RESTRICTED  
  
G/MA/M/57  
 
10 June 2013  
(13-3005)  Page: 1/10  
Committee on Market Access    
 
 MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS  
7 MAY 2013 
CHAIRMAN: MR. BIPIN MENON (INDIA) 
Subjects discussed                   Pages 
A. PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITT EE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN 
GOODS - REPORT ON THE CONSULTATIONS ..................................................................... 2  
B. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 1996 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS (L/6905 AND WT/L/756) - STATUS REPORT ....................................... 2  
C. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2002 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/605 AND WT/L/807) -  
STATUS REPORT ............................................................................................................... 2  
D. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/673 AND WT/L/830) - 
STATUS REPORT ............................................................................................................... 3  
E. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2012 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABA SE (WT/L/831) - STATUS REPORT ................ 3  
F. OPERATION OF THE INTEGRATED DATA  BASE (IDB), INCLUDING STATUS 
OF SUBMISSIONS (G/MA/IDB/2/REV.37), AND THE CTS DATABASE - STATUS REPORT ............................................................................................................................ 4
 
G. DOCUMENT CONSOLIDATING THE NOTI FICATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE 
IDB (JOB/MA/106 AND JO B/MA/106/REV.1) ................................................................. 4  
H. DISSEMINATION OF THE INTEGRAT ED DATA BASE (IDB) AND THE 
CONSOLIDATED TARIFF SCHEDULES (CTS) DATABASE - REQUEST FROM THE 
LATIN AMERICAN INTEGRATION ASSOCI ATION (ALADI)- G/MA/W/112 ........................ 5  
I. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO THE DECISION ON NOTIFICATION 
PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RE STRICTIONS (G/L /59/REV.1) ............................... 5  
J. DRAFT DECISION DERESTRICTING TH E NEGOTIATING MATERIAL OF THE 
DILLON ROUND AND SOME NEGOTIATIN G MATERIAL OF THE EARLIER GATT 
ROUNDS (G/MA/W/111) ................................................................................................. 7  
K. SITUATION OF SCHEDULES OF WTO MEMBERS (G/MA/W/23/REV.9) .................... 8  
L. UKRAINE: IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON COKING COAL - REQUEST BY THE 
RUSSIAN FEDERATION ..................................................................................................... 8  
M. OTHER BUSINESS .................................................................................................. 10  
N. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON .......................................................................... 10  
 
The Committee adopted the agenda as reproduced in WTO/AIR/4119 with the inclusion of the 
following item under Other Business:  "Date of the next meeting."  An annotated agenda was 
circulated in JOB/MA/107.   G/MA/M/57 
 
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  A. PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS - 
REPORT ON THE CONSULTATIONS 
1. The Chairman recalled that he had brought up this issue at the formal meeting of the 
Committee in October 2012.  The two periodic reports sent to the Council for Trade in Goods 
(CTG) every year seemed to be redundant in ligh t of the fact that the Committee sent an annual 
report to the CTG which repeated the information in the two periodic reports.  This practice had its genesis in the almost automatic renewal of a large number of waivers in the early 1990s and had 
been initiated by Sweden. At his request, the Secretariat had issued a background note on the 
subject in JOB/MA/105. This subject was discusse d at an informal meeting of the Committee on 
13 December 2012 where large-scale support was expressed for not continuing with this practice.  He proposed that the Committee formally agree to discontinue the practice of sending periodic 
reports to the CTG. 
 2. The representative of the United States
1 noted that her delegation had found the periodic 
reports to be useful and wished to support the continuation of that practice.  3. The Committee agreed to revert to this issue at its next meeting.   
 B. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 1996 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS (L/6905 AND WT/L/756) - STATUS REPORT  
4. The Chairman noted that there were two pr ocedures which had been used by Members to 
introduce HS1996 changes to schedules of concessions. The general procedure contained in GATT 
document L/6905 dated October 1991 and the specific procedure contained in WTO document WT/L/756 dated 29 May 2009.  He further recalled that under the first procedure, Members had to 
transpose their own schedules, whereas under the second one the Secretariat had transposed the 
schedules of 64 developing countries and LDCs.  
5. There were five Members whose schedules had been pending under either one or the other of 
these procedures.  He was pleased to inform Me mbers that now there were four.  Following the 
completion of its domestic approval procedure, Australia had given authorization for its HS1996 file 
to be certified.  
 
