RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/MA/IDB/W/11
25 June 2001
(01-3153)
Committee on Market Access
A MULTILATERAL APPRAISAL OF THE OPERATION OF THE INTEGRATED
 DATA BASE AND RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES -
ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Note by the Secretariat
A. INTRODUCTION
1. The purpose of this note is to provide factual information to assist Members in their
Multilateral Appraisal of the Integrated Data Base (IDB) and related Technical Assistance Activities(document G/MA/IDB/4 of 22 February 2001 refers).
2. The objectives of the Multilateral Appraisal as set out in paragraph 2 of that document are to
"identify ways of improving IDB participation through a multilateral appreciation of all Members'
experiences in complying with IDB notification re quirements.  To do this, the Committee will focus
on obtaining a better understanding of:
• Why Members have not been able to either provide any submissions at all or achieve
regular reporting patterns;
• How Members have had success in complying with IDB information requirements;
• What has been the effectiveness of ex isting technical assistance activities."
3. The modalities consist of a series of informal meetings organized on a regional basis at which
Members in that region are strongly encouraged to describe their experiences in complying with
IDB notification requirements.
4. This note contains the region-specific information to support the fourth meeting devoted to
Asia and the Middle East (paragraph 8 of G/MA/IDB/4 re fers).  It is in three parts.  The first part (B),
dealing with the operation of the IDB, focuses on the status of IDB submissions (participation and
timeliness), dissemination details and problems encountered by the Secretariat in standardizing theinformation for inclusion in the IDB.  It is based on information contained in IDB administration
records and the guidelines for supplying PC IDB submissions which were reissued as
document G/MA/IDB/W/6 on 15 June 2000.  The second part (C) identifies supplementary sources of
information which could be of assistance to delegations in pinpointing institutional or capacity related
bottlenecks in complying with the IDB notification requirements.  It also contains information on
regional organizations' activities of relevance to the IDB.  The third part (D) summarizes the
Secretariat technical assistance accorded to WTO Members in the region.
5. The cutoff date for information contained in this note was 1 June 2001.G/MA/IDB/W/11
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B. OPERATION OF THE IDB
Participation
6. Table 1 shows that 22 out of the 30 Members in Asia and the Middle East have submitted
information to the IDB.  All leading traders in Asia participate.  Five of the eight Members that do not
yet participate are from the Middle East.  Two of them have only acceded to the WTO in the
year 2000.  For a detailed region-specific status table see the Annex.
Table 1:  Integrated Data Base - Status of Responses of WTO Members
Asia and the Middle East
Respondents (total 22) Non-respondents (total 8)
Australia Ban gladesh
Bahrai n Fiji
Brunei Darussala m Jorda n
Cyprus Kuwai t
Hong Kon g, China Oma n
India Pa pua New Guinea
Indonesia Qata r
Israel United Arab Emirates
Japan
Korea, Re public o f
Macau, China
Mala ysia
Maldives
Mon golia
Myanma r
New Zealand
Pakista n
Phili ppines
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Sri Lanka
Thailand
  Source:  IDB administrative records
Status of submissions
7. Table 2 summarizes the extent of the information submitted for inclusion in the IDB from the
start of the PC version in 1996.  It should be noted that as at 1 June 2001, tariff submission rates hadbeen fairly stable but cover, on average, only twelve Members during 1996-1999.  Import statistics
seem to be more easily available.  For the year 1997 eighteen out of the 22 participating Members
have submitted data.  For more recent years, the number of submissions is well below the number of
Members in the region.
8. The detailed records presented in the Annex show that for the four years (1998-2001):
• Four Members have supplied applied tariffs for each of the four years and imports for
each of the two years as required;
• Three Members have supplied applied tariffs for three years and imports for two or
three years;
• Five Members have supplied applied tariffs and imports for at least one year in that
period;
• Five Members have supplied applied tariffs but not imports for one or several years;
• Four Members have supplied imports but not applied tariffs for one or several years;
• One Member has supplied only information for 1996 and 1997.G/MA/IDB/W/11
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Table 2:  Number of IDB Submissions
Asia and the Middle East
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Tariffs
  Current MFN applied duties 13 11 12 12 9 4
  Current MFN bound duties 6 6 6 8 7 4
Product descriptions 12 11 10 11 8 5
Imports 16 18 15 13 3 ---
National correlations 3 3 3 3 2 1
Other references 10 10 6 6 3 2
 --- = Not applicable
Source:  IDB administrative records
9. Regarding the material needed to complete the IDB submissions (product descriptions,
national correlations and other references), the information in Table 2 can be clarified as follows:
• Not all tariff submissions were accompanied by product descriptions in one of the official
WTO languages;
• Other reference information is frequently not supplied.  However, in those cases where
reference information of previous years was still considered to be valid, the Secretariat
used that information.  Confirmation by Members to do so would be of assistance to the
Secretariat and would be reflected accordingly in the status table as submission of
information;
• Correlation tables are needed to track changes in the tariff nomenclature between imports
and tariffs for a given year, and between tariffs from one year to the next(document G/MA/IDB/W/6 refers).  An analysis of those submissions that have been
processed has shown that in most cases, there are discrepancies both between the tariff
and import nomenclature and the year to year tariff nomenclature.  It should be noted that
with respect to the import to tariff match, the Secretariat generates matching tariff lines in
the import files if no correlation table is received, and informs the Member as part of the
approval process.  The incidence of discrepancies between year to year tariffs implies theneed of a correlation table.  The Secretariat cannot generate the correlation table without
input from Members.  Discrepancies have been flagged in the Member-specific notes.
