RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/RO/W/7
3November 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3422)
DRAFT REPORT (1995) OFTHE COMMITTEE ONRULES OFORIGIN
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS
1. TheAgreement onRules ofOrigin entered intoforce on1January 1995.
2. During theperiod under consideration, theCommittee hasheldthree formal meetings, on
4April 1995 (G/RO/M/1), 27June1995 (G/RO/M/2) [and16November 1995 (G/RO/M/3 -tobe
issued)]. TheCommittee elected Mr.C.Osakwe (Nigeria) asChairman andMrs.A.Ivanka (Hungary)
asVice-Chairperson for1995.
3. Participation intheCommittee isopentoallWTO Members. Certain non-WTO Members
participated intheworkoftheCommittee inaccordance withtheDecision oftheWTO General Council
of31January 1995on"Participation inMeetings ofWTO Bodies byCertain Signatories oftheFinal
ActEligible toBecome Original Members oftheWTO" (WT/L/27). Inaddition, theCommittee agreed
thatGovernments granted observer status bytheWTO General Council would beallowed toattend
meetings oftheCommittee asobservers, without prejudice tothepossibility ofholding closed sessions
without thepresence ofobservers.
4. Representatives ofUNCTAD andtheWorld Customs Organization (WCO) were invited to
attend thefirstmeeting oftheCommittee inanobserver capacity, following adecision bytheCouncil
forTrade inGoods (G/C/M/1, paragraph 13.4). Inaccordance withinterim procedures agreed upon
bytheGeneral Council inApril regarding theparticipation ofinternational intergovernmental
organizations inmeetings ofWTO bodies (WT/GC/M/3, page3),representatives oftheWorld Bank,
IMF,OECD,UNCTADandWCOwereinvitedtoattendthesecondandthirdmeetingsoftheCommittee
asobservers.
[5. Atitsmeetingof16November1995,theCommitteeadopteditsrulesofprocedure(G/RO/W/6),
subject toapproval bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods.]
6. Atitsmeeting of4April 1995, theCommittee agreed that,ifanotification weretobemade
inalanguage other thanoneoftheWTO working languages, suchnotification should beaccompanied
byasummary inoneoftheWTO working languages (G/RO/1).
7. Atitsmeeting of27June1995, theCommittee:
- agreed thattherequest totheWCO Technical Committee onRules ofOrigin tolaunch
theHarmonization Work Programme besentbytheChairman on20July1995,
emphasising alsotheneedtosubmit results ofitswork totheWTO Committee on
Rules ofOrigin atleastonaquarterly basis, inaccordance withtheprovisions ofthe
Agreement onRules ofOrigin (G/RO/W/4);
- setupaDrafting Group toelaborate adefinition oftheterm"country" forthepurposes
oftheAgreement onRules ofOrigin (G/RO/W/5);
./.G/RO/W/7
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- requested theSecretariat tosendreminders tothoseMembers thathavenotyetcomplied
withtheirnotification obligations; and
- noted thattheWorld Customs Organization hasagreed tomake theappropriate
arrangements fortheuseofthethree WTO working languages intheTechnical
Committee onRules ofOrigin.
[8. Atitsmeeting of16November 1995, theCommittee:]