G/SCM/N/299/BLZ/Rev.1  
G/SCM/N/315/BLZ  
 
14 March 2018  
(18-1550) Page: 1/6 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Original: English  
 
 
SUBSIDIES  
FINAL TRANSPARENCY N OTIFICATION (FOR 201 5) PURSUANT TO THE  PROCEDURES  
IN THE GENERAL COUNC IL DECISION IN DOCUM ENT WT/L/691 ON THE  
EXTENSIONS UNDER SCM  ARTICLE 27.4 OF THE TRANSITION  
PERIOD FOR THE ELIMI NATION OF EXPORT SUB SIDIES  
NEW AND FULL NOTIFICATION PURSUAN T TO ARTICLE XVI:1 O F THE GATT 1994  
AND ARTICLE 25 OF TH E AGREEMENT ON SUBSI DIES 
AND COUNTERVAILING M EASURES  
BELIZE 
The f ollowing communication, dated 26  February 2018 , is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Belize . 
 
_______________  
 
 
Pursuant to the procedures contained in the General Council Decision in document WT/L/691, and 
subsequent to prior notifications G/SCM/N/284/BLZ , G/SCM/N/290/BLZ  and G/SCM/N/299/BLZ,  
Belize hereby submits the following notification for 2017  assuring the Committee of its compliance 
with the standstill and transparency requirements under the Decision. This notification serves to 
provide an update on the progress made over the period September 2016 – December 2017.  
 
Since the last notification , Belize has made no changes to the following investment programmes 
which provide for the grant of prohibited subsidy:  
 
• Programme under the Fiscal Incentives Act (Cap. 54)  
• Programme under the Export Processing Zone Act (Cap. 280)  
• Programme under the Free Zones Act (Cap. 278)  
 
In seeking conformity with its obligations to the WTO under the ASCM, Belize has progressively 
advanced its Action Plan  and is in its final stages. The established Working Group on WTO 
Compliance has been active.  
 
In 2017, the re view of these three programs had to be enhanced to encompass other 
commitments with international organizations. These commitments have criteria that Belize will 
need to comply with. These organizations include: the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force 
(CFTF), the European Union (EU) Council regarding the Code of Conduct Group (Business 
Taxation) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with its 
Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and the Forum on Harm ful 
Tax Practices.  
 
The Government of Belize remains committed to its policy of seeking compliance with its 
obligations under the WTO generally and specifically the requirements of the ASCM.   
 
Sincerely,  
 
Andy Sutherland  
Director General  
/f/ Chief Executive Officer  G/SCM/N/299/BLZ/Rev.1 • G/SCM/N/315/BLZ  
 
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  ANNEX I  
Executed activities of the Action Plan  
 
Number  Deliverable  Status  
1 Formalization of the inter -institutional technical working group and 
development of its TOR  Completed  
2 Request technical assistance in conducting a comprehensive 
assessment of the incentives programs  Completed  
3 Solicit technical assistance in legal drafting from the Office of Trade 
Negotiations of the Commonwealth Secretariat and have initiated the 
collaborative process and established broad paramet ers of the way 
forward  Completed  
4 Completion of economic assessments  Completed  
5 Review the results of the assessment on the incentive programs  Completed  
6 Examination and agreement on the of policy and legislative options  Completed  
7 Continue the sensitization program and informal dialogue with the 
private sector  Completed  
8 Continue the sensitization program and informal dialogue with 
stakeholders, including the private sector with a view to updating and 
eliciting feedback on the legislative chan ges envisaged  Completed  
9 Finalization of the required framework to allow unrestricted sales of 
products from the EPZs and Free Zones into the national customs 
territory of Belize  Completed  
10 Finalization of the eligibility criteria for the fiscal incentives program 
and approaches to grant of "Tax Holidays":  Completed  
11 Commencement of legal drafting along with the Attorney General 's 
Ministry and the Office of Trade Negotiations, Commonwealth 
Secretariat  Ongoing  
 
  G/SCM/N/299/BLZ/Rev.1 • G/SCM/N/315/BLZ  
 
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  ANNEX II  
Section A:  The Fiscal Incentives Programme  
1. Description of the programme  
 
See paragraph A:1 of document G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
2. Period covered by the notification  
 
September 2016 – December 2017  
 
3. Policy objective and/or purpose of subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the stan dstill arrangements. See paragraph A:3 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
4. Background and authority for the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements . See paragraph A:4 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.   
 
