US embassy cable - 05BUCHAREST1533

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 001533 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH 
USDA PASS FAS FOR ITP/ROBERT CURTIS/BETTYANN GONZALES 
SOFIA FOR AGRICULTURAL ATTACHE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, RO, BU, Trade Agreement 
SUBJECT: ROMANIA AGREES TO GLOBALIZE THE ITALIAN CHEESE 
TARIFF RATE QUOTA 
 
 
1.  Bucharest's Agricultural Office received consent of 
Romanian Government to globalize the remaining Italian 
cheese Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) granted to Romania. 
 
2.  Romania was granted a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) allocation 
for Italian-type cheese in the Uruguay Round for 500 tons. 
Under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) import 
licensing regulation, licenses were issued to U.S. importers 
to enter this allocation amount.  The regulation also 
provides that if the licensing authority determines that 
imports from a country are likely to fall short of its TRQ 
allocations, the remaining license balances may be 
globalized for the remainder of the year. 
 
3.  To date, zero kilograms of Italian-type cheese has 
entered from Romania.  The GOR's consent to globalize its 
quota will permit exports from other countries to fulfill 
the amount of Romania's Italian-cheese 500 MT TRQ.  If 
supplies were to become available domestically, Romania 
could still export to the United States under a globalized 
TRQ allocation as long as the allocation remains unfilled. 
 
TAPLIN