WORLD TRADE G/L/129
29October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4500)
Committee onSafeguards
REPORT (1996) OFTHE COMMITTEE ON
SAFEGUARDS
I. Organization ofthework oftheCommittee
1. TheAgreement onSafeguards entered intoforce on1January 1995. Pursuant toArticle 13.1
oftheAgreement, membership intheCommittee onSafeguards isopen totheparticipation ofany
Member indicating itswishtoserve onit.Pursuant toadecision oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
atits20February1995meeting,allWTOMemberswouldbeMembersoftheCommitteeonSafeguards,
exceptforthosethathadexplicitlyindicatedtheirwishtothecontraryby22February1995.NoMember
indicated suchawish, andaccordingly, atitsmeeting of24February, theCommittee tooknotethat,
byvirtue oftheCouncil forTrade inGood'sdecision, allMembers oftheWTO areMembers ofthe
Committee.
2. Observer governments intheGeneral Council oftheWTO have Observer status inthe
Committee. Inaddition, atitsspecial meeting of13-14 July1995, theCommittee invited, onanad
hocbasis, representatives oftheWorld Bank, OECD, andIMFtoattend meetings oftheCommittee
inanobserver capacity. Atitsregular meeting on25October 1996, theCommittee tooknoteofthe
decision oftheGeneral Council regarding thestatus ofinternational organizations asObservers tothe
WTO andauthorized theChairman toconsult informally onwhich international intergovernmental
organizations would begranted observer status intheCommittee. Pending theoutcome ofsuch
consultations, theCommittee agreed tocontinue toinvite those organizations which hadbeenfollowing
theCommittee 'smeetings onanadhocbasis.
3. Thefocus ofthisreport isontheperiod since theCommittee 'slastannual report (G/L/32),
thatis,November 1995-October 1996. However, where relevant, information fromtheprevious period
isreported. During theperiod under review theCommittee heldthreemeetings. Theregular meeting
oftheCommittee washeldon25October 1996(G/SG/M/7). Special meetings oftheCommittee were
held11-12December1995and6May1996(G/SG/M/5+Suppls.1and2,andG/SG/M/6,respectively).
4. Mr.Jorge A.Ruiz(Argentina) wasappointed Chairman oftheCommittee for1995-1996.
Atitsmeeting of24February 1995, theCommittee decided toelectitsownofficers, Chairman and
Vice-Chairman. TheCommittee atitsspecial meeting of13-14 July1995elected Mr.Andràs Lakatos
(Hungary) asVice-Chairman for1995-1996. Atitsspecial meeting of6May1996, theCommittee
elected Mr.J.Antonio S.Buencamino (Philippines) asChairman, andMs.Laurence Wiedmer
(Switzerland) asVice-Chairman, for1996-1997. Pursuant totheCommittee 'srules ofprocedure,
Mr.Buencamino andMs.Wiedmer tookoffice attheendofthatmeeting.
5. Atitsspecial meeting of6May1996, theCommittee agreed toaddasecond regular (Spring)
meeting toitsannual meeting schedule. Thismeeting willbescheduled inconjunction withtheSpring
meetings oftheCommittees onAnti-Dumping Practices andSubsidies andCountervailing Measures.
6. Atitsspecial meeting of6May1996, theCommittee adopted Rules ofProcedure forMeetings
oftheCommittee onSafeguards (G/SG/4), based ontheRules oftheGeneral Council andoftheCouncilG/L/129
Page2
forTrade inGoods, andincorporating relevant changes tomake them applicable totheCommittee.
TheCouncil forTrade inGoods subsequently approved theCommittee 'sRules ofProcedure atits
meeting of22May1996.
II. Notification andexamination ofsafeguards lawsand/or regulations ofMembers
7. Intheareaofsafeguards, WTO rulesareimplemented through Members 'national legislation.
Pursuant toArticle 12.6oftheAgreement, asamplified byadecision oftheCommittee, Members
withavailable legislation and/or regulations regarding safeguards investigations orreviews covered
bytheAgreement should notify thefullandintegrated textoftherelevant legislation and/or regulations
totheCommittee. Ifsuchlegislation and/or regulations donotexistorarenotavailable, theMember
should inform theCommittee ofthisfact,andinthecaseofnon-availability, explain thereasons therefor.
