGE shall report its conclusions to the panel within a time-limit determined by the panel. The PGE's conclusions on the issue of whether or not the measure in question is a prohibited subsidy shall be accepted by the panel without modification.

4.6 - The panel shall submit its final report to the parties to the dispute. The report shall be circulated to all Members within 90 days of the date of the composition and the establishment of the panel's terms of reference.

4.7 - If the measure in question is found to be a prohibited subsidy, the panel shall recommend that the subsidizing Member withdraw the subsidy without delay. In this regard, the panel shall specify in its recommendation the time period within which the measure must be withdrawn.

4.8 - Within 30 days of the issuance of the panel's report to all Members, the report shall be adopted by the DSB unless one of the parties to the dispute formally notifies the DSB of its decision to appeal or the DSB decides by consensus not to adopt the report.

4.9 - Where a panel report is appealed, the Appellate Body shall issue its decision within 30 days from the date when the party to the dispute formaly notifies its intention to appeal. When the Appellate Body considers that it cannot provide its report within 30 days, it shall inform the DSB in writing of the reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period within which it will submit its report. In no case shall the proceedings exceed 60 days. The appellate report shall be adopted by the DSB and unconditionally accepted by the parties to the dispute unless the DSB decides by consensus not to adopt the appellate report within 20 days following its issuance to the Members (ver nota 8).

4.10 - In the event the recommendation of the DSB is not followed within the time-period specified by the panel, which shall commence from the date of adoption of the panel's report or the Appellate Body's report, the DSB shall grant authorization to the complaining Member to take appropriate (ver nota 9) countermeasures, unless the DSB decides by consensus to reject the request.

4.11 - In the event a party to the dispute requests arbitration under paragraph 6 of Article 22 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding («DSU»), the arbitrator shall determine whether the countermeasures are appropriate (ver nota 10).

4.12 - For purposes of disputes conducted pursuant to this Article, except for time-periods specifically prescribed in this Article, time-periods applicable under the DSU for the conduct of such disputes shall be half the time prescribed therein.

(nota 6) Any time periods mentioned in this Article may be extended by mutual agreement.

(nota 7) As established in Article 24.

(nota 8) If a meeting of the DSB is not scheduled during this period such a meeting shall be held for this purpose.

(nota 9) This expression is not meant to allow countermeasures that are disproportionate in light of the fact that the subsidies dealt with under these provisions are prohibited.

(nota 10) This expression is not meant to allow countermeasures that are disproportionate in light of the fact that the subsidies dealt with under these provisions are prohibited.

PART III

Actionable subsidies

Article 5

Adverse effects

No Member should cause, through the use of any subsidy referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article l, adverse effects to the interests of other Members, i.e.:

a)

Injury to the domestic industry of another Member (ver nota 11);

b)

Nullification or impairment of benefits accruing directly or indirectly to other Members under GATT 1994 in particular the benefits of concessions bound under Article II of GATT 1994 (ver nota 12);

c)

Serious prejudice to the interests of another Member (ver nota 13).

This Article does not apply to subsidies maintained on agricultural products as provided in Article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture.

(nota 11) The term «injury to the domestic industry» is used here in the same sense as it is used in Part V.

(nota 12) The term «nullification or impairment» isused in this Agreement in the same sense as it is used in the relevant provisions of GATT 1994, and the existence of such nullification or impairment shall be established in accordance with the practice of application of these provisions.

(nota 13) The term «serious prejudice to the interests of another Member» is used in this Agreement in the same sense as it is used in paragraph 1 of Article XVI of GATT 1994, and includes threat of serious prejudice.

Article 6

Serious prejudice

6.1 - Serious prejudice in the sense of paragraph c) of Article 5 shall be deemed to exist in the case of:

a)

The total ad valorem subsidization (ver nota 14) of a product exceeding 5 per cent (ver nota 15);

b)

Subsidies to cover operating losses sustained by an industry;

c)

Subsidies to cover operating losses sustained by an enterprise, other than one-time measures which are non-recurrent and cannot be repeated for that enterprise and which are given merely to provide time for the development of long-term solutions and to avoid acute social problems;

d)

Direct forgiveness of debt, i.e. forgiveness of government-held debt, and grants to cover debt repayment (ver nota 16).

