negotiated with a government which has not become, or has ceased to be, a contracting party. The contracting party taking such action shall give notice to all other contracting parties and, upon request, consult with the contracting parties which have a substantial interest in the product concerned.

Article XXVIII

Modification of Schedules

1. On or after January 1, 1951, any contracting party may, by negotiation and agreement with any other contracting party with which such treatment was initially negotiated, and subject to consultation with such other contracting parties as the CONTRACTING PARTIES determine to have a substantial interest in such treatment, modify, er cease to apply, the treatment which it has agreed to accord under Article II to any product described in the appropriate Schedule annexed to this Agreement. In such negotiations and agreement, which may include provision for compensatory adjustment with respect to other products, the contracting parties concerned shall endeavour to maintain a general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions not less favourable to trade than that provided for in the present Agreement.

2. (a) If agreement between the contracting parties primarily concerned cannot be reached, the contracting party which proposes to modify or cease to apply such treatment shall, nevertheless, be free to do so, and if such action is taken the contracting party with which such treatment was initially negotiated, and the other contracting parties determined under paragraph 1 of this Article to have a substantial interest, shall then be free, not later than six months after such action is taken, to withdraw, upon the expiration of thirty days from the day on which written notice of such withdrawal is received by the CONTRACTING PARTIES,

substantially equivalent concessions initially negotiated with the contracting party taking such action.

(b) If agreement between the contracting parties primarily concerned is reached but any other contracting party determined under paragraph 1 of this Article to have a substantial interest is not satisfied, such other contracting party shall be free, not later than six months after action under such agreement is taken, to withdraw, upon the expiration of thirty days from the day on which written notice of such withdrawal is received by the CONTRACTING PARTIES, substantially equivalent concessions initially negotiated with a contracting party taking action under such agreement.

Article XXIX

Relation of this Agreement to the Charter for an
International Trade Organization

1. The contracting parties, recognizing that the objectives
set forth in the preamble of this Agreement can best be attained
through the adoption, by the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Employment, of a Charter leading to the creation of an
International Trade Organization, undertake, pending their
acceptance of such a Charter in accordance with their constitu-
tional procedures, to observe to the fullest extent of their
executive authority the general principles of the Draft Charter
submitted to the Conference by the Preparatory Committee.
2. (a) On the day on which the Charter of the International
Trade Organization enters into force, Article I and Part II of
this Agreement shall be suspended and superseded by the
corresponding provisions of the Charter; Provided that within
sixty days of the closing of the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Employment any contracting party may lodge with the
other contracting parties an objection to any provision or

> provisions of this Agreement being so suspended and superseded; in such case the contracting parties shall, within sixty days after the final date for the lodging of objections, confer to consider the objection in order to agree whether the provisions of the Charter to which objection has been lodged, or the corresponding provisions of this Agreement in its existing form or any amended form, shall apply.

(b) The contracting parties will also agree concerning the transfer to the International Trade Organization of their functions under Article XXV.

3. If any contracting party has not accepted the Charter when it has entered into force, the contracting parties shall confer to agree whether, and if so in what way, this Agreement, insofar as it affects relations between the contracting party which has not accepted the Charter and other contracting parties, shall be supplemented or amended.

4.

During the month of January 1949, should the Charter not have entered into force, or at such earlier time as may be agreed if it is known that the Charter will not enter into force, or at such later time as may be agreed if the Charter ceases to be in force, the contracting parties shall meet to agree whether this Agreement shall be amended, supplemented or maintained.

5. The signatories of the Final Act which are not at the time contracting parties shall be informed of any objection lodged by a contracting party under the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article and also of any agreement which may be reached between the contracting parties under paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 of this Article.

1.

Article XXX

Amendments

Except where provision for modification is made elsewhere in this Agreement, amendments to the provisions of Part I of this Agreement or to the provisions of Article XXIX or of this Article shall become effective upon acceptance by all the contracting parties, and other amendments to this Agreement shall become effective, in respect of those contracting parties which accept them, upon acceptance by two-thirds of the contracting parties and thereafter for each other contracting party upon acceptance by it.

2.

Any contracting party accepting an amendment to this Agreement shall deposit an instrument of acceptance with the Secretary-General of the United Nations within such period as the CONTRACTING PARTIES may specify, The CONTRACTING PARTIES may decide that any amendment made effective under this Article is of such a nature that any contracting party which has not accepted it within a period specified by the CONTRACTING PARTIES shall be free to withdraw from this Agreement, or to remain a contracting party with the consent of the CONTRACTING PARTIES.

Article XXXI

Withdrawal

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article XXIII or of paragraph 2 of Article XX, any contracting party may, on or after January 1, 1951, withdraw from this Agreement, or may separately withdraw on behalf of any of the separate customs territories for which it has international responsibility and which at the time possesses full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in this Agreement,

The withdrawal shall take effect on or after January 1, 1951, upon the expiration of six months from the day on which written

notice of withdrawal is received by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article XXXII
Contracting Parties

1. The contracting parties to this Agreement shall be understood to mean those governments which are applying the provisions of this Agreement under Article XXVI or pursuant to the Protocol of Provisional Application.

2. At any time after the entry into force of this Agreement pursuant to paragraph 5 of Article XXVI, those contracting parties which have accepted this Agreement pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article XXVI may decide that any contracting party which has not so accepted it shall cease to be a contracting party.

Article XXXIII

Accession

A government not party to this Agreement, or a government acting on behalf of a separate customs territory possessing full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in this Agreement, may accede to this Agreement, on its own behalf or on behalf of that territory, on terms to be agreed between such government and the contracting parties.

Article XXXIV
Annexes

The annexes to this Agreement are hereby made an

integral part of this Agreement.