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TN/AG/W/3
12 July 2006
Annex A
DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR THE CONVERSION OF
FINAL BOUND NON-AD VALOREM DUTIES
INTO AD VALOREM EQUIVALENTS (5)
I. OBJECTIVE
1. There is general understanding amongst Members that construction of a tiered formula for tariff reductions requires a common measurement device for converting the various types of non-ad valorem final bound tariffs to ad valorem equivalents (“AVEs”). These Guidelines are intended to establish such a common methodology for the calculation, and subsequent submission, of AVEs for the purposes of allocating tariffs to the various tiers to be established. The Guidelines are based on the principles of practicality, comparability, simplicity, transparency and verifiability.
2. All Members with final bound non-ad valorem tariffs for agricultural products (as defined in Annex 1 of the Agreement on Agriculture) in their °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Schedules will apply these Guidelines for converting their non-ad valorem tariffs into AVEs (6).
3. There are no preconditions to the tabling of data sets as a working basis. However, it should be noted in this context that all tariff reductions will be made from Members' bound rates, as agreed in paragraph 29 of the Framework Agreement. The issue of tariff simplification remains under negotiation in accordance with paragraph 37 of the Framework Agreement.
4. A solution to the issue of the potential “overlap” in tariff cuts, which may be created at the margins of the tariff bands, will need to be found.
5. While there is broad acceptance that Members are searching for the closest approximation possible of the correct AVE (exact precision being unattainable), it should be noted that in the consultations strong linkages have been made between providing Members “flexibility” and “verification” procedures.
6. At the request of Members, the Secretariat will continue to provide advice on technical matters, including technical assistance which may be necessary in the case of some developing country Members for applying the methodology set out below.
II. CONVERSION METHODOLOGY
7. The principal method for converting the final bound non-ad valorem duties into their ad valorem equivalents will be the unit value method based on IDB import data. This method will be applied in accordance with the modalities outlined in Section A below.
8. An alternative conversion method will be applied to the extent that the unit value method based on IDB import data is not appropriate or not practicable as determined in Section B below.
A. UNIT VALUE METHOD BASED ON IDB IMPORT DATA
1. Formula
9. The final bound non-ad valorem MFN duties specified in Members' Schedules will be converted into their AVEs in accordance with the following formula:
AVE = (SP * 100)/(UV * XR) | ||
AVE: | Ad valoremequivalent (per cent) | |
SP: | Monetary Value of Duty per Unit of Imports | |
UV: | Import Unit Value | |
where | UV = V/(Q * CQ) | |
V | = value of imports | |
Q | = quantity of imports | |
CQ | = conversion factor for quantity units, where appropriate | |
XR: | Currency Exchange Rate, where appropriate |
2. Parameters for the calculations
10. The calculations will be based on total import flows with respect to the non-ad valorem tariff item concerned. The result of the calculations must be closely representative of the true level of tariff protection afforded by the non-ad valorem tariff.
11. The calculations of AVEs will be made in terms of a weighted average for the period 1999-2001. Any exchange rates and conversion factors that may be required for the calculations will relate to, and be applied on, the raw data (i.e. value and/or quantity of imports) for the individual years of this period prior to summing up the values or volumes for the three-year period for the purposes of calculating the weighted averages. In other words, weighted averages for IDB import unit values and world Comtrade import unit values will be calculated, for each tariff line concerned, in the following manner: the import values registered during the three-year period 1999-2001 will be first summed up and then divided by the sum of the import quantities registered during the same period.
12. In the case of seasonal tariffs, a separate AVE will be calculated for each of the seasons.
3. Data requirements and sources
13. The final bound non-ad valorem MFN duties will be sourced from the Consolidated Tariff Schedules Database (CTS).
14. The import values and import quantities will be sourced from the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Integrated Database (IDB) at the most disaggregated tariff line level. The data necessary to calculate world import unit values at the HS-six-digit level derived from the UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade) can be downloaded from the password-protected Members' Web Site. In the following paragraphs, these world import unit values will be referred to as “Comtrade unit values”.
B. ALTERNATIVE AVE CALCULATION
1. Specific situations covered
Missing data
15. An alternative method for the calculation of AVEs to that outlined in Section A above will apply in the following situations:
- the IDB import data for the tariff line concerned are missing, or
- the IDB import value for the tariff line concerned is, on weighted average of the 1999-2001 period, lower than US$ 2,500 or the equivalent in another currency, or
- there are reporting or other errors in the IDB import data.
40/20 Filter
16. An alternative method to that outlined in Section A above will also apply in any case where the IDB-based AVE cannot be considered to reflect the true level of tariff protection afforded by the non-ad valorem tariff. The “40/20 filter” is designed to systematically identify distorted IDB-based AVEs using existing, publicly available data that all Members have access to. This filter will be applied to all AVEs calculated on the basis of IDB import data in accordance with Section A above as well as in the cases specified in paragraphs 22-24 below.
Step 1: Identification of distorted IDB import unit values
17. The difference between the IDB import unit value and an estimated world import unit value is the basis of the first step of the 40/20 filter. To run this filter Members shall:
- Calculate the difference in per cent between (i) the weighted average 1999-2001 IDB import unit values at the tariff line level (7) and (ii) the weighted average 1999-2001 Comtrade unit values (8).
- If the IDB import unit value exceeds the Comtrade unit value by more than 40%, the tariff item is subject to Step 2.
- Otherwise, the IDB AVE is directly used to allocate this item in the appropriate tier of the tariff reduction formula to be established, and the item is not subject to Step 2.
Step 2: Relevance test
18. An IDB import unit value that exceeds the Comtrade unit value by more than 40% does not alone indicate whether a product should be subject to an alternative method of AVE calculation. Calculation of AVEs is not an exact science. In the end, the tariff will be placed within the tiers of the tariff reduction formula. Members are only attempting to identify those products, which are most likely to move to a lower tariff reduction tier as a result of distorted import unit values. Therefore, there should be no concern about an IDB import unit value that is 100% greater than the Comtrade unit value, if the resulting AVE is 3% using IDB data, rather than 6% using Comtrade data. Though there is a 100% difference here, the absolute difference between the AVEs is low enough so as not to warrant additional attention.
19. The relevance test is designed to only identify tariff lines in which there is a large absolute difference between the AVE calculated using IDB and the AVE calculated using Comtrade. To run this test Members will:
- Complete the calculation of AVEs using IDB import unit values.
- Calculate AVEs using Comtrade unit values for those tariff lines identified in Step 1 as requiring the Step 2 relevance test.
- Subtract the IDB AVE from the Comtrade AVE.
- If the resulting difference is greater than 20 percentage points then the tariff line is subject to an alternative AVE calculation method as specified in paragraph 25 below. Otherwise, the IDB AVE is used to allocate this item in the appropriate tier of the tariff reduction formula to be established.
Other
20. Sugar will be treated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 26 below.
2. Alternative methods
21. In any of the cases identified as a result of the provisions under in paragraphs 15 to 20 above, the provisions of paragraphs 9 to 14 will be applied, subject to the following modifications.
Missing data
22. In the case of missing data as specified in paragraph 15 above, Members may apply one of the following alternative methods in place of the average 1999-2001 IDB import unit value, subject to identification of the source of the data:
(i) extend the base period 1999-2001 by up to two years at either end;
(ii) use the IDB import unit value of a closely related tariff line;
(iii) use the IDB import unit value of the tariff line at issue of a near country; or
(iv) use the Comtrade unit value.
23. Members should in principle use a consistent method across all tariff lines. Should the choice vary in order to obtain the most representative price, Members shall specify for each such tariff line which method was used.
24. Except where option (iv) has been chosen, the provisions of paragraphs 16-19 above (40/20 filter) apply.
Alternative treatment pursuant to the 40/20 filter
25. The conversion of non-ad valorem duties, captured in the 40/20 filter, into their AVEs will be calculated using the following weightings based on unit values of Comtrade and IDB data:
(a) For HS Chapters 1 to 16, and the products in Annex 1 of the Agreement on Agriculture in the HS Chapters beyond Chapter 24, a 82.5/17.5 (Comtrade/IDB) weighting will apply.
(b) For HS Chapters 17-24, a 60/40 (Comtrade/IDB) weighting will apply.
Other
26. For all tariff lines for raw and refined sugar, [world prices] [or other prices] will apply [ ].
C. ADDITIONAL DATA REQUIREMENTS
27. The following provisions apply for the methods under both section A and section B above.
28. Where technical conversion factors are necessary, these will be sourced from the FAO unless they are already specified in the Schedule of the Member concerned.
29. All import unit values/prices will be expressed on a c.i.f. basis. Where necessary, f.o.b./c.i.f. conversion factors will be applied according to a methodology to be established.
30. Where the conversion of the currency used to record import values is necessary, the exchange rate to be used will be the annual average market exchange rate published in the International Financial Statistics (IFS) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (9). Where the exchange rates are unavailable from the IFS Yearbook, the rate of exchange to be used will be that duly published by the competent authorities of the importing Member concerned and will reflect, as effectively as possible, the current value of the currency in commercial transactions in terms of the currency of the country of importation.
III. MULTILATERAL VERIFICATION PROCEDURE
31. In order to ensure transparency, the preliminary AVE calculations resulting from the conversion methodology set out in Section II above will be subject to the multilateral verification procedure set out below.
1. Submissions of AVE calculations
32. Members will submit to the Secretariat their preliminary AVE calculations, including full details of the constituent data, data sources and methods applied, using the annexed electronic spreadsheet format (10). Those tariff lines that have been identified by the procedures under paragraphs 15 to 20 above will be identified as such in order to allow particular scrutiny. The Secretariat will post all submissions on the password-protected Members' °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Web Site for the purposes of the multilateral review.
2. Verification
33. The verification process is to ensure that the AVE calculations have been performed in accordance with these Guidelines [details to be developed.]
34. Final lists of AVEs are to be submitted to the Secretariat within [ ] days following the completion of the verification process. Upon receipt, the Secretariat will promptly post these submissions on the password-protected Members' Web Site.
