WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/L/401
31 October 2000
(00-4548)
REPORT (2000) OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS
1. The Committee on Market Access held four formal meetings (23 March, 27 June, 28 July and
12 October 2000) and nine informal meetings (26 January, 14 February, 17 March, 3 April, 23 May,
18 July, 28 July,  22 September and 2 October 2000) during the reporting period 6 October 1999 to12 October 2000.  The minutes of the formal meetings are contained in documents G/MA/M/23 to
[G/MA/M/26 (to be issued
1)].  In addition, two periodic reports giving an overview of the issues
discussed in the Committee and providing factual info rmation related to the requests for waivers and
waiver extensions, both for the introduction of HS96 changes and for the transposition of schedules
into the Harmonized System are contai ned in documents G/MA/107 and G/MA/111.
2. At its meeting of 27 June 2000, the Committee took note of the nomination of
Mr. Christophe Kiener (Switzerland) as Chairman of the Committee for the current year and elected
him by acclamation.  At that meeting, the Committee elected as Vice-Chairperson for the current year,
Mrs. Lourdes Berrig (Philippines).
I. WAIVERS AND SUBMISSION OF HS96 DOCUMENTATION
3. As concerned the introduction on 1 January 1996 of the changes to the nomenclature of the
Harmonized System and the submission of documentation related to these changes, the Committee
examined the situation at its meetings of 23 March, 27 June and 12 October 2000 on the basis of
updated documents prepared by the Secretariat.
4. On 13 December 1995, several Members were granted individual waivers, for operational
reasons grouped into one single decision, for the introduction of HS96 changes into their schedules.
These waivers presently concern 25 Members and have been extended by successive decisions of the
General Council until 31 October 2000 (WT/L/351).  At the Committee meeting of 12 October 2000,
certain delegations indicated that they were prepared to accept another six-month extension of thewaiver this time, but wished to revert to the practice of individual decisions for waivers and waiver
extensions in the future.  Certain other Members stated that the decision taken at this meeting should
not prejudice any future decisions regarding waivers and waiver extensions.  As concerns the
submission of the required documentation related to the introduction of HS96 changes in the
respective WTO schedules of concessions on goods , as of 12 October 2000, the submissions of 21
Members, whether they had requested an extension of waivers or not, remained pending due to
ongoing consultations and/or negotiations.  Three Members under waiver had not yet submitted the
required documentation. However, two of them indicated that their documentation would be
forthcoming soon.
5. Informal consultations on the HS96 transposition exercise were held on 26 January,
14 February, 17 March and 18 July 2000.  On 14 February 2000, the Committee agreed that the
                                                     
1 In this connection, please note that two document numbers (G/MA/M/21 and 22) do not exist in the
document series G/MA/M/- relating to the minutes of the Committee;  they were omitted due to a technical
problem in the Document Dissemination Facility.G/L/401
Page 2
Secretariat prepare an informal list detailing the situation with respect  to HS96 submissions.  The list
was prepared and sent out to all delegations through a letter from the Vice-Chairman2 dated
24 February 2000.  At the informal meeting of 17 March 2000, it was also agreed that this list would
be continually updated.
6. On 18 July 2000,  the Committee agreed to hold an informal meeting dedicated to the review
of the HS96 situation based on the informal list.  This meeting was held on 22 September 2000. At its
meeting of 12 October 2000, the Committee agreed to the Chairman's pr oposal to have another special
session of the Committee dedicated to the review of the situation of HS96 submissions based on a
revision of an informal list prepared by th e Secretariat which detailed the situation.
II. HS2002
7. At its meeting of 27 June 2000, the Committee took note of the statement by the
representative of the World Customs Organization (WCO) on future HS2002 changes.  It was agreed
that informal consultations should be held on this matter.  At the informal meeting of 18 July 2000,
Members agreed that existing procedures to introduce HS changes to schedules of concessions had
been inadequate with respect to HS96 changes, and that improved procedures were required.  TheCommittee agreed that the Chairman together with the Secretariat attempt to come up with a possible
procedure to introduce such future changes to schedu les of concessions.   At the informal meeting of
2 October 2000, the Committee considered a first draft of a document (job no. 5247) containing a
possible procedure to introduce future HS changes to schedules of concessions. At its meeting of
12 October 2000, the Committee took note of the Chairman's report on the discussions held at theinformal meeting and also noted that informal consultations would continue on this subject.
III. INTEGRATED DATA BASE
8. With reference to the modalities and operation of the Integrated Data Base, the Committee
examined the status of IDB submissions at its meetings of 23 March, 27 June and 12 October 2000 onthe basis of documents G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.7 to 9.  As of 3 October 2000, 74 Members and two
acceding countries had provided IDB submissions.
9. The Committee began its review of the operation of the IDB and IDB technical assistance
activities pursuant to paragraph 19 of document G/MA/IDB/3 entitled "Dissemination of the IDB".
The review was conducted on the basis of docume nts G/MA/IDB/W/5, Rev.1 and Rev.2.  Following a
preliminary discussion at its formal meeting of  23 March 2000, the Committee agreed to hold
informal consultations on this subject.  The consultations were held on 23 May 2000 where it was
agreed that the Vice-Chairman
3 would send letters to all Members reminding them of their IDB
notification obligations and indicating that technical assistance was available for those needing it.  It
was also agreed that a second letter would be sent by him to Members recently having undergone a
trade policy review seeking authorization from them to use for the IDB any relevant informationsubmitted in connection with the TPRM exercise.  The letters were sent on  27 June 2000.   The
review has continued in the context of further informal meetings held on 18 July and 2 October 2000.
At its meeting of 12 October 2000, the Committee took note of the Chairman's report on the informal
consultations and of the fact that they would be pursued.
10. The Committee was also updated periodically by the Secretariat on the status of processing of
IDB submissions, the status of software development and the technical assistance activities that had
been carried out. In this connection, IDB seminars in English, French and Spanish, as well as IDB
workshops were organized for Geneva-based delegations.
                                                     
