WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/L/285
8 December 1998
(98-4907)
REPORT (1998) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS
In accordance with the "Procedures for an Annual Overview of WTO Activities and for
Reporting under the WTO" (WT/L/105), the Council for Trade in Goods is to report "in November eachyear to the General Council on the activities in the Council as well as in the subsidiary bodies". The
reports are to be "factual in nature, containing an indication of actions and de cisions taken, with cross
references to reports of subordinate bodies and could follow the model of the GATT 1947 Council
reports to the CONTRACTING PARTIES".
Since the last annual report, the Council for Trade in Goods met on 4 and 16 February, 4, 16
and 25 March, 21 April, 5 June, 8 July, 1 October, 30 November and  7 December 1998. The minutes of
these meetings are contained in documents G/C/M/29 to 37.
The following subject matters which were raised and/or acted upon in the Council are included
in the report:
1. Election of Chairperson for the Council for Trade in Goods  .......................................... 3
2. Appointment of Officers for the subsidiary bodies of the Council ................................... 33. Chairperson of the Mark et Access Co mmitt ee .................................................................. 3
4. Status of Notifications under the Provisions of the Agreements in Annex 1A of
the WTO Agre ement ............................................................................................................ 3
5. Trade Facilitation (paragraph 21 of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration)
(WT/MIN(96)Dec) ............................................................................................................... .. 4
6. Continuation of the Harmonization Work Programme provided for in Part IV of
the Agreement on Ru les of Or igin ....................................................................................... 5
7. Periodic Reports of the Committee on Market Access ...................................................... 5
8. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement............................................................. 5
(a) Harmonized System - Requests for extensions of waivers from Bangladesh, Nicaragua
and Sri Lanka ................................................................................................................. ......... 5
(b) Zambia - Renegotiation of Schedule  LXXV III ....................................................................... 6
(c) Decision on the Introduction of Harmonized System (HS) Changes into WTO Schedules
of Tariff Concessions on 1 January 1996 - Extension of th e time- limit ................................. 6
(d) EC/France – Trading Arrangements with Morocco - Request for an extension of the
waiver ........................................................................................................................ .............. 6G/L/285
Page 2
9. Work on Data Issues in the Market Access Committee .................................................... 7
10. Outcome of the major review of the impl ementation of the Agreement on Textiles
and Clothing (ATC) during the first stage of the integration process pursuant to
paragraph 11 of Article 8 of the ATC ................................................................................. 7
11. Understanding on the Inte rpretation of Article XVII of the GATT  1994 ...................... 7
12. Notification by Colombia under Section C of Article XVIII of the GATT 1994 ............. 7
13. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce ...................................................................... 8
14. Reporting on Regional Trade Agreements - Recommendations by the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements (WT/REG/4) .................................................................... 8
15. APEC Ministerial Meeting  .................................................................................................. 8
16. Customs Unions and Free-Trade Areas:  regional agreements......................................... 8
(a) Free Trade Agreement betwee n Latvia and Slovenia ............................................................. 8
(b) Free Trade Agreement betwee n Lithuania and Slovenia ........................................................ 8
(c) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak  Republic and the Republic of Latvia ................. 9
(d) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Lithuania ............ 9
(e) Free Trade Agreement between Pola nd and the Republic of Lithuania ................................. 9
(f) Central European Free Trade Agreement – Accession of the Republic of Slovenia .............. 9(g) Central European Free Trade Agr eement – Accession of Romania ....................................... 9
(h) Customs Union between the European Community and the Principality of Andorra ............ 9
(i) Free Trade Agreement betw een Hungary and Israel .............................................................. 9
(j) Free Trade Agreement between Is rael and the Czech Republic ........................................... 10
(k) Free Trade Agreement between Is rael and the Slovak Republic .......................................... 10
(l) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Hungary .......................................................... 10
(m) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Romania ......................................................... 10
(n) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Israel ............................................................... 10
(o) Free Trade Agreement betwee n Turkey and Lithuania ........................................................ 10
(p) Free Trade Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Estonia ............... 10
(q) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Estonia ............. 11
(r) Free Trade Agreements between the Czech Republic and Turkey, and the Slovak
Republic and Turkey ........................................................................................................... .. 11
(s) Free Trade Agreement betw een Turkey and Estonia ............................................................ 11
17. Issues raised concerning Me mbers' trade practices ......................................................... 11
(a) Japan – Canada's new simplif ied national cust oms tari ff ..................................................... 11
(b) Korea – Mexico's Price Monitoring System ......................................................................... 11
(c) Korea – Peru's Tax Regime relate d to the Import of Used Cars ........................................... 11
18. Consideration of annual reports of subsidiary bodies of the Council for Trade in
Goods ......................................................................................................................... ........... 11
19. Adoption of the annual report of the Council for Trade in Goods to the General
Council ....................................................................................................................... .......... 12G/L/285
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1. Election of Chairperson for the Council for Trade in Goods  (G/C/M/30)
1.1 At its resumed meeting of 4 March 1998, the Council elected H.E. Ambassador R. Saborío Soto
(Costa Rica) as its Chairman for 1998.
