WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
TN/AG/S/26 
21 December 2012 
 (12-7036) 
Committee on Agriculture  
Special Session  
 
 
 
TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION METHODS AND FILL RATES 
2002-2011 
 
Background Paper by the Secretariat1 
  1. At the meeting of the Committee on Agri culture Special Session on 16 November 2012 
Members endorsed the proposal for the Secretariat to provide a background paper on tariff quotas, administration methods and associated fill rates.  Th e original request for this Secretariat paper is 
contained in the G-20 non-paper "Request of Studies on Tariff Rate Quota Administration and on 
Export Competition".
2 
2. The paper presents information on the applica tion of tariff quota administration by WTO 
Members and the associated fill rates, and includes attachments.  The information contained in this 
paper has been compiled from various sources, including Members' Schedules, Table MA:1 and 
MA:2 notifications, responses to relevant ques tions raised during the Committee on Agriculture 
review process, and other releva nt documents submitted by Members.  The paper also builds on and 
updates information contained in document s TN/AG/S/5, TN/AG/S/20 and TN/AG/S/22. 
3. The paper is organized as follows.  The first s ection describes the core data on agricultural 
tariff quotas that are used in this paper.  The se cond section provides definitions for the various tariff 
quota administration categories and explains the ca tegorization method and fill rate calculations.  
Section three summarizes information on tariff quot a imports, administration methods and fill rates 
and the status of compliance with MA:1 notifications .  Annex A contains a table with simple average 
fill rates by Member and by administration method for the period 2002-2011.  Two attachments (available separately in excel format) provide th e yearly data for notified imports, administration 
methods and fill rates disaggregated at the tariff quot a level.  In addition, Members will have on-line 
access to the core data that fo rms the basis for this paper. 
I. DATA 
4. This paper reports data on agriculture tariff quotas during the period 2002-2011.  Each tariff 
quota is characterized by the scheduled tariff quota commitment, the annual imports and the 
associated administration method.  As principal point of reference, the tariff quotas set out in Part I, Section I-B of Members' Schedules (or, in the case of Brazil and the United States, Part I, 
Section I-A) are used.  The paper also takes into  account modifications of schedules via technical 
rectifications, Article XXVIII negotia tions or Article XXIV:6 negotiations. 
5. The total number of tariff quotas varies from year to year during this period for several 
reasons (see Table 1).  Two of the countries th at acceded to the WTO during this period have 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. 
2 JOB/AG/21. TN/AG/S/26 
Page 2  
 
  scheduled tariff quotas commitments.
3  In addition, nine WTO Members with scheduled tariff quotas 
have joined the European Union.4  In the annexed data imports  and administration methods are 
reported for these Members until the year of their ac cession to the EU.  Finally, during this period 
three Members have eliminated or introduced tari ff quotas through article XXVIII negotiations or as 
foreseen in the schedules included in their accession protocol.5 
6. One case exists where a Me mber notified to the Regular Committee on Agriculture the 
intended elimination of tariff quotas through Artic le XXVIII negotiations and at the time of the 
issuing of this paper these changes had not been included in the certified schedules.  In these cases, 
the data reported here reflect the scheduled inform ation and additional information is captured in the 
corresponding country notes.6 
7. In the case of the EU, the certified Schedule for the EC-15 is used as the point of reference. 
The EU has also notified imports for 26 tariff quotas that are not currently iden tified in their certified 
schedule.7  Paragraphs 26-27 of this pa per provide more details regard ing the information provided by 
the EU to the Regular Committee on Agriculture for these tariff quotas. 
8. Two Members have tariff quotas for which th e scheduled quantity commitment is zero.8  In 
these cases the scheduled tariff quotas are listed with  their notified administration methods, but no 
corresponding data for fill rates exists. 
9. The fill rate data reported here is calculated from information provided by Members before 1 
December 2012 in Table MA:2 notifications and in some cases provided by Members directly to the 
Regular Committee on Agriculture.  In most cases Members notify data for notified quantities and 
imports at the tariff quota level of disaggregation and the notified quantities ar e usually the same as 
the Members' scheduled commitments.  In a small number of cases, when Members notify aggregated 
data for tariff quotas, the notified quantities diffe r from the commitments in Members' schedules.9  
Often in these cases the notified qu antity is the sum of the schedul ed commitment for more than one 
tariff quota.  The calculation of fill rates reflects the structure of the information provided by Members (see paragraph 16 for description of fill rate calculation). 
                                                      
