RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
25 September 1998 
 (98-3703) 
Working Party on the  
Accession of Latvia  
 
 
 
DRAFT REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON 
THE ACCESSION OF LATVIA TO THE 
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
 
 
Introduction  
1. The Government of Latvia's request for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade (GATT 1947) was circulated to Contracting Parties in November 1993.  At its meeting on 
17 December 1993, the GATT 1947 Council of Re presentatives established a Working Party to 
examine the application of the Government of Latvia to accede to the General Agreement under 
Article XXXIII, and to submit to the Council recomm endations which may include a draft Protocol of 
Accession.  Membership of the Working Party was open to all Contracting Parties indicating their 
wish to serve on it.  In pursuance of the Ministerial Decision of 14 April 1994 on Acceptance of and Accession to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to the 
Decision of 31 May 1994 of the Preparatory Commi ttee for the WTO, the Working Party examined 
the application of Latvia for membership in the WTO and agreed to pursue the market access 
negotiations for goods, including an agricultural co untry schedule, and for services.  In pursuance of 
the Decision adopted by the WTO General C ouncil on 31 January 1995, the existing GATT 1947 
Accession Working Party was transformed into a WTO Accession Working Party.  The terms of 
reference and the membership of the Wo rking Party are reproduced in document 
WT/ACC/LVA/6/Rev.2. 
2. The Working Party met on 28-29 Marc h and 13 November 1995;  22 March and 
16 September 1996;  27 February 1997;  and [ 29 September] 1998 under the Chairmanship of 
Mr. F. Theilgaard (Denmark). 
Documentation
 
3. The Working Party had before it, to serve as a basis for its discussions, a Memorandum on the 
Foreign Trade Regime of Latvia (L/7526 with Ad denda 1, 2 and 3) and the questions submitted by 
Members on the foreign trade regime of Latvia, together with the replies thereto (WT/L/49 and 
Corrigendum 1 and Addendum 1;  WT/ACC/LVA/3, WT/ACC/LVA/4, WT/ACC/LVA/8 and Corrigendum 1;  WT/ACC/LVA/12, WT/ACC/LVA/16) and other information provided by the Latvian authorities (WT/ACC/LVA/5, WT/A CC/LVA/20, WT/ACC/LVA/27, WT/ACC/LVA/28, WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 2  
 
WT/ACC/LVA/29, WT/Spec(95)6;  WT/SPEC/26).  The Government of Latvia made available to the 
Working Party the following documentation: 
- Law "On Judicial Power" of 18 June 1994; 
- Law on Customs Duty with Annexes I (Import duty tariffs) and II (Export duty tariffs); - Latvia's National Tariff Schedule; - Law on the Bank of Latvia; - Law on Credit Institutions; 
- Law "On Competition" of 18 June 1997; 
- Law "On Protection of Topographies of  Semiconductor Products" of 31 March 1998; 
- Draft Law "On Trademarks and Indications of Geographical Origin"; - Law on Trademarks; - Law on Industrial Design Protection; 
- Patent Law; 
- Draft Regulations of the Cabinet of Mini sters "Regulation Regarding Customs Control 
Measures on Protection of Intellectual Property"; 
- Draft "Personal Data Protection Law"; - Excerpt of the Criminal Code of 6 October 1955 regarding Part III Section 5 of the TRIPS 
Agreement (criminal procedures); 
- Law "On Radio and Television" of  24 August 1995 with amendments; 
- Resolution and Law on Bookkeeping; - Draft Commercial Law; - Decree and Law on Joint Stock Companies; - Resolution and Law on Income Tax; 
- Resolution and Law on Limited Liability Companies; 
- Resolution and Law on Foreign Investment in the Republic of Latvia; - Resolution and Law on Excise Tax; - Law on Excise Tax on Mineral Oils; - Resolution and Law on Turnover Tax; 
- Law on Value-Added Tax of 9 March 1995 with amendments of 13 November 1997 
(consolidated text); 
- Law "On Enterprise Register" of 20 November 1990 with amendments; - Resolution and Law of the Republic of  Latvia on Entrepreneurial Activity; 
- Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 348 of 7 October 1997 "On Licensing of Separate 
Forms of Entrepreneurial Activity"; 
- Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 351 "Regulations of Circulation of Tobacco and 
Tobacco Products" of 7 October 1997; 
- Regulation on Food; - Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 208 of 1 November 1994 on the Order of 
Establishment and Administration of Import and Export Tariff Quotas; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No . 24 of 17 January 1995 On Order By Which the 
Special Authorizations (Licences) Shall Be Issued in Accordance With the Quotas of 
Customs Tariffs; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 20 of 17 January 1995 Regulations to Protect the 
Domestic Market for Food Stuff Produced in Latvia; 
- Customs Law of 11 June 1997; 
- Section G of the Customs Law on Provisions of the Application of Customs Duties; 
- An evaluation of the compliance of this legi slation with provisions in the Agreement on the 
Implementation of Article VII of the GA TT 1994 and legislation of the European 
Communities; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 27 of 31 January 1995 On Determining the 
Customs Value of Import and Export Goods or Other Items; 
- Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 428 of 17 December 1997 Procedure for 
Calculating the Customs Value of Goods;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 3 
 
 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Minister s No. 87 of 12 April 1994 On the Mandatory 
Certification of Foodstuff, Perfumery and Toys; 
- Programme of Reforms for the Nati onal Economy of Latvia "Latvia 2000"; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 37 of 25 January 1994 On State Monopoly of 
Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 248 of 20 June 1996 On State Monopoly of 
Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages;  
- Regulation by the Bank of Latvia On Granting Licences (Permissions) to Perform Activities 
of Credit Institutions; 
- Regulation by the Bank of Latvia On Re gulation on Amending the Charter, Changing 
Shareholders, the Initial Capital, the Manageme nt, the Chief Accountant, the Legal Address, 
the Name of a Credit Institution, and Undertak ing Merger or Split-up of Credit Institutions; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.185 of 23 August 1994 On Formation of Prices 
and Tariffs of Goods and Services;  
- Law on Foreign Investment in the Republic of Latvia; 
- the Official List of Quarantinable Pests; 
- Founding Law of the Latvian Food Centre; - Statutes of Information, Consultation and Training Centre of Goods and Services; 
- Law on Safety on Products, Services and Liability of Producer, Supplier of 
26 September 1996; 
- Law on Uniformity of Measurements of 11 March 1997; 
- Law on Conformity Assessment of 20 August 1996; 
- Law of the Republic of Latvia On Govern ment and Municipal Procurement, effective 
1 January 1997; 
- Law on Pharmaceutical Operations of 27 April 1993; -  Law "On Pharmaceutical Activities" of 24 April 1997; 
- Law on Veterinary Medicine of 6 March 1995; 
- Law "On Supervision of Food Circ ulation" of 19 February 1998; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Minist ers No.349"On Labelling of Foodstuffs" of 
7 October 1997; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 170"On Standing Order for Food Additives" of 
6 May 1997; 
- Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights of 28 October 1992; 
- Law on Plant Protection of 20 October 1994; - Regulation On the Indication of Durability Da te of Pre-packaged Foodstuffs (25 June 1996); 
- Regulation On Procedure of Recognition in the Re public of Latvia of Conformity Assurances 
and Approvals Issued Abroad in Mandatory Area (24 December 1996);  
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 295 "On Procedure of Conformity Attestation of 
Building Materials and Construction Products  in Mandatory Area" of 5 August 1997; 
- Regulation No. 463 of 24 December 1996 On th e Authorization of Testing and Calibration 
Laboratories, Certification and Inspection Bodies in the Mandatory Area; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 465"On Accreditation Testing and Calibration 
Laboratories, Certification and Insp ection Bodies" of 24 December 1996; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.140 "On the Electrical Safety of Equipment" of 
21 April 1998; 
- Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.161 "On the Electromagnetic Compatibility of 
Apparatus" of 5 May 1998; 
- Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 399 "On the Conformity Assessment of 
Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Toys" of 2 December 1997; 
- Draft Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers "On Labelling of Textiles"; - Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 12 "On Order, How the Ministry of Economy 
Coordinates the Exchange of Information in the Area of Technical Barriers to Trade and 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary M easures" of 28 October 1997; 
- Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 106  of 25 March 1997 On Regulations of Quotas 
of Customs Tariffs; WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 4  
 
- Law on Agriculture; - Law "On Latvia Grain Market and State Gr ain Reserve" of 18 May 1993 with amendments; 
- Conception on Use of Agricultural Subsidies and the Program Rationales for 1998-2002; - Latvia's Import Totals under each Harmonized System 8-digit category (f.o.b. values);  and 
- Latvia's Import Data for 1994. 
Introductory statements
 
4. The representative of Latvia stated that Latvia had achieved considerable results in 
transforming a centrally-planned economy to a ma rket-based economy since restoration of 
independence in 1991.  Latvia had drafted several  new trade laws and regulations modelled on WTO 
principles to establish a uniform and predictable tr ading environment for importers, exporters and 
investors.  The fifteen countries of the Europ ean Communities had, counted as one entity, become 
Latvia's principal trading partner.  External trad e relations were emphasized  by Latvia's geographical 
position between East and West;  several bilate ral trade agreements based on the most-favoured-
nation principle had been concluded and more were in progress.  Latv ia had also concluded free trade 
agreements with the European Communities and othe r countries in Europe.  However, bilateral and 
regional arrangements alone could not provide the necessary stability for external trade relations.  
Latvia had therefore made a strong commitment to become a Member of the WTO.  The WTO 
principles of national and MFN treatment had been inco rporated in national legislation with particular 
attention to transparency in the publication of all laws and regulatio ns and a tariff-based trade regime.  
Minimal tariffs were imposed on imported raw mate rials, spare parts and capital goods, the basic 
average MFN import tariff was 15 per cent, and export tariffs were imposed only on some raw 
materials.  Non-discrimination between imported and domestically produced items applied in the 
imposition of excise taxes and the turnover tax, the latter had been replaced by a value-added tax.  
Any person or enterprise registered in Latvia coul d perform any legal import operation.  Exports of 
spirits, ferrous and non-ferrous meta ls were subject to licensing with no underlying quotas.  Finally, 
he pointed out that Latvia's effort to become a Member of the WTO was supported by all the major political institutions and that a broad national c onsensus existed regarding the importance of WTO 
membership and the pursuit of liberal trade policies.  
5. Many members of the Working Party welcom ed Latvia's request for accession to the WTO 
and expressed their readiness to work with Latvia in elaborating term s of accession that would support 
the programme of transition to a market-based econo my and Latvia's integration into the multilateral 
trading system.  Some members welcomed the docum entation provided and the statement made by the 
representative of Latvia.  They also said that they looked forward to a detailed examination of Latvia's 
policies and of the reasons for the adoption of certa in measures, e.g. licensing requirements.  Some 
members of the Working Party noted that Latvia  had raised tariffs and introduced new trade 
restrictions after the request for accession had been su bmitted and that further restrictions appeared to 
be under consideration.  This was a disturbing tr end, as applicant countries were expected not to  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 5 
 
 
implement any measures during accession negotiations that  could be considered inconsistent with the 
WTO or that alter the basis for negotiations.  La tvia was accordingly requested to remove these 
measures and notify the Working Party of proposed new restrictions and to supply all new relevant 
laws and regulations to its members.  
6. The Working Party then pro ceeded to review the economic po licies and foreign trade regime 
of Latvia and the possible terms of a draft Protocol of Accession to the WTO.  The views expressed by members of the Working Party are su mmarized below in paragraphs 7 to 130. 
ECONOMIC POLICIES 
 
Foreign exchange and payments
 
7. The representative of Latvia said that his country had established one of the most liberal 
foreign exchange regimes in the world.  Latvia had been a member of the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF) since 1992.  The national currency - the Lats - was freely convertible, backed by the currency reserves of the Bank of Latvia.  Foreign ex change and local currency could be brought into 
or taken out of Latvia in unlimited amounts.  Forei gn entrepreneurs were free to  repatriate profits in 
any currency having paid the applicable taxes.  Corporate income tax amounted to 25 per cent, 
incomes of natural persons were  taxed at 25 or 35 per cent and a 10 per cent withholding tax was 
levied on dividend payments to non-residents.  So me members welcomed the fact that the Lats was 
freely convertible and stressed the importa nce of continuing current policies. 
8. The representative of Latvia stated that Latv ia had notified the Intern ational Monetary Fund 
that it had accepted the obligations of Article V III, sections 2, 3 and 4 of the IMF Articles of 
Agreement with effect from 10 June 1994.  By accep ting the obligations of Article VIII, Latvia gave 
confidence to the international community that it would pursue sound economic  policies that would 
obviate the need to restrict payments and transfer s for current international transactions, and thereby 
contribute to a multilateral payments system free of restrictions. 
Investment regime
 
9. Some members of the Working Party asked Latvia to describe the basic provisions of 
legislation regulating investment a nd in particular identify any restri ctions or registration measures 
affecting foreign investment. 
10. The representative of Latvia referred to the Law "On Entrepreneurial Activity" which 
provided for licensing of several types of business ac tivities (see "Trading Rights", paragraphs 31 to 
40).  Such licences were issued for enterprises regi stered in Latvia on a non-discriminatory basis, 
irrespective of nationality, to any applicant meeting the specific requirements.  All issues pertinent to 
foreign investment - registration, investment prot ection, taxation, repatria tion, dispute settlement, WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 6  
 
restrictions on investment, safeguards and the appli cability of international treaties - were regulated 
through the Law "On Foreign Investment in the Republic of Latvia". 
11. The representative of Latvia added that the Law on Foreign Investment in the Republic of 
Latvia stated that foreign investors were granted the rights and duties provided for by the national laws. The Law on Foreign Investment contained no rest rictions on foreign investment in any sector of 
the national economy.  The Government had amende d the Law on Foreign Investment in April 1996, 
deleting its Articles 3, 5 and 6 and thus terminating virtually all rest rictions on foreign investment.  
On 4 September 1996, Parliament had approved this amendment and requested the Government to 
prepare adjustments to certain other laws to br ing them in line with the new Law on Foreign 
Investment.  As a result of th is review, the limit on foreign ow nership in radio and television 
companies in the Law on Radio and Television had been raised from 20 per cent to 49 per cent.  Foreign ownership of wood cutting (logging) companies  and gambling business was also limited to 49 per cent in accordance with the Law on Fore stry and the Law on Lotteries and Gambling, 
respectively. Laws on land owners hip allowed wholly-owned foreign companies to own land if the 
owners of the company were from countries with wh ich Latvia had signed i nvestment promotion and 
protection agreements (31 countries at present). Le gal or private persons from other countries could 
own land if at least 51 per cent of the shares in the company registered in Latvia belonged to Latvian 
citizens or to foreigners from countries with which i nvestment protection agreem ents had been signed.  
On 5 December 1996, the Saeima had passed amendmen ts to the Law on Land Privatization in Rural 
Regions and on 8 May 1997 amendments to the Law on Land Reform in the Republic of Latvia Cities 
which liberalized the land market in Latvia to a c onsiderable extent.  According to the new rules, 
statutory companies registered in the Enterprise Register could obtain land in rural areas and land 
under State or municipal ownership in cities without r estriction even when more than half their share 
capital was owned by foreign persons.  Legal en tities could obtain land ownership with only few 
restrictions. 
State ownership and privatization
 
12. Some members of the Working Party requested details concerning the pace of privatization in 
Latvia, noting an initial statement that privatizati on of agriculture had been completed by 1995 and 
that 75 per cent of State-owned enterprises were privatized by 1996.  Latvia was also asked to 
enumerate sectors or enterprises where State owne rship would be retained for a long period or 
permanently.  Questions were also raised concerni ng the participation of foreign investors.  Some 
members requested a report from Latvia on progress ach ieved to date in its privatization programme.  
In addition, Latvia should be prepared to provid e information on a periodic basis on its privatization 
efforts, economic reforms, and implementation of  any transitional arrangements negotiated in the 
Protocol of Accession.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 7 
 
