21995A1230(29)

NEGOTIATIONS between the European Community and Japan under Article XXIV:6

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND JAPAN,

DESIRING to bring their GATT Article XXIV:6 negotiations to conclusion on the basis of a reasonable and mutually satisfactory compromise, and

FURTHER DESIRING to strengthen the close partnership in commercial and economic matters between the European Community and Japan,

HAVE ACHIEVED A SOLUTION AS DESCRIBED BELOW:

I. Market access concessions

A. The European Community shall incorporate in its new Schedule CLX, for the customs territory of the EUR 15, the concessions that were included in the previous Schedule LXXX as modified by the European Community Schedule annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement, 1994 (dated 15 April 1994).

B. As provided in Annex A to this Agreement, the European Community shall reduce and bind tariffs effective 1 January 1996 except as noted, shall open tariff quotas as indicated and shall accelerate the staging of Uruguay Round tariff concessions.

C. Improvements granted to third countries in European Community Article XXIV:6 negotiations shall also be applied to Japan.

II. Agriculture

A. The basic components of the European Community's approach to adjusting the obligations of the European Community of 12 and those of Austria, Finland and Sweden following the recent enlargement of the Community will be as follows:

- netting out of export commitments,

- netting out of tariff quotas,

- aggregation of domestic support commitments.

The appropriate legal modalities of implementation remain to be agreed.

B. The following tariff reduction will take effect from 1 January 1996:

1209 91 90: other vegetable seeds (other than Kohlrabi) -

reduction in the duty rate from 4 to 3 %.

Signed at Brussels this twenty-second day of December in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-five.

For the Government of Japan

On behalf of the Council of the European Union

Annex A

1. The European Community will accelerate the Uruguay Round reductions due to take place in 1997 to 1 January 1996 for all non-agricultural products (fish and industrial) except for those which are separately listed in Annexes I to III to the Council Regulation providing for the implementation of tariff reductions resulting from Article XXIV:6 negotiations following the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

2. The reductions listed in Annexes I to III will be implemented in the following manner:

(a) From 1 January 1996 the conventional rates of duty for the products listed in Annex I shall be those indicated in column 3 of that Annex.

(b) From 1 January 1996 the autonomous and conventional rates of duty for the products listed in Annex II shall be those indicated in column 3 and column 4 respectively of that Annex.

(c) For the products listed in Section 1 of Annex III the conventional rates of duty applicable on 1 January 1996 shall be those indicated in column 3.

For the products listed in Section 2 of Annex III the conventional rates of duty shall be progressively reduced in accordance with the timetable contained in column 3.

For the products listed in Section 3 of Annex III and within the limit of the quantities indicated in column 3, the conventional rates of duty applicable on 1 January 1996 shall be those indicated in column 4.