6.2 - Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, serious prejudice shall not be found if the subsidizing Member demonstrates that the subsidy in question has not resulted in any of the effects enumerated in paragraph 3.

6.3 - Serious prejudice in the sense of paragraph c) of Article 5 may arise in any case where one or several of the following apply:

a)

The effect of the subsidy is to displace or impede the imports of a like product of another Member into the market of the subsidizing Member;

b)

The effect of the subsidy is to displace or impede the exports of a like product of another Member from a third country market;

c)

The effect of the subsidy is a significant price undercutting by the subsidized product as compared with the price of a like product of another Member in the same market or significant price suppression, price depression or lost sales in the same market;

d)

The effect of the subsidy is an increase in the world market share of the subsidizing Member in a particular subsidized primary product or commodity (ver nota 17) as compared to the average share it had during the previous period of three years and this increase follows a consistent trend over a period when subsidies have been granted.

6.4 - For the purpose of paragraph 3, b), the displacement or impeding of exports shall include any case in which, subject to the provisions of paragraph 7, it has been demonstrated that there has been a change in relative shares of the market to the disadvantage of the non-subsidized like product (over an appropriately representative period sufficient to demonstrate clear trends in the development of the market for the product concerned, which, in normal circumstances, shall be at least one year). «Change in relative shares of the market» shall include any of the following situations: a) there is an increase in the market share of the subsidized product; b) the market share of the subsidized product remains constant in circumstances in which, in the absence ofthe subsidy, it would have declined; c) the market share of the subsidized product declines, but at a slower rate than would have been the case in the absence of thesubsidy.

6.5 - For the purpose of paragraph 3, c), price undercutting shall include any case in which such price undercutting has been demonstrated through a comparison of prices of the subsidized product with prices of a non-subsidized like product supplied to the same market. The comparison shall be made at the same level of trade and at comparable times, due account being taken of any other factor affecting price comparability. However, if such a direct comparison is not possible, the existence of price undercutting may be demonstrated on the basis of export unit values.

6.6 - Each Member in the market of which serious prejudice is alleged to have arisen shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 of Annex V, make available to the parties to a dispute arising under Article 7, and to the panel established pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article 7, all relevant information that can be obtained as to the changes in market shares of the parties to the dispute as well as concerning prices of the products involved.

6.7 - Displacement or impediment resulting in serious prejudice shall not arise under paragraph 3 where any of the following circumstances exist (ver nota 18) during the relevant period:

a)

Prohibition or restriction on exports of the like product from the complaining Member or on imports from the complaining Member into the third-country market concerned;

b)

Decision by an importing government operating a monopoly of trade or state trading in the product concerned to shift, for non-commercial reasons, imports from the complaining Member to another country or countries;

c)

Natural disasters, strikes, transport disruptions or other force majeure substantially affecting production, qualities, quantities or prices of the product available for export from the complaining Member;

d)

Existence of arrangements limiting exports from the complaining Member;

e)

Voluntary decrease in the availability for export of the product concerned from the complaining Member (including, inter alia, a situation where firms in the complaining Member have been autonomously reallocating exports of this product to new markets);

f)

Failure to conform to standards and other regulatory requirements in the importing country.

6.8 - In the absence of circumstances referred to in paragraph 7, the existence of serious prejudice should be determined on the basis of the information submitted to or obtained by the panel, including information submitted in accordance with the provisions of Annex V.

6.9 - This Article does not apply to subsidies maintained on agricultural products as provided in Article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture.

(nota 14) The total ad valorem subsidization shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of Annex IV.

(nota 15) Since it is anticipated that civil aircraft will be subject to specific multilateral rules, the threshold in this subparagraph does not apply to civil aircraft.

(nota 16) Members recognize that where royalty-based financing for a civil aircraft programme is not being fully repaid due to the level of actual sales falling below the level of forecast sales, this does not in itself constitute serious prejudice for the purposes of this subparagraph.

(nota 17) Unless other multilaterally agreed specific rules apply to the trade in the product or commodity in question.

(nota 18) The fact that certain circumstances are referred to in this paragraph does not, in itself, confer upon them any legal status in terms of either GATT 1994 or this Agreement. These circumstances must not be isolated, sporadic or otherwise insignificant.