Annex B
Tariff Escalation
Provisional Draft List of Primary and Processed Products
(1)
Bovine meat |
|
Primary product |
Processed product |
0102.90 Live bovine animals other than pure bred breeding animals
|
0201.10 - Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled; Carcasses and half-carcasses Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled. 0202.10 – Meat of bovine animals, frozen; Carcasses and half-carcasses Meat of bovine animals, frozen. 0206.10 – Edible offal of bovine animals, fresh or chilled Edible offal of bovine animals, frozen. 0210.20 – Meat of bovine animals salted, in brine or dried or smoked; Other, including edible flours and meals of meat and meat offal 1602.50 – Prepared or preserved meat, meat offal or blood of bovine animals |
Swine meat |
|
Primary product |
Processed product |
Live Swine, other than pure-bred breeding animals |
0203.11 – Meat of swine, fresh or chilled; Carcasses and half-carcasses Meat of swine, fresh or chilled. 0203.21 – Meat of swine, frozen; Carcasses and half carcasses Meat of swine, fresh or chilled. Meat of swine, frozen. 0206.30 – Edible offal of swine, fresh or chilled Meat of swine salted, in brine, dried or smoked; Edible flours and meals of meat and meat offal Prepared or preserved meat, meat offal or blood of swine. |
Sheep meat |
|
Primary product |
Processed product |
0104.10 Live sheep |
0204.10 – Carcasses and half-carcasses of lamb, fresh or chilled 0204.21 – Other meat of sheep, fresh or chilled; Carcasses and half-carcasses 0204.30 – Carcasses and half-carcasses of lamb, frozen Other meat of sheep, fresh or chilled. Other meat of sheep, frozen. |
Vegetables |
|
Primary product |
Processed product |
0701.90 – Potatoes, fresh or chilled; Other than seed |
0710.10 – Potatoes (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen 2004.10 – Potatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen |
0702.00 – Tomatoes, fresh or chilled |
Tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid. 2009.50 – Tomato juice, unfermented and not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 2103.20 – Tomato ketchup and other tomato sauces |
Fruits |
|
Primary product |
Processed product |
0805.10 – Oranges, fresh or dried |
Orange juice, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or sweetening matter. |
0805.40 – Grapefruit, fresh or dried |
Grapefruit juice, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or sweetening matter. |
0806.10 – Grapes, fresh |
0806.20 – Grapes, dried |
0808.10 – Apples, fresh |
0813.30 – Apples, dried Apple juice, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or sweetening matter. |
Coffee |
|
Primary Product |
Processed Product |
0901.11 – Coffee, not roasted: Not decaffeinated |
0901.21 – Coffee, roasted: Not decaffeinated |
0901.12 – Coffee, not roasted: Decaffeinated |
0901.22 – Coffee, roasted: Decaffeinated |
Cereals |
|
Primary Product |
Processed Product |
1001.10 – Durum Wheat |
11.01 – Wheat or meslin flour |
10.03 – Barley |
11.03.19 Groats and meal, of other cereals1 1104.19 – Rolled or flaked grains, of other cereals1 Malt, whether or not roasted |
10.04 – Oats |
11.03.19 Groats and meal, of other cereals1 Cereal Grains Otherwise Worked (for example, hulled, rolled, flaked, pearled, sliced or kibbled), except rice of heading |
Oilseeds |
|
Primary Product |
Processed Product |
12.01 – Soya Beans, whether or not broken |
Flours and meals of oil seeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard: Soya bean oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1202.10 – Ground-nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken: In shell |
Ground-nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken: Flours and Meals of Oilseeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard, Ground-nut oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included. |
Rape or colza seeds, whether or not broken |
Flours and Meals of Oilseeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard, Rape, colza or mustard oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
12.06 – Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken
|
Flours and Meals of Oilseeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard, Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1207.60 – Safflower seeds |
Flours and Meals of Oilseeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard, Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. Sunflower-seed or safflower oil and fractions thereof: |
Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken 1207.10 – Palm nuts and kernels |
Flours and Meals of Oilseeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard, Palm oil and its refractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified 1511.10 – Crude oil |
Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken 1207.20 – Cotton seeds |
Flours and Meals of Oilseeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard, Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
Sugar |
|
Primary product |
Processed product (3) |
1701.11 – Raw cane sugar, not containing added flavouring or colouring matter 1701.12 – Raw beet sugar, not containing added flavouring or colouring matter |
1701.91 – Cane or beet sugar containing added flavouring or colouring matter 1701.99 – Cane or beet sugar, other than containing added flavouring or colouring matter 1704 – Sugar confectionery (including white chocolate) not containing cocoa |
Cocoa |
|
Primary product |
Processed product |
1801.00 – Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted |
1803.10 – Cocoa paste, not defatted 1804.00 – Cocoa butter, fat and oil Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa. |
][other]
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Annex C
Provisional draft
Tariff Quota Administration (1)
1. Tariff quota commitments shall be administered in a manner which is transparent and predictable, and ensures that the market access opportunities represented by such commitments are made fully and effectively available.
2. [In order to promote this,] Members shall administer tariff quotas in conformity with °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ provisions, including through the following requirements:
(a) A tariff quota commitment shall not be administered in a manner which [hinders] [precludes] in any way the importation of any product or tariff line within the tariff quota.
(b) Members shall provide timely initial allocations of import licences and mechanisms for re-allocation or tradability of tariff quota allotments to ensure that the annual tariff quota quantity is imported within the quota year.
(c) [Members shall not impose seasonal or other time limits on imports under tariff quotas, including those created through delays arising from licensing and associated procedures, which result in under-fill of the quota.]
(d) Members shall not impose [additional] [unfavourable commercial] terms [or requirements] which act to restrict [the importation of] products [eligible for importation under a tariff quota, such as] [within the tariff quota commitment, including] product specification requirements, domestic purchasing requirements, non-viable quota allotments, [restrictions on quota allocation to] [denial of access to quota allocations for] retail distributors and other end-users, restrictions on sales to final consumers, or export or re-export requirements.
(e) [Members shall not credit [allocations or] preferential [imports][tariff quota quantities under] [post-Uruguay Round] bilateral and regional trade agreements against their scheduled °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ tariff quota commitments.] [Members [shall] [may] credit preferential imports, including existing preferential tariff quotas, against scheduled °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ tariff quota commitments.]
(f) Members shall publish [all relevant information] sufficiently in advance [of the opening date for the tariff quota all relevant information] in relation to their administration of tariff quota commitments, including information regarding administrative requirements and procedures [,] [Through the year, information shall be made readily available on] the contact details of importers to whom tariff quota allocations have been attributed and current tariff quota fill rates. [For Members that do not publish publicly available import statistics on tariff quota imports, detailed import statistics for tariff quotas, by tariff line, shall be reported to the Committee on Agriculture on an annual basis.]
(g) [No charges, deposits or other financial requirements shall be imposed, directly or indirectly, on or in connection with the administration of tariff quota commitments or with importation of tariff quota products other than as permitted under the GATT 1994.]
(h) [Members shall not impose unfavourable commercial terms or requirements which act to restrict products eligible for importation under a TRQ such as:
(i) domestic purchasing requirements;
(ii) non-viable quota allotments; and
(iii) export or re-export requirements which restrict imports.]
(i) [Members shall establish a mechanism of redistribution of unused licences in order to ensure that the system is operating according to its intentions. Reallocated quota shares must be valid until the end of the quota period in question.]
3. [Underfill Mechanism:
(a) [If the tariff quota fill rate in any year falls below [85%] (2) the under-filled portion of the tariff quota shall be added to the tariff quota quantity for the following year.
(b) If fill rates are, in each year over a [two-year] period, less than [85] per cent (excluding any additional amount added to the tariff quota under 3(a)), the out-of-quota duty shall be reduced to the in-quota rate [until such time that annual imports equal or exceed the volume specified in the Member's schedule]. Thereafter, the Member shall adopt one of the following options for administering the tariff quota: applied tariffs or licences on demand.]
(a) [If fill rates are, in each year over a [two year] period, less than [80] per cent, the out-of-quota duty shall be reduced to the in-quota rate until such time that imports equal or exceed the volume specified in the Member's Schedule. Until imports equal or exceed the volume specified in the Member's Schedule, the tariff quota shall be operated on an applied tariff basis at the in-quota rate.
(b) If the fill rate drops below [80] per cent in any subsequent [year], the out of quota duty shall again be reduced to the in quota rate until imports equal or exceed the volume specified in the Member's Schedule.]
(a) [If the tariff quota fill rate for any two consecutive years falls below [75] per cent (3) each year, the tariff quota must be administered on a first-come, first-served basis the following year.]]
4. Special and differential treatment
(a) [Developed country Members shall accord special and differential treatment to products from developing country Members in connection with the allocation of expanded access under existing or new tariff quotas resulting from the negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda. For the purposes of Article XIII of GATT 1994, where a tariff quota has been allocated in full or in part among developing country suppliers the individual country allocations shall be as specified in the Schedule of the Member concerned; and any re-allocation of shortfalls shall be made among the developing country suppliers concerned. Developed country Members shall, on request, provide to the maximum extent possible advisory and marketing assistance in order to facilitate imports from developing countries under tariff quotas.]
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Annex D
Illustrative list of indicators for designation of Special Products
(i) The product has been identified as a staple food or as part of the basic food basket of the developing country Member concerned through laws and regulations, including administrative guidelines.
(ii) (a) A significant proportion of the domestic consumption of the product in its natural unprocessed or processed form is met through domestic production in the developing country Member concerned; or
(b) Total domestic production of each food class (in terms of carbohydrates, fats and proteins or any other food class) accounts for a significant proportion of the total normative requirement of that food class in accordance with the dietary preferences in the developing country Member concerned; or
(c) The product contributes to a significant proportion of the total calorific intake per capita per day.
(iii) (a) A significant proportion of the total food expenditure, or of the total income, at the household level in the developing country Member concerned is spent on the product; or
(b) A significant proportion of the total agricultural income at the household level in the developing country Member concerned is derived from the production of the product.
(iv) Domestic consumption of the product in the developing country Member is significant in relation to total world exports of that product.
(v) A significant proportion of total world exports of the product is accounted for by the largest exporting country.
(vi) (a) A significant proportion of the total domestic production of the product is produced on farms or operational land holdings of twenty (20) hectares or of average farm size of the developing country Member concerned or less in size; or
(b) A significant proportion of the farms or operational land holdings producing the product are of twenty (20) hectares or the average farm size of the developing country Member concerned or less in size.
(vii) A significant proportion of the producers engaged in the production of the product are low income, resource poor or are subsistence farmer or disadvantaged producers.
(viii) (a) A relatively high absolute number of people are dependent on the product; or
(b) A significant proportion of the total agricultural population or rural labour force is employed in the production of the product.
(ix) A significant proportion of the gross arable land is under cultivation of the product.
(x) A significant proportion of the domestic production of the product, including a product produced from livestock is produced in drought-prone or hilly or mountainous regions.
(xi) A significant proportion of the domestic production of the product is produced by vulnerable populations such as tribal communities, ethnic groups, women, aged people, or disadvantaged producers.
(xii) The productivity per worker or per hectare of the product in the developing country Member is relatively low as compared to either the average productivity in the world or the highest productivity level achieved in any country.
(xiii) A relatively low proportion of the product is processed in the developing country Member as compared to the world average.
(xiv) The product contributes to improving the living standards of the rural population directly and through its linkages to non-farm rural economic activities, including handicrafts and cottage industries or any other form of rural value addition.
(xv) A significant proportion of the total value of agricultural production or agricultural GDP or agricultural income is contributed to by the product.
(xvi) A significant proportion of the customs tariff revenue is derived from the product in a developing country Member.
(xvii) (a) A significant proportion of the agricultural income or agricultural production is derived from the production of the livestock product(s), or
(b) A significant proportion of the agricultural population or rural labour is employed in the production of the livestock product(s).
