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G/AG/W/183

31 July 2018

(18-4855) Page: 1/24

Committee on Agriculture

TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION METHODS AND FILL RATES


2007-2016

BACKGROUND PAPER BY THE SECRETARIAT1

1. At the Ninth Session of the Ministerial Conference, Ministers adopted the Decision on
"Understanding of Tariff Rate Quota Administration Provisions of Agricultural Products, as defined
in Article 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture" (WT/MIN(13)/39). Ministers instructed the Committee
to review the operation of this Decision, commencing no later than 2017, taking into account
experience gained up to that time.2 The Review discussions commenced at the October 2017
meeting of the Committee.3 At the February 2018 meeting, the Committee agreed to the process
and timelines to conduct the Review in document G/AG/W/171.4 In response to requests from
Members and as per the agreed process and timelines to conduct the review, the Secretariat has
prepared this background paper in order to facilitate the Review discussions.

2. The paper presents information on tariff quota administration methods by WTO Members
and the associated fill rates. The information has been compiled from various sources, including
Members' Schedules, Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications and responses to relevant questions
raised during the Committee on Agriculture review process. The paper also draws from and
updates information contained in previous Secretariat notes on tariff quota administration and fill
rates issued in the TN/AG/S/ series.

3. The paper is organized as follows: The first section describes the core data on scheduled
agricultural tariff quotas. The second section defines the various tariff quota administration
categories, identifies those tariff quotas that were not opened during the period under review and
explains the fill rate calculations. Section three summarizes information on tariff quota imports,
administration methods, country-specific quota allocations and fill rates as well as Members'
compliance with Table MA:1 notification requirements. Annex A presents the simple average fill
rates by Member and by administration method for the period 2007-2016. Annex B incorporates
specific technical notes, organized by Member and tariff quota identifier (TQ ID). Two Attachments
(available separately in Excel format) provide respectively: (i) the yearly data for notified imports,
administration methods and fill rates disaggregated at the tariff quota level, and (ii) a list that
identifies all those tariff quotas where the bound in-quota tariff equals or exceeds the out-of-quota
bound tariff in respect of each tariff line covered by the tariff quota in question.

1
This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility in response to the request
from Members in the context of the review of the operation of the Bali Decision on TRQ administration and is
without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO.
2
Paragraph 13 of WT/MIN(13)/39.
3
Section 2.2.1 of G/AG/R/86 refers.
4
Section 2.5.1 of G/AG/R/87 refers.
G/AG/W/183

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1 DATA

1.1. This paper presents data on scheduled agriculture tariff quotas over a ten-year period, i.e.
from 2007 to 2016. Each tariff quota is characterized by the scheduled commitment, the notified
annual imports and the notified administration method. As principal point of reference, the tariff
quotas set out in Part I, Section I-B of Members' Schedules (or, in the case of Brazil and the
United States of America, Part I, Section I-A) are used. The paper also takes into account the
rectifications and modifications of Schedules, including through GATT Article XXVIII or
Article XXIV:6 negotiations.

1.2. Table 1 presents the total number of agriculture tariff quotas included in Members' Schedules
organized by year and Member, except where zero tariff quota quantity levels were scheduled. 5
Similarly, tariff quotas that are explicitly indicated to have been eliminated in a Schedule are not
counted in the totals.6 In the case of the European Union (EU), the certified EU-25 Schedule7 is
used as the point of reference. Modified tariff quota quantities as well as additional tariff quotas
pursuant to the outcome of negotiations under GATT Articles XXIV:6 and XXVIII relating to the
accession of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania to the EU have been taken into account based on EU's
Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications. Individual EU member States with scheduled tariff quota
commitments have not been included in the paper where the tariff quota administration and fill
rate information is not relevant to the review period (i.e. 2007-2016).8 In the case of Croatia, the
notified tariff quota administration and fill rates for the period of 2007-2013 with respect to nine
scheduled tariff quotas can be found in Attachment 1.

1.3. In a number of cases, at the end of the implementation period the bound in-quota tariff
equalled or exceeded the corresponding bound out-of-quota tariff in respect of all tariff lines
comprising a scheduled tariff quota. In such a situation, the applied MFN tariff on the relevant
tariff quota products may not exceed the corresponding bound in-quota tariff and hence generally
obviating the need to open those tariff quotas. Attachment 2 includes an extract of all such
scheduled tariff quotas where the bound in-quota tariff either equals or exceeds the corresponding
bound out-of-quota tariff.9

1.4. Data on tariff quota administration methods and in-quota imports reflect information notified
by Members until 30 July 2018.10 Members provide details on administration methods primarily
through Table MA:1 notifications. However, Table MA:2 notifications are also used by Members to
report on tariff quota administration, especially in cases where a tariff quota is not opened and
rather a tariff is generally applied at or below the level of bound in-quota tariff in the relevant
reporting year. The information supplied by Members during the review process undertaken by the
Committee on Agriculture has also been taken into account, where appropriate.

1.5. Throughout the paper (including in tables, annexes and attachments), a blank has been used
to signify "not available", or "not applicable", i.e. (i) no notification was submitted by the cut-off
date; or (ii) in-quota imports were not notified (e.g. when imports were permitted under a
generally-applied MFN tariff at or below the bound in-quota rate); or (iii) the data relating to a
tariff quota was aggregated with that of another tariff quota (see Technical Notes in Annex B); or
(iv) the country concerned was not a Member in the relevant period.

