1. Any advantages, favours, privileges or immunities granted by a Contracting Party to a product originating in or intended for any other country shall be, immediately and unconditionally, extended to any similar product originating in or destined for the The territory of all other contracting parties. This provision concerns customs duties and impositions of any kind that affect imports or exports or are levied on the occasion of imports or exports, as well as those imposed on transfers International funds for the settlement of imports or exports, the manner in which these rights and charges are levied, all the regulations and formalities relating to imports or exports, and all Questions that are the subject of s. 2 and 4 of Art. III.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not, in respect of import duties and charges, result in the removal of the preferences listed below, provided that they do not exceed the limits laid down in subs. 4 of this article:

A.

Preferences in effect exclusively between two or more of the territories listed in Schedule A, subject to the conditions set out therein;

B.

Preferences in force exclusively between two or more of the territories which, at 1 ^Er July 1939, were under a sovereignty authority or were united by bonds of protectorate or suzerainty and listed in Annexes B, C and D, subject to the conditions stipulated therein;

C.

Preferences in effect exclusively between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba;

D.

Preferences in force exclusively between neighbouring countries listed in Annexes E and F.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to preferences between countries which were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire and which were detached from them on 24 July 1923, provided that such preferences are Approved under the provisions of para. A from s. 5 of the art. XXV, which shall be applied, in this case, taking into account the provisions of paragraph 1 of the Art. XXIX.

4. With respect to products which enjoy a preference under s. 2 of this Article, the margin of preference, when not expressly provided for a maximum margin of preference in the corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, shall not exceed,

A.

For the rights or charges applicable to the products included in the abovementioned list, the difference between the rate applied to the contracting parties benefiting from the most-favoured-nation treatment and the preferential rate set out in that If the preferential rate is not stipulated, it shall be considered, for the purposes of this paragraph, that this rate is that which was in force on 10 April 1947, and, if the rate applied to the Contracting Parties benefiting from the treatment of the Most favoured nation is not stipulated, the margin of preference will not exceed the difference that Existed on April 10, 1947, between the most-favoured-nation rate and the prime rate;

B.

For the rights or charges applicable to products not included in the corresponding list, the difference which existed on 10 April 1947 between the rate applicable to the most-favoured nation and the prime rate.

With respect to the Contracting Parties listed in Annex G, the date of April 10, 1947, cited in paras. A and b of this paragraph shall be replaced by the dates indicated in this Annex, respectively.

1.

A. Each Contracting Party shall accord to the other Contracting Parties, in commercial matters, treatment which will not be less favourable than that provided for in the appropriate part of the corresponding list attached to this Agreement.

B.

The goods included in the first part of the list relating to one of the Contracting Parties and which are the goods of the territory of other Contracting Parties shall not be submitted, upon importation into the territory to which that Contracting Party applies. List and having regard to the special conditions or clauses stipulated therein, to the customs duties themselves that are higher than those of that list. Similarly, such products shall not be subject to any other rights or charges of any kind levied on importation or on the occasion of importation, which would be higher than those imposed on the date of this Agreement, or those which, as Direct and binding consequence of the legislation in force on that date in the importing territory would be imposed at a later date. ¹

C.

The products referred to in the second part of the list relating to one of the Contracting Parties and which are the products of the territories allowed, in accordance with Article 1, to the benefit of preferential treatment for imports into the territory To which this list relates, shall not be subject, upon importation into that territory and taking into account the special conditions or provisions stipulated therein, to the customs duties themselves higher than those of the second part of that List. Similarly, such products shall not be subject to any other rights or charges of any kind levied on importation or on the occasion of importation, which would be higher than those imposed on the date of this Agreement, or those which, as Direct and binding consequence of the legislation in force on that date in the importing territory would be imposed at a later date. Nothing in this Article shall prevent a Contracting Party from maintaining the requirements existing at the date of this Agreement in respect of the conditions for the admission of products to the benefit of preferential rates.

2. Nothing in this Article shall prevent a Contracting Party from collecting at any time from the importation of any product:

A.

A tax equivalent to a striking domestic tax, in accordance with s. 2 of the art. III, a similar domestic product or a commodity that has been incorporated into the imported article;

B.

Anti-dumping or countervailing duty in accordance with s. I;

C.

Royalties or other rights in proportion to the cost of services rendered.

3. No Contracting Party shall amend its method of determining the value for duty or its method of currency conversion in order to reduce the value of the concessions set out in the corresponding list attached to this Agreement.

4. If one of the Contracting Parties establishes, maintains or authorizes, in law or in fact, a monopoly on the importation of one of the products listed in the corresponding list attached to this Agreement, that monopoly shall not have the effect, unless otherwise provided for Contrary to this list or unless the parties which have originally negotiated the concession agree otherwise, to ensure a higher average protection than that provided for in that list. The provisions of this paragraph shall not limit the use of Contracting Parties to any form of assistance to domestic producers authorized by other provisions of this Agreement.

(5) Where a Contracting Party considers that a specified product does not benefit, from another Contracting Party, from the treatment it believes to derive from a concession listed in the corresponding list attached to this Agreement, it shall Intervene directly with the other Contracting Party. If the latter, while agreeing that the treatment claimed is the one provided for, declares that such treatment cannot be granted because a decision of a court or other competent authority has the effect of May not be classified, according to the customs legislation of that Contracting Party, in such a way as to benefit from the treatment provided for in this Agreement, the two Contracting Parties and any other Contracting Parties concerned with Substantial new negotiations will be undertaken as soon as possible to seek a Fair compensation.

6.

A. The specific rights and charges contained in the lists relating to the Contracting Parties Members of the International Monetary Fund, and the margins of preference applied by the said Contracting Parties in relation to the rights and charges Shall be expressed in the respective currencies of those Parties at the same time accepted or provisionally recognised by the Fund at the date of this Agreement. Consequently, in the event that this pair is reduced, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Statute, more than 20 %, the specific rights or charges and the margins of preference could be adjusted to take account of this Reduction, provided that the contracting parties (that is, the contracting parties acting collectively under s. XXV) agree that these adjustments are not likely to diminish the value of the concessions set out in the corresponding list of this Agreement or elsewhere in this Agreement, taking into account all the factors that may To influence the need or urgency of these adjustments.

B.

In the case of Contracting Parties which are not Members of the Fund, these provisions shall apply to them, mutatis mutandis, from the date on which each of these Contracting Parties becomes Member of the Fund or concludes an agreement Exchange special in accordance with the provisions of Art. XV.

7. The lists attached to this Agreement shall form an integral part of Part 1 of this Agreement.

1. The Contracting Parties recognize that taxes and other domestic charges, as well as laws, regulations and requirements affecting the sale, sale, purchase, transport, distribution or use of products on the Domestic market and quantitative domestic regulations prescribing the mixture, processing or use in specified quantities or quantities of certain products shall not be applied to imported or domestic products of To protect domestic production.

2. The goods of the territory of any Contracting Party imported into the territory of any other Contracting Party shall not be affected, directly or indirectly, by any taxes or other internal charges, of any kind, Above those that affect, directly or indirectly, similar domestic products. In addition, no Contracting Party shall, in any other manner, apply domestic taxes or other charges to imported or domestic products in a manner contrary to the principles set out in paragraph 1.

3. As regards any existing domestic tax, which is incompatible with the provisions of s. 2, but expressly authorized by a trade agreement that was in force on April 10, 1947, and which consolidates the right of entry into the imposed product, it will be open to the Contracting Party applying the tax to be deferred in respect of that tax The application of the provisions of s. 2 until it has been able to obtain from the undertakings entered into under that agreement and thus recover the right to raise this right to the extent necessary to compensate for the abolition of the protection provided by the tax.

4. The goods of the territory of any Contracting Party imported into the territory of any other Contracting Party shall not be treated less favourably than the treatment accorded to similar products of national origin in respect of Covers all laws, regulations or requirements affecting the sale, sale, purchase, transport, distribution and use of these products on the internal market. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prohibit the application of different tariffs for inland transport, based exclusively on the economic use of means of transport and not on the origin of the product.

No Contracting Party shall establish or maintain any internal quantitative regulation concerning the mixing, processing or use, in quantities or in specified proportions, of certain products, which would require, directly or Indirectly, that a specified quantity or proportion of a regulated product comes from domestic sources of production. In addition, no Contracting Party shall otherwise apply domestic quantitative regulations in a manner contrary to the principles set out in paragraph 1.

6. The provisions of s. 5 shall not apply to any domestic quantitative regulation in force in the territory of a Contracting Party to the ^Er July 1939, 10 April 1947 or 24 March 1948, at the option of the Contracting Party, provided that no such regulation is made which would be contrary to the provisions of subs. 5 prejudicial to imports and that the regulation in question is regarded as a customs duty for the purposes of negotiations.

7. No domestic quantitative regulations concerning the mixing, processing or use of products in specified quantities or proportions shall be applied in such a way as to apportion such quantities or proportions between sources External supply.

8.

The provisions of this Article shall not apply to laws, regulations and requirements governing the acquisition by government bodies of products purchased for the purposes of public authorities and not to be resold in the Trade or for the production of goods for sale in commerce.

B.

The provisions of this Article shall not prohibit the allocation solely to domestic producers of subsidies, including subsidies from the proceeds of domestic taxes or charges which are applied in accordance with the provisions of the Article and subsidies in the form of the purchase of national products by or on behalf of the public authorities.

9. The Contracting Parties acknowledge that the control of domestic prices by setting of maxima, even if it complies with the other provisions of this Article, may have detrimental effects on the interests of the Contracting Parties which Supply imported products. Consequently, the Contracting Parties applying such measures shall take into account the interests of the exporting Contracting Parties in order to avoid such adverse effects, to the extent possible.

10. The provisions of this Article shall not prevent a Contracting Party from establishing or maintaining an inner quantitative regulation on cinematographic films impressed, in accordance with the requirements of Art. IV.

If a Contracting Party establishes or maintains domestic quantitative regulation on cinematographic films impressed, this regulation will take the form of on-screen quotas in accordance with the following conditions:

A.

The on-screen quotas may include the obligation to project, for a specified period of at least one year, films of national origin for a minimum fraction of the total projection time actually used for the presentation Of films of any origin; these quotas shall be fixed according to the annual projection time of each room or according to its equivalent.

B.

It may not, in law or in fact, be operated on the distribution between productions of various origins for the part of the projection time which has not been reserved, by virtue of a quota on the screen, to films of national origin, or which, having Reserved to them, would have been made available, by administrative measure.

C.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (b) of this Article, Contracting Parties may maintain on-screen quotas in accordance with the conditions of paragraph (a) of this Article and shall maintain a minimum fraction of the projection time Films of a specific origin, irrespective of the national films, provided that this fraction is not higher than at the date of 10 April 1947.

D.

The on-screen quotas will be the subject of negotiations aimed at limiting their scope, making them more flexible or eliminating them.

1. Goods (including luggage) as well as ships and other means of transport shall be regarded as being in transit through the territory of a Contracting Party, when the passage through that territory, whether or not it is carried out With transhipment, storage, load failure or change in the mode of transport, shall constitute only a fraction of a complete journey that begins and ends beyond the boundaries of the Contracting Party in whose territory it takes place. In this section, such traffic is referred to as "in-transit traffic".

2. There shall be freedom of transit through the territory of the Contracting Parties for traffic in transit to or from the territory of other Contracting Parties using the most convenient routes for international transit. No distinction shall be made on the basis of the flag of ships or vessels, the place of origin, points of departure, entry, exit or destination, or considerations relating to the ownership of goods, ships, boats, or Other means of transport.

3. Any Contracting Party may require that transit traffic through its territory be the subject of a declaration at the customs office concerned; however, except where there is a failure to comply with customs laws and regulations Applicable, transport of that nature from or to the territory of other Contracting Parties shall not be subject to unnecessary delays or restrictions and shall be exempt from customs duties and all rights of transit or Any other taxation in respect of transit, with the exception of transport costs, or Charges corresponding to the administrative expenditure caused by the transit or the cost of the services rendered.

4. All rights and regulations applied by the Contracting Parties to traffic in transit from or to the territory of other Contracting Parties shall be equitable, having regard to the conditions of the traffic.

