RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/RO/M/11
21October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4590)
Committee onRules ofOrigin
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING OF3OCTOBER 1997
Chairperson: Mrs. L.Berrig (Philippines)
Theagenda proposed forthemeeting, contained inWTO/AIR/663, wasadopted withthe
inclusion ofitems 4and5under "Other Business" asfollows:
Page
1. Eighth Report oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin tothe
Committee onRules ofOrigin (G/RO/18, G/RO/18/Add.1) ............ 1
2. Update oftheIntegrated Negotiating Textforthe
Harmonization Work Programme (G/RO/W/13/Rev.3/Add.1) ........... 3
3. Implementation ofArticle 2(h)oftheAgreement onRules ofOrigin ....... 4
4. Definition ofwholly-obtained goods; products taken from thesea
outside acountry. ....................................... 4
5. Dateofthenextmeeting .................................. 4
1. Eighth Report oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin totheCommittee onRules of
Origin (G/RO/18, G/RO/18/Add.1)
1.1 TheChairperson noted thatinconformity withparagraph 2(c)ofArticle 9oftheAgreement
onRules ofOrigin, theTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin hadsubmitted totheCommittee on
Rules ofOrigin itsEighth Report, contained indocument G/RO/18 andAdd.1. TheReport pertained
tothefollowing main issues: completion ofthefirstexamination ofparticular products orproduct
sectors; andbeginning oftheexamination ofBasket 2goods.
1.2 Under theheading, "Completion ofthefirstexamination ofparticular products orproduct
sectors", theChairman stated thattheTechnical Committee, atitsEighth Session inBrussels from
23Juneto4July1997, hadexamined theproposals forrules oforigin forthegoods ofChapters 85
to90.TheTechnical Committee hadthuscompleted itsfirstexamination ofalltheHSChapters.
Theresults ofthatwork weresetoutinAnnexes tothedetailed Report ontheTechnical Committee 's
EighthSessionwhichhadbeencirculatedinWCOdocument41.212bytheWCOSecretariattomembers
oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin, onecopyofwhich wasalsoavailable forconsultation
intheWTO Secretariat.
1.3 TheCommittee noted thattheTechnical Committee hadcompleted itsfirstexamination ofall
theHSChapters from 1to97.G/RO/M/11
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1.4 Under theheading, "Beginning oftheexamination ofBasket 2goods", theChairman stated
thattheTechnical Committee hadexamined, forthefirsttime, theBasket 2goods classifiable in
Chapters 25to27(mineral products), 41to43(leather) and91(clocks andwatches). From the
discussions intheTechnical Committee three types ofsituations hademerged: firstly, theTechnical
Committee hadcompleted thetechnical examination ofthese three product groups inaccordance with
Phases IIandIIIoftheHarmonization Work Programme forrules oforigin andreached consensus
ontheorigin criteria applicable tosome ofthese products: theywereindicated inparagraph 9ofthe
Eighth report (G/RO/18). They appeared alsointheform oftables, indocument G/RO/18/Add.1,
marked "Basket 1Decision" incolumn Eofthetables; theresults hadbeentransmitted totheCommittee
onRules ofOrigin forapproval, inaccordance withtheprovisions ofArticle 9,paragraphs 2(ii), 2(iii)
and3(a)oftheAgreement. Secondly, inthecaseofother products inthese Chapters, theTechnical
Committee feltthatthetechnical discussion hadbeenexhaustive without reaching aconsensus; the
unresolved issues appeared inparagraph 10oftheEighth Report (G/RO/18). They alsoappeared in
theformoftables indocument G/RO/18/Add.1, marked "submitted toCRO fordecision" incolumn E
ofthetables. These issues hadbeentransmitted totheCommittee inform oftemplates contained in
document G/RO/18/Add.1 fordecision andagreed solution. Thirdly, inthecaseofacertain number
ofproducts, theTechnical Committee feltthatthediscussions hadnotanalyzed thetechnical aspects
insufficient depth andthattheissues should bere-examined atalatersession; these issues appeared
inparagraph11oftheEighthReport(G/RO/18)and,intheformoftables,indocumentG/RO/18/Add.1,
marked "Basket 2"incolumn Eofthetables.