(xviii) The product in respect of which product-specific AMS has been notified by any other Member and which has been exported by that notifying Member during any year of the implementation period of the Uruguay Round.
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Annex E
Draft
Special Safeguard Mechanism for Developing Country Members
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1(b) of Article II of GATT 1994 or of Article 4 of this Agreement, any developing country Member may take recourse to the imposition of an additional duty in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5 below in connection with the importation of any agricultural product [which is designated in its Schedule with the symbol “SSM”] if:
(a) the quantity of imports of that product entering the customs territory of that developing country Member [during any year] exceeds a trigger level equal to [130 per cent of] the average yearly quantity of imports [on a most-favoured-nation basis] for the [36 month] period preceding the year of importation for which data are available [or 130 per cent of the average yearly import quantity on a most-favoured-nation basis for the base period of [ ] to [ ], whichever is the greater] (hereinafter referred to as the “average import volume”)[.] [and domestic prices are declining.] [and unit import value of trade on a most-favoured-nation basis are declining relative to the base period.]
[Where there are no, or minimal, levels of imports in the base period or the most recent three-year period for which data are available, [ ] per cent of domestic consumption of the product shall be used as a proxy for “average import volume”. Where historical trade patterns have been disrupted due to historical circumstances, an alternative representative base period shall be used];
or, but not concurrently:
(b) the c.i.f. import price, expressed in terms of the developing country Member's domestic currency, at which a shipment (1) of imports of that product enters the customs territory of that developing country Member during any year (hereinafter referred to as the “import price”), falls below a trigger price equal to [70 per cent of] the average [monthly price (2)] [annual price] for that product [on a most-favoured-nation basis] [for the most recent three-year period preceding the year of importation for which data are available] [for the previous 36 month period] [or 70 per cent of the average price of imports of that product on a most-favoured-nation basis for the base period of [ ] to [ ], whichever is the greater] (hereinafter referred to as the “average [import] [monthly] price”)[.] [and imports are increasing.]
[Provided that, where the developing country Member's domestic currency has at the time of importation depreciated by at least 10 per cent over the preceding 12 months against the international currency or currencies against which it is normally valued the import price shall be computed using the average exchange rate of the domestic currency against such international currency or currencies for the three-year period referred to above.]
2. Imports under any [bound] tariff quota shall be counted for the purpose of determining the volume of imports required for invoking the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) and paragraph 4, but imports within such [bound] tariff quota shall not be affected by any additional duty imposed under either subparagraph 1(a) and paragraph 4 or subparagraph 1(b) and paragraph 5 below.
3. Any shipments of the product in question which have been contracted and were en route after completion of custom clearance procedures in the exporting country before the additional duty is imposed either under subparagraph 1(a) and paragraph 4 or under subparagraph 1(b) and paragraph 5 shall be exempted from any such additional duty, provided that:
(a) the volume of such shipments may be counted in the volume of imports of the product in question during the following year for the purposes of triggering the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) in that year; or
(b) the price of any such shipment may be used during the following year in determining the average [import] [monthly] price trigger for the purposes of triggering the provisions of subparagraphs 1(b) in that year.
4. (a) Any additional duty imposed under subparagraph 1(a) shall be maintained [for no more than 12 months after it has been imposed] [only until the end of the year in which it has been imposed]. [If, import quantities are such that an additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) is applicable in two consecutive years the additional duty in the second year shall be two thirds that applicable in the first year. If, import quantities are such that an additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) is applicable in three consecutive years the additional duty in the third year shall be one third that applicable in the first year. No additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) may be imposed until [ ] years have passed after the third consecutive year of application of additional duties.
[(b) An additional duty imposed under subparagraph 1(a) may only be levied at levels that do not exceed [20 per cent of the current bound duty.] [those specified in the following schedule:
(i) where the level of imports during a year does not exceed 105 per cent of the average import volume, no additional duty may be imposed;
(ii) where the level of imports during a year exceeds 105 per cent but does not exceed 110 per cent of the average import volume, the maximum additional duty that may be imposed shall not exceed 50 per cent of the bound tariff or 40 percentage points, whichever is higher;
(iii) where the level of imports during a year exceeds 110 per cent but does not exceed 130 per cent of the average import volume, the maximum additional duty that may be imposed shall not exceed 75 per cent of the bound tariffs or 50 percentage points, whichever is higher; and
(iv) where the level of imports during a year exceeds 130 per cent of the average import volume, the maximum additional duty that may be imposed shall not exceed 100 per cent of the bound tariff or 60 percentage points, whichever is higher.]]
[(b) An additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) may be invoked if imports over the previous six months are [ ] per cent greater than imports over the same six months period in the preceding twelve months.
Any additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) and 1(b) above shall not exceed [ ] per cent of the difference between the Final Bound Rate of duty of the Uruguay Round and the current Bound Rate in the developing country Member's Schedule. Least-developed country Members may apply an additional duty of [ ].]
5. [(a) Any additional duty imposed under subparagraph 1(b) may be assessed either on a shipment-by-shipment basis or on an ad valorem basis for a duration of no more than 12 months as defined in subparagraph 5(b) below.
(b) In the event that the additional duty is assessed on that product:
(i) on a shipment-by-shipment basis, the additional duty shall not exceed the difference between the import price of each shipment and the trigger price;
(ii) on an ad valorem basis, the additional duty shall not exceed the difference between the import price of the shipment and the trigger price referred to in subparagraph 1(b) above, expressed as a percentage of that import price;
provided that if at least two subsequent shipments are at import prices that are 5 per cent or more lower than the trigger price referred to in subparagraph 1(b), the developing country Member may shift to the imposition of additional duty on a shipment-by-shipment basis as set out in subparagraph 5(b)(i) above.]
[(a) An additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) may be invoked if the average domestic prices over the previous [ ] months are [ ] per cent lower than the average domestic prices over the same six month period in the preceding twelve months.
(b) Any additional duty under subparagraph 1(a) and 1(b) above shall not exceed [ ] per cent of the difference between the Final Bound Rate of duty of the Uruguay Round and the current Bound Rate in the developing country Member's Schedule. Least-developed country Members may apply an additional duty of [ ].]
[(a) Any additional duty under subparagraph 1(b) shall apply on a shipment-by-shipment basis according to the following schedule:
(i) no additional duty may be applied if the import price is less than 20 per cent below the trigger price defined in subparagraph 1(b);
(ii) an additional duty of up to 15 per cent of the difference between the import price and the trigger price may be applied if the import price is more than 20 per cent but less than, or equal to, 30 per cent below the trigger price;
(iii) an additional duty of up to 20 per cent of the difference between the import price and the trigger price may be applied if the import price is more than 30 per cent but less than, or equal to, 40 per cent below the trigger price;
(iv) an additional duty of up to 25 per cent of the difference between the import price and the trigger price may be applied if the import price is more than 40 per cent but less than, or equal to, 50 per cent below the trigger price;
(v) an additional duty of up to 30 per cent of the difference between the import price and the trigger price may be applied if the import price is more than 50 per cent below the trigger price.
6. [The trigger levels under paragraphs 1(a) may be decreased by [20] per cent and under paragraph 1(b) may be reduced by [20] per cent and the additional duty under subparagraphs 1(a) and 1(b) may be increased by [20] per cent for products the export of which was subsidized by a developed country Member.]
7. [Any additional duty under subparagraphs 1(a) or 1(b) shall not exceed [ ] per cent of the difference between the bound duty applicable in [2007] and the current bound duty.]
8. For perishable and seasonal products, the conditions set out above shall be applied in such a manner as to take account of the specific characteristics of such products. In particular, shorter time periods under subparagraph 1(a) and paragraph 4 may be used in reference to the corresponding period in the three-year period referred to in subparagraph 1(a) and different trigger prices for different periods may be used under subparagraph 1(b).
9. The operation of the special safeguard shall be carried out in a transparent manner. Any developing country Member taking action under subparagraph 1(a) above shall give notice in writing, indicating the tariff lines affected by the measure and including relevant data to the extent available, to the Committee on Agriculture as far in advance as may be practicable and in any event within 30 days of the implementation of such action. A developing country Member taking action under paragraph 4 shall afford any interested Members the opportunity to consult with it in respect of the conditions of application of such action. Any developing country Member taking action under subparagraph 1(b) above shall give notice in writing, indicating the tariff lines affected by the measure and including relevant data to the extent available, to the Committee on Agriculture within 30 days of the implementation of the first such action or, for perishable and seasonal products, the first action in any period. Developing country Members undertake, as far as practicable, not to take recourse to the provisions of subparagraph 1(b) where the volume of imports of the products concerned are declining. In either case a developing country Member taking such action shall afford any interested Members the opportunity to consult with it in respect of the conditions of application of such action.
10. Where measures are taken in conformity with paragraphs 1 through 7 above, Members undertake not to have recourse, in respect of such measures, to the provisions of paragraphs 1(a) and 3 of Article XIX of GATT 1994 or paragraph 2 of Article 8 of the Agreement on Safeguards.
[11. No developing country Member shall take recourse to measures under Article 5 in respect of any product on which it has imposed additional duties pursuant to the provisions of this Article.]
[12. This Article shall expire [ ].]