These notifications havebeentreated asunrestricted documents from theoutset. Inaddition, the
Committee decided atitsspecial meeting of24February 1995thatObserver governments should provide
theCommittee withanyinformation theObserver governments consider relevant tomatters within
thepurview oftheAgreement, including thetextoftheirlawsandregulations regarding safeguard
actions, andinformation regarding anysafeguard measures taken bytheObserver governments.
8. Asof25October 1996, 65Members1hadnotified theCommittee oftheirdomestic safeguards
legislationormadecommunicationsinthisrespecttotheCommittee(G/SG/N/1andaddenda).Forty-five
Members hadnot,asofthatdate, made notifications under Article 12.6oftheAgreement, although
thedeadline forsuchnotifications was15March 1995. TheAnnex liststhestatus ofnotifications
under Article 12.6oftheAgreement. Theissueoftheextent ofthenon-compliance withthisnotification
obligation, andtheimplications ofthissituation, werediscussed atmeetings oftheCommittee during
thereview period (G/SG/M/6, paras. 29-30; andG/SG/M/7).
9. Ofthe65Members submitting notifications, 36notified thattheyhadnospecific legislation
relating tosafeguards, 9notified newlegislation, and20notified pre-WTO legislation stillinforce.
Ofthe56Members notifying either nosafeguards legislation orpre-WTO legislation stillinforce,
20indicated thatnewlegislation isbeing considered ordrafted. Inaddition, 13Members indicated
thattheWTO Agreement hasforce oflawintheterritory oftheMember.
10. Duringtheperiodunderreview,theCommitteecontinuedtheworkofreviewingthenotifications
ofneworamendedsafeguardslegislationand/orregulationsbegunin1995.Inadditiontothelegislations
andnotifications without legislative textreviewed during theprevious period, theCommittee reviewed
thelegislative notifications ofthefollowing Members: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, ElSalvador,
Hungary, Israel, Japan, Macau, Mexico, Norway, St.Lucia, South Africa, andTurkey.
11. TheCommittee alsoreviewed thenotifications without legislative textofthefollowing Members
during theperiod: Australia, Bolivia, Côted'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, ElSalvador, Guatemala,
Guinea (Rep. of),Honduras, Iceland, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco,
Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia,
SriLanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad &Tobago, Tunisia, Uruguay, Zambia, andZimbabwe.
12. Thesubstance ofthereview oflegislative notifications isreflected inthewritten questions put
toMembers andthewritten answers tothose questions. References tothequestions andanswers
pertaining toeachnotification canbefound intheminutes ofthemeetings atwhich thenotifications
were reviewed (G/SG/M/5+Suppls.1 and2,G/SG/M/6 andG/SG/M/7).
1Counting theECasasingle Member forpurposes ofthelegislative notification.G/L/129
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13. AsofearlyMay1996, theCommittee hadconducted aninitial review ofalmost allnotifications
received tothatpoint, infourspecial meetings. TheCommittee therefore decided thatfortheimmediate
future, review oflegislative notifications should takeplaceinthecontext ofregular Committee meetings,
rather thaninspecial meetings called forthatpurpose.
14. TheCommitteeadoptedproceduresforfuturereviewsoflegislativenotifications(G/SG/W/116).
Theprocedures forfollow-up review ofpreviously-reviewed legislation would bebased onaprocess
ofwritten questions andanswers, tofacilitate productive discussions during thereview sessions. The
procedures forreview ofnewandamended legislations would bethesame asthose usedduring the
special meetings toreview legislation.
