RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/L/29
13November 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3500)
Committee onImport Licensing
REPORT (1995) OFTHE COMMITTEE ONIMPORT LICENSING
1. ThisReport issubmitted pursuant toArticle 7.4oftheWTO Agreement onImport Licensing
Procedures.
2. TheCommitteeelectedMr.CalsonMbegabolawe(Zimbabwe)asChairmanandMr.JanMichalek
(Poland) asVice-Chairman for1995.
3. During theperiod under consideration, theCommittee heldtwomeetings, on3Mayand12
October 1995 (G/LIC/M/1-2).
4. Participation intheCommittee isopentoallWTO Members. Certain non-WTO Members
participated inthework oftheCommittee inaccordance withtheDecision oftheGeneral Council of
31January 1995onParticipation inMeetings ofWTO Bodies byCertain Signatories oftheFinal Act
Eligible tobecome Original Members oftheWTO (WT/L/27). Inaddition, theCommittee agreed
thatgovernments granted observer status bytheWTO General Council would beallowed toattend
meetings oftheCommittee asobservers, without prejudice tothepossibility ofholding closed sessions
without thepresence ofobservers.
5. Representatives oftheIMF, UNCTAD andtheWorld Bank attended themeetings ofthe
Committee inanobserver capacity, inaccordance withinterim arrangements agreed uponbytheCouncil
forTrade inGoods regarding theparticipation ofinternational intergovernmental organizations in
meetings ofitssubsidiary bodies (G/C/M/1, paragraph 13.4andG/C/M/2, paragraph 2.3).
6. TheCommittee tooknoteofnotifications under footnote 5toArticle 2.2oftheAgreement
by20developing-country Members which hadinvoked theprovisions fordelayed application ofcertain
requirements linked toautomatic import licensing foraperiod oftwoyears fromthedateofentry into
force oftheWTO Agreement fortheMembers concerned (G/LIC/1 andAdd.1).
7. Atitsmeeting inOctober, theCommittee:
- adopted itsrulesofprocedure, subject toapproval bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods;
- adopted procedures fornotification under theAgreement, including thelanguage in
which notifications under Articles 1.4(a) and8.2(b) should bemade; thecontent of
thefirstnotification oflegislation under Article 8.2(b); andthetime-limit forthe
submissionofrepliestotheQuestionnaireonImportLicensingProceduresunderArticle
7.3;
- agreed onrevisions totheQuestionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures (G/LIC/2);
./.G/L/29
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- agreed onprocedures forreview under Article 7.1oftheAgreement;
- reviewed replies totheImport Licensing Questionnaire received from Cyprus
(G/LIC/N/3/CYP/1) andtooknoteoftwonotifications pursuant toArticle 5ofthe
Agreement, byMalaysia (G/LIC/N/2/MYS/1) andRomania (G/LIC/N/2/ROM/1);
and
- tooknoteofastatement bytheUnited States thatthey, together withGuatemala,
Honduras andMexico, hadrequested consultations on28September 1995 withthe
European Communities under, inter alia,theAgreement onImport Licensing
Procedures, concerning theECregime fortheimportation, saleanddistribution of
bananas.