6. Regarding the other open files, in respect of Bangladesh, the Chairman noted that Bangladesh had pointed out the omission of some of their Article XXVIII renegotiation outcomes in their 
HS1996 file. Bangladesh had provided a notification to the Secretariat at the end of 2012 and the 
Secretariat earlier this year had sent Bangladesh comments on this notification.   In the case of South Africa, detailed questions had been raised by a delegation on the bindings of certain tariff 
lines in HS chapters 4, 33 and 35.  He believed that given the complexity of the technical exercise, 
South Africa was still looking into this issue.  In respect of Venezuela, the next step continued to be the organization of a meeting or a video co nference between the Secretariat and relevant 
Venezuelan authorities so that they could review the revised documentation which was sent to 
Venezuela last year.  Concerning Ecuador, Ecuador's HS2002 file had now been approved which 
would in turn enable the finalization of Ecuado r's HS1996 file.  The latter would be posted on the 
Members' website shortly for review. Lastly, he encouraged the three Members to expedite the 
procedures.  
 7. The Committee took note of the report.   
 C. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2002 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/605 AND WT/L/807) - STATUS REPORT  
8. A member of the Secretariat (Mr. Jurgen Richte ring) stated that a revised full report had been 
issued as JOB/MA/42/Rev.8 on 26 April 2013.  Th e status of the HS2002 transposition after the 
multilateral review held on 3 May 2013 was the following: 102 HS2002 files had been certified and 
7 HS2002 file were in the process of being ce rtified; one HS2002 file was approved on an 
ad referendum  basis; five HS2002 files were released for multilateral review and had received 
                                               
1 The US delegation through communication dated 14 May 2013 informed the Secretariat that the US 
could join the consensus to discontinue the practice.  G/MA/M/57 
 
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  comments from other Members; one draft HS2002 file had been completed and sent to the 
Member for a first review; and two draft HS2002 files remained to be prepared.  9. The Committee took note of the report.  
 
D. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/673 AND WT/L/830) - STATUS 
REPORT  
10. A member of the Secretariat (Mr. Jurgen Richtering) reported that work on the HS2007 had 
progressed since the last meeting of the Committee.  A revised full report was issued as 
JOB/MA/104/Rev.2 on 26 April 2013.  The status of the HS2007 transposition work after the 
multilateral review held on 3 May 2013 was the following:  19 HS2007 files had been approved of 
which four had been approved on ad referendum  basis;  27 HS2007 files had been released for 
multilateral review and had received comments from other Members; 41 draft HS2007 files had 
been completed and sent to Members for their first review; six Members' submissions remained to 
be verified by the Secretariat; and 33 draft HS2007 files remained to be prepared.   
11. At the informal meeting of 3 May 2013, the Secretariat had presented a revision to its 
implementation of the HS2007 transposition methodology concerning tariff headings HS 8486, HS 3006.92 and HS 4823.90.  This revision was triggered by reservations and comments from some Members regarding the use of averages in the transposition files prepared by the 
Secretariat.  In reviewing its approach, taking into account the complexity of the product 
breakouts and the absence of trade statistics, the Secretariat had proposed a revised, simple and pragmatic solution which was the use of mode (the most frequent duty level value) to identify the 
HS2007 duty for each of the HS 8486 subheadings.  This approach would only apply to non-ITA 
participants with no or few unbound tariff lines.  In case of high shares of unbound tariff lines, a 
manual transposition would be undertaken by the Secretariat.  The transposition approach of ITA 
participants was not affected by the revision as no comments and reservations had been 
introduced in respec t of such files.  
 12. For HS 3006.92 and HS 4823.90 the Secretariat would revert back to the standard approach 
instead of using averages. 
 13. To illustrate its proposal the Secretariat had made a power point presentation on 3 May which 
was available on the Members' website under RD/MA/39. This presentation would be used to 
update the room document of 2 July 2012 entitled "Non-consensus correlations in the HS2002 to HS2007 transposition" which would reflect the new transposition methodology to be used by the 
Secretariat on these lines.  The room document once updated would be circulated as a JOB 
document.     14. The Members' schedules which were affected would be revised and sent to the Members 
concerned for their review and approval/comments.  Once an understanding/approval was reached 
the files would be posted again for multilateral review.  The same approach would apply to files which had not yet been sent for multilateral review.  All files which would be posted for multilateral 
review from now on would take into account the new methodology. Finally, as noted in the 
presentation, Members always had the possibility  of submitting their own HS2007 breakouts and 
duty levels.  
 
