G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
17 May 2024  
(24-3868) Page: 1/39 
Committee on Agriculture   
 
TARIFF QUOTAS: ADMINISTRATION METHODS, FILL RATES  
AND NOTIFICATION PRACTICES  
2015 -2023  
BACKGROUND PAPER BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
Revision  
1.1.  At the Ninth Session of the Ministerial Conference, Ministers adopted the Decision on 
"Understanding on Tariff Rate Quota Administration Provisions of Agricultural Products, as defined 
in Article  2 of the Agreement on Agriculture" ( WT/MIN(13)/39 -WT/L/914 ), hereafter referred to as 
the "Bali Decision". Paragraph 13 of the Bali Decision m andated a review of the operation of this 
Decision no later than four years following its adoption. The Review discussions commenced at the 
October 2017 meeting of the Committee.2 After two years of detailed deliberations, the Committee 
adopted the report3 of the Review and the associated recommendations at its 31  October  2019 
meeting, for transmission to the General Council. The General Council considered the report at its 
December  2019 meeting and approved the recommendations contained in Annex  2 theret o.4 The 
agreed recommendations contain several measures and processes aimed at enhancing transparency 
and improving TRQ notification practices.  
1.2.  The original background paper on "Tariff quota Administration Methods and Fill 
rates,  2007-2016" in G/AG/W/183  of 31 July 2018 was prepared by the Secretariat in order to 
facilitate the Review discussions. The agreed recommendations5 of the Review require the 
Secretariat to 'regularly update the information on tariff quota administration and fill rates as 
included i n the G/AG/W/183  as well as the updated information on which Members have notified fill 
rates and on questions raised in the Committee concerning fill rates' . The agreed recommendations 
also require this Secretariat background note to include 'a list of TRQs where no Table  MA:2 
notification has been submitted or where the fill rate is below 65% ' as well as 'a list of existing TRQ 
notification practices of Members including in cases where a scheduled TRQ was not opened' . 
1.3.  Paragraph 3 of the agreed recommendation s of the 2017 -19 Review provided for the 
Committee to undertake regular triennial reviews of the operation of the Bali Decision. The 
Committee concluded the first such triennial review at its meeting on 27 -28 June 2023.6 During the 
first triennial review, the Committee emphasized the 'importance of timeliness and completeness of 
MA:1 And MA:2 notifications and the need to implement the recommendations of the 2019 review 
exercise as contained in Annex 2 to G/AG/29 '.7 The Committe e also encouraged Members 
implementing country -specific TRQ allocations, as inscribed in the schedule, to present imports data 
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility in response to the request 
from Members in the context of the review of the operation of the Bali Decision on TRQ administration and is 
without prejudice to the positions of Members  or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 Section 2.2.1 of G/AG/R/86  refers.  
3 G/AG/29  refers.  
4 Paragraphs 3.1 to 3.7 of WT/GC/M/181  refer.  On the mandated issue of the future operation of 
paragraph  4 of the underfill mechanism, Members had not reached an agreement during the 2017 -19 Review. A 
decision on this outstanding issue  was adopted later by the General Council on 31 March 2022 ( WT/L/1132  
refers) based on the recommendations approved by the Committee on Agriculture in G/AG/32/Add.1 . 
5 Paragraph 2 of Annex 2 to G/AG/29  refers.  
6 Report of review in G/AG/36 . 
7 Paragraph 3.1 c) of G/AG/36 . G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  in their annual MA:2 notifications disaggregated by quota -holder supplying countries, along with 
total in -quota imports.8 
1.4.  The re vised paper updates the information contained in the previous version of the background 
paper in G/AG/W/183/Rev.2  dated 7  September 2022, while also taking into account the discussions 
in the Committee on the follow -up of the Bali Decision, inclu ding during the first triennial review. 
The revision updates : i) the list of all TRQs where the fill rate during the covered period remained 
below 65% ; ii) the section that presents information on Members' TRQ notification practices including 
in cases wher e a scheduled TRQ was not opened ; and iii) the tabular summary of questions raised 
in the Committee after the adoption of the Bali Decision concerning TRQ fill rates included in a 
separate annex  to this paper . The revision includes a new attachment (number  3) on Members' MA:1 
notifications issued since 1995, showing their composition in terms of the reported TRQs, along with 
associated administration arrangements and subsequent changes thereto. The information in the 
revised note covers the period from 2015  to 2023. As in the original background paper and its first 
two revisions, the information in this revised paper  has been compiled mainly from Members' 
Schedules9, Tables MA:1 and MA:2 notifications and the record of the discussions in the Committee 
on Agriculture.   
1.5.  The revised paper is organized as follows: section two describes the core data on scheduled 
agricultural tariff quotas. The third section defines the various tariff quota administration categories 
and identifies those tariff quotas that were not opened during the period under review. Section four 
summarizes i nformation on tariff quota imports, administration methods as well as country -specific 
quota allocations and fill rates. Section five provides information on Members' notification of fill rates 
and their practices regarding Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) notifica tions, particularly in cases where a 
scheduled tariff quota was not opened. It also covers details of Members' notification practices 
regarding TRQ administration arrangements. Annex A presents the simple average fill rates by 
Member and by administration method for the period 2015 -2023. A list of questions concerning 
TRQ fill rates raised in Committee meetings for the period following the adoption of the Bali Decision 
is contained in Annex B. Annex  C incorporates specific technical notes, organized by Memb er and 
tariff quota identifier  (TQ ID). 
1.6.   Three Attachments (available separately, with the first two in Excel format and the third in 
Word format, as addenda to this document) provide respectively: (i) the yearly data for notified 
in-quota imports, adminis tration methods and fill rates disaggregated at the tariff quota level, (ii) a 
list of all tariff quotas where the fill rate is below  65%,10 one of the thresholds to be satisfied in order 
to trigger the initiation of the underfill mechanism forming part of  the Bali Decision, and (iii)  the 
record of Members' MA:1 notifications issued since 1995, along with the ir coverage of scheduled 
TRQs and the associated administration arrangements, as well as any reported changes  to 
administration arrangements of TRQs over time. This third attachment is organized for all individual 
Members subject to scheduled TRQ commitments . It provides information on when and in which 
Table MA:1 notification the information on administration arrangement was notified for different 
tariff quotas  in the schedule . Additionally, the attachment includes details of the latest administration 
arrangement for those TRQs, as notified by Members in their MA:1, and in some cases MA:2, 
notifications.  
2  DATA  
2.1.  This paper presents data on scheduled agricu ltural tariff quotas over a recent nine -year period, 
i.e. from 2015 to 2023. Each tariff quota is characterized by the scheduled commitment, the notified 
annual in -quota imports and the notified administration method. The tariff quotas set out in Part  I, 
Section I -B of Members' Schedules (or, in the case of Brazil and the United States of America, Part  I, 
Section I -A) are used as main points of reference.  
2.2.  Table 1 presents the total number of agriculture tariff quotas included in Members' Schedules 
organized  by year and by Member, except where zero tariff quota quantity levels were scheduled11. 
 
8 Paragraph 3.1 d) of G/AG/36 . 
9 Sourced from the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database.  
10 There is no implication that elements of tariff quota administration are necessarily responsible for lower 
fill rates.  
11 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of (VENQ028), Mo rocco (MARQ011, MARQ013 and MARQ014) and the 
Russian Federation (RUSQ008).  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  Similarly, tariff quotas that are explicitly indicated to have been eliminated in a Schedule are not 
counted in the totals  from the year they are eliminated . 12 In the  case of the European Union (EU), 
the certified EU -25 Schedule is contained in WT/LET/1220 , effective as of 1 December 2016. For 
reporting years 2015 to 2020, the EU's Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications include modified tariff 
quota quantities as well as additional tariff quotas resulting from negotiations under GATT 
Articles  XXIV:6 and  XXVIII, pertaining to the accession of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania to the EU. 
Accordingly, the revised note for these years uses the draft EU -28 Schedule13 as the point of 
reference. The United Kingdom (UK) ceased to be a member State of the European Un ion on 
1 February  2020. Following the end of the transition period under the EU -UK Withdrawal Agreement, 
the information in the note for the period starting 1 January 2021 concerning the European Union 
covers its current 27 member States and the United Kin gdom is treated separately. Finally, in the 
paper, "Switzerland" refers to "Switzerland -Liechtenstein".  
Table 1: Total number of scheduled tariff quotas by Member, 2015 -2023  
MEMBER  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
1. Australia  2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
2. Barbados  36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 
3. Brazil  2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
4. Canada  22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 
5. Chile 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
6. China  7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 
7. Colombia  67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 
8. Costa Rica  27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 
9. Dominican Republic  8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 
10. Ecuador  14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 
11. El Salvador  11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 
12. European Union  124 124 124 124 124 124 124 124 124 
13. Guatemala  22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 
14. Iceland  90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 
15. India 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 
16. Indonesia  2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
17. Israel  12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 
18. Japan  20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 
19. Kazakhstan14  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
20. Korea, Republic of  63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 
21. Malaysia  19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 
22. Mexico  11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 
23. Moldova, Republic of  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
24. Morocco  16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 
25. New Zealand  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
26. Nicaragua  9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 
27. North Macedonia  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
28. Norway  232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 
29. Panama  18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 
30. Philippines  14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 
31. Russian Federation  8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 
32. South Africa  53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 
33. Switzerland15 28 28 28 26 26 26 26 26 26 
34. Chinese Taipei  17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 
35. Thailand  23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 
 
12 China (CHNQ005, CHNQ006 and CHNQ007), Korea (KORQ005, KORQ006, KORQ060), Panama 
(PANQ016) , the Russian Federation (RUSQ003, RUSQ004) , and Chinese Taipei (CHTQ001, CHTQ002, CHTQ003 , 
CHTQ004, CHTQ019) .  
13 G/MA /TAR/RS/506 . This is without prejudice to the pending certification of the draft schedule as well 
as the ongoing negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 . 
14 WTO Membership on 30 November 2015.  
15 Three wine TRQs (numbering 23 -25) have been merged into a single TRQ effective 24 January 2018 
(WT/LET/1333  refers).  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  MEMBER  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
36. Tunisia  13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 
37. Ukraine  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
38. United Kingdom16       88 88 88 
39. United States of America  54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 
40. Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of  61 61 61 61 61 61 61 61 61 
41. Viet Nam  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
Total Number of Scheduled 
Tariff Quotas  1121 1124 1124 1122 1122 1120 1208 1208 1208 
 
2.3.  Data on tariff quota administration methods and in -quota imports reflect information notified 
by Members in their Tables MA:1 and MA:2 notifications circulated as of 30 April 2024 . Members 
provide details on administration methods primarily through Table M A:1 notifications. However, 
Table MA:2 notifications are also used by Members to report on tariff quota administration, especially 
in cases where a tariff quota is not opened and rather a tariff is generally applied at or below the 
level of bound in -quota tariff in the relevant reporting year. The information provided by Members 
during the Committee's review process has also been considered, as appropriate.  
2.4.  Throughout the paper (including in tables, annexes and attachments), a blank has been used 
to signify  "not available", or "not applicable", i.e. (i) no notification was submitted by the cut -off 
date; or (ii) in -quota imports were not notified (e.g. when imports were permitted under a 
generally -applied MFN tariff at or below the bound in -quota rate); or (i ii) the data relating to a tariff 
quota was aggregated with that of another tariff quota (see Technical Notes in Annex C); (iv) the 
country concerned was not a Member in the relevant period; or, (v) in the case of the 
United  Kingdom, for the period until 3 1 December  2020, agriculture notifications by the 
European  Union also include information in respect of the United Kingdom.   
3  METHOD  
3.1.  In order to enable comparison across various administration methods, the Secretariat coded 
each tariff quota by category of administration method. The categories used in this paper have been 
the basis of earlier background papers by the Secretariat.17 The Secretariat originally derived these 
categories of principal administration methods and categories of additional conditions following an 
examination of Members' Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications and the summary reports of Committee 
meetings.  
3.2.  In line with past practice, a two -step process is used to categorize administration methods. 
First, the information reported in Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications and the record of the discussions 
in the Committee were used to categorise each tariff quota according  to the descriptions of principal 
administration methods set out in Table 2 below. As a second step, the Secretariat analysed the 
information to determine if the administration of the tariff quota included any of the additional 
conditions or elements as se t out in Table 3. The assigned administration methods and additional 
conditions should generally be considered as indicative and may not perfectly match the description 
of the category concerned. In situations where Members did not provide new information on 
administration methods, it was assumed that their tariff quota administration methods remained 
unchanged.  
 
16 The number of scheduled tariff quotas is based on the United Kingdom's draft schedule in 
G/MA/TAR/RS/570  (including Add.1  and Add.2 ). This is without prejudice to the pending certification of the 
draft goods schedule of the United Kingdom as well as the ongoing negotiations under Article XXVIII of the 
GATT 1994 ( WT/GC/226  also refers).  
17 See, for example, G/AG/NG/S/8/Rev.1 , TN/AG/S/22 , TN/AG/S/26/Rev.1 , G/AG/W/183  
(and G/AG/W/183/Rev.1  and G/AG/W/183/Rev.2 ). G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  Table 2: Categories of Principal Tariff Quota Administration Methods  
CODE  DESCRIPTION  
AT Applied Tariffs : Tariff quota is not opened. No shares are allocated to importers. An applied MFN 
tariff equal to or below the bound in -quota tariff rate is maintained for the concerned product. 
Imports of the product concerned are allowed into the territory of the Member at that tariff without 
any quan titative limit.  
AU Auctioning : Importers' shares are allocated, or licences issued, largely on the basis of an auctioning 
or competitive bid system.  
FC First-Come, First -Served (at the border) : No allocation of licences or of access to quota to 
importers. Imports are permitted entry at the in -quota tariff rates until such a time as the tariff quota 
is filled, then the higher out -of-quota tariff automatically applies. The physical importation of the 
good determines the order and hence the applicab le tariff.  
HI Historical Importers : Importers' shares are allocated, or licences issued, principally in relation to 
past imports of the product concerned.  
LD Licences on Demand : Importers' shares are generally allocated, or licences issued, in relation t o 
quantities demanded and often prior to the commencement of the period during which the physical 
importation is to take place. This includes methods involving licences issued on a first -come, first 
served basis and those systems where licence requests are  reduced pro rata where they exceed 
available quantities.  
MX Mixed Allocation Methods : Administration methods involving a combination of the methods as set 
out above with no one method being dominant.  
NS Non-Specified : No administration method has been notified.  
OT Other : Administration methods that do not clearly fall within any other category.  
PG Producer Groups or Associations : Import shares are allocated entirely or mainly to a producer 
group or association that imports (or has direct control of imports undertaken by the relevant 
Member  of) the product concerned.  
ST Imports Undertaken by State Trading Entities : Import shares are allocated entirely or mainly 
to a state trading entity which imports  (or has direct control of imports undertaken by intermediaries  
of) the product concerned.  
 