15. Notallwritten questions puttoMembers during thecourse ofthelegislative review meetings
hadbeen answered attheendoftheperiod under review. Nonetheless, theChairman expressed
satisfaction withthereview process. Questions puttoMembers ranged fromthose regarding general,
policy matters toveryspecific andhighly technical questions ofnational administration ofsafeguard
measures. Among theconcerns raised byMembers were perceived inconsistencies between the
Agreement andbothnewly-enacted legislation andlegislation enacted prior totheentry intoforce of
theAgreement. Inaddition, Members expressed concern regarding thepotential foractions inconsistent
withtheAgreement ifsuchactions arebased onlegislation enacted prior totheentry intoforce of
theAgreement. Another concern wasthecomplexity oftheprocedural andsubstantive requirements
oftheAgreement, andtheneedforsignificant training andeducation, particularly fornewusers of
safeguard measures including developing countries, toensure thatactions weretaken consistently with
theAgreement.
III. Notifications ofpre-existing Article XIXmeasures
16. Duringthereviewperiod,theCommitteecontinueditsreviewofmeasurescoveredbyArticle10
oftheAgreement, i.e.pre-existing Article XIXsafeguard measures, which aresubject tonotification
pursuant toArticle 12.7oftheAgreement. These notifications canbefound indocument series
G/SG/N/2. Inparticular, atits11-12 December 1995meeting, theCommittee reverted toitsdiscussion
ofthenotifications ofsuchmeasures thatithadcommenced atits6November 1995 regular meeting.
Thecomments ofMembers withrespect tothesenotifications arereflected intheminutes ofCommittee
meetings (G/SG/M/3, paras. 25-35; andG/SG/M/5, paras. 4-15). Inconnection withthisreview,
itwasnoted thatveryfewpre-existing Article XIXsafeguard measures hadbeennotified. Thequestion
wasraised whether thismeant thatinfactonlyasmall number ofsuchmeasures existed, orwhether
itmight reflect afailure tonotify. Thepossibility ofcounternotification ofsuchmeasures, pursuant
toArticle 12.8oftheAgreement, wasrecalled.
17. Atthe6Mayspecial meeting, therepresentative ofNigeria indicated thatNigeria would notify
totheCommittee itspre-existing Article XIXmeasures which hadbeendiscussed during itsbalance-of-
payments review earlier intheyear(G/SG/M/6, paras. 42-43). Asofthe25October 1996 regular
meeting, thisnotification hadnotbeenreceived.
IV. Notifications under Article 12.7ofmeasures subject totheprohibition andelimination ofcertain
measures under Article 11.1
18. Duringthereviewperiod,theCommitteecontinueditsreviewofso-called"greyarea"measures.
ThesenotificationscanbefoundindocumentseriesG/SG/N/3.Inparticular,atits11-12December1995
meeting, theCommittee reverted toitsdiscussion ofthenotifications ofsuchmeasures thatithad
commenced atits6November 1995regular meeting. Thecomments ofMembers withrespect tothese
notifications arereflected intheminutes ofCommittee meetings (G/SG/M/3, paras. 38-56; andG/L/129
Page4
G/SG/M/5, paras. 4-15). Inconnection withthisreview, itwasnoted thatveryfewgreyareameasures
hadbeennotified. Thequestion wasraised whether thismeant thatinfactonlyasmall number of
such measures existed, orwhether itmight reflect afailure tonotify. Thepossibility of
counternotification ofsuchmeasures, pursuant toArticle 12.8oftheAgreement, wasrecalled.
V. Notifications under Article 11.2 oftimetables forphasing outmeasures referred toin
Article 11.1(b) orforbringing them intoconformity withtheAgreement.
19. During thereview period, theCommittee continued itsreview oftimetables forthephasing
outof"grey area" measures. These notifications canbefound indocument series G/SG/N/5. These
timetables should provide forallsuchmeasures tobephased outorbrought intoconformity withthe
Agreement within fouryears afterthedateofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement, subject tonot
more thanoneexception perimporting Member, which mayextend until31December 1999.2At
its11-12 December 1995special meeting, theCommittee reverted toitsdiscussion ofthenotifications
oftimetables thatithadcommenced atits6November 1995regular meeting. Subsequently, Slovenia
andSouth Africa, which hadnotified thattheyhadrelevant measures, submitted notifications oftheir
timetables forphasing outthemeasures orbringing them intoconformity withtheAgreement, and
theECsubmitted asupplement toitspreviously-notified timetables. Thefirstofthese notifications
wasreviewed attheCommittee 's6May1996 special meeting, andthelatter twoatthe25October
1996 regular meeting. Thecomments ofMembers withrespect tothese notifications arereflected
intheminutes ofCommittee meetings (G/SG/M/3, paras. 57-59; G/SG/M/5, paras. 4-15; G/SG/M/6,
paras. 3-6; andG/SG/M/7).
