WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/351
8 May 2000
(00-1869)
INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM CHANGES INTO WTO
SCHEDULES OF TARIFF CONCESSIONS ON 1 JANUARY 1996
Extension of Time-Limit
Decision of 3 May 20001
The General Council,
Considering  that the Members of the WTO, by their Decisions of 13 December 1995,
18 July 1996, 24 April 1997,  22 October 1997, 24 April 1998, 14 October 1998, 15 June 1999 and
4 November 19992, acting pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article IX of the WTO
Agreement, suspended the application of the provis ions of Article II of GATT 1994 until 30 April 2000,
for the purpose of enabling the Members listed in the Annex to implement the recommended
amendments to the Harmonized System nomenclature;
Noting  that the Members listed in the Annex have  either requested to be included under the
waiver, or have requested an extension of the waiver for reasons explained in their requests;
Considering  that the Members concerned would need more time to proceed with consultations
or possible Article XXVIII negotiations, in particular also in light of general reservations made by the
other Members,
Acting  pursuant to the provisions of paragra ph 3 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement,
Decide, in view of the exceptional circumstances, to suspend the application of the provisions of
Article II of GATT 1994, until 31 October 2000, for the purpose of enabling the Members listed in theAnnex to implement the recommended amendments to  the Harmonized System nomenclature, subject to
the following conditions:
(i) the Member concerned shall have submitted the documentation required under
paragraph 2 of the simplified procedures adopted by the GATT 1947 Committee onTariff Concessions to implement changes in the Harmonized System
3; or if special
circumstances apply, the Member concerned shall have requested technical assistance
from the Secretariat for the completion of such documentation;
(ii) the Member concerned shall, where nece ssary, promptly enter into negotiations and
consultations with interested Members pursuant to paragraphs 1-3 of Article XXVIII of
GATT 1994;
                                                     
1Adopted in accordance with the Decision-Making Pr ocedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO
Agreement agreed by the General Council (WT/L/93).
2WT/L/124 + Corr.1, WT/L/173, WT/L/216, WT/L/ 243, WT/L/268, WT/L/281, WT/L/303, WT/L/338.
3BISD 39S/300.WT/L/351
Page 2
(iii) the negotiations and consultations mentioned above shall be completed not later than
31 October 2000;
(iv) pending the entry into force of the results of the negotiations or consultations mentioned
above, the other Members will be free to suspend concessions initially negotiated withthe Member concerned to the extent that th ey consider that adequate compensation is
not offered by the Member concerned.WT/L/351
Page 3
ANNEX
Argentina Maldives
Bolivia MexicoBrazil Morocco
Brunei Darussalam New Zealand
Bulgaria Norway
Costa Rica Pakistan
Egypt Panama
El Salvador Paraguay
Honduras SwitzerlandGuatemala Thailand
Iceland Uruguay
Israel Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Malaysia
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