RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/AG/R/53 
4 February 2009 
 (09-0499) 
Committee on Agriculture  
  
 
SUMMARY REPORT OF THE MEET ING HELD ON 4 DECEMBER 2008 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. The Committee on Agriculture held its fifty- third regular meeting on 4 December 2008 under 
the Chairmanship of Ms. Valeria Csukasi of Uruguay. 
2. The agenda of the meeting as set out in WTO/AIR/3289 of 24 November 2008 was adopted. 
I. THE REVIEW PROCESS 
A. M
ATTERS RELEVANT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CO MMITMENTS UNDER THE REFORM 
PROGRAMME :  ARTICLE 18.6 
(a) Argentina:  EC25 and EC27 domestic s upport commitments following enlargement  
3. Argentina considered that the European Comm unities (EC) had not responded satisfactorily to 
its questions on this matter at the September 2008 session of the Committee on Agriculture.  Argentina therefore reiterated its questions.
2 
4. The EC explained that, in order to consolid ate its domestic support commitments, it had:  
(i) converted the commitments of  each new member State (NMS) expressed in national currencies 
into Euros; and (ii) added each converted NM S commitment to the scheduled EC15 commitment.3  
The average exchange rate for 2000-2002 was used.4  The EC indicated that the resulting Total AMS 
commitment amounted to 71.724 billion Euros for the EC25, and 72.244 billion Euros for the EC27, 
respectively. 
5. As regards export subsidies5, the NMS10 outlay  commitments expressed in national 
currencies had been converted into Euros (usi ng the average 2000-2002 exchange rate) while the 
value of intra-trade flows between NMS1, EC15  and NMS9 (also converted into Euros) was 
deducted.  The netted-out outlays were then adde d to the corresponding EC15 commitment.  For the 
NMS10 volume  commitments, the same methodology was used.  The beverages amounts were 
converted into thousand hectolitres to match the EC  commitment unit.  The EC had found that, when 
matching the NMS10 commitment with EC15 pr oduct groups, full correspondence could not be 
achieved in all cases.  In those cases6, as there was no information available on the actual use of 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. 
2 Paras. 3-8 of G/AG/R/52 refer. 
3 Annex 1 contains the result of the consolidation of EC25 domestic support commitments. 
4 See Annex 2 for the calculation of the average exchange rate used. 
5 The detailed results can be found in Annex 3. 
6 The NMS10 commitments which di d not correspond to any EC15 product group were accounted for 
separately, as shown in Annex 4. G/AG/R/53 
Page 2  
 
  export subsidies at product level within the NM S10 product groups, the NMS10 commitments were 
split based on CN codes and matched with  the corresponding EC15 product groups. 
6. As regards the matching of commitments periods , the EC noted that the commitments of the 
new EC member States were expressed in calendar years while the EC15 commitments were usually 
expressed in budget years, or even other periods de pending on the product con cerned.  In order to 
bring the EC15 commitment periods and the corres ponding trade figures in line with a calendar year 
basis, a double averaging procedure was used to deri ve calendar-year proxies.  Hence, the average for 
the period 2000-2002 was calculated as the average of the two averages for the years 1999-2002 and 2000-2003 respectively.  The EC considered this me thodology to be the best approximation to convert 
the EC15 periods into a calendar year basis. 
7. A 5-page note outlining the methodology used in consolidating EC25's domestic support and 
export subsidy commitments was made available to all Members by the EC Delegation.  Argentina, 
Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States th anked the EC for providing this information in 
writing and indicated that, after review, they mi ght follow-up with comments at a later stage. 
(b) Argentina:  Details of EC Blue Box support by individual product
 
