G/L/1406  
 
15 October 2021  
(21-7861) Page: 1/5 
   
 
 
REPORT (2021) OF THE COMMITTEE ON IMPORT LICENSING  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
1. The Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (hereinafter "the Agreement") which entered 
into force on 1  January  1995, establishes disciplines on users of import licensing systems with the 
principal objective of ensuring that the procedures applied for granting import licences do not in 
themselves restrict trade. It aims to simplify, clarify and minimize the administrative requirements 
necessary to obtain import licences.  
2. The Committee on Import Licensing was established to afford Members the opportunity of 
consulting on any matter relating to the operation of the Agreement or the furtherance of its 
objectives. The Committee's Rules of Procedure, whi ch were approved by the Council for Trade in 
Goods, are contained in document  G/L/147.  
3. All Members of the WTO are ipso facto  members of the Committee. Observer governments in 
the General Council of the WTO have Observer status in the Committee. The Interna tional Monetary 
Fund, the World Bank and UNCTAD have regular observer status in the Committee.  
4. The focus of this report is on the period since the Committee's last annual report (G/L/1369), 
namely 10 October  2020 – 8 October  2021 (hereinafter "the reportin g period"). In 2021, the 
Committee held two formal meetings, on 21  April 2021 (G/LIC/M/52), under the chairpersonship of 
Ms Stephania Aquilina (Malta), and on 8 October 2021 (G/LIC/M/53  to be issued ), under the 
chairpersonship of Mr. Hsin -lung Hung (Chines e Taipei). Due to the COVID -19 pandemic and related 
restrictions of in -person activities, the Committee meeting of 21 April 2021 took place in virtual 
mode only, while the Committee meeting of 8 October 2021 took place in hybrid mode  with in -
person and rem ote attendance . The Committee also held one informal meeting,  which took place in 
hybrid mode,  on 20  September 2021, under the chairpersonship of Mr . Hsin-lung Hung 
(Chinese  Taipei). On  2 August  2021, through written procedures, the Committee elected 
Mr. Hsin-lung Hung (Chinese  Taipei) by acclamation as Chairperson of the Committee for 2021.1 
Pursuant to the Committee's Rules of Procedure, the officers shall hold office until the end of the 
first meeting of the following year.  
5. Pursuant to Articles  1.4(a) a nd/or 8.2(b) of the Agreement and procedures agreed by the 
Committee, all Members are required to notify their laws, regulations, and administrative procedures 
relevant to import licensing and to submit copies of any relevant publications or laws and regul ations 
upon becoming a WTO  Member. Any subsequent changes to these laws, regulations, and 
administrative procedures are also required to be published and notified. Pursuant to 
subparagraphs  1-4 of Article  5, Members are also required to notify the institut ion of new import 
licensing procedures or changes in these procedures to the Committee within 60  days of publication. 
To streamline notification procedures, a notification form, circulated in document  G/LIC/28, was 
adopted by the Committee, at its formal m eeting on 4  April 2019, to be used by Members on a 
voluntary basis for notifications under Article  5.1-5.4, Article  1.4(a), and Article  8.2(b) of the 
Agreement. These notifications can be found in document series  G/LIC/N/2 /-. 
6. During the reporting period, t he Committee reviewed 8 1 notifications under these 
three  provisions (Annex  I) from the following 16  Members: Argentina; Kingdom of Bahrain; Ecuador; 
 
1 Lorena Rivera (Colombia) was elected Vice -Chairperson of the Committee through written procedures 
by acclamation on 22 September.  G/L/1406  
 