5. In respect of all rights, regulations and formalities relating to transit, each Contracting Party shall accord to traffic in transit from or to the territory of any other Contracting Party a treatment no less In favour of the one granted to traffic in transit from or to any third country.

(6) Each Contracting Party shall accord to products which have been in transit through the territory of any other Contracting Party treatment no less favourable than that which would have been granted to them if they had been transported from their place Of origin at their place of destination without passing through that territory. However, it will be open to any Contracting Party to maintain the conditions of direct shipment in force on the date of this Agreement in respect of all goods for which the direct shipment constitutes a condition of admission to the Benefit of preferential rights or intervenes in the method of assessment prescribed by that Contracting Party with a view to the fixing of customs duties.

7. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to aircraft in transit, but shall be applicable to the air transit of goods (including luggage).

1. The contracting parties recognize that the dumping, which permits the introduction of a country's products into the market of another country at a price below their normal value, is reprehensible if it causes or threatens to cause material injury to the An established production of a Contracting Party or a significant delay in the creation of a national production. For the purposes of this Article, a product exported from one country to another shall be considered to be entered on the market of an importing country at a price below its normal value, if the price of that product is:

A.

Less than the comparable price in the ordinary course of trade for a similar product intended for consumption in the exporting country;

B.

Or, in the absence of such a price in the domestic market of the latter country, if the price of the exported product is:

I.

Less than the highest comparable price for the export of a similar product to a third country in the course of normal commercial operations,

Ii.

Or less than the cost of producing this product in the country of origin, plus a reasonable supplement for selling expenses and profit.

Account shall be taken, in each case, of differences in conditions of sale, differences in taxation and other differences affecting price comparability.

2. In order to neutralize or prevent dumping, any contracting party may levy on any dumped product an anti-dumping duty that is not greater than the margin of dumping for that product. For the purposes of this Article, the difference in prices determined in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 shall be understood by margin of dumping.

3. It shall not be levied on a product of the territory of a Contracting Party, imported into the territory of another Contracting Party, no countervailing duty in excess of the estimated amount of the premium or grant known to have been granted, Directly or indirectly, in the manufacture, production or export of the said product in the country of origin or export, including any special subsidy granted for the transportation of a specified product. The term "countervailing duty" means a special duty levied in order to offset any premium or subsidy granted, directly or indirectly, to the manufacture, production or export of a product.

4. No product of the territory of a Contracting Party, imported into the territory of another Contracting Party, shall be subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties by reason of the fact that it is exempt from the duties or taxes imposed on the Similar product when it is intended to be consumed in the country of origin or the country of export, or the fact that these duties or taxes are refunded.

5. No product of the territory of a Contracting Party, imported into the territory of another Contracting Party, shall be subject to both anti-dumping and countervailing duties in order to remedy the same situation resulting from the Dumping or export subsidies.

6.

A. No Contracting Party shall collect anti-dumping or countervailing duty on the importation of a product from the territory of another Contracting Party, unless it determines that the effect of the dumping or subsidy, as the case may be, Is such that it causes or threatens to cause material injury to an established domestic production, or that it substantially delays the creation of a domestic industry.

B.

Contracting Parties may, by way of derogation from the provisions of subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, permit a Contracting Party to levy an anti-dumping duty or countervailing duty on the importation of any product in order to compensate for a Dumping or a subsidy that causes or threatens to cause material injury to a branch of the production in the territory of another Contracting Party that exports the product in issue to the territory of the Contracting Party Importer. Contracting Parties, by way of derogation from the provisions of subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, shall permit the collection of a countervailing duty in cases where they will find that a subsidy causes or is threatening to cause material injury to a Production of another Contracting Party exporting the product in question in the territory of the importing Contracting Party.

C.

However, in exceptional circumstances where any delay could result in irreparable damage, a Contracting Party may, without the prior approval of the Contracting Parties, levy a countervailing duty for the purposes of Referred to in para. B of this paragraph, provided that it provides immediate account of this measure to the Contracting Parties and that the countervailing duty is promptly removed if the Contracting Parties disapprove of the application.

7. It will be assumed that a system intended to stabilize either the domestic price of a commodity product or the gross revenue of the domestic producers of such a product, irrespective of the movements of export prices, and which sometimes Result the sale of this product for export at a price lower than the comparable price charged for a product similar to purchasers of the internal market, does not result in material injury within the meaning of subs. 6, if it is established after consultation between the two Contracting Parties concerned substantially with the product in question:

A.

That this system has also resulted in the export sale of this product at a price above the comparable price charged for the product similar to purchasers of the internal market;

B.

And that this system, as a result of the effective regulation of production, or for any other reason, is applied in such a way that it does not unduly stimulate exports or cause any other serious prejudice to the interests of other parties Contracting.

The Contracting Parties acknowledge, with regard to the determination of value for duty, the validity of the general principles contained in the following paragraphs of this Article and undertake to apply them in respect of All goods subject to customs duties or other import and export restrictions or restrictions based on value or function in any manner of value. In addition, whenever requested by another Contracting Party, they shall, in the light of those principles, consider the application of any law and any regulations relating to value for duty. The Contracting Parties may request the Contracting Parties to provide them with reports on the measures they have taken in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

2.

A. The value for duty of the imported goods should be based on the actual value of the imported good to which the right or similar good applies and should not be based on the value of domestically produced goods Or arbitrary or fictitious values.

B.

The "real value" should be the price at which, in time and place determined by the legislation of the country of importation, the imported goods or the like goods are sold or offered for sale on the occasion of commercial transactions Normal conditions under arm's length conditions. To the extent that the price of these goods or the like goods depends on the quantity on which a particular transaction is based, the price to be taken into account should relate, following the choice made once and for all Importing countries, either 1 to comparable quantities, or ii to quantities fixed in a manner that is at least as favourable to the importer as if one took the largest volume of those goods which actually gave rise to Trade transactions between the country of export and the country of import.

C.

In the event that it is impossible to determine the actual value by complying with the terms of para. B of this paragraph, the value for duty should be based on the verifiable equivalence as close as possible to that value.

3. The value for duty of any imported good should not include any domestic tax payable in the country of origin or source of which the imported good would have been exempt or for which the amount would have been or would be The purpose of a refund.

4.

A. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, where a Contracting Party is in need, for the purposes of applying subs. 2 of this Article, to convert in its own currency a price expressed in the currency of another country, the conversion rate to be adopted shall be based, for each currency, on the parity established in accordance with the Statute of the International Monetary Fund, On the exchange rate recognized by the Fund or on the parity established in accordance with a special exchange agreement entered into under s. XV of this Agreement.

B.

In the absence of such parity and a recognized exchange rate, the conversion rate will have to correspond to the current value of that currency in commercial transactions.

C.

The Contracting Parties, in agreement with the International Monetary Fund, shall formulate the rules governing the conversion by the Contracting Parties of any foreign currency in respect of which multiple exchange rates have been maintained in Compliance of the International Monetary Fund Statute. Each Contracting Party may apply the rules in question to such foreign currencies for the purposes of application of s. 2 of this article, instead of relying on parities. Pending the adoption of the rules by the Contracting Parties, each Contracting Party may, for the purposes of the application of s. 2 of this Article, apply to any foreign currency conforming to the conditions laid down in this paragraph of the conversion rules intended to effectively express the value of that foreign currency in commercial transactions.

D.

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as obliging a Contracting Party to provide for the mode of conversion of currencies which, for the determination of value for duty, is applicable in its territory as of the date of the Agreement on amendments which would have the effect of generally increasing the amount of customs duties payable.

5. The criteria and methods for determining the value of goods subject to customs duties or other impositions or restrictions based on value or function in any manner of value should be constant and should Receive the publicity necessary to enable traders to determine the value for duty with sufficient approximation.

1.

A. All royalties and charges of any kind, other than import and export duties and taxes under s. III, perceived by the Contracting Parties to import or export or on the occasion of import or export, shall be limited to the approximate cost of the services rendered and shall not constitute indirect protection of the Domestic products or taxes on import or export.

B.

The Contracting Parties acknowledge the need to restrict the number and diversity of the charges and charges referred to in para. A.

C.

The Contracting Parties also recognize the need to minimize the effects and complexity of import and export formalities and to reduce and simplify the requirements for import documentation and Export.

2. A Contracting Party, at the request of another Contracting Party or of the Contracting Parties, shall examine the application of its laws and regulations, taking into account the provisions of this Article.

3. No Contracting Party shall impose severe penalties for minor infringements of the customs procedure or procedure. In particular, pecuniary penalties imposed on the occasion of an omission or error in documents submitted to customs shall not exceed, for errors or omissions which are easily repairable and manifestly ill-intentioned Fraudulent or not a gross negligence, the amount necessary to constitute a mere warning.

(4) The provisions of this Article shall extend to charges, charges, formalities and requirements imposed by governmental or administrative authorities on the occasion of import and export operations, including charges, Relative impositions, formalities and requirements:

A.

Consular procedures, such as invoices and consular certificates;

B.

Quantitative restrictions;

C.

Licences;

D.

Exchange control;

E.

Statistical services;

F.

Parts to be produced, documentation and certification;

G.

Analyses and audits;

H.

Quarantine, sanitary inspection and disinfection.

With regard to the regulation of marking, each Contracting Party shall accord to the products of the territory of other Contracting Parties a treatment which shall not be less favourable than the treatment accorded to the goods Any third country.

2. The Contracting Parties recognize that, in the establishment and enforcement of laws and regulations relating to origin marks, the difficulties and disadvantages of such measures should be minimized. Training for the trade and production of exporting countries, taking due account of the need to protect consumers against fraudulent or misleading indications.

3. Whenever possible from an administrative point of view, the Contracting Parties should permit the affixing, at the time of importation, of the marks of origin.

4. With regard to the marking of imported products, the laws and regulations of the contracting parties will be such that they can be complied with without causing serious damage to the products, or substantially reducing their value, or Unduly increase their cost of return.

5. In general, no contracting party should impose a fine or special duty where there has been a failure to comply with the marking regulations prior to importation, unless the marking of the marking is unduly rectified Or that marks of a kind to be misleading have not been affixed or that the marking has been intentionally omitted.

The Contracting Parties shall cooperate with a view to preventing trade marks from being used in such a way as to mislead the true origin of the product, to the detriment of designations of regional or geographical origin Goods of the territory of a Contracting Party which are protected by its legislation. Each Contracting Party shall give full and sympathetic consideration to any request or representation that may be made to it by another Contracting Party concerning abuse such as those mentioned above in this paragraph Has been reported by that other Contracting Party concerning the appellations which it will have communicated to the first Contracting Party.

1. Laws, regulations, judicial and administrative decisions of general application made enforceable by any Contracting Party concerning the classification or assessment of goods for customs purposes, customs duty rates, taxes And other impositions, or the requirements, restrictions or prohibitions relating to the import or export, or the transfer of payments relating to them, or which affect the sale, distribution, transport, insurance, storage, Inspection, exposure, processing, mixing or other use Of these products, will be published promptly, in order to allow governments and traders to become acquainted with them. International trade policy agreements that would be in force between the government or a government agency of any contracting party and the government or a government agency of another contracting party Will also be published. The provisions of this paragraph shall not oblige a Contracting Party to disclose confidential information the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, would be contrary to the public interest, or prejudice the Legitimate commercial interests of public or private enterprises.

2. No general measures which may be taken by a Contracting Party and which would result in the raising of a customs duty or other imposition on importation according to established and uniform uses or where it would result, for the purposes of Imports or transfers of funds relating to imports, a new or aggravated limitation or prohibition, or a new or aggravated prohibition, will not be put into effect until it has been officially published.

3.

Each Contracting Party shall apply in a uniform, impartial and equitable manner all the regulations, laws, judicial and administrative decisions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

B.

Each Contracting Party shall maintain, or institute as soon as possible, judicial, administrative or arbitration courts or tribunals in order, inter alia, to review and rectify the administrative measures promptly Relating to customs matters. These courts or tribunals shall be independent of the bodies responsible for the application of administrative measures, and their decisions shall be executed by those bodies and shall govern the administrative practice, unless the appeal is lodged To a higher court within the prescribed time limits for appeals lodged by importers, provided that the central administration of such an organisation can take measures to obtain a revision of the case in a Other action, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the decision is inconsistent with the The principles of law or the facts of the case.

