RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/MA/TAR/RS/92
21 May 2003
(03-2160)
Committee on Market Access Original:  Spanish
RECTIFICATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS OF
URUGUAY ROUND SCHEDULES
Schedule LXXXV – Costa Rica
The following communication, dated 11 April 1998, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Costa Rica.
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In connection with Schedule LXXXV, Costa Rican tariff concessions and commitments
annexed to the GATT 1994, and in accordance with the procedures for modification and rectification
of Schedules of tariff concessions contained in  the Decision of 26 March 1980 (BISD 27S/25), the
Republic of Costa Rica submits herewith a draft rectification for the purpose of correcting an errorcontained in the Schedule.
The technical error relates to tariff subhe ading 8524.32.00 (discs for la ser reading systems,
for reproducing sound only).  The error occurred when Costa Rica submitted its schedule of
commitments undertaken under the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).  The product
concerned, which is not covered by that Agreement, was mistakenly included in the Schedule.  This
change does not alter Costa Rica's commitments under the Information Technology Agreement.
Detailed explanatory notes and a table containing the draft rectification are reproduced in the
appendix.
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If no objection is notified to the Secretariat within three months from the date of this
document, the rectifications and modifications of Schedule LXXXV – Costa Rica will be deemed to
be approved and will be formally certified.G/MA/TAR/RS/92
Page 2
APPENDIX
Rectification of Schedule LXXXV – Costa Rica
(a) Explanatory note
The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) was adopted at the Singapore Ministerial
Conference in December 1996.  The parties to the Agreement undertook that:  (1) All products listed
in the Declaration should be included in its acceptance;  (2) all tariff rates for such products should be
reduced to zero;  and (3) all other customs duties and charges should be bound at zero also.  In this
connection, the ITA clearly defines two types of product covered by the Agreement:
(a) All products classified (or classifiable) with Harmonized System (1996) ("HS")
headings listed in Attachment A to the Annex to the Declaration;  and
(b) all products specified in Attachment B to the Annex to the Declaration, whether or
not they are included in Attachment A.
A review of the said attachments clearly show s that tariff subheading 8524.32 (discs for laser
reading systems, for reproducing sound only) is not included in Attachment A to the Annex to the
Declaration, nor does it correspond to any of the produc ts described in Attachment B.  In other words,
the parties to the ITA entered into no tariff reducti on commitment in respect of discs for laser reading
systems, for reproducing sound only.
The subsequent discussions in the Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in
Information Technology Products, aimed at expandin g product coverage (known as ITA II), revealed
that subheading 8524.32 was in fact one of the tariff lines which some Members proposed including
in the new schedule of additional tariff concessions.1  However, the participants never reached
agreement on expanding the coverage of products covered by the new agreement.  To date, no
products have been added to the original schedule.
Although Costa Rica was not one of the original signatories to the ITA in 1996, it was one of
the WTO Members which subsequently, and prior to 1 April 1997, expressed an interest in accedingto the Agreement.
2  Consequently, Costa Rica notified its acceptance of the Agreement and submitted
a draft schedule for modification of the commitments under Schedule LXXXV – Costa Rica which
erroneously included tariff subheading 8524.32.00 (discs for laser reading systems, for reproducing
sound only).3
Document G/MA/TAR/RS/28 explicitly states that Costa Rica made modifications to tariff
concessions "pursuant to paragraph 2 of the Annex to the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in
Information Technology Products …".  Conversely , this should be interpreted as a lack of readiness
on the part of Costa Rica to modify its tariff co mmitments not covered by the ITA, which shows that
the inclusion of the product in question was an error.
The modifications to Schedule LXXXV – Costa Rica were subsequently certified in
Document WT/Let/196 of 12 November 1998.
                                                     
1 See, for example item 75 in the schedule of products of 19 May 1998.
2 Letter to Renato Rugiero, Director-General of the WTO, dated 24 March 1997.
3 See G/MA/TAR/RS/28 of 28 July 1997.G/MA/TAR/RS/92
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Since Costa Rica submitted changes to its tariff concessions in the context of the ITA, and
tariff item 8524.32.00 is not included anywhere in that Agreement, it is clear that Costa Rica
committed a technical error in submitting the schedule of commitments contained in document
G/MA/TAR/RS/28 and subsequently certified in  document WT/Let/196.  Consequently the bound
level of this tariff item and the other concessions should revert to the level contained in the
corresponding bound tariff commitments, in accordance with the results of the Uruguay Round of
trade negotiations.  Inter alia , the final bound tariff rate for this tariff item should read 45 per cent
instead of zero per cent.  The remainder of the rectification of this item should be read in accordance
with the changes set out in Section b of this attachment (see below).
This change does not alter Costa Rica's commitments under the Information Technology
Agreement.
(b) Draft rectification of Schedule LXXXV – Costa Rica
HS96 Product
descriptionBasic duty
rateBound
duty ratePeriod of
application
From/ToInitial
negotiating
rightsOther
duties and
charges
1234567
8524.32.00 Discs for
laser
reading
systems, for
reproducing
sound only55% 45% 1995/2004 1%
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