. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SCM/Q2/NOR/10
30 October 2000
(00-4525)
Committee on Subsidies
and Countervailing MeasuresOriginal:  English
SUBSIDIES
Replies to Questions from the UNITED STATES1
Regarding the New and Full Notification of NORWAY2
The following communication, dated 25 October 2000, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Norway.
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2.4 Industrial R&D Programme
Q1. Could you elaborate in greater detail as to whom is eligible for or participates in this
programme?  What are the eligibility criteria and are there sub-programmes which may be
focused on R&D in particular sectors and/or regions?
Reply
The eligibility criteria are consistent with the European Community framework for State Aid
for Research and Development.
The industrial R&D programme, or the so-called user-orientated programmes, are for
Norwegian companies.  In this respect, "Norwegi an" means companies located in Norway with their
own production facilities, activities, and management.  There is no requirement that the companies be
owned by another Norwegian company or by Norwegian citizens.
The financial support aims to stimulate R&D activity in the industry and should lead to
innovation and sustainable value creation.  Projects with a high level of research and potential for
value creation are given priority.  In general, the programme is focused on R&D projects run by
coalitions of companies in cooperation with research institutes and universities.  As the large bulk ofNorwegian companies are SMEs with limited R&D capabilities, R&D is often purchased from
institutes and universities.  Many companies choose to work together in order to provide sufficient
funding for the R&D work to be done.  They must finance at least 50 per cent of the project.
The programmes are focused on sectors, not regions.  In addition there are horizontal
programmes.  The sectorial programmes cover a wide range of industries including manufacturing,
environmental products, energy, construction, process technologies, transport, maritime, IT, food
industry, biotechnology and services.  They are generally aimed at improving productivity and
introducing new technology.
                                                     
1 G/SCM/Q2/NOR/9
2 G/SCM/N/38/NOR/Suppl.1G/SCM/Q2/NOR/10
Page 2
The horizontal ones cover company development in general, technology diffusion, innovation
through the establishment of new firms and commercialization of R&D results from universities and
public research institutes, and research for strength ening the basis for decision-making with respect to
industrial and technology policies.
(A complete overview of Norwegian national in dustrial research programmes can be provided
by the Research Council of Norway on request.)
Q2. Are recipients eligible to receive aid every year under this programme or is there a limit
to the amount of aid a single entity is allowed to receive?
Reply
In principle, there is no limit, other than budget constraints, to the amount of support a single
project can receive, provided the support complies with the EEA rules for State Aid.  Likewise, a
single entity may be eligible for public financing of several R&D projects.  Usually, the support isgiven for a project period of three years.  The average size of a project varies between the different
programmes.
Q3. When was this programme first put into effect?
Reply
The industrial R&D programme in its present form, with the user-directed programmes, was
set up in 1990.  The scheme for the industrial R&D programme complies with the relevant EEA  rules
for R&D funding in the field of State Aid.
7.2 Contract and construction loan subsidies to the shipbuilding industry
Q. Can you please explain why such a large adjustment was made in the amount of subsidy
for 1997 from the notification G/SCM/N/38/NOR (25 August 1998)?
Reply
Total payments in 1998 should be Nkr 1.3 billion instead of Nkr 1.3 million.  The exact figure
for 1998 is Nkr 1 328 million.
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