REPORT
(2025) OF THE COMMITTEE ON SUBSIDIES
AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
(ADOPTED 28 OCTOBER 2025)
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
30 October 2024 – 28 October 2025 ("review period"). During the
review period, the Committee held two regular and two special meetings, on 29
April[1] and 28 October 2025.[2]
4._
As of the beginning of the
review period, Dr Wolfram SPELTEN (Germany) was Chairperson of the
Committee. On 27 May 2025, the Council for Trade in Goods
("CTG") designated Mr Jungsoo HUR (Republic
of Korea) as Chairperson of the Committee. As per the
Committee's decision on 29 April 2025[3], a
communication in this respect was sent to the Membership on 27 May 2025 and as
no written objection was received, Mr Jungsoo HUR was elected as the
Chairperson of the Committee on 3 June 2025.
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 five members: Ms Tomoko Ota (Japan); Mr Donald
Cameron Orth (Canada); Ms Vandee Suchatkulvit (Thailand); Mr Ahmed Al-Sulaiti (Qatar); and Ms
Soojung Cho (Republic of Korea).
At its meeting in April 2025, the Committee elected Mr
Kazumochi Kometani (Japan) to fill the vacancy on the PGE
created by the expiry of the term of office of Ms. Tomoko Ota.[4]
7._
As of the end of the review
period, the existing members of the PGE are: Mr Donald Cameron Orth
(until spring 2026), Ms Vandee Suchatkulvit (until
spring 2027); Mr Ahmed Al-Sulaiti (until spring 2028); Ms
Soojung Cho (until spring 2029);
and Mr Kazumochi Kometani (until spring 2030).
3 notification
of subsidies
8._
2025 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 2025.[5] As of 28 October 2025,
pursuant to these provisions, 25[6] Members had notified measures,
and five Members had notified that they did not maintain any notifiable
subsidies. These notifications can be found in document series G/SCM/N/430/...
.
9._
At its regular meeting of 29
April 2025, 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 2025 new and full notifications.[7] Pursuant to this decision, at
its special meeting held on 28 October 2025, the Committee reviewed the 2025
new and full subsidy notifications of Cuba; Honduras; Jordan; Macao, China; New
Zealand; Chinese Taipei; and Timor-Leste.
10._ 2023
new and full notifications:
At its special meetings held on 29 April and 28 October 2025, the
Committee reviewed the 2023 new and full subsidy notifications of Albania;
Kingdom of Bahrain[8]; Ecuador; India; Jordan[9]; Kazakhstan; and Montenegro.
11._ 2021
new and full notifications:
At its special meetings held on 29 April and 28 October 2025, the
Committee reviewed the 2021 new and full subsidy notifications of Kingdom of
Bahrain8 and Jordan.9
12._ 2019
new and full notifications:
At its special meeting held on 29 April 2025, the Committee reviewed the 2019
new and full subsidy notification of Kingdom of Bahrain8 and
Madagascar.
13._ At
its special meetings held on 29 April and 28 October 2025, the Committee continued its review of the 2023 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 28 October 2025, 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 29 April and 28 October 2025. As discussed at the meeting
on 28 October 2025, this issue – including reporting by the Chair on the status
of the notifications - will be on the agenda of the spring 2026 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 28 October 2025, 85 Members had notified the Committee of their
domestic countervailing duty legislation[10], while 35
Members had notified that they had no such legislation. These notifications can
be found in document
series G/SCM/N/1/….
19 Members have 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 Argentina;
Armenia; Cambodia; Iceland; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Nepal; the Russian
Federation; Sri Lanka; Türkiye; the United Kingdom; the United States; and
Viet Nam. In addition, pending written questions posed to the legislative
notifications of the following Members remained on the agenda of the April
meeting: European Union, Ghana, Kyrgyz Republic; Saint Kitts and Nevis, and
Solomon Islands and while pending written questions posed to the legislative
notifications of the following Members remained on the agenda of the October
meeting: European Union, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Solomon Islands. Written
questions and answers regarding legislative notifications can be found in
document series G/SCM/Q1/….
