RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/RO/6
25July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2972)
Committee onRules ofOrigin
FOURTH REPORT TOTHE COMMITTEE ONRULES OFORIGIN
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Inconformity withparagraph 2(c)(ii) ofArticle 9oftheAgreement onRules ofOrigin, the
Technical Committee onRules ofOrigin hassubmitted totheCommittee onRules ofOrigin itsFourth
Report. TheReport pertains to:
(a) theresults ofthecontinuing work under Phase IIoftheHarmonization Work
Programme; and
(b) responses totherequests raised bytheCommittee onRules ofOrigin atitsmeeting
on10May1996 (G/RO/W/14).
2. Theattached Report (WCO document 40.246) isherewith circulated toMembers, together
withtheletter oftransmission oftheChairman oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin.1
1Theviews anddecisions oftheTechnical Committee (contained inAnnexes totheReport oftheFourth
Session oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin) areavailable forconsultation intheSecretariat (Market
Access Division).G/RO/6
Page2
Brussels, 7June1996.
Dear Mr.Osakwe,
Fourth Report totheCommittee onRules ofOrigin
Ihavepleasure inenclosing theFourth Report oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin
totheCommittee onRules ofOrigin.
Thisreport contains theresults ofthecontinuing work under phase IIoftheharmonization
work programme andresponds totherequests made bytheCommittee atitslastmeeting asreported
inyourletters of21Mayand23May. TheReport issubmitted inaccordance withtheprovisions
ofArticle 9.2(c) oftheAgreement.
Your letters made particular reference totheestablishment ofanintegrated negotiating text.
Iampleased toreport thatthisissue, andinparticular theroleoftheTechnical Committee inthe
proposed modalities foraddition andamendment, willbeputontheagenda forthenextsession of
theTechnical Committee.
Please accept, Mr.Osakwe, theassurance ofmyhighest consideration.
Yours sincerely,
R.Janezcko
ChairmanG/RO/6
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FOURTH REPORT OFTHE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ONRULES OFORIGIN
TOTHE COMMITTEE ONRULES OFORIGIN
1. TheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin helditsFourth Session from28Mayto7June
1996inBrussels. During thissession theTechnical Committee carried forward itswork toestablish
harmonized rules oforigin forparticular products andproduct sectors under thesecond phase ofthe
harmonization work programme. Italsocontinued itswork todevelop theoverall architectural design
fortheharmonized rulesoforigin. TheTechnical Committee tooknoteofthediscussions anddecisions
oftheCommittee onRules ofOrigin andoftheletter of21May1996 from theChairman ofthe
Committee totheChairman oftheTechnical Committee.
Harmonization work programme:
2. TheTechnical Committee welcomed theapproval bytheCommittee oftheresults ofitsfurther
work attheThird Session onthedefinitions ofthegoods thataretobeconsidered aswholly obtained
inonecountry andonthelegally-binding notes tothose definitions. Therequest fromtheCommittee,
under theterms ofArticle 9.3(b) oftheAgreement, forclarification astotheinterpretation oftheterm
“produced ”wasnoted. Itwasdetermined thatthetermcould haveabearing onthewhole work
programme anditwas,therefore, decided tokeepthequestion openuntilcompletion ofphase III.
3. TheTechnical Committee continued itswork onthesecond phase oftheharmonization work
programme, begun during itsThird Session, toconsider andelaborate, onthebasis ofthecriterion
ofsubstantial transformation, rules oforigin based ontheuseofchange intariff classification for
particularproductsandproductsectorsasrepresentedbyChaptersorSectionsoftheHarmonizedSystem
(HS)nomenclature. TheTechnical Committee tooknoteofthewelcome given bytheCommittee at
itslastmeeting totheprogress achieved sofarandofthemessage ofencouragement forthefuture
achievement oftheharmonization work programme.
