REPORT (2023) OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS

1._       This document reports on the work conducted by the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) in 2022. Article 6.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin provides that:

"The Committee shall review annually the implementation and operation of Parts II and III of this Agreement having regard to its objectives" and "inform the Council for Trade in Goods of developments during the period covered by such reviews."

2._       The CRO held two formal meetings in 2022: on 6 June and on 12 October. The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents _G/RO/M/80 and _G/RO/M/81[1] respectively. Mrs Laura GAUER (Switzerland) was elected Chairperson of the CRO in May 2022 and chaired the first meeting of 2023. Mr. Elia MTWEVE (Tanzania) was elected in June 2023 for the 2023-2024 period and chaired the second meeting. Some consultation and informal meetings were also held during the year.

3._       The work of the Committee continued to be structured around two broad themes: (1) non‑preferential rules of origin; and (2) preferential rules of origin for LDCs.

4._       On non-preferential rules of origin, the Committee did not hold specific discussions related to the Harmonization Work Programme (HWP) (Article 9.2(a) of the Agreement on Rules of Origin). Members have expressed diverging views regarding the implications of harmonizing non-preferential rules of origin, so this area of work has not seen much development since 2007.

5._       Since then, Members have been focusing on improving their understanding and knowledge about national practices related to non-preferential rules of origin. In this regard, a proposal to "enhance transparency on non-preferential rules of origin" (_G/RO/W/182/Rev.4) has been on the Committee's agenda for some time. In October 2022, Members discussed again this proposal and, agreed to engage in Chair-led consultations with a view to preparing a Chair's text. Following consultations, a Chairperson's text was circulated in document _JOB/RO/8. It was considered in an informal open-ended meeting on 2 December 2022. Despite wide support for the text, a few delegations raised concerns with some of its elements. As a result, it was agreed that the Chair would continue his consultations on further textual amendments with a view to finalizing the template for adoption.

6._       In addition, an information session was held on "Trade facilitating measures related to rules of origin" on 11 October. The programme, presentations made and recording of the session are available in the "events box" of the Rules of Origin Portal of the WTO website.

7._       At the request of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) (_JOB/CTG/29 and _JOB/CTG/33), Members also adopted a report on its recent discussions related to measures taken to improve the functioning of the CRO (G/L/1493 and G/RO/98). In fact, Members agreed to introduce and implement seven measures to facilitate the work of delegates and improve the work of the Committee. The report complements the information contained in a previous report prepared in December 2022 (_G/RO/W/217; _G/L/1465; _G/L/1465/Corr.1; _JOB/CTG/19/Rev.2 and _G/C/W/824/Rev.1).

8._       Members also considered and adopted a report to the CTG summarizing past discussions on origin-related measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic (_G/L/1466; _G/RO/W/218). A compilation of such measures was also prepared by the Secretariat for future reference (_G/RO/W/219).

9._       The Committee completed the mandated annual review of the implementation and operation of the Agreement (G/RO/W/225/Rev.1 and G/RO/99).

10._    With respect to preferential rules of origin, the Committee continued to oversee the implementation of the Bali and the Nairobi Ministerial Decisions on preferential rules of origin for least developed countries (LDCs) (_WT/L/917 and _WT/L/917/Add.1) as well as the April 2022 "Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin and the Implementation of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision" (_G/RO/95). A separate report to the General Council ahead of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference was considered for adoption.