RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/M/22 
2 November 2005 
 (05-5152) 
Committee on Import Licensing  
  
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 SEPTEMBER 2005 
 
Chairperson:  Ms. Pamela Cooper (Canada
) 
   The Committee on Import Licensing held its tw enty-second meeting on 28 September 2005.  
The agenda proposed for the meeting, contained in WTO/AIR/2657, was adopted as follows:   
 
 
Table of Contents
 
 
1. Members' compliance with notification ob ligations – Developments since the last 
meeting........................................................................................................................ ...............1  
2. Notifications.................................................................................................................. .............4  
(i) Notifications under Articles 1.4(a) and/or 8.2(b) of the Agreement (publications 
and/or legislation)............................................................................................................ ...........4  
(ii) Notifications under Article 7.3 of the Ag reement (Replies to the Questionnaire on 
Import Licensing Procedures) ................................................................................................... .4 
(iii) Notifications under Article 5 of the Agreement (new import licensing procedures, 
changes to existing licensing procedures and reverse notifications)..........................................5  
3. Fourth Transitional Review under paragraph 18 of the Protocol on the Accession of the People's  Republic of China ..........................................................................5
 
4. Report (2005) to the Council for Trade in Goods ..................................................................9  
5. Other bus iness ................................................................................................................. ..........9  
(i) Questions posed by Mexico  to Guatemala (eggs).......................................................................9  
(ii) Questions posed by the United States .........................................................................................9  
(a) Brazil (certain lithium products).............................................................................................. ...9 
(b) European Communities (enriched uranium) .............................................................................10  
(c) Indonesia (certain textiles products) .........................................................................................1 0 
(iii) Dates of the n ext meetings ..................................................................................................... ...11 
 
1. Members' compliance with notification ob ligations – Developments since the last 
meeting 
1.1 The Chairperson  informed the Committee that  since the last meeting only 13 notifications had 
been received under various pr ovisions of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (2 
notifications under Articles 1.4(a) and/or 8.2(b), seven under Article 7.3 and four under Article 5.1-
5.4).  As of the date of the meeting, out of a total Membership of 148 (counting each of the EC G/LIC/M/22 
Page 2  
 
 member States individually), there remained 23 Members
1 who had not submitted any notification 
under the Agreement since joining the WTO.  Only  116 Members had submitted notifications of laws 
and regulations (under Articles 1.4(a) and/or 8. 2(b)) and a cumulative total of 110 Members had 
submitted replies to the Questionnaire2 (under Article 7.3) since the entry into force of the WTO 
Agreement.  For Article 7.3 notifications, the annual deadline of 30 September was not often 
respected by many Members.  Only 51 Members had notified new licensing procedures or changes in 
existing procedures (under Paragraphs  1-4 of Article 5);  of this, one Member (Papua New Guinea) 
had notified changes to import licensing procedur es without submitting the initial notifications of 
legislation or replies to the Questionnaire.  While  Article 5.5 of the Agreement allowed Members to 
submit counter-notifications where a Member consid ered that another Member had not notified the 
institution of a licensing procedure or changes in the procedures no such counter-notifications had 
been received up to the date of this meeting.  The Chairperson reminded the Committee that at the end 
of each year, the Central  Registry of Notifications sent to each Member a list of notifications that 
should be made under all WTO Agreements in the fo llowing year and that this was followed up with 
periodic reminders, twice a year, to those Memb ers who had not fulfilled their notification 
obligations.  In spite of this the compliance with  the notification obligations under this Agreement 
continued to remain low.  She therefore ur ged all those Members who had not yet provided 
information of their laws and re gulations relevant to import licen sing, not replied to the annual 
Questionnaire, or not notified the institution of new import licensing procedures or changes since their 
previous notifications to do so without further de lay.  Members who did not apply import licensing 
procedures or had no laws or regula tions relevant to the Agreement were also required to notify the 
Committee of this fact so that Members could obta in a complete overview of the licensing regimes of 
all Members.  Members which had questions about the notification requirements or which would like 
assistance were requested to consult the Secretariat.  1.2 The representative of the European Communities
 said that her delegation assigned high 
priority to notification obligations under the WTO Agreements, including those under the Agreement 
on Import licensing Procedures.  She informed the Co mmittee that her authorities were in the process 
of  finalising its Article 7.3 notification for 2004 and 2005 which she hoped to submit to the 
Committee shortly.  Her delegation regretted the de lay in submitting the notification which was due to 
exceptional circumstances, notably in relation to the EC enlargement.  
 