Article 7

Remedies

7.1 - Except as provided in Article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture, whenever a Member has reason to believe that any subsidy referred to in Article 1, granted or maintained by another Member, results in injury to its domestic industry, nullification or impairment or serious prejudice, such Member may request consultations with such other Member.

7.2 - A request for consultations under paragraph 1 shall include a statement of available evidence with regard to a) the existence and nature of the subsidy in question, and b) the injury caused to the domestic industry, or the nullification or impairment, or serious prejudice (ver nota 19) caused to the interests of the Member requesting consultations.

7.3 - Upon request for consultations under paragraph 1, the Member believed to be granting or maintaining the subsidy practice in question shall enter into such consultations as quickly as possible. The purpose of the consultations shall be to clarify the facts of the situation and to arrive at a mutually agreed solution.

7.4 - If consultations do not result in a mutually agreed solution within 60 days (ver nota 20), any Member party to such consultations may refer the matter to the DSB for the establishment of a panel, unless the DSB decides by consensus not to establish a panel. The composition of the panel and its terms of reference shall be established within 15 days from the date when it is established.

7.5 - The panel shall review the matter and shall submit its final report to the parties to the dispute. The report shall be circulated to all Members within 120 days of the date of the composition and establishment of the panel's terms of reference.

7.6 - Within 30 days of the issuance of the panel's report to all Members, the report shall be adopted by the DSB(ver nota 21) unless one of the parties to the dispute formally notifies the DSB of its decision to appeal or the DSB decides by consensus not to adopt the report.

7.7 - Where a panel report is appealed, the Appellate Body shall issue its decision within 60 days from the date when the party to the dispute formally notifies its intention to appeal. When the Appellate Body considers that it cannot provide its report within 60 days, it shall inform the DSB in writing of the reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period within which it will submit its report. In no case shall the proceedings exceed 90 days. The appellate report shall be adopted by the DSB and unconditionally accepted by the parties to the dispute unless the DSB decides by consensus not to adopt the appellate report within 20 days following its issuance to the Members (ver nota 22).

7.8 - Where a panel report or an Appellate Body report is adopted in which it is determined that any subsidy has resulted in adverse effects to the interests of another Member within the meaning of Article 5, the Member granting or maintaining such subsidy shall take appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or shall withdraw the subsidy.

7.9 - In the event the Member has not taken appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects of the subsidy or withdraw the subsidy within six months from the date when the DSB adopts the panel report or the Appellate Body report, and in the absence of agreement on compensation, the DSB shall grant authorization to the complaining Member to take countermeasures, commensurate with the degree and nature of the adverse effects determined to exist, unless the DSB decides by consensus to reject the request.

7.10 - In the event that a party to the dispute requests arbitration under paragraph 6 of Article 22 of the DSU, the arbitrator shall determine whether the countermeasures are commensurate with the degree and nature of the adverse effects determined to exist.

(nota 19) In the event that the request relates to a subsidy deemed to result in serious prejudice in terms of paragraph 1 of Article 6, the available evidence of serious prejudice may be limited to the available evidence as to whether the conditions of paragraph 1 of Article 6 have been met or not.

(nota 20) Any time periods mentioned in this Article may be extended by mutual agreement.

(nota 21) If a meeting of the DSB is not scheduled during this period, such a meeting shall be held for this purpose.

(nota 22) If a meeting of the DSB is not scheduled during this period, such a meeting shall be held for this purpose.

PART IV

Non-actionable subsidies

Article 8

Identification of non-actionable subsidies

8.1 - The following subsidies shall be considered as non-actionable (ver nota 23):

a)

Subsidies which are not specific within the meaning of Article 2;

b)

Subsidies which are specific within the meaning of Article 2 but which meet all of the conditions provided for in paragraphs 2, a), 2, b), or 2, c), below.