8. Argentina considered that the EC had not res ponded satisfactorily to its questions on this 
matter at the September 2008 session of the Committ ee on Agriculture, and therefore reiterated its 
questions7, notably as regards the following payments: 
(a) per hectare compensatory payments for pr oducers of soyabeans, colza seed and 
sunflower seed, based on regional base areas; 
(b) per hectare compensatory payments for producers of peas, beans, field beans and 
sweet lupines, based on regional base areas; 
(c) compensation for the set-aside requirement re lated to the per hectare aid, equivalent 
to the compensatory aid per hectare for cereals calculated on a regional level; 
(d) compensatory payments for ewes and goats, limited per producer in accordance with 
reference numbers (ewe and goat premium); 
(e) voluntary set-aside; 
(f) per hectare payments for grass silage. 
9. The EC responded that it notified data on Blue Box commitments in accordance with the 
required notification format that had been estab lished for the Committee's Review Process under the 
Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture.  Such support was budgeted internally by the EC 
according to the breakdown presented in Supporting Ta ble DS:3 of each of the EC's domestic support 
notifications.  The support was not allocated per in dividual product.  Moreover, the EC pointed out 
that the Review Process undertak en by the Committee on Agriculture did not require Members to 
present Blue Box expenditur es by individua l product. 
                                                      
7 Para 9 of G/AG/R/52 refers.  G/AG/R/53 
 Page 3 
 
 
  10. Argentina also sought whether the " additional premium to the special  premium in order to de-
seasonalize slaughtering (deseasonalization premium) "8 and the " slaughter premium within nationally 
fixed maximum number of head "9 applied solely to the slaughter of bovine animals or whether they 
covered other types of livestock.  The EC confirmed that such premia only applied to bovine animals. 
11. Argentina thanked the EC for its replies but considered that its request for an objective 
estimate of how product-specific support was app lied in the period 1995-2000, as well as currently, 
remained unanswered. 
(c) Australia:  Status of Part IV of EC15 and EC27 Schedule  
12. Following up on the replies supplied by the EC10, Australia recalled that in regard to Part IV 
of the EC-15 Schedule, the EC had engaged in a mu ltilateral verification process, which was distinct 
from the procedures under Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and the Marrakech Protocol to the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 for the adjustment  of tariff and other concessions in Parts I and 
III of a Member's Schedule.  Australia also reca lled previous advice from th e EC in 2005 and 2006 
that it would apply the EC15 Schedule to the EC- 25 pending a replacement by a EC-25 Schedule and 
that it intended to submit an EC25 Schedule for approval by Members.11  In this light, Australia asked 
the EC: 
(a) whether it considered that a Part IV of an  EC-25 Schedule was in existence within the 
meaning of Articles 3 and 8 of the Agreement on Agriculture; 
(b) whether it considered that Part IV of the EC15 CXL Schedule and Part IV of the 
Schedules of the ten member States acced ing to the European Communities in 
May 2004 no longer had the status of scheduled commitments within the meaning of 
Article 3 of the Agreement on Agriculture; 
(c) whether it was applying unilaterally-determi ned levels of EC-25 Part IV scheduled 
commitments; 
(d) whether, in regard to Part IV of th e EC Schedule and the Schedules of the ten 
member States acceding to the European Communities in May 2004, the EC intended 
to follow the multilateral verification procedur es that were applied in regard to EC-15 
enlargement, including the submission of a proposal to the WTO membership. 
13. The EC referred Members to the responses it provi ded in paragraphs 4 to 6 above, which, in 
its view, appropriately addressed the core issues raised by Australia in connection with EC's 
enlargement.  Should Australia require additional info rmation, the EC indicated that it would be ready 
to supply it. 
14. Argentina, Canada and New Zeala nd flagged their interest in th e set of questions formulated 
by Australia in paragraph 12 above as well as the responses supplied by the EC.  They reserved the 
right to raise this matter again after having exam ined the explanatory note circulated by the EC. 
                                                      
8 Council Regulations No. 2066/92 and No. 1357/96. 
9 Council Regulation No. 1254/99. 
10 G/AG/R/52, page 26, refers. 
11 G/AG/R/44, para 3 and G/AG/R/47, para 16 refer. G/AG/R/53 
Page 4  
 