3.3.  This paper uses the additional conditions categories used in Secretariat's previous tariff quota 
administration papers in order to maintain consistency. The additional conditions or elements 
outlined in Table  3 below relate, inter alia , to the eligibility requirements that must be met by 
importers to apply for tariff quota shares under the relevant principal allocation methods set out in 
Table  2. For example, the category "Past Trading Performance" refers to the situation where licences 
are issued on demand  and only traditional importers of the products concerned are eligible to apply 
for licences. The paper also monitors the application of other conditions that must be met by the 
applicants in order to be eligible for an import licence. For example, the cat egory "Export Certificate" 
refers to situations where the exporting country must submit a certificate of origin in order to be 
able to secure a share of the tariff quota. This list of additional conditions is not exhaustive, nor is it 
suggested that the ad ditional conditions necessarily impede trade or tariff quota fill. The additional 
condition column in Attachment  1 has been left blank where the listed categories of additional 
conditions are not applicable. This includes tariff quotas where administration  methods are not 
identified as including additional conditions, as well as tariff quotas with additional conditions that 
are not listed in Table  3. More than one additional condition may also apply to a particular tariff 
quota. In this case, the code is a combination of the letter codes contained in Table  3. 
Table 3: Categories of Additional Conditions linked to the Administration of Tariff Quotas  
CODE  DESCRIPTION  
d Domestic Purchase Requirement : An additional condition requiring the purchase or absorption of 
domestic production of the product concerned in order to be eligible to secure a share of the tariff 
quota.  
h Past Trading Performance : An additional condition limiting eligibility to secure a share of the tariff 
quota to established importers of the product concerned although allocations are not made in 
proportion to past trade shares.  
l Limits on Tariff Quota Shares per Allocation : An additional condition involving the specification 
of a maximum share or quantity of the tariff quota for each importer or shipment.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  CODE  DESCRIPTION  
x Export Certificates : An additional condition requiring the submission of an export certificate, 
certificate of authenticity, certificate of origin, or any kind of export documentation issued by the 
exporting country concerned in order to be eligible to secure a share of the tariff quota.  
  Blank: None of the additional conditions, listed above, were identified.  
 
3.1  TARIFF QUOTAS SUBJECT TO "APPLIED TARIFFS" (AT)  
3.4.  There are a number of scheduled tariff quotas that are not opened annually. These tariff quotas 
are identified by the principal administration method of "applied tariffs" ("AT") as per the 
classification in Table 2. For these TRQs, the applied MFN tariff on the concerned product (i.e. all 
tariff lines comprising a tariff quota) is equal to or below the corresponding bound in -quota tariff.  
3.5.  In numerous instances, this situation arises by virtue of scheduled ta riff commitment levels, 
i.e., where at the end of the implementation period, the bound out -of-quota tariff specified in 
Section  IA of the concerned Member's Schedule for all tariff lines comprising a tariff quota is equal 
to or below the corresponding boun d in-quota tariff in Section IB of the Schedule. In such cases, the 
bound in -quota tariff on the relevant tariff quota products may not provide any tariff advantage over 
the corresponding MFN applied out-of-quota tariff (as the latter cannot exceed the bou nd tariff on 
the product), hence generally obviating the need to open those tariff quotas. Attachment  2 to 
G/AG/W/183  contained an extract of all scheduled tariff quotas where the bound in -quota tariff 
either equals or exceeds the corresponding bound out -of-quota tariff. Below is a count of scheduled 
TRQs organized by Member, where the corresponding tariff binding levels imply that those TRQs no 
longer provide a tariff advantage.  
Table 4: Count of Scheduled Tariff Quotas with no Tariff Advantage (Derived from  
Attachment 2 to G/AG/W/183 ) 
MEMBER  NUMBER OF TARIFF QUOTAS  
WITH NO TARIFF ADVANTAGE  
Barbados  33 
Colombia  57 
Costa Rica  15 
El Salvador  1 
European Union18 2 
Iceland  14 
Korea, Republic of  4 
Morocco  10 
Nicaragua  1 
Norway  211 
Philippines  9 
United States of America  1 
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of  2 
Total  360 
 
3.6.  In some  cases, although the bound in -quota tariff on a product is below the corresponding 
bound out -of-quota tariff, a Member may choose to apply an MFN tariff on that product in a given 
implementation year , equal to or lower than the  bound in -quota tariff. In such instances,  a two -tier 
tariff under the tariff quota system may not be administered . Instead,  the tariff quota commitment 
is fulfilled through  an 'applied tariff' regime, providing  market access opportunit ies at an MFN applied 
tariff equal to or below the bound in -quota tari ff, without any quantitative limit on permissible 
imports. Unlike the tariff quotas identified in Table 4 above, these tariff quotas may not be deemed 
as non -operational by virtue of the Scheduled commitments (as bound in -quota tariffs for some or 
all of t he tariff lines comprising a tariff quota remain below the corresponding bound out -of-quota 
tariffs). Here, the applied tariff on the concerned product may be raised to levels higher than the 
corresponding bound in -quota tariff which would necessitate the opening of the tariff quota to fulfil 
the tariff quota commitment.  
 
18 The TRQ on 'husked (brown) rice' (number 67 in the EU -25 Schedule) in Attachment 2 to G/AG/W/183  
no longer fo rms part of the draft EU -28 Schedule; the TRQ does not contribute to the count in column  2. G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  3.7.  Table 5 includes the total number of opened tariff quotas organized by year and Member based 
on their MA:2 notifications.19 For each Member, these annual numbers have been derived by 
subtracting the number of tariff quotas that are notified as being subject to "AT" in the relevant 
notified year from the respective scheduled total20 number of tariff quotas. Comparing the count of 
scheduled and annually opened tariff quotas in Tables 1 and 5 reveals that more than half of the 
tariff quotas in Members' schedules remain unopened. Members employ various import 
arrangements including licensing requirements to administer the opened tariff quotas. Attachment  1 
includes details regarding those admini stration methods (as well as fill rates) which are analysed 
further in Section 4. In the absence of Table  MA:2 notifications for the relevant year(s), the table 
below shows the corresponding cell(s) for the concerned Member as blank. The number of schedule d 
tariff quotas notified as being subject to the applied tariff ("AT") method has generally remained 
unchanged during the period of 2015 -2023; the decreasing total number of open tariff quotas in 
Table 5 below is mainly resulting from outstanding MA:2 noti fications in later years.  
3.8.  Since the launch of the on -line Agriculture Notification System, Members have increasingly 
utilized the 'not opened' box in their Table MA:1/MA:2 notifications to  denote TRQs that remain 
unopened (i.e., subject to the "applied ta riffs" ("AT") principal administration method). For more 
details, please see section  5.3.4.  
Table 5: Total number of opened TRQs by year and Member, 2015 -2023  
MEMBER  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
1. Australia  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  
2. Barbados21          
3. Brazil  0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1  
4. Canada  22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22  
5. Chile 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  
6. China  7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7  
7. Colombia  0 0 0 0 0 0    
8. Costa Rica  8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8  
9. Dominican Republic  8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 
10. Ecuador  14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14  
11. El Salvador  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  
12. European Union  124 124 124 124 123 123 123 123  
13. Guatemala  2 2 3 3 3 3    
14. Iceland  24 12 12 12 12 12 12 12  
15. India 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2  
16. Indonesia  0 0 0 0      
17. Israel  10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10  
18. Japan  20 20 18 18 18 18 18 18  
19. Kazakhstan   3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
20. Korea, Republic of  63 62 62 62 63 63 63 63 63 
21. Malaysia  11 11 11 11      
22. Mexico  1 1 1 1 1 1    
23. Moldova, Republic of  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3  
24. Morocco  4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4  
25. New Zealand  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
26. Nicaragua  2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
27. North Macedonia  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
28. Norway  21 22 22 21 21 22 22 22  
29. Panama  18 18 18 17 17 18 18 18  
30. Philippines  14 14 14 14 14 14 14   
31. Russian Federation  8 8 8 8 8 6    
32. South Africa  24 24 23 25 25 25    
33. Switzerland  28 28 28 26 26 26 26 26  
 
19 This count is based on the data in Attachment 1.  
20 As included in Table 1.  
21 No Table MA:2 notifications were received for the period under review.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  MEMBER  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
34. Chinese Taipei  16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 
35. Thailand  23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23  
36. Tunisia  13 10 10       
37. Ukraine  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
38. United Kingdom22       87 80 80 
39. United States of America  43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43  
40. Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of   17 16       
41. Viet Nam  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3  
Total Number of open Tariff 
Quotas  541 546 543 514 504 504 556 534 174 
 
4  OVERVIEW OF TARIFF QUOTA DATA (2015 -2023)  
4.1.  This section summarises the information supplied on tariff quota administration methods, in -
quota imports, and fill rates. Attachment 1 includes consolidated information in respect of tariff 
quota administration, including additional conditions and country -specific quota allocations, where 
relevant, and fill -rates reported by Member and by tariff quota for the period 2015 to 2023.  
4.2.  Annual fill rates are calculated from the data provided in Table MA:2 notifications as the ratio 
of in-quota imports to tariff quot a quantity commitment level for the year concerned. The fill rates 
are included only in those cases where a tariff quota  is opened. In this paper, the fill rates are 
adjusted for cases where notified imports are greater than scheduled tariff quota quantiti es by 
setting a maximum of 100% tariff quota fill. In some cases where notified in -quota imports are 
aggregated for more than one tariff quota, fill rates are calculated based on the aggregated 
scheduled tariff quota quantities.  
4.1  TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION  SUMMARY STATISTICS  
4.3.  Table 6 below provides summary information on the principal methods of tariff quota 
administration. Between 2015 and 2023, most tariff quotas were reported to be subject to the 
"applied tariffs" method. "Licences on demand" and "first -come first -served" are the second and 
third most widely used means of administering tariff quotas, respectively. Due to the number of 
outstanding Table MA:2 notifications, the table below reflects a declining number of reported 
administration methods toward s the later years.23  
Table 6: Number of Tariff Quotas by Principal Administration Method, 2015 -2023  
ADMINISTRATION METHOD  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
Applied Tariffs  472 531 534 487 476 474 351 359 18 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  42.1 47.2 47.5 43.4 42.4 42.3 29.1 29.7 1.5 
First-Come, First -Served  99 99 99 99 99 99 160 154 41 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  8.8 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.8 13.2 12.7 3.4 
Licences On Demand  205 204 203 203 192 192 199 197 77 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  18.3 18.1 18.1 18.1 17.1 17.1 16.5 16.3 6.4 
Auctioning  75 63 63 65 65 66 64 64 15 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  6.7 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.3 5.3 1.2 
Historical Importers  71 71 71 58 59 57 42 29 17 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  6.3 6.3 6.3 5.2 5.3 5.1 3.5 2.4 1.4 
Imports Undertaken By State Trading Entities  13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 2 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.2 
Producer Groups Or Associations  5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4  
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3  
Other  9 9 7 5 5 5 5 5  
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4  
 
22 Until 2020, the agriculture notifications by the European Union include information in respect of the 
United Kingdom .  
23 Table MA:2 notification for the implementation year 202 3 may not necessarily be due for a Member by 
the cut -off date of the background document depending on the quota "year" followed by it.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  ADMINISTRATION METHOD  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
Mixed Allocation Methods  64 82 81 64 64 64 68 68 22 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas  5.7 7.3 7.2 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.6 1.8 
Non-Specified    2 5 5 6 3 3  
% of total scheduled tariff quotas    0.2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.2  
Total Number of Scheduled Tariff Quotas  1121 1124 1124 1122 1122 1120 1208 1208 1208 
 
4.4.  Table 7 below provides details on the distribution of the additional conditions associated with 
tariff quota administration. Most tariff quotas do not have any of the additional conditions identified 
in Table 3 associated with their principal administratio n method . As in Table  6, a lack of 
Table  MA:2 notifications may have impacted the figures especially towards the later years.  
Table 7: Number of Tariff Quotas with Additional Conditions in Connection with Principal 
Administration Methods, 2015 -2023  
ADDITIO NAL CONDITION  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
Domestic Purchase Requirement  9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 0 
Limits On Tariff Quota Shares Per Allocation  37 37 37 36 36 36 25 24 0 
Export Certificates  49 49 49 48 47 47 77 76 31 
Past Trading Performance  67 67 66 64 64 64 84 82 41 
Total Number of Tariff Quotas with Additional 
Conditions24 117 117 115 112 111 111 134 131 49 
Number of Tariff Quotas with No Identified 
Additional Conditions  896 960 962 891 871 869 774 764 143 
Tariff Quotas with Additional Conditions as a 
Percentage of Scheduled Tariff Quotas (%)  10.4 10.4 10.2 10.0 9.9 9.9 11.1 10.8 4.1 
 
