WORLD TRADE G/L/196
24October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4654)
Council forTrade inGoods
19November 1997
FRANCE -TRADING ARRANGEMENTS WITH MOROCCO
Request foranExtension oftheWaiver
Thefollowing communication, dated 10October 1997, hasbeenreceived fromtheEuropean
Communities.
_____________
On14October 19961,theGeneral Council decided toextend untiltheentry intoforce ofthe
Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing anassociation between theEuropean Communities and
their member States, oftheonepart, andtheKingdom ofMorocco, oftheother part, oruntil
31December 1997, whichever theearlier, thewaiver granted forFrance 'spreferential trading
arrangements withMorocco byDecision oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES of10November 19602.
Thewaiver applies totheprovisions ofparagraph 1ofArticle IoftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs
andTrade (GATT), totheextent necessary topermit France toapply duty-free tariffquotas toanumber
ofproducts originating inpartsoftheterritory oftheKingdom ofMorocco notcovered bytheprovisions
ofparagraphs 2and4ofArticle IoftheGATT.
TheDecision of14October 1996 noted initsparagraph 1thatitwaswithout prejudice tothe
right oftheEuropean Communities torequest afurther extension ofthewaiver, should thisprove
necessary.
Atthispoint intime, onlysome member States oftheEuropean Communities haveratified
theEuro-Mediterranean Agreement withMorocco anditseems unlikely thatallmember States will
haveratified before 31December 1997.
Forthisreason, theEuropean Communities request anextension ofthewaiver untiltheentry
intoforce oftheEuro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing anassociation between theEuropean
Communities andtheirmember States, oftheonepart,andtheKingdom ofMorocco, oftheother
part,oruntil31December 1998, whichever istheearlier.
Sincethepreviousextension,therehavebeennochangesinthemeasuresforwhichtheextension
ofthewaiver isrequested, inthespecific policy objectives pursued, orinthecontinued existence of
1WT/L/187 of18October 1996.
2BISD 9S/39.
./.G/L/196
Page2
theexceptional circumstances justifying thewaiver3.Theterms andconditions attached totheextended
waiver havebeencomplied with.
TheEuropeanCommunitieswishtoassuretheotherWTOMembersthattheywill,uponrequest,
promptly enter intoconsultations withanyinterested WTO Member withrespect toanydifficulty or
matter thatmayariseasaresult oftheextension ofthewaiver.
Thisrequest iswithout prejudice totherightoftheEuropean Communities torequest afurther
extension ofthewaiver before theendof1998, should thisprove necessary.
3G/L/109 of9September 1996.