5
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of (VENQ028), Morocco (MARQ011, MARQ013 and MARQ014) and the
Russian Federation (RUSQ008).
6
China (CHNQ005, CHNQ006 and CHNQ007), Chinese Taipei (CHTQ001, CHTQ002, CHTQ003,
CHTQ004, CHTQ019) and Panama (PANQ016).
7
WT/LET/1220.
8
Earlier background papers on tariff quota administration and fill rates (e.g. TN/AG/S/26/Rev.1) include
the relevant information in respect of individual EU member States and may be consulted.
9
In some limited cases, the differing duty types (e.g. ad valorem vs. specific or mixed tariffs) of out-of-
quota and in-quota bindings may not facilitate a comparison in the respective tariff binding levels. Those tariff
quotas have not been included in Attachment 2.
10
Notifications circulated for the reporting period 2017 and 2018 are not covered by the present paper.
G/AG/W/183

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Table 1: Total number of scheduled tariff quotas by Member, 2007-2016


MEMBER 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
1. Australia 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2. Barbados 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36
3. Brazil 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
4. Canada 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 22
5. Chile 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6. China 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
7. Colombia 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67
8. Costa Rica 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27
9. Dominican 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Republic
10. Ecuador 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
11. El Salvador 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
12. European 113 113 113 113 113 120 120 120 124 124
Union
13. Guatemala 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
14. Iceland 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90
15. India 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
16. Indonesia 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
17. Israel 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
18. Japan 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
19. Kazakhstan WTO Membership on 30 November 2015 3
20. Korea, 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67
Republic of
21. Malaysia 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19
22. Mexico 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
23. Moldova, 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Republic of
24. Morocco 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
25. New Zealand 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
26. Nicaragua 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
27. Norway 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232 232
28. Panama 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 18
29. Philippines 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
30. Russian
WTO Membership on 22 August 2012 8 8 8 8
Federation
31. South Africa 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53 53
32. Switzerland 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28
33. Chinese Taipei 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17
34. Thailand 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23
35. The former 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
36. Tunisia 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
37. Ukraine WTO 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Membership
on 16 May
2008
38. United States 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54
of America
39. Venezuela, 61 61 61 61 61 61 61 61 61 61
Bolivarian
Republic of
40. Viet Nam 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total Number of 1106 1106 1106 1106 1107 1114 1121 1121 1125 1128
Scheduled Tariff
Quotas
G/AG/W/183

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2 METHOD

2.1. In order to enable comparison across various administration methods, the Secretariat coded
each tariff quota by category of administration method. The categories used in this paper have
been the basis of earlier background papers by the Secretariat.11 The Secretariat originally derived
these categories of principal administration methods and categories of additional conditions
following an examination of Members' Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications and the summary reports
of the Committee on Agriculture.

2.2. In line with past practice, a two-step process was used to categorize the administration
methods. First, the information reported in Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications and the record of
the discussions in the Committee on Agriculture were used to categorise each tariff quota
according to the descriptions of principal administration methods set out in Table 2 below. As a
second step, the Secretariat analysed the information to determine if the administration of the
tariff quota included any of the additional conditions or elements as set out in Table 3. The
assigned administration methods and additional conditions should generally be considered as
indicative and may not perfectly match the description of the category concerned. In situations
where Members did not provide new information on administration methods, it was assumed that
their tariff quota administration methods remained unchanged.

Table 2: Categories of Principal Tariff Quota Administration Methods

CODE DESCRIPTION
AT Applied Tariffs: Tariff quota is not opened. Imports of the product concerned are allowed into the
territory of the Member in unlimited quantities at the in-quota tariff rate or below.
AU Auctioning: Importers' shares are allocated, or licences issued, largely on the basis of an
auctioning or competitive bid system.
FC First-Come, First-Served (at the border): No allocation of licences or of access to quota to
importers. Imports are permitted entry at the in-quota tariff rates until such a time as the tariff
quota is filled, then the higher out-of-quota tariff automatically applies. The physical importation of
the good determines the order and hence the applicable tariff.
HI Historical Importers: Importers' shares are allocated, or licences issued, principally in relation to
past imports of the product concerned.
LD Licences on Demand: Importers' shares are generally allocated, or licences issued, in relation to
quantities demanded and often prior to the commencement of the period during which the physical
importation is to take place. This includes methods involving licences issued on a first-come, first
served basis and those systems where licence requests are reduced pro rata where they exceed
available quantities.
MX Mixed Allocation Methods: Administration methods involving a combination of the methods as
set out above with no one method being dominant.
NS Non-Specified: No administration method has been notified.
OT Other: Administration methods that do not clearly fall within any other category.
PG Producer Groups or Associations: Import shares are allocated entirely or mainly to a producer
group or association that imports (or has direct control of imports undertaken by the relevant
Member) the product concerned.
ST Imports Undertaken by State Trading Entities: Import shares are allocated entirely or mainly
to a state trading entity which imports (or has direct control of imports undertaken by
intermediaries) the product concerned.

2.3. This paper uses the categories of additional conditions that have been used in previous tariff
quota administration papers in order to maintain consistency. The additional conditions or
elements outlined in Table 3 relate, inter alia, to the eligibility requirements that must be met by
importers to apply for tariff quota shares under the relevant principal allocation methods set out in
Table 2. For example, the category "Past Trading Performance" refers to the situation where
licences are issued on demand and only traditional importers of the products concerned are eligible
to apply for licences. The paper also monitors the application of other conditions that have to be
met by the applicants in order to be eligible for an import licence. For example, the category
"Export Certificate" refers to situations where the exporting country must submit a certificate of
origin in order to secure a share of the tariff quota. The additional condition column in Attachment
1 has been left blank where the listed categories of additional conditions are not applicable. This
includes tariff quotas with administration methods that do not include additional conditions, as well

11
See, for example, G/AG/NG/S/8/Rev.1, TN/AG/S/22 and TN/AG/S/26/Rev.1.
G/AG/W/183

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as tariff quotas with administration methods that are not listed in Table 3. More than one
additional condition may also apply to a particular tariff quota. In this case, the code is a
combination of the letter codes contained in Table 3.

