G/L/1507  
 
30 October  2023 
(23-7301) Page: 1/5 
  
 
REPORT (202 3) OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
 Since the last review1, the Committee on Market Access held two formal meetings ( 26-27 April 
and 1 6-17 October ) and four informal meetings ( 21 February , 3 July , 18 September , and  
21 November ). The annotated agendas of the formal meetings were circulated in documents  
JOB/MA/159  and JOB/MA/169 , and t he minutes are contained in documents  G/MA/M/7 8 and 
G/MA/M/79  (to be issued). In add ition, in 2023 the Committee organised an experience -sharing 
session on trade in COVID -19 related goods , a capacity building workshop  on the notification of 
quantitative restrictions , and two informal open -ended consultations on thematic sessions  
(see below). 
 At its formal meeting of 26-27 April , the Committee took note that the consultations in the 
Council for Trade in Goods concerning th e election of th e Chairpersons of the subsidiary bodies 
remained ongoing and agreed that  the Secretariat would send a written communication with the 
proposed candidate and set a deadline for objections. On 5 June , the Secretariat informed Members 
that Ms. Renata  Cristaldo  Oviedo  (Paraguay)  had been nominated, and on 8 June  a second 
communication confirmed that she had been elected. At its meeting of 16-17 October , the Committee  
took note that  the Chairperson would continue consultations on the appointment of a 
vice-chairperson and would update the Committee as appropriate . 
HARMONIZED SYSTEM (HS) RELATED WAIVERS  
 At its formal meeting of 16-17 October , the Committee approved the extension of the 
HS2002  "collective" waiver ( G/C/W/ 831), the HS2007 "collective" waiver ( G/C/W/ 832), the HS2012 
"collective" waiver ( G/C/W/ 833), the HS2017 "collective" waiver ( G/C/W/ 834), and the HS2022  
"collective" waiver ( G/C/W/835/Rev.1 ). The Committee agreed to forward the draft waiver decisions 
to the General Council, through the Council for Trade in Goods, for appropriate action.  
INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF C ONCESSIONS  
 At its formal  meeting s, the Committee took note of a revised report by the Secretariat 
(G/MA/W/158/Rev. 6 and G/MA/W/158/Rev.7 ) with a broad overview of all HS transposition 
exercises .2 
Introduction of Harmonized System 1996 (HS1996) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 3, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS96  changes to Schedule s of concessions. The Secretariat  informed  that the 
technical work under the previous transposition procedures (GATT  document  L/6905) remained 
pending for one Member.  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 (HS2002) Changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 3, the Committee took note of  the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2002  changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS database ( WT/L/605  and 
WT/L/807 ), as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during 
which the files containing the HS2002  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal 
 