3 Ukraine and Viet Nam. 
4 Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. 
5 See Attachment 1:  Canada (CANQ022), China (CHNQ005, CHNQ006 and CHNQ007), Moldova 
(MDAQ001, MDAQ002, MDAQ003), and Chinese Taipei (CHTQ001, CHTQ002, CHTQ003, CHTQ004, 
CHTQ021). 
6 See Attachment 1:  Brazil (BRAQ002). 
7 G/AG/N/EEC/62. 
8 See Attachment 1:  Venezuela (VENQ028) and Morocco (MARQ011, MARQ013 and MARQ014). 
9 For details, see Attachment 1:  Bulgaria (BGRQ009, BGRQ010, BGRQ011, BGRQ012), China 
(CHNQ003, CHNQ004), Colombia (COLQ001, COLQ003, COLQ004, COLQ012, COLQ015, COLQ016, 
COLQ017, COLQ028, COLQ046, COLQ057, COLQ058, COLQ059, COLQ060, COLQ061, COLQ062, COLQ063, COLQ064, COLQ065, COLQ066, COLQ067), European Union (EECQ35,  EECQ036), Guatemala 
(GTMQ008, GTMQ009), Iceland (ISLQ057, ISLQ083), Morocco (MARQ017, MARQ18, MAR019), Norway 
(NORQ052, NORQ053, NORQ061, NORQ062, NORQ080, NORQ082, NORQ091, NORQ092, NORQ093, NORQ095, NORQ096, NORQ097, NORQ106, NORQ107, NORQ109, NORQ110, NORQ194, NORQ198), 
and Switzerland (CHEQ023, CHEQ024, CHEQ025).  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Table 1:  Total number of schedul ed TRQs by year and Member 
Member 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
Australia 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
Barbados  36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 
Brazil 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
Bulgaria 73 73 73 73 73 Accession EU in 2007 
Canada 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 22 
Chile 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
China 10 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 
Colombia 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 
Costa Rica 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 
Croatia 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 
Czech Republic 24 24 24 Accession EU in 2004 
Dominican Republic 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 
Ecuador 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 
El Salvador 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 
European Union 88 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 
Guatemala 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 
Hungary 70 70 70 Accession EU in 2004 
Iceland 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 
India 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 
Indonesia  2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
Israel 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 
Japan 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 
Korea, Republic of 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 
Latvia 4 4 4 Accession EU in 2004 
Lithuania 4 4 4 Accession EU in 2004 
Malaysia 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 
Mexico 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 
Moldova        3 3 3 
Morocco 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 
New Zealand 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
Nicaragua 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 
Norway 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 
Panama 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 
Philippines 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 
Poland 109 109 109 Accession EU in 2004 
Romania 12 12 12 12 12 Accession EU in 2007 
Slovak Republic 24 24 24 Accession EU in 2004 
Slovenia 20 20 20 Accession EU in 2004 
South Africa 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 
Switzerland 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 
Chinese Taipei 22 22 22 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 
Thailand 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia WTO Membership 
on 4 April 2003 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
Tunisia 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 
Ukraine WTO Membership on 16 May 2008 1 1 1 1 
United States of America 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 
Viet Nam WTO Membership on 11 January 2007 3 3 3 3 3 
Total Number of Scheduled 
Tariff Quotas 1430 1434 1434 1174 1171 1089 1090 1093 1093 1094 
 TN/AG/S/26 
Page 4  
 
  10. Data on administration method also reflects information provided to the Secretariat until 
1 December 2012.  Members provide details on ad ministration methods primarily through Table 
MA:1 notifications.  Periodically MA:2 notificatio ns and reports of the review process in the 
Committee on Agriculture also contain relevant inform ation and this informatio n is taken into account 
where appropriate.  When questions and answers from the Committee on Agriculture indicate that a 
tariff quota administration method has been changed, th e date for the change is assumed to be the year 
of relevant notification or the year that is speci fied in the response given in the Committee report. 
II. METHOD 
11. 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 study have been 
the basis for several earlier backgr ound papers by the Secretariat.
10  The Secretariat originally derived 
these categories of principal administration methods and categories of additional conditions following 
an examination of Table MA:1 notifications and the summary reports of the Committee on 
Agriculture. 
12. In line with past practice, the Secretaria t used a two-step process to categorize the 
administration methods.  First, the Secretariat used the information included in Table MA:1 
notifications and the summary reports of the Co mmittee on Agriculture to categorise each tariff quota 
according to the descriptions of principal administration method set out in Table 2.  As a second step, the Secretariat analysed the information to determine if the administration of the tariff quota included 
any of the additional conditions set out in Tabl e 3.  The assigned administration methods and 
additional conditions should  generally be considered as indica tive and may not perfectly match the 
description of the category concerned.  In s ituations where Members had not provided new 
information on administration methods, either th rough notifications or in Committee meetings, 
between 1 March 2006 (the date of the most recen t Secretariat paper on tariff quota administration 
TN/AG/S/22) and 1 December 2011, it is assumed that their tariff quota administration methods are unchanged. 
                                                      