2. Appointment of Officers for the subsidiary bodies of the Council (G/C/M/30)
2.1 At its resumed meeting of 4 March 1998, the Council took note of the consensus on the
following persons nominated for election as Chairpersons of its subsidiary bodies: Committee on
Agriculture: H.E. Ambassador Nestor Osorio Londoño (Colombia);  Committee on Anti-Dumping
Practices:  Mr. José Antonio S. Buencamino (Philippines);  Committee on Customs Valuation:
Mr. Mohamed Bentaja (Morocco);  Committ ee on Import Licensing:  Mme Marie Gosset
(Côte d'Ivoire); Committee on Rules of Origin:  Mr . Ric Wells (Australia);  Committee on Safeguards:
Mr. Shishir Priyadarshi (India);  Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures:
Mr. Alex Thiermann (United States);  Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures:
Mr. Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos (Brazil);  Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade:
Mr. Otto Th. Genee (Netherlands); Committ ee on Trade-Related Investment Measures:
Mr. Dimitrij Gr čar (Slovenia).  The Council appointed  the following nominated persons as
Chairpersons:  Mr. Jacques T. d'Orfeuil (France) for the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises;
Mr. Edward Brown (United Kingdom) for th e Working Party on Preshipment Inspection1.
2.2 At the same meeting, the Council agreed to proceed on the understanding that in the case of
Vice-Chairpersons, it would be for the subsidiary bodies  to decide if they needed a Vice-Chairperson in
cases where the option existed under the respective Agreement and/or rules of procedure, and for the
respective Chairperson to hold the necessary consultations.
3. Chairperson of the Market Access Committee (G/C/M/30, 31, 32 and 33)
3.1 At its resumed meeting of 4 March 1998, the Council took note that it had not been possible to
reach a consensus on the nomination for Chairperson of the Market Access Committee, and agreed that
the Council Chairman for 1998 should continue consulta tions with a view to finding a consensus on a
Chairperson before the first meeting of the Market Access Committee scheduled for 26  March 1998.
3.2 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took  note of the information provided by the
Chairman  that consultations were still ongoing on the matter of the Chairperson of the Market Access
Committee.
3.3 At its meeting of  25 March 1998,  the Council took note of the consensus on the nomination of
Mr. Ole Lundby (Norway) as Chairman of the Ma rket Access Committee, pending confirmation from
the Norwegian authorities of his availability.
3.4 At the meeting of  21 April 1998, the Chairm an informed the Counc il that the Norwegian
Government had confirmed Mr. Lundby's availability to chair the Market Access Committee.
4. Status of Notifications under the Provisions of the Agreements in Annex 1A of the WTO
Agreement (G/C/M/30, 31 and 36)
4.1 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council agreed to revert to the consideration of
document G/L/223 at its next meeting when the document was expected to be available in the three
                                                     
1 The Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products
elected Mr. Martin Harvey (New Zealand) as Chairman for 1998.G/L/285
Page 4
official WTO languages.  The document listed notif ication obligations under the provisions of the
Agreements in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement and Members' compliance therewith and included
notifications received up to and on 31 December 1997.
4.2 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the C ouncil took note of document G/L/223 and its
corrigendum.
4.3 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Counc il took note of documen t G/L/223/Rev.1 which
updated the situation with respect to the status of notifications and Members' compliance therewith and
included notifications made up to and on 30 June 1998.
