RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TRIMS/W/43 
29 September 2005 
 (05-4303) 
  
  
 
REPORT (2005) OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
TRADE-RELATED INVESTMENT MEASURES 
 
Draft
 
 
 
I. GENERAL 
1. This report is submitted pursuant to Article  7.3 of the Agreement on Trade-Related 
Investment Measures, which requires the Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures to report annually to the Council for Trade in Goods.  The Report covers the period October 2004 – 
October 2005.
1 
2. The Committee met on 4 March and 12 July 2005 under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sivaramen 
Palayathan (Mauritius), and on 10 October 2005 unde r the Chairmanship of Mr. Suren Badral 
(Mongolia).  The minutes of the meetings are contained in documents G/TRIMS/M/20, G/TRIMS/M/21 and G/TRIMS/M/22, respectively.   The meetings were open to Members, 
governments with observer status in the WTO and in ternational intergovernmental organizations to 
which the Committee has accorded regular observe r status (IMF, OECD, UN, UNCTAD and World 
Bank). Decisions on requests for observer status from  several other international organizations are 
pending. 
II. NOTIFICATIONS 
3. Article 5.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures requires Members to 
notify any trade-related investme nt measure ("TRIM") inconsistent with the Agreement within 
90 days after the entry into force of the WTO Agreem ent.  Article 5.2 of the Agreement allows for  
transition periods for the elimination of measure s notified under Article 5. 1 and which were in 
existence at least 180 days preceding the entry into  force of the WTO Agreement.  Pursuant to a 
decision adopted by the General Council in April 1995, governments eligible to become original 
WTO Members that accepted the WTO Agreement af ter 1 January 1995 had a period of 90 days after 
the date of their acceptance of the WTO Agreement to  make the notifications foreseen in Article 5.1, 
with the period for the elimination of TRIMs notif ied under Article 5.1 being governed by reference 
to the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement itself.
2 
4. Annex 1 contains a list of all notifi cations of measures under Article 5.1.3  In the case of some 
Members, notifications have been submitte d later than the 90-day period foreseen.   
                                                      
1 The annual report for 2004 is contained in document G/L/705 of 3 November 2004.  
2 WT/L/64.  
3 Notifications under Article 5.1 circulated in 1995 have been derestricted since 28 May 1996.  
Pursuant to the General Council's Decision of 14 May 2002 (WT/L/452), documents containing notifications 
under Articles 5.1, 5.5 and 6.2 are issued unrestricted.  
 G/TRIMS/W/43 
Page 2  
 
 5. Some Members have notified the Committee that  they do not apply any TRIM inconsistent 
with the Agreement.  Annex 2 lists all Me mbers which have made such notifications. 
6. A number of Members have submitted notifica tions as required under Article 6.2, which 
provides for notification to the Secretariat of publications in which information on TRIMs can be found.  A list of these notifications has been circulated in G/TRIMS/N/2/Rev.14.  Annex 3 lists the 
Members which have submitted such notifications. 
III. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT PROPOSALS RELATED TO THE 
TRIMS AGREEMENT 
7. In the context of the Work Programme on Sp ecial and Differential Treatment (S&D) under 
Paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declarat ion and Paragraph 12.1 of the Decision on 
Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns, and further to the Decision adopted by the General 
Council on 1 August 2004 (WT/L/579), the TRIMs Committee continued its consideration of the 
Category II S&D proposals which were referred to it by the Chairman of the General Council.  The 
proposals were submitted by the African Group in document TN/CTD/W/3/Rev.2 with respect to 
Article 4 and Article 5.3 of the TRIMs Agreement.  
8. The Committee took up the S&D proposals at its regular mee tings of 4 March, 12 July [and             
10 October 2005] and held several rounds of inform al consultations, includi ng open-ended informal 
meetings to consider these proposals.  At an  informal meeting on 9 May 2005, the Committee 
discussed a revised version of the S&D proposals s ubmitted by the delegation of Kenya on behalf of 
the African Group, which was circulated to Members as a room document.
4  
9. Pursuant to the General Council Decision of 1 August 2004 (WT/L/579, paragraph 1(d)), the 
Chairman of the TRIMs Committee submitted a repor t to the General Council on the work undertaken 
by the Committee with respect to the S&D proposals (G/L/742).  In his report, the Chairman recommended to the General Council that the Ca tegory II S&D proposals related to the TRIMs 
Agreement be kept under consideration.  
10. [At its meeting on 10 October 2005, .....]   
IV. OUTSTANDING IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES RELATED TO THE TRIMS 
AGREEMENT 
11. Pursuant to the General Council's decision of 1 August 2004 (WT/L/579, paragraph 1(d)), all 
relevant WTO bodies concerned with  implementation-related issues were instructed to redouble their 
efforts to find appropriate solutions to these issues  as a priority.  In addition, the General Council 
requested the Director-General to continue w ith this consultative pr ocess on all outstanding 
implementation issues under Paragraph 12(b) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and to report to the 
Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) and the General Council no later than May 2005.  In turn, the 
Director-General asked the Chairpersons of the re levant WTO bodies to assist him in this process.   
12. Accordingly, the Chairman of the TRIMs Committe e held a number of informal consultations 
with interested delegations to discuss the outsta nding implementation issues relating to the TRIMS 
Agreement as contained in Tire ts 37 through 40 of document JOB( 01)/152/Rev.1, and in a related 
proposal submitted by Brazil and India under Tiret 40  (G/TRIMS/W/25).  At the Committee's regular 
meeting of 4 March 2005, the Chairman briefed the Members on the status of his consultations on the 
outstanding implementation issues, and at its meeti ng of 12 July 2005 the Committee held an informal 
                                                     
