RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
18December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5093)
Original: English
DRAFT REPORT OFTHE WORKING PARTY ON
THE ACCESSION OFESTONIA
TOTHE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Introduction
1. InMarch 1994, theGovernment ofEstonia requested accession totheGeneral Agreement on
Tariffs andTrade (GATT 1947). Atitsmeeting on23-24 March 1994, theGATT Council of
Representatives established aWorking Party toexamine theapplication oftheGovernment ofEstonia
toaccedetotheGeneralAgreementunderArticleXXXIII,andtosubmittotheCouncilrecommendations
which may include adraft Protocol ofAccession. Membership oftheWorking Party wasopen to
allcontracting parties indicating thewish toserve onit.Inpursuance oftheMinisterial Decision of
14April 1994 onAcceptance ofandAccession totheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld
Trade Organization (WTO) andtothedecision of31May 1994 ofthePreparatory Committee forthe
WTO, theWorking Party examined theapplication ofEstonia formembership intheWTO andagreed
topursue themarket access negotiations forgoods, including anagricultural country schedule, and
forservices. TheWTO Agreement entered intoforce on1January 1995. Inpursuance ofthedecision
adopted bytheWTO General Council on31January 1995, theGATT 1947 Accession Working Party
wastransformed intoaWTO Accession Working Party. Theterms ofreference andthemembership
oftheWorking Party arereproduced indocument WT/ACC/EST/7.
2. TheWorking Party meton25November 1994; 6-7June and14November 1995; 28March
and18September 1996; and............. under theChairmanship ofH.E. Mr.D.Kenyon (Australia).
Documentation
3. TheWorking Party hadbefore it,toserve asabasis foritsdiscussions, aMemorandum on
theForeign Trade Régime ofEstonia (L/7423) andthequestions submitted byMembers ontheforeign
trade régime ofEstonia, together withthereplies thereto, andother information provided bytheEstonian
authorities (L/7529 andAddenda 1and2,WT/ACC/EST/2, WT/ACC/EST/4, WT/ACC/EST/9 andWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 2
Corrigendum1,WT/ACC/EST/11andWT/ACC/EST/12).TheGovernmentofEstoniamadeavailable
totheWorking Party thefollowing documentation:
- TheCustoms Law of24September 1993;
- Law onAmending theCustoms Law of1December 1993;
- Law onForeign Relations of16November 1993;
- Law onCompetition of7July 1993;
- Law ontheState Border of30June 1994;
- Law onState Budget (amended version of20April 1994);
- Law onMunicipal andTown Budget of28June 1993;
- LawonCorrelationbetweenMunicipalandTownBudgetsandtheStateBudget(amendedversion
of2February 1994);
- Law onPrivatization of7July 1993;
- Law onExport andTransit ofStrategic Goods of21April 1994;
- Law onAmending theLaw oftheCentral Bank oftheRepublic ofEstonia of20April 1994;
- TheFood Law of9February 1995;
- TheLaw oftheRepublic ofEstonia onForeign Investments;
- Statutes oftheEstonian Foreign Investment Agency (9May 1994);
- Law onBankruptcy oftheRepublic ofEstonia of10June 1992;
- Law onTaxation of29December 1993;
- Law onAmending theLaw onTaxation of30March 1994;
- Income TaxLaw of21December 1993;
- Law onLand Taxof12May 1993;
- Law onLocal Taxes of10October 1994;
- Law oftheCentral Bank oftheRepublic ofEstonia of31May 1993;
- Law onMotor Vehicle Excise Taxof8February 1995;
- Law onAlcohol Excise Tax(with 1994 amendments);
- Law onTobacco Excise Tax(new version of13July 1994);
- Law onRevenue Stamps of28March 1994;
- Law onValue Added Tax(amended version of30June 1994);
- Law onCustoms Valuation of8February 1995;
- Adraft Law onPublic Procurement;
- Copyright Law of23November 1992;
- Patent Law of30March 1994;
- Utility Model Law of30March 1994;
- Law onSecurities Market of14June 1993;
- Insurance Law of18November 1992;
- Memorandum ontheExport Control System inEstonia;
- Rules ofOrigin inFree-Trade Agreements with theEuropean Union, theUkraine andthe
Trilateral Free-Trade Agreement with Latvia and Lithuania;
- Rules ofOrigin inFree-Trade Agreements with EFTA countries (Norway andSwitzerland);
- Commercial Code, consolidated on12June 1996;
- Law ofProperty Act, consolidated on8October 1996;
- Packaging Actof3May 1995;
- Medicinal Products Act, consolidated on15October 1996;
- Privatization inEstonia (summary);
- Economic bulletins.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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Introductory Statements
4. Therepresentative ofEstonia noted thatEstonia hadbeen anobserver totheGATT 1947 since
June 1992 andhadaccordingly witnessed thesuccessful conclusion oftheUruguay Round andlooked
forward toitsimplementation. Estonia hadadopted newlaws andregulations forming asolid legislative
foundation. Moreover, Estonia 'seconomy, which encouraged competition andanentrepreneurial spirit
through aliberal trade régime foragricultural andindustrial products andopenness regarding foreign
investment andforeign exchange, wasexpanding steadily. Estonia 'sfreeandopen market hadbeen
underpinned bybilaterally binding andmutually beneficial market opening commitments intrade
agreements covering more thantwothirds ofEstonia 'strade. Bilateral freetrade agreements hadbeen
concluded with Latvia, Lithuania, EFTA countries, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, the
European Union andSlovenia, andEstonia hadtrade agreements based ontheGATT 1947 principles
withseveral other countries. Having followed thecode ofconduct laiddown byGATT 1947 principles,
fullmembership intheGATT 1947 andupon itsentry into force intheMarrakesh Agreement
Establishing theWorld Trade Organization -wastheoneimportant missing aspect inEstonia 'strade
policy. Estonia intended tojointhemultilateral trading system embodied intheWTO Agreement as
adeveloped country, fully aware of,andready toassume, alltheobligations andresponsibilities this
entailed. Estonia 'saccession totheWTO should, however, alsobeviewed inthecontext ofanoverall
political objective tointegrate with theEuropean Union. Therepresentative ofEstonia looked forward
tothebeginning ofanactive negotiating process which should beconcluded byEstonia 'saccession
totheWTO inthevery near future.
5. MembersoftheWorkingPartywelcomedEstonia'sinitialapplicationforaccessiontotheGeneral
Agreement and, upon conclusion oftheUruguay Round, totheWTO. Theriseinexports andforeign
direct investment were indicative oftherelative success ofEstonia 'sliberal economic policies.
Membership intheWTO would offer Estonia theopportunity toconsolidate itssmall, open economy
within amultilateral framework andtodevelop andincrease trade exchanges with WTO Members
worldwide. Theliberal, open market principles currently being implemented byEstonia would also
facilitate itsassumption ofobligations andcommitments arising from theUruguay Round. Several
members accordingly expressed theexpectation thattheestablishment ofmarket access conditions for
goods andservices would proceed inanexpeditious manner andlooked forward tothesuccessful and
timely conclusion ofthetasks oftheWorking Party.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 4
6. TheWorking Party reviewed theeconomic policies andforeign trade régime ofEstonia and
thepossible terms ofadraft Protocol ofAccession totheWTO. Theviews expressed inthecourse
ofthedeliberations oftheWorking Party aresummarized below inparagraphs 7-115.
ECONOMIC POLICIES
Monetary andFiscal Policy
7. QuestionsbysomemembersoftheWorkingPartyfocusedonthetaxcomponentsofgovernment
revenue andthescope forraising revenue from taxes ontrade inEstonia inthelight ofimportant free
trade agreements which covered alarge share ofEstonia 'sforeign trade.
8. Inresponse, therepresentative ofEstonia recalled thatasawaytoimprove thecompetitiveness
ofthedomestic industries atthepresent time Estonia didnotgenerally apply import orexport duties.
Should Estonia apply import duties inthefuture, heconfirmed thatpreferential treatment would only
beaccorded inthecontext offreetrade agreements asprovided forinArticle XXIV oftheGATT 1994.
Hesaidthatthemain sources ofgovernment revenue in1995 were theValue Added Tax(46.3 percent),
incometaxes(31.8percent),andexcisetaxes(12.4percent).Estoniaconfirmedthatalltaxesincluding
thecorporate income taxes were applied equally todomestic andforeign products andenterprises.
Inthecase ofamendments tothetaxrégime inthefuture Estonia would continue tocomply with the
national treatment principle.
Foreign Exchange andPayments
9. Some members oftheWorking Party requested up-to-date information onEstonia 'sforeign
exchange régime, i.e.thedetermination oftheexchange rate, convertibility, availability offoreign
exchange fortrade andpayments purposes, andtheretention offoreign currency.
10. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatEstonia, asamember oftheInternational Monetary
Fund, followed internationally accepted monetary rules. Since June 1992, theEstonian kroon hadbeen
pegged against theDeutsche mark attheofficial rateof8kroon to1DM, with atechnical fluctuation
limit of3percent. Thefixed exchange ratewasenshrined intheLaw ontheSecurity oftheEstonian
Kroon; adevaluation required approval byParliament. HealsosaidthattheBank ofEstonia guaranteed
freeexchange within Estonia ofthekroon attheofficial rateaccording tocurrent needs ofcustomers
forconvertible currencies. Non-convertible currencies were obtained atthecommercial banks. TheWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 5
lastrestrictions oncurrent account transactions were lifted inMarch 1994, when Estonia accepted the
obligations under Article VIIIoftheArticles ofAgreement oftheInternational Monetary Fund. Capital
account transactions were unrestricted, butexports ofcash andsecurities were subject toacustoms
declaration.
Investment Régime
11. Some members oftheWorking Party sought information onEstonia 'sstrategies inattracting
foreign investment andintheapplication ofanyrestrictions orconditions attached toforeign investment
andtoland ownership. Therepresentative ofEstonia replied thatnospecific promotion programmes
were envisaged; foreign investments were encouraged through anopen, non-restrictive régime. The
Government hadestablished aForeign Investment Agency in1994, providing various services toforeign
investors, andhadconcluded bilateral agreements oninvestment promotion andprotection with the
following countries: Austria, Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, China, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland,France,Germany,Israel,Latvia,Lithuania,Netherlands,Norway,Poland,Sweden,Switzerland,
Ukraine, United Kingdom, andtheUnited States. Headded thattheprocedures forregistration of
companies inEstonia distinguished between domestic andforeign investment inonly sixareas namely,
mining; power engineering, gasandwater supply; administration ofwaterways, ports, dams and
similar structures; railways andairtransport; telecommunication andcommunication network; and
retail trade inmedicines; where foreign investors would need a"Foreign Investment Licence" from
theMinistry ofFinance while a"Licence ofActivity" wasrequired fordomestic investors. Thelicences
carried thesame rights, theprocedural difference being theissuing authority. The criteria for
determining whether ornottogrant thetwotypes oflicence were identical.
12. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatwhen State enterprises were soldagainst privatization
vouchers majority stakes were offered to"core" investors, i.e.majority shareholders (domestic or
foreign), whowere selected byanopen bid. Inpurchasing State-owned enterprises investors (domestic
orforeign) might undertake specific commitments with regard totheamount ofcapital tobeinvested
andminimum workforce ("performance guarantee"). TheEstonian Privatization Agency checked the
compliance withagreed conditions. Theperformance guarantee didnotextend tolocal content orexport
requirements.
13. Regarding purchase ofland, therepresentative ofEstonia said that foreign commercial
undertakings would need permission from local authorities, andpermits would only begranted when
thebranch ofaforeign commercial undertaking hadbeen entered inEstonia 'sCommercial Register.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 6
Non-residents were notallowed topurchase land inborder areas andonEstonia 'sislands, except on
thefourlargest islands (Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Vormsi andMuhu). Inthese areas thepurchase ofland
required special permission oftheGovernment. Non-residents would bepermitted tobuylandprovided
thepurchase wasnotinconflict with theinterests oftheState, local governments ornational security.
14. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatEstonia applied national treatment with respect
totaxation. TheIncome TaxLaw allowed losses tobecarried forward uptofiveyears. Revenue
could berepatriated freely. TheWorking Party took note ofthese assurances.