5. Trade Facilitation (paragraph 21 of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration)
(WT/MIN(96)Dec) (G/C/M/30, 31, 33, 34 and 37)
5.1 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the Council t ook note of the report by the Chairman on the
state of preparations for the WTO Symposium on Trade Facilitation scheduled for 9-10 March 1998.
5.2 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council t ook note of the Chairman's summary (G/L/226)
of the main issues raised and the outcome of the WTO Symposium on Trade Facilitation.  The Council
agreed that the Secretariat prepare a factual paper on the Symposium.
5.3 At its meeting of  21 April 1998, the Council took note of document G/C/W/113 prepared by
the Secretariat and containing a checklist of issu es raised during the Symposium. The Council also
agreed to the Chairman's proposal to hold informal consultations to determine the process to take the
work on trade facilitation forward.
5.4 At the Council meeting of 5 June 1998, the Chai rman informed the Council that consultations
had taken place to determine the process to take the work on trade facilitation forward.  In this context,
Switzerland2 and the European Communities had submitted proposals for a possible structure of future
trade facilitation work. He drew the Council's atte ntion to the factual report of the WTO Symposium on
Trade Facilitation prepared by the Secret ariat and contained in document G/C/W/115.
5.5 At the Council's resumed meeting on 8 July 1998, the Chairman presented a proposal on future
work on trade facilitation (G/C/M/34, paragraphs 6.6 to 6.7).  The Council agreed to the Chairman's
understanding that if no objections were received by  13 July 1998 on the proposal, he would assume that
the text was acceptable to all delegations3.  The Council was to meet in a series of regular informal
meetings at which time it would address inter alia issues such as import and export procedures and
requirements, physical movement of consignments and electronic facilities and their importance for
facilitating international trade.  An evaluation of th e exploratory and analytical work to assess the scope
for WTO rules in trade facilitation would take place in June 1999.
5.6 At the Council meeting of  30 November 1998, the Chairman reported on the discussions on
trade facilitation which were being carried out in accordance with paragraph 21 of the Singapore
Ministerial Declaration. The first informal meeting of the Council was held on 28-29 September  1998
where import and export procedures and requirements, including customs and border-crossingproblems were examined; an overview of the Kyoto Convention and its current revision process was
also provided. A second informal meeting was scheduled for 7-8 December 1998, and a third one for
1-2 March 1999.  The Council took note of the Chairman's report.
                                                     
2 Circulated in document G/C/W/114.
3 No objections were received.G/L/285
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6. Continuation of the Harmonization Work Programme provided for in Part IV of the
Agreement on Rules of Origin (G/C/M/35)
6.1 At the Council meeting of 8 July 1998, the Chairman of the Committee on Rules of Origin
introducing the report of that Committee (G/RO/25), i ndicated that the Committee had concluded at its
meeting of 29 May 1998 that the Harmonization Work  Programme (HWP) could not be finalized by
20 July 1998, the date scheduled for its completion.  The report contained a number of recommendations
and proposals on the continuation of  the HWP and were reflected in paragraphs 4 to 6 of the
Committee's report.  The Council approved the proposals and recommendations and forwarded them to
the General Council for adoption.
7. Periodic Reports of the Committee on Market Access (G/C/M/33, 36 and 37)
7.1 At its meetings of  21 April  and 1 October 1998 the Council took note of the oral reports by the
Chairman of the Market Access Committee on the requests for waiver extensions and/or waivers made
in connection with the transposition or renegotiati on of schedules of tariff concessions and/or in
connection with the introduction of harmonized system changes into schedules of tariff concessions on
1 January 1996.  On 1 October 1998, the Council was in formed of the situati on with respect to the
modalities and operation of the Integrated Data Base (IDB).  The Council also took note of the periodicreports summarizing the activities of the Committee in 1998 (G/MA/59 and 60).
7.2 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council agreed that the Chairman initiate consultations
with the Chairman of the Market Access Committee, and, as necessary with delegations concerned, on
the concerns expressed by India regarding the a doption by the Market Access Committee of proposals
for dissemination of the IDB.
7.3 At the Council meeting of 30 November 1998, the Chairman reported that he had initiated
consultations with the Chairman of the Market Access Committee and the delegations concerned on
this question. While his consultations were still in course, he felt that it would be preferable to awaitthe results of the open-ended consultations to be conducted by the Chairman of the Market Access
Committee on this matter before continuing his own consultations.  The Council took note of the
Chairman's report.
8. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) Harmonized System - Requests for extensions of waivers from Bangladesh, Nicaragua and
Sri Lanka  (G/C/M/33 and 36)
8.1 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council c onsidered requests by Bangladesh (G/L/227),
Nicaragua (G/L/230) and Sri Lanka (G/L/229 and Rev.1) for an extension until 31 October 1998 of
waivers already granted in connection with the tr ansposition of their schedules into the Harmonized
System.
8.2 The Council approved the texts of the draft decisions on the waiver extensions in
G/C/W/107/Rev.1 (Banglades h),  G/C/W/110 and Corr .1 (Nicaragua) and G/C/ W/109 (Sri Lanka), and
agreed to transmit them to the General Council for adoption.
8.3 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council c onsidered requests by Bangladesh (G/L/255),
Nicaragua (G/L/256) and Sri Lanka (G/L/257) for an extension until 30 April 1999 of waivers already
granted in connection with the transposition of  their schedules into the Harmonized System.G/L/285
Page 6
8.4 The Council approved the texts of the draft de cisions on the waiver extensions in G/C/W/118
(Bangladesh), G/C/W/119 (Nicaragua) and G/C/W/120 (Sri Lanka), and agreed to transmit them to the
General Council for adoption.
(b) Zambia - Renegotiation of Schedule LXXVIII (G/C/M/33 and 36)
8.5 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council cons idered a request by Zambia (G/L/228) for an
extension, until 31 October 1998, of the waiver granted to it in connection with the renegotiation of its
Schedule.  The Council approved the text of the dr aft decision (G/C/W/108), a nd agreed to transmit it to
the General Council for adoption.
8.6 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council cons idered a request by Zambia (G/L/258) for an
extension, until 30 April 1999, of the waiver granted to it in connection with the renegotiation of its
Schedule.  The Council approved the text of the dr aft decision (G/C/W/121), a nd agreed to transmit it to
the General Council for adoption.
(c) Decision on the Introduction of Harmonized Sy stem (HS) Changes into WTO Schedules of
Tariff Concessions on 1 January 1996 - Extension of the time-limit (G/C/M/33 and 36)
8.7 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council approved the text of the draft decision
(G/C/W/111) granting an extension of individual waivers to Members listed in the annex to that
document until 31 October 1998, and agreed to transmit it to the General Council for adoption.  These
waivers had been requested by those Members finding it necessary to consult or negotiate under
Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 as a result of the HS96 changes introduced in their schedules.
8.8 At the Council meeting of 1 October 1998, the representative of Japan noted that only
3 Members had finished the process of rectifications and modifications to schedules to introduce the
HS96 changes.  In view of future tariff negotiations, it was indispensable to establish schedules based
on HS96 as soon as possible.  To counteract the situation of repeated requests for waiver extensions,
he requested Members to consider the current waiver extension as being the last one and to pursueactively bilateral negotiations.  With respect to the latter the following measures should be taken:
1) Members should submit concordance tables; 2) the Secretariat should prepare a list showing the
situation of objections; and 3) Members who had still not finished the process by the end of
April 1999 should conduct bilateral negotiations with those who had raised objections.  The list of
objections would be revised in light of the results of these negotiations.  The Council took note of the
statement.   
8.9 At the same meeting, the Council approved th e text of the draft decision (G/MA/W/17/Rev.1)
granting an extension of the individual waivers to Members listed in the annex to that document until
30 April 1999, and agreed to transmit it to the General Council for adoption.
(d) EC/France – Trading Arrangements with Morocco - Request for an extension of the waiver
(G/C/M/37)
8.10 At its meeting of 30 November 1998,  the Council considered the request for a waiver extension
from the EC/France (G/L/275).  This wa iver applied to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article I of the
GATT to the extent necessary to permit France to apply duty-free tariff quotas to a number of products
originating in parts of the territory of Morocco not covered by paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article I of GATT1994.  The Council approved the text of the draft d ecision (G/C/W/130) granting this waiver extension
and agreed to transmit it to the General Council for adoption.G/L/285
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9. Work on Data Issues in the Ma rket Access Committee (G/C/M/36)
9.1 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council took note of the statement made by the
representative of the United States urging Member s to comply with their obligation, in accordance with
the Decision by the General Council of 16 July 1997 (WT/L/225), to notify trade and tariff data
electronically on an annual basis.  This data was to be  stored in the IDB by the Secretariat.  The Market
Access Committee was also working on methods for Members to supply electronically schedules of
WTO bindings in current HS nomenclature. These activities were important for firstly assessing
implementation of market-access commitments and secondly for preparing future mandated
negotiations.