4.2  TARIFF QUOTAS SUBJECT TO COUNTRY -SPECIFIC QUANTITY (CSQ) ALLOCATIONS  
4.5.  From the perspective of potential utilization by exporting countries, there are two types of tariff 
quota allocations. Firstly, there's the "global" tariff quota allocation system, where the available 
quota quantity is accessible to all exporting countries rather than it being assigned to specific 
supplying countr ies. Secondly, there are tariff quotas with "country -specific allocations", where a 
specified quantity within the overall tariff quota quantity is reserved for a specific country or group 
of countries.  
4.6.  In some cases, Members' TRQ commitments in Part I, Sec tion I of their Schedules provide for 
country -specific allocations, typically under the column "other terms and conditions". In other cases, 
Members allocate TRQs to specific countries during implementation without such allocations being 
reserved in the sc hedule. In both scenarios, Members are required to report information with regard 
to country -specific allocations in their Table MA:1 notifications (entry "(a) allocation of quotas to 
supplying countries" in column 3 of the Table MA:1 format), and this inf ormation has been utilized 
in this section of the background paper.25  
4.7.  During the first triennial review of the operation of the Bali Decision, Members expressed 
support for notifying imports in MA:2 notifications by supplying countries in cases of TRQs wi th 
country -specific allocations in the schedule. As part of the agreed conclusions26 of the review, the 
Committee encouraged Members implementing country -specific TRQ allocations, as inscribed in the 
schedule, to present imports data in their annual MA:2 n otifications disaggregated by quota -holder 
supplying countries, along with total in -quota imports. Attachment 1 identifies tariff quotas subject 
to country -specific allocations (denoted by the symbol "CSQ"), further broken down by Member and 
by year.  
4.8.  Table  8 below presents information on the number of tariff quotas with country -specific 
allocations, organized by Member and by year. The table identifies cases where country -specific 
allocations are inscribed in the schedule, and situations where such allocati ons are practised and 
reported without those being reserved in the schedule. When country -specific allocations are 
 
24 In some cases, a tariff quota has been subject to more than one additional conditions.  
25 In some very limited cases, informa tion with regard to country -specific allocations has been reported 
by Members in Table MA:2 notifications . 
26 Paragraph 3.1 d) of G/AG/36 . G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 10 - 
 
  inscribed in the schedule, they are generally required to be implemented accordingly. However, in 
some cases, these allocations are reported as not being implemented due to one or more beneficiary 
country -specific allottees having access to better market access terms and conditions, such as under 
an FTA. Alternatively, this could occur due to the MFN applied tariff on the concerned TRQ product 
being equal to or below the bound in -quota tariff, resulting in the concerned TRQ itself being 'not 
opened' (i.e., subject to "AT"). Specific explanatory notes have also been added in cases where the 
quota count with country allocations in Table 8 differs from the number of TRQs with country -specific 
allocations reserved in the schedule. In instances where Table MA:2 notifications for the relevant 
year(s) are unavailable, the corresponding cell(s) for the concerned Member are left blank in the 
table.  
Table  8: Number27 of tariff quotas with country -specific allocation by Member, 
2015 -2023  
Country -specific tariff quota allocations based on MA:1/MA:2 notifications  
MEMBER  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
1. Australia  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
2. Barbados28          
3. Brazil  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
4. Canada29 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5  
5. Chile30 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  
6. China  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
7. Colombia  0 0 0 0 0 0    
8. Costa Rica  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
9. Dominican Republic31 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
10. Ecuador  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
11. El Salvador  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
12. European Union32 42 42 42 42 40 40 40 40  
13. Guatemala  0 0 0 0 0 0    
14. Iceland  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
15. India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
16. Indonesia  0 0 0 0      
17. Israel  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  
18. Japan  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  
19. Kazakhstan33  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
20. Korea, Republic of  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
21. Malaysia  0 0 0 0      
22. Mexico34 1 1 1 1 1 1    
 
27 Negative country allocations (i.e. specific country exclusions from quota access), and TRQs with country 
allocations reserved  in the schedule, which are not opened, are not counted.  
28 Barbados has one TRQ  (BRBQ001) in its schedule with country -specific quota allocations. No Table MA:1 
or MA:2 notifications were received for the period under review.  
29 Canada has four TRQs (CANQ004,007,009 and 012) in its schedule with country -specific quota 
allocations. Add itionally, CANQ013 has been reported to be implemented with country -specific allocations 
(G/AG/N/CAN/141 ).  
30 Chile has one TRQ (CHLQ001) in its schedule with country -specific quota allocations. Since 2018, the 
TRQ has not been opened as applied out -of-quota tariff on the concerned tariff quota product is zero.  
31 DOMQ008 has been reported to be implemented with country -specific allocations but such allocations 
are not reserved in the schedule ( G/AG/N/DOM/50 ). 
32 Forty-one TRQs have country -specific q uota allocations in the schedule. These are EU -Q004 -009, 012, 
013, 015, 018, 020, 021, 023, 026, 028, 029, 032, 038, 040, 041, 046, 050, 052 -054, 068, 077, 078, 088 -096, 
098-099, 113, 118.   Additionally, EU -Q076 and 81 have been reported to be  implemented  with country 
allocations, but such allocations are not reserved in the schedule. The country -specific quota allocations for 
EU-Q004, and later EU -Q015 and 041, have been reported as not being implemented, as beneficiary allottees 
have been offered better terms and conditions under the respective FTAs.; this results in the variation in the 
CSQ count in the table from 2019. The information, including on TQIDs, is based on the draft EU -28 schedule in 
G/MA/TAR/RS/506  and the EU's Table MA:1 and MA:2 not ifications. This is without prejudice to the pending 
certification of the draft schedule as well as the ongoing negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994.  
33 WTO Membership on 30 November 2015.  
34 Mexico has eight TRQs ( MEXQ002 -009) with country -specific quota allocations in the schedule; 
count  1 corresponds to MEXQ003, the only TRQ which is opened during the period under review.   G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  Country -specific tariff quota allocations based on MA:1/MA:2 notifications  
MEMBER  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
23. Moldova, Republic of  2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2  
24. Morocco  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
25. New Zealand  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
26. Nicaragua  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
27. North Macedonia  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
28. Norway  3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3  
29. Panama  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  
30. Philippines35 1 1 1 0 0 0 0   
31. Russian Federation  3 3 3 3 3 3    
32. South Africa36 2 2 2 2 2 2    
33. Switzerland37 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  
34. Chinese Taipei  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
35. Thailand  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
36. Tunisia  0 0 0       
37. Ukraine38 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 
38. United Kingdom39       36 36 36 
39. United States of America40 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29  
40. Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of   0 0       
41. Viet Nam  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
Total*  96 96 96 94 91 91 121 121  
* Due to limited availability of MA:2 notifications  for the implementation year 2023 , the 'total' count of 
tariff quotas with country -specific allocations is not calculated for th at year.  
4.3  TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION AND TARIFF QUOTA FILL  
4.9.  Table 9 summarizes simple average fill rates by administration method and by year. Unopened 
tariff quotas41 (identified by "AT" as the administration method in Attachment 1) have not been 
included in the calculation of fill rates. During the period 2015 -2023, tariff quotas were 50% filled,  
on average. As previous Secretariat papers have noted, simple average fill rates should be 
understood to be only a broad indicator due to some inherent shortcomings. For example, fill rates 
do not differentiate tariff quotas based on size or economic impo rtance. Also, fill rates do not 
distinguish between low - or high -value products since their calculation is based on volume rather 
than value. In some cases, a particular administration method was not identified or applicable in a 
year covered by the note ( shown as blank in the table below). In addition, simple average annual 
fill rates are influenced by the changing number of applicable tariff quotas each year.  
 
35 Country -specific quota allocation has not been reported after 2018 ( G/AG/N/PHL/56/Corr.1  refers).  
36 ZAFQ001 and 003 have been reported to be implemented with country allocation (to traditional 
suppliers ) but such allocations are not rese rved in the schedule ( G/AG/N/ZAF /14).  
37 A part of CHEQ007 is reserved in the schedule for traditional suppliers.  
38 UKRQ001 was reported to be implemented with country -specific allocation until the year 2018 but such 
allocations are not reserved in the schedule ( G/AG/N /UKR/34 ). 
39 The United Kingdom has thirty -five TRQs with country -specific quota allocations in its draft schedule. 
These are GBRQ001 -005, 008, 009, 011,013,017 -019, 021,023,025,026,030,034 -036,047,054,055,063 -073 
and 081 . Country -specific quotas under GBRQ054 and 55 are implemented together. GBRQ068 is not opened . 
Additionally, GBRQ053 and 57 have been reported to be implemented with country -specific quota allocation; 
however, such quota allocations are not reserved in th e draft schedule. The count is based on the United 
Kingdom's draft schedule in G/MA/TAR/RS/570  (and addendums 1 and 2) and its Table MA:1 notification s 
(G/AG/N/GBR/2  (and Corr.1 ) refers). This is without prejudice to the pending certification of the draft goods 
schedule of the United Kingdom as well as the ongoing negotiations under Article XXVII I of the GATT  1994. 
Until 2020, the agriculture notifications by the European Union include information in respect of the 
United  Kingdom.  
40 The United States has twenty -two TRQs with country -specific allocations in the schedule. These are 
USAQ001, 002,010,  012, 016 -024, 026, 035, 036,039, 045 -047, 049 and 053. Additionally, the seven TRQs 
(USAQ004, 006, 008, 013, 028, 030 and 033) have been reported to be implemented with country -specific 
allocations ( G/AG/N/USA/2/Add.3  - G/AG/N/USA/34/Add.1 ). 
41 Refer to Section 3.1 for additional details.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 12 - 
 
  Table 9: Simple average fill rates by tariff quota administration method and year (%)  
ADMINISTRATION 
METHOD  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  Simple   
Average  
Fill Rate  
2015 -2023  
First-Come, First -Served  45 47 47 46 46 48 40 38 33 43 
Licences On Demand  45 47 44 42 42 40 42 43 43 43 
Auctioning  56 48 52 55 59 53 57 52 59 54 
Historical Importers  60 64 58 59 54 56 65 69 79 61 
Imports Undertaken By 
State Trading Entities  62 55 56 56 55 52 53 55 99 56 
Producer Groups Or 
Associations  80 78 54 72 62 53 75 75  69 
Other  100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100  100 
Mixed Allocation Methods  69 67 65 64 61 61 58 58 63 63 
Non-Specified    50 44 33 56 78 69  53 
Annual Simple Average 
Fill Rate Over All Tariff 
Quotas  53 53 51 50 50 49 48 47 49 50 
 
5  TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION AND MEMBERS' TRQ NOTIFICATION PRACTICES  
5.1.  The issue of tariff quota administration and their utilization has formed an important part of 
Members' discussions almost since the inception of the Committee's work on the follow -up to the 
agriculture reform process under the Agreement on Agriculture. Availability of timely and adequate 
information on how tariff quotas are administered has remained a key component of this discussion. 
This information has been considered critical to verif y that Members adhere to their tariff quota 
commitments and that the administration procedures employed do not hinder the utilization of 
such TRQs. The Working Procedures42 of the Committee also provide that a Member may request 
another Member with schedul ed TRQ commitments to provide information to the Committee on the 
'functioning of a specific quota, including the quantity of imports effected or authorized under that 
quota'.  
5.2.  The agriculture notification obligations set out in G/AG/2  provide for the common notific ation 
formats to be used by Members to submit notifications in various areas, as well as the timelines to 
be respected in furnishing those notifications. Members with scheduled TRQ commitments are 
required to submit two specific notifications, namely, Tabl es MA:1 and MA:2, dealing respectively 
with tariff quota administration and annual in -quota imports.  
5.3.  In the course of several formal and informal meetings during 1998 -1999, Members deliberated 
on notification issues in all three pillars, including the pill ar of market access, based on Members' 
written submissions and suggestions pertaining to notification practices, including in respect of the 
implementation of TRQs.43 The Secretariat was asked to prepare a note with its comments on the 
specific suggestions  made by Members in their written submissions relative to the Committee's 
notification requirements in G/AG/2 .44 The Secretariat presented a detailed background note45 on 
notification issues containing its comments on Members' notification -related suggestions. At th e 
September  1999 meeting, the committee agreed that Members should give consideration to 
following the practical suggestions in the Secretariat's note with a view to improving the quality of 
notifications and the efficiency of the Committee's review proces s.46 Concerning the administration 
of TRQs, notified under the Table MA:1 notifications, the Secretariat's comments and 
recommendations, inter alia,  dealt with suggestions related to tariff quotas where the in -quota, or a 
lower rate, is applied without lim itation on the quantity of imports that may enter at that rate; the 
inclusion of an explanation where tariff quotas are implemented for a different set of products than 
 
42 Paragraph 15 of G/AG/1  refers . 
43 G/AG/W/34 , G/AG/W/35 , G/AG/W/37 , G/AG/W/39 , G/AG/W/43 , G/AG/ W/44  refer.  
44 Paragraph 19 of G/AG/R/18  refers.  
45 G/AG/W/45  refers . 
46 G/AG/R/20 , para. 14 (the paragraph in the Summary Report, however, erroneously identified the 
Secretariat document as G/AG/W/42  instead of G/AG/W/45 ). G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  those covered by a specific tariff quota commitment as scheduled; and the consistency o f reporting 
periods with scheduled commitments.  
5.4.  Discussions on transparent administration of TRQs also formed part of the work programme on 
'implementation -related issues and concerns' and the subsequent decisions by the General Council 
and the fourth Min isterial Conference of the WTO. The General Council Decision in WT/L/384 , inter 
alia, requires Members administering TRQs to ' ensure that the notifications they provide to the 
Committee on Agriculture contain all the relevant information including details on guid elines and 
procedures on the allotment of TRQs'. The Decision, adopted with the understanding that it should 
not place undue new burdens on developing countries, also required Members to submit addenda to 
their Table MA:1 notifications. The issue of admini stration of tariff rate quotas has since remained 
under the review of the Committee on Agriculture pursuant to the Doha Ministerial Decision on 
Implementation -related Issues and Concerns.47  
5.5.  During the Committee's 2009 -2011 work programme, initiated in response to a 
communication48 by the Chair person  of the General Council to the Chairpersons of all WTO Councils 
and Committees, which aimed to examine ways to improve transparency and notification compliance 
in their respective bodies, Members focussed on identifying 'best practices' for the preparation and 
review of agriculture notifications. Various specific suggestions were considered, including in respect 
of tariff quota notifications and notification practices. The Secretariat compiled Members' sugg estions 
on these best practices, along with comments and suggested follow -ups.49.  
5.1  ON-LINE AGRICULTURE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM (AG -IMS)  
5.6.  The On -line Agriculture Notification System was launched in October 2019 for use by all 
Members. Conceived in response to t he 2009 -2011 work programme of the Committee on 
Agriculture aimed at enhancing the timeliness and completeness of notifications, the System 
replicates the notification formats in G/AG/2 . Simultaneously, it allows for the accommodation of 
voluntary transparency pract ices and additional information that Members have been providing in 
their notifications.50 Additionally, the System seeks to facilitate consistency and comparability of 
Members' notifications through enhanced harmonization of their notification practices.  
5.7.  During the first triennial review of the operation of the Bali Decision, Members recognized t he 
important role played by the System in facilitating Members' preparation of notifications. As part of 
the agreed conclusions of the review, the Committee encour aged 'Members to make use of the 
technical assistance provided by the WTO  Secretariat with a view to fulfilling their market access 
notification obligations and taking full advantage of the AGIMS Online Agriculture Notification 
System' .51 
5.8.   Tables MA:1 and MA:2 notifications require Members to present information respectively on 
import arrangements and in -quota imports in respect of tariff and other quota commitments 
recorded in Section I -B (or Section I -A) of their Schedules. The System provides automatic  access 
to Members' scheduled commitments sourced from the Consolidated Tariff Schedules  (CTS) 
database. This enables Members to consult and accurately reproduce their tariff quota commitments 
when submitting their Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications in accord ance with the agreed formats in 
G/AG/2 . Furthermore, as elaborated in the subsequent sections below, the System has played an 
important role in improving the harmonization of Members' TRQ notification practices.  
5.2  BALI DECISION AND ITS FOLLOW -UP  
5.9.  The Bali Decision clarified that the tariff quota administration of scheduled tariff quotas shall 
be deemed to be an instance of "import licensing" within the meaning of the Uruguay Round 
Agreement on Import Licensing Proce dures. Additionally, the Decision provided greater specificity 
to various provisions of the Agreement on Important Licensing Procedures as they apply to tariff 
quota administration. Several provisions outlined in paragraphs 1 to 10 of the Bali Decision, in cluding 
requirements for advance publication, the number of agencies involved in licensing/quota 
 