1.3 The representative of the United States  said that his delegation appreciated the submissions 
made by all Members, especially by those who ha d notified for the first time.  Notifying an import 
licence system, or the lack of one, was central to the obligations of this Agreement.  Comprehensive 
and consistent notificati on provided for a complete overview of the licensing regimes in place within 
the trading system.  There appeared to be some  progress in this respect.  His delegation looked 
forward to receiving notifications from Members that  had not yet submitted any, such as Thailand and 
Belize.  He thanked the Chairperson and the Secr etariat for their conti nuing encouragement for 
compliance, such as providing reminders to Member s on notifications and reminding delegations to 
respond to questions posed by other Members.    1.4 The Chairperson
 said that since the last meeting three documents containing questions 
concerning licensing systems maintained by Member s or replies thereto had been circulated.  
G/LIC/Q/CHN/15 and G/LIC/Q/TUR/3 contained questions from the United States to China and Turkey and G/LIC/Q/BHR/2 contained replies from Ba hrain to the United States.  She informed the 
Committee that the Secretariat had reminded delegati ons of pending replies to the questions put to 
them regarding their licensing systems.  She request ed delegations that were in a position to provide 
                                                     
 
1 Angola, Belize, Botswana, Central African Republic, Congo, Congo, Dem. Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, 
Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Israel, Kuwait, Lesotho, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania and Thailand. 
2 The Questionnaire is annexed to document G/LIC/3.  G/LIC/M/22 
 Page 3 
 
 
 replies to the questions posed since the last meeting, or  prior to it, to do so at this meeting, keeping in 
mind that under the procedures adopted in this Co mmittee they were required to provide replies in 
writing to those delegations that had posed questi ons, with copies to the Secretariat (G/LIC/4).  
Copies of replies received by the Secretariat would be issued in the same document series. 
 
1.5 The representative of the United States , recalling the question posed to China concerning the 
registration process for scrap and waste material (G/LIC/Q/CHN/15), said that his authorities noted 
that, as of 1 August 2005, China's Administration of  Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine 
(AQSIQ) had formally reopened the registration process as per Public Notice 103.  His delegation 
would continue to monitor the situation to ensure th at procedural issues relating to market access were 
not a problem. 
 1.6 The representative of Canada
 said that, as a large exporter to China of various waste and scrap 
metal Canada too was interested in the registration process for the products concerned.  He understood that China had resumed the registration pr ocess for scrap and waste material and that there 
may be an automatic import licence situation where importers would be able to submit applications 
for import licences on any working day.  His delegati on would be happy to hear further from China on 
this issue.  1.7 The representative of China
 thanked the United States for the information provided and hoped 
that this information would also be useful for Canada.   
 
1.8 The representative of Turkey  referring to the questions posed by the United States circulated 
in document G/LIC/Q/TUR/3 said that under the curr ent import regime of Turkey which was in full 
compliance with Turkey's WTO commitments, MFN rates of 45%, 34% and 36% were applied for imports of rice, rice in the husk and brown rice and that there was no import licensing procedure 
required for these products.  The products were on ly subject to SPS controls by the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Affairs as was the case for al l other agricultural products.  On the other hand, 
with the Decision on Implementation of Tariff Quotas on Importation of some Forms of Rice, 
published in the Official Gazette on 27 August 2004, a tariff quota regime had been put into force.  This was replaced by a new Decision published in the Official Gazette of 13 September 2005.  The aim of the Decision was to facilitate imports into Tu rkey which was a net importer of rice.  According 
to this system, a tariff rate lower than the MFN rate was applied for a certain amount of rice for 
importers who would assume to buy an equivalent am ount of rice from domestic producers.  The tariff 
quotas would be effective from 1 November 2005 to 31 July 2006.  The system was neither 
discriminatory nor restrictive since all importers were  able to benefit from the system for their imports 
from all countries and the amount and origin of imports  would be determined only on the basis of free 
market conditions.  Import licensing was defined as "a dministrative procedures used for the operation 
of import licensing regimes requiring the submission of  an application or other documentation (other 
than that required for customs purposes) to the relevant administrative body as a prior condition for 
importation into the customs territory of the impor ting Member."  Turkey did not foresee any prior 
condition for the importation of rice at MFN rate.  It was for only a certain amount of rice imports that 
an additional document was needed if the importer wi shed to benefit from the preferential tariff rate.  
Therefore, in Turkey's view, the whole importation procedure for rice could not be considered to be 
within the scope of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
3.  She informed the Committee 
that this information had also been supplied to the US delegation at the Committee on Agriculture. 
 1.9 The representative of the United States
 thanked Turkey for the information provided.  He 
informed the Committee that the two Governments we re discussing this issue in a variety of fora, 
hence he would take note of the information provi ded to be forwarded to his authorities for their 
information.   
                                                      
