RESTRICTED  
  
G/LIC/W/48  
 
27 September  2017 
(17-5147) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Import Licensing    
 
 
DRAFT  
 
REPORT (201 7) OF THE COMMITTEE O N IMPORT LICENSING  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR T RADE IN GOODS  
 
1.  The Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (hereinafter "the Agreement") which entered 
into force on 1 January 1995, establishes disciplines on users of import licensing systems with the 
principal objective of ensuring that the procedures applied for gra nting import licences do not in 
themselves restrict trade. It aims to simplify, clarify and minimize the administrative requirements 
necessary to obtain import licences.  
 
2.  The Committee on Import Licensing was established to afford Members the opportuni ty of 
consulting on any matters relating to the operation of the Agreement or the furtherance of its 
objectives. The Committee's Rules of Procedure, which were approved by the Council for Trade in 
Goods, are contained in document G/L/147.  
 
3.  All Members of the WTO are ipso facto  members of the Committee. Observer governments in 
the General Council of the WTO have Observer status in the Committee. The International 
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and UNCTAD have regular Observer status in the Committee.  
 
4.  The focus of this report is on the period since the Committee's last annual report (G/L/ 1162), 
i.e. 21 October 201 6 - 3 October 201 7 (hereinafter "the review period"). In 201 7, the Committee 
held two formal meetings on 5 May and 3 October  (G/LIC/M/ 45 and [G/LIC/M/4 6]). On 11 May, a 
fax was sent to the membership on the nomination, by the Council for Trade in Goods, of 
Mr. Fawaz  Almuballi  (Saudi Arabia ) as Chairperson for the Committee  of 2017 . On 12 May, the 
Committee elected him  by acclamation . On 16 June , Mr. Richard Emerson -Elliott of Australia , who 
was nominated by the Chairperson, was elected Vice  Chairperson of the Committee  using  the 
same approach . Pursuant to  the Committee's Rules of Procedure, the  officers  shall hold office until 
the end of the fir st meeting of the following year .  
 
5.  Pursuant to Articles  1.4(a) and/or 8.2(b) of the Agreement and procedures agreed by the 
Committee, all Members are required, to notify the ir laws, regulations and administrative 
procedures relevant to import licensin g and submit copies of any relevant publications or laws and 
regulations upon becoming a WTO Member . Any subsequent changes to these laws, regulations 
and administrative procedures are also required to be published and notified. During the review 
period, t he Committee reviewed  [13] notifications  (Annex I) from the following [ 11] Members: 
[Brunei Darussalam ; the European Union; Kazakhstan;  Mauritius;  Republic of Moldova; South 
Africa; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; 
Thailand; Ukraine and the United States ]. These notifications can be found in document series 
G/LIC/N/1/ -. Copies of publications and legislation submitted with these notifications are availab le 
for consultation in the Secretariat.  
 
6.  The Committee also reviewed , pursuant to paragraphs 5.1 -5.4 of Article  5, [22] notifications  
(Annex II) relating to the institution of new import licensing procedures or changes in these 
procedures from [11] Members: [Argentina ; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia ; 
Republic of Korea ; Malawi; Malaysia; Paraguay; Philippines: Togo  and Ukraine ].1 These 
notifications can be found in documents series G/LIC/N/2/ -. Article  5.5 of the Agreement allows 
                                                
1 After 3 October 201 7, new notifications have been received from  …, which will be reviewed at the next 
Committee meeting.  G/LIC/W/48  
 
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  Members  to submit reverse notifications, where a Member considers that another Member has not 
notified the institution of a licensing procedure or changes in the procedures. However, n o such 
reverse notifications have been received  under this provision since the entry into force of this 
Agreement . 
 
7.  Article  7.3 of the Agreement requires all Members to provide replies to the Questionnaire on 
Import Licensing Procedures2 by 30  September each year. During the review p eriod, the 
Committee reviewed  [29] notifications (Annex III) from the following [25] Members: [ Argentina; 
Australia;  Burundi ; Cameroon;  China ; the European  Union;  Hong Kong, China;  Gabon ; Georgia; 
Malawi ; Malaysia; Mali; Mauritius; Nicaragua; Panama; Qatar; Saint Lucia; Singapore; South 
Africa; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Togo; Ukraine a nd United States ].3 These notifications 
can be found in document series G/LIC/N/3/ -. 
 
8. During the review period, six Members submitted for the first time, notifications to the 
Committee under various Articles of the Agreement: (i) under Articles 1.4 (a)/8.2 (b): Brunei 
Darussalam , Kazakhstan and South Africa ; (ii) under Article 5:  Philippines and Togo ; (iii) under 
Article 7.3:  Gabon .  In addition, the following Members updated their N/1 notifications and 
provided a full list of import licensing related legislations: Mauritius  and the  Republic of Moldova.  
The Chair thanked these Members for their notifications and ur ged Members who had not yet 
notified and those who had not updated their notifications  to do so as soon as possible.  
 