47 Paragraph 2.4 of WT/MIN(01)/17  refers.  
48 Paragraph 72 of G/AG/R/54  refers.  
49 G/AG/W/73/Rev.2  and G/AG/W/73/Rev.2/Add.1  refer.  
50 Paragraphs 2.48 -2.49 of G/AG/R/93  refer.  
51 Paragraph 3.1 f) of G/AG/36  refers.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  allocations, processing timeframes for applications, and methods for allocation or reallocation of 
licenses, have implications for Members' tariff rate quota ( TRQ) administration arrangements and, 
consequently, their Table MA:1 notifications.  
5.10.  During the 2017-2019 Review discussions, Members dwelt at length on the issue of enhanced 
transparency of TRQ administration and fill rates.  During the review, several Mem bers pointed out 
that the changes to Members' TRQ administration arrangements necessitated  by the Bali Decision 
should be notified via Table MA:1 notifications.52 As part of the agreed conclusions of the first 
triennial review of the operation of the Bali Decision, the Committee agreed to review the MA:1 
notification format in G/AG/2  to enable Members to include the required information on the 
implementation of paragraphs 2 to 5 of the Bali Decision in their MA:1 notifications.53 
5.11.  Since the adoption of the Bali Decisi on, a total of 76 Table MA:1 notifications (including 
addenda and corrigenda) were submitted by Members (Table 10). Of these, only one notification 
made a specific reference to the change in the TRQ administration methods effected pursuant to the 
Bali Deci sion.54 In the context of the Committee's review process, 25 of these 76  notifications were 
subject to questions.55 In general, the questions covered topics such as request for information on 
country allocations and eligibility, reallocation, fill -rates, underfill mechanism, clarification on license 
requirements and the period of validity of licenses, as well as other transparency -related matters. 
None of the questions made specific reference to the provisions of the Bali Decision and to the more 
specific requirements concerning TRQ administration emanating from that Decision.  
Table 10: Table MA:1 notifications issued since the Bali Decision  
Member  Implementation 
Year Document Symbol  Issued 
Date  Q&A in connection with the 
notification  
Brazil  2019 G/AG/N/BRA/55  12-02-2020 93088  
Canada  2018 G/AG/N/CAN/116  14-03-2018 89009 , 88001 , 87107 , 87108 , 
87109  
Canada  2021 G/AG/N/CAN/141  19-04-2021  
Costa Rica  2016 G/AG/N/CRI/61  05-10-2017  
Dominican Republic   2022 G/AG/N/DOM/50  04-11-2022  
Ecuador  2019 G/AG/N/ECU/50  27-06-2019 92016 , 92104 , 92105  
Ecuador  2019 G/AG/N/ECU/50/Corr.1  03-07-2019  
El Salvador  2014, 2015  G/AG/N/SLV/44  28-01-2016  
El Salvador  2016 G/AG/N/SLV/48  24-11-2017 86072  
El Salvador  2017 G/AG/N/SLV/69  25-01-2021  
El Salvador  2018 G/AG/N/SLV/70  25-01-2021  
El Salvador  2019 G/AG/N/SLV/71  25-01-2021 100075  
El Salvador  2020 G/AG/N/SLV/72  25-01-2021  
European Union   2023 G/AG/N/EU/81  10-02-2023 104036 , 104059 , 104072  
European Union  2016 G/AG/N/EU/31  02-09-2016 82034  
European Union  2021 G/AG/N/EU/65  04-02-2021  
European Union  2022 G/AG/N/EU/72  07-02-2022 101062 , 100066  
European Union  2021 G/AG/N/EU/65/Add.1  26-03-2021 98075 , 98076 , 98077 , 98078  
European Union  2021 G/AG/N/EU/65/Add.2  02-07-2021  
European Union  2016 G/AG/N/EU/31/Corr.1  13-01-2017  
European Union  2022 G/AG/N/EU/72/Corr.2  21-06-2022  
Israel  2018 G/AG/N/ISR/65  25-07-2018  
Japan  2019 G/AG/N/JPN/247  08-01-2020 93089  
Japan  2021 G/AG/N/JPN/262  27-04-2021  
Kazakhstan  2016 G/AG/N/KAZ/1  29-03-2016 80079  
Kazakhstan  2018 G/AG/N/KAZ/4  28-03-2018  
Korea, Republic of  2014 G/AG/N/KOR/51  09-01-2015 76055  
Korea, Republic of  2015 G/AG/N/KOR/56  20-07-2016  
Moldova, Republic of  2009 G/AG/N/MDA/1  09-09-2014  
Moldova, Republic of  2016 G/AG/N/MDA/9  29-09-2017  
 
52 G/AG/W/179  refers.  
53 Paragraph 3.1 e) of G/AG/36  refers.  
54 G/AG/N/CRI/61  refers.  
55 The content of the Questions, and respective answers, can be accessed via the question ID number 
provided in column "Q&A in connecting w ith the notification".  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  Member  Implementation 
Year Document Symbol  Issued 
Date  Q&A in connection with the 
notification  
Moldova, Republic of  2017 G/AG/N/MDA/14  11-08-2020  
North Macedonia  2017 G/AG/N/MKD/23  18-01-2018  
Norway  2001 G/AG/N/NOR/1/Add.2  22-06-2020  
Russian Federation  2014 G/AG/N/RUS/2  05-02-2014 3005  
Russian Federation  2020 G/AG/N/RUS/31  21-05-2021  
Russian Federation  2016 G/AG/N/RUS/2/Rev.1  01-09-2016  
Russian Federation  2014 G/AG/N/RUS/2/Corr.1  17-03-2014  
Switzerland  2021 G/AG/N/CHE/108  06-05-2021  
Switzerland  2014 G/AG/N/CHE/13/Add.16  12-08-2014  
Switzerland  2015 G/AG/N/CHE/13/Add.17  27-02-2015 80030 , 78027 , 77033 , 77072  
Switzerland  2016 G/AG/N/CHE/13/Add.18  16-03-2016  
Chinese Taipei  2019 G/AG/N/TPKM/165  22-08-2018 89003  
Chinese Taipei  2020 G/AG/N/TPKM/179  23-08-2019  
Chinese Taipei  2021 G/AG/N/TPKM/192  15-05-2020  
Thailand  2012, 2013  G/AG/N/THA/79  19-05-2014 75038  
Thailand  2014 G/AG/N/THA/80  07-09-2016  
Thailand  2015 G/AG/N/THA/82  16-02-2017 84102  
Thailand  2016 G/AG/N/THA/84  17-02-2017 84102  
Thailand  2017 G/AG/N/THA/101  26-06-2019 92021  
Thailand  2018 G/AG/N/THA/102  26-06-2019 92021  
Thailand  2019 G/AG/N/THA/103  26-06-2019 92021 , 92106  
Thailand  2020 G/AG/N/THA/109  30-10-2020  
Thailand  2021 G/AG/N/THA/114  08-03-2021  
Thailand  2022 G/AG/N/THA/120  12-04-2022  
Thailand  2023 G/AG/N/THA/132  05-06-2023 105154  
Ukraine  2023 G/AG/N/UKR/48  22-03-2023  
Ukraine  2019 G/AG/N/UKR/34  23-08-2019  
United Kingdom  2021 G/AG/N/GBR/2  19-01-2021 98079  
United Kingdom  2021 G/AG/N/GBR/2/Corr.1  31-03-2021  
United States  2014 G/AG/N/USA/96  21-07-2014  
United States  2015 G/AG/N/USA/101  28-04-2015  
United States  2016 G/AG/N/USA/106  25-04-2016  
United States  2017 G/AG/N/USA/114  30-03-2017  
United States  2018 G/AG/N/USA/117  04-10-2017  
United States  2019 G/AG/N/USA/122  15-10-2018 89067  
United States  2019 G/AG/N/USA/149  02-03-2021  
United States  2020 G/AG/N/USA/155  31-08-2021  
United States  2021 G/AG/N/USA/158  01-10-2021  
United States of America   2023 G/AG/N/USA/165  06-10-2022  
United States of America   2023 G/AG/N/USA/171  15-09-2023  
United States of America   2021 G/AG/N/USA/158/Rev.1  03-10-2022  
United States of America   2022 G/AG/N/USA/165/Rev.1  27-04-2023  
United States  2015 G/AG/N/USA/101/Add.1  31-07-2015 78074  
United States  2016 G/AG/N/USA/106/Add.1  27-04-2016  
United States  2017 G/AG/N/USA/114/Add.1  30-03-2017  
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of  2013 G/AG/N/VEN/27  09-10-2014  
 
5.12.  The importan ce of consistency in Members' TRQ  notifications and notification practices was 
underlined during the Review. The agreed recommendations56 of the Review, inter alia , require the 
Secretariat to prepare a list of Members' existing TRQ  notification practices, including in cases where 
a scheduled TRQ was not opened, and promoting transparency in reporting TRQ fill rates. The agreed 
recommendations recognized that the Secretariat's on -line agriculture notification system57 should 
improve consistency and harmoniza tion in Members' notifications. The remaining section  of this 
 
56 Annex 2 to G/AG/29  and paragraph 3.6 of WT/GC/M/181  refer.  
57 Accessible at https://agims.wto.org/ . Login is required for submitting notifications online and can be 
requested through https://agims.wto.org/ . G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 16 - 
 
  paper delve s into Members' TRQ notification practices, with special attention given to reporting fill 
rates and addressing cases where a scheduled TRQ is not opened.  
5.3  MEMBERS' TABLES MA:1 AND MA: 2 NOTIFICATIONS AND ASSOCIATED PRACTICES  
5.13.  WTO Members are required to notify their tariff quota administration methods using 
Table  MA:1 notifications at the time of the first opening of the scheduled tariff quotas. Subsequent 
changes to the notified adminis tration method should be reported in an ad hoc  manner, as per the 
agreed notification requirements and formats ( G/AG/2 ). If Members do not notify new information 
on administration methods, it is typically assumed that their tariff quota administration methods 
have no t changed.  Additionally, Members are required to annually report in -quota imports for 
scheduled tariff quota products using Table MA:2 notifications.  
5.3.1   NOTIFICATION OF TRQ IMPORT ARRANGEMENTS  
5.14.  Members are required to notify the description of import arrangement applicable in respect of 
scheduled TRQs by way of Table MA:1 notifications.  All Members with tariff and other quota 
commitments  are required to submit Table MA:1 notifications , either in advance or within 30  days 
of the first opening of the tariff  quotas concerned in the form of a comprehensive 'one-off' 
Table  MA:1 notification. Subsequent changes to the administration of TRQs are required to be 
reported in ad hoc  Table MA:1 notifications to be made within 30 days following the change.  Several 
Members also submitted addenda  to their MA:1 notifications pursuant to the General Council 
Decision in WT/L/384 .58  
5.15.  The prescribed notification requirements for TRQ  administration via Table MA:1 notifications 
establish a system where by the reported import arrangement for a TRQ remains valid until it  is 
modified through an ad hoc  MA:1 notification. To review the administration arrangement for a 
scheduled TRQ  of a Member and track changes to that arrangement, one would need to consult all 
of its MA:1 notifications. Typically , the import arrangement notified for a TRQ in the most recent 
MA:1 notification of the concerned Member should correspond to the current applicable 
arrangement.59  
5.16.  The revised background note now includes a new Attachment C, which covers details of all 
MA:1 notifications submitted by a Member since 1995, along with information on the TRQ coverage 
in those notifications. This attachment is o rganized alphabetically by individual Members with TRQ 
commitments. The tabular summary of MA:1 notifications included in Attachment C for each Member 
allows for tracking changes in import arrangements for individual TRQs. The latest import 
arrangement for  any TRQ notified in an MA:1 notification should typically correspond to the currently 
prevailing import arrangement for that TRQ. The tabular attachment reproduces the latest import 
arrangement for all scheduled TRQs of a Member as notified by that Member  in its MA:1 notifications, 
and in some cases MA:2 notifications  especially where a quota is not opened . 
5.17.  Most Members with scheduled TRQ commitments submitted a comprehensive one-off 
Table  MA:1 notification in 1995. Members who acceded to the WTO after 199 5 submitted their 
one-off Table MA:1 notification later, prior to the first opening of the tariff quotas.  Members' 
Table  MA:1 notification practice s differ when reporting subsequent changes to TRQ administration:  
a. In the majority of cases, Members submit an  ad hoc  Table MA:1 notification for a TRQ to 
report changes in the allocation of quota access to importers. This information is reported 
under entry b) of column 3 of the MA:1 format. These changes may include instances 
where a TRQ holder Member decides to  allocate quota access on a 'first -come, first -served' 
basis at customs, rather than through a licensing system, or chooses to change the 
licensing system itself; for example, shifting from a licensing system based on quantities 
demanded (i.e. 'licences on  demand') to one based on historical imports.   
b. In certain instances, ad hoc  MA:1 notifications are issued to communicate alterations in 
the licensing authority, or to report autonomous expansions in the quota quantity beyond 
the scheduled amount.  In very few cases, MA:1 notifications only update the number and 
 