C.

Nothing in para. B of this paragraph shall not require the deletion or replacement of the existing bodies in the territory of a Contracting Party at the date of this Agreement and which ensure, in fact, an impartial and objective revision of administrative decisions, Even these bodies would not be entirely or formally independent of the bodies responsible for implementing the administrative measures. Any Contracting Party which uses such proceedings shall, when invited to do so, communicate in this matter to the Contracting Parties all information enabling the Contracting Parties to decide whether those bodies meet the conditions laid down In this paragraph.

(1) No Contracting Party shall establish or maintain import of a good originating in the territory of another Contracting Party in the export or sale for the export of a product destined for the territory of another Party Contracting, prohibitions or restrictions other than customs duties, taxes or other charges, whether the application is made by means of quotas, import or export licences or any other process.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not extend to the following cases:

A.

Export prohibitions or restrictions temporarily applied to prevent a critical situation due to a shortage of food products or other essential products for the exporting contracting party, or to remedy this Situation;

B.

Prohibitions or restrictions on imports or exports, necessary for the application of standards or regulations concerning the classification, quality control or marketing of products intended for international trade;

C.

Restrictions on the importation of any agricultural or fishery product, regardless of the form in which the product is imported, when necessary for the application of government measures having the effect of:

I

Restrict the quantity of the like domestic product that can be put on sale or produced or, in the absence of significant domestic production of the like product, that of a domestic product to which the imported product can be substituted directly,

Ii.

Or to eliminate a temporary surplus of the like domestic product or, in the absence of significant domestic production of the like product, that of a domestic product to which the imported product can be substituted directly, by putting that surplus to the Provision of certain consumer groups in the country free of charge or at prices below market prices,

Iii

Or restrict the quantity that may be produced of any product of animal origin whose production depends directly, in whole or for the most part, on the imported product, if the domestic production of that product is relatively Negligible.

Any Contracting Party applying restrictions on the importation of a product in accordance with the provisions of para. C of this paragraph shall publish the total volume or value of the product whose importation will be authorized for a specified period of time and any changes in that volume or value. In addition, the restrictions applied in accordance with subparagraph (i) above shall not have the effect of lowering the ratio of total imports to the total of domestic production below that which could be Reasonably expect to establish itself in the absence of any restrictions. In determining what would be in the absence of any restrictions, the Contracting Party will give due consideration to the proportion or report that existed in a previous reference period and any special factors that may or may be Affect trade in the product in question.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of Art. XI, any Contracting Party, with a view to safeguarding its external financial position and the balance of its balance of payments, may restrict the volume or value of the goods for which it authorizes the import, subject to the provisions The following paragraphs of this Article.

2.

A. The import restrictions set up, maintained or reinforced by a Contracting Party under this Article shall not go beyond what is necessary:

I.

To oppose the imminent threat of a significant decline in its currency reserves or to put an end to this decline;

Ii.

Or to raise its monetary reserves in accordance with a reasonable rate of increase, in the event that they are very low.

In both cases, due account shall be taken of all the special factors affecting the currency reserves of the Contracting Party or its requirements for monetary reserves, in particular, when it has special external credits or Other resources, the need to provide for the appropriate use of these resources or resources.

B.

Contracting Parties applying restrictions under para. This paragraph will gradually mitigate them as the situation contemplated by the present paragraph improves; they will maintain them only to the extent that this situation will still justify the application. They will eliminate them when the situation no longer justifies their institution or their continuation in. Under that paragraph.

3.

A. In the implementation of their national policy, the contracting parties undertake to take due account of the need to maintain or restore balance of their balance of payments on a sound and sustainable basis and of opportunity To prevent their productive resources from being used in an anti-economic way. They recognize that, for these purposes, it is desirable to adopt as far as possible development measures rather than the contraction of international trade.

B.

Contracting Parties applying restrictions in accordance with this Article will be able to determine the impact of these restrictions on imports of different products or categories of products in order to give effect to the Priority for importing products that are most needed.

C.

The Contracting Parties applying restrictions in accordance with this Article shall undertake:

I.

Avoid unnecessary damage to the commercial or economic interests of any other Contracting Party;

Ii.

To refrain from imposing restrictions that would unduly impede the importation into small commercial quantities of goods of any nature, the exclusion of which would interfere with normal trade flows;

Iii.

And to refrain from applying restrictions that would interfere with the importation of commercial samples or compliance with procedures relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights and reproduction or other similar procedures.

D.

The Contracting Parties recognize that the policy pursued at the national level by a Contracting Party in order to achieve and maintain full productive employment or to ensure the development of economic resources may result in That contracting party has a strong demand for imports that includes, for its monetary reserves, a threat of the kind referred to in para. A from s. 2 of this article. Consequently, a Contracting Party which complies, in all other respects, with the provisions of this Article shall not be required to delete or amend any restrictions, given that, if a change was made to that policy, the Restrictions that it applies under this Article would cease to be necessary.

4.

A. Any Contracting Party which applies new restrictions or which raises the general level of the existing restrictions by substantially strengthening the measures applied under this Article shall, immediately after having Established or strengthened these restrictions (or, in the event that prior consultations are possible in practice, prior to having done so), enter into consultations with the Contracting Parties on the nature of the difficulties associated with its Balance of payments, the various remedies between which it has the choice, and the Potential impact of these restrictions on the economy of other contracting parties.

B.

On a date to be fixed, the Contracting Parties shall review all restrictions which, on that date, will still be applied under this Article. At the expiration of a period of one year from the above date, the Contracting Parties which will apply import restrictions under this Article shall enter into each year with the Contracting Parties of the type consultations Provided for in para. In this paragraph.

C. I. If, during consultations with a Contracting Party in accordance with para. A or al. B above, it appears to the Contracting Parties that the restrictions are not compatible with the provisions of this Article or those of Art. XIII (subject to the provisions of s. XIV), they will indicate the points of divergence and may advise that any appropiate changes are made to the restrictions.

Ii.

However, if, as a result of these consultations, the Contracting Parties determine that the restrictions are applied in a manner which contains a serious incompatibility with the provisions of this Article or those of Art. XIII (subject to the provisions of s. XIV) and resulting in injury or threat of injury to the trade of a Contracting Party, they shall notify the Contracting Party applying the restrictions and shall make appropriate recommendations to ensure compliance, Within a specified period of time, of the provisions concerned. If the Contracting Party fails to comply with those recommendations within the time limit fixed, the Contracting Parties may identify any Contracting Party, whose trade would be affected by the restrictions, from any obligation arising from the present Agreement which it will appear appropiate to them, bearing in mind the circumstances, towards the Contracting Party applying the restrictions.

D.

Contracting Parties shall invite any Contracting Party which applies restrictions under this Article to enter into consultations with them at the request of any Contracting Party which may establish prima facie that the restrictions Are inconsistent with the provisions of this section or those of s. XIII (subject to the provisions of s. XIV) and that its trade is reached. However, this invitation will be addressed only if the contracting parties have found that the talks directly engaged between the contracting parties concerned have not been concluded. If no agreement is reached as a result of consultations with the Contracting Parties and if the Contracting Parties determine that the restrictions are applied in a manner inconsistent with the above provisions and resulting Injury or threat of injury to the trade of the Contracting Party that initiated the proceeding, will recommend the removal or modification of the restrictions. If the restrictions are not withdrawn or modified within the time limit which may be fixed by the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Parties will be able to identify the Contracting Party which has initiated the procedure for any obligation arising from this Agreement, of which it It will be appropriate to relieve them, in the circumstances, of the Contracting Party applying the restrictions.

E.

In any proceedings initiated in accordance with this paragraph, the Contracting Parties shall give due consideration to any special external factors affecting the export trade of the Contracting Party applying restrictions.

F.

The determinations referred to in this paragraph shall be made promptly and, if possible, within 60 days of the date on which the consultations are initiated.

5. In the event that the application of import restrictions under this Article would be sustainable and extended, which would indicate a general imbalance reducing the volume of international trade, the Contracting Parties Begin discussions to examine whether further action could be taken, either by contracting parties whose balance of payments tends to be unfavourable, or by those whose balance of payments tends to be exceptionally balanced Favourable, or still by any competent intergovernmental organization, in order to Disappearing the root causes of this imbalance. At the invitation of the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Parties shall take part in the above-mentioned talks.

(1) No prohibition or restriction shall be applied by a Contracting Party to the importation of a good originating in the territory of another Contracting Party or to the exportation of a product destined for the territory of another Contracting Party, Unless similar prohibitions or restrictions are applied to the import of the like product originating in any third country or to the export of the like product to any third country.

2. In the application of the restrictions on the importation of any product, the Contracting Parties shall endeavour to achieve a distribution of the trade in that product, to the extent possible, to the extent possible that, in the absence of These restrictions, the various Contracting Parties would be entitled to expect, and, to that end, the following provisions shall be observed:

A.

Wherever possible, quotas representing the overall amount of permitted imports (whether or not they are distributed among the supplier countries) will be fixed and the amount will be published in accordance with par. B at par. 3 of this article.

B.

Where it is not possible to set global quotas, the restrictions may be applied by means of import licences or permits without a global quota.

C.

Unless it is a question of having the quotas allocated in accordance with para. D of this paragraph, the Contracting Parties shall not prescribe that import permits or permits be used for the importation of the subject goods from a specified source of supply or country.

D.

In cases where a quota is allocated among the supplying countries, the Contracting Party applying the restrictions may agree on the allocation of the quota with all other Contracting Parties with an interest Substantial to the supply of the intended product. In cases where it is really not possible to apply this method, the Contracting Party in question will assign, to the Contracting Parties having a substantial interest in the supply of that product, shares proportional to the The contribution made by the said Contracting Parties to the total volume or total value of imports of the product in question in a previous reference period, taking due account of all the special factors which may or may have been Can affect the trade in this product. No requirement or formality shall be imposed in order to prevent a Contracting Party from fully using the share of the total volume or the total value assigned to it, provided that the import is made on time Set for the use of this quota.

3.

A. In cases where import permits are granted in the context of import restrictions, the Contracting Party applying a restriction will, at the request of any Contracting Party interested in the trade in the relevant product, provide Any relevant information on the application of this restriction, the import permits granted during a recent period and the distribution of such licenses between the supplier countries, on the understanding that it will not be required to disclose the Name of importing or supplier establishments.

B.

In the case of import restrictions involving the setting of quotas, the Contracting Party that applies them shall publish the total volume or total value of the product (s) whose importation will be authorized in a later period Specified and any changes in this volume or value. If one of these products is on the way at the time the publication is made, the entry will not be refused. However, it will be permissible to attribute this product, to the extent possible, to the quantity authorized for importation during the period in question and, where applicable, the quantity allowed for importation during the period Or subsequent periods. In addition, if, in the usual way, a Contracting Party waives those restrictions on goods which, within thirty days from the date of such publication, are released on arrival of the alien or at the exit of a warehouse, Shall be regarded as fully satisfactory to the requirements of this paragraph.

C.

In the case of quotas distributed among the supplier countries, the Contracting Party applying the restriction shall promptly inform all other contracting parties concerned of the supply of the product in question from the A quota, expressed in terms of volume or value, which is allocated, for the current period, to the various supplying countries and will publish all relevant information in this regard.

4. With respect to the restrictions applied in accordance with para. D of s. 2 of this article or in para. C from s. 2 of the art. XI, the choice, for any product, of a reference period and the assessment of the special factors affecting the trade in that product will, at the outset, be made by the Contracting Party establishing the restriction. However, the said Contracting Party, at the request of any other Contracting Party with a substantial interest in the supply of that product or at the request of the Contracting Parties, shall enter without delay in consultation with the other Party Contracting Parties or Contracting Parties with regard to the need to review the allocated percentage or reference period, to re-assess the special factors which are taken into account, or to remove the conditions, formalities, or Other provisions prescribed unilaterally and relating to the allocation of a quota Appropriate or unrestricted use.

5. The provisions of this Article shall apply to any tariff quota instituted or maintained by a Contracting Party, in addition, to the extent possible, the principles of this Article shall also apply to restrictions on Export.

1.

A. The contracting parties recognize that the aftermath of the war creates serious economic rehabilitation problems that do not allow for the immediate establishment of a comprehensive non-discrimination regime with regard to quantitative restrictions And it is therefore necessary to establish the exceptional transitional arrangements which are the subject of this paragraph.

