./.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/BOP/G/7/Add.1
26 February 1999
(99-0752)
Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions Original:  English
1999 CONSULTATION WITH ROMANIA UNDER ARTICLE XII:4(A) OF
GATT 1994 AND THE RELATED UNDERSTANDING
Basic Document Supplied by Romania
Addendum
Following the request for additional information on the scope of Romania's import surcharge,
the following communication, dated 2 February 1999, has been received from the Permanent Mission
of Romania with the request that it be circulated to Members of the Committee.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE DELEGATION OF ROMANIA
CONCERNING THE SCOPE OF THE IMPORT SURCHARGE INTRODUCED IN
CONFORMITY WITH ARTICLE XII OF THE GATT 1994
In introducing the import surcharge because of balance-of-payments problems, the Romanian
authorities acted entirely in the spirit of the relevant international rules.
Accordingly, the authorities' action does not on ly affect the import component, but also the
export component, and at the same time ensures that the surcharge has the least possible effect on
Romanian exports because of their importance for the balance of payments.
In drawing up the list of products exempt from the surcharge, the aforementioned situation
was taken into account, together with the definition of "essential products" contained in the
Understanding on Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
1994, namely: "The term 'essential products' shall be understood to mean products which meet basicconsumption needs or which contribute to the Member's effort to improve its balance-of-payments
situation, such as capital goods or inputs need for production." (paragraph 4).
It can be seen that Romania's list is limitative in comparison with the aforementioned
definition.
The category "products which meet basic consumption needs" only includes medicines
needed to protect the population's health.
The approach as far as "inputs" is concerned has also been limitative and is confined to just a
few of the raw materials mentioned in the list.
As regards "capital goods" needed for production, these only include certain imported goods
(shown in No.18 of the Annex) to be used  in complex installations for export only.WT/BOP/G/7/Add.1
Page 2
Regarding the goods under No.19 of the list of exemptions, according to Order 26/1996 these
are mainly:
- Humanitarian aid and donations received from foreign organizations and associations;- samples without any commercial value, ad vertising material principally intended to
promote exports.
Examination of the data concerning all the pr oducts exempt from the surcharge shows that,
for 11 months in 1998, out of a total import volume amounting to US$10,658 million, only
US$3,915 million, or 36.7 per cent, were not subject to the temporary import surcharge.
The impact of imports under Nos. 18 and 19 on the list is negligible as they only account for
around 1.7 per cent of the total volume of imports.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the effect of exemptions from surcharge is minimal and that
the surcharge applies to the majority of products imported into Romania, 63.2 per cent, particularly
since Romania's exports depend to a great extent on imports.
In our view, it is quite clear that the products exempt from the surtax fully meet the criteria in
paragraph 4 of the aforementioned Understanding referring to the contribution "to the Member's effortto improve its balance-of-payments situation".
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