WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/AG/N/JPN/133 
31 March 2008 
 (08-1391) 
Committee on Agriculture Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
  
 The following submission, dated 25 March 2008, is  being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Japan .  The notification concerns the administration of tariff quotas ( Table MA:1 ) for 
the fiscal year 2007 .  
  G/AG/N/JPN/133 
Page 2 Table MA:1 
MARKET ACCESS:  Japan 
 
REPORTING PERIOD:  Fiscal year 2007 
 
Implementation of market access opportun ities: tariff and other quota commitments 
 
Description of products Tariff item number(s) 
encompassed in product 
description Description of import arrangement applicable 
 (from Section I-B (or I-A) of  
Part I of the schedule) (from Section I-B (or I-A) of 
Part I of the Schedule)  
Wheat, meslin, triticale and their 
processed products 1001.10.010 
1101.00.011 
1104.29.121 
1104.19.121 
1901.90.171  
1001.90.011 
1101.00.091 
1108.11.010 
1104.29.111 
1904.10.221  
1001.90.016 
1102.90.210 
1103.20.110 1901.20.131 
1904.20.221
1001.90.019 
1103.11.010 
1103.20.510 
1901.20.151 
1904.90.210
1008.90.021 
1103.19.210 
1104.19.111 1901.90.151 
2106.90.214 (a) Allocation of quotas  to supplying countries
: Global base. 
(b) Allocation of licences or of access to quotas to importers :   
(i) Competent authority: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)   
(ii) Qualifications for participating in competitive bidding: 
1. Ordinary Import System 
(1) Business experience: Applicants must have experience of wheat and/or barley trading 
(2) Business records: Applicants must have business r ecord of at least 20,000 MT  of annual import/export of 
wheat and/or barley during the last 3 years, as well as contract-based import records during the same period. 
(3) Owned capital: Applicants must be corporations which were established in  Japan and have at least one billion 
yen of owned capital. (4) Other requirement: Applicants must have staffs in the main office and in overseas branch offices, who have at 
least 3 years experience for wheat and/or barley importing and exporting operation. 
 
2. Simultaneous Buy and Sell (SBS) 
(1) Business experience: Applicants must have experience of wheat and/or barley trading. 
(2) Business records: Applicants must have business reco rd of at least 20 MT of import/export of wheat and/or 
barley during the last 3 years, as well as cont ract-based import records during the same period. 
(3) Owned capital: Applicants must be corporations whic h were established in Japan and have at least 0.1 billion 
yen of owned capital. 
(4) Other requirement: Applicants must have staffs in the main office or in overseas br anch offices, who have at 
least one year's experience for wheat and/or barley importing and exporting operation. 
 
(iii) MAFF provides contracts for wheat imports to the su ccessful bidders in the designated competitive bidding 
conducted by MAFF.  The successful bi dders are designated from those who put  in lower price, until the planned 
quantity of import are filled.  The filled bids must be lower than the ceiling price, which is provided by the 
Accounting Law. 
(iv) The entry qualification is valid for 3 years, pr ovided that the qualification is examined once a year. 
 