B.

A Contracting Party that applies restrictions under s. XII may, in the application of these restrictions, derogate from the provisions of s. XIII to the extent that such derogations will have an effect equivalent to that of the restrictions on payments and transfers relating to current international transactions that this Contracting Party is authorized to apply at the same time under Art. XIV of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, or by virtue of a similar provision of a special exchange agreement concluded in accordance with paragraph 1. 6 of the art. XV.

C.

A Contracting Party that applies restrictions under s. XII and which, in order to protect its balance of payments, would apply as of the date of 1 ^Er March 1948 restrictions on importation, derogating from the rules of non-discrimination set out in s. XIII, may continue to derogate from those rules to the extent that, by that date, the provisions of para. B would not have permitted such derogations, and it may adapt those derogations to the circumstances.

D.

Any Contracting Party which has signed " before 1 ^Er July 1948, the Protocol of Provisional Application adopted at Geneva on 30 October 1947, which provisionally accepted the principles set out in paragraph 1 of the Art. 23 of the draft Charter submitted to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment by the Preparatory Commission, may, before 1 ^Er January 1949, indicate in writing to the Contracting Parties that it chooses to apply the provisions of Annex J to this Agreement, which incorporates these principles, instead of the provisions of paras. B and c of this paragraph. The provisions of paras. B and c shall not apply to the Contracting Parties which have opted for Annex J; conversely, the provisions of Annex J shall not apply to those Contracting Parties which have not made that choice.

E.

The general import restriction policy applied under paras. B and c or under Annex J during the post-war transitional period should promote as much as possible the maximum development of multilateral trade during the post-war period and restore the balance as soon as possible Payments in such a way that it is no longer necessary to use the provisions of s. XII or transitional exchange arrangements.

F.

A Contracting Party may not invoke the provisions of paras. B and c of this paragraph or those in Schedule J to derogate from the provisions of s. XIII, during the period in which the provisions relating to the post-war transitional period provided for in Art. XIV of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund or a similar provision of a special exchange agreement concluded under s. 6 of the art. XV.

G.

The 1 ^Er March 1950 at the latest (three years after the date on which the International Monetary Fund began its operations) and in each subsequent year, the Contracting Parties will report on the measures that will still be Applied by Contracting Parties under the provisions of par. B and c of this paragraph or under those of Annex J. In March 1952 and in the course of each subsequent year, any Contracting Party still entitled to take action under the provisions of para. C or those in Annex J will consult with the Contracting Parties on the measures still in force that derogate from the rules of Art. XIII under those provisions and on the utility of continuing to make use of those provisions. After 1 ^Er March 1952, any measure taken under Annex J going beyond the maintenance in force of the derogations which have been the subject of the consultation and that the Contracting Parties will not have considered unjustified or beyond their adaptation In the circumstances, will be subject to any general limitation which the Contracting Parties may prescribe taking into account the situation of the Contracting Party.

H.

Contracting Parties may, if exceptional circumstances appear to render such action necessary, represent to any Contracting Party that is authorized to take action under the provisions of para. C that the conditions are favourable to terminate a specific exemption from the provisions of s. XIII or to cease all exemptions covered by the provisions of this paragraph. After March III, 1952, the Contracting Parties may, in exceptional circumstances, make similar representations to a Contracting Party acting under Annex J. The Contracting Party shall have a reasonable period of time To respond to these representations. If the Contracting Parties subsequently find that the Contracting Party continues to derogate, without justification, from the provisions of Art. XIII, the Contracting Party shall, within sixty days, limit or delete the derogations that may be specified by the Contracting Parties.

2. A Contracting Party that applies import restrictions under s. XII or section B of s. XVIII may, with the consent of the Contracting Parties, temporarily derogate from the provisions of Art. XIII for a small part of its foreign trade, if the benefits that the Contracting Party or the Contracting Parties in question derive from that derogation substantially outweigh any damage that might result For the trade of other Contracting Parties.

3. The provisions of s. XIII shall not prevent a group of territories having, at the International Monetary Fund, a common share, from applying to imports from other countries, but not their mutual trade, restrictions compatible with the Provisions of s. XII or section B of s. XVIII, provided that these restrictions are, in all other respects, compatible with the provisions of s. XIII.

4. The provisions of s. XI to XV or Section B of Art. XVIII of this Agreement shall not prevent a Contracting Party which applies import restrictions compatible with the provisions of Art. XII or section B of s. XVIII, to apply measures designed to guide its exports in such a way as to ensure a supplement to the currency which it may use without derogating from the provisions of Art. XIII.

5. The provisions of s. XI to XV or Section B of Art. XVIII of this Agreement shall not prevent a Contracting Party from applying:

A.

Quantitative restrictions having an effect equivalent to that of the exchange restrictions permitted under para. B of section 3 of s. VII of the Statute of the International Monetary Fund;

B.

Or quantitative restrictions established in accordance with the preferential agreements provided for in Annex A to this Agreement, pending the outcome of the negotiations referred to in that Annex.

The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to cooperate with the International Monetary Fund in order to pursue a coordinated policy on exchange issues within the competence of the Fund and the issues of restrictions Quantitative or other trade measures falling within the competence of the Contracting Parties.

2. In all cases where the contracting parties will be called upon to examine or resolve problems relating to the currency reserves, the balances of payments or the exchange provisions, they shall enter into close consultations With the International Monetary Fund. During these consultations, the Contracting Parties will accept all factual, statistical or other findings, which will be communicated to them by the Fund with respect to foreign exchange, currency reserves and balance of payments. Accept the conclusions of the Fund on the compliance of the measures taken by a contracting party with the International Monetary Fund's Articles of Agreement or with the provisions of a special exchange agreement concluded between that Party Contracting Parties and Contracting Parties. When they have to make their final decision in the event that the criteria set out in paragraph a of subs are taken into account. 2 of the art. XII or subs. 9 of art. XVIII, the Contracting Parties will accept the Fund's conclusions as to whether the dollar reserves of the Contracting Party have suffered a significant decline, whether they are at a very low level or if they have been raised According to a reasonable rate of increase, as well as the financial aspects of the other problems to which the consultations will extend in such cases.

The Contracting Parties shall seek an agreement with the Fund on the consultation procedure referred to in par. 2 of this article.

(4) The Contracting Parties shall refrain from any exchange measure which would be contrary to the objective of the provisions of this Agreement and any trade measure which would be contrary to the objective set out in the Articles of Agreement of the Fund International monetary policy.

5. If, at any time, the Contracting Parties consider that a Contracting Party applies exchange restrictions on payments and transfers relating to imports in a manner inconsistent with the exceptions As provided for in this Agreement with regard to quantitative restrictions, they shall report to the Fund on this subject.

(6) Any Contracting Party which is not a Member of the Fund shall, within a time limit to be fixed by the Contracting Parties after consulting the Fund, become a Member of the Fund, or, failing that, enter into a special exchange agreement with the Contracting Parties. A Contracting Party which ceases to be a Member of the Fund shall immediately enter into a special exchange agreement with the Contracting Parties. Any special exchange agreement entered into by a Contracting Party under this paragraph shall, at its conclusion, form part of the commitments of that Contracting Party under this Agreement.

7.

A. Any special exchange agreement between a Contracting Party and the Contracting Parties under s. 6 of this Article shall contain the provisions which the Contracting Parties shall deem necessary in order for the measures taken in the exchange of currency by that Contracting Party to be contrary to this Agreement.

B.

The terms of such an agreement shall not impose on the foreign exchange contracting party more restrictive obligations as a whole than those imposed on Members of the Fund by the Articles of Agreement of that Fund.

8. Any Contracting Party which is not a Member of the Fund shall provide the Contracting Parties with the information which they may request, within the general framework of Section 5 of Art. VIII of the Statute of the International Monetary Fund, with a view to fulfilling the functions assigned to them by this Agreement.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall have the effect of prohibiting:

A.

The use by a contracting party of foreign exchange controls or restrictions that would be in accordance with the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund or the special exchange agreement concluded by that Contracting Party with the parties Contracting;

B.

Or the use by a Contracting Party of restrictions or control measures relating to imports or exports, the only effect of which, in addition to the effects admitted by s. XI, XII, XIII and XIV would be to ensure the application of control measures or exchange restrictions of this nature.

Section A-Grants in general

1. If a Contracting Party grants or maintains a grant, including any form of income protection or price support, which directly or indirectly has the effect of increasing the exports of a product of the territory of the said Contracting Party or to reduce imports of this product in its territory, that Contracting Party shall make known in writing to the Contracting Parties the importance and nature of that subsidy, the effects which it is permitted to rely on The quantities of the product (s) in question imported or exported by it and the circumstances That make the grant necessary. In all cases where it will be established that such a subsidy is causing or threatening to cause serious prejudice to the interests of another Contracting Party, the Contracting Party that grants it will consider, when invited, the other Party Contracting Parties or other Contracting Parties concerned or with the Contracting Parties, the possibility of limiting the grant.

Section B-Additional provisions for export subsidies

(2) The Contracting Parties recognize that the granting by a Contracting Party of a subsidy to the export of a product may have adverse consequences for other Contracting Parties, whether they are importing countries or Which may cause undue interference in their normal commercial interests and may impede the achievement of the objectives of this Agreement.

3. As a result, Contracting Parties should endeavour to avoid the granting of export subsidies for commodities. However, if a Contracting Party grants directly or indirectly, in any form, a subsidy having the effect of increasing the export of a basic product from its territory, that grant shall not be granted In such a way that the said Contracting Party would then hold more than a fair share of the world trade in the export of that product, taking into account the shares held by the contracting parties in the trade in that product for a period of time Previous reference and any special factors that may have affected or May affect the trade in question.

4. In addition, from 1 ^Er January 1958 or as soon as possible after that date, the contracting parties shall cease to grant, directly or indirectly, any grant, of any kind, to the export of any product other than a basic product, which would have For the result of reducing the selling price to the export of this product below the comparable price charged to purchasers of the domestic market for the like product. Until 31 December 1957, no Contracting Party shall extend the scope of such subsidies beyond the scope of the ^Er January 1955, by introducing new grants or extending existing subsidies.

5. The Contracting Parties shall periodically undertake a comprehensive review of the application of the provisions of this Article in order to determine, in the light of experience, whether they contribute effectively to the achievement of the objectives of the Agreement and whether they effectively prevent subsidies from being seriously prejudicial to the trade or the interests of the contracting parties.

1.

A. Each Contracting Party undertakes that, if it bases or maintains a State enterprise, in any place, or if it grants to a company, in law or in fact, exclusive or special privileges, that undertaking shall comply, In its purchases or sales resulting in imports or exports, the general principle of non-discrinination prescribed by this Agreement for legislative or administrative measures relating to imports or Exports that are made by private traders.

B.

The provisions of subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall be construed as imposing on such undertakings the obligation, with due regard to the other provisions of this Agreement, to make purchases or sales of that nature only in Based solely on commercial considerations, such as price, quality, quantities available, market qualities, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale, and as imposing the obligation to offer the Enterprises of other Contracting Parties all facilities to participate in such sales or Purchases under conditions of free competition and in accordance with ordinary commercial practices.

C.

No Contracting Party will prevent enterprises (whether or not they are companies referred to in para. In this paragraph) a national of its jurisdiction to act in accordance with the principles set out in paras. A and b of this paragraph.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to imports of goods intended to be immediately or finally consumed by or on behalf of the public authorities and not to be resold or to be used in the Production of goods for sale. With respect to such imports, each Contracting Party shall accord fair treatment to the trade of the other Contracting Parties.

(3) Contracting Parties recognize that undertakings of the kind defined in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article could be used in such a way that they would result in serious impediments to trade, That is why it is important, in order to ensure the development of international trade, to enter into negotiations on a basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit, in order to limit or reduce these barriers.

4.

The Contracting Parties shall notify the Contracting Parties of the products which are imported into or exported from their territories by undertakings of the kind defined in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article.

B.

Any Contracting Party that establishes, maintains or authorizes a monopoly on the importation of a product on which a grant has not been granted under s. II, at the request of another Contracting Party which has a substantial trade in that product, shall make known to the Contracting Parties the increase in the import price of the said product during a recent reference period or, where that Is not possible, the price charged for the resale of this product.