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Annex F
Draft [Indicative List of ]
Tropical Agricultural Products and
Products of Particular Importance to the Diversification of Production
from the Growing of Illicit Narcotic Crops (1)
HS4 DESCRIPTION |
|
0602 |
Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn. |
0603 |
Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared. |
0604 |
Foliage, branches and other parts of plants, without flowers or flower buds, and grasses, mosses and lichens, being goods of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared. |
0701 |
Potatoes, fresh or chilled. |
0702 |
Tomatoes, fresh or chilled. |
0709 |
Other vegetables, fresh or chilled. |
0711 |
Vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption. |
0713 |
Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split. |
0714 |
Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets; sago pith. |
0801 |
Coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled. |
0802 |
Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled. |
0803 |
Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried. |
0804 |
Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried. |
0805 |
Citrus fruit, fresh or dried. |
0807 |
Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh. |
0810 |
Other fruit, fresh. |
0811 |
Fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter. |
0812 |
Fruit and nuts, provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption. |
0813 |
Fruit, dried, other than that of headings Nos. 08.01 to 08.06; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this Chapter. |
0814 |
Peel of citrus fruit or melons (including watermelons), fresh, frozen, dried or provisionally preserved in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions. |
0901 |
Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion. |
0902 |
Tea, whether or not flavoured. |
0904 |
Pepper of the genus Piper; dried or crushed or ground fruits of the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta. |
0905 |
Vanilla. |
0906 |
Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers. |
0907 |
Cloves (whole fruit, cloves and stems). |
0908 |
Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms. |
0909 |
Seeds of anise, badian, fennel, coriander, cumin or caraway; juniper berries. |
0910 |
Ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices. |
1106 |
Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading No. 07.13, of sago or of roots or tubers of heading No. 07.14 or of the products of Chapter 8. |
1108 |
Starches; inulin. |
1202 |
Ground-nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken. |
1203 |
Copra. |
1207 |
Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken. |
1208 |
Flours and meals of oil seeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard. |
1211 |
Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered. |
1212 |
Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included. |
1301 |
Lac; natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins (for example, balsams). |
1302 |
Vegetable saps and extracts; pectic substances, pectinates and pectates; agar-agar and other mucilages and thickeners, whether or not modified, derived from vegetable products. |
1401 |
Vegetable materials of a kind used primarily for plaiting (for example, bamboos, rattans, reeds, rushes, osier, raffia, cleaned, bleached or dyed cereal straw, and lime bark). |
1402 |
Vegetable materials of a kind used primarily as stuffing or as padding (for example, kapok, vegetable hair and eel-grass), whether or not put up as a layer with or without supporting material. |
1403 |
Vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in brooms or in brushes (for example, broomcorn, piassava, couch-grass and istle), whether or not in hanks or bundles. |
1404 |
Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included. |
1502 |
Fats of bovine animals, sheep or goats, other than those of heading No. 15.03. |
1504 |
Fats and oils and their fractions, of fish or marine mammals, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1505 |
Wool grease and fatty substances derived therefrom (including lanolin). |
1507 |
Soya-bean oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1508 |
Ground-nut oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1511 |
Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1512 |
Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1513 |
Coconut (copra), palm kernel or babassu oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1515 |
Other fixed vegetable fats and oils (including jojoba oil) and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. |
1516 |
Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their fractions, partly or wholly hydrogenated, inter-esterified, re-esterified or elaidinised, whether or not refined, but not further prepared. |
1517 |
Margarine; edible mixtures or preparations of animal or vegetable fats or oils or of fractions of different fats or oils of this Chapter, other than edible fats or oils or their fractions of heading No. 15.16. |
1518 |
Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their fractions, boiled, oxidised, dehydrated, sulphurised, blown, polymerised by heat in vacuum or in inert gas or otherwise chemically modified, excluding those of heading No. 15.16; inedible mixtures or preparations of animal or vegetable fats or oils or of fractions of different fats or oils of this Chapter, not elsewhere specified or included. |
1520 |
Glycerol, crude; glycerol waters and glycerol lyes. |
1521 |
Vegetable waxes (other than triglycerides), beeswax, other insect waxes and spermaceti, whether or not refined or coloured. |
1522 |
Degras; residues resulting from the treatment of fatty substances or animal or vegetable waxes. |
1701 |
Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form. |
1703 |
Molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar. |
1801 |
Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted. |
1802 |
Cocoa shells, husks, skins and other cocoa waste. |
1803 |
Cocoa paste, whether or not defatted. |
1804 |
Cocoa butter, fat and oil. |
1805 |
Cocoa powder, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter. |
1806 |
Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa. |
1903 |
Tapioca and substitutes therefore prepared from starch, in the form of flakes, grains, pearls, siftings or in similar forms. |
2001 |
Vegetables, fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid. |
2004 |
Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen, other than products of heading No. 20.06. |
2005 |
Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading No. 20.06. |
2006 |
Vegetables, fruit, nuts, fruit-peel and other parts of plants, preserved by sugar (drained, glacés or crystallised). |
2007 |
Jams, fruit jellies, marmalades, fruit or nut purée and fruit or nut pastes, being cooked preparations, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter. |
2008 |
Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included. |
2009 |
Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter. |
2101 |
Extracts, essences and concentrates, of coffee, tea or maté and preparations with a basis of these products or with a basis of coffee, tea or maté; roasted chicory and other roasted coffee substitutes, and extracts, essences and concentrates thereof. |
2103 |
Sauces and preparations therefore; mixed condiments and mixed seasonings; mustard flour and meal and prepared mustard. |
2208 |
Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 % vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages. |
2305 |
Oil-cake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of ground-nut oil. |
2306 |
Oil-cake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of vegetable fats or oils, other than those of heading No. 23.04 or 23.05. |
2401 |
Unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse. |
2402 |
Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes. |
2403 |
Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; “homogenised” or “reconstituted” tobacco; tobacco extracts and essences. |
3203 |
Colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin (including dyeing extracts but excluding animal black), whether or not chemically defined; preparations as specified in Note 3 to this Chapter based on colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin. |
3301 |
Essential oils (terpeneless or not), including concretes and absolutes; resinoids; extracted oleoresins; concentrates of essential oils in fats, in fixed oils, in waxes or the like, obtained by enfleurage or maceration; terpenic by-products of the deterpenation of essential oils; aqueous distillates and aqueous solutions of essential oils. |
5001 |
Silk-worm cocoons suitable for reeling |
5202 |
Cotton, not carded or combed |
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Annex G
[Draft List of Products Relating to Long-standing Preferences and Preference Erosion (1)]
Importing Member |
HS4 |
HS4 DESCRIPTION |
|
|
Meat of Bovine Animals |
EC |
0201 |
Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled |
EC |
0202 |
Meat of bovine animals, frozen |
|
|
|
|
|
Bananas |
EC |
0803 |
Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried. |
|
|
|
|
|
Sugar |
EC and United States |
1701 |
Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form. |
EC and United States |
1703 |
Molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar |
|
|
|
|
|
Other Fruits and Vegetables |
EC |
Ex 0804 |
Pineapples |
EC |
Ex 0806 |
Fresh grapes |
EC |
Ex 2005 |
Unshelled beans “Vigna spp., Phaseolus spp.”, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid (excl. frozen) |
EC |
Ex 2005 |
Vegetables and mixtures of vegetables, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar, non-frozen (excl. preserved by sugar... |
EC |
Ex 2008 |
Pineapples, prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit... |
EC |
Ex 2008 |
Citrus fruit, prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit nes |
United States |
Ex 2009 |
Frozen orange juice, unfermented, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter (excl. containing spirit) |
EC |
Ex 2009 |
Grapefruit juice, unfermented, Brix value > 20 at 20°C, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter... |
|
|
|
|
|
Beverages and Spirits |
EC |
Ex 2207 |
Undenatured ethyl alcohol, of actual alcoholic strength greater or equal to 80% |
EC |
Ex 2208 |
Rum and raffia |
[Provisional Indicative List of Products Relating to Long-Standing Preferences (2)]
HS4 |
HS4 Description |
0201 |
Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled |
0202 |
Meat of bovine animals, frozen |
0207 |
Meat and edible offal, of the poultry of heading No 0105, fresh, chilled or frozen |
0602 |
Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn |
0603 |
Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared |
0703 |
Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled |
0708 |
Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled |
0709 |
Other vegetables, fresh or chilled |
0710 |
Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen |
0714 |
Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets; sago pith |
0802 |
Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled |
0803 |
Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried |
0804 |
Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried |
0806 |
Grapes, fresh or dried |
0807 |
Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh |
0808 |
Apples, pears and quinces, fresh |
0810 |
Other fruit, fresh |
0813 |
Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this chapter |
0905 |
Vanilla |
1001 |
Wheat and meslin |
1002 |
Rye |
1006 |
Rice |
1102 |
Cereal flours other than of wheat or meslin |
1103 |
Cereal groats, meal and pellets |
1508 |
Ground-nut oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified |
1511 |
Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified |
1513 |
Coconut (copra), palm kernel or babassu oil and fractions thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified |
1701 |
Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form |
1703 |
Molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar |
1804 |
Cocoa butter, fat and oil |
1904 |
Prepared foods obtained by the swelling or roasting of cereals or cereal products (for example, corn flakes); cereals (other than maize (corn)) in grain form or in the form of flakes or other worked grains (except flour, groats and meal), pre-cooked or ot |
2002 |
Tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid |
2005 |
Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading No 2006 |
2008 |
Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included |
2009 |
Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter |
2101 |
Extracts, essences and concentrates, of coffee, tea or maté and preparations with a basis of these products or with a basis of coffee, tea or maté; roasted chicory and other roasted coffee substitutes, and extracts, essences and concentrates thereof |
2103 |
Sauces and preparations therefor; mixed condiments and mixed seasonings; mustard flour and meal and prepared mustard |
2204 |
Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must other than that of heading No 2009 |
2207 |
Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% vol or higher; ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any strength |
2208 |
Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80% vol; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages |
2309 |
Preparations of a kind used in animal feeding |
2401 |
Unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse |
2402 |
Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes |
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Annex H*
AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE: Annex 2
Running list of proposed changes to paragraphs 2 through 13
Government Service Programmes
General services (paragraph 2)
(i) Add the following subparagraph (h), including a footnote, to the existing paragraph 2:
(h) agrarian, land and institutional reform[, and any other programmes related to food and livelihood security and rural development, in developing country Members,] including services related to such [reform and other] programmes. 1
Text of footnote 1: Such reform and other programmes include, inter alia, settlement programmes, issuance of property titles, employment assurance, [provision of infrastructure,] nutritional security, poverty alleviation, soil conservation and resource management, and drought management and flood control.
(ii) Add the following subparagraph (h) to the existing paragraph 2:
(h) services relating to agrarian, land and institutional reform, food and livelihood security and rural development, including issuance of property titles, employment assurance, nutritional security, poverty alleviation, soil conservation and resource management, and drought management and flood control.
(iii) Add the following subparagraph (h) to the existing paragraph 2:
(h) Policies and services related to farmer settlement, land reform and the redress of historical land ownership structures in developing country Members. These services may include the provision of infrastructure, land rehabilitation, soil conservation and food security programmes to promote rural development and poverty alleviation
Public stockholding for food security purposes 5 (paragraph 3)
(i) Modify the existing footnote 5 as follows:
For the purposes of paragraph 3 of this Annex, governmental stockholding programmes for food security purposes in developing countries whose operation is transparent and conducted in accordance with officially published objective criteria or guidelines shall be considered to be in conformity with the provisions of this paragraph, including programmes under which stocks of foodstuffs for food security purposes are acquired and released at administered prices, provided that the difference between the acquisition price and the external reference price is accounted for in the AMS.
(ii) Add text at the end of the existing footnote 5:
... However, acquisition of stocks of foodstuffs by developing country Members with the objective of supporting low-income or resource-poor producers shall not be required to be accounted for in the AMS.
Domestic food aid 6 (paragraph 4)
(i) Modify the existing footnote 5&6 as follows:
5&6 For the purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Annex, the acquisition of foodstuffs at subsidized prices when procured generally from low-income or resource-poor producers in developing country Members with the objective of fighting hunger and rural poverty, as well as the provision of foodstuffs at subsidized prices with the objective of meeting food requirements of urban and rural poor in developing countries on a regular basis at reasonable prices shall be considered to be in conformity with the provisions of this paragraph.