 
   G/AG/N/JPN/133
 Page 3Description of products Tariff item number(s) 
encompassed in product 
description Description of import arrangement applicable 
 (from Section I-B (or I-A) of  
Part I of the schedule) (from Section I-B (or I-A) of 
Part I of the Schedule)  
(c) Details of other arrangements :  Not applicable. 
(d) Other information :   
Sources of information: 
- Decree Law on qualifications for participating in compet itive bidding of ordinary Import System for rice, wheat 
and barley imports.   
-- Decree Law on qualification for part icipating in SBS for rice and wheat 
Barley and its processed products 1003.00.011 
1104.19.410 
1904.20.231  
1003.00.019 
1104.29.410 
1904.90.310  
1102.90.110 
1901.20.141 
2106.90.216  
1103.19.110 
1901.90.161 
1103.20.410 
1904.10.231 (a) Allocation of quotas  to supplying countries : Global base. 
(b) Allocation of licences or of access to quotas to importers :   
(i) Competent authority: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(MAFF) 
(ii) Qualifications for participating in competitive bidding:  
(1) Business experience: Applicants must have e xperience of wheat and/or barley trading. 
(2) Business records: Applicants must have business record  of at least 20,000 MT of annual import/export of wheat 
and/or barley during the last 3 years, as well as contract-based import records during the same period.  
(3) Owned capital: Applicants must be corporations which we re established in Japan and have at least one billion 
yen of owned capital. 
(4) Other requirement: Applicants must have  staffs in the main office and in overseas branch offices, who have at 
least 3 years experience for wheat and/or barley importing and exporting operation. 
(iii) MAFF  provides contracts for barley imports to the successful bidders in the designated competitive bidding 
conducted by MAFF . The successful bi dders are designated from those who put  in lower price, until the planned 
quantity of import are filled. The filled bids must be lo wer than the ceiling price, which is provided by the 
Accounting Law.  
(iv) The entry qualification is valid for 3 years, provi ded that the qualification  is examined once a year. 
(c) Details of other arrangements :  Not applicable. 
(d) Other information :   
Sources of information: 
- Decree Law on qualifications for participating in compet itive bidding of ordinary Import System for rice, wheat 
and barley imports.  
 
  G/AG/N/JPN/133 
Page 4 Description of products Tariff item number(s) 
encompassed in product 
description Description of import arrangement applicable 
 (from Section I-B (or I-A) of  
Part I of the schedule) (from Section I-B (or I-A) of 
Part I of the Schedule)  
Rice and its worked and/or 
prepared products 1006.10.010 
1006.20.010 
1006.30.010 
1006.40.010 
1102.30.010 
1103.19.510 
1103.20.350 
1104.19.250 
1104.29.250 
1901.20.122 
1901.20.162 
1901.90.142 
1901.90.587 
1904.10.211 
1904.20.211 
1904.90.120 
2106.90.517 (a) Allocation of quotas  to supplying countries : Global base. 
(b) Allocation of licences or of access to quotas to importers :   
(i) Competent authority: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(MAFF),  
(ii) Qualifications for participating in competitive bidding:  
1. Ordinary Import System 
(1) Business experience: Applicants must have experience of rice trading. 
(2) Business records: Applicants must have business r ecord of at least 10,000 MT  of annual import/export, as 
well as contract-based imports, during the last 3 years. 
(3) Owned capital: Applicants must be corporations which were established in  Japan and have at least one billion 
yen of owned capital. 
(4) Other requirement: Applicants must have staffs in the main office and in overseas branch offices, who have at 
least 3 years experience for rice importing and exporting operation.   
2. Simultaneous Buy and Sell (SBS) 
(1) Business experience: Applicants must have experience of rice trading. 
(2) Business records: Applicants must have business reco rd of at least 20 MT of import/export during the last 3 
years. 
(3) Owned capital: Applicants must be corporations whic h were established in Japan and have at least 0.1 billion 
yen of owned capital. 
(4) Other requirement: Applicants must have staffs in the main office or in overseas br anch offices, who have at 
least one year's experience for ri ce importing and exporting operation. 
(iii) MAFF provides contracts for rice imports to the su ccessful bidders in the designated competitive bidding 
conducted by MAFF. The successful bi dders are designated from those who put  in lower price, until the planned 
quantity of import are filled. The filled bids must be lo wer than the ceiling price, which is provided by the 
Accounting Law. 
(iv) The entry qualification is valid for 3 years, pr ovided that the qualification is examined once a year. 
(c) Details of other arrangements :  Not applicable. 
(d) Other information :   
Sources of information: 
- Decree Law on qualifications for participating in competi tive bidding of ordinary Import System for rice, wheat and 
barley imports 
- Decree Law on qualification for partic ipating in SBS for rice and wheat. 
 
__________