VI. Notifications under Article 12.1ofinitiation ofaninvestigation, making afinding, orapplying
orextending asafeguard measure
20. UnderArticle12.1oftheAgreement,MembersarerequiredtoimmediatelynotifytheCommittee
uponinitiating aninvestigatory process relating toserious injury orthreat thereof andthereasons for
it,upon making afinding ofserious injury orthreat thereof caused byincreased imports, andupon
taking adecision toapply orextend asafeguard measure.
21. Atits11-12December1995specialmeeting,theCommitteerevertedtoitsreviewofnotifications
under Article 12.1(a) ofinitiations ofinvestigations from Korea andtheUnited States thatithad
commenced atitsregular meeting of6November 1995. (G/SG/N/6/KOR+Suppl.1 and
G/SG/N/6/USA.) Subsequently, additional notifications ofinitiations ofinvestigations werereceived,
from Brazil, Korea andtheUnited States. (G/SG/N/6/BRA/1, G/SG/N/6/KOR/2 andKOR/3, and
G/SG/N/6/USA/2 andUSA/3.) These notifications were reviewed attheCommittee 's6May1996
special meeting and25October 1996 regular meeting. Thecomments ofMembers withrespect to
these notifications arereflected intheminutes ofCommittee meetings (G/SG/M/3, paras. 5-24;
G/SG/M/5, paras. 4-15; G/SG/M/6, paras. 7-11; andG/SG/M/7).
22. During thereview period, anotification under Article 12.1(b) ofafinding ofserious injury
orthreat thereof caused byincreased imports wasreceived fromtheUnited States (G/SG/N/8/USA/1).
Thisnotification wasreviewed attheCommittee 's25October 1996 regular meeting. Thecomments
ofMembers withrespect tothisnotification arereflected intheminutes ofthismeeting (G/SG/M/7).
2Onlyonesuchexception exists, i.e.,theEC'smeasure indicated intheAnnex totheAgreement.
Allother Members hadtheopportunity tonotify, within 90daysoftheentry intoforce oftheWTO
Agreement, (i.e., notlaterthan31March 1995), asingle suchexception. Nosuchnotifications were
received.G/L/129
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23. During thereview period, anotification under Article 12.1(c) wasreceived from Brazil
concerning application ofaprovisional safeguard measure (G/SG/N/7/BRA/1). Thisnotification was
reviewed attheCommittee 's25October 1996regular meeting. Thecomments ofMembers withrespect
tothenotification arereflected intheminutes ofthismeeting (G/SG/M/7).
VII. Notifications under Article 12.5Concerning Consultations Pursuant toArticles 12.3and12.4
24. Article 12.5oftheAgreement requires thatMembers notify theCouncil forTrade inGoods
(through theCommittee onSafeguards, perArticle 12.10) oftheresults ofconsultations undertaken
pursuant toArticles 12.3and12.4oftheAgreement, i.e.,pertaining totheimposition ofsafeguard
measures orprovisional safeguard measures, respectively. During thereview period, onesuch
notification wasreceived, fromBrazil, regarding theresults ofitsconsultations withtheEConBrazil 's
provisional safeguard measure (G/SG/5-G/L/110). Thisnotification wasreviewed attheCommittee 's
25October 1996 regular meeting. Thecomments ofMembers withrespect tothenotification are
reflected intheminutes ofthismeeting (G/SG/M/7).
VIII. Formats fornotifications
25. Atits24February 1995special meeting, theCommittee approved aseries ofsuggested formats
forthevarious notification obligations under theAgreement. These formats wereoriginally circulated
indocumentG/SG/W/1.Subsequently,certainoftheformatswererecirculatedindividuallyindocuments
G/SG/N/1-N/6.Duringthereviewperiod,theremainingformatswererecirculatedindocumentG/SG/1.