State Ownership andPrivatization
15. Some members oftheWorking Party requested details concerning progress inEstonia 's
privatization programme andplans toretain State ownership inenterprises orsectors. Further questions
addressedrelationsbetweentheStateandcompanymanagement,theapplicationofcompetitionlegislation
toState-owned enterprises, bankruptcy orenterprise dissolution provisions inEstonian legislation and
general orexclusive funds available forState-owned enterprises. Amember requested adetailed report
onfirms remaining inGovernment hands, thenature ofgoods theyconsumed, exported ordistributed;
andareport onplans, asappropriate, tocomplete theprivatization process. Toensure fulltransparency,
Estonia should keep WTO Members informed about progress inprivatization, andprovide periodic
reports ondevelopments inprivatization andeconomic reform issues asrelevant toitsobligations under
theWTO.
16. TherepresentativeofEstoniasaidthatanenterprisewasconsideredprivatizedwhenthemajority
share holding wasinprivate hands. According tothisdefinition allagricultural enterprises hadbeen
privatized byJanuary 1995, andabout 70percent ofindustrial enterprises hadbeen privatized by
July 1995. ByAugust 1996, privatization hadbeen completed formore than90percentofallindustrial
enterprises.Companieshadbeensoldineleventenderroundswithsuccessfulbiddersofferingguarantees
with regard toinvestment andemployment. Thepublic offering ofshares hadbegun inmid-1994;
inapublic offer themajority stake wassoldtoalocal orforeign "core" investor. In1996 privatization
ofmajorinfrastructuralenterpriseswasunderpreparation(EstonianEnergy,EstonianOil-Shale,Estonian
Railway, Port ofTallinn andEstonian Telecom). State ownership would beretained inrailways and
power stations, while Estonia 'ssoleoil-shale mine, theelectricity distribution companies andtheservice
structure ofrailway depots were tobeprivatized. These enterprises would beprivatized inaccordance
with aprogram established through Government Order No.155-k of20February 1996.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 7
17. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatsome privatization tenders hadonly been published in
Estonia, butforeign investment hadonlybeen restricted inthecaseofenterprises processing agricultural
commoditiesorofferingservicestofarmers.Thesecompanieswerenowownedbyfarmers'co-operative
societies. Headded thattheTallinn Stock Exchange wasestablished on31May 1996.
18. Inresponse toquestions concerning theappointment anddismissal ofthemanagement of
State-owned enterprises, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthattheadministrative council orboard and
themanagement ofaState-owned enterprise orjoint stock company wasappointed inaccordance with
thecompany'sby-lawsorbytheresponsibleMinistry.Theadministrativecouncilorboardcoulddismiss
thegeneral director oftheenterprise; council orboard members were released bytheGovernment
ortheappointing Ministry. Theprovisions oftheLaw onCompetition, including itssanctions, applied
equally toprivate andState-owned enterprises. Since 1September 1995, theCivil Code andthe
Commercial Code contained procedures fortheliquidation ofenterprises. Therepresentative ofEstonia
confirmed thatState-owned enterprises acted onapurely commercial basis andthattheir directors were
notgovernment employees. [Healsostated thatpurchases bytheState enterprises cannot beconsidered
asgovernment procurement.] TheState-owned enterprises could notbeconsidered tobeinState trading
activities because they didnotenjoy anyexclusive orspecial privileges inthesense ofArticle XVII
ofGATT 1994. They were notsubject toanycontrol bytheGovernment, nortoGovernment directives
inrelation totheir operations. Their operations were notfunded bytheState budget. State-owned
andprivate enterprises hadequal access toGovernment funds, i.e.theExport Credit Fund, theFund
ofCredit toAgriculture andRural Life, theFund ofCredit toSmall Enterprises andtheInnovation
Fund. Therepresentative ofEstonia assured theWorking Party thatthenational trade policy and
practices under theregular trade policy reviews intheWTO would betransparent. Because thestatistical
datawasnotcompiled onthebasis ofthedifferent forms ofownership ofenterprises, Estonia didnot
finditpossible toprovide periodic reports onprogress inprivatization.
19. TherepresentativeofEstoniaconfirmedthatEstoniawouldensurethetransparencyofitsnational
trade policies andpractices under theregular trade policy reviews intheWTO. TheWorking Party
took note ofthisassurance.
Pricing Policies
20. Some members oftheWorking Party requested information ontheprocess ofprice liberalization
inEstonia andtheextent ofanyremaining controls onprices forgoods andservices. Estonia was
requested toprovide adescription ofexisting price controls; listtheaffected products byHStariffWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 8
linewith reference tothelegal provisions under which controls were applied; provisions, ifany, for
border charges thatwould increase import prices; andtheconditions under which theauthority to
control prices wastobeexercised.
21. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatprices ofallgoods andservices were determined
freely bymarket forces except foroil-shale andelectricity. Theprices setforthese items, valid as
of1June 1996, arereproduced inTables 1and2.Headded thatprice controls onoil-shale and
electricity were subject togradual deregulation programs; prices would approach world market levels
with dueregard tothebalance between therequired return ontheinvested capital andtheinterests
ofconsumers. Healso noted thatthepresent producers ofenergy, heating andoil-shale were not
monopolies since there wasnoprohibition foranybody tostart similar operations inEstonia oroffer
acompetitive solution fortheentire Estonian energy system including price reform. Thelegal basis
fortheprice controls were thePrice Law of1989 andtheDecree oftheMinistry ofEconomic Affairs
No.7of15May 1996. Heating andlocal transport charges were regulated tosome limited extent at
thelevel ofmunicipalities.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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Table 1
Electricity prices (Since 1June 1996)
Consumer
GroupPayment
VariantsCapacity
charge
EEK/kW
per
monthConsumer
charge
EEK/A
permonthActive Energy Reactive Energy
Main price
sent/KWh*Time price sent/kWh* consump-
tion/kvarhreleasing to
the
network
sent/kvarh*day
07.00-
12.00day
12.00-
23.00night
IConsumer
with capacityAvoltage in
connection
51.00 - 27.631.2 29.6
19.4 3.8 7.6 400kWor
more peronepoint 110kV
ormore 30.4 30.4
substation or
measuringBvoltage in
connection
point
6-35kV56.00 - 30.834.6 32.8
21.6 4.3 7.6 system unit
33.7 33.7
Cvoltage in
connection
point less
than 6kV61.00 - 33.537.8 35.8
23.6 5.0 7.6
36.8 36.8
IIConsumer
with capacityAvoltage in
connection
-1-phase
2.50
37.742.6 40.4
24.7 5.0 7.6 400kWor
more perlessthan
6kV3-phase
7.50 41.5 41.5
onesubstation
ordistribution
unit. Atthe
choice ofthe
consumer either
A,B,orC.Bvoltage in
connection
point less
than 6kV- - 48.6 53.5 53.5 33.0 5.0 7.6
Cvoltage in
connection
point
6-35kV- - 43.2 47.5 47.5 30.5 4.3 7.6
III Reseller
- 7.00 CC+
2.0C+
2.00.61
C 4.1 6.8
IVHouseholds
- -38.1/
45.038.1/
45.038.1/
45.018.6/
22.0 - -
V.Consumer
without A(1-phase) - 53.00 - - - - - -
measuring
B(2-phase) - 159.00 - - - - - -
VI Night
consumers
consumption
regulatorsAvoltage in
connection
point 6kV or
more- 3.00 - - - 19.3 4.3 7.6
100kW ormore Bvoltage in
connection
point less
than 6kV- 3.00 - - - 22.4 5.0 7.6
*1EEK=100 sentWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 10
Table 2
Oil-shale Prices (Since 1June 1996)
Quality class
MJ/kgPrice forregular
customer
EEK/tPrice forclients
without contract
EEK/t
1. PK over 11.51 68.93 98.43
2. 1PK over 10.97 68.07 97.21
3. 2PK 10.26 -10.97 67.12 95.86
4. 3PK 9.59 -10.25 66.27 94.65
5. 4PK 8.54 -9.58 65.33 93.03
6. P over 9.21 64.40 92.00
7. 1P over 8.79 63.55 90.78
8. 2P 7.79 -8.79 62.68 89.55
9. 3P 7.29 -7.78 61.74 88.23
10. 4P 6.28 -7.28 60.88 87.00
11. 5P 6.07 -6.27 59.96 85.67
22. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatprices ofgoods andservices inevery sector of
Estonia were determined freely bymarket forces with theexception ofthose listed inparagraph 21
above. Headded thatprices forgoods andservices would notbesubject toState control. Heconfirmed
thatEstonia would apply such controls, nowandinthefuture, inaWTO-consistent fashion, andwould
takeaccount oftheinterests ofexporting WTO members asprovided forinArticle III.9 oftheGATT
1994. Estonia would publish anylistofgoods andservices subject toState price controls intheofficial
journal,RiigiTeataja(StateGazette),includinganychangesregardingexistingpricecontrolsonoil-shale
andelectricity. TheWorking Party took note ofthese commitments.
Competition Policy
23. Some members oftheWorking Party requested adetailed description ofEstonia 'scompetition
policy, including theprovisions intheLaw onCompetition which prohibits unfair trade practices and
theauthority oftheCompetition Board topermit agreements restricting competition.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 11
24. Inresponse, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthattheLaw onCompetition of1993 prohibited
unfair trade practices with specific reference tothefollowing sixtypes ofpractices:
(i) misleading advertising;
(ii) incorrect useofthedesignation ofafirm, trade mark orother attributes;
(iii) disparaging acompetitor orhisgoods;
(iv) abuse ofbusiness secrets;
(v) preferences orinfluence obtained through theuseofanemployee ofanother market
participant; and
(vi) unlawful restricting orfavouring ofthesaleofgoods andservices.
Provisions concerning theabuse ofadominant market position hadentered intoforce on1October 1993
andagreements andconcerted practices restricting competition on1January 1994. The Estonian
Competition Board wasestablished under theMinistry ofFinance inDecember 1993. Initsprocedural
wayofmaking decisions theBoard gave priority totheinterest oftheconsumers. Supervision ofbanking
andinsurance wascarried outbyaseparate State body. Theterms ofinternational agreements ratified
byParliament prevailed over provisions intheLaw onCompetition incases ofcontradiction. Upon
entry intoforce, theWTO Agreement would have thestatus ofaninternational agreement.
FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES
25. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated that, inaccordance with theConstitution, theactivities
oftheRiigikogu (Parliament), thePresident oftheRepublic, theGovernment oftheRepublic, and
thejudiciary courts were based ontheprinciple ofseparation andbalance ofpowers. Legislative power
wasvested intheRiigikogu andexecutive power intheGovernment oftheRepublic. Justice was
administered solely bythecourts which acted independently asprovided intheConstitution andthe
laws. Themain government entities responsible fortheformulation andimplementation ofpolicies
affecting foreign trade were theMinistries ofEconomic Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Finance; Agriculture;
andTransport andCommunications. Alllocal issues were resolved andmanaged bylocal governments
-municipalities andtownships -operating autonomously. Therepresentative body oflocal government
wasthecouncil, elected infreeelections foraterm ofthree years.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 12
POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE INGOODS
Trading Rights
26. Therepresentative ofEstonia said thatfrom 1September 1995, theCommercial Code had
replaced theEnterprise Law. TheCommercial Code defined fivetypes ofbusiness association (general
partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, joint stock company andco-operative
association) andtheindividual private entrepreneur, andstipulated procedures foropening aforeign
company 'sbranch office inEstonia. TheCommercial Register wastobekept bylocal citycourts.
Enterprises setupunder previous legislation, notmeeting therequirements ofthenewCode, would
need toberestructured orterminated by1September 1997. Stricter mandatory capital requirements
would apply from 1September 1999. TheCommercial Code didnotcontain anyprovision which
would beinconsistent with thenational treatment principle.
Market Access Negotiations
27. Therepresentative ofEstonia presented aninitial offer formarket access negotiations ongoods
inApril 1995 andsubmitted aRevised General Offer forMarket Access Negotiations onGoods in
August 1995. Anoffer ondomestic support andexport subsidies inagriculture wascirculated to
members oftheWorking Party inSeptember 1995. Anumber ofmembers entered intomarket access
negotiations with Estonia. Theconcessions onimported andexported goods andthecommitments
inagriculture agreed between Estonia andmembers oftheWorking Party areannexed totheProtocol
ofAccession ofEstonia which isreproduced intheAppendix tothisReport. Asindicated inthe
conclusions ofthisReport, theWorking Party took noteofthemarket access commitments ofEstonia.