1.5 TheChairpersonfurtherstatedthat,onthebasisoftheEighthReportoftheTechnicalCommittee
onRules ofOrigin, itseemed toherthatthereweretwomainissues before theCommittee concerning
therulesoforigin forproducts inChapters 25-27, 41-43 and91:(a)endorsement ofthedraftrules
oforigin forgoods inBasket 1;and(b)examination ofunresolved issues submitted totheCommittee.
1.6 Mr.Janeczko, Chairman oftheTechnical Committee, stated thattheTechnical Committee,
atitsmeeting from8to24September 1997, agreed toamend theorigin criteria ofheading ex2519.90(b)
which appeared indocument G/RO/18/Add.1, page17,fromtheOttawa language to"CTH". Healso
stated thatthiswasatechnical adjustment. Inthecourse ofitswork theTechnical Committee would
continue towork onimproving original rules ofproducts thatithadsenttothisCommittee.
1.7 Asconcerns endorsement ofthedraft rules oforigin forgoods inBasket 1,based on
consultations theChairperson hadheldwithMembers onthisissue andtheamendment which was
addressed bytheChairman oftheTechnical Committee theCommittee, andinaccordance with
Article 9.3(a) oftheAgreement, theCommittee endorsed therulesoforigin forproducts classifiable
inChapters 25to27,41to43and91which hadbeenreferred totheCommittee asBasket 1decisions
inparagraph 9oftheEighth Report totheCommittee (document G/RO/18). TheCommittee alsoagreed
thatthese Basket 1origin rulesshould notbereopened attheleveloftheCommittee, keeping inmind,
however, thatinaccordance withArticle 9.3(b) oftheAgreement, theCommittee should finally consider
theresults oftheHarmonization Work Programme interms oftheir overall coherence. Inthis
connection, theCommittee tooknoteofthefactthatChapter residual rulesorChapter rulesconcerning
these chapters werestillunder examination bytheTechnical Committee, andtheserules, onceagreed,
couldpossiblyaffecttheBasket1decisionsendorsedbytheCommittee.Therefore,whentheCommittee
wasconsidering theresults oftheHarmonization Work Programme interms oftheiroverall coherence,
thepossible impact oftheChapter rules ontheBasket 1decisions should betaken intoaccount.
1.8 Asconcerns theexamination ofunresolved issues submitted totheCommittee, onthebasis
ofthemultilateral, plurilateral andbilateral meetings which tookplace intheweek ofthemeeting of
theCommittee, theCommittee agreed asfollows:
"The Committee examined unresolved issues submitted.G/RO/M/11
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(1) OnChapters 25-27 (Minerals), theCommittee didnotreach consensus onIssues for
Decision No.1and2.Some members stated thattheywould consult withtheirindustry
withaview topossibly joining consensus onOption A.TheCommittee agreed to
continue itsexamination ofthese issues atthenextmeeting.
TheCommittee alsoagreed todelete Options BinIssues forDecision No.3,4,5and
6,andtoputsquare brackets onOption Awithaviewtopossibly removing thesesquare
brackets atthenextmeeting oftheCommittee. Therefore,
- theorigin ruleofheading ex25.30(b), onpage21ofdocument G/RO/18/Add.1
should nowread"[CTH]";
- theorigin rules ofheadings ex26.01(a) toex26.17(a) andex26.01(b) to
ex26.17(b), onpage 22ofdocument G/RO/18/Add.1 should nowread
"[CTHS]", andthefollowing corrections should bemade: column Ashould
readex26.01(a) toex26.17(a), column Bshould read"concentrates", column
Cshould read"[CTHS]"; onpage23,column Ashould read"ex26.01(b)
toex26.17(b)", columns BandCremain unchanged;
- theorigin rule ofsubheading 2701.20, onpage 29ofdocument
G/RO/18/Add.1, should nowread"[CTSH]";
- theorigin rule ofsubheading 2708.20, onpage 33ofdocument
G/RO/18/Add.1, should nowread"[CTSH]".
(2) Asconcerns Chapters 41to43(Leather), theCommittee didnotreach consensus on
theIssues forDecision No.1, 2and3.However, some Members stated thattheywould
consult withtheirindustry. TheCommittee agreed tocontinue itsexamination ofthese
issues atthenextmeeting.
TheCommittee reached consensus onOption Awithregard toIssueforDecision No.4.
Therefore, theorigin ruleofsubheading 4302.30, onpage 65ofdocument
G/RO/18/Add.1 should nowread"CTSH".
