Report (2024) of the Committee on Subsidies
and Countervailing Measures
(ADOPTED 29 OCTOBER 2024)
1 organization of the work of the committee
1 The Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures ("the Agreement") entered into force on 1
January 1995. All Members of the WTO are ipso facto
members of the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures ("the
Committee") established under the Agreement.
2 Observer governments in the
General Council of the WTO have Observer status in the Committee. The IMF,
World Bank, UNCTAD, and FAO have regular Observer status in the Committee.
Pursuant to decisions made by the Committee in April and November 1998, respectively,
the OECD and the Organization of
African, Caribbean and Pacific States ("OACPS") are invited to attend meetings
on an ad hoc basis. Requests for Observer
status from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Gulf
Organization for Industrial Consulting are under consideration by Members.
3 This
Report covers the period 28 October 2023 – 29 October 2024 ("review
period"). During the review period, the Committee held two regular and two
special meetings, on 23 April[1] and 29 October 2024.[2]
4 As
of the beginning of the review period, Mr James LESTER
(NEW ZEALAND) was
Chairperson of the Committee. On 28 May 2024, the Council for Trade in Goods
("CTG") designated Dr Wolfram SPELTEN (GERMANY) as
Chairperson of the Committee. As per the Committee's decision on
23 April 2024[3], a
communication in this respect was sent to the Membership on 29 May 2024 and as
no written objection was received, Dr Wolfram SPELTEN was elected as the
Chairperson of the Committee on 31 May 2024.
2 permanent group of experts
5 The
Committee is required by Article 24.3 of the Agreement to establish a Permanent
Group of Experts ("PGE"). The tasks assigned to the PGE by the
Agreement are: to provide assistance to a Panel, on request, with regard to
whether a measure is a prohibited subsidy; to provide a Member with
confidential advisory opinions on the nature of any subsidy proposed to be
introduced or currently maintained by that Member; and to provide the Committee
with advisory opinions on the existence and nature of any subsidy.
6 As
of the beginning of the review period, the PGE had four members: Ms Marina
Foltea; Ms Tomoko
Ota; Mr Donald Cameron Orth; and Ms Vandee Suchatkulvit (Thailand). At its meeting in April 2024,
the Committee elected Ms Soojung Cho (Republic of Korea) to
fill the vacancy on the PGE created by the expiry of the term of office of Ms.
Marina Foltea. The Committee also elected Mr Ahmed Al-Sulaiti (Qatar) to
fill the vacancy on the PGE created by the expiry of the term of office of Mr
Rabih Nasser whose
term expired in May 2023.
7 As
of the end of the review period, the existing members of the PGE are: Ms Tomoko
Ota (until spring 2025); Mr Donald Cameron Orth (until spring 2026), and Ms
Vandee Suchatkulvit (until spring 2027); Mr Ahmed Al-Sulaiti (until spring
2028); and Ms Soojung Cho (until spring 2029).
3 notification of subsidies
8 2023
new and full notifications:
In accordance with Article 25.1 of the Agreement and Article XVI of GATT
1994, all Members were required to submit new and full notifications of
subsidies by 30 June 2023.[4] As of 29 October 2024,
pursuant to these provisions, 43[5] Members had notified measures,
and 12 Members had notified that they did not maintain any notifiable
subsidies. These notifications can be found in document series _G/SCM/N/401/... .
9 At
its regular meeting of 2 May 2023, the Committee decided that the procedures
adopted in April 2005 for the review of the 2005 new and full
notifications (G/SCM/117)
also would apply to the review of the 2023 new and full notifications.[6] Pursuant to this decision, at
its special meeting held on 23 April 2024, the Committee reviewed the 2023 new
and full subsidy notifications of Argentina; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China;
Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominican Republic[7]; Eswatini; European Union
(also pertaining to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic,
Spain, and Sweden); Hong Kong, China; Israel; Japan; Kenya7;
Republic of Korea; Kyrgyz Republic7; Lesotho7;
Liechtenstein; Malaysia; Mauritius; Montenegro; Myanmar; Norway; Philippines;
Singapore; Suriname; Switzerland; Tanzania; Thailand; Türkiye; Ukraine; United
Kingdom; United States; and Vanuatu.
10 At
its special meeting held on 29 October 2024, the Committee reviewed the 2023
new and full subsidy notifications of Australia; Cabo Verde; Cambodia;
Democratic Republic of Congo7; Dominican Republic; El Salvador;
European Union (pertaining to Croatia, Luxembourg, and Slovenia); Honduras;
Iceland; Nepal; and Uruguay[8].
