. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TMB/R/102
28 October 2003
(03-5705)
Textiles Monitoring Body
REPORT OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD MEETING
1. The Textiles Monitoring Body held its one hundred and third meeting on 22 September 2003.
2. Mr Şahin Yaman (Turkey) was appointed member to replace Ms Yelda Ünal (Turkey).
Mr Yaman appointed Ms Sarah Huber (Switzerland) as his first alternate and Ms Tatyana Petrova
(Bulgaria) as his second alternate.  Ms Milagros Miranda (Peru) appointed Mr Roy Santana (Costa
Rica) to replace Mr Evelio Alvarado (Guatemala) as her first alternate.
3. Present at this meeting were the following members and alternates:  Messrs. Dalela;
Tae-Yong Lee;  Samosir;  Seppey;  Ms Simopoulos;  Mr Tagliani;  Ms Zhang.
4. The TMB adopted the report of its one hundred and second meeting (G/TMB/R/101).
Notification under Article 2.1 of the Agre ement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC)
5. The TMB reverted to its examination of a notification received pursuant to Article 2.1 from
the United States following the accession of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
to the WTO (G/TMB/N/63/ Add.14), in light of the replies received from the United States to
questions submitted to it by th e TMB (G/TMB/N/63/Add.14/Suppl.1).1  According to the additional
information provided by the United States, the limits notified were those in force on 3 April 2003,
i.e. on the day before the entry into force of th e WTO Agreement for the FYROM.  None of these
restrictions had been eliminated as a result of the integration by the United States of certain products
under Stages 1, 2 or 3 of the ATC, since the relevant categories were not part of the respective
integration programmes.  The United States also explained how the special shift available for some of
the quantitative restrictions notified was being implemented in practice.  The TMB took note of these
clarifications.
6.  As to the implementation of the growth-on-growth provisions of the ATC to the quantitative
restrictions notified, the United States explained that the "annual growth rate for 2004 quotas [would]
be 2.54 per cent" and that, for the 2003 limits, the effective annual growth rate had been increased by
prorating the growth rate of 2.54 per cent to re flect the number of days in 2003 that FYROM would
be a Member of the WTO, "resulting in a prorated growth rate for 2003 of 2.40241096 per cent."  The
TMB recalled that the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia stated, inter alia , that "for the purposes of FYROM’s accession to the WTO,
the phrase 'day prior to the date of entry into fo rce of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing' shall be
deemed to refer to the day prior to the date of accession of FYROM to the WTO.  To this base level
the increase in growth rates provided for in Article 2.14 of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing
shall be applied, as appropriate, in the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing from the date of
FYROM’s accession."2  In addition, the TMB recalled that it had already examined notifications made
under Article 2.1 by the United States where the grow th-on-growth provisions had been reported to be
implemented by the United States, with respect to the quantitative restrictions notified, in a similar
                                                     
1 See G/TMB/R/100, paragraph 4 and G/TMB/R/101, paragraph 4.
2 See WT/ACC/807/27, paragraph 192.G/TMB/R/102
Page 2
way (i.e. by using proration).3  Before proceeding further with the review of this element of the
notification by the United States, the TMB decided to bring the additional information provided by
the United States to the attention of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
WTO Members' compliance with notification requirements
7. The TMB reverted to the question of the implementation by WTO Members of the
notification and information requirements embodied in the ATC.  It observed that at its meeting in
April 2003 the TMB had "recalled that, inter alia , Article 3.3 states that '[d]uring the duration of this
Agreement, Members shall provide to the TMB, for its information, notifications submitted to any
other WTO bodies with respect to any new restrictions or changes in existing restrictions on textile
and clothing products, taken under any GATT 1994 provision, within 60 days of their coming into
effect.'  The TMB stressed the importance of the Members' adherence to the notification requirements
contained in the ATC.  It was also observed that measures or actions, other than those falling underthe provisions of Article 3.3, having a bearing on the implementation of other provisions of the ATC
should also be brought to the TMB's attention, for its information".
4
8. The TMB observed that since the report of its meeting of April 2003 had been issued, no
related notification or information from Members had been received.  The TMB assumed, however,
that agreements had been reached between certain Members or policies adopted and developed bysome Members, falling under the provisions of Article 3.3 or having a bearing on the implementation
of other provisions of the ATC, without being notif ied to any WTO body or brought to the attention of
the TMB.  Reference was made in this context to certain comments and observations included by the
TMB in its comprehensive report to the Council for Trade in Goods on the implementation of the
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing during the second stage of the integration process.
5  The TMB,
therefore, urged the Members concerned to provide to the TMB, pursuant to Article 3.3, any relevant
notifications submitted to any other WTO bodies with respect to such agreements or policies and/or to
bring to the TMB's attention those measures or actions having a bearing on the implementation of
other provisions of the ATC, in particular on that of Article 2.
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3 See G/TMB/R/90, paragraphs 5 to 44 and G/TMB/R/98, paragraphs 5 to 27.
4 See G/TMB/R/98, paragraph 29.
5 See G/L/459, in particular paragraphs 335 and 336.