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  European Union; Hong Kong, China; India; Israel; Republic of Korea; Macao, China; Myanmar; 
Philippines; Chi nese Taipei; Tonga; Ukraine; United Kingdom; and United States .2 
7. Article  5.5 of the Agreement allows Members to submit reverse notifications, where a Member 
considers that another Member has not notified the institution of a licensing procedure or changes  
in the procedures. However, no such reverse notifications have been received within the reporting 
period.  
8. Article  7.3 of the Agreement requires all Members to provide replies to the Questionnaire on 
Import Licensing Procedures3 by 30  September each year.  During the reporting period, the 
Committee reviewed 3 5 notifications (Annex  II) from the following 29 Members: Albania; Argentina; 
Australia; Botswana; Canada ; Colombia; European Union; Guatemala; Guinea; Honduras; Hong 
Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Israel; Kazakhstan; Republic of Korea; Macao, China; Malaysia; Mali; 
Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; Panama; Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Turkey; Ukraine; 
and United States .4 These notifications can be found in document series  G/LIC/N/3 /-. 
9. The Committee has provided a regular forum for exchanging views on notifications submitted 
by Members. Written comments and questions concerning notifications submitted to the Committee 
and/or on import licensing procedures maintained by Members, and r eplies thereto, may be found 
in the document series  G/LIC/Q/ -. During the review period, Australia posed questions to Indonesia 
(G/LIC/Q/IDN/44); Canada posed questions to India (G/LIC/Q/IND/28); the European Union posed 
questions to Egypt (G/LIC/Q/EGY/4 a nd G/LIC/Q/EGY/7), India (G/LIC/Q/IND/27), and Indonesia 
(G/LIC/Q/IDN/43); Japan posed questions to Indonesia (G/LIC/Q/IDN/45) and the United States 
posed follow -up questions to Argentina (G/LIC/Q/ARG/20), the Philippines (G/LIC/Q/PHL/4 and 
G/LIC/Q/PHL/6),  and Tanzania (G/LIC/Q/TZA/1). The following Members provided written responses 
to comments and questions: Argentina to the United States (G/LIC/Q/ARG/19 and 
G/LIC/Q/ARG/21); Brazil to the European Union (G/LIC/Q/BRA/26); Egypt to the European Union 
(G/LIC /Q/EGY/6  and G/LIC/Q/EGY/8)  and the United States (G/LIC/Q/EGY/5); Indonesia to Japan 
(G/LIC/Q/IDN/42); the Philippines to the United States (G/LIC/Q/PHL/5) and the United Kingdom to 
the Russian Federation (G/LIC/Q/GBR/1). At the Committee's meeting, Membe rs exchanged views 
on the issues raised.  
10. In addition, the following Members requested to include in the agenda specific issues regarding 
other Members' import licensing regimes and measures. At the Committee meeting(s) held during 
the review period, the European Union made an oral statement on Angola's import licensing 
requirements; on Egypt's import licensing requirements for certain agricultural and processed 
products and importation of ceramics; on India's importation of pneumatic tyres; and on Thailan d's 
importation of feed wheat. In addition, Japan and the European Union made oral statements on 
Indonesia's (i) import licensing regime for certain textiles products, (ii) compulsory registration by 
importers of steel products and (iii) import restriction  on air conditioners. The United States made 
oral statements on China's changes to import licensing for certain recoverable materials; on India's 
import licensing requirement for boric acid, and on Indonesia's import licensing regime for 
cellphones, handhe ld computers, and tablets. Indonesia made oral statements on India's import 
licensing regime on tyres and Sri Lanka's import ban on palm oil; and Australia made an oral 
statement on Indonesia's import licensing restricting policies and practices. Canada, A ustralia and 
the European Union made oral statements on India's quantitative restrictions on certain pulses. 
Members whose licensing measures had been questioned responded at the meeting and other 
interested Members also made comments.  
11. At the informal meet ing held on 20  September  2021, the Chairperson sought Members' views 
on introducing an e -agenda for the Committee, on online notifications via the Website and on 
improving and updating the Article 7.3 notification format. The Secretariat made presentations  to 
 
2 New notifications under Article 5.1 -5.4 were received from the European Union (G/LIC/N/2/EU/15 and 
G/LIC /N/2/EU/16) after the agenda for the 8 October meeting had closed. These notifications will be reviewed 
at the Committee's next meeting.  
3 Annexed to document  G/LIC/3.  
4 New notifications under Article 7.3 were received from  Cuba ( G/LIC/N/3/CUB/11 ), Hong K ong, China 
(G/LIC/N/3/HKG/25), Switzerland ( G/LIC/N/3/CHE/17 ) and the United Kingdom (G/LIC/N/3/GBR/1) after the 
agenda for the 8 October meeting had closed. These notifications will be reviewed at the Committee's next 
meeting.  G/L/1406  
 