 
13. The representative of Latvia said that no particular sector would be excluded from 
privatization. The main considerations were to improve company performance and to avoid the 
creation of private monopolies.  A "List of Currently  Non-Privatizable State Specialized Agricultural 
Enterprises" was linked to restitution of property to former owners.  Enterprises operating in industry, 
agriculture, trade and construction services would be privatized first, while sectors such as medical 
care, social welfare services, medicine wholesale and certain agricultural sub-sectors would be privatized over a longer time period.  The Gove rnment had also decided that a sell-off of 
infrastructure (roads, railway, public transport, pos tal services, etc.) would not be reasonable during 
the first years of privatization.  Latvia provi ded a document (WT/L/49/Add.1) on privatization of 
agriculture.  In July 1996, from a total of 613 agri cultural statutory associations created at the first 
stage of privatization of former collective and St ate farms by allocating shares according to initial 
contributions of capital and labour, 207 had been  fully privatized, 275 had chosen the voluntary 
decision for self liquidation and 131 were still operating.  Privatizati on of farms used for training and 
research would be considered on an individual basis.  Foreign firms could participate in privatization;  
Latvia had held four internationa l tenders.  Foreign natural and lega l persons could buy privatization 
certificates only after having won the tender for a comp any undergoing privatization.  This restriction 
did not apply to joint ventures or branches of foreign companies registered in Latvia.   
14. Regarding privatization of i ndustry, the representative of Latvia said that since 1 May 1994, 
when the Latvian Privatization Agency was estab lished, until 1 May 1998, 855  State enterprises 
(asset units) had been assigned for privatizati on, 75 State enterprises assigned for liquidation, 
State-owned equity holdings of  164 enterprises assigned for privatization, and 48 real estates and 
89 plots of land assigned for sale by the Cabinet of Ministers.  The Privatization Agency was involved in valuation of 323 restitution cases of property.  Privatization regulations had been approved for 
879 State enterprises (asset units) or their parts, 111 State-owned equity holdings, and 29 real estates.  Sales agreements had been concluded for 821 State enterprises (asset units) or their parts, 
66 State-owned equity holdings, 43 enterprises to be liquidated and for 21 real estates.  The 
privatization process was generally completed by  the end of 1997, excluding large State-owned 
companies, which do not operate as State-trading en terprises within the definition of Article XVII and 
where privatization would be completed in 19 99.  Completion of privatization implied mass 
privatization, i.e. involving all inhabitants of La tvia and including 95 per cent of all State-owned 
enterprises. 
15. The representative of Latvia added that priv atization would be comple ted by the end of 1998 
with exception of 4 large State owned joint stoc k companies "Latvenergo" (Latvian Energy), 
"Ventspils nafta" (Ventspils Oil), "Latvijas Kugni ecîba" (Latvian Shipping Company) and the limited 
liability company "Lattelekom".  The State joint stock company "Latvenergo" dealt with energy 
generation and had a monopoly in energy transmissi on and distribution.  These three operations had 
been separated through a restructuring of the co mpany.  The Government intended to announce an WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 8  
 
action plan on the restructuring and privatization of "Latvenergo" and to establish a competitive and 
well-regulated electricity sector by mid-1998.  The Latvian Privatization Agency would sell a minority share of the thermo-generation system to st rategic investors by the beginning of 1999 and the 
remaining State share would be sold to general pub lic in 1999.  The State joint company "Ventspils 
nafta" (Ventspils Oil) was the largest oil and pe troleum product terminal on the coast of the Baltic 
Sea.  It also offered transit ser vices such as handling and storage of oil and petroleum products, and 
importation of petrol.  The intention was to merge "Ventspils nafta" with the company "LaSaM", the 
owner of the oil pipeline. In Autumn 1997, a minority  stake of the State shares had been sold to the 
general public against privatization certificates.  In  1998, the share portfolio  would be placed on the 
international capital market.  The State Joint stoc k company "Latvijas kugniecîba" (Latvian Shipping 
Company) ranked among the world’s twenty largest shipping companies in terms of number of vessels owned.  It operated fleets  in the tanker, reefer and dry cargo markets with a large number of subsidiary firms and investments.  As a first phase in the privatization, up to 35 per cent - mostly new 
shares issued by the company - would be offered to strategic investors.  A closed list of registered 
strategic and financial investors existed (14 in  total).  Having conducted several rounds of 
negotiations with each of these registrants, the Latvian Privatization Agency had shortlisted two 
strategic investors who were allowed to perform due  diligence of the company with the intention to 
receive final bids from the investors by mid-1998. The limited liability company "Lattelekom",  part-
owned (51 per cent) by the State, provided local  and long distance fixed public telecommunication 
services with a monopoly status until 2003.  The manage ment of the State shares had been transferred 
to the Latvian Privatization Agency in order to pr epare the company for privatization.  The company 
would be transformed into a joint stock company, and up to 25 per cent of its shares would be sold 
against privatization certificates and cash by 2000. 
16. According to Article 4 of the Law on the Priv atization of State and Municipal Property, any 
person or legal entity eligible to purchase liquid and/ or fixed assets in Latvia could be a privatization 
subject.  The term "privatization subject" was define d according to the Law on Privatization of State 
and Municipal Asset Units as any specific person or le gal entity eligible to obtain State or municipal 
property during the privati zation process.  The Latvian State or a municipality, a State or municipal 
enterprise, a State or municipal company, or a company in which private funds did not exceed 
25 per cent of the equity capital, could not be priv atization subjects.  The representative of Latvia 
confirmed that national treatment applied for the participation of foreig ners in privatization 
programmes.  There were no restrictions on the acqui sition of privatized State and municipal property. 
17. As of 1 May 1998, 1,157 State enterprises in total had been assigned for privatization 
(96.3 per cent of all State enterprises).  Among them , 302 had been privatized in 1992-1994, while the 
remainder (855) had been assigned for privatiza tion in 1994-1997.  The representative of Latvia 
provided further up-dated informa tion on progress in privatization of these assigned enterprises in 
Table 1.  In total, 66 per cent of all Latvian employ ees were working in the private sector by the end  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 9 
 
 
of 1997.  In order to attract foreign investments, the Privatization Agency had organized four 
international tenders, offering 153  medium and large enterprises.  A special Public Offering 
Programme had been created to encourage participa tion of Latvia's population.  During several rounds 
of the Public Offering Programme 63 large enterp rises had been offered to the public as at 
1 January 1998. 
Table 1:  Information on the Progress of the Privatization Process of State Enterprises  
1 May 1994 - 1 May 1998  
Activity Total Small objects
(less than 50 
employees) Medium-sized 
objects 
(50-500 empl.) Large 
objects 
(More than 
500 empl.) 
Enterprises assigned for privatization 855  561  257 37 
Enterprises transferred from the 
Ministry of Agriculture 40 39 1 0 
Enterprises transferred for liquidation 75 75 0 0 
Repeated privatization 15 13 2 0 
Privatization objects after split of 
enterprises 1,577  1,257  283 37 
Privatization cancelled or enterprises 
merged with other companies 187 182 5 1 
Privatization temporarily stopped 6 4 2  0 
Restitution process initiated 62 53 5 0 
Liquidation or insolvency procedure 
initiated 187 140 41 6 
Privatization Regulati ons approved 879 661 194 24 
Transactions concluded:     
- purchase agreements signed 813 600 192 21 
- invested into private companies 4 2 2 0 
- privatized without majority 
owner 4 0 2 2 
- privatized by the Ministry of 
Agriculture 36 36 0 0 
Proceeds of sale in LVL million:     
- cash 46.2    
- privatization vouchers 60.6    
18. The representative of Latvia confirmed the read iness of Latvia to ensure the transparency of 
its ongoing privatization programme and to keep  WTO Members informed of its progress in the 
reform of its transforming economic and trade regime .  He stated that his Government would provide 
annual reports to WTO Members on developments in  its programme of privatization as long as the 
privatization programme would be in existence along the lines of that provided to the Working Party.  
He also stated that his Government would prov ide annual reports on other issues related to its 
economic reforms as relevant to its obligations  under the WTO until 1 January 2003.  The Working 
Party took note of these  commitments. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 10  
 
Pricing policies
 
19. Noting that Latvia had relaxed price contro ls on many goods and services, some members of 
the Working Party requested Latvia to provide de tails on remaining restrictions, including minimum 
and maximum prices, particularly for sectors not cons idered natural monopolies.  Latvia was asked to 
list the imported products subject to price controls by Harmonized System (HS) tariff line.  A member 
noted that Latvia exercised price controls in a number of sectors, includi ng some which were not 
traditionally considered natural monopolies, but inte nded to reduce its price controls to the extent 
possible.  This member stated that price controls  should be listed in an Annex.  Moreover, Latvia 
should exercise its authority in this area in a manne r that did not damage imports or otherwise act to 
inhibit trade.  This member also sought a comm itment from Latvia that current and future price 
controls be applied in a WTO-consistent fashion and would be published in the official journal and 
that Latvia would take account of the inter ests of exporting WTO Members as provided for in 
Article III.9 of the GATT 1994. 
20. The representative of Latvia replied that price control and regulation was carried out 
according to separate laws and affected products relate d to energy;  the forestry sector (the price of 
stumpage);  publishing of school books financed from the State budget;  pharmaceuticals;  postal 
services;  port services;  airport services;  archives;   and housing rents, pow er-supply and residential 
services.  Minimum and maximum prices were stipulated for the following domestic and imported services:  transit services for oil and oil products by pi peline;  reloading of oil and oil products in 
ports;  transit shipment of oil and oil products by  railway transport;  long-distance transportation of 
passengers and luggage by motor transport;  tran sportation of passengers and luggage by motor 
transport in international lines;  internationa l transportation of cargo and passengers by railway 
transport according to international agreements;  transportation of cargo and passengers by domestic 
railway;  ship services in ports;  and rents (maximum level).  The State did not control the prices of imported goods.  However, the profit margin was re gulated with respect to pharmaceutical products.  
The final sales price could not exceed  - by more than 20 per cent - the ex-factory sales price for domestic goods and, in respect of imports, the duty paid and tax-inclusive value of goods at the time 
of importation.  Latvia planne d to deregulate controls on the profit margin with respect to 
pharmaceuticals not covered by the health insuran ce system by Autumn 1998.  All the goods and 
services currently subject to State price controls in Latvia are listed in Table 2.  The representative of 
Latvia stated that the prices of goods and services in  every sector of Latvia were determined freely by 
market forces with the exception of those noted in  Table 2 and that price control and regulation was 
carried out according to particular laws, all of wh ich were published in the official journal of the 
Republic of Latvia "Latvijas Vèstnesis".  Price cont rols were carried out in accordance with separate 
laws passed by Latvia's Parliament (Saeima) and price levels were determined by the respective 
bodies authorized by law.  Further price controls c ould be introduced in order to protect consumers.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 11 
 
 
Table 2:  Goods and Services Subject to State Price Controls  
Classification (Harmonized 
System or Common Products 
Classification) Product or Sector 
HS 2711 11 Natural gas (to the population); 
HS 2716 00 Electrical power; 
HS 2716 00 Heating energy; 
CPC ex 91131 The forestry sector (stumpage fees); 
CPC ex 88442 Publishing of school books financed from the State budget; 
HS 3002; 3004; 3005; 3006 Pharmaceuticals; 
CPC 7511 Postal services; 
CPC 74510; 74520; 74530; 
74540 Port services; 
CPC 74610; 74620 Airport services; 
CPC 96312 Archives; 
CPC 82101; 82102 Housing rents and residential services; 
 Minimum and maximum prices are stipulated for the following 
domestic and imported services: 
CPC 71310 Transit services for oil and oil products by pipeline; 
CPC 74190  Reloading of oil and oil products in ports; 
CPC 71122 Transit shipment of oil and oil products by railway transport;
CPC ex 71211 Long-distance transporta tion of  passengers and luggage by 
motor transport; 
CPC ex 71211 
 Transportation of  passengers and luggage by motor transport 
in international lines; 
CPC 7111; 7112 International trans portation of cargo and passengers by 
railway transport according to  international agreements; 
CPC 7111; 7112 Transportation of cargo an d passengers by domestic railway;
CPC 72140; 72130 Ship services in ports and rents (maximum level). 
21. The representative of Latvia stated that in the application of price controls now or in the 
future, Latvia would apply such measures in a WT O-consistent fashion, and take account of the 
interests of exporting WTO Members as provided fo r in Article III.9 of the GATT 1994.  Latvia 
would publish the list of goods and services subject to  State controls and any that are introduced or 
re-introduced in the future in its Official Journal.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
Competition policy
 
22. Some members of the Working Party noted th at Latvia intended to harmonize its legislation 
on competition with that of the European Communiti es over a four-year period.  Latvia was asked to WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 12  
 
provide information on the present status of draft legislation, outline existing provisions regarding 
mergers and to provide a list of sectors considered "natural monopolies". 
23. The representative of Latvia replied that  the Law "On Competition and Restriction of 
Monopoly" of 1991 had been revised.  In June 1997, the Saeima (Parliament) had adopted a new 
Competition Law which entered into effect on 1 Jan uary 1998.  The new Law prohibited restrictive 
arrangements and abuse of dominant position and contained provisions on merger control and 
prohibition of unfair competition.  The Law provided for the Cabinet of Ministers to establish a Competition Council to supervise implementation of the Law.  The Competition Council was 
empowered to ascertain violations of the Competition Law and enterprises were bound by its decisions.  The Council was also authorized to set penalties.  An enterprise gaining control of more 
than 25 per cent of the Latvian market for groups of goods or services as a result of a merger or the formation of a partnership would need to notif y the Institution for the Control of Monopoly Action 
and Development of Competition.  The new Competiti on Law stipulated that notifications would need 
to be made if the combined turnover of the en tity resulting from the merger amounted to at least 
25 million Lats in the financial year preceding the merg er, and at least one of the merger participants 
held a dominant position in the relevant market pr ior to the merger.  Natural monopolies existed in 
energy, communication services, transport, water supply and sewerage.  Monopoly enterprises included the State stock companies "Latvijas gâze" (Latvian Gas), "Latvenergo" and "Latvijas dzelzcels" (Latvian Railways);  "Lattelekom"  - a lim ited liability company;  su ppliers of heating; and 
self-government enterprises in water-supply and sewer age.  However, competition (including foreign 
participation) was present in the supply of natu ral gas and in energy and telecommunication sub-
sectors. 
FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES 
24. A member asked that Latvia indicate which bodies were responsible for the administration of 
trade policies and indicate that sub-central governme nts did not make policies affecting international 
trade. 
25. The representative of Latvia replied that the le gislative body of the Republic of Latvia was the 
Saeima (Parliament), the constitutional basis of wh ich was provided in section 2 of the Satversme 
(Constitution).  The regulation of internal proceedings  of the Saeima was contained in the Rules of 
Procedure. The Satversme stated that the Saeima was the highest legislative body and it possessed the 
discretionary power. The Saeima was the highest body of State power, and, according to section 5 of 
the Satversme, it possessed the right to adopt laws and statements with the highest legal force after the 
Satversme. This prerogative included adoption of la ws related to trade and monopolies and guidelines 
for the trade policy of the Republic of Latvia. In this  field, the powers of the Saeima were not limited 
to the extent that they were compatible with the Satversme.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 13 
 
 
26. Executive power in Latvia was given to the Ca binet of Ministers. The general principles of 
the functioning of the Cabinet were contained in section 4 of the Satversme.  The Cabinet would 
discuss all draft laws drawn up by Ministries and a ll questions concerning the competence of various 
Ministries, the number and the functions of which were stated according to special rules.  The 
functioning of the Cabinet of Ministers was regulated by the Law "On the Composition of the Cabinet of Ministers" of 15 July 1993 (as amended on 23 May 1996), Regulation No. 5 of the Cabinet of 
Ministers and by special by-laws or governing re gulations of each Ministry, always approved by a 
relevant Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Cabinet of Ministers was formed by a person 
entrusted to that task by the President of State. In  order to fulfil their duties, the Prime Minister and 
the Ministers had to receive a vote of confiden ce by the Saeima. The Saeima expressed a vote of 
confidence by means of special resolution after th e report of the Prime Minister on the composition 
and the planned activities of the Cabinet in case of approval. The important point was that, according 
to Regulation No. 160 "On the Internal Order and the Functioning of the Cabinet of Ministers" of 
1 June 1996, every draft regulation or statement submitted to the State Chancellery for approval by 
the Cabinet of Ministers would receive legal opinions  from interested Ministries and other institutions 
to ensure that draft legislation would be compatible  with the laws in force and international treaties 
and conventions signed and ratified by the Republic of Latvia.  Th e task of the State Chancellery was 
to verify whether a draft was compatible with the Declaration of the relevant Cabinet of Ministers where the principal guidelines of its activities were mentioned. The Declaration was binding on the 
Cabinet. 
27. Cabinet decisions were presented in the fo rm of regulations, instructions, orders or 
recommendations. The Cabinet could issue regulations when:  (i) a law specif ically authorized the 
Cabinet to issue regulations.  Such authorization wo uld need to provide details of the main rules and 
outline the content of the regulations;  (ii) a relevant  issue was not regulated by a law;  and (iii) in 
accordance with the Article 81 of the Satversme, if there was an urgent necessity between sessions of 
the Saeima, the Cabinet was entitled to issue regulati ons having the force of law. However, Article 81 
stated that such regulations could not modify laws  concerning elections to the Saeima, the procedure 
and the judicial issues and the Constitution, the bu dget and budget rights, and laws already passed by 
the Saeima in power.  Moreover, such regulations should not apply to amnesty, issuance of Treasury 
notes, State taxes, customs, railway tariffs and State loans and should become null and void if not 
presented to the Saeima within three days of the opening of the session of the Saeima. 
28. The rights of the judiciary power were stated by the Law "On the Judicial Power", by the 
Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure, by the Ci vil Code and by special laws on various judicial 
institutions "On  the Bar", "On the Public Prosecuto r Service", etc.  International trade and monopoly 
issues were qualified by the judicial institutions as other similar cases. The judiciary institutions had 
the right to settle disputes arising from questions of international trade and monopoly in accordance 
with the laws and regulations in force in the Republic  of Latvia. The system of Courts of Justice had WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 14  
 
three levels. The first instance was the District Cour t or City Court, the instance of appeal was the 
Regional Court, and the instance for causation was th e Supreme Court. The very important point was 
that, specially concerning questions of internationa l commercial relations, settlement of disputes could 
be reached by means of the arbitral court. 
29. The Ministry of Economy was the competen t institution for the administration of trade 
policies according to Article 2.3 of Regulation No. 3 04 of the Cabinet of Ministers "The  Governing 
Regulations of the Ministry of Economy" (of 19 August 1997).  The Ministry of Economy, in co-
operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant Ministries, formulated and 
implemented the general principles of the domestic and foreign trade policy of the State.  Trade-
related powers of local and municipal governments we re defined in Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Law 
"On Local Governments" and concerned the intro duction of local taxes and issuance of activity 
licences when such activities were subject to li censing by local and municipal governments under the 
respective Laws.  The Law "On Taxes and Duties" (A rticle 12) provided a list of duties which could 
be determined by local governments, and the La w "On Entrepreneurial Activity" and Regulation No. 
434 of 19 November 1996 stipulated that local a nd municipal governments issued activity licences for 
pre-school educational institutions, shooting galleries, cremation activ ities and local transportation of 
passengers. 
30. The representative of Latvia confirmed that s ub-central administrative authorities, e.g. local 
administrative bodies, have no jurisdiction or author ity to establish regulations or taxes on goods and 
services in Latvia independent of the central aut horities and that application of these measures are 
exclusively the responsibilities of the executive and legislative branches of the central government.  
Central authorities will eliminate or nullify measures  taken by sub-central authorities in Latvia that 
are inconsistent with WTO provisions from the da te of accession.  The Working Party took note of 
this commitment. 
POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 
Trading rights
 