7 SEMI-ANNUAL
REPORTS ON COUNTERVAILING ACTIONS[11]
21._ With respect to the semi-annual
reports for the period 1 July‑31 December 2024, as of 28 October 2025, 11[12] 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 Members had not submitted a notification. These semi-annual
reports were circulated in document series G/SCM/N/428/…. 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
of the meeting.[13]
22._ With respect to the semi-annual
reports for the period 1 January‑30 June 2025, as of 28 October 2025,
10[14] Members had notified
countervailing actions taken during this period. Ninety-one Members
(including those that submitted one-time notifications) had notified the
Committee that they had not taken any countervailing action during this period.
Thirty-eight Members had not submitted a notification. These semi-annual
reports were circulated in document series G/SCM/N/436/…
and were reviewed at the Committee's regular meeting held on 28 October 2025.
The status of semi-annual reports due during the review period is set out in Annex C
to this Report.
23._ As
of 28 October 2025, the following 44 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; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba;
Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dominica; Gabon; The Gambia; Georgia;
Guinea; Guyana; Haiti; Hong Kong, China; Kenya; Lao People's Democratic
Republic; Liechtenstein;
Macao, China; Malawi; Maldives; Mali; Mauritania;
Mongolia; Mozambique; Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Senegal;
Seychelles; Sierra Leone; 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 2024 to 30 June 2025, and measures in
force as of 30 June 2025, 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, China, the
European Union, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Those notifications were listed
in documents _G/SCM/N/427; _G/SCM/N/429; _G/SCM/N/431; _G/SCM/N/432; _G/SCM/N/433; G/SCM/N/434; _G/SCM/N/435; _G/SCM/N/437; _G/SCM/N/438; _G/SCM/N/439; _G/SCM/N/440; and G/SCM/N/441. The
Committee reviewed these reports of preliminary and final actions at its
regular meetings held on 29 April and 28 October 2025.
26._
At its regular meeting held on
29 April 2025, The Committee decided to conduct the review of the 2025 new and
full subsidy notifications on the basis of the procedures set forth in _G/SCM/117,
which was first adopted in 2005.[17]
10 improving
TIMELINESS AND COMPLETENESS OF NOTIFICATIONS and other information flows on
trade measures under the scm agreement
27._ 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.18
and G/SCM/W/546/Rev.19.
The documents provide updated information on the status of various notification
obligations under the SCM Agreement. The Committee continued its
discussions on this matter at its regular meetings on 29 April and 28 October
2025.
28._ At the April 2025 meeting, the Chair informed the Committee about
the communication[18] he received on 15 April
2025 from the Chair of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG).[19]
11 Constant
dollar methodology for graduation from SCM Agreement Annex VII(b)
29._
Pursuant to the Doha
Ministerial Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns[20] 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.22,
dated 15 April 2025.
30._ 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 14 February and 1 July 2025 on the functioning of the
Committee. The audio/video of the training along with the presentations could
be found on the Committee's webpage.
31._
In October 2023, the Committees on Anti-Dumping
Practices, on Safeguards, and on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures took a decision
contained in document _G/ADP/33 – _G/SCM/166 – _G/SG/285 to use certain features of the e-Agenda
tool on a trial basis until the spring 2025 regular meetings of the Committees.
The Committees also agreed that a review of this tool would take place at the spring
2025 meetings, at which time Members would decide whether to extend the trial
period further or adopt these e-Agenda features permanently or consider other
possible features.
32._
The review was conducted at the regular meeting held on 29 April 2025.
At that meeting the Committee agreed[21] to maintain the current
practice concerning the e-Agenda tool for an additional two-year period,
specifically: (i) the uploading of Members' statements; and (ii) facilitating
access to relevant meeting documents. It was agreed that this will be reviewed
at the Committee's regular meeting in spring 2027.[22]
14 REPORT
OF THE COMMITTEE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS on actions TAKEN AND
possible FUTURE actions to IMPROVE SUBMISSION OF NOTIFICATIONS
33._
On 15 April 2025, a
communication from the Chair of the Council
for Trade in Goods (CTG) was sent to all Chairs of the
CTG's subsidiary bodies on 15 April 2025.[23]
In this communication the CTG Chair referred to the new Secretariat report titled "Notifications
Status of Regular/Periodic and One‑Time Only Notifications in the Goods Area
(1995‑2024)" (_G/C/W/859). This report, prepared at the
request of the CTG, provides detailed data on submission rates and the annual
number of such notifications.
