Introduction"The Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations",

Introduction "The Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations", signed by ministers in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994 is 550 pages long and contains legal texts which spell out the results of the negotiations since the Round was launched in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in September 1986. In addition to the texts of the agreements, the Final Act also contains texts of Ministerial Decisions and Declarations which further clarify certain provisions of some of the agreements. The Final Act covers all the negotiating areas cited in the Punta del Este Declaration with two important exceptions. The first is the results of the "market access negotiations" in which individual countries have made binding commitments to reduce or eliminate specific tariffs and non-tariff barriers to merchandise trade. These concessions are recorded in national schedules that form an integral part of the Final Act. The second is the "initial commitments" on liberalization of trade in services. These commitments on liberalization are also recorded in national schedules. Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization Back to top The agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) calls for a single institutional framework encompassing the GATT, as modified by the Uruguay Round, all agreements and arrangements concluded under its auspices and the complete results of the Uruguay Round. Its structure is headed by a Ministerial Conference meeting at least once every two years. A General Council oversees the operation of the agreement and ministerial decisions on a regular basis. This General Council acts as a Dispute Settlement Body and a Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which concern themselves with the full range of trade issues covered by the WTO, and has also established subsidiary bodies such as a Goods Council, a Services Council and a TRIPs Council. The WTO framework ensures a "single undertaking approach" to the results of the Uruguay Round - thus, membership in the WTO entails accepting all the results of the Round without exception. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 Back to top Texts on the interpretation of the following GATT articles are included in the Final Act: Article II - Schedules of Concessions. Agreement to record in national schedules "other duties or charges" levied in addition to the recorded tariff and to bind them at the levels prevailing at the date established in the Uruguay Round Protocol. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII - State-trading Enterprises. Agreement increasing surveillance of their activities through stronger notification and review procedures. Understanding on the Interpretation of Articles XII and XVIII:B Balance-of-payments provisions. Agreement that contracting parties imposing restrictions for balance-of-payments purposes should do so in the least trade-disruptive manner and should favour price-based measures, like import surcharges and import deposits, rather than quantitative restrictions. Agreement also on procedures for consultations by the GATT Balance-of-Payments Committee as well as for notification of BOP measures. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV - Customs Unions and Free-Trade Areas. Agreement clarifying and reinforcing the criteria and procedures for the review of new or enlarged customs unions or free-trade areas and for the eval‎uation of their effects on third parties. The agreement also clarifies the procedure to be followed for achieving any necessary compensatory adjustment in the event of contracting parties forming a customs union seeking to increase a bound tariff. The obligations of contracting parties in regard to measures taken by regional or local governments or authorities within their territories are also clarified. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXV - Waivers. Agreement of new procedures for the granting of waivers from GATT disciplines, to specify termination dates for any waivers to be granted in the future, and to fix expiry dates for existing waivers. The main provisions concerning the granting of waivers are, however, contained in the Agreement on the WTO. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXVIII - Modification of GATT Schedules. Agreement on new procedures for the negotiation of compensation when tariff bindings are modified or withdrawn, including the creation of a new negotiating right for the country for which the product in question accounts for the highest proportion of its exports. This is intended to increase the ability of smaller and developing countries to participate in negotiations. Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXXV - Non-application of the General Agreement. Agreement to allow a contracting party or a newly acceding country to invoke GATT's non-application provisions vis-a-vis the other party after having entered into tariff negotiations with each other. The WTO Agreement foresees that any invocation of the non-application provisions under that Agreement must extend to all the multilateral agreements. Uruguay Round Protocol GATT 1994 Back to top The results of the market access negotiations in which participants have made commitments to eliminate or reduce tariff rates and non-tariff measures applicable to trade in goods are recorded in national schedules of concessions annexed to the Uruguay Round Protocol that forms an integral part of the Final Act. The Protocol has five appendices: Appendix I Section A: Agricultural Products - Tariff concessions on a Most-Favoured Nation basis; Appendix I Section B: Agricultural Products - Tariff Quotas; Appendix II:Tariff Concessions on a Most-Favoured Nation Basis on Other Products; Appendix III: Preferential Tariff - Part II of Schedules (if applicable); Appendix IV: Concessions on Non-Tariff Measures - Part III of Schedules; Appendix V: Agriculture Products: Commitments Limiting Subsidization - Part IV of Schedules, Section I: Domestic Support: Total AMS Commitments, Section II: Export Subsidies: Budgetary Outlay and Quantity, Reduction Commitments Section III: Commitments Limiting the Scope of Export Subsidies. The schedule annexed to the Protocol relating to a Member shall become a Schedule to the GATT 1994 relating to that Member on the day on which the Agreement Establishing the WTO enters into force for that Member. For non-agricultural products the tariff reduction agreed upon by each Member shall be implemented in five equal rate reductions, except as may be otherwise specified in a Member's Schedule. The first such reduction shall be made effective on the date of entry into force of the Agreement Establishing the WTO. Each successive reduction shall be made effective on 1 January of each of the following years, and the final rate shall become effective no later than the date four years after the date of entry into force of the Agreement Establishing the WTO. However, participants may implement reduction in fewer stages or at earlier dates than those indicated in the Protocol, if they so wish. For agricultural products, as defined in Article 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture, the staging of reductions shall be implemented as specified in the relevant parts of the schedules. Details are given in the section of this paper concerning the Agricultural Agreement. A related Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries establishes, among other things, that these countries will not be required to undertake any commitments and concessions which are inconsistent with their individual development, financial and trade needs. Alongside other more specific provisions for flexible and favourable treatment, it also allows for the completion of their schedules of concessions and commitments in Market Access and in Services by April 1995 rather than 15 December 1993.