15. The Chairman thanked the Secretariat for the innovative approach it had adopted based on 
inputs from some delegations about the way they view the mode and the standard procedures on 
these HS lines in HS2007.   
 
16. The Committee took note of the report and the statement.  
 
E. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2012 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/831) - STATUS REPORT  
17. A member of the Secretariat (Mr Jurgen Richteri ng) reported that as work was on-going on the 
HS2007 transposition the only information to report under this item was that the first HS2012 
submission had come in from the United States.   G/MA/M/57 
 
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  18. The Committee took note of the information.   
 
F. OPERATION OF THE INTEGRATED DATA BASE (IDB), INCLUDING STATUS OF SUBMISSIONS (G/MA/IDB/2/REV.37), AND THE CTS DATABASE - STATUS REPORT 
19. The Chairman drew attention to document G/ MA/IDB/2/Rev.37 which contained information on 
the status of submissions to the IDB.   
 
20. A member of the Secretariat (Mr Jurgen Richteri ng)  reported that following the circulation of 
the Status of Submissions document, G/MA/IDB /2/Rev.37, the Secretariat had received the 
following submissions:  Singapore's tariffs for 2013 and imports for 2012;  Nicaragua's tariffs for 2013 and imports for 2012; and Republic of Korea's tariffs for 2013. 
 
21. On IDB dissemination, 1614 country-periods covering 130 out of 131 WTO Members and six acceding countries (Algeria, Bahamas, Belarus, Iran, Liberia and Serbia), were now available on 
the IDB websites. No data submission had been received from Tajikistan.  The Secretariat wished 
to remind recently acceded Members to submit recent years' tariff and import information to the IDB.  
 
22. Concerning the CTS database, the Secretariat currently had files for 121 Members in the new CTS formats (described in G/MA/244) available on the FTF site.  Out of these 121 Members, 
certified HS2002 schedules were shown for 103 Members, six Members had acceded in the 
HS2002 nomenclature and six Members had acceded in the HS2007 nomenclature.  For six more 
Members, the HS2002 versions of their schedules were already shown in the CTS but the HS2002 
changes had not yet been certified.   
 
23. The files of the remaining nine Members we re still in the HS1996 nomenclature using the 
previous CTS format.  They would be updated to the new format once their HS2002 changes were 
certified.   
 24. The CTS database had been updated with the CTS files for the newly acceded Member, Tajikistan. 
 
25. The representative of the United States noted that some large countries were several years 
behind in their tariff data and import data submissions to the IDB. Her delegation requested all 
Members to devote the necessary resources to submitting data to the IDB in a timely manner. 
 26. The Committee took note of the document and of the statements.  
 G. DOCUMENT CONSOLIDATING THE NOTI FICATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE IDB 
(JOB/MA/106 AND JOB/MA/106/REV.1) 
27. The Chairman noted that this document which consolidated notification requirements of the 
IDB had been prepared at the initiative of the Se cretariat.  The purpose of this document was to 
compile in one place the numerous documents that had been issued, including revisions and corrigenda which specified in detail the data coverage, data formats and deadlines in relation to 
the General Council decision of July 1997 on the su pply of information to the IDB.  It appeared 
that a consolidation of these various documents in one comprehensive text, taking into account also the experience gained in data collection would be useful for delegations.  
 
28. This document JOB/MA/106 was discussed at an informal meeting held on 3 May where reactions to the document were positive.  He had requested the Secretariat to include a footnote in 
the Dissemination section which would encourage Members to derestrict their import statistics at a 
detailed tariff line level on a voluntary basis. Th erefore, the Secretariat had issued a revision to 
this document and in the section on Dissemination, the Secretariat had amended the text so that it now read:  "The import information at the tariff line level is confidential and its distribution is 
restricted to authorized users, except when written permission from the Members is obtained by 
the WTO Secretariat which would allow unrestricted dissemination of this information."  
29. A footnote had been included at the end of  the sentence which read "In that connection, 
Members are encouraged to provide such written permission".  G/MA/M/57 
 
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  30. The representative of the European Union (EU) understood that this was a document that was 
under the full responsibility of the WTO Secretariat. His delegation had not had the time to study it 
in full and had only seen the revised version very recently.  So, his delegation wished to have the possibility to come back to it at another meeting.  
 