31. Some members of the Working Party noted that  laws and regulations relating to the right to 
trade in goods (also sometimes referred to as "r egistration requirements" or "activity licensing") 
should not restrict imports of goods in violation of the general prohibition on quantitative restrictions 
in GATT Article XI:1, nor should they discrimin ate against imported goods in violation of the 
non-discrimination provisions of GATT Article III:4. Furthermore, fees and charges levied on the 
right to import should be limited to the approximate  cost of services rendered (Article VIII:1(a)) and 
taxes and charges on the right to trade in imported goods should not lead to discrimination in favour of like domestic products (Article III:2).  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 15 
 
 
32. The representative of Latvia replied that in accordance with the Law "On Entrepreneurial 
Activity", enterprises and entrepreneurial activity shoul d be registered in Enterprise Register of the 
Republic of Latvia.  The requirement to regist er concerned entrepreneurial associations and 
enterprises, including branches and representation o ffices performing entrepreneurial activity on the 
territory of the Republic of Latvia.  All registered entrepreneurs, i.e. enterprises and entrepreneurial 
associations, carried out their activities under equal rights.  Any activity of unregistered 
entrepreneurial associations and enterprises was pr ohibited.  The registration procedure and the 
information to be submitted was regulated by the Law "On Enterprise Register".  Foreigners could 
also carry out entrepreneurship in accordance with  the Law "On Foreign Investment in Republic of 
Latvia". In accordance with the Law "On Entreprene urial Activity" and the Rules of the Cabinet of 
Ministers "On Restrictions of Entrepreneurship", only State enterprises had the right to produce and 
press securities, banknotes, coins, stamps and cards of gambling games. For other kinds of entrepreneurship restrictions were prescribed by the issuing of business activity licence or certificate. 
The kinds of entrepreneurship requiring certifi cate or business activity licence were listed in the 
above-mentioned Rules of the Cabinet  of Ministers. 
33. Some members of the Working Party asked La tvia to specify the business activities subject to 
licensing.  The representative of Latvia said that cer tain forms of entrepreneurial activity required a 
special permit (licence).  Limitations on entreprene urial activity applied when such limitations were 
set forth in international treaties, conventions or  any other norms of international law which were 
binding to Latvia, or when deemed necessary by Latv ia for the protection of the interests of society, 
i.e. the protection of public morals, human, animal and plant life, and health or public security.  The following restrictions on entrepreneurial activity ha d been determined in accordance with Article 32 
of the Law "On Entrepreneurial Activity": 
 (i) restrictions laid down by the Stat e Government or local government law or 
regulations issued by the Cabinet of Ministers aiming at protecting essential State security interests; 
 (ii) restrictions effected within the comp etence determined by local government law; 
 (iii) restrictions on individuals carrying ou t any form of entrepreneurial activity or 
intellectual work requiring special qualifi cations concerning special knowledge and 
testing of it, as determined by special laws  or regulations issued by the Cabinet of 
Ministers;  and 
 (iv) restrictions determined by the Bank of Latvia concerning financial and credit 
operations and banking activity. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 16  
 
The restrictions on entrepreneurial activity were  enforced through special permits (licences) or 
certificates of professional qualification issued by the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministries or State institutions subordinate to and s upervised by Ministries in accordance with statutory Acts;  the 
authorized representative of the Strategic Impor tance Export and Import Control Board; local 
governments (municipal authorities of cities, towns, pagasts and city districts);  professional associations;  or the Bank of Latvia.  The maximu m validity of a special permit (licence) was five 
years, the minimum validity one year.  The special  permit (licence) could also be issued for an 
individual transaction.  Licence fees payable to the St ate were determined by the law or regulations 
issued by the Cabinet of Ministers.  Permission (licence) or certificate fees would be established by the issuing authority in accordance with rules laid down by the Cabinet of Ministers.  The State 
reserved the right to make certain types of entrepre neurial activity connected with security of the State 
and its citizens subject to State monopoly. 
34. The representative of Latvia said that any dis putes arising from the application of restrictions 
on entrepreneurial activity, such as refusals to issu e a special permit (licence) or cancellations, would 
be settled by a higher institution or a Court of Justice.   A decision to reject an application to perform 
an entrepreneurial activity would need to be issu ed within 10 days (a time-limit of 30 days had 
applied until 1 January 1998) upon receipt by the r esponsible authority.  An issuing authority was 
entitled to cancel a special permit (licen ce) issued on the basis of false information, or if the recipient  
violated any normative acts or conditions specified in  the special permit (licence).  The recipient of a 
special permit (licence) was responsible for its pr oper use and was not entitled to assign it to any other 
person. 
35. The representative of Latvia said that the sc ope of the licensing system had been reduced 
gradually;  in 1996 it had covered 47 goods-rela ted business activities.  Latvia continued to reduce the 
number of business activities licensed according to Re gulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.348 
"On Licensing of Separate Forms of Entrepreneuria l Activity".  The Government had reviewed the 
licensing system and elaborated special regulati ons on import licensing in accordance with the WTO 
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  The ne w regulations were adopted on 7 October 1997 
and came into effect on 1 January 1998.  These re gulations provided for au tomatic licensing with no 
limitation on the number of licences granted.  Import licences were not used to restrict trade and requirements were applied in a non-discriminator y manner.  An import licence should be issued 
within ten days, application forms should be as simp le as possible, and the licence fee constituted the 
cost of services rendered. 
36. The representative of Latvia noted that the Al cohol Monopoly Department of the Ministry of 
Finance kept a list of officially approved importe rs of alcoholic beverage s and intended to begin 
regular publication of the list.  The number of li censed importers and traders was not controlled or 
limited by any other administrative means.  The licen sing system was maintained for reasons of health  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 17 
 
 
and social policy (to reduce illegal production an d importation);  these objectives could not be 
attained by other measures.  Imported and domestic products were subject to the same requirements.  
The representative of Latvia provided additi onal information on the licensing regime in a 
Questionnaire on Import Licensing of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (document WT/ACC/LVA/27).  As per 1 May 1998, 92 ente rprises had been licensed for wholesale trade, 
27 enterprises for importation and 22 enterprises for the production of alcoholic beverages. 
37. A member understood that Latvia had made t obacco products subject to activity licensing to 
control the internal market and import licensing to enforce the collection of excise taxes.  This 
member was concerned that controls on the internal  market operated as a barrier to trade and the use 
of licensing to assure collection of excise taxe s was an unnecessary border aberration.  The 
representative of Latvia replied that the licensing served statistical purposes only;  the collection of 
excise taxes on tobacco products and other items w as regulated by the Law "On the Excise Tax".  
Entrepreneurial activity related to tob acco goods was licensed, in accordance with 
Regulations No. 351 "On Circulation of Tobacco Produc ts" of 7 October 1997,  to protect the legal 
domestic market against illegal production and protect consumers' interests against low-quality or 
dangerous products.  He added that licensing of entrepreneurial activities was not a mechanism for 
direct market control, but that the legal domestic market required regulation to ensure that uniform 
conditions applied in prod uction, importation, exportation, sale, st orage and transportation, and for the 
State to obtain the necessary statistical basis to ma intain proper order.  He stressed that the 
distribution of imported tobacco products was not re stricted.  As per 1 May 1998, 119 enterprises had 
been licensed for wholesale trade, 13 enterprises for importing and 4 enterprises for the production of 
tobacco products. 
38. The representative of Latvia said that procedures governing production, manufacture and 
distribution of pharmaceutical products contained in the Drugs Register or Veterinary Drugs Register 
of the Republic of Latvia, including licensing provi sions for specific pharmaceutical activities, were 
outlined in the Law "On Pharmaceutical Activities" .  The Law required entrepreneurial activity 
licences to operate a pharmacy, a pharmaceutical or veterinary wholesale company, or to manufacture medical and veterinary medical products.  The requirements for obtaining these licences were based on criteria to ensure consumer  protection and product quality. 
39. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  the former State monopoly in foreign trade had 
been abolished and that no restrictions existed on th e right of individuals and enterprises to import and 
export goods into Latvia's customs territory, excep t as provided in WTO Agreements.  He confirmed 
that individuals and firms were not restricted in their ability to import or export based on their registered scope of business and the criteria for en rolment in the Register of Enterprises in Latvia 
were generally applicable and published in the offi cial journal of the Republic of Latvia "Latvijas 
Vèstnesis". WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 18  
 
40. The representative of Latvia confirmed that from the date of accession Latvia would ensure 
that its laws and regulations relating to the right to trade in goods and all fees, charges or taxes levied 
on such rights would be in full conformity with  its WTO obligations, including Articles VIII:1(a), 
XI:1 and III:2 and 4 of the GATT 1994 and that it woul d also implement such laws and regulations in 
full conformity with these obligations.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
1. Import Regulation 
Customs tariff
 
41. A member of the Working Party noted that th e collection of customs duties appeared to have 
been inefficient in Latvia and wondered what plans Latvia might have for improving its customs 
system as part of the accession to the WTO.  The representative of Latvia replied that organizational 
improvements had been discussed with the World Customs Organization and included the revision of legislation, the review of the structure and functions  of the customs administration, further training of 
customs staff and additional technical equipment.  The organizational improvements of the customs 
system had been finalized by 1 July 1997 with th e entry into force of the new Customs Law.  He 
added that the Law "On Customs Duties (Tariffs )" had been in force since 1 December 1994. 
42. The representative of Latvia announced his G overnment's readiness to enter into bilateral 
tariff negotiations in March 1995 (document WT/L/57).  The tari ff concessions resulting from these 
negotiations are included in its Schedule of Con cessions and Commitments on Goods annexed to the 
draft Protocol of Accession of Latvia which is reproduced in the Appendix to this Report (see 
paragraph 132 below). 
Other duties and charges
 
43. The representative of Latvia confirmed that Latvia levied no duties and charges on imports 
other than ordinary customs duties.   Any such charges applied to imports after accession would be in 
accordance with WTO provisions.  He further confir med that Latvia would not list any other charges 
in its Goods Market Accession Schedule under Article II:1(b) of the GATT 1994, binding such 
charges at "zero". 
Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions  
44. Some members of the Working Party noted that Latvian legislation authorized the opening of 
tariff quotas to facilitate importation of goods in tem porary short supply and requested further details.  
A member urged Latvia to bring this system into  conformity with WTO provisions and to consider 
using tariff protection onl y and allow market forces to determine trade. 
45. The representative of Latvia said that the legal basis for the opening of tariff quotas on any 
item was the Law "On Customs Duties (Tariffs)"  and Regulations No. 208 "Establishment and  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 19 
 
 
Administration of Import and Export Tariff Quot as" and No. 24 "Authorizations for Licences".  
Exceptionally, the Cabinet of Ministers had approve d a tariff quota for imports of high-quality seeds 
in 1995, 1996 and 1997 due to a shortage of domest ic supply.  The State Cereals Bureau could open 
tariff quotas with an in-quota tariff of 0.5 per cent when its annual forecasts indicated a shortfall in 
Latvian production of certain types of grain.  Th e Cabinet of Ministers had issued Regulation No. 85 
"On Customs Tariff Quotas for Grains" stipulati ng that 20,000 tonnes of rye and 50,000 tonnes of 
feed grain could be imported at 0.5 per cent tariff until 1 June 1997.  The tariff quotas had been distributed by public tender organized by the State Cereals Bureau with import licences issued by the 
Ministry of Agriculture. 
46. The representative of Latvia agreed that th e tariff quota regime for grain imports was not 
consistent with WTO requirements a nd Latvia was revising its legisla tion to ensure conformity with 
the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  Re gulations Nos. 208 and 24 had been revoked and 
replaced by Regulation No. 106 "On Customs Tariff Quotas", effective 25 March 1997, and issued in 
accordance with the Law "On International Agre ements of the Republic of Latvia".  The 
representative of Latvia said that in June 1997 the Saeima (Parliament) had adopted amendments to 
the Law "On Latvia's Grain Market and State Grain Reserves" according to which quantitative 
restrictions on grain were abolished and the licensi ng system replaced by automatic import licensing.  
The Saeima had also adopted amendments to the Law "On Customs Duties (Tariffs)" in June 1997, 
abolishing the order enabling the Cabinet of Ministers to establish tariff quotas.  Regulation No. 106 "On Customs Tariff Quotas" of 25 March 1997 dete rmined the procedure for implementing tariff 
quotas, established in accordance with international trea ties, on the territory of the Republic of Latvia 
as well as the procedure for issuing special permit s (licences) ensuring the administration of tariff 
quotas.  Tariff quotas established in accordance with  international treaties provided for limited 
amounts of goods imported under reduced or zero ta riff rate.  The fulfilment or non-fulfilment of 
preferential tariff quotas did not restrict imports fro m MFN trading partners at the MFN tariff rate.  
The representative of Latvia confirmed that in th e event that Latvia would use MFN tariff quotas in 
the future, imports under preferential tariff rate quot as would not be counted against MFN tariff rate 
quotas. 
Fees and charges for services rendered
 
47. A member of the Working Party asked Latvia to clarify what f ees and charges, if any, were 
applied for services rendered related to importation or exportation.  The representative of Latvia 
confirmed that Latvia levied no fees or charg es for services rendered related to importation or 
exportation, except fees for issuing certain activ ity licences and charges such as port charges and 
warehousing charges.  None of these fees or char ges were levied on imports or exports on an 
ad valorem  basis. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 20  
 
48. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  from the date of accession Latvia would impose 
any fees or charges for services rendered related to importation or exportation only in conformity with 
Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  Information regard ing the application and level of any such fees, 
revenues collected and their use would be provi ded to WTO Members upon request.  The Working 
Party took note of these commitments. 
Application of internal taxes
 
49. Some members of the Working Party ask ed for details on the excise tax system  in Latvia and 
its application on imports and domes tic goods.  Latvia was requested to  indicate, by HS tariff line, the 
levels and points of sale at whic h taxes were applied to imports and describe the components of the 
taxable base. 
50. In reply, the representative of Latvia said th at excise taxes were levied on alcohol, tobacco, 
motor vehicles, petroleum products and jewellery.  The excise tax rates (Annex 1) were identical for 
imported and domestically produced items.  The tax base for Latvian products was the sales price in 
domestic currency, taxes on imports were levied on a tariff-inclusive basis.  Only tobacco products 
and alcohol carrying tax labe ls could be sold in Latvia.  Enterprises licensed to import or manufacture 
tobacco products for sale ordered labels from the St ate Revenue Service.  The requested quantity of 
labels would be supplied within 14 days agai nst payment of excise tax and VAT.  The labels 
themselves were not subject to any separate charge as the cost of issuing tax labels was included in 
the rate of excise tax.  Exports, re-exports and goods in transit were exempt from excise tax in 
accordance with Article 4 of the Law "On Excise Tax" .  Exemptions from excise taxes had also been 
established for a number of products, enumerated in Table 3. 
Table 3:  Exemptions from Excise Tax  
Excise tax shall not be levied on the following: 
Precious metals, precious stones and products from sa id metals and stones imported and purchased 
for the needs of the Precious Metal Fund of the Republic of Latvia; 
Goods used for production (technological needs) of goods listed in Article 3; 
Rectified alcohol: 
(i) for the purposes of medicine and veterinary medicine; (ii) for the needs of research and development; (iii) for pharmaceutical industry. 
Tobacco dust and tobacco products u sed for production of insecticides; 
Precious metals for making dentures; 
Goods for export; 
Cars with spark-ignition internal combustion r eciprocating engine, working volume of engine 
cylinders of which does not exceed 1,600 cm³; 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 21 
 
 
 
Cars with compression ignition internal combustion reciprocating engine (diesels or semi-diesels), 
working volume of engine cylinders  of which does not exceed 1900 cm³; 
Cars older than 7 years from the date of industrial production; 
Cars with electrical engine (electrocars). 
The Cabinet may determine the maximum amount of goods that are exci se tax-exempt when 
imported for consumption into the custom s territory of the Republic of Latvia. 
Excise tax shall not be levied on transit cargo shipping and reexport. 
Excise tax shall not be levied on natural persons importing alcoholic drinks up to one litre or one 
unit in original packaging that does not exceed 3 litr es in total amount, as well as cigarettes - up to 
200 cigarettes per person. 
Excise tax shall not be levied on natural and legal persons selling cars if excise tax for the 
respective car has already been paid once. 
If an enterprise (entrepreneurial company) exports self-produced or unused goods for which raw 
material tax has been paid, the excise tax transfe rred into the budget shall be reimbursed from the 
State budget. 
The excise tax paid for cars exported from the Repub lic of Latvia within three months after their 
import shall be reimbursed from the State budget. 
51. Noting that a Value Added Tax (VAT) had replaced the turnover tax in Latvia, some 
members of the Working Party requested informat ion on the application of the VAT, including 
product- or user-specific exemptions.  The representa tive of Latvia replied that VAT had replaced the 
turnover tax on 1 May 1995.  VAT was levied at the rate of 18 per cent.  VAT was levied on a tariff-
inclusive basis and excise taxes were added to the tax base of imported and domestic products.  
Exemptions from VAT were determined in accord ance with Articles 6 and 7 of the Law "On the 
Value Added Tax".  In all, 26 types of goods and services were exempt from VAT while nine services 
related to exporting and internati onal transport were zero-rated (Annex  2).  The latest amendments to 
the Law "On Value Added Tax" had en tered into force on 1 January 1998. 
52. In response to specific questions by some members of the Working Party in pursuance of 
Article III of the GATT 1994 regarding VAT exempt ions for books and mass -media goods published 
or (in the case of mass media goods) registered in  Latvia, he assured the Working Party that the 
exemption was also applicable to imported films.  The representative of Latvia stated that the VAT 
exemptions offered on publications and mass me dia goods had been revoked, and that national 
treatment had been applied both for domestic a nd foreign publications and mass media goods since 
1 January 1998. 
53. The representative of Latvia stated that, fro m the date of accession,  Latvia will apply its 
domestic taxes, including those on products listed in paragraphs 50 to 52 and Tables 3 and Annex 1 in 
strict compliance with Article III of the GATT 1994, in a non-discriminatory manner to imports WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 22  
 
regardless of country of origin and to domestica lly-produced goods.  The Working Party took note of 
this commitment. 
Quantitative import restrictions, includin g prohibitions, quotas and licensing systems
 
