WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/L/259
23 September 1998
(98-3672)
Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures
REPORT (1998) OF THE COMMITTEE ON
TRADE-RELATED INVESTMENT MEASURES
I. GENERAL
1. This report is submitted pursuant to Article 7.3 of the Agreement on Trade-Related
Investment Measures, which requires the Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures to reportannually to the Council for Trade in Goods.  The Report covers the period October 1997-
September 1998.
1
2. The Committee met on 16 March and 14 September 1998 under the chairmanship of
Mr. Javier Paulinich (Peru) and Mr. Dimitrij Gr čar (Slovenia), respectively.  The minutes of these
meetings have been circulated in documents G/TRIMS/M/8 and 9.  The meetings of the Committeewere open to Members, governments with observer status in the WTO and international
intergovernmental organizations to which the Committee has accorded regular observer status (IMF,
OECD, UN, UNCTAD and World Bank).  Requests for observer status made by several other
international organizations are pending.
II. IMPLEMENTATION
3. At the meetings held during the period under review, the Committee continued its
examination of notifications submitted pursuant to Article 5.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related
Investment Measures.  This provision requires Members to notify any trade-related investment
measure ("TRIM") inconsistent with the Agreement within 90 days after the entry into force of the
WTO Agreement.  Article 5.2 of the Agreement gives the benefit of a transition period for the
elimination of measures notified under Article 5.1 and which were in existence at least 180 days
preceding the entry into force of the WTO Agreement.  Pursuant to a decision adopted by theGeneral Council in April 1995, governments eligible to become original WTO Members that accepted
the WTO Agreement after 1 January 1995 have a period of 90 days after the date of their acceptance
of the WTO Agreement to make the notifications foreseen in Article 5.1, provided that the period for
the elimination of TRIMs notified under Article 5.1 continues to be governed by reference to the date
of entry into force of the WTO Agreement itself.
2
                                                     
1 The previous annual report is contained in document G/L/193 of 15 October 1997.
2 WT/L/64G/L/259
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4. In addition to the notifications of measures under Article 5.1 that had been submitted prior to
the period covered by this report3, the Committee received a new notification from Bolivia and an
addendum to the notification of Nigeria.  Annex 1 contains a list of all notifications of measures under
Article 5.1.  In the case of some Members, notifications were submitted later than the 90-day period
foreseen for them.  While there is no obligation to do so, some Members notified the Committee thatthey did not apply any TRIM inconsistent with th e Agreement.  During the period under review, such
a notification was made by Jamaica.  Annex 2 lists all Members which have made such notifications.
4
5. In the Committee's discussions on these notifications, some delegations have sought
clarification or additional information of a factual nature.5  Differing views continue to be expressed
on issues such as the timing of notifications in relation to the provisions of Article 5.1, the adequacy
of the information provided in notifications, and the recent introduction or modification of certain
measures in relation to the provisions of Articles 2 and 5.4.  Some Members have sought informationon steps taken by Members having made notifications under Article 5.1 to comply with their
obligation to eliminate notified measures by the end of the five-year transition period specified in
Article 5.2 for developing country Members.  Other Members have indicated that in their view the
Agreement does not require Members to provide such information.   As of September 1998, no such
information had been provided.  Reference has also been made in this context to the provisions ofArticle 5.3, which provides that the Council for Trade in Goods may extend the transition period at
the request of individual Members.
6. The Committee also discussed measures introduced by one Member at the end of 1997 which
in the view of some Members were in conflict with the requirements of Articles 2, 5.2 and 5.4 of the
Agreement.
6
7. Article 5.5 deals with the conditions under which during the transition periods stipulated in
Article 5.2 Members may apply TRIMs notified under  Article 5.1 to new investments.  While a
standard format for the submission of notifications under this provision has been adopted by the
Committee (G/TRIMS/3), so far no such notifications have been made.
8. A number of Members have submitted notifications as required under Article 6.2 which
provides for notification to the Secretariat of publications in which information on TRIMs can be
found.  A list of these notifications has been circ ulated in G/TRIMS/N/2/Rev.4.  Annex 3 lists the
Members which have submitted notifications under Article 6.2.
                                                     
