WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/C/W/301/Add.2
22 May 2002
(02-2814)
Council for Trade in Goods Original:  French
REQUEST BY COTE D'IVOIRE FOR A WAIVER UNDER ARTICLE IX OF
THE WTO AGREEMENT FOR MINIMUM VALUES UNDER THE
AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII
OF GATT 1994
Addendum
The following communication, dated 24 April 2002, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Côte d'Ivoire.
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Further to the observations made by members of the Committee on Customs Valuation
concerning aspects of the request by Côte d'Ivoire for authorization to use minimum values whenimplementing the Agreement on Customs Valuation, I have the honour to request that you kindly
communicate to members of the said Committee these responses formulated by experts in our capital.
Making optimum use of the delays and extensions obtained
In its previous requests, Côte d'Ivoire committed itself to implementing a reform programme
to strengthen the capabilities of the services involved in using and applying the WTO Valuation
Agreement.
However, as indicated in the supporting arguments to the waver requests with regard to
minimum values, the political, economic and social upheavals in Côte d'Ivoire in the period following
December 1999 have prevented the sound implementation of all the measures identified.
For example, the seminar on the WTO Valuation Agreement, due to be organized by the
World Customs Organization in Abidjan, in 2000, had to be postponed due to the prevailing political
situation in Côte d'Ivoire. The rescheduled seminar in 2001 also had to be cancelled, this time owing
to air transport security concerns in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001 in theUnited States of America. It is now due to be held at the end of April 2002, in Abidjan.
Given the importance it attaches to the subject of transaction value, and in the light of this
situation, the Government took the necessary steps,  with support from the private sector, to organize
two seminars on transaction value in 2001, for the benefit of just sixty (60) officials from all of theservices concerned.
With a view to consolidating the training of customs officials and giving them the logistical
support they require for their work, plans have been made to:
- Provide customs officials with a course in auditing, in order to enhance the
effectiveness of post-clearance control;G/C/W/301/Add.2
Page 2
- set up a constantly updated values database, and
- implement an external assistance programme (in process of development).
Despite the shortcomings and difficulties mentioned, Côte d'Ivoire adopted the implementing
text for the effective application of transaction value as of 1 July 2001.
The role of preshipment inspection companies
As stipulated in their contracts with the State, inspection companies provide assistance to the
customs administration by offering their advice on the information contained in commercial invoices.
In view of the application of transaction value since 1 July 2001, there is a strong likelihood
that the role of these companies, should their co ntracts be renewed, will be restricted to carrying out
post-clearance risk analysis or, at most, to certain categories of sensitive products.
Thus, it is completely out of the question that preshipment inspection companies will replace
customs officials.
The revised list of goods
The attached list of goods to which minimum values may be applied has been revised, taking
into account the observations made. Goods such as alcohol, poultry and rice no longer appear on the
list.
That concludes the information available in reply to the concerns expressed.G/C/W/301/Add.2
Page 3REVISED LIST OF GOODS TO WHICH MINIMUM
VALUES MAY BE APPLIED
NOMENCLATURE DESCRIPTION
0202100000 to 0210900000 Meat and meat offal
0401100000 to 0402900000 Milk
0902100000 to 0902400000 Tea
1101000000 Wheat or meslin flour
1507 to 1508 and 1511 to 1515 Refined vegetable oils
1517100000 Margarine
1701911000 to 1701999000 Sugars
1704100000 Chewing gum, whether or not sugar-coated
1704900000 Other (sweets)
1901100000 Milk based food preparations
1902300000 Pasta
1902400000 Couscous
1905300000 Biscuits
2002902000 Tomato concentrates
2402200000 Cigarettes containing tobacco
3101000000 to 3105900000 Fertilizers
3306100000 Dentrifices
3401191000 Ordinary soap
3401200000 Soap in other forms
3402200000 Surface-active washing preparations put up for retail sale
3506910000 Adhesives based on rubber or plastics
3605000000 Matches
4011400000 New pneumatic tyres, of rubber, of a kind used on
4011400000 New pneumatic tyres, of rubber, of a kind used on mopeds
4011500000 New pneumatic tyres, of rubber, of a kind used on bicycles
4013200000 Inner tubes, of rubber, of a kind used on bicycles
4013900000 Inner tubes, of rubber, of a kind used on mopeds
4013900000 Inner tubes, of rubber, of a kind used on motorcycles
4820200000 Exercise books
3208291000 and 5209291000 Damask and the like, bleachedG/C/W/301/Add.2
Page 4NOMENCLATURE DESCRIPTION
5208 to 5212 Dyed or printed fabrics
5310900000 Jute fabrics
5407 to 5408 Woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, dyed or printed
5512 to 5515 Woven fabrics of synthetic staple fibres, dyed or printed
5516 Woven fabrics of artificial staple fibres, dyed or printed
6305100000 Sacks, of jute
6305330000 Woven polypropylene sacks with a carrying capacity of
6305330000 Woven polypropylene sacks with a carrying capacity of
6305330000 Woven polypropylene sacks with a carrying capacity of
6309000000 Worn clothing
7210410000 Galvanized sheets and plates (corrugated and pantiled)
7214 and 7215 Bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel
7216 Angles, shapes and sections of iron or non-alloy steel
7306301000 Other tubes, welded, of iron or steel
7317000000 Nails, tacks
7323940000 Enamelled table or kitchen articles
7606111000 Corrugated aluminium
7615110000 to 7615200000 Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof,
8506101100 to 8506101900 R20/R06 batteries
8711209000 Motorcycles and mopeds
8712000000 Bicycles
8714910010 Moped and bicycle frames
9404210000 Foam mattresses
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