WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/MA/112
5 April 2001
(01-1747)
Committee on Market Access
PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO THE
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS
1. The Committee met on 21 March 2001 and examined the following issues:
2. On 13 December 1995, several Members were granted individual waivers for the introduction
of HS96 changes (WT/L/124 + Corr.1); for operational reasons the waivers were grouped into one
single decision.  These waivers were extended by successive decisions by the General Council until
31 October 2000 (WT/L/379).  At its meeting of 21 March 2001, the Committee took note of the
requests for further extension of, or inclusion in, the waiver to carry out possible
consultations/negotiations under Article XXVIII after the introduction of HS96 changes in nationaltariffs.  This information is summarized in Annex I of the report. The Committee agreed to forward
the draft decision granting the waiver extensions and contained in document G/C/W/255/Rev.1 to the
Council for Trade in Goods for further action.  The Committee agreed on this last HS96 waiver on a
collective basis for a period of one year; however, this would not preclude any Member from
requesting a waiver on an individual basis thereafter.  Certain delegations took the floor to indicatethat all their documentation would be forthcoming, and they indicated that this would occur no later
than the end of July 2001.
3. The Committee took note of the factual inform ation provided by the Members under current
waivers regarding the transposition into the Harmonize d System or the renegotiation of their schedules.
This information is summarized in Annex II of this  report.  The Committee agreed to forward the draft
decisions contained in documen ts G/C/W/250, 251, and 252 to the Council for Trade in Goods for
further action.
4. The Committee examined the situation related to the submission of HS96 documentation set out
in document G/MA/TAR/2/Rev.24.  The submissions of twenty-one Members, whether they had
requested an extension of waivers or not, remain ed pending due to ongoing consultations and/or
negotiations. The Committee noted the Chairman's summ ary of the two informal meetings held on the
matter and agreed to the Chairman's proposal to  have another special session of the Committee
dedicated to the review of the situation of HS96 submissions based on a revision of the informal list
prepared by the Secretariat detailing the situation.
5. The Committee took note of the Chairman's report on the informal consultations held on a
possible procedure to introduce future HS 2002 changes to schedules of concessions.  As the
Committee was not yet in a position to adopt new proposed procedures, further informal discussionswould be held on the matter.
6. With reference to the modalities and operation of the Integrated Data Base, the Committee
examined the status of IDB submissions on the ba sis of the document G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.10.  As of 7
March 2001, 76 Members and 2 acceding countries had provided IDB submissions. Since the
document was prepared, eleven additional submissions had been received.  The Secretariat presentedan oral report on the status of IDB disseminati on, use of IDB information, IDB technical assistance,
status of submissions, and the status of software development (IDB reporting tools and internetG/MA/112
Page 2
analysis facility).  The Committee took note of the Chairman's report on the multilateral appraisal of
the IDB, with the first session held on 19 March 2001 for the region of North and Latin America.
Future sessions for the other regions were scheduled for May, June, and July 2001.
7. The Secretariat reported on the status of the Consolidated Tariff Schedules Database Project
which included the status of CTS files for both the tariff and agricultural commitments for Members.The software development status for dissemination and analytical facilities was also presented.
8. The Committee considered a proposal contained in document G/MA/NTM/QR/W/1 regarding
certain notifications of quantitative restrictions and agreed to follow the procedures specified therein.
In cases where the format of the quantitative restriction did not fit the database structure, the
Secretariat would introduce an explanatory note which would give reference to where the information
could be found.
9.  The Committee reviewed the status of notifications under the Decision on Reverse
Notification of Non-Tariff Measures on the basis of a Secretariat document G/MA/NTM/W/3/Rev.1,
which pointed out that only one reverse notification had been received in 1996.
10. The Committee took note of the report by the Chairman on the seminar on tariff matters
which covered many important matters of the Committee such as tariff negotiations, renegotiations,
the Harmonized System, Results of the Urugua y Round, and the IDB and CTS databases.  The
seminar was well attended and appeared to be very useful to delegations.
11. The Committee took note of the tariff information available in the Secretariat as contained in
document G/MA/TAR/3/Rev.6, and the Chairman en couraged Members to submit the most recent
version of their customs tariff in order to have an updated tariff library.
12. The Committee elected Mr. Yair Shiran (Isr ael) as chairperson, and Ms. Lourdes Berrig
(Philippines) as vice-chair for 2001.G/MA/112
Page 3
ANNEX I
REQUESTS FOR INCLUSION IN AND EXTENSION OF THE HS96 WAIVERS
Country Document
(G/SECRET/HS96 series)Reservations
(Number of
countries)Reasons for requesting waiver
or extension of waiver
ARGENTINA /30 + Corr.1 2 Extension needed to finalize consultations and
negotiations with Members having generalreservations.
BRAZIL /36 + Corr.1 + 2 5 Extension needed to conclude consultations with
Members having raised specific reservations.
EGYPT G/MA/TAR/RS/50/Rev.111 Egypt seeks a further extension of the waiver.