31. The Chairman encouraged delegations to review the document and also recommended that 
delegations forward this document to the relevant officials in capital dealing with IDB notifications 
in order to see whether it could help them with their IDB notification updates.  
 32. The Committee took note of document JOB/MA/106/Rev.1 and agreed to revert to it.  
   
H. DISSEMINATION OF THE INTEGRATED DA TA BASE (IDB) AND THE CONSOLIDATED 
TARIFF SCHEDULES (CTS) DATABASE - REQUEST FROM THE LATIN AMERICAN 
INTEGRATION ASSOCIATION (ALADI) - G/MA/W/112 
33. The Chairman noted that on 13 July 2009 the Committee had adopted document G/MA/238 
containing the dissemination policy of the ID B and CTS database.   Certain organizations 
(UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, ITC) had been give n automatic access to these two databases.  
However, the Committee had agreed that other intergovernmental organizations wishing to have 
access would need to obtain approval from the Committee on a case-by-case basis.  This policy is contained in paragraph 5 of document G/MA/238.  Since the adoption of the dissemination policy, the Committee has granted access to several bodies  which have been listed in an addendum to 
G/MA/238.  
 34. The Committee had before it a request for access to these two databases from the Latin 
American Integration Association. The Secretariat of that organization had undertaken to use and 
publish the information contained in these databases in accordance with the terms and conditions laid out in document G/MA/238.  If the Committee agreed to grant this institution access, he 
proposed writing to them as done with previous organizations and asking them about what data 
they might have that they could share with the WTO on a reciprocal basis.    35. The Committee approved the request from the Latin American Integration Association for 
access to the IDB and the CTS database.  36. The Chairman requested the Secretariat to send  letters to all the other twenty organizations 
which had been granted access to the IDB and CTS to  see the utility of the database for them.  In 
this connection, he noted that the International Textile and Clothing Bureau no longer existed.   
I. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO THE DE CISION ON NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES 
FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS (G/L/59/REV.1) 
37. The Chairman noted that the Committee had a number of quantitative restriction (QR) 
notifications to review.  He recalled that at its last meeting, the Committee had reviewed the 
notification of Hong Kong, China and the Russian  Federation and questions had been raised on 
them.  The Committee had also agreed to re vert to the notification of Turkey.   
 
38. Several notifications had been circulated in the meantime and he proposed that the Committee 
examine each notification to see whether there were any comments.  He further noted that the 
Secretariat had received additional information from Hong Kong, China and Ukraine which would 
be circulated subsequently as addenda to their initial notification.  Japan's notification which was 
submitted last year still needed some clarification before circulation.  A notification from the European Union and a notification from Singapore were to be circulated shortly. These notifications would be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the Committee 
 
- Australia  
 
39. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Australia circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/AUS/1.  
 
40. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 G/MA/M/57 
 
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  - Canada  
 
41. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Canada circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/CAN/1. 
 
42. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 
- Costa Rica 
 
43. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Costa Rica circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/CRI/1 and G/ MA/QR/N/CRI/1/Corr.1. 
 
44. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 
- Cuba 
 
45. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Cuba circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/CUB/1.   46. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 
- Hong Kong, China  
 
47. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Hong Kong, China 
circulated in G/MA/QR/N/HKG/1.  48. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 - Korea  
 49. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Korea circulated in 
document G/MA/QR/N/KOR/1.  50. The representative of Australia stated that she had some general comments to make regarding 
all notifications as well as some specific questions on the Korean notification. As a general remark, Australia noted that it would assist Members to review the notifications if columns were completed in full, such as columns 5 and 7.  Her delegation was also disappointed with the low number of 
Members who had submitted notifications.  Australia encouraged all outstanding notifications to be 
submitted as soon as possible.    51. In respect of Korea's notification, Australia had some questions. For quantitative restriction 
(QR) Numbers (Nos.) 3, 4 and 5 which were export prohibitions on sandstone and granite, could 
Korea outline the respective restrictions on domestic production or consumption which were also required by Article XX (g) of GATT 1994?  For QR  Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17, could Korea outline the 
rational for export restrictions? There was non-automatic licensing on sand, pebbles and crushed 
rock stone and the respective restrictions on domestic production or consumption were also required by Article XX (g) of GATT 1994. For QR No s. 21 to 88, could Korea outline the rational for 
import restrictions?  Again there were non-automatic licensing requirements on plastic, tyres, 
glass, engines, planes and auto parts. Australia was ready to submit these questions in writing.  
 52. The representative of Korea stated that he ha d taken note of the questions posed by Australia 
and would relay the questions to capital. 
 53. The Committee took note of the statements and agreed to revert to the notification.  
 - Macao, China   
 
54. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Macao, China circulated 
in G/MA/QR/N/MAC/1.  
 55. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 G/MA/M/57 
 
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  - New Zealand  
 
56. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of New Zealand circulated 
in G/MA/QR/N/NZL/1.  
 
57. The Committee took note of the notification.  
   
- Russian Federation 
 
58. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of the Russian Federation 
circulated in G/MA/QR/N/RUS/1 and G/MA/QR/N/RUS/1/Corr.1.  
 
59. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 
- Thailand  
 
60. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Thailand circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/THA/1 and G/MA/QR/N/THA/1/Corr.1.   61. The representative of Australia asked whether in respect of QR No. 5, Thailand could explain 
the rational for the export prohibition on natural sand and the respective restrictions on domestic 
production or consumption which were also required under Article XX (g) of GATT 1994. 
 62. The representative of Thailand requested to have the questions in writing and would convey 
them to capital.  
 63. The Committee took note of the statements and agreed to revert to this notification.  
 - Turkey 
 64. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Turkey circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/TUR/1 and G/MA/QR/N/TUR/1/Corr.1.  
 65. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 - Ukraine 
 
66. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the QR notification of Ukraine circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/UKR/1. 
 67. The representative of Australia asked whethe r Ukraine could confirm that it had no other 
quantitative restrictions than those listed in the notification, for example on diamonds and 
endangered species since no Section 1 had been included with this notification.  
68. The representative of Ukraine requested the question in writing.  
 
69. The Committee took note of the statements and agreed to revert to this notification.  
 - United States  
 70. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to  the QR notification of the United States 
circulated in G/MA/QR/N/USA/1. 
 71. The Committee took note of the notification.  
 J. DRAFT DECISION DERESTRICTING THE NEGOTIATING MATERIAL OF THE DILLON 
ROUND AND SOME NEGOTIATING MATERIAL OF THE EARLIER GATT ROUNDS 
(G/MA/W/111) 
72. The Chairman recalled that the Committee at its formal meeting on 16 October 2012 had 
adopted procedures for the derestriction of some  of the aforementioned negotiating material 
(G/MA/285).  Pursuant to these procedures, Members had six months from the date of the G/MA/M/57 
 
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  document, 29 October 2012, to review their negoti ating material and to notify the Secretariat of 
any document which they considered should remain  restricted for a further period of time.  The 
procedures also envisaged that open-ended informal consultations would be held in May 2013 to consider a draft decision that would propose the ge neral derestriction in the near future of all the 
documents listed in the annex to document G/MA/285. In this connection, a draft decision was 
elaborated and circulated in G/MA/W/111.  This draft decision was discussed at the informal meeting of the Committee on 3 May.  Japan had expressed some concerns about derestricting 
their bilaterals but had indicated that they would further consult with their authorities.  
 73. The representative of Japan stated that his authorities were still reviewing some of the specific 
documents in G/MA/285 but would complete the proc ess shortly.  Japan fully shared the value of 
derestriction and it was not their intention to delay the progress.  Nevertheless, Japan wished to 
propose that the Committee approve the document on an ad referendum basis and provide two 
months for comments.  
 