54. Latvia was requested to supply informati on in accordance with the questionnaire on import 
licensing and specifically asked to provide a comprehe nsive list, by HS tariff line, of products subject 
to non-tariff measures, citing the measure applie d (prior import approval requirements, mandatory 
import licences, import quotas, prohibitions, etc.), its  legal basis, and its justification under WTO 
provisions.  Further questions addressed specific issues  such as quantitative restrictions on imports of 
sugar and import arrangements affe cting grain, ethyl alcohol and spirits, and tobacco.  Concerned 
about potential barriers to trade, some member s asked Latvia to elaborate on how its licensing 
system - which restricted imports of certain goo ds - worked and sought a clear commitment from 
Latvia that all measures applied to enforce quantitativ e restrictions would be eliminated as of the date 
of accession. 
55. The representative of Latvia provided the information on non-tariff measures affecting 
imports and the legal basis for these measures, which is  summarized in Table 4.  He confirmed that an 
import ban on white sugar had been in force since May 1993, but the prohibition did not apply to raw 
sugar.  Import licences were issued on a non-discrim inatory basis regarding the country of origin;  
sugar had been imported from Denmark, Estoni a, Germany, Lithuania, Ukraine and the 
United Kingdom.  He stated that import restrictions  on sugar had been maintained to protect local 
manufacturers while the industry was restructured.  He agreed that the existing regime did not 
correspond to the WTO Agriculture Agreement and Latvia was ready to prepare adoption of the 
necessary legal amendments to bring the suga r regime in line with WTO requirements. 
Table 4:  Business Activity Licensing on Importation of Certain Products  
HS tariff line Description Legal basis 
Chapter 10 Cereals Law "On the Latvian grain market and 
State grain reserves" (Article 4) 
Chapter 11  Products of the milling industry Law "On the Latvian grain market and 
State grain reserves" (Article 4) 
Chapter 12 Oil based plane seeds and 
oleaginous fruit, various grain, seeds and fruit, straw and fodder. Law "On the Latvian grain market and 
State grain reserves" (Article 4)   
Chapter 1701 Cane or beet sugar and chemically 
pure suc§rose Law "On Entrepreneurial Activity" 
(Article 32),  Law "On Sugar", 
Regulation No. 348 of 7 October 1997, and Regulation No. 69 of 30 March 1998 
Chapter 22   Alcoholic beverages, spirits and 
vinegar Law "On Entrepreneurial Activity" 
and Regulation No. 348 of 7 October 1997  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 23 
 
 
HS tariff line Description Legal basis 
Chapter 23 
except 2301, 2303 and 2307. Residues and waste from the food 
industries; prepared animal fodders Law "On the Latvian Grain Market 
and State Grain Reserves" (Article 4) 
Chapter 24 Tobacco products La w "On Entrepreneurial Activity" 
(Article 32), Regulation No. 86 of 14 April 1994, and Regulation No. 351 of 7 October 1997 
56. The representative of Latvia said that quantita tive restrictions on grain had been abolished by 
the amendments to the Law "On Latvia's Grain Ma rket and State Grain Reserves" adopted by the 
Saeima (Parliament) in June 1997.  Quantitative rest rictions on sugar were a bolished by amendments 
to the Law "On Sugar" (adopted by the Saeima in  November 1996) and Regulations No. 61, adopted 
by the Cabinet of Ministers in March 1997.  Licen sing for all products would be automatic according 
to the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing. 
57. Some members of the Working Party requested that Latvia undertake to eliminate all 
measures applied to enforce quantitative restricti ons, including the non-automatic import licensing for 
grains and the ban on sugar imports, as of the date  of accession and commit not to introduce, re-
introduce or apply quantitative restrictions on im ports or non-tariff measures such as licensing, 
quotas, bans and other restrictions  having equivalent effect that  can not be justified under the 
provisions of the WTO Agreements on Technical Ba rriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures, Import Licensing Procedures and Agricultur e.  Additionally, Latvia was asked to confirm 
that import licensing on other commodities, especially wheat flour, cereal flour, cereal groats, cereal grains otherwise worked, sugar and animal feed , alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, were 
issued for statistical purposes only and administered in conformity with Article XI of the GATT 1994 
and the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. 
58. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  as from 1 July 1997 Latvia maintained no 
quantitative import restrictions on any products. 
59. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  Latvia would, from the date of accession, 
eliminate and shall not introduce, re-introduce or a pply quantitative restrictions on imports or other 
non-tariff measures such as licensing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorization requirements, licensing requirements and other restrictions having equivalent effect that cannot be justified under 
the provisions of the WTO Agreement.  This will in clude the current licensing restrictions on certain 
products in Chapters 10, 11 and 12 and the impor t ban on sugar products in section 1701 of Latvia's 
tariff schedule.  He added that the special impor t permits required for the importation of alcoholic 
beverages and tobacco are granted automatically to all who request them and would not restrict the 
right to import these products into Latvia or in any way discriminate against imported products.  He WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 24  
 
further confirmed that the legal authority of the G overnment of Latvia to su spend imports and exports 
or to apply licensing requirements that could be u sed to suspend, ban, or otherwise restrict the 
quantity of trade will be applied fro m the date of accession in conformity with the requirements of the 
WTO, in particular Articles XI, XII, XIII, XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI of the GATT 1994, and the 
Multilateral Trade Agreements on Agriculture, Sa nitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Import 
Licensing Procedures, Safeguards and Technical Barrier s to Trade.  The Working Party took note of 
these commitments. 
Customs valuation
 
60. Some members of the Working Party asked La tvia to provide additional information on its 
customs valuation methods, noting in particular that  terminology such as "approximate valuation" and 
valuation "according to the goods of the same ty pe" had no counterpart in the WTO Agreement on 
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 (the Customs Valuation Agreement).   Such 
valuation practices were specifically prohibited in  Article 7.2 of the Customs Valuation Agreement 
and the Agreement authorized no delay in the impl ementation of this provision.  A member sought 
Latvia's commitment to apply fully the WTO provi sions concerning customs valuation from the date 
of accession, including, in addition to the Agreem ent on the Implementation of Article VII of the 
GATT 1994, the provisions for the Valuation of Carri er Media Bearing Software for Data Processing 
Equipment and the provisions on the Treatment of Interest Charges in Customs Value of Imported 
Goods. 
61. The representative of Latvia said that valu ation practices had been based on the Law "On 
Customs Duty (Tariffs)" and Regulation No. 27 "O n Estimations of Custom s Valuation Relating to 
Imported and Exported Goods and Other Subjects" which, inter alia , allowed the use of reference 
prices.  Latvia had acknowledged the disparity be tween its legislation and the WTO Agreement on 
Implementation of Article VII.  Amendments to  existing rules had accordingly been drafted and 
submitted for ratification by Parliament.  Amendmen ts to the Law "On Customs Duty (Tariffs)" had 
entered into force on 1 July 1997 and the Articles related to the determination of customs value, 
including the use of reference prices, had been de leted.  The new Customs Law (Customs Code) had 
been adopted by Parliament and entered into force on 1 July 1997.  The valuation methods in the new 
law were based on transaction value;  the value of identical goods;  the value of similar goods;  the 
unit price method and the computed value method.  A copy of the law was provided to the Working Party.  Secondary legislation to implement the Cust oms Law (Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers 
No. 428 "On Procedure for Calculating the Custom s Value of Goods", adopted on 17 December 1997) 
came into effect on 1 January 1998.  The Cu stoms Law provided the methods for determining 
customs value in accordance with  the requirements of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and the 
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994.  He confirmed that the use of  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 25 
 
 
reference prices for the determination of customs va lue had been eliminated by the introduction of the 
new legislation. 
62. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  Latvia would fully a pply the WTO provisions 
concerning customs valuation from the date of accession without recourse to a transition period, 
including the Agreement on the Implementation of  Article VII of the GATT 1994 including its 
provisions on methods of appraisement and Anne x I (Interpretative Notes) and Article 13 of the 
Agreement, as well as the provisions for the Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment (Decision 4.1).  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
Other customs formalities
 
63. The representative of Latvia said that La tvia was a member of the World Customs 
Organization.  A draft law on accession to the Kyoto Convention had been approved by the Cabinet of 
Ministers and  submitted to the Saeima.  Norms inco rporated in the Kyoto Convention had been taken 
into account in the development of the new Customs Law. 
Anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguard regimes  
64. Some members of the Working Party referre d to the provisions regarding anti-dumping and 
countervailing duties in Chapter II of the Law "On Customs Duties (Tariffs)" and requested 
information on Latvia's intentions concerning the es tablishment of new, broader legislation in this 
area.  The representative of Latvia said that at present  no draft legislation existed related to this issue.  
Latvia was at the stage of examining possibilities for the introduction of anti-dumping and countervailing duty legislation, ta king into account its specific situation as a small country and the 
resources available in the State budge t for the purpose of eventual i nvestigations.  According to the 
existing timetable, a draft Anti-Dumping Law could be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 1998. 
65. Some members of the Working Party asked Latvia to describe its safeguards regime and 
questioned whether existing legislation would be  consistent with GATT Article XIX and the 
WTO Agreement on Safeguards.  The representative of Latvia replied that the current safeguards 
regime was based on Regulation No. 20 "Regulations to Protect the Domestic Market for Foods Stuff 
Produced in Latvia".  The regulation addressed only ag ricultural products - in particular live animals, 
grain, milk, meat, fish, potatoes and products made  thereof - and had been introduced as the recent 
economic transition had disrupted sectors whic h normally would supply competitive products.  
However, the regulations had yet to be applied.  The existing regime was temporary and would be 
replaced by new legislation. 
66.  The representative of Latvia said that  Latvia would not apply any anti-dumping, 
countervailing or safeguard measure until it had implemented appropriate laws in conformity with the WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 26  
 
provisions of the WTO Agreements on the Impl ementation of Article VI, on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures, and on Safeguards.  In th e elaboration of any legislation concerning anti-
dumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguards, La tvia would ensure their full conformity with 
the relevant WTO provisions, including Article VI  and XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on 
the Implementation of Article VI, the Agreemen t on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the 
Agreement on Safeguards.  After such legislati on was implemented, Latvia would only apply any 
anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and safe guard measures in full conformity with the 
relevant WTO provisions.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
2. Export Regulation 
Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rende red, application of internal taxes to exports
 
67. Some members of the Working Party requested details on export tax rates and plans to phase 
out such taxes. 
68. In response, the representative of Latvia said that all goods were zero-rated with the exception 
of certain wood products, metal waste and scrap, and antiquities.  Export duties on certain mineral 
products falling within HS Chapter 25 were eliminated  with effect from 17 July 1996.  Latvia would 
abolish export duties by year 2000, with the excepti on of duties on specific anti ques.  Amendments to 
the Law "On Customs Duties (Tariffs)" had entered into force on 1 July 199 7.  According to these 
amendments, Parliament had established a timetabl e for the elimination of export tariffs on items 
falling within HS Chapters  44 and 72.  The list of products subject to export taxes, by HS tariff line, 
and the respective tariff rates are reproduced in Annex 3. 
69. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  present export tariff rates related only to the 
goods listed in Annex 3 Export Duty Tariffs.  All customs tariff chang es were published in the official 
journal of the Republic of Latvia  - the newspaper "Latvijas Vèstn esis".  Latvia would abolish all 
export duties listed in Annex 3 by 1 January 2000 with the exception of the duty on antiques.  The 
timetable for elimination of export duties would be similar for regional trade agreement partners and 
partners to which MFN treatment was applied as i ndicated in Annex 3.  The Working Party took note 
of these commitments. 
Export restrictions  
70. Some members of the Working Party request ed details on the licensing regime on exports, 
notably with regard to trade in metals and pyro technical materials.  The representative of Latvia 
replied that business licences were issued to regi stered enterprises for domestic purchasing and 
exports of metal scrap in accordance with the Law "O n Entrepreneurial Activity".  Licensing of trade 
in strategic goods, products, services and technologies  had been established fo r reasons of internal 
security and to fulfil international obligations on non- proliferation.  Latvia had established an Export  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 27 
 
 
Control System covering munitions and exports of  dual use goods based on international guidelines, 
incorporating the former COCOM Munitions List and Council Regulation (EC) No. 3381/94.  The 
representative of Latvia confirmed that the licensi ng of exported metals was used for statistical 
purposes only and that the number of export licences issued was not limited. 
Export subsidies  
71. A member of the Working Party asked Latvia  to describe its duty drawback system.  The 
representative of Latvia replied that duty drawback  was available for temporary importation of goods 
for processing, improvement, repair or replacement due to spoilage and re-exports in accordance with 
Chapter VII of the Law "On Customs Duties (Tar iffs)" with Regulation No.  87 "Import of 
Commodities and Other Items for Processing" providing more specific procedures.  Additional documentation was required to certify that goods woul d not be sold in the domestic market and to 
indicate the foregone amount of import taxes and VAT.  The rebate of import charges in the duty drawback programme did not exceed the value of th e taxes and tariffs incorporated in the exported 
product.  He confirmed that Latvia maintained  no quantitative restrictions related to the duty 
drawback scheme. 
72. The representative of Latvia said that his Gove rnment intended to support an expansion of the 
activities of the "Latvian Export Credit", a State Joint-Stock Company.  This company had been 
established on 20 January 1995 according to Order No.519-r of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia "On the State Joint Stock Compan y 'Latvian Export Credit'".  The main aim of the 
company was to promote exports of manufactured  goods, services and technology offered by Latvian 
entrepreneurs to other countries and to enable Latvian entrepreneurs to manage export and import 
transactions, providing them with the corresponding insurance and guarantee system.  Latvian Export 
Credit (LEC) offered export guarant ees - export payment guarantees, export finance guarantees, buyer 
credit guarantees and letter of credit guarantees - and import guarantees, i.e. import payment guarantees and import finance guarantees.  LEC had thus far not provided "classical" export credits, 
i.e. credits extended by the export credit agency of the exporting State or by the exporter directly to buyers of goods and services abroad, but rather ma de short-term credits available to producer-
exporters to help stabilize their cash flow while they  were awaiting receipt of due payments from their 
customers abroad.  These credits were extended on the basis of commercial principles and on 
conditions similar to those offered by commercial ba nks.  He stated that these credit services did not 
distort competition as the State did not subsidize export crediting activities and LEC operated with a 
profit.  LEC was planning to start providing "cl assical" export credits on conditions (interest rate, 
duration, etc.) which would comply with the OECD Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially 
Supported Export Credits. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 28  
 
Internal policies affecting foreign trade in goods
 
Industrial policy, including subsidies  
73. A member of the Working Party noted that the Latvian Government had signalled plans for 
extensive investments in infrastructure and wondered what the likely effect would be on Latvia's 
exporting sectors.  He requested that industrial support programmes be notified in accordance with the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.  The representative of Latvia replied that the 
Government aimed at improving infrastructure genera lly and would not target any particular industry 
or enterprise. 
74. The representative of Latvia added that the structural policy of his Government aimed at 
successful transition to a competitive market economy operated by viable industrial enterprises.  The 
Ministry of Economy had drafted a "Concept of Government Strategy in Industry and National 
Programme of Small and Medium Enterprise De velopment" which discussed issues such as 
investment promotion, industrial cooperation, industry restructuring and job creation.  The 
development of small and medium-sized enterprises  was considered particularly important and the 
Government encouraged and supported entrepreneur ship through training and network programmes.  
Business Advisory Service Centres,  enterprise fora and educationa l "workbooks" had been established 
to facilitate management training and business networks.  Higher edu cation institutions also offered 
special training courses for entrepreneurs.  The Government had also elaborated a regional development policy under which grants and loan s would be provided for the establishment and 
expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises a nd the development of energy-saving technology.  
Risk financing would be provi ded through a new institution, th e Regional Development Fund.  
Another important element of Latv ia's industry policies was the restructuring and privatization of 
State enterprises with emphasis on the participation of foreign investors. 
75. The representative of Latvia stated that with regard to non-agricultural subsidies, Latvia was 
preparing draft notifications under Article 25 of  the Agreement on Subs idies and Countervailing 
Measures.  However, apart from very minor subsidy programs related to energy and fish conservation and public transportation, the most significant forms of subsidies in the Republic of Latvia were tax 
deferrals to assist the privatization of State enterp rises; special capital injections to troubled banks  
during a period of heavy economic transition; and loan guarantee programs. Small and medium sized 
enterprises benefited from reduced rate of corporate income tax. 
76. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  Latvia did not maintain subsidies including 
export subsidies which met the definition of a prohib ited subsidy, within the meaning of Article 3 of 
the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and that it would not introduce such 
prohibited subsidies in the future.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 29 
 
