REPORT (2017) OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF
ORIGIN
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS
1. This report is being submitted to
the Council for Trade in Goods in accordance with Article 6.1 of the
Agreement on Rules of Origin (the Agreement), which provides that "The Committee shall review annually the implementation
and operation of Parts II and III of this Agreement having regard to its
objectives. The Committee shall annually
inform the Council for Trade in Goods of developments during the period covered
by such reviews."
2. The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) held two formal meetings in 2017: on 2 March and on 4 October under the chairmanship
of Mr. Chih-Tung CHANG (Chinese Taipei) and of Mr. Gerald PAJUELO (Peru)
respectively. One "information
session" on non-preferential rules of origin was also held on 2 March and
a number of informal consultations were organized throughout 2017. At its
meeting of 4 October, the CRO conducted the twenty-third review of the
implementation and operation of the Agreement and also conducted a yearly
review of developments with relation to preferential rules of origin for LDCs.
3. With relation to non‑preferential
rules of origin, the Committee did not hold discussions specifically related to
the Harmonization Work Programme (HWP). The HWP, mandated under Part IV of
the Agreement, has been stalled since 2007 due to divergences on a number of
"core policy issues". As noted in the 2013 Report of the CRO to the Council
for Trade in Goods (G/L/1047), Members hold different views regarding the need
to finalize or not the HWP.
4. Pending the continuation of the HWP,
the Committee pursued its "educational exercise" and held, in March
2017, another "information session" on non-preferential rules of
origin. Following that session, the Chairman invited Members to reflect on the
main messages which emerged from this educational exercise and to explore
alternatives to take forward the work of the Committee on non-preferential
origin matters. Additional sessions may be organized in the future depending on
Members' needs.
5. With respect to preferential rules
of origin, the Committee advanced significantly in the implementation of the
2015 Ministerial Decision on preferential rules of origin for least developed
countries (LDCs) (WT/L/917/Add.1). In particular, the
Committee took note of reports by several preference-granting Members about the
"efforts being made" to implement the Decision. It also adopted a
template for the notification of preferential rules of origin for LDCs
(G/RO/84) and considered the information submitted by several
preference-granting Members. Members discussed several aspects related to
preferential rules of origin in dedicated agenda items. Furthermore, The
Committee adopted a methodology for the calculation of preferential utilization
rates and considered a report by the Secretariat on the matter.
6. Finally, the CRO conducted its yearly review
of new developments in preferential rules of origin for LDCs according to the
requirements of Ministerial Decision. As mandated by the Ministerial Decision,
the Committee adopted a report of such review for the General Council (G/RO/85)
and will also inform the Sub-Committee on LDCs accordingly.
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