3 Turkey's replies to the United States were  circulated in docume nt G/LIC/Q/TUR/4.  G/LIC/M/22 
Page 4  
 
  
1.10 The representative of the United States
 thanked Bahrain for the replies to the US questions 
circulated in document G/LIC/Q/BHR/2 and said that  any further comments on the replies would be 
communicated at a later date.  
1.11 The representative of Australia
, referring to his delegation's interest expressed at the meeting 
in June 2005 for further inform ation with respect to China's import licensing regime for iron ore 
(G/LIC/M/21, paragraph 3 (i)), informed the Committ ee that in bilateral discussions held since then 
with China Australia had received some clarificati on of the issue.  Australia would continue to 
monitor the situation on this issue and urged Chin a to submit a formal notification to the Committee 
as soon as possible in accordance with th e provisions of the Agreement.   
 1.12 The representative of China
 confirmed that the matter had been dealt with in bilateral 
discussions with Australia and assured that a notif ication on the import licensing regime would be 
submitted to the Committee as soon as possible.   
 
1.13 The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
 
2. Notifications 
(i) Notifications under Articles 1.4(a) and/or 8.2( b) of the Agreement (publications and/or 
legislation) 
2.1 The Chairperson  recalled that Articles 1.4(a) and 8.2(b) and procedures agreed to by the 
Committee required all Members to publish their laws , regulations and administrative procedures and 
notify these to the Committee upon becoming a Member of the WTO together with copies of any relevant publications or laws and regulations.  Any subsequent chang es to these laws and regulations 
were also required to be notified.   
 
2.2 The Chairperson
 said that a notification received from India (G/LIC/N/1/IND/8) was before 
the Committee for review.  In addition, a notifi cation from Romania which was received after the 
airgram was issued would be considered at the next meeting.   2.3 The representative of the United States
, noting that Belize had not submitted any notification 
under the Licensing Agreement, requ ested that it submit the required notifications to the Committee, 
particularly to cover products requiri ng import licences, such as beverages.  
 2.4 The Chairperson
 undertook to transmit the US request to the delegation of Belize. 
 
2.5 The Committee took note  of the notification and the statements made.  
 
(ii) Notifications under Article 7.3 of the Agreem ent (Replies to the Questionnaire on Import 
Licensing Procedures)   
2.6 The Chairperson  said that notifications received from three Members were before the 
Committee:  Ecuador (G/LIC/N/3/ECU/2), Ma dagascar (G/LIC/N/3/MDG/2) and Saint Lucia 
(G/LIC/N/3/LCA/3).  In addition, notifications from Armenia, Morocco, Pe ople’s Republic of China 
and Hong Kong, China received after the airgram was issued would be considered at the next meeting.    2.7 The representative of the United States
 reiterated the US interest in updated replies to the 
import licensing questionnaire from two Members:  Co lombia and Malaysia.  As regarded Colombia, 
he noted that its notification submitted in 2004 (G/L IC/N/3/COL/2) did not include information on the  G/LIC/M/22 
 Page 5 
 
