WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/MA/W/31
11 June 2002
(02-3230)
Committee on Market Access
DISSEMINATION OF THE INTEGRATED DATA BASE (IDB) AND
THE CONSOLIDATED TARIFF SCHEDULES (CTS) DATABASE
This document sets out the dissemination policy for the Integrated Data Base (IDB) and the
Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) data base.  It draws on the IDB dissemination practices outlinedin G/MA/IDB/3, and takes into consideration that providing broader access to the information in the
IDB and the CTS data base would contribute to the effective delivery of market access related
technical assistance to developing and least developed countries and would thus help developing and
least-developed countries participate effectively in the negotiations.
The IDB and the CTS  data base are practical working tools only and there are no
implications as to the legal status of the information contained therein.
A. COVERAGE
1. The information contained in the IDB covers tari ffs and imports at the tariff line level.  The
mandatory tariff information covers MFN duties for applied and current bound duty levels on an
annual basis and correlation tables showing changes in the tariff nomenclature from one year to the
next.  Optional information includes ad valorem  equivalents of specific, mixed and compound duties
and preferential duties.  Import information includes value, quantity, and country of origin by tariff
line.
2. The CTS data base contains Members' commitments on goods made in the context of the
Uruguay Round and previous negotiations as  well as post-Uruguay Round concessions.
1  The C TS
data base also includes provisions to link the concessions to the information contained in the IDB.
3. The dissemination policy described hereafter applies to all the information contained in the
IDB and the CTS data base.
B. AUTHORIZED USERS
4. Authorized users are defined as:
a) all WTO Members;
b) Acceding countries or territories that have provided IDB submissions (hereafter referred to as
authorized Acceding countries);
c) the WTO Secretariat; and
d) the following intergovernmental organizations: the International Monetary Fund, International
Trade Center, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Bank.2
                                                     
1 The CTS data base is documented in G/MA/63, dated 18 June 1999 and in G/MA/110 dated
31 July 2000.
2 In the spirit of inter-organizational co-operation, it is expected that other organizations that have been
granted access to the IDB and the CTS would give favour able consideration to gran ting similar access to their
own respective tariff and trade-related databases and analytical facilities to the WTO.G/MA/W/31
Page 2
5. Additional requests by other intergovernmental organizations for access to the IDB and the
CTS database are subject to approval by the Committee on Market Access on a case by case basis.
C. CONDITIONS OF USE AND PUBLICATION
6. Authorized users can use all the information freely for internal purposes and in the context of
market access-related technical assistance and capacity building.3
7. Authorized users may publish IDB and CTS information or analyses derived from these
databases under the following conditions:
a) WTO copyright of the original data is acknowledged;
b) any conclusions or analyses based on IDB and CTS data are accompanied by a disclaimer
stating that they are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
opinion of the WTO;
c) the Committee on Market Access is informed through the WTO Secretariat of intended
publication prior to publication;
d) the most detailed level of data that can be published is at the level of HS 6-digit sub headings;
e) publication of detailed data beyond the level of HS 6-digit sub headings is contingent on
obtaining written permission from the Member(s) or authorized Acceding country(ies) in
question through the WTO Secretariat.  The exception to this rule is in the case of WTO
documents prepared by the Secretariat at the request of Members, in which case the
Secretariat will inform the Committee on Market Access prior to publication.
8. Authorized intergovernmental organizations are required to agree to the conditions on the use
and publication of IDB and CTS information as set forth in this document prior to receiving access to
the information.  Any breach of the conditions will result in the termination of their access to the
databases.
D. DISSEMINATION MODALITIES
Internet Dissemination
9. Access to the IDB and the CTS information via the Internet is through a user-identification
code and password (hereafter referred to as pa ssword).  The passwords are maintained by the
Secretariat and distributed to authorized users via Heads of Delegations in Geneva or to WTOrepresentatives, (in the case of Members and Acceding countries); via designated focal points in
intergovernmental agencies; and via Directors of Divisions in the case of the WTO Secretariat.  Each
authorized user has its own password.  It is possible to establish several passwords for a given
authorized user.  The passwords are changed periodically.  It is the responsibility of authorized users
to ensure that the IDB and CTS dissemination policy outlined above is respected.
10. There are two internet sites which can be accessed by all authorized users which are both
accessed with the same password:
a) The Internet File Transfer Facility (FTF) covers the distribution of processed IDB and CTS
files to Members.  Files are loaded by the Secret ariat to the FTF initially as "provisional" until
they are deemed "approved" on receipt of approval by the supplying Member or Acceding
                                                     
3 "Internal purposes" is understood to mean, in the case of Members and authorized Acceding
countries, that they are free to use and distribute their own processed files as they wish but the files of otherMembers or authorized Acceding countries can only be used internally by governments. In the case of the
Secretariat and other organizations, "internal purposes" is understood to mean use within the organization.G/MA/W/31
Page 3
country or after a period of 60 days.  Members and Acceding countries can submit changes to
their files at any time.
b) The IDB Internet Analysis Facility (IAF) in its current version allows users to query the IDB
on-line via the Internet.4  The IAF will be enhanced on an incremental basis to provide
additional analytical features and reports, to operate from linked IDB and CTS information,and to allow the extraction of IDB and CTS information for use with other PC desktop
software.
11. For the above two Facilities (FTF and IAF), access to approved IDB and CTS files is
accorded to all authorized users.  Provisional IDB and CTS files are only available to WTO Members,
authorized Acceding countries and the WTO Secretariat.
CD-ROM
12. The IDB CD-ROM in its present version contains approved IDB information.  It is distributed
to authorized users each June and December.  A CD-ROM containing approved CTS information will
be distributed to authorized users.
13. Intergovernmental organizations not listed in paragraph 4 as authorized users but which
receive the IDB CD ROM will continue to receive the IDB CD-ROM and be issued with the CTS
CD-ROM, subject to their agreement to the conditions on the use and publication of the information
contained therein as set out in paragraphs 6 to 8.  These organizations are the Food and AgricultureOrganization, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development and the World Customs Organization.
Additional requests by other intergovernmental organizations for access to the IDB CD-ROM
and the CTS CD-ROM are subject to approval by the Committee on Market Access on a case by casebasis.
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4 As of May 2002 a prototype version is available.