RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/BOP/N/2
29March 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-0735)
Original: English Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions
NOTIFICATION UNDER PARAGRAPH 9OFTHE
UNDERSTANDING ONTHE BALANCE-OF-PAYMENTS PROVISIONS
OFTHE GENERAL AGREEMENT ONTARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Thefollowing communication, dated 17March 1995 hasbeenreceived from theDelegation
ofHungary.
__________________
TheHungarian Government, acting inconformity with thenotification requirement of
Article XII:4 oftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade andpursuant totherelevant provisions
oftheDeclaration onTrade Measures taken forBalance-of-Payments Purposes andtheUnderstanding
onBalance-of-Payments Provisions oftheGATT 1994, hereby wishes toinform Members oftheWTO
that,witheffect from 20March 1995, asurcharge of8percentisapplied onimports toHungary.
External andinternal imbalances intheHungarian economy haveputinthepastyears an
increasingly serious burden onthecountry. Thebalance-of-payments deficit hascontinuously widened,
surpassing lastyearUS$4 billion. Data forthefirstmonths of1995 show tendencies offurther
aggravation ofthesituation. Thedeterioration ofthebalance-of-payments position, which isunstoppable
intheabsence oftaking thenecessary measures, poses animminent threat ofaserious decline inthe
foreign exchange reserves. TheHungarian Government adopted awide ranging macroeconomic
stabilization package ofmeasures toforestall thisdanger. Thepackage included animmediate sharp
depreciation oftheHungarian Forint andfurther exchange ratecorrections fortherestoftheyear
accordingtoapresetschedule,aswellasausteritymeasurestosignificantlycurbbudgetaryexpenditures.
Thesurcharge onimports isalsoanelement ofthiscomprehensive setofmeasures. Thesurcharge
isapplied tothesame extent onimports fromallsources. Itcovers mostgoods, onlyprimary energy
carriers andmachinery forinvestment purposes areexempted fromunder itseffects. Thegradual easing
andelimination ofthemeasure willbeconsidered bytheGovernment according tothedevelopments
inthebalance-of-payments situation.
Compared tootherpossible measures, thesurcharge islessrestrictive ontradeandlessdistortive
ontheconditions ofcompetition inthemarket which theGovernment firmly intends touphold even
inthisperiod ofstabilization. Thelevelofthesurcharge doesnotexceed whatisstrictly necessary
toaddress thebalance-of-payments situation andthrough itsgeneral application provides nopreferences
forindividual products orimport sources.
Based ontheabove features, theHungarian Government considers thattheimport surcharge
tobeinstituted isinconformity withtherequirements setforsuchmeasures intherelevant provisions
ofArticle XIIoftheGATT, theDeclaration onTrade Measures taken forBalance-of-Payments Purposes
andtheUnderstanding onBalance-of-Payments Provisions oftheGATT 1994. Hungary isready to
enter intoconsultations intheBalance-of-Payments Committee oftheWorld Trade Organization on
thebasis ofArticle XII:4 andinaccordance withallrelevant provisions andprocedures.