  (d) China:  Recognition of China as " a party with substantial interest " in EC poultry tariff 
negotiations  
15. China continued to express concerns about  the EC's refusal to recognize it as " a party with 
substantial interest " when negotiating a tariff modification on three poultry products.12  China 
requested the EC to enter into substantive negotia tions with China regarding the quantity of import 
quotas without delay.  The EC stated that it failed to  understand China's concer n and reiterated that it 
had fully complied with the WTO rules relating to the conduct of GATT Article XXVIII negotiations 
for its poultry tariff lines.  In particular, there were no significant quantities of imports from China 
into the EC market during the reference period.  However, as a result of these negotiations, China, 
together with other Members, had now acces s a tariff quota allocation of 11,443 tonnes. 
16. China concurred that there were no significant e xports of poultry in the past but claimed that 
this was because these were totally ba nned by the EC at that time.  Otherwise, China could have built 
significant market share in the EC market, taking account of the fact that its exports of cooked poultry 
products account for 20 per cent of global trade.  Ch ina reiterated its demands (i) to be recognized by 
the EC as " a party with substantial interest " and (ii) that the EC enters, without delay, in substantive 
negotiations with China on the size of the tariff quota allocation for poultry. 
17. Argentina flagged its interest on the question raised by China. 
(e) China:  US measure on poultry from China  
18. China reiterated its request that Section 733 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act 2008  be abolished without delay so 
that bilateral trade of poultry products be normalized as soon as possible.13  The United States 
reiterated its response supplied during the Septem ber 2008 meeting of the Committee, noting that 
while the issue was more appropriately a ddressed under the SPS committee, it placed great 
importance on ensuring that measures were based on  science and hoped to resolve the issue as soon as 
possible.14 
19. China believed that the response provided by th e United States did not appropriately address 
its concerns and hoped that its request would be dealt with effectively and in a timely manner. 
B. REVIEW OF NOTIFICATIONS  
(a) Notifications in respect of which questions have been raised in advance of the issuance of the 
convening airgram  
20. Since the 18 September session, 41 notifications ha d been circulated by the Secretariat to all 
Members.  The Committee reviewed the two domestic  support notifications listed in the agenda in 
respect of which questions had been raised in  advance of the issuance of convening airgram.15  
Specific points raised with respect to these two no tifications, and the responses provided by Albania  
and Chinese Taipei , are summarized in Annex 5  to this report. 
                                                      
12 G/AG/R/52, paras. 35-37 refer. 
13 G/AG/R/52, paras. 38 and 40 refer. 
14 G/AG/R/52, para 39 refers. 
15 WTO/AIR/3289 dated 24 November 2008.  G/AG/R/53 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (b) Notifications subject to review in respect of wh ich no questions have been raised in advance 
of the issuance of the convening airgram  
21. The Committee took note of the notifications which had been circulated in advance of the 
date on which the notice convening the present me eting was issued, but in respect of which no 
questions had been raised by that date under th e Committee's Working Procedures (G/AG/1).  These 
notifications are listed in Annex 6. 
(c) Notifications circulated or made available af ter the notice convening the meeting was issued  
22. The following notifications were subject to prelim inary review and are to be reverted to at the 
next meeting for substantive review in accordan ce with paragraph 9 of the Committee's Working 
Procedures. 
(i) in the context of the special safeguard  (Tables MA:3 to MA:5):  from Japan 
(JPN/138); 
(ii) in the context of domestic support commitm ents (Tables DS:1 and DS:2):  from 
Honduras (HND/25 and 26);  and 
(iii) in the context of export subsidy commitments (Tables ES:1 to ES:3):  from the 
European Communities (EEC/57) and Honduras (HND/27). 
(d) Points concerning notifications raised at previous meetings  
23. The Chairperson recalled that delegations have the possibility to inform the Committee of the 
outcome of discussions which are of general interest , but which may have been pursued bilaterally as 
a result of the review of notifications.  Th ere was no discussion under this agenda item. 
(e) Counter-notifications  
24. The Committee took note that no counter-notifi cations had been received under Article 18.7 
of the Agreement on Agriculture. 
(f) Deferred replies to questions raised under the Review Process  
25. There were no deferred replies to questions previously raised. 
(g) Overdue notifications  
26. An updated room document, dated 3 Decem ber 2008 showing the current status of 
compliance with notification obligations was made available by the Secretariat. 
27. Argentina reiterated the questions posed in  relation to the outstanding domestic support 
notifications by the EC and by its member States for the implementation periods 2004/2005, 
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.16  The EC stated that it intended to supply notifications 
covering the first two implementa tion periods before March 2009, wh ile the data collection for the 
last two periods was launched in November 2008 and was still on-going.  Argentina and Australia 
welcomed this announcement. 
                                                      
