. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/AG/NG/W/144
3 April 2001
(01-1654)
Committee on Agriculture
Special SessionOriginal:  English
SIXTH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
22-23 MARCH 2001
Statement by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia
G/AG/NG/W101  (Proposal by Norway)
Special Safeguard Clause (SSG)
Let me first thank Norway for its negotiating proposal and express our warm support to
various thoughtful ideas Norway has put forward.  Many of us, being geographically situated in thesame region, understand very well the issues related to disadvantaged and unfavourable productionconditions of Nordic agriculture.  Our specific comm ents to this proposal will focus on one specific
area - the area of market access.
As you may recall, at the end of the last year a group of numerous transition economies
submitted their proposal on market access to the negotiating Session of the Committee on Agriculture.In this proposal transition economies outlined that the new negotiations in agriculture shouldrecognize the high level of market openness of the transition economies and take into accounttremendous vulnerability resulting from the transformation of their economies from centrally plannedto market economies.
In this statement some of the transition economies would like to put forward an additional
proposal, which will further elaborate on the specific measures needed to address the unique andtemporary situation in agricultural sector of the transition economies.
Namely, I would like to share the considerations of some of the transition economies
concerning the application of the Special Safeguard Measures.
As already pointed out in proposals by a number of Members, during the post-Uruguay
Round period the Special Safeguard Clause (SSG) has pr oven to be a useful instrument that enables
governments to mitigate unexpected sudden negative impact of implementation of the liberalizationcommitments in case of unforeseen fluctuations in the quantities imported or the import price.  So far,
the SSG has been considered only as an element of the tariffication package.  As a result, not all of theMembers had a possibility to have access to this measure, especially those who acceded to the WTOimmediately before or after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round.  Countries acceding to the WTOhad also converted non-tariff measures, such as quantitative restrictions and non-automatic importlicensing, to tariff-only measures as a part of their accession process to the WTO.
The new negotiations on agriculture shall examine the various aspects of application of SSG
as a trade instrument alongside with other trade measures, which remain  in the absence of possibility
to apply SSG.  The number of remaining measures to prevent unpredictable surges in imports or sharpreductions in import prices is very limited.  The Members can resort to provisions of the WTOAgreement on Safeguards, under which much more trade-disruptive and longer lasting  measures are
permitted.  Also, as a general picture of market access, Members are encouraged to maintain a higherlevel of actually applied import tariff as a preventive measure to mitigate effects of unforeseen sharpfluctuations of import prices or volumes.G/AG/NG/W/144
Page 2
The mechanism of SSG is transparent and predictable, due to the clarity of requirements for
its application as well as the tariff levels to be applied.  The mechanism, therefore, constitutes noobstacle to a smooth flow of trade.
The possibility to have access to SSG provisions will allow all Members to enter into new
market access negotiations on sensitive agriculture products with a much higher degree of flexibility.
The countries on behalf of which I am speaking, support the proposals by numerous Members
pointing out the need of the continuation of Special Safeguard Clause as a part of the tarifficationpackage.  We suggest that in parallel, the SSG clause can also be negotiated as a measure, whichwould allow addressing the specific temporary difficulties of agricultural sectors of transitioneconomies.
In our view transition economies  shall have the right  to apply SSG for the limited number of
products.  Following the same practice of the Urug uay Round, the reservation to this effect shall be
entered beside the products concerned in the relevant Member's Schedule.
The provisions of SSG shall remain in force fo r the duration of the reform process mentioned
in Article 20 of Agreement on Agriculture.
__________