26. Atits6May1996specialmeeting,theCommitteeadoptedaformatfornotificationoftermination
ofasafeguards investigation where nosafeguard measure isimposed. Although theAgreement does
notrequiresuchnotifications,theCommitteedecidedthatitwouldbedesirablefortransparencypurposes
toestablish amechanism forMembers tocommunicate totheCommittee thattheyhadterminated or
concluded aninvestigation which hadbeeninitiated andnotified totheCommittee under theAgreement,
butwhich hadnotresulted inimposition ofsafeguard measures. Theadopted format wascirculated
indocument G/SG/2.
27. During theperiod under review, anotification oftermination ofasafeguard investigation where
nosafeguard measure isimposed wasreceived from theUnited States (G/SG/N/9/USA/1). This
notification wasreviewed atthe25October 1996 meeting oftheCommittee (G/SG/M/7).
IX. Other matters discussed bytheCommittee
28. Procedures forpreparation andadoption ofAnnual Report: Atits6May1996special meeting,
theCommittee considered theprocedures forthepreparation andadoption ofitsannual report adopted
atitsfirstmeeting inFebruary 1995, inlightofsuggestions fromtheChairman oftheGeneral Council.
TheCommittee decided thattheSecretariat should prepare adraftreport inthesame format ashad
beenusedintheprevious year'sreport, incorporating fromthatreport those aspects ofimplementation
thatwould helpexplain theprogress thattheCommittee hadmade. Thedraftreport would becirculated
toMembers inlateSeptember orearly October, atwhich timetheCommittee would havetodecide
whether itshould meetinformally inadvance oftheregular October meeting todiscuss anyadditional
matters forinclusion inthereport.
29. Progress inphasing outpre-existing measures: Inaccordance withadecision atitsspecial
meeting of24February 1995, Members reported totheCommittee, atthe25October regular meeting,
astotheirprogress inphasing outpre-existing Article XIXmeasures andmeasures subject toprohibition
andelimination under Article 11.1oftheAgreement. Thecomments ofMembers onthissubject are
reflected intheminutes ofthemeeting (G/SG/M/7).G/L/129
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30. Assistance under Article 13.1(b), (c)and(d):Pursuant toadecision oftheCommittee atits
6November 1995 meeting, requests forassistance onmatters referred toinArticle 13.1(b), (c)and
(d)aretobehandled onanadhocbasis. During thereview period, nosuchrequests werereceived
bytheCommittee.
X. Concluding observations
31. TheCommittee considered that,ingeneral, goodprogress hadbeenmade inthefirsttwoyears
inimplementing theAgreement. However, theCommittee considered thatmuch remained tobedone,
andthatadditional efforts from Members were required inorder toachieve fullimplementation of
theAgreement.
32. TheCommittee observed thatoneofitsmajor tasksduring thefirsttwoyears oftheAgreement
hadbeentoreview thedomestic safeguards legislations notified byMembers. Thereview exercise
indicated thatimplementation inthisregard waslessthancomplete. NotallMembers thatarecurrent
orpotential usersofsafeguard measures hadcompleted thedomestic legislative processes toincorporate
therelevant requirements oftheAgreement. Thus, further efforts were required inorder toensure
substantive implementation oftheAgreement. Inaddition, during themeetings toreview notifications
oflegislation, avariety ofissues regarding theWTO-consistency ofnotified legislation wasraised.
Themeetings provided Members withanopportunity toseekclarification ofissues arising outofother
Members 'legislation. Generally, Members were abletoclarify theissues raised. Both Members
notifying legislation andthose submitting questions generally found theprocess helpful andwished
tocontinue thisworkintheCommittee. TheCommittee viewed itasextremely important thatMembers
carefully consider allquestions posed, comments made andreplies provided inthecontext ofthese
review sessions.