1. Import Regulations
Customs Tariff
Customs Duties
28. Noting that thecurrent absence ofacustoms tariff demonstrated Estonia 'sfree trade
determination, some members oftheWorking Party commended thesuccessful andeffective outcome
ofEstonia 'sfreetrade policies andhoped thatEstonia would continue topursue these same sound and
progressive policies inthefuture. Some members also asked Estonia toprovide details about theWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 13
imposition ofcustoms duties andthecriteria forapplication ofzero andnon-zero rates. Amember
expressed concern about Estonia 'sintentions inthisarea andrequested further clarification, noting
thattheEstonian authorities haddrafted aLaw onCustoms Tariff although thedraft lawapparently
remained unadopted. This member requested thatthedraft lawbeprovided totheWorking Party for
review andcomment.
29. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatcustoms duties hadnotbeen required sofarsince prices
oflocal resources hadyettoreach theapproximate international level. Hereaffirmed thefreetrade
orientation ofhiscountry noting, however, thatEstonia would reserve theright toimpose customs
duties inthefuture, infullconsistency with itsconcessions andcommitments asamember oftheWTO.
Aceiling tariff binding would offer Estonia thesame regulatory opportunities inexternal trade asits
main trading partners. Therefore, Estonia would prefer tobind itstariffs atlevels comparable tothe
averagedutylevelsprevailinginWTOMembersinlinewiththeagreementsandcommitmentsonmarket
accessachievedintheUruguayRound.TherepresentativeofEstoniaaddedthat,atpresent,theEstonian
Government hadnoplan toimpose anymore import duties than those fortheimports offurs(16%),
seascooters, small vessels andsnow-scooters (10%), andtheexports ofvintage carspresenting acultural
value (100%) asprovided forinGovernment Decree No.200of10July 1993. Should there beany
need forfurther legal instruments, Estonia took thecommitment toapply these inaWTO-consistent
manner. Headded thattheLaw onCustoms Tariffs wasstillintheprocess ofdrafting andaspecial
expert group hadbeen established inorder tofinalise thedrafting. Estonia would provide atranslated
copy ofthedraft lawassoon aspossible. However, asthere were nosignificant tariffs inEstonia,
hisGovernment could nottake thecommitment thatthislawwould beamong thecountry 'sfirst
priorities. Itwasnotpossible tomake anypredictions astowhen theEstonian Parliament would adopt
aLaw onCustoms Tariffs.
30. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthathisGovernment undertook thecommitment toensure
thattheCustoms Tariff Law would comply with theprovisions oftheWTO. TheWorking Party took
note ofthiscommitment.
Other Duties andCharges
31. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thatEstonia levied noduties andcharges onimports other
than ordinary customs duties andcharges forservices rendered. Heconfirmed thatEstonia would
bind allduties andcharges, other thantheordinary customs duties, listed initsgoods schedule annexedWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 14
toitsProtocol ofAccession under Article II.1(b) oftheGATT 1994, atzero. TheWorking Party
took note ofthiscommitment.
Fees andCharges forServices Rendered
32. SomemembersoftheWorkingPartynotedthatEstoniahadappliedanadvaloremtaxtocustoms
clearance operations andquestioned whether therevised feewascommensurate with theapproximate
costs oftheservices rendered asprovided forinArticle VIII oftheGATT 1994. Estonia wasalso
asked toprovide details ontheexemptions from thefee.
33. TherepresentativeofEstoniainformedtheWorkingPartythat,asof1April1995,a0.5percent
customs procedure taxhadbeen replaced byaflatfeepercustoms declaration. Therepresentative
ofEstonia confirmed thatafixed feeofEEK 200perimport andexport declaration wascharged as
acustoms declaration feeandthatthiswastheonly feeorcharge forservices rendered currently in
force. Thefeewascollected bytheNational Customs Board asaprocedure feecovering thecostof
customs formalities.
34. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatthefeerelated only tothecostofcustoms processing,
and represented some 8.4percent ofallrevenue collected byEstonian Customs during
January-September 1996; other revenue wasderived from excise taxes (91.6 percent) andcustoms
duties (0.1 percent). Thefeewaslevied onimports from alltrading partners, butnotontransit trade
orgoods incustoms warehouses, goods declared byphysical persons, orpreliminary declarations.
Also exempt were goods forofficial usebyforeign diplomatic representations, consular representations
orinternational organizations; printed matter and information carriers addressed tolibraries;
irrecoverable economic aid; andhumanitarian aidreceived bytheEstonian RedCross.
35. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatthecustoms declaration feedescribed inparagraphs
33and34wasapplied onanon-discriminatory basis totrade with allEstonia 'strading partners. He
furtherconfirmedthat,fromthedateofaccession,Estoniawouldnotreintroduceanadvaloremcustoms
fee. Thecustoms declaration feewould beapplied inconformity with WTO obligations, inparticular
Articles VIII andXoftheGATT 1994. Thelevel oftheapplied feewould notexceed thecostof
processing individual import andexport declarations, revenues from thefeewould beused solely for
customs processing ofimports andexports, andtotal annual revenue from collection ofthefeewould
notexceed thecostofcustoms processing operations fortheitems subject tothefees. InformationWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 15
regarding theapplication andlevel ofthefee,revenues collected andtheir use, would beprovided
toWTO members upon request. TheWorking Party took note ofthese commitments.
Application ofinternal taxes toimports
Excise taxes
36. SomemembersoftheWorkingPartynotedthattheexcisetaxesforcertaindomesticandimported
tobacco products andalcoholic beverages were different. These members requested Estonia tophase
outallmeasures inconsistent with Article IIIoftheGATT 1994. Some members alsoquestioned the
conformity ofEstonia 'sexcise taxonautomobiles with Articles III,VIIandVIII oftheGATT 1994
andtheWTO Agreement onCustoms Valuation andrequested details about thenewtaxrégime. Estonia
wasalsoasked toprovide details onexcise taxexemptions. Amember held theview thatexcise tax
exemptions forsmall domestic producers ofbeer (annual domestic production notexceeding
5,000 dekalitres) andofwine (annual production notexceeding 1,000 dekalitres), andtheexemption
from theexcise taxonsecond-hand motor vehicles fordomestically-owned carswere inconsistent with
thenational treatment provision ofArticle IIIoftheGATT 1994. Inhisview, Estonia would need
tochange itsexcise taxlegislation tobring itintoconformity with Article IIIoftheGATT 1994.
37. Therepresentative ofEstonia described therates ofexcise taxapplied in1996 ontobacco,
petroleum products, alcohol andmotor vehicles (Tables 3and4).These taxlevels were considered
optimal andnoreductions were foreseen upon accession totheWTO. Estonia confirmed thattheLaw
onAlcohol Excise Taxprovided exemptions from excise taxforvery small-scale producers whose
annual production ofbeer didnotexceed 5,000 dekalitres orwhose annual production ofwine did
notexceed 1,000 dekalitres. These exemptions were necessary tomaintain national traditions inthe
rural areas ofEstonia. Thebeer andwine produced insuch small quantities were consumed locally
onavery limited area. These exemptions were considered tobemeasures ofregional development.
Theproduction ofsuch breweries andwineries wasnotsignificant intheframework ofthetotaldomestic
production ofbeerandwine. Fortobacco products, theexcise rates were equalized on1January 1996
bybringing taxes ondomestic products uptothelevel applied toimports. According toamendments
totheLaw onAlcohol Excise Tax, theexcise rates ondomestic andimported beer would beequalized
on1December 1996. However, small-scale producers ofbeer-producers with annual production not
exceeding 300,000 dekalitres -were subject toalower rateofexcise duty asaregional development
measure. Thesmall scale producers covered only 9%oftheEstonian domestic beermarket. Anexcise
duty of16percentonfursandfurproducts, levied only ondomestic producers, hadbeen eliminated.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 16
Table 3
Excise Taxes inEstonia
Tariff Heading, subheading Product description Tax rate (EEK)
2204 10110-2204 21101,
2204 21110-2204 21840,
2204 29105, 2204 29129, 2204 29139,
2204 29179, 2204 29189, 2204 29429,
2204 29439, 2204 29449, 2204 29469,
2204 29479, 2204 29489, 2204 29589,
2204 29629, 2204 29649, 2204 29659,
2204 29719, 2204 20729, 2204 29759,
2204 29819, 2204 29829, 2204 29839,
2204 29849, 2205 10101, 2205 90103.1.Sparkling wines and
other wines offresh
grapes with analcoholic
content byvolume upto
15%10.40*
2204 29101, 2204 29121, 2204 29131,
2204 29171, 2204 29181, 2204 29421,
2204 29431, 2204 29441, 2204 29461,
2204 29471, 2204 29481, 2204 29581,
2204 29621, 2204 29641, 2204 29651,
2204 29711, 2204 29721, 2204 29751,
2204 29811, 2204 29821, 2204 29831,
2204 29841, 2205 90101-unbottled wines of
fresh grapes8.00*
2204 21109, 2204 21870-2204 21990,
2204 29109, 2204 29879, 2204 29889,
2204 29899, 2204 29919, 2204 29929,
2204 29939, 2204 29949, 2204 29959,
2204 29969, 2204 29979, 2204 29989,
2204 29999, 2205 10109-2205 10900,
2205 90109, 2205 90902.2.Sparkling wines and
other wines offresh
grapes with analcoholic
content byvolume
exceeding 15%15.60*
2204 29103, 2204 29871, 2204 29881,
2204 29891, 2204 29911, 2204 29921,
2204 29931, 2204 29941, 2204 29951,
2204 29961, 2204 29971, 2204 29981,
2204 29991, 2205 90105, 2205 90901.-unbottled wines of
fresh grapes12.50*
2206 00100-2206 00510
2206 005913.Other fermented
drinks (e.g. cider,
berry, wine etc.) and
their blends:4.90*
2206 00810
2206 008911)with analcoholic
content byvolume upto
15%vol.4.90*
2206 00592
2206 008922)with analcoholic
content byvolume
exceeding 15%vol.6.50*
ex2207 10000
2208
2106 90200
3302 101004.Other alcohol 1.15**WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 17
Tariff Heading, subheading Product description Tax rate (EEK)
ex2207 10000
ex2208 90910
ex2208 909905.Rectified spirits
used inmedicine,
pharmaceutics,
veterinary medicine for
scientific andstudy
purposes, theproduction
ofperfumery0.20**
*perlitre
**perone%vol. ofabsolute alcohol alitre
Beer until
1/12/96
(EEK)from
1/12/96
(EEK)
2203 00019
2203 00099
2203 009091)with analcoholic
content byvolume upto
4.7%vol.incase of
annual production in
thousands ofdekalitres:
upto300(incl.)
over 3001.50*
2.00*2.00*
2.50
2203 00011
2203 00091
2203 009012)with analcoholic
content byvolume
exceeding 4.7%vol.in
case ofannual
production inthousands
ofdekalitres:
upto300(incl.)
over 3002.00*
2.50*2.50*
3.00*
5. Imported beer: After
2203 00019
2203 00099
2203 009091)with analcoholic
content byvolume upto
4.7%vol.6.00* 1/12/96
noseparate
excise tax
exists on
imported
beer. Both
domestic
and
imported
beer will
becovered
bythe
same
excise rate2203 00001
2203 00091
2203 009012)with analcoholic
content byvolume
exceeding 4.7%vol.9.00*
*perlitreWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 18
Tariff Heading, subheading Product description Tax rate (EEK)
Motor Fuel
2710 00271, 2710 00272
2710 00290, 2710 00320
2710 00341, 2710 00342
2710 00343, 2710 00344Petrol 1.20 EEK perlitre
2710 00691 Diesel Oil 0.75 EEK perlitre
2710 00510, 2710 00260
2710 00370Aviation petrol and
gasoline1.50 EEK perlitre
2711 12940, 2711 12960
2711 12980, 2711 13910
2711 13930, 2711 13980Liquid gasused as
motor fuel0.75 EEK perlitre
2711 21000 Compressed gasused as
motor fuel0.75 EEK perm3
2710 00871 Motor oil 0.15 EEK perlitre
Tobacco products (EEK)
2402 20 Filtered cigarettes 3*
2402 20 Unfiltered cigarettes 3*
2402 20 Russian cigarettes 3*
2402 10001 Cigarillos 3*
2402 10009 Cigars 3**
2403 10 Smoking tobacco 3***
2403 99100 Snuff 3***
2403 99100 Chewing tobacco 3***
2402 90000, 2403 99900 Other tobacco products 3***
* applies toupto20cigarettes orcigarillos; apackage containing 21-40cigarettes or
cigarillos ismarked with tworevenue stamps etc.