C.

Contracting Parties may, at the request of a Contracting Party which has reason to believe that its interests under this Agreement are affected by the operations of a business of the kind defined in paragraph (a) of the Paragraph 1, invite the Contracting Party which establishes, maintains or authorizes such an undertaking to provide information concerning the performance of this Agreement on the operations of that undertaking.

D.

The provisions of this paragraph shall not oblige a Contracting Party to disclose confidential information the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, would be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the Legitimate business interests of a business.

The Contracting Parties recognize that the achievement of the objectives of this Agreement will be facilitated by the progressive development of their economies, in particular in the case of Contracting Parties whose economies cannot provide the A low standard of living and in the early stages of its development.

2. The Contracting Parties further recognize that it may be necessary for the Contracting Parties referred to in paragraph 1 to carry out their programmes and economic development policies oriented towards recovery Of the general standard of living of their population, to take protective measures or other measures affecting imports and that such measures are justified insofar as the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement is facilitated. They therefore consider that it should be foreseen in favour of the Contracting Parties in question of the additional facilities which enable them (a) to maintain sufficient flexibility in the structure of their customs tariffs To provide the necessary tariff protection for the establishment of a specific industry and (b) to establish quantitative restrictions to protect the balance of their balance of payments in a manner that is fully Account for the high and stable level of the demand for imports likely to be created by the Implementation of their economic development programs.

3. The Contracting Parties finally acknowledge that with the additional facilities provided for in Sections A and B of this Article, the provisions of this Agreement should normally enable the Contracting Parties to meet the requirements of Economic development. They recognize, however, that there may be instances where it is not possible in practice to institute measures consistent with those provisions, which allows an economic development contracting party to grant aid to The State which is necessary in order to promote the creation of production branches determined to raise the general standard of living of its population. Special procedures are provided for such cases in Sections C and D of this Article.

4.

A. Consequently, any Contracting Party whose economy cannot assure the population that a low standard of living and is in the early stages of its development will have the option of temporarily derogating from the provisions of the other Articles of the Agreement, as provided for in Sections A, B and C of this Article.

B.

Any Contracting Party whose economy is in the process of development but which does not fall within the framework of para. Above may make requests to the Contracting Parties under Section D of this Article.

5. The Contracting Parties acknowledge that the export earnings of the Contracting Parties whose economy is of the type described in paras. A and b of s. 4 and dependent on the export of a small number of commodities can be seriously reduced as a result of a decline in the sale of these products. Consequently, where exports of the basic goods of a Contracting Party which is in that situation are seriously affected by measures taken by another Contracting Party, that Contracting Party may resort to To the provisions of s. XXII of this Agreement relating to consultations.

The Contracting Parties shall conduct each year a review of all measures applied under the provisions of Sections C and D of this Article.

Section A

7.

A. If a Contracting Party which falls within the framework of para. A from s. 4 of this Article considers that it is desirable, in order to promote the creation of a specific industry to the effect of raising the general standard of living of its population, to amend or withdraw a tariff concession in the Corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, it shall send a notification to that effect to the Contracting Parties and enter into negotiations with any Contracting Party with which that concession was originally negotiated and with all Other Contracting Party whose substantial interest in that concession has been Recognized by the Contracting Parties. If an agreement is reached between the contracting parties concerned, it will be open to them to modify or withdraw concessions contained in the corresponding lists annexed to this Agreement, with a view to giving effect to the agreement, including the Compensation that it will include.

B.

If an agreement does not take place within 60 days of the date of the notification referred to in para. Above, the Contracting Party proposing to amend or withdraw the concession may refer the matter to the Contracting Parties which will consider it promptly. If it appears to the Contracting Parties that the Contracting Party proposing to amend or withdraw the concession has done everything possible to achieve an agreement and the compensation offered is sufficient, that Contracting Party shall have the right to modify or withdraw the grant, provided that the compensation in application is put at the same time. If it appears to the Contracting Parties that the compensation offered by a Contracting Party proposing to amend or withdraw the concession is not sufficient, but that that Contracting Party has done all it reasonably Possible to provide sufficient compensation, the Contracting Party will have the option of implementing the amendment or withdrawal. If such a measure is taken, any other Contracting Party referred to in para. Above shall have the right to modify or withdraw substantially equivalent concessions negotiated in the primitive manner with the Contracting Party which has taken the measure in question.

Section B

The Contracting Parties recognize that the Contracting Parties that fall within the scope of paragraph (a) of subs. 4 of this Article may, when developing rapidly, test, in order to balance their balance of payments, difficulties arising mainly from their efforts to expand their internal market as well as The volatility of terms of trade.

9. In order to safeguard its external financial situation and to ensure a sufficient level of reserves for the implementation of its economic development programme, a Contracting Party which falls within the framework of para. A from s. 4 of this Article may, subject to the provisions of subs. 10 to 12, regulate the general level of its imports by limiting the volume or value of the goods for which it authorizes the importation, provided that the import restrictions established, maintained or strengthened do not go beyond What is required:

A.

To oppose the threat of a significant decline in its currency reserves or to put an end to this decline,

B.

Or to raise its monetary reserves in accordance with a reasonable rate of increase, in the event that they are insufficient.

In both cases, due account shall be taken of all the special factors affecting the currency reserves of the Contracting Party or its requirements for monetary reserves, in particular, when it has special external credits or Other resources, the need to provide for the appropriate use of these resources or resources.

10. In applying these restrictions, the Contracting Party concerned may determine their impact on imports of the different products or product categories so as to give priority to the importation of the products which are However, the restrictions will have to be applied in such a way as to avoid unnecessary damage to the commercial or economic interests of any other contracting party. Unduly impede the importation in small commercial quantities of Goods, of any nature, the exclusion of which would interfere with the normal currents of trade; in addition, such restrictions shall not be applied in such a way as to prevent the importation of commercial samples or Compliance with procedures relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights and reproduction or other similar procedures.

In the implementation of its national policy, the Contracting Party concerned shall take due account of the need to restore balance in its balance of payments on a sound and sustainable basis and the desirability of ensuring the use of Its productive resources on an economic basis. It will progressively mitigate, as the situation improves, any restrictions applied under this section and will maintain it only to the extent necessary, taking into account the provisions of subs. 9 of this Article; it shall eliminate it where the situation no longer justifies its continuation; however, no Contracting Party shall be obliged to remove or modify restrictions, given that, if a change is made to its policy Of development, the restrictions it applies under this section would cease to be necessary.

12. A.

Any Contracting Party which applies new restrictions or which raises the general level of the existing restrictions by substantially strengthening the measures applied under this Section shall, immediately after having Established or strengthened these restrictions (or, in the event that prior consultations are possible in practice, before having done so), enter into consultations with the Contracting Parties on the nature of the difficulties associated with its balance Payments, the various corrective measures between which it has the choice, and the impact Possible restrictions on the economy of other contracting parties.

B.

On a date to be fixed, the Contracting Parties shall review all restrictions which, on that date, will still be applied under this Section. At the expiration of a period of two years from the above date, the Contracting Parties which will apply restrictions under this Section shall engage with the Contracting Parties at intervals which shall be approximately Two years without being less than that period, consultations of the kind referred to in subparagraph (a) above, according to a schedule to be drawn up each year by the Contracting Parties, however, no consultation under this paragraph shall take place Less than two years after the completion of a general consultation that would be initiated Under any other provision of this paragraph.

C. I. If, during consultations with a Contracting Party in accordance with para. A or al. B of this paragraph, it appears to the Contracting Parties that the restrictions are not compatible with the provisions of this section or those of Art. XIII (subject to the provisions of s. XIV), they shall indicate the points of divergence and may advise that appropriate changes be made to the restrictions.

Ii.

However, if, as a result of these consultations, the Contracting Parties determine that the restrictions are applied in a manner which contains a serious incompatibility with the provisions of this Section or those of Art. XIII (subject to the provisions of s. XIV) and resulting in injury or threat of injury to the trade of a Contracting Party, they shall notify the Contracting Party applying the restrictions and shall make appropriate recommendations to ensure compliance, Within a specified period of time, of the provisions concerned. If the Contracting Party fails to comply with those recommendations within the time limit fixed, the Contracting Parties may identify any Contracting Party whose trade would be affected by the restrictions, any obligation arising from the present Agreement of which it would be appropriate to relieve it, having regard to the circumstances, of the Contracting Party applying the restrictions.

D.

Contracting Parties shall invite any Contracting Party which applies restrictions under this Section to enter into consultations with them at the request of any Contracting Party which may establish prima facie that the restrictions Are inconsistent with the provisions of this section or those of s. XIII (subject to the provisions of s. XIV) and that its trade is reached. However, this invitation will be addressed only if the contracting parties have found that the talks directly engaged between the contracting parties concerned have not been concluded. If no agreement is reached as a result of consultations with the Contracting Parties and if the Contracting Parties determine that the restrictions are applied in a manner inconsistent with the above provisions and resulting Injury or threat of injury to the trade of the Contracting Party that initiated the proceeding, will recommend the removal or modification of the restrictions. If the restrictions are not deleted or modified within the time limit which may be fixed by the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Parties will be able to identify the Contracting Party which has initiated the procedure for any obligation under this Agreement, of which it It will be appropriate to relieve them, in the circumstances, of the Contracting Party applying the restrictions.

E.

If a Contracting Party against whom a measure has been taken in accordance with the last sentence of para. C ii or al. D of this paragraph finds that the exemption granted by the Contracting Parties is detrimental to the implementation of its programme and of its economic development policy, it shall be open to it within 60 days from the date of the Application of this measure, to notify the Executive Secretary of the Contracting Parties in writing of its intention to denounce this Agreement. Such denunciation shall take effect upon the expiration of sixty days from the date on which the Executive Secretary receives such notification.

F.

In any proceedings initiated in accordance with this paragraph, the Contracting Parties shall take due account of the factors mentioned in subs. 2 of this article. The determinations referred to in this paragraph shall be made promptly and, if possible, within 60 days of the date on which the consultations are initiated.

Section C

13. If a Contracting Party which falls within the framework of para. A from s. 4 of this Article finds that State aid is necessary in order to facilitate the establishment of a sector of production determined to the effect of raising the general standard of living of the population, without it being possible in practice to institute Measure consistent with the other provisions of this Agreement in order to achieve this objective, it shall be free to use the provisions and procedures of this section.

14. The Contracting Party concerned shall notify the Contracting Parties of the special difficulties encountered by the Contracting Party in achieving the objective set out in subs. 13 of this article; it shall indicate the precise measure affecting imports which 1 they propose to establish in order to remedy such difficulties. It shall not establish this measure before the expiry of the period laid down in par. 15 or at par. 17, as the case may be, or, if the measure affects imports of a product which has been the subject of a concession in the corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, unless it has obtained the approval of the Contracting Parties in accordance with the Provisions of s. 18; however, if the industry which receives State aid has already entered into force, the Contracting Party may, after having informed the Contracting Parties, take the measures which may be necessary to avoid that, During this period, imports of the product or products in question do not substantially exceed a normal level.

If, within thirty days of the date of notification of the said measure, the Contracting Parties do not invite the Contracting Party concerned to enter into consultations with them, the Contracting Party shall have the right to derogate from The provisions of the other Articles of this Agreement applicable in this case, to the extent necessary for the application of the proposed measure.

If it is invited by the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Party concerned will enter into consultations with them on the subject matter of the proposed measure, the various measures between which the Contracting Party has the choice in the context of the Agreement, and the implications that the proposed measure may have on the commercial or economic interests of other Contracting Parties. If, as a result of these consultations, the Contracting Parties acknowledge that it is not possible in practice to institute measures consistent with the other provisions of this Agreement in order to achieve the objective set out in par. 13 of this Article and if they give their approval to the proposed measure, the Contracting Party concerned shall be relieved of its obligations under the provisions of the others, articles of this Agreement applicable in this case, for As long as this is necessary for the application of the measure.

17. If, within a period of ninety days from the date of notification of the proposed measure, in accordance with par. 14 of this Article, the Contracting Parties shall not give their approval to the measure in question, the Contracting Party concerned may institute that measure after having informed the Contracting Parties thereof.

