   
  
G/L/1407  
 
18 October  2021 
(21-7870) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Market Access  Original: English  
 
REPORT (202 1) OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
 Since the last review1, the Committee on Market Access held two formal meetings ( 29-30 April 
and 11 October ) and four informal meetings ( 28 January , 26 May, 1 6 June, and 21 September ). The 
Committee is expected to hold  an informal meeting on 9 December.  The minutes of the formal 
meetings are contained in documents  G/MA/M/7 4 and G/MA/M/7 5 (to be issued).    
 Mr Chakarin KOLMOSIRI (Thailand) was elected Ch air of the Committee on Market Access 
through written procedures in August 2021. At the meeting of 11 October, the Chairperson noted 
that in light of comments made, he would conduct consultations on the question of the 
Vice-Chairpersonship of the Committee . 
WAIVERS  
 At its formal meeting of 11 October , the Committee approved  the extension of the 
HS2002  "collective" waiver (G/C/W/7 96), the HS2007 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/7 97), the HS2012 
"collective" waiver (G/C/W/7 98), and the HS2017 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/7 99). The Committee  
agreed to forward the draft waiver decisions to the General Council, through the Council for Trade 
in Goods, for appropriate action.  
INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS  
 At its formal  meeting s, the Committee took note of a revised report by the Secretariat 
(G/MA/W/158/Rev. 2 and G/MA/W/158/Rev. 3) with a broad overview of all HS transposition 
exercises.   
Introduction of Harmonized System 1996 (HS1996) changes to Schedule s of conce ssions  
 At its meetings in 2021, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS96  changes to Schedule s of concessions. The Chairperson informed that the 
Schedules of concessions of all the 64  Members that were listed in the Annex of the Decision of 
27 May 2009 (WT/L/756) had been successfully transposed into HS96 and certified. Technical work 
under the previous transposition procedures (GATT  document  L/6905) remained pending for one 
Member.  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2 002 (HS2002) Changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 2021, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2002  changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/605 and 
WT/L/807), as well as the  outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during 
which the files containing the HS2002  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal 
meeting of 11 October , the Chairperson announced that 116 Schedules of concessions had been 
transposed into HS2002 and circulated for certification. Technical work remained pending for 
one Member.  
 
1 G/L/1377, dated 19 November 2020 . G/L/1407  
 
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  Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 (HS2007) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 1, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2007 changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS  database (WT/L/673 and 
WT/L/830), as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during 
which the files containing the HS2007  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal 
meeting of 11 October , the Chairperson announced that 111 Schedules of concessions had been 
transposed into HS2007 and circulated for certification.  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 (HS2012) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 1, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2012  changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS database (WT/ L/831), 
as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files 
containing the HS2012  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal meeting of 
11 October , the Chairperson announced that 102 Schedules of conc essions had been transposed 
into HS2012 and circulated for certification.  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 (HS2017) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 1, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction  of HS2017  changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS  database (WT/L/995), 
as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files 
containing the HS2017  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal m eeting of 
11 October , the Chairperson announced that 54 Schedules of concessions had been transposed into 
HS2017 and circulated for certification.  
Procedure for the introduction of Harmonized System 2022 changes to Schedule s of 
concessions  – Draft Decision  
 At its meeting of 11 October, the Committee agreed to forward the draft decision on the 
Procedure for the introduction of Harmonized System 2022 changes to Schedule s of concessions 
(JOB/MA/147/Rev.2)2 to the General Council, through the Council for Trade  in Goods, for appropriate 
action.  
DECISION ON NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS 
("QR  DECISION")  
 At its meetings in 202 1, the Committee examined quantitative restrictions ( QR) notifications 
which had been submitted by 32 Members:  Afghanistan; Argentina ; Australia ; Kingdom of  Bahrain; 
Brazil ; Cambodia; Canada ; China; Colombia ; Ecuador; Egypt ; El Salvador;  European Union;  
The Gambia; India; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Montenegro; 
New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway ; Philippines; Seychelles; Singapore; Thailand; Tonga; Turkey;  
Ukraine; United Kingdom ; and United States.  Many of these  notifications  related to prohibitions or 
restrictions due to the COVID -19 pandemic  (see para graph  15 below ), while others were  complete 
notifications  of all QRs in force  for the biennial period 2020 -2022. The Committee also took note of 
the Secretariat 's factual analysis of all notified QRs  (G/MA/W/114/Rev.3 ) that were recorded in the 
QR database3 and of the  report with the status of QR notification s (G/MA/QR/ 11). 
DATABASES  
 At its formal meetings in 202 1, the Secretariat reported on the status of work concerning the 
Integrated Data Base (IDB) and the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database. The reports 
provided information on inter alia  the use of information in the databases, the status of software 
development and technical assistance. The Committee was informed that o ne Member  had concluded  
a bilateral agreement with the Secretariat for the automatic transmissi on of data pursuant to 
paragraph 8 of the IDB Decision (G/MA/367) , and that another Member was in the process of doing 
 
