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30.11.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
317/7
AGREEMENT
in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Australia pursuant to
Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994
relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of the Republic of Bulgaria and
Romania in the course of their accession to the European Union
A. Letter from the Union
Done at Geneva, 24 May 2011
Sir,
Following negotiations under Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of the Schedules of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania
in the course of their accession to the European Union, I have the honour to propose the following:
1. The European Union will incorporate in its schedule, for the customs territory of the EU 27, the
concessions granted and applied for the EU 25 with the following modifications:
Add 400 tonnes (carcase weight) to the allocation for Australia under the EU tariff rate quota 'meat of
sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen', maintaining the present in-quota rate of 0 %;
Create an erga omnes allocation of 200 tonnes (carcase weight) under the EU tariff rate quota 'meat of
sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen', maintaining the present in-quota rate of 0 %;
Adjust the EU tariff rate quota 'live sheep, other than pure-bred breeding animals', with an in-quota rate
10 %, by removing the allocations of 1 010 tonnes (Romania) and 4 255 tonnes (Bulgaria);
Adjust the EU tariff rate quota 'meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen', with an in-quota rate
0 %, by removing the allocations of 75 tonnes (Romania) and 1 250 tonnes (Bulgaria).
2. The European Union will ensure that the full additional allocation of 400 tonnes for Australia under the
EU tariff rate quota 'meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen', is available in the first annual quota
period which applies on the date of entry into force of the agreement, and in each annual quota period
thereafter.
3. Australia accepts the European Union's approach to netting-out of tariff rate quotas as a way of adjusting
the GATT obligations of the EU 25 and those of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania following the
recent enlargement of the European Union.
4. Consultations may be held at any time with regard to any of the above matters at the request of either
Party.
I should be obliged if you would confirm that your Government is in agreement with the content of this
letter. Should this be the case, this letter and your confirmation will together constitute an Agreement in the
form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Australia.
The European Union and Australia will notify to each other the completion of their internal procedures for
the entry into force of the Agreement. The Agreement will enter into force 14 days after the date of the
latest notification.

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L 317/8
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
30.11.2011
Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.
For the European Union
B. Letter from Australia
Done at Geneva, 24 May 2011
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of today's date, which reads as follows:
'Following negotiations under Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of the Schedules of the Republic of Bulgaria and
Romania in the course of their accession to the European Union, I have the honour to propose the
following:
1. The European Union will incorporate in its schedule, for the customs territory of the EU 27, the
concessions granted and applied for the EU 25 with the following modifications:
Add 400 tonnes (carcase weight) to the allocation for Australia under the EU tariff rate quota "meat
of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen", maintaining the present in-quota rate of 0 %;
Create an erga omnes allocation of 200 tonnes (carcase weight) under the EU tariff rate quota "meat
of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen", maintaining the present in-quota rate of 0 %;
Adjust the EU tariff rate quota "live sheep, other than pure-bred breeding animals", with an in-quota
rate 10 %, by removing the allocations of 1 010 tonnes (Romania) and 4 255 tonnes (Bulgaria);
Adjust the EU tariff rate quota "meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen", with an in-quota
rate 0 %, by removing the allocations of 75 tonnes (Romania) and 1 250 tonnes (Bulgaria).
2. The European Union will ensure that the full additional allocation of 400 tonnes for Australia under
the EU tariff rate quota "meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen", is available in the first
annual quota period which applies on the date of entry into force of the agreement, and in each
annual quota period thereafter.
3. Australia accepts the European Union's approach to netting-out of tariff rate quotas as a way of
adjusting the GATT obligations of the EU 25 and those of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania
following the recent enlargement of the European Union.
4. Consultations may be held at any time with regard to any of the above matters at the request of
either Party.
I should be obliged if you would confirm that your Government is in agreement with the content of
this letter. Should this be the case, this letter and your confirmation will together constitute an
Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Australia.

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EN
30.11.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
317/9
The European Union and Australia will notify to each other the completion of their internal procedures
for the entry into force of the Agreement. The Agreement will enter into force 14 days after the date
of the latest notification.'.
I have the honour to express my Government's agreement with the above letter.
Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.
For the Government of Australia

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