** applies toonecigar
*** applies toupto50grams ofatobacco product; apackage containing 51-100grams
ofatobacco product ismarked with tworevenue stamps etc.
38. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatexcise taxes onalcoholic beverages were notcollected
ondomesticallyproducedalcoholexportedbythemanufacturerdirectlyorthroughacustomswarehouse;
supplies tomaritime orairtransport vessels engaging inforeign travel; temporary importation by
foreign juridical persons oflimited amounts ofalcohol forfairs andexhibitions; alcohol tobeincluded
inadatabase onproducer brands; andalcohol imported forofficial functions under diplomatic status.
Theexcise taxonwines distinguished between bulkandbottled imports toencourage bottling andfurther
processing inEstonia. However, thehigher rateapplied onsales ofdomestically bottled wines. ImportedWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 19
alcohol wastaxed upon importation while domestic manufacturers paid thetaxatthetime ofsale,
exchange, freetransfer orown consumption.
39. Concerning thetaxation ofautomobiles, aMember saidthattheexemption ofused domestically
owned automobiles from theexcise taxonused automobiles wasinconsistent with Article IIIofthe
GATT 1994 andshould bechanged tobring intoconformity. Inresponse, therepresentative ofEstonia
referred totheLaw onMotor Vehicle Excise Tax, inforce since 1April 1995, replacing a10percent
import taxwhich hadbeen levied inaccordance with original invoices forlegal persons andavaluation
listfornatural persons inorder toavoid fraud. Thenew system taxed vehicles infixed amounts
according tovehicle ageandengine cylinder capacity. According totheLaw onMotor Vehicle Excise
Tax, theexcise taxwasimposed onmotor vehicles imported intoEstonia andmanufactured inEstonia.
There were nomanufactures ofmotor vehicles inEstonia except thatbuses were assembled insmall
quantities. Atpresent there were nosales ofdomestically produced new orused motor vehicles.
According totheLaw, ifthere would bemanufactures ofmotor vehicles, they would paytheexcise
taxupon sale, exchange, gratuitous transfer orself-consumption ofmotor vehicles. Resale ofsuch
motor vehicles byabuyer wasnotsubject totheexcise tax. Thesame treatment applied totheresale
ofimported motor vehicles. Estonia considered thattheLaw onMotor Vehicle Excise Taxwasin
conformity with Article IIIofGATT 1994 because imported motor vehicles were treated asfavourably
asdomestically produced motor vehicles. Thetaxwaspaid bytheimporter upon importation and
bydomestic manufactures upon thesaleofthevehicle.
40. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatallnewmotor vehicles andused motor vehicles imported
intoEstonia were subject toexcise tax. Theexcise taxwasimposed onthefirstownership ofamotor
vehicle inEstonia, andthetaxwould bereflected inthedomestic market price forsubsequent owners.
Theexcise taxwasdesigned toencourage importation ofmodern vehicles. Inorder toexplain how
excise duties onautomobiles were calculated anexample wasincluded inTable 4.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 20
Table 4
Motor Vehicles
Tariff Heading,
subheadingProduct description Tax rate (EEK)
1.Excise taxbased onthecylinder capacity ofmotor vehicles
8703 Motor carsandother motor vehicles principally
designed forthetransport ofpersons (other than
those ofheading No.8702), including station
wagons andracing cars:
8703 10 Motor vehicles specially designed fortravelling on
snow; golfcarsandsimilar vehicles1EEK/cc
Other vehicles, with spark-ignition internal
combustion reciprocating piston engine ofa
cylinder capacity:
8703 21 notexceeding 1,000 cc 1EEK/cc
8703 22 exceeding 1,000 ccbutnot1,500 cc 1EEK/cc
8703 23 exceeding 1,500 ccbutnot3,000 cc 1EEK/cc
8703 24 exceeding 3,000 cc 3EEK/cc
Other vehicles with compression-ignition internal
combustion piston engine (diesel orsemi-diesel) of
acylinder capacity:1EEK/cc
8703 31 notexceeding 1,500 cc 1EEK/cc
8703 32 exceeding 1,500 ccbutnot2,500 cc 1EEK/cc
8703 33 exceeding 2,500 cc 1EEK/cc
8711
(except under
subheading 8711 90)Motorcycles (including mopeds) andcycles fitted
with anauxiliary motor, with orwithout side-cars;
side-cars1EEK/cc
2.Excise taxonused motor vehicles based ontheageofthemotor vehicle
ofupto12years ofage 100EEK/year
from 13years ofage 150EEK/year
3.Excise taxonnew motor vehicles 1000 EEK
Example:
Aused automobile, cylinder capacity 2000cm3, age10years andprice according tothe
purchase documents is10000EEK:
10000-price according tothepurchase documents
2000-excise taxonthebasis ofthecylinder capacity
1000-excise taxonthebasis ofage
13000
2340-VAT (18% from 13000)
15340-price forimporter after importationWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 21
41. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthattheLaw onStamp Duty established revenue stamps,
issued against payment oftaxes bytheNational TaxBoard atnoextra charge, forgoods subject to
excises. Atpresent theStamp Duty concerned only imported anddomestically produced tobacco
products.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
42. Some members ofWorking Party requested information ontheapplication ofthevalue-added
tax,including product anduser-specific exemptions andequal treatment forimported anddomestic
products. Questions were alsoraised regarding thecalculation oftheVAT onmotor vehicles.
43. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatthevalue-added taxatan18percent ratewas
applied equally todomestic goods andtoallimports regardless ofcountry oforigin. VAT onmotor
vehicles imported bynatural persons hadbeen based onastandard valuation listuntil theexcise tax
system waschanged on1April 1995. Healsoconfirmed thattheexemptions forcertain goods and
servicesfromtheVATwereappliedequallytodomesticandimportedgoodsandservices.Thefollowing
goods andservices were exempt from VAT: education andadvanced training, postal services, medical
services, banking andinsurance, funeral services andmaterials, gambling andlotteries, rents, medical
equipment, treatment ofdangerous waste and,since February 1995, reusable packaging andmunicipal
sauna services. Exports, subscriptions toperiodicals published andprinted inEstonia, andtheatre
tickets hadzero-rate VAT. Theturnover ofgoods such asmedicines, medical goods, medical treatment
equipment andlottery tickets wastaxfreeandimports fornon-profit purposes were taxexempt. Imports
required forofficial purposes offoreign representations anddiplomats were notsubject toVAT provided
thatforeign country granted thesame right toEstonia 'srepresentations abroad.
44. Noting thatcertain legal entities with aturnover below EEK 250,000 were notregistered as
obligatory payers ofVAT, amember questioned therationale forthisprovision anditsconformity
with Article IIIoftheGATT 1994. Inhisview, thisexemption would appear toconstitute asubsidy
program forsales ofdomestic goods bysmall Estonian businesses since imports were assessed for
theVAT inanycaseupon importation. Estonia should revise itslegislation inthenearterm orpropose
amethod bywhich thedeficiencies identified initsexcise taxandVAT application would beaddressed.
Therepresentative ofEstonia replied thatlegal persons whose taxable base (except imports) exceeded
thethreshold value ofEEK 250,000 inacalendar year were obliged toregister with theTaxBoard
aspersons liable totaxation. Legal persons with ataxable base below thethreshold value could also
seek registration asliable totaxation attheTaxBoard. Inhisview, non-registration didnotamountWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 22
toasubsidy program forsmall Estonian companies forsales ofdomestic goods andservices since only
registered taxpayers could claim arefund forVAT paid ongoods andservices used asinputs intheir
production.
45. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed that, asofthedateofaccession totheWTO, theonly
domestic taxes applied toimports would beexcise taxes andvalue added tax. Hefurther stated that,
from thedateofaccession, anyapplication toimports ofdomestic taxes orother internal charges of
anykind would beinaccordance with theprovisions oftheWTO, including Article IIIofthe
GATT 1994. TheWorking Party took note ofthese commitments.
Quantitative Import Restrictions, including Prohibitions, Quotas andLicensing Systems
46. Some members oftheWorking Party sought information about thescope of"Licences of
Activity" andalsocriteria inthegranting oflicences andrelated requirements; licensing arrangements
fortrade inmetals, spirits, tobacco andtobacco products, medicaments, weapons, ammunition, and
explosives; andtheuseofquantitative restrictions. Some members expressed theconcern thatunder
certain circumstances theconditions ofsaleofimported products could beaffected inamanner not
consistent with Article IIIoftheGATT 1994, forinstance, trade inalcohol andtobacco required a
preliminarydeclaration.AmemberwasconcernedthatEstonia'slicensingsystemcouldbediscretionary
andrequested thatthedraft Licensing Law beprovided totheWorking Party.
47. TherepresentativeofEstoniasaidthatlicensingwasnotappliedtorestrictimports,theproduction
orthewholesale ofanyproduct. The"preliminary declaration" requirement simply implied thatall
customs procedures andformalities needed tobecompleted before goods could cross theborder.
48. IndocumentWT/ACC/EST/9(AnnexII),therepresentativeofEstoniaprovidedtheinformation
onimport licensing procedures according totheformat applicable toWTO Members. Hestressed
thatgeneral government policy wastomaintain aliberal economic policy andtoreduce theareas of
activity subject tolicensing. Henoted thatEstonia considered thelicensing arrangements tobeconsistent
with theWTO Import Licensing Agreement. Initssubmission, Estonia listed 41economic activities
inwhich operators needed a"Licence ofActivity" forproduction and/or trade, valid foruptofive
years, andthecorresponding regulatory authority (Table 5).Among thejustifications listed were safety
(e.g. medicaments); atechnological level adequate tocomply withcompulsory standards (e.g. alcoholic
beverages); registration requirements toprevent threats tosecurity andtheenvironment (e.g. firearms
andvehicles); andregistration andaccounting requirements fortaxpurposes (alcoholic beverages,WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 23
tobacco, metals, etc.). Thecriteria fortheissuing oflicences were published intheofficial journal
"Riigi Teataja" (State Gazette). Thenumber oflicences wasnotrestricted. Licences were granted
tonational andforeign operators under equal conditions. Ineach licensed sector identical criteria,
objectively neutral andsystematically administered, were applied regarding importation, exportation
anddomestic trade. Anexpired licence could berenewed orreplaced byanew valid licence.
49. Therepresentative ofEstonia explained thatEstonia intended toestablish ageneral framework
forlicensing which would ensure conformity with WTO provisions. Activity licences hadsofarbeen
established under different regulations; anewLicensing Actwould beelaborated in1997 toregulate
activity licences. Nofurther areas would besubject tolicensing while thenewlawwasinpreparation.
Thelicensing legislation wasstillsubject tointernal discussion between Government agencies. A
translated textwould beprovided tointerested WTO Members assoon aspossible.
50. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thattheimportation ofproducts covered byactivity licences
weresubjectonlytorequirementsconsistentwiththeWTOAgreement.Heconfirmedthatnorestrictions
existed ontheright offoreign anddomestic individuals andenterprises toimport andexport goods
andservices within Estonia 'scustoms territory, withtheexception ofthose specifically listed inTable 5.
Thecriteria forengaging inimport andexport trade intherestricted sectors were consistent with
generally applicable restrictions placed ontrade insimilar domestically produced goods andbased on
criteria published intheofficial journal. Theavailability ofactivity licences wasnotrestricted nor
wasthelicensing applied torestrict imports, theproduction, wholesale orretail trade inanyproduct.
51. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatEstonia applied noquotas, licences, prior permits
orother requirements ormeasures thatcould actasquantitative restrictions onimports orexports.
Balance ofpayments measures were notenvisaged atthepresent stage. Therepresentative ofEstonia
confirmed thatactivity licensing relating tothetrade ingoods wascarried outfully inlinewith the
WTO Agreements, including theAgreements onImport Licensing Procedures andArticles VIII and
XIoftheGATT 1994. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed that, from thedateofaccession, Estonia
would notintroduce, re-introduce orapply quantitative restrictions onimports, orother non-tariff
measures such aslicensing, quotas, bans andother restrictions having equivalent effect thatcould not
bejustified under theprovisions oftheWTO Agreement. Ifbalance-of-payment measures were ever
necessary inthefuture, Estonia would impose them inamanner consistent with therelevant WTO
provisions, including Article XIIoftheGATT 1994 andtheUnderstanding onBalance-of-Payments
Provisions oftheGATT 1994. TheWorking Party took note ofthese commitments.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 24
Customs Valuation
52. Some members oftheWorking Party asked about thestatus oftheCustoms Valuation Law
anditscontent. Relating therequest forinformation toEstonia 'simplementation oftheWTO Agreement
ontheImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994, these members enquired whether Estonia 's
Customs Valuation Law wasfully consistent with theWTO Agreement. Amember understood that
Estonia wasconsidering legislation which could provide forminimum prices onimportation ofcertain
food products andquestioned theconformity ofsuch legislation withGATT rules. Estonia alsoappeared
touseprice listsofreference prices toverify invoices.
