WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BOP/N/72 
15 September 2009 
 
 (09-4333) 
Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions Original:   Spanish 
  
 
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER PARAGRAPH 9 OF THE UNDERSTANDING ON THE 
BALANCE-OF-PAYMENTS PROVISIONS OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT 
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 
 
Communication from Ecuador
 
   The following communication, dated 8 September 2009, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Ecuador. 
 
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  WT/BOP/N/72 
 Page 3 
 
 
  THE FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT COUNCIL 
RESOLUTION NO. 503 
THE FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT COUNCIL 
WHEREAS: 
By virtue of Resolution No. 466, published in Of ficial Journal No. 512 of 22 January 2009, the 
Foreign Trade Council (COMEXI), in plenary session, approved the application of a safeguard 
measure for balance-of-payments purposes under Articl e XIII, Section B, of the General Agreement 
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), on the grounds that  Ecuador is currently experiencing serious 
difficulties in respect of its balance of paymen ts and the external sector of its economy; 
 
For the purposes of establishing this balance-of-pay ments safeguard, consideration was given to the 
provisions of the Understanding on the Balance-of-P ayments Provisions of the General Agreement on 
Tariffs and Trade 1994 of the World Trade Organiza tion (WTO) and the rules set forth in Andean 
Community Commission Decision No. 563, which contains the codified text of the Cartagena Agreement and which, in Article 95 of Chapter XI ("Safeguard Clauses"), provides that member 
countries may adopt measures to restore equilibrium in their overall balance of payments, including 
on an emergency basis;  On the basis of the recommendations in the t echnical report of the permanent ad hoc group 
coordinated by the Ministry of Industry and Productivity (MIPRO), the Foreign Trade Council, 
meeting in special plenary session on 22 June 2009 , approved Resolution No. 487, published in the 
supplement to Official Journal No. 621 of 26 J une 2009, which amended the balance-of-payments 
safeguard by replacing quotas with tariff surcharges;  At its meeting on 13 August 2009, the COMEXI Executive Commission endorsed the recommendations in Ministry of Industry and Pr oductivity (MIPRO) technical report No. 199 of 
6 August 2009 with regard to the amendment to Resolution No. 487, which extends payment of the 
12 per cent tariff duty applied as a balance-of-payme nts safeguard to the subheadings listed in 
Annex III, with the exception of the allocated quotas which are subject to duly substantiated 
applications establishing their use as an input or a raw material in the production process; 
 In exercise of the statutory powers conferred upon it by the Foreign Trade and Investment 
Law (LEXI), 
 
HEREBY DECIDES THE FOLLOWING: 
 
Article 1.-  A new unnumbered Article shall be inserted after Article 1 of COMEXI 
Resolution No. 487 to read as follows: 
 "The tariff subheadings listed in Annex III to Resolution No. 487 shall be subject to the ad valorem  
surcharge of 12 per cent, with the exception of  the quotas determined by the COMEXI Executive 
Commission.  WT/BOP/N/72 
Page 4  
 
  Enterprises wishing to avail themselves of this exemption are required to provide documentary 
evidence that the goods to be imported are input s in a specific production process and to submit the 
following information:  
• Sales on the domestic market subject to duties and taxes; 
• Sales on the domestic market exempt from duties and taxes; 
• Exports effected; 
• Income tax return; 
• VAT return; 
• Employment generation data; 
• Analysis of nominal and effective protection, where appropriate; 
• Description of the processing to be undergone  by the raw material or input to which 
the application relates; 
• Trade balance of the applicant company, where appropriate. 
Quotas granted to importers in this  connection are not transferable." 
 Article 2.-  This Resolution was adopted by the COMEXI Executive Commission at its meeting on 
13 August 2009 and shall enter into force upon adoption, without prejudice to its publication in the 
Official Journal. 
   Nathalie Cely Suárez Rubén Morán Castro  
 
 
 CHAIRPERSON SECRETARY 
 
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