RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/L/73
14May1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1877)
Original: English
IMPAIRMENT BYTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY OFTARIFF
TREATMENT OFHIGH-TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
Communication bytheUnited States
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Thefollowing communication hasbeenreceived from thedelegation oftheUnited States.
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TheUnited States wishes todrawtheattention ofMembers torecent developments intheEC's
tarifftreatment ofhigh-technology imports. Thetreatment contemplated intheEU'sUruguay Round
Schedule forproducts including Local AreaNetwork (LAN) equipment, aswellaspersonal computers
withtelevision capability, hasbeenimpaired bytheapplication ofhigher dutyratestothese products.
LAN equipment appears tohavebeenreclassified intoahigher-duty-rate category inIreland,
andpersonal computers withtelevision capability appear tohavebeenreclassified astelevisions in
theUnited Kingdom. Similar actions maybeplanned inother ECMember states. Consequently,
theUnited States considers thatexports ofthese products fromtheUnited States arenotreceiving the
treatment contemplated intheEC'sUruguay Round Schedule. Thetradeinvolved amounts tohundreds
ofmillions ofdollars peryear, andisgrowing every year.
Article II:1oftheGeneral Agreement provides anabsolute obligation toaccord treatment no
lessfavourable thanthatcontemplated inaMember 'sSchedule. Thisobligation isbasic, asitsimply
requires thataMember deliver onthepromises ithasmade. Inourview, thereclassifications byIreland
andtheUnited Kingdom arenotconsistent withtheCommunity 'sSchedule. They should becorrected
inorder touphold theCommunity 'sobligations under theWTO Agreement andnofurther such
reclassifications should takeplace.