 
77. The representative of Latvia confirmed that any subsidy programmes would be administered 
in line with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and that all necessary 
information on programmes to be notified, if su ch exist, would be provided to the Committee on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in accordan ce with Article 25 of the Agreement upon entry 
into force of Latvia's Protocol of Accession.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures  
78. Regarding technical barriers to trade , some members of the Working Party asked about the 
system of standards and product certification in Latvia, including participation in international 
standards organizations, plans to adopt and impl ement the Code of Good Practice (Annex 3 of the 
WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade), the acceptance of certificates issued by foreign 
bodies and accreditation of private certification bodies. 
79. The representative of Latvia provided informa tion on technical barriers to trade in document 
WT/ACC/LVA/4, Annex 5.  He added that in orde r to fulfil the obligations laid down by the 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Agreement), notably its Article 2 "Technical Regulations and Standards", Latvia  had developed a National Standard ization System approved by the 
Cabinet of Ministers on 8 August 1995.  The La tvian National Centre of Standardization and 
Metrology had been established to perform all activ ities related to the adoption of standards.  The 
Centre was an affiliated member of the Eu ropean Standardization Committee (CEN) and a 
corresponding member of the ISO.  The Centre a pplied ISO Guide 21 which outlined the principles 
regarding adoption of international standards.  In all, 21 technical committees had been established  
under the auspices of the Centre and their main t asks were to implement and harmonize the Latvian 
standardization system with international standa rds.  Membership in the technical committees 
reflected all interested parties concerned, i.e. representatives of relevant Ministries, producers and 
other experts.  Latvia was preparing mass implemen tation of international standards using the "cover 
sheet" method, allowing the adoption of approximate ly 500 standards per year.  Specific Latvian 
standards were implemented only in very narrow areas of purely national interest.  In view of 
Article 4 of the TBT Agreement, Latvia was ob serving and implementing th e Code of Good Practice 
for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of  Standards.  The Latvian National Centre of 
Standardization and Metrology was the respons ible body for implementing the Code of Good 
Practice.  A new Law "On Standardization" was in pr eparation with the objective to define the tasks 
of standardization, governing principles a nd the organization of standardization work. 
80. Concerning Article 5 of the TBT Agreement, Parliament had adopted laws "On Conformity 
Assessments", "On Safety of Products, Services a nd Liability of Producer and Supplier" during 1996 
and a Law "On Uniformity of Measurements" in 1997.  Latvia had adopted as national standards 
EN 45000, ISO 9000 and ISO Guides 21, 22, 25 and 58  to ensure harmonized conformity assessment 
procedures (for products) and quality systems (for manufacturers).  Conformity assessment in the WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 30  
 
mandatory area, i.e. related to the protection of   human health, safety and the environment, was 
carried out by competent testing and calibration laboratories and certification and inspection bodies 
authorized by the Cabinet of Ministers.  The co mpetence of testing and calibration laboratories and 
certification and inspection bodies was assured by mean s of accreditation or equivalent procedures in 
accordance with ISO/IEC Guides 25 and 58.  Latv ia operated a unified accreditation system in 
accordance with international principles and relevant  ISO provisions.  Accreditation was accorded by 
the Latvian National Accreditation Office (LATAK), an independent body under the supervision of 
the Ministry of Economy.  LATAK assured the determination of competence of the conformity assessment bodies.  Currently, LATAK had accred ited 72 testing laboratories and 4 certification 
bodies.  As of 16 August 1997, LATAK was an affili ated member in the European Co-operation for 
Accreditation of Laboratories Organization and was undergoing procedures for accession to the 
European Accreditation of Certification Organization. 
81. The representative of Latvia said that confor mity assessment of goods was prescribed in the 
Law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights", "On the Safety of Products, Services and Liability of 
Producer and Supplier", "On Conformity Asse ssment" and the Law "On Uniformity of 
Measurements".  Three third-party certification centr es had so far been nominated by the Cabinet of 
Ministers:  the Latvian National Certification Ce ntre for food, cosmetics and toys;  the Latvian 
National Standardisation Centre for household electric equipment;  and the Baltic Machinery 
Experimental Station for agricultural and wood e quipment.  These Centres were under accreditation 
procedures.  Conformity assessment in the mandatory  area, i.e. related to the protection of human 
health, safety and the environment, was carried out by competent testing and calibration laboratories 
and certification and inspection bodies authorized by the Cabinet of Ministers.  The National 
Accreditation Office intended to join ISO CASCO.  Ce rtificates issued by foreign institutions were 
recognized in accordance with bilateral agreem ents and corresponding regulations on unilateral 
recognition.  Safety standards and requirements we re identical for imported and domestic products.  
Draft standards were disseminated among all inter ested parties and were available for any discussion 
and comments. 
82. Referring to Article 10 of the TBT Agreement,  the representative of Latvia said that Latvia 
had ensured the existence of an enquiry point to handle all reasonable enquiries from or to other WTO 
Member States and interested parties starting from 1 January 1998.  The enquiry point established in 
the Ministry of Economy was also responsible for providing relevant documen ts regarding technical 
regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures in Latvia.  The Resolution of the 
Cabinet of Ministers No.12"On Order, How the Ministry of Economy Coordinates the Exchange of Information in the Area of Technical Barriers to Tr ade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures" of 
28 October 1997 established an obligation for Ministri es and other relevant or ganizations to submit 
information on TBT and sanitary and phytosanitary  measures to the Ministry of Economy at the 
earliest possible stage.  The Regulations provide d the possibility for other countries to comment on  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 31 
 
 
draft technical regulations, proposed conform ity assessment procedures, and SPS measures.  The 
practical work had started to create the relevant da ta bases and collect information to be notified.  
Currently, transparency of the adopted technical regulations and sanitary and phytosanitary measures 
was ensured by their publication in the o fficial newspaper "Latvijas Vestnesis".  
83. Some members of the Working Party asked La tvia to describe its regime of sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures  in the light of WTO requirements and outline how the provisions of the WTO 
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Ph ytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) would be 
implemented after accession.  A member was pa rticularly concerned about transparency, as it 
appeared that new regulations were not al ways published  prior to implementation.  
84. The representative of Latvia said Latvia participated in the activities of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission, the IOE (Office Interna tional des Epizooties) and the European and 
Mediterranean Plant Protection Convention and hoped  to join the International Plant Protection 
Organization.  Latvia based its sanitary and phytosanitary measures on recommendations of these 
organizations and on regulations in force in th e Nordic countries.  Latvia reported monthly to 
international organizations (FAO, WHO and IOE) on progress in implementing international norms.  
A completed questionnaire on sanitary and phyto sanitary measures was provided to the Working 
Party (WT/ACC/LVA/12, Annex 2). 
85. The representative of Latvia added that the Law "On Plant Protection" provided the 
framework for administering phyto sanitary measures.  Sanitary measures were covered in the Law 
"On Veterinary Medicine", the "Pharmaceutical La w" and the 1995 "Food Law".  Imported products 
were accompanied by certificates issued by the ve terinary authorities of the exporting country in 
accordance with Latvian quality requirements.  Latvia would accept exporters' certificates for 
processed food products conforming to Latvia's regula tions.  The official list of quarantinable pests 
(plant) and diseases (animals) was provided to the Working Party.  The san itary and phytosanitary 
measures applied by Latvia and the corresponding  product coverage is presented in Table 5. 
Table 5:  Products Subject to Sa nitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
HS tariff line Product description Measure 
0100 Live animals; animal products Veterinary regulations 
0200 Meat and edible meat o ffal Veterinary regulations 
0300 
 Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic 
invertebrates Veterinary regulations 
0400 Dairy produce; bird’s eggs; natural honey; edible 
products of animal origins, not elsewhere specified or 
included Veterinary regulations; 
Environment Health regulations 
0500 Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or 
included Veterinary regulations WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 32  
 
HS tariff line Product description Measure 
0601 Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and 
rhizomes, dormant in growth or in flower; chicory 
plants and roots other than roots of heading No 12.12 Plant protection 
regulations 
0602 Other live plants (including their roots), cuttings and 
slips, mushroom spawn Plant protection 
regulations  
0603 Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for 
bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dries, 
dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared Plant protection 
regulations 
0700 Edible vegetables and certain r oot and tubers Plant protection 
regulations; 
Food control regulations 
0800 Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus  fruit or melons Environment Health 
regulations; 
Plant protection regulations 
0900 Coffee, tea, mate and spices Plant protection 
regulations 
1000 Cereals Plant protection 
regulations 
1100 Products of milling industry; malt; starches; inulin Plant protection 
regulations 
1200 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, 
seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw 
and fodder Veterinary regulations; 
Plant protection 
regulations 
1201 Soya beans, whether or not broken Environment Health 
regulations 
1202 Ground - nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, 
whether or not shelled or broken Environment Health 
regulations 
1300 Lac; gums; resins and other vegetable saps and 
extracts Plant protection 
regulations; Food control regulations 
1400 Vegetable plaiting material s; vegetable products not 
elsewhere specified or included Plant protection 
regulations 
1500 Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage 
products; prepared edible fa ts; animal or vegetable 
waxes Veterinary regulations; 
Plant protection regulations; 
Food control regulations  
1600 Preparations of meat, of fish or of crustaceans, 
molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates Veterinary regulations; 
Plant protection 
regulations; 
Food control regulations 
1700 Sugar and sugar confecti onery Environment Health 
regulations; 
Food control regulations 
1800 Cocoa and cocoa preparations Environment Health 
regulations; Food control regulations 
1801 Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted Plant protection 
regulations 
1802 Cocoa shells, husks, skins and other cocoa waste Plant protection 
regulations  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 33 
 
 
HS tariff line Product description Measure 
1900 Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; 
pastrycooks' products Environment Health 
regulations; 
Food control regulations 
2000 Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of 
plants Plant protection 
regulations; 
Food control regulations 
2100 Miscellaneous edible prepara tions Food control regulations 
Veterinary regulations 
2200 Beverages, spirits and vinegar Environment Health 
regulations 
2300 Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared 
animal fodder Veterinary regulations; 
Plant protection 
regulations 
2401 Unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse  Plant protection 
regulations 
2402 Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco 
or of tobacco substitutes  Environment Health 
regulations 
2403   Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured 
tobacco substitutes; "homogenized" or "reconstituted" tobacco; tobacco extracts and essences Environment Health 
regulations  
2703 Peat (including peat litter), whether or not 
agglomerated Plant protection 
regulations 
3002 Human blood; animal blood prepared for therapeutic; 
prophylactic or diagnostic uses Veterinary regulations 
Environment Health regulations 
3101 Animal or vegetable fertilizers, whether or not mixed 
together or chemically trea ted; fertilizer produced by 
the mixing or chemical treatment of animal or 
vegetable products Plant protection 
regulations Veterinary regulations 
3808 Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, 
anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, 
disinfectants and similar products, put up in forms or 
packing for retail sale  Plant protection 
regulations 
4403 Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or 
sapwood, or roughly squared Plant protection 
regulations 
4407 Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, 
whether or not planed, sanded or finger jointed, of a 
thickness exceeding 6 mm Plant protection 
regulations 
4415 Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar 
packing, of wood, cable drums of wood; pallets, box 
pallets and other load boards of wood  Plant protection 
regulations 
4501 Natural cork, raw or simply prepared; waste cork; 
crushed, granulated or ground cork Plant protection 
regulations 
4600  Manufactures of straw, of esparto or to other materials; 
basketware and wickerwork Plant protection 
regulations 
5001 Silk - worm cocoons suitable for reeling Plant protection 
regulations 
5003 Silk waste (including cocoons unsuitable for reeling, 
yarn waste and garnetted stock) Plant protection 
regulations 
5101 Wool, not carded or combed Plant protection 
regulations WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 34  
 
HS tariff line Product description Measure 
5103 Waste of wool or of fine or of coarse animal hair, 
including yarn waste but excluding garnetted stock Plant protection 
regulations 
5201 Cotton, not carded or combed Plant protection 
regulations 
5202 Cotton waste (including yarn waste and garnetted 
stock) Plant protection 
regulations 
5301 Flax, raw or processed but not spun; flax tow and 
waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) Plant protection 
regulations 
5302 True hemp, raw or processed but not spun, tow and 
waste of true hemp Plant protection 
regulations 
5303 Jute and other bast, raw or processed but not span, tow 
and waste of these fibres  Plant protection 
regulations 
5304 Sisal and other textile fibres of the genus Agave, raw 
or processed but not spun Plant protection 
regulations 
5305 Coconut, abaca, ramie and other vegetable textile 
fibres, not elsewhere specified or included, raw or processed but not spun Plant protection 
regulations 
86. Summarizing Latvia's efforts thus far to implement the Agreement on the Application of 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the representativ e of Latvia said that five laws - the Law on 
Protection of Consumer Rights, the Law on Ve terinary Medicine, the Law on Pharmaceutical 
Activties, the Law on Supervision of Food Circulation and the Law on Plant Protection - had been adopted since 1992.  These laws and their amendmen ts constituted the basis for Latvia's compliance 
with the SPS Agreement.  The new Law on Supervisi on of Food Circulation was prepared taking into 
account recommendations made by a group of experts in relation to the FAO project on food quality improvement in Latvia and a project on Latvia's food legislation sponsored by Denmark and was in 
accordance with the requirements of the SPS Agreem ent.  Laws would be revised to clarify 
authorities' areas of competence and responsibility in the elaboration and harmon ization of regulations 
and requirements as well as in market surveillance to avoid duplication and ensure more effective 
food control.  The veterinary and phytosanitary bor der control administration was reorganized at the 
beginning of 1997 to improve coordi nation and meet international st andards.  As a result of the 
process to harmonize food legislation, in 1997 La tvia had adopted a new regulation "On Maximum 
Residue Level of Veterinary Drugs in Food" and regulation "On Standing Order for Food Additives".  
Both regulations were in full compliance with intern ational rules.  Latvia observed the principle of 
transparency as it required all adopted regulations re lated to sanitary and phytosanitary measures to be 
published in the official newspaper of the Republic of  Latvia "Latvijas Vèstnesis".  The authority to 
adopt legislative acts for implementing the SPS Agreem ent rested with the Cabinet of Ministers.  
Prior to their adoption, all draft regulations we re discussed by the Advisory Board of the State 
Veterinary Service and published in the media of  the veterinary profession to encourage wide 
discussion.  Also prior to their adoption, legislative acts on food safety and quality were to be reviewed by the Food Council (a consulting body co mposed of ministerial officials, representatives of 
producers, traders, distributors and other involved in stitutions), which had recently begun acting as an  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 35 
 
 
expert panel for drafting legislative acts and ame ndments.  The legislative acts on implementation of 
particular sectors covered by the SPS Agreement we re submitted to the Ministry of Economy, which 
was responsible for fulfilling of the notification re quirement.  The Enquiry point, as provided for by 
Article 10 of the TBT Agreement and Article 7 of  the SPS Agreement, operated under auspices of the 
Ministry of Economy.  Latvia had also developed a training system for veterinary inspectors in order 
to improve the standards of control, inspec tion and approval procedures according to the SPS 
Agreement. 
87. The representative of Latvia stated that its  sanitary and phytosanitary measures reflected 
international standards, guidelines and recomme ndations. The SPS enforcement issues were being 
solved through intensive training programmes and ac cumulation of practical skills.  Latvia's TBT and 
SPS standards were currently in a process of rapid ev olution to a new system reflecting international 
requirements provided for in a specific governmental programme. 
87bis As a general point, the representative of Latvia noted that, each law pertaining to technical 
barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary me asures included a general clause stating that the 
provisions of an international agre ement prevailed over national legisla tion in cases of contradiction.  
The provisions of the TBT and SPS Agreements w ould thus prevail over domestic law on Latvia's 
accession to the WTO in cases of contradiction.  He also stated that all the laws and regulations 
pertaining to the application of technical requirements and sanitary and phytosanitary measures to 
trade and any necessary amendments to current legislation to bring them into conformity with provisions of the WTO Agreements on Technical Ba rriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures would enter into force prior to Latvia's accession. 
88. The representative of Latvia stated that Latv ia would apply the Agreements on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Tr ade from the date of accession without recourse 
to any transition period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs
) 
89. Some members of the Working Party enquired ab out Latvia's intentions  regarding notification 
and elimination of measures not in conformity w ith the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-
Related Investment Measures (TRIMs). 
90. The representative of Latvia said that Latvia  would not maintain any measures inconsistent 
with the TRIMs Agreement and would apply th e TRIMs Agreement from the date of accession 
without recourse to any transitional period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 36  
 