58 Members' Table MA:1 notifications, in cluded addenda, are searchable on https://agims.wto.org/ . 
59 In cases where a TRQ  is not opened, Members routinely rely on their annual MA:2 notifications to clarify 
the prevailing import arrangement.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 17 - 
 
  year of the relevan t annual regulation /decree containing tariff quota administration and 
applications process without any substantive change in the existing quota administration 
or process.  
c. There are also cases of ad hoc  MA:1 notifications reporting changes to quota allocat ion or 
re-allocation to specific countries  required under entry a) of column 3 of the MA:1 format.  
d. A few Members opt to submit an MA:1 notification annually  covering all scheduled/opened 
TRQs, rather than only those TRQ subject to change in their administr ation, similar to the 
requirement and practice for MA:2 notification s. In one instance of such annual MA:1 
notifications covering all scheduled TRQs , changes to quota administration are outlined in 
the cover note of those notifications.  
e. In a few instances,  Members have relied on an MA:1 notification to report the elimination 
of TRQs. These include cases where the elimination of relevant TRQs was already 
envisaged in the schedule of the concerned Members, as well as cases where a TRQ was 
eliminated autonomou sly by choosing to apply an MFN tariff on the concerned TRQ product 
equal to or below the corresponding bound in -quota tariff. Following such reporting in 
MA:1 notifications, eliminated TRQs are typically omitted from concerned Members' annual 
MA:2 notific ations.  
5.3.2   NOTIFICATION OF FILL RATES  
5.18.   Paragraph 6 of the Bali Decision provides that tariff quota fill rates shall be notified. TRQ  fill 
rate is also a key component to trigger the initiation of the underfill mechanism in Annex  A to the 
Bali Decision. In res ponse to the requirement to notify fill rate, and in order to encourage consistency 
among Members' notification practices in so doing, the Chairperson at the November  2014 meeting 
of the Committee advised Members to present information on fill rate by addi ng an extra column in 
their Table MA:2 notifications.60 At the request of the Chairperson, the Secretariat circulated the 
modified MA:2 notification format in document G/AG/W/137 . 
5.19.  The agreed recommendations of the Review provide that:  
"The Secretariat will regularly update the information on TRQ administration and fill 
rates as included in G/AG/W/18361 as well the updated information on which Members 
have notified fill rates an d on questions raised in the Committee concerning fill rates." 
(Paragraph 2(d) of Annex 2 to G/AG/29  refers) . 
5.20.  Pursuant to the requirement in the Bali Decision, Members have generally reported fill rates 
in their Table MA:2 notifications, especially from 2014 and on wards. In response to discussions in 
the Committee and a specific suggestion by the Chairperson, the on -line AG -IMS notification system , 
launched in October  2019, incorporated an additional column in the MA:2  notification format to 
include information on f ill rates. The processing of Members' notifications through the System has 
accordingly ensured a consistent presentation of fill rates in the additional column in Members' MA:2 
notifications. Table 11 below includes information on Members' reporting of fil l rates in their MA:2 
notifications as well their compliance62 with MA:2  notification obligations for the period 2014 -2023.63 
 
60 Paragraph 2.16 of G/AG/R/76  refers.  
61 The Secretariat background note may specifically include a list of TRQs  where no Table MA:2 notifica tion 
has been submitted or where the fill rate is below 65 %. 
62 The Secretariat regularly produces a document (in the G/AG/GEN/86/  series) that summarizes the 
compliance by Members with their agriculture notification obligations. The document includes details of the 
notification record of individual WTO Members with respect to Table MA:1 and Table MA:2 notifications.  
63 The record of compliance for other reporting years may be consulted in document  
G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.52 . The 2023 implementation  year is included for information only and does not necessarily 
indicate that the notification was already due.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 18 - 
 
  Table 11: Members with TRQ commitments - Notification of fill rates and outstanding 
Table  MA:2 notifications  
Member  Whether MA:2 n otifications 
include fill rates64? Implementation 
years with 
outstanding 
MA:2 
notification  
(2014 -23)65 Comments  
Australia  Yes 2023  
Barbados  No All years from 
2014 to 202 3 Latest MA:2 notification is for 2000.  
Brazil  Yes 2023  
Canada  Yes 2023  
Chile Yes 2023  
China  Yes 2023  
Colombia  No 2021, 2022, 2023  None of the scheduled TRQs are 
opened.  
Costa Rica  Yes 2023  
Dominican  Republic  Yes   
Ecuador  Yes 2023  
El Salvador  Yes 2023 MA:2 Notification for 2023 is being 
processed.  
European Union  Yes 2023  
Guatemala  Yes 2021, 2022, 2023  MA:2 Notification for 2021 is being 
processed.  
Iceland  Yes 2023  
India Yes 2023  
Indonesia  No 2019, 2020, 
2021, 2022, 2023  None of the scheduled TRQs are 
opened.  
Israel  Yes 2023  
Japan  Yes 2023  
Kazakhstan  Yes   
Korea, Republic of  Yes   
Malaysia  Yes 2019, 2020, 
2021, 2022, 2023   
Mexico  Yes 2021, 2022, 2023   
Moldova  Yes 2023  
Morocco  Yes 2023   
New Zealand  No  None of the scheduled TRQs are 
opened.  
Nicaragua  Yes   
North Macedonia  Yes   
Norway  Yes 2023  
Panama  Yes 2023  
Philippines  Yes 2022, 2023   
Russian Federation  Yes 2021, 2022, 2023   
South Africa  Yes 2021, 2022, 2023   
Switzerland  Yes 2023  
Chinese Taipei  Yes   
Thailand  Yes 2023  
Tunisia  Yes 2018, 2019,  
2020, 2021, 
2022, 2023 MA:2 Notifications for 2018 and 2019 
are being processed.  
Ukraine  Yes   
United Kingdom  Yes   
United States  Yes 2023  
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of  Yes 2014, 2015, 
2018, 2019, 
2020, 2021, 
2022, 2023    
Viet Nam  Yes 2023  
 
64 "Yes" includes cases where  a Table MA:2 notification does not include fill rates for some of the 
scheduled TRQs that are not opened for the relevant implementation year. Also, in some cases, two or more 
scheduled TRQs are managed together and the corresponding in -quota imports and fill rates are reported 
collectively.  
65 Notifications circulated as of 30 April 2024 are taken into account. Kindly consult the AG -IMS or the 
latest version of the notification compliance document in the G/AG/GEN/86/ for an up-to-date compliance 
status.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 19 - 
 
  5.21.  The information in Table 11 confirms that all Members with TRQ commitments include fill rates 
in their Table MA:2 notifications, except in cases where Members do not open any scheduled TRQs, 
offering equivalent or better market access conditions through an  'applied tariff' regime. In one 
instance where the fill rate is shown as not reported in Table 11, the Member in question hasn't 
submitted any Table MA:2 notification since the adoption of the Bali Decision. Additionally, the table 
displays Members' outst anding Table MA:2 notifications for the period 201 4-2023 (see footnote  63). 
The underfill mechanism of the Bali Decision may be triggered when either the fill rate is below 65% 
or the importing Member subject to TRQ commitments does not notify the fill rat e. 
5.22.  The matters related to TRQ  fill rates have been regularly raised under the Committee's review 
process. Pursuant to the agreed recommendations of the Review, a list of such matters raised in the 
Committee after the adoption of the Bali Decision is included in Annex B to the paper. T able 12 below 
shows the number of such questions raised each year between 2015 and 202 3. Similarly, and as 
required by the agreed recommendations66, tariff quotas where the fill rate during the covered period 
is below 65% have been listed out separately in  Attachment 2  to this paper . 
Table 12: Number of questions raised in CoA meetings concerning TRQ fill rate, 
2015 -2023  
2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  
6 21 8 15 32 36 35 51 22 
 
5.3.3   FILL RATES EXCEEDING 100%  
5.23.  Sometimes, with a view to addressing supply needs, Members allow a larger volume of imports 
than the scheduled quota quantity. Additionally, there are certain cases reported in Members' Table 
MA:2 notifications where the in -quota tariff is applied to all imports of that product ent ering its 
market without any quantity limitations.67 In such cases, actual in -quota imports in a given year 
might also exceed the scheduled TRQ quantity leading to a fill rate exceeding 100%.  
5.24.  During the 2017 -19 Review discussions, there was recognition of the need for guidelines to 
harmonize notifications in the event of 'autonomous' quota increases. This would facilitate 
comparison across notifications. The Online notification facility under t he AG -IMS currently includes 
a feature where fill rates exceeding 100% are highlighted. In Table MA:2 notifications where actual 
imports surpass the scheduled in -quota quantity, an identifier "*" is used, along with the statement: 
'In cases where in -quota imports exceed the TRQ quantities, fill rates are capped at 100%.'"  
5.3.4   UNOPENED TARIFF QUOTAS  
5.25.  A significant number of scheduled tariff quotas are not opened annually. Comparing the count 
of scheduled and annually opened tariff quotas in Tables 1 and 5 above r eveals that more than half 
of the tariff quotas in Members' schedules remain unopened . These unopened tariff quotas include 
cases where the MFN applied tariff on a tariff quota product already provides equivalent or better 
access conditions compared to the  bound in -quota tariff. This obviates the need to administer a two -
tier tariff quota regime. Section 3.1 above provides a detailed explanation of unopened tariff quotas 
(i.e., subject to an 'applied tariff' regime), including cases where the scheduled tari ff commitments 
themselves do not currently provide any tariff advantage for the concerned tariff quotas .68  
5.26.  The issue of un -opened TRQs formed an important part of the debate among Members during 
the 2017 -2019 Review discussions. The agreed recommendations  of the Review encourage Members 
to "include an explanation in their Table MA:2 notifications in cases where scheduled TRQs are not 
 
66 Footnote 1 of Annex 2 to G/AG/29 . 
67 The situation of permitting unlimited imports at the in -quota tariff within a TRQ should be distinguished 
from cases of 'un -opened' TRQs, which are shown in this note as being subject to an applied -tariff ( 'AT') regime.  
In the former case, a two -tariff regime (i.e., an in -quota and an out -of-quota tariff) is maintained for the 
concerned product, and the right to access the TRQ must be allocated, even if there is no quantity limitation for 
imports under that TRQ.  On the ot her hand, under an 'applied -tariff' regime, only one tariff is applicable for the 
import of the concerned product, at a level equal to or below the scheduled in -quota tariff. This obviates the 
need to practically open such tariff quotas  to fulfil TRQ commi tment.  
68 Please refer to Table 4.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 20 - 
 
  opened" and require the Secretariat to "prepare a list of the existing TRQ notification practices of 
Members including in ca ses where a scheduled TRQ was not opened".  
5.27.  The notification practices of Members regarding unopened tariff quotas (i.e., subject to an 
'applied tariffs' (AT) regime) have varied. This difference extends to the notification of import 
arrangements as well a s annual in -quota imports. To demonstrate that a tariff quota is not opened 
and is instead subject to an 'applied tariff' system, Members have largely relied on Table  MA:2 
notifications rather than Table MA:1 notifications69. However, in cases where a tari ff quota remains 
unopened in a particular year due to a lower applied tariff, there may be an obligation to open that 
tariff quota in subsequent years if the applied tariff on the product increases beyond the relevant 
bound in -quota tariff level. Concernin g the administration method once the tariff quota is 
reactivated, it is assumed that the tariff quota administration method notified prior to the 
reactivation remains valid, unless a change in respect of tariff quota administration is notified 
through a ne w Table MA:1 notification. In Attachment 1  to this paper , there are cases where a 
scheduled tariff quota had consistently remained subject to an 'applied tariff' regime. However, when 
the TRQ was activated and included in Table MA:2 notifications, there wa s no information available 
on the applicable import arrangement for that TRQ.  In such cases, the principal tariff quota 
administration method has been indicated as 'non -specified' or 'NS'.  
5.28.  The difference in Members' notification practices for unopened tari ff quotas has been most 
noticeable in Table MA:2 notifications for reporting annual in -quota imports. In the past, some 
Members included such tariff quotas in their Table MA:2 notifications and reported the total quantity 
of imports for the relevant produc ts. In these cases, a number of Members capped the reported 
quantity of imports at the level of the tariff quota commitment quantity. Simultaneously, there were 
cases where a notifying Member simply omitted the unopened tariff quotas from their Table MA:2 
notifications.  
5.29.  In most cases, unopened tariff quotas are listed in the tabular section of the Table  MA:2 
notification with columns on in -quota imports and fill rate left empty. In some cases, the notifying 
Members have additionally chosen to report total i mports of the relevant quota products in their 
Table MA:2 notifications; this information is generally included in the form of specific notes or 
footnotes.70 There are also examples where notifying Members decided not to specifically include 
unopened tarif f quotas in the tabular section of the notification and rather referred to them in the 
cover note of the notification.71  
5.30.  While Members have had disparate reporting practices regarding unopened tariff quotas in 
their Tables MA:1 and MA:2 notifications, the Online Notification System has facilitated the 
identification of these quotas. This is achieved through the use of a pre -created box in the web 
version of Tables MA:1 and MA:2 notification formats, which says 'not opened'. A notifying Member 
may simply tick that box for scheduled tariff quotas which are not opened. This feature has also 
facilitated enhanced consistency in Me mbers' Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications regarding unopened 
TRQs.  
5.31.  In very limited cases, tariff quotas with no tariff advantage  in a given year  (i.e. where the 
applied MFN tariff is already equal to or below the bound in -quota tariff) have been reported to be 
opened in Table  MA:2 notifications with information on in -quota imports and fill rate contained 
therein.72 Notifications covering such tari ff quotas seem to broadly correspond to the following 
situations:  
a. One situation arises when the right to apply the Special Safeguard provision (Article 5 of 
the Agreement on Agriculture - SSG) is reserved on a product subject to TRQ commitment. 
 