10 See, for example, G/AG/NG/S/8/Rev.1 and TN/AG/S/22.  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Table 2:  Categories of Principal Tariff Quota Administration Methods 
 
Code Description 
AT Applied Tariffs :  No shares are allocated to importers .  Imports of the product concerned are 
allowed into the territory of the Member in unlim ited quantities at the in-quota tariff rate or below. 
AU Auctioning :  Importers' shares are allocat ed, or licences issued, largely on the basis of an auctioning 
or competitive bid system. 
FC First-Come, First-Served :  No shares are allocated to importer s.  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 
applicable tariff. 
HI Historical Importers :  Importers' shares are allocated, or li cences issued, principally in relation to 
past imports of the product concerned. 
LD Licences on Demand :  Importers' shares are generally allo cated, or licences issued, in relation to 
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 requ ests 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) the product concerned. 
ST Imports Undertaken by State Trading Entities :  Import shares are allocat ed entirely or mainly to 
a state trading entity which imports (or has direct control of imports undertaken by intermediaries) 
the product concerned. 
 
13. The additional conditions outlined in Table 3 relate  to which entities are eligible to participate 
under the relevant principal allocation methods set out  in Table 2.  For example, the category "Past 
Trading Performance" refers to the situation wher e licences are issued on demand and only traditional 
importers of the products concerned are eligible to apply for licences.  The conditions may also relate 
to other conditions which have to be met in order to  be eligible for an import licence.  For example, 
the category "Export Certificate" may refer to s ituations where exporting country must submit a 
certificate of origin in order to secure a share of the tariff quota. TN/AG/S/26 
Page 6  
 
  Table 3:  Categories of Additional Conditions Inherent in 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. 
o None of the Specified Additional Conditions :  None of the other additional conditions were 
identified. 
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. 
 
14. This paper uses the categories of additional conditi ons that have been used in previous tariff 
quota administration papers in order to maintain  consistency.  Table 3 does not represent an 
exhaustive list of additional c onditions which may apply to tariff quotas listed in this paper.  The 
category "None of the Specified Additional Conditi ons" captures those situations where the other 
listed categories are not applicable to particular tari ff quotas.  This category, thus, includes both tariff 
quotas with administration methods that do not incl ude additional conditions, as well as tariff quotas 
with administration methods that are not listed in Table 3.  More than one additional condition may 
apply to a particular tariff quota.  In this case the c ode is a combination of the letter codes contained in 
Table 3. 
15. Throughout the paper, the following symbols have been used in the tables: 
Symbol Description Explanation 
n.a. Not applicable The tariff quota was not applicable during the year in question (e.g. 
due to the phase out of a quota or accession to the EU). 
… Not available The import data relating to the tariff quota in question had not been 
notified to the Secretariat by 30 November 2012.  
0 Zero "0" is included in tables summarising simple average fill rates and 
may indicate a low fill rate that was rounded to zero. 
 
Blank An empty cell in a two or three-dimensional tabulation indicates that 
the combination in question (e.g. Member/administration method) 
was not identified. 
 
16. Fill rates are calculated from the data provided in Table MA:2 notifications as the ratio of  
tariff quota imports to notified quantity of tariff quota.   In this paper, the fill rates are adjusted for 
cases where notified imports are greater than tariff quota quantities by setting a maximum of 100% tariff quota fill.  For most cases the "notified quantit y" of tariff quota is the same as the scheduled 
"final quantity" of tariff quota commitments, howev er for those tariff quotas notified in aggregate the 
notified quantity differs from the final quantity scheduled at the tariff quota level.  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 7 
 
 
  III. OVERVIEW OF TARIFF QUOTA DATA (2002-2011) 
17. The following section provides summary information for tariff quota administration methods, 
imports, fill rates and the status of notifications re lated to tariff quotas.  Attachments 1 and 2 include 
information reported by tariff quota.  In addition, as noted above, the core data, including the full time 
series 1995-2011, upon which these summary tables are based will be available to Members on-line. 
A. TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION SUMMARY STATISTICS  
18. Table 4 provides summary information on principal methods of tariff quota administration.  
Between 2002 and 2011, the "applied tariff" was the predominant method used by WTO Members to 
administer tariff quotas.  While the absolute number of quotas that were administered using this method decreased during this time period, the proportion of tariff quotas administered with this 
method remained relatively constant.  This is due to the fact that the total number of tariff quotas also 
decreased during this time period.  Similar to  the data for 1995-2002 reported in TN/AG/S/22, 
"license on demand" and "first-come, first-served"  are the second and third most widely used 
principal means of administering tariff quotas, respectivel y.  Over the ten years relevant for this paper, 
these categories made up at least 70% of the annual number of tariff quotas each year. 
Table 4:  Number of Tariff Quotas by Principal Administration Method, 2002-2011  
 
