2005: October 4 : OECD countries and Non-Member Economies exchange views on export credits issues

CONSULTATION BETWEEN NON-MEMBER ECONOMIES AND MEMBERS OF THE OECD WORKING PARTY ON EXPORT CREDITS AND CREDIT GUARANTEES (ECG) AND THE PARTICIPANTS TO THE ARRANGEMENT ON OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED EXPORT CREDITS, 4 OCTOBER 2005

1. Representatives from Non-Member Economies (NMEs) met in Paris on 4 October 2005 with OECD Members to exchange views on issues relating to the work undertaken at the OECD by the Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees (ECG) and the Participants to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits (the Participants). The meeting was chaired by Ms. Nicole BOLLEN from the Netherlands, Chairman of the ECG and of the Participants. This was the third such annual consultation meeting.
2. The NMEs included representatives from Bulgaria (Bulgarian Embassy in Paris), India (ECGC), Romania (Export Import Bank of Romania and Ministry of Economy and Trade), South Africa (ECIC SA) and Chinese Taipei (Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China and CAPEC).
3. The attendees of this outreach meeting focused their debates on:
   • The latest version of the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits (the Arrangement), which had come into effect from 1 July 2005. The new text had been adjusted to include special terms and conditions for Renewable Energies and Water Projects for a two-year trial period; to cement in the Arrangement the previously temporary special terms and conditions for project finance transactions; and to allow some flexibilities in the profile of repayment terms.
   • The recent developments on the Sector Understandings on Civil Aircraft and Shipbuilding, including the current negotiations with Brazil on reviewing the aircraft disciplines and the OECD negotiations on an agreement on subsidies in the shipbuilding sector.
   • The latest developments in the areas of tied and untied aid, including the updated ex-ante guidance for tied aid projects and the publicly available information on the OECD Web site in respect of ex-ante notifications of untied ODA credits.
   • Linkages between the Arrangement and the WTO.
   • The review of the OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches to the Environment and Export Credits (the OECD Recommendation), which is due to be completed by the end of 2006, and responses to a survey of NMEs’ environmental review procedures and practices.
   • The review of the Action Statement on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credits, which is currently taking place in the ECG, and issues which might be considered for enhancement in any revised agreement.
   • The ECG’s work on unproductive expenditure, including the 2001 Statement of Principles and the recent agreement to extend reporting of officially supported export credits from HIPCs to include IDA-only countries.
4. The NMEs commented that these annual consultations were a useful way to exchange views and experiences with OECD Members and other NMEs, particularly for those NMEs in the process of developing their export credit disciplines. The Chairman agreed to keep the NMEs advised of progress in reviewing and adjusting the OECD agreements on the environment, bribery and unproductive expenditure.

OECD Secretariat
October 2005