10. Outcome of the major review of the implemen tation of the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (ATC) during the first stage of the integration process pursuant toparagraph 11 of Article 8 of the ATC (G/C/M/29 and 30)
10.1 At the Council meeting of  4 February 1998, the Chairman recalled that the major review of
the implementation of the ATC during the first stage of the integration process had been carried out
between October and December 1997.  Following this fo rmal review process, he had held a series of
informal meetings with a view to developing a su mmary of the main points raised in the review and
an agreed set of  conclusions flowing from it.  Howe ver, in spite of determined efforts by delegations,
the views remained far apart and it had not been poss ible in the time available to develop conclusions
that would attract consensus.  This had been re ported to the General Council on 10 December 1997.
10.2 In early 1998, the Chairman considered that further efforts were warranted in view of the
great deal of progress that had been achieved and informal consultations resumed in mid-January.
This led to a full set of conclusions, integrated in to the respective sections of the summary of the
review.  This was contained in document G/C/ W/105.  The Council took note of the Chairman's
statement and of his intention to convene a meeting of the Council on 16 February 1998 in order to
present this text formally to the Council for action.
10.3 At its meeting on 16 February 1998, the Council took note of the text in document
G/C/W/1054, containing the outcome of the major review of the implementation of the ATC during
the first stage of the integration process, pursuant to paragraph 11 of Article 8 of the ATC.
11. Understanding on the Interpre tation of Article XVII of the GATT  1994 (G/C/M/33)
11.1 At its meeting of 21 April 1998, the Council took note of the statement by the Chairman of the
Working Party on State Trading Enterprises on the Work ing Party's review of state trading notifications
and of the adequacy of the 1960 questionnaire. The Council approved the revised questionnaire on state
trading (G/STR/3)  and agreed to  implement it beginning with the 1998 new and full notifications.  It
also took note of the postponement in the deadlin e established for the submission of new and full
notifications in 1998 from 30 June to 30 September 1998.
12. Notification by Colombia under Section C of Article XVIII of the GATT 1994
(G/C/M/35)
12.1 At the Council meeting of 8 July 1998, the representative of the United States expressed
concern (G/L/248) at a notification by Colombia in  which Colombia indicated its intention to invoke
Article XVIII:C for the purpose of imposing qua ntitative restrictions on imports of salt
(WT/COMTD/N/8 and Co rr.1).  The Council took note of this statement and of the statements made by
the representatives of Colombia, Australia, the European Communities, Japan and Cuba.
                                                     
4 Subsequently issued as G/L/224.G/L/285
Page 8
13. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (G/C/M/36 and 37)
13.1 At the Council meeting of 1 October 1998, the Ch airman recalled that the General Council had
established a comprehensive work programme (WT/L/274 ) to examine all trade-related issues relating to
global electronic commerce.  It had also instruct ed the Council for Trade in  Goods to examine and
report on aspects of electronic commerce relevant to  the provisions of GATT 1994, the multilateral trade
agreements covered under Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement, and the approved work programme. The
Council agreed to the Chairman's proposal to hol d open-ended informal consultations on the way to
proceed with regard to the work mandate on electronic commerce.
13.2 At the C ouncil meeting of 30 November 1998, the Chairman reported on the results of his
consultations concerning the way to proceed with the work mandate on electronic commerce.  He
indicated that at an informal meeting on 8 October 1998, it was agreed to hold three informal
meetings (9 November 1998, 26 January and 8 March 1999) to discuss the matters indicated in the
work programme, before the General Council was to  undertake its interim review of progress in the
implementation of the work programme which was due for completion by 31 March 1999.  At the
first of these meetings on 9 November 1998, the Council took up the question of market access forand access to products related to electronic commerce;  customs duties and other duties and charges as
defined under Article II of GATT 1994; and classification issues.  The Council took note of the
Chairman's report and of the agreement reached at  the Council's informal meeting of 8 October 1998.