11 New
and full subsidy notifications covering previous notification cycles: The
multi-symbolled new and full subsidy notifications from the Dominican Republic
for the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 notification cycles; from
Kenya for the 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009,
2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 notification cycles; from the Kyrgyz Republic for
the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 notification cycles; and from
Lesotho for the 2017, 2019, and 2021 notification cycles were reviewed by the
Committee as part of the 2023 new and full subsidy notifications at its special
meeting on 23 April 2024.
12 The multi-symbolled new and full subsidy notification from Democratic
Republic of Congo for the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015,
2017, 2019, and 2021 notification cycles; and the
double‑symbolled notification from Uruguay for the 2021 notification cycle were reviewed by the Committee as part of the
2023 new and full subsidy notifications at its special meeting on 29 October 2024.
13 At
its special meetings held on 23 April and 29 October
2024, the Committee continued its review of the 2023, 2021, and 2019 new and
full notifications that had not been completed at previous meetings.
14 The status of subsidy notifications under Article 25.1 by WTO
Members since 1995, as well as the periods covered by the last subsidy
notification received from each Member, are shown in the tables in Annex
A.
15 Article
25.8 of the Agreement
provides: "Any Member may, at any time, make a written request for
information on the nature and extent of any subsidy granted or maintained by
another Member (including any subsidy referred to in Part IV), or for an
explanation of the reasons for which a specific measure has been considered as
not subject to the requirement of notification". Information requests made
under this provision are circulated in document series _G/SCM/Q2/.... Some of the questions
presented to date pursuant to this provision remain unanswered.
4 working party on subsidy notifications
16 The
Working Party on Subsidy Notifications did not meet during the review period.
5 ARTICLE 27.4 EXTENSIONS OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD FOR THE ELIMINATION
OF EXPORT SUBSIDIES
17 Final
transparency notifications covering calendar year 2015 submitted pursuant to
the procedures in _WT/L/691, regarding Article 27.4
extensions:
As of 29 October 2024, Antigua and
Barbuda, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Grenada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Jordan, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts
and Navis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had submitted the
final transparency notifications required by paragraph 2(c) of the procedures
in _WT/L/691. These notifications were due
by 30 June 2016 in respect of calendar year 2015, the final year of
the two final phase-out years for the covered export subsidies and can be found
in document series _G/SCM/N/299/.... The Committee considered the
status of these notifications at its regular meetings held on 23 April and 29 October 2024. As discussed at the
meeting on 29 October 2024, this issue – including reporting by the Chair on
the status of the notifications - will be on the agenda of the spring 2025
meeting.
6 notification and examination of COUNTERVAILING duty laws and/or
regulations
18 Pursuant
to Article 32.6 of the Agreement and a decision of the Committee in February
1995, all Members having new or existing legislation and/or regulations which
apply in whole or in part to countervailing duty investigations or reviews
covered by the Agreement are requested to notify the full and integrated text
of such legislation and/or regulations to the Committee. Changes in a Member's
legislation and/or regulations are also to be notified. If a Member has no such
legislation or regulations, the Member is to inform the Committee of this fact.
The Committee also decided that Observer governments should comply with these
notification obligations.
19 As
of 29 October 2024, 83 Members had notified the Committee of their domestic
countervailing duty legislation[9], while
37 Members had notified that they had no such legislation. These notifications
can be found in document
series _G/SCM/N/1/…. 19 Members had not yet made notifications under
Article 32.6 of the Agreement. Annex B sets
out the status of notifications under Article 32.6, and the reference
symbol(s) of the document(s) containing each Member's current notification.
20 During
the review period, the Committee reviewed notifications regarding
countervailing duty legislation and/or regulations submitted by Brazil; Cabo
Verde; the Kyrgyz Republic; Solomon Islands; the United Kingdom; and the
United States. In addition, pending written questions posed to the legislative
notifications of the following Members remained on the agendas of the April
and/or the October 2024 meetings: Cameroon, European Union, Ghana, and St Kitts
& Nevis. Written questions and answers regarding legislative
notifications can be found in document series _G/SCM/Q1/….
7 SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS ON COUNTERVAILING ACTIONS[10]
21 With respect to the semi-annual
reports for the period 1 July‑31 December 2023, as of 29 October 2024, 10[11] Members had notified
countervailing actions taken during this period. Ninety‑six Members (including
those that submitted one-time notifications) had notified the Committee that
they had not taken any countervailing action during this period. Thirty-one
Members had not submitted a notification. These semi-annual reports were circulated
in document series G/SCM/N/414/…. The status of semi‑annual reports for this
period is set out in Annex C. Questions raised concerning these reports can be found in the minutes[12] of the meeting.
22 With respect to the semi-annual
reports for the period 1 January‑30 June 2024, as of 29 October 2024,
eight[13] Members had notified
countervailing actions taken during this period. Ninety‑three Members
(including those that submitted one-time notifications) had notified the
Committee that they had not taken any countervailing action during this period.
