RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONTCA/TSC/4
5 April 2001
(01-1738)
Technical Sub-Committee of the
Committee on Trade in Civil Aircraft
NOTE BY THE CHAIRPERSON
Mr. Didier Chambovey (Switzerland)
1. The Technical Sub-Committee of the Committee on Trade in Civil Aircraft met on
27 March 2001 to consider the further update of Ha rmonized System ("HS") headings in the Product
Coverage Annex of the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft to take into account the changes to
the Harmonized System that will enter into force on 1 January 2002, and to discuss related issues.
The meeting was held jointly with an informal m eeting of the Committee on Trade in Civil Aircraft.
2. The discussions focused on the draft revised Protocol and Product Coverage Annex in
document TCA/W/5/Rev.4.
3. The Chairman put forward three elements to form the basis for discussion:  first, the changes
to be made to the Product Coverage Annex; second, the timing and modalities for the entry into force
of the Protocol and Product Coverage Annex; an d third, a proposal by one Signatory concerning
Article 1 of the Agreement.
4. With respect to the first element, the Technical Sub-Committee recommended to the
Committee that the proposed revisions to the headings and descriptions of the draft Product Coverage
Annex as they appeared in document TCA/W/5/Rev.4 were acceptable to all Signatories.  The
Chairman stated his understanding that the An nex would then be ready for formal adoption by
Signatories, and that this could occur at the next regular meeting of the Committee, which was
currently scheduled to take place in June 2001.
5. Signatories also discussed informally the second and third elements referred to by the
Chairman in para. 3 above.
6. Signatories were reminded of their agreement at the last meeting to endeavour to submit - by
1 May 2001 - trade statistics for the most recent annual period.1  One Signatory observed that the
statistical reporting exercise was relevant to the revision of the Product Coverage Annex, particularlyin respect of the level of tariff codes under which, in actual practice, there was little or no trade.
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1 See TCA/M/11, paras. 65-70.