. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG170/6/Rev.2/Add.1 
4 December 2006 
 (06-5808) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
  
 
ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 
 
Methodology used to calculate Weighted Aver age Tariff Rates and Cu stoms Duties Collected
 
 
Note by the Secretariat  
 
Addendum  
 
  
1. During the 44th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA), the 
Secretariat was asked to provide details of the me thodology used in the general incidence calculation 
of the enlargement of the European Union (EU) to 25 member states. 
2. Paragraph 2 of the Understanding on the Inte rpretation of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 
states that "the Secretariat shall compute the weighted average tariff rates and customs duties 
collected in accordance w ith the methodology used in the assessme nt of tariff offers in the Uruguay 
Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations".  Accordi ng to this methodology, trade-weighted tariff 
averages are calculated by applying the weighting factor to imports from MFN origins including 
imports from countries entitled to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).  Imports from 
countries signatory to Free Trade Area (FTA) agre ements and imports from countries signatory to 
other contractual preferential arrangements (e .g. ASEAN, EC-Mediterranean countries, Lomé 
Convention) are to be excluded. 
3. The general incidence calculation reported in document WT/REG170/6/Rev.1 showed the 
average of imports, in value and calculated at th e tariff line level, into EC-15 and the ten acceding 
countries, from WTO partners (except those with which EC-15 and the ten new members maintained 
contractual preferences1 as of 1 May 2004), for the 2002-2003 period.  Thus preferential trade flows 
under the RTAs to which EC(15) was party on 1 May 2004 were excluded for all 25 countries.   
4. The general incidence calculation has been revised (see document WT/REG170/6/Rev.2) to 
take into account the following:  trade flows from pr eferential partners in effect on 30 April 2004, i.e. 
prior to the Enlargement, are excluded for EC-15 and the ten acceding countries2;   imports from the 
ACP countries under the Cotonou Agreement, and from the eligible countries of the Western Balkans 
have been excluded from EC-15's imports3; and trade flows from Saudi Arabia and Cambodia which 
were not WTO Members as of 30 April 2004 have been excluded. 
 
                                                      
1 In the form of free trade areas or customs unions. 
2 See Table 1 for a list of RTA partners for the EC a nd individual acceding countries in force as of     
30 April 2004. 
3 Both the Cotonou Agreement and the Autonomous  Preferential Treatment granted by the EC to 
countries of the Western Balkans are under a waiver.  Of  the Western Balkan countrie s, only preferential trade 
flows from Albania are excluded.  Pref erential trade flows with Croatia a nd FYROM are already excluded as the 
EC has FTAs with them, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia are not Members of the WTO.  
  WT/REG170/6/Rev.2/Add.1 
Page 2 Table 1:  RTAs in force as of 30 April 2004 for EC and ten acceding member states4 
 
 EC Czech Rep. Estonia Cyprus Latvia Lit huania Hungary Malta Pola nd Slovenia Slovak Rep. 
Bulgaria √ √ √  √ √ √  √ √ √ 
Chile √           
Croatia √     √      
Cyprus √           
Czech Rep. √  √  √ √ √  √ √ √ 
EC √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 
EFTA  √ √  √ √ √  √ √ √ 
Egypt √           
Estonia √ √   √ √ √  √ √ √ 
FYROM √         √  
Hungary √ √ √  √ √   √ √ √ 
Iceland √           
Israel √ √     √  √ √ √ 
Jordan √           
Latvia √ √ √   √ √  √ √ √ 
Lithuania √ √ √  √  √  √ √ √ 
Malta √           
Mexico √           
Morocco √           
Norway √           
OCTs √           
Poland √ √ √  √ √ √   √ √ 
Romania √ √     √  √ √ √ 
Slovenia √ √ √  √ √ √  √  √ 
Slovak Rep. √ √ √  √ √ √  √ √  
South Africa √           
Switzerland/Lichtenstein √           
Tunisia √           
Turkey √ √ √  √ √ √  √ √ √ 
 
 
__________ 
 
 
                                                      
4 Only preferential partnerships with WTO Members are shown in the list.  Trade with non WTO Members is already excluded.