RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/STR/W/2
12December 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-4036)
Original: English Working Party onState Trading Enterprises
QUESTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES ONTHE
ARTICLE XVII NOTIFICATIONS OFAUSTRALIA1,
THE CZECH REPUBLIC2,INDONESIA3,KOREA4,MALAYSIA5,
NORWAY6,SOUTH AFRICA7,THAILAND8AND TURKEY9
Thefollowing communication, dated 24November 1995, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission oftheUnited States.
_______________
Australia
WenotethatAustralia didnotinclude theAustralian Barley Board, theWest Australia Grains
Pool, GRAINCO, andGRAINCORP initsArticle XVIInotification. Weunderstand thattheseentities
"enjoyspecialorexclusiverightsorprivileges"inthemeaningoftheUnderstandingontheInterpretation
ofArticle XVII oftheGATT 1994. Could Australia explain whythese entities werenotincluded in
thenotification?
Czech Republic
WenotethattheCzech Republic didnotinclude DIAMO initsArticle XVII notification.
Weunderstand thatthese entities "enjoy special orexclusive rights orprivileges" inthemeaning of
theUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVII oftheGATT 1994. Could theCzech Republic
explain whythisentity wasnotincluded inthenotification?
Indonesia
Wenotethatinthenotification ofBULOG, Indonesia states that"The quantity ofimported
foodproductswhichBULOGpurchasesisdeterminedwithreferencetotheannualgapbetweendomestic
production andtheneeds ofdomestic consumption". Thisdescription suggests thattheoperations of
BULOG might notbeentirely consistent withcertain other GATT Articles. Could Indonesia elaborate
further onthecriteria forimporting thelisted products?
Korea
Wenotethatinitsnotification oftheCheju Citrus Grower 'sAgricultural Cooperative, Korea
states that"The CCGAC imports partofthetariffquota quantity oforanges andcitrus fruits specified
1G/STR/N/1/AUS,2G/STR/N/1/CZEandCorr.1,3G/STR/N/1/IDN,4G/STR/N/1/KOR,
5G/STR/N/1/MYS,6G/STR/N/1/NOR,7G/STR/N/1/ZAF,8G/STR/N/1/THA,9G/STR/N/1/TUR.
./.G/STR/W/2
Page2
inKorea 'sCountry Schedule. Private companies mayalsoimport partofthetariff quota oforanges
andcitrus fruits". Itisourunderstanding thattheCCGAC hasthesoleauthority toimport oranges
under thetariff quota inKorea 'scountry schedule. Could Korea clarify thissituation?
Malaysia
Wenotethatinthenotification ofBernas, Malaysia states that"Basically, riceisimported
tosupplement domestic production. Thetwomain criteria usedfordetermining theannual quantity
tobeimported aretheannual ricedeficit inthecountry andthericestockpile requirement". This
description suggests thattheoperations ofBernas maynotbeentirely consistent withcertain other
GATT Articles. Could Malaysia elaborate further onthecriteria forimporting rice?
WenotethatMalaysia didnotinclude thePetronas initsArticle XVII notification. We
understand thatthisentity "enjoy(s) special orexclusive rights orprivileges" inthemeaning ofthe
Understanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVII oftheGATT 1994. Could Malaysia explain why
thisentity wasnotincluded inthenotification?
Norway
WenotethatNorway didnotinclude Statoil, Norsk Hydro A/S,A/SSydvaranger, andStore
Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani A/SinitsArticle XVII notification. Weunderstand thattheseentities
"enjoyspecialorexclusiverightsorprivileges"inthemeaningoftheUnderstandingontheInterpretation
ofArticle XVII oftheGATT 1994. Could Norway explain whythese entities werenotincluded in
thenotification?
South Africa
WenotethatSouthAfricadidnotincludeSASOLandMOSSGASinitsArticleXVIInotification.
Weunderstand thatthese entities "enjoy special orexclusive rights orprivileges" inthemeaning of
theUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVIIoftheGATT 1994. Could South Africa explain
whythese entities were notincluded inthenotification?
Thailand
Wenotethatinthenotification ofthePublic Warehouse Organization (PWO), Thailand states
thatthePWO, which administers thetariff-rate quota forpotatoes, istasked withensuring thatlocal
production ofpotatoes "willnotcreate anoversupply situation" andtoascertain that"imported potatoes
areusedinplanting". Similarly, fortea,thenotification states thatthePWO actions arerelated to
compliance with"local content regulations". These descriptions suggest thattheoperations ofthePWO
maynotbeentirely consistent withcertain other GATT Articles. Could Thailand elaborate further
ontheoperations ofthePWO inthisregard?
Turkey
WenotethatTurkey didnotinclude ETIBANK, TURKIYE TASKOMURI KURUMU, and
TURKIYE KUMUR ISLETMELERI initsArticle XVIInotification. Weunderstand thattheseentities
"enjoyspecialorexclusiverightsorprivileges"inthemeaningoftheUnderstandingontheInterpretation
ofArticle XVII oftheGATT 1994. Could Turkey explain whythese entities were notincluded in
thenotification?