RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/RO/M/8
28November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5023)
Committee onRules ofOrigin
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING OF11OCTOBER 1996
Chairman: Mr.C.Osakwe (Nigeria)
Theagenda proposed forthemeeting, circulated inWTO/AIR/430, wasadopted bythe
Committee asfollows:
Page
1. Observer status forInternational Intergovernmental Organizations 1
2. Report oftheCommittee onRules ofOrigin totheCouncil for 2
Trade inGoods (G/RO/W/16/REV.1)
3. Origin ofgoods obtained orproduced onvessels, factory ships, 4
structures andinstallations outside acountry (G/RO/2, G/RO/M/7)
4. Proposal bytheUnited States pursuant toArticle 9.3(a) ofthe 5
Agreement onRules ofOrigin (G/RO/W/15)
5. Notifications under Article 5andparagraph 4ofAnnex IIofthe
Agreement onRules ofOrigin (G/RO/N/12) 5
6. Other Business
(i) Meaning oftheword “obtained ”indefinition 1(i)ofAnnex A 6
(ii) Procedures forcirculation andderestriction ofWTO Documents 6
(iii) DateoftheNext Meeting 6
1. Observer status forInternational Intergovernmental Organizations
1.1 TheChairman noted thatthere were twoelements tobeconsidered under thisagenda item:
observerstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizationswhichhavebeengrantedadhocobserver
status; andarequest from theInternational Textiles andClothing Bureau (ITCB) forobserver status
intheCommittee.
1.2 Pending thefinalization oftheongoing consultations bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council
ontheapplication ofguidelines forobserver status, theChairman suggested thattheCommittee invite
theIMF, OECD, UNCTAD, IBRD, WCO andalsotheITCB toattend theongoing, aswellasthe
following meetings, asobservers onanadhocbasis .
1.3 TheCommittee soagreed.G/RO/M/8
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2. Report oftheCommittee onRules ofOrigin totheCouncil forTrade inGoods
(G/RO/W/16/REV.1)
2.1 TheChairman recalled that,atthelastmeeting, aninformal understanding hadbeenreached
onallparagraphs ofthereport oftheCommittee totheCouncil forTrade inGoods contained in
document G/RO/W/16/Rev.1, withtheexception ofdraftparagraphs 8,10,11,13,18,25and27.
Attherequest oftheCommittee, theChairman hadundertaken further consultations withaviewto
resolving theissues outstanding intheparagraphs mentioned. Following these consultations, hewas
nowinaposition tosubmit theentire draftreport, contained indocument G/RO/W/16/Rev.2, tothe
Committeeforformaladoption.Theproposalwasontheunderstandingthatthereportwouldbefactually
updated before finalcirculation withrespect toparagraphs 14and15,andAnnexes IandIIconcerning
notifications.
2.2 TheCommittee agreed tochange theword “conclusive ”inlinethree ofparagraph 18to
"common".
2.3 TheChairman invited theFrench- andtheSpanish-speaking delegations toundertake language
corrections applicable totheFrench andSpanish texts.
2.4 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities suggested deleting theword "technical" in
thelastsentence ofparagraph 27oftheFrench version ofthedraftreport. Therepresentative ofChile
proposed acorresponding deletion oftheword "technical" inparagraph 27oftheSpanish version of
thedraftreport.
2.5 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities pointed tomistakes inparagraphs 8,10,11,
25and27ofthecurrent French version andsuggested thecorrection ofthose paragraphs according
tothecorresponding paragraphs indocument 5539, which wasdistributed inthemeeting room, and
where thetranslations fromtheEnglish version werecorrect. Healsosuggested changes inparagraph
13oftheFrench version, where thewords "ilaéténoté" should replace "leComité afaitobserver"
insentence three. Furthermore, inParagraph 24oftheFrench version, thewords "sedebarasser"
should appear ininverted commas.