3 These notifications had been submitted by Argentina, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,
the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the
Philippines, Poland, Romania, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela and South Africa.
4 Notifications under Article 5.1 circulated in 1995 have been derestricted as of 28 May 1996.
Following the decision taken by the General Council on 18 July 1996 on derestriction and circulation of WTOdocuments, documents containing notifications under Articles 5.1, 5.5 and 6.2 are issued unrestricted.  Membersmay, however, at the time of the submission of a document, indicate to the Secretariat that the document beissued as restricted if they so wish.
5 Written questions on notifications under Article 5.1 submitted by one Member have been circulated in
documents G/TRIMS/W/10 and 13.
6 Written questions on these measures submitted by one Member have been circulated in
documents G/TRIMS/W/11 and 12.  Responses to these questions have been circulated indocument G/TRIMS/W/15.G/L/259
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9. The issue of the review under Article 9 of the Agreement was also raised.  Further
consideration will be given to this matter.
10. During the period under review, the Committee was informed of the initiation of four
proceedings under the Dispute Settlement Understanding which referred inter alia  to the TRIMs
Agreement, as reflected in G/TRIMS/D/9-12.G/L/259
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ANNEX 1
Members which have Submitted Notifications under Article 5.1
of the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures
Member Document Symbol Date of Communication
Argentina G/TRIMS/N/1/ARG/1 30 March 1995
Argentina G/TRIMS/N/1/ARG/1/Add.1 21 March 1997
Bolivia G/TRIMS/N/1/BOL/1 24 June 1998
Barbados G/TRIMS/N/1/ BRB/1 31 March 1995
Chile G/TRIMS/N/1/CHL/1 14 December 1995Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/1 31 March 1995Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/1/Add.1 4 June 1995
Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/2 31 July 1995
Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/2/Corr.1 30 September 1996Costa Rica G/TRIMS/N/1/CRI/1 30 March 1995Cuba
7G/TRIMS/N/1/CUB/1 18 July 1995
Cyprus G/TRIMS/N/1/ CYP/1 29 June 1995
Cyprus G/TRIMS/ N/1/CYP/2 30 October 1995
Dominican Republic G/TRIMS/N/1/DOM/1 26 April 1995
Ecuador G/TRIMS/N/1/ECU/1 20 March 1996Egypt G/TRIMS/N/1/EGY/1 29 September 1995Indonesia G/TRIMS/N/1/IDN/1 23 May 1995Indonesia G/TRIMS/N/1/IDN/1/Add.1 28 October 1996
India G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1 31 March 1995
India G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1/Add.1 22 December 1995India G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1/Add.1/Corr.1 18 March 1996
                                                     
7 The representative of Cuba has informed the Committee that, as a result of a new foreign investment
law enacted in 1995, the local content measures notified by Cuba under Article 5.1 are no longer in force(G/TRIMS/M/3, paragraph 5).G/L/259
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Member Document Symbol Date of Communication
India G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1/Add.2 11 April 1996
Mexico G/TRIMS/N/1/MEX/1 31 March 1995Mexico G/TRIMS/N/1/MEX/1/Rev.1
831 March 1995
Malaysia G/TRIMS/N/1/MYS/1 31 March 1995Malaysia G/TRIMS/N/1/MYS/1/Rev.1 14 March 1996
Nigeria G/TRIMS/N/1/NGA/1 17 July 1996
Pakistan G/TRIMS/N/1/ PAK/1 30 March 1995
Peru G/TRIMS/N/1/PER/1 30 March 1995Philippines G/TRIMS/N/1/PHL/1 31 March 1995Poland G/TRIMS/N/1/PO L/1 28 September 1995
Poland G/TRIMS/N/1/POL/1/Add.1 4 December 1996
Romania G/TRIMS/N/1/ROM/1 31 March 1995Thailand G/TRIMS/N/1/THA/1 30  March 1995Uganda G/TRIMS/N/1/UGA/1 17 June 1997Uruguay G/TRIMS/N/1/URY/1 31 March 1995Uruguay G/TRIMS/N/1/URY /1/Add.1 30 August 1995
Venezuela G/TRIMS/N/1/VEN/1 31 March 1995
South Africa G/TRIMS/N/ 1/ZAF/1 19 April 1995
                                                     
8 English onlyG/L/259
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ANNEX 2
Notifications Indicating that no TRIMs Inconsistent with the Agreement
on Trade-Related Investment Measures are Maintained
Member Document Symbol Date of Communication
Switzerland G/TRIMS/N/ 1/CHE/1 8 August 1995
Honduras G/TRIMS/N/1/HND/1 7 July 1995
Israel G/TRIMS/N/1/ISR/1 24 October 1996
Jamaica G/TRIMS/N/1/JAM/1 9 June 1998Saint Lucia G/TRIMS/N/1/LCA/1 14 February 1996Mali G/TRIMS/N/1/MLI/1 27 May 1997Mauritius G/TRIMS/N/1/MUS/1 27 March 1995
Nicaragua G/TRIMS/N/ 1/NIC/1 18 July 1996
Singapore G/TRIMS/N/1/SGP/1 9 October 1996Slovenia G/TRIMS/N/1/SVN/1 27 March 1995Trinidad & Tobago G/TRIMS/N/1/TTO/1 1 April 1996Zambia G/TRIMS/N/1/ZMB/1 13 April 1995G/L/259
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ANNEX 3
Members which have Submitted Notifications under Article 6.2 of
the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures
Argentina
Australia
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Chile
Costa RicaCuba
European Community (including the member States)
Fiji
Hong Kong, China
IcelandIndia
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
JapanLiechtenstein
Mauritius
Nicaragua
Norway
ParaguayPeru
Philippines
Romania
Singapore
Switzerland
Thailand
TunisiaUganda
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
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