Table 3: Categories of Additional Conditions Inherent in the Administration of Tariff


Quotas

CODE DESCRIPTION
d Domestic Purchase Requirement: An additional condition requiring the purchase or absorption
of domestic production of the product concerned in order to be eligible to secure a share of the
tariff quota.
h Past Trading Performance: An additional condition limiting eligibility to secure a share of the
tariff quota to established importers of the product concerned although allocations are not made in
proportion to past trade shares.
l Limits on Tariff Quota Shares per Allocation: An additional condition involving the specification
of a maximum share or quantity of the tariff quota for each importer or shipment.
x Export Certificates: An additional condition requiring the submission of an export certificate,
certificate of authenticity, certificate of origin, or any kind of export documentation issued by the
exporting country concerned in order to be eligible to secure a share of the tariff quota.
Blank: None of the additional conditions, listed above, were identified.

2.1 TARIFF QUOTAS SUBJECT TO "APPLIED TARIFFS" (AT)

2.4. There are a number of scheduled tariff quotas that are not opened annually. These tariff
quotas are identified by the principal administration method of "applied tariffs" ("AT") as per the
classification in Table 2. They invariably correspond to cases where the MFN tariffs applied on the
tariff lines comprising the tariff quota are equal to or below the corresponding bound in-quota
tariff. In numerous instances, this situation arises where the bound out-of-quota tariffs specified in
Section IA of the concerned Member's Schedule for the tariff lines comprising a tariff quota are
equal to or below the corresponding in-quota tariff.12 In such cases, the applied MFN tariff in any
implementation year may not exceed the bound in-quota tariff thus generally obviating the need
to open the tariff quotas. A list of all such generally "inactive" tariff quotas is included in
Attachment 2.

2.5. In very limited cases, however, tariff quotas that are listed in Attachment 2 may
simultaneously be reported to have been open. One such situation, as was reported to the
Committee13, arose when a Member applied the Special Safeguard provision (Article 5 of the
Agreement on Agriculture-SSG) and sought to exempt imports under tariff quota commitments
from the application of additional duties. In such cases, while there may not be a general tariff
advantage in availing tariff quota access (as the applied MFN tariff does not exceed the in-quota
tariff), exemption of in-quota imports from the application of SSG provides value and incentive to
importers to apply for access to such otherwise "inactive" tariff quotas. There are a few other
instances noted where for some years a tariff quota listed in Attachment 2 was reported as open in
the concerned Member's Table MA:1 or MA:2 notification.

2.6. These are also cases, where in a given year, a Member decides to apply an MFN tariff to a
product subject to tariff quota commitment that is equal to or below the corresponding bound in-
quota tariff. Unlike the tariff quotas identified in Attachment 2, in this case the bound in-quota
tariffs for some or all of the tariff lines comprising the tariff quota remain below the corresponding
bound out-of-quota tariffs. These tariff quotas may not be deemed as "inactive" by virtue of the
Scheduled commitment. Here, the requirement to open a particular tariff quota may arise as soon
as the applied tariff on the concerned product is raised to levels higher than the corresponding
bound in-quota tariff.

2.7. An increasing number of scheduled tariff quotas are notified as being subject to the applied
tariff ("AT") method. This signifies that these tariff quotas are not opened or administered. The
remaining "active" tariff quotas are opened annually. Table 4 includes the total number of "active"
tariff quotas organized by year and Member based on their Table MA:2 notifications. For each

12
Please also refer to paragraph 1.3.
13
Please refer to the response to question ID#75010 under the Agriculture Information Management
System at http://agims.wto.org.
G/AG/W/183

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Member, these annual numbers have been derived by subtracting the number of tariff quotas that
are notified as being subject to "AT" in the relevant notified year from the respectively scheduled
total14 number of tariff quotas. Members employ various import arrangements including licensing
requirements, to administer these open tariff quotas. Attachment 1 includes details with regard to
those administration methods (as well as fill rates) which are analysed further in Section 3. In the
absence of MA:2 notifications for the relevant year(s), the table below shows the corresponding
cell(s) for the concerned Member as blank.

Table 4: Total number of active/open TRQs by year and Member, 2007-2016


MEMBER 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
1. Australia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2. Barbados15
3. Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4. Canada 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 1416
5. Chile 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6. China 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
7. Colombia 12 12 12 12
8. Costa Rica 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
9. Dominican Republic 8 8 8 8 8 8
10. Ecuador 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
11. El Salvador 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
12. European Union17 112 112 112 112 112 119 119 119 123 123
13. Guatemala 4 4 3 2 4 3 3 2 2
14. Iceland 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
15. India 3 3 3
16. Indonesia 0 0 0 0 0
17. Israel 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
18. Japan 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
19. Kazakhstan WTO Membership on 30 November 2015 3
20. Korea, Republic of 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63
21. Malaysia 11 11 11 12 11 11 11 11 11
22. Mexico 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
23. Moldova, Republic of 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
24. Morocco 7 7 7 7 7 7
25. New Zealand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26. Nicaragua 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
27. Norway 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21
28. Panama 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 18
29. Philippines 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
30. Russian Federation WTO Membership on 22 August 2012 8 8 8 8
31. South Africa 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
32. Switzerland 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28
33. Chinese Taipei 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
34. Thailand 23 23 22 22 22 22 22 23 23
35. The former Yugoslav 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Republic of Macedonia
36. Tunisia 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 10