State trading entities
 
91. Noting that more than 500 State-owned ente rprises were involved in foreign trade in 1994, 
some members of the Working Party asked Latvia to provide a list of all firms wholly or partly owned 
or managed by the State, specifying any exclusiv e or special rights accorded to these enterprises.  
Latvia was requested to complete the questionnaire on State-trading.  A member felt that the State 
Cereal Bureau could meet the criteria of a St ate-trading enterprise under Article XVII of the 
GATT 1994 and that the definition might also c over other enterprises engaged in agricultural 
production and distribution,  including trade in sugar;   metals;  alcoholic beve rages;  and the natural 
monopolies managed by the State.  Latvia was also asked to provide details on the trading firms Interlatvija and Latvijas Labiba. 
92. The representative of Latvia provided a notifi cation on State-trading to the Working Party in 
document WT/ACC/LVA/12 (Annex 3) describing the functioning of the State Cereal Bureau.  The State Cereal Bureau was an institution not engaged in  regular grain trade;  on occasion, grain had been 
bought to replenish reserves held for food security reasons.  Domestic grain was favoured in procurement for the State reserve.  Institutions such as the State Alcohol Monopoly Board and the 
Tobacco Department did not engage in trade, but issued business licences to other operators in their 
respective areas.  Other State-owned enterprises only  held the same rights to trade as the private 
sector.  The trading companies Interlatvija and Latvij as Labiba were fully privatized in 1991 and the 
Government had no role in their activities. The re presentative of Latvia stated that no enterprises, 
other than the State Cereal Bureau, operated under sp ecial or exclusive rights in Latvia.  Latvia had 
established an Excise Tax Board dealing with licen sing and excise marking of alcohol, tobacco and 
licensing of other goods subject to excise tax.  The State Alcohol Monopoly Board and the Tobacco Department were incorporated into the Exci se Tax Board and had ceased to exist as separate 
institutions. 
93. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  his Government would apply its laws and 
regulations governing the trading activities of St ate-owned enterprises and other enterprises with 
special or exclusive privileges and would act in  full conformity with the provisions of the 
WTO Agreement, in particular Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on that Article 
and Article VIII of the GATS.  He further confir med that Latvia would notify any enterprise falling 
within the scope of Article XVII.  The Wo rking Party took note of these commitments. 
Free zones, special economic areas
 
94. The representative of Latvia said that four special economic regimes had been established in 
Latvia by October  1997 according to the la ws "On Riga Commercial Free Port" (passed on 
6 November 1996), "On Ventspils Free Port" (1 9 December 1996), "On Liepaja Special Economic 
Zone" (17 February 1997) and "On Rezeknes Speci al Economic Zone" (1 October 1997).  The free  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 37 
 
 
zones in Riga Commercial Port and Ventspils Port  were traditional free customs zones, established 
according to special laws and in consistence with the new Customs Law.  The special economic zone 
in Liepaja, a former Soviet Navy base area, had been established by special law to promote 
development and recovery in a destroyed region.   The Rezeknes Special Economic Zone had been 
established in order to promote development of the assisted region.  The policy of Latvia's 
Government was not to extend the development of  special economic zones and not to establish new 
free economic zones in Latvia, but to gain experi ence from existing zones and develop more detailed 
regulations regarding the functioning of these zones.   He added that there were neither  export 
performance, trade balancing nor domestic conten t requirements associated with establishment of 
companies in the zone and purchases of goods produced in the zone by the rest of Latvia would bear 
normal taxes and tariff requirements.  Further inform ation on the free economic zones is provided in 
Table 6. 
Table 6 :  Free Economic Zones  
 Riga 
Commercial 
Free Port Liepaja Special Economic 
Zone Ventspils Free 
Port Rezekne Special 
Economic Zone 
Territory Part of Riga port Liepaja Port, part of 
Liepaja industrial port, military port (former military base and campus)Ventspils Port Rezeknes industrial 
region 
Area approx. 664 ha approx. 3,000 ha approx. 2,026 ha approx. 1,220 ha 
Tax 
exemptions Free customs 
zone regime in 
the whole territory Possibility to create free 
customs zone regime 
(meeting the respective conditions) in some parts of zone.  VAT - zero for 
investments into 
infrastructure;  Company income tax - 20 per cent of normal tax rate (possible reduction, up to zero tax, upon 
decision of the 
municipality); Land and real estate tax - 20 per cent of normal tax rate (possible reduction, 
up to zero tax, upon 
decision of the municipality) Social tax - max. 15 minimal wages.  Several free zone 
regimes 
established in different parts of the area and possibility to create others Possibility to create free 
customs zone regime in 
some parts of zone.   VAT - zero for investments into 
infrastructure;  
Company income tax - 20 per cent of normal tax rate.    
Land and real estate tax 
– 20 per cent of normal tax rate (possible reduction, up to zero tax, upon decision of the 
municipality). 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 38  
 
Land 
property Possible to lease Possible to buy if 
investment exceeds 100,000 Lats per 1 ha Possible to lease Possible to buy 
95. The representative of Latvia stated that th e free ports and special economic zones authorized 
by the legislation described in paragraph 94 we re fully subject to the coverage of Latvia's 
commitments in its Protocol of Accession to th e WTO Agreement and that Latvia would ensure 
enforcement of its WTO obligations in those zones.   In addition, goods produced in these areas under 
tax and tariff provisions that exempt  imports and imported inputs from tariffs and certain taxes will be 
subject to normal customs formalities when entering the rest of Latvia, including the application of 
tariffs and taxes.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
Government procurement  
96. Some members of the Working Party asked about  the status and content of Latvian legislation 
on public procurement including clarification of the exceptions concerning  the case of "exclusive 
rights" and "urgent necessity" and Latvia's position re garding possible membership of the Plurilateral 
Trade Agreement on Government Procurement.  In  their view, Latvia should commit itself to a 
specific date by which to join the Agreement on Government Procurement if the outcome of the 
negotiations on an entity list was satisfactory to all. 
97. The representative of Latvia said that Latv ia had adopted a new law on Government and 
Municipal Procurement based on the Agreement on Government Procurement and the UNCITRAL 
Model Law on Procurement.  The Law allowed th e award of supply contracts without bid or 
competition in cases associated with the creation of State reserves or national security and defence in 
accordance with specific decisions by the Cabinet of Mi nisters, or in cases of procurement of less than 
LVL 5,000.  Single tendering could take place when cer tain suppliers held exclusive rights on goods 
and services;  in circumstances of urgent necessity;  when past purchases required the same source for 
additional supplies;  and for the conclusi on of research and development contracts. 
98. The Law on Government and Municipal Procurement was passed by Parliament on 
24 October 1996.  An English vers ion of the Law was submitted to the WTO Secretariat.  The new 
Law on Government and Municipal Procurement, ente ring into force on 1 January 1997, stated that 
tendering with participation of foreign competito rs was mandatory if the expected value of 
construction works exceeded LVL 4 million (SDR 5 m illion) or the expected value of other works or 
supplies exceeded LVL 104,000 (SDR 130,000).  Na tional treatment applied in the field of 
government procurement. 
99. The representative of Latvia recalled that Latv ia was granted observer status in the Committee 
on Government Procurement on 4 June 1996 (document GPA/W/16).  Latvia intended to commence  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 39 
 
 
negotiations on accession to the Agreement on Govern ment Procurement in the second half of 1998 
and had begun preparation of the accession documents .  However, additional consultations would be 
required with WTO experts befo re negotiations could start. 
100. The representative of Latvia confirmed that Latvia will initiate negotiations for membership 
in the Agreement on Government Procurement upon acces sion by tabling an entity offer at that time.  
He also confirmed that, if the results of the nego tiations are satisfactory to Latvia and the other 
members of the Agreement, Latvia will complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement by 
1 January 2000.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Transit  
101. Some members of the Working Party asked Latv ia to describe the regime relating to goods in 
transit.  The representative of Latvia said that good s carried in transit were checked at the border.  
Customs offices kept a copy of the cargo dispatch  notes and collected information for statistical 
purposes.  The same procedures were followed for all goods, including metals.  Latvia charged no 
transit fee at present, however, a convoy fee - paid  by the transporter - was levied on dangerous 
goods, tobacco, food products or perfume transpor ted through Latvia.  Ce rtain non-dangerous goods 
were subject to a security deposit equal to the am ount of taxes due on importation of such goods in 
Latvia.  The security deposit woul d be refunded within two months provided the transit regulations 
were adhered to. 
102. The representative of Latvia confirmed that  his Government would apply its laws and 
regulations governing transit operations and would act in full conformity with the provisions of the 
WTO Agreement, in particular Article V of the GA TT 1994.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment. 
Agricultural policies  
103. Some members of the Working Party asked La tvia to elaborate on its agriculture regime, 
including tariff protection, budgetary support, concessional credits, export subsidies and the 
procurement of grain.  Some members noted tariff increases on some products and new support 
measures of recent date.  Some members observed th at Latvia had recently introduced export subsidy 
measures and sought a commitment that Latvia would eliminate export subsidies. 
104. The representative of Latvia explained that the agricultural sector was going through a major 
reform process that included land restitution, deco llectivisation and privatization of the food industry 
in order to establish a market-based competitive ec onomic environment.  He also noted that the 
reform process was a balanced shift from various tax exemptions in the farming sector to more transparent ways of direct support to agriculture . Over the last few years, the farming sector 
experienced a deterioration of the quality of agricu ltural land because of lack of proper drainage and WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 40  
 
other soil treatment as well as low level of investment in machinery and equipment.  As a result, total 
agricultural output and income declined significantly and expectations were that it might take several 
years to fully recover.  The representative of Latvia  indicated that his Government was determined to 
pursue vigorously the process of reform and viewed  its accession to the WTO as an important element 
in this regard. 
105. Some Members sought a commitment that La tvia would eliminate price controls on grain 
products.  The representative of Latvia said that  the Government had guaranteed the price of food 
grain for the State reserve. In 1995, the price guara ntee covered 32,000 tons bu t only 5,700 tons were 
actually purchased and the State Grain Reserve had imported 14,000 tons.  Domestic grain prices had  
recently been lower than the world  market prices.  The representative of Latvia said that amendments 
to the Law "On Latvia Grain Market and State Gr ain Reserves", which eliminated the system of 
guaranteed grain prices, had come into effect on 1 July 1997. 
106. Regarding domestic support, the representative of Latvia submitted detailed information in 
document WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/2 based on the classification suggested by WT/ACC/4 and the methodology of the Agreement on Agriculture, wh ich showed the average product specific support 
during the base period 1994-1996 for cereals, cattle, sh eep, sugar beet, seed materials and flax and 
non-product specific support.  Information was also  provided on a number of programmes regarding 
the financing of agricultural research, pest and disease control, advisory services and infrastructure 
which Latvia considered "green box" measures.   
107. Regarding export subsidies, the representative of Latvia said that export subsidies had been 
provided for milk powder, canned milk, cheese, butter and rye in 1994, 1995 and 1996.  He also made 
clear that Latvia’s intention was increasingly to direct its investment in agriculture towards 
programmes designed to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Latvian agriculture and 
ensure its alignment with world market requirements.  In this context, Latvia would be prepared to 
eliminate export subsidies as reflected in its schedul e of commitments annexed to  Latvia’s Protocol of 
Accession. 
108. Latvia's commitments on agricultural tariffs , on domestic support a nd export subsidies for 
agricultural products are in the schedule of con cessions and commitments attached to Latvia’s 
Protocol of Accession to the WTO. 
109. The representative of Latvia said that during a transition period to expire on 1 January 2003, 
Latvia would forego the 5 per cent de minimis  exemption for product-speci fic domestic support and for 
non-product specific domest ic support in calculating its Curr ent Total AMS as provided for in 
paragraph 4 (a) of Article 6 of th e Agreement on Agriculture, provided that the sum of product-specific 
and non-product-specific domestic support does not ex ceed SDR 24 million (representing approximately 
8 per cent of the average value of final agricu ltural production during the period 1994-1996) and that  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 41 
 
 
SDR 24 million instead constitutes Latvia’s  de minimis  exemption under Article 6.4 (a) during each year 
of the said transition period.  Accordingly, during th e transition period, Latvia would not be required to 
include product-specific domestic support or non-pro duct specific domestic su pport in calculating its 
Current Total AMS pursuant to para graph 4 (a) of Article 6 of the Agreement on Agriculture, and would 
not be required to reduce such dome stic support in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the 
Agreement on Agriculture, where th e sum of product-specific and non- product specific support does not 
exceed SDR 24 million during the relevant year.  Th e Working Party took note of these commitments. 
Trade in civil aircraft  
110. The representative of Latvia said that Latv ia would implement the Agreement on Trade in 
Civil Aircraft without exceptions or transitional pe riod at the time of accession.  The representative of 
Latvia confirmed that Latvia would become a signa tory to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft 
upon accession to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.  
Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS ) 
111. Some members of the Working Party asked La tvia to compare its existing regime with the 
WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of In tellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).  Specific 
questions addressed the time schedule for the full  implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, the 
enforcement of intellectual property rights, the protection of copyright and the acceptance of the 
Berne Convention (1971) and the Rome Convention. 
112. The representative of Latvia sai d that Latvia had been working to  install a new legal system in 
the area of intellectual property protection since 199 1.  The number of national experts on the subject 
was limited and Latvia also lacked experience with  certain aspects of intellectual property such as 
geographical indications, undisclosed information, and provisional and border measures.  He noted 
that existing legislation was in conformity with the WTO Agreement on TRIPS with the exception of 
the protection of geographical indications and Pa rt III, section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement (border 
measures).  The new legislation regarding the pr otection of geographical indications had been 
accepted by the Government and submitted for adop tion to the Saeima, and the new legislation 
regarding border measures (Part III, section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement) had been submitted to the 
Government for approval in July 1998.  An overvie w of Latvia's intellectual property legislation and 
an ongoing revision programme was provided to the Working Party, and is reproduced in Table 7. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 42  
 
Table  7:  Status of Legislation On Intellectual Property in Latvia (August 1998
) 
TRIPS Agreement Laws and other legal provisions addressing and 
covering the subject matters Effective and draft legislation 
relating to requirements of the 
TRIPS Agreement 
Part II, Section 1 - Copyright Law of 11 May 1993 
- Law on Amendments of the Latvian 
Criminal Code of 6 October 1955 
- Cabinet of Ministers Regulation on 
Distribution (Reproduction) and Public 
Performance of Cinematographic Works (1996) Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured 
Part II, Section 2 Trademark Law of 9 March 1993 Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured Draft Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indications 
adopted by the Government in 
August 1998 and submitted to the Saeima (adoption expected by October 1998) 
Part II, Section 3  Draft Law on Amendments to 
the Law on Competition, Section V Unfair Competition A new draft Law on Trademarks and Geographical 
Indications including 
provisions on protection of geographical indications adopted by the Government in August 1998 and submitted to 
the Saeima (expected adoption 
by the Saeima in October 1998) 
Part II, Section 4 Law on  Industrial Design Protection of 
4 May 1993 Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured 
Part II, Section 5 Patent Law of 2 March 1993 as amended on 
30 March 1995 Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured 
Part II, Section 6 Law on Protection of Topographies of 
Semiconductor Products of 31 March 1998 Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 43 
 
 
TRIPS Agreement Laws and other legal provisions addressing and 
covering the subject matters Effective and draft legislation 
relating to requirements of the 
TRIPS Agreement 
Part II, Section 7  Law on Competition (Section V "Unfair 
Competition", Art. 22) of 18 June 1997 (in effect as of 1 January 1998) Civil Code Draft Commercial Law 
(approved by the Government, expected adoption in the Saeima by November 1998) 
 
Draft Law on Publicity of State and Local Government's Information and draft Law on Personal Data Protection (approved by the Government, 
expected adoption in the 
Saeima by October 1998) 
Part II, Section 8 Provisions of the Patent Law, Trademark Law, 
Law on Industrial Design Protection  Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured 
Part III, Section 3 (provisional measures) Law on Competition of 18 June 1997, Section 
V "Unfair Competition", Art. 24; Civil Procedural Law   Effective - compliance with 
WTO TRIPS requirements ensured 
Part III, Section 4 (special requirements related to border measures)  Draft secondary legislation 
under Section C, Customs Law (Code) of 11 June 1997 (submitted to the Government in July 1998, expected 
approval by the Government in 
October 1998)  
Part III, Section 5 (criminal procedures) Criminal Code Effective - full compliance 
with WTO TRIPS requirements ensured  
113. Regarding the status of intellectual property legislation in specific areas, the representative of 
Latvia added that, on copyright and related rights,  Latvia adopted a Copyright Law in May 1993 
which included provisions on computer programmes a nd protection of databases.  However, the basic 
principles regarding rental rights for computer programmes would be refined to ensure better 
implementation.  In August 1998, a new draft law On Copyright and Neighbouring Rights had been adopted by the Government, and by the end of 1998 it was to be accepted by the Saeima.  The 
Criminal Code was amended in October 1995 in re gard to violation of copyright and neighbouring 
rights, and in July 1998 the new Criminal Code ha d been passed in the S aeima, incorporating and 
refining provisions of criminal responsibility fo r infringement of copyright and illegal use of 
copyrighted work and neighbouring rights.  La tvia had acceded to the Berne Convention in 
August 1995 and a Law on the accession to the Ro me Convention (1961) for the Protection of 
Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcas ting Organizations had been adopted by the 
Saeima in 1997 and would come into effect on 1 Janua ry 1999.  On 8 April 1997, Saeima had adopted 
the Law on accession to the Geneva Convention (1971) for the Protection of Producers of WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 44  
 
Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms.  Latvia would join the WIPO 
Copyright Treaty and Performance and Phonograms Tr eaty before the end of 1998.  In August 1998, a 
new draft Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indi cations had been adopted by the Government 
and submitted for adoption to the Saeima.  The draft refined some definitions of the current law and 
included new provisions concerning international regi stration of marks and protection of geographical 
indications.  Concerning the protection of layout-designs of integrated circuits (Part II, section 6 of the 
TRIPS Agreement), he said that on 31 March 19 98 Latvia had adopted the Law on Protection of 
Topographies of Semiconductor Products, based on C ouncil Directive (87/54/EEC) of the European 
Communities on the legal protection of topogr aphies of semiconductor products of 
16 December 1986.  In August 1998, draft laws  on accession to the Madrid Agreement Concerning 
International Registration of Trademarks and the Pr otocol to the Madrid Agreement had been adopted 
by the Government and submitted for considerati on to the Saeima.  Protection of undisclosed 
information in accordance with the requirements of Part II, section 7 of the TRIPS Agreement would be covered in the following new draft Laws On Pe rsonal Data Protection, which had been elaborated 
in order to ensure rights of any person to pr otect her rights and freedoms processing personal data 
manually or electronically, and the draft law On  Publicity of State and Local Government's 
Information.  Both laws had been approved by the Government and submitted for adoption to the 
Saeima.  Currently, the protection of undisclosed information was generally provided for by the Civil 
Code. 
114. Referring to Part III of the TRIPS Agreement - Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights  - 
the representative of Latvia said that the ne w Law on Competition of 18 June 1997 included 
provisions on provisional measures (Part III, section 3), and the new Customs Law (Code) of 
11 June 1997 provided fo r adoption of secondary legislation relating to border measures (Part III, 
section 4), which would be submitted for adoption to the Cabinet of Ministers in July 1998 and would 
refine the provisions on provisional measures contai ned in the amended Latvian Civil Procedural 
Code.  Provisions in existing legislation relating to enforcement of intellectual property rights 
included: 
 - Part 4, Articles 54 to 57 of the Copyright Law which specified the notion of 
infringement of copyright and related ri ghts as well as civil procedures provided for 
under this law and relating to enforcemen t of the said rights, and (Article 57) 
administrative and civil liability and criminal responsibility in case of infringement of copyright or related rights; 
  - Chapter 9 (Articles 40 and 41) of the Patent Law on patent infringement and 
responsibility thereof, Chapter 10 (Articles 42 to 45) on protection of rights derived 
from a patent, and Chapter 11 (Articles 46 to 49) on review of disputes in court; 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
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 - Articles 16, 18, 21 and 24 of the new Competition Law on responsibility for violation 
of restrictions on monopolies and illegal competition; 
  - similar provisions provided for by the Trademark Law and the Law on Design 
Protection;  and 
  - provisions in the said Laws referring to procedures and measures provided for by 
civil or criminal law.     
In addition to amending the Latvian Civil Pro cedural Code in 1995 to provide for provisional 
measures, Latvia had also amended the Criminal Code of 6 October 1955 and a new Criminal Code 
had been passed in August 1998 to provide for mo re severe measures in case of infringement of 
intellectual property rights and, in particular, copy right and neighbouring rights.  Amendments to the 
Administrative Offences Code on ille gal distribution of neighbouring ri ghts to a work and the use of 
copyrighted work without licence had been submitted  for adoption to the Saeima.  Latvia had begun 
to reform its court system to strengthen its capab ility to enforce intellectual property rights.  The 
former judiciary law, education and practice had gi ven Latvia no experience in reviewing intellectual 
property disputes and Latvia considered as one of  its most important tasks to educate a new 
generation of experts in the area of intellectual pr operty protection and enforcement and to train its 
practitioners (judges, advocates, patent attorneys and trademark agents). 
115. As a general point, the representative of Latvia  noted that each law pertaining to intellectual 
property included a general clause stating that the pr ovisions of an international agreement prevailed 
over national legislation in cases of contradiction.   The provisions of the TRIPS Agreement would 
thus prevail over domestic law on Latvia's accessi on to the WTO.  Also as a general point, the 
representative of Latvia stated that all the draft laws pertaining to intellectual property and necessary 
amendments to current legislation to bring them into conformity with the TRIPS Agreement would 
enter into force prior to Latvia's accession.  
116. The representative of Latvia confirmed that his Government would fully apply the provisions 
of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intell ectual Property Rights (TRIPS) by the date of its 
accession to the WTO without recourse to a transitional period.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Policies affecting trade in services
 
117. The representative of Latvia provided a descrip tion of Latvia's services regime in document 
WT/L/63 (L/7526/Add.3).  Specific questions by members of the Working Party focused on regulations in the financial sector and clarifica tion of laws with important provisions regarding 
investment in services sectors. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 46  
 
118. With regard to the financial sector, the re presentative of Latvia stated that licensing 
requirements were the same for domestic and foreign entities.  However, procedurally, an application 
from a foreign bank to establish a branch or represe ntative office was considered by the Board of 
Governors of the Bank of Latvia while other appli cations were considered by the Executive Board of 
the Bank of Latvia. 
119. The representative of Latvia said that Pa rliament had adopted a new Law "On Credit 
Institutions" in October 1995.  Under the Law "O n Insurance" foreign investors could perform 
insurance activities in Latvia thr ough the establishment of companies or partnerships with Latvians, 
i.e. joint-stock companies in which the participa tion of foreign investors was not restricted.  He 
confirmed that licences were issued exclusively for one type of insurance activity;  insurers involved 
in life insurance were prohibited from offering non-lif e insurance and vice versa.  An insurer could 
not conduct life and non-life insurance operati ons simultaneously, without establishing a new 
company.  However, this restriction did not re fer to accident and health insurance operations 
concluded by an insurer with a licence to perform lif e insurance.  A direct life insurer was allowed to 
reinsure life, accident and health insurance opera tions.  A direct non-life insurer was prohibited from 
reinsuring life insurance operations.  He stated that th e criteria for registration of credit institutions or 
enrolment of broker companies were not inconsiste nt with Article XVI of the General Agreement on 
Trade in Services. 
120. The representative of Latvia said that on 7 October 1997, the Cabinet of Ministers had 
adopted Regulations No. 348 "On Licensing of Cert ain Forms of Entrepreneurial Activities", which 
would replace the former Regulations No. 434. The ma in changes under the new regulations were that 
the number of activities subject to regulation had been reduced from 118 to 67 and that professional 
certification had been transferred to accredited professional associations, municipalities and the Bank 
of Latvia with respect to financial activities and supervision, as appropriate.  The new regulations 
came into effect on 1 January 1998 and responsible  governmental institutions such as Ministry of 
Education and Science, Ministry of Welfare and Ministry of Transportation had been required to 
submit the amendments to the legislation on regulated professions, standards of professional qualifications and conformity assessment procedures.  Certification had been introduced in order to 
ensure a professional level of service and the prot ection of consumers. Foreigners were granted 
national treatment in the issuance of certificates for supply of individual professional services.  He 
confirmed that Latvia had no legisl ation on safeguard measures related to trade in services and that no 
restrictions were applied on domestic or interna tional transfers and current payments for services. 
121. The representative of Latvia said that the State enterprise "Latvijas Pasts" (Latvian Post) held 
monopoly rights on postal services.  "Lattelekom", a joint venture between Tilts Communications 
(British and Finnish ownership) a nd the Latvian Government, had been granted an exclusive right 
until 1 January 2003 to provide telecommunication services.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 47 
 
 
122. Latvia's Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services is annexed to its draft Protocol of 
Accession reproduced in the Appendix to this Report (see paragraph 132 below). This schedule 
contains the legally binding market access commitments of Latvia in respect of services. 
Transparency  
 
Publication of Information on Trade  
123. The representative of Latvia stated that, at th e latest from the date of accession, all laws and 
other normative acts related to trade would be publishe d in the Official Journal promptly and no law, 
rule, etc. related to international trade would become  effective prior to such publication.  He further 
stated that Latvia would fully implement Article  X of the GATT 1994 and the other transparency 
requirements in WTO Agreements re quiring notification and publication. 
Notification  
124. The representative of Latvia said that at the latest upon entry into force of the Protocol of 
Accession, Latvia would submit all initial notifica tions required by any Agreement constituting part 
of the WTO Agreement.  Any regulations subsequent ly enacted by Latvia which gave effect to the 
laws enacted to implement any Agreement cons tituting part of the WTO Agreement would also 
conform to the requirements of that Agreement.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Trade Agreements  
125. Some members of the Working Party inquired about Latvia's preferential trade agreements.  
Some members were concerned a bout the consistency with Article  XXIV of the GATT 1994 of these 
free trade agreements. 
126. The representative of Latvia said that agreem ents for the avoidance of double taxation and 
prevention of fiscal evasion had been signed (21 co untries at present) and entered into force with 
Belarus, the Czech Republic, China, Canada, Denmar k, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, the 
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine a nd the United Kingdom.  Latvia had entered into 
intergovernmental agreements on trade and economic  cooperation, providing for MFN status, with 
Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Hunga ry, India, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, the 
United States of America and Uzbekistan.  Free trade agreements had been concluded with the 
European Communities, the EFTA States, the Slovak Republic, Poland, the Czech Republic, 
Slovenia, Ukraine and  Estonia and Lithuania.   These trading partners accounted for nearly 
70 per cent of Latvia's foreign trade in 1997.  Th e trilateral agreement between the Baltic States on 
Abolition of Non-tariff Barriers to Trade was signe d on 20 November 1997, and entered into force on 
1 June 1998. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 48  
 
127. Latvia had concluded free trade agreemen ts with the European  Communities, the EFTA 
States, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Poland,  Slovenia, Ukraine, Estonia and Lithuania in 
order to develop an intra-regional trade.  These tr ading partners accounted for nearly 70 per cent of 
Latvia's foreign trade in 1997.  The scope of these ag reements covered HS Chapte rs 1 to 97.  Latvia's 
Association (Europe) Agreement with the Europ ean Communities, signed on 12 June 1995, entered 
into force on 1  February 1998 and incorporated provisions of the free trade agreement between the 
European Communities and Latvia.  The Free Trade Agreements with Norway and Switzerland were 
replaced by the Free Trade Agreement between Latvia  and the EFTA States which entered into force 
on 1 June 1996.  The Free Trade Agreements w ith the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic had 
entered into force on 1 July 1996, with Slovenia - on 1 August 1996.  These agreements were notified 
to the WTO under the procedures of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994.  The Free Trade Agreement with Poland had entered into force on 1 April 199 8.  A Trilateral Free Trade Agreement on trade in 
industrial goods between Latvia, Es tonia and Lithuania had entered into force on 1 April 1994, and a 
Trilateral Free Trade Agreement on trade in agricu ltural goods between Latvia , Estonia and Lithuania 
had entered into force on 1 January 1997.  Finally,  a Trilateral Agreement on Abolition of Non-tariff 
Barriers to Trade between Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania had been signed on 20 November 1997 and 
entered into force on 1 June 1998.  The agreements provided for elimination of all customs tariffs and 
quantitative restrictions in trade between the Baltic States. 
128. The representative of Latvia said th at the free trade agreement with the 
European Communities had been notified to the WT O (document WT/REG7/N/1) and circulated in 
July 1995 in document WT/REG7/1.  Latvia was co mmitted to reduce tariffs on agricultural imports 
from the European Communities in  equal annual steps between 1995 and 2000.  Reductions were 
granted through tariff quotas;  Annex XI of the Agreement enumerated the products concerned and 
the respective quotas, while the tariff rates were listed in Annex X.  Fo r processed agricultural 
products the relevant parts of the Agreement were  Annexes 3 and 4 of Protocol 2.  Latvia had 
established tariff quotas for meat and meat products , yoghurt, flowers, cabbage, cauliflower and 
margarine while the tariff reductions applied for unlimited quantities of various fruit and fruit juices, 
pet food, hair and some processed products.  The ma in Latvian products subject to concessions in the 
European Communities were meat and meat products , dairy products, chocolate and sweets.  The 
representative of Latvia confirmed that the Free Trade Agreement between Latvia and the 
European Communities included clauses on further liberalization of trad e.  The preferential tariff-rate 
quotas used in the Free Trade Agreements between Latvia and the European Communities, the EFTA 
States, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia had been established to 
facilitate further liberalization of trade in produc ts for which the parties considered that some 
transitional period was required to achieve free trade.   All importers were free to import goods at the 
MFN tariff rate at any time, irrespective of whet her any tariff-rate quotas had been exhausted or not.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 49 
 
 
129. The representative of Latvia noted that Latv ia's free trade agreements had traditionally not 
covered trade in services.  However, Latvia 's Association (Europe) Agreement with the 
European Communities included trade in services and establishment issues.  Latvia had signed 
agreements on employment of foreign labour with Germany and Sweden.  He confirmed that Latvia 
was not a party to any agreement concerning mu tual recognition of professional qualifications. 
130. The representative of Latvia stated that his Government would observe the provisions of the 
WTO including Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and Artic le V of the GATS in its trade agreements, 
and would ensure that the provisions of these WT O Agreements for notification, consultation and 
other requirements concerning free trade areas and customs unions of which Latvia was a member 
were met from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
Conclusions  
131. The Working Party took note of the explanati ons and statements of Latvia concerning its 
foreign trade regime, as reflected in this summary.  The Working Party took note of the commitments  
given by Latvia in relation to certain specific matte rs which are reproduced in  paragraphs 18, 21, 30, 
40, 48, 53, 59, 62, 66, 69, 77, 88, 90, 93, 95, 100, 102, 109, 110, 116, 124 and 130 of this Report.  The 
Working Party took note that these commitments had been  incorporated in paragraph 2 of the Protocol 
of Accession of Latvia to the WTO. 
132. Having carried out the examination of the forei gn trade regime of Latvia and in the light of 
the explanations, commitments and concessions made  by the representative of Latvia, the Working 
Party reached the conclusion that Latvia be invited to accede to the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the WTO under the provisions of Article  XII.  For this purpose, the Working Party has 
prepared the draft Decision and Protocol of Accessi on reproduced in the Appendix to this Report, and 
takes note of Latvia's Schedule of Spec ific Commitments on Services (document 
WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7/Add.2) and its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods 
(document WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7/Add.1) that are annexe d to the Protocol.  It is proposed that these 
texts be adopted by the General Council when it ad opts the Report.  When the Decision is adopted, 
the Protocol of Accession would be open for acceptance by Latvia which would become a Member thirty days after it accepts the said Protocol.  Th e Working Party agreed, therefore, that it had 
completed its work concerning the negotiations for the accession of Latvia to the Marrakesh 
Agreement Establishing the WTO. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 50  
 
ANNEX 1 
Rates of Excise Tax
 
HS code Description Tax rate 
 2207 Rectified ethyl alcohol of 100-proof 
alcohol LVL 4.10 per litre  
 2204, 2205, 2206 Champagne and all other types of wine 
(up to 14 degrees) LVL 0.25 per litre  
 Other alcoholic beverages, and  beer 
over 7 degrees LVL 4.10 per litre pure alcohol  
 2203, Beer 5.5 - 7 degrees per hectolitre LVL 4.00 per hectolitre 
 2402 20 Cigarettes, with filter LVL 0.004 per piece 
 2402 20 Cigarettes, without filter LVL 0.05 per piece 
 2402 10 Cigars and cigarillos LVL 0.01 per piece 
 2403 Other tobacco products for retail sale 100 per cent 
 2709, 2710,  Unleaded petrol, from   
3811, 3814 - 1 January 1997 LVL 0.12 per litre 
 - 1 January 1998 LVL 0.14 per litre 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 0.16 per litre 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 0.18 per litre 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL 0.20 per litre 
 2710, 3811 Leaded petrol, from   
 - 1 January 1997 LVL 0.13  per litre 
 - 1 January 1998 LVL 0.16 per litre 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 0.19 per litre 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 0.21 per litre 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL 0.23 per litre 
 2710 Gasoline, from  
- 1 January 1997  
LVL 0.08 per litre 
 - 1 January 1998 LVL 0.10 per litre 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 0.13 per litre 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 0.16 per litre 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL 0.17 per litre 
  2710 Heavy oil, from  
- 1 January 1998  
LVL 2.00 per 1,000kg 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 4.00 per 1,000kg 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 8.00 per 1,000kg 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL 10.00 per 1,000kg 
 2710 Kerosene, from  
- 1 July 1997  
LVL 0.08 per litre 
 - 1 January 1998 LVL 0.10 per litre 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 0.13 per litre 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 0.16 per litre 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL 0.17 per litre  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 51 
 
 
HS code Description Tax rate 
  2710 Fuel oil , from  
- 1 January 1998  
LVL 2,00 per 1,000kg 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 130,00 per 1,000 kg 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 160,00 per 1,000 kg 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL  170,00 per 1,000 kg 
 2711 Oil gases, from  
- 1 January 1998  
LVL 10,00 per 1,000 kg 
 - 1 January 1999 LVL 30.00 per 1,000 kg 
 - 1 January 2000 LVL 50.00 per 1,000 kg 
 - 1 January 2001 LVL 70,00 per 1,000 kg 
 8703 Motor cars 10 per cent 
Chapter 71, 
excluding  
No.  7117 Goods made from gold and other 
precious metals, jewellery including 
diamonds, precious or semi-precious stones 30 per cent  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 52  
 
