REPORT (2019) OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN TO THE General COUNCIL
on Preferential Rules of Origin for least developed countries

1.       This report is being submitted by the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) to the General Council in accordance with the requirements of Paragraph 1.10 of the Ministerial Decision of 7 December 2013 (WT/L/917, the "Bali Ministerial Decision") and of Paragraph 4.4 of the Ministerial Decision of 15 December 2015 (WT/L/917/Add.1, the "Nairobi Ministerial Decision") on Preferential Rules of Origin for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Under these provisions, the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) "shall annually review the developments in preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from LDCs" and report to the General Council. 

2.       The CRO discussed several matters related to preferential rules of origin for LDCs in its two meetings held in 2019 (on 15-16 May and on 17-18 October). The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents G/RO/M/72 and [G/RO/M/73] respectively. As required by the 2013 and 2015 Ministerial Decisions, Members conducted a review of recent developments at the Committee's formal meeting of 17 and 18 October 2019. The following are some of the recent developments Members took note of:

-             On transparency, the Committee now has excellent coverage and detailed information about preferential rules of origin and origin requirements for LDCs. Practically all preference-granting Members have submitted a notification to the Committee using the agreed notification template (G/RO/84). The Secretariat had been asked to reach out to those Members with notification gaps and report back to the Committee. As a result, the Secretariat reported as follows:

o    Since the last review in 2018, new notifications had been submitted by the Kyrgyz Republic; Montenegro; Tajikistan; and Turkey.

o    As a result, all WTO Members who grant non-reciprocal trade preferences to LDCs (a "preferential trade arrangement" or PTA) have now submitted detailed information concerning their preferential rules of origin to the Committee. Information was missing only for the PTAs of Armenia and Iceland.

o    The delegation of Iceland informed the Committee that new legislation concerning non‑reciprocal preferences for LDCs was currently being prepared. A notification describing the new requirements would be submitted as soon as the legislation would be finalized and adopted.

o    In addition, revised notifications had been submitted by Australia and the Russian Federation.