14
As included in Table 1.
15
No Table MA:2 notifications were received for the period under review.
16
Partial Table MA:2 notification. Please see Technical Notes.
17
Information on tariff quota (EECQ067) was not reported in Table MA:2 notifications for the covered
period (2007-16). Please see Technical Notes.
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
37. Ukraine WTO Membership on 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
16 May 2008
38. United States of 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43
America18
39. Venezuela, Bolivarian 17 17 119
Republic of
40. Viet Nam 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total Number of open 524 534 520 519 510 515 508 506 503 299
Tariff Quotas

3 OVERVIEW OF TARIFF QUOTA DATA (2007-2016)

3.1. The following section summarises the information supplied on tariff quota administration
methods, imports, fill rates and gives an overview of the status of notifications related to tariff
quotas. Attachment 1 includes consolidated information in respect of tariff quota administration,
including additional conditions and country-specific quota allocations, where relevant, and fill-rates
reported by Members and tariff quotas for the period 2007 to 2016.

3.2. Annual fill rates are calculated from the data provided in Table MA:2 notifications as the ratio
of in-quota imports for the year concerned to tariff quota quantity commitment level. The fill rates
are included only in those cases where a tariff quota is opened. In this paper, the fill rates are
adjusted for cases where notified imports are greater than scheduled tariff quota quantities by
setting a maximum of 100% tariff quota fill. In some cases where notified in-quota imports are
aggregated for more than one tariff quota, fill rates are calculated based on the aggregated
scheduled tariff quota quantities.

3.1 TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION SUMMARY STATISTICS

3.3. Table 5 provides summary information on principal methods of tariff quota administration.
Between 2007 and 2016, a majority of tariff quotas was reported to be subject to "applied tariffs"
method. "Licences on demand" and "auctioning" are the second and third most widely used
principal means of administering tariff quotas, respectively. Due to the number of outstanding
Table MA:2 notifications, the table below reflects a declining number of reported administration
methods towards the later years.

Table 5: Number of Tariff Quotas by Principal Administration Method, 2007-2016


ADMINISTRATION METHOD 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Applied Tariffs 530 519 475 475 485 486 476 474 395 266
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 48 47 43 43 44 44 43 42 35 24
First-Come, First-Served 43 43 43 43 43 42 36 36 36 3
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 0.3
Licences On Demand 210 221 224 226 227 231 223 236 243 170
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 19 20 20 20 20 21 20 22 22 15
Auctioning 89 88 88 88 81 81 80 80 79 51
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 5
Historical Importers 73 73 73 73 69 69 77 75 72 38
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 7 7 7 7 6 6 7 7 6 4
Imports Undertaken By State Trading Entities 19 19 19 16 16 16 16 6 6 0
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0.5 0.5 0
Producer Groups Or Associations 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 4 4 0
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.4 0.4 0
Other 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Mixed Allocation Methods 72 72 55 55 56 56 57 60 53 27
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 7 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 2

18
Tariff quotas reserved for Mexico under NAFTA are not included. Please see Technical Notes.
19
Partial Table MA:2 notification. Please see Technical Notes.
G/AG/W/183

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ADMINISTRATION METHOD 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Non-Specified 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1
% of total scheduled tariff quotas 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1
Total Number of Scheduled Tariff Quotas 1106 1106 1106 1106 1107 1114 1121 1121 1125 1128

3.4. Table 6 provides details on the distribution of the additional conditions associated with tariff
quota administration. Most tariff quotas do not have any of the additional conditions identified in
Table 3 associated with their principal administration method. As in Table 5, a lack of Table MA:2
notifications may have impacted the results especially towards the later years.

Table 6: Number of Tariff Quotas with Additional Conditions in Connection with Principal
Administration Methods, 2007-2016
ADDITIONAL CONDITION 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Domestic Purchase Requirement 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 8
Limits On Tariff Quota Shares Per Allocation 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Export Certificates 28 28 28 28 28 35 35 35 32 29
Past Trading Performance 57 57 57 60 60 60 53 53 47 29
Export Certificates + Past Trading Performance 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5
Total Number of Tariff Quotas with Additional 106 106 105 108 108 115 107 106 98 74
Conditions
Number of Tariff Quotas with No Identified 948 947 890 886 887 885 877 875 800 491
Additional Conditions
Tariff Quotas with Additional Conditions as a 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 7
Percentage of Scheduled Tariff Quotas (%)

3.2 TARIFF QUOTAS SUBJECT TO COUNTRY-SPECIFIC QUANTITY (CSQ) ALLOCATIONS

3.5. From the perspective of potential exporting countries, there are two types of tariff quota
allocations. Under a "global" tariff quota allocation system, the available quota quantity is not
assigned to specific supplying countries. Simultaneously, some tariff quotas may entail "country-
specific allocations". Under this allocation system, a specific country or a group of countries is
granted access to a specified quantity within the total tariff quota quantity. In some cases, Part I,
Section I of some Members' Schedules provides for such country-specific allocations under the
column "other terms and conditions". Members are required to report information with regard to
country-specific allocations or otherwise in their Table MA:1 notifications (entry "(a) allocation of
quotas to supplying countries" in column 3) and the same has been used in the background
paper.20 Table 7 includes information on the number of tariff quotas with country-specific
allocations organized by Member and year. Attachment 1 identifies tariff quotas that are subject to
country-specific allocations (using the symbol "CSQ"), broken down by Member and year.

