Members Advance Work on New Import Licensing
Website and Database
As part of overall efforts to improve transparency, WTO
members advanced work to put into place a new import
licensing website and database expected to be launched in late 2019 or
early 2020. At the meeting of the Committee on Import Licensing held on 4
April, members also shared their experiences on the use of the new notification
form which aims at simplifying and streamlining the way new
or updated import licensing laws and procedures are reported to the WTO
Secretariat.
The
Secretariat informed members that the new website and database is being finalized based on members' notifications and the
work carried out in the Import Licensing Committee since 1995. Of the 164 WTO
members, profiles have already been prepared and uploaded for
138 members, and work is under way for another 12. No
notification has been submitted by the remaining 14 members.
Members
were encouraged to review and verify the information contained in their
individual profiles in order to ensure the accuracy of the website before it
goes public. This will also provide an opportunity for members to update their
data if necessary. Monday 30 September was proposed as
the deadline for members to submit the required information in order to ensure
a timely official launch of the website.
The
Secretariat stressed the underlying principles of this project: notifications
must be transparent to make all members aware of new or updated import
licensing laws and procedures; any feedback received by the Secretariat will
constitute an official confirmation by the relevant authority; and changes
notified need to be traceable so that any modification to existing content can
be easily reviewed by other members.
Regarding
the improvement of notification templates, members updated the committee on
their use of the new and voluntary form which provides
a simple and streamlined way to submit notifications without jeopardizing their
obligations stipulated in the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. Members
such as Japan, Hong Kong China, Switzerland, Ukraine, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei,
Indonesia and Costa Rica have already used this form to notify their new import
licensing laws and procedures, or changes to existing laws. Some of these
members took the floor to underline that the new format will
greatly enhance notification efficiency and help members fulfil their
obligations.
The
committee reviewed 25 new notifications submitted by WTO members since the last
meeting held on 22 October 2018. The chair, Ms Lorena
Rivera Orjuela of Colombia, congratulated Myanmar for
submitting its notifications to the committee for the first time and for the
efforts made to prepare them in a very comprehensive way, significantly
improving the transparency of Myanmar´s trade policy regime. Myanmar said it
appreciated the technical support extended by the WTO Secretariat that enabled
it to overcome capacity constraints associated with notification work.
The
chair informed the committee that 14 members have not submitted any
notification on import licensing since joining the WTO, while 24 members have
not yet submitted notifications concerning their laws and regulations. The
chair urged those members concerned to submit their notifications as soon as
possible and invited them to seek technical support from the Secretariat if
required.
The
European Union and the United States voiced concerns on Tunisia´s decision in
November 2018 to impose import authorization measures on a long list of
products, including agriculture and agri-food
products, textiles, clothing, cosmetics, leather products, shoes, toys and
electrical goods. These authorizations should in theory be guided by technical
specification, but instead Tunisian authorities evaluate and decide on
importation requests on a case by case basis absent
objective criteria, while also applying quantitative restrictions, these
members said.
Tunisia
responded that its Ministry of Trade is currently evaluating this decision and
expressed its readiness to engage bilaterally both with the EU and the US to
address this issue.
The
United States asked for clarification from the Dominican Republic on its import
licensing procedures for agricultural products. The US raised concerns on what
appears to be an import licensing system that has not been
notified to the committee and seems to be restricting trade in
agricultural products, including dry beans, poultry, dairy products, hatching
eggs and potatoes.
The
Dominican Republic said it applies a 1958 law that requires all imports of
plants to have a phytosanitary clearance certificate
issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, and to not confuse
this with an import licence because the certificate exclusively
concerns sanitary control for plant imports and is based on a science-based
risk assessment. Regarding meat products, the Dominican Republic stressed that
the 1955 law establishing sanitary protection for products of animal origin is currently being updated and will be replaced by a draft
law on animal health protection already notified to the WTO.
The
US also raised concerns regarding Ghana's import procedures and permits for
poultry. The US said Ghana appears to be operating a non-automatic import licensing regime under which imports of poultry
products are limited to 25,000 metric tons per month, thus hindering legitimate
trade. Ghana said it was open to bilateral discussions and had hoped the US
would have explored the possibility of such discussions to sort this issue out
before bringing it to the attention of the committee.
Members
discussed other previously raised issues, such as: Indonesia's licensing regime
for cellphones, handheld computers and tablets; India's licensing requirements
for boric acid; Viet Nam's import licensing for cyber security products; and
China's changes to import licensing for certain recoverable materials.