PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/12 
FOR THE L/7583 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 13 December 1994 
(94-2770) 
IMPLEMENTATION CONFERENCE 
8 DECEMBER 1994 
TRANSITIONAL CO-EXISTENCE OF THE GATT 1947 AND THE WTO AGREEMENT 
Decision of 8 December 1994 adopted by the Preparatory Committee for the WTO 
and the CONTRACTING PARTIES to GATT 1947 
The PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
invites the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 to take 
the following decision: 
The CONTRACTING PARTIES to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (hereinafter referred 
to as "GATT 1947"), 
Noting that not all contracting parties to the GATT 1947 meeting the conditions for original 
membership in the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred "WTO") will be able to 
accept the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO (hereinafter referred to as "WTO 
Agreement") as of its date of entry into force, and that the stability of multilateral trade relations 
would therefore be furthered if the GATT 1947 and the WTO Agreement were to co-exist for 
a limited period of time; 
Considering that, during that period of co-existence, a contracting party which has become 
a Member of the WTO should not be under a legal obligation to extend the benefits accruing 
solely under the WTO Agreement to contracting parties that have not yet become WTO Members 
and should have the right to act in accordance with the WTO Agreement notwithstanding its 
obligations under the GATT 1947; 
Desiring to end the period of co-existence on a date agreed in advance so as to provide 
predictability for policy makers and facilitate an orderly termination of the institutional 
framework of the GATT 1947; 
Decide as follows: 
1. The contracting parties that are Members of the WTO may, notwithstanding the 
provisions of the GATT 1947, 
(a) accord to products originating in or destined for a Member of the WTO the 
benefits to be accorded to such products solely as a result of concessions, 
commitments or other obligations assumed under the WTO Agreement without 
according such benefits to products originating in or destined for a contracting 
party that has not yet become a Member of the WTO; and 
./. PC/12 
L/7583 
Page 2 
(b) maintain or adopt any measure consistent with the provisions of the 
WTO Agreement. 
2. The provisions of Article XXIII of the GATT 1947 shall not apply: 
(a) to disputes brought against a contracting party which is a Member of the WTO 
if the dispute concerns a measure that is identified as a specific measure at 
issue in a request for the establishment of a panel made in accordance with 
Article 6 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the 
Settlement of Disputes in Annex 2 of the WTO Agreement and the dispute 
settlement proceedings following that request are being pursued or are 
completed; and 
(b) in respect of measures covered by paragraph 1 above. 
3. The legal instruments through which the contracting parties apply the GATT 1947 are 
herewith terminated one year after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement. 
In the light of unforeseen circumstances, the CONTRACTING PARTIES may decide 
to postpone the date of termination by no more than one year. 