RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/LIC/M/2
10January 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0062)
Committee onImport Licensing
MINUTES OFMEETING
HELD ON12OCTOBER 1995
Chairman: Mr.Calson Mbegabolawe (Zimbabwe)
1. TheCommittee onImport Licensing helditssecond meeting on12October 1995.
2. Theagenda proposed forthemeeting wascirculated inWTO/AIR/171 andadopted asfollows:
Page
A. Election ofVice-Chairperson 2
B. Rules ofProcedure 2
C. Notification procedures 2
D. Notifications
(i) Invocation offootnote 5toArticle 2.2 4
(ii) Replies toQuestionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures: 5
- Cyprus
- Ecuador
(iii) Notification byRomania 5
(iv) Other notifications 5
E. Procedures forreview under Article 7.1 5
F. Draft report (1995) totheCouncil forTrade inGoods 6
G. Other business
(i) ECregime fortheimportation, saleanddistribution ofbananas; 6
request forconsultations byGuatemala, Honduras, Mexico and
theUnited States: statement bytheUnited States
(ii) Procedure fordecisions having financial implications which maybe 6
taken byWTO bodies
(iii) Notifications submitted forcirculation asdocuments 7
(iv) Dates ofmeetings 7
3. TheChairman noted thatinaccordance withtheagreement reached atthefirstmeeting held
on3May1995, theIMF, UNCTAD andtheWorld Bankhadbeeninvited tothismeeting (G/LIC/M/1,
paragraph 10).Heproposed thatpending agreement onthecriteria andconditions forobserver statusG/LIC/M/2
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forinternational intergovernmental organizations intheWTO, thesame organizations alsobeinvited
toitsnextmeeting.
4. TheCommittee soagreed.
A. Election ofVice-Chairperson
5. TheCommittee elected Mr.JanMichalek (Poland) asVice-Chairman oftheCommittee for
1995.
B. Rules ofProcedure
6. TheChairman stated thatasrequested atthefirstmeeting, theSecretariat hadcirculated draft
rules ofprocedure formeetings oftheCommittee indocument G/LIC/W/1. These draftrules were
based ontherulesofprocedure formeetings oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, adopted bytheGeneral
Council on31July1995 (WT/L/79). Heproposed thattheCommittee adopt therules ofprocedure
circulated indocument G/LIC/W/1. Therules ofprocedure adopted bytheCommittee would be
forwarded totheCouncil forTrade inGoods forapproval, inaccordance withArticle IV.6oftheWTO
Agreement.
7. TheCommittee adopted thedraftrules ofprocedure contained inG/LIC/W/1.
C. Notification procedures (Articles 1.4(publications); 8.2(laws andregulations); 7.3
(Questionnaire))
8. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee hadalready discussed theprocedures fornotification
under theAgreement onImport Licensing Procedures atthefirstmeeting oftheCommittee heldon
3May1995 andsubsequently ataninformal meeting heldon23June1995. Hehoped thatthe
Committee would agree onthismatter atthismeeting inorder tomake theprovisions fornotifications
under theAgreement fullyoperational.
Firstly, Article 1.4(a) oftheAgreement required Members tonotify thesources inwhich
information concerning import licensing procedures werepublished andtomake copies ofsuch
publications available totheSecretariat. TheChairman proposed thatMembers which were
Parties totheTokyo Round Code decide forthemselves whether thenotifications theyhad
made inthisrespect under theTokyo Round Code should remain valid, andthatonlychanges
thathadoccurred since should benotified; orwhether newfullnotifications should bemade.
Members which were notParties totheTokyo Round Code should make fullnotifications.
Copies ofpublications received would bekeptintheSecretariat forconsultation byinterested
delegations. Members would beinformed periodically bytheSecretariat ofthenotifications
received.
Thesecond issueconcerned thecontent ofthefirstnotification oflawsandregulations under
Article 8.2(b). Henoted thatArticle 8.2(b)required Members toinform theCommittee only
ofanychanges intheirlawsandregulations. However, since Members wereinanewWTO
environment withamuch wider membership thaninthepast,andinorder toprovide aclear
picture forallMembers, theChairman proposed thattheCommittee agree thatthefirst
notification under thisprovision byMembers which werenotParties totheTokyo Round Code
should contain thefulltextofrelevant lawsandregulations ineffect onentry intoforce of
theWTO Agreement fortheMembers concerned. Hefurther proposed thatMembers which
wereParties totheTokyo Round Code decide forthemselves whether theirfullnotifications
oflegislation made under theTokyo Round Code should remain valid under theWTOG/LIC/M/2
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Agreement, andonlychanges thathaveoccurred since should benotified; orwhether new
fullnotifications should bemade. Copies oflegislation soreceived would bekeptinthe
Secretariat forconsultation byinterested delegations, andMembers would beinformed
periodically bytheSecretariat ofthenotifications received.