2.6 Therepresentative ofArgentina suggested bringing theSpanish version ofparagraph 18into
linewiththechange undertaken earlier intheEnglish version. Theword "definitiva" would haveto
bereplaced bytheword "común". Hefurther drew attention toalackofcongruency between the
English andtheSpanish version inparagraph 25.While theEnglish text,inlinethree, referred to
"national positions atissue", theSpanish version mentioned "contradictory national positions". In
order toreconcile thelanguage oftheEnglish andtheSpanish version, therepresentative ofArgentina
suggested deletion oftheword "contradictory" andaddition of"atissue" intheSpanish version. He
alsosuggested replacing theword "vertimiento" with"deshacerse" inparagraph 24oftheSpanish
version.
2.7 With regard toparagraph 21,therepresentative ofMexico noted thatthesecond sentence of
theSpanish version contained aconditionality thatdidnotappear intheoriginal English version.
Hesuggested amending theSpanish textaccordingly. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities
stated thattheFrench version ofparagraph 21contained thesame conditionality astheSpanish text
andsuggested amending theFrench textaccordingly.
2.8 TheCommitteeagreedtothesuggestedamendmentsconcerningtheFrenchandSpanishversions
ofthetext.G/RO/M/8
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2.9 Therepresentative ofJapan proposed thatparagraph 18should beamended byadding the
followingsentence:"AviewwasexpressedthattheCommitteeshouldembarkuponworkonpreferential
rulesoforigin applied byregional integration schemes afterthecurrent work ofnon-preferential rules
oforigin iscompleted". However, incaseconsensus ontheintroduction ofthissentence could not
bereached, hewould alternatively request thathisremarks bereflected intheminutes.
2.10 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities objected totheproposal bytheJapanese
delegation. Hestated thatthereport totheCouncil forTrade inGoods would dealwiththework
undertaken bytheCommittee onRules ofOrigin inrelation totheimplementation oftheAgreement
onRules ofOrigin. Since theAgreement wasexclusively concerned withthequestion ofharmonization
ofnon-preferential rulesoforigin, theinclusion ofastatement concerning preferential rulesoforigin
would exceed themandate oftheAgreement.
2.11 Therepresentatives ofArgentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, thePhilippines
onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, Poland, Romania, theUnited States andUruguay supported the
viewoftheEuropeanCommunities,whilethedelegatesfromAustralia,HongKong,KoreaandPakistan
endorsed theJapanese proposal.
2.12 TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
2.13 TheCommitteethenadoptedthereporttotheCouncilforTradeinGoods,containedindocument
G/RO/W/16 Rev.2 asamended. Itwasagreed thattherevised textwould beissued intheG/L/- series.
2.14 Therepresentative ofSwitzerland drew theattention oftheCommittee toparagraph 27ofthe
report which noted thattheharmonization work wasbehind schedule andthatadditional stepsneeded
tobetaken toensure adherence tothetime-frame. Inthisconnection, hestressed theresponsibility
oftheCommittee forputting inplace allnecessary measures toensure thatthetime-frame would be
respected. Thiswould notbeaneasytaskandMembers should befullyaware ofthefactthatthe
highly detailed analysis bytheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin of1,241 four-digit tariff
headings, which werethemselves subdivided into5,018 categories ofgoods, would inevitably result
inthecompletion ofthefirstnegotiating round onlyinMayorSeptember 1997. Itwasessential to
realise twokeypoints: firstly, thescale andcomplexity oftheTechnical Committee ’staskwould be
considerable, andsecondly, delegations would notbedisposed toaccept ruleswhose effects onorigin
hadnotbeencarefully scrutinized. In-depth work would therefore beessential. Inthefaceofthese
major constraints, therewould notbemuch timeleftbefore September 1997forclarifying many points
leftoutstanding inPhase II,fornegotiating special rulesforproducts requiring supplementary criteria
other thanchange intariffheading orsubheading, ascalled forunder Phase III,andalsofornegotiating
rules ofgeneral application. Inthese circumstances, andgiven theTechnical Committee ’sessential
contribution totheidentification oftheproblems relating tosubstantial transformation forspecific
products onthebasis oftheHarmonized System, theSwiss delegation considered itbothnecessary
andtimely forthisCommittee togenerate amajor newimpetus toitswork bydeveloping asrapidly
aspossible asuitable planofwork thatwould enable ittomaster thesubject matter contained inthe
316pages oftheIntegrated Negotiating Text, which would verysoonexceed 500pages. Itwould
notbepossible tospeed upwork unless thelinksbetween thisCommittee andtheTechnical Committee
werestrengthened, inparticular byclarifying many questions leftpending fromthenegotiating rounds
inPhase II.TheCommittee should seektohaveintheshortest timepossible anoverview ofthe
problems already identified bytheTechnical Committee soastobeabletoevaluate them from both
thetechnical andthetrade policy points ofview.