Direct payments to producers (paragraph 5)
(i) Add text at the end of the first sentence and modify the second sentence of the existing paragraph 5 as follows:
(a) Support provided through direct payments (or revenue foregone, including payments in kind) to producers for which exemption from reduction commitments is claimed shall meet the basic criteria set out in paragraph 1 above, plus specific criteria applying to individual types of direct payment as set out in paragraphs 6 through 13 below. Direct payments shall not be linked to production levels, including input levels therein. When Members make such payments, they shall notify the base period and all other relevant criteria, as well the laws, regulations, and administrative decisions of such programmes made under this provision. Further notifications under paragraph 5(a) shall include regular and periodic information on how the programmes under this provision achieve the stated objectives.
(b) Where exemption from reduction is claimed for any existing or new type of direct payment other than those specified in paragraphs 6 through 13, it shall conform to criteria (b) through (e) in paragraph 6, in addition to the general criteria set out in paragraph 1.
(ii) Modify the existing paragraph 5 as follows.
Support provided through direct payments (or revenue foregone, including payments in kind) to producers for which exemption from reduction commitments is claimed shall meet the basic criteria set out in paragraph 1 above, plus specific criteria applying to individual types of direct payment as set out in paragraphs 6 through 13 below. Where exemption from reduction is claimed for any existing or new type of direct payment other than those specified in paragraphs 6 through 13, it shall conform to criteria (b) through (e) in paragraph 6, in addition to the general criteria set out in paragraph 1.
(iii) Add text at the end of the existing paragraph 5:
... On-going payments shall be based on activities in a defined, fixed and unchanging historical base period.
(iv) Add subparagraph (c) and modify the existing paragraph 5 as follows:
(a) Support provided through direct payments (or revenue foregone, including payments in kind) to producers for which exemption from reduction commitments is claimed shall meet the basic criteria set out in paragraph 1 above, plus specific criteria applying to individual types of direct payment as set out in paragraphs 6 through 13 below.
(b) Where exemption from reduction is claimed for any existing or new type of direct payment other than those specified in paragraphs 6 through 13, it shall conform to criteria (b) through (e) in paragraph 6, in addition to the general criteria set out in paragraph 1.
(c) Transparency and Reporting (to be developed
Decoupled income support (paragraph 6)
(i) Modify the existing subparagraphs (a) and (e) and add a subparagraph (f) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by clearly-defined criteria such as of low levels of income, status as a producer or landowner, factor use or production landholding and production level in a notified, defined and fixed and unchanging base period. Developing country Members who have not previously made use of this type of payment, and thus have not notified, shall not be precluded from establishing an appropriate base period 7, which shall be fixed and unchanging and shall be notified.
(e) Land, labour, or any other factor of production shall not be required to be in “agricultural use” and no production shall be required in order to receive payments.
(f) Such payments shall not be made in conjunction with AMS support and support under Article 6.5, if the sum of such support, as appropriate8, exceeds X per cent of the annual value of production of a given product.
Text of footnote 7: Developing country Members may not have the capacity to fully assess the impact of innovation in their agricultural policies. Accordingly, the base period of a time-limited experimental or pilot programme may not be taken as the fixed and unchanging base period for the purposes of this paragraph.
Note 8: This is without prejudice to the final outcome of the negotiations of the amendment of Article 6.5.
(ii) Modify the existing subparagraph (a) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by clearly-defined criteria such as income, status as a producer or landowner, factor use or production level in a defined and fixed and unchanging historical base period.
Government financial participation in income insurance and income safety-net programmes (paragraph 7)
(i) Modify subparagraphs (a) and (b) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 per cent of average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry, or in the case of a developing country Member, in accordance with specific criteria which shall be defined in national legislation9. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments.
Text of footnote 9: Includes administrative orders and regulations made by the designated competent authorities.
(b) The amount of such payments shall compensate only up to for less than 70 per cent of the producer's income loss in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance. In the case of a developing country Member, compensation shall only be up to a certain proportion of the producer's income which shall be defined in national legislation10.
Text of footnote 10: Includes administrative orders and regulations made by the designated competent authorities.
(ii) Add two footnotes to the existing subparagraphs (a) and (b):
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss1, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 per cent of average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments.
Text of the footnote 1: Developing country Members may determine the income loss on an aggregate basis of the agriculture sector as a whole (i.e. not on an individual basis) at either a national or regional level.
(b) The amount of such payments shall compensate for less than 70 per cent of the producer's income loss2 in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance.
Text of footnote 2: If developing country Members have based the eligibility criteria in 7(a) above on an aggregate basis of the agriculture sector as a whole, the total amount of payments shall compensate for less than 70 per cent of the aggregate income loss of the agriculture sector as a whole.
(iii) Modify the existing subparagraphs (a) and (b) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss of the farm enterprise as a whole, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 per cent of the reference income, which is average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three five- year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments from the government.
(b) The amount of such payments by governments shall compensate for less than 70 per cent of the producer's income loss in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance raise the producer's income to no more than 70 per cent of the producer's reference income.
(iv) Modify the existing subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 per cent of the reference income, which is average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three five -year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments from the government.
(b) The amount of such payments by governments shall in the year the producer is eligible to receive this assistance, raise the producer's income to no more than 70 per cent of the producer's reference income. compensate for less than 70 per cent of the producer's income loss in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance.
(c) The amount of any such payments shall relate solely to income derived from agriculture of the farm enterprises' as a whole; it shall not relate to the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer; or to the prices, domestic or international, applying to such production; or to the factors of production employed.
(v) Modify the existing subparagraphs (a) and (b) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 per cent of the reference income, which is average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three minimum five-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments directly or indirectly from the government.
(b) The amount of such payments, directly or indirectly from the government, shall, shall compensate for less than 70 per cent of the producer's income loss in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance contribute only up to 70 per cent of the producer's reference income.
Payments (made either directly or by way of government financial participation in crop insurance schemes) for relief from natural disasters (paragraph 8)
(i) Modify subparagraphs (a) and (b) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural disaster or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry, or in the case of a developing country Member, in accordance with specific criteria which shall be defined in national legislation11.
Text of footnote 11: Includes administrative orders and regulations made by the designated competent authorities.
(b) Payments made following a disaster shall be applied only in respect of losses of income, crop, livestock (including payments in connection with the veterinary treatment of animals), land or other production factors due to the natural disaster or other disaster in question.
(ii) Add a footnote to the existing subparagraph (a):
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural disaster or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss3 which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry .
Text of footnote 3: Developing country Members may determine the production loss of the affected sector(s) or region(s) on an aggregate basis.
(iii) Modify subparagraph (a) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural disaster or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. In the case of developing country Members, payments for relief from natural disasters may be provided to producers when the estimated production loss is less than 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period.
(iv) Add to the existing subparagraph (a) and modify the existing subparagraph (b) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise:
(i) In the case of direct payments related to disasters only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on the territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding three five-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry.
(ii) In the case of government financial participation in crop or production insurance schemes, eligibility for such payments shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in a period demonstrated to be actuarially appropriate.
(iii) In the case of the destruction of animals or crops to control or prevent pests, diseases, disease-carrying organisms or disease-causing organisms named in national legislation or international standards, the production loss may be less than the 30 per cent of the average of production referred to above.
(b) Payments made following a disaster shall be applied only in respect of losses of income, crops, livestock (including payments in connection with the veterinary treatment of animals), land or other production factors due to the natural disaster in question.
(v) Add to the existing subparagraph (a) and modify the existing subparagraphs (b) and (d) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise:
(i) In the case of direct payments related to disasters Eligibility for such payments shall arise only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on the territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding three five-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry.
(ii) In the case of government financial participation in crop insurance schemes, eligibility for such payments shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in an actuarially appropriate period.
(iii) In the case of the destruction of animals or crops to control or prevent diseases named in legislation or international standards, the production loss may be less than the 30 per cent of the average of production referred to above.
(b) Payments made following a disaster under Paragraph 8 shall be applied only in respect of losses of income, livestock (including payments in connection with the veterinary treatment of animals), land or other production factors or destruction of animals or crops due to the natural disaster in question.
(d) Payments made during a disaster under Paragraph 8 shall not exceed the level required to prevent or alleviate further loss as defined in criterion (b) above.
(vi) Add to the existing subparagraph (a) and modify the existing subparagraphs (b) and (d) as follows:
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise:
(i) In the case of direct payments, eligibility shall arise, only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on the territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in the preceding minimum five-year three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry.
(ii) In the case of government financial participation in production insurance schemes, eligibility shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 per cent of the average of production in a period that is actuarially appropriate.
(iii) Where payments under this paragraph are made in respect of the destruction of animals or crops to control or prevent a disease identified by an appropriate authority, may arise when the production loss is less than the 30 per cent of the average of production referred to in paragraph 8(a)(i) or 8(a)(ii), as applicable.
(b) Payments made under this paragraph following a disaster shall be applied only in respect of losses of income, livestock (including payments in connection with the veterinary treatment of animals), land or other production factors due to the natural disaster or destruction of animals or crops in question.
(d) Payments made under this paragraph during a disaster shall not exceed the level required to prevent or alleviate further loss as defined in criterion (b) above.
Structural adjustment assistance provided through investment aids (paragraph 11)
(i) Modify the existing subparagraph (b) as follows:
(b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after a fixed and unchanging base period, other than as provided for under criterion (e) below. Developing country Members who have not previously [made use of this type of payment, and thus have not notified] [notified the usage of this type of payment], shall not be precluded from establishing an appropriate base period [12, which shall be fixed and unchanging and shall be notified].
Text of footnote 12: Developing country Members may not have the capacity to fully assess the impact of innovation in their agricultural policies. Accordingly, the base period of a time-limited experimental or pilot programme may not be taken as the fixed and unchanging base period for the purposes of this paragraph.
(ii) Add at the end of subparagraph (a) and modify the existing subparagraph (b) as follows:
(a) ... Such structural disadvantages must be clearly defined.
(b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production, [the use of factors of production,] or inputs into the production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after a fixed and unchanging historical the base period, other than as provided for under criterion (e) below. The base period shall be notified.
Payments under environmental programmes (paragraph 12)
(i) Add the following subparagraph (c) to the existing paragraph 12:
(c) The conditions spelt out in paragraphs 12 (a) and (b) above shall not apply to payments made by developing country Members.
(ii) Modify the existing subparagraph (b) as follows:
(b) The amount of payment shall be limited to the extra costs or loss of income involved in complying with the government programme and not be related to or based on the volume of production.
Payments under regional assistance programmes (paragraph 13)
(i) Add text at the end of subparagraph (a) and modify the existing subparagraph (b) as follows:
(a) ... Developing country Members shall be exempted from the condition that disadvantaged regions must constitute a clearly designated contiguous geographical area with a definable economic and administrative identity.
(b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the fixed and unchanging historical base period, which shall be notified, other than to reduce that production. Developing country Members who have not previously made use of this type of payment, and thus have not notified, shall not be precluded from establishing an appropriate base period13, which shall be fixed and unchanging and shall be notified.