69 In some cases Members did submit a Table MA:1 notification to notify that a particular tariff quota had 
been eliminated and the relevant import arrangement in future would be based on a single MFN applied tariff. 
This is  often the case when the decision to lower the applied tariff on the tariff quota product at a level equal to 
or below the bound in -quota tariff is more definitive or long -term.  
70 Some Members also chose to report total imports in the column on "in -quota i mports".  
71 This approach is also resorted to in few cases for practical reasons when the count of unopened tariff 
quotas is very high.  
72 In some cases, the actual applied tariff on a product subject to tariff quota commitment is in non-ad 
valorem  form while the bound in -quota tariff is in ad valorem  term. Because the applied tariff level depends on 
import prices, assessing the 'tariff advantage' —the difference between the applied tariff level and the 
corresponding bound in -quota tariff —becomes challenging.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 21 - 
 
  Since the a pplied MFN tariff does not exceed the bound in -quota tariff on the concerned 
TRQ product, there may not be a general tariff advantage in accessing the tariff quota. 
However, the requirement to exempt in -quota imports from additional duties under the 
SSG pr ovides value and incentive for importers to seek access to such tariff quotas, despite 
the lack of a tariff advantage.  
b. The decision to open a scheduled  tariff quota autonomously at an in -quota tariff below the 
corresponding bound in -quota tariff  may be mad e to ensure domestic supply of the 
concerned product or for other reasons, such as establishing parity of import conditions 
with another product subject to a tariff quota.  
c. Despite the absence of a tariff advantage, some Members prefer not to declare or ide ntify 
a tariff quota as 'not opened '. In some such cases, zero in -quota imports (resulting in zero 
fill rate73) are reported for these TRQs in relevant MA:2 notifications. This situation is 
characterized in concerned Members' MA:2 notifications as resultin g from no demand or 
request for imports within the TRQ. In other instances, total imports of the concerned 
product are reported in MA:2 notifications . 
5.3.5   NOTIFICATION  OF IMPORT ARRANGEMENTS VIA TABLE MA:2 NOTIFICATIONS  
5.32.  The agreed notification requirements sti pulate that import arrangements applicable to 
scheduled TRQs should be reported through a Table MA:1 notification. There have been instances 
where MA:2 notifications have been used to report changes to import arrangements. For example, 
in some cases, infor mation prescribed in the Table MA:1 format, such as allocation to supplying 
countries, is notified via annual Table MA:2 notifications.  
5.33.  As has been the current practice by several Members, Table MA:2 notifications may be used 
to report or identify 'unopen ed' tariff quotas. However, the MA:2 format may not be equipped to 
accommodate complete details of the import arrangement employed . 
5.34.  Reliance on Table MA:2 notifications to report import arrangements may pose additional 
challenges, especially in determining  the temporal validity of the information. The information 
contained in a Table MA:2 notification for a particular reporting year is generally considered 
applicable for that reporting year only. In contrast, an import arrangement system notified in a 
Table  MA:1 notification is deemed valid until it is subsequently modified by way of another 
Table  MA:1 notification74 
 
 
73 Such TRQs accordingly also figure in Attachment 2 of the background note, which contains TRQs with 
fill rates below 65%. If the TRQ had been declared as 'not opened' (i.e., subject to 'AT'), the fill rate (and 
in-quota imports) column would have been lef t empty instead of being shown as '0'."   
74 This may be the case, for example, when a Table MA:2 notification specifies that a particular tariff quota 
was implemented with country -specific quota (CSQ) allocations.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 22 - 
 
  ANNEX A1 
Table A.1: Principal Administration Methods – Simple Average Fill Rates2 by Member, 
2015 -2023 (%) 
MEMBER  AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE 
FOR ALL 
PRODUCTS  
Australia       
             
2015   
100       
100 
2016   
100       
100 
2017   
100       
100 
2018   100       100 
2019   100       100 
2020   100       100 
2021   100       100 
2022   99       99 
Barbados                     
Brazil                     
2015           
2016           
2017           
2018           
2019   6       6 
2020   100       100 
2021   23       23 
2022   17       17 
Canada                     
2015  
70 48 77 89  100  99 73 
2016  
73 54 70 84  100  100 72 
2017  
66 51 61 80  100  100 67 
2018  68 50 68 77  100  100 68 
2019  68 47 59 76  100  100 65 
2020  79 53 63 73  100  100 69 
2021  85 51 59 74  100  100 69 
2022  82 48 50 67  100  100 63 
Chile             
2015  
  0      0 
2016    0      0 
2017  
  0      0 
2018  
         
2019           
2020           
2021           
2022           
China             
 2015    100 72     77 
2016  
  100 69     74 
2017  
  100 72     77 
2018  
  100 66     72 
2019    96 69     74 
2020    77 88     86 
2021    77 82     82 
2022    79 84     83 
 
1 For each Member, only the years for which Table MA:2 notifications are available are included.  
2 Fill rates have been rounded. In some cases, '0' may have resulted from rounding. The "average" fill 
rate figures in the last column represent the simple average of the yearly fill rates in respe ct of all open tariff 
quotas for the Member concerned.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 23 - 
 
  MEMBER  AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE 
FOR ALL 
PRODUCTS  
Colombia             
2015           
2016           
2017           
2018           
2019           
2022           
Costa Rica            
  2015     26     26 
2016     28     28 
2017     26     26 
2018     26     26 
2019     20     20 
2020     8     8 
2021     13     13 
2022     10     10 
Dominican Republic            
  2015    61      61 
2016  
  55      55 
2017  
  57      57 
2018  
  45      45 
2019    49      49 
2020    55      55 
2021    63      63 
2022    36      36 
2023    69      69 
Ecuador             
2015    0      0 
2016    0      0 
2017    0      0 
2018    0      0 
2019    0      0 
2020    1      1 
2021    1      1 
2022    6      6 
El Salvador            
2015 34         34 
2016 12         12 
2017 14         14 
2018 22         22 
2019 23         23 
2020 19         19 
2021 40         40 
2022 42         42 
European Union            
 2015  41 20 41 52     41 
2016  43 14 47 57     45 
2017  44 14 43 70     44 
2018  44 3 40 77     43 
2019  39 5 37 76     39 
2020  43 7 34 50     39 
2021  37  43 27     39 
2022  36  46 11     39 
Guatemala            
2015    100      100 
2016    85      85 
2017    100  100    100 
2018    70  57    66 
2019    100  37    79 
2020    100  100    100 G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 24 - 
 
  MEMBER  AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE 
FOR ALL 
PRODUCTS  
Iceland            
2015 77         77 
2016 71         71 
2017 70         70 
2018 71         71 
2019 72         72 
2020 71         71 
2021 71         71 
2022 72         72 
India            
2015         18 18 
2016         0 0 
2017         0 0 
2018         0 0 
2019         5 5 
2020         0 0 
2021         0 0 
2022         0 0 
Indonesia            
 2015           
2016           
2017           
2018           
Israel            
 2015   100 98 100  100   99 
2016   100 100 100  100   100 
2017   100 100 100  100   100 
2018 100   100  100 100   100 
2019 98   100  100 100   99 
2020 90   100  100 100   97 
2021 98   89  84 100   95 
2022 100   91  100 100   97 
Japan            
 2015    55 99    91 65 
2016    55 100    80 63 
2017    58 100    81 66 
2018    54 98    84 63 
2019    49 98    77 58 
2020    41 88    74 51 
2021    44 88    73 53 
2022    43 86    74 52 
Kazakhstan            
2016   59  10     42 
2017   66  6     46 
2018   70  9     49 
2019   76  0     51 
2020   65  1     43 
2021   59  1     40 
2022   44  1     30 
2023   50  5     35 
Korea, Republic of            
2015 58  83 40 79    100 59 
2016 58  85 41 83    100 61 
2017 34  84 38 76    100 57 
2018 62  88 44 66    100 61 
2019 67  90 42 60    100 59 
2020 67  79 42 68    100 58 
2021 66  81 41 69    100 58 
2022 33  76 34 84    77 54 
2023 66  82 34 84    100 57 
Malaysia            
2015    23      23 
2016    19      19 
2017    22      22 
2018    23      23 G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 25 - 
 
  MEMBER  AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE 
FOR ALL 
PRODUCTS  
Mexico            
2015   100       100 
2016   100       100 
2017   100       100 
2018   100       100 
2019   100       100 
2020   100       100 
Moldova, Republic of            
2015    100      100 
2016    100      100 
2017    100      100 
2018    100      100 
2019    100      100 
2020    100      100 
2021    100      100 
2022    100      100 
Morocco            
2015  45        45 
2016  52        52 
2017  52        52 
2018  52        52 
2019  60        60 
2020  40        40 
2021  64        64 
2022  64        64 
2023  45        45 
New Zealand            
2015           
2016           
2017           
2018           
2019           
2020           
2021           
2022           
2023           
Nicaragua            
2015     80     80 
2016     78     78 
2017     89     89 
2018     85     85 
2019     75     75 
2020     59     59 
2021     52     52 
2022     52     52 
2023     71     71 
North Macedonia            
2015  28        28 
2016  17        17 
2017  28        28 
2018  10        10 
2019  22        22 
2020  15        15 
2021  13        13 
2022  6        6 
2023  2        2 
Norway            
2015 43  95 20 100   98  58 
2016 51  85 23 100   91  63 
2017 46  88 26 100   14  58 
2018 41  79 26 100 64  89  53 
2019 51  96 26 100 27  47  59 
2020 48  79 17 100 68  12  55 
2021 56  78 9 100 75  100  64 
2022 39  80 0 100 54  100  52 G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 26 - 
 
  MEMBER  AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE 
FOR ALL 
PRODUCTS  
Panama            
2015 49         49 
2016 35         35 
2017 39         39 
2018 46         46 
2019 52         52 
2020 37         37 
2021 42         42 
2022 40         40 
Philippines            
2015   34      100 38 
2016   47      100 51 
2017   47      100 51 
2018   59      100 62 
2019   38      100 43 
2020   51      100 54 
2021   47      100 51 
Russian Federation            
2015   25       25 
2016   20       20 
2017   14       14 
2018   10       10 
2019   12       12 
2020   9       9 
South Africa            
2015   67 43      50 
2016   95 57      68 
2017   36 22  0    25 
2018   27 20  0    21 
2019   14 24  0    19 
2020   25 20  0    20 
Switzerland            
2015 76  100 83 94     86 
2016 75  100 82 98     86 
2017 98  100 85 98     92 
2018 72  100 78 95     83 
2019 75  100 75 92     81 
2020 73  100 74 96     81 
2021 100 56 100 77 96     84 
2022 100 49 100 77 95     83 
Chinese Taipei            
2015 41    52    100 47 
2016 38    51    98 45 
2017 52    56    100 56 
2018 55    56    90 58 
2019 53    59    91 56 
2020 50    54    83 53 
2021 49    44    94 51 
2022 54    31    94 52 
2023 57    37    97 56 
Thailand            
2015    36    75 0 38 
2016    38    75 0 39 
2017    43    67 0 40 
2018    43    67 0 41 
2019    44    67 0 41 
2020    43    67 0 41 
2021    50    67 0 45 
2022    52    67 32 51 
Tunisia            
2015   59       59 
2016   48       48 
2017   50       50 G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 27 - 
 
  MEMBER  AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE 
FOR ALL 
PRODUCTS  
Ukraine            
2015    0      0 
2016    0      0 
2017    0      0 
2018    0      0 
2019    0      0 
2020    0      0 
2021    46      46 
2022    0      0 
2023    0      0 
United Kingdom            
2021  29  24 48     28 
2022  26  38 34     32 
2023  34  46 31     39 
United States of America            
2015  51   64     55 
2016  52   66     57 
2017  50   60     53 
2018  49   56     52 
2019  55   55     55 
2020  55   55     55 
2021  55   53     55 
2022  50   54     51 
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of            
2016     54     54 
2017     51     51 
Viet Nam            
2015    100      100 
2016    33      33 
2017    56      56 
2018    42      42 
2019    31      31 
2020    20      20 
2021    50      50 
2022    57      57 
 
  
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 28 - ANNEX B  
QUESTIONS RAISED IN COA MEETINGS CONCERNING TRQ FILL RATES  
(JANUARY 2015 – DECEMBER 2023)1 
ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
107138  107 27/11/2023  United States of 
America  Ecuador  Cereals Corn 
107139  107 27/11/2023  European Union  India     
107140  107 27/11/2023  Paraguay  Israel  Cereals  Corn 
107202  107 27/11/2023  Paraguay  Switzerland      
106084  106 27/09/2023  European Union  Norway      
106086  106 27/09/2023  Paraguay  Norway  Meat Bovine, Swine, Poultry, Butter, Eggs, 
Fresh vegetables  
106087  106 27/09/2023  European Union  Panama  Meat Poultry, Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, 
Butter, Cheese, Other, Fresh 
vegetables  
106088  106 27/09/2023  Canada  United Kingdom      
106089  106 27/09/2023  Brazil  United States of America  Meat Bovine  
106168  106 27/09/2023  India Canada  Dairy  Milk, Milk powders, Other  
106169  106 27/09/2023  India Costa Rica  Dairy  Milk 
105126  105 27/06/2023  Paraguay  Canada  Meat Bovine  
105127  105 27/06/2023  Canada  Costa Rica      
105150  105 27/06/2023  Paraguay  Costa Rica      
105153  105 27/06/2023  European Union  Panama  Meat Poultry, Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, 
Butter, Cheese, Other, Fresh 
vegetables  
105155  105 27/06/2023  United Kingdom  United States of America  Meat Bovine  
105158  105 27/06/2023  Canada  Panama  Meat Other, Milk, Fresh  vegetables  
105159  105 27/06/2023  Canada  United States of America  Dairy  Cheese, Animal feed, Other  
105161  105 27/06/2023  Switzerland  United States of America  Dairy  Cheese  
104044  104 27/03/2023  Paraguay    Fruit and Vegetables  Fruit 
104073  104 27/03/2023  Thailand    Fruit and Vegetables  Nuts 
104074  104 27/03/2023  Canada  Switzerlan d Live animals  Swine  
103001  103 21/11/2022  Brazil, Argentina  United States of Am erica Sugar  Sugar, Cane or beet sugar, Other  
103003  103 21/11/2022  Brazil  Malaysia  Meat Swine, Poultry  
103101  103 21/11/2022  Australia  China  Cereals  Rice 
 