9. TheCommittee soagreed.
10. TheChairmannotedthattheAgreementwasnotspecificastothelanguageinwhichnotifications
under Articles 1.4(a) (publications) and8.2(b) (laws andregulations) should bemade. Onthebasis
ofinformalconsultationsthathehadconducted,heproposedthat,incaseswherethenationalpublications
andlegislation were notinaWTO official language, Members provide, together withcopies of
publicationsandlegislation,asummaryofthenotificationinoneoftheWTOlanguages.OtherMembers
could askforafulltranslation iftheysowished, orseekanyadditional information onabilateral basis.
Anyissues thatcould notbesolved onabilateral basis could bebrought totheattention ofthe
Committee. Hehoped thattheCommittee would agree tothisasthisseemed tobethemostpractical
solution.
11. Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thattheproposal wasacceptable onthe
understanding thatthiscould berevisited ifitdidnotwork well.
12. TherepresentativeofNewZealandsaidthattheChairman'sproposalwasacceptable,particularly
given hisunderstanding thatresponses totheQuestionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures would
beinaWTO language andthatthese responses provided extensive information onMembers 'import
licensing regimes.
13. TheCommittee agreed totheChairman 'sproposal. Ittooknoteofthecomments made by
theUnited States andNewZealand.
14. TheChairman further proposed thattheCommittee establish atime-limit fornotifications under
Articles 1.4and8.2,e.g.forcurrent WTO Members: within threemonths fromthedateofthismeeting,
i.e.by12January 1996, andforfuture Members: within three months from thedateofentry into
force oftheWTO Agreement fortheMember concerned.
15. Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thatsheagreed tothetime-limit proposed for
current Members. However, thetime-limit proposed fornewMembers wasinconsistent withthe
positions taken intheaccession negotiations where, forexample, theinformation onimport licensing
systems wasnecessary toevaluate concessions. Forthisreason, theUnited States could notagree
totheproposal thatnewMembers begiven aperiod ofthree months fromthedateofentry intoforce
oftheWTO Agreement fortheMember concerned tocomply withthenotifications required under
Articles 1.4(a) and8.2(b). Shesuggested thattheChairman undertake further consultations inthis
context.
16. TheCommittee agreed thatnotifications bycurrent WTO Members should bemade by
12January 1996. Itwasalsoagreed thatinformal consultations beconducted bytheChairman with
aviewtoestablishing atime-limit fornotifications forfuture Members.
17. AsconcernsnotificationsrequiredunderArticle7.3,theChairmanrecalledtheagreementreached
ininformal consultations toreplace "GATT" with"GATT 1994" inthefirstsentence ofthefirst
paragraph oftheQuestionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures, andtoaddthequestion "How torequest
anyexceptions orderogations from alicensing requirement" attheendofquestion 6.I(relating to
publication ofinformation forproducts under restriction) inorder toreflect thenewprovision in
Article 3.4oftheAgreement. Asregards thetime-limit forsubmission ofreplies totheQuestionnaire,G/LIC/M/2
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heproposed thatthetime-limit of30September which hadbeenusedbefore beretained. Hefurther
proposed thatMembers decide forthemselves whether theirprevious notifications made under the
GATT 1947 procedures should remain valid under theWTO Agreement, andonlychanges thathad
occurred since should benotified orwhether tomake newfullnotifications. TheQuestionnaire with
therevisions adopted bytheCommittee would becirculated asaCommittee document (G/LIC/2).
18. TheCommittee soagreed.
19. Therepresentative oftheUnited States proposed thatreplies totheQuestionnaire onImport
Licensing Procedures beissued asunrestricted documents inorder tomake themavailable tothepublic
aswellastoimporters andexporters.
20. Therepresentative ofMexico, supported bytherepresentatives ofSwitzerland andtheEuropean
Communities, stated thattherestriction/derestriction ofWTO documents wasahorizontal issuewhich
wasbeing considered elsewhere intheWTO andrequired aconsistent approach.
