RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/C/W/129
16 November 1998
(98-4540)
Council for Trade in Goods
30 November 1998
DRAFT
REPORT (1998) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS
In accordance with the "Procedures for an Annual Overview of WTO Activities and for
Reporting under the WTO" (WT/L/105), the Council for Trade in Goods is to report "in Novembereach year to the General Council on the activities in the Council as well as in the subsidiary bodies".The reports are to be "factual in nature, containing an indication of actions and decisions taken, withcross references to reports of subordinate bodies and could follow the model of the GATT 1947Council reports to the CONTRACTING PARTIES".
Since the last annual report, the Council for Trade in Goods met on 4 and 16 February, 4, 16
and 25 March, 21 April, 5 June, 8 July and 1 October 1998. The minutes of these meetings arecontained in documents G/C/M/29 to 36.
The following subject matters which were raised and/or acted upon in the Council are
included in the report:
1. Election of Chairperson for the Council for Trade in Goods  .......................................... 2
2. Appointment of Officers for the subsidiary bodies of the Council ................................... 23. Chairperson of the Mark et Access Co mmitt ee .................................................................. 3
4. Status of Notifications under the Provisions of the Agreements in Annex 1A of
the WTO Agre ement ............................................................................................................ 3
5. Trade Facilitation (paragraph 21 of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration)
(WT/MIN(96)Dec) ............................................................................................................... .. 4
6. Continuation of the Harmonization Work Programme provided for in Part IV of
the Agreement on Ru les of Or igin ....................................................................................... 4
7. Periodic Reports of the Committee on Market Access ...................................................... 4
8. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement............................................................. 5
(a) Harmonized System - Requests for extensions of waivers from Bangladesh, Nicaragua
and Sri Lanka  ................................................................................................................ ......... 5
(b) Zambia - Renegotiation of Schedule  LXXV III ....................................................................... 5
(c) Decision on the Introduction of Harmonized System (HS) Changes into WTO Schedules
of Tariff Concessions on 1 January 1996 - Extension of th e time- limit ................................. 5G/C/W/129
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9. Work on Data Issues in the Market Access Committee .................................................... 6
10. Outcome of the major review of the impl ementation of the Agreement on Textiles
and Clothing (ATC) during the first stage of the integration process pursuant to
paragraph 11 of Article 8 of the ATC ................................................................................. 6
11. Understanding on the In terpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994 ....................... 6
12. Notification by Colombia under Section C of Article XVIII of the GATT 1994 ............. 713. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce ...................................................................... 714. Customs Unions and Free-Trade Areas:  regional agreements......................................... 7
(a) Free Trade Agreement betwee n Latvia and Slovenia ............................................................. 7
(b) Free Trade Agreement betwee n Lithuania and Slovenia ........................................................ 7
(c) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Latvia ................. 7
(d) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Lithuania ............ 7(e) Free Trade Agreement between Pola nd and the Republic of Lithuania ................................. 8
(f) Central European Free Trade Agreement – Accession of the Republic of Slovenia .............. 8
(g) Central European Free Trade Agr eement – Accession of Romania ....................................... 8
(h) Customs Union between the European Community and the Principality of Andorra ............ 8
(i) Free Trade Agreement betw een Hungary and Israel .............................................................. 8
(j) Free Trade Agreement between Is rael and the Czech Republic ............................................. 8
(k) Free Trade Agreement between Is rael and the Slovak Republic ............................................ 9
(l) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Hungary ............................................................ 9
(m) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Romania ........................................................... 9
(n) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Israel ................................................................. 9
(o) Free Trade Agreement betwee n Turkey and Lithuania .......................................................... 9
(p) Free Trade Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Estonia ................. 9
(q) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Estonia ............... 9
(r) Free Trade Agreements between the Czech Republic and Turkey, and the
Slovak Republic and Turkey ................................................................................................. 10
15. Issues raised concerning Me mbers' trade practices ......................................................... 10
(a) Japan – Canada's new simplif ied national cust oms tari ff ..................................................... 10
(b) Korea – Mexico's Price Monitoring System ......................................................................... 10
1. Election of Chairperson for the Council for Trade in Goods  (G/C/M/30)
1.1 At its resumed meeting of 4 March 1998, the Council elected
H.E. Ambassador R. Saborío Soto (C osta Rica) as its Chairman for 1998.
