. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SCM/M/55 
3 April 2006 
 (06-1541) 
Committee on Subsidies 
and Countervailing Measures  
 
 
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING  
HELD ON 27 OCTOBER 2005 
 
Chairperson:  Ms Victoria Campeanu (Romania) 
 
 
1. The Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing M easures (the "Committee") held a special 
meeting on 27 October 2005.  The purpose of the spec ial meeting, as set forth in WTO/AIR/2695 and 
WTO/AIR/2611, was to review the 2005 new and fu ll subsidy notifications of Albania;  the 
Dominican Republic;  Georgia;  Macao, China;  Oman and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 
2. The Chairperson  recalled that at its meeting of 14  April 2005 the Committee had adopted 
procedures for the review of 2005 new and full subsidy notifications.1  Under these procedures, the 
2005 new and full subsidy notifications were to be reviewed in three sp ecial meetings to be held in 
conjunction with the regular meeting of the Co mmittee in Autumn 2005, Spring 2006 and, if 
necessary, Autumn 2006.  Thus, the present meeting w as the first in that series of meetings.  The 
procedures adopted in April 2005 provided that onl y subsidy notifications distributed in all three 
working languages not less than seventeen weeks befo re a meeting may be reviewed at that meeting.  
Pursuant to this provision, the Committee had before  it six subsidy notifications.  Another key feature 
of the procedures adopted in April 2005 was that th e review of the subsidy notifications was to be 
conducted on the basis of written questions and answers provided before the meeting.  Written 
questions on the subsidy notifications on the age nda of the present meeting were to have been 
submitted to the Member concerned and to the S ecretariat by 25 July 2005 and written answers to 
such questions were to have been  submitted by 26 September 2005.  
3. The Committee then proceeded to examine the si x notifications that were on the agenda of 
this meeting in the order in which they had b een listed in the airgram convening the meeting.  
4. With respect to the notification of Albania  (G/SCM/N/123/ALB), on which no written 
questions had been received, the Chairperson propo sed that the Committee take note, and conclude its 
review, of this notification.  It was so agreed .  
5. With respect to the notification of the Dominican Republic  (G/SCM/N/123/DOM), the 
Chairperson  noted that written questions had been submitted by the United States2 and that the 
Dominican Republic had provided written answers to these questions.3   
6. There were no further comments made or ques tions raised on this notification.  The 
Committee agreed  to conclude its review of the notification of the Dominican Republic.   
                                                      
1 Document G/SCM/117 of 26 April 2005.  
2 G/SCM/Q2/DOM/1. 
3 G/SCM/Q2/DOM/2.  G/SCM/M/55 
Page 2  
 
  7. The Chairperson
 noted that no written questions had been received on the notification of 
Georgia  (G/SCM/N/123/GEO) and proposed that the Co mmittee take note, and conclude its review, 
of this notification.  It was so agreed .  
8. The Chairperson  stated that no written questions had b een received regarding the notification 
submitted by Macao, China (G/SCM/N/123/MAC) and she therefore proposed that the Committee 
take note, and conclude its review, of this notification.  It was so agreed .  
9. Regarding the notification of Oman (G/SCM/N/123/OMN), the Chairperson  drew attention to 
questions submitted by the United States.4  The delegation of Oman had very recently submitted 
responses to these questions immediately prior to th e meeting.  Since the procedures adopted by the 
Committee provided that a Member that fails to pr ovide written answers within the specified time 
period shall provide full oral answers at the meet ing itself, she invited the delegate of Oman to 
respond orally to the questions posed by the United States.5  
10. The delegate of the United States  thanked the delegate of Oman for the written responses and 
stated that while his delegation might wish to raise additional questions in the future, it did not have 
further questions at this point.  
11. The Committee took note  of the statements and agreed  to conclude its review of the 
notification of Oman.  
12. The Chairperson  stated that no written questions had been received on the notification of 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (G/SCM/N/123/VCT)  and she therefore proposed that the Committee 
take note, and conclude its review, of this notification.  It was so agreed .  
13. The Chairperson  stated that the next special meeting to review the 2005 new and fully subsidy 
notifications would take place in conjunction with the regular meeting of the Committee in the week 
of 24 April 2006.  At that meeting, the Committe e would review all 2005 new and full notifications 
that would have been translated in the three wo rking languages no later than 17 weeks before that 
meeting.   
14. The delegate of the United States  informed the Committee that his delegation would shortly 
submit its 2005 subsidy notification.  
__________ 
                                                      
4 G/SCM/Q2/OMN/3. 
5 The answers provided by the delegate of Oman at the meeting are contained in document 
G/SCM/Q2/OMN/4 of 25 October 2005.