2.15 TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.G/RO/M/8
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3. Origin ofgoods obtained orproduced onvessels, factory ships, structures andinstallations
outside acountry (G/RO/2, G/RO/M/7)
3.1 TheChairman noted thatdraftdefinition 2ofAnnex AtotheFirstReport fromtheTechnical
Committee totheCommittee onRules ofOrigin remained under active examination bytheInformal
Working Group established bytheCommittee. Herecalled thattheCommittee atthemeeting of
13September 1996 had:
(a) requested theInformal Working group tointensify negotiations ondraftdefinition 2ofAnnex A
onthebasis ofoneoption;
(b) requested theSecretariat toproduce asuccinct, brief, comparative analysis ofthecurrent four
options, andtohavethiscirculated todelegations wellinadvance ofthismeeting; and
(c) finally requested theChairman oftheInformal Working Group totakeallnecessary steps to
submit oneoption forconsideration atthismeeting.
3.2 TheChairman noted thattheSecretariat hadcirculated asuccinct comparative analysis ofthe
fouroptions indocument G/RO/W/17.
3.3 Based ontheconclusions reached bytheInformal Working Group inthismatter, theCommittee
agreed asfollows:
"Recalling theDecision bytheCommittee atitsseventh meeting ondraftdefinition 2ofAnnex
Aongoods considered asbeing wholly obtained inonecountry, theinformal Working Group considered
aone-option proposal bytheChairman. Following anextensive exchange ofviews ontheChairman 's
proposal, theinformal Working Group agreed torecommend totheCommittee thebracketed one-option
draftfordefinition 2asfollows:
Definition
2(i) Products ofsea-fishing andother products taken fromtheseaoutside acountry areconsidered
tobewholly obtained inthecountry ofregistration ofthevessel thatcarries outthose operations.
(ii) Goods obtained orproduced onboard factory ships areconsidered tobewholly obtained in
thecountry ofregistration ofthefactory ships, provided thatthose goods aremanufactured from the
products referred toinsubparagraph (i)originating inthesame country.
(iii) Products taken fromtheseabed orsubsoil beneath theseabed outside acountry areconsidered
tobewholly obtained inthecountry thathastherights toexploit thatseabed orsubsoil.
Note
Definitions 2(i)and(ii)include registration thatacountry grants tochartered vessels orfactory ships,
provided thatthisregistration isinaccordance withtherequirements ofthatcountry."
3.4 Therepresentative ofJapan expressed areservation withregard totheproposal andstated that
hisdelegation considered theuseoftheterm“country ”without defining itasproblematic. Inhisview,
legalproblems aswellasgeneral confusion werelikely toarise, asitwould beunclear whattheterm
“country ”would cover. Also, heemphasized thattherelationship between subparagraphs 2(i)and
2(iii)would require further clarification. Therepresentative ofKorea expressed areservation ofhis
country inthecontext oftheviewexpressed bytheJapanese delegation.G/RO/M/8
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3.5 Therepresentative ofthePhilippines endorsed theproposal asabasisforfurther examination.
