RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/ACC/MOL/30
30 June 2000
(00-2716)
Working Party on the
Accession of MoldovaOriginal:  English
ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Additional Questions and Replies
The Ministry of Economy and Reforms of the Republic of Moldova has submitted the
following replies to additional questions raised by Members.
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CONTENTS
Question
No.Page No.
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS
1. Import Regulation
(d) Fees and charges for services rendered 1 12. Export Regulation
(b) Customs tariffs, fees and charges and internal taxes applied to
exports21
3. Internal policies affecting foreign trade in goods
(b) Technical barriers to trade 3 2
(c) Sanitary and phytosanitary measures 4 2
4. Policies affecting foreign trade in agricultural products(b) Agricultural export subsidies 5 2
VII. INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC
RELATIONS WITH THIRD COUNTRIES
1. Bilateral or plurilateral agreements relating to foreign trade in
goods and services63WT/ACC/MOL/30
Page 1
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS
1. Import Regulation
(d) Fees and charges for services rendered
Question 1.
While the undertakings in paragraph 62 of WT/ACC/MOL/4/REV.2 are acceptable, we note in
table 8 that some customs fees are expressed in ad valorem terms, together with a maximum
charge expressed in Euro (e.g., items 1, 14 and 15). We question whether these ad valorem
charges are consistent with the GATT Article VIII requirement that fees and charges be
commensurate with the cost  of providing the service.
Answer
The Republic of Moldova would like to mention that Budget Law 2000, which came into
force on 1 May 2000, removed the 0.25 per cent customs user fee and introduced a flat fee, but somecustoms fees are expressed in ad valorem  terms, together with a maximum charge expressed in Euro.
Also, we want to confirm that these customs fees are consistent with the Article VIII of GATT 1994
and reflect the approximate costs of the services rendered.
2. Export Regulation
(b) Customs tariffs, fees and charges and internal taxes applied to exportsQuestion 2.
There are inconsistencies and duplication between paragraph 103 and paragraph 105.
In paragraph 103 Moldova states that “there were no export licensing requirements  “, but
paragraph 105 states that export licenses were required for “goods with a special character”.
We request that these paragraphs be amended to reflect the actual position and to eliminate
inconsistencies.
Answer:
The representative of Moldova wants to confirm that there were no export licensing
requirements, except for “goods with a special character” and that the registration of exports contracts
had been abolished. He informs members of the Working Party that "goods with a special character"included weapons, ammunition, military equipment, kits to produce such equipment; explosives;
nuclear materials, technologies, equipment and installations to produce such materials; ionic radiation
sources; drugs, psychotropic effect substances a nd preparations, materials to produce such substances
and preparations, poisons; lottery-type inventions, means and equipment for different types of lottery;
slot machines, fortune games; chemical substances (including fertilizers and plant-protection
substances) and industrial waste subject to international control; medicines, medical appliances and
equipment. The list also included precious metals: gold and silver. Consequently, the first sentence ofparagraph 99 of WT/ACC/MOL/4/Rev.3 should be correc ted to read “The representative of Moldova
said that there were no export licensing requirements other than there noted in paragraph 101 below,
and that the registration of export contracts had been abolished by Government Decision No. 777 of
1997.”WT/ACC/MOL/30
Page 2
3. Internal policies affecting foreign trade in goods
(b) Technical barriers to trade
Question 3
We suggest the following commitment paragraph after paragraph 123:
“The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would implement the WTO
Agreement on Technical Barriers to trade from the date of accession without recourses to any
transition period. The Working Party took note of this commitment.”
Answer:
Moldova accepts the formulation of the text suggested above and introduced a new
commitment paragraph with following language:
“119. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would implement the WTO
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade from the date of accession in accordance with theSchedule contained in Table No. 14 and without recourse to any transition period.”
(c) Sanitary and phytosanitary measures
Question 4
As currently drafted, paragraph 129 applies to both SPS and TBT Agreements, although it is
located in the section of the report that covers  only SPS measures. We propose inclusion of a
new commitment paragraph on the TBT Agreement (see above), and modification of the
paragraph 133 so that it applies to SPS measures only.
Answer:
Moldova took into consideration the WTO Members proposals and has modified the
paragraph 129 so that it applies to SPS measures only. (See also previous answer).
4. Policies affecting foreign trade in agricultural products
(b) Agricultural export subsidies
Question 5
In relation to paragraph 156, Moldova has offe red a commitment to zero agricultural export
subsidies. We propose that the following be added to paragraph 156: “Moldova did not grantany export subsidies to agricultural products . The representative of Moldova confirmed that
Moldova would bind agricultural export subsid ies at zero in its goods schedule. The Working
Party took note of this commitment.”
Answer:
Moldova took into consideration the WTO Members requests and introduced the proposed
language in the Working Party report under paragraph 149. The new language of paragraph is
following:WT/ACC/MOL/30
Page 3
“149. The representative of Moldova said that Moldova granted no export credits, export
credit guarantees, export credit insurance or other financial support or assistance was
available for agricultural exports. Moldova did not grant any export subsidies to agricultural
products. The representative of Moldova confirmed that Moldova would bind agricultural
export subsidies at zero in its Goods Schedule. The Working Party took note of thiscommitment.”
VII. INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH
THIRD COUNTRIES
1. Bilateral or plurilateral agreements relating to foreign trade in goods and services.
Question 6
In paragraph 225 some members of the Working Party requested information on the scope of
the duty free treatment accorded in economi c integration agreements; and any special
provisions concerning trade in services, investment  or movement of persons. Also requested was
a schedule describing the state of all preferential agreements presently held by Moldova and a
description of their compatibility with th e relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement.
In the last sentence Moldova stated that “the  requested detailed information requested was
under preparation”. We would welcome advice from Moldova on whether the requestedinformation is now available.
Answer:
The response to this question was provided in the reply to Question 44 of document
WT/ACC/MOL/25.
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