 
4 The revised version of the African Group's proposals is reproduced as an Annex to document 
G/L/742.   G/TRIMS/W/43 
 Page 3 
 
 
 session to continue consideration of these issues, based on an informal document submitted by Brazil 
and India concerning the flexibilities in the TRIMs Agreement for developing countries.5 
V. TRANSITIONAL REVIEW MECHANISM PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 18 OF 
THE PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 
13. In accordance with paragraph 18 of China's Protocol of Accession, the TRIMs Committee 
undertook the fourth annual review of China's im plementation of its commitments under the TRIMs 
Agreement and related provisions of the Protocol  of Accession.  Questions concerning China's 
Transitional Review Mechanism were received from the European Communities (G/TRIMS/W/41) 
and from the United States (G/TRIMS/W/42).  
14. [The review took place at the meeting of 10 October 2005.  The discussions on this item are 
reflected in the relevant section of the minutes of the meeting (G/TRIMS/M/22).] 
VI. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 
15. The Committee elected Mr. Suren Badral (Mongolia) as its Chairman. 
 
 
_______________ 
 
                                                      
5 Document JOB(05)/149. G/TRIMS/W/43 
Page 4  
 
 ANNEX 1 
 
Members which have Submitted No tifications under Article 5.1
 
of the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures  
 
 
Member  Document Symbol  Date of Communication  
Argentina G/TRIMS/N/1/ARG/1 30 March 1995 
Argentina G/TRIMS/N/1/ARG/1/Add.1 21 March 1997 
Barbados G/TRIMS/N/1/BRB/1 31 March 1995 Bolivia
6  G/TRIMS/N/1/BOL/1 24 June 1998 
Chile7  G/TRIMS/N/1/CHL/1 14 December 1995 
Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/1 31 March 1995 
Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/1/Add.1 4 June 1995 
Colombia8 G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/2 31 July 1995 
Colombia G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/2/Corr.1 30 September 1996 Costa Rica
9 G/TRIMS/N/1/CRI/1 30 March 1995 
Cuba10  G/TRIMS/N/1/CUB/1 18 July 1995 
Cyprus11 G/TRIMS/N/1/CYP/2 30 October 1995 
Dominican Republic G/TRIMS/N/1/DOM/1 26 April 1995 Ecuador G/TRIMS/N/1/ECU/1 20 March 1996 
Egypt  G/TRIMS/N/1/EGY/1 29 September 1995 
India  G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1 31 March 1995 India  G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1/Add.1 22 December 1995 India  G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1/Add.1/Corr.1 18 March 1996 India  G/TRIMS/N/1/IND/1/Add.2 11 April 1996 
Indonesia G/TRIMS/N/1/IDN/1 23 May 1995 
                                                     
 
6 Bolivia subsequently submitted a notification indicating that it does not apply any trade-related 
investment measures that are not in conformity  with the Agreement (G/TRIMS/N/1/BOL/1/Add.1). 
7 Chile subsequently submitted a notification indica ting that it has eliminated measures notified under 
Article 5.1 (G/TRIMS /N/1/CHL/1/Add.1). 
8 Colombia subsequently submitted a notification indicating that it had issued Decree No. 1473 of      
10 May 2004, whereby Decree No. 2439 of 1994 establis hing import control mechanisms for certain agricultural 
products had been repealed (G/TRIMS/N/1/COL/3).   
9 Costa Rica subsequently submitted a notification indicating that it intended to eliminate measures 
notified under Article 5.1 in advance of the expiry of the transition period (G /TRIMS/N/1/CRI/1/Add.1). 
10 Cuba subsequently informed the Committee that th e measures notified by Cuba under Article 5.1 are 
no longer in force (G/TRIMS/M/3, paragraph 5).  
11 This notification superseded Cyprus' previous one (G/TRIMS/N/1/CYP/1) of 29 June 1995; Cyprus 
subsequently submitted a notification indicating that it has eliminated measures notified under Article 5.1 
(G/TRIMS/N/1/CYP/2/Add.1).  G/TRIMS/W/43 
 Page 5 
 
