Protocolos

WORKING DOCUMENT No. 1
ANNEX D

Possible New article to replace the current article 10.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture

EXPORT CREDITS, EXPORT CREDIT GUARANTEES OR INSURANCE PROGRAMMES

a


b DEFINITION

Members undertake not to provide export credits, export credit guarantees orinsurance programmes otherwise than in conformity with this Article. These export credits, export credit guarantees and insurance programmes (hereinafter referred to as “export financing support”) shall have the same meaning as is provided under Article 10.2 of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture and, within that meaning, comprise:

a) direct financing support, comprising directcredits/financing, refinancing, and interest rate support;

b) risk cover, comprising export credit insurance or reinsurance and export credit guarantees;

c) government-to-government credit agreements covering the imports of agricultural products exclusively from the creditor country under which some or all of the risk is undertaken by the government of the exporting country;and

d) any other form of governmental export credit support, direct or indirect, including deferred invoicing and foreign exchange risk hedging.

The provisions of this Article shall apply to export financing support provided by or on behalf of the following entities, hereinafter referred to as "export financing entities", whether such entities are established at the national or atthe sub-national level:

a) government departments, agencies, or statutory bodies;

b) any financial institution or entity engaged in export financing in which there is governmental participation by way of equity, provision of loans or underwriting of losses;

c) agricultural export state trading enterprises; and

d) any bank or other privatefinancial, credit insurance or guarantee institution which acts on behalf of or at the direction of governments or their agencies.

Terms and Conditions

Export financing support shall be provided in conformity with the terms and conditions set out below.

a) Maximum repayment term: The maximum repayment term for export financing support under this Agreement, this being the period beginningat the starting point of credit[1] and ending on the contractual date of the final payment, shall be no more than 180 days[2].

b) Self-Financing: Export financing support programmes or parts thereof which are subject to the provisions of this Article shall be self-financing. Self-financing shall be considered as the ability of such programmes, or parts thereof, to operate in a manner bywhich all operating costs, losses and any other form of export contingent financial contribution otherwise provided[3] under such programmes are recovered in due course to a commercially viable standard over a (rolling) period of [4][5] years.[4]

Non-conforming Export Financing Support

Export financing support, which does not conform with the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Articleconstitute export subsidies for the purposes of this Agreement and are therefore, to be eliminated within the binding levels of Members' export subsidies elimination Schedules.

Special and Differential Treatment

Developing countries providers of export financing support shall be eligible to benefit from the following elements:

a) the maximum repayment term may be up to [360] days.;b) the self-financing period contained in paragraph 3(b) for developing countries shall be at least [6][7.5] years. [However, in the case of direct export credits only, developing country Members shall be entitled to have recourse to certain adjustments in conformity with the specific provisions in footnote x below];

Least-developed countries and net food-importing developing...