1 The complete questions and answers can be accessed by clicking on the ID number. One may also go to the Agriculture Informati on Management System at 
http://agims.w to.org  and enter the ID numbers in the function "Search Q&A Submitted Since 1995" to access the relevant record of discussions. Alternatively,  to obtain all records, 
users may do a search using the keyword "Tariff quota f ill" in the available search criteria of the function "Search Q&A Submitted Since 1995".   
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 29 - ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
103102  103 21/11/2022  Paraguay  China  Cereals  Rice 
103104  103 21/11/2022  Paraguay  Iceland  Meat Meat, Bovine, Swine, Sheep and goat, 
Poultry, Horses, Other  
103105  103 21/11/2022  New Zealand  Iceland  Dairy  Butter  
102002  102 14/09/2022  European Union  Brazil      
102003  102 14/09/2022  European Union  Dominican Republic      
102098  102 14/09/2022  India European Union  Cereals  Rice 
102110  102 14/09/2022  Brazil  India Cereals  Corn 
102111  102 14/09/2022  Australia  Japan  Dairy  Milk, Milk powders, Butter, Other  
102084  102 14/09/2022  New Zealand  Korea, Re public of  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Other  
102112  102 14/09/2022  United Kingdom  Norway      
102113  102 14/09/2022  Australia  Panama      
102005  102 14/09/2022  European Union  Panama  Dairy  Milk, Cheese  
102114  102 14/09/2022  Brazil  Philippines  Meat Bovin e 
102099  102 14/09/2022  New Zealand  Philippines  Meat Bovine  
102115  102 14/09/2022  Australia  United Kingdom  Meat Bovine  
102116  102 14/09/2022  Brazil  United Kingdom      
102066  102 14/09/2022  Paraguay  United Kingdom      
102117  102 14/09/2022  Thailand  United Kingdom  Meat Poultry, Rice  
102104  102 14/09/2022  India United States o f America  Dairy  Milk powders, Cheese, Cocoa 
beans/powder/butter, Cotton  
102001  102 14/09/2022  Switzerland  United States of America  Dairy  Cheese  
101005  101 27/06/2022  European Union  Panama  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
101018  101 27/06/2022  Paraguay, Brazil  El Salvador      
101020  101 27/06/2022  Australia  Canada  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
101021  101 27/06/2022  Australia  Panama      
101022  101 27/06/2022  Australia  Thailand      
101026  101 27/06/2022  Australia  United States of America      
101036  101 27/06/2022  Brazil  Canada  Live animals  Bovine  
101045  101 27/06/2022  Brazil  European Union  Live animals  Other 
101046  101 27/06/2022  Brazil  Thailand  Coffee  Coffee, Wheat, Oil seeds, fats and oils, 
Seeds, Vegetable oils and fats, 
Fats/Oils of animal origin, Other fats 
and oils, Cane or beet sugar  
101048  101 27/06/2022  Brazil  United States of America  Fibres  Cotton  
101064  101 27/06/2022  United States of 
America  China  Cereals  Rice 
101065  101 27/06/2022  United States of 
America  Kazakhstan  Meat Bovine, Poultry  
101079  101 27/06/2022  New Zealand  United States of America  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other   
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 30 - ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
101085  101 27/06/2022  Paraguay, Brazil  European Union      
100012  100 15/03/2022  United States of 
America  United Kingdom  Meat Bovine, Cheese, Alcoholic  
100042  100 15/03/2022  Brazil  South Africa  Meat Bovine, Corn, Tobacco, Cotton  
100043  100 15/03/2022  Brazil  United Kingdom  Fruit and Vegetab les Roots and tubers  
100053  100 15/03/2022  European Union  Iceland  Dairy  Butter  
100060  100 15/03/2022  Australia  India Dairy  Milk powders, Corn, Vegetable oils and 
fats 
100061  100 15/03/2022  Canada  South Africa  Meat Bovine, Swine,  Processed vegetables  
100067  100 15/03/2022  Paraguay  Korea, Republic of  Residues of processing 
industry  Other residues, Animal feed, Seeds  
100069  100 15/03/2022  Paraguay  South Africa  Meat Bovine, Wheat, Corn, Coarse grains  
100074  100 15/03/2022  Paraguay  United Kingdom  Meat Bovine, Wh eat, Corn, Rice, Roots and 
tubers, Cane or beet sugar  
100076  100 15/03/2022  Paraguay  South Africa  Meat Bovine, Corn, Coarse grains, Cane or 
beet sugar  
100077  100 15/03/2022  Paraguay  Switzerland  Meat Bovine, Cereals, Wheat, Corn, Rice, 
Malt, Coarse grains  
100089  100 15/03/2022  Australia  Switzerland  Cereals  Wheat, Coarse grains  
100090  100 15/03/2022  Australia  United Kingdom  Meat Bovine, Sheep and goat, Dairy, Milk, 
Milk powders, Butter, Cheese, Other, 
Fruit and Vegetables, Fresh vegetables, 
Processed vegetables, Roots and 
tubers, Fruit, Nuts, Processed fruit or 
nuts, Fruit and vegetable beverages, 
Wheat, Malt, Cane or beet sugar, 
Alcoholic  
100091  100 15/03/2022  Canada  United Kingdom  Meat Bovine  
99003  99 23/09/2021  Thailand  Japan  Cereals  Rice 
99009  99 23/09/2021  Paraguay  United Kingdom  Meat Bovine  
99019  99 23/09/2021  India Russian Federation      
99020  99 23/09/2021  India United States of America  Dairy  Milk, Milk powders, Cheese, Other , 
Cotton  
99027  99 23/09/2021  Brazil  China  Cereals  Rice 
99030  99 23/09/2021  Australia  India     
99048  99 23/09/2021  Brazil  India Cereals  Corn 
99049  99 23/09/2021  Australia  Japan      
99050  99 23/09/2021  New Zealand  Japan      
99051  99 23/09/2021  New Zealand  Russian Federation  Meat Bovine , Poultry, Other  
99052  99 23/09/2021  Brazil  United Kingdom      
99053  99 23/09/2021  Thailand  United Kingdom  Meat Poultry  
98007  98 17/06/2021  India Brazil  Fruit and Vegetables  Fruit, W heat 
98008  98 17/06/2021  India Russian Federation       
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 31 - ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
98009  98 17/06/2021  India United States of America  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
98034  98 17/06/2021  Australia  India Dairy  Milk, Corn  
98035  98 17/06/2021  United States of 
America  India Dairy  Milk, Corn  
98082  98 17/06/2021  Australia  Japan  Dairy  Milk powders, Butter, Other, Processed 
vegetables, Nuts, Coarse grains, Silk  
98083  98 17/06/2021  New Zealand  Japan  Dairy  Milk powders, Butt er, Other  
98102  98 17/06/2021  Australia  Morocco  Meat Sheep and goat  
98104  98 17/06/2021  Australia  Nicaragua  Dairy  Milk 
98106  98 17/06/2021  Australia  Norway  Meat Bovine, Swine, Sheep  and goat, 
Poultry, Eggs, Fresh vegetables, Fruit  
98110  98 17/06/2021  Brazil  Russian Federation      
98150  98 17/06/2021  Paraguay  Norway  Meat Bovine  
97040  97 29/03/2021  United States of 
America  India Dairy  Milk powders  
97066  97 29/03/2021  European Union  China  Cereals  Wheat  
97067  97 29/03/2021  European Union  South Afr ica     
97123  97 29/03/2021  Australia  China  Cereals  Wheat, Rice  
97124  97 29/03/2021  Canada  China  Cereals  Wheat  
97125  97 29/03/2021  Thailand  China  Cereals  Rice 
97126  97 29/03/2021  Canada  European Union  Meat Swine  
97127  97 29/03/2021  Australia  India Oil seeds  Vegetable oils and fats  
97128  97 29/03/2021  Brazil  India Cereals  Corn 
97129  97 29/03/2021  Australia  North Macedonia  Cereals  Coarse grains  
97133  97 29/03/2021  Paraguay  European Union      
96006  96 30/11/2020  Paraguay  Korea, Repu blic of      
96032  96 30/11/2020  China  Japan      
96041  96 30/11/2020  New Zealand  Canada      
96067  96 30/11/2020  Australia  Canada  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Coarse grains  
96068  96 30/11/2020  Australia  Korea, Republic of  Dairy  Milk, Fresh vegetables  
96069  96 30/11/2020  Australia  Switzerland      
96070  96 30/11/2020  European Union  Thailand  Cereals  Corn, Tobacco  
95077  95 22/09/2020  Australia  Dominican Republic      
95078  95 22/09/2020  China  Japan  Fruit and Vegetables  Nuts 
93046  93 28/07/2020  New Zealand  Canada      
93061  93 28/07/2020  Paraguay  European Union      
93062  93 28/07/2020  Paraguay  Switzerland      
93088  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Brazil  Cereals  Wheat  
93090  93 28/07/2020  Australia  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
93092  93 28/07/2020  Russian Federation  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
93093  93 28/07/2020  Australia  European Union      
93095  93 28/07/2020  New Zealand  European Union       
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 32 - ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
93096  93 28/07/2020  Russian Federation  European Union      
93097  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Korea, Republic of      
93098  93 28/07/2020  Brazil  Korea, Republic of  Fruit and Vegeta bles Fresh vegetables  
93099  93 28/07/2020  Russian Federation  Korea, Republic of      
93100  93 28/07/2020  Russian Federation  Morocco  Live animals  Sheep and goat  
93103  93 28/07/2020  Thailand  Ukraine  Sugar  Sugar, Cane or beet  sugar, Other  
93105  93 28/07/2020  Russian Federation  Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic 
of     
93181  93 28/07/2020  New Zealand  Norway      
93189  93 28/07/2020  European Union  Kazakhstan  Meat Bovine  
93204  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Japan      
93205  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Kazakhstan      
93206  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Nicaragua      
93207  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Norway      
93208  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Panama      
93209  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Russian Federation      
93214  93 28/07/2020  Australia  Chinese Taipei      
93237  93 28/07/2020  Paraguay  European Union      
93304  93 28/07/2020  United States of 
America  Canada  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
93312  93 28/07/2020  New Zealand  Canada      
92110  92 30/10/2019  Russian Federation  Thailand      
92111  92 30/10/2019  Ukraine  Thailand      
92112  92 30/10/2019  Australia  Thailand      
91017  91 25/06/2019  New Zealand  Canada      
91030  91 25/06/2019  European Union  Canada  Dairy  Butter  
91031  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Canada  Meat Bovine, Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, 
Butter, Cheese, Other, Wheat  
91032  91 25/06/2019  Russian Federation  Canada  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Coarse grains  
91033  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Costa Rica      
91034  91 25/06/2019  Russian Federation  Costa Rica      
91035  91 25/06/2019  Australia  European Union      
91037  91 25/06/2019  Russian Federation  European Union      
91038  91 25/06/2019  European Union  India Dairy  Milk powders, Vegetable oils and fats  
91039  91 25/06/2019  Austra lia Japan      
91040  91 25/06/2019  European Union  Japan  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Mi lk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
91041  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Kazakhstan  Meat Bovine, Poultry  
91042  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Norway      
91045  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Panama  Meat Poultry, Dairy, Milk , Milk powders, 
Butter, Cheese, Other, Fresh 
vegetables   
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 33 - ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
91046  91 25/06/2019  European Union  Philippines  Live animals  Live animals, Bovine, Swine, Sheep 
and goat, Poultry, Horses, Other, 
Sugar, Cane or beet sugar, Other  
91047  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Philippines  Live animals  Live animals, Bovine, Swine, Sheep 
and goat, Poultry, Horses, Other, 
Bovine, Sheep and goat  
91048  91 25/06/2019  Australia  Russian Federation  Meat Bovine, Swine, Poultry, Other  
91049  91 25/06/2019  European Union  Russian Federation  Meat Swine  
91050  91 25/06/2019  European Union  United States of America  Dairy  Cheese, Fresh vegetables  
91081  91 25/06/2019  Canada  European Union  Meat Swine, Wheat  
91082  91 25/06/2019  Canada  Japan  Fruit and Vegetables  Processed vegetables, Coarse grains  
91083  91 25/06/2019  Canada  Kazakhstan  Meat Bovine  
91085  91 25/06/2019  Canada  Russian Federation  Meat Bovine, Swi ne 
91128  91 25/06/2019  Indonesia  Thailand  Fruit and Vegetables  Fruit, Coffee  
90048  90 26/02/2019  Russian Federa tion North Macedonia      
90072  90 26/02/2019  Australia  India Cereals  Corn 
90073  90 26/02/2019  Australia  North Macedonia      
90074  90 26/02/2019  Australia  Ukraine  Sugar  Sugar, Cane or beet sugar, Other  
90090  90 26/02/2019  Canada  North Macedonia      
89052  89 26/11/2018  Australia  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
89068  89 26/11/2018  Australia  European Union      
89069  89 26/11/2018  Russian Federation  European Union  Meat Poultry, Milk powders, Butter, Eggs  
89070  89 26/11/2018  Thailand  European Union      
89071  89 26/11/2018  Russian Federation  Panama  Meat Poultry  
88024  88 25/09/2018  Australia  South Africa  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Eggs, Processed fruit or 
nuts 
88025  88 25/09/2018  Australia  Malaysia      
88057  88 25/09/2018  New Zealand  Norway  Meat Sheep and goat, Butter  
87083  87 11/06/2018  Australia  Canada  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Wheat  
87084  87 11/06/2018  Australia  Chinese Taipei  Fruit and Vegetables  Fruit 
87085  87 11/06/2018  Australia  Russian Federation  Meat Bovine, Other  
87086  87 11/06/2018  Australia  United States of America  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Cotton  
87111  87 11/06/2018  Australia  Japan  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
86043  86 21/02/2018  Switzerland  Costa Rica  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
86072  86 21/02/2 018 European Union  El Salvador  Dairy  Cheese  
85014  85 17/10/2017  United States of 
America  Norway  Live animals  Swine, Poultry, Eggs, Fresh vegetables  
85040  85 17/10/2017  European Union  Kazakhstan  Meat Bovine, Poultry  
85080  85 17/10/2017  Australia  Kazakhstan  Meat Bovine   
  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 34 - ID #  CoA Meeting 
Number  COA Meeting 
Date  Question by  Answer by  Broad product category  Products  
85082  85 17/10/2017  Thailand  Malaysia  Live animals  Poultry, Swine, Eggs  
84053  84 07/06/2017  Canada  European Union      
84100  84 07/06/2017  Guatemala  United States of America  Sugar  Sugar, Cane or beet sugar, Other  
84101  84 07/06/2017  Guatemala  European Union      
83015  83 28/03/2017  European Union  Moldova, Republic of      
82063  82 09/11/2016  Switzerland  Thailand  Dairy  Milk 
81026  81 14/09/2016  United States of 
America  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
81034  81 14/09/2016  European Union  Canad a     
81036  81 14/09/2016  European Union  Korea, Republic of  Fruit an d Vegetables  Fruit 
81037  81 14/09/2016  European Union  Tunisia  Meat Meat, Bovine, Swine, Sheep and goat, 
Poultry, Horses, Other, Dairy, Milk, Milk 
powders, Butter, Cheese, Other, Fresh 
vegetables  
81072  81 14/09/2016  Australia  Tunisia  Dairy  Milk powders, Butter  
81073  81 14/09/2016  Canada  Tunisia  Meat Bovine, Fresh vegetabl es 
81099  81 14/09/2016  Switzerland  South Africa  Dairy  Butter, Cheese  
81100  81 14/09/2016  Switzerland  Tunisia  Dairy Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
80018  80 07/06/2016  Australia  Japan  Dairy  Milk powders  
80058  80 07/06/2016  European Union  Japan  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Milk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other  
80060  80 07/06/2 016 European Union  Norway  Meat Poultry  
80070  80 07/06/2016  Canada  China  Cereals  Wheat  
80093  80 07/06/2016  United States of 
America  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
80099  80 07/06/2016  Thailand  Chinese Taipei  Fruit and Vegetables  Fruit 
80100  80 07/06/2016  Thailand  Russian Federation  Meat Poultry  
79006  79 09/03/2016  United States of 
America  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
79048  79 09/03/201 6 Australia  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn  
79049  79 09/03/2016  Australia  Ukraine  Sugar  Sugar, Cane or bee t sugar, Other  
79068  79 09/03/2016  Canada  China  Cereals  Wheat  
79078  79 09/03/2016  Switzerland  Costa Rica  Dairy  Cheese, Other  
78004  78 25/09/2015  United States of 
America  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
78043  78 25/09/2015  South Africa  European Union  Fruit and Vegetables  Fruit, Other  
77036  77 04/06/2015  Switzerland  Canada  Dairy  Milk 
77049  77 04/06/2015  European Union  Japan  Dairy  Dairy, Milk, Mi lk powders, Butter, 
Cheese, Other, Processed vegetables, 
Nuts 
77068  77 04/06/2015  United States of 
America  China  Cereals  Wheat, Corn, Rice  
76022  76 04/03/2015  Australia  Korea, Republic of      
 G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
- 35 - 
 