Timeliness
10. The deadline for submitting tariffs is 30 March of the current year, and for imports,
30 September of the previous year.  As at 1 June 2001, requirements were tariff information
1996-2001 and import statistics 1996-1999.
11. Tables 3 provides an overview of the extent to which IDB submissions of applied tariffs and
imports have been made in compliance with the mandated deadlines.  For tariffs and imports, the
number of submissions (based on the first date of submission) is counted on a quarterly basis startingin 1998.  The quarters corresponding to the deadlines have been shaded in grey.G/MA/IDB/W/11
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Table 3:  Number of IDB Submissions by Date Received
Asia and the Middle East
Applied tariffs for year
Submission date
by quarter1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
up to1998 - 1. 74 2
1998 - 2. 131
1998 - 3. 134
1998 - 4.
1999 - 1. 1 2
1999 - 2. 21 3
1999 - 3. 21 2
1999 - 4.
2000 - 1. 1 2
2000 - 2. 112
2000 - 3. 133
2000 - 4 11
2001 - 1. 1 3
2001 - 2. 1
All submissions 13 11 12 12 9 4
Imports for year
Submission date
by quarter1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
up to1998 - 1. 9 1
1998 - 2. 2 6
1998 - 3. 1 4
1998 - 4. 12
1999 - 1. 12
1999 - 2. 5
1999 - 3. 11 6
1999 - 4. 1
2000 - 1. 111 2
2000 - 2. 5
2000 - 3. 3
2000 - 4. 12 1
2001 - 1. 1 1
2001 - 2. 1 2
All submissions 16 18 15 13 3
Source:  IDB administrative recordsG/MA/IDB/W/11
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12. The table illustrates the extent to which resp ondents have been able to comply with these
deadlines.  In 2001, three Members submitted the tariff schedule within the required time-frame.  For
imports, in general, ten to eleven Members managed to submit their import data on time.  Few
Members have established a regular reporting pattern.
Dissemination
13. After successful processing, IDB files are disseminated first through the IDB Internet site.  As
a first step, the files are loaded into the provisional area of the site to await the Member's approval.
Following approval, the files are loaded into the approved area.  Files that are lodged in this area are
potential candidates for the IDB CD-ROM.  Tariffs are the primary requirement for theIDB CD-ROM software.  Tariffs with or without the corresponding imports are accepted.  Imports
without the corresponding tariffs cannot be loaded.
Table 4:  Summary of IDB Data Submitted and Disseminated as of 1 June 2001
Asia and the Middle East
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Applied duties
  Communicated to the IDB 13 11 12 12 9 4
  Loaded on the Internet File Transfer Facility 12 10 11 9 7 3
  Included in December 2000 IDB CD-ROM 12 10 9 7 3 0
Imports
  Communicated to the IDB 16 18 15 13 3 ---
  Loaded on the Internet File Transfer Facility 14 14 9 6 1 ---
  Included in December 2000 IDB CD-ROM 10 9 6 3 --- ---
--- = Not applicable
Note: The last load of the Internet File Transfer F acility, included in this table, took place on 23 May 2001;
the count of files on the Internet also includes files in the provisional area
Source:  IDB administrative records
14. The above table gives an indication of the "success rate" of IDB submissions by highlighting
discrepancies between the information Members submit to the IDB and the information that is
disseminated on the Internet File Transfer Facility.  The discrepancies can reflect processing problemsand/or delays in processing.  With respect to tariffs, the table shows that the Secretariat has been able
to successfully process the tariff data for almost all submissions.  The larger discrepancies registered
for imports since 1998 are mostly due to processing problems.  It should be noted that the
discrepancies between the files disseminated on the Internet and the CD-ROM can be explained by
the earlier cutoff date (November 2000) and the more stringent selection criteria.
Processing
15. The Secretariat addresses problems in standardizing the data supplied by capitals for inclusion
in the IDB with delegations on an ad hoc basis.  The typical problems encountered in the submissions
of Members in the region can be summarized as follows:G/MA/IDB/W/11
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a. Nomenclature
1. The import and/or the tariff files contain tariff lines reported in different versions of
the HS (HS92 and HS96).