53. Therepresentative ofEstonia explained thattheCustoms Valuation Law hadbeen adopted
on8February 1995 andhadentered intoforce on1January 1996. Thedelay hadbeen necessary
toundertake preparatory work foritsimplementation, including practical arrangements such asthe
printing ofdocuments, thetraining ofcustoms officers, informing traders, etc. Estonia considered
theLawtobeinfullconformity withWTO rules, including theWTO Agreement ontheImplementation
ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994.
54. Estonia 'sresponse tothequestionnaire on"Information onImplementation andAdministration
oftheAgreement"wassubmittedinAugust1995(WT/ACC/EST/4,annexes1and6,listedindocument
WT/ACC/EST/5). The representative ofEstonia wasasked toclarify provisions intheCustoms
Valuation Lawrelating totheuseoftransaction value between related parties (Article 4(3)); verification
oftransaction values between related parties based ontestvalues (Articles 4(5)(4) and(5)); anda
reference tominimum customs values inArticle 9(2)(4) oftheLaw. Estonia wasalsoasked about
theimplementation ofDecision 4.1oftheCustoms Valuation Committee concerning thevaluation of
carrier media bearing software fordata processing equipment (theSoftware Decision).
55. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatEstonia hadintroduced theprovisions oftheSoftware
Decision. Adecree, issued bytheMinistry ofFinance on11January 1996, stipulated thatonly the
costofthecarrier medium itself would beaccounted forinthecustoms value. Hestated thatthevalue
ofimportedmerchandisewasdeterminedinconformitywithGATTArticleVII(2)(a)alsointransactions
between related parties; testvalues were used fortheverification ofthedeclared value with theactual
value only attherequest oftheimporter.
56. Therepresentative ofEstonia assured members oftheWorking Party thattheLaw onCustoms
Valuation would beapplied infullconformity with theWTO Agreement ontheImplementation ofWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 25
Article VIIoftheGATT 1994. Inaddition, heconfirmed thatArticle 9(2)(4) oftheLaw would be
applied consistent with Article VII(Valuation forCustoms Purposes). Hestressed thatArticle 9(2)(4)
oftheCustoms Valuation Law prohibited thesetting upofminimum import values. Therepresentative
ofEstonia confirmed thatEstonia didnotuseanyform ofreference price orfixed valuation schedule
forthevaluation ofimports ortoapply duties andtaxes, andthatallmethods ofvaluation used were
instrict conformity withthose provided forintheWTO Agreement ontheImplementation ofArticle VII
oftheGATT 1994.
57. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatEstonia would apply fully theWTO provisions
concerning customs valuation from thedateofaccession, including, inaddition totheAgreement on
theImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994, theprovisions fortheValuation ofCarrier Media
BearingSoftwareforDataProcessingEquipmentandtheprovisionsontheTreatmentofInterestCharges
inCustoms Value ofImported Goods. Hefurther confirmed that, asaninternational agreement, the
provisions oftheWTO Agreement ontheImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994 would
supersede domestic lawafter accession. TheWorking Party took note ofthese commitments.
Other Customs Formalities
58. TherepresentativeofEstoniaconfirmedthatothercustomsformalitieswereappliedinaccordance
with internationally accepted rules andwere based ontheKyoto Convention. Headded thatEstonia
wasamember oftheWorld Customs Organization since June 1992.
Rules ofOrigin
59. Some members oftheWorking Party requested information about theelaboration ofrules of
origin inEstonia whether inthecontext offreetrade agreements orotherwise. Amember requested
Estonia toconfirm thatitsrules oforigin forboth preferential andnon-preferential trade complied
fully with theWTO Agreement onRules ofOrigin. Estonia wasasked todescribe, inparticular,
measures consistent withthedisciplines under Article 2oftheAgreement andtheCommon Declaration
inAnnex IIoftheAgreement.
60. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatthedrafting ofrules oforigin wasacontinuous process
evolving inaccordance with developments intheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin oftheWTO.
Duetotheliberal foreign trade régime theelaboration ofnational rules oforigin hadnotbeen considered
essential inEstonia, butagreed rules oforigin were used intheframework offreetrade agreements.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 26
Estonia applied unified rules oforigin within thesystem ofdiagonal cumulative origin among the
countriesoftheEuropeanEconomicArea,Switzerlandandtenassociatedcountriesincentralandeastern
Europe. TheEstonian authorities envisaged theelaboration ofalawonrules oforigin along thelines
ofexisting rules oforigin inpreferential trade agreements andthesuggestions anddecisions ofthe
Committee onRules ofOrigin oftheWorld Customs Organization andtheWTO Agreement onRules
ofOrigin. Members oftheWorking Party were supplied copies oftherules oforigin ofEstonia 's
freetradeagreementswithEFTAcountries;theEuropeanUnion,theUkraineandthetrilateralfree-trade
agreement with Latvia andLithuania.
Anti-Dumping, Countervailing Duties, andSafeguard Régimes
61. Some members oftheWorking Party noted thatEstonia appeared nottohave anyspecific anti-
dumping legislation, butthatanAnti-dumping Law, including countervailing duties procedures, was
inpreparation. Inview oftheuncertainty regarding thedate ofentry intoforce ofsuch alawand
itscontent, Estonia wasasked tosubmit draft legislation forcomment tomembers oftheWorking
Party.
62. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed that, atthispoint, Estonia didnothave legal authority
toapply anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, andsafeguards, andtherefore didnotusethese
measures toregulate trade. Healsoclarified thatwhile price dumping wasmentioned among abuses
ofdominant position inChapter III,Article 17oftheLaw onCompetition, thelisted unfair trade
practices intheActdidnotoverlap with anypending anti-dumping statute. Headded thatnotextof
anyAnti-dumping Law existed yet.
63. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatintheelaboration ofanylegislation concerning anti-
dumping duties, countervailing duties andsafeguards, Estonia would ensure their fullconformity with
therelevant WTO provisions, including Articles VIandXIX ofGATT 1994 andtheAgreements on
theImplementation ofArticle VI,theAgreement onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures andthe
Agreement onSafeguards. Estonia would alsoapply anyanti-dumping duties, countervailing duties
andsafeguard measures infullconformity with theWTO provisions. TheWorking Party took note
ofthese commitments.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 27
2. Export Regulations
Customs Tariffs, Fees andCharges forServices Rendered, Application ofInternal Taxes toExports
64. Some members oftheWorking Party noted thatEstonia applied export taxes onmetals and
objects ofcultural value andasked foradescription andjustification ofthese taxes. Inresponse, the
representative ofEstonia replied thata100percentexport taxwaslevied onobjects ofcultural value,
i.e.dating from before 1950. Prices forobjects ofcultural value destined forexport were determined
bytheExpert Division onExportation ofCultural Values oftheCentral Board ofAntiquities. Export
taxesonmetalshadbeenabolished,butexportswerestrictlycontrolledthroughthelicensingofexporters
andaState monopoly onscrap metal exports.
Export Restrictions
65. Noting thattheMinistry ofEconomic Affairs hadtheright toimpose export quotas oncertain
goods, some members oftheWorking Party asked therepresentative ofEstonia toclarify licensing
arrangements affecting trade inmetals, spirits, tobacco products andmedicaments andtojustify export
quotas/licences ongravel andclay. Some members alsosought clarification onEstonia 'sintentions
regarding theuseofnon-tariff measures onexports foremergency purposes. Therepresentative of
Estonia replied thattheMinistry ofEconomic Affairs 'right todetermine export quotas hadbeen
eliminated. Thelastremaining export quota (onquartz sand) hadbeen abolished andEstonia didnot
foresee anyfurther quantitative regulation offoreign trade. Astheexport quota/licence ongravel and
clayhadbeen terminated on1January 1995, nojustification would berequired under GATT orWTO
provisions andEstonia would seek notransitional period forthismeasure. Export andimport licences
assuch didnotexist, buthereferred totheearlier response regarding "Licence ofActivity" (in
paragraph 48above). Headded thatEstonia would notapply regulations onexports beyond WTO
mechanisms. Export control measures (licences) onscrap metal andradioactive waste material did
notcarry anylimitation ofquantity. Licences were issued automatically provided theapplicant could
prove thatthegoods hadbeen obtained legally. Failure todosocould constitute acriminal offence.
66. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatallexport quotas hadbeen abolished. Hefurther
confirmed thattheexport control measures would beconsistent with Article XXandArticle XXI of
theGATT 1994 andtheadministration ofsuch measures would beinfullconformity withthese articles.
Healsoconfirmed thatcurrent export control measures onscrap metal andradioactive waste material
were ofatemporary nature, inconsistency with Article XXandArticle XXI oftheGATT 1994, andWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 28
theadministration ofthese measures would beinfullconformity with these articles. TheWorking
Party took note ofthiscommitment.
Export Subsidies
67. SomemembersoftheWorkingPartysoughtinformationaboutsubsidies,includingtaxincentives
related toexports, theactivities oftheExport Credit Fund, theconsideration ofwide ranging useof
exportincentives,andexistingorplannedmeasurestotacklemarketdisturbancesorbalance-of-payments
problems. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatnotaxincentives, including taxholidays, existed
topromote exports. Heconfirmed thatloans from theExport Credit Fund carried 12to16percent
annual interest, comparable tothecommercial interest rates of12to18percentineffect forshort-term
loans inEstonia in1996. Plans existed todevelop theFund intoanExport Credit andGuarantee Board
which would receive theinitial capital injection from theNational Budget. Estonia would notconsider
wide ranging export incentives, but,duetoanincreasingly negative trade balance, hadtheintention
tointroduce moderate export incentive schemes. Enterprise- orsector-specific subsidies were not
envisaged; theschemes would beofhorizontal nature andallocations would bebased onobjective
economic criteria. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thattheincentives schemes would beapplied
inconformity with WTO requirements.
68. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thatEstonia didnotmaintain anyexport subsidies which
metthedefinition ofaprohibited subsidy within themeaning ofArticle 3oftheAgreement onSubsidies
andCountervailing Measures, andwould therefore notinvoke theprovisions intheAgreement that
provide fortheprogressive elimination ofsuch measures within afixed period oftime. TheWorking
Party took note ofthiscommitment.
3. Internal Policies Affecting Foreign Trade inGoods
Industrial Policy, including Subsidies
69. SomemembersoftheWorkingPartyrequesteddetailsonanysubsidiestoprivateorState-owned
enterprises andasked whether Estonia maintained anyindustry support tobenotified inaccordance
with theAgreement onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures. Some members alsoasked Estonia
tostate itsattitude regarding future resort tosubsidies inthepursuit ofindustrial policy andclarification
oftheintention torestore historical trade links.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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70. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthattherestoration ofhistorical trade links would involve
freeandbalanced economic links with countries offering Estonia thebestpossibilities andrealpotential
formutually beneficial economic partnership. Estonia considered financial support provided byits
Innovation Fund tobeinlinewith criteria established byArticle 8.2(a)oftheAgreement onSubsidies
andCountervailing Measures. TheLaw onState Support forEntrepreneurship regulated State support
tosmall andmedium sized enterprises. Support -loans andloan guarantees -were made available
from funds managed byaneleven-member Council. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thathis
Government would notify itsInnovation Fund upon entry intoforce ofEstonia 'sProtocol ofAccession.
TheWorking Party took note ofthiscommitment.
Technical Barriers toTrade, Sanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
71. Some members oftheWorking Party inquired about theapplication ofinternational andnational
standards inEstonia andthecompliance withvarious provisions oftheAgreement onTechnical Barriers
toTrade (TBT) andonSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures (SPS). Regarding agriculture, some
members asked about theobjectives oftheFood Law andtheresort tosanitary andphytosanitary
measures, with particular reference toGovernment Regulations 300and340of1992.