1 G/L/1 439, dated 1 November  2022. 
2 See also Goods Schedules e -Library https://goods -schedules.wto.org/ . G/L/1507  
 
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  meeting of 16-17 October , the Committee took note  that 116 Schedules of concessions had been 
transposed into HS2002 and circulated for certification. Technical work remained pending for 
one Member . 
Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 (HS2007) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 3, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2007 changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS database ( WT/L/673  and 
WT/L/830 ), as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during 
which the files containing the HS2007  changes of Members had been examined. A t the formal 
meeting of 16-17 October , the Committee took note  that 113 Schedules of concessions had been 
transposed into HS2007 and circulated for certification . 
Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 (HS2012) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its me etings in 202 3, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2012  changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS database ( WT/L/831 ), 
as well as the outcomes of t he informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files 
containing the HS2012  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal meeting of 
16 - 17 October , the Committee took note  that 104 Schedules of concessions had been transposed 
into HS2012 and circulated for certification.  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 (HS2017) changes to Schedule s of concessions  
 At its meetings in 202 3, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2017  changes to Schedule s of concessions using the CTS  database ( WT/L/995 ), 
as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files 
containing the HS2017  changes of Members had been examined. At the formal meeting of 
16-17 October , the Committee took note  that 85 Schedules of concessions had been transposed into 
HS2017 and circulated for certification.  
Introduction of Harmonized System 20 22 (HS20 22) changes to Schedules of concessions  
 At its formal meeting of 16-17 October , the Committee took note that work concern ing the 
introduction of HS20 22 changes to Schedules of concessions using the CTS  database ( WT/L/1123 ) 
has started  with the development of the programs to prepare the draft HS2022 transposition files . 
Harmonized System "multiple transposition" procedures  
 At its informal meetings of 21 February  and 3 July , the Committee discussed Japan's proposal 
for a multiple transposition of Members' Schedules of concessions into the most recent version of 
the HS. Based on this proposal,  the Secretariat prepared a technical note in document JOB/MA/164  
explaining  the technical aspect of such a  potential process . The Committee will continue to discuss 
this proposal at its next informal meeting in November . 
DECISION ON NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS 
("QR  DECISION")  
 At its meetings in 202 3, the Committee examined quantitative restrictions ( QR) notifications 
which had been submitted by 21 Members: Australia; Costa Rica; The Gambia; Georgia, Hong Kong, 
China; Japan; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Ma laysia;  Myanmar ; New Zealand; Nicaragua; 
Philippines ; Singapore ; Thaila nd; Trinidad and Tobago; Türkiye ; Ukraine; United Kingdom; the 
United States ; and Ur uguay. Most of these notifications were complete notifications of all QRs in 
force for the biennial period s 2020-2022 and 2022 -2024. The Committee  also took note of the 
Secretariat's factual analysis of all notified QRs ( G/MA/W/11 4/Rev.5 ) that were recorded in the 
QR database3 and of the report with the status of QR notification s (G/MA/QR/1 3). 
 
3 https://QR.wto.org/ . G/L/1507  
 
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  COMMITTEE WORK ON TRADE IN COVID -19 RELATED GOODS  
 On 24 March 2023 , the Committee organize d the sixth experience -sharing session on trade in 
COVID -19 related goods .4 In the first part  of the session , least developed countries (LDC) shared 
their experiences and practices on trade -related measures and challenges faced during the 
COVID -19 pandemic.5 In the second part of the session, Members shared  their reflections across the 
entire series of experience -sharing sessions organized by the CMA on trade in COVID -19 related 
goods.  
 Based on Members' discussions and presentations during  the entire series of experi ence-
sharing sessions which took place in 2022 and 2023,  and at Members' request,  the Secretariat 
prepared a document summarizing  the main  lessons learned from the COVID -19 pandemic.  On 
31 March 2023, the lesson learned document was submitted for review an d adoption  by the Members 
and was circulated in document in G/MA/409  on 20 April 2023, as agreed by the Members.  
 At the meeting of 26 -27 April,  the Committee took note of an updated report by the Secretariat 
summarising export restrictions and trade easing  measures relating to the COVID -19 pandemic 
(G/MA/W/168/Rev.4 ). In addition, the Committee took note of a n updated  document listing all 
notifications which had been submitted by Members to the Committee on Market Access relating to 
COVID -19 (G/MA/W/157/Rev.6 ). It was agreed that these documents would only be updated if the 
Secretariat receiv ed additional information from Members about these measures.  
 At the meeting s of 26-27 April  and 16 -17 October , the Committee took note of the statement s 
by a representative of the World Customs Organization (WCO) on the  71st and 72nd  sessions of the 
Harmon ized System  Committee (HSC) , where negotiations were ongoing with respect to the 
classification proposals of certain COVID -19 essential goods based on the communication  sent by 
the CMA  to the HSC6, and other matters of interest to the Committee . 
MC12 IMPLEMENTATION MATTERS  – IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMITTEE  
 At its informal meetings  of 21 February, 3 July and 18 September , the Committee conducted 
discussions on how to improve its functioning, following instructions by the Chairperson of the 
Council for Trade in Goods . Three main documents were prepared under the Chairperson's 
responsibility to compile Members' submissions and inform the Committee's discussions: (i) the 
preliminary list of issues for discussions ( JOB/MA/162 ); (ii) the table with the current st atus of work 
by the Committee after its informal meeting of 3 July 2023 ( JOB/MA/165 ); and (iii) the proposals 
adopted by the Committee following written procedures ( JOB/MA/166 , JOB/MA/166/Corr.1 , and 
G/MA/411 ). 
 At its formal meeting of 16 -17 October, the Committee took note of the Chairperson's report 
in relation to this work and adopted  the Committee's report to the Council for Trade in Go ods, as 
circulated in document JOB/MA/1 70. 
THEMATIC SESSIONS  
 On 9 February, the former Chairperson started consultations with Members on whether the 
Committee should engage in a technical dialogue, either through experience sharing sessions or 
other formats, and on which topics (see RD/MA/110 ). At the informal meeting of 3 July, the 
Chairperson invited Members to submit concret e proposals for thematic sessions based on the list 
circulated in RD/MA/ 110 or other topics of interest. At the informal meeting of 18 September, the 
Committee considered a proposal by the United Kingdom on thematic sessions on supply chain 
resilience ( JOB/MA/167 ). On 2 October, the Chairperson organized informal open -ended 
consultations to further discuss the UK proposal. At its formal meeting of 16 -17 October, the 
Committee took note of the Chairperson's report on the informal consultations  and agreed to hold 
 