  ANNEX C  
TECHNICAL NOTES  
MEMBER  TQID  NOTE  
Brazil  BRAQ002  Tariff quota not opened until 2018. Tariff quota 
administration arrangement notified for the quota 
year 2019-20 in G/AG/N/BRA/55 .  
Canada  CANQ005  Imports of fluid milk by consumers are not counted. By 
virtue of General Import Permit #1, which regulates the 
importation of dairy products for personal use, any 
resident of Canada may import fluid milk. The General 
Import Permit may be invoked an unlimited number of 
times  
CANQ022  Introduced in accordance with WT/LET/819  – New 
schedule effective as of 6 July 2011  
China  CHNQ003, CHNQ004  Import data for CHNQ003 is reported under CHNQ004 
during the implementation years of 2015 -2020.  
CHNQ005, 006, 007  Tariff quotas were eliminated in accordance with the 
Schedule CLII on 1 January 2006  
Ecuador  All The latest Table MA:1 notification  in G/AG/N/ECU/50  
(and Corr.1 ) has been used to assign tariff quota 
administration methods (as well as additional 
conditions). Ecuador, in its MA:2 notification s for the 
period under review state s that " applied MFN tariffs for 
some subheadings remained below the q uota tariff 
levels ". 
European 
Union  All For a number of tariff quotas, the in -quota import data 
reflect authorized imports rather than effective imports. 
Please see the MA:2 notifications for further details.  
 
EU's consolidated Table MA:1 notification in 
G/AG/N/EU/31  (and Corr.1) has been used to assign the 
principal administration method as well as additional 
conditions for the period 2015 -2020. The corresponding 
information in Attachment 1 for the years 2021 and 2022 
have been sourced fr om G/AG/N/EU/65  (including  Add.1  
and Add.2 ) and G/AG/N/EU/72  (including  Corr.1  and  
Corr.2 ) respectively.  
EU-Q001 -124 TQIDs  based on the draft EU -28 Schedule in 
G/MA/TAR/RS/506 . This is without prejudice to the 
pending certification of the draft schedule as well as the 
ongoing negotiations under Article XXVIII of the 
GATT  1994.  
 
The EU's tariff quota quantities for 202 1 and 2022 are the 
EU-27 apportioned quantities that apply as of 
1 January  2021. The EU's Table MA:2 notifications in 
G/AG/N/EU/76  and G/AG/N/EU/85  refer. 
EU-Q085 -86 Two tariff quotas on manioc starch are managed together  
Iceland  ISLQ057, 083  Import data for ISLQ057 is reported under ISLQ083  
ISLQ085,086  Import data for ISL Q086 is reported under ISLQ085  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  MEMBER  TQID  NOTE  
Japan  JPNQ002, 004, 008  The tariff quota quantities opened and actual in -quota 
imports do not include quantities available in the Hozei 
area (area where collection of customs duties on imports 
is temporarily reserved). Please consult the relevant 
Table MA:2 notifications by Japan .  
JPNQ003, 005  The tariff quota system is not applied, as these products 
can be imported in the Hozei  area (where the collection 
of customs duties is temporarily reserved), provided they 
are used for consumption in the cruise of international 
maritime vessels and international airlines as described 
in the Notes to Section I -B of Part I of Japan's Schedule . 
Import statistics for products subject to the Hozei area 
system are not available  
Korea, 
Republic of  KORQ004, 005, 006, 060  As per Schedule LX, KORQ005, KORQ006 and KORQ060 
were abolished in 1997 and KORQ004 was abolished 
in 2001. A tariff -only regime a pplies to these TRQs since 
then. 
Malaysia  MYSQ008, 009, 010  Import data of MYSQ008 and MYSQ009 are reported 
together under MYSQ010  
Morocco  MARQ011, 013, 014  Scheduled tariff quota quantities are zero  
Norway  NORQ091, 092, 093  Import data of NORQ091 and NORQ092 are reported 
together under NORQ093 for the year 2015.  
Panama  PANQ016  Tariff quota was eliminated through GATT Art XXVIII 
process in  2013 (refer to WT/LET/891 ). 
Russian 
Federation  RUSQ003, 004  For 2015 -2019, the import data of RUSQ004 is reported 
under RUSQ003.  
Both tariff quotas were eliminated on 1 January 2020 in 
accordance with the Notes 3(c) &(d) in Part I, Section I -A 
of the Russian Federation's goods 
Schedule( G/AG /N/RUS/31  refers)  
RUSQ008  Scheduled tariff quota quantity is zero.  
Switzerland  CHEQ023, 024, 025  Import data of CHEQ023, CHEQ024 and CHEQ025 is 
reported together. The three wine TRQs have been 
merged into a single TRQ in the Schedule effective 
24 January 2018 (refer to WT/LET/1333 )  
Chinese 
Taipei  CHTQ001, 002, 003, 004  Tariff quotas were phased out i n accordance with the 
Schedule  CLIII on 1 January 2005  
CHTQ019  Tariff quota was phased out in accordance with the 
Schedule CLIII from 2008  
CHTQ021  Quota has been phased out since 7  February  2005 
(G/AG/N/TPKM/22  refers)  
United 
Kingdom  GBRQ001 -088 TQIDs are based on the draft UK Schedule in  
G/MA/TAR/RS/570  (including Add.1  and Add.2 ). 
This is without prejudice to the pending certification of 
the draft goods schedule of the United Kingdom as well 
as the ongoing negotiations under Article XXVIII of t he 
GATT 1994 ( WT/GC/226  also refers).  
 GBRQ060 and 061  These two tariff quotas are implemented together.  
GBRQ028,029,031,048,051,068,086 
and 087  TRQs are not included in MA:2 notifications for one or 
more reporting years. Quota quantity for GBRQ028 is 
reported as zero for 2022 ( G/AG/ N/GBR/13 ). Tariff 
quotas are shown as not opened ("AT")  in Attachment 1 . 
All Information on tariff quota administration methods (as 
well as additional conditions) in Attachment 1 has been 
sourced from the Table MA:1 notification in 
G/AG/N/GBR/2  (and Corr.1 ). 
 
Import data for the reporting year 2021 cover the 
calendar year 2021 and the six -months marketing year 
period after the end of post -Brexit 'transition period' from 
1 January to 30 June 2021. G/AG/N/GBR/6/Rev.1  refers.  
G/AG/N/GBR/17 , G/AG/N/GBR/21  and G/AG/N/GBR/25  
include disaggregated import data for country specific 
quota (CSQ) allocations.  (Paragraph 3.1 (d) of G/AG/36   
refers)  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  MEMBER  TQID  NOTE  
United States 
of America  USAQ003, 005, 007, 011, 015, 027, 
029, 031 -032, 048  Tariff quotas reserved for Mexico under NAFTA ; 
Table  MA:2 notifications for the period covered by the 
paper (2014 -2019) do not include these tariff quotas.  
Venezuela, 
Bolivarian 
Rep. of  VENQ028  Scheduled tariff quota quantity is zero  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  ATTACHMENTS 1 and 2  
ADMINISTRATION METHODS, FILL RATES, NOTIFIED QUANTITIES  
AND IMPORTS (2015 -2023), AND TARIFF QUOTAS WITH FILL RATES BELOW 65%  
Attachment 1  includes data on in -quota imports, administrat ion methods, including 
country -specific allocations where relevant, and fill rates disaggregated at the tariff quota level by 
Member and by year. The information has been sourced principally from Members' Table MA:1 and 
MA:2 notifications. Tariff quotas wh ere the fill rate during the covered period is below 65% have 
been listed out separately in Attachment 2 . The data elements contained in the two Attachments 
are as follows:  
 
COLUMN HEADING  DESCRIPTION OF DATA ELEMENT  
Member  Member having a tariff quota commitment specified in its WTO Schedule.  
Implementation Year  Implementation year/Reporting year as notified by the Member concerned.  
TQ ID  Seven -character tariff quota identifier code is comprised of the three -letter 
WTO Member code, followed by "Q" for "quota", followed by the three -digit number 
representing the sequential order in which the tariff quota is listed in the relevant 
schedule.  
Description of 
products  (CTS)  Description of the tariff quota, as specified in the Member's WTO Schedule.  
Admin method  A code indicating the principal administration method in the relevant implementation 
year (for the code descriptions see Table 2  of this paper).  
ADC A code indicating any additional condition in the relevant implementation year (for 
the code descriptions see Table 3  of this paper). Blank means no additional 
condition listed in Table 3 applies.  
CSQ allocation  This column indicates whether the tariff quota concerned has country -specific 
allocation arrangements for the relevant implementation year (information sourced 
from Members' Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications). Non -opened TRQs are not 
marked with CSQ alloca tion even when such country allocations are reserved in the 
Schedule.  
Fill rate  Tariff quota fill rates (in %) are listed for each of the implementation years, 
2015-2023. The fill rates are adjusted for cases where notified imports are greater 
than tari ff quota quantities by setting a maximum of 100% tariff quota fill. The fill 
rate column is kept empty for tariff quotas subject to 'applied tariff' (AT) 
administration method; such tariff quotas have also been excluded from Attachment 
2. For jointly -admin istered TRQs, fill rates are calculated by dividing the sum of total 
imports by the sum of scheduled TRQ quantities for the respective TRQs. Jointly -
administered TRQs are identified in the Member -specific technical notes above.  
Unit Units for each tariff quota as notified by relevant WTO Member.  
Final Quantity  The scheduled tariff quota quantity for the relevant implementation year. In case of 
jointly -administered TRQs, the sum of the jointly -administered TRQ quantities is 
displayed under the TRQ where to tal import data is reported. Jointly -administered 
TRQs are identified in the Member -specific technical notes above.  
In-quota imports during 
period  In-quota imports as notified by relevant WTO Members for the relevant 
implementation years. A blank space indicates that the relevant Member notified  
blank or "None"  as in-quota imports for the relevant implementation year.  
 
 
Attachments 1 and 2 , in the form of  two Excel files, are available in electronic format 
(Microsoft  Excel) from Documents On -line. 
 
  
 
 In original language only.  G/AG/W/183/Rev.3  
 
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  ATTACHMENT 3  
TRQ ADMINISTRATION: NOTIFICATION OF IMPORT ARRANGEMENTS  
(MEMBERS' TABLE MA:1 NOTIFICATIONS SINCE 1995)  
Contents of the Tabular attachment  
TQ IDs  Product 
description  Year Latest notified import arrangement 
applicable  Year, 
as of  Document Symbol  
Original  Addendum  Corrigendum  
* Note(s) (if applicable).  
 
The explanatory notes for Attachment 3 are included in the beginning of the attachment.  The Word 
file containing Attachment 3 is available in electronic format from Documents On -line.  
 
__________