33. TheCommittee noted thattheprocedural andsubstantive requirements ofthenewAgreement
weredetailed,andthatitsimplementationrequiredsubstantialexpertiseandthecommitmentofsubstantial
resources byMembers. TheCommittee considered thatmaximum efforts should bemade toassist
Members, andinparticular developing country Members, toachieve fullimplementation ofthe
Agreement.G/L/129
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ANNEX
SAFEGUARDS LEGISLATIVE NOTIFICATIONS
MEMBER NOTIFICATION PROVIDED
Antigua andBarbuda
Argentina G/SG/N/1/ARG/3
Australia G/SG/N/1/AUS/1
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Bolivia G/SG/N/1/BOL/1
Botswana
Brazil G/SG/N/1/BRA/3
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Canada G/SG/N/1/CAN/2
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile G/SG/N/1/CHL/1
Colombia G/SG/N/1/COL/1
Costa Rica G/SG/N/1/CRI/1 +Corr.1
Côted'Ivoire G/SG/N/1/CIV/1
Cuba G/SG/N/1/CUB/1
Cyprus
Czech Republic G/SG/N/1/CZE/1
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic G/SG/N/1/DOM/1
European Community G/SG/N/1/EEC/1G/L/129
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MEMBER NOTIFICATION PROVIDED
Ecuador G/SG/N/1/ECU/1
Egypt G/SG/N/1/EGY/1
ElSalvador G/SG/N/1/SLV/2
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana G/SG/N/1/GHA/1
Grenada
Guatemala G/SG/N/1/GTM/1
Guinea Bissau
Guinea, Rep.of G/SG/N/1/GIN/1
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras G/SG/N/1/HND/1
Hong Kong G/SG/N/1/HKG/1
Hungary G/SG/N/1/HUN/2 +Add.1 +Suppl. 1&2
Iceland G/SG/N/1/ISL/1
India G/SG/N/1/IND/1
Indonesia G/SG/N/1/IDN/1
Israel G/SG/N/1/ISR/2
Jamaica
Japan G/SG/N/1/JPN/2 +Corr.1
Kenya G/SG/N/1/KEN/1
Korea G/SG/N/1/KOR/2
Kuwait
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Macau G/SG/N/1/MAC/2
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia G/SG/N/1/MYS/1G/L/129
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MEMBER NOTIFICATION PROVIDED
Maldives G/SG/N/1/MDV/1
Mali
Malta G/SG/N/1/MLT/1
Mauritania
Mauritius G/SG/N/1/MUS/1
Mexico G/SG/N/1/MEX/1
Morocco G/SG/N/1/MAR/1
Mozambique
Myanmar G/SG/N/1/MYM/1
Namibia
NewZealand G/SG/N/1/NZL/1
Nicaragua G/SG/N/1/NIC/1
Nigeria G/SG/N/1/NGA/1
Norway G/SG/N/1/NOR/3
Pakistan G/SG/N/1/PAK/1
Papua NewGuinea
Paraguay G/SG/N/1/PRY/1
Peru G/SG/N/1/PER/1
Philippines G/SG/N/1/PHL/1
Poland G/SG/N/1/POL/1
Qatar
Romania G/SG/N/1/ROM/1
Rwanda
Saint Kitts&Nevis
Saint Lucia G/SG/N/1/LCA/1
Saint Vincent &Grenadines
Senegal G/SG/N/1/SEN/1
Sierra Leone
Singapore G/SG/N/1/SGP/1
Slovak Republic G/SG/N/1/SVK/1
Slovenia G/SG/N/1/SVN/1G/L/129
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MEMBER NOTIFICATION PROVIDED
Solomon Islands
South Africa G/SG/N/1/ZAF/1
SriLanka G/SG/N/1/LKA/1
Suriname
Swaziland
Switzerland G/SG/N/1/CHE/1
Tanzania
Thailand G/SG/N/1/THA/1 +Rev.1
Togo
Trinidad andTobago G/SG/N/1/TTO/1
Tunisia G/SG/N/1/TUN/1
Turkey G/SG/N/1/TUR/2
Uganda G/SG/N/1/UGA/1
United Arab Emirates
United States G/SG/N/1/USA/1
Uruguay G/SG/N/1/URY/1
Venezuela G/SG/N/1/VEN/1 +Corr.1
Zambia G/SG/N/1/ZMB/1
Zimbabwe G/SG/N/1/ZWE/2