16 G/AG/R/52, paras 48-49 refer. G/AG/R/53 
Page 6  
 
  28. Australia also recalled that the Cairns Group was actively supporting the concept of 
transparency, particularly in the negotiations cont ext through the submission of proposals designed to 
improve the level of monitoring and surveillance in ag riculture.  Australia drew Members' attention to 
Annex M of the Draft Modalities which aimed at improving Article 18.6 of the Uruguay Round 
Agreement on Agriculture.  Australia hoped that such  improvement would, in turn, improve the level 
of compliance with notification obligations. 
II. OTHER MATTERS WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE 
A. A
NNUAL CONSULTATION UNDER ARTICLE 18.5  WITH RESPECT TO MEMBERS ' PARTICIPATION 
IN THE NORMAL GROWTH OF WORLD TRADE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS WITHIN THE 
FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMITMENTS ON EXPORT SUBSIDIES  
29. The Committee took note of the statistical background paper prepared by the Secretariat for 
the purposes of the annual consultations under Article 18.5.17  The document provided, for selected 
exporters and selected agricultural products/pro duct groups, statistical data on export volumes 
(including international food aid) and shares in world exports, covering the Uruguay Round base 
period for export subsidy reduction commitments, i.e. 1986-90, as well as the period comprised 
between 1998 and the most recent year for which data  were available.  The charts showed the world 
market shares of the leading exporters fo r the products/product groups concerned. 
B. ANNUAL MONITORING EXERCISE ON THE FOLLOW -UP TO THE MARRAKECH NET 
FOOD -IMPORTING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (NFIDC ) DECISION UNDER ARTICLE 16.2 
30. The annual monitoring exercise is undertaken on the basis, inter alia , of contributions by 
Members, including Table NF:1 notifications, as we ll as contributions by the observer international 
organizations.  The Chairperson recalled that the notification requirement under the NF series relates 
to:  the quantity of food aid provided to LDCs and NFIDCs, with an indication of the proportion 
provided in fully grant form or on appropriate conc essional terms; technical and financial assistance 
provided; and other relevant information with resp ect to actions taken within the framework of the 
Decision. 
31. The Committee took note of the circulation of th e following notifications in the NF:1 series 
since the November 2007 monitoring exercise18: Australia (G/AG/N/AUS/71), Canada 
(G/AG/N/CAN/72), European Communities (G/AG/N/EEC/56), Norway (G/AG/N/NOR/44), South Africa (G/AG/N/ZAF/67), Switzerland (G/AG/ N/CHE/39 and Corr.1) and the United States 
(G/AG/N/USA/65). 
32. A revised background note for the purpose of f acilitating the annual monitoring exercise was 
also circulated by the Secretariat.
19  The note provides a brief introduction on the follow-up process to 
the NFIDC Decision as a whole as well as a description of the implementation of the substantive provisions in the fields of international food aid;  technical and financial as sistance;  S&D treatment 
in the framework of an agreement on export credits ; and access to the resources of the international 
financial institutions.  The Committee took note of this document. 
                                                     
 
17  See G/AG/W/32/Rev.10 (dated 17 November 2008). 
18 A reminder airgram was also circulated on 10 November 2008 (WTO/AIR/3282). 
19 See G/AG/W/42/Rev.11 (dated 18 November 2008).  G/AG/R/53 
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  (a) Communication by the LDC Group20 
33. On behalf of the LDC Group, Tanzania repor ted on a Conference on WTO rules and the food 
crisis organised in Geneva on 17 July 2008 in partnership with a research and development 
organization focusing on global issues.  The Conference provided a forum for the development community and relevant stakeholders to reflect on existing mechanisms and solutions within the 
framework of the multilateral trading syst em to cope with the food crisis. 
34. Tanzania also underlined that although food pr ices were showing signs of easing, LDCs and 
NFIDCs were facing, at the same time, the effects of  declining commodity prices.  This translated into 
reduced income and weakened hou seholds' purchasing power.  Another negative factor was climate 
change, including natural calamities such as floods and droughts.  Climate change particularly affects 
food production capacity in LDCs due to their high  dependence on rain fed agriculture, and their 
inability to mitigate adverse climate shocks.  In vi ew of the economic, social, development, and even 
political dimension of the food crisis, the LDC Group st ressed the need for a holistic approach and for 
striking a balance between the trade and non-t rade considerations when formulating and 
implementing policy responses.  This should be done  in close cooperation with national governments 
and the relevant regional organizations. 
35. Cuba thanked the LDC Group for their contribut ion and considered that it constituted a good 
basis to continue Members' work in the field of implementation of the NFIDC Decision.  Cuba expressed the view that the Committee on Agri culture should follow-up on the recommendations 
listed in Part IV of document G/AG/GEN/77 in tabular format. 
36. The Committee took note of these statements. 
(b) Contributions by observer international organizations
 
