WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/MA/W/18/Add.9 
7 November 2005 
 (05-5229) 
Negotiating Group on Market Access Original:   English 
  
 
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
 
Progress Report: WTO NAMA Discussions on Autos NTBs
 
 
Communication from the United States 
 
Addendum  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 4 November  2005 is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the United States. 
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Introduction  
 
 This report has been prepared to inform th e NAMA negotiating group of the state of play of 
the discussions on non-tariff barriers (NTBs) affecting the automotive industry.   Paragraph 14 of Annex B of the July framework envisages request/offer, horizontal or vertical 
approaches as the modalities for addressing NTBs in the NAMA negotiations.  In January 2005, the 
United States tabled its proposal on negotia ting NTBs related to the automotive sector 
(TN/MA/W/18/Add.6).  The barriers noted in this pr oposal include restrictions  on consumer financing 
and distribution channels, foreign equi ty restrictions that restrict or distort investments in automotive 
production, vehicle taxes based on engine displace ment, and barriers to the importation and sale of 
remanufactured automotive parts.
1 
 
 Since tabling its paper, the United States has hosted five informal group meetings to discuss 
these barriers, as well as any others that participatin g Members have wished to bring to the attention 
of the discussion group.  To date, two Members othe r than the United States – Japan and Korea – have 
prepared short papers describing the barriers encount ered by industry and including a brief statement 
of the economic impact.  An electronic dialogue  (“e-dialogue”) also is underway among those 
participants in the informal group meetings in order to continue discussions during the periods 
between NAMA meetings.   The informal meetings have been attended by both developed a nd developing country 
Members.  Most of the participating Members are associated with an industry association that is 
actively discussing NTBs to automotive trade as a member of the Global Automotive Industry 
Dialogue (GAID).  The seven current industry associ ations of the GAID – from Brazil, Canada, the 
EU, Japan, Korea, India and the United States – represen t more than 85 percent of global automotive 
production.   
                                                     
 
1 The United States has since broadened the discussion of NTBs affecting the importation and sale of 
remanufactured auto parts to include other industries, such as the heavy equipment/earth-moving and medical 
equipment sectors. Discussions on remanufactured goods, as hosted by the United States, are now occurring 
separately from discussions on barriers to automotive trade.  TN/MA/W/18/Add.9 
Page 2  
 
  
I. SUMMARY OF GOVERNMENT DISCUSSIONS 
 The United States hosted the first informal meeting to discuss automotive NTBs on 
2 February 2005.  Ten de veloped and developing count ry Members participated.
2  This informal 
discussion was held a day after the United States tabled its automotive NTB proposal.  At this 
meeting, participants signaled their support for a shift toward a substantive discussion, focusing 
directly on the barriers to automotive trade listed in  Members’ indicative lists.  Members also began to 
discuss process-related questions.   The second informal discussion was held on March 18, 2005 following an all-day plenary 
session on NTBs where Members examined on a line-by -line basis each of the NTB notifications 
submitted since October 2004.
3   The United States at this informal meeting explained to participants 
the nature of each of the autos barriers listed in its proposal, and clarified its intent in pursuing them.  
The U.S. delegation distributed short papers on th ese barriers to participating Members as the basis 
for this discussion.  Background papers on autos NT B-related work in APEC and the United Nations 
(UN) Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Working Party 29 (WP.29)  technical standards setting 
process were also distributed.   The third meeting was held on Apr il 27 with 8 participants attending.
4  This meeting followed 
a meeting of the Global Auto Industry Dialogue (GAI D) in Geneva.  Members continued in the issue 
identification phase at this meeting, with Ko rea presenting information on three barriers:  
requirements that automotive products clear custom s only in limited, designated ports; import bans 
and restrictions on used cars; and government supports  for the automotive industry.  There was also a 
brief discussion of the fact that many of the NTBs cited by participating Members concerned 
compliance issues.  In the multilateral review of  NTBs in the plenary, Members generally had 
indicated they planned to take up compliance issu es in the relevant WTO Committee.  The question 
was posed in the informal autos group whether Members saw any scope for joint focus on some of 
these compliance issues.   
 
 Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, th e EC, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the 
United States met on June 6, 2005, to continue this  informal dialogue.  There were a number of time 
constraints during this NAMA week that cau sed some Members who would otherwise have 
participated in the meeting to miss it.  Discu ssions continued among par ticipating Members on the 
short NTB issue papers that had been tabled.  The United States also distributed materials it received 
from its industry on the engine displacement issue.   On compliance issues, the U.S. summarized the 
options that had arisen in discussions to date: (1) pursue in relevant Committees, as individual 
Members or as a group (the generally preferred option emerging from the multilateral review of 
NTBs); and (2) pursue in NAMA if there is an oppor tunity to make progress (an option also noted by 
the NAMA Chair).       Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, the EC, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore 
and the United States attended the fifth meeting of the informal group on September 19, 2005.  Participants at this meeting focused on Japan’s  NTB issue paper on customs-related barriers to 
automotive trade.  The United States at this me eting suggested that individual Members take 
leadership to draft proposals to advance specific auto NTB issues.  Japan agreed to shepherd the 
                                                     
 
2  Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania and the United 
States. 
3 Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Switzerland and the United States 
attended.  
4 Canada, EU, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States.  TN/MA/W/18/Add.9 
 Page 3 
 
 
 customs issues (e.g., periodic customs clearance), and the EC agreed to shepherd the TBT issues.  The 
United States will lead on equity restrictions. Lead s on the remaining issues are to be determined.  
Summary of Industry/Government Discussions  
  Separately from government discussions in NAMA, the Global Auto Industry Dialogue 
(GAID) has raised NTB issues in seven broad areas – standards, investment, taxation, certain services, 
IPR protection, customs practices and import licen sing and quotas.  In June 2004 and April 2005 the 
GAID visited Geneva to brief interested WTO Me mbers on these seven issues.  Industry has since 
refined the definition of problems faced in each of these areas. The various participating industry 
associations have also divided up the work to prepare focused statements of the NTB problems 
encountered and specific requests of the WTO memb ership for remedies to address these problems.  
The GAID returned to Geneva during the Octobe r 10, 2005 NAMA week to present specific requests 
for action on the part of WTO Member government s to address these concerns.  The GAID expects 
soon to expand its membership to include other interested automotive industry associations.  
 II. NEXT STEPS 
 The challenge is how to move from what has,  up to now, been an issue identification stage 
into an effective discussion of which non-tari ff barriers can be addressed by WTO Member 
governments and options for solutions.  As noted a bove, as a way to move forward and to maximize 
resources, specific Member governments have committed to taking the lead on particular concerns of 
the automotive industry.  Also, given specific re quests for action from the global automotive industry, 
Member governments participating in informal auto s NTB discussions will need to address a host of 
related questions, including:  
• options for solutions; 
• which Members need to participate in each solution; 
• the best venue for pursuing these solutions; and 
• how to capture results in the Doha negotiations. 
  As discussions advance, reports similar to th is one will be prepared and submitted to the 
NAMA group. The United States, like the othe r Members participating in automotive NTB 
discussions, is committed to a transparent and inclusive process.   
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