UNITED KINGDOM - CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT
Document: Original: English UNITED KINGDOM - CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States
Date: 10 March 1997
Document codes: WT/DS67/3
Complainant: U.S.
Respondent: United Kingdom
Third parties: India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore
Dispute stage: Appellate Body
Agreements cited: Art. II, XXIII  GATT 1994

UNITED KINGDOM - CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION
OF CERTAIN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States
The following communication, dated 7 March 1997, from the Permanent Mission of the United
States to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated at the request of that delegation.
In the applicable schedule of tariff concessions under the GATT 1994 (“ EC Schedules” ), the
Government of the United Kingdom has agreed to a bound tariff rate for automatic data processing
(ADP) equipment and units under category 8471. Prior to 1995, imports into the United Kingdom
of local area network (“ LAN” ) equipment and all types of personal computers (PCs) were treated as
ADP equipment dutiable under category 8471.
Since 1995, customs authorities in the United Kingdom have been applying tariffs to imports
of various types of LAN equipment and to multimedia PCs and parts in excess of those provided for
in the EC schedules. These increases have resulted from the reclassification of LAN equipment from
the ADP category, 8471, to category 8517, “ telecommunications apparatus” , and from the reclassification
of PCs with multimedia capability from category 8471 to other categories with higher duty rates. For
example, PCs that have a CD-ROM drive have been reclassified to be dutiable under category 8521,
“ video apparatus” , and PCs that have video tuner cards or printed circuit boards allowing television
capability have been reclassified to be dutiable under category 8528, “ televisions” .
The United States considers that, by reason of these measures, the United Kingdom has increased
duties on these products above the bound rates, and has afforded the commerce of the United States
treatment less favourable than that provided for in the EC schedules, in contravention of the obligations
of the UnitedKingdomunderArticle II of the GATT1994. In addition,the applicationof these measures
by the United Kingdom nullifies or impairs, within the meaning of GATT Article XXIII:1, benefits
accruing to the United States directly or indirectly under the GATT 1994.
In a communication dated 14 February 1997 (WT/DS67/1), the Government of the United
States requested consultations with the Government of the United Kingdom regarding these measures
pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes
(“ DSU” ) and Article XXII:1 of the GATT 1994. On 24 February 1997, the United Kingdom responded
by referring the United States to a letter of the same date, in which the European Communities officially
informed the United States that the requested consultations will not be entered into. The Government
of the UnitedKingdomhavingdeclined toenter into consultationsand the partiesthereby havingreached
the mutual understanding that no consultations will be held, the United States is proceeding directly
to request the establishment of a panel under Article 4.3 of the DSU.

Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests the establishment of a panel to examine
the measures taken by the United Kingdom, with standard terms of reference as set out in Article 7
of the DSU.
The United States asks that this request be placed on the agenda for the meeting of the Dispute
Settlement Body scheduled to be held on 20 March 1997.