72. Therepresentative ofEstonia supplied information ontechnical barriers totrade indocument
WT/ACC/EST/9 (Annex III)andanotification onsanitary andphytosanitary measures. Headded
thatatpresent nolegal actregulated theadoption andapplication ofstandards, andEstonia hadnot
concludedanyagreementwithothercountriesinthisarea.TheNationalStandardsBoardwasresponsible
forstandardization issues. Current Estonian standards were based onISOstandards andharmonized
regulations oftheEuropean Union andwere generally voluntary, except formandatory standards on
spirits (white vodka) andconstruction cement. Conformity assessments were organized inaccordance
with European requirements (EN 45000). Former USSR criteria, theso-called GOST standards,
remained temporarily valid insome areas butwere nolonger mandatory. Allstandards applied equally
todomestic andimported products. Acceptance offoreign certification wasbased ontheprinciple
ofmutual recognition between therelevant body inEstonia anditscounterpart inanother country.
TheNational Standards Board ofEstonia wasresponsible forstandardization issues. Draft standards
andregistration notices were published in"Standards oftheRepublic ofEstonia".
73. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthat"high quality" and"internationally competitive food"
were keyobjectives cited inEstonia 'sFood Law, which wastoserve asabasis forfurther legislation
regulating food handling, quality, safety, control andinspection. Estonia didnotenvisage theuseofWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 30
minimum import prices, butnon-automatic import licensing might beemployed inthepursuit offood
policy objectives. ANational Food Board hadbeen established todeal with allmatters concerning
food andnutrition policy.
74. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatborder controls onplants andplant products were
effected bytheState Plant Quarantine Inspection inaccordance with Government Regulation 300(of
17October1992)on"RegulationofarrangingphytosanitarycontrolontheStateborder"andamendments
tothisdone on19October 1992 (Regulation No.340) and31March 1995 (Regulation No.147) as
well astheLaw onPlant Protection andtheTemporary Regulation ontheState Control, Sale, Export
andImport oftheSeeds ofField Crops. Goods subject toveterinary controls, border check points,
requirements forveterinary certificates andtheprocedures forsettling claims were laiddown inaDecree
oftheMinister ofAgriculture of3August 1994 andGovernment Regulation No.17of10April 1995.
Theauthorities considered thehealth andsafety provisions oftheFood Law tobeconsistent with the
WTO Agreement onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures. TheFood Lawwould beamended toinclude
acceptance ofexporters 'certificates, issued inconformity with ISO9000 andEN45000, attheborder.
75. Some members oftheWorking Party noted thatEstonia hadadopted nolaws, regulations or
administrative procedures relating totheimplementation andadministration oftheWTO obligations
ontechnical barriers totrade andthatregulations concerning SPS were being developed. Intheir
view, these procedures should beenacted bythetime ofEstonia 'saccession totheWTO.
76. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatEstonia would provide copies ofdraft legislation related
totechnical barriers totrade andsanitary andphytosanitary measures toMembers forcomment. Noting
thatEstonia didnotyethave aspecific timetable forformulating andimplementing such legislation,
heconfirmed thatEstonia would eventually establish such legislation. Heconfirmed thatEstonia would
establish anEnquiry Point asrequired inArticle 10oftheWTO Agreement onTechnical Barriers
toTrade, andthatagencies drafting standards andconformity assessment orcertification procedures
would take into account existing international standards orguidelines prior todrafting domestic
legislation. These agencies would accept theCode ofGood Practice established inAnnex 3ofthe
TBT Agreement, notify WTO Members atthedraft stage andtakeintoaccount comments from WTO
Members before finalizing regulations. Estonia waspreparing anotification under Article 15.3 of
theTBT Agreement.
77. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed thatEstonia would apply allobligations under the
WTO Agreements onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures andTechnical Barriers toTrade from theWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 31
dateofaccession without recourse toanytransition period. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed
thatprocedures togrant licences toimport food would befinalized bytheendof1996 andwould be
infullconformity withtheprovisions oftheWTO Agreement onImport Licensing Procedures, notably
itsArticles 2,3and5.Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatlicences would notacttorestrict the
quantity ofimports; they would begranted automatically with theexceptions ofconditions related
tophytosanitary requirements. TheWorking Party took note ofthiscommitment.
Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)
78. With reference totrade related investment measures, therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed
thathisGovernment applied theprinciple ofnational treatment. HesaidthatEstonia didnotmaintain
anymeasuresinconsistentwiththeTRIMsAgreementandwouldnotinvokeprovisionsintheAgreement
thatprovidefortheprogressiveeliminationofsuchmeasureswithinafixedperiodoftime.TheWorking
Party took note ofthiscommitment.
State Trading
79. Some members oftheWorking Party noted thatasignificant portion ofEstonia 'soutput and
trade remained inState hands andthattobacco andalcohol hadbeen subject toState monopoly. Estonia
wasrequested tonotify under Article XVII anydefacto ordejuretrade monopoly andtrade activities
ofanyState-owned firm benefitting from selective support orsubject toState intervention.
80. Therepresentative ofEstonia replied thatfollowing extensive privatization State-owned firms
accounted forlessthan 5percent ofdomestic trade. Estonia notified under Article XVII ofthe
GATT 1994 initsInformation onState-trading (WT/ACC/EST/9 (Annex IV)) thataState monopoly
hadbeen established onscrap metal tocontrol metal trade forreasons consistent with Article XXI
(Security Exceptions). Thepurpose ofthescrap metal monopoly (EMEX) wastoprevent serious
crime; i.e.trade inmetal stolen from unguarded installations andconstruction sites. Such thefts had
caused extensive damage todomestic infrastructure, inparticular totheoperations ofEstonian Railways,
Estonian Energy andEstonian Telephone. The monopoly would also beused tocontrol trade in
radioactive scrap materials.
81. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated that, except forthemonopoly onexports ofmetal scrap,
noenterprises carried special orexclusive rights inEstonia. Heconfirmed thatthescrap metal monopoly
would beoperated inaccordance with therelevant provisions oftheWTO Agreements, includingWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 32
Articles XVII andXIoftheGATT 1994, andthatthemonopoly would beabolished with thereturn
tonormal conditions inthetrade ofmetal scrap inEstonia. Therepresentative ofEstonia further
confirmed that, intheapplication oflaws andregulations governing thetrading activities ofState-owned
enterprises andother enterprises with special andexclusive rights, hisGovernment would inall
circumstances actinfullconformity with theprovisions oftheWTO Agreements, inparticular
Article XVII oftheGATT 1994, including theUnderstanding onthatArticle, andArticle XIofthe
GATT 1994; aswellasArticle VIIIoftheGATS. TheWorking Party tooknoteofthese commitments.
Free Zones, Special Economic Areas
82. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatthere were currently nofreetrade zones inEstonia.
Government Procurement
83. Some members oftheWorking Party asked whether Estonia intended tojointheAgreement
onGovernment Procurement andrequested details about Estonia 'sprocurement legislation, itscoverage
anditsconformity with WTO principles. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthattheLaw onPublic
Procurement wasadopted inMay 1995 andentered intoforce on1January 1996. TheLaw wasin
linewith WTO provisions. TheGovernment hadestablished aPublic Procurement Board tocoordinate
andadminister public procurement activities. The legislation defined five principal methods of
procurement; open tender, two-stage tendering, negotiated tendering, request forquotations andsingle-
source procurement. Open tender implied thatanyinterested supplier could submit abidandno
negotiation would takeplace between theprocuring entity andanytenderer. Two-stage tendering would
beapplied when alltechnical andeconomic factors could notbeassessed apriori ortheprocurement
carried uncertainty regarding research anddevelopment costs. Negotiated tendering would beorganized
inprocurement involving State secrets orsubsequent toaninconclusive round ofopen tender (nobids
received oralltenders rejected). Theprocuring entity could request quotations when acompetitive
market existed fortheproduct tobepurchased andtheprocedure would result inoffers below thegoing
market price. Single-source procurement could only take place intheexistence ofsole suppliers,
extraordinary needs ortime pressure; asacontinuation ofprevious procurement contracts; when the
supplier would carry outresearch anddevelopment resulting inprototypes; orinprocurement involving
State secrets.
84. Therepresentative ofEstonia confirmed that, upon itsaccession, hisGovernment would notify
theCommittee onGovernment Procurement ofitsintention toaccede totheAgreement onGovernmentWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 33
Procurement andseek observer status inthatCommittee. Hefurther confirmed thatEstonia would
initiate negotiations formembership intheAgreement bytabling anentity offer. Healsoconfirmed
that, iftheresults ofthenegotiations were satisfactory totheinterests ofEstonia andtheother members
oftheAgreement, Estonia would complete negotiations formembership totheAgreement bytheyear
2002. TheWorking Party took note ofthese commitments.
Transit
85. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatEstonia hadjoined the"Convention onCustoms for
Goods inInternational Transit under theTIRCarnet" inApril 1993. Departure andarrival formalities
were completed atthecustoms inspection stations attheborder. Nocustoms duty, customs clearance
charge, sales taxorexcise taxwere levied ongoods intransit.
86. TherepresentativeofEstoniaconfirmedthathisGovernmentwouldapplyitslawsandregulations
governingtransitoperationsandwouldactinfullconformitywiththeprovisionsoftheWTOAgreement,
inparticular Article VoftheGATT 1994. TheWorking Party took note ofthiscommitment.
4. Agricultural Policies
87. Some members oftheWorking Party requested information onEstonia 'scurrent agricultural
policy, including main principles, andspecific policies regarding tariffs andtariff bindings, trade
measures inthegrain sector, safeguards, farm support programmes andincomes policy, price controls,
export subsidies, privatization andpreferential trade arrangements.
88. The representative ofEstonia said that thereturn ofland toformer owners hadbeen a
cumbersome process butthemajor partofagriculture hadbeen privatized. Remaining State enterprises
stillplayed animportant rôleinthedevelopment ofseeds andbreeds. Foreign ownership existed in
thefood processing industry. Estonia hadnotariffs ornon-tariff measures affecting agricultural imports
andnosubsidies orprice controls onfood. However, theLaw onMarket Arrangements would allow
theintroduction oftariffs. Theinitial offer forthemarket access negotiations (WT/L/60) included
nozero-tariff bindings inagriculture andEstonia indicated thatitstariffs would bebound atalevel
similar totheneighbouring countries. Estonia hadthepossibility, until 1996 or1997, toregulate
agricultural imports with tariffs under theFree Trade Agreement with theEuropean Union. The1994
LawonGrainallowedtheGovernmenttorestrictgrainimportswhendomesticdemandwasfullycovered
bylocal production. However, quotas hadnotbeen implemented until now.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 34
89. TherepresentativeofEstoniaconfirmedEstonia'sawarenessoftheWTOrequirementtoconvert
quantitative import restrictions intocustoms duties andsaidthatthisrulewould befollowed infuture
policy. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatlicensing arrangements forfood imports would be
finalized byDecember 1996. Licences would notacttorestrict thequantity ofimports; they would
begranted automatically with theexception ofconditions related tophytosanitary requirements.
90. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatthe1994 Free Trade Agreement between Estonia,
Latvia andLithuania didnotcover HSChapters 1to24,butanagreement covering trade infarm
products would enter intoforce in1997.
91. Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatEstonia would notexclude anyfuture resort tospecial
safeguard measures, butwasnotabletoindicate anyspecific areas where such measures might beused.
Some members oftheWorking Party noted thattheprovisions regarding special safeguard measures
intheAgreement onAgriculture were reserved forWTO members having undertaken tariffication
ofnon-tariff measures intheUruguay Round. Therefore, asanon-member oftheWTO atthattime,
Estonia would notbeentitled toresort tospecial safeguard measures.
[92. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatthelack offinancial resources hadsofarprevented
subsidization ofagricultural exports, butEstonia would reserve theright tointroduce domestic support
programmes andexport subsidies. Anoffer ondomestic support andexport subsidies foragriculture
wascirculated tomembers oftheWorking Party inSeptember 1995 (WT/SPEC/13) including export
subsidy ceilings forbutter, cheese, milk powder, beef, pigmeat andpoultry meat; income support
measures subject toreduction commitments; andvarious "green box" measures. Estonia alsolisted
anumber ofcurrent support programmes itconsidered "green box" support inWT/ACC/EST/4. Some
members oftheWorking Party didnotagree thatEstonia should beentitled toclaim protection for
programs ithadnotyetimplemented, such asexport subsidy programs, orprograms thathadbeen
implemented after Estonia applied foraccession totheWTO.]
[tobecompleted]
Trade inCivil Aircraft
93. Amember oftheWorking Party sought acommitment thatEstonia would implement the
Agreement onTrade inCivil Aircraft without exceptions ortransition periods atthetime ofaccession.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 35
94. TherepresentativeofEstoniaconfirmedthatEstoniawouldbecomeasignatorytotheAgreement
onTrade inCivil Aircraft upon accession totheWTO. The Working Party took note ofthis
commitment.
TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OFINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
95. Some members oftheWorking Party requested details about legislation andenforcement of
intellectual property right protection inEstonia andthecompatibility with requirements oftheTRIPS
Agreement. Specific questions were addressed regarding exceptions from national orm.f.n. treatment,
non-patentable inventions, protection ofplant varieties, patent holders 'rights, extension ofpatent terms,
granting ofcompulsory licences, judicial review, semiconductors, copyright, trademarks, industrial
design andcompetition andanti-trust.
96. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatEstonia deemed itsintellectual property right protection
compatible with theTRIPS Agreement with noexceptions totheprinciples ofnational andm.f.n.
treatment. ThePatent Office hadopened inMarch 1992. During 1992 and1994 Estonia hadenacted
aPatent Law; aUtility Model Law; aTrademark Law; andaCopyright Law. Adesign protection
lawwasinpreparation. Legislation onindustrial property wassaidtobemodelled oncorresponding
laws oftheNordic countries. Estonia 'sCopyright Law andTrademark Law allowed bilateral and
multilateral agreements towhich Estonia hadacceded totakeprecedence ifprovisions ofnational law
were inconsistent with theprovisions ofsuch agreements.
97. In1994, Estonia hadbecome fullmember oftheWorld Intellectual Property Organization,
joined thePatent Cooperation Treaty andrestored itsmembership totheParis Convention forthe
Protection ofIndustrial Property andtheBerne Convention fortheProtection ofLiterary andArtistic
Works which Estonia originally joined in1924 and1927, respectively. TheMinistry ofCulture was
preparing Estonia 'saccession tothe1971 Geneva Convention andthe1961 Rome Convention. The
textoftheRome Convention hadbeen translated intoEstonian andadraft Law tojointheConvention
would bepresented toParliament inthefirsthalfof1997. Estonia alsoplanned toaccede totheProtocol
relating totheMadrid Agreement onInternational Registration ofMarks andtheTrademark LawTreaty.
Inresponse tofurther questions, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatplant varieties were protected
under the1994 Variety Protection Lawandpatent protection formicroorganism strains could begranted
following Estonia 'saccession totheBudapest Treaty. Estonia intended toaccede totheUnion for
theProtection ofNew Plant Varieties (UPOV) andtheVariety Protection Law would beharmonized
with the1991 UPOV Convention.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 36
98. Certain inventions were non-patentable (inventions contrary topublic order andmorality,
treatment anddiagnostic methods practised onhumans oranimals, topology ofmicro-circuits and
substances derived from nuclear fission). Patent protection wasprovided toequipment, methods,
substances ormicro-organism strains, including their combination andusefornovel purposes, in
accordance with Article 6oftheEstonian Patent Law; noplans existed tointroduce supplementary
protection certificates forpharmaceutical andagricultural chemical products. Provisions regarding
apatentee 'sexclusive rights andexceptions were found inChapter IV(sections 15,17,45and46)
ofEstonia 'sPatent Law. There were norestrictions onapatent owner 'srights toassign, transfer or
licence rights, butalicensing agreement needed toberegistered with thePatent Office tobevalid.
Compulsorylicencescouldbegrantedbycourtorderonly(section47).Estoniaconsideredthisprovision
tofulfil entirely therequirements ofArticle 31(b) and(c)oftheTRIPS Agreement. Patents were not
extendable under present legislation. Provisions corresponding toArticle 34oftheTRIPS Agreement
(Process Patents: Burden ofProof) hadnotyetbeen established.
99. With respect tocopyright andrelated rights, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatEstonia
applied theprinciple ofnational treatment intheprotection ofworks. TheCopyright Lawalsoprotected
works originating incountries where international treaties didnotapply, provided thattheother country
guaranteed similar protection totheworks ofEstonian authors orworks first published inEstonia.
Therepresentative ofEstonia added thatthedrafting andenactment oflegislation onprotection of
semiconductor layout design wasscheduled for1998. Theconditions governing freeuseandfree
decompilation ofcomputer programs were setoutinChapter IV,Sections 24and25,oftheCopyright
Law. TheLaw didnotcontain provisions oncompulsory licensing ofcopyrightable works andsound
recordings; fullretroactive protection wasprovided under Sections 38and74.Section 75prescribed
thelimitations onrights neighbouring oncopyright. Thecollection ofalevy tocompensate forthe
useofaudiovisual works andsound recordings began inJanuary 1996.
100. With regard totrade marks, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatsigns registrable astrade
marks were enumerated inSection 6oftheTrade Marks Law. TheLaw protected well known marks
whether ornotregistered intheRepublic ofEstonia. Section 5oftheLaw setouttherights (and
limitations) granted toholders oftrademarks; registration satisfied notice oftheexclusive right, and
nospecificprovisionsrestrictedthelicensingortransferoftrademarks.Theregistrationofanassignment
wasnotmandatory, butitwasnotconsidered valid without registration. Registrability ofatrademark
generally didnotdepend onuse. Applications were lodged withthePatents Office, itsrefusal toregister
atrademark (contravention ofsections 7and8)might becontested through theBoard ofAppeals ofWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 37
Industrial Property. Decisions oftheAppeal Board could bebrought before acourt oflaw. Estonia
foresaw nochanges totheTrademark Law atthisstage.
101. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatEstonia wasdrafting new laws onindustrial design,
geographical indications oforigin andsemiconductor layout designs. Forthetime being, geographical
indications oforigin were protected indirectly through theTrademark LawandtheLawonCompetition.
Trade secrets were notprotected byseparate legislation, butwere covered under Article 148ofthe
Criminal Code. Undisclosed information wasprotected under theprovisions governing theabuse of
businesssecretsintheLawonCompetition.Informationsubmittedtogovernmentagencieswasprotected
under thePublic Service Law. TheSecond PartofEstonia 'sCompetition Law: Unfair Competition
wasconsistent with theParis Convention andArticle 40oftheTRIPS Agreement. TheCustoms Law
formed thelegal basis fortheprevention ofimports ofinfringing goods. Inaccordance with Article 38
oftheCustoms Law, customs officers examined goods tocheck thattheir nature, origin, condition,
quantity andvalue corresponded totheinformation provided inthecustoms declaration. Proceedings
could beinstituted incases offorged, falsified orincomplete documentation. Amendments tothe
Criminal Code andtheCode ofInfringement ofAdministrative Law toinclude specific provisions on
legal protection ofindustrial property awaited approval byParliament.
102. Amember asked Estonia tobecome amember oftheGeneva Phonograms Convention, noting
thattherestoration ofprotection forcopyrighted works wasrequired under Article 18oftheTRIPS
Agreement. Protection ofindustrial designs, semiconductor chiplayout designs andnewplant varieties
wasalsorequired under TRIPS. Onpatents, thismember asked forconfirmation thatacourt, indeciding
onacompulsory licence, would follow theprocedures outlined inArticle 8,paragraph 6ofitsbilateral
agreement with Estonia.
103. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thatEstonia would fully apply alltheprovisions ofthe
Agreement onTrade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights bythedate ofitsaccession to
theWTO,withoutrecoursetoanytransitionalperiod.TheWorkingPartytooknoteofthiscommitment.
POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE INSERVICES
104. Intheinterest ofaccelerating theprocess ofaccession totheWTO Agreement, therepresentative
ofEstonia submitted Estonia 'sdraft schedule ofspecific commitments inservices (document WT/L/59),
and aRevised Draft Schedule ofSpecific Commitments inTrade inServices (document
WT/ACC/EST/6). Certain services activities were subject tolicensing; therequired licences andtheWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 38
corresponding regulatory authorities arelisted inTable 5.Estonia 'sschedule ofspecific commitments
onservices isreproduced intheannex tothisreport. Asindicated intheconclusions ofthisreport,
theWorking Party took note oftheservices commitments ofEstonia.
105. Some members oftheWorking Party commented onEstonia 'sdraft schedule ofcommitments
ontrade inservices. Intheir view, theinitial offer wasnotsufficient since thedocumentation indicated
anopen services régime andEstonia hadentered unbound inseveral modes ofdelivery. Specific
questions covered procedures orrestrictions ontheentry offoreign labour, including lawyers, architects
andaccountants andcross-border trade insuch services; market access conditions, cross-border trade,
theeffect oftheeconomic stabilization programme, andrecent legislation inthefinancial services sector;
licensing ofoperators intelecommunications andairtransport; restrictions onforeign investment;
establishment oftrade offices and thecoverage ofservices inpreferential trading arrangements.
106. The representative ofEstonia presented arevised services schedule undertaking further
commitments. According totherepresentative ofEstonia theunbound entries inthefirstdraft reflected
thelackofspecific regulations withregard tospecific services. Headded thatvisaregulations governed
thetemporary entry offoreigners; aresidence permit andawork permit wasrequired forforeign
personneltotakeupemploymentinEstonia.Theannualimmigrationquotacorrespondedto0.1percent
ofEstonia 'spopulation. Foreign lawyers, architects andaccountants could actasconsultants toEstonian
firms andthere were nolegal obstacles tothepurchase ofsuch services abroad. Therepresentative
ofEstonia stated thatthefinancial services sector wasfreefrom restrictions andthatnorestrictive
measures were planned forthenear term. Estonia confirmed thatforeign suppliers were nottreated
lessfavourably than national providers offinancial services, with theexception ofsome special
requirements concerning foreign-owned insurance companies indicated initsdraft Schedule ofSpecific
Commitments (WT/L/59). Applications toestablish representation offices orsubsidiaries inbanking
were addressed totheBank ofEstonia. Recent amendments infinancial sector legislation included
further regulations onprudential requirements andtheadoption ofanewCredit Institution Law with
additional instruments forthesupervisory authority andprovisions onmoney laundering. TheEstonian
securities market wasinitsearly stages ofdevelopment, butgrowth hadbeen substantial. Thedemand
forinsurance hadbeen boosted bycompulsory insurance formotor vehicles.
107. With regard totelecommunications, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthataforeign firmwould
need aforeign investment licence andregister asalegal person inEstonia todobusiness in
telecommunications. Aconcession conferring monopoly rights to"Eesti Telefon" (Estonian Telephone)WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 39
wasvalid until year 2003. The Law ofBroadcasting (Article 22)limited foreign ownership and
possession ofbroadcasting transmitters tolessthan 50percent oftheshares.
108. With regard totransportation, therepresentative ofEstonia saidthatonly companies registered
inEstonia could obtain alicence forconveyance ofgoods andpassengers; aferry hadtobeowned
byacitizen ofEstonia oracompany with headquarters inEstonia andhave aminimum 51percent
national ownership. Theshipping company "Estline" currently hadamonopoly concession, valid for
afurther three years, ontheconveyance ofpassengers between Estonia andSweden. Aviation licences
were issued topermanent residents ofEstonia orlegal persons with minimum 51percent resident
ornational ownership. Aircarriers operating inEstonia included Estonian Airandseveral foreign
carriers.
109. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thatEstonia didnotprohibit foreign services suppliers
from establishing trade offices inanysector andthatnoservices sectors andactivities were completely
closed toforeign companies.
110. Headded thatEstonia 'sfreetrade agreements mainly covered goods; nocurrent agreement
gave anycountry preferential status inservices trade inEstonia.
TRANSPARENCY
Publication ofInformation onTrade
111. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated that, atthelatest from thedateofaccession, alllaws and
normative actsrelated totrade would bepublished promptly intheofficial journal "Riigi Teataja".
Hestated further thatnolaworrule, etc.related tointernational trade would become effective prior
tosuch publication. TheWorking Party took note ofthiscommitment.
Notification
112. Therepresentative ofEstonia saidthat, atthelatest upon entry intoforce oftheProtocol of
Accession, Estonia would submit allnotifications (other than those required tobemade onanadhoc
basis) required byanyAgreement constituting part oftheWTO Agreement. Any regulations
subsequently enacted byEstonia which gave effect tothelaws enacted toimplement anyAgreementWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 40
constituting partoftheWTO Agreement would alsoconform totherequirements ofthatAgreement.
TheWorking Party took note ofthiscommitment.
