34

{•b) An adverse balance of payments of one Member country may have important effects on the trade and balance of payments of other Member countries, if it results in, or may lead to, the imposition by the Member of restrictions affecting international trade ; (c) The balance of payments of each Member country is of concern to other Members, and therefore it is desirable that the Organization should promote consultations among Members and, where possible, agreed action consistent with this Charter for the purpose of correcting a maladjustment in the balance of payments ; and (id) Action taken to restore stable equilibrium in the balance of payments should, so far as the Member or Members concerned find possible, employ methods which expand rather than contract international trade. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 20, any Member, in order to safeguard its external financial position and balance of payments, may restrict the quantity or value of merchandise permitted to be imported, subject to the provisons of the following paragraphs of this Article. 3. (a) No Member shall institute, maintain or intensify import restrictions under this Article except to the extent necessary (i) To forestall the imminent threat of, or to stop, a serious decline in its monetary reserves, or (ii) In the case of a Member with very low monetary reserves, to achieve a reasonable rate of increase in its reserves. Due regard shall be paid in either case to any special factors which may be affecting the Member's reserves or need for reserves, including, where special external credits or other resources are available to it, the need to provide for the appropriate use of such credits or resources. (b) A Member applying restrictions under subparagraph (a) shall progressively relax and ultimately eliminate them, in accordance with the provisions of that subparagraph, as its external financial position improves. This provision shall not be interpreted to mean that a Member is required to relax or remove such restrictions if that relaxation or removal would thereupon produce conditions justifying the intensification or institution, respectively, of restrictions under subparagraph (a). (c) Members undertake : (i) Not to apply restrictions so as to prevent unreasonably the importation of any description of merchandise in minimum commercial quantities the exclusion of which would impair regular channels of trade, or restrictions which would prevent the importation of commercial samples or prevent the importation of such minimum quantities of a product as may be