Decree No. 212 / 1948 Coll.
Decree of 24 March 1948 amending Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, published in the Collection of Laws and Regulations under No 59 / 1948
Valid
Effective from 01.06.1948
212.
Government Decree
of 23 June 1948
on provisional application Special Protocol of 24 March 1948 amending Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, published in the Collection of Laws and Regulations under No 59 / 1948
Under Article 1 of the Act of 4 July 1923, No 158 Coll., on the provisional treatment of trade relations with foreign countries, and Article VII of the Law of 22 June 1926, No 109 Coll., which partially amends the Customs Tariff Act for the Czechoslovak customs territory and the Customs Tariff and issues provisions on trade relations with foreign countries, I declare:
Pursuant to the Resolution of the Government of the Czechoslovak Republic of 25 May 1948 and with the agreement of the President of the Republic, the Special Protocol amending Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, published in the Collection of Laws and Regulations under No 59 / 1948, is hereby entered into force with effect from 1 June 1948.
In the annex to this Government Order, the text of the said Protocol shall be published in the original English and French versions and in the Czech translation.
Zaporocký v. r.
(Translation)
Special Protocol
relating to Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America which provisionally apply the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade pursuant to the Protocol on provisional entry into force,
approve the amendment to Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which was drawn up at the first meeting of the CONTRACTING PARTIES to this Agreement and which reads as follows:
"I. Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade shall read as follows:
Territorial applications - Border relations - Customs union and free trade areas.
"1. The provisions of this Agreement shall be brought into force for the parent customs territory of the Contracting Parties and for other customs territories for which this Agreement has been adopted pursuant to Article XXVI or has been brought into force under Article XXXIII or within the meaning of the Protocol on provisional entry into force. Any such customs territory shall be treated as if it were a Contracting Party solely for the purposes of the territorial application of this Agreement; provided that the provisions of this paragraph are not interpreted as constituting rights and obligations between two or more customs territories for which this Agreement has been adopted pursuant to Article XXVI or has been brought into force pursuant to Article XXXIII or within the meaning of the provisions of the Protocol on provisional application by one Contracting Party.
'2. For the purposes of this Agreement, any territory to which special customs duties or other trade arrangements apply shall be deemed to be the customs territory of a substantial part of trade in that territory with other territories.
'3. The provisions of this Agreement shall not be interpreted as precluding:
(a) advantages granted by a Contracting Party to neighbouring States to facilitate border traffic;
(b) the advantages granted to trade in the Free Territory of the Territories, the countries bordering that territory, subject to the fact that such advantages do not conflict with the peace treaties that arose from World War II.
"4. The Parties recognise that it is desirable to increase the freedom of trade by voluntary arrangements negotiated to complement the economies of the countries Parties to such agreements. They also recognise that the purpose of the Customs Union or the Free Trade Area is to facilitate trade between the Parties and not to create a dam for trade between the Parties involved.
"5. Therefore, the provisions of this Agreement should not prevent the formation of a customs union or free trade area or the negotiation of an interim agreement necessary for the establishment of a customs union or free trade area between the territories of the Contracting Parties; Subject to the following:
(a) as regards the customs union or provisional agreement for the establishment of a customs union, customs duties and other trade arrangements imposed on the establishment of such a Union or on the basis of such an Interim Agreement, they shall not, in whole or in part, be more or more restrictive than they were in force in the territories of which the customs union is composed, before the formation of such a Union, or before the conclusion of such an Interim Agreement;
(b) As regards the area of free trade or the Interim Agreement for the establishment of an area of free trade, customs and other trade arrangements in force in one of the territories of which the area of free trade is composed and in force in the formation of such an area of free trade or in the negotiation of such an Interim Agreement on Trade of Parties which are not included in such an area or which are not parties to such an agreement, shall not be more or more restrictive than the corresponding customs and other trade arrangements applicable in the territories of which the area of free trade consists before the establishment of that area of free trade or, respectively, of an Interim Agreement; and
(c) any interim agreement referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall contain a plan and a timetable for the establishment of such a customs union or such an area of free trade within a reasonable period of time.
'6. Where, in compliance with the requirements of subparagraph 5 (a), a Contracting Party proposes to increase a rate of duty contrary to the provisions of Article II, the procedure laid down in Article XXVIII shall apply. When adjusting the compensation arrangement, due account should be taken of the compensation already granted by reducing the corresponding duties by other members of the Union.
"7. (a) Any Contracting Party which decides to enter a customs union or a free trade area or to negotiate an interim agreement for the establishment of such a Union or a region shall notify the CONTRACTING PARTIES without delay and shall provide them with any information on the forthcoming union or area which will enable them to provide the Contracting Parties with reports of recommendations they consider appropriate.