2 Vice-Chairman in 1999, Mr. Christophe Kiener (Switzerland).
3 Vice-Chairman in 1999, Mr. Chrisophe Kiener (Switzerland).G/L/401
Page 3
IV. CONSOLIDATED TARIFF SCHEDULES (CTS) DATABASE
11. At its meeting of 23 March 2000, the Committee agreed to hold informal consultations
concerning the question of agricultural commitments.  At the informal meeting of 3 April 2000, a
document containing the Secretariat's proposed format for inclusion of agricultural commitments intothe CTS database was distributed to all delegations.   Additional informal meetings were held on 18
and 28 July 2000 to further consider the document, which was finally adopted
4 at the formal meeting
of the Committee which was also held on 28 July 2000 for this purpose.
12. At its meeting of 27 June 2000, the Committee took note of document G/MA/W/23
containing information on the status of Members' schedules.  The Committee also noted that this
document had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility and had no legal implicationsregarding Members' rights or obligations.
13. At its meeting of 12 October 2000, the Committee took note of the Secretariat report on the
status of the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) Database Project. Certain developed country
Members also provided a status report on their work in the preparation of their consolidated schedulesof concessions.  On the technical matter of the linkage between the CTS database and the IDB, it was
agreed that the Chairman would follow-up this issue with the Secretariat and then, if necessary,
convene an informal meeting so that technical clarifications may be provided.
V. REVIEW OF PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE UNDERSTANDING ON THE
INTERPRETATION OF ARITICLE XXVIII OF THE GATT 1994
14. At its meeting of 24 January 2000, the Council for Trade in Goods requested the Market
Access Committee to conduct the review envisaged in paragraph 1 of the Understanding on the
Interpretation of Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994.  The item has been on the agenda of all the
formal meetings of the Committee this year, and at its meeting of 12 October 2000, the Committee
agreed to report to the Council for Trade in Goods that the review had been carried out as mandated
by that body and that, at this stage, there was no basis to change the criterion contained in paragraph 1
of the aforementioned Understanding.  The Committee was of the view that any Member that so
wished, could bring up the matter of a furthe r review in the Council in the future.
VI. OBSERVER STATUS OF INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
15. At its meeting of 27 June 2000, the Committee considered requests for observer status in the
Committee from the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and from the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).  The Committee agreed to revert to these
requests at an appropriate time in the future.  At its meeting of  12 October 2000, the Committee
agreed to revert to the request for observer status in the Committee from the Gulf Organization for
Industrial Consulting, at an appropriate time in the future.
VII. OTHER ACTIVITIES
16. At its meeting of 23 March 2000, the Committee took note of the tariff information available
in the Secretariat as contained in document G/MA/TAR/3/Rev.5.  The Committee noted that a
consensus had not been possible on a request from the International Cotton Advisory Committee
(ICAC) for access to the PC IDB CD-ROM Release 3.  The Committee agreed that the Secretariatsend an appropriate reply along those lines to the ICAC.
                                                     
4 G/MA/110.G/L/401
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17. At its meeting of 27 June 2000, the Committee took note of the statement by Australia
concerning the timely completion of the work on the IDB, the CTS project and the HS96 transposition
exercise.   The Committee also took note of the statement by India regarding its concern at the lack of
notification by the EC and the US of a mutually agreed solution in the area of rules of origin.
18. At its meeting of 12 October 2000, the Committee took note of the status of quantitative
restriction notifications contained in documen t G/MA/NTM/QR/1/Add.7.  Members were urged to
comply with their notification obligations pursuant to the "Decision on Notification Procedures for
Quantitative Restrictions" contained in document G/L/59.   The Committee also agreed to consider at
its next formal meeting, on the basis of a document to be prepared by the Secretariat, the problem
concerning the recording in the Quantitative Restriction Database of notifications made by someMembers in the area of textiles and clothing.  The Committee also agreed to review, at its next formal
meeting, the reverse notifications of non-tariff measures made pursuant to the decision contained in
document G/L/60 entitled "Decision on Reverse Notification of Non-Tariff Measures" on the basis of
a document to be prepared by the Secretariat.
19. At the meeting of 12 October 2000, Hong Kong, China informed the Committee that as a
result of its commitments in APEC, it would be binding another 10% of its imports at zero per cent in
2000 on an autonomous basis and would be notifying these additional tariff concessions as legally
binding commitments to the WTO.
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