. /. 
  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG140/7 
7 February 2006 
 
 (06-0528) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:   English 
   
AGREEMENT BETWEEN JAPAN AND SINGAPORE 
FOR A NEW-AGE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP 
 
Questions and Replies
 
 
 The following communication, dated 3 February 20 06, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Japan and Singapore.   This document reproduces the questions addressed  to the Parties and the responses submitted. 
The questions and replies set out below are orga nized in accordance with document WT/REG140/3.  
 
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I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT 
3. Scope 
 
1. We noted that the Parties provided details on the carve-outs in the agricultural sector in the last round of examination. Could the Partie s please outline the percentage of agriculture 
tariff lines where duties have been eliminated to zero at present? What percentage of trade do 
these carve-outs represent? 
 In the Agreement between Japan and Singapor e for a New-Age Economic Partnership, the 
percentage of Japanese tariff lines in agriculture wh ere duties have been eliminated is approximately 
21 per cent.   These tariff lines represent 9.4 per cent of to tal value of agricultural imports from Singapore 
to Japan. 
 
 Reflecting the industrial structure of both Parties, Japan's agricultural imports have been only 3.3 per cent of total value of imports from Singapore in 2000.   It should be noted that this Agreement resu lted in tariff elimination on over 98 per cent of 
total value of trade in goods between the two c ountries or on approximately 94 per cent of Japan's 
imports from Singapore on a trade value basis in 2000.  
II. TRADE PROVISIONS 
 
1.  Import Restrictions 
 2. This Agreement excludes 24 per cent of Japan’s tariff lines from any trade liberalization.  The Parties’ explanation for this exclusion is that “tariff elimination would not 
lead to significant trade expansion.” (WT/REG140/6, question 1).  At the 40th Session of the WT/REG140/7 
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CRTA, the Parties further explained that they needed to exclude these products to avoid an 
adverse impact on their economies and societies.    
o Please list the products covered by th ese tariff lines and explain why their 
exclusion is necessary to protect the eco nomies and societies in light of the 
Parties’ statement that removal of the tari ffs would have little impact on trade in 
those products.  
 
 Parties have ensured that the Agreement fully complies with the requirement that "duties and 
other restrictive regulations of commerce are eliminat ed with respect to substantially all the trade" 
recognizing the sensitivities of Japan's excluded pro ducts and avoiding the adverse impact that duty 
elimination of these products would have on its eco nomy and society.  Indeed, custom duties on 
goods representing 98.5 per cent of total bilateral tr ade on a trade value basis in 2000 were either 
immediately eliminated upon entry into force or will be eliminated in accordance with Annex I to the 
Agreement. 
 
 Some examples of the products of exclusi on from the tariff elimination are listed below: 
 1. Agricultural, forestry and fishery products  - Big eye tuna  - Shiitake mushroom 
 - Pineapple 
 - Sesame oil  2. Non-agricultural products  - Briquettes, ovoids 
 - Petroleum spirits (intended for use as fuels for motor vehicles) 
 - Kerosene (intended for use as fuels for jet engines)  - Gas oils  - Organic chemicals (Menthol, citric acid, calcium citrate, sodium glutamates, sorbose)  - Polymers of ethylene, polypropy lene, propylene, polystyrene, ABS 
(Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin 
 - Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, Acrylonitrile-styrene resin, of polymers of 
styrene. 
 - Natural or cultured pearls  
III. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
1. Exceptions And Reservations 
 3. Following the first round of examination of  this Agreement, the United States submitted 
questions in writing to the Parties concerning Article 19 regarding Exceptions.  The Parties 
responded by simply pointing to the language of  Article XX of the GATT.  While we understand 
that the language of the EPA reflects the langua ge in Article XX of the GATT, could the Parties 
at least confirm that to the extent that they maintain Article XX measures,  those measures are 
applied equally to all partners so as not to  constitute an “arbitrary or unjustifiable 
discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail”?   
  Yes, the measures are generally applied equally to all partners. 
 
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