2. The tariff and/or import files contain invalid HS codes.
3. The tariff and the import files are not in the same version of the HS (HS88, HS92 or
HS96).
4. Imports are not provided in the HS nomenclature but in a nomenclature based on
SITC-Rev3 .
b. Incomplete submissions
1. The reference files for the trading partner codes and/or the quantity unit descriptions
are missing.
2. Submissions are unreadable electronically.
3. The import file does not contain a distribution by trading partner.
4. The import file contains no quantity units.
5. The import values are either too low or too high, when cross-checked against other
sources.
C. IDB INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES
16. The results of Secretariat research into electronic sources of detailed import and tariff
information that could meet IDB requirements are summarized below.  The aim of this research is to
assist delegations in ascertaining whether institutional and/or capacity issues underlie problems in
complying with IDB notification requirements.  Re source constraints precluded exhaustive research.
17. The Secretariat looked at information availa ble first in the Secretariat, notably the
Accessions Division, the Market Access Division and the Trade Policy Review Division; then in
readily available databases maintained by other international organizations and agencies.  The
Secretariat searched for Websites of national statistical offices, of national customs agencies, and of
regional integration agreements.  The search was restricted to imports and national customs tariffs for
the last four years (1998-2001).
18. The following data sources have been identified.
19. WTO Secretariat:  For a number of Members, currently not participating in the IDB, tariff
information was made available to the Secretariat, i.e. the Accessions Division, the
Market Access Division or the Trade Policy Review Division.  These data could be included in the
IDB contingent on authorization from the concerned delegations being obtained.
20. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC):  The APEC Tariff Database Internet site
(http://www.apectariff.org) contains tariff information for the APEC member economies.  The
database is updated twice each year and only the most recently submitted tariff are shown.  The
updates are dependent on the submission of data by the participating economies.  The Website
indicates that the reproduced material is not an official or authorized version and advises users to refer
to the official version of the tariff in use in the respective country. In some cases, this publicly
available database is more up-to-date than the IDB.
21. Other sources:  For some Members, national Websites that contain IDB relevant information
have been identified.  In addition, the UNCTAD TRAINS database, the United Nations COMTRADE
database and the commercial provider WORLD TA RIFF were consulted.  Any information that was
more up-to-date and or more comprehensive has been included in the Member-specific notes.G/MA/IDB/W/11
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D IDB RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES
22. The General Council decision of 16 July 1997 called for the Secretariat to provide technical
assistance to Members in relation to IDB submissions.  The IDB Technical Assistance Programme
was launched in April 1998 following the a doption by the Committee on Market Access of
document G/MA/IDB/W/3/Rev.1 setting out the modalities.  Table 5 below summarizes the followingtechnical assistance activities for the region since that date.
23. The table shows that there has been a range of mostly regional seminars in Asia but only one
activity has taken place Middle East, a national mission to Qatar in early 2001.  The lack of technical
assistance to the Middle East and the recent accession of some Members from the region seem to
explain the difficulty in participating in the IDB.  To improve the situation a regional IDB seminar for
the countries of ESCWA
1 is planned for the year 2003.
24. In the months of July and August national missions to Pakistan and India are planned
respectively.  Other national missions to Asian Member countries are planned later in the year but
dates have not yet been fixed.
