RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/W/96/Rev.1
2 May 2002
(02-2516)
Committee on Customs Valuation
DRAFT AGENDA FOR THE
SEMINAR ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION
Note from the Secretariat
Revision
At the Committee meeting of 26 February 2002, it was agreed that the Secretariat would
circulate a draft agenda for the seminar on technical assistance in customs valuation.   The Work
Programme on Technical Assistance for Capacity-Building as Regards the Implementation and
Administration of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation, adopted by the Committee on24 July 2001 and contained in G/VAL/W/82/Rev.1, states,
"In order to maintain momentum in this work, the Chairman of the Committee will
initiate consultations on the organisation of a seminar in 2001, to bring together the relevant
organizations and bodies working in this area."
As there was not sufficient time in 2001 to organize the seminar, it was suggested that the
Committee look at holding it sometime in 2002.  The Secretariat has tentatively reserved the date of
Wednesday, 6 November 2002 for the seminar.
Following the discussion at the 26 February 2002 meeting of the Committee, the Chairman
summed up the general objectives, as outlined by Members in their statements, of the seminar.  Hestated,
"One theme of the symposium would be to share national experiences both as donors or
recipients as well as in implementation of the Agreement.  Countries which had benefited
from technical assistance, and countries which had specific needs could highlight theirperspectives which would be taken into account.  Donors could also share their experiences.
In addition, we could add the perspectives of international organizations and regional
organizations providing technical assistance, such as the Inter-American Bank, and examine
how all these bodies interact.
Following on these general objectives as well as the discussion of the programme at the
Committee's meeting of 27 March, a revised draft agenda for the seminar is presented below.
_______________G/VAL/W/96/Rev.1
Page 2
Wednesday, 6 November
Morning
9:00 Welcoming Remarks by the Director-General of the WTO
Session I: Overview of Technical Assistance Activities by Intergovernmental Organizations
9:30-11:00 Presentations by intergovernmental organizations (WCO, World Bank, IMF,
IADB, APEC, WTO) of 20 minutes on the following themes:
- what type of assistance is provided;
- how are decisions made as to which countries to provide assistance and
which type of assistance to provide;
- is coordination among intergovernmental organizations
necessary/feasible/possible,  if so to what degree given the various
mandates, constituencies and budget constraints of the various 
organizations;
- how can the contributory roles of each donor be established and how can
these roles be better defined in the future
Question and Answer session
Session 2: Overview of Technical Assistance Activities by Donor Members
11:00-1:00 Panel Discussion
Presentations of about 15 minutes each by 4 to 5 panellists on the following
themes:
- what are the criteria used to determine where assistance is provided;
- how is it determined what type of assistance to provide to a particular
country:
- how are needs assessed in the area of customs valuation;
- how is the capacity-building componen t included in assistance in order to
ensure follow-through of assistance received  and is it necessary to monitor
follow-through and how;
- is thought given to coordinating assistance with other government donors;  is
this necessary/feasible/possible?
Question and Answer period
Lunch 1:00 – 2:45
Session 3: Overview of Experiences by Recipient Members
3:00-5:00 Panel DiscussionG/VAL/W/96/Rev.1
Page 3
Presentations of about 15 minutes each by 4 to 5 panellists on the following
themes:
- has assistance received responded to needs identified, why or why not;
- how are needs in the area of custom s valuation assessed and has there been
an evolution of those needs according to stage of implementation;
- is it easy to determine who are the donors, what type of assistance they
provide and how this assistance can be requested;
- how can needs be more effectively matched with assistance offered?
Question and Answer period
Session 4: Concluding Remarks by the Chairman
5:00-6:00 General Discussion
__________