34._
In this context, the CTG Chair
has invited the Chairs of its subsidiary bodies to: (i) discuss the additional
steps that could be taken to improve the regular/periodic and one‑time only
notification requirements they oversee; (ii) identify the steps needed to
improve the quality and timeliness of notification; and (iii) inform the
Council of past actions that have worked well in improving the number of
submitted notifications. The CTG Chair encouraged all bodies to report back to
the Council by Monday, 10 November 2025, so that the reports can be
considered at the CTG's final formal meeting of 2025.
35._
The Committee, along with the
Committees on Anti-Dumping Practices and Safeguards, held joint informal
consultations on 29 September 2025. Following these informal
consultations, a draft report[24]
to the CTG was circulated to the membership on 21 October 2025 for comments and
discussion at the Regular meeting of the Committee held on 28 October 2025.
36._
At the October 2025 meeting,
the Committee adopted the report to the CTG which will be circulated in document
G/SCM/173
as well as in G/L document series.
37._ At
its regular meeting on 28 October 2025, the Committee discussed this
item upon the request by the United Kingdom.
38._ The
Committee requested the Secretariat to present GNP per
capita calculations for all WTO Members using the methodology in G/SCM/38, in conjunction with the next update of the GNP per capita
figures for Members listed in Annex VII(b) of the SCM Agreement.
16 DISCRIMINATORY
subsidies policies and measures of the United States – item requested by China
39._
At its regular meetings on 29
April and 28 October 2025, the Committee discussed this item upon the request
by China.
40._
At its regular meetings on 29
April and 28 October 2025, the Committee discussed this item upon the request
by the Republic of Korea.
41._ At
its regular meetings on 29 April and 28 October 2025, the Committee
discussed this item upon the request by Australia25, Canada25,
the European Union, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States.
19 United Kingdom's
Electric Car Grant – ITEM REQUESTED BY the republic of korea
42._ At
its regular meeting on 28 October 2025, the Committee discussed this
item upon the request by the Republic of Korea.
20 China's First Set Technology Equipment Program – ITEM REQUESTED BY the united states
43._ At
its regular meeting on 28 October 2025, the Committee discussed this
item upon the request by the United States.
21 other
business
44._ At
the April and October 2025 meetings of the Committee, no issues were raised by
any Member under Other Business.
22 dates
OF THE REGULAR MEETINGS IN 2026
45._ As
part of the steps agreed on by Members to improve the
functioning of the Committee (G/SCM/165), Members set the dates of both regular meetings of 2026 during the
October 2025 meeting. As usual, these meetings will be preceded by the special
meetings for review of subsidy notifications.
[2] The minutes of the October 2025 special and regular meetings will
be circulated in G/SCM/M/132
and G/SCM/M/133,
respectively.
[5] In 2005, the Committee extended for an indefinite period its prior
(2001 and 2003) provisional decisions that new and full notifications should be
submitted every two years, and that annual updating notifications should be
de-emphasized. See _G/SCM/M/53,
paras. 31-34.
[6] The European Union and its 27 member States are counted as one WTO
Member.
[7] See G/SCM/M/131, paras. 118-119. The procedures provide that
questions on a subsidy notification and answers to such questions should be
submitted in writing in advance of the special meeting held to review the
notification. Such written questions and answers can be found in the G/SCM/Q2/...
document series. The same procedures were also adopted for the review of the
previous new and full notifications.
[8] Multi-symbolled document reviewed only once, as a 2023 new and full
notification.
[9] Double-symbolled document reviewed only once, as a 2023 new and
full notification.
[10] The European Union and its 27 member States are counted as one WTO
Member.
[11] The format for these reports is contained in document _G/SCM/2/Rev.1.
[12] The European Union and its 27 member States are counted as one WTO
Member.
[14] The European Union and its 27 member States are counted as one WTO
Member.
[15] See document series _G/SCM/N/202/…, notification format in _G/SCM/129.
[16] Guidelines regarding the information to be provided in these
reports are set forth in _G/SCM/3/Rev.1.
[20] _WT/MIN(01)/17,
paragraph 10.1.
[21] _G/ADP/37
- G/SCM/172.
[25] Co-sponsored this item only at the October 2025 meeting.