 
 current non-automatic import licensing requirements on used goods whereas Colombia's original 
notification submitted in 1996 (G/LIC/N/3/COL/1 )) contained information on the non-automatic 
import licensing requirements on used goods.  He ther efore requested Colombia to update its replies 
to the questionnaire to cover products requiring  import licences, specifically used goods.  As 
concerned Malaysia, he recalled that the issue ha d been raised by his delegation at the June 2005 
meeting at which the US had requested that Mala ysia provide the Committee with updated replies to 
the import licensing questionnaire to cover produc ts requiring import licences, specifically motor 
vehicles, construction equipment and paper and w ood products.  His authorities understood that, in 
July 2005, Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry had init iated consultations with 
stakeholders in order to conduct a review of impor t licensing requirements on a variety of products.  
His authorities would appreciate an update on the status  of Malaysia’s current review of the permit 
approval policy and also requested Malaysia to info rm them as to when it would provide the updated 
annual notification under Article 7.3.  2.8 The representative of Malaysia
 said that he would transmit the US request to his capital and 
he hoped to respond to the US de legation at the next meeting. 
 2.9 The Committee took note
 of the notifications and the statements made. 
  
(iii) Notifications under Article 5 of the Agreement (new import licensing procedures, changes to 
existing licensing procedures and reverse notifications)   
2.10 The Chairperson  recalled that under paragraphs 1 to 4 of Article 5, Members which instituted 
licensing procedures or changes in these procedures were required to notify the Committee within 60 
days of publication of these procedures.  Paragraph 2 of Article 5 listed the information that should be 
included in such notifications.  Members also had to  submit copies of the publications in which this 
information was published.  Furthermore, paragra ph 5 of Article 5 provided the possibility of making 
counter-notifications where a Member considered that another Member had not notified a licensing 
procedure or changes therein, in accordan ce with paragraphs 1-3 of Article 5. 
 2.11 The Chairperson
 said that notifications were received from three Members under this 
provision:  India (G/LIC/N/2/IND/7), Jordan  (G/LIC/N/2/JOR/2) and the United States 
(G/LIC/N/2/USA/2).  In addition, a notification from Romania which was received after the airgram 
was issued would be considered at the next meeting.  
 2.12  The representative of China
 said that his authorities were studying the US notification on the 
steel import licensing system (G/LIC/N/2/USA/2) and that comments or questions, if any, would be 
communicated at the next meeting.   
 
2.13 The Committee took note  of the notifications and the statement made.   
 
3. Fourth Transitional Review under paragraph 18 of the Protocol on the Accession of the 
People's Republic of China 
3.1 The Chairperson  recalled that the third transitional revi ew of the implementation by China of 
the WTO Agreement and of the related provisions of the Protocol, under paragraph 18 of the Protocol 
of Accession of China (WT/L/432), had been carried out in 2004 by the subsidiary bodies of the WTO, including the Committee on Import Licensi ng, which had a mandate covering China's 
commitments under the WTO Agreement or China's Pr otocol of Accession.  The Committee's report 
to the Council for Trade in Goods on that review had been circulated in document G/LIC/13.  The 
Committee would conduct the fourth transitional review at the present meeting. 
 G/LIC/M/22 
Page 6  
 
 3.2 The Chairperson
 informed the Committee that since th e last meeting, the Secretariat had 
received two submissions containing  questions and comments on China' s import licensing procedures:  
from the United States (G/LIC/Q/CHN/16) and fro m the European Communities (G/LIC/Q/CHN/17).  
The Secretariat had also received after the airgram convening this meeting was issued a 
communication from China containing information re quired by paragraph IV:3 of Annex 1A of the 
Protocol of Accession which had been circulated in G/LIC/W/25.  In addition, replies to the 
Questionnaire under Article 7:3 of the Agreement, submitted by China the day before the meeting, 
would be before the Committee at its next meeting.  Advance copies of this latest notification which 
would be circulated as G/LIC/N/3/CHN/4 were ava ilable, in English, in the meeting room.   
 