4 The first  five experience sharing sessions took place on 4 March 2022, 26 April 2022, 18 July 2022, 
16 September 2022 and 21 November 2022, respectively. The summary reports are available in documents 
JOB/MA/152 , JOB/MA/152/Add.1 , JOB/MA/152/Add.2/Rev.1 , JOB/MA/152/Add.3 , and JOB/MA/152/Add.4 . 
5 The summary report is  available in document  JOB/MA/152/Add.5 . Representatives from eight LDC 
Members participated as speakers: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao People 's Democratic Republic, Lesoth o, 
Myanmar, Niger, Togo and Zambia.  
6 G/MA/406  of 30 May 2022.  G/L/1507  
 
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  an introductory session on supply chain resilience with the partici pation of other international 
organizations on 21 November 2023 .  
DATABASES  
 At its formal meetings in 202 3, the Secretariat reported on the status of work concerning the 
Integrated Data Base (IDB) and the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database. The r eports 
provided information on , inter alia : the use of information in the databases ; the Members that have 
concluded an agreement for the automatic transmission of data; the status of software development 
and technical assistance. The Committee also took n ote of the documents which reflected the status 
of submissions to the IDB ( G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.57 , and G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.58 ). 
 At its  meetings of 202 3, the Committee took note of a report prepared by the Secretariat 
pursuant to paragraph 16 of the IDB Decision  (G/MA/367) , which requires the Secretariat to maintain 
a list of Members' official websites in which tariff information or impor t data are publicly available 
(G/MA/IDB/W/13/Rev.8  and G/MA/IDB/W/13/Rev.9 ).7 
OTHER ACTIVITIES  
 On 6 February 202 3, the Secretariat gave a presentation on the work of the CMA to the 
LDC Group.  
 On 24 -26 April, the Secretariat organized a Capacity Building Workshop on the Notification of 
Quantitati ve Restrictions .8 The objective of this workshop was to train capital -based officials in 
charge of the QR notifications to prepare such notifications for the first time, or to improve existing 
ones.  
TRADE CONCERNS  
 At its formal  meetings  in 202 3, the Committee took note of the following trade concerns9: 
ID10 Title Member(s) raising the 
concern  (alphabetical 
order)11 
ID 46  Angola – Import restricti ng practices  European Union , 
United States  
ID 94  Australia - Maturation requirements for imported alcohol  Brazil  
ID 39  Australia - Discriminatory market access prohibition on 5G equipment  China  
ID 79  Canada – Discriminatory market access prohibition on 5G equipment  China  
ID 58 China — Trade disruptive and restrictive measures  Australia  
ID 80 China — Draft of Chinese recommended national standards (GB/T) for 
office devices (information security technology -security specification for 
office devices)  Japan  
ID 81  China — Draft revision of Chinese government procurement law  Japan  
ID 107  China - Export control measure on gallium and germanium products  European Union , 
Japan  
ID 106  China; Hong Kong, China; Macao, China - Restriction on imports of 
aquatic products from Japan after the discharge of ALPS treated water 
into the sea  Japan  
ID 82  Dominican Republic – Discriminatory taxation on some food imported 
products  European Union  
ID 86  European Union - MRL reduction of certain substances to meet 
environmental objectives in third countries12 Argentina , 
Australia , 
Indon esia, 
Paraguay  
 
