Report of the Committee on Rules of Origin to the Council for Trade in Goods on the Harmonization Work Programme

World Trade Organization G/RO/25 7 July 1998 (98-2685) Committee on Rules of Origin Original: English REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS ON THE HARMONIZATION WORK PROGRAMME Status of the work 1. The Harmonization Work Programme (HWP), in accordance with Article 9.2(a) of the Agreement on Rules of Origin (the Agreement), was officially launched on 20 July 1995, and was scheduled for completion by 20 July 1998, as the Agreement foresees that the HWP will be completed within three years of its initiation. 2. The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) notes that, despite the complexity of the issues under discussion, substantial progress has been made. Especially as regards the harmonization of rules of origin for specific products the technical work has been largely completed, and the templates, drawn up by the Technical Committee on Rules of Origin (TCRO) and setting out alternative options of possible solutio