(b) If, after having examined the plan and schedule provided for in the Interim Agreement referred to in paragraph 5, in consultation with the Parties to this Agreement and taking due account of the report provided within the meaning of the provisions of subparagraph (a) of the CONTRACTING PARTIES, it finds that such an agreement is unlikely to lead to the formation of a customs union or free trade area at the time envisaged by the Parties to the Agreement or that the period is inadequate, the CONTRACTING PARTIES shall make recommendations to those Parties. The Parties shall not maintain or, where appropriate, bring into force such an agreement if they are not willing to amend it within the meaning of these Recommendations.
(c) Any substantial change in the plan or in the time schedule referred to in paragraph 5 (c) shall be notified to the CONTRACTING PARTIES which may request the relevant Contracting Parties to consult them if the amendment is likely to jeopardise or significantly delay the formation of a customs union or free trade area.
'8. For the purposes of this Agreement:
(a) A customs union shall be deemed to replace two or more customs territories with one customs territory in such a way that:
(i) duties and other arrangements restricting trade (except where necessary, those permitted under Articles XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV and XX) shall be abolished in respect of essentially all trade between the countries of which the Union consists or at least substantially all trade in products originating in those territories; and
(ii) in agreement with the provisions of paragraph 9, substantially the same customs duties and the same trade arrangements are applied by each member of the Union to the arrangements for trade in territories outside the Union;
(b) a group of two or more customs territories in which customs duties and other restrictive trade arrangements (except where necessary, those permitted under Articles XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV and XX) are removed for essentially all trade between Member States in goods originating in those territories.
'9. Preferences quoted in paragraph 2 of Article I shall not be affected by the establishment of a customs union or free trade area, but may be removed or adapted to negotiations with the Contracting Parties concerned. This procedure shall be maintained with the Contracting Parties concerned in particular if it is to eliminate the preferences required within the meaning of paragraph 8 (a) (i) and paragraph 8 (b).
"10. THE CONTRACTING PARTIES may, by a two-thirds majority, approve proposals which do not fully compare with the requirements of paragraphs 5 to 9 inclusive, provided that such proposals are aimed at establishing a customs union or a free trade area within the meaning of this Article.
"11. Taking into account the exceptional circumstances arising from the establishment of India and Pakistan as independent states and recognising that both of them have long formed economic unity, the Contracting Parties agree that the provisions of this Agreement do not prevent these two countries from concluding specific trade agreements until they have definitively adjusted their trade relations.
'12. Each Contracting Party shall take all appropriate measures in its power to ensure that the provisions of this Agreement are maintained by regional and local authorities and authorities within its territory. ';
"II. The explanatory notes to Article XXIV of Annex I to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade shall be worded as follows:
"to Article XXIV
"Paragraph 5.
It is understood that I require that, where goods imported into the territory of one of the members of the customs union or of the free trade area at a preferential customs duty and re-exported to the territory of another member of such union or region, that member has collected a duty equal to the difference between the duty already paid and the rate of the country enjoying the most favoured nation clause.
"Paragraph 11.
When the definitive trade agreements between India and Pakistan are concluded, the measures introduced by both countries to implement these agreements may derogate from certain provisions of this Agreement but may not be justified by its objectives. '
Taking note that, within the meaning of Article XXX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the abovementioned amendment will take effect with respect to those Contracting Parties which accept it once adopted by two thirds of the Contracting Parties.
They shall be accepted to deposit before 1 June 1948 the instruments of acceptance of the abovementioned amendment with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Original The Protocol shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall be responsible for registering it.
On the conscience of the relevant representatives, duly authorised, signed this protocol.
Dane in Havana, in a single copy, in English and French, both texts authentic, on the twenty-fourth March 1948.
For the Kingdom of Belgium: M. SUETENS
For Canada: L. D. WILGRESS
For the Republic of Cuba: GUSTAVO GUTUERREZ
For the Republic of Czechoslovakia: Z. AUGENTHALER
For the Republic of France: JEAN ROYER
For the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: J. WOULBROUN
For the Kingdom of the Netherlands: A. B. SPEEKENBRINK
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: STEPHEN L. HOLMES
For the United States of America: JOHN W. EVANS
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Decree No 212 / 1948 Coll., which puts into force the Special Protocol of 24 March 1948 amending Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, published in the Collection of Laws and Regulations under No 59 / 1948 |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 07.08.1948 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.06.1948 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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