If the proposed measure affects a product which has been the subject of a concession in the corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, the Contracting Party concerned shall enter into consultations with any other Contracting Party with which the Concession would have been originally negotiated as well as with any other Contracting Party whose substantial interest in the concession will have been recognized by the Contracting Parties. These will give their approval to the proposed measure if they recognize that it is not possible in practice to institute measures consistent with the other provisions of this Agreement in order to achieve the objective set out in par. 13 of this article and if they have the insurance:

A.

Agreement has been reached with the other Contracting Parties in question as a result of the aforementioned consultations;

B.

Or, if no agreement has been reached within 60 days of the date on which the notification provided for in s. 14 has been received by the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Party which makes use of the provisions of this Division has done everything reasonably possible to achieve such an agreement and the interests of the others Contracting Parties are sufficiently safeguarded.

The Contracting Party which uses the provisions of this Section shall then be relieved of its obligations under the provisions of the other Articles of this Agreement applicable in this case, provided that it is Necessary to enable it to apply the measure.

19. If a proposed measure of the type defined in subs. 13 of this Article concerns an industry whose creation has been facilitated, during the initial period, by the ancillary protection resulting from restrictions imposed by the Contracting Party with a view to protecting the balance of its Balance of payments under the provisions of this Agreement applicable in this case, the Contracting Party may make use of the provisions and procedures of this Section, provided that it does not apply the proposed measure without The approval of the contracting parties.

20. Nothing in the preceding paragraphs of this section shall authorize exceptions to the provisions of s. I, II and XIII of this Agreement. The reservations of s. 10 of this Article shall apply to any restriction under this Section.

21. At any time during the application of a measure under the provisions of s. 17 of this Article, any Contracting Party substantially affected by this measure may suspend the application to the trade of the Contracting Party which makes use of the provisions of this Section of concessions or others Substantially equivalent obligations arising out of this Agreement and of which the Contracting Parties shall not disapprove the suspension, provided that sixty days' notice is given to the Contracting Parties not later than six months After the measure has been instituted or substantially amended to the detriment of the Contracting Party. This Contracting Party shall be subject to consultations, in accordance with the provisions of Art. XXII of this Agreement.

Section D

22. It shall be open to any Contracting Party which falls within the framework of para. B at par. 4 of this Article and which, in order to promote the development of its economy, wishes to establish a measure of the type defined in par. 13 of this Article with regard to the establishment of a specific industry, to send to the Contracting Parties an application for the approval of such a measure. The Contracting Parties shall promptly enter into consultations with that Contracting Party and, in formulating their decision, they shall be guided by the considerations set out in par. If the Contracting Parties agree to the proposed measure, they shall be subject to the Contracting Party in question of its obligations under the provisions of the other Articles of this Agreement applicable in the present case, Provided that this is necessary to enable it to apply the measure. If the proposed measure affects a product which has been granted a concession in the corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, the provisions of s. 18 will apply.

23. Any measure applied under this section shall be consistent with the provisions of s. 20 of this article.

1.

A. If, as a result of the unforeseen developments in the circumstances and the effect of the undertakings, including the tariff concessions, that a Contracting Party has assumed under this Agreement, a product is imported into the territory of that Party Contracting Party in such increased quantities and under such conditions as it carries or threatens to cause serious injury to the domestic producers of like goods or direc products, that Contracting Party shall have the right, In respect of this product, to the extent and for the time that may be necessary To prevent or remedy such damage, to suspend the undertaking in whole or in part, to withdraw or to amend the concession.

B.

If a Contracting Party has granted a concession in respect of a preference and the product to which it applies is to be imported into the territory of that Contracting Party in the circumstances set out in para. Has this paragraph so that such importation carries or threatens to cause serious injury to producers of like products or directly competing products, which are established in the territory of the Contracting Party Benefiting or having benefited from the said preference, the latter may make a request to the importing Contracting Party, which will then have the right, in respect of that product, to suspend the undertaking in whole or in part, to withdraw or To modify the concession, to the extent and for the time that may be necessary to prevent Or remedy such damage.

(2) Before a Contracting Party takes measures in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall notify the Contracting Parties in writing and as long as possible in advance. It will provide them, as well as those contracting parties with a substantial interest as exporters of the product in question, the opportunity to examine with it the measures it proposes to take. Where such notice is given in the case of a concession relating to a preference, it shall mention the Contracting Party which will have required that measure. In critical circumstances where any delay would result in damage that would be difficult to repair, the measures envisaged in paragraph 1 of this article may be taken provisionally without prior consultation, Condition that consultations take place immediately after the said measures have been taken.

3.

A. If the Contracting Parties concerned do not reach agreement on these measures, the Contracting Party proposing to take or maintain them in application shall have the right to act in that direction. If that Contracting Party exercises this option, it shall be open to the Contracting Parties that those measures would be to suspend, within a period of ninety days from the date of their application and the expiration of a period of thirty days to As from the date on which the Contracting Parties have received written notice, the application to the trade of the Contracting Party which has taken these measures or, in the case envisaged by para. B of the first paragraph of this Article, the trade of the Contracting Party which has requested that such measures be taken, concessions or other substantially equivalent obligations arising from this Agreement and whose suspension Shall not give rise to any objection on the part of the Contracting Parties.

B.

Without prejudice to the provisions of para. A of this paragraph, if any action taken under subs. 2 of this Article, without prior consultation, bear or threaten to cause serious prejudice to the domestic producers of goods affected by them, in the territory of a Contracting Party, that Contracting Party shall have the right, where Any delay in this regard would result in an injury that is difficult to repair, suspend, upon the implementation of such measures and for the duration of consultations, concessions or other obligations to the extent necessary to prevent Or remedy this damage.

Provided that such measures are not applied in such a way as to constitute an arbitrary or unjustified means of discrimination between countries where the same conditions exist, or a disguised restriction on international trade, nothing in the Agreement shall not be construed as preventing the adoption or application by any Contracting Party of the measures:

A.

Necessary for the protection of public morality;

B.

Necessary for the protection of the health and life of persons and animals or the preservation of plants;

C.

Relating to the import or export of gold or silver;

D.

Necessary to ensure the application of laws and regulations that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, such as, for example, the laws and regulations relating to the application of customs measures, to the maintenance in force Monopolies administered in accordance with s. 4 of Particle II and Art. XVII, the protection of patents, trademarks, copyrights and reproduction, and measures to prevent practices which may be misleading;

E.

Relating to articles made in prisons;

F.

Imposed for the protection of national treasures of artistic, historical or archaeological value;

G.

Relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources, if such measures are applied in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption;

H.

Implementation of commitments entered into under an intergovernmental agreement on a basic product which is in conformity with the criteria submitted to the Contracting Parties and not disapproved by them or which is itself subject to the Contracting Parties And is not disapproved by them;

I.

With restrictions on the export of raw materials produced within the country and necessary to assure a domestic processing industry the essential quantities of the raw materials during the periods when the National prices are maintained below the world price in the execution of a government stabilisation plan, provided that these restrictions do not increase exports or, reinforce the protection granted to this National industry and do not support the provisions of this Agreement relating to Non-discrimination;

J.

Essential for the acquisition or distribution of products for which there is a general or local shortage, however, those measures will have to be compatible with the principle that all Contracting Parties are entitled to a Fair share of the international supply of such products and measures which are inconsistent with the other provisions of this Agreement shall be deleted as soon as the circumstances which have motivated them cease to exist. The Contracting Parties shall examine, on 30 June 1960 at the latest, whether it is necessary to maintain the provision of this paragraph.

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:

A.

As imposing on a Contracting Party the obligation to provide information which, in its opinion, would be contrary to the essential interests of its security,

B.

Or as preventing a contracting party from taking any measures it deems necessary to protect the essential interests of its security:

I.

Relating to fissile material or materials used in their manufacture,

Ii.

Relating to the trafficking of arms, ammunition and war material and to any trade in other articles and equipment intended directly or indirectly to provide for the supply of the armed forces; Ili applied in time of war or in case of war Serious international tension;

C.

Or as preventing a contracting party from taking action in accordance with its commitments under the Charter of the United Nations, in view of the maintenance of international peace and security.

(1) Each Contracting Party shall examine with understanding the representations which may be made to it by any other Contracting Party and shall be required to consult on such representations, where such representations shall relate to a matter Concerning the application of this Agreement.

(2) Contracting Parties may, at the request of a Contracting Party, enter into consultations with one or more Contracting Parties on a matter for which a satisfactory solution could not be found by means of consultations In paragraph 1.

1. In the event that a Contracting Party considers that a benefit accruing to it directly or indirectly from this Agreement is nulliable or compromised, or that the achievement of one of the objectives of the Agreement is compromised by:

A.

That another Contracting Party does not fulfil its obligations under this Agreement;

B.

Or that another Contracting Party applies a measure, contrary or not to the provisions of this Agreement;

C.

Or that there is another situation, that Contracting Party may, in order to arrive at a satisfactory resolution of the matter, make written representations or proposals to the other or to the other Contracting Parties which, in its opinion, Would be involved. Any Contracting Party so requested shall examine with understanding the representations or proposals made to it.

2. In the event that a regulation does not occur within a reasonable time between the contracting parties concerned or in the event that the difficulty is those referred to in para. C of the first paragraph of this Article, the matter may be brought before the Contracting Parties. The latter will conduct an investigation without delay on any matter that will be so seized and, as the case may be, make recommendations to those contracting parties who, in their opinion, are involved, or will rule on the matter. Contracting Parties may, when necessary, consult with Contracting Parties, the United Nations Economic and Social Council and any other competent intergovernmental organization. If they consider that the circumstances are sufficiently serious to justify such a measure, they may allow one or more Contracting Parties to suspend, in respect of such other Contracting Parties, The application of any concession or other obligation arising out of the General Agreement to which they shall consider the suspension justified, taking into account the circumstances. If such a concession or other obligation is effectively suspended in respect of a Contracting Party, the said Contracting Party shall, within sixty days of the implementation of that suspension, be entitled to Notify the Executive Secretary of the Contracting Parties in writing of its intention to denounce the General Agreement; such denunciation shall take effect upon the expiration of sixty days from the date on which the Executive Secretary of the parties Contracting Party shall have received such notification.

(1) The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to the metropolitan customs territory of the Contracting Parties and to any other customs territory in respect of which this Agreement has been accepted under s. XXVI or is applied under s. XXXIII or in accordance with the Protocol of Provisional Application. Each of these Customs territories shall be considered as if it were a Contracting Party, exclusively for the purposes of the territorial application of this Agreement, provided that the provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed as Creating rights or obligations between two or more customs territories in respect of which this Agreement has been accepted under s. XXVI or is applied under s. XXXIII or in accordance with the Protocol of Provisional Application by a single Contracting Party.

2. For the purposes of this Agreement, customs territory means any territory for which a separate customs tariff or other separate trade rules are applied for a substantial part of its trade with the Other territories.

(3) The provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed as an obstacle:

A.

The advantages granted by a contracting party to neighbouring countries to facilitate border traffic;

B.

Or the advantages granted to trade with the Free Territory of Trieste by countries bordering the territory, provided that such benefits are not incompatible with the provisions of the peace treaties resulting from the second war Global.

4. The Contracting Parties recognise that it is desirable to increase the freedom of trade by developing, through free agreements, closer integration of the economies of the countries participating in such agreements. They also recognize that the purpose of establishing a customs union or a free trade area is to facilitate trade between the constituent territories and not to prevent barriers to trade of other parties Contracting Parties with these territories.

Accordingly, the provisions of this Agreement shall not prevent, between the territories of the Contracting Parties, the establishment of a customs union or a free trade area or the adoption of an interim agreement necessary for The establishment of a customs union or a free trade area, subject to:

A.

That, in the case of a customs union or a provisional agreement concluded for the establishment of a customs union, the customs duties applied in the establishment of that Union or of the conclusion of that provisional agreement shall not be, in As a whole, with regard to trade with Contracting Parties which are not parties to such unions or agreements, of a higher general impact, nor the other trade regulations, more stringent than the The rights and trade regulations in force in the territories of this Union before the establishment of the union or the conclusion of the agreement, as the case may be;

B.