2. Appointment of Officers for the subsidiary bodies of the Council (G/C/M/30)
2.1 At its resumed meeting of 4 March 1998, the Council took note of the consensus on the
following persons nominated for el ection as Chairpersons of its  subsidiary bodies: Committee on
Agriculture: H.E. Ambassador Nestor Osorio Londoño (Colombi a);  Committee on Anti-Dumping
Practices:  Mr. José Antonio S. Buencamino (Philippines);  Committee on Customs Valuation:Mr. Mohamed Bentaja (Morocco);  Committ ee on Import Licensing:  Mme Marie Gosset
(Côte d'Ivoire); Committee on Rules of Origin:  Mr. Ric Wells (Australia);  Committee onG/C/W/129
Page 3
Safeguards:  Mr. Shishir Priyadarshi (India);  Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures:
Mr. Alex Thiermann (United States);  Comm ittee on Subsidies and C ountervailing Measures:
Mr. Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos (Brazil);  Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade:  Mr.Otto Th. Genee (Netherlands);  Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures:Mr. Dimitrij Gr čar (Slovenia).   The Council appointed the following nominated persons as
Chairpersons: Mr. Jacques T. d'Orfeuil (France) for the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises;Mr. Edward Brown (United Kingdom) for the Working Party on Preshipment Inspection
1.
2.2 At the same meeting, the Council agreed to proceed on the understanding that in the case of
Vice-Chairpersons, it would be for the subsidiary bodies to decide if they needed a Vice-Chairpersonin cases where the option existed under the respective Agreement and/or rules of procedure, and forthe respective Chairperson to hold the necessary consultations.
3. Chairperson of the Market Access Committee (G/C/M/30, 31, 32 and 33)
3.1 At its resumed meeting of 4 March 1998, the Council took note that it had not been possible
to reach a consensus on the nomination for Chairp erson of the Market A ccess Committee, and agreed
that the Council Chairman for 1998 should continue consultations with a view to finding a consensuson a Chairperson before the first meeting of the Market Access Committee scheduled for26 March 1998.
3.2 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took note of the information provided by the
Chairman  that consultations were still ongoing on the matter of the Chairperson of the Market Access
Committee.
3.3 At its meeting of 25 March 1998, the Council took note of the consensus on the nomination of
Mr. Ole Lundby (Norway) as Chairman of the Ma rket Access Committee, pending confirmation from
the Norwegian authorities of his availability.
3.4 At the meeting of  21 April 1998, the Chairm an informed the Council that the Norwegian
Government had confirmed Mr. Lundby's availa bility to ch air the Market Access Committee.
4. Status of Notifications under the Provisions of the Agreements in Annex 1A of the WTO
Agreement (G/C/M/30, 31 and 36)
4.1 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council agreed to revert to the consideration of
document G/L/223 at its next meeting when the document was expected to be available in the three
official WTO languages.  The document listed notification obligations under the provisions of theAgreements in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement and Members' compliance therewith and includednotifications received up to and on 31 December 1997.
4.2 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took note of document G/L/223 and its
corrigendum.
4.3 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Coun cil took note of document G/L/223/Rev.1 which
updated the situation with respect to the status of notifications and Members' compliance therewith
and included notifications made up to and on 30 June 1998.
                                                     
1 The Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products
elected Mr. Martin Harvey (New Zealand) as Chairman for 1998.G/C/W/129
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5. Trade Facilitation (paragraph 21 of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration)
(WT/MIN(96)Dec) (G/C/M/30, 31, 33, 34)
5.1 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the report by the Chairman on the
state of preparations for the WTO Symposium on Trade Fac ilitation sc heduled for 9-10 March 1998.
5.2 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took note of the Chairman's summary
(G/L/226) of the main issues raised and the outcome of the WTO Sym posium on Trad e Fac ilitation.
The Council agreed that the Secretariat prepare a factual paper on the Symposium.
5.3 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council took note of document G/C/W/113 prepared by
the Secretariat and containing a checklist of issues raised during the Symposium. The Council also
agreed to the Chairman's proposal to hold informal consultations to determine the process to take the
work on trade facilitation forward.
5.4 At the Council meeting of 5 June 1998, the Chairman informed the Council that consultations
had taken place to determine the process to take the work on trad e facilita tion forward.  In this
context, Switzerland2 and the European Commun ities had submitted proposals for a possible structure
of future trade fa cilitation wo rk. He drew the Council' s attention to the fact ual report of the WTO
Symposium on Trade Facilitation prepared by the Secretariat and contained in document G/C/W/115.
5.5 At the Council's resumed meeting on 8 July 1998, the Chairman presented a proposal on
future work on trade facilitation (G/C/M/34, paragraphs 6.6 to 6.7).  The Council agreed to the
Chairman's understanding that if no objections were received by 13 July 1998 on the proposal, hewould assume that the text was acceptable to all delegations
3.  The Council was to meet in a series of
regular informal meetings at which time it would address inter alia issues such as import and export
procedures and requirements, physical movement of consignments and electronic facilities and theirimportance for facilitating international trade.  An evaluation of the exploratory and analytical work toassess the scope for WTO rules in trade facilitati on would take place in June 1999
4.