Text of footnote 13: Developing country Members may not have the capacity to fully assess the impact of innovation in their agricultural policies. Accordingly, the base period of a time-limited experimental or pilot programme may not be taken as the fixed and unchanging base period for the purposes of this paragraph.
(ii) Add text at the end of subparagraph (a) and modify the existing subparagraphs (b) and (f) as follows:
(a) ... Developing country Members will be exempt from the condition that the disadvantaged region be a clearly designated contiguous geographical area with a definable economic and administrative identity.
(b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the fixed and unchanging historical base period, which shall be notified, other than to reduce that production. Developing country Members should not be precluded from utilizing this kind of payment in the future in the event that no base period was notified. An appropriate base period which shall be fixed and unchanging and shall be established and notified.
(f) The payments shall be limited to the extra costs or loss of income involved in undertaking agricultural production (including livestock production) in the prescribed area.
(iii) Add text at the end of the existing subparagraph (a) as follows:
(a) ... Developing country Members shall be exempted from the condition that disadvantaged regions must constitute a clearly designated contiguous geographical area with a definable economic and administrative identity.
(iv) Modify the existing subparagraph (b) as follows:
(b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the fixed and unchanging historical base period, which shall be notified, other than to reduce that production.
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Annex I
Possible New Article 10.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture
Export Credits, Export Credit Guarantees or Insurance Programmes
1. General Provisions
1. Subject to the provisions of this Article, Members shall not, directly or indirectly, provide support or enable support to be provided for, or in connection with, the financing of exports of agricultural products, including the credit and other risks associated therewith [, otherwise than on market related terms and conditions]. Each Member accordingly undertakes not to provide export financing support otherwise than in conformity with this Article [and with the commitments as specified in Members schedules].
2. Forms and Providers of Export Financing Support Subject to Discipline
2. For the purpose of this Article, the term “export financing support” includes any of the following forms of support for, or in connection with, the financing of exports of agricultural products:
(a) direct financing support, comprising direct credits/financing, refinancing, and interest rate support;
(b) risk cover, comprising export credit insurance or reinsurance and export credit guarantees;
(c) government-to-government credit agreements covering the imports of agricultural products exclusively from the creditor country under which some or all of the risk is undertaken by the government of the exporting country; and
(d) any other form of governmental export credit support, direct or indirect, including deferred invoicing and foreign exchange risk hedging.
3. The provisions of this Article shall apply to export financing support provided by or on behalf of the following entities, hereinafter referred to as “export financing entities”, whether such entities are established at the national or at the sub-national level:
(a) government departments, agencies, or statutory bodies;
(b) any financial institution or entity engaged in export financing in which there is governmental participation by way of equity, provision of loans or underwriting of losses; [and]
(c) [agricultural export state trading enterprises; and]
(d) any bank or other private financial, credit insurance or guarantee institution which acts on behalf of or at the direction of governments or their agencies.
3. Terms and Conditions
4. Export financing support shall be provided in conformity with terms and conditions set out below. Such conforming export financing support [shall be deemed to comply with paragraph 1 above.] [shall not be deemed not to be an export subsidy for the purposes of this Agreement or of any of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Agreements nor shall such support be deemed a non-commercial transaction for the purposes of Article 10.1 of the Agreement on Agriculture.] [Furthermore, support in the form of export credit insurance, reinsurance or guarantees shall not be provided in respect of export financing contracts whose terms and conditions are not otherwise in conformity with the provisions of this paragraph.]
(a) Maximum repayment term: The maximum repayment term of a supported export credit, the period beginning at the starting point of credit (3) and ending on the contractual date of the final payment, shall be no more than 180 days[(4)] [without exception.][except for:
(i) breeding stock; for which the maximum repayment period shall be [36] months;
(ii) agricultural vegetable reproduction material, for which the maximum repayment period shall be [12] months;
(iii) all agricultural products exported to least-developed and net food-importing developing countries (as set out in paragraph 7.12), for which the maximum repayment period shall be [36] months; and
(iv) all agricultural products to developing country Members under exceptional circumstances (as set out in paragraph 7.13), in which case the maximum repayment period shall be [36] months.]
(b) Payment of interest: Interest shall be payable. “Interest” excludes premiums and other charges for insuring or guaranteeing supplier or financial credits, banking fees or commissions relating to the export credit, and withholding taxes imposed by the importing country.
(c) Minimum interest rate: The applicable Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) for the currency in which the credit is denominated (not inclusive of and separate from risk-premium reflective of, as the case may be, the buyer/commercial, country/political and sovereign credit risks covered) plus [a fixed margin of [ ] basis points] [an appropriate margin sufficient] to cover the cost of extending such financing (e.g. administrative or transaction costs) shall be applicable in respect of [direct financing support] [export financing support] and in respect of invoiced amounts benefiting from deferred payment under an export contract.
(d) Premiums in respect of coverage of risks of non-repayment under direct financing support, export credit guarantees or export credit insurance/reinsurance: Premiums[(5) ] shall be charged, shall [be market-based] [or] [be risk-based], [not undercut private market pricing], [and shall be adequate to cover operating costs[(6) ] and losses[(7) ]over a period of [ ]] [and shall ensure that the programme or part of the programme which is subject to the provisions of these disciplines is self-financing as defined in paragraph 3.4(g)]. Premiums shall be expressed in percentages of the outstanding principal value of the credit and shall be payable in full [at the date of issuance of cover] [or] [no later than the end if the month following the month in which the exports are made]. Premium rebates shall not be accorded.
(e) Risk sharing: Cover provided in the form of [export credit insurance, reinsurance or export credit guarantees] [export financing support] shall not exceed [ ] per cent of the value of a transaction.
(f) Foreign exchange risk: Export credits, export credit insurance, export credit guarantees, and related financial support shall be provided in freely traded currencies. Foreign exchange exposure deriving from credit that is repayable in the currency of the importer shall be fully hedged, such that the market risk and credit risk of the transaction to the supplier/lender/guarantor is not increased. The cost of the hedge shall be incorporated into and be in addition to the premium rate determined in accordance with this paragraph.
(g) Self-Financing: Export financing support programmes or parts thereof which are subject to the provisions of this Article shall be self-financing. Self-financing shall be considered as the ability of such programmes, or parts thereof, to operate in a manner by which the premiums charged cover all operating costs and losses over a period of [1-15] years. [For this purpose, the providers of export financing support shall keep separate accounting of the programmes covered by this Article according to appropriate accounting standards [set out in Annex ... to be developed].]
(h) [Loss preventative measures: [In the event of an impending or actual default, the export credit financing entity may employ loss preventative measures to minimize losses. Immediate debt recovery efforts are preferred. Where immediate debt recoveries are not practicable, other loss preventative measures may include a multilateral pari passu, rescheduling of debt or a bilateral restructuring of debt. Other than as may be agreed in multilateral pari passu, rescheduled debt, debts with respect to which less than [ ] per cent of principal has been recovered in [ ] years shall be considered as unrecoverable to the extent of such unrecovered amount. Such unrecovered amounts and any debt forgiveness provided to the obligor shall be considered a loss to the export credit financing entity.] [Other than may be agreed multilaterally, pari passu rescheduling debt arrangements, debts shall not be rescheduled or otherwise restructured in a manner that results in circumvention of the terms and conditions of this paragraph.]]
(i) [Financing calculations: For the purpose of determining whether a loan guarantee by a government in connection with an agricultural export confers a benefit, any comparison of the amount that the firm receiving the government guaranteed loan and the amount that the firm would pay on a comparable commercial loan absent the government guarantee or insured loans must be made on a direct one-to-one comparison basis. The terms and conditions must be for the same or equal for each of: tenor; form of repayment obligation; credit rating of obligor; risk rating of country; and the time period within which the loan is offered. In addition, the difference between the two amounts shall be adjusted for any difference in fees.]
4. Non-conforming Financing Support
5. Export financing support, which does not conform with the provisions of paragraph 3.4 of this Article or which is provided in circumstances as may otherwise be allowable under Article 9 of this Agreement, hereinafter referred to as “non-conforming export financing”, constitute export subsidies for the purposes of this Agreement and are therefore, [subject to specific export financing elimination commitments contained in Members' Schedules] [to be prohibited by [ ]] [to be eliminated within the binding levels of Members' export subsidies elimination Schedules].
5. Implementation
6. [The following additional and specific disciplines shall be phased in from the first day of the implementation period of the Doha Round: [ ].]
7. [Over the implementation period the scope of permitted export financing instruments shall be reduced to only pure risk cover comprising export credit insurance or reinsurance and export credit guarantees according to the following timetable [ ].]
6. Other Issues
8. Members who operate export financing programmes in accordance with the provisions of this Article [, excluding least-developed country Members,] shall comply with the following transparency requirements:
(a) [on the day of the entry into force of these provisions, Members concerned shall submit a notification concerning that Member's export financing programmes, export financing bodies and other related matters in the years [ ] to [ ] in accordance with the format specified in Annex [to be developed] hereto;
(b) After the entry into force of this Agreement the notification under paragraph 6.8(a) shall be updated at the beginning of each subsequent year;
(c) At not less than [ ] monthly intervals Members shall submit a notification to the Committee on Agriculture in which details are provided of export financing commitments entered into in accordance with the format specified in Annex [to be developed] hereto. For each export financing programme, the notification shall include accounting information referred to under the self-financing provisions indicating whether the programme was self-financing during the previous year;
(d) A Member whose export financing programmes are not in conformity with the disciplines and the self-financing principle shall provide the Committee on Agriculture information on any corrective action taken or envisaged to bring the programme back into conformity.]
(a) [no later than three months after the entry into force of this Article each Member shall notify the Committee on Agriculture of any export financing support entity that exceeds the maximum repayment term of 180 days and is not covered by the exceptions in paragraph 3.4(a). Failure to notify shall result in prohibition of use of such programmes;
(b) Each Member operating a non-conforming export financing support entity shall annually notify the Committee on Agriculture, at the beginning of each subsequent year, all relevant data;
(c) Each Member shall annually notify the Committee on Agriculture, at the beginning of each subsequent year, of the following information for each entity providing export financing support. If funds are provided in a foreign currency other than the Member's national currency, then the repayment and interest shall be converted to the Member's national currency using prevailing market exchange rates at the time funds are received. The notifications shall include the following data:
(i) the value of all direct financing support comprising direct credits, refinancing and interest rate support granted, including any government-to-government transactions the value of all risk cover extended in the form of export credit insurances, reinsurance and export credit guarantees, including any government-to-government transactions; and the value of all other support, including, but not limited to, deferred invoicing and foreign exchange risk hedging;
(ii) the total amount of funds from all sources including national accounts used to pay claims and the total amount of reimbursements of funds to such sources including national accounts in respect of such claims;
(iii) the total amount of revenue earned from premiums charged and interest earned; and
(iv) the total amount of operating costs, losses, and the amount of debt forgiven and written off.