8.2 - Notwithstanding the provisions of Parts III and V, the following subsidies shall be non-actionable:

a)

Assistance for research activities conducted by firms or by higher education or research establishments on a contract basis with firms if (ver nota 24) (ver nota 25) (ver nota 26) the assistance covers (ver nota 27) not more than 75 per cent of the costs of industrial research (ver nota 28) or 50 per cent of the costs of pre-competitive development activity (ver nota 29) (ver nota 30), and provided that such assistance is limited exclusively to:

i)

Costs of personnel (researchers, technicians and other supporting staff employed exclusively in the research activity);

ii) Costs of instruments, equipment, land and buildings used exclusively and permanently (except when disposed of on a commercial basis) for the research activity;

iii) Costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively for the research activity, including bought-in research, technical knowledge, patents, etc.;

iv) Additional overhead costs incurred directly as a result of the research activity;

v)

Other running costs (such as those of materials, supplies and the like), incurred directly as a result of the research activity.

b)

Assistance to disadvantaged regions within the territory of a Member given pursuant to a general framework of regional development (ver nota 31) and non-specific (within the meaning of Article 2) within eligible regions provided that:

i)

Each disadvantaged region must be a clearly designated contiguous geographical area with a definable economic and administrative identity;

ii) The region is considered as disadvantaged on the basis of neutral and objective criteria (ver nota 32), indicating that the region's difficulties arise out of more than temporary circumstances; such criteria must be clearly spelled out in law, regulation, or other official document, so as to be capable of verification;

iii) The criteria shall include a measurement of economic development which shall be based on at least one of the following factors:

  • One of either income per capita or household income per capita, or GDP per capita, which must not be above 85 per cent of the average for the territory concerned;
  • Unemployment rate, which must be at least 110 per cent of the average for the territory concerned;

as measured over a three-year period; such measurement, however, may be a composite one and may include other factors.

c)

Assistance to promote adaptation of existing facilities (ver nota 33) to new environmental requirements imposed by law and/or regulations which result in greater constraints and financial burden on firms, provided that the assistance:

i)

Is a one-time non-recurring measure; and

ii) Is limited to 20 per cent of the cost of adaptation; and

iii) Does not cover the cost of replacing and operating the assisted investment, which must be fully borne by firms; and

iv) Is directly linked to and proportionate to a firm's planned reduction of nuisances and pollution, and does not cover any manufacturing cost savings which may be achieved; and

v)

Is available to all firms which can adopt the new equipment and/or production processes.

8.3 - A subsidy programme for which the provisions of paragraph 2 are invoked shall be notified in advance of its implementation to the Committee in accordance with the provisions of Part VII. Any such notification shall be sufficiently precise to enable other Members to evaluate the consistency of the programme with the conditions and criteria provided for in the relevant provisions of paragraph 2. Members shall also provide the Committee with yearly updates of such notifications, in particular by supplying information on global expenditure for each programme, and on any modification of the programme. Other Members shall have the right to request information about individual cases of subsidization under a notified programme (ver nota 34).

8.4 - Upon request of a Member, the Secretariat shall review a notification made pursuant to paragraph 3 and, where necessary, may require additional information from the subsidizing Member concerning the notified programme under review. The Secretariat shall report its findings to the Committee. The Committee shall, upon request, promptly review the findings of the Secretariat (or, if a review by the Secretariat has not been requested, the notification itself), with a view to determining whether the conditions and criteria laid down in paragraph 2 have not been met. The procedure provided for in this paragraph shall be completed at the latest at the first regular meeting of the Committee following the notification of a subsidy programme, provided that at least two months have elapsed between such notification and the regular meeting of the Committee. The review procedure described in this paragraph shall also apply, upon request, to substantial modifications of a programme notified in the yearly updates referred to in paragraph 3.

8.5 - Upon the request of a Member, the determination by the Committee referred to in paragraph 4, or a failure by the Committee to make such a determination, as well as the violation, in individual cases, of the conditions set out in a notified programme, shall be submitted to binding arbitration. The arbitration body shall present its conclusions to the Members within 120 days from the date when the matter was referred to the arbitration body. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the DSU shall apply to arbitrations conducted under this paragraph.

(nota 23) It is recognized that government assistance for various purposes is widely provided by Members and that the mere fact that such assistance may not qualify for non-actionable treatment under the provisions of this Article does not in itself restrict the ability of Members to provide such assistance.

(nota 24) Since it is anticipated that civil aircraft will be subject to specific multilateral rules, the provisions of this subparagraph do not apply to that product.

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