14. Reporting on Regional Trade Agreements - Recommendations by the Committee on
Regional Trade Agreements (WT/REG/4) (G/C/M/37)
14.1 At its meeting of 30 November 1998, the C ouncil approved the recommendations of the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (WT/REG/4)  on how the required reporting on the operation
of regional trade agreements should be carried out.
15. APEC Ministerial Meeting (G/C/M/37)
15.1 At the Council meeting of 30 November 1998, the representative of Malaysia informed the
Council that at the APEC Ministerial Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur on 14-15 November 1998,
Ministers of participating economies agreed that APEC's early voluntary sectoral liberalization
initiative be brought to the WTO.   The Council took note of this information.
16. Customs Unions and Free-Trade Areas:  regional agreements
(a) Free Trade Agreement between Latvia and Slovenia (G/C/M/30)
16.1 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, th e Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG34/N/1) from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under
which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was
circulated in document WT/REG34/1.
(b) Free Trade Agreement between Lithuania and Slovenia (G/C/M/30)
16.2 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, th e Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG35/N/1) from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under
which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which wascirculated in document WT/REG35/1.G/L/285
Page 9
(c) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republ ic and the Republic of Latvia (G/C/M/30)
16.3 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the C ouncil took note of the communication from the
Slovak Republic (WT/RE G47/N/1). The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG47/1.
(d) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Lithuania
(G/C/M/30)
16.4 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the C ouncil took note of the communication from the
Slovak Republic (WT/RE G48/N/1). The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG48/1.
(e) Free Trade Agreement between Poland and the Republic of Lithuania (G/C/M/30)
16.5 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, the C ouncil took note of the communication from Poland
(WT/REG49/N/1). The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the Committee on Regional
Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement,  which was circulated in document WT/REG49/1.
(f) Central European Free Trade Agreement – Accession of the Republic of Slovenia (G/C/M/30)
16.6 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, th e Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG11/N/2) from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under
which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which wascirculated in document WT/REG11/4.
(g) Central European Free Trade Agreement – Accession of Romania (G/C/M/30)
16.7 At its meeting of 4 February 1998, th e Council took note of the communication
(WT/REG11/N/3) from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under
which the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was
circulated in document WT/REG11/5.
(h) Customs Union between the European Community and the Principality of Andorra
(G/C/M/31)
16.8 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council t ook note of the notifi cation (WT/REG53/N/1)
from the European Community. The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document
WT/REG53/1.
(i) Free Trade Agreement between Hungary and Israel (G/C/M/31 and 33)
16.9 At its meeting of 16 March 1998, the Council took  note of the information provided by the
representative of Hungary that a Free Trade Ag reement within the mean ing of Article XXIV of
GATT 1994 between Israel and Hungary had entered in to force on 1 February 1998, and that the text of
the Agreement had been made available for circulation.
16.10 At its meeting of  21 April 1998, the Council took note of the comm unication (WT/REG54/N/1)
from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which theG/L/285
Page 10
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG54/1.
(j) Free Trade Agreement between Israel and the Czech Republic (G/C/M/33)
16.11 At its meeting of  21 April 1998, the Council took note of the comm unication (WT/REG56/N/1)
from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG56/1 and 2.
(k) Free Trade Agreement between Israel and the Slovak Republic (G/C/M/33)
16.12 At its meeting of  21 April 1998, the Council took note of the comm unication (WT/REG57/N/1)
from the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG57/1 and 2.
(l) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Hungary (G/C/M/34)
16.13 At its meeting of  5 June 1998, the Council took  note of the notificati on (WT/REG58/N/1) from
the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted  the terms of reference under which the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document
WT/REG58/1.
(m) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Romania (G/C/M/34)
16.14 At its meeting of  5 June 1998, the Council took  note of the notificati on (WT/REG59/N/1) from
the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted  the terms of reference under which the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document
WT/REG59/1.
(n) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Israel (G/C/M/34)
16.15 At its meeting of  5 June 1998, the Council took  note of the notificati on (WT/REG60/N/1) from
the parties to the Agreement.  The Council adopted  the terms of reference under which the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document
WT/REG60/1.