Thirty-six Members had not submitted a notification. These semi-annual reports
were circulated in document series G/SCM/N/422/… and were reviewed at the
Committee's regular meeting held on 29 October 2024. The status of
semi-annual reports due during the review period is set out in Annex C to this Report.
23 As
of 29 October 2024, the following 49 Members had submitted one-time
notifications of having no authority competent to conduct countervailing
investigations, of having never taken countervailing actions, and of not
anticipating taking any such actions for the foreseeable future: Afghanistan; Angola; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Burkina Faso; Burundi;
Cambodia; Cameroon[14]; Congo;
Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dominica; Gabon;
The Gambia; Georgia; Guinea; Guyana; Haiti; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Kenya; Lao People's Democratic Republic;
Liechtenstein; Macao, China; Malawi; Maldives; Mali; Mauritania; Mongolia;
Mozambique; Myanmar; Nepal; Papua New Guinea; Rwanda;
Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Senegal; Seychelles;
Sierra Leone; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Switzerland; Tanzania; Tonga;
Uganda; Vanuatu; and Zambia.[15]
24 A
table summarizing notifications of new countervailing duty actions taken by
Members during the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, and measures in
force as of 30 June 2023, is provided in Annex D to this Report.
8 REPORTS ON ALL PRELIMINARY OR FINAL COUNTERVAILING DUTY ACTIONS[16]
25 Pursuant
to Article 25.11 of the Agreement, Members are to report to the Committee
without delay all preliminary and final countervailing actions taken. During
the review period, the Committee received reports of preliminary and final
countervailing actions from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European
Union, India, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, the United Kingdom, and the
United States. Those
notifications were listed in documents G/SCM/N/413;
G/SCM/N/415;
G/SCM/N/416;
G/SCM/N/417;
G/SCM/N/418;
G/SCM/N/419;
_G/SCM/N/420; _G/SCM/N/421; _G/SCM/N/423; _G/SCM/N/424; _G/SCM/N/425; and G/SCM/N/426. The Committee reviewed these
reports of preliminary and final actions at its regular meetings held on 23
April and 29 October 2024.
9 improving TIMELINESS AND COMPLETENESS OF NOTIFICATIONS and other
information flows on trade measures under the scm agreement
26 As
part of the Committee's efforts, pursuant to the 2009 request from the
Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body, on "ways to improve the
timeliness and completeness of notifications and other information flows on
trade measures", at the request of the Committee Chairperson the
Secretariat circulated documents G/SCM/W/546/Rev.16 and G/SCM/W/546/Rev.17. The documents provide updated
information on the state of compliance with various notification obligations
under the SCM Agreement. The Committee continued its discussions on this
matter at its regular meetings on 23 April and 29 October 2024.
10 Constant dollar methodology for graduation from SCM Agreement
Annex VII(b)
27 Pursuant
to the Doha Ministerial Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns[17] Annex VII (b) to the SCM
Agreement lists Members until their GNP per capita reaches USD 1,000 in
constant 1990 dollars for three consecutive years, calculated using the
methodology set forth in G/SCM/38,
Appendix 2. Updated calculations were circulated by the Secretariat
in G/SCM/110/Add.21, dated 15 February 2024.
28 At
its April meeting, the Committee requested the
Secretariat to present GNP per capita calculations for all WTO Members using
the methodology in G/SCM/38. These calculations were circulated in document G/SCM/W/594 dated 30
July 2024.
29 As part of the steps agreed on by Members to improve the functioning
of the Committee (G/SCM/165), the Secretariat provided
– during the review period two training sessions on 26 March and 23 September
2024 on the functioning of the Committee. The audio/video of the training along
with the presentations could be found on the Committee's webpage.
30 At
its regular meeting on 23 April 2024, upon the request by Australia, Canada,
the European Union, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States, the
Committee continued to discuss the revised version of a proposal on
"Guidelines for Submission of Questions and Answers under Articles 25.8
and 25.9" of the SCM Agreement.[18]
31 At
its regular meetings on 23 April and 29 October 2024, the Committee discussed
this item upon the request by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan,
United Kingdom, and the United States.
32 At
its regular meetings on 23 April
and 29 October 2024, the Committee discussed this item upon the request by
China.
33 At
its regular meetings on 23 April
and 29 October 2024, the Committee discussed this item upon the request by the
Republic of Korea.
34 At
its regular meetings on 23 April
and 29 October 2024, the Committee discussed this item upon the request by the
United States.
35 At
its regular meeting on 29 October
2024, the Committee discussed this item upon the request by the United States.
18 other business
36 At
the April meeting of the Committee,
·_