3.3 The representative of the European Communities  welcomed the updated information provided 
by China on its import licensing procedures.  Noting that China had informed the Committee that all 
data except that for Tariff-Rate Quotas (TRQs)  was available on its Ministry of Commerce 
(MOFCOM) website, she asked whether similar elec tronic means of publication were available for 
information on TRQs and, if not, in which form such  data could be accessed.  Her authorities had also 
noted that MOFCOM operated an English language version of its website and requested China to 
confirm that all information regard ing import licensing was available, in English.  She said that import 
licensing procedures of China remained of con tinuing concern as long as the new policy initiatives 
may result in new border formalities in their impl ementation.  The new automobile policy and the 
steel industry policy were examples.  Her author ities encouraged China to provide details on the 
implementation of these policies well in advance to allow other WTO Members to comment on them.  
They also looked forward to receiving replies to their detailed written questions circulated in 
document G/LIC/Q/CHN/17.   3.4  The representative of China
 said that he would make the following points in response to the 
comments and questions presented to his delegation pr ior to this meeting although, in his view, some 
of them did not necessarily fall within the mandate of the Committee on Import Licensing.  First, on 
the New Automobile Policy  and related issues, his authorities took note of the comments from the 
European Communities.  Howeve r, they believed that the Development Policy for Automobile 
Industry  which came into effect  in 2004 did not incl ude provisions of local content requirement, or 
other TRIMs and national treatment restrictions whic h were inconsistent with  China's obligations in 
the WTO.  The Measures on Administration of Import of  Automobile Components Fulfilling the 
Characteristics of  a Whole Vehicle , was one of the rules to implement the Development Policy for 
Automobile Industry .  The Measures  aimed at streamlining the importation and exportation of 
automobile components into and from China as we ll as strengthening law enforcement against tariff 
evasion and circumvention.  During the enactment of the Measures  and other rules implementing the 
Development Policy for Automobile Industry , including the Implementing Methods for the 
Administration on Distribution of Branded Automobiles  and the Methods for the Administration of 
Second-hand Automobiles , the relevant authorities of the Government, consulted the entire automobile 
industry, including foreign-invested enterprises and other interested parties.   Public comments were 
also solicited via internet or other means, where appropriate.  Furthermore, a 30-day period from 28 
February 2005, the date when the Measures  were published, to 1 April 2005, the date when the 
Measures  came into affect was also provided consistent with China's accession commitment regarding 
transparency.  China believed that  the process with regard to the Development Policy for Automobile 
Industry  and the rules implementing this policy were  fair and transparent.  Channels for 
communication and exchanges with Members were always open.    3.5 Regarding automatic import licensing on textil es, he said that the coverage of products was 
reflected in China's Quantitative Restriction notificati ons to the WTO since its accession.  As far as he 
knew, there were no major changes since then.  All products subjected to licensing requirement, 
including textiles, as well as other licensing requirements were published by way of MOFCOM 
announcements which were available on the MOFCOM  website.  Although he was not sure whether 
each one of them was available in English on the website, even if the a nnouncement was available  G/LIC/M/22 
 Page 7 
 
 
 only in Chinese, it would not pose a problem since all the products were listed alongside HS numbers.  
As concerned the Development Policy for Steel Industry , he said that it was desirable for enterprises to 
use advanced technology in new projects and not to develop heavily polluting, resource- and energy consuming projects.  The Development Policy for Steel Industry  took this rule and sought to further 
clarify it as an industry policy.  Taking into account the future development of the world steel industry 
and the present stage of development in domestic st eel industry in China, the catalogues of outdated 
production capacity, techniques and products were dete rmined with reference to such criteria as 
energy consumption level, resource consumpti on level, quality of the products, environmental 
pollution level, etc.  Advanced and practical e quipment referred to those which embodied the 
development trend of the steel industry with the characteristics of low level energy and resource 
consumption, high product quality, low level polluti on, etc.  The criteria and other conditions 
established in the Development Policy for Steel Industry , including those concerning granting or 
prohibiting imports, were mandatory in the sense that  they would be implemented in the process of 
verification or approval of an investment project in this field as well as with Customs implementation 
of trade measures.  He said that the policy would be  implemented consistent with China's obligations 
in the WTO and, should there be any specific new tr ade measures adopted in the future as a result of 
this policy, his authorities would observe China's ob ligations in the WTO, including those relating to 
notification.    3.6 Regarding the automatic import licensing administration on iron ore, he informed the Committee that China's QR notification for the y ear 2005 to be submitted to the Committee on Market 
Access would contain all iron ore products subject to  automatic import licensing at HS 8-digit level.  
His authorities were also about to notify to the Committee on Import Licensing pursuant to Article 8.2 
of the Agreement the MOFCOM-GCA joint announcement No. 9 of 2005 regarding the implementation of the automatic import licensing administration on iron ore.  The announcement 
itself was already available on the MOFCOM website.   
 
