. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG220/3 
18 August 2009 
 (09-3910) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
  
 
ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 
 
Weighted Average Tariff Rates and Customs Duties collected
 
 
Note by the Secretariat  
 
 1. In the context of "[t]he evaluation under pa ragraph 5(a) of Article XXIV of the general 
incidence of the duties and other regulations of comme rce applicable before a nd after the formation of 
a customs union", paragraph 2 of the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV of the 
GATT 1994 (the Understanding) directs the Secretariat to calculate "the weight ed average tariff rates 
and customs duties collected" and elab orates on the approach to be used. 
2. As applied to the case of the Enlargement of  the European Communities (EC) to include 
Bulgaria and Romania, the outcome of the mandated calculations will consist of two sets of comparable figures: 
• Import-weighted average tariff rates: one re flecting the pre-Enlargement situation and 
another reflecting the post-Enlargement situation. 
• The corresponding estimated valu es of customs duties collected. 
3. The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements, th rough its Chairman, has instructed the 
Secretariat to perform those calculations, on the ba sis of information provided by the parties and 
according to the methodology described below. 
Data and methodology used in the calculations
 
 
4. The following data were used in the calculations: 
(a) three sets of tariff rates, by tariff line, for respectively the EC(25) and the two 
acceding countries: 
(i) Pre-Enlargement situation: 
- EC(25):  MFN applied rates at 1 January 2006.  
- the two acceding countries: MFN applied rates at 1 January 2006.  
(ii) Post-Enlargement situation: 
- EC(27): MFN applied rates as at 1 January 2007. 
(b) Average of imports, in value and quantity an d by tariff line, into EC(25) and the two 
acceding countries, from WTO partners (except those with which EC(25) and the two acceding countries maintained contractual preferences as of 1 January 2006), for the 
2004-2006 period.  The 2006 ad valorem  equivalents (AVEs) of non- ad valorem  WT/REG220/3 
Page 2  
 
  duties were provided by the EU; the AVEs of non ad valorem  tariff rates in Bulgaria's 
tariff are based on unit values, as those AVEs were not available. 
(c) Concordance tables linking the EC(25) 2006 tariff schedule with the EC(27) tariff 
schedule.
1 
5. The calculations were done in accordance with "the methodology used in the assessment of 
tariff offers in the Uruguay Round" (see para graph 2 of the Understanding) and the following 
definitions: 
(a) Average tariff rates  
(i) Pre-Enlargement situation : average of EC(25) MFN applied tariff rates and  
the two acceding countries' MFN applied tariff rates in 2006, weighted by 
aggregated 2004-2006 import values of the parties. 
(ii) Post-Enlargement situation:  average of EC(27) MFN applied tariff rates, 
weighted by aggregated 2004-2006 import values of the parties. 
(b) Customs duties collected : estimates derived from the average tariff rates obtained 
under (a) and annual average import values in 2004-2006. 
Results of the calculations  
 6. Major parameters underlying the results are shown below: 
National weighted average tariff 
rates** Estimated customs  
duties collected ***  
($ million)   
Average 
imports  
in 2004-06* 
($ million) Initial rates 
(pre-
enlargement) Final rates 
(post-
enlargement) At initial 
rates At final 
rates 
Bulgaria 2,119 8.59 10.10 182 214 
Romania 4,973 33.34 9.09 1,658 452 
EU 25 800,706 3.76 3.70 30,078 29,592 
Three parties of C.U. 807,798 3.95 3.75 31,900 30,258 
* Total imports (incl. petroleum), annual averages.  (See paragraph 5(b) above.) 
** Based on rates described in paragraph 5(a) above and 2004-06 import weights. 
*** Annual averages.  Estimated on the basis of 2004-06 import values and average tariff rates.  
7. The mandated calculations for the EC(27) En largement, according to the described 
methodology and on the basis of available data, produced the following results: 
 Pre-Enlargement Post-Enlargement 
Weighted average tariff rates  3.95%  3.75%  
Average customs duties collected  $31,900 million  $30,258 million  
__________ 
 
                                                      
1 Between 2006 and 2007, a new nomenclature was adopted for the Harmonized System.  This change 
of nomenclature resulted in a decr ease of around 0,03% in the EU's av erage tariff rate, because the new 
nomenclature includes a larger number of tariff lines with low or null duties.