9.  The Committee has provided a regular forum for exchanging views on specific trade issues 
raised by Members. Written comments and quest ions concerning notifications submitted to the 
Committee and/or on import licensing procedures maintained by Members, and replies thereto, 
may be found in document series G/LIC/Q/ -. During the review period: the European Union posed 
written questions to  Bolivia (G/LIC/Q/BOL/3); Brazil (G/LIC/Q/BRA/20); Indonesia 
(G/LIC/Q/IDN/37 and G/LIC/Q/IDN/4 0); Malaysia (G/LIC/Q/MYS/1 3); Morocco (G/LIC/Q/MAR/1)  
and Thailand (G/LIC/Q/THA/3) . The United States posed written questions to Indonesia 
(G/LIC/Q/IDN/36) .4 The fo llowing Members provided written responses to comments and 
questions: Brazil to the European Union (G/LIC/Q/BRA/21); Indonesia to the European Union 
(G/LIC/Q/IDN/39); Indonesia to the United States (G/LIC/Q/IDN/38); Malaysia to the European 
Union (G/LIC/Q/ MYS/14 and G/LIC/Q/MYS/1 5); Morocco to the European Union (G/LIC/Q/MAR/2) 
and the European Union to the Russian Federation (G/LIC/Q/EU/2).  
10. In addition , the following Members requested to include in the agenda and commented on 
specific issues regarding other Members' import licensing regimes/measures.  At Committee 
meeting(s) during the review period,  the United States made statements on Indonesia's import 
licensing regime for cellphones, handheld computers and tablets; on Indon esia's import 
requirements related to milk supply and circulation; on India's import licensing requirements for 
boric acid; on Mexico's steel import licensing program ; on China's changes to import licensing for 
certain recoverable wastes and recovered mate rials as well as on Viet Nam's import requirements 
on distilled spirits and the completeness of its notification.  Thailand made a statement on 
Indonesia' s import licensing regime for ty res. The European Union made statement s on Brazil's 
regulatory requirem ents for nitrocellulose import s. The Russian Federation made a statement on 
the European Union's import licensing system on steel . Members whose licensing measures have 
been questioned responded at the meeting s.  
11.  For some time now, t he low level of co mpliance of Members with the transparency obligations 
of the Agreement has been the main preoccupation of the Committee. During the review period, 
one informal meeting  (3 November of 2016) was held on improving transparency and streamlining 
the notificatio n procedures and templates of the Agreement.  Divergent views remain among 
Members on how to proceed on the issue . With a view to address ing developing Members', in 
particular Least -Develop ed Countrie s' capacity constraints in fulfilling their notification obligations 
under the Agreement, a first workshop on Import Licensing was organized by the Secretariat on 
2 to 5 May 2017 in Geneva. Thirty  participants representing 30 WTO Members participated in this 
workshop.  
                                                
2 Annexed to document G/LIC/3.  
3 After 3 October, new notifications have been received from  …, which will be reviewed at the next 
Committee meeting.  
 G/LIC/W/48  
 
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  ANNEX I: NOTIFICATIONS REVIEWED DURING THE REVIEW PE RIOD PURSUANT  
TO ARTICLES  1.4(A) AND/OR 8.2(B)  OF THE AGREEMENT  
[FROM 21 OCTOBER 201 6 TO 3  OCTOBER  2017] 
 
MEMBER  DOCUMENT  DATE OF ISSUANCE OF THE 
DOCUMENT  
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM  G/LIC/N/1/BRN/1  
G/LIC/N/1/BRN/1/REV.1  25/11/2016  
12/12/2016  
EUROPEAN UNION  G/LIC/N/1/EU/10  
G/LIC/N/1/EU/11  28/02/2017  
10/08/2017  
KAZAK HSTAN  G/LIC/N/1/KAZ/1  27/02/2017  
MAURITIUS  G/LIC/N/1/MUS/3  22/09/2017  
MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF  G/LIC/N/1/MDA/3  12/06/2017  
SOUTH AFRICA  G/LIC/N/1/ZAF/1  02/12/2016  
SWITZERLAND  G/LIC /N/1/CHE/4  22/09/2017  
THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS 
TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, 
KINMEN AND MATSU  G/LIC/N/1/TPKM/12  22/09/2017  
THAILAND  G/LIC/N/1/THA/2  24/10/2016  
UKRAINE  G/LIC/N/1/UKR/6  28/02/2017  
UNITED STATES  G/LIC/N/1/USA/7  20/03/2017  
 
 G/LIC/W/48  
 
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  ANNEX II: NOTIFICATIONS REVIEWED DURING THE REVIEW PE RIOD PURSUANT TO 
PARAGRAPHS 5.1 -5.4 OF ARTICLE 5 OF THE AGREEMENT  
 [FROM 21 OCTOBER 201 6 TO 3  OCTOBER  2017] 
 