(o) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Lithuania (G/C/M/35)
16.16 At its meeting of  8 July 1998, the Council t ook note of the notifica tion (WT/REG 61/N/1) by
Turkey.  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the Committee on Regional Trade
Agreements should examine this Agreement, which was circulated in document WT/REG61/1.
(p) Free Trade Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Estonia (G/C/M/36)
16.17 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Counc il took note of the notification by the
Czech Republic (WT/REG62/ N/1).  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG62/1.G/L/285
Page 11
(q) Free Trade Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Estonia (G/C/M/36)
16.18 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Counc il took note of the notification by the
Slovak Republic (WT/REG 63/N/1).  The Council adopted the terms of reference under which the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements should exam ine this Agreement, which was circulated in
document WT/REG63/1.
(r) Free Trade Agreements between the Czech Republic and Turkey, and the Slovak Republic
and Turkey (G/C/M/36)
16.19 At its meeting of 1 October 1998, the Council t ook note of the information provided by the
representative of the Czech Republic, speaking on beha lf also of the Slovak Republic, on the Free Trade
Agreement between the Czech Republic and Turk ey and the Free Trade Agreement between the
Slovak Republic and Turkey, both of which had entered into force on 1 September 1998.
(s) Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Estonia (G/C/M/37)
16.20 At its meeting of 30 November 1998, the Council was informed by the representative of
Turkey that the Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Estonia had entered into force on
1 July 1998 and would be notified to the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements.
17. Issues raised concerning Members' trade practices
(a) Japan – Canada's new simplified national customs tariff (G/C/M/34)
17.1 At the Council meeting of 5 June 1998, the representative of Japan expressed concern at the
implementation by Canada of its new simplified custom s tariff.  The Council took note of this statement
and of the statements made by the representatives of Canada and Switzerland.
(b) Korea – Mexico's Price Monitoring System (G/C/M/36)
17.2 At the Council meeting of 1 October 1998, the representative of Korea expressed concern about
the Automatic Import Advice System or Prior-to-import Notification System which Mexico had put into
operation on 27 August 1998.  The Council took note of this statement and of the statements made by
the representatives of Thailand, speaking on behalf of ASEAN Members, and Mexico.
(c) Korea – Peru's Tax Regime related to the Import of Used Cars (G/C/M/37)
17.3 At the Council meeting of  30 November 1998, the representative of Korea expressed concern
at Peru's tax regime related to the import of used cars.  The Council took note of this statement and of
the statement made by the representative of Peru.
18. Consideration of annual reports of subsidiary bodies of the Council for Trade in Goods
(G/C/M/37)
18.1 At its meeting of  30 November 1998, the C ouncil took note of the reports from the following
subsidiary bodies: Committees on Agriculture (G/L/2765), Anti-Dumping Practices (G/L/268), Customs
Valuation (G/L/277), Im port Licensing (G/L/2646), Rules of Origin (G/L/ 271), Safeguards (G/L/272),
Sanitary and Phytosantiary Measures (G/L/2745 and Corr.17), Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
                                                     
5 Report by the Chairman.
6 Document G/L/264* cancels and replaces document G/L/264 in the English version only.
7 English version only.G/L/285
Page 12
(G/L/267), Technical Barriers to Tr ade (G/L/278), Trade-Related Invest ment Measures (G/L/259), the
Textiles Monitoring Body (G/L/270 and Corr.18), the Independent Entity (G/L/269), the Working Party
on State Trading Enterprises (G/L/ 281).  The Council took note of the report of the Working Party on
Preshipment Inspection (G/L/273), approved the r ecommendation contained therein, and forwarded the
report to the General Council for appropriate acti on.  The Council noted that the reports from the
Committee on Market Access and the Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in
Information Technology Products (G/L/280) needed further discussion in these bodies, and agreed to
consider them at its resumed meeting.
18.2 At its resumed meeting of 7 December 1998, the Council took note of the reports from the
Committee on Market Access (G/L/284) and the Committ ee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade
in Information Technology Products (G/L/280/Rev.1).
19. Adoption of the annual report of the Council for Trade in Goods to the General Council
(G/C/M/37)
19.1 At its meeting of  30 November 1998, the C ouncil adopted the draft annual report contained in
document G/C/W/129, subject to the updating that would be required to reflect the work of the Council
at that meeting and its resumed meeting on 7 December 1998.
__________
                                                     
8 French version only.