Tariff Concessions

T.1.1 Article II of the GATT 1994.See also Agreement on Agriculture, Article 4.2 and Footnote 1 (A.1.9–13)

T.1.1.1 Argentina – Textiles and Apparel, para. 45

(WT/DS56/AB/R, WT/DS56/AB/R/Corr.1)

… Paragraph (a) of Article II:1 contains a general prohibition against according treatment less favourable to imports than that provided for in a Member's Schedule. Paragraph (b) prohibits a specific kind of practice that will always be inconsistent with paragraph (a): that is, the application of ordinary customs duties in excess of those provided for in the Schedule. Because the language of Article II:1(b), first sentence, is more specific and germane to the case at hand, our interpretative analysis begins with, and focuses on, that provision.

T.1.1.2 Argentina – Textiles and Apparel, para. 55

(WT/DS56/AB/R, WT/DS56/AB/R/Corr.1)

We conclude that the application of a type of duty different from the type provided for in a Member's Schedule is inconsistent with Article II:1(b), first sentence, of the GATT 1994 to the extent that it results in ordinary customs duties being levied in excess of those provided for in that Member's Schedule. In this case, we find that Argentina has acted inconsistently with its obligations under Article II:1(b), first sentence, of the GATT 1994, because the DIEM regime, by its structure and design, results, with respect to a certain range of import prices in any relevant tariff category to which it applies, in the levying of customs duties in excess of the bound rate of 35 per cent ad valorem in Argentina's Schedule.

T.1.1.3 Canada – Dairy, para. 134

(WT/DS103/AB/R, WT/DS113/AB/R, WT/DS103/AB/R/Corr.1, WT/DS113/AB/R/Corr.1)

… Under Article II:1(b) of the GATT 1994, the market access concessions granted by a Member are “subject to” the “terms, conditions or qualifications set forth in [its] Schedule” (emphasis added). In our view, the ordinary meaning of the phrase “subject to” is that such concessions are without prejudice to and are subordinated to, and are, therefore, qualified by, any “terms, conditions or qualifications” inscribed in a Member's Schedule.