Thedelegate reminded theCommittee thatthedelegation ofthePhilippines hadinformally circulated
asuggestion during themeeting oftheInformal Working Group withregard tosubparagraph 2(iii)
concerning thestatus oftheInternational Seabed Authority.
3.6 Therepresentative ofArgentina commented onthesuggestion fromthePhilippines regarding
subparagraph 2(iii),stating thatitshould beclarified insofar thattheseabed orsubsoil outside acountry
overseen bytheInternational Seabed Authority would notrefertothecontinental shelfandtheexclusive
economic zone, which areunder thesovereign rights ofcoastal countries andtherefore would notbe
under thesupervision oftheInternational Seabed Authority.
3.7 Therepresentative ofCanada recalled thathehadinformally circulated aproposed revision
tosubparagraph 2(ii)during themeeting oftheInformal Working group withtheintent toclarify the
content oftheparagraph.
3.8 TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
4. Proposal bytheUnited States pursuant toArticle 9.3(a) oftheAgreement onRules ofOrigin
(G/RO/W/15)
4.1 TheChairman drewtheattention oftheCommittee toaproposal bytheUnited States regarding
aspecific "starting point" tobeundertaken asanewapproach bytheTechnical Committee initswork
inthesecond Phase oftheWork Programme. Theproposal hadbeen circulated indocument
G/RO/W/15. Hefurther recalled thatatitsmeeting on13September 1996, theCommittee tooknote
ofthestatement made bytheUSdelegation andagreed torevert tothismatter atthenextmeeting.
4.2 TheChairman thenstated thathehadundertaken informal consultations which made evident
considerable interest andsupport fortheUnited States 'proposal aswellastheneedforclarification;
given thevarious views expressed, theUnited States delegation undertook torevise itsproposal and
topresent arefined proposal tothenextinformal consultations inNovember.
4.3 TheChairman suggested thattheCommittee revert totheproposal atitsnextmeeting andthat,
inthemeantime, hewould undertake further informal consultations onthematter.
4.4 TheCommittee soagreed.
5. Notifications under Article 5andparagraph 4ofAnnex IIoftheAgreement onRules ofOrigin
(G/RO/N/12)
5.1 TheChairman, recalling thatthedraftreport oftheCommittee totheCouncil forTrade in
Goods would befactually updated totakeaccount ofnewnotifications, informed theCommittee that
notmany newnotifications hadbeenreceived since thelastmeeting. Hesuggested returning tothis
itematthenextmeeting.
5.2 TheCommittee soagreed.
6. Other Business
(i) Meaning oftheword “obtained ”indefinition 1(i)ofAnnex A
6.1 Therepresentative ofCanada raised thequestion ofthemeaning oftheword “obtained ”in
thecontext of“wholly obtained ”insubparagraph 1(i)ofAnnex A.Canada proposed thatatthenextG/RO/M/8
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formal meeting, theCommittee should request theTechnical Committee toreview themeaning ofthe
word “obtained ”inthecontext mentioned above. Canada would alsoseekconsensus onthisrequest,
during informal consultations preceding thenextmeeting oftheCommittee.
6.2 TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatement made.
(ii) Procedures forcirculation andderestriction ofWTO Documents
6.3 TheChairman noted thattheGeneral Council hadadopted procedures forcirculation and
derestriction ofWTO documents (WT/L/160/Rev.1). Thepractical implications fortheCommittee
onRules ofOrigin would bethatalldocuments oftheCommittee onRules ofOrigin would becirculated
asunrestricted documents withtheexception ofworking documents andminutes ofmeetings.
6.4 TheCommittee tooknoteoftheDecision.
(iii) DateoftheNext Meeting
6.5 TheChairman proposed, asagreed atthemeeting on10May 1996, that19and
20November 1996 bereserved forinformal consultations, and22November forthenextformal
meeting.
6.6 TheCommittee soagreed.