WORLD TRADE G/TMB/N/300
23September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3870)
Original: English Textiles Monitoring Body
AGREEMENT ONTEXTILES AND CLOTHING
Communication from theEuropean Community
TheTextiles Monitoring Body hasreceived acommunication fromtheEuropean Commission
inreply toitsrequest foradditional information inthecontext ofthepreparation oftheBody's
Comprehensive Report ontheimplementation oftheATC during itsfirststage, inaccordance with
paragraph 11ofArticle 8.
TheTMB iscirculating thiscommunication toWTO Members fortheirinformation.
./.G/TMB/N/300
Page2
European Commission
Geneva
Geneva, 26June1997
Dear Ambassador,
Further toyourletter of12June1997concerning comments ofPakistan1,Iampleased toreply
inthefollowing terms.
Prior totheentry intoforce oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing and,more recently,
aspartoftheEuropean Community 'sdetermination ofitssecond stage ofintegration, consultations
wereheldbetweentheEuropeanCommunityandPakistaninorderthatbothsidescouldbetterunderstand
theirrespective positions inrespect oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing. Inthecourse ofthese
consultations Pakistan didnotraiseanyparticular interests concerning theimplementation ofprovisions
oftheAgreement. TheEuropean Community, nonetheless, considered thattheconsultations inquestion
wereusefulinprovidingclearerunderstandingofthepositionofPakistanwhichtheEuropeanCommunity
tookintoaccount. Pakistan hasnotinformed theEuropean Community ofanydifficulties thatit
considers might arisefrom theapplication ofArticle 1.4oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing
norsought anyfurther consultations concerning thisprovision.
Ishould liketorecall thatpursuant totheATCtheEuropean Community notified pre-existing
quantitativerestrictionsunderArticles2(and3)oftheAgreementonTextilesandClothing.Theposition
noted byPakistan, namely thatcertain countries havefreeaccess while others donot,resulted from
theobjective situation existing attheentry intoforce oftheATC, andnotfrom anyperceived
discrimination between cotton-producing andnon-cotton producing countries.
Ihopethatthisreply willprove ofassistance totheTMB.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed for)R.E. Abbott
Ambassador
Ambassador Szepesi
Chairman
Textiles Monitoring Body
WTO -Centre William Rappard
RuedeLausanne, 154
1211 Geneva 21
1Regarding thecomments made byPakistan, seeG/TMB/N/296.