3.7 Regarding the qualifying criteria for enterprises,  he stated that the automatic import licensing 
administration would be in accordan ce with the provisions of the Measures of Administration of 
Automatic Import Licensing for Goods  and that, as far as he was aware, there was no provision in the 
Measures  that set qualification criteria for enterpri ses applying for automatic import licences.  
However, he was informed that the China Steel Industry Association together with the Commercial 
Chamber for Metals, Minerals a nd Chemicals Importers and Exporte rs were consulting with their 
member enterprises to see whethe r, as an industry self-discipline, a set of rules regarding the 
qualification criteria such as production capacity and trade performance was necessary among the 
enterprises themselves.    
3.8 The representative of the European Communities
 thanked the Chinese delegation for the 
detailed information provide d and requested a written copy of the st atement so as to be able to report 
to her authorities.  3.9 The representative of the United States
 thanked the delegation of China for the above 
information and for the documents submitted for this meeting.  He reiterated the US interest in seeing 
China's notifications to this Committee on both iron ore and steel industry policy issues.  There were 
gaps in the information available to the US author ities, hence their questions circulated in document 
G/LIC/Q/CHN/16 about the new requirements, qualifying criteria and fees.    3.10 The representative of China
 said that all the procedures and requirements relating to TRQ 
administration were available on the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and National Development 
and Reform Commission (NDRC) websites, the two Ministries responsible for TRQ administration in 
China.  As concerned the availability of the Englis h versions, he said that owing to huge resource 
restraints and language difficulties it was difficult  for his authorities to have all procedures and 
requirements in English and make them available on the websites.  However, to his knowledge, all G/LIC/M/22 
Page 8  
 
 import licensing procedures were clear and China had submitted notifications to the Committee on 
Import Licensing on all these requirements.  In the case of iron ore, he said that this was a product subject to automatic import licensing which had b een notified to the Committee.  Iron ore products 
subject to the regime would be adjusted or some  products added through public announcements of the 
Ministry of Commerce or the General Administratio n of Customs.  The specific regulation regarding 
iron ore and other regulations revised in 2004 rela ting to China's import licensing procedures were 
translated into English and would be notified to th e Committee shortly.  As regarded the request of the 
EC delegation for written copies of China's statement ma de in the context of the transitional review he 
said that China's position was clear to all Members th at his delegation was not in a position to provide 
the statement in written form. 
 
3.11 The representative of Japan
 said that Japan shared the concerns expressed by the European 
Communities on the New Automobile Policy of Chin a (G/LIC/Q/CHN/17) and the measures taken on 
imports of automobile parts fulfilling the characteristics of a whole vehicle.  His delegation would raise this matter in the Market  Access Committee for a detailed discussion about the consistency of 
these measures with WTO rules and with th e Protocol of Accession of China.   
 3.12 The representative of the United States
, noting China's statement that there were no qualifying 
criteria in effect for enterprises importing iron ore, sought clarification whether China had implemented qualifying criteria for other products.     
3.13 The representative of China
 confirmed that the licensing procedure itself did not contain any 
qualifying criteria for enterprises and said that his authorities had been  informed that some industry associations were consulting themselves to see if  there was some arrangement being implemented 
among the enterprises.  Whereas he did not have much information on this point he said that some of 
the information was perhaps available on the websites of these industry associations.   
 
