RESTRICTED WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONTCA/W/4
21 December 1999
(99-5498)
Committee on Trade in Civil Aircraft Original:  English
DEFINITION OF "CIVIL AIRCRAFT"
Communication from Canada
The following communication, dated 17 December 1999, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Canada.
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The 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft (the Agreement) contains a negative
definition of "civil aircraft".  In other words, "civil aircraft" is defined to be aircraft other than military
aircraft.  To implement the 1979 Agreement, the Aircraft Committee decided that signatories would
submit a list of those military and quasi-military entities empowered to register aircraft as "military".
It was subsequently decided that all aircraft purchased by these entities would be deemed to be
"military aircraft" and therefore outside the scope of the Agreement.  The problem, from Canada'sperspective, is that aircraft which are legitimately "civil", do not benefit from the provisions of the
Agreement if they are purchased by a listed military entity.
To address this problem, Canada is offering for consideration a definition of "civil aircraft"
that focuses on the essential characteristics of such products rather than on the nature of the purchaser.
Specifically, we propose the following definition which is used in COCOM's international list:
"Civil aircraft are those aircraft listed by designation in published airworthiness
certification lists by the civil aviation authorities to fly commercial civil internal and
external routes or for legitimate civil, private or business use."
The intent and effect of this definition would be to distinguish between a "civil" and
"military" aircraft on the basis of its initial certification rather than on its later registration
 or on the
identity of the purchaser.  In our view, such a definition would provide a truer description of the
essential nature of such aircraft.  Under this definition, purchases by military entities of products that
have been "civil certified" would be covered by the provisions of the Agreement on Trade in Civil
Aircraft.
To allay any concerns regarding the possible extension of product coverage beyond what is
intended, Canada envisions an exemption for national security purposes along the lines of Article XXI
of the General Agreement.
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