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  Members on the Import Licensing Website, on an e -learning course on Import Licensing Procedures, 
on possible online notifications via the Import Licensing Website and on the e -agenda.  
12. Due to the COVID -19 pandemic, no on -the-ground technical assistance  activities had been 
held since March  2020. Nevertheless, from October  2020 to October  2021, the Secretariat organized 
and participated to several virtual activities focusing on import licensing issues. On -line 
presentations and interactive workshops were delivered to government officials as part of the 
e-RTPCs for: (1)  Arab and Middle Eastern Members and Observes  (in English) ; (2) Latin American 
Members (in Spanish); (3) English Speaking African Members  (in English) . After a pause in 2020, 
due to the COVID -19 pandemic, the Secretariat resumed its annual workshop on Import Licensing 
Notifications for Government Officials from WTO Members and Acceding Governments eligible for 
technical cooperation activities  (in English). This activity  was held  on the Zoom pl atform and  for the 
first time in virtual mode on 4 to 6 October 2021.  
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 G/L/1406  
 
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  ANNEX I: NOTIFICATIONS REVIEWED DURING THE REPORT PERIOD PURSUANT TO 
ARTICLE 1.4(A) AND/OR 8.2(B), ARTICLE 5.1 -5.4 OF THE AGREEMENT1
 
FROM 10 OCTOBER  2020 TO 8  OCTOBER  2021  
MEMBER  DOCUMENT  DATE OF ISSUANCE OF THE 
DOCUMENT  
Argentina  G/LIC/N/2/ARG/28/Add.8  
G/LIC/N/2/ARG/28/Add.9  
G/LIC/N/2/ARG/28/Add.10  10/11/2020  
29/04/2021  
28/09/2021  
Kingdom of Bahrain  G/LIC/N/2/BHR/1 -4 
G/LIC/N/2/BHR /4/Corr.1  
G/LIC/N/2/BHR/5 -14 16/02/2021  
25/02/2021  
16/02/2021  
Ecuador  G/LIC/N/2/ECU/1  25/03/2021  
European Union  G/LIC/N/2/EU/14  03/02/2021  
Hong Kong, China  G/LIC/N/2/HKG/17  29/04/2021  
India G/LIC/N/2/IND/12 -17 28/05/2021  
Israel  G/LIC/N/2/ISR/5  25/03/2021  
Republic of Korea  G/LIC/N/2/KOR/24 -41 27/10/2020  
Macao, China  G/LIC/N/2/MAC/2  
G/LIC/N/2/MAC/3  21/01/2021  
17/09/2021  
Myanmar  G/LIC/N /2/MMR/3  04/02/2021  
Philippines  G/LIC/N/2/PHL/140  25/02/2021  
Chinese Taipei  G/LIC/N/2/TPKM/14 -17 11/02/2021  
Tonga  G/LIC/N/2/TON/1 -4 
G/LIC/N/2/TON/5 -8 03/08/2021  
24/08/2021  
Ukraine  G/LIC/N/2/UKR/10  
G/LIC/N/2/UKR/11 -13 28/01/2021  
25/03/2021  
United Kingdom  G/LIC/N/1/GBR/1  
G/LIC/N/1/GBR/1/Add.1  
G/LIC/N/2/GBR/1 -2 
G/LIC/N/2/GBR/3 -8 
G/LIC/N/2/GBR /8/Corr.1  
G/LIC/N/2/GBR/9 -11 
G/LIC/N/2/GBR/12  18/02/2021  
28/09/2021  
18/02/2021  
24/02/2021  
28/09/2021  
24/02/2021  
28/09/2021  
United States  G/LIC/N/2/USA/4  
G/LIC/N/2/USA/5  25/02/2021  
03/08/2021  
 
1 New notifications under Ar ticle 5.1 -5.4 were received from the European Union (G/LIC/N/2/EU/15 and 
G/LIC/N/2/EU/16) after the agenda for the 8 October meeting had closed. These notifications will be reviewed 
at the Committee's next meeting.  G/L/1406  
 
