\\ APRIGAN UNION UMON ARG ‘COMMISSION sag URRGISTRYTES Mission fro THE AFRICAN UNION ETHIOPIA m [es 078-17 The U.S. Mission to the African Union (USAU) presents its compliments to the African Union Commission (AUC) and has the honor to highlight our support for a new partnership between the UN and the AU to provide more reliable support for peace operations to mount effective conflict resolution and counter-terrorism responses in| \ Afat Tie Uriel Sisteaweleameathe decisica fron te AU \" membership to fund 100 percent of the AU’s operational budget, 75 percent of the program budget, and 25 percent of the AU Peace Fund by 2020, which we see as a positive step towards ensuring African ownership of and increased self-reliance for the Aftican Union. We encourage the AU to finalize its human rights compliance frameworks, and recommend consultative analysis and joint planning for AU peace support operations. As AU Member States contemplate contributions toward the AU Peace Fund and the AU budget more broadly, particularly through a proposed 0.2 percent import levy, the United States wishes to reaffirm our expectation that Member State implementation will be | consistent with international obligations, particularly under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, even for existing levies or other trade measures applied to fund peacekeeping efforts. In this, Go 4G regard, we commend the AUC’s intention to assist with AU Mem!i implementation of the Kigali Decision in compliance with | WwW members to provide detailed, country-specific implementation plans rules, and hope the AUC will encourage Aftican WTO to the WTO Council on Trade in Goods as soon as possible, and prior to implementation. In particular, the United States wishes to remind the AUC of the following WTO provisions that may affect Member States’ implementation plans: Most-Favored Nation GATT Article J): WTO Members must ‘treat imported products from different countries the same. In this instance, we are concerned that the import levy may only apply to imports from non-AU members and not to imports from one AU country to another. l Duties or Charges Not in the WTO Schedule (GATT Article I): WTO Members must not apply a tariff in excess of the bound rates in their Schedules nor impose any other duty and charge on importation. As we understand it, the levy would not be implemented as a tariff (which would require a change to each AU member's tariff schedule). This raises concerns that it is a prohibited “other duty or charge.” If, on the other hand, “concerned that it could break the WTO tariff bindings of some | “AU members were to implement the levy as a tariff, we are | | members. | \\Fees Not Commensurate with Services Rendered/Indirect Protectionism (GATT Article VIII): WTO members must ensure that any fee connected with importation be a fair \\ || reflection of the cost of a service provided related to | Tigeeucon, do not amount to taxation for fiscal purposes, and | do not serve as an indirect means of protection. In this regard, "we are concerned that only a portion of the revenue from the — 1) levy would fund AU peacekeeping activities and the rest could | be considered to be used for “fiscal purposes” since it is going “to the AU budget more generally. | | | We look forward to working with the AUC and Member States | | institutionalize the initiatives to gain reliable financial support and i oversight. | The point of contact regarding this issue is USAU Economic Officer Meredith Metzler, telephone 011-130-6174, or email Metzler MT@state gov. | | The U.S. Mission to the African Union avails itself of the a. to renew to the African Union Commission the assurances of its highest consideration. | United States Mission to the African Union, ‘Addis Ababa, May 2, 2017. A