MEMBER  DOCUMENT  DATE OF ISSUANCE OF 
THE DOCUMENT  
ARGENTINA  G/LIC/N/2/ARG/27/ADD.4  
G/LIC/N/2/ARG /27/ADD.5  
G/LIC/N/2/ARG/27/ADD.6  
G/LIC/N/2/ARG/28  08/11/2016  
20/12/2016  
30/03/2017  
26/09/2017  
EUROPEAN UNION  G/LIC/N/2/EU/10  
G/LIC/N/2/EU/11  28/02/2017  
10/08/2017  
HONG KONG, CHINA  G/LIC/N/2/HKG/8  XX/09/2017  
INDONESIA  G/LIC/N/2/IDN/32  
G/LIC/N/2/IDN/ 33 
G/LIC/N/2/IDN/ 34 
G/LIC/N/2/IDN/ 35 
G/LIC/N/2/IDN/36  15/11/2016  
15/11/2016  
15/11/2016  
15/11/2016  
22/03/2017  
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF  G/LIC/N/2/KOR/2  03/02/2017  
MALAWI  G/LIC/N/2/MWI/4  14/02/2017  
MALAYSIA  G/LIC/N/2/MYS/8  
G/LIC/N/2/MYS/8 /ADD.1  18/08/2017  
20/09/2017  
PARAGUAY  G/LIC/N/2/PRY/7  27/06/2017  
PHILIPPINES  G/LIC/N/2/PHL/1  
G/LIC/N/2/PHL/2  08/11/2016  
09/11/2016  
TOGO  G/LIC/N/2/TGO/1  20/03/2017  
UKRAINE  G/LIC/N/2/UKR/6  
G/LIC/N/2/UKR/6/CORR.1  28/02/2017  
10/04/2017  G/LIC/W/48  
 
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  ANNEX III: NOTIFICAT IONS REVIEWED DURING THE REVIEW PE RIOD  
PURSUANT TO ARTIC LE 7.3 OF THE AGREEM ENT  
[FROM 21 OCTOBER 201 6 TO 3  OCTOBER  2017] 
MEMBER  DOCUMENT  
(YEAR NOTIFIED FOR)  DATE OF 
ISSUANCE OF THE 
DOCUMENT  
ARGENTINA  G/LIC/N/3/ARG/12  
G/LIC/N/3/ARG/13  (2016)  
(2017)  11/11/2016  
25/09/2017  
AUSTRALIA  G/LIC/N/3/AUS/9  
G/LIC/N/3/AUS/9/ REV.1  (2016)  23/03/2017  
08/06/2017  
BURUNDI  G/LIC/N/3/BDI/3  (2017)   12/04/2017  
CAMEROON  G/LIC/N/3/CMR/7  (2017)   10/04/2017  
CHINA  G/LIC/N/3/CHN/14  (2015)   29/11/2016  
EUROPEAN UNION  G/LIC/N/3/EU/5  (2016)   21/10/2016  
HONG KONG, CHINA  G/LIC/N/3/HKG/21  (2017)  XX/09/2017  
GABON  G/LIC/N/3/GAB/1  (2017)   10/04/2017  
GEORGIA  G/LIC/N/3/GEO/6  (2016)   21/04/2017  
MALAWI  G/LIC/N/3/MWI/5  (2016)   14/02/2017  
MALAYSIA  G/LIC/N/3/MYS/12  
G/LIC/N/3/MYS/12/CORR.1  (2016)   05/12/2016  
13/12/2016  
MALI G/LIC/N/3/MLI/8  
G/LIC/N/3/MLI/9  (2016)   29/11/2016  
10/07/2017  
MAURITIUS  G/LIC/N/3/MUS/7  (2017)   22/09/2017  
NICARAGUA  G/LIC/N/3/NIC/8  (2016)   11/11/2016  
PANAMA  G/LIC/N/3/PAN/8  (2017)   12/05/2017  
QATAR  G/LIC/N/3/QAT/12  (2015)   15/02/2017  
SAINT LUCIA  G/LIC/N/3/LCA/7  (2016)   03/03/2017  
SINGAPORE  G/LIC/N/3/SGP/12  (2016)   08/11/2016  
SOUTH AFRICA  G/LIC/N/3/ZAF/6  (2016)   20/12/2016  
SWITZERLAND  G/LIC/N/3/CHE/13  (2017)  22/09/2017  
THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS 
TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, 
KINMEN AND MATSU  G/LIC/N/3/TPKM/8  (2017)  25/09/2017  
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC 
OF MACEDONIA  G/LIC/N/3/MKD/5  (2017)   24/02/2017  
TOGO  G/LIC/N/3/TGO/3  (2017)   20/03/2017  
UKRAINE  G/LIC/N/3/UKR/10  (2017)  25/09/2017  
UNITED STATES  G/LIC/N/3/USA/13  (2016)   08/11/2016  
 
 
 
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