Table 7: Number of tariff quotas with country-specific allocation by Member, 2007-2016


Country-specific tariff quotas according to MA:1 notifications
MEMBER 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
1 Australia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Barbados 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Canada 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 Chile 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6 China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Costa Rica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Dominican Republic 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
10 El Salvador 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 European Union 29 29 29 29 29 36 36 36 41 41
12 Guatemala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

20
In some very limited cases, information with regard to country-specific allocations has been reported
by Members in Table MA:2 notifications.
G/AG/W/183

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Country-specific tariff quotas according to MA:1 notifications


MEMBER 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
14 India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Israel 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
16 Japan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
17 Kazakhstan 0
18 Korea, Republic of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 Malaysia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 Moldova, Republic of 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
22 Morocco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 Nicaragua 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Norway 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
25 Panama 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
26 Philippines 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
27 Russian Federation 3 3 3 3
28 South Africa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Switzerland 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
30 Chinese Taipei 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
31 Thailand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 The Former Yugoslav 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Republic of Macedonia
33 Tunisia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 Ukraine 1 1 1 1 1 1
35 United States of 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29
America
36 Venezuela, Bolivarian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Republic of
37 Viet Nam 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 76 76 76 78 84 87 86 91 91 91

3.3 TARIFF QUOTA ADMINISTRATION AND TARIFF QUOTA FILL

3.6. Table 8 summarizes simple average fill rates by administration method and year. Inactive21
tariff quotas (identified by "AT" as the administration method in Attachment 1) have not been
included in the calculation of fill rates. During the period 2007-2016, tariff quotas were, on
average, 57% filled. As previous Secretariat papers have noted, simple average fill rates should be
understood to be broad indicators due to some inherent weaknesses. For example, fill rates do not
differentiate tariff quotas on the basis of their size or economic importance. Also, fill rates do not
distinguish between low- or high-value products since their calculation is based on volume rather
than value. In addition, simple average annual fill rates are influenced by the changing number of
applicable tariff quotas each year.

3.7. The notification practices of Members with regard to the reporting of imports in Table MA:2
notifications differ in respect of tariff quotas subject to "applied tariffs" (AT). A number of Members
simply refer to such tariff quotas in the cover note of Table MA:2 notifications indicating that those
were not activated during the reporting period. Some other Members include "AT" tariff quotas in
the tabular section of their Table MA:2 notification and report total quantity of imports for the
relevant product. A few other Members cap the reported quantity of imports for such “AT” tariff
quotas at the level of tariff quota commitment quantity. Attachment 1 includes import data for
such tariff quotas when reported in the Table MA:2 notifications of the relevant Members.

21
Refer to Section 2.1 for additional details.
G/AG/W/183

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Table 8: Simple average fill rates by tariff quota administration method and year (%)
Simple
Average
ADMINISTRATION METHOD 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Fill Rate
2007-
2016
First-Come, First-Served 50 49 53 46 45 47 43 48 50 6 44
Licences On Demand 58 59 57 53 53 53 49 48 47 48 53
Auctioning 63 60 58 57 64 63 61 62 59 48 59
Historical Importers 73 70 67 68 69 76 64 62 61 56 67
Imports Undertaken By State 60 60 57 72 71 74 60 50 50 0 55
Trading Entities
Producer Groups Or Associations 65 66 61 54 53 51 54 84 75 0 56
Other 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75
Mixed Allocation Methods 64 61 65 61 62 67 63 63 69 67 64
Non-Specified 0 58 0 57 100 47 42 82 49 43 48
Annual Simple Average Fill Rate 61 60 59 57 58 59 55 55 54 51 57
Over All Tariff Quotas

3.4 COMPLIANCE WITH TABLE MA:1 NOTIFICATIONS

3.8. WTO Members are required to notify their tariff quota administration methods using
Table MA:1 notifications at the time of the first opening of the scheduled tariff quotas. According to
the agreed notification requirements and formats (G/AG/2), Members should notify subsequent
changes to the notified administration method in an ad hoc manner when changes are made. In
situations where Members did not provide new information on administration methods, it was
assumed that their tariff quota administration methods did not change.

3.9. Scheduled Tariff quotas subject to the "applied tariffs" (AT) method are often identified and
reported by Members in their Table MA:2 notifications. In respect of tariff quotas in Attachment 2,
Table MA:2 notifications from the concerned Members almost invariably report such tariff quotas
as being subject to applied tariffs ("AT"). However, in cases where a tariff quota is not opened in a
particular year due to a lower applied tariff, the obligation to open that tariff quota in subsequent
years may arise as soon as the tariff is raised beyond the relevant bound in-quota tariff level.
Concerning the administration method once the tariff quota is reactivated, it is assumed that the
tariff quota administration method notified prior to the reactivation of tariff quota remains valid,
unless a change in respect of tariff quota administration is notified through a new Table MA:1
notification22.

