WT/BOP/N/81  
26 January 2016  
(16-0537)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Balance-of -Payments Restrictions  Original: Spanish  
 
  NOTIFICATION UNDER PARAGRAPH 9 OF THE UNDERSTANDING 
ON THE BALANCE-OF-PAYME NTS PROVISIONS OF THE 
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994 
COMMUNICATION FROM ECUADOR 
The following communication, dated 26 January 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Ecuador. 
 
_______________ 
RESOLUTION NO. 001-2016 
THE FOREIGN TRADE COMMITTEE IN PLENARY SESSION 
WHEREAS: 
Article 261, paragraph 5, of the Constitution of th e Republic provides that the central State shall 
have exclusive jurisdiction over, inter alia , economic, tax, customs, tariff and foreign trade 
policies; 
Article 276, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of th e Republic establishes that one of the objectives 
of Ecuador's development structure is to build a fair, democratic, productive, mutually supportive 
and sustainable economic system; 
Pursuant to Article XVIII, Section B, of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
(GATT 1994), a developing country Member may, if  experiencing balance-of-payments difficulties 
and needing to maintain the implementation of its programme of economic development, restrict 
the quantity or value of merchandise permitte d to be imported, provided that the import 
restrictions instituted do not exceed those necessary to forestall the threat of, or to stop, a serious decline in its monetary reserves; that is, it may control the general level of its imports in order to 
safeguard its external financial position and to ensure a level of reserves adequate for the 
implementation of its programme of economic development; 
The Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade 1994 of the World Trade Organization (W TO) clarifies the provisions of Articles XII 
and XVIII:B of the GATT 1994 and of the 1979 De claration on Trade Measures Taken for 
Balance-of-Payments Purposes, procedures for cons ultations, notification and documentation, and 
conclusions of consultations; 
Paragraph 1 of this Understanding provides that Members confirm their commitment to announce 
publicly, as soon as possible, time-schedules for the removal of restrictive import measures taken for balance-of-payments purposes, and that such time-schedules may be mo dified as appropriate 
to take into account changes in the balance-of-payments situation; 
Article 71 of the Organic Code of Production, Tr ade and Investment (COPCI), published in the 
Supplement to Official Journal No. 351 of 29 December 2010, created the Foreign Trade 
Committee (COMEX) as the body entrusted with approving national public trade policies and 
consequently responsible for the reform thereof; WT/BOP/N/81 
- 2 - 
  Article 72(e) of the COPCI provides that the COMEX, as the governing body for trade policy, shall 
be responsible for regulating, facilitating or rest ricting the export, import, movement and transit of 
goods that have not been inward cleared or are not Ecuadorian, in the cases provided for in the Code and in the international agreements duly ratified by the Ecuadorian State; 
Article 78(f) of the COPCI provides that the COMEX  shall be responsible for applying temporary 
measures to remedy balance-of-payments imbalances; 
Article 88 of the COPCI provides that the Ecua dorian State, through the governing body for 
trade policy, may adopt trade defence measures that restrict imports of products for 
balance-of-payments protection, such as safeguard measures and any other mechanism recognized by the international treaties duly ratified by Ecuador; 
Executive Decree No. 25, published in the Suppleme nt to Official Journal No. 19 of 20 June 2013, 
created the Ministry of Foreign Trade as the Stat e body responsible for trade policy and, in its 
Third Amending Provision, provided that it should preside over the COMEX; 
In the framework of the multilateral trade rules of the World Trade Organization, the COMEX, 
meeting in plenary session on 6 March 2015, ad opted Resolution No. 011-2015, published in the 
Supplement to Official Journal No. 456 of 11 Marc h 2015, approving the application of a temporary 
and non-discriminatory tariff surcharge, calculated as an ad valorem  percentage, to imports for 
consumption under the subheadings listed in the Annex to the above-mentioned Resolution, 
in order to safeguard the balance-of-payments equilibrium; 
The COMEX, meeting in plenary session on 8 April 2015, adopted Resolution No. 016-2015, 
published in the Supplement to Official Journal No . 483 of 20 April 2015, and decided to amend 
Resolution No . 011-2015, adopted by the COMEX in plenary session and published in the 
Supplement to Official Journal No . 456 of 11 March 2015, in accordance with the provisions of the 
said Resolution; 
By means of document WT/BOP/G/23, published on 26 October 2015, the Republic of Ecuador 
officially notified to the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions the timetable for the dismantling of the measure restricting imports beca use of the disequilibrium in Ecuador's balance 
of payments, in which it undertook to reduce from 45% to 40%, in January 2016, the surcharge 
on the tariff subheadings listed in the Single Annex to Resolution No. 011-2015, adopted by the COMEX in plenary session and published in the Supplement to Official Journal No. 456 of 11 March 2015, and amendments thereto; 
Pursuant to Resolution No. 046-2015, which was adopted by the COMEX in plenary session 
on 11 December 2015 and entered into force on 16 December 2015, the COMEX decided to amend the Annex to Resolution No. 011-2015, adopted by the COMEX in plenary session and published in 
the Supplement to Official Journal No. 456 of 11 March 2015, in respect of the subheadings listed 
in this Annex; 
The COMEX, meeting in plenary session on 21 January 2016, examined and approved Technical 
Report No. 018 -BOP-AI-2015 of 23 December 2015 and the additional information contained in 
Technical Report No. 019-BOP-AI-2015 of 24 Decemb er 2015, issued by the Inter-Institutional 
Technical Committee on Balance-of-Payments Sa feguards, which recommends implementing the 
first phase of the timetable for the dismantling of  the measure by reducing the 45% surcharge rate 
for the subheadings listed in the Single Annex to Resolution No. 011-2015; 
Pursuant to Resolution No. MCE-DM-2015-0003-R of  12 August 2015, Mr Xavier Rosero Carrillo, 
an official of the Ministry of Foreign Trad e, was appointed Technical Secretary of the Foreign Trade 
Committee (COMEX); 
Pursuant to Decision No. MCE-DM-2015-0002 of 18 June 2015, the Minister of Foreign Trade 
appointed the Vice-Ministers of Foreign Trade Policies and Services and of Negotiations, 
Integration and Trade Defence to serve as Chairs of the Foreign Trade Committee  meeting in 
plenary session in his absence, and established that, in the event of both Vice-Ministers attending such plenary sessions, the role of Chair shall be  performed by the Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade 
Policies and Services; WT/BOP/N/81 
- 3 - 
  In exercise of the powers conferred upon it under Article 70 of the COMEX Operating Regulations, 
established pursuant to Resolution No. 001-2014 of 14 January  2014, and in accordance with the 
other applicable regulations : 
HEREBY DECIDES: 
Article 1.-  To amend the tariff surcharge on the tariff subheadings listed in the Single Annex to 
Resolution No . 011-2015, adopted by the COMEX in plenary session and published in the 
Supplement to Official Journal No. 456 of 11 Marc h 2015, and amendments thereto by reducing it 
from 45% to 40%, in accordance with the timetable for the dismantling of the measure submitted 
to the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
FINAL PROVISION 
The Technical Secretariat of the COMEX shall forward this Resolution to the Official Journal for 
publication. 
This Resolution was adopted on 21 January 2016. It  shall enter into force on 31 January 2016, 
without prejudice to its publication in the Official Journal,  and shall be implemented in accordance 
with Article 112 of the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment (COPCI). 
  
 
 Alejandro Dávalos  Xavier Rosero CHAIRMAN  SECRETARY 
 
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