(d) If a Member's annual notification for any export financing support entity, for three consecutive years, reflects that the total amount of revenue earned from premiums charged and interest earned on premium revenue is less than the total of operating costs and losses, then the Member shall provide a narrative statement to explain the progress towards self-sustaining activity in the next year's report including specific actions to increase premiums, reduce risk exposure, reduce operating costs and/or recover losses.]
7. Special and Differential Treatment
9. [Developing countries providers of export credits shall be eligible to benefit from the following elements:
(a) [Non-conforming export financing support, as defined in paragraph 4.5, shall be [subject to specific export financing elimination commitments contained in developing country Members' Schedules] [be prohibited by [ ] for developing countries] [be eliminated within the binding levels of developing country Members' export subsidies elimination Schedules];]
(b) [The specific disciplines set out in paragraph 5.6][The following additional and specific disciplines] shall be phased in from [ ]: ;]
(c) [The provisions of paragraph 5.7, shall be implemented according to the following timetable [ ];]
(d) [The maximum repayment period under paragraph 3.4(a) shall be no more than [ ] days;]
(e) [The minimum interest rate as provided for under paragraph 3.4(c) may be adjusted to take into account withholding taxes on international borrowings and additional borrowings for capital required to conform to Basel II norms. Such elements shall not be considered export subsidies for the purpose of this Article;]
(f) [The premiums charged in accordance with paragraph 3.4(d) may be market-based and premium rebates may be provided for under the following circumstances [ ];]
(g) [With respect to the risk sharing provisions contain in paragraph 3.4(e), 100 per cent of the value of the transaction may be covered in the form of [export credit insurance, reinsurance or export credit guarantees] [export financing support];]
(h) [As an exception to the provisions of paragraph 3.4(f), developing country Members may hedge in non-freely traded currencies;]
(i) [The self-financing period contained in paragraph 3.4(g) for developing countries shall be [at least] [ ] years;]
(j) [For the purpose of paragraph 3.4(h), when warranted by genuine financial difficulties the rescheduling of debt should be on the same terms and conditions as those for commercial tenders in order to prevent or curtail planned defaults.]]
10. [Developing country Members shall benefit from a grace period of three years after the entry into force of this Agreement before being required to comply with the provisions under paragraph 6.8.]
11. [Export financing entities in developing country Members which have the objective of preserving domestic price stability or ensuring food security shall be exempt from the provisions of paragraph 6.8 of this Article.]
12. Least-developed countries and net food-importing developing countries as listed in shall be accorded differential and more favourable treatment comprising: [ ].
13. In exceptional circumstances which can not be adequately covered otherwise by international food aid, commercial export credits or preferential international financing facilities, Members may provide,
[in respect of exports to developing and least-developed country Members, where it has been confirmed by [ ] that commercial export credits are not available, and where the absence of export credits would preclude trade, ad hoc temporary government financing arrangements to underwrite agricultural export credits that shall comply with the terms and conditions in paragraph 4, notwithstanding that they [may charge risk-based premiums, rather than market-based premiums], [and need not be self-financing]. Members shall provide ex ante notifications [to be developed] for such government financing.]
[more favourable terms for export financing support in respect of exports to developing country Members experiencing emergency situations may be provided in accordance with this paragraph. Notwithstanding the terms and conditions of paragraph 3.4, export financing support provided pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed conforming export financing support. An emergency is defined as a sudden, significant and unusual deterioration in a developing country Member's economy and in its ability to finance current imports of basic foodstuffs, and which may have far reaching consequences such as social deprivation or unrest. In the event of such an emergency the importing developing country Member concerned may request exporting Members to provide more favourable export financing terms than are otherwise permissible under this Article. The importing developing country Member concerned shall notify the Committee on Agriculture in writing of the circumstances which are considered to justify more favourable terms than are permitted under the relevant provisions of this Article, together with details of the products concerned, so as to provide an opportunity for other interested exporting Members to consider responding to the request. Where commitments are made to provide more favourable credit terms and conditions in response to such a request, details of the committed terms and conditions shall be notified by the exporting Member or Members concerned to the Committee on Agriculture. The maximum repayment term permitted under this exception shall not exceed [36] months.]
14. [Members shall ensure that, in the event that exceptional circumstances provided for under the preceding paragraph arise, actions will be taken strictly consistent with the terms and conditions of that paragraph so as not to undermine or circumvent their export subsidy commitments and obligations under this Agreement.]
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Annex J
Possible new Article 10 bis of the Agreement on Agriculture
Agricultural Exporting State Trading Enterprises
1. Members shall ensure that agricultural exporting state trading enterprises are operated in conformity with the provisions specified below and, subject to these provisions, in accordance with Article XVII, the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII and other relevant provisions of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Agriculture and other °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ agreements.
1. Entities
2. For the purpose of this Article, an agricultural exporting state trading enterprise shall be considered to be:
Any governmental or non-governmental enterprise, including a marketing board, which has been granted [or which enjoys de facto as a result of its governmental or quasi-governmental status] exclusive or special rights [or] privileges [or advantages with respect to exports of agricultural products], including statutory or constitutional powers, in the exercise of which the enterprise influences through their export sales the level or direction of agricultural exports.
2. Disciplines
3. In order to ensure the elimination of trade-distorting practices with respect to agricultural exporting state trading enterprises as described above, Members shall:
(a) eliminate by [ ] [the end of 2013] for developed country Members, and by [ ] [the end of [ ] ] for developing country Members [in accordance with the following timetable [to be developed] ] [, in parallel with the elimination of export subsidies]:
(i) those export subsidies, defined by Article 1(e) of the Agreement on Agriculture, which are currently provided to or by an agricultural exporting state trading enterprise, consistent with Members export subsidy commitments and the provisions of Article 9.4 of the Agreement on Agriculture;
(ii) government financing of exporting state trading enterprises, [including, inter alia], preferential access to capital or other special privileges with respect to government financing or re-financing facilities, borrowing, lending or government guarantees for commercial borrowing or lending, at below market rates; and
(iii) government underwriting of losses, either directly or indirectly, [including] losses or reimbursement of the costs or write-downs or write-offs of debts owed [to, or] by export state trading enterprises on their export sales.
(b) [Ensure that the use of monopoly powers by such enterprises is not exercised in a manner which, either de jure or de facto, [effectively] circumvents, or threatens to circumvent, the provisions set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.3(a) above [, it being understood also that where the use of such powers would, to all practical intents and purposes, amount to a difference in form rather than substance from introduction or maintenance of an export subsidy per se, such use is prohibited.] [[Prohibit] [Phase-out] by [ ] [the end of 2013] the use of monopoly powers for such enterprises, after which Members shall not restrict the right of any interested entity to export, or to purchase for export, agricultural products.]
3. Special and Differential Treatment
4. [Notwithstanding paragraph 2.3 (b) above (8):
(a) agricultural state trading enterprises in developing country and least-developed country Members which enjoy special privileges to preserve domestic consumer price stability and to ensure food security will be permitted to maintain or use monopoly powers for agricultural exporting [until [ ]] to the extent that they would not be otherwise inconsistent with other provisions of this Agreement and other °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Agreements; [and]
(b) [where a developing or least-developed country Member has an agricultural exporting state trading enterprise with export monopoly powers, that enterprise may continue also to maintain or use those powers [until [ ]] even if the purpose for which that enterprise has such privileges could not be deemed to be characterised by the objective: “to preserve domestic consumer price stability and to ensure food security”. Such an entitlement, however, would be permissible only for such an enterprise whose share of world exports of the agricultural product or products concerned is less than [ ] per cent, such that the entity's share of world exports of the product or products concerned does not exceed that level in [ ] consecutive years, and to the extent that the exercise of those monopoly powers is not otherwise inconsistent with other provisions of this Agreement and other °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Agreements.]]
4. Monitoring and Surveillance
5. Any Member that maintains an agricultural exporting state trading enterprise shall notify [to the Committee on Agriculture] [on an annual basis] relevant information regarding the enterprise's operations. This will, consistent with standard °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ practice and normal commercial confidentiality considerations, require timely and transparent provision of information on any and all exclusive or special rights [or] privileges [or advantages] granted to such enterprises within the meaning of paragraph 1 above sufficient to ensure effective transparency. This will include [acquisition costs and export sales on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Members shall notify any benefits, not otherwise notified under other °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ disciplines, that accrue to a state trading export enterprise from any special financial privileges. At the request of any Member, a Member maintaining a state trading export enterprise shall provide any specific information requested concerning all operations relating to the enterprise’s export sales of agricultural products.] [the product exported, the volume of the product exported, the export price and the export destination.]
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Annex K
Possible New Article 10.4 of the Agreement on Agriculture
International Food Aid
1. Members reaffirm their commitment to maintain an adequate level of international food aid (hereinafter referred to as food aid (9)), to take account of the interests of food aid recipients and to ensure that the disciplines contained hereafter do not unintentionally impede the delivery of food aid provided to deal with emergency situations.
1. General Provisions
2. Members shall ensure that all food aid transactions are provided in conformity with the following provisions:
(a) they are needs-driven;
(b) they are provided in fully [or, in the event of an exceptional situation, less than fully] grant form;
(c) they are not tied directly or indirectly to commercial exports of agricultural products or of other goods and services;
(d) they are not linked to the market development objectives of donor Members; and
(e) agricultural products provided as food aid shall not be commercially re-exported. Non-commercial re-exportation is permissible, but only where, for logistical reasons and in order to expedite the provision of emergency food aid for another [affected] [country] in an emergency [humanitarian] situation, this occurs as an integral part of a food aid transaction initiated by a relevant United Nations agency, [relevant regional or international intergovernmental agency or organization,] [or non-governmental humanitarian organization or private charitable body].
3. The provision of food aid shall take fully into account local market conditions of the same or substitute products. [Members shall refrain from providing in-kind food aid in situations where this would create, or would risk to create an adverse effect on local or regional production of the same or substitute products.] Members are encouraged to procure food aid from local or regional sources to the extent possible [, provided that the availability and prices of basic foodstuffs in these markets are not unduly compromised].
2. Safe Box for Emergency Food Aid
4. To ensure that there is no unintended impediment to the provision of food aid during an emergency [humanitarian] situation[(10) ], food aid provided under such circumstances shall be exempt from the provisions of paragraph[s] [ ] , provided that there has been:
(a) a declaration of an emergency by the [affected] [recipient] country [, or, the Secretary-General of the United Nations]; and
(b) an assessment of need undertaken by [a country][,] a relevant United Nations agency, including the World Food Programme and the United Nations Consolidated Appeals Process; the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [, a relevant regional or international intergovernmental agency or organization, a non-governmental humanitarian organization or private charitable body working in collaboration with the recipient government]; and
(c) an emergency appeal from [a country][,] a relevant United Nations agency, including the World Food Programme and the United Nations Consolidated Appeals Process; the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [, a relevant regional or international intergovernmental agency or organization, a non-governmental humanitarian organization or private charitable body working in collaboration with the recipient government].
5. [A notification will be required on an ex-post basis by donors [and the relevant international agency or organization] in order to ensure transparency.]
6. [Recognising that there can be exceptional circumstances such that to wait for an emergency appeal as described in paragraph 2.4 above would result in an unacceptable delay in the provision of food aid, food aid may be provided in response to an urgent request from the country concerned. In such cases, the donor Member shall notify the Committee on Agriculture no later than [ ] after the provision of such aid. [Food aid provided under this paragraph shall be limited to the period of the immediate aftermath of the emergency, and thereafter shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph 2.4.] In such circumstances, an ex-post declaration of appeal by an organization or agency listed in paragraph 2.4 above shall be deemed to be in conformity with that paragraph.]
7. The provision of food aid in conformity with paragraph 2.4 [,2.5 and 2.6] may be provided for [as long as necessary] [as long as the emergency lasts] [a period of [ ] months, after which the continuation of such food aid under the Safe Box shall be] subject to an assessment of continued genuine need as a result of the initial onset of the emergency. The assessment of continued need shall be conducted by [the triggering organization or agency] [or] [in co-operation with] [the recipient country].
8. [“Cash-based” food aid that is conformity with the other provisions of this Agreement will be included in the safe box and be presumed to be in conformity with Article 10.1 of the Agreement on Agriculture.]
3. Disciplines for Food Aid in Non-emergency Situations
9. [In addition to the provisions of paragraphs 1.2 and 1.3, in-kind food aid provided in situations other than defined in paragraphs 2.4 [, 2.5 and 2.6], shall be:
(a) [based on an assessment of need [by an identified multilateral third party organization, including humanitarian non-governmental organizations working in partnership with specialized United Nations agencies] [in accordance with the following [ ]];
(b) targeted to an identified vulnerable population group; and
(c) provided to address specific developmental objectives or nutritional requirements.]
[phased out by the end of 2013 for developed country Members and by [ ] [the end of [ ]] for developing country Members [in accordance with the following timetable [ ]] [in parallel with the elimination of export subsidies].]
10. [The monetisation of in-kind food aid shall be [prohibited] [phased-out] by [ ] [the end of 2013] for developed country Members and by [ ] [the end of [ ] ] for developing country Members [in accordance with the following timetable [ ]] [in parallel with the elimination of export subsidies].] [The monetisation of in-kind food aid shall be prohibited except where is it necessary to fund activities that are directly related to the delivery of the food aid to the recipient[,] [or for the procurement of agricultural inputs]. Such monetisation shall be carried out under the auspices of a relevant United Nations agency and the recipient government.] ] [Food aid may be monetised to implement food security activities, targeted to chronic and acute food insecure populations. For this purpose, Member donors shall prepare for those recipients in which monetisation will occur a commercial import requirement (CIR). The CIR shall include a market analysis to show that the monetisation of the commodity in the recipient country will not result in a disincentive to or interference with the commercial import trends or create a disincentive to domestic production. The CIR shall include:
(a) rationale for monetisation;
(b) proposed mechanics of the monetisation — commodity selection and methods of sales;
(c) utilisation of monetised proceeds; and
(d) plan for safeguarding the monetised proceeds.]
11. [Non-emergency in-kind food aid provided in conformity with the provisions of paragraphs 1.2, 1.3 and 3.9 shall not be considered to cause commercial displacement and therefore not circumvent Members' export subsidy commitments.]
12. Food aid donor Members shall be required to notify to the Committee on Agriculture, on an annual basis, the following data [ ].
Annex L back to top
Export Prohibitions and Restrictions
[Possible Amendment to Article 12.1 of the Agreement on Agriculture(11)]
1. [In order to strengthen the existing disciplines on export prohibitions and restrictions of Article XI of GATT 1994, Article 12 of the Agreement on Agriculture shall be modified to include the following elements:
(a) [Existing prohibitions or restrictions in Members territories shall be notified to the Committee on Agriculture within 90 days of the coming into force of these provisions.
(b) As provided in paragraph 7 of Article 18 of the Agreement on Agriculture, any Member may bring to the attention of the Committee on Agriculture such measures which it considers ought to have been notified by another Member.
(c) As of day one of the implementation period, a term of one year shall be established for the elimination of those export prohibitions or restrictions in foodstuffs and feeds.
(d) The above is proposed notwithstanding that, any Member instituting export prohibitions or restrictions and the affected importing Member may agree to set a term exceeding one year, as long as the term agreed on is not in excess of 18 months. Notice shall be given to the Committee on Agriculture of the agreement reached in this respect.
(e) A Member instituting those measures shall give notice of the causes that justify its keeping it.
(f) A biannual surveillance mechanism shall be established in the Committee on Agriculture for the observance of obligations described in subparagraphs (c) and (d).]
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Annex M
[Commodity Arrangements
Understanding on the Provisions of Articles XX(h) and XXXVIII of GATT 1994 (12)]
1. [The term “arrangements” in Article XXXVIII of GATT 1994 is understood to cover both:
(a) Commodity agreements of which all interested producing and consuming countries are parties; and
(b) Agreements of which only commodity-dependent producing countries are parties.
Such producers' agreements may be negotiated by the producing countries themselves or adopted after negotiations undertaken under the auspices of UNCTAD or International Commodity Organizations. They may be negotiated on an international or regional basis and may provide for participation of associations of producers.]
2. [The exception provided by Article XX(h) which permits member countries or intergovernmental commodity agreements, to apply export restrictions and other measures that may not be consistent with the rules of GATT, provided that they are necessary for the attainment of their objectives, shall also apply to the agreements in which commodity-dependent producing countries only participate.]
3. [It shall [further] be reaffirmed that the existing rules permitting countries to impose taxes on exports for the attainment of development and other objectives, including those relating to the stabilization of prices of primary commodities, shall also apply to export taxes levied in pursuance of such agreements.]
4. [Technical and financial assistance shall be provided to commodity dependant exporting countries to assist them in the diversification and periodic review of developments in the world commodity markets and their impact on their economies.]
__________
Footnotes
5 This text was first distributed as document Number 2601 on 10 May 2005. The text and Members’ submissions of ad valorem equivalents of bound non ad valorem tariffs can be found on the Members’ website. back to text
6 Secretariat notes TN/AG/S/11, S/11/Add. 1 and S/11/Add. 2 describe the incidence of final bound non-ad valorem duties in Members’ °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Schedules. back to text
7 It should be noted that the majority of non-ad valorem tariffs is bound at the HS-eight-digit level. In the event that a Member has bound its non-ad valorem tariffs at a more disaggregated (or more aggregated) level, the IDB import unit values will be calculated at that more disaggregated (or more aggregated) level. back to text
8 For the calculation of weighted averages, see paragraph 11 above. back to text
9 In the country tables of the monthly editions of the International Financial Statistics the annual average market exchange rate can be found in line “rf” of the exchange rates section. back to text
10 To be distributed separately. back to text
1 The list is that proposed by Canada in JOB(06)/166 and is included here provisionally only. The ultimate list would need to be agreed specifically in accordance with the particular proposal adopted in the main text. back to text
2 The test for determining tariff escalation will require examination of national schedules with detail beyond the 6 digit level. back to text
3 This does not preclude the possible addition of additional products within Chapter 17 and 18 that can be linked back to the primary product. back to text
1 This draft is a composite for provisional and discussion purposes derived from JOB(06)/168 and JOB(06)/171. back to text
2 A quota fill rate shall be deemed to be below 85 per cent unless notified otherwise by the relevant Member to the Committee on Agriculture. back to text
3 As notified to the Committee on Agriculture by the relevant Member. back to text
1 A shipment shall not be considered for purposes of this subparagraph or paragraph 5 unless the volume of the product included in that shipment is within the range of normal commercial shipments of that product entering into the customs territory of that developing country Member. back to text
2 The trigger price used to invoke the provisions of this subparagraph shall, in general, be based on the average monthly c.i.f. unit value of the product concerned, or otherwise shall be based on a price that appropriately reflects the quality of the product and its stage of processing. The trigger price shall, following its initial use, be publicly disclosed and available to the extent necessary to allow other Members to assess the additional duty that may be levied. back to text
1 This list is derived from that included in JOB(06)/129 by Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. The items in bold are also found in the Indicative List of Tropical Products used in the Uruguay Round. back to text
1 This list is derived from the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Staff Working Paper, “Non-Reciprocal Preference Erosion Arising From MFN Liberalization in Agriculture: What Are The Risks?” and included in the Chairman’s reference paper on long-standing preferences and preference erosion (document Number 3842). back to text
2 This list was submitted by the ACP Group in JOB(06)/204 of 21 June 2006. back to text
* The following symbols have been used:
1 Italicised text in bold indicates proposed
additions/revisions and strike-out indicates proposed deletions of the
relevant provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture.
2 Square-bracketed text indicates alternative
proposals. back to text
3 The “starting point of a credit” shall be [no later than the weighted mean date or actual date of the arrival of the goods in the recipient country for a contract under which shipments are made in any consecutive six-month period] [the date of the contract of sale for the purposes of export] [the date of export]. back to text
4 [In case of non-payment within the agreed re-payment period the exporter shall be entitled to claim indemnification from the export credit agency only within a fixed period of time which shall not exceed [ ] months.] back to text
5 Premiums shall be defined as [ ] back to text
6 Operating costs shall be defined as [ ] back to text
7 Operating losses shall be defined as [ ] back to text
8 This would only apply in the event that the second option in that sub-paragraph was agreed. Otherwise this foreshadowed provision would be redundant. back to text
9 Unless otherwise specified, the term food aid is used to refer to both in-kind and cash-based food aid donations. back to text
10 [For the purpose of this Article, an
emergency [humanitarian] situation is defined as an urgent situation
in which there is clear evidence that an event or series of events has
occurred which causes human suffering or imminently threatens human
lives or livelihoods and which the government concerned has not the
means to remedy: and it is a demonstrably abnormal event or series of
events which products dislocation in the life of a community on an
exceptional scale. The event or series of events may comprise one or a
combination of the following:
(i) sudden calamities such as earthquakes,
floods, locust infestations and similar unforeseen disasters;
(ii) human-made emergencies resulting in an
influx of refugees, or the internal displacement of populations, or in
the suffering of otherwise affected populations;
(iii) food scarcity conditions owing to
slow-onset events such as drought, crop failures, pests and diseases
that result in an erosion of the capacity of communities and
vulnerable populations to meet their food needs;
(iv) severe food access or availability
conditions resulting from sudden economic shocks, market failure or
economic collapse that result in an erosion of the capacity of
communities and vulnerable populations to meet their food needs; and
(v) a complex emergency for which the
government of the affected country or the Secretary-General of the
United Nations has requested the support of the World Food
Programme.] back to text
11 Proposal submitted by the G-20 in JOB(06)/147 of 18 May 2006 is included here for illustrative purposes only at this point. back to text
12 This text is based on a proposal received from the African Group ( of 7 June 2006). back to text
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Possible Modalities on Agriculture