Administration Method 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
Applied Tariffs 602 605 605 538 537 498 498 497 497 476 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 42.1 42.2 42.2 45.8 45.9 45. 7 45.7 45.6 45.6 43.6 
First-Come, First-Served 170 170 170 122 122 76 76 79 81 81 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 11.9 11.9 11.9 10.4 10.4 7. 0 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.2 
Licences On Demand 347 358 351 226 225 225 226 226 227 226 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 24.3 25.0 24.5 19.3 19.2 20. 7 20.7 20.7 20.8 20.7 
Auctioning 94 84 84 71 71 76 76 76 76 97 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 6.6 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 7. 0 7.0 7.0 7.0 8.9 
Historical Importers 105 105 105 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.6 7.6 8. 2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 
Imports Undertaken By State Trading Entitie s 26 27 28 26 27 23 23 23 23 24 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.2 2.3 2. 1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 
Producer Groups Or Associations 8 7 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.6 0. 6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 
Other 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0. 4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 
Mixed Allocation Methods 68 68 75 87 84 83 82 83 83 84 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 4.8 4.7 5.2 7.4 7.2 7. 6 7.5 7.6 7.6 7.7 
Non-Specified 5 5 5 5 5 8 9 9 6 6 
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0. 7 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.5 
Total Number of Scheduled Tariff Quotas 1430 1434 1434 1174 1171 1089 1090 1093 1093 1094 
 
19. Table 5 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 administration.  The downward trend in the number of tariff quotas that 
have additional conditions associated with their administration method, identified in TN/AG/S/22, 
continued during this time period.  Over the peri od 2002-2011, there was a 45% reduction in the total 
number of tariff quotas affected by additional administ ration conditions.  Part of this reduction can be 
explained by the fact that several WTO Members that implemented their tariff quota administration 
with additional conditions joined the EU during this period. TN/AG/S/26 
Page 8  
 
  Table 5:  Number of Tariff Quot as with Additional Conditions in Connection with Principal 
Administration Methods, 2002-2011  
 
Additional Condition 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
Domestic Purchase Requirement 44 44 44 13 13 12 11 11 11 12 
Limits On Tariff Quota Shares Per Allocation 98 67 65 20 22 22 20 20 20 20 
Export Certificates 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 
Past Trading Performance 76 76 76 72 72 72 72 73 76 74 
Domestic Purchase Requirement + Limits On Tariff 
Quota Shares Per Allocation  3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
Domestic Purchase Requirement + Past Trading 
Performance  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
Limits On Tariff Quota Shares Per Allocation + Export 
Certificates 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
Export Certificates + Past Trading Performance 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 
Total Number of Tariff Quotas with Additional 
Conditions 251 220 218 136 138 137 134 135 138 137 
Number of Tariff Quotas with No Identified Additional 
Conditions 1179 1214 1216 1038 1033 952 956 955 952 954 
Tariff Quotas with Additional Conditions as a 
Percentage of Scheduled Tariff Quotas (%) 17.6 15.3 15.2 11.6 11.8 12.6 12.3 12.4 12.7 12.6 
 
B. IMPORTS UNDER TARIFF QUOTAS  
20. Table 6 summarizes the number of tariff quotas per year for which information on imports 
had not been received during the relevant peri od for each category of tariff administration.  
Notification practices differ with respect to tari ff quotas that are administered using the "applied 
tariff" method.  In some cases, Members do not report imports indicating that they do not consider 
these to be quotas in operation.  In other cases Memb ers report total imports in this category and these 
may be less or more than the scheduled fina l quantity tariff quota commitment.  Attachment 1 
includes data from Table MA:2 notifications includi ng notified quantities and imports for each tariff 
quota.  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 9 
 
 
  Table 6:  Number of scheduled tariff quotas without notified imports, by admi nistration method and year 
 
Administration Method 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
Applied Tariffs 426 427 424 299 301 288 289 363 364 413 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 79 78 70 73 73 70 67 61 51 49 
First-Come, First-Served 6 12 14 13 13 13 27 33 52 55 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 1 2 2 3 3 3 6 5 7 7 
Licences On Demand 65 65 125 57 58 58 62 122 171 209 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 12 12 21 14 14 14 14 20 24 25 
Auctioning 9 8 8 9 8 6 7 9 13 15 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 
Historical Importers 22 23 23 17 17 30 30 41 58 68 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 4 4 4 4 4 7 7 7 8 8 
Imports Undertaken By State Trad ing Entities 6 4 3 4 4 5 5 5 17 24 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 
Producer Groups Or Associations 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
Other 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Mixed Allocation Methods 2 5 5 8 7 7 7 24 38 48 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 5 6 
Non-Specified 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 1 1 1 
%  of  tariff quotas without notified imports 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 
Total scheduled tariff quotas without 
notified imports 538 546 604 409 410 412 433 603 719 843 
 
