. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SCM/Q2/EU/9 
25 January 2012 
 (12-0497) 
Committee on Subsidies and  
Countervailing Measures Original:   English 
 
 
 
SUBSIDIES 
 
Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES Regarding the 
New and Full Notification of the EUROPEAN UNION1 
  
 The following communication, dated 23 January 2 012, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States. 
 
_______________ 
  
Germany 
 
Joint Task on "Improving the Regional Economic Structure  
 
Question 1 
 
Have investment grants under this programme been given to enterprises in the aeronautics 
industry, including those involved in the production of, or supply of goods to, the civil aviation 
sector?  If so, please provide the total amount of funding provided to these enterprises during the 
reporting period. 
 
National Programme for Civil Aeronautical Research 
 
Question 2 
 
 How many enterprises received grants unde r this programme during 2009 and 2010?   
 Question 3  
 What is the duration of this programme?  
 
Question 4 
  Please explain whether this program is the sa me as the "Luftfahrsforschungsprogramme des 
Bundes" as found at http://www.foerderdatenbank.de .  If this is not the same programme, please 
explain why the EU has not notified the aforementioned programme.  
                                                      
1 G/SCM/N/220/EEC/Add.10.   G/SCM/Q2/EU/9 
Page 2 
 
 
  Programmes Not Notified  
 
Question 5  
 The United States has previously requested in formation regarding num erous federal and sub-
federal subsidy programmes as reported in a publically  available study that appear as if they should 
have been notified under Article 25 of the Subsidies Agreement.
2  In response, the EU stated that 
Germany was aware of the study, which it said follow ed an approach of "in dubio pro notification" 
and that such an approach has no legal basis in the ASCM or in Article XVI:1 GATT.3  Please 
confirm that all of the programmes listed in the an nex to the study are exempt from the notification 
requirements of Article 25 of the Subsidies Agreemen t.  Please specifically explain why the following 
programmes listed in the annex are exempt:  
 Exceptional Electricity Tax Reductions ("Spitzen ausgleich"), which provides tax rebates to 
energy intensive users in the manufacturing industry. 
 Support for the Chemical industry in Northrhein-Westphalia. 
 Aid to Investment in East Germany ("Inves titionszulagengesetz"), which provides grants to 
enterprises investing in the East German Lander and Berlin. 
 List of programmes that provide aid to promote the commercial fishing industry in Germany. 
 Aid to support the Aviation Industry in Hamburg. 
 
Question 6  
 The Funding Database Föderdatenbank (www.F öderdatenbank.de) of the German Federal 
Ministry of Industry and Technology provides ex tensive information on ai d provided by federal 
(Bund) and state (Länder) governments in German y.  There is information on a wide-range of 
programmes in support of regional development, i ndustry-specific research and development, small 
and medium sized enterprises, and renewable energy .  Most of these programs have not been notified 
by the EU.  Included in the datab ase are the following examples:   
 
 Förderung der regionalen Entwic klung (providing aid to enterprises to assist disadvantaged 
regions in Land Hessen), 
 Regionales Landesförderprogram (providing aid to enterprises to assist disadvantaged regions 
in Land Rheinlandpfalz), 
 Forschung und Entwicklung im Be reich erneuerbare Energien (providing aid to enterprises 
for research and development of energy efficient technologies), 
 Grundlagenforschung Energie 2020+ (supporting enterprises engaged in the development of 
next generation energy efficient technology), 
 KMU-innovativ:  Ressourcen- und Energieeffizi enz (supporting high risk and pre-competitive 
research and development by small and medium sized enterprises with the aim or promoting energy efficient technology), 
 Rationellere Energiegewinnung und -verwendung (BayREV) (providing aid to enterprises in 
support of the development and application of new entergy technologies in Land Bayern).  
 
Please explain why the programmes listed above, and many other similar programmes found in 
the Föderdatenbank, were not notified by the EU.  
__________  
                                                      
2 G/SCM/Q2/EEC/59;  Thone, M. and Dobroschke, S. (2008).  WTO Subsidy Notifications:  Assessing 
German subsidies under the GSI notification template proposed for the WTO .  Geneva, Switzerland:  the Global 
Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. 
3 G/SCM/N/Q2/EEC.64.