The position to be taken by the European Union within the General Council of the World Trade Organization is to support the following requests relating to the WTO waivers pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement:
requests for granting and/or extending the waivers relating to the introduction of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) and its amendments from 1992 (‘HS92 changes’), 1996 (‘HS96 changes’), 2002 (‘HS2002 changes’), 2007 (‘HS2007 changes’) and 2012 (‘HS2012 changes’), as well as future HS amendments, which establish the obligation to introduce these changes to Members’ schedules of concessions;
requests for extending the waiver allowing Cape Verde to extend the period for the full implementation of Article VII GATT 1994 and of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation;
requests for extending the waiver allowing Canada to grant preferential treatment to selected developing countries (CARIBCAN programme);
requests for extending the waiver allowing Cuba to derogate from paragraph 6 of Article XV GATT 1994;
requests for extending the waiver relating to the Kimberley Process certification scheme.
The Commission shall inform the Council via the Trade Policy Committee sufficiently in advance of any meeting of the relevant WTO body at which a decision may be taken on a request covered by this Decision. Within 10 working days of the date where the Commission has informed the Trade Policy Committee, the Council may request that the procedure for the adoption of an individual Council decision on the waiver request in question be pursued.
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.
Done at Brussels, 30 November 2011.
For the Council
The President
J. Vincent-Rostowski