RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/C/W/179
26 January 2000
(00-0301)
Council for Trade in Goods Original:  English
QUESTIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
REGARDING THE TRIMS EXTENSION REQUEST MADE
BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA
The following communication, dated 24 January 2000, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of the United States.
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Measures
1. Please describe in detail the measures that are included in the Government of Romania’s
(“GOR”) request.  Could the GOR please el aborate beyond the description provided in
previous submissions.  For example for both facilities:
(a) Are the 60 per cent local content (integration value) requirements the same for each
facility?  What kinds of local goods qualify (anything?  some parts but not others?
etc.)
(b) Are the 50 per cent export requirements the same for each facility?
(c) Are there any other advantages beyond those described in your 31 March 1995
notification?
(d) Are there any other “obligations” placed on these firms?
2. Provide more specifics regarding the facilities covered by your extension request.
(a) What are the names of the firms?(b) Where is the shipbuilding plant located?(c) What do they produce other than autos and ships?(d) When did they first establish themselves under Law 71/1994?
(e) At what point do the requirements placed on the firms expire under the terms of Law
71/1994?
(f) Were there other firms that participated under Law 71/1994?G/C/W/179
Page 2
3. How have the measures changed over time?
(a) What were the restrictions on 1 January 1995?  Have there been any changes since
then?  What are they?
(b) Have the amount or percentage of local content and/or export requirement values
increased since 1 January 1995?
(c) Are the current measures more or less inconsistent with the terms of the Agreement
since January 1995?
4. Given that the GOR TRIMs notification implies certain advantages:
(a) Please describe the benefits that accrue to participants in the various programs.  In
other words, what formulas are used to decide on the scope of the benefits?
(b) What is the total value of such benefits?
5. What agency implements this program?
(a) What responsibilities does this organization have generally?
(b) What is its responsibility with respect to the TRIMs measures in the automotive and
shipbuilding sectors?
(c) Are there any other GOR agencies or othe r entities or persons with responsibility for
implementing or otherwise supervising the measures identified in question 1?
Basis for the Extension Request
6. The GOR extension request provided to the Council for Trade in Goods asserts that one
reason an extension is necessary is because “of insufficient internal sources of investment and
relatively low rate of foreign investment.”  Also, discussed is “important changes in the
structure of its industry.”  Please elaborate on these issues.
7. Regarding the five-year period:
(a) How was this period determined?
(b) What was the empirical evidence examined to gauge that an additional five years
would be required?
(c) How is it certain that if the measures were removed, foreign investment would
decrease?
8. Please describe the domestic automotive and shipbuilding industries.  What efforts have they
taken to modernize or be more competitive internationally over the last five years?
9. Prior to making the decision to request an extension, what measures had the relevant
industries and the GOR undertaken to begin the transition to a system that did not rely on
TRIMs?
(a) When was the decision made to modify Law 71/1994?G/C/W/179
Page 3
(b) What types of other liberalization adjustments were or were not completed?
(c) At what point did the GOR make the decision to stop this process of becoming
TRIMs consistent in regard to the two facilities (or does the process continue)?
(d)  What would the process be for becoming completely TRIMs consistent – (i.e.,
administrative changes, legislative changes)?
(e)  How quickly could such changes be enacted?
10. Article 5.3 of the TRIMs Agreement requires the Council on Trade in Goods to conclude that
an applicant for an extension has demonstrated “particular difficulties”.
(a) How does the GOR consider that the difficulties it has described fit this requirement?(b) What makes these difficulties different from other Members’ situations?
11. What types of efforts were undertaken to prepare the relevant industries for the removal of
TRIMs on 1 January 2000?  Specifically:
(a) Did the GOR conduct discussions with the private sector and with labour
organizations at that time and even well before the completion of the Uruguay Round
to inform them that these policies would be eliminated in 2000?
(b) What kind of domestic consultation process concerning TRIMs has been conducted
over the past five years?
(c) What administrative or legislative steps beyond modifying existing legislation have
which offices and officials explored with which industry and labour groups?
(d) What plans exist for adjusting to the elimin ation of such TRIMs if there is no grant of
an extension available from the Council?
12. The GOR states that “the automobile unit is placed in an area with a high unemployment
rate”:
(a) Is there any basis for the assumption that jobs have been created by the
TRIMs-related polices since 1995?  What was the total employment in the twoindustries before the TRIMs policy and what is it at present?
(b) Is there any basis for an assumption that jobs will be created or saved by the
continuation of the TRIMs-related policy after 1 January 2000?
(c) Which entity, agency or persons analyzed your employment estimates?
13. With respect to “development, financial, and trade needs” referenced in Article 5.3:
(a) How is the maintenance of these TRIMs part of the development plans and needs of
Romania?
(b) How long have such TRIMs been part of the development plans and needs?G/C/W/179
Page 4
(c) How can it be determined that these same development policies will not still be used
and needed after a five year period?  Why should one expect that the development
plans and needs will be different one, two, five or ten  years from now?
(d) What are the financial needs of the GOR related to the maintenance of the TRIMs?(e) What analysis has been conducted to determine whether the elimination of the TRIMs
would actually increase, decrease, or be neutral concerning the financial needs of
Romania?
(f) Are there any other particular issues th at the GOR believes should be taken into
account with respect to these factors?  Please describe and discuss such issues.
14. Has the GOR considered other non-TRIMs options that would protect the domestic industries
but would allow for the elimination of your TRIMs regime as it currently exists?  For
example:
(a) Why is it necessary to retain both the local content and export requirement portions of
the programs?
(b) Please describe the analysis/research that the GOR undertook to ensure that both
measures need to be retained in both industries.
Statistics
15. What is the GOR’s estimation of production amounts for and amount of investment in the
domestic manufacturers covered by the measures under discussion?
16. What are the destinations for exports from Romania for 1998 (i.e., what countries) by the
facilities covered by the extension request and what are the values and quantities of these exports.
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