GD/166
Japan - Restrictions on Imports of Certain Agricultural Products
Other titles
Japan Agricultural Products I (Source: GATT Analytical Index)
Products at Issue
| Products at issue |
Milk and cream, cheese, dried leguminous vegetables, starch and inulin, groundnuts, meat of bovine animals, other sugars and syrups, fruit purée and pastes, fruit pulp and pineapple, fruit and vegetable juices, tomato ketchup and sauce, food preparations
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| Type of product |
Agricultural
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| Product sub-type |
Mixed ag-products
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Related disputes
| GATT | |
| WTO |
Key legal aspects
Adjudicators
| Type | Panel |
| Chairperson | Sermet R. Pasin (Turkey) |
| Other members | Sandor Simon (Hungary), Johannes N. Feij (Netherlands) |
| No of Pages (total / legal reasoning) | 83 |
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Timeline
| Request for consultations |
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| Request for establishment | |
| Establishment | |
| Composition | |
| Report | |
| Adoption of report |
Outcome
| Outcome of the proceedings |
Report adopted
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| Additional Info | L/6253 (18/11/1987) Japan – Restrictions on Imports of Certain Agricultural Products – Report of the Panel: The Panel considered that Article XI:1 of the General Agreement provides for the elimination of all import restrictions, including those "made effective through quotas" and those "made effective through state-trading operations". Article XX(d) of the General Agreement permits measures necessary to enforce the exclusive trading rights of import monopolies but not measures applied by such monopolies inconsistently with the other provisions of the General Agreement. The Panel therefore concluded that the import restrictions maintained by Japan are inconsistent with Article XI:1 of the General Agreement independent of whether they are made effective through quotas or through import monopoly operations. Article XI:2(c) establishes several exceptions from the general prohibition of quantitative import restrictions for agricultural and fisheries products. Sub-paragraph (i) of that provision permits, inter alia, import restrictions on any agricultural or fisheries product, imported in any form, necessary to the enforcement of governmental measures which operate to restrict the quantities of the like domestic product permitted to be marketed or produced. To prevent the use of this provision for import restrictions that have the effect of expanding the domestic production of agricultural products or of protecting domestic industries processing such products, Article XI:2(c)(i) imposes a number of strict conditions. The Panel examined the restrictions at issue in the light of these conditions and concluded that certain prohibitions maintained by Japan are contrary to Article XI, and that certain restrictions are not justified under Article XI:2(c)(i). The Panel suggested that the contracting parties recommend that Japan eliminate or otherwise bring into conformity with the GATT provisions its quantitative restrictions maintained on the import of the products subject to this complaint. SR.43/6 (12/01/1988) Contracting Parties Forty-Third Session Summary Record of the Sixth Meeting "The Contracting Parties agreed that the Panel's report would be before the Council for consideration and appropriate action." L/6419 (28/10/1988) Contracting Parties Forty-Fourth Session - Council of Representatives Report on Work since the Forty-Third Session. Japan - Restrictions on imports of certain agricultural products: The Council adopted the Panel Report at its meeting on 02/02/1988 (C/M/217); Council considered the follow-up on the Panel Report on 08/04/1988 (C/M/219); considered the matter again on 04/05/1988 (C/M/220) and 15-16/06/1988 (C/M/222). |