6. Continuation of the Harmonization Work Programme provided for in Part IV of the
Agreement on Rules of Origin (G/C/M/35)
6.1 At the Council meeting of 8 July 1998, the Chairman of the Committee on Rules of Origin
introducing the report of that Committee (G/RO/25), indicated that the Committee had concluded at its
meeting of 29 May 1998 that the Harmonization Work Programme (HWP) could not be finalized by20 July 1998, the date scheduled for its completion.  The report contained a number ofrecommendations and proposals on the continuation of the HWP and were reflected in paragraphs 4 to6 of the Committee's report.  The Council approved the proposals and recommendations andforwarded them to the General Council for adoption.
7. Periodic Reports of the Committee on Market Access (G/C/M/33 and 36)
7.1 At its meetings of  21 April  and 1 October 1998 the Council took note of the oral reports by
the Chairman of the Market Acces s Committee on the requests for waiv er extensions and/or waivers
made in connection with the transposition or renegotiation of schedules of tariff concessions and/or in
                                                     
2 Circulated in document G/C/W/114.
3 No objections were received.
4 The first informal meeting of the Council was held on 28-29 September 1998 where import and
export procedures and requirements, including customs and border-crossing problems were examined; anoverview of the Kyoto Convention and its current revision process was also provided.G/C/W/129
Page 5
connection with the introduction of harmonized system changes into schedules of tariff concessions on
1 January 1996.  On 1 October 1998, the Council was informed of the situation with respect to themodalities and operation of the Integrated Data Base (IDB).  The Council also took note of theperiodic reports summarizing the activities of the Committee in 1998 (G/MA/59 and 60).
7.2 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council ag reed that the Chairman  initiate consultations
with the Chairman of the Market  Access Committee, and, as necessa ry with delegations concerned,
on the concerns expressed by India regarding the adoption by the Mark et Access Committee of
proposals for dissemination of th e IDB (G/MA/IDB/ 1/Rev.1/Add.1).
8. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) Harmonized System - Requests for extensions of waivers from Bangladesh, Nicaragua and
Sri Lanka  (G/C/M/33 and 36)
8.1 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council considered requests by Bangladesh (G/L/227),
Nicaragua (G/L/230) and Sri La nka (G/L/229 and Rev.1) for an  extension until 31 October 1998 of
waivers already granted in connection with the transposition of their schedules into the HarmonizedSystem.
8.2 The Council approved the texts of the draft decisions on the waiver extensions in
G/C/W/107/Rev.1 (Bangladesh),  G/C/W/110 and Corr.1 (Nicaragua) and G/C/W/109 (Sri Lanka),
and agreed to transmit them to the General Council for adoption.
8.3 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council considered requests by Bangladesh (G/L/255),
Nicaragua (G/L/256) and Sri Lanka (G/L/257) for an extension until 30 April 1999 of waivers already
granted in connection with the transposition of their schedules into the Harmonized System.
8.4 The Council approved the texts of the draft decisions on the waiver extensions in G/C/W/118
(Bangladesh), G/C/W/119 (Nicaragua) and G/C/W/120 (Sri Lanka), and agreed to transmit them tothe General Council for adoption.
(b) Zambia - Renegotiation of Schedule LXXVIII (G/C/M/33 and 36)
8.5 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council considered a request by Zambia (G/L/228) for
an extension, until 31 Oct ober 1998, of the waiver granted to it in connection with the renegotiation of
its Schedule.  The Council approved the text of the draft decision (G/C/W/108), and agreed totransmit it to the General Council for adoption.
8.6 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council considered a request by Zambia (G/L/258) for
an extension, until 30 April 1999, of  the waiver granted to it in connection with the renegotiation of
its Schedule.  The Council approved the text of the draft decision (G/C/W/121), and agreed totransmit it to the General Council for adoption.
(c) Decision on the Introduction of Harmonized Sy stem (HS) Changes into WTO Schedules of
Tariff Concessions on 1 January 1996 - Extension of the time-limit (G/C/M/33 and 36)
8.7 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council approved the text of the draft decision
(G/C/W/111) granting an extension of individual waivers to Members listed in the annex to that
document until 31 October 1998, and agreed to transmit it to the General Council for adoption.  These
waivers had been requested by those Members finding it necessary to consult or negotiate underArticle XXVIII of GATT 1994 as a result of the HS96 changes introduced in their schedules.G/C/W/129
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8.8 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council approved the text of the draft decision
(G/MA/W/17/Rev.1) granting an extension of the individual waivers to Members listed in the annex
to that document until 30 April 1999, and agreed to  transmit it to the General Council for adoption.