(3) Asconcerns Chapter 91(Clocks andWatches), theCommittee didnotreach consensus
onanyofthesixissues andagreed tocontinue itsexamination atthenextmeeting.
Following anewproposal byHong Kong, China, anOption DforIssue forDecision
No.3wasadded, which reads asfollows:
"Change from anyother heading, provided thatallofthefollowing components, as
appropriate, areassembled onacommon support: timereference device, device for
converting thetimereference forthepurpose ofdisplay, timesetting mechanism or
opto-electronic display"."
1.9 Therepresentative ofMexico stated thatwithregard toIssue forDecision No.1 concerning
Chapters 25to27,Mexico wasinfavour ofOption B.
2. Update oftheIntegrated Negotiating Text fortheHarmonization Work Programme
(G/RO/W/13/Rev.3/Add.1)
2.1 TheChairperson recalled that,atitsmeeting on15May1997, theCommittee haddecided
thatinthelightofconcerns withregard tothevolume oftheINT, onlyadditions tothedrafttextofG/RO/M/11
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product-specific rulesoforigin would becirculated toMembers. Thefirstaddendum hadbeencirculated
indocument G/RO/W/13/Rev.3/Add.1, reflecting work donebytheTechnical Committee during its
Seventh Session from10to21February 1997inBrussels. Thetextwould beconveyed totheTechnical
Committee.
2.2 TheCommittee requested theSecretariat tocontinue toupdate thedocument.
3. Implementation ofArticle 2(h)oftheAgreement onRules ofOrigin
3.1 TheChairperson recalled thatatthelastmeeting oftheCommittee, theUnited States had
requested thatthematter ofArticle 2(h)oftheAgreement beplaced ontheagenda ofthismeeting
oftheCommittee inorder todiscuss howtoensure fullimplementation oftheprovision andits
relationship toenhancing trade facilitation fortheworld trading system, taking intoaccount thework
donebytheInternational Chamber ofCommerce andtheWorld Customs Organization indeveloping
good customs practices.
3.2 Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thatthegrowing sense ofimportance oftrade
facilitation waslinked toensuring thatmarket access commitments werekeptandtoproviding overall
transparency totheworld trading system. Work ontrade facilitation hadbeencarried outinseveral
international organizations, especially intheWorld Customs Organization which wasworking ona
model customs system/customs practices, inconjunction withtheInternational Chamber ofCommerce.
However, more importantly fortheCommittee, itshould benoted thatcertain provisions ofthe
Agreement onRules ofOrigin, forexample Article 2(h),already covered some goodcustoms practices;
itprovided thatanassessment oftheorigin should beissued within 150daysofarequest. TheUnited
States, based onconsultations withtheprivate sector, tookaninterest inmethods usedbyMembers
forthepurpose ofimplementing thisprovision.
3.3 Recognizing thatthenotification obligation intheAgreement pertained onlytotherules of
origin, hestated thattheUnited States hadnointerest inincreasing anynotification requirement. He
then requested thattheSecretariat conduct averybriefsurvey onmethods andprocedures applied
byMembers forthepurpose ofimplementing Article 2(h)aswellasparagraph 3(d)ofAnnex IIof
theAgreement onRules ofOrigin.
3.4 TheCommittee soagreed.
4. Definition ofwholly-obtained goods; products taken from theseaoutside acountry.
4.1 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities stated thattheECwould submit aposition
paper inrelation tothepending issue oftheorigin offishery andother products taken from thesea
byvessels outside acountry. Herequested thattheitembeputontheagenda ofaforthcoming meeting.
4.2 TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatement made.
5. Dateofthenextmeeting
TheChairperson proposed thefollowing dates andagenda forthenextmeetings ofthe
Committee:
10November : Informal meeting, Chapters 50-58 (Textiles)
11November : Informalmeeting,Chapters44-49(Woodandpaper),64-71(Footwear,Ceramic
products, Glasses, Precious stones andmetals) and92(Musical instruments)G/RO/M/11
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12November : Informal meeting, Chapters 72-73 (Iron andsteel), 28-32 (Chemicals), 25-27
(Mineral products), 41-43 (Leather) and91(Clocks andwatches)
13-19(a.m) November : Bilateral/Plurilateral meetings asrequired
19(p.m)-20 November: Plurilateral meeting, allchapters mentioned above
21November (a.m.): Informal meeting
21November (p.m.) :Formal meeting