WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TMB/R/86
11 April 2002
(02-1938)
Textiles Monitoring Body
REPORT OF THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH MEETING
1. The Textiles Monitoring Body held its eighty-seventh meeting on 20 February 2002.
2. Present at this meeting were the following members and/or alternates: Mr. Alvarado/
Ms. Miranda/Mr. Gough; Messrs. Ekawat; Farahat;  Mrs. Mangeac/Mr. Karapinar; Messrs. Moroz; 
Shin/Lee; Mr. Sorensen/Ms. Simopoulos; Messrs. Tagliani; Yamagami; Ms. Zhang/Ms. Lu.
3. The TMB adopted the report of its eighty-sixth meeting (G/TMB/R/85).
Notifications under Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC)
4. The TMB started its examination of a notification received pursuant to Article 2.1 from
Turkey following the accession of China to the WTO (G/TMB/N/422).  The TMB decided to seek
clarification from Turkey, inter alia , regarding the reasons why it had considered it appropriate to
notify quantitative restrictions under Article 2.1, keeping in mind the provisions of paragraph 241 ofthe Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China, as well as those of Article 2.1 of the
ATC, which latter deal with "quantitative restrictions within bilateral agreements maintained under
Article 4 or notified under Article 7 or 8 of the MFA in force on the day before the entry into force of
the WTO Agreement".  The TMB also decided to seek clarification from Turkey, inter alia , on the
extent to which the restrictions maintained had been affected by the ATC integration process, themanner in which the growth-on-growth provisions had been implemented and whether or not a limit
applied on the cumulative use of flexibility.
5. The TMB started its examination of a notification received pursuant to Article 2.1 from the
United States following the accession of Ch ina to the WTO (G/TMB /N/63/Add.12). The TMB
decided to seek clarification from the United States, inter alia , on the extent to which the restrictions
maintained had been affected by the ATC integration process and the manner in which the
growth-on-growth provisions had been implemented.  The TMB also decided to seek confirmation ofits understanding that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 2.16, no quantitative limits were in
place or maintained on the combined use of swing, carryover and carry forward.
Notifications under Articles 2 and 3 of the ATC
6. The TMB reverted to its examination of a notification received pursuant to Articles 2 and 3
from Canada, following the accession of China to the WTO, on the basis of supplementaryinformation and clarification received from Canada in response to questions put by the TMB
(G/TMB/N/62/A dd.3/Corr.1).
1  It decided to seek further clarification from Canada on the manner in
which Canada had implemented the growth-on-growth  provisions with respect to the restrictions
notified.
7. The TMB reverted to its examination of a notification received pursuant to Articles 2 and 3
from Canada, following the accession of Chinese Ta ipei to the WTO, on the basis of supplementary
information and clarification received from Canada in response to questions put by the TMB
(G/TMB/N/62/A dd.4/Corr.1).2  It decided to seek further clarification from Canada concerning some
                                                     
1 See G/TMB/R/85, paragraph 7.
2 See G/TMB/R/85, paragraph 8.G/TMB/R/86
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aspects of the notification, including the manner in which Canada had implemented the
growth-on-growth provisions with respect to the restrictions notified.
Notifications under Article 3.1 of the ATC
8. The TMB started its examination of the notification received pursuant to Article 3.1 from
Turkey, following the accession of China to the WTO (G/TMB/N/423).  It decided to seekclarification from Turkey, inter alia , with respect to the operation of what appeared to be a phase-out
programme, in the sense of Article 3.2(b), of the restrictions notified pursuant to Article 3.1, and also
whether or not the 2001 growth rates indicated in the notification would also apply in 2002, 2003 and
2004.
9. The TMB started its examination of the notification received pursuant to Article 3.1 from
Japan, following the accession of China to the WTO (G /TMB/N/425).  It decided to seek clarification
on the exact nature of the quantitative restrictions notified, their precise product coverage and therespective annual levels.  As Japan had indicated that it would present a phase-out programme under
Article 3.2(b) in due course, the TMB expressed its expectation that this phase-out programme would
be provided in the near future.
10. The TMB started its examination of the notification received pursuant to Article 3.1 from
China, following its accession to the WTO (G/TMB/N/426).  It decided to seek clarification,inter alia , on how, in the view of China, the export restrictions notified fit with paragraphs 162, 164,
165 and 342 of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China, whether these export
restrictions were applied on a global basis or to selected WTO Members and how they operated in
practical terms.  With respect to the statement of China that "the programme to phase-out the
restrictions will be notified to the TMB no later than 10
th June of 2002", the TMB, referring to
paragraph 1.3 of Part I of the Protocol of Accession of China to the WTO and to Article 3.2(b) of the
ATC, expressed its expectation that this phase-out programme would be provided in the near future.
Furthermore, the TMB observed that China, though it had notified that it wished to retain the right to
use the transitional safeguard mechanism during the transition period of the Agreement
(G/TMB/N/420), had not yet notified the programmes  of integration referred to in Articles 2.6, 2.8(a)
and 2.8(b) of the ATC.  The TMB, therefore, sought clarification regarding the extent to which the
export restrictions notified by China were being affected by these programmes of integration.
Notifications under Articles 2.6 and 2.7(b), 2.8(a), 2.8(b) and 2.11 of the ATC
11. The TMB started its review, under Article 2.21, of the notifications made, pursuant to Articles
2.6 and 2.7(b), 2.8(a), 2.8(b) and 2.11 by Chinese Taipei (G/TMB/N/428, 429 and 430).  It decided to
seek clarification as to whether (i) some of the products integrated fell under the coverage of the ATC;
(ii) the imports that had been counted in respect of  products belonging to HS lines in the Annex to the
ATC for which only part of the respective line falls under the coverage of the Agreement ("ex-HS
lines") corresponded precisely to the product description contained in the ATC Annex.
Notifications under Articles 2.8(b) and 2.11 of the ATC
12. The TMB reviewed under Article 2.21 the notification made, pursuant to Articles 2.8(b) and
2.11 by Guatemala (G/TMB/N/373/Rev.1).  During th is review the TMB noted that, in accordance
with Article 2.8(b), the volume of the products integrated amounted to 18.01 per cent of the volume of
imports in 1990 of the products falling under the coverage of the Agreement.  The TMB also noted
that, in accordance with Article 2.8(b), the products integrated included products from each of the
four groups: tops and yarns, fabrics, made-up textile products and clothing.
13. The TMB, observing that clarifications it had sought from four Members (Bolivia, Mexico,
Nicaragua and Paraguay) with respect to their notifications pursuant to Articles 2.8(b) and 2.11 hadG/TMB/R/86
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not as yet been received, decided to reiterate its requests, in view of the fact that the respective
programmes of integration had to be implemented as from 1 January 2002.
Notification under Article 3.3 of the ATC
14. The TMB took note of a notification by the European Community under Article 3.3 of agreed
changes made to the consultation levels it maintained vis-à-vis  Egypt for 2002 and 2003.  According
to this notification, these consultation levels had been introduced in the context of preferential trade
agreements with Egypt and were being notified by the European Community under Article XXIV of
the GATT (G/TMB/N/424).
Notification under Article 6.1 of the ATC
15. The TMB took note of the notification made pursuant to Article 6.1 by Chinese Taipei that it
wished to retain the right to use the transitiona l safeguard mechanism during the transition period of
the Agreement (G/TMB/N/427).
Observations with Respect to Late Notifications
16. With respect to notifications addressed to the TMB after the relevant deadlines, the TMB
reiterated that its taking note of late notifications was without prejudice to the legal status of such
notifications.
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