WT/BOP/N/83  
13 October  2016 
(16-5524) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Balance -of-Payments Restrictions  Original:  Spanish  
 
  NOTIFICATION UNDER PARAGRAPH 9 OF THE UNDERSTANDING  
ON THE BALANCE -OF-PAYMENTS PROVISIONS OF THE  
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994  
COMMUNICATION FROM ECUADOR  
The following communication, dated 4 October 2 016, is being circulated at the request of  the 
delegation of Ecuador . 
 
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In accordance with the notification requirements set forth in paragraph 9 of the Understanding on 
the Balance -of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, and in 
order to  maintain  transparency in the steps it has taken during this process , Ecuador hereby 
notifies tha t as of 2 6 October 2 016, in strict compliance with Article  XVIII, Section  B, paragraphs  9 
and 11, of the GATT 1994 and in view of the slight improvement in the country' s external 
accounts , the Foreign Trade Committee (COMEX) in plenary session decided to relax the restrictive 
measure  in force  because of  the disequilibrium in the balance  of payments . 
Please find attached Resolution No. 021-2016 of the Foreign Trade Commit tee (COMEX) of 
6 September 2 016, which amend s the Single Annex to Resolution No. 011-2015 adopted by the 
COMEX in plenary session and amendments  thereto , by replacing  the 40% tariff surcharge with 
a 35% surcharge and the 25 % tariff surcharge with a surchar ge of 15%. 
 