9. Work on Data Issues in the Ma rket Access Committee (G/C/M/36)
9.1 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council took note of the statement made by the
representative of the United States urging Members to comply with their obligation, in accordance
with the Decision by the General Council of 16 July 1997 (WT/L/225), to notify trade and tariff dataelectronically on an annual basis.  This data was to be stored in the IDB by the Secretariat.  TheMarket Access Committee was also working on methods for Members to supply electronically
schedules of WTO bindings in current HS nomenclature. These activities were important for firstlyassessing implementation of market-access commitments and secondly for preparing future mandatednegotiations.
10. Outcome of the major review of the implemen tation of the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (ATC) during the first stage of the integration process pursuant to
paragraph 11 of Article 8 of the ATC (G/C/M/29 and 30)
10.1  At the Council meeting of 4 February 1998, the Chairman recalled that the major review of the
implementation of the ATC during the first stage of the integration process had been carried out
between October and December 1997.  Following this fo rmal review process, he had held a series of
information meetings with a view to developing a summary of the main points raised in the review
and an agreed set of  conclusions flowing from it.  However, in spite of determined efforts by
delegations, the views remained far apart and it had not been possible in the time available to developconclusions that would attract concensus.  This had been reported to Council on 10 December 1997.
10.2  In early 1998, the Chairman considered that further efforts were warranted in view of the great
deal of progress that had been achieved and informal consultations resumed in mid-January.   This led
to a full set of conclusions, integrated into the respective sections of the summary of the review.  Thiswas contained in document G/C/W/105.  The Counc il took note of the Chairman's statement and of
his intention to convene a meeting of the Council on 16 February 1998 in order to present this text
formally to the Council for action.
10.3  At its meeting on 16 February 1998, the Council took note of the text in document G/C/W/105
5,
containing the outcome of the major review of the implementation of the ATC during the first stage of
the integration process, pursuant to paragraph 11 of Article 8 of the ATC.
11. Understanding on the Interpre tation of Article XVII of the GATT  1994 (G/C/M/33)
11.1 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council took note of the statement by the Chairman of
the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises on the Working Party's review of state trading
notifications and of the adequacy of the 1960 questionnaire. The Council approved the revisedquestionnaire on state trading (G/STR/3)  and agre ed to implement it beginning with the 1998 new
and full notifications.  It also took note of the postponement in the deadline established for thesubmission of new and full notifications in 1998 from 30 June to 30 September 1998.
                                                     
5 Subsequently issued as G/L/224.G/C/W/129
Page 7
12. Notification by Colombia under Section C of Article XVIII of the GATT 1994
(G/C/M/35)
12.1 At the Council meeting of 8 July 1998, the re presentative of the United States expressed
concern (G/L/248) at a notification by Colombia in which Colombia indicated its intention to invoke
Article XVIII:C for the purpose of imposing qua ntitative restrictions  on imports of salt
(WT/COMTD/N/8 and Corr.1).  The Council took note of this statement and of the statements madeby the representatives of Colombia, Australia, the European Communities, Japan and Cuba.
13. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (G/C/M/36)
13.1 At the Council meeting of 1 October 1998, the Chairman recalled that the General Council
had established a comprehensive work programme to examine all trade-related issues relating to global
electronic commerce.  It had also instructed the Council for Trade in Goods to examine and report onaspects of electr onic commerce relevant to the provisi ons of GATT 1994, th e multilateral trade
agreements covered under Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement, and the approved work programme.The Council agreed to the Chairman's proposal to hold open-ended informal consultations on the wayto proceed with regard to the work mandate on electronic commerce.
6
14. Customs Unions and Free-Trade Areas:  regional agreements
(a) Free Trade Agreement between Latvia and Slovenia (G/C/M/30)
14.1 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG34/N/1) from the parties to the Agreem ent. The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG34/1.
(b) Free Trade Agreement between Lithuania and Slovenia (G/C/M/30)
14.2 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG35/N/1) from the parties to the Agreem ent. The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG35/1.
(c) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republ ic and the Republic of Latvia (G/C/M/30)
14.3 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication from the
Slovak Republic (WT/REG47/N/1). The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG47/1.