37. The representatives of the Food and Agriculture  Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development 
(UNCTAD) made contributions to the monitoring ex ercise.  The International Grains Council (IGC) 
submitted a written contribution prior to the meeting.   The Committee took note of these statements.21 
C. IMPLEMENTATION -RELATED ISSUES  
38. Paragraph 2 of the Doha Ministerial D ecision on Implementation-Related Issues and 
Concerns22 instructs the Committee to follow up on three di stinct matters:  (a) Members must develop 
disciplines on export credits as per Article 10.2 of  the Agreement on Agriculture;  (b) the Committee 
must examine possible means for improving the eff ectiveness of the implementation of the NFIDC 
Decision;  (c) the Committee must al so ensure that Members' tariff quota regimes are administered in 
a transparent, equitable and non-discriminator y manner, keeping such regimes under review. 
39. Argentina stated that, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 10.1 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture, the establishment of additional and sp ecific disciplines on export credits, export credit 
guarantees and insurance programmes remained an  outstanding implementation issue resulting from 
the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture.  Argen tina therefore requested that this item be 
retained on the agenda of the Committee on Agricu lture in regular session.  Cuba supported this 
statement. 
                                                      
20 A detailed report was made available in docume nt G/AG/GEN/77 (dated 11 November 2008). 
21 These statements were subsequently circul ated in G/AG/GEN/78 (15 December 2008). 
22 WT/MIN(01)/17 (dated 14 November 2001). G/AG/R/53 
Page 8  
 
  40. The Chairperson informed the Committee that, as a follow-up to Cuba's request during the 
September 2008 regular session
23, she had convened informal consu ltations with a group of Members 
on 3 October 2008.  The purpose of such consultations  was to have a further opportunity to consider 
Cuba's request as reflected in paragr aphs 82-83 of document G/AG/R/52. 
41. The Chairperson stated that, in the course of those consultations, all participants, including 
Cuba, recognized that there was a clear line betw een the competence of this Committee and matters 
relating to the Doha Round negotiations.  Some even considered that it was important to distinguish 
between:  (i) the implementation of the legal provisions  that are currently in force, and in respect of 
which Members have assumed commitments and specific notification requirements;  and (ii) the Doha 
Round negotiations, in the framework of which th e possible rules remained yet to be agreed. 
42. During the consultations, Cuba clarified that it  had simply noted that the documents which 
formed the basis for the Committee's examinati on of the agenda item on implementation-related 
issues were outdated and could be usefully updated by the Secretariat, such as:  the paragraphs dealing 
with a joint FAO/UNCTAD financing initiative;  developments such as the negotiations under the 
Food Aid Convention, 1999 ;  the evolution of food prices;  the follow-up accorded to Category II 
S&D proposals;  as well as additional feedback  on the submission of addenda to Table MA:1 
notifications by Members having scheduled tariff quot a commitments.  In the October consultations, 
the Chairperson had noted that several factual elem ents of information were already available under 
various WTO Committees or from a number of external sources, but were not necessarily compiled in one single document for the purposes of the Committee's examination of the three implementation-related issues. 
43. Responding to Cuba's concerns re garding tariff quota administration, one participant had also 
underlined that Table MA:1 addenda were initially  submitted to provide additional information on 
how Members administered their tariff quota comm itments on a one-off basis.  Since then, some 
Members had actually notified changes to thei r administration methods through the regular 
notification system.  The Secretariat confirmed that most Members fulfilled their Table MA:1 
notification requirements using the standard procedures.
24  Tariff quota administration methods were 
therefore already examined at each regular session under Agenda Item 1B, i.e. the "Review Process", 
rather than under Item 2.  Furthermore, a doc ument showing Members' compliance with their 
notification obligations, including those relating to the administration of tariff quotas, was (i) updated 
at least three times a year, (ii) circulated in meetings, and (iii) posted on the Members' password 
protected Web site. 
44. The Chairperson concluded that the October cons ultations had also shown that, in response to 
Cuba's request, a number of Members would be ready to  support the elaboration, by the Secretariat, of 
a compendium of documents that were relevant to the three implementation-related issues.  The 
Chairperson then specifically called on Members to consider whether, to facilitate the Committee's 
review, they would be in a position to support the elaboration by the Secretariat of a compendium of 
relevant documents that are directly or indirectly related to the three distinct implementation-related 
topics.  The Chairperson stressed that such material would be elaborated on the understanding that  the 
Secretariat would take account of existing pr ovisions rather than the Draft Modalities. 
45. Cuba fully understood that the nature and legal status of the Draft Modalities prevented that 
document from being used as a basis to assess impl ementation-related matters.  However, should 
modalities be established before the end of the y ear, Cuba believed that the state-of-play of 
implementation-related issues could be assessed agai nst the outcome of an agreed Modalities text.  
Responding to the Chairperson's proposal, Cuba supported the elaboration of a compilation of 
                                                      