3.14 The representative of the United States
 said that it was useful to hear that there were no 
qualifying criteria per se  in the licensing procedures that would call into question the automatic nature 
of the licence.  He recalled that automatic licensing was purely for statistical purposes and applications for licences should be approved in all cas es.  In his view, if there were qualifying criteria 
of any kind such procedures would fall into the non-automatic licensing category and be of greater 
concern. 
 3.15 The representative of Australia
 said his authorities had been taking a close interest in this 
issue and thanked China for the information provided.  
3.16 The Committee took note
 of the statements made.    
 3.17 The Chairperson
 suggested that a factual report on China's transitional review be submitted to 
the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG).  As had been  done previously, this f actual report would refer 
to the relevant paragraphs of the minutes of this  meeting as well as the oral and written comments and 
questions submitted to China, and the informati on and notifications received from China.  The 
relevant paragraphs of the minutes which reflected the discussion would be annexed to this report.  
 3.18 The representative of China
 suggested that the factual report only refer to the document 
symbol of the minutes of the meeting rather than  attaching to it the relevant paragraphs.   
 
3.19 The representative of the United States , supported by the representative of the European 
Communities , said that they preferred to continue with the past practice of attaching to the factual 
report on the review the relevant paragr aphs of the minutes of the meeting. 
  G/LIC/M/22 
 Page 9 
 
 
 3.20 The Committee so agreed .  The report to the CTG on the fourth transitional review was 
circulated in document G/LIC/14.  
4. Report (2005) to the Council for Trade in Goods 
4.1 The Chairperson
 said that the Committee was required to submit annually a report on its 
activities to the CTG.  A draft report to the CTG,  covering the activities of the Committee in 2005, 
had been circulated in document G/LIC/W/24 for the Committee's consideration.  The information 
covered in the draft report, includi ng its Annex, would be  updated to reflect the notifications received 
up to the present meeting as well as the discussion at th is meeting.  The latest notifications submitted 
by China, Morocco, Romania and Hong Kong, China would be reflected in the relevant paragraphs 
and in the Annex. 
 4.2 There were no comments on the draft report.  The Committee agreed
 to adopt the report, 
subject to the updating.  The report as revised and adopted was circulated as document G/L/753. 
 5. Other business 
(i) Questions posed by Mexico to Guatemala (eggs) 
5.1 The representative of Mexico
, recalling the questions his delegation had posed to Guatemala 
at the June 2005 meeting regarding non-automatic licences required for the importation of eggs (G/LIC/M/21, paragraph3.3), informed the Comm ittee that it had not received any responses from 
Guatemala up to the date of this mee ting and therefore reiterated the request. 
 
5.2 The representative of Guatemala
 stated that the questions from Mexico had been forwarded to 
his capital.  Although no written replies had yet been  provided to Mexico, he was aware that some 
discussions on this matter had taken place between the tw o authorities.  He said that he would reply to 
the questions as soon as possible, hopefully by the next meeting of the Committee. 
 
(ii) Questions posed by the United States 
(a) Brazil (certain lithium products) 
5.3 The representative of the United States  recalled the information his delegation had requested 
from Brazil at the June 2005 meeting, following the r esponses received to the US questions circulated 
in document G/LIC/Q/BRA/3 concerning Brazil's import licensing requirements for certain lithium 
products, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydr oxide (G/LIC/M/21, paragraphs 1.4-1.5).  
During the June 2005 meeting the delegate from Brazil stated that there were ongoing studies and an inter-Ministerial Commission established in Brazil to de bate this matter.  The US delegation wished to 
be informed of the efforts of the Inter-Ministeria l Commission, i.e., what was the context and desired 
outcome of the Inter-Ministerial Commission;  w as the inter-Ministerial Commission established only 
to study Brazil's policy on lithium's compounds or were  there other products involved;  and what was 
the timeframe for the completion of the studies and recommendations from the Commission.  The 
United States looked forward to Brazil's explana tion and responses to his delegation and to the 
Committee.  His delegation looked forward to the findings of the inter-Ministerial Commission and requested Brazil to indicate when a response could be expected.   
5.4 The representative of Brazil
 replied that he did not have much to add to what was said at the 
June 2005 meeting.  Since the beginning of 2005,  his authorities had created an Inter-Ministerial 
Group dedicated to the question of lithium compounds legislation.  This Inter-Ministerial Group was 
in the process of reviewing the relevant legislati on and the questions posed by the United States.  
Brazil hoped to provide further written information to th e US and to the Committee, in addition to that G/LIC/M/22 
Page 10  
 