7 See also https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/markacc_e/tariffandimpofwebsites_e.htm . 
8 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/markacc_e/qres_2404202310_e/qres_2404202310_e.htm . 
9 The concerns are listed in alphabetical order.  
10 For m ore information see also  https://tradeconcerns.wto.org/en . 
11 The column lists the Member(s) that raised the concern  in any or all the formal meetings that are 
covered by this report.  
12 This trade concern was raised with the title "Draft Commission regulation amending Annexes II and V 
to Regulation (EC) no. 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regar d maximum residue 
levels for clothianidin and thiamethoxam in certain products"  in the formal meeting of 26 -27 April 2023.  G/L/1507  
 
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  ID10 Title Member(s) raising the 
concern  (alphabetical 
order)11 
ID 96  European Union – Proposal for a regulation of the European parliament 
and of the council on shipments of waste and a mending regulation (EU) 
No. 1257/2013 and (EU) No. 2020/1056  Indonesia  
ID 69  European Union - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism  China , 
Indonesia , 
Russian Federation  
ID 84  European Union – Deforestation -Free Commodities (DFC)  Indonesia , 
Russian Federation  
ID 35  Kingdom of S audi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab 
Emirates, the State of Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar - Selective tax on 
certain imported products  European Union , 
Switzerland , 
United States  
ID 36   India - Quantitative restrictions on imports of certain pulses   Australia,  
Canada  
ID 98  India - Quality control order for chemical and petrochemical substances  Indonesia , 
Thailand  
ID 87  India – Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on solar photovoltaic cells and 
modules  China  
ID 88  India – Approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) of solar 
photovoltaic modules  China  
ID 61 India – Import policies on tyres  European Union , 
Indonesia , 
The Separate Customs 
Territory of Taiwan, 
Penghu, Kinmen and 
Matsu , 
Thailand  
ID 62 India – Import restriction on air conditioners  Japan  
Thailand  
ID 105  India – Import restrictions on pcs, tablets, and other electronic products  China  
ID 99 Indonesia – Commodity balance mechanism  European Union  
ID 42 Indonesia - Customs duties on certain telecommunication products  European Union , 
United States  
ID 64 Mexico – Import quota on glyphosate  United States  
ID 50 Nepal - Import ban on energy drinks  Thailand  
ID 74 Peru – Tax treatment of pisco  United Kingdom  
ID 56 Sri Lanka – Import ban on various products  Europea n Union  
ID 104  Thailand - Licensing regime for wheat  European Union  
ID 100  Türkiye – Discriminatory additional tariffs on electric vehicles  China  
ID 101  United States – Disruptive and restrictive measures in the name of 
national security  China  
ID 102  United States, Japan, Netherlands - US-Japan -Netherlands agreement 
on chip export restrictions  China  
ID 103  United States – A series of disruptive policy measures on the global 
semiconductor industry chain and supply chain  China  
ID 101  United S tates – Disruptive and restrictive measures in the name of 
national security  China  
ID 90  United States – Section 301 tariffs on certain goods from China  China  
ID 91  United States – Quantitati ve restrictions on imports of sturgeon  European Union  
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