3.10. The Secretariat regularly produces a document that summarizes the compliance by
Members with their agriculture notification obligations. The document includes details of the
notification record of individual WTO Members with respect to Table MA:1 and Table MA:2
notifications.23

_______________

22
Cases exist when a Table MA:2 notification has also been used to report a new or modified
administration arrangement employed after the reactivation of a tariff quota. The MA:2 format may not
however be equipped to accommodate complete details of import arrangement employed.
23
See documents in the G/AG/GEN/86/ series.
G/AG/W/183

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ANNEX A

Table A.1: Principal Administration Methods – Simple Average Fill Rates1 by Member,
2007-2016 – (%)
MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Australia
99 99
2007 99 99
2008
99 99
2009
100 100
2010
100 100
2011
100 100
2012
100 100
2013 100 100
2014
99 99
2015
100 100
2016
Barbados
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Brazil
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 …
Canada
2007 68 70 68 98 100 99 84
2008 60 75 66 98 100 99 83
2009 67 77 75 98 100 99 86
2010 66 60 62 98 100 100 81
2011 56 79 57 89 100 99 80
2012 60 91 55 96 100 100 84
2013 56 79 66 86 100 99 81
2014 70 49 77 89 100 99 81
2015 73 48 71 80 100 99 79
2016 54 76 98 100 100 86

1
Fill rates have been rounded. In some cases, '0' may have resulted from rounding.
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Chile
2007 87 87
2008 38 38
2009 58 58
2010 0 0
2011 0 0
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014 0 0
2015 0 0
2016
China
2007 100 36 68
2008 99 31 65
2009 100 36 68
2010 100 48 74
2011 100 52 76
2012 100 80 90
2013 100 78 89
2014 100 73 87
2015
2016
Colombia
2007 100 67 100 89
2008 85 61 100 82
2009 100 61 100 87
2010 77 75 100 84
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Costa Rica
2007 17 17
2008 16 16
2009 17 17
2010 19 19
2011 19 19
2012 16 16
2013 16 16
2014 16 16
2015 26 26
2016 28 28
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Dominican Republic
2007 73 73
2008 84 84
2009 78 78
2010 87 87
2011 80 80
2012 69 69
2013
2014
2015
2016
Ecuador
2007 0 0
2008 0 0
2009 0 0
2010 0 0
2011 0 0
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014
2015
2016
El Salvador
2007 66 66
2008 23 23
2009 48 48
2010 23 23
2011 29 29
2012 29 29
2013 23 23
2014 19 19
2015 20 20
2016 34 34
European Union
2007 0 65 57 41
2008 0 46 58 35
2009 0 47 52 33
2010 0 47 48 32
2011 0 47 47 31
2012 1 44 47 31
2013 2 35 45 27
2014 1 30 46 25
2015 0 59 43 34
2016 1 55 44 33
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Guatemala
2007 84 84
2008 98 98
2009 100 100
2010 89 89
2011 66 66
2012 100 0 50
2013 100 0 50
2014 100 100
2015 100 100
2016
Iceland
2007 81 81
2008 77 77
2009 80 80
2010 78 78
2011 77 77
2012 77 77
2013 81 81
2014 77 77
2015 76 76
2016
India
2007 0 0
2008 0 0
2009 11 11
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Indonesia
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Israel
2007 100 100 100 100 100
2008 100 100 100 100 100
2009 100 100 100 100 100
2010 100 100 100 100 100
2011 100 100 100 100 100
2012 100 100 100 100 100
2013 100 86 100 100 97
2014 100 93 100 100 98
2015 100 98 100 100 99
2016 100 100 100 100 100
Japan
2007 94 53 49
2008 95 58 51
2009 97 55 51
2010 97 54 50
2011 99 56 52
2012 99 58 52
2013 98 56 51
2014 97 56 51
2015 92 56 49
2016 80 56 45
Kazakhstan
2016 59 10 35
Korea, Republic of
2007 47 84 45 74 32 93 63
2008 39 83 42 66 33 93 59
2009 16 80 44 71 29 83 54
2010 18 79 39 81 12 94 54
2011 78 84 42 71 0 94 62
2012 65 86 50 86 0 98 64
2013 34 76 38 72 0 76 49
2014 59 87 34 61 100 68
2015 58 83 40 79 100 72
2016
Malaysia
2007
2008 37 37
2009 46 46
2010 47 47
2011 54 54
2012 41 41
2013 34 34
2014 30 30
2015 23 23
2016 19 19
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Mexico
2007 100 100
2008 100 100
2009 100 100
2010 100 100
2011 100 100
2012 100 100
2013 100 100
2014 100 100
2015 100 100
2016 100 100
Moldova, Republic of
2007
2008
2009 100 100
2010 67 67
2011 67 67
2012 100 100
2013 69 69
2014 67 67
2015 100 100
2016 100 100
Morocco
2007 74 74
2008 61 61
2009 73 73
2010 62 62
2011 52 52
2012 58 58
2013
2014
2015
2016
New Zealand
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Nicaragua
2007 91 91
2008 66 66
2009 78 78
2010 87 87
2011 81 81
2012 85 85
2013 84 84
2014 78 78
2015 80 80
2016 78 78
Norway
2007 49 95 14 0 40
2008 53 96 17 58 56
2009 46 85 14 37 45
2010 41 94 23 57 54
2011 57 94 20 100 68
2012 56 89 40 95 70
2013 53 96 60 84 73
2014 49 98 100 82 82
2015 47 98 20 48 53
2016 55 85 23 43 52
Panama
2007 56 56
2008 52 52
2009 50 50
2010 53 53
2011 53 53
2012 55 55
2013 49 49
2014 54 54
2015 49 49
2016 35 35
Philippines
2007 57 100 79
2008 57 100 79
2009 43 100 72
2010 47 100 74
2011 52 100 76
2012 59 100 80
2013 29 100 65
2014 31 100 66
2015 31 100 66
2016
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
South Africa
2007 94 61 78
2008 93 61 77
2009 92 66 79
2010 89 54 72
2011 91 40 66
2012 82 47 65
2013 79 41 60
2014 65 41 53
2015 67 43 55
2016
Switzerland
2007 99 100 87 93 95
2008 100 100 89 98 97
2009 100 100 87 99 97
2010 93 100 87 98 95
2011 77 100 88 97 91
2012 79 100 84 91 89
2013 80 100 82 100 91
2014 82 100 85 95 91
2015 76 100 84 94 89
2016 75 100 83 98 89
Chinese Taipei
2007 43 68 56
2008 42 68 55
2009 35 73 54
2010 40 50 45
2011 47 68 58
2012 46 62 54
2013 44 63 54
2014 49 72 61
2015 41 64 53
2016 38 63 51
Thailand
2007 33 85 2 40
2008 43 85 2 43
2009 35 80 2 39
2010 33 79 1 38
2011 45 85 1 44
2012 38 80 0 39
2013 35 86 0 40
2014 40 84 0 41
2015 36 75 0 37
2016
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
2007 13 13
2008 45 45
2009 34 34
2010 27 27
2011 26 26
2012 62 62
2013 16 16
2014 30 30
2015 28 28
2016 17 17
Tunisia
2007 65 65
2008 56 56
2009 59 59
2010 61 61
2011 46 46
2012 76 76
2013 65 65
2014 61 61
2015 59 59
2016 48 48
Ukraine
2009 54 54
2010 89 89
2011 99 99
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014 0 0
2015 0 0
2016 0 0
United States of America
2007 46 68 57
2008 48 56 52
2009 50 64 57
2010 43 47 45
2011 45 49 47
2012 46 56 51
2013 45 42 44
2014 49 55 52
2015 51 64 58
2016
G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER AU FC HI LD MX NS OT PG ST AVERAGE
Venezuela, Bolivarian
Republic of
2007 60 60
2008 61 61
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013 100 100
2014
2015
2016
Viet Nam
2007
2008
2009
2010 47 47
2011 100 100
2012 100 100
2013 100 100
2014 100 100
2015 100 100
2016
G/AG/W/183