 provided in document G/LIC/Q/BRA/2, soon after co mpletion of the review.  He would inform his 
capital of the renewed concerns of the US on this  issue and hoped to provide a response very soon. 
 5.5 The representative of the United States
, noting that Brazil and the US had been discussing this 
issue in the Committee for more than two years, looked forward to Brazil being in a position to 
respond to their questions.  He said that in the bilateral discussions with Brazil, his authorities had 
been informed that the matter was being dealt with in the WTO whereas, in the WTO, his delegation 
was disappointed at the slow progress being made.  He expressed once more the importance of this issue for his authorities, hence their in terest in receiving replies from Brazil. 
 
(b) European Communities (enriched uranium)  
5.6 The representative of the United States
, recalling the questions his delegation had posed to the 
European Communities on enriched uranium, said that  the US continued to look forward to the EC's 
explanations and responses to their questions wh ich dealt with commercial trade of the products 
concerned and asked for an indication from the EC as  to when it expected to be able to notify these 
requirements and provide the US with a written response. 
 5.7 The representative of the European Communities
 said that she took note of the request.  She 
referred to the minutes of the June 2005 meeting wh ich reflected the comprehensive reply of the EC 
(G/LIC/M/21, paragraph 1.15).  She stated that  information on EC import policies concerning 
enriched uranium had been provided to WTO Members,  including the US, in the context of the EC's 
Trade Policy Review of 2004.  She informed the Committee that in the EC-US bilateral discussions 
held on the issue, it had been concluded that  there were no specific difficulties faced by US 
companies in their exports of enri ched Uranium to the European Un ion.  Her authorities offered the 
US the opportunity to submit to the EC any requests for further information.  She restated that the 
Corfu Declaration was a document internal to the European institutions which was not available to 
third parties and that it was an agreement reached in 1994 between the Council of the European Union 
and the Commission in connection with the conclusi on of the EU-Russia association and partnership 
agreements.    5.8 The representative of the United States
 said that the information received from the EC in the 
context of its 2004 Trade Policy Review and in the bi lateral communication had been very helpful but 
was only a start.  The information still did not answ er the questions that his authorities had posed in 
their questions circulated in this Committee.  Wh ile noting the comment that the Corfu Declaration 
was an internal document not eligible for release, he  recalled that the heart of the US questions related 
to commercially-traded products, i.e., a transparency  issue relating to commercial trade and, as such, 
information which should be disclosed in this Co mmittee.  Therefore, his delegation looked forward 
to receiving responses from the EC in this Committee  and also took note of the willingness of the EC 
to continue discussions on this issue.  (c) Indonesia (certain textiles products) 
5.9 The representative of the United States
 referred to the request made by her delegation at the 
June 2005 meeting of the Committee (G/LIC/M/21, pa ragraph 3.6) and at a subsequent meeting of 
June 2005 of the Trade and Investment Counc il between the US and Indonesia at which her 
authorities had requested that Indonesia either elim inate or modify its existing licensing regime for 
certain textiles products under Decree No. 732 of  2002.  The US looked forward to Indonesia's 
response and requested an indication from them as to when it expected to respond to the US concerns. 
 
5.10 The representative of Indonesia  said that his delegation had not received any mandate from its 
capital and that he believed that his au thorities were still studying the matter. 
  G/LIC/M/22 
 Page 11 
 
 
 5.11 The Chairperson  referred once more to the proce dures adopted in the Committee which 
required Members to provide replies in writing to those delegations that had posed questions, with 
copies to the Secretariat (G/LIC/4) and said that she looked forward to receiving written responses.  
 5.12 The Committee took note
 of the statements made. 
 (iii) Dates of the next meetings 
5.13 The Chairperson
 informed Members that the Secretariat had tentatively reserved 9 May and 
27 September 2006 for the next meetings of the Committee, on the understanding that additional 
meetings would be convened if necessary. 
 
5.14 The Committee took note  of the above. 
 
__________