. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SG/Q2/IND/5
28 April 1999
(99-1719)
Committee on Safeguards Original:  English
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 12.1(C)
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS UPON TAKING
A DECISION TO APPLY OR EXTEND A SAFEGUARDS MEASURE
Questions posed by the UNITED STATES
Regarding the Notifications of INDIA1
The following communication, dated 27 April 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of the United States.
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1. Please identify any countries that India excludes from the application of the safeguard
measure on acetylene black, carbon black, propylene glycol and slabstock foam, and the reasons forsuch exclusions.
2. Is India excluding imports from certain developing country members from the safeguard
measures, as required by Article 9 of the WTO Ag reement on Safeguards?  For each of the products,
identified in paragraph one above, please identify the developing countries that are being excludedfrom the measures, pursuant to the suggested format for notifications under Article 9 footnote 2,
which is provided in item V of the annex to G/SG/W/1 (23 February 1995).
According to the information provided in G/SG/N/10/IND/1 (20 January 1999), the safeguard
measure shall not apply to imports of acetylene black made under an Advance Licence, subject to the
condition that the exempt article shall not be disposed of or utilized in any manner except for
utilization in discharge of export obligation or for replenishment of article so utilized and the articleso replenished shall not be sold or transferred to any other person.  We further note that the safeguard
measures similarly do not apply to imports of fl exible slabstock polyol (G/SN/10/IND/4), propylene
glycol (G/SG/N/10/IND/ 3), and carbon black (G/SG/N/10/IND/ 2).  We are concerned that the
imposition of a safeguard only to products not subject to advance licencing could increase any
trade-distorting effects of the licences.
3. Please describe the Advance Licence, and the relationship, if any, between the Advance
Licence and Value Based Advance Licences (VABALs).
4. Has the Government of India stopped issuing “Advance Licences” for acetylene black,
flexible slabstock polyol, propylene glycol and carbon black?  If yes, on what dates were the last such
advance licences issued for each product?
5. What is the rationale for excluding imports pursuant to the Advance Licence from the
application of the safeguard measure?
                                                     
1 G/SG/N/10/IND/1, G/SG/N/10/IND/2, G/SG/N/10/IND/3 and G/SG/N/10/IND/4G/SG/Q2/IND/5
Page 2
6. According to the information provided in G/SG/N/6/IND/1 (7 January 1998), India imported
11.5 MT of acetylene black in 1993-1994, 8.3 MT in 1994-1995, 71.0 MT in 1995-1996, 841.06 MT
in 1996-1997 and 250.57 MT in 1997-1998 (to July).  For each of these periods, please provide the
volume, in metric tons, of Acetylene Black that were imported into India pursuant to AdvanceLicence.  As of the date of imposition of the safegu ard measure, what is the amount, in metric tons, of
Acetylene Black that can be made pursuant to advance licence?  Please provide similar data for
flexible slabstock polyol, propylene glycol and carbon black.
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