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ANNEX B

TECHNICAL NOTES

MEMBER TQID NOTE

Brazil BRAQ002 Tariff quota not opened. Technical rectification sought –


(G/SECRET/7 & Add.1)

Canada CANQ005 Imports of fluid milk by consumers are not counted. By virtue of
General Import Permit #1, which regulates the importation of
dairy products for personal use, any resident of Canada may
import fluid milk. The General Import Permit may be invoked an
unlimited number of times

CANQ022 Introduced in accordance with WT/LET/819 – New schedule


effective as of 6 July 2011

Table MA:2 notification for 2016 is partial. Only tariff quotas


implemented on a calendar year basis are reported for 2016

China CHNQ003, CHNQ004 Import data for CHNQ003 is reported under CHNQ004

CHNQ005, 006, 007 Tariff quotas were eliminated in accordance with the Schedule
CLII on 1 January 2006

Colombia COLQ001, COLQ058 Import data for COLQ001 is reported under COLQ058

COLQ003, COLQ059 Import data for COLQ003 is reported under COLQ059

COLQ004,COLQ060 Import data for COLQ004 is reported under COLQ060

COLQ012, COLQ061 Import data for COLQ012 is reported under COLQ061

COLQ015,COLQ062 Import data for COLQ015 is reported under COLQ062

COLQ016,COLQ063 Import data for COLQ016 is reported under COLQ063

COLQ017,COLQ064 Import data for COLQ017 is reported under COLQ064

COLQ028,COLQ065 Import data for COLQ028 is reported under COLQ065

COLQ045,COLQ066 Import data for COLQ045 is reported under COLQ066

COLQ057,COLQ067 Import data for COLQ057 is reported under COLQ067

European Union All For a number of tariff quotas, the import data reflect authorized
imports rather than effective imports. Please see the
notifications for further details

EECQ067 Not reported in Table MA:2 notifications for the covered period
(2007-2016)

EECQ001-113 In accordance with WT/LET/1220 – New EU-25 (CLXXIII)


schedule effective as of 1 December 2016

EECQ114-125 New tariff quotas resulted from EU expansion as reported in


EU's Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications

EECQ111-112 Imports data for EECQ112 reported under EECQ111. Two tariff
quotas are managed together

Iceland ISLQ057, 083 Import data for ISLQ057 is reported under ISLQ083

ISLQ085,086 Import data for ISL Q086 is reported under ISLQ085


G/AG/W/183

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MEMBER TQID NOTE

Japan JPNQ002, 004, 008 The tariff quota quantities opened (2012 onwards) and actual
in-quota imports do not include quantities available in the Hozei
area (area where collection of customs duties on imports is
temporarily reserved), as described in the Notes to Section I-B
of Part I of the Schedule

JPNQ003, 005 The tariff quota system is not applied, as these products can be
imported in the Hozei area (where the collection of customs
duties is temporarily reserved), provided they are used for
consumption in the cruise of international maritime vessels and
international airlines as described in the Notes to Section I-B of
Part I of Japan's Schedule. Import statistics for products subject
to the Hozei area system are not available

Malaysia MYSQ008, 009, 010 Import data of MYSQ008 and MYSQ009 are reported together
under MYSQ010

Morocco MARQ011, 013, 014 Scheduled tariff quota quantities are zero

MARQ017, 018, 019 Import data of MARQ017 and MARQ018 are reported together
under MARQ019

Norway NORQ091, 092, 093 During 2007-2015, import data of NORQ091 and NORQ092 are
reported together under NORQ093.