%  of  scheduled tariff quotas (table 4)   
38  
38  
42  
35  
35  
38  
40  
55  
66  
77 
 
C. TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION AND TARIFF QUOTA FILL  
21. Previous Secretariat papers have noted that  fill rates should be understood to be broad 
indicators and that they have inherent weaknesses.  They do not differentiate tariff quotas on the basis 
of the size or economic importance.  Also, fill rate s do not distinguish between low valued products 
and those recorded for high-valued products sin ce the calculation for fill rate is based on volume, 
rather than value, measures.  In addition, simp le average annual fill rate s are influenced by the 
changing number of applicable tariff quotas each year.  Since fill rates are based on notified information notification rates will also influen ce the calculations.  During the period 2002-2009 data 
was available for 61% of scheduled tariff quotas.  In contrast, for the period 2010-2011 the number of 
tariff quotas for which fill rate can be calculated drops to about 30%. 
22. Table 7 summarizes simple average fill rates by administration method by year.  During the 
period 2002-2011, tariff quotas were, on average, 61%  filled.   Since the number of tariff quotas 
included in each of these simple average calculati ons varies widely, this table should be read in 
conjunction with table 4.  For example the categor y "other" which has high simple average annual fill 
rates include less than 1% of the total scheduled quotas.  
23. This paper also provides more detailed informa tion on administration and fill rates.  First, 
Annex A presents disaggregated data on the aver age yearly fill rate by Member, by principle 
administration method.  Second, Attachment 2 presen ts the administration methods and fill rates at the 
tariff quota level.  TN/AG/S/26 
Page 10  
 
  Table 7:  Simple average fill rates by tari ff quota administration method and year (%) 
 
Administration Method 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Simple 
Average 
Fill Rate 
2002-2011 
Applied Tariffs 69 66 67 63 63 69 69 73 72 73 68 
First-Come, First-Served 50 49 46 49 48 58 39 40 28 27 43 
Licences On Demand 54 52 53 55 60 57 58 56 59 86 59 
Auctioning 51 56 48 59 64 64 63 59 64 64 59 
Historical Importers 64 58 61 63 63 63 61 58 44 32 57 
Imports Undertaken By State Trading 
Entities 73 66 76 75 71 71 70 65 33   67 
Producer Groups Or Associations 75 60 68 47 63 60 62 56 75   63 
Other 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
Mixed Allocation Methods 61 66 67 66 67 66 63 69 64 60 65 
Non-Specified 44 43 45 45 45 49 57 49 46 46 47 
Annual Simple Average Fill Rate Over 
All Tariff Quotas 64 62 63 62 64 66 64 62 59 61   
 
 
D. COMPLIANCE WITH TABLE MA :1 NOTIFICATIONS  
24. WTO Members are required to notify their tariff quota administration methods using Table 
MA:1 notifications at the time of the first openi ng of the scheduled tariff quotas.  Members should 
notify subsequent changes to the notified admini stration method in an ad hoc manner when the 
changes are made. 
25. The Secretariat regularly produces a document th at summarizes the compliance of agriculture 
notification obligations that includes details of th e notification record of WTO Members with respect 
to Table MA:1 and Table MA:2 notifications.11  Since the data reported here do not cover 2012, the 
year of Russian accession, the table shows that fo r the relevant time period all Members included in 
the table were in compliance with their "one -off" notification obligations for tariff quota 
administration for scheduled tariff quota commitments.12 
26. In the case of the EU, a number of tariff quot as have been created as a result of EU 
enlargements during the period 2002-2011.  In 200 4 the EU informed the Committee regarding its 
intentions with respect to notifications following the enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 member 
States on 1 May 2004.13  At that meeting, the EU stated that the new EU member States would, to 
some extent, continue to notify on their own behalf for the reporting periods up to and including 2003.  
For market access (except Table MA:1) and export subsidies, the EU intended to provide separate 
notifications for the reporting periods covering 1 January 2004 to 30 April 2004.  For the reporting 
periods from 1 May 2004 onwards, the EU would provide merged EU-25 market access and export 
subsidy notifications. In 2009 the EU submitted a Table MA.2 notifi cation with details of imports 
under these tariff quotas to the Regular Committee on Agriculture.14 
27. The EU stated further that the Committee w ould be kept informed about arrangements 
concerning new and modified tariff quotas through the regular Table MA:1 notification.  In addition 
                                                      
11 See G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.12. 
12 Moldova completed Article XXVIII negotiations in 2009 that resulted in the creation of three tariff 
quotas in agriculture.  Moldova has not submitted Table MA:1 or MA:2 notifications for these quotas.  Since 
Moldova does not appear in the current version Secret ariat's document summarizing notification compliance, a 
corrigendum of this document is foreseen.   
13 G/AG/R/39, paragraph 19. 
14 G/AG/N/EEC/62.  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 11 
 
 
  to timely notification of individual arrangements,  the EU intended to give  an overall MA:1 update 
including addenda once the GATT Article XXIV:6 negotiations had been concluded.15 
_______________ 
 
