. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SCM/W/555 
21 October 2011 
 (11-5249) 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures 
 Original:   English 
 
 
 
TREATMENT OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS UNDER  
ARTICLES 25.8 AND 25.9 OF THE SCM AGREEMENT 
 
Proposal from the United States 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 19 October 2011, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the United States.   
 
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  Transparency is a central tenet of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures 
(Subsidies Agreement).  The request from the Chairm an of the Trade Policy Review Body to discuss 
"ways to improve the timeliness and completeness  of notifications" and the years of work the 
Subsidies Committee has devoted to the very sam e issue further attests to the importance of 
transparency as a pillar of the Subsidies Agreemen t, as well as the WTO more generally.  As is well 
known, Article 25.1 requires that Members provide regular notifications of their subsidies.  
Article 26.1 establishes the framework by which Memb ers' subsidy notifications are reviewed by the 
Subsidies Committee.  The Committee has appropriate ly elaborated upon this  framework detailing the 
process by which the Committee should conduc t its review.  The process includes, inter alia , a 
detailed schedule according to which written que stions are submitted and written answers are 
provided in reply.
1 
 
 In contrast to the silence of the Agreement as to the procedures by which subsidy notifications 
are to be reviewed, the Agreement specifically  provides a procedure under Article 25.8 by which 
Members may submit written questions regarding th e nature and extent of a subsidy program 
maintained by another Member or request an explan ation of why a specific measure is not considered 
to be subject to the requirement of notification.   The Agreement further establishes a very specific 
obligation for Members who receive such questions.  In particular, Article 25.9 states that:  "Members 
so requested shall provide such information as qui ckly as possible and in a comprehensive manner, 
and shall be ready, upon request, to provide add itional information to the requesting Member".   
  The history of Members responding as quickly as possible and in a comprehensive manner to 
questions received under Article 25.8 is less than satisfactory.  Article 25.8 questions often go 
unanswered for extended periods of time, are so metimes only answered orally and sometimes – 
unfortunately – are not answered at all.  More over, unlike unanswered qu estions submitted in the 
course of the normal review of a Member's subsi dy notification, unanswere d Article 25.8 questions 
have not been included on the agenda for the next m eeting of the Committee.  In light of this history, 
and in the context of improving the timeliness and completeness of subsidy notifications, 
the United States is of the view that the Comm ittee should establish clear procedures according to 
which future Article 25.8 questions should be answer ed and reviewed by the Committee similar to the 
                                                      
1 G/SCM/117.   G/SCM/W/555 
Page 2  
 
  manner in which Member's subsidy notifications are reviewed; specifically:  procedures should be 
established for written answers to be provided to  written questions according to an established 
schedule consistent with the langua ge of Article 25.9.  Moreover, written questions under Article 25.8 
should be included on the Committee's agenda until written answers are submitted and an opportunity 
is provided for further discussion and follow- up questions at a Committee meeting.   
 
  
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