ANNEX 2 
Goods and Services Exempt from VAT or Zero-Rated
 
Exemptions (Article 6). 
1. The tax shall not be levied on the following supplies of goods and services: 
(i) services performed by old people’s homes or dw ellings, social care and rehabilitation centres, 
specialised care centres or houses  fully or partially financed from the State budget or municipal 
budgets; 
(ii) the payment for staying of children in pre-school; 
(iii)  catering services financed  from the state budget in pen itentiaries and imprisonment places; 
(iv) tuition at State and municipal educational establishments, as well as private educational 
establishments accredited by the State; 
(v) tuition for unemployed persons’ professional training or re-qualification organised by the State 
Employment Service; 
(vi) services of public libraries; 
(vii) visits to theatres, movies, circus shows, concer t activities, events in cultural establishments, visits 
to museums, exhibitions, zoological and botanical gardens, events for child ren and charity events, 
events of amateur art and of sports; 
(viii)  medical services, supplies of medicine and me dical goods in accordance with the list adopted by 
the Ministry of Welfare and approved by the Ministry of Finance; 
(ix) supplies of gold, and bank notes to the Bank of Latvia; 
(x)  betting, lotteries and other types of gambling; 
(xi) burial services, and religious, ritual and other services provided by religious organisations 
registered in the Republic of Latvia provided they  have no purpose of systematic gaining of profit; 
(xii) Insurance services supplied by insurance comp anies in accordance with the Law "On Insurance"; 
(xiii) payments of individuals on apartment rent contracts signed (except payments for rent of hotels, 
motels and similar establishments), on heating, on  supply of hot and cold water, on sanitation, on 
work of scavenger; 
(xiv) specialised baby-food in accordance with the list adopted by the Ministry of Welfare and approved 
by the Ministry of Finance; 
(xv) scientific research financed by public foundations, or by funding from the State and local 
government budget, or international institutions; 
(xvi) financial transactions: 
 (a) granting and control of credits, as well as the services connected with credit guarantees or 
other  bail guarantees and their monitoring, also debt recovery if it is performed by the creditor himself; 
 (b) services provided by credit instituti ons connected with deposit, current account 
operations, payments, transfers, debts, checks and other means of payment, except 
encashment services and lease of safes; 
 (c) means of payment and services connected with the purchase and selling of the means of 
payment in circulation, except items (money, coins) supplied for collection, or that contain precious metals; 
 (d) securities and capital investments, as well as services supplied at purchase and sale of 
securities and capital investments. Exemption sh all not be applied to cases of property 
investments when importing or acquiring items of property investments, if not provided otherwise by the present Law; 
 (e) special purpose subsidies for promoting public transport and special purpose subsidies 
for inland conveyers  to transport handi capped and politically oppressed persons. 
(xvii) mass media in accordance w ith the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers; 
(xviii)  consular services; 
(xix) school books and scientific literature, first pub lications of works of original literature in Latvian 
and publications for children publis hed in Latvia in accordance with  lists adopted by the Ministry 
of Education and Science as well as services of printing-houses provided for publishing 
(developing) of above mentioned literature and publications;  
 (xx) feature, documentary and animation films (ex cept video films of VHS format) if they are supplied 
or distributed by a film distributor or producer officially registered in the Republic of Latvia;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
 Page 53 
 
 
Exemptions (Article 6). 
(xxi) services provided by companie s for joint processing and sale of agricultural and fishery products, 
as well as companies for joint usage and maintenance of agricultural equipment, machinery and other tools (hereinafter - agricultural co-operatives) to the members of co-operatives, as well as to 
private farms that are not taxable persons; 
(xxii) sale of real estate, also sale of la nd, except first sale of  unused real estate; 
(xxiii) fire-fighting services provided by the Fire-fi ghting and Rescue Service department of the Ministry 
of the Interior, fire-fighting services of instituti ons, enterprises (entrepren eurial companies) and 
organisations, voluntary fire-fighters’ unions and formations of fire-fighting volunteers. 
(xxiv) post-office services supplied by the non-profit organisation state stock company "Latvijas pasts" 
and on which it has monopoly in acco rdance with the "Post-Office Law"  
2. The following import of goods shall not be levied with the tax: 
(i) import of goods referred to in Part 1 of the present Article; 
(ii) foreign non-refundable shipments of technical aid, in accordance with the procedure established 
by the Cabinet of Ministers; 
(iii) fixed assets brought in to ensure the technologi cal process of the production of the taxable person, 
in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers; 
(iv) works of art brought in to supplement museum reserves; 
(v) import of the goods not levied  with the customs duty in accordan ce with Parts 6 and 9 of the Law 
"On Customs Duty (Tariffs)", except the supplies of the goods for which 0% rate of the customs 
duty is applied; 
(3) On the State border import of goods shall not be levied with a tax, if one of the following customs 
procedures referred to in the "Customs Law" is carried out: 
(i) temporary import; 
(ii) import for processing; 
(iii) import for processing under customs control; 
(iv) import to a tax-free shop; 
(v) import to a customs warehouse; 
(vi) transit. 
4.  If goods brought in the Republic of Latvia, not paying tax in accordance with Part  2 of the present 
Article, (except the goods referred to in Paragraph 1,  Part 2), are sold or leased, the value of the 
goods shall be taxable in accordance with the procedure established by the present Law; 
5. In order the fixed assets referred to in Paragraph 3, Part 2 of the present Article do not cause 
competition distortions in the country, the Ministry of Economics confirms the list of the goods 
whose analogues are produced in th e Republic of Latvia or which are brought in by the official 
representatives of the manufacturers of these good s in Latvia. The importation of the fixed assets 
and their analogues included in the list shall not be exempt from VAT. 
 Application of 0% Tax Rate (Article 7). 
1. 0% tax rate shall be applied to: 
(i) supplies of goods whose place of supply in accordance with Article  4 of the present Law is not a 
domestic territory; 
(ii) services connected with export  of goods and transit transport (i ncluding services of transport, 
dispatch, goods storage, loading, unloading, examination and sorting); 
(iii) services whose location of performance in acco rdance with Article 4 of the present Law is not a 
domestic territory; 
(iv) supplies of goods and services connected with the provision and maintenance of international 
transport: 
 (a) supply, rebuilding, repairs, maintenance, hiring and leasing of vehicles and to supplies and 
services connected with these activities. 
 (b) supplies of goods connected with the provision of vehicles, 
 (c) agent services of vehicles and se rvices connected with cargo services; 
(v) services connected with tourism (travels) in  accordance with Article 13  of the present Law; 
(vi)  on the basis of the parity principle - supplies of goods and services supplied to foreign diplomatic 
and consular establishments in the Republic of Latvia, their diplomatic and consular agents, 
administratively technical staff, as well as fami ly members of the said persons - in accordance 
with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers; 
(vii) supplies of goods and services performed for the resources of non-refundable technical aid - in 
accordance with the proced ure established by the Cabinet of Ministers. WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 54  
 
Exemptions (Article 6). 
2. If an agent representing a natural or legal person of Latvia provides supplies of goods outside the 
borders of the Republic of Latvia, 0% tax rate shall apply to the agent on supplies of goods in 
accordance with the proced ure established by the Cabinet of Ministers. 
4. The tax amount paid by natural persons for goods (if their value exceeds LVL 100) exported from 
the domestic territory shall be refunded in acc ordance with the procedure established by the 
Cabinet of Ministers. 
5. If a taxable person that has supplied goods or se rvices in accordance with Part 1 of this Article 
cannot produce documents certifying the export, it shall be subject to the tax. 
   WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7
 Page 55ANNEX 3 
Export Duty Tariffs  
   Basic Rate 
(%) Most favoured nation 
(%) Free trade regime 
(%) 
CN code Description Supple-
mentary 
unit Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 
1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 
Chapter 44 WOOD AND ARTICLES OF WOOD; WOOD 
CHARCOAL  
4403 Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark 
or sapwood, or roughly squared:           
4403 20 -   Other, coniferous:           
4403 20 100 -  - Spruce of the kind "Picea abies Karst." or 
silver fir (Abies alba Mill.)           
4403 20 101 ---  round timber with the length over 2 metres and 
the diameter 14 to 24 centimetres bl m3 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 
4403 20 102 ---  round timber with the length over 2 metres and 
the diameter 26 centimetres or more bl m3 4.0 4.0 0 4.0 4.0 0 4.0 4.0 0 
4403 20 109 ---  Other m3 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 
4403 20 300 -  - Pine of the kind "Pinus sylvestris L."           
4403 20 301 ---  round timber with the length over 2 metres and 
the diameter 14 to 24 centimetres bl m3 3.0 3.0 0  3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 
4403 20 302 ---  round timber with the length over 2 metres and 
the diameter 26 centimetres or more  bl m3 4.0 4.0 0 4.0 4.0 0 4.0 4.0 0 
4403 20 309 ---  Other m3 0  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4403 20 900 -- Other:           
4403 20 901 ---  round timber with the length over 2 metres and 
the diameter 14 to 24 centimetres bl m3 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 56    Basic Rate 
(%) Most favoured nation 
(%) Free trade regime 
(%) 
CN code Description Supple-
mentary 
unit Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 
4403 20 902 ---  round timber with the length over 2 metres and 
the diameter 26 centimetres or more bl m3 4.0 4.0 0  4.0 4.0 0 4.0 4.0 0 
4403 20 909 ---  Other m3 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 
4403 91 000 -  -  Of oak (Quercus spp.)           
 4403 91 001 ---  oak-tree round timber with the length over 1 
metre and the diameter over 14 centimetres  bl m3 25.0 25.0 0 25.0 25.0 0 25.0 25.0 0 
4403 91 009 ---  Other m3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4403 92 000 -  -  Of beech (Fagus spp.)           
4403 92 001 ---  beech round timber with the length over 1 
metre and the diameter over 14 centimetres  bl m3 30.0 30.0 0 30.0 30.0 0 30.0 30.0 0 
4403 92 009 ---  Other    m3  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4403 99 -- Other:           
4403 99 500 -  -  -  Of birch           
4403 99 501 ----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 16 to 24  centimetres (veneer blocks. match blocks a nd A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 8.0 8.0 0 8.0 8.0 0 8.0 8.0 0 
4403 99 502 ----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 26  centimetres or more (veneer 
blocks. match blocks a nd A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 10.0 10.0 0 10.0 10.0 0 10.0 10.0 0 
4403 99 503 ----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 16 to 24  centimetres (except veneer blocks. match blocks  and A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 2.0 2.0 0 2.0 2.0 0 2.0 2.0 0 
4403 99 504 ----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 26  centimetres or more (except 
veneer blocks. match blocks  and A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 
4403 99 509 ----  Other  m3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7
 Page 57   Basic Rate 
(%) Most favoured nation 
(%) Free trade regime 
(%) 
CN code Description Supple-
mentary 
unit Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 
4403 99 990 ---  Other:           
4403 99 991 ----  of  other deciduous trees (soft):            
4403 99 992 -----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 16 to 24  centimetres (veneer blocks. match blocks a nd A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 8.0 8.0 0 8.0 8.0 0 8.0 8.0 0 
4403 99 993 -----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 26  centimetres or more (veneer blocks. match blocks a nd A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 10.0 10.0 0 10.0 10.0 0 10.0 10.0 0 
4403 99 994 -----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 16 to 24  centimetres (except veneer blocks. match blocks  and A-rate sawn logs) bl m3   2.0 2.0 0 2.0 2.0 0 2.0 2.0 0 
4403 99 995 -----  round timber with the length over 1.6 metres 
and the diameter 26  centimetres or more (except 
veneer blocks. match blocks  and A-rate sawn logs) bl m3 3.0 3.0 0 3.0 3.0 0 3.0  3.0 0 
4403 99 996 -----  Other m3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4403 99 998 ----  ash-tree. elm.  hornbeam. maple and other 
Latvia origin hard deciduous tree round timber with the length over 1 metre and the diameter over 
14 centimetres bl m3 25.0 25.0 0 25.0 25.0 0 25.0 25.0 0 
4403 99 999 ----  Other m3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Chapter 49 PRINTED BOOKS. NEWSPAPERS. PICTURES 
AND OTHER PRODUCTS OF THE PRINTING INDUSTRY; MANUSCRIPTS. TYPESCRIPTS AND PLANS           
4901 Printed books. brochures . leaflets and similar 
printed matter. whether or not in single sheets:           
4901 10 000 -   In single sheets. whether or not folded            WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 58    Basic Rate 
(%) Most favoured nation 
(%) Free trade regime 
(%) 
CN code Description Supple-
mentary 
unit Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 Since 
1 July 
1997  
1998  
1999 
4901 10 001 --  not older  than 50 years - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4901 10 002 --  published 50 to 100 years ago - 50 50 50 50 50 50 0 0 0 
4901 10 003 --  older than 100 years - 100 100 100 100 100 100 0  0 0 
 -  Other:           
4901 91 000 -   Dictionaries and encyclopedias. and serial 
instalments thereof           
4901 91 001 --  not older than 50 years - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4901 91 002 --  published 50 to 100 years ago - 50 50 50 50 50 50 0 0 0 
4901 91 003 --  older than 100 years - 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 
4901 99 000 --  Other:           
4901 99 001  - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
4901 99 002 ---  not older than 50 years - 50 50 50 50 50 50 0 0 0 
4901 99 003 ---  older than 100 years - 100 100 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 
Chapter 72
  IRON AND STEEL  0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 
7204 Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of 
iron or steel: - 100 100 0 100 100 0 100 100 0   WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7
 Page 59The Applicable  Code Description and Customs Tariffs after 1 July 1997  
 
 
CN  
code Description Supplement
ary unit Basic 
Rate 
(%) Most 
favoured 
nation (%) Free trade 
regime (%) 
1 2 3 5 6 7 
Chapter 97 WORKS OF ART, COLLECTORS' PIECES AND ANTIQUES     
9701 Paintings, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, other than 
drawings of heading No 4906|and othe r than hand-painted or hand-decorated 
manufactured articles; collages and similar decorative plaques:     
9701 10 000 -  Paintings, drawings and pastels     
9701 10 001 --  made in Latvia  and  older than 50 years  -  20 20 0 
9701 10 002 --  made in abroad and older than  100 years old  - 10 10 0 
9701 10 009 --  other  - 0 0 0 
9701 90 000 -  Other:     
9701 90 001 --  made in Latvia  and  older than 50 years  - 20 20  0 
9701 90 002 --  made in abroad and older than  100 years old  - 10 10 0 
9701 90 009 --  other  - 0 0 0 
9702 00 000 Original engravings, prints and lithographs     
9702 00 001 --  made in Latvia  and  older than 50 years  - 20 20 0 
9702 00 002 --  made in abroad and older than  100 years old  - 10 10 0 
9702 00 009 --  other  - 0 0 0 
9703 00 000 Original sculptures and statuary, in any material     
9703 00 001 --  made in Latvia  and  older than 50 years  - 20 20 0 
9703 00 002 --  made in abroad and older than  100 years old  - 10 10 0 
9703 00 009 --  other  - 0 0 0 
9706 00 000 Antiques of an age exceeding one hundred years -    
9706 00 001 -  made in Latvia - 20 20 0 
9706 00 002 -  made in abroad - 10 10 0 
Chapters  
01- 98 Goods and other articles not complying w ith the above mentioned codes  0 0 0 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 60  
 
APPENDIX 
 
ACCESSION OF LATVIA 
 
Draft Decision
 
The General Council, 
 Having regard  to the results of the negotiations di rected towards the establishment of the 
terms of accession of the Republic of Latvia to  the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization and having prepared a Protocol for the Accession of Latvia, 
 Decides , in accordance with Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization, that the Republic of Latvia may accede to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing 
the World Trade Organization on the terms set out in the said Protocol.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
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PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF LATVIA 
TO THE MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING  
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
 
Draft  
 
 
 The World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO"), pursuant to the 
approval of the General Council of the WTO accord ed under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization (hereina fter referred to as "WTO Agreement"), and the 
Republic of Latvia (hereinafter referred to as "Latvia"),  
 Taking note  of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of Latvia to the WTO in 
document WT/ACC/LVA/.... (hereinafter referred to as the "Working Party Report"), 
 Having regard  to the results of the negotiations on the accession of Latvia to the WTO, 
 Agree  as follows: 
Part I - General  
1. Upon entry into force of this Protocol, La tvia accedes to the WT O Agreement pursuant to 
Article XII of that Agreement and thereby becomes a Member of the WTO. 
2. The WTO Agreement to which Latvia accedes  shall be the WTO Agreement as rectified, 
amended or otherwise modified by such legal inst ruments as may have entered into force before the 
date of entry into force of this Protocol.  This Protocol, which shall include the commitments referred 
to in paragraph 131 of the Working Party Report, sh all be an integral part of the WTO Agreement. 
3. Except as otherwise provided for in the para graphs referred to in  paragraph 131 of the 
Working Party Report, those obligations in the Multilateral Trade Agreemen ts annexed to the WTO 
Agreement that are to be implemented over a period of  time starting with the entry into force of that 
Agreement shall be implemented by  Latvia as if it had accepted that Agreement on the date of its 
entry into force. 
4. Latvia may maintain a measure inconsistent  with paragraph 1 of Article II of the GATS 
provided that such a measure is recorded in the list of Article II Exemptions annexed to this Protocol 
and meets the conditions of the Annex to the GATS on Article II Exemptions. 
Part II - Schedules  
5. The Schedules annexed to this Protocol shall become the schedule of Concessions and 
Commitments annexed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred to WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
Page 62  
 
as the "GATT 1994") and the Schedule of Specific Commitments annexed to the General Agreement 
on Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "GATS") relating to Latvia.  The staging of 
concessions and commitments listed in the Schedu les shall be implemented as specified in the 
relevant parts of the respective Schedules. 
6. For the purpose of the reference in paragraph 6(a) of Article II of the GATT 1994 to the date 
of that Agreement, the applicable date in resp ect of the Schedules of Concessions and Commitments 
annexed to this Protocol shall be the date  of entry into force of this Protocol. 
Part III - Final Provisions
 
7. This Protocol shall be open for acceptance, by  signature or otherwise, by Latvia until 1 May 
1999. 
8. This Protocol shall enter in to force on the thirtieth day following the day of its acceptance. 
9. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Director-General of the WTO.  The Director-
General of the WTO shall promptly furnish a certifie d copy of this Protocol and a notification of 
acceptance thereto pursuant to paragraph 7 to each Member of the WTO and Latvia. 
10. This Protocol shall be registered in acco rdance with the provisions of Article 102 of the 
Charter of the United Nations. 
11. Done at Geneva this ... day of  .... one t housand nine hundred and ninety eight, in a single 
copy in the English, French and Spanish languages each text being authentic, except that a Schedule 
annexed hereto may specify that it is authen tic in only one or more of these languages.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7 
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ANNEX 
SCHEDULE  - REPUBLIC OF LATVIA 
Part I - Goods 
 
[Circulated in document WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7/Add.1] 
 
Part II - Services 
 
[Circulated in document WT/ACC/SPEC/LVA/7/Add.2] 
__________