21. Onthequestion ofpossible duplication oroverlapping ofnotifications, i.e.whether import
licensing aspects associated withtheadministration oftariff quotas resulting from "tariffication" in
agriculture should benotified totheCommittee onImport Licensing ortotheCommittee onAgriculture,
theChairman recalled thatattheinformal meeting oftheCommittee, some delegations hadpreferred
thatseparate notifications bemade, onetotheImport Licensing Committee, andonetotheAgriculture
Committee. Intheirview, thetwonotifications haddifferent purposes andthedetails tobeprovided
tothetwoCommittees werenotidentical. Some other Members hadfeltthatcross-references could
beusedincases where theinformation notified totheAgricultural Committee wassufficient tofulfil
therequirements oftheAgreement onImport Licensing Procedures. Having regard totherequirements
ofthisAgreement andtoprovide thenecessary clarity, theChairman proposed thatallimport licensing
procedures, including those dealing withtheadministration oftariff quotas inagriculture, should be
notified totheCommittee onImport Licensing. Anyproblem thatmight ariserelating toduplication
oroverlapping ofnotifications, aswellasrelated questions ofsimplification, could betaken upas
necessary, attheappropriate body, i.e.theWorking Group onNotification Obligations andProcedures.
22. TheChairman confirmed totherepresentative ofHungary thattheimport licensing procedures
tobenotified totheCommittee were asdefined inArticle 1.1oftheAgreement.
23. TheCommittee agreed totheChairman 'sproposal. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland reserved
hisfinalposition pending anin-depth discussion onsimilar issues intheWorking Group onNotification
Obligations andProcedures.
D. Notifications
(i) Invocation offootnote 5toArticle 2.2(delayed application ofcertain provisions)
bydeveloping-country Members
24. TheChairman drew attention tofootnote 5toArticle 2.2oftheAgreement which provided
fordelayedapplicationofcertainrequirementslinkedtoautomaticimportlicensingbydeveloping-country
Members which werenotParties totheTokyo Round Code, foraperiod oftwoyears from thedate
ofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement fortheMembers concerned. Document G/LIC/1/Add.1
listed twomore developing-country Members -Burkina FasoandGuatemala -which hadinvoked the
relevant provisions.
25. TheCommittee tooknoteofthese invocations.G/LIC/M/2
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(ii) Replies totheQuestionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures
Cyprus
26. TheCommitteetooknoteoftheinformationprovidedbyCyprusindocumentG/LIC/N/3/CYP/1.
Ecuador
27. TheChairman referred tothereplies totheQuestionnaire (G/LIC/N/3/ECU/1) received from
Ecuador, which wasnotyetaWTO Member. Heinformed theMembers inthiscontext thatEcuador 's
Protocol ofAccession totheWTO hadbeenadopted bytheGeneral Council on31July1995, and
thatEcuador hadsigned theProtocol subject toratification on27September 1995.
28. Therepresentative ofNew Zealand saidthathehadanumber ofcomments andqueries
concerning thenotification fromEcuador. Among other things, itwasnotcleartohimastohowthe
replies related tospecific questions setoutintheQuestionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures. In
viewofthefactthatEcuador hadsigned itsProtocol ofAccession subject toratification andthatit
wasnotyetaWTO Member, hewondered whether more detailed consideration ofthisnotification
should bedeferred untilEcuador wasaWTO Member.
29. TheCommittee soagreed.
(iii) Notification byRomania
30. TheChairman informed theCommittee thatRomania hadnotified, under Article 5ofthe
Agreement, anautomatic licensing system onimports andexports ofoilandoilproducts; thelicensing
system onimports waseffective asfrom 1October 1995 (G/LIC/N/2/ROM/1).
31. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheinformation provided.
(iv) Other notifications
32. TheChairman further informed theCommittee thatreplies totheQuestionnaire hadalsobeen
received fromtheUnited States, buttoolateforinclusion intheagenda forthismeeting. TheUnited
States hadalsosubmitted acopyeachoftheCode ofFederal Regulations onFood andDrugs, Title21
Part1300 toEnd,revised asof1April 1995; andFederal Register Vol.60,No.140,dated 21July
1995, containing theNuclear Regulatory Commission Regulations governing theImport andExport
ofRadioactive Waste. These twopublications were available intheSecretariat forconsultation by
interested delegations. TheSecretariat hadalsoreceived replies totheQuestionnaire fromBarbados,
Hong Kong, Malta, Mauritius andNorway; Mauritius hadalsonotified existing rulesandprocedures
relevant toimport licensing. These notifications hadnotyetbeencirculated toMembers either because
theyhadbeenreceived aftertheagenda forthismeeting wasissued, orbecause theSecretariat was
awaiting further clarification orinformation. Therelevant documents would beissued shortly for
consideration atthenextmeeting oftheCommittee.
33. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheabove information.
