WORLD TRADE WT/L/29
7February 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-0226)
AVOIDANCE OFPROCEDURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL DUPLICATION
Decision adopted bytheGeneral Council on31January 1995
TheGeneral Council,
Noting thattheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade (hereinafter referred toas"GATT 1947")
andtheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization (hereinafter referred toas
"WTO Agreement") arelegally distinct andthatMembers oftheWTO maytherefore remain contracting
parties totheGATT 1947;
Considering thatcontracting parties totheGATT 1947 andparties totheTokyo Round Agreements
thatarealsoMembers oftheWTO should notbesubjected totheinconvenience ofhaving tonotify
andconsult ontheirmeasures andpolicies twice;
Desiring, therefore, thatthebodies established under theGATT 1947, theTokyo Round Agreements
andtheWTO Agreement coordinate theiractivities totheextent thattheirfunctions overlap;
Decides toadopt thefollowing procedures:
Intheperiod between thedateofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement andthedateofthe
termination ofthelegalinstruments through which thecontracting parties apply theGATT 1947 and
oftheTokyo Round Agreements thefollowing notification andcoordination procedures shallapply
under theGATT 1947, theTokyo Round Agreements andtheWTO Agreement:
1. Ifameasure issubject toanotification obligation bothunder theWTO Agreement
andunder theGATT 1947 oraTokyo Round Agreement, thenotification ofsuchameasure
toaWTO body shall, unless otherwise indicated inthenotification, bedeemed tobealsoa
notification ofthatmeasure under theGATT 1947ortheTokyo Round Agreement. Anysuch
notification shallbecirculated bytheWTO Secretariat simultaneously totheMembers ofthe
WTO andtothecontracting parties totheGATT 1947and/or theparties totheTokyo Round
Agreement. These procedures arewithout prejudice toanynotification procedures applicable
inspecific areas.
2. Thecoordination procedures setoutinparagraphs 3and4below shallapply inthe
relations between thebodies referred toinsub-paragraphs (a)to(d)below:
(a) Thefollowing Committees established under theGATT 1947
oraTokyo Round Agreement shallcoordinate theiractivities with
thecorresponding Committees established under theWTO Agreement:
./.WT/L/29
Page2
Committee onTrade andDevelopment,
Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions,
Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices,
Committee onCustoms Valuation,
Committee onImport Licensing,
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures,
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade.
(b) TheCommitteeonTariffConcessionsandtheTechnicalGroup
onQuantitative Restrictions andOther Non-Tariff Measures ofthe
GATT 1947shallcoordinate theiractivities withtheWTO Committee
onMarket Access proposed tobeestablished.
(c) TheWorking Parties established under theGATT 1947 to
examine aregional agreement orarrangement shallcoordinate their
activities withWorking Parties oftheWTO thatexamine thesame
regional agreement orarrangement.1
(d) TheGATT 1947Council ofRepresentatives shallcoordinate
itstradepolicy reviews withthose oftheWTO Trade Policy Review
Body.
3. Thebodies established under theGATT 1947 oraTokyo Round Agreement
thatarereferred toinparagraph 2above shall hold their meetings jointly or
consecutively, asappropriate, withthecorresponding WTO bodies. Inmeetings held
jointly therulesofprocedure tobeapplied bytheWTO bodyshallbefollowed. The
reports onjointmeetings shallbesubmitted tothecompetent bodies established under
theGATT 1947, theTokyo Round Agreements andtheWTO Agreement.
4. Thecoordination ofactivities inaccordance withparagraph 3above shallbe
conducted inamanner which ensures thattheenjoyment oftherights andthe
performance oftheobligations under theGATT 1947, theTokyo Round Agreements
andtheWTO Agreement andtheexercise ofthecompetence oftheCONTRACTING
PARTIES totheGATT 1947, theCommittees established under theTokyo Round
Agreements andthebodies oftheWTO areunaffected.
5. TheCONTRACTINGPARTIEStotheGATT1947,theCommitteesestablished
under theTokyo Round Agreements andtheGeneral Council oftheWTO maydecide
independently toterminate theapplication oftheprovisions setoutinparagraphs 1
to4above.
1TheWorking Parties oftheWTO include Working Parties originating from decisions oftheCONTRACTING
PARTIES totheGATT 1947 thatwere adopted before theentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement andtherefore form part
oftheGATT 1994.