WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/RO/57 
9 December 2003 
 
 (03-6507) 
Committee on Rules of Origin  
  
 
NINTH ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND 
OPERATION OF THE AGREEM ENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
 
 
 Article 6.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Orig in provides that "the Committee shall review 
annually the implementation and opera tion of Part II and Part III of this Agreement having regard to 
its objectives".  At the meeting on 3 October 2003,  the Committee on Rules of Origin conducted its 
ninth annual review of the implementa tion and operation of the Agreement. 
 G/RO/57 
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 Table of contents
 
 
1. Members and Observer status.................................................................................................3  
(a) WTO Members (146).............................................................................................................. ....3 
(b) Observer Govern ments (30)...................................................................................................... ..3 
(c) Observer International Organizations (9) ...................................................................................4  
2. Officers of the Committee on Rules of Origin........................................................................4  
3. Meetings of the Committe e on Rules of Origin ......................................................................4  
4. Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Goods ................................................................4   G/RO/57 
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 1. Members and Observer status 
(a) WTO Members (146) 
Albania Djibouti Korea Portugal 
Angola Dominica Kuwait Qatar 
Antigua and Barbuda Dominican Republic Kyrgyz Republic Romania 
Argentina Ecuador Latvia Rwanda 
Armenia Egypt Lesotho Saint Kitts and Nevis 
Australia El Salvador Liechtenstein Saint Lucia Austria Estonia Lithuania Saint Vincent and the 
Bahrain European Community Luxembourg    Grenadines 
Bangladesh Republic of the Fiji  Macao, China Senegal Barbados    Islands Madagascar Sierra Leone 
Belgium Finland Malawi Singapore 
Belize Former Yugoslav Rep. of 
Macedonia Malaysia Slovak Republic 
Benin France Maldives Slovenia 
Bolivia Gabon Mali Solomon Islands Botswana Gambia Malta South Africa 
Brazil Georgia Mauritania Spain 
Brunei Darussalam Germany Mauritius Sri Lanka Bulgaria Ghana Mexico Suriname 
Burkina Faso Greece Moldova Swaziland 
Burundi Grenada Mongolia Sweden Cameroon Guatemala Morocco Switzerland 
Canada Guinea, Republic of Mozambique Tanzania 
Central African Republic Guinea-Bissau Myanmar Thailand Chad Guyana Namibia Togo 
Chile Haiti Netherlands Trinidad and Tobago 
China, Peoples's Rep. of Honduras New Zealand Tunisia 
Chinese Taipei H ong Kong, China Nicaragua Turkey 
Colombia Hungary Niger Uganda Congo Iceland Nigeria United Arab Emirates 
Costa Rica India Norway United Kingdom 
Côte d'Ivoire Indonesia Oman United States Croatia Ireland Pakistan Uruguay 
Cuba Israel Panama Venezuela 
Cyprus Italy Papua New Guinea Zambia Czech Republic Jamaica Paraguay Zimbabwe 
Democratic Republic of  Japan Peru  
   the Congo Jordan Philippines  Denmark Kenya Poland  
 
(b) Observer Governments (30) 
Algeria Holy See Sudan 
Andorra Kazakhstan Tajikistan 
Azerbaijan Lao, People's Democratic Republic of Tonga 
Bahamas Lebanon Ukraine 
Belarus Nepal Uzbekistan 
Bhutan Russian Federation Vanuatu Bosnia and Herzegovina Samoa Viet Nam 
Cambodia Sao Tome and Principe Yemen 
Cape Verde Saudi Arabia  Equatorial Guinea Seychelles  
Ethiopia Serbia and Montenegro  G/RO/57 
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 (c) Observer International Organizations (9) 
ACP 
EFTA IADB IMF 
ITCB 
OECD UNCTAD WCO 
 World Bank 
 
2. Officers of the Committee on Rules of Origin 
Chairman (elected in April 2002): Mr. Stefan Moser (Switzerland) 
 Vice-Chairman (elected in April 2002): Mr. Ronaldo Costa Filho (Brazil)  Chairman (elected in October 2003): Mr. Syed Habib Ahmed (Pakistan) 
 
3. Meetings of the Committee on Rules of Origin 
3.1 The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) has held one formal meeting on 3 October 2003.  
The minutes of this meeting are contained in document G/RO/M/43.  3.2 With regard to the work under Part II  of the Agreement on Rules of Origin (the Agreement), 
the CRO carried out the transitional review under pa ragraph 18 of the Protocol of Accession of the 
People's Republic of China.       3.3 With regard to the work under Part III  of the Agreement, the CRO took note of the 
notifications under Article 5 and paragraph 4 of An nex II of the Agreement.  To date 84 Members 
have made notifications of non-preferential rules of  origin and 89 Members have made notifications 
of preferential rules of origin (see Annex).  The Chairman expressed concern that a number of Members had not yet complied with the notificati on requirements.  He urged Members who had not 
yet notified to do so as early as possible.  3.4 Apart from the above-summarized  implementation and operation of Parts II and III  of the 
Agreement, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of th e CRO, at the request of the Chairman of the 
General Council, have conduc ted intense consultations with Member s in order to resolve the 94 core 
policy issues with regard to the Harmonization Work Programme under Part IV  of the