 
 Member  Document Symbol  Date of Communication  
Indonesia G/TRIMS/N/1/IDN/1/Add.1 28 October 1996 
Malaysia G/TRIMS/N/1/MYS/1 31 March 1995 
Malaysia G/TRIMS/N/1/MYS/1/Rev.1 14 March 1996 Mexico  G/TRIMS/N/1/MEX/1 31 March 1995 Mexico
12 G/TRIMS/N/1/MEX/1/Rev.113 31 March 1995 
Nigeria14 G/TRIMS/N/1/NGA/1 17 July 1996 
Pakistan G/TRIMS/N/1/PAK/1 30 March 1995 Peru  G/TRIMS/N/1/PER/1 3 March 1995 Philippines G/TRIMS/N/1/PHL/1 31 March 1995 Poland
15 G/TRIMS/N/1/POL/1 28 September 1995 
Romania G/TRIMS/N/1/ROM/1 31 March 1995 
South Africa G/TRIMS/N/1/ZAF/1 19 April 1995 Thailand G/TRIMS/N/1/THA/1 30  March 1995 Uganda  G/TRIMS/N/1/UGA/1 17 June 1997 
Uruguay G/TRIMS/N/1/URY/1 31 March 1995 
Uruguay G/TRIMS/N/1/URY/1/Add.1 30 August 1995 Venezuela G/TRIMS/N/1/VEN/1 31 March 1995 
                                                     
 
12 Mexico subsequently submitted a notification indicating that all provisions under the Automotive 
Decree had ceased to be operative as of 1 January 2004 (G/C/42). 
13 English only.  
14 Nigeria subsequently submitted a notification indicating that the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Act 
of 1989 has been repealed and replaced with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Decree 1995 
(G/TRIMS/N/1/NGA/1/Add.1). 
15 Poland subsequently submitted a notification in dicating that it has eliminated measures notified 
under Article 5.1 (G/TRIMS/N/1/POL/1/Add.1). G/TRIMS/W/43 
Page 6  
 
 ANNEX 2 
 
Notifications Indicating that No TRIMs Inconsistent with the Agreement
 
on Trade-Related Investment Measures are Maintained  
 
 
Member  Document Symbol  Date of Communication  
 
Bolivia  G/TRIMS/N/1/BOL/1/Add.1 4 March 1999 
Costa Rica   G/TRIMS/N/1/CRI/1/Add.116 16 September 1999 
Cyprus   G/TRIMS/N/1/CYP/2/Add.1 26 May 2000 El Salvador G/TRIMS/N/1/SLV/1 5 November 2003 
Haiti  G/TRIMS/N/1/HTI/1 27 February 1998 
Honduras G/TRIMS/N/1/HND/1 7 July 1995 Israel  G/TRIMS/N/1/ISR/1 24 October 1996 Jamaica  G/TRIMS/N/1/JAM/1 9 June 1998 
Jordan   G/TRIMS/N/1/JOR/1 22 May 2000 
Maldives  G/TRIMS/N/1/MLV/1 30 September 1999 Mali  G/TRIMS/N/1/MLI/1 27 May 1997 Mauritius G/TRIMS/N/1/MUS/1 27 March 1995 New Zealand G/TRIMS/N/1/NZL/1 20 May 1999 
Nicaragua G/TRIMS/N/1/NIC/1 18 July 1996 
Oman  G/TRIMS/N/1/OMN/1 20 December 2000 Saint Lucia G/TRIMS/N/1/LCA/1 14 February 1996 Singapore G/TRIMS/N/1/SGP/1 9 October 1996 
Slovenia G/TRIMS/N/1/SVN/1 27 March 1995 
Sri Lanka  G/TRIMS/N/1/LKA/1 14 March 2000 Switzerland G/TRIMS/N/1/CHE/1 8 August 1995 Chinese  Taipei  G/TRIMS/N/1/TPKM/1 27 May 2002 Trinidad & Tobago G/TRIMS/N/1/TTO/1 1 April 1996 
Zambia  G/TRIMS/N/1/ZMB/1 13 April 1995 
                                                     
 
16 A Corrigendum to the English version was issued in G/TRIMS/N/1/CRI/1/Add.1/Corr.1, dated 
26 October 1999.  G/TRIMS/W/43 
 Page 7 
 
 
 ANNEX 3 
 
Members which have Submitted No tifications under Article 6.2 of  
the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures  
 
Albania* 
Angola* Argentina Armenia Bahrain 
Australia 
Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bolivia Bulgaria  
Burundi 
Cameroon Canada Chad Chile China 
Colombia 
Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Czech Republic 
Dominica 
Ecuador El Salvador Estonia European Community (including the member States) Fiji Islands, Rep. of the 
Gabon 
Georgia Ghana Haiti Hong Kong, China 
Iceland 
India Indonesia Israel Jamaica Japan 
Jordan 
Korea Kyrgyz Republic Latvia Liechtenstein 
Lithuania 
Macau, China Madagascar Maldives Mali G/TRIMS/W/43 
Page 8  
 
 Malta 
Mauritius Mexico Moldova Mongolia 
Namibia 
New Zealand Nicaragua Norway Panama 
Paraguay 
Peru Philippines Poland Qatar 
Romania 
Singapore Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa Sri Lanka 
Suriname 
Switzerland Chinese Taipei Thailand Trinidad and Tobago 
Tunisia 
Uganda United States Uruguay Venezuela, Bolivarian Rep. of Zambia 
Zimbabwe 
    
(*) 
Members that submitted notifications during the period covered by this annual report.  
  
__________