. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/AG/NG/W/57
14 November 2000
(00-4833)
Committee on Agriculture
Special SessionOriginal:  English
WTO NEGOTIATIONS ON AGRICULTURE:  MARKET ACCESS
A negotiating proposal by Bulgaria, Czech Republic,  Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kyrgyz Republic,
Latvia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Croatia and Lithuania
INTRODUCTION
The Uruguay Round has played an important role in the process of establishing a fair and
market-oriented agricultural trading system and opening national markets.  For the first time, non-tariff measures in agriculture like discretionary licensing, import levies, quantitative restrictions etc.
have been converted into ordinary customs duties that have been consolidated through tariff bindings
and subjected to substantial reductions.
In transition economies, the Uruguay Round coincided with wide ranging and unprecedented
structural reforms in agriculture that occurred in the broader context of the process of transformation
from a centrally-planned into a market economy.  These reforms resulted, inter alia , in changes in
ownership and production structures, redefinition of the role of the state, drastic reductions of all
forms of supports and subsidies.
From the very outset of the transformation process, trade reforms have played a crucial role in
crafting open and free national agricultural policies of these countries.  In the context of thesereforms, all non tariff measures that insulated domestic markets of transition economies from
international competition were eliminated and replaced by instruments conforming to market
principles.  Access to national markets was substantially improved on a unilateral basis and through a
series of autonomous liberalization measures.
During the Uruguay Round, unilateral domestic  trade reforms were linked with and
incorporated into the multilateral trade negotiations, thus multiplying the effects and pace of
liberalization undertaken by transition economies.  Subsequently, these economies have timely and
fully implemented all Uruguay Round market access commitments.
Newly acceded transition economies offered valuable and commercially meaningful market
access commitments in the context of negotiations on the terms of their accession to the WTO.
Both the original and newly acceded transition economy Members have complied with their
multilateral engagements and most of them have bound their tariffs generally on a very low level.This has been done irrespective the tremendous difficulties faced during the ongoing process of
structural reforms, increases in domestic prices and existing differences in effective market opening
resulting from the Uruguay Round.
Simultaneously, fundamental reforms of the monetary policy have been implemented.
Transition economies had undertaken major efforts to stabilize the monetary system including, inter
alia, pegging of the domestic currency exchange rate.  High level of inflation compared toG/AG/NG/W/57
Page 2
international standards and strict monetary policy resulted in erosion of the real value of custom
duties.  The erosion has affected both ad valorem duties (as no reference to a domestic price level is
made in calculation of the duties) and specific duty rates expressed in national currency.  Clear
evidence of this phenomenon is the dramatic increase of trade deficits of transition economies,
particularly in agricultural products.
To illustrate the existing differences in effective market opening as referred to above, it
should be pointed out that in many instances the transitional economies export markets remain closed
despite the fact that single average tariffs may seem to be low, the reasons being the complexity of
import regimes consisting in a number of non-tariff measures, activities of marketing boards and
import monopolies.
PROPOSAL
Countries covered by this submission are ready to engage in good faith in future market
access negotiations aiming at further progressive tariff reductions.
However, it is a strong expectation of these countries that in the course of the negotiations,
the high level of trade liberalization and market opening and extreme vulnerability resulting from the
difficult and painful process of transformation to a fully-fledged market economy will be fully
recognized.
These countries therefore propose that a specific flexibility provision be included in any
negotiating guidelines and modalities to be agreed for the purpose of future tariff reductions and other
market access commitments.  Such a provision would, inter alia, exempt low tariffs from further
reduction commitments for these countries, as well as would allow for selective reductioncommitments.
At the same time, these countries propose that any negotiating guidelines and modalities
regarding future tariff reductions and other market access commitments address all non-tariff
measures and practices that hinder imports and through its effects provide protection to domestic
producers.
__________