WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/Q/ARG/6 
17 April 2009 
 (09-1832) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
IMPORT LICENSING SYSTEM OF ARGENTINA 
 
Questions from the UNITED STATES, th e EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, CANADA, 
 
CHINA, and JAPAN to ARGENTINA  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 9 April 2009, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the United States. 
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 In response to Argentina’s recent notificati ons dated 19 January 200 9 and 19 March 2009 
under Article 5, we have the following quest ions regarding Argentina’s import licensing 
requirements:    Has Argentina provided copies of the regulations below to the WTO Secretariat? If not, we 
would greatly appreciate a copy of the following regulations: 
 - Regulation No. 47/2007 - Regulation No. 343/2007 - Regulation No. 16/2008, cited in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4/Add.1 
- Regulation No. 329/2008, cited in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/7/Add.3 
- Regulation No. 330/2008, cited in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/12/Add.1 - Regulation No. 589/2008, cited in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/14 - Regulation No. 588/2008, cited in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/15 
 
 These regulations should be notified under Artic les 1.4, 5.1 and 8.2 of the Agreement on 
Import Licensing Procedures and copies of them made available to the WTO Secretariat for review by 
interested WTO Members.  Automatic import license requirements (G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4/Add.1)
 
 
• Please clarify the apparent contradiction between the statements in sections (e) and (g) of the 
notifications.  Are these automatic or non-automatic licensing measures? 
 
• G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4/Add.1 includes approximately  130 tariff lines for which import license 
procedures (apparently automatic) are now required.  
  - Are these requirements in addition to t hose previously notified by Argentina in 
G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4, dated 5 March 1999?  Or does G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4/Add.1 replace 
the previous list of tariff lines subject to automatic import licenses? 
 - How and according to what criteria was it determined that the importation of these 
items should require an automatic import license?  
 - Approximately what percentage of the total value of Argentina’s imports in a recent 
representative period is covered by the notified lines? G/LIC/Q/ARG/6 
Page 2  
 
  • Argentina states that the purpose of the automa tic licensing requirements is:  “to ensure that 
imports are subject to a regime which permits  the advance supply of descriptive information 
to the historical records in order to be able to carry out a rapid analysis of their evolution, and 
which averts delays that could cause irreparabl e damage to different production sectors.”   
 
- It is not clear what Argentina’s objectiv e with respect to the new requirements is, 
based on the above explanation.  Could Ar gentina please elaborate further regarding 
the administrative purpose for these auto matic import licensing procedures?   
 - Specifically, what sorts of “delays” are intended to be averted?  Delays in importation 
or delays in determining whether imports should be restricted?  What is meant by 
“delays that could cause irreparable damage  to different production sectors”?  Could 
Argentina please provide an example of such a delay and of the “irreparable 
damage?”  
 - Could Argentina please also explain what me asures have been taken to ensure that the 
automatic licensing requirements are the most transparent and least trade restrictive for achieving these objectives? 
 
• What is the statutory or regulatory length of time allowed to the government for processing 
applications for automatic import licenses?   
Non-automatic import license requirements
1  
 
• Two of Argentina’s notifications ar e addenda to earlier notifications 
(G/LIC/N/2/ARG/7/Add.3 and G/LIC/N/2/ARG/12/Add.1).  
 
- Do the tariff lines listed in these addenda replace the tariff lines listed in earlier 
notifications (G/LIC/N/2/ARG/7 and G/LI C/N/2/ARG/12), or are they additional 
tariff lines now subject to non-automatic import licenses?  
- If the notifications are with respect to additional tariff lines now subject to 
non-automatic import licenses, could Argentina please explain how and according to what criteria the items covered by these tariff lines were selected?  
- What percentage of the total value of Argentina’s imports is now covered by these 
non-automatic licensing requirements? 
 
• What prompted the addition of new products  subject to non-automatic import license 
requirements, per the four notifications in January 2009 and the notification in March 2009? 
 
• Argentina indicates that these new non-automati c import licenses are required in order to 
establish a pre-release verification mechanism. 
 
- Please describe how the non-automatic import license requirements establish a 
pre-release verification mechanism to monitor and control imports.  
- Please explain how the pre-release verification mechanism works.   
  - Why does Argentina consider this mechanism necessary?    - What information must be provided by importers?   - What is being verified?   - What sort of control is applied? 
  - How long before entry may application for the license be made? 
  - How does this mechanism affect imports?     - Is there an appeals process? 
                                                     
 
1 G/LIC/N/2/ARG/7/Add.3; G/LI C/N/2/ARG/12/Add.1; G/LIC/N/ 2/ARG/14; G/LIC/N/2/ARG/15; 
G/LIC/N/2/ARG/16.  G/LIC/Q/ARG/6 
 Page 3 
 
 
  • Please explain the criteria used by Argentina fo r granting and/or alloca ting its non-automatic 
import licenses.  
 
• Are applications considered on a first-come first served basis, or are they considered 
simultaneously?  
 
• What is the approximate length of time for pr ocessing applications for non-automatic import 
licenses?  
 
- In practice, the time required by Argentinean authorities for processing applications 
for non-automatic import licenses, by average, is far longer than the time-period 
prescribed by Article 3.5(f) of the WTO Import Licensing Agreement.  
- What are the reasons for these delays? - Do importers have any remedy in case of excessive delays in processing applications? 
 
• If the automatic import license requirements identif ied in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4 are still in effect 
(i.e., not replaced by those listed in G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4/Rev.1), then it would appear that there 
are some tariff lines for which both an au tomatic and non-automatic import license is 
required.  Please clarify this, with partic ular reference to the following points: 
 
- G/LIC/N/2/ARG/4 notifies automatic impor t licenses for approximately 49 different 
HS chapters, including 52-60 and 84.  G/LIC/N/2/ARG/14 notifies non-automatic import license requirements for certain products  classified within chapters 52, 54, 55, 
and 60.  G/LIC/N/2/ARG/15 establishes non-automatic requirements for certain products that fall under chapter 84.  A number  of tariff lines are notified in more than 
one document. 
- In such cases, are importers required to file two separate applications? 
- If so, what is the reason for these duplicate procedures?  
 
• On 22 January, the Government of Argentin a published Regulation 26/2009, establishing a 
non-automatic import licensing procedure for new tyres. 
 
- What is the justification for requiring non-automatic import license requirements for 
these particular products? 
- Approximately what percentage of the total value of Argentina’s imports in a recent 
representative period is covered by the notified lines? 
 
• On 6 March, the Government of Argentin a published Regulation 61/2009, through which 
Argentina has extended the coverage of import licenses to new product lines. 
 
- What is the justification for requiring non-automatic import license requirements for 
these particular products? 
- Approximately what percentage of the total value of Argentina’s imports in a recent 
representative period is covered by the new product lines? 
 
• In view of the progressive extension of the product coverage of the non-automatic import 
licensing requirements in Argentina, what per centage of the total value of Argentina's 
imports, in a recent representative period, is  currently covered by those requirements? 
 
• Argentinean Regulations establishing import licen sing requirements refer to the "provisional" 
("transitoria") imposition of these requirements. However, import licensing requirements as those established by Regulation 47/2007 and 343/2007 have not only be maintained until 
present but have been extended to an increasing number of product lines since 2008. How 
does Argentina explain this?  
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