. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG170/7 
27 November 2006 
 
 (06-5696) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:   English 
  
 
ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 
 
Questions and Replies
 
  
 The following communication, dated 24 November 2006, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the European Communities.   This document reproduces the questions addressed  to the Parties and the responses submitted. 
The questions and replies set out below are or ganized in accordance with document WT/REG170/2. 
  
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GOODS ASPECTS
 
 
 
 Australia and the United Stat es wish once again to raise the issue, first raised in this 
Committee at its Meeting of 26 July 2005, and raised in 2004 at meetings of the Council for Trade in Goods, concerning the EC's schedul ed export subsidy reduction commitments for 
agricultural products. 
 
 In 2004, the EC unilaterally withdrew its EC-15 schedule and the individual schedules of the ten new acceding member states.  Since 1 May 2004, the EC has advised that the 
EC-15 schedule has been applied on a de facto ba sis to the EC-25.  To date, the EC has not 
tabled a draft EC-25 schedule relating to export subsidies and domestic support commitments.  
Nor has the EC provided any detailed information on the methodology it intends to adopt in 
preparing the draft EC-25 schedule in relation to those commitments. 
  The EC has merely stated, most recently in WT/REG170/5 of 19 September 2006 in response to a question from Canada, that it intends to use the "established methodology" for the consolidation of agricultural support commit ments, and will comply with any obligations 
pursuant to Article XXIV:5 of GATT 1994.  Furtherm ore, the EC states that in relation to the 
consolidation of its commitments it has relie d on the "well-established WTO approach, using 
the three most recent years as a reference period."   Australia wishes to reiterate that any modi fication of domestic  support and export 
subsidy commitments contained in Part IV of a Member's schedule resulting from enlargement 
of the European Union cannot be negotiated bilaterally under GATT Articles XXIV:6 and XXVIII.  These articles do not apply to agric ulture export subsidy and domestic support 
commitments.  Further, modification of tariff concessions under these Articles as a result of 
bilateral negotiations with interested Memb ers is a completely separate process from 
modification of the multilateral commitments co ntained in Part IV of a Member's schedule.  
  WT/REG170/7 
Page 2  
 
   Australia and the United States therefore request that the EC provide the following 
information:  
• clarification of the EC’s proposed budgetary outlay and quantity commitments in 
respect of the export subsidy reduction and domestic support commitments for the 
EC-25; 
 
 The EC has, in the margins of the bilateral m eetings on Article XXIV.6 with Australia and the 
United States, addressed the issue of export subs idy commitments and domestic support commitments 
in a specific manner.  
• an explanation of what the EC understands to be the "established methodology" for the 
consolidation of agricultural support commitments;  
 
 The EC has, in particular, handed out WTO Members with whom negotiations were held, 
included the United States and Australia, a wo rking document outlining the methodology it has 
followed when consolidating the export subsidy and domestic support commitments.  The EC has also 
handed out the result of netted-out export subs idy commitments and aggregated AMS figures. 
 
• detailed calculations and supporting informat ion upon which the consolidation is based, 
including the levels of product by produc t trade between the EC-15 and the EC-10 and 
an explanation as to how the EC proposes to  address the alignment of products in the 
11 schedules;  
 
 The approach outlined in the abovementi oned working document follows the same 
methodology that was used for the previous EC en largement in 1995 (enlarge ment of EC12 to EC15), 
which was accepted by both Australia and the Unite d States at that time, including the way of 
consolidating these commitments.  
• an indication of when the EC intends to submit its draft EC-25 schedule in relation to 
agricultural products. 
 
 The EC will notify the EC25 schedule to the WTO during the first quarter of 2007.  The new 
EC25 schedule will contain modified commitments for domestic support and export subsidies to 
adequately take account of enlargement. 
 
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