RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/REG4/6/Add.1
8April 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1433)
Original: English Committee onRegional Trade Agreements
NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Addendum
ThefollowingareresponsestoquestionsposedbythedelegationsfromNorwayandSwitzerland,
inWT/REG4/6, inrelation totheexamination oftheNorth American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA),
forcirculation totheMembers.
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1. Could theParties confirm whether FOB isusedtodetermine ifaproduct qualifies for
NAFTA origin?
TheUnited States andCanada confirm thattheyuseFOBforthispurpose, when applicable.
2. CouldthePartiesconfirmwhetherFOBisusedtocalculatethedutiesonproductsqualifying
forNAFTA origin?
TheUnited States andCanada confirm thattheyuseFOBforthispurpose, when applicable.
3. Could eachParty indicate which baseituses(FOB orCIF)forcustoms valuation purposes
tocalculate theduties applied toproducts ofnon-NAFTA origin?
TheUnited States andCanada useFOBtovalue products ofnon-NAFTA origin forcalculation
ofduties.
4. Could eachParty indicate thepercentage ofimports ofproducts from NAFTA partners
qualifying forNAFTA origin (asacomplement tothe“NAFTA -Update ofTrade Data”submitted
bytheParties inWT/REG4/5)?
About75-80percentofMFN-dutiableproductsenteringtheUnitedStatesfromNAFTApartners
qualify forNAFTA origin. About 88percent ofMFN-dutiable products thatentered Canada in1996
from NAFTA partners qualified forNAFTA origin.
5. Could each Party indicate which base (FOB orCIF) wasused forcustoms valuation
purposes, prior andafter entry intoforce oftheNAFTA, forthevaluation ofitsimports from
Parties (with andwithout NAFTA origin) andfrom third Parties?
TheUnited States andCanada havebeenusing FOBforcustoms valuation purposes, bothbefore
andaftertheentry intoforce oftheNAFTA, forimports received from NAFTA partners andthird
Parties.
./.WT/REG4/6/Add.1
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6. Inthecontext ofthechange ofthecustoms valuation system (from FOBtoCIF)introduced
byMexico inDecember 1993, doesMexico consider thatthemaintenance oftheFOBbased customs
valuation, forproducts qualifying forNAFTA origin, wasadecision taken inthecontext ofor
withaviewtotheformation ofNAFTA?
7. Does Mexico apply theFOB based customs valuation forproducts originating from free-
trade areas other thanNAFTA towhich Mexico isparty?
8. DidMexico useFOB asameans tocalculate customs value forallimports prior to
30December 1993? DidMexico on30December 1993 change itscustoms valuation system to
CIFexcept forimports being granted NAFTA-origin? Could Mexico provide thelegaltextwhich
provides thatFOB value istobeusedforcustoms valuation ofgoods originating inNAFTA?
9. From theanswers provided byMexico ontheoccasion ofthefirstround ofexamination
oftheNAFTA, itseems unclear whether Mexico considers thattheintroduction oftheCIFsystem
forallimports except forthose given NAFTA-origin islinked totheentry intoforce oftheNAFTA.
Could Mexico clarify thispoint?
10. Norway understands Mexico 'sreason forchanging thebasis forcalculation ofcustoms
tobethatCIFisconsidered tobeabetter system. Isthisacorrect understanding? Ifsuchis
thecase, whyisCIFnotbeing implemented forimports from allcountries?
11. Could Mexico indicate thepercentage oftotalimports for1994, 1995and1996(ifavailable)
from Canada andtheUSwhich isgiven NAFTA-origin?
12. Could Mexico confirm thatonlyproducts withNAFTA origin areimported using FOB
asthebasis forcustoms valuation?
13. Does, intheview ofMexico, theuseofCIFprovide ahigher basis forcalculation of
customs duties thantheFOB system?
Questions 6-13arenotapplicable fortheUnited States andCanada.
Thereply byMexico toquestions 1-13isthefollowing: Everything thatMexico hastosay
regarding thisissue hasalready been saidbothinterms oftheCommittee onRegional Trade
Agreements (CRTA) andtheCommittee onCustoms Valuation (CCV). InthecaseoftheCRTA,
thestatements arecontained indocuments WT/REG/4-1 andWT/REG/M/1, whereas intheCCV,
thestatements canbefound intheminutes ofthemeetings. Ontheother hand, theissuehasalsobeen
subject toformal consultations under theDispute Settlement Mechanism anditscontent isconfidential,
according totheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes.
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