74. The Chairman proposed that the Committee approve the draft decision on an ad referendum  
basis and allow two months from the date of this meeting for comments.  If no comments were 
forthcoming then the draft decision would go to the General Council for its end-of-July meeting for 
adoption.   75. The Committee so agreed.  
 K. SITUATION OF SCHEDULES OF WTO MEMBERS (G/MA/W/23/REV.9)  
76. The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to a document prepared by the Secretariat 
concerning the current status of schedules wh ich was circulated in G/MA/W/23/Rev.9.  Its 
usefulness derived from the fact that it compiled in one place all the legal instruments relating to each Member's schedule.  It also provided an  overview of the procedures that remained 
outstanding and, in particular, a number of renegotiations under Article XXVIII where there had 
been no information for many years. He encouraged Members to use this document as a guide to make sure that any pending issues are solved.  
77. The Committee took note of the document.  
 
L. UKRAINE: IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON COKING COAL - REQUEST BY THE RUSSIAN 
FEDERATION 
78. The representative of the Russian Federation  expressed concern regarding a measure applied 
by Ukraine. According to the notification of  Ukraine on 18 April 2013 (G/LIC/N/2/UKR/3) the 
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukra ine as of 13 March 2013 No. 225 "On amendments to 
the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of  Ukraine No. 1201 of 19 December 2012" and "On 
approval of the List of Goods which Export and Im port is subject to licensing and quotas in 2013" 
entered into force on 27 April 2013. 
 
79. This Resolution provided for 2 categories of quotas for goods subject to import licensing this 
year: a quota for coking coal of 10.2 million metric tons, and  a quota for coke of 0 tons - in other 
words, an import ban. 
 80. To date no justification of the measure in terms of WTO had been provided by Ukraine. The 
Russian Federation was of the view that this measure violated the binding WTO obligations of 
Ukraine, particularly under Article XI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.  81. When Ukraine had acceded to the WTO in 2008, it had made a binding commitment that it 
would "eliminate and would not introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrictions on 
imports or other non-tariff measures such as licensing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorization requirements, licensing requirements, and other rest rictions having equivalent effect, that could 
not be justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreement (WT/ACC/UKR/152, para.192). Yet the 
resolution indeed introduced both "quantitative restrictions on imports" and "other non-tariff measures such as licensing, quotas and bans" and such measures could not be justified under the 
WTO Agreement. 
 G/MA/M/57 
 
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  82. His delegation expected Ukraine to provide WT O Members with sufficient justification of the 
compliance of this measure with the WTO, or otherwise to eliminate the measure in question.  83. The representative of the European Union (EU) expressed serious concerns with the 
introduction of quantitative restrictions on coal and the ban on coke import adopted on 13 March2013.  According to the statement i ssued by Ukraine at the Committee on Import 
Licensing of 22 April 2013, the Resolution of th e Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 225 dated 
13.03.2013 was a final governmental decision to be  enforced in 21 days from the date of its 
publication, on 27 April 2013.  The EU requested Ukraine to clarify whether the measure had actually entered into force on 27 April or whether it had been postponed to another date.  In case of postponement, in what way was the delay compatible with the "final" nature of the decision and 
whether another "final" decision was necessary to amend the previous one?  
  84. The EU urged Ukraine to explain the newly intr oduced licensing requirements and quotas and, 
in particular, to demonstrate how the "zero" tons quota for metallurgic coke and quotas on imports 
of coking coal could be justifiable under WTO rules.  
85. The EU understood that Ukraine intended to justify those restrictions under Article XX of the 
GATT. However the EU had serious reservations as  to whether the requirements of Article XX of 
the GATT could be fulfilled in this case.   Ther efore, the EU requested Ukraine to reconsider 
urgently these trade restrictive measures by suspending their implementation until their full 
compatibility with multilateral rules and Ukraine's obligations under the WTO was assured.   
 86. The representative of the United States stated that at the Import Licensing Committee meeting 
of 22 April, the United States had joined the European Union in asking questions of Ukraine about the new import quota system on coking coal and metallurgical coke (G/LIC/Q/UKR/1).  Australia had supported the EU and US questions.  Ukraine had notified these import licensing procedures 
on 12 April (G/LIC/N/2/UKR/3) and had answered th e US questions on 30 April.  Her delegation 
thanked Ukraine for the notification and responses to the questions. 
87. Ukraine had published a decree (Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 13 March 2013 No. 225) 
which appeared to use import licensing procedur es to administer newly introduced quotas on 
coking coal and prohibitions on metallurgical coke.  The decree had not been implemented yet and 
her delegation hoped that it would not be implemented in the future.  
88. The decree indicated that Ukraine would set an annual import quota of 10.2 million tons of 
coking coal and zero tons of coke.  Her delegation was particularly interested to know how Ukraine justified its import quotas, including a quota of "zero" tons for metallurgical coke. 
 