E. Procedures forreview under Article 7.1
34. TheChairman saidthat,inaccordance withArticle 7.1oftheAgreement onImport Licensing
Procedures, "theCommittee shall review asnecessary, butatleast once every twoyears, the
implementation andoperation ofthisAgreement, taking intoaccount theobjectives thereof, andtheG/LIC/M/2
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rights andobligations contained therein." Article 7.2stated that,"asabasis forthereview, the
Secretariat shallprepare afactual report based oninformation provided inArticle 5,responses tothe
annual Questionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures, andother relevant reliable information which
isavailable toit,"andthat"thisreport shallprovide asynopsis oftheaforementioned information,
inparticular indicating anychanges ordevelopments during theperiod under review, andincluding
anyother information asagreed bytheCommittee." Inviewoftheagreement reached onnotification
time-frames atthepresent meeting, heproposed thatareview becarried outatthemeeting ofthe
Committee inautumn 1996bywhich timetheCommittee would havehadsufficient timeandexperience
withthenotification process tomake ameaningful review oftheimplementation andoperation ofthe
Agreement.
35. TheCommittee soagreed.
F. Draft Report (1995) totheCouncil forTrade inGoods
36. TheChairman drewattention toArticle 7.4oftheAgreement which stated thattheCommittee
shallinform theCouncil forTrade inGoods ofdevelopments during theperiod covered byreviews.
Inthelight ofthedecision tocarry outthereview foreseen under Article 7.1atthemeeting in
autumn 1996, andalsoasthedraftReport for1995 circulated inG/LIC/W/2 didnotcontain much
information, itseemed more appropriate tosubmit suchareport totheCouncil forTrade inGoods
afterthisreview hadbeencarried out,i.e.towards theendof1996. Heproposed, therefore, thatthe
Committee should notsubmit areport onitsactivities for1995 totheCouncil forTrade inGoods.
37. TheCommittee soagreed.1
G. Other Business
(i) ECregime fortheimportation, saleanddistribution ofbananas: request for
consultations byGuatemala, Honduras, Mexico andtheUnited States
38. Therepresentative oftheUnited States informed theCommittee thaton28September 1995
theUnited States hadrequested consultations withtheEuropean Communities concerning itsregime
fortheimportation, saleanddistribution ofbananas. Therequest forconsultations wasmade under,
interalia,Articles 1and3oftheAgreement onImport Licensing Procedures. TheUnited States had
beenjoined inthisrequest byGuatemala, Honduras andMexico.
39. TheCommittee tooknoteofthisinformation.
(ii) Procedure forDecisions having financial implications which maybetaken byWTO
bodies
40. TheChairman drew theattention oftheCommittee toarecommendation oftheCommittee
onBudget, Finance andAdministration, approved bytheGeneral Council andcontained indocument
WT/L/76.
41. TheCommittee tooknoteofthisrecommendation.
1Itwassubsequently agreed, ininformal consultations inthebroader context ofreporting procedures for
subsidiary bodies ofSectoral Councils, thatsuchbodies should submit reports ontheiractivities annually tothe
relevant Councils. Accordingly, arevised draftReport oftheCommittee for1995 wasprepared bytheSecretariat
andwassubmittedforapprovalbyMembers(G/LIC/W/2/Rev.1).TheReportapprovedbyMemberswascirculated
asdocument G/L/29.G/LIC/M/2
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(iii) Notifications submitted forcirculation asdocuments
42. TheChairman noted thatnumerous textswereregularly received bytheSecretariat withthe
request thattheybeissued asWTO documents. Asregards notifications made tothisCommittee, it
would greatly facilitate theSecretariat 'staskifdelegations, where atallpossible, could alsoprovide
copies oftheirnotifications ondiskettes, preferably inWordperfect 5.2. Asregards replies tothe
Questionnaire onImport Licensing Procedures, itwould behelpful, inaddition, ifdelegations could
indicate where changes hadbeenmade totheirprevious notifications.
43. TheCommittee tooknoteofthisinformation.
(iv) Dates ofthenexttwomeetings oftheCommittee
44. TheChairman informed theCommittee thatinthecontext ofacalendar offormal meetings
for1996, theSecretariat hadproposed 8March 1996 (10a.m.) and20September 1996 (10a.m.) as
tentative dates forthenexttwomeetings oftheCommittee onImport Licensing. Thiswould beon
theunderstanding thatadditional meetings would beconvened ifnecessary.
45. TheCommittee agreed tothetwodates proposed.2
2Inviewofthetime-limitof30SeptemberagreedfornotificationsunderArticle7.3(paragraph17),theautumn
meeting oftheCommittee isproposed for23October 1996.