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  ANNEX  II: NOTIFICATIONS REVIEWED DURING THE REPORT PERIOD  
PURSUANT TO ARTICLE  7.3 OF THE AGREEMENT1 
FROM 10 OCTOBER  2020 TO 8  OCTOBER  2021  
MEMBER  DOCUMENT  
(YEAR NOTIFIED FOR)  DATE OF ISSUANCE 
OF THE DOCUMENT  
Albania  G/LIC/N/3/ALB/10  2020 20/11/2020  
Argentina  G/LIC/N/3/ARG/16  
G/LIC/N/3/ARG/17  2020 
2021 10/02/2021  
28/09/2021  
Australia  G/LIC /N/3/AUS/13  
G/LIC/N/3/AUS/14  2020 
2021 22/10/2020  
28/09/2021  
Botswana  G/LIC/N/3/BWA /1 2021 06/07/2021  
Canada  G/LIC/N/3/CAN/20  2021 28/09/2021  
Colombia  G/LIC/N/3/COL/14  2020/ 2021 04/02/2021  
European Union  G/LIC/N/3/EU/10  2021 17/09/2021  
Guatemala  G/LIC/N/3/GTM/5  2021 27/04/2021  
Guinea  G/LIC/N/3/GIN/1  2021 25/03/2021  
Honduras  G/LIC/N/3/HND/11  
G/LIC/N/3/HND/12  2020 
2021 20/10/2020  
27/04/2021  
Hong Kong, China  G/LIC/N/3/HKG/24  2020 19/10/2020  
India G/LIC/N/3/IND/20  2020 28/05/2021  
Indonesia  G/LIC/N/3/IDN/12  2020 20/10/2020  
Israel  G/LIC/N/3/ISR/5  2021 25/03/2021  
Kazakhstan  G/LIC/N/3/KAZ/5  2020 19/10/2020  
Republic of Korea  G/LIC/N/3/KOR/13  2020 02/12/2020  
Macao, China  G/LIC/N/3/MAC/24  2021 17/09/2021  
Malaysia  G/LIC /N/3/MYS/15  2020 28/01/2021  
Mali G/LIC/N/3/MLI/10  2021 08/04/2021  
Mexico  G/LIC/N/3/MEX/7  2020/ 2021 02/06/2021  
New Zealand  G/LIC/N/3/NZL/7  2021 16/02/2021  
Norway  G/LIC/N/3/NOR/10  2021 27/04/2021  
Panama  G/LIC/N/3/PAN/12  2021 27/05/2021  
Philippines  G/LIC/N/3/PHL/13/Corr.1  
G/LIC/N/3/PHL/14  2019 
2020/2021  23/11/2020  
06/10/2021  
Singapore  G/LIC/N/3/SGP/16  2020 28/01/2021  
Chinese Taipei  G/LIC/N/3/TPKM/10/Corr.1  
G/LIC/N/3/TPKM/11  
G/LIC/N/3/TPKM/12  
G/LIC/N/3/TPKM/12/Corr.1  2019 
2020 
2021 
2021 20/10/2020  
11/02/2021  
17/09/2021  
28/09/2021  
Turkey  G/LIC/N/3/TUR/17  2020 05/01/2021  
Ukraine  G/LIC/N/3/UKR/13  
G/LIC/N/3/UKR/14  2020 
2021 25/03/2021  
28/09/2021  
United States  G/LIC/N/3/USA/17  
G/LIC/N/3/USA/18  2020 
2021 14/12/2020  
05/10/2021  
 
_________  
 
 
1 New notifications under Article 7.3 were received from  Cuba ( G/LIC/N/3/CUB/11 ), Hong Kong, China 
(G/LIC/N/3/HKG/25), Switzerland ( G/LIC/N/3/CHE/17 ) and the United Kingdom (G/LIC/N/3/GBR/1) after the 
agenda for the 8 October meeting had closed. These notifications will be reviewed at the Committ ee's next 
meeting.