 
                                                      
15 G/AG/N/39, paragraph 21.  TN/AG/S/26 
Page 12  
 
  Annex A 
 
Table A.1: Principal Administration Methods – Si mple Average Fill Rates by Member, 2002-2011 – 
(%) 
 
Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Australia                     
2002 100 82 91 
2003 100 90 95 
2004 82 93 87 
2005 98 97 98 
2006 100 97 98 
2007 100 100 100 
2008 100 99 100 
2009 100 99 100 
2010 100 100 100 
2011 100 100 100 
Barbados                     
2002 … … … … 
2003 … … … … 
2004 … … … … 
2005 … … … … 
2006 … … … … 
2007 … … … … 
2008 … … … … 
2009 … … … … 
2010 … … … … 
2011 … … … … 
Brazil                     
2002 100 100 
2003 100 100 
2004 100 100 
2005 100 100 
2006 100 100 
2007 100 100 
2008 100 100 
2009 100 100 
2010 100 100 
2011 … … 
Bulgaria                     
2002 56 29 43 
2003 47 29 38 
2004 44 35 39 
2005 35 33 34 
2006 34 33 33  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Canada                     
2002 … 86 99 87 97 100 100 95 
2003 … 63 98 73 98 100 100 89 
2004 … 70 88 66 97 100 99 87 
2005 … 58 80 74 96 100 100 85 
2006 … 63 58 71 98 100 100 82 
2007 … 68 70 68 98 100 99 84 
2008 … 60 75 66 98 100 99 83 
2009 … 56 77 75 98 100 100 84 
2010 … … 60 49 98 100 … 77 
2011 … … … … … … … … 
Chile                     
2002 100 100 
2003 100 100 
2004 100 100 
2005 92 92 
2006 0 0 
2007 87 87 
2008 38 38 
2009 49 49 
2010 0 0 
2011 82 82 
China                     
2002 72 25 48 
2003 62 37 49 
2004 77 52 64 
2005 87 42 65 
2006 98 34 66 
2007 100 30 65 
2008 99 26 62 
2009 100 30 65 
2010 … … … 
2011 … … … 
Colombia                     
2002 77 68 100 82 
2003 67 65 100 77 
2004 69 70 100 80 
2005 67 100 62 73 76 
2006 68 100 66 80 79 
2007 69 100 75 100 86 
2008 77 100 75 87 85 
2009 74 100 75 100 87 
2010 71 100 75 85 83 
2011 … … … … … TN/AG/S/26 
Page 14  
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Costa Rica                     
2002 … 33 33 
2003 … 31 31 
2004 … 18 18 
2005 … 8 8 
2006 … 16 16 
2007 … 17 17 
2008 … 16 16 
2009 … 17 17 
2010 … 12 12 
2011 … 19 19 
Croatia                     
2002 80 80 
2003 80 80 
2004 89 89 
2005 89 89 
2006 79 79 
2007 78 78 
2008 89 89 
2009 78 78 
2010 72 72 
2011 … … 
Czech Republic             
2002 57 57 
2003 61 61 
2004 47 47 
Dominican Republic            
2002 57 57 
2003 61 61 
2004 70 70 
2005 77 77 
2006 86 86 
2007 72 72 
2008 84 84 
2009 … … 
2010 … … 
2011 … … 
Ecuador                     
2002 21 21 
2003 7 7 
2004 0 0 
2005 0 0 
2006 0 0 
2007 0 0 
2008 0 0 
2009 0 0 
2010 0 0 
2011 0 0  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
El Salvador                     
2002 … 100 100 
2003 … 77 77 
2004 … 76 76 
2005 … 80 80 
2006 … 84 84 
2007 … 67 67 
2008 … 23 23 
2009 … 48 48 
2010 … 23 23 
2011 … 29 29 
European Union             
2002 0 68 84 58 52 
2003 0 68 85 57 52 
2004 0 69 82 52 51 
2005 0 67 50 46 41 
2006 0 66 64 51 45 
2007 0 61 59 51 43 
2008 0 60 37 50 37 
2009 … 60 85 46 64 
2010 … … … … … 
2011 … … … … … 
Guatemala                     
2002 … 100 100 
2003 … 90 90 
2004 … 97 97 
2005 … 99 99 
2006 … 100 100 
2007 … 84 84 
2008 … … … 
2009 … … … 
2010 … … … 
2011 … … … 
Hungary                     
2002 … 44 44 
2003 … 35 35 
2004 … … … 
Iceland                     
2002 74 73 73 
2003 71 73 72 
2004 72 78 75 
2005 71 81 76 
2006 69 81 75 
2007 76 81 78 
2008 73 77 75 
2009 75 80 77 
2010 73 78 75 
2011 73 73 73 TN/AG/S/26 
Page 16  
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
India                     
2002 … … … 
2003 0 34 17 
2004 0 14 7 
2005 0 23 12 
2006 0 32 16 
2007 0 0 0 
2008 0 1 1 
2009 30 3 17 
2010 … … … 
2011 … … … 
Indonesia                     
2002 … … … 
2003 … … … 
2004 … … … 
2005 … … … 
2006 … … … 
2007 … … … 
2008 … … … 
2009 … … … 
2010 … … … 
2011 … … … 
Israel                     
2002 50 100 100 100 100 90 
2003 50 100 100 100 100 90 
2004 50 100 100 100 100 90 
2005 53 100 100 100 100 91 
2006 51 100 100 100 100 90 
2007 51 100 100 100 100 90 
2008 85 100 100 100 100 97 
2009 50 100 100 100 100 90 
2010 50 100 100 100 100 90 
2011 50 100 100 100 100 90 
Japan                     
2002 59 20 … 96 58 
2003 60 11 … 97 56 
2004 60 5 … 99 55 
2005 55 1 … 97 51 
2006 59 1 … 99 53 
2007 92 57 0 … 99 62 
2008 94 58 … 100 84 
2009 97 55 … 96 83 
2010 97 54 … 99 83 
2011 … … … … …  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 17 
 