                                                     
1 The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) covers the
following countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.G/MA/IDB/W/11
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Table 5:  Summary of IDB Related Technical Assistance Missions
Asia and the Middle East
Location Date Type of Mission Participants
Malaysia 13-16/06/1998 IDB regional seminar for
APEC member economiesAustralia, Brunei Darussalam, Hong
Kong China, Indonesia, Japan, KoreaRepublic of, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand
China 2-5/03/1999 Regional seminar with
IDB componentBangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Hong
Kong China, India, Indonesia, Korea
Republic of, Macau China, Malaysia,
Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Thailand
Pakistan 08/04/1999 Regional training course
on various subjects
including IDBMembers of the Islamic Development
Bank: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei
Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Maldives, Pakistan
Thailand 14-18/06/1999 IDB regional works hop ASEAN countries: Brunei Darussalam,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
Qatar 29-30/01/2001 IDB national mission Qatar
Geneva 12/09/2000 IDB workshop Indian delegation
China 17-18/02/2001 IDB regional workshop
for APEC member
economiesAustralia, Hong Kong China,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic of,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand
Singapore 19-21/06/2001 Regi onal training course
on Market Access and
Trade Facilitation with
IDB/CTS component20 developing countries from the Asia
and AfricaG/MA/IDB/W/11
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Annex
Status of PC IDB submissions as of 5 June 2001
Current Tariffs Date of submission
Members Year Imports
Applied BoundProduct
DescriptionsNational
CorrelationsOther
References Imports Tariffs
Australia 1996 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes 12-97 06-98
1997 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes 06-98 12-97
1998 Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 10-99 12-97
1999 Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 08-00 01-99
2000 --- Yes No Yes No No 06-00
2001 --- Yes No Yes No No 04-01
Bahrain 1996 Yes No No No --- No 09-99
1997 Yes No No No No No 09-99
1998 Yes No No No No No 09-99
1999 Yes No No No No No 03-00
Brunei Darussalam 1996 No Yes No Yes --- No 06-99
1997 Yes No No No No No 10-00
1998 Yes No No No No No 10-00
1999 Yes No No No No No 10-00
Cyprus 1996 Yes Yes No Yes --- Yes 03-98 03-98
1997 Yes Yes No Yes No Yes 03-98 03-98
1998 No Yes No Yes No No 03-98
Hong Kong, China 1996 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 12-97 12-97
1997 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 09-98 12-97
1998 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 08-99 03-99
1999 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 06-00 03-99
2000 --- Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 03-00
2001 --- Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 03-01
India 1996 Yes Yes Yes No --- No 12-97 09-99
1997 No Yes No No No No 09-99
1998 Yes No No No No No 11-00
Indonesia 1996 Yes Yes No Yes --- Yes 03-98 03-98
1997 Yes Yes No Yes No Yes 07-98 07-98
1998 Yes Yes No Yes No No 06-99 06-99
1999 Yes Yes No Yes No No 09-00 09-00
Israel 1999 No Yes No Yes No No 05-00
Japan 1996 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No 03-98 03-98
1997 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No 08-98 03-98
1998 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 09-99 08-98
1999 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 06-00 09-99
2000 --- Yes Yes Yes No No 06-00
Korea, Rep. of 1996 Yes Yes Yes Yes --- Yes 12-97 12-97
1997 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 04-98 04-98
1998 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 06-99 04-98
1999 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 07-00 06-99
2000 --- Yes Yes Yes No No 07-00
2001 --- Yes Yes Yes No Yes 03-01
Macau, China 1996 Yes Yes Yes No --- Yes 06-97 06-97
1997 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes 04-98 04-98G/MA/IDB/W/11
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Current Tariffs Date of submission
Members Year Imports
Applied BoundProduct
DescriptionsNational
CorrelationsOther
References Imports Tariffs
1998 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes 07-99 09-00
1999 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes 03-01 09-00
2000 --- Yes Yes No No Yes 09-00
Malaysia 1996 Yes No No Yes --- Yes 12-98
1997 Yes No No Yes No Yes 12-98
1999 No Yes Yes Yes No No 08-00
2000 --- Yes Yes Yes No No 08-00
Maldives 1996 Yes No No Yes --- Yes 02-99
1997 Yes No No Yes No Yes 02-99
Mongolia 1997 Yes No No No No No 02-99
Myanmar 1996 No Yes No Yes --- No 06-99
New Zealand 1996 Yes No No No --- No 11-97
1997 Yes Yes No Yes No No 10-98 07-98
1998 Yes Yes No Yes No No 07-99 07-98
1999 Yes Yes No Yes No No 04-01 08-99
2000 Yes No No No No No 04-01
Pakistan 1997 Yes No No No No No 05-98
1998 Yes No No No No No 06-99
1999 Yes No No No No No 04-00
2000 Yes Yes No Yes No No 04-01 02-01
Philippines 1996 Yes Yes No Yes --- No 06-98 04-96
1997 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 06-98 06-98
1998 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 06-99 09-98
1999 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 06-00 06-99
2000 --- Yes Yes Yes No No 02-00
2001 --- Yes Yes Yes No No 03-01
Singapore 1996 Yes Yes Yes Yes --- Yes 09-98 09-98
1997 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 09-98 09-98
1998 Yes Yes Yes Yes --- Yes 09-99 09-98
1999 Yes Yes Yes Yes --- Yes 04-00 10-00
2000 Yes Yes Yes Yes --- Yes 02-01 10-00
2001 --- No Yes Yes No No 10-00
Solomon Islands 1998 No Yes No No No No 06-00
Sri Lanka 1996 Yes No No No --- Yes 03-00
1997 Yes No No No No Yes 03-00
1998 Yes Yes No Yes No Yes 03-00 03-00
Thailand 1996 Yes No No No --- No 06-98
1997 Yes No No No No No 06-98
1998 Yes No No No No Yes 06-99
1999 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 01-01 06-99
Yes =  information received.
No =  information not received.--- =  not applicable.
In the column National Correlations, "No"  may also indicate that the Secretariat has not yet been able to ascertain
the need for such a correlation table.
__________