5. Form of the subsidy  
 
There has b een no change in the standstill arrangements.  See paragraph A:5 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
6. To whom and how the subsidy is provided  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph A:6 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
7. Subsidy pe r unit  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements.  See paragraph A:7 of document 
G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
8. Duration of the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements.  See paragraph A:8 of document 
G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.   
 
9. Statistical data on impact of the programme  
 
10. Measures being taken  
 
Five consultations were conducted during the period of September 2016 – December 2017 towards 
compliance of this programme.  
 
A first draft of the amendments to the FI Act has been completed by the Attorney General 's 
Ministry.  The Ministry responsible for Investment is in the process of reviewing the draft and will 
be making additional amendments to the legislation to improve the program to facilitate more 
investment and close loopho les in the legislation.  
  G/SCM/N/299/BLZ/Rev.1 • G/SCM/N/315/BLZ  
 
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  Section B:  The Export Processing Zone Programme  
1. Description of the programme  
 
See paragraph B:1 of document G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.   
 
2. Period covered by the notification  
 
September 2016 – December 2017  
 
3. Policy objective and/or p urpose of subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph B:3 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
4. Background and authority for the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements . See paragraph B:4 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.   
 
5. Form of the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements . See paragraph B:5 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.   
 
6. To whom and how the subsidy is provided  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See pa ragraph B:6 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
7. Subsidy per unit  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements . See paragraph B:7 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
8. Duration of the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See  paragraph B:8 of document 
G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
9. Statistical data on impact of the programme  
 
Year Exports (EPZ) (BZ$)  Total Belize Exports (BZ$)  
2005 243,242,009  413,270,000  
2006 249,032,720  536,404,348  
2007 277,708,615  507,900,000  
2008 254,057,559  585,170,000  
2009 167,493,118  501,150,000  
2010 241,180,614  541,276,766  
2011 274,797,320.82  680,900,000  
2012 316,165,831.52  678,610,000  
2013 221,872,740.72  668,630,000  
2014 274,122,750.89  614,420,000  
2015 206,358,604.88  535,330,000  
2016 Data not yet available  381,900,000  
1 BZ$ = 0.5 US$.  
 
10. Measures being taken  
 
Seven consultations were conducted during the period of July 2015 – August 2016 towards 
compliance of this programme.  
 G/SCM/N/299/BLZ/Rev.1 • G/SCM/N/315/BLZ  
 
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  The Commonwealth Secretariat 's expert had made general recommendations and had suggested 
to repeal and replace the Export Processing Zone Act to become compliant with the ASCM. The 
WTO-ASCM Working Group with that in mind has completed its review of the EPZ Act, and made 
specific recommendations. Using these r ecommendations, the Ministry responsible for Investment 
is currently working with the Attorney General 's Ministry to prepare a draft of the legislation to 
repeal and replace the EPZ Act. The new draft will include the criteria established by EU Council 
regarding the Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) and the OECD. The Government of 
Belize has committed to the EU through official channels that it will repeal and replace the EPZ Act 
with legislation that is consistent with their criteria by 31 December  2018.  
 
Section C:  Commercial Free Zone Programme  
1. Description of the programme  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements . See paragraph C:1 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
2. Period covered by the notification  
 
September 2016 – December 20 17. 
 
3. Policy objective and/or purpose of subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph C:3 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
4. Background and authority for the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph C:4 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
5. Form of the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph C:5 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
6. To whom and how the subsidy is provided  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph C:6 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
7. Subsidy per unit  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph C:7 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
8. Duration of the subsidy  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements.  See paragraph C:8 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
9. Statistical data on impact of the programme  
 
There has been no change in the standstill arrangements. See paragraph C:9 of 
document  G/SCM/N/114/BLZ.  
 
10. Measures being taken  
 
Nine consultations were conducted during the period of September 2016 – December 2018 
towards compliance of this programme.  
 G/SCM/N/299/BLZ/Rev.1 • G/SCM/N/315/BLZ  
 
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  The WTO -ASCM Working Group has completed its review of the F Z Act and made specific 
recommendations of its amendment. The Attorney General 's Ministry has completed the first draft 
of the amended FZ Act. This draft is being reviewed and additional amendments will be 
recommended to strengthen com pliance requirements with CFTF.  
 
__________