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Korea, Republic of             
2002 65 29 84 39 71 66 79 62 
2003 59 52 82 45 89 41 86 65 
2004 54 43 85 38 92 69 100 69 
2005 53 45 83 43 84 27 98 62 
2006 40 68 85 43 86 31 98 64 
2007 40 47 84 45 78 32 97 61 
2008 27 39 83 42 71 33 96 56 
2009 26 16 80 44 77 29 86 51 
2010 … … … … … … … … 
2011 … … … … … … … … 
Latvia                     
2002 0 0 
2003 0 0 
2004 0 0 
Lithuania                     
2002 0 0 
2003 8 8 
2004 8 8 
Malaysia                     
2002 … … … … 
2003 … … … … 
2004 … … … … 
2005 … … … … 
2006 … … … … 
2007 … … … … 
2008 … … … … 
2009 … … … … 
2010 … … … … 
2011 … … … … 
Mexico                     
2002 … 100 100 
2003 … 100 100 
2004 … 100 100 
2005 … 100 100 
2006 … 100 100 
2007 … 100 100 
2008 … 100 100 
2009 … 100 100 
2010 … 100 100 
2011 … … … 
Moldova            
2002            
2003            
2004            
2005            
2006            
2007            
2008            
2009   …    …    … 
2010   …    …    … 
2011   …    …    … TN/AG/S/26 
Page 18  
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Morocco                     
2002 70 70 
2003 69 69 
2004 70 70 
2005 77 77 
2006 81 81 
2007 80 80 
2008 0 0 
2009 0 0 
2010 0 0 
2011 0 0 
New Zealand             
2002 55 55 
2003 77 77 
2004 71 71 
2005 83 83 
2006 80 80 
2007 85 85 
2008 88 88 
2009 81 81 
2010 82 82 
2011 79 79 
Nicaragua                     
2002 90 … 90 
2003 98 … 98 
2004 95 … 95 
2005 100 … 100 
2006 94 … 94 
2007 91 … 91 
2008 66 … 66 
2009 78 … 78 
2010 87 … 87 
2011 81 … 81 
Norway                     
2002 … 30 98 34 54 
2003 … 43 95 23 54 
2004 … 42 93 26 54 
2005 65 51 94 14 56 
2006 63 56 93 37 62 
2007 63 51 93 14 55 
2008 75 52 95 17 60 
2009 97 42 82 14 59 
2010 85 36 91 23 59 
2011 100 54 93 20 67  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 19 
 