89. In addition to being highly trade-distorting and putting undue burden on WTO Members’ exporters and Ukrainian industrial consumers of these products, the United States had serious concerns that these import quotas and bans would not be effective in helping Ukraine to manage 
its stated national goals of planning of coal mining  and increasing safety of coal storage.  Ukraine 
had stated that it was experiencing an accumulation of inventories of domestically-produced coking coal and coke, and that this situation needed to be addressed "immediately" but did not 
indicate what it was doing to control the producti on and storage of these products domestically.  
For example: What measures had Ukraine taken to control domestic production of coal mines and illegal mining in the coal-producing regions?  What Ukrainian laws and regulations were in place to 
regulate storage of coal and coke?   What steps had Ukraine taken to enforce domestic legislation 
on health and safety of mining and storage facilities in the coal-producing regions?  How did a zero quota on imports of coke improve forecasting of imports of coke?   
90. The imposition of the import restrictions on coking coal and coke could be counterproductive 
because it was likely to increase prices and increase domestic production of these products in 
Ukraine.  If prices for the products subject to qu ota increased as a result of the quota, how would 
Ukraine manage the increased incentives for illegal coal miners to operate?   
 
91. Ukraine had explained that the import quotas were temporary and would be terminated on 31 December 2013.  The United States understood that Ukraine had delayed implementation of 
these measures until 1 June 2013.   Please confirm that they would be terminated no later than 
31 December 2013 and would be administered in a manner that did not discriminate against foreign companies. That said, the United States re quested that Ukraine not take further action to 
implement these quotas and rescind the Cabinet of Ministers Decree No. 225.   G/MA/M/57 
 
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  92. The representative of Australia stated that her delegation had supported the questions raised 
by the EU and the US at the Import Licens ing Committee meeting of 22 April and certainly 
Australia had a systemic interest in continuing to watch what was happening with this particular policy. Australia would welcome a further clarification from the Ukraine as to the status of its policy 
at the present time.  
 93. The representative of Ukraine referred to the statement made by his delegation at the last 
meeting of the Committee on Import Licensing Proced ures.  He reiterated that the objective of the 
measure was to improve forecasting of imports of coking coal and ensure efficient planning of mining. Introduction of licensing procedure fo r coking coal was also necessitated by the 
aggravated ecological and social situation in the mining regions of Ukraine, caused by considerable 
accumulation and storage of domestically produced coking coal. As of 1 January 2013, the balance 
in stock of coke was 312 thousand tons, but as of 1 April 2013, 452 thousand tons were registered, so during January to March it grew by 140 thousand tons. Import of coking coal grew 
significantly – in 2012 it was 13 million tons which considerably exceeded the indicators of 2009, 
2010 and 2011.  Imports of coke and semi-coke also  grew in significant volumes. If this trend 
persisted Ukraine could expect imports of 1.5 million  tons of coke, ten times more than in 2011.  
94. So today Ukraine faced a number of challenges. Self-inflammation cases had already been 
registered in the mining regions. The danger of self-inflammation of the overfull storages caused 
growing concerns and demanded that action be taken in the area of industrial and ecological safety in order to protect health, life and social wellbe ing in the regions. The issue had to be addressed 
immediately, which was why in order to prevent new emergencies, to keep the situation under 
control, improve health and safety and alleviate social tensions that the Government was introducing this temporary measure under Article XX of GATT 1994. 
 
95. Lastly, he informed the Committee that implem entation of the Resolution of the Cabinet of 
Ministers had been postponed to 1 June 2013. 
 
96. The Committee took note of the statements. 
M. OTHER BUSINESS 
- Date of the next meeting 
  
97. The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 7 October 2013.   
N. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON 
98. The Committee elected Mr Krzysztof Trepczynski (Poland) as Chairman. 
 
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