2 G/C/W /802.  
3 https://QR.wto.org/    G/L/1407  
 
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  so. The Committee also took note of the documents which reflected the status of submissions to the 
IDB (G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.5 3, and G/MA/IDB/2 /Rev.5 4).  
 At its formal meeting on 29 -30 April, the Secretariat informed the Committee of a project to  
issue the CTS database, which contains the latest information on bound commitments by Members, 
in MS Excel in addition to the  MS Access version in order  to facilitate access to this important 
information . Following a one -month period for comments by Members, t he CTS files in Excel were 
made available to the public on 26 June 2021 via the Tariff Analysis Online (TAO)4 and the Goods 
Schedules e -Library5.  
 At its meeting s of 2021, the Committee took note of a report prepared by the Secretariat 
pursuant to paragraph 16 of the IDB Decision,  which requires the Secretariat  to maintain a list of 
Members' official websites in  which tariff information or import data are publicly available 
(G/MA/IDB/W/13/Rev. 4 and G/MA/IDB/W/13/Rev. 5). 
OTHER ACTIVITIES  
 At its formal meeting s in 2021 , the Committee took note of a report by the Secretariat 
summar ising export restrictions and trade  facilitating measures relating to the COVID -19 Pandemic  
(G/MA/W/16 8). At the formal meeting on 29 -30 April, t he Secretariat was asked to update the report 
and take into account additional information coming from the Trade Morning Exercise6 that had not 
yet been notified . At its meeting of 11 October, t he Committee took note of the revised report 
(G/MA/W/168/Rev.1).  In addition, the Committee took note of a document listing all notifications 
which had been submitted by Members to the Committee on Market Access relating to COVID -19 
(G/MA/W/157 /Rev.2 and G/MA/W/157/Rev.3 ), as well as of  communication s with information on 
unilateral measures to facilitate trade in relation to COVID -19. 
 At the meeting of 29-30 April , the Committee took note of a presen tation by a representative 
of the World Customs Organization  (WCO)  on the main changes that w ould result from the 
introduction of the HS2022 amendment.  At the meeting of 11 October, the WCO and WTO 
representatives made a presentation on the Joint Indicativ e List of Critical Vaccine Inputs7. At the 
same meeting, the Secretariat informed the Committee that the HS tracker8, a new online tool 
developed in collaboration with the WCO, was officially launched.  
 At its informal meeting of 26 May, the Secretariat i nformed the Committee that it could 
organize training sessions for Geneva -based delegates on technical topics covered by the Committee 
and launched an online survey with an indicative list of training topics. At its formal meeting of 
11 October, the Commit tee took note of  the topic of the first training session, scheduled for 2022, 
which was "Introduction to Market Access: Main rules and procedures, including notifications, under 
the Agreements covered by the Market Access Division" . 
 At its informal meeting  of 16 June, the Committee held its second informal dedicated session 
to discuss Members' feedback on the data dissemination and online tools developed by the 
Secretariat pursuant to paragraph 15 of the IDB Decision. The summary report was circulated in 
document G/MA/W/144/Add .1. 
 On 21 September, the Secretariat , at the request of the Committee , organised an information 
session on "Quantitative Restrictions and their relation to Multilateral Environmental Agreement s"9. 
The Chairperson repor ted about this activity at the formal meeting of  11 October.  
 At its meeting of 29-30 April , the Committee took note of the Secretariat document entitled 
"Situation of Schedules of WTO  Members" (G/MA/W/23/Rev.1 7), which lists all legal instruments 
relating to each Member's Schedule of concessions. It also took note of the Secretariat document 
 