23 G/AG/R/52, paras. 82-86 refer. 
24 G/AG/2 refers.  G/AG/R/53 
 Page 9 
 
 
  relevant material which could facilitate the Comm ittee's analysis in an efficient and integrated 
manner.  
46. The EC delegation supported the Chairperson's pr oposal, concurring with the view that a clear 
distinction had to be drawn betw een implementation and negotiation matters.  Cuba stated that the 
implementation chapter belonged the Single Undertak ing and would be incorporated in the final DDA 
outcomes. 
47. The Chairperson requested the Secretariat to prep are a draft compendium to be circulated to 
Members towards the end of January 2009 so that an other round of informal consultations could take 
place on the basis of that contribution. 
D. OTHER BUSINESS : DATE OF NEXT MEETING  
48. The next (54th) regular meeting of the Committee on Agriculture is scheduled to be held on 
Thursday, 12 March 2009.  On this basis, the c onvening airgram will be issued on Monday, 2 March 
2009. G/AG/R/53 
Page 10  
 
  Annexes 
  
   Page
 
 
Annex 1 Consolidation of EC25 dom estic support commitments  11 
  pursuant to GATT Article XXIV:6  Annex 2  EC25 domestic support commitmen ts: calculation details  12 
  of average 2000-2002 exchange rate used by the EC 
 
Annex 3  Consolidation of EC25 export subsidy reduction commitments 13 
  pursuant to GATT Article XXIV:6 negotiations  Annex 4  Consolidation of EC25 export subsidy commitments where  14 
  NMS commitments did not match scheduled EC15  
  product groups  Annex 5  Summary of points raised with respect to two Table DS:1 15 
  notifications  
Annex 6  Notifications subject to review in respect of which no 16 
  questions have been raised in advance of the issuance of 
  the convening airgram   
 
     G/AG/R/53 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Annex 1 
 
Consolidation of EC25 domestic support co mmitments pursuant to GATT Article XXIV:6  
  
COMMITMENTS  C URRENCY  E XCHANGE RATE PER 1 € * COMMITMENTS IN 
MIO € 
50.6 Cyprus Pound 0.58 88.0  
13,611.32 Czech Koruna 33.49 406.4  
0.0 Estonian Kroon 15.65 0.0  
67,159.0 € 1.0 67,159.0  
33,808.0 Hungarian Forint 253.2 133.5  
4.39 Special Drawing Rights 0.0 0.0  
94.56 Lithuanian Litas 3.58 26.4  
0.0 Malta Lira 0.41 0.0  
3,329.0 US Dollar 0.92 3,612.2  
10,140.0 Slovak Koruna 42.87 236.6  
61.85 € 1.0 61.8  
EC25 Total Bound AMS commitment: 71,723.9 
 G/AG/R/53 
Page 12  
 