Panama PANQ016 Tariff quota was eliminated through GATT Art XXVIII process
in 2013 (refer to WT/LET/891).

Russian Federation RUSQ003, 004 Import data of RUSQ004 is reported under RUSQ003.
Tariff quotas shall be eliminated on 1 January 2020. Upon
elimination of TRQs, a flat bound rate of 25% shall apply

RUSQ005, 006,007 In the case of elimination of the TRQs, a flat bound rate of
37.5% shall apply

RUSQ008 Scheduled quota quantity is zero. In the case of elimination of


the tariff rate quota, a flat bound rate of 37.5% shall apply

Switzerland CHEQ023, 024, 025 Import data of CHEQ023, CHEQ024 and CHEQ025 is reported
together.

Chinese Taipei CHTQ001, 002, 003, Tariff quotas were phased out in accordance with the
004 Schedule CLIII on 1 January 2005

CHTQ019 Tariff quota was phased out in accordance with the Schedule
CLIII from 2008

CHTQ021 Quota has been phased out since 7 February 2005

United States of USAQ003, 005, 007, Tariff quotas reserved for Mexico under NAFTA; Table MA:2
America 011, 015, 027, 029, notifications for the period covered by the paper (2007-2016)
031-032, 048 do not include these tariff quotas.

Venezuela, Latest Table MA:2 notification for 2013 is partial


Bolivarian Rep. of (AGIMS ID75033); it includes in-quota imports of only Cane
sugar (VENQ051).

VENQ028 Scheduled tariff quota quantity is zero

_______________
G/AG/W/183

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ATTACHMENT 1

ADMINISTRATION METHODS, FILL RATES, NOTIFIED QUANTITIES


AND IMPORTS (2007-2016)

Attachment 1 includes the data on in-quota imports, administration methods, including


country-specific allocations where relevant, and fill rates disaggregated at the tariff quota level by
Member and year. The information has been sourced principally from Members' Table MA:1 and
MA:2 notifications. The data elements contained in the Attachment are as follows:

COLUMN HEADING DESCRIPTION OF DATA ELEMENT

Member Member having a tariff quota commitment specified in its WTO Schedule.

Implementation Year Implementation year/Reporting year as notified by the Member concerned.

TQ ID Seven-character tariff quota identifier code is comprised of the three-letter


WTO Member code, followed by "Q" for "quota", followed by the three-digit number
representing the sequential order in which the tariff quota is listed in the relevant
schedule.

Description of products Description of the tariff quota, as specified in the Member's WTO Schedule.
(CTS)
Admin method A code indicating the principal administration method in the relevant
implementation year (for the code descriptions see Table 2 of this paper).
ADC A code indicating any additional condition in the relevant implementation year (for
the code descriptions see Table 3 of this paper). Blank means no additional
condition listed in Table 3 applies.
CSQ allocation This column indicates whether the tariff quota concerned has country-specific
allocation arrangements for the relevant implementation year (information sourced
from Members’ Table MA:1 and MA:2 notifications).
Fill rate Tariff quota fill rates (in %) are listed for each of the implementation years,
2007-2016. The fill rates are adjusted for cases where notified imports are greater
than tariff quota quantities by setting a maximum of 100% tariff quota fill.
Unit Units for each tariff quota as notified by relevant WTO Member.

Final Quantity The scheduled tariff quota quantity for the relevant implementation year. (In the
case of the European Union, the tariff quota quantity for a number of tariff quotas
is based on EU's Table MA:2 notifications).
In-quota imports In-quota imports as notified by relevant WTO Members for the relevant
during period implementation years.
G/AG/W/183

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ATTACHMENT 2

SCHEDULED TARIFF QUOTAS WITH NO TARIFF ADVANTAGE

This Attachment lists all scheduled tariff quotas where the bound in-quota tariff equals or exceeds
the corresponding bound out-of-quota tariff in respect of all tariff lines covered by the tariff quota
in question. The list does not include tariff quotas already phased out before 2007 nor those with
zero tariff quota quantity levels. The data have been sourced from the Consolidated Tariff
Schedules (CTS) database. The data elements contained in the Attachment are as follows:

COLUMN HEADING DESCRIPTION OF DATA ELEMENT

Member Member having a tariff quota commitment specified in its WTO Schedule.

HS Different versions of the Harmonized System


2=HS96, 3=HS02, 4=HS07, 5=HS12
TQID Seven-character tariff quota identifier from the CTS database, comprised of the
three-letter WTO Member code, followed by "Q" for "quota", followed by the three-
digit number representing the sequential order in which the tariff quota is listed in
the relevant schedule.

TQ Description Description of the tariff quota, as specified in the Member's WTO Schedule.

TQ_TL Tariff line in the Harmonized System nomenclature (HS), covered by the tariff
quota in question.
In-Quota Duty Final bound in-quota duty (in percentage except where specified).

TL HS tariff line in the Tariff Concession Table which matches the TQ_TL above.

MFN Duty Final bound MFN (out-of-quota) duty (in percentage except where specified).

SSG Flag indicating that the Member has reserved the right to invoke the provisions of
Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture with respect to the tariff line concerned.
Values are "SSG" (English); "SGS" (French); "SGE" (Spanish).

Two Excel files in Attachments 1 and 2 are available in electronic format (Microsoft Excel) from
Documents On-line.

__________


In original language only.

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