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  RESOLUTION NO. 021 -2016  
THE FOREIGN TRADE CO MMITTEE IN PLENARY S ESSION  
WHEREAS : 
Article 261, paragraph 5 , of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador 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 the Republic establishes that  one of the objectives 
of Ecuador's development structure is to build a fair, democratic, productive, mutuall y 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 th e implementation of its programme of economic development, restrict  
the quantity or value of merchandise permitted to be imported , provided that the import 
restrictions instituted do  not exceed  those  necessary to forestall the threat of, or to stop, a seri ous 
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 ; 
Article XVIII, Section B,  paragraph 11, stipulates that the Member country shall progressively relax 
the import restrictions applied for balance -of-payments purposes , as conditions improve, and shall 
maintain  them only to the extent necessary ; 
The Underst anding on the Balance -of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade 1994  of the World Trade Organization (WTO) clarifies the provisions of Articles XII and  
XVIII, Section B, of the GATT 1994 and of the 1979 Declaration on Trade Measu res Taken for 
Balance -of-Payments Purposes, procedures for consultations, notification and documentation, and  
conclusions of consultations;  
Under p aragraph  4 of the Understanding , Members confirm that restrictive import measures taken 
for balance -of-paymen ts purposes may only be applied to control the general level of imports and 
may not exceed what is necessary to address the balance -of-payments situation ; 
Paragraph 9 of the Understanding provides that Members shall notify to the WTO General Council 
any ch anges in the application of such measures , and that significant changes shall be notified to 
the General Council prior to or not later than 30 days after their announcement ; 
Article 71 of the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment ( COPCI ), publis hed in the 
Supplement to Official Journal No. 351 of 2 9 December 2 010, created the Foreign Trade 
Committee ( COMEX ) as the body entrusted with approving national public trade policies ; 
Article 72(e) of the COPCI provides that the COMEX , as the governing bod y for trade policy, shall 
be responsible  for: (e) regulating, facilitating or restricting 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 internatio nal 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 Ecuadorian Sta te, 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 ratifie d by Ecuador;  WT/BOP/N/83  
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  Executive Decree No. 25, published in the Supplement to Official Journal No. 19 of 2 0 June 2 013, 
created the Ministry of Foreign Trade as the State body responsible for trade policy and, in  its 
Third Amending Provision, provided that it shoul d preside over the COMEX ; 
In the framework  of the  WTO's multilateral rules , the COMEX , meeting in plenary session 
on 6 March 2 015, adopt ed Resolution  No. 011-2015, published in the Supplement to 
Official  Journal  No. 456 of 11 March 2 015, approving the appl icatio n of a temporary and 
non-discriminatory tariff surcharge  (5%, 15%, 25%, and 45 %), in order to control the general 
level of imports, safeguard the economy's liquidity and reduce the disequilibrium in the 
balance  of payments ; 
Article 3 of Resolution No. 011-2015 provides that the safeguard measure shall be duly monitored 
"in order to ensure that it is commensurate with ongoing needs to overcome the balance -of-
payments situation, the intention being to relax the measure as the balance improves and 
elimin ate it when it is no longer necessary";  
The COMEX , meeting in plenary session  on 8 April 2 015, adopt ed Resolution  No. 016-2015, 
published in the Supplement to Official Journal No. 483 of 20 April 2 015, under which it was 
decided  to amend  Resolution  No. 011-2015, as adopted by  the COMEX in plenary session and 
published in the Supplement to Official Journal  No. 456 of 11 March 2 015, in accordance with the 
provisions of the said Resolution ; 
Pursuant to Resolution No. 046-2015, which was adopted by the COMEX in  plenary session on  
11 December 2 015 and entered into force on 1 6 December 2 015, the COMEX decided to amend 
the Annex to Resolution No. 011-2015, as adopted by the COMEX in plenary session and published 
in the Supplement to Official Journal No. 456 of 1 1 March 2 015, in respect of the subheadings 
listed in th at Annex;  
Pursuant to Resolution No. 047-2015, which was adopted by the COMEX in plenary session on  
24 December 2 015 and entered into force on 1 3 January 2 016, the COMEX decided to amend the 
Annex to Res olution No. 046-2015, which was adopted by the COMEX in plenary session on 
11 December 2 015 and entered into force on 1 6 December 2 015, in respect of the subheadings 
listed in th at Annex;  
In document WT/BOP/G/23, published on 2 6 October 2 015, t he Republic of Ecuador officially 
notified the WTO Committee on Balance -of-Payments Restrictions  of the World Trade Organization 
of the timetable for the dismantling of the measure restricting imports because of the 
disequilibrium in Ecuador's balance of payments ; 
Pursuant to  Resolution  No. 001-2016, which was adopted by  the COMEX in plenary session on 
21 January 2 016 and entered into force on  31 January 2 016, the COMEX  decided  to amend the 
tariff surcharge on the tariff subheadings listed in the Single Annex to Resolu tion No. 011-2015, as 
adopted by the COMEX in plenary session and published in the Supplement to Official Journal 
No. 456 of 1 1 March 2 015, and amendments  thereto , by reducing it from  45% to 40 %, in 
accordance with the timetable for the dismantling of the measure submitted to the 
WTO Committee on Balance -of-Payments Restrictions ; 
Pursuant to Resolution No. 006-2016 of 29 April 2 016, the COMEX decided to partially implement 
the timetable for the dismantling of the safeguard  measur e, scheduled to take effect in April 2 016, 
removing only the 5 % tariff surcharge rate  (mainly on raw materials and capital go ods), and to 
defer implementation of  the next stage of the remaining timetable to April 2 017 (reduction by 
one third on a monthly  basis from April to June), ch iefly because of the adverse effects of the 
earthquake in the coastal area s and the damage  caused, which  has been estimated at more 
than 3% of GDP.  WT/BOP/N/83  
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  Technical Report No. 013-BOP-AI-2016 of 5 September 2 016, issued by the Inter -Institutional 
Technical Group responsible for analysing the scope of the safeguard measure , showed a recovery 
in the overall trade balance  in the first half of 2016 , according to the Ministry respons ible for 
coordinating economic policy, compared to  the deficit posted  during the same p eriod the previous 
year. This is mainly due to an improvement in  non-oil trade performance , from US$ -2,853  million 
between January and June 2 015 to US$ -598 million  over the same period in 2016, i.e. a recovery  
of almost 80 %. 
The aforementioned Technical Re port also considers that , according to the Ministry responsible for 
coordinating economic policy, Ecuador will  see a process of gradual recovery over the coming 
months  and that given the relative improvement in trade balance figures, it is possible to part ially 
relax the balance -of-payments safeguard measure, for example by levelling  the tariff surcharges . 
Nonetheless, it is necessary to closely monitor developments in the external sector of the 
Ecuadorian economy;  
The COMEX , meeting in plenary session on 6 September 2 016, examined and approved Technical 
Report  No. 013-BOP-AI-2016 of 5 September 2 016, presented by the Inter -Institutional Technical 
Group responsible for analysing the scope of the safeguard measure, which, taking into account 
the signs of reco very of Ecuador's macroeconomic situation, recommends relaxing the safeguard 
measure , by reducing only the 40 % rate to 35% and the 25 % rate to 15%; 
Pursuant to Resolution No. M CE-DM-2015-0003-R of 12 August 2 015, Mr Xavier Rosero Carrillo , an 
official of t he Ministry of Foreign Trade , was appointed  Technical Secretary of the  Foreign Trade 
Committee (COMEX ); 
In exercise of the powers conferred under the COPCI, in accordance with Article 70 of the COMEX 
Operating Regulations, issued by Resolution No. 001-2014 of 14 January 2 014, and other 
applicable regulations ,  
HEREBY DECIDES : 
Article  1.- To amend the Single Annex  to Resolution  No. 011-2015, as adopted by  the COMEX in 
plenary session and published in the Supplement to Official Journal  No. 456 of 11 March 2 015, and 
amendments thereto , by replacing the 40 % tariff surcharge with a 35 % surcharge and the 25 % 
tariff surcharge with a surcharge of 15 %. 
Article 2. - To replace the table in Article 2 of Resolution No. 006-2016, as adopted by the COMEX 
in plenary session  on 29 April 2 016, with the table below:  
YEAR 2017  
Surcharge  APRIL  MAY JUNE  
15% 10.0%  5.0%  0.0%  
35% 23.3%  11.7%  0.0%  
GENERAL PROVISIONS  
FIRST. - The amendments incorporated in this Resolution apply only to the provisions indicated  
herein ; otherwise  the provisions of  Resolution No. 011-2015, as adopted by the COMEX in plenary 
session and published in the Supplement to Official Journal No.  456 of 1 1 March 2 015, and 
Resolution No.  006-2016 of 2 9 April 2 016, respectively, shall apply . 
SECOND. - The Technical Secretariat of the COMEX, in exercise of its powers under the COMEX 
Operating Regulations, shall forward this Resolution to the Official Journal for publication.  WT/BOP/N/83  
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  FINAL PROVISION  
This Resolution shall enter into force on  26 October 2 016, without prejudice t o 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) . 
 
FOR COMMUNICATION AND PUBLICATION. - Done at Quito, Metropolitan District, on 
6 September 2 016. 
 
 
 
 
Humberto Jiménez   Xavier Rosero  
CHAIRMA N  SECRETARY  
 
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