That, in the case of a free trade area or an interim agreement with a view to establishing a free trade area, the customs duties maintained in each constituent territory and applicable to the trade of the Contracting Parties which Do not form part of such a territory or do not participate in such an agreement, when establishing the zone or the conclusion of the provisional agreement, will not be higher, nor the other trade regulations, more stringent than The corresponding rights and regulations in the same territories Before the establishment of the zone or the conclusion of the provisional agreement, as the case may be,

C.

And any provisional agreement referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall include a plan and programme for the establishment, within a reasonable period of time, of the customs union or of the free trade area.

6. If, by fulfilling the conditions set out in para. A from s. 5, a Contracting Party proposes to raise a right in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of s. II, the procedure laid down in Art. XXVIII shall apply. In the determination of compensation, due account shall be taken of the compensation which would already result from the reductions made to the corresponding law of the other constituent territories of the Union.

7.

A. Any Contracting Party which decides to enter into a customs union or to be part of a free trade area or to participate in a provisional agreement entered into with a view to establishing such a Union or such an area shall notify without delay the Contracting Parties and will provide to them, as far as this Union or Area is concerned, all the information which will enable them to address the reports and recommendations which they deem appropriate to the Contracting Parties.

B.

If, after having studied the plan and programme included in a provisional agreement referred to in paragraph 1. 5, in consultation with the parties to that agreement and having duly taken into account the information provided in accordance with paragraph (a), the Contracting Parties conclude that the agreement is not such as to lead to the establishment of a A customs union or a free trade area within the time limits envisaged by the parties to the agreement or that these time limits are not reasonable, the contracting parties will make recommendations to the parties to the agreement. The Parties will not maintain or implement the Agreement, as the case may be, if they are not prepared to amend it in accordance with those recommendations.

C.

Any substantial changes to the plan or program referred to in para. C from s. 5 shall be communicated to the Contracting Parties which may request the Contracting Parties concerned to enter into consultations with them if the amendment appears to unduly impair or delay the establishment of the customs union or The free trade area.

8. For the purposes of this Agreement:

A.

Customs union means the substitution of a single customs territory with two or more customs territories, where such substitution has the effect of:

I.

Customs duties and other restrictive trade regulations (with the exception, to the extent necessary, of restrictions permitted under s. XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV and XX) shall be eliminated for the substance of trade between the constituent territories of the Union, or at least for the bulk of the trade in goods originating in those Territories,

Ii.

Subject to the provisions of subs. 9, the customs duties and other regulations applied by each of the members of the trade union with the territories which are not included in it are identical in substance;

B.

A free trade area is defined as a group of two or more customs territories between which customs duties and other restrictive trade regulations (with the exception, to the extent necessary, of restrictions) Permitted under s. XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV and XX) are essentially eliminated from trade in goods originating in the constituent territories of the Free Trade Area.

9. The preferences referred to in s. 2 of Article 1 shall not be affected by the establishment of a customs union or a free trade area; however, they may be eliminated or managed by negotiation with the contracting parties concerned. This negotiation procedure with the contracting parties concerned will apply in particular to the elimination of the preferences which would be necessary for the provisions of paras. 8 be observed.

10. The Contracting Parties may, by a decision taken by a two-thirds majority, approve proposals which do not fully comply with the provisions of s. 5 to 9 included in the condition that they lead to the establishment of a customs union or a free trade area within the meaning of this Article.

11. Taking into account the exceptional circumstances resulting from the constitution of India and Pakistan in independent states and recognizing that these two states have long formed an economic unit, the contracting parties are Agreed that the provisions of this Agreement shall not prevent these two countries from entering into special agreements concerning their mutual trade, pending the final determination of their mutual trade relations.

12. Each Contracting Party shall take all reasonable measures in its power to ensure that, within its territory, regional or local governments or governments comply with the provisions of this Agreement.

Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet periodically in order to ensure the implementation of the provisions of this Agreement which involve collective action and, in general, to facilitate the implementation of this Agreement and of To achieve its objectives. Whenever it is mentioned in this Agreement of the Contracting Parties acting collectively, they shall be designated as Contracting Parties.

2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is invited to convene the first meeting of the Contracting Parties to be held no later than 1 ^Er March 1948.

(3) Each Contracting Party shall have one vote at all meetings of the Contracting Parties.

4. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, decisions of the Contracting Parties shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast.

In exceptional circumstances other than those provided for in other Articles of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties may relieve a Contracting Party of one of the obligations imposed upon it by this Agreement, to The condition that such a decision be sanctioned by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast and that this majority comprises more than half of the contracting parties. In a similar vote, the Contracting Parties may also:

I.

Determining certain categories of exceptional circumstances to which other voting conditions will be applicable in order to relieve a Contracting Party of one or more of its obligations;

Ii.

Prescribe the criteria necessary for the application of this paragraph.

This Agreement shall bear the date of October 30, 1947.

(2) This Agreement shall be open to the acceptance of any Contracting Party which, on the date of 1 ^Er March 1955, was a contracting party or was negotiating to access the Agreement.

3. This Agreement, drawn up in a copy in the French language and a copy in the English language, both texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit certified copies thereof to all Interested governments.

4. Each Government which accepts this Agreement shall deposit an instrument of acceptance with the Executive Secretary of the Contracting Parties, who shall inform all interested Governments of the date of the deposit of each instrument of acceptance And the date on which this Agreement enters into force in accordance with the provisions of par. 6 of this article.

5.

A. Each Government which accepts this Agreement shall accept it for its metropolitan territory and for the other territories it represents on the international level, with the exception of the separate customs territories it will indicate to the Secretary Executive of the contracting parties at the time of its own acceptance.

B.

Any Government which has transmitted such a notification to the Executive Secretary, in accordance with the exceptions provided for in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, may, at any time, notify the Executive Secretary that its acceptance now applies to a territory This notification shall take effect on the thirtieth day following the date on which it has been received by the Executive Secretary.

C.

If a customs territory for which a Contracting Party has accepted this Agreement has full autonomy in the conduct of its external trade relations and for other matters which are the subject of this Agreement, or Acquired such autonomy, that territory shall be deemed to be a Contracting Party upon presentation by the responsible Contracting Party which shall establish the facts referred to above by a declaration.

This Agreement shall enter into force, between the Governments which have accepted it, on the thirtieth day following the date on which the Executive Secretary of the Contracting Parties has received the instruments of acceptance of the Governments listed in Annex H Whose territories represent ninety per cent of the total foreign trade in the territories of the Governments referred to in that Annex, calculated on the basis of the appropriate column of the percentages set out in that Annex. The instrument of acceptance of each of the other governments shall take effect on the thirtieth day following the date on which it has been deposited.

7. The United Nations shall be authorized to register this Agreement upon its entry into force.

Any Contracting Party shall, at any time, have the right to suspend or withdraw, in whole or in part, a concession in the corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, given that the concession was originally negotiated With a government that is not a contracting party or has ceased to be a contracting party. The Contracting Party which will take such a measure is obliged to notify the Contracting Parties and, if invited to do so, consult the Contracting Parties concerned in a substantial way with the product in question.

1. The first day of each three-year period, the first period beginning on 1 ^Er January 1958 (or the first day of any other period that the Contracting Parties may fix by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast), any Contracting Party (referred to in this Article as " the Contracting Party ") may amend or withdraw a concession in the corresponding list annexed to this Agreement, after negotiation and agreement with any Contracting Party with which that concession was originally negotiated as such With any other Contracting Party whose interest as the main supplier would be Recognised by the Contracting Parties (these two categories of Contracting Parties, as well as the requesting Contracting Party, are referred to in this Article "mainly interested Contracting Parties") and provided that it has Consulted any other Contracting Party whose substantial interest in that concession would be recognized by the Contracting Parties.

2. During these negotiations and in this agreement, which may include compensation for other products, the contracting parties concerned shall endeavour to maintain the concessions granted on a basis of reciprocity and benefits To a level no less favourable than that resulting from this Agreement prior to the negotiations.

3.

A. If the mainly interested Contracting Parties cannot reach an agreement before 1 ^Er In January 1958 or before the expiration of any period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Contracting Party proposing to amend or withdraw the concession shall nevertheless have the right to do so. If it takes such a measure, any Contracting Party with which that concession was originally negotiated, any Contracting Party whose interest as the main supplier would have been recognized in accordance with paragraph 1 thus That any Contracting Party whose substantial interest would have been recognized in accordance with that paragraph shall have the right to withdraw within six months from the application of that measure and thirty days after receipt by the parties Contracting on written notice, substantially equivalent concessions which Were originally negotiated with the requesting Contracting Party.

B.

If the main interested Contracting Parties arrive at an agreement which does not satisfy another Contracting Party whose substantial interest would have been recognized in accordance with paragraph 1, the latter shall have the right to Withdraw, within six months from the application of the measure provided for in that agreement and thirty days after receipt by the contracting parties of a written notice, substantially equivalent concessions that would have been negotiated Primitively with the requesting Contracting Party.

(4) Contracting Parties may, at any time, in special circumstances, allow a Contracting Party to enter into negotiations with a view to amending or withdrawing a concession in the corresponding list annexed to the present Agreement, according to the procedure and under the following conditions:

A.

Such negotiations and any consultations thereon shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of s. 1 and 2.

B.

If, in the course of the negotiations, an agreement is reached between the contracting parties principally concerned, the provisions of para. B at par. 3 will apply.

C.

If an agreement between the Contracting Parties principally concerned does not take place within sixty days from the date on which the negotiations have been authorised or within any longer period than the Contracting Parties May have fixed, the requesting Contracting Party may bring the matter before the Contracting Parties.

D.

If they are seized of such a matter, the contracting parties will have to examine it promptly and make their views known to the mainly interested Contracting Parties, with a view to arriving at a settlement. If a regulation intervenes, the provisions of para. B at par. 3 will be applicable as if the mainly interested Contracting Parties had reached an agreement. If there is no settlement between the main interested Contracting Parties, the applicant Contracting Party will have the right to amend or withdraw the concession unless the Contracting Parties determine that the said part Contracting Party did not do all that it could reasonably be able to do to provide sufficient compensation. If such a measure is taken, any Contracting Party with which the concession was originally negotiated, any Contracting Party whose interest as the main supplier would have been recognized in accordance with para. A from s. 4 and any Contracting Party whose substantial interest would have been recognized in accordance with paragraph 4 (a) shall have the right to amend or withdraw within six months from the application of that measure and thirty days after that Receipt by the Contracting Parties of a written notice of substantially equivalent concessions which were originally negotiated with the requesting Contracting Party.

5. Before 1 ^Er January 1958 and before the expiration of any period referred to in paragraph 1, it shall be open to any Contracting Party, by notification addressed to the Contracting Parties, to reserve the right, for the duration of the next period, of Amend the corresponding list, provided that it conforms to the procedures defined in s. 1 to 3. If a Contracting Party uses that option, it will be open to any other Contracting Party to modify or withdraw any concession negotiated in the primitive manner with that Contracting Party, provided that it complies with the same procedures.

1. The contracting parties recognise that tariffs are often serious obstacles to trade, which is why negotiations on a basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit to the substantial reduction of the level Customs duties and other charges levied on imports and exports, in particular the reduction of the high tariffs which hinder imports of goods even in small quantities, present, where they are Taking due account of the objectives of this Agreement and the different needs of Each Contracting Party is of great importance for the expansion of international trade. Consequently, the contracting parties may organise such negotiations on a regular basis.

2.

A. The negotiations conducted in accordance with this Article may relate to products chosen one to one, or based on the multilateral procedures accepted by the Contracting Parties in question. Such negotiations may have as their object the lowering of rights, the consolidation of rights at the existing level at the time of negotiation or the undertaking not to extend beyond specified levels of a right or the average rights which Affect the products of specified categories. The consolidation of low customs duties or a duty-free entry regime will, in principle, be recognised as a concession of equal value to a reduction of high customs duties.

B.

The Contracting Parties recognize that, in general, the success of multilateral negotiations would depend on the participation of each Contracting Party whose trade with other Contracting Parties constitutes a substantial proportion of the Its foreign trade.

3. Negotiations will be conducted on a basis that allows sufficient account to be taken of

A.

The needs of each Contracting Party and each industry;

B.

The need, for the least developed countries, to use more flexibility in tariff protection in order to facilitate their economic development, and the special needs of these countries to maintain rights for tax purposes;

C.