(d) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Lithuania
(G/C/M/30)
14.4 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication from the
Slovak Republic (WT/REG48/N/1). The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
                                                     
6 At informal consultations of the Council held on 8 October 1998, Members informally agreed on the
way to proceed regarding the mandated work on electro nic commerce.  Consensus was reached that the Council
shall hold three informal meetings, (9 November 1998, 26 January and 8 March 1999) to discuss mattersindicated in the work programme.  This was to be done before the General Council conducted its interim reviewof the progress in the implementation of the work programme which was due for completion by 31 March 1999.G/C/W/129
Page 8
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG48/1.
(e) Free Trade Agreement between Poland and the Republic of Lithuania (G/C/M/30)
14.5 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication from Poland
(WT/REG49/N/1). The Council adopted the term s of reference under which the Committee on
Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in documentWT/REG49/1.
(f) Central European Free Trade Agreement – Accession of the Republic of Slovenia (G/C/M/30)
14.6 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG11/N/2) from the parties to the Agreem ent. The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG11/4.
(g) Central European Free Trade Agreement – Accession of Romania (G/C/M/30)
14.7 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG11/N/3) from the parties to the Agreem ent. The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG11/5.
(h) Customs Union between the European Community and the Principality of Andorra
(G/C/M/31)
14.8 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took note of the notification (WT/REG53/N/1)
from the European Community. The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG53/1.
(i) Free Trade Agreement between Hungary and Israel (G/C/M/31 and 33)
14.9 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took note of the information provided by the
representative of Hungary that a Free Trade Agreement within the meaning of Article XXIV of
GATT 1994 between Israel and Hungary had entered into force on 1 February 1998, and that the textof the Agreement had been made available for circulation.
14.10 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG54/N/1) from the parties to the Agreemen t.  The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG54/1.
(j) Free Trade Agreement between Israel and the Czech Republic (G/C/M/33)
14.11 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG56/N/1) from the parties to the Agreemen t.  The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG56/1 and 2.G/C/W/129
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(k) Free Trade Agreement between Israel and the Slovak Republic (G/C/M/33)
14.12 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG57/N/1) from the parties to the Agreemen t.  The Council adopted the terms of reference
under which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreemen ts should examine th is Agreement, which
was circulated in document WT/REG57/1 and 2.
(l) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Hungary (G/C/M/34)
14.13 At its meeting of 5 June 1998, the Counc il took note of the notification (WT/REG58/N/1)
from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG58/1.
(m) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Romania (G/C/M/34)
14.14 At its meeting of 5 June 1998, the Counc il took note of the notification (WT/REG59/N/1)
from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG59/1.
(n) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Israel (G/C/M/34)
14.15 At its meeting of 5 June 1998, the Counc il took note of the notification (WT/REG60/N/1)
from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG60/1.
(o) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Lithuania (G/C/M/35)
14.16 At its meeting of 8 July 1998, the Council took note of the notification (WT/REG61/N/1) by
Turkey.  The Council adopted the terms of refe rence under which the Committee on Regional Trade
Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document WT/REG61/1.
(p) Free Trade Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Estonia (G/C/M/36)
14.17 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council took note of the notification by the Czech
Republic (WT/REG62/N/1).  The Council adopted th e terms of reference under which the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document
WT/REG62/1.
(q) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Estonia (G/C/M/36)
14.18 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council took note of the notification by the Slovak
Republic (WT/REG63/N/1).  The Council adopted th e terms of reference under which the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document
WT/REG63/1.G/C/W/129
Page 10
(r) Free Trade Agreements between the Czech Republic and Turkey, and the Slovak Republic
and Turkey (G/C/M/36)
14.19 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council took note of the information provided by the
representative of the Czech Republic, speaking on behalf also of the Slovak Republic, on the Free
Trade Agreement between the Czech Republic and Turkey and the Free Trade Agreement between the
Slovak Republic and Turkey, both of which had entered into force on 1 September 1998.
15. Issues raised concerning Members' trade practices
(a) Japan – Canada's new simplified national customs tariff (G/C/M/34)
15.1 At the Council meeting of 5 June 1998, the representative of Japan expressed concern at the
implementation by Canada of its new simplified customs tariff.  The Council took note of this
statement and of the statements made by the representatives of Canada and Switzerland.
(b) Korea – Mexico's Price Monitoring System (G/C/M/36)
15.2 At the Council meeting of 1 October 1998, the representative of Korea expressed concern
about the Automatic Import Advice System or Prior- to-import Notification System which Mexico had
put into operation on 27 August 1998.  The Council took note of this statement and of the statementsmade by the representatives of Thailand, spea king on behalf of ASEAN Members, and Mexico.
[This report will be updated in order to refl ect the work done by the Council at its
meeting of 30 November 1998.]
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