RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/STR/W/4
7February 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0434)
Original: English Working Party onState Trading Enterprises
QUESTIONS FROM JAPAN ONTHE
ARTICLE XVII NOTIFICATIONS OFAUSTRALIA1,
MALAYSIA2,THAILAND3AND THE UNITED STATES4
Thefollowing communication, dated 25January 1996, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission ofJapan.
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Australia
WenotethatAustralia didnotinclude some entities suchastheAustralian Barley Board in
thisnotification. Weunderstand thattheseentities arestateenterprises which enjoy "special orexclusive
rights orprivileges" inthemeaning oftheUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVII ofthe
GATT 1994. Could Australia explain whythese entities were notincluded inthenotification?
Malaysia
Wenotethat,according tothenotification, Bernas istobeprivatized infuture. Would Bernas,
afteritisprivatized, continue toenjoy special orexclusive rights orprivileges withregard tothenon-
commercial activities suchasmanagement ofthericestockpile identified inthenotification?
Thailand
WenotethatThailand states inthenotification thatthePublic Warehouse Organization (PWO)
hasthesoleauthority toimport potatoes andtea.Could Thailand elaborate onthecriteria forthechoice
ofthese products asproducts tobehandled bythePWO? Isthere anypossibility thattheproduct
coverage ofthePWO bebroadened infuture?
United States
Weunderstand thattheproducts setoutinTable 1onpages 6and7ofthenotification show
theproduct coverage tobehandled bytheCommodity Credit Corporation (CCC). Could the
United States confirm thatTable 1covers allproducts handled bytheCCC?
1G/STR/N/1/AUS,2G/STR/N/1/MYS,3G/STR/N/1/THA,4G/STR/N/1/USA.