WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/MA/W/15/Add.4/Rev.31 
19 March 2009 
 (09-1372) 
Negotiating Group on Market Access Original:   English 
 
 
 
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
 
Enhanced Transparency on Export Licensing  
 
Communication from the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu;  
 Japan; Korea and the United States 
 
Revision  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 18 March 2009, is being circulated at the request of the delegations of the Separate Customs Territory of  Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; Japan; Korea 
and the United States. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
Protocol on Transparency in Export Licensing  
to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
 
Members, 
 
 Desiring to ensure that export licensing proce dures are not utilized in a manner contrary to 
the principles and obligations of GATT 1994;  
 Convinced that export licensing should be im plemented in a transparent and predictable 
manner; and;  
 Desiring to bring transparency to the procedures and practices related to export licensing so 
as to inform traders and Members and facilitate trade in these products; 
 
 Hereby agree as follows: 
 
Article 1:  Definition of Export Licensing
 
 
 For the purposes of this Protocol, export licensing means any administrative procedures 
involving the submission of an application or other documentation (i.e., other than that required for 
customs purposes) to the relevant administrative body or bodies as a prior condition for exportation 
from the customs territory of the exporting Member.   
                                                     
 
1 The only change introduced to this version of the document in comparison to the previous one is the 
inclusion of  Korea as a co-sponsor. TN/MA/W/15/Add.4/Rev.3 
Page 2 
 
 
  Article 2:  Notification 
 
1. Within 60 days after the entry into force of this Protocol, each Member shall notify, in 
writing, the [Committee on Market Access] (referred to in this Protocol as [“ the Committee”]) of its 
existing measures on export licensing, if any.  Th ereafter, each Member shall notify the [Committee] 
in writing of any new measures on export licensing or  modification to an existing measure on export 
licensing within 60 days after the effective date  of the new measure or modification thereof.  
 2. Members shall include in a notification under paragraph 1 the:  
 
(a) list of products subject to the licensing procedure, including to the extent possible by HS 
number; 
(b) description of the procedures for the submi ssion of applications or other documentation, 
including eligibility criteria for applicants (incl uding any criteria that reflect requirements that 
differ from those applied to products that are exported without a requirement of a license 
(e.g., requirements for an activity license, investme nt or a particular form of establishment in 
the exporting Member, or other similar requirements)); 
(c) contact point for information on eligibility; 
(d) administrative body(ies) to which applications must be submitted; 
(e) date and name of publication(s) in which the licensing procedure is published; 
(f) description of the measure, if any, being implemented through the export license and the 
reasons for the measure; 
(g) expected duration of the export licensing if th is can be estimated with  some probability, and if 
not, reason(s) why this information cannot be provided; 
(h) overall amount of the quota to be applied by quantity and/or value and the opening and 
closing dates of the quota if a Member administers a quota by means of export licensing; and 
(i) possibility, if any, for persons, firms or ins titutions to request exceptions or derogations from 
an export licensing requirement, as well as info rmation on how to make such a request and a 
description of the circumstances under which requests would be granted.  
 
3. When a Member notifies a new or existing measure on export licensing or modification thereto, the Member shall provide a copy of the relevant measure (e.g., law and implementing 
regulations) to the [Committee]. 
 4. Any interested Member which considers th at another Member has not notified a new or 
existing measure on export licensing or modification thereto in accordance with the provisions of 
paragraphs 1 and 2 may bring the matter to the atte ntion of such other Member.  If notification is not 
made promptly thereafter, the interested Member may itself notify the measure on export licensing or 
changes therein, including all relevant information.  
 Article 3:  Requests for Information
 
 
1. A Member shall provide to any Member, upon request: 
 
(a) All relevant information concerning: 
(i)   the administration of the measure on export licensing , including the information 
listed in Paragraph 2 of Article 2; 
(ii)   the export licenses granted over a recent period; and (iii)   measures, if any, taken in conjunctio n with export licensing, including but not limited 
to restrictions on domestic production or consumption, and governmental 
stabilization plans for a good; and 
  TN/MA/W/15/Add.4/Rev.3 
 Page 3 
 
 
  (b) Where available, all relevant information concerning: 
(i)   the distribution of such licenses among importing countries, including importing 
countries’ shares, i.e., by quantity and/or value as relevant, of any quota currently 
allocated; and 
(ii)   the most recent available statisti cs (i.e., value and/or volume) on the amount 
expected to be produced, actually produced , expected to be exported, and actually 
exported with respect to the product subject to export licensing. 
 Article 4:  Confidential Information
 
 
1. Nothing in this Protocol shall be construe d to require any Member to disclose confidential 
information the disclosure of which would impede la w enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the 
public interest or would prejudice the legitimate comme rcial interests of particular enterprises, public 
or private.   
2. Nothing in this Protocol sha ll be construed to require any Me mber to furnish any information 
the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests.  
Article 5:  Review
 
 1. The [Committee] shall review as necessary,  but at least once every two years, the 
implementation and operation of th is Protocol, taking into account the objectives thereof, and the 
rights and obligations contained therein.  
2. To facilitate the [Committee]’s review and to help ensure that inter ested parties can become 
acquainted with each Member’s requirements, if any, for export licensing, the [Committee] shall 
establish a registry of notifications submitted pursuant to Article 2.   
 3. The Secretariat shall record in the regist ry and make available to the public, through the 
internet or other electronic means, the inform ation notified by Members under this Protocol.
2 
 
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2 The URL (Uniform Resource Locater) of the official internet site where relevant information of such 
measure is sufficiently available may be recorded alterna tively, but this is without prejudice to the notification 
obligation under the Article 2.