18
The difficulty here is that Congress are likely to resist a change in US
law unless other countries accept rules on subsidies. The former Administration
formulated rules therefore designed to this end and the Community in turn agreed
to somewhat strengthened GATT provisions on subsidies, while resisting the
argument that the provision of domestic subsidies should be restrained and
export subsidies for agricultural products be prohibited. There has so far
been little meeting of minds, but there is at least some understanding of the
problem.
19 The second of the sub groups where some progress has been made is standards.
While the details have not been finalised, the outlines of a standards code have
been agreed which would be designed to ensure that new standards are not
introduced for protective reasons. The Community will have to weigh carefully
the effects of giving up its right to maintain or introduce standards discrimina-
ting against non-Community countries against the export advantages which would
accrue if the code goes through. A critical element here will be whether the
code applies at state and municipal level in the USA and certain other countries.
20 There has been little real progress in the other NTM groups.
In the case
of that concerned with Customs matters our objective will be to secure if we
can some order in the US (and Canadian) system of valuation. We shall also try
and persuade the US to bring their anti-dumping provisions more clearly into line
with the GATT.
21 On other matters
quantitative restrictions and public procurement the
Community's objectives are rather more defensive.
SAFEGUARDS
22 On safeguards there has been little progress so far. The difficulty here
is that, while we would like the GATT procedures to allow us to act against
imports causing or threatening serious injury to our own domestic producers, we
do not want it to be too easy for other countries to take action against our own
exports. The USA has suggested that, if it meets certain criteria, safeguard
action should no longer be subject to retaliation, and that there should be
international rules for (and supervision of) time limits, adjustment assistance
We should like the procedures revised so that we can take action against
etc.
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