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Panama                     
2002 55 45 50 
2003 61 51 56 
2004 78 46 62 
2005 70 47 59 
2006 65 53 59 
2007 61 57 59 
2008 48 57 52 
2009 49 53 51 
2010 56 77 67 
2011 46 60 53 
Philippines                     
2002 78  63 100 80 
2003 67  52 100 73 
2004 100  55 100 85 
2005 …  … … … 
2006 …  … … … 
2007 …  … … … 
2008 …  … … … 
2009 …  … … … 
2010 …  … … … 
2011 …  … … … 
Poland                     
2002 0 23 21 15 
2003 1 21 23 15 
2004 0 18 11 10 
Romania                     
2002 … 0 0 
2003 … … 
2004 … … 
2005 … … 
2006 … … 
Slovak Republic             
2002 33 33 
2003 36 36 
2004 26 26 
Slovenia                     
2002 31 54 43 
2003 74 32 65 57 
2004 31 2 0 11 
South Africa             
2002 66 79 58 68 
2003 71 95 68 78 
2004 73 84 66 75 
2005 71 99 58 76 
2006 78 93 73 81 
2007 78 94 62 78 
2008 77 93 65 78 
2009 … … … … 
2010 … … … … 
2011 … … … … TN/AG/S/26 
Page 20  
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Switzerland                     
2002 81 91 100 77 97 89 
2003 77 100 100 77 96 90 
2004 78 94 100 76 95 89 
2005 80 100 100 78 98 91 
2006 85 98 100 83 95 92 
2007 86 100 100 87 93 93 
2008 86 100 100 90 98 95 
2009 86 100 100 87 100 95 
2010 81 93 100 91 98 93 
2011 87 77 100 88 97 90 
Chinese Taipei             
2002 61 75 78 71 
2003 54 74 100 76 
2004 35 78 57 
2005 34 100 65 66 
2006 42 98 67 69 
2007 43 68 56 
2008 41 68 55 
2009 34 73 54 
2010 40 50 45 
2011 47 68 58 
Thailand                     
2002 32 80 21 44 
2003 31 75 11 39 
2004 33 67 39 46 
2005 31 67 26 41 
2006 40 86 16 48 
2007 100 28 81 21 58 
2008 100 39 83 20 61 
2009 0 35 75 21 33 
2010 0 33 75 20 32 
2011 … … … … … 
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia         
2003 100 100 
2004 100 100 
2005 25 25 
2006 13 13 
2007 45 45 
2008 34 34 
2009 27 27 
2010 26 26 
2011 62 62  TN/AG/S/26 
 Page 21 
 
 
  Countries  AT AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST Average 
Tunisia                     
2002 54 54 
2003 36 36 
2004 68 68 
2005 63 63 
2006 66 66 
2007 … … 
2008 … … 
2009 … … 
2010 … … 
2011 … … 
Ukraine                     
2008 … … 
2009 54 54 
2010 89 89 
2011 100 100 
United States of America           
2002 60 87 44 63 
2003 57 86 43 62 
2004 51 87 45 61 
2005 48 83 45 58 
2006 43 79 45 56 
2007 42 72 49 54 
2008 42 60 57 53 
2009 47 68 49 55 
2010 40 53 46 46 
2011 42 52 46 46 
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of           
2002 … … … 
2003 … … … 
2004 … … … 
2005 51 56 53 
2006 50 56 53 
2007 50 60 55 
2008 52 61 56 
2009 … … … 
2010 … … … 
2011 … … … 
Viet Nam                     
2007 … … 
2008 … … 
2009 … … 
2010 47 47 
2011 … … 
 
 
_______________ 
 
 TN/AG/S/26 
Page 22  
 
  ATTACHMENTS 
 
In the attached information, the tariff quotas are presented by Member in alphabetical order as they 
appear in the official list of WTO Members.  
 Attachment 1:  Notified Quantities and Imports (2002-2011)  
TQID:  indicates the number of the tariff quota for e ach Member in the same order as in the relevant 
schedules.  This number can be used to see the di fferent number of tariff quotas for each Member.  
The seven-character code is comprised of the th ree-letter WTO Member code, followed by "Q" for 
"quota", followed by the three-digit number representing the tariff quota's place in the relevant 
Schedule.  UNITS:  indicates units for each tariff quota as notified by relevant WTO Member.  
NOTIFIED QUANTITY:  indicates the notified tari ff quota quantity for each of the implementation 
years, 2002-2011.  This normally corresponds to scheduled tariff quota comm itments. In cases where 
Members have notified aggregated quotas the number reflects the notified quantities specified in the 
notifications.  IMPORTS:  in-quota imports as notified by relevant WTO Members for each of the implementation 
years, 2002-2011. 
 
Attachment 2: Administration Methods and Fill Rates (2002-2011) 
 
TQID:  indicates the number of the tariff quota for e ach Member in the same order as in the relevant 
schedules.  This number can be used to see the di fferent number of tariff quotas for each Member.  
The seven-character code is comprised of the th ree-letter WTO Member code, followed by "Q" for 
"quota", followed by the three-digit number representing the tariff quota's place in the relevant Schedule.  REG:  a code indicating the principal administra tion method in the implementation years, 2002-2011 
respectively (for the code descriptions see Table 2  of this paper). 
 ADC:  a code indicating any a dditional condition in the implementation years, 2002-2011 (for the 
code descriptions see Table 3  of this paper). 
 
FILL RATES:  Tariff quota fill rates (in %) are listed for each of the implementation years, 2002-
2011. The fill rates are adjusted for cases where notified imports are greater than tariff quota 
quantities by setting a maximum of 100% tariff quota fill.  
__________