EL SALVADOR /44 3 Extension needed to finalize consultations with
Members who have raised reservations.
GUATEMALA /41 1 Extension needed to prepare and submit
corrections to Guatemala's schedule resultingfrom consultations held with Members having
raised reservations.
ICELAND /38 + Corr.1 +  Add.1 1 Extension needed  to conclude consultations and
possible negotiations with one Member.
ISRAEL /26 +  Add.1 + Add.1/Corr.1 1 Extension needed as Israel needs to examine the
specific concerns raise n the last reservationwhich was specified only in October 2000.
MALAYSIA /31 + Rev.1 1 Extension needed to notify amendments to the
schedule, which could go beyond 30 April 2001.
MOROCCO /47 + Add.1 4 Extension needed in order to finalize the process
of transposition to HS96.
NEW ZEALAND /20 + Corr.1 1 Extension needed to allow more time to resolve
the few remaining questions raised on New
Zealand's schedule by one Member.
NORWAY /11 1 Extension needed for more time to consult with
one Member.
PAKISTAN /40 1 Extension needed as bilateral consultations are
still continuing.
PANAMA Extension needed to finalize the correlation
tables.
PARAGUAY /29 3 Extension needed to conclude consultations and
negotiations with Members having raisedgeneral reservations.
SOUTH AFRICA /15 2 Extension needed to complete the transposition
of documentation, and to verify the information
prepared and supplied by the Secretariat.
                                                     
1 Contains also rectifications to the schedule.G/MA/112
Page 4
Country Document
(G/SECRET/HS96 series)Reservations
(Number of
countries)Reasons for requesting waiver
or extension of waiver
SWITZERLAND /10 + Corr.1 1 Extension needed because consultations with
one Member have not yet been completed.
THAILAND /17 + Rev. 1 2 Extension needed as consultations are still
ongoing with two Members.
URUGUAY /28 1 Extension needed to conclude consultations and
negotiations with one Member having aspecified reservation on 20 December 2000.
National authorities are examining these
questions.
VENEZUELA,BOLIVARIAN
REPUBLIC OF/12 + Rev. 1 1 Extension needed to consult and conclude
negotiations with one Member having a general
reservation.G/MA/112
Page 5ANNEX II
FACTUAL INFORMATION RELATED TO THE EXTENSION OF WAIVERS
RELATED TO THE TRANSPOSITION OF SCHEDULES INTO THE HARMONIZED SYSTEM
Country Date of
original
waiverDate of
submission of HS
documentationN° of
extensions and
datesN° of countries
with which
Article XXVIII
negotiations have
been initiatedN° of countries with
which
Article XXVIII
negotiations have
been concludedStatus of
outstanding
Article XXVIII
negotiationsOutlook for
concluding the
processRequest for
extension and draft
decision
1. Nicaragua 26.01.199828.06.1995
G/SECRET/HS/3Eleven:
09.12.1994
13.12.1995
18.07.199624.04.1997
22.10.1997
24.04.199814.10.1998
15.06.1999
1
04.11.1999
03.05.2000
08.12.2000Two One Nicaragua is keen to
complete these
negotiations as
rapidly as possibleand requests a
further extension ofthe waiver to do so.- Extension requested
G/L/442
G/C/W/251G/MA/112
Page 6
Country Date of
original
waiverDate of
submission of HS
documentationN° of
extensions and
datesN° of countries
with which
Article XXVIII
negotiations have
been initiatedN° of countries with
which
Article XXVIII
negotiations have
been concludedStatus of
outstanding
Article XXVIII
negotiationsOutlook for
concluding the
processRequest for
extension and draft
decision
2. Sri Lanka 08.11.198812.01.1990
SECRET/HS/26Twenty-two:
24.07.1989
16.07.1990
07.12.199001.07.1991
04.12.1991
20.07.1992
03.12.1992
19.07.199317.01.1994
21.07.1994
09.12.199431.08.1995
13.12.1995
18.07.199616.07.1997
22.10.1997
24.04.199814.10.1998
15.06.1999
1
04.11.1999
03.05.2000
08.12.2000Five Three Sri Lanka continues
to make every effortto conclude
negotiations under
Article XXVIII.The negotiations
with the European
Union and theUnited States are
still continuing.Sri Lanka has had
bilateral negotiationswith the European
Union and the United
States in respect ofSri Lanka's Schedule.
These negotiations
are still continuing.Sri Lanka assures its
trading partners that
every effort will bemade to conclude the
negotiations
satisfactorily, and inthe mutual interest of
all concerned, as soon
as possible.Extension requested
G/L/440G/C/W/250
3. Zambia 26.11.199312.03.1996
G/SECRET/HS/8Ten:
13.12.1995
18.07.199624.04.1997
22.10.1997
24.04.199814.10.1998
15.06.1999
1
04.11.1999
03.05.2000
08.12.2000Two - Process is slow. The EC and US have
not responded to therevised schedule.Extension requested
G/L/443G/C/W/252
                                                     
1 Granted with retroactive effect to 30 April 1999.
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