4 https://tao.wto.org/   
5 https://goods -schedules.wto.org/   
6 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/trade_related_goods_measure_e.htm   
7 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/vaccine_inputs_report_e.pdf  
8  https://hstracker.wto.org/   
9 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/markacc_e/qr_e.htm  G/L/1407  
 
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  entitled "Factual Report on the Status of Renegotiations under Article  XXVIII of the GATT  1994" 
(G/MA/W/123/Rev. 8).  
 At its meeting  of 29-30 April , the Committee  took note of a proposal  by the Russian Federation 
on "Enhancing Transparency in Applied Tariffs" (JOB/MA/138).   At its meeting of 11 October , the 
Committee also took note  of a proposal  by Australia, Brazil,  Canada, the European Union  and Ukraine 
on transparency in applied t ariff rate change  (JOB/AG/212 /Rev.1) . 
 At its formal meeting  of 29-30 April,  following a trial period by Members and the organization 
of a mock session , the Committee used for the first tim e and on a voluntary basis the eAgenda10. 
The Committee also used eAgenda for its formal meeting of 11 October. At its informal meeting of 
26 May, the Committee heard a presentation about the trade concerns database11 and discussed the 
possibility of incorporating the trade concerns raised in the Committee on Market Access in the 
existing database.  
 At its informal meeting  of 28 January, the  Committee considered the possibility of derestricting 
the Uruguay Round  (UR) negotiating materials and agreed to share with Members an inventory of 
all the UR negotiating materials concerned so that Members could review them during a period of 
six months, ending on 31 October 2021. The Committee is expected to resume discussion on w hether 
to derestrict the  UR negotiating materials at its informal meeting on 9 December.  
 At its formal  meetings, the Committee took note of the following trade concerns:  
Issue12 Raised by13: 
1. Angola – Import restricti ng practices  Russian Federation and the  United States  
2. China - Customs duties on certain integrated 
circuits  European Union, Japan, and Chinese Taipei  
3. China — Trade disruptive and restrictive 
measures  Australia  
4. Egypt – Manufacturer registration system 
(decree n° 43/2016)  Russian Federation  
5. European Union - Carbon Border Adjustment 
Mechanism (The European Green Deal of 
December 2019)  Armenia, Kingdom of Bahrain , China  
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Qatar, 
Russian Federation , and Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia  
6. European Union - Vaccine export transparency 
mechanism  Australia  
7. India – Customs duties on telecommunication 
and other products  China  
8. India - Import policies on tyres  European Union  
9. India - Import restriction on air conditioners  Japan  
10. India – Import policies on tyres, television 
sets, and air conditioners  Thailand  
11. India – Quantitative restrictions on imports of 
certain pulses  Australia, Canada, the European Union, 
Russian Federation, and the United States  
12. India - Indian standards and import 
restrictions in the automotive sector (Quality 
Orders): wheel rims, safety glass, helmets  Indonesia  
13. India - Plain Copier Paper Quality Order 2020  Indonesia  
14. Indonesia - Customs duties on certain 
telecommunication products  United States  
15. Indonesia - Import restriction on air 
conditioners  Japan  
16. Indonesia - Import substitution programme  European Union  
17. Mexico - Import quota on glyphosate  United States  
 
10 https://agenda.wto.org/en/cma   
11 https://tradeconcerns.wto.org/en   
12 Includes items raised under "other business".  
13 The column lists the Member (s) that raised the issue in any or all the formal meetings that are covered 
by this report.  G/L/1407  
 
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  Issue12 Raised by13: 
18. Mongolia –Quantitative restrictions on the 
importation of certain agricultural products  Russian Federation  
19. Nepal – Import ban on ene rgy drinks  Thailand  
20. Russian Federation - Export prohibition on 
timber products  European Union  
21. Russian Federation - Track and Trace R egime  United States  
22. Russian Federation – Discriminatory 
application of value -added taxes  United States  
23. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain,  
the United Arab Emirates , the State of Kuwait, 
Oman, and Qatar  – Selective tax on certain 
imported products  European Union, Japan, Switzerland, and 
the United States  
24. Sri Lanka – Import ban on various products  Australia, European Union  
25. Sri Lanka - Import ban on palm oil  Indonesia  
26. United Kingdom - Rectifications and 
modifications of Schedule XIX  Russian Federation  
27. United Kingdom - Renegotiation of Tariff Rate 
Quotas under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994  Russian Federation  
 
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