Of any other circumstances which may need to be taken into account, including the needs of the Contracting Parties concerned in matters of taxation and development and their strategic and other needs.

The Contracting Parties undertake to observe, to the extent consistent with the executive powers available to them, the general principles set out in chap. I to VI inclusive and chap. IX of the Havana Charter, until they have accepted the Charter according to their constitutional rules.

2. The application of Part II of this Agreement shall be suspended on the date of entry into force of the Havana Charter.

3. If, as of 30 September 1949, the Charter of Havana has not entered into force, the Contracting Parties shall meet before 31 December 1949 to agree whether this Agreement shall be amended, supplemented or maintained.

4. If, at any time, the Charter of Havana ceased to be in force, the Contracting Parties shall meet as soon as possible thereafter to agree whether this Agreement shall be supplemented, amended or maintained. Until such time as an agreement has been reached on this matter, Part II of this Agreement shall enter into force once again; it shall be understood that the provisions of Part II, other than s. XXIII, shall be replaced, mutatis mutandis, by the text appearing at that time in the Charter of Havana; and it being understood that no Contracting Party shall be bound by the provisions which did not bind it at the time of the Charter of Havana Ceased to be in effect.

5. If a Contracting Party has not accepted the Havana Charter on the date on which it enters into force, the Contracting Parties shall confer to agree whether, and in what manner, this Agreement shall be supplemented or amended to the extent that It affects the relations between the Contracting Party which has not accepted the Charter and the other Contracting Parties. Until such time as an agreement has been reached on this matter, the provisions of Part II of this Agreement shall continue to apply between that Contracting Party and the other Contracting Parties, notwithstanding the provisions of s. 2 of this article.

The Contracting Parties that are members of the International Trade Organization shall not invoke the provisions of this Agreement in order to render ineffective any provision of the Havana Charter. The application of the principle referred to in this paragraph to a non-member contracting party of the International Trade Organization shall be subject to an agreement, in accordance with the provisions of subs. 5 of this article.

Except where other provisions are provided for in making amendments to this Agreement, amendments to the provisions of Part I of this Agreement to those of s. XXIX or the provisions of this Article shall enter into force as soon as they have been accepted by all the Contracting Parties and the amendments to the other provisions of this Agreement shall take effect, in respect of the Contracting Parties which Accept, as soon as they have been accepted by two-thirds of the Contracting Parties, and, thereafter, in respect of any other Contracting Party, as soon as the Contracting Party has accepted them.

(2) Each Contracting Party which accepts an amendment to this Agreement shall deposit an instrument of acceptance with the Secretary-General of the United Nations within a time limit fixed by the Contracting Parties. They may decide that an amendment which has entered into force under this Article shall be such that any Contracting Party which has not accepted it within a time limit fixed by them may withdraw from this Agreement or may, with Their consent, continue to be a party to it.

Without prejudice to the provisions of s. 12 of the art. XVIII, art. XXIII, or para. 2 of the art. XXX, any Contracting Party may withdraw from this Agreement, or to withdraw from one or more separate customs territories that it represents internationally and which at that time enjoy complete autonomy in the Conduct of their external trade relations and other matters dealt with in this Agreement. The withdrawal shall take effect upon the expiration of a period of six months from the date on which the Secretary-General of the United Nations receives written notification of the withdrawal.

1. Shall be regarded as Contracting Parties to this Agreement by the Governments which apply the provisions thereof in accordance with Art. XXVI, art. XXXIII or under the Protocol of Provisional Application.

2. The Contracting Parties which have accepted this Agreement in accordance with paragraph 2. 6 of the art. XXVI may, at any time after the entry into force of this Agreement in accordance with paragraph 4 of that Article, decide that a Contracting Party which has not accepted this Agreement following that procedure shall cease to be a Contracting Party.

Any Government which is not a party to this Agreement or any Government acting on behalf of a separate customs territory which enjoys full autonomy in the conduct of its external trade relations and for other matters Under this Agreement, may accede to this Agreement, on its behalf or on behalf of that Territory, on conditions to be fixed between that Government and the Contracting Parties. The Contracting Parties shall take the decisions referred to in this paragraph by a two-thirds majority.

The Annexes to this Agreement shall form an integral part of this Agreement.

1. This Agreement, or Art. II of this Agreement, shall not apply between a Contracting Party and another Contracting Party:

A.

Whether the two Contracting Parties have not entered into tariff negotiations between them;

B.

And if one of the two does not consent to this application at the time one becomes a Contracting Party.

2. At the request of a Contracting Party, the Contracting Parties may examine the application of this Article in particular cases and make appropriate recommendations.

1. Contracting Parties,

A.

Aware that the fundamental objectives of this Agreement include the raising of living standards and the progressive development of the economies of all Contracting Parties, and considering that the achievement of these objectives is Especially urgent for the less developed contracting parties;

B.

Whereas the export earnings of the less developed contracting parties can play a decisive role in their economic development, and the importance of this contribution depends on both the prices and the Contracting Parties pay for the essential goods they import, the volume of their exports and the prices paid to them for such exports;

C.

Noting that there is a significant gap between the living standards of the underdeveloped countries and those of other countries;

D.

Recognizing that individual and collective action is essential to promote the development of the economies of the underdeveloped contracting parties and to ensure the rapid recovery of the living standards of those countries;

E.

Recognising that international trade as an instrument of economic and social progress should be governed by rules and procedures-and by measures consistent with such rules and procedures-that are compatible with Objectives set out in this article;

F.

Noting that Contracting Parties may permit the underdeveloped Contracting Parties to use special measures to promote their trade and development;

Agreed to the following:

2. It is necessary to ensure a rapid and sustained increase in the export earnings of the less developed contracting parties.

3. It is necessary to make positive efforts to ensure that the underdeveloped contracting parties ensure a share of the growth in international trade that corresponds to the needs of their economic development.

4. As many of the less developed contracting parties continue to depend on the export of a limited range of primary products, it is necessary to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, for these products More favourable and acceptable access to world markets and, where appropriate, the development of measures to stabilize and improve the situation of global markets for these products, in particular measures to stabilize prices Fair and remunerative levels, which allow for the expansion of world trade and trade Demand, and a dynamic and constant increase in the actual export revenues of these countries, in order to provide them with increasing resources for their economic development.

5. The rapid expansion of the economies of the underdeveloped contracting parties will be facilitated by measures to diversify the structure of their economies and avoid dependence on the excess of the export of primary products. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, and under favourable conditions, better market access for processed products and manufactured items for which the export presents or could present A particular interest for the underdeveloped contracting parties.

6. Due to the chronic insufficiency of export earnings and other foreign exchange earnings of underdeveloped contracting parties, there are important trade and development assistance relationships. It is therefore necessary for the contracting parties and the international lending institutions to cooperate closely and permanently in order to contribute with the maximum efficiency to lighten the burden that these contracting parties do not Developed for their economic development.

7. Appropriate cooperation is required between the Contracting Parties, other intergovernmental organizations and United Nations bodies and agencies, whose activities relate to the commercial and economic development of the Less developed countries.

8. Developed Contracting Parties do not expect reciprocity for commitments made by them in trade negotiations to reduce or eliminate tariffs and other obstacles to trade in contracting parties Developed.

9. The adoption of measures aimed at achieving these principles and objectives will be the subject of a conscious and determined effort, both individually and collectively, by the contracting parties.

(1) Developed contracting parties shall, to the greatest extent possible-that is, except where they prevent compelling reasons including possible legal grounds-give effect to the following provisions:

A.

Give high priority to the reduction and elimination of obstacles to trade in products for which the export presents or may be of particular interest to the underdeveloped contracting parties, including Customs duties and other restrictions that have unreasonable differentiation between these products in the primary state and those same products after processing;

B.

Refrain from introducing or aggravating customs duties or non-tariff barriers to imports in respect of products whose export is present or may be of particular interest to the underdeveloped contracting parties;

C. I. Refrain from instituting new tax measures,

Ii.

Giving priority to reducing and eliminating existing tax measures in any development of tax policy;

Which would have the effect of substantially reducing the development of the consumption of primary products in the raw or post-processing state, originating in whole or in most part of the territory of undeveloped contracting parties, where These measures would be applied specifically to these products.

2.

A. Where it is considered not to give effect to any of the provisions of paragraph 1 (a), (b) or (c), the matter shall be reported to the Contracting Parties or by the Contracting Party which does not give effect to the Relevant provisions, or by any other Contracting Party concerned.

B. I. At the request of any Contracting Party concerned and independently of any bilateral consultations that may be initiated, the Contracting Parties shall enter into consultation with the Contracting Party in respect of that matter Concerned and with all the Contracting Parties concerned with a view to achieving satisfactory solutions for all the Contracting Parties concerned, in order to achieve the objectives set out in Art. XXXVI. During these consultations, the reasons given in cases where the provisions of subparagraphs (a), (b) or (c) of the first paragraph are not given effect will be examined.

Ii.

Since the implementation of the provisions of paragraphs a, b or c of paragraph 1 by Contracting Parties acting individually may, in certain cases, be achieved easily when an action is taken collectively with others The consultations could, in appropriate cases, tender for this purpose.

Iii.

In appropriate cases, the consultations of the Contracting Parties may also extend to the achievement of an agreement on collective action in order to achieve the objectives of this Agreement, as envisaged in paragraph 1 of Art. XXV.

3. Developed Contracting Parties shall:

A.

Make every effort to maintain trade margins at fair levels in cases where the selling price of goods wholly or substantially produced in the territory of undeveloped contracting parties is determined Directly or indirectly by the government;

B.

Actively study the adoption of other measures aimed at broadening the scope for increasing imports from underdeveloped contracting parties, and working together to ensure appropriate international action;

C.

Take special account of the commercial interests of the less developed contracting parties when they consider implementing other measures which this Agreement allows for the resolution of particular problems, and explore all The possibilities for constructive recovery before applying such measures, if such measures were to prejudice the essential interests of those contracting parties.

4. Each undeveloped contracting party agrees to take appropriate measures for the implementation of the provisions of Part IV in the interests of the trade of other underdeveloped contracting parties, provided that such measures are Compatible with the current and future needs of its development, finances and trade, taking into account the past evolution of trade as well as the commercial interests of all the less developed contracting parties.

5. In carrying out the commitments set out in s. 1 to 4, each Contracting Party shall offer promptly to any other Contracting Party concerned or to any other Contracting Party concerned all facilities to enter into consultation in accordance with the normal procedures of this Agreement on all Question or any difficulty that may arise.

(1) The Contracting Parties acting collectively shall cooperate within and outside this Agreement, as appropriate, in order to promote the achievement of the objectives set out in Art. XXXVI.

2. In particular, the Contracting Parties shall:

A.

In appropriate cases, act, inter alia, through international arrangements, to ensure better and acceptable conditions for access to world markets for primary products of particular interest to the parties Developing measures aimed at stabilising and improving the situation of world markets for these products, including measures to stabilise prices at fair and remunerative levels for the Exports of these products;

B.

To establish appropriate cooperation with the United Nations and their bodies and institutions in the area of trade policy and development policy, including the institutions that will eventually be established on the basis of the Recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development;

C.

Collaborate in the analysis of the development plans and policies of the underdeveloped contracting parties individually and in the examination of the relationship between trade and aid, in order to develop concrete measures that promote the Development of export potential and facilitate access to export markets for products from the expanded industries and, in this regard, seek appropriate collaboration with governments and agencies International and in particular, with the agencies that have competence in the field of aid Economic development, to undertake systematic studies of the relationship between trade and aid in the case of the less developed contracting parties individually in order to clearly identify the potential Export, market prospects and any other action that may be required;

D.

Monitor the evolution of world trade on an ongoing basis, especially considering the rate of expansion of the exchanges of the less developed contracting parties, and address the relevant recommendations to the contracting parties Under the circumstances;

E.

Collaborate in the search for practicable methods for the expansion of trade for economic development, through international harmonization and development of national policies and regulations, by The application of technical and commercial standards relating to production, transport and marketing, and through the promotion of exports through the establishment of mechanisms to increase the dissemination of information Market research and market research;

F

To make the institutional arrangements necessary to achieve the objectives set out in s. XXXVI and to give effect to the provisions of this Part.