./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SCM/W/524
18 February 2003
(03-1041)
Committee on Subsidies
and Countervailing Measures
DRAFT PROCEDURE FOR REVIEW
OF 2003 NEW AND FULL NOTIFICATIONS
Note from the Chairman
The following draft procedures for the review of 2003 new and full subsidy notifications will
be on the agenda for adoption at the Committee's 8-9 May regular meeting.  These procedures, as they
appear below, are identical, except for dates, to those adopted for the review of 1998 and 2001 new
and full notifications.
The Chairman would, however, invite Members to consider the possibility of abbreviating the
timeframe referred to paragraph 2 of the draft procedures to fifteen (instead of nineteen) weeks, and to
consider consequential modifications to the timeframes referred to in paragraph 3 so that written
questions would be submitted to the notifying Member and to the Secretariat not less than eleven(instead of fifteen) weeks before the date of the meeting at which a notification is to be reviewed, and
written responses would be submitted not less than three (instead of six) weeks before the date of that
meeting.
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1. Pursuant to Article 25.1 of the SCM Agreement, 2003 new and full subsidies notifications
must be submitted by 30 June 2003.   Because delays in notification would make it difficult for the
Secretariat to translate and circulate notifications in a manner which would allow the procedures set
forth below to operate, the Committee considers it important that all Members respect the
30 June 2003 deadline for submission of notifications as well as the deadlines for the question and
answer procedure set out below.
2. The 2003 new and full subsidy notifications will be reviewed in special meetings to be held in
conjunction with the regular meetings of the SCM Committee in Autumn 2003, Spring 2004 and (if
required) Autumn 2004.  The length of the special meetings will be determined by the Chair in light
of the number and extent of the notifications scheduled for review.  Only notifications distributed in
all three WTO working languages not less than nineteen weeks before a meeting may be reviewed at
that meeting.
3. The review of new and full notifications will be held on the basis of a written procedure,
i.e. on the basis of written questions and written answers provided before the meeting.  Written
questions shall be submitted to the notifying Member and to the Secretariat not less than fifteen weeksbefore the date of the meeting at which a notification is to be reviewed, and written responses shall be
submitted not less than six weeks before the date of that meeting.  Members desiring clarification ofanswers, identifying issues for discussion or otherwise following up on written responses are
encouraged to submit follow-up questions in writin g in advance of the meeting.  Written answers to
follow-up questions are required only where the follow-up questions are submitted in writing.G/SCM/W/524
Page 2
4. The written procedure is intended to avoid the repetition of lengthy questions and answers in
the meeting and to allow the Committee to (a) follow-up in areas where the written answers were
unclear and (b) discuss issues identified as a result of the written procedure.  The result should be
shorter and more focused meetings where meaningful discussion could occur.
5. In order for this format to be effective, two conditions must be fulfilled.  First,  questions and
answers need to be provided on a timely basis.  Thus, a Member is not required to provide written
answers in advance of a meeting where the questions were provided after the deadline had passed.  On
the other hand, a Member that fails to provide written answers within the specified time period shall
provide full oral answers at the meeting itself.  Second, the purpose of the written procedure is to
allow better discussion in the meetings, not to replace the meetings.  Meaningful discussion can onlyoccur if the responsible officials are present; thus, Members should make maximum efforts to bring
appropriate capital-based officials to the reviews of their notifications.
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