TRADE AGREEMENTS
113. Some members oftheWorking Party enquired about Estonia 'spreferential agreements with
theEuropean Union andEFTA member countries, Latvia andLithuania, further plans toconclude
suchagreements,includingapossibleBalticCustomsUnion,andtheexistenceofcountertradeagreements
with former CMEA members. Questions were alsoraised concerning theconsistency ofEstonia 's
freetrade agreements with therequirements ofArticle XXIV oftheGATT 1994, inparticular the
obligation tocover substantially allthetrade between theconstituent territories. Amember requested
information onthescope ofEstonia 'spreferential agreements with particular attention tosectors where
allmeasures andcharges ontrade hadnotyetbeen eliminated.
114. Therepresentative ofEstonia replied thatEstonia hadpreferential trade agreements withEFTA;
theEU; Latvia andLithuania; Ukraine; theCzech Republic; theSlovak Republic andSlovenia.
Based ontheperiod January-March 1996, about 73percent ofEstonia 'sforeign trade wassubject
topreferential agreements. TheFree Trade Agreement with theEuropean Union hadentered into
force on1January 1995, alsocovering newmembers Austria, Finland andSweden. Estonia 'sFree
Trade Agreement with theEuropean Union hadbeen notified totheWTO indocument WT/REG8/N/1
andwasbeing examined inaccordance with normal practice. Estonia hadmade proposals toconclude
freetrade agreements withPoland andHungary. Hestated thatEstonia hadnocountertrade agreements
with countries incentral andeastern Europe. Thefreetrade agreements generally granted duty free
importation andexportation ofmanufactures (HSChapters 25-97) while trade inagricultural goods
were covered inseparate agreements orprotocols. Some quantitative andqualitative requirements
applied toEstonia 'sagricultural exports. Themain aimofapossible Baltic Customs Union would
betheabolition ofinternal customs controls; anassessment ofitseffect onEstonia 'sliberal trade
policy wasnotpossible atthisstage.
115. Therepresentative ofEstonia stated thathisGovernment would observe theprovisions ofthe
WTO including Article XXIV oftheGATT 1994 andArticle VoftheGATS initstrade agreements,
andwould ensure thattheprovisions ofthese WTO Agreements fornotification, consultation andother
requirements concerning preferential trading systems, freetrade areas andcustoms unions ofwhich
Estonia wasamember were metfrom thedateofaccession, insofarasthese provisions hadnotalreadyWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 41
been metbyoneoftheother Parties tosuch anagreement. TheWorking Party took note ofthese
commitments.
Conclusions
116. TheWorkingPartytooknoteoftheexplanationsandstatementsofEstoniaconcerningitsforeign
trade régime, asreflected inthisreport. TheWorking Party tooknoteoftheassurances given byEstonia
inrelation tocertain specific matters which arereproduced inparagraphs 14and19ofthisreport.
TheWorking Party took noteofthecommitments given byEstonia inrelation tocertain specific matters
which arereproduced inparagraphs 22,30,31,35,45,51,57,63,66,68,70,77,78,81,84,86,
94,103, 111, 112and115ofthisreport. TheWorking Party took note thatthese commitments had
been incorporated inparagraph 2oftheProtocol ofAccession ofEstonia totheWTO.
117. Having carried outtheexamination oftheforeign trade régime ofEstonia andinthelight of
theexplanations, commitments andconcessions made bytherepresentative ofEstonia, theWorking
Party reached theconclusion thatEstonia beinvited toaccede totheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing
theWTO under theprovisions ofArticle XII. Forthispurpose, theWorking Party hasprepared the
draft Decision andProtocol ofAccession reproduced intheAppendix tothisreport, andtakes note
ofEstonia 'sSchedule ofSpecific Commitments onServices (document .......) anditsSchedule of
Concessions andCommitments onGoods (document ........) thatareannexed totheProtocol. Itis
proposed thatthese texts beadopted bytheGeneral Council when itadopts thereport. When the
Decision isadopted, theProtocol ofAccession would beopen foracceptance byEstonia which would
become aMember thirty days after itaccepts thesaidProtocol. TheWorking Party agreed, therefore,
thatithadcompleted itswork concerning thenegotiations fortheaccession ofEstonia totheMarrakesh
Agreement Establishing theWTO.
[TO BECOMPLETED]WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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Table 5
Activities subject tolicensing (Activity Licence)
Activity Issuing Authority
1.Management ofaviation andseatransport (exclude small
private boats), international carandrailway transport
(excludes intra-enterprise railtransport)Ministry ofTransport and
Communications
2.Geology-related activities, mining ofnatural resources Ministry ofEconomic Affairs
3.Production andtrade inobjects containing precious metals
andprecious stonesMinistry ofFinance
4.Production, possession andtrade inweapons, parts
thereof, ammunition, orpyrotechnic equipment; repairs of
weaponsMinistry ofInternal Affairs
5.Production andtrade inmedical narcotic, highly toxic,
radioactive, andpoisonous substances. Growing plants that
contain narcotic, highly toxic andpoisonous substances.
Purchase andpossessing ofmedical narcotic, highly toxic,
radioactive, andpoisonous substancesMinistry ofSocial Affairs
6.Allforms ofmedical treatment Ministry ofSocial Affairs
7.Production ofandtrade inmedicines Ministry ofSocial Affairs
8.Import andexport, aswell asproduction andwholesale of
tobacco andproduction thereof, andalcohol; andretail of
alcoholMinistry ofEconomic
Affairs; Municipal
Governments
9.Printing andminting ofmoney Bank ofEstonia
10. Printing ofsecurities Ministry ofFinance
11. Printing ofpostage stamps Ministry ofTransport and
Communications
12. Building andmanagement ofpublic communications '
networks ofanykindMinistry ofTransport and
Communications
13. Management ofaneducational institution ofahigher or
general level, both vocational, orprofessional; together
with theright toissue nation wide accepted certificates of
educationMinistry ofCulture and
Education
14. Management ofsecurity services 'firms, installation of
security, guard, andsignalization systemsMinistry ofInternal Affairs
15. Opening andmanagement ofprivate detective agencies Ministry ofInternal Affairs
16. Collation ofmeasuring instruments Ministry ofFinance
17. Production andtrade inmicro-organisms, plants, and
animals created bygenetic engineeringMinistry ofAgriculture
18. Insurance Ministry ofFinance
19. Projecting, expertise andinspection ofbuildings,
construction contracting activitiesMinistry ofEnvironment;
Ministry ofAgriculture
20. Geodetic andcartographic activities Ministry ofEnvironment
21. Ecological expertise Ministry ofTransport and
CommunicationsWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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Activity Issuing Authority
22. Management ofenvironmentally harmful substances Ministry ofTransport and
Communications
23. Transmission orbroadcasting ofradio andtelevision
programmes bymeans oftheradio andtelevision networksMinistry ofCulture and
Education
24. Management ofcasinos (gambling) Ministry ofFinance
25. Reproduction oftheState symbols ortheir parts ofthe
Republic ofEstoniaState Chancellery
26. Exchange management Ministry ofFinance
27. Tourism Ministry ofEconomic Affairs
28. Ships 'agencies andorganizing seatransport Ministry ofTransport
29. Lotteries Ministry ofTransport and
Communications
30. Assessment ofland property, selling andbuying land Ministry ofAgriculture
31. Activities onthesecurities 'market Ministry ofFinance
32. Veterinary activities, veterinary practice Ministry ofAgriculture
33. Temporary storage ofcommercial goods, customs-storage
proceduresMinistry ofFinance
34. Commercial trade (imports, re-exports), wholesale and
retail, andstorage ofimported fuels andlubricantsMinistry ofEconomic Affairs
35. Production andrepairs ofweapons, ammunition, and
technology fornational defence purposesMinistry ofDefence
36. Experiments with animals Ministry ofAgriculture
37. Management ofimports andexports, aswell asother
trade, services, repairs, anddissembling ofmotor vehicles
andtrailersMinistry ofEconomic Affairs
38. Assessment ofpersonal protective equipment types, quality
certification; assessment ofmachinery andequipment typesNational Labour Inspection
Board
39. Logopedical aid Ministry ofSocial Affairs
40. Conservation, restoration, creating ofrepairs projects, and
carrying outthecorresponding activities ontheobjects of
cultural importance (theobjects ofarchaeological,
architectural, technological, andhistorical value, objects of
finearts)Ministry ofCulture and
Education
41. Classification ofgoods andmeasuring ofgoods for
customs 'purposesMinistry ofFinanceWT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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APPENDIX
ACCESSION OFESTONIA
Draft Decision
The General Council ,
Having regard totheresults ofthenegotiations directed towards theestablishment oftheterms
ofaccession oftheRepublic ofEstonia totheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade
Organization andhaving prepared aProtocol fortheAccession ofEstonia,
Decides ,inaccordance with Article XIIoftheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld
Trade Organization, thattheRepublic ofEstonia mayaccede totheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing
theWorld Trade Organization ontheterms setoutinthesaidProtocol.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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PROTOCOL OFACCESSION OFESTONIA
TOTHE MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
DRAFT
TheWorld Trade Organization (hereinafter referred toasthe"WTO"), pursuant totheapproval
oftheGeneralCounciloftheWTOaccordedunderArticleXIIoftheMarrakeshAgreementEstablishing
theWorld Trade Organization (hereinafter referred toas"WTO Agreement"), andtheRepublic of
Estonia (hereinafter referred toas"Estonia"),
Taking note oftheReport oftheWorking Party ontheAccession ofEstonia totheWTO in
document WT/ACC/EST/.... (hereinafter referred toasthe"Working Party Report"),
Having regard totheresults ofthenegotiations ontheaccession ofEstonia totheWTO,
Agree asfollows:
Part I-General
1. Upon entry intoforce ofthisProtocol, Estonia accedes totheWTO Agreement pursuant to
Article XIIofthatAgreement andthereby becomes aMember oftheWTO.
2. TheWTO Agreement towhich Estonia accedes shall betheWTO Agreement asrectified,
amended orotherwise modified bysuch legal instruments asmay have entered intoforce before the
dateofentry intoforce ofthisProtocol. This Protocol, which shall comprise thecommitments referred
toinparagraph 116oftheWorking Party Report, shall beanintegral partoftheWTO Agreement.
3. Except asotherwise provided forintheparagraphs referred toinparagraph 116oftheWorking
Party Report, those obligations intheMultilateral Trade Agreements annexed totheWTO Agreement
thataretobeimplemented over aperiod oftime starting with theentry intoforce ofthatAgreement
shall beimplemented byEstonia asifithadaccepted thatAgreement onthedateofitsentry intoforce.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
Page 46
4. Estoniamaymaintainameasureinconsistentwithparagraph1ofArticleIIoftheGATSprovided
thatsuch ameasure isrecorded inthetextofArticle IIExemptions annexed tothisProtocol andmeets
theconditions oftheAnnex totheGATS onArticle IIExemptions.
Part II-Schedules
5. The Schedules annexed tothisProtocol shall become theschedule ofConcessions and
Commitments annexed totheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994 (hereinafter referred to
asthe"GATT 1994") andtheSchedule ofSpecific Commitments annexed totheGeneral Agreement
onTrade inServices (hereinafter referred toas"GATS") relating toEstonia. Thestaging ofconcessions
andcommitments listed intheSchedules shall beimplemented asspecified intherelevant parts ofthe
respective Schedules.
6. Forthepurpose ofthereference inparagraph 6(a)ofArticle IIoftheGATT 1994 tothedate
ofthatAgreement, theapplicable dateinrespect oftheSchedules ofConcessions andCommitments
annexed tothisProtocol shall bethedate ofentry intoforce ofthisProtocol.
Part III-Final Provisions
7. This Protocol shall beopen foracceptance, bysignature orotherwise, byEstonia until .........
8. This Protocol shall enter intoforce onthethirtieth dayfollowing thedayofitsacceptance.
9. This Protocol shall bedeposited with theDirector-General oftheWTO. TheDirector-General
oftheWTO shall promptly furnish acertified copy ofthisProtocol andanotification ofacceptance
thereto pursuant toparagraph 7toeach member oftheWTO andEstonia.
10. This Protocol shall beregistered inaccordance withtheprovisions ofArticle 102oftheCharter
oftheUnited Nations.
Done atGeneva this...dayof....onethousand nine hundred andninety seven, inasingle
copy intheEnglish, French andSpanish languages each textbeing authentic, except thataSchedule
annexed hereto may specify thatitisauthentic inonly oneormore ofthese languages.WT/ACC/SPEC/EST/2
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ANNEX
SCHEDULE CXLII -ESTONIA
Part I-Goods
[tobecompleted]
Part II-Services
[tobecompleted]