WORLD TRADE G/L/108
9September 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-3515)
COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS
19September 1996
THE FOURTH ACP-EC CONVENTION OFLOME
Request foranextension ofawaiver
1. Request
Asprovided forinparagraph 2oftheUnderstanding inrespect ofWaivers ofObligations under
GATT 1994, anywaiver ineffect onthedateofentryintoforceoftheWTO Agreement shallterminate,
unless extended, onthedateofitsexpiry ortwoyears from thedateofentry intoforce oftheWTO
Agreement, whichever isearlier. Asaresult, thewaiver fortheFourth ACP-EEC Convention of
Lomé, which hadoriginally beengranted until29February 2000byDecision oftheCONTRACTING
PARTIES of9December 19941(hereinafter referred toas"thewaiver"), willterminate on31
December 1996, unless itisextended. Itisrecalled thatthewaiver grants aderogation from the
provisions ofparagraph 1ofArticle IoftheGeneral Agreement (now GATT 1994) totheextent
necessary topermit theEuropean Communities (EC) toprovide preferential treatment forproducts
originating inanumber ofAfrican, Carribean andPacific (ACP) States asrequired bytherelevant
provisions oftheFourth Lomé Convention, without being required toextend thesame preferential
treatment tolikeproducts ofanyother contracting party (now WTO Member). Alistofcurrent ACP
States Parties totheConvention isattached, withindication oftheirmembership oftheWTO. The
ACP membership oftheConvention hasnotchanged since thewaiver wasgranted.
TheECandtheGovernmentsoftheACPStateswhicharealsoMembersoftheWTO(hereinafter
together referred toasthe"Parties totheConvention") herewith request extension ofthewaiver until
29February 2000. Thisrequest iswithout prejudice totheposition oftheParties totheConvention
regarding thecompatibility oftheConvention withArticle XXIV ofGATT 1994 inlightofPartIV
ofGATT 1994.
2. Description ofthemeasures forwhich anextension ofthewaiver isrequested
Themainfeatures oftheConvention havebeendescribed intheoriginal request forawaiver2.
These havenotchanged withrespect tothesubject matter covered bythewaiver. Inthefieldoftrade,
theprovisionsoftheConventioncontinuetorequirepreferentialtreatmentbytheEC,includingduty-free
access, forproducts originating inACP countries. TheConvention alsocontinues toprovide fora
system toguarantee thestabilisation ofACPearnings fromtheirexports, either totheECortoother
destinations, ofagricultural andmining products onwhich theireconomies aredependent andwhich
areaffected byfluctuations inprices and/orsupply.
1Document L/7604 of19December 1994
2Document L/7539 of10October 1994 andCorr.1 thereto.G/L/108
Page2
3. Specific policy objectives pursued
TheConvention aimsatimproving thestandard ofliving andeconomic development ofthe
ACP States, including theleastdeveloped among them. Thepreferential treatment forproducts
originatinginACPStatesasrequiredbytherelevantprovisionsoftheConventionisdesignedtopromote
theexpansion oftrade andeconomic development ofbeneficiaries inamanner consistent withthe
objectives oftheWTO andwiththetrade, financial anddevelopment needs ofthebeneficiaries and
nottoraiseundue barriers ortocreate undue difficulties forthetrade ofother WTO Members.
4. Reasons fortherequest foranextension ofthewaiver
TheParties totheConvention areconvinced thatthetradepolicy objectives oftheConvention
areinconformity withtheprinciples, rulesandpractices oftheWTO, andcompatible withtheprovisions
ofArticle XXIV ofGATT 1994 inlightofPartIVofGATT 1994. However, given theimportance
ofthetrade provisions oftheConvention fortheeconomy oftheACP States andinorder toavoid
anylegaluncertainty forthetrade ofACPStates, itwasconsidered appropriate in1994thatawaiver
berequested. Thisconsideration isstillvalid.
5. Continued existence oftheexceptional circumstances justifying thewaiver
Thecircumstances justifying thewaiver, inparticular thetrade, financial anddevelopment
needs ofthebeneficiary States, continue toexist. While theConvention haspromoted theeconomic
growth oftheACPStates, theirdevelopment hasnotyetreached alevelthatwould permit atermination
ofpreferential treatment.
6. Fulfilment oftheterms andconditions attached tothewaiver
Theparties totheConvention havemettheterms andconditions attached tothewaiver. They
wishtoassure theother WTO Members thattheywill,uponrequest, promptly enterintoconsultations
withanyinterested WTO Member withrespect toanydifficulty ormatter thatmayariseasaresult
oftheextension ofthewaiver.G/L/108
Page3
ANNEX 1
ACP countries members oftheLomé Convention (70)
Angola
Antigua andBarbuda*
Bahamas
Barbados*
Belize*
Benin*
Botswana*
Burkina Faso*
Burundi*
Cameroon*
Cape Verde
Central African Republic*
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Côted'Ivoire*
Djibouti*
Dominica*
Dominican Republic*
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji*
Gabon*
GambiaGhana*
Grenada*
Guinea*
Guinea Bissau*
Equatorial Guinea
Guyana*
Haiti*
Jamaica*
Kenya*
Kiribati
Lesotho*
Liberia
Madagascar*
Malawi*
Mali*
Mauritania*
Mauritius*
Mozambique*
Namibia*
Niger
Nigeria*
Papua NewGuinea*
Rwanda*
St.KittsandNevis*Saint Lucia*
Saint Vincent and
theGrenadines*
Western Samoa
SaoTomé andPrincipe
Senegal*
Seychelles
Sierra Leone*
Solomon Islands*
Somalia
Sudan
Suriname*
Swaziland*
Tanzania*
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad &Tobago*
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vanuatu
Zaire
Zambia*
Zimbabwe*
_________________
*ACP States thatarecurrently Members oftheWorld Trade Organization (46)