RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/DS5/5
G/SPS/W/27
ORGANIZATION G/TBT/D/3
G/AG/W/8
31July1995
(95-2270)
Original: English
KOREA -MEASURES CONCERNING THE SHELF-LIFE OFPRODUCTS
Notification ofMutually Agreed Solution
Thefollowing communication, dated 20July1995, from theUnited States andtheRepublic
ofKorea iscirculated pursuant toArticle 3:6oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing
theSettlement ofDisputes.
_______________
TheGovernments oftheRepublic ofKorea andtheUnited States ofAmerica wishtonotify
theDispute Settlement Body thattheyhavereached amutually satisfactory solution, withrespect to
theproducts referenced intheattached annexes, tothematter raised bytheGovernment oftheUnited
States inWT/DS5/1, dated 5May1995.
Theagreement issetforth intheattached annexes. Thetreatment accorded intheannexes
toimported products shallbenolessfavourable thanthetreatment accorded tolikeproducts ofnational
origin ortolikeproducts ofanyother country.
Thisagreement iswithout prejudice totherights orobligations ofeither Member under the
Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization.WT/DS5/5
G/SPS/W/27
G/TBT/D/3
G/AG/W/8
Page2
ANNEX I
Shelf Life
I With respect toimports intoKorea:
1. Vacuum-packed chilled beefandpork
(a) Effective July1,1996, theshelflifeofvacuum-packed chilled beeforpork
described inHSheadings 02.01 (.10,.20,.30)and02.03 (.11,.12,.19)shall
bedetermined bythemanufacturer ofthebeeforpork.
(b) During theperiod October 1,1995, through June30,1996, theshelf life
specified bytheGovernment ofKorea forvacuum-packed chilled beeforpork
described inHSheadings 02.01 (.10,.20,.30)and02.03 (.11,.12,.19)shall
be:
(i) 90daysforbeef, and
(ii) 45daysforpork.
2. Frozen meat
(a) Effective July1,1996, theshelflifeofanyfrozen meatshallbedetermined
bythemanufacturer ofthemeat.
(b) During theperiod October 1,1995, through June30,1996, theshelf life
specified bytheGovernment ofKorea forfrozen meatshallbe:
(i) 3months forsausages andminced meat described inHSheadings
16.01.00 and16.02 (.10, .20,.31,.41,.42,.49,.50,.90);
(ii) 9months forporkandpoultry described inHSheadings 02.03 (.21,
.22,.29)and02.07 (.21, .22,.23,.41,.42,.43,.50); and
(iii) 12months forbeefdescribed inHSheadings 02.02 (.10, .20,.30).
3. Other frozen foods
(a) Effective July1,1996, theshelf lifeofanyfrozen fooddescribed inthe
following HSheadings, other thanafoodreferred toinparagraph 2,shallbe
determined bythemanufacturer ofthefood:
03.06 (.11, .12,.13,.14,.19)
04.06 (.10, .30,.90)
04.08 (.19, .99)
07.10 (.10, .21,.22,.29,.30,.40,.80,.90)
08.11 (.10, .20,.90)WT/DS5/5
G/SPS/W/27
G/TBT/D/3
G/AG/W/8
Page3
16.04 (.11, .12,.13,.14,.15,.16,.19,.20,.30)
16.05 (.10, .20,.30,.40,.90)
19.05 (.10, .20,.30,.40,.90)
20.02 (.10, .90)
20.04 (.10, .90)
20.08 (.11, .19,.20,.30,.40,.50,.60,.70,.80,.91,.92,.99)
20.09 (.11, .20,.30,.40,.50,.60,.70,.80,.90)
(b) During theperiod October 1,1995, through June30,1996, theshelf life
specified bytheGovernment ofKorea foranyfrozen fooddescribed inthe
following HSheadings, other thanafoodreferred toinparagraph 2,shallbe
9months:
03.06 (.11, .12,.13,.14,.19)
04.06 (.10, .30,.90)
04.08 (.19, .99)
07.10 (.10, .21,.22,.29,.30,.40,.80,.90)
08.11 (.10, .20,.90)
16.04 (.11, .12,.13,.14,.15,.16,.19,.20,.30)
16.05 (.10, .20,.30,.40,.90)
19.09 (.10, .20,.30,.40,.90)
20.02 (.10, .90)
20.04 (.10, .90)
20.08 (.11, .19,.20,.30,.40,.50,.60,.70,.80,.91,.92,.99)
20.09 (.11, .20,.30,.40,.50,.60,.70,.80,.90)
4. Other foods
Effective October 1,1995, theshelflifefordried, packaged, canned orbottled products, other
thanthose foods specified inparagraphs 1through 3,shallbedetermined bythemanufacturer ofthe
product.
II. Ingeneral:
1. Storage Temperature
(a) Effective July1,1996; thestorage temperature ofaproduct subject toashelf
liferequirement bytheKorean Food Code shall bedetermined bythe
manufacturer oftheproduct when suchashelf-life requirement isremoved.
(b) During theperiod October 1,1995, through June30,1996, theGovernment
ofKorea shallensure thatitwillnotabuse thecurrent requirements forstorage
temperature ofanyproduct intheKorean Food Code forthepurpose of
restricting trade.WT/DS5/5
G/SPS/W/27
G/TBT/D/3
G/AG/W/8
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2. References toHarmonized System headings andsubheadings
Beginning October 1,1995, theGovernment ofKorea shallnotify other members oftheWorld
Trade Organization (WTO), through theWTO Secretariat, thecorresponding Harmonized System tariff
heading orsubheading foreachitemsubject toashelfliferequirement intheKorean Food Code or
successor measure, orforwhich suchashelf-life requirement isremoved orproposed toberemoved.
Thesubheadingshallbeatleastatthe6-digitlevel,ifoneexistsundertheHarmonizedSystem,otherwise
itshallbeatthe4-digit level.
3. Implementation
TheGovernment ofKorea shallnottakemeasures thathavetheeffect of,directly orindirectly,
requiring orencouraging local governments ornon-governmental entities within itsterritory toact
inamanner inconsistent withtheprovisions ofthisAnnex.
4. Definitions
Asusedinthisannex:
(a) "chilled" means atatemperature from-2Cto0Candnotpreviously frozen
aswellascurrently inaunfrozen state;
(b) "frozen poultry" included allprepared products ofpoultry;
(c) "HS" means Harmonized System;
(d) "include" means include butisnotlimited to;
(e) "meat" includes beef, porkandpoultry andalltheirprepared products; and
f) "shelf life"ofaproduct means theperiod between thedateofmanufacture
oftheproduct andthedatebywhich aproduct mustbesoldattheretail level.WT/DS5/5
G/SPS/W/27
G/TBT/D/3
G/AG/W/8
Page5
ANNEX II
Other Measures Concerning Meat
1. Residue tolerances
NolaterthanJuly1,1996, theGovernment ofKorea shallensure thatanymaximum residue
level itmaintains forimported excretory organ meats isconsistent withtheinternational standards
established bytheCODEX Alimentarius Commission.
2. Porkchilling
TheGovernment ofKorea shallextend thechilling period forporkfromthecurrent 24hours
to48hours.
3. Tendering procedures
TheGovernment ofKorea shallprovide atleast7daysadvance notice priortooffering atender
forthepurchase ofporkandshallprovide aperiod ofatleast30daysforarrival oftheproduct to
fulfil thecontract. Shorter tender andarrival periods arepermissible onlyinthecaseoflarge-scale
supply disruption resulting from natural disaster.