4. TheTechnical Committee examined theproducts andproduct sectors ofChapters 1-5,44-46,
47-49, 64-67, 68-70, 71,74-79, 91-92, 93,94-96, 97andheading 09.01. Rules ofOrigin elaborated
onthebasis ofthecriterion ofsubstantial transformation were agreed fortheproducts classified in
thefollowing headings orsubheadings :
02.08, 04.01, 04.05, 0406.10, 0406.20, 0406.40, 0406.90, 04.07, 04.09, 04.10, 05.01, 05.02,
05.03, 05.04, 05.05, 05.06, 05.07, 05.08, 05.09, 05.10, 05.11, 44.01, 44.02, 44.03, 44.04,
44.05, 44.06, 44.07, 44.08, 44.09, 44.10, 44.11, 44.13, 44.16, 44.17, 44.19, 44.20, 44.21,
45.01, 45.03, 45.04, 4601.10, 4601.20, 4601.91, 4601.99, 46.02, 48.01, 48.02, 48.03, 48.04,
48.05, 48.06, 48.07, 48.09, 48.12, 48.13, 48.14, 48.15, 48.16, 48.17, 48.18, 48.19, 48.20,
48.21, 48.22, 49.01, 49.02, 49.03, 49.04, 49.05, 49.06, 49.07, 49.08, 49.09, 49.10, 49.11,
66.02, 67.02, 67.04, 68.01, 68.05, 68.08, 6812.10, 6812.20, 6812.30, 6812.40, 6812.50,
6812.60, 6812.70, 6812.90, 68.15, 69.01, 69.02, 69.03, 69.04, 69.05, 69.06, 69.07, 69.09,
69.10, 69.13, 69.14, 70.01, 70.02, 70.03, 70.04, 70.05, 70.07, 70.08, 70.09, 70.10, 70.11,
70.12, 70.14, 70.15, 70.16, 70.17, 70.18, 70.20, 71.05, 71.12, 71.18, 74.01, 74.02, 7403.11,
7403.12, 7403.13, 7403.19, 74.04, 74.05, 74.07, 74.11, 74.12, 74.13, 74.14, 74.15, 74.16,
74.17, 74.18, 75.01, 7502.10, 75.03, 75.04, 76.02, 76.03, 76.04, 76.06, 76.08, 76.09, 76.11,
76.12, 76.13, 76.14, 76.15, 7801.91, 78.02, 78.03, 78.05, 78.06, 79.01, 79.02, 79.04, 79.05,
79.06, 79.07, 92.01, 92.02, 92.03, 92.04, 92.05, 92.06, 92.07, 92.08, 93.01, 93.02, 93.03,
93.04, 93.06, 93.07, 94.04, 9405.91, 9405.92, 9405.99, 94.06, 95.07, 95.08, 96.03, 96.04,
96.05, 96.06, 9608.50, 96.10, 96.11, 9612.20, 9613.90, 9614.90, 9615.90, 96.16, 96.17,
96.18, 9701.10, 9701.90, 97.02, 97.03, 97.04, 97.05, 97.06G/RO/6
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5. Forsome products theTechnical Committee decided thatimportant issues hadbeenraised that
required further technical analysis. These products willbeexamined again bytheTechnical Committee
laterintheworkprogramme inthelightoftheresults offurther workbyMembers andbytheSecretariat
Theviews anddecisions oftheTechnical Committee arereproduced indetail intheannexes tothe
Report oftheFourth Session oftheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin, acopyofwhich isenclosed
forinformation.2
Overall architectural design
6. TheTechnical Committee continued itswork todevelop theoverall architectural design for
theharmonized rulesoforigin. Inthiscontext ittooknoteofthecomments fromtheCommittee on
thevaluable work already undertaken bytheTechnical Committee atits3rdSession. TheTechnical
Committee alsoconsidered proposals foracommon approach andterminology fordrafting therules
oforigin based onthecriterion ofsubstantial transformation.
Integrated negotiating text
7. TheTechnicalCommitteetooknoteoftheCommitteesdiscussionsconcerningtheestablishment
ofanintegrated negotiating texttoincorporate thedocuments established astheresults ofthework
oftheTechnical Committee. Itwasfurther noted thatthetextwould bestructured onthebasis of
theoverall architectural design fortheharmonized rulesoforigin. TheTechnical Committee agreed
thatthisissue should beputontheagenda foritsnextsession.
Future work
8. TheFifth Session oftheTechnical Committee willtakeplace on16-27September 1996 in
Brussels. TheAgenda willinclude theexamination oftheproducts andproduct sectors ofChapters
28-40 and50-63 oftheHSnomenclature.
2Available forconsultation intheSecretariat (Market Access Division).