G/SCM/W/591  
 
7 December  2023 
(23-8321) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Original:  English  
 
  
QUESTIONS FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM REGARDING THE PAPER BY THE AFRICAN 
GROUP ENTITLED " A CASE FOR REBALANCING THE AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND 
COUNTERVAILING MEASURES (ASCM) – POLICY SPACE TO PROMOTE 
INDUSTRIALISATION  IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES " 
The following communication, dated and received on 7  December  2023, is being circulated at the 
request of the delegation of the United Kingdom.  
 
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The U nited Kingdom  would like to thank the African Group for its paper on rebalanc ing the ASCM  
(G/SCM/W/589 ) and helpful discussion at the SCM Committee during the October Rules Week. We 
noted divergent views among the Membership regarding the possible positive and negative spillover 
effects of the WTO Agreements on economic development . We, however, continue to be open to 
working with Members to examine how the existing WTO frameworks can better promote 
industrialisation and support sustainable development. With this in mind, the U nited Kingdom  asked 
the following questions during our i ntervention at the recent SCM Committee to better understand 
the connection between the WTO Agreements and the challenges highlighted by the African Group 
in its paper, as well as detail on elements of the proposal. We have set these questions out in writi ng 
below:  
1.  Could the African Group please clarify whether it has considered how its proposals under 
its ASCM fit in the context of its wider proposals put forward for other WTO Agreements, 
and those proposed by the G90? In particular:  
a. How would its proposal s to revise the coverage of Article 27.2(a) of the ASCM  interact 
with proposals put forward by the LDC Group on LDC Graduation regarding 
Article  27.2(a)?  
b. How would its proposals in regarding Article 3.1b of the ASCM  interact with its proposals 
on local con tent for the TRIMS Agreement? We would note that paragraph  5.2 of the 
African Group's TRIMS paper proposes a local content exemption to " address specific 
objectives aligned with the climate response and the 'nationally determined 
contributions ' under the Paris Agreement"  which would cover ASCM Article 3.1(b), but 
a similar proposal has not been included in its ASCM paper proposals.  
2.  The paper proposes that the prohibition under ASCM Article 3.1(b) should not apply to 
developing or LDC countries, provided that the use of domestic goods does not exceed a 
threshold to be determined. Could the African Group provide further detail on the 
percentage threshold that would be deemed necessary to achieve objectives stated in its 
paper, how this threshold wo uld be calculated, and what mechanisms would be 
implemented to monitor compliance?  
3.  Could the African Group, in regard to bullet 5 of paragraph 3.2 of the paper, provide further 
detail on what it proposes on elements of Article 27, such as remedies, to be considered 
by developing countries?  
4.  Could the African Group explain which developing countries were targets of antidumping 
and countervailing actions?  
5.  Could the African Group provide specific examples of how the ASCM  has presented 
constrain ts in the ability of its Members to design subsidies towards supporting 
industrialisation, economic diversification and sustainable development, where existing 
flexibilities available to Members to support economic objectives are deemed insufficient?  
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