  Annex 2 
 
EC25 domestic support commitments:  
calculation details of average 2000-2002 exchange rate used by the EC  
  
National currency 2002 2001 2000 Average 2000-2002 
    1€ = 1 xx = € 
Cyprus Pound 0.57530 0.57589 0.57392 0.57504 1.739012 
Czech Koruna 30.80360 34.06850 35.59950 33.49053 0.029859 
Estonian Kroon 15.64660 15.64660 15.64660 15.64660 0.063912 
Hungarian Forint 242. 95800 256.59100 260.04500 253.19800 0.003949 
Latvian Lats 0.58105 0.56006 0.55923 0.56678 1.764358 
Lithuanian Litas 3. 45943 3.58229 3.69516 3.57896 0.279411 
Malta Lira 0.40894 0.40301 0.40414 0.40536 2.466941 
New Polish Zloty 3.85742 3.67214 4.00817 3.84591 0.260016 
Slovak Koruna 42.69350 43.30010 42.60170 42.86510 0.023329 
Slovenian Tolar 225. 977 217.980 206.613 216.85667 0.004611 
United States Dollar 0.94557 0.89563 0.92361 0.92161 1.085063 
   
Source:  Eurostat (release dated 3 November 2003; national currencies include "euro-fixed" series for 
Euro-zone countries)  
 
  G/AG/R/53 
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  Annex  3 
 
Consolidation of EC25 export subsidy reduction commitments  
pursuant to GATT Article XXIV:6 negotiations  
 
 
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION / 
TARIFF ITEMS (HS  6-DIGIT ) * OUTLAY COMMITMENTS  
(MIO €) VOLUME COMMITMENTS  
('000  METRIC TONS ) 
  After XXVI:6  After XXVI:6 
Wheat and wheat flour 1,289.70 1,294.20 14,438.00 15,363.80 
Coarse grains 1,046.90 1,049.70 10,843.20 10,530.40 
Rice 36.8 30.70 133.4 98.20 
Rapeseed 27.7 42.70 103.8 441.90 
Olive oil 54.3 54.30 115 115.00 
Sugar  499.1 513.90 1,273.50 1,374.40 
Butter and butter oil 947.8 945.80 399.3 411.60 
Skim milk powder 275.8 298.00 272.5 323.40 
Cheese 341.7 345.70 321.3 331.70 
Other milk products 697.7 724.10 958.1 1,008.90 
Beef meat 1,253.60 1,324.00 821.7 989.60 
Pigmeat 191.3 273.60 443.5 588.40 
Poultry meat 90.7 182.40 286 430.80 
Eggs 43.7 47.80 98.8 111.90 
Wine ( thousand hl ) 39.2 42.90 2,304.70 6,799.80 
Fruit & vegetables, fresh 52.8 108.70 753.4 1,173.30 
Fruit & vegetables, processed 8.3 141.30 143.3 378.50 
Raw tobacco 40.2 40.20 110.8 110.80 
Alcohol ( thousand hl ) 96.1 88.60 1,147.40 1,220.70 
Incorporated products 415 414.40 - - 
     
*  See related annex of EC15 CXL Schedule. 
 G/AG/R/53 
Page 14  
 
  Annex  4 
 
Consolidation of EC25 export subsidy commitments where NMS commitments did not match 
scheduled EC15 product groups  
 
 
COMMITMENTS  NEW MEMBER STATE  
(NMS) PRODUCT GROUP  OUTLAYS (MIO €) V OLUME ('000  TONS ) 
Cyprus Sheep meat 0.3 0.2 
Czech Republic Sheep meat 0.2 0.6 
Slovak Republic Sheep meat 0.5 1.6 
Hungary Slaughter sheep 2.1 23.0 
Czech Republic Vegetable oils 1.0 7.2 
Slovak Republic Vegetable oils 0.4 3.9 
Hungary Sunflower oil 2.9 146.0 
Poland Rape oil 3.2 30.3 
Hungary Sunflower seed 0.9 71.0 
Hungary Red pepper 1.0 7.0 
Czech Republic Beer 1.7 148.9 (mio litres) 
Slovak Republic Beer 0.6 66.4 (mio litres) 
Slovak Republic Yeast 0.1 0.5 
Poland Casein 2.2 15.3 
Poland Sowing materials 1.6 41.8 
  G/AG/R/53 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Annex  5 
 
Summary of points raised with respect to two Table DS:1 notifications  
 
 
(i) Albania  G/AG/N/ALB/2  
 
Question by the United States - Supporting Table DS:9 refers to " Plant trees like grape, apples 
and olives at subsidized rates provided to producers " in 2007.  Request for more details and a 
description of the programme. 
 
 During the last few years, the number of small- medium enterprises that are specialized in the 
production of wine from grapes and fruit has incr eased considerably but wine production remains 
insufficient to respond to the domestic market.  Ac celerating the development of vineyards and fruit 
trees, which is a competitor market with real pers pectives and growth potential, is one of the first 
priorities of the Albanian Government for the agri cultural sector. The general government objective as 
regards domestic support is to impr ove conditions in order to increase farmers' income and to improve 
rural families' way of living.     The financial support scheme granted to farmers through the "Stimulation of development for 
vineyard, olive trees"  in 2007 aimed to:   
 
increase vineyard areas, fruit and olive trees;   increase a sustainable production of grape, fruits, olive and industrial production in the market in order to meet domestic needs, mini mize imports and increase exports;   
promote the orientation towards the development of vineyards, trees and olive;   
promote the regionalization of [grape, fruit and olive ?] species and varieties in accordance with 
climate-earthly condition;  and  encourage the specialization of agricultural a nd micro-areas in accordance with the development 
priorities for the agricultural sector.  (ii) Chinese Taipei  G/AG/N/TPKM/61
 
 
Question by the United States – Explanation of the significant increase in disaster payments 
listed on page 4 of the notification. 
 
The vast majority of farms are of a small-scale and high density nature.  Whenever natural 
disasters such as typhoons or flooding occur, the affected production areas and adverse impacts on 
agricultural  yields are spread over several coun ties.  In 2005, frost damage, floods and typhoons 
occurred more frequently. Payments for relief from natural disasters were therefore significantly 
higher in that particular year.   G/AG/R/53 
Page 16  
 
  Annex 6 
 
Notifications subject to review in respect  of which no questions have been raised
 
in advance of the issuance of the convening airgram  
 
 
(i) administration of tariff and other quota commitments (Table MA:1) 
- Thailand G/AG/N/THA/66 
- United States G/AG/N/USA/63 
  
(ii) imports under tariff and other quota commitments (Table MA:2):   
- New Zealand G/AG/N/NZL/55 
- Norway G/AG/N/NOR/50 - Panama G/AG/N/PAN/17 - Thailand G/AG/N/THA/67 
  
(iii) special safeguard (Tables MA:3 to MA:5):   
- Botswana G/AG/N/BWA/6  
- Malaysia G/AG/N/MYS/21 - New Zealand G/AG/N/NZL/54 - Norway G/AG/N/NOR/48 
- Panama G/AG/N/PAN/16 
- Chinese Taipei G/AG/N/TPKM/62  - Thailand  G/AG/N/THA/65  
 
(iv) domestic support commitments (Table DS:1):  
- Cuba G/AG/N/CUB/32 
- New Zealand G/AG/N/NZL/52  - Nigeria G/AG/N/NGA/7  - Paraguay G/AG/N/PRY/14 - Switzerland G/AG/N/CHE/45 - Chinese Taipei G/AG/N/TPKM/61/Corr.1 
 
(v) in the context of export subsidy commitments (Tables ES:1 to ES:3): 
- Albania G/AG/N/ALB/1 
- Botswana G/AG/N/BWA/7 - Malaysia G/AG/N/MYS/20 
 - New Zealand G/AG/N/NZL/53 
 - Nigeria G/AG/N/NGA/8 - Norway G/AG/N/NOR/49 - Paraguay G/AG/N/PRY/13 - Philippines G/AG/N/PHL/38  - Switzerland G/AG/N/CHE/42/Corr.1 
- Switzerland G/AG/N/CHE/44 
- Thailand G/AG/N/THA/64  - United States G/AG/N/USA/64 
 
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