G/L/1385  
 
19 March 2021  
(21-2324) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
 
ARTICLE  XXVIII:5 NEGOTIATIONS  
WITHDRAWAL OF THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION  
Communication from the European Union  
The following communication, dated 17 March  2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the European Union.  
 
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In connection with the ongoing negotiations under Article  XXVIII of GATT  1994 on the apportionment 
of the European Union' s tariff -rate quota concessions following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom 
from the European Uni on1, the European Union refers to WTO  document  G/SECRET/42/Add.3, of 
22 December  2020. That communication highlighted that the European Union strives for the rapid 
and successful conclusion of the ongoing negotiations and consultations and that these shou ld not 
be impeded by the six -month  timelines of Article  XXVIII:3(a) and (b), in the event that, for 
substantive or procedural reasons including domestic procedural requirements for the formal 
conclusion of agreements under Article  XXVIII of GATT  1994, it w ere to take more time than will be 
available until 1  July 2021 for concluding all these negotiations through agreements. The above 
referred communication also foreshadowed that, should it become necessary, the European Union 
would take action in good time,  in the first semester of 2021, in order to effectively extend the 
six-month  timelines of Article  XXVIII:3. Thirdly, the communication recalled that such extension is 
in line with established practice that has served the European Union' s and other Members ' interests 
well on numerous occasions within the framework of Article  XXVIII  negotiations, which sometimes 
took place based also on Article  XXIV:6 of GATT  1994, and where the withdrawal of concessions 
took place before the conclusion of negotiations and consultations.2 
 
Accordingly, the European Union believes that it is desirable to extend the timelines of 
Article  XXVIII:3 of GATT  1994 by six  months, i.e. until 1  January  2022, without prejudice to the 
question of whether there are any r ights to withdraw concessions pursuant to Article  XXVIII:3(a) 
and (b). The European Union therefore wishes to inform the Membership that the European Union 
will not assert that the WTO  Members who submitted a valid claim in this process are precluded from 
withdrawing substantially equivalent concessions under Article  XXVIII:3 of GATT  1994 because this 
withdrawal occurs later than six  months after the EU 's modification of its concessions, which 
occurred on 1  January  2021, provided that the WTO  Member in ques tion withdraws concessions no 
later than 12  months after the EU's modification of concessions. On this basis, the European Union 
and other Members currently engaged in these Article  XXVIII procedures can continue to concentrate 
on bringing these negotiatio ns and consultations to a successful conclusion in the coming months.  
 
 
1 Cf. WTO  document  G/SECRET/42, dated 19  July 2018, in which the European Union notified its 
intention to modify its current concessions on all tariff -rate quotas as they are reflected in Schedule  CLXXV of 
the European Union, in its Part  I Section  I-B (agricultural products) and in its Part  II Section  II-B (other 
products), and document  G/SECRET/42/Add.2 of 19  October  2018.  
2 See, for instance, the communications from the EU contained in WTO  documents  G/L/1051 and 
addenda, G/L/821 and addenda, G/L/695 and addenda, as well as minutes of the Council for Trade in Goods 
where these communications were on the agenda (e.g. minutes of the meetings of the Council for Trade in 
Goods, 23 and 26  March  2018 (G/C/M/131), 27  November  2013 (G/C/M/117) and 25  March  2013 
(G/C/M/113)).  G/L/1385  
 
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  The European Union proposes that, in line with the established practice pointed out above2, the 
Council for Trade in Goods takes note of this communication and that it agrees on the extension of 
the deadline as indicated in this communication, until 1  January  2022.  
 
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