General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 Full Text
For the purposes of this Agreement, the provisions of Articles XXII and XXIII of GATT 1994, as elaborated and applied by the Dispute Settlement Agreement, shall apply. the average annual trade during the last representative three-year period, increased by the average annual growth rate of imports during the same period or by 10 %, whichever is higher; or a working group is established on behalf of the Council for Trade in Goods to consider notifications and counter-notifications. In the light of that review, and without prejudice to Article XVII(4)(c), the Council for Trade in Goods may make recommendations on the adequacy of notifications and the need for additional information. The Group shall also verify, on the basis of the notifications received, the adequacy of the abovementioned questionnaire on public trade and the coverage of public commercial enterprises notified in accordance with paragraph 1. It also establishes an exemplary list indicating the types of relations between the State and enterprises and the types of activities carried on by such enterprises that may be relevant for the purposes of Article XVII. The Secretariat is expected to submit to the Working Group a background paper on the activities of state trading enterprises in the context of international trade. Membership in the Working Group is open to all members who express a desire to serve in the Working Group. It shall meet within one year of the entry into force of the WTO Agreement and at least once a year thereafter. It reports annually to the Council on trade in goods. [1] Where an unlimited tariff concession is replaced by a tariff quota, the amount of compensation granted should exceed the amount of trade actually affected by the modification of the concession. The calculation of compensation should be based on the amount by which future trade prospects exceed the quota level.
It is understood that the calculation of future trade prospects should be based on the following elements: consultations may, in accordance with the simplified procedures approved on 19 December 1972 (BISD 20S/47-49, referred to in this Agreement as the “simplified consultation procedure”) in the case of least developed countries or in the case of developing countries, liberalization efforts in line with liberalization efforts submitted to the Committee in previous consultations. Timetable to be realized. Simplified consultation procedures may also be used when the trade policy review of a developing member country is scheduled for the same calendar year as the date set for the consultations. In such cases, the decision whether or not to apply extensive consultation procedures shall be taken on the basis of the factors set out in paragraph 8 of the 1979 Declaration. Except in the case of members of least developed countries, no more than two successive consultations may take place under simplified consultation procedures. These are supplementary agreements negotiated after the Uruguay Round and annexed to the General Agreement on Trade in Services. There is no “First Protocol”. The associated engagement plans can be ordered from the online bookstore.
These schedules include commitments made by each WTO Member to allow certain foreign products or service suppliers access to their markets. Timetables are an integral part of the agreements. In the printed version, these schedules include about 30,000 pages for all WTO Members. A Member applying new restrictions or raising the general level of its existing restrictions by substantially intensifying the measures shall enter into consultations with the Committee within four months of the adoption of such measures. The Member adopting such measures may request that a consultation be held in accordance with Article XII(4)(a) or Article XVIII(12)(a). If such a request has not been made, the chair of the committee shall invite the member to conduct such consultation. Factors that could be taken into account in the consultation include, inter alia, the introduction of new types of restrictive measures for balance of payments purposes or the extension of the scope or coverage of product-specific restrictions. Taking into account the special economic difficulties and special development, financial and trade needs of the least developed countries, developed countries exercise the utmost restraint in seeking concessions or contributions to their commitments to reduce or eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade between those countries, and the least developed countries are not supposed to: make concessions or contributions related to the recognition of their particular situation and problems. Members reaffirm their commitment to focus on measures that have the least disruptive effect on trade. These measures (referred to in this Agreement as “price-related measures”) refer to import surcharges, import deposit requirements or other equivalent trade measures affecting the price of imported goods.
For greater certainty, notwithstanding Article II, a Member may apply price measures for balance of payments purposes beyond the duties set out in that Member`s Schedule. In addition, under the notification procedures under this Agreement, that Member shall clearly and separately indicate the amount by which the price-related measure exceeds the bound duty. Agreement on the interpretation of Article II(1)(b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994; trade grew by 10% last year. In no event shall a member`s liability for compensation exceed that which would result from the complete withdrawal of the concession. A request for an exemption or extension of an existing exemption will describe the measures that the Member intends to take and describe the specific policy objectives that the Member intends to pursue and the reasons that prevent it from achieving its policy objectives through measures consistent with its obligations under the GATT 1994. Any Member which considers that an advantage under GATT 1994 is nullified or affected by customs unions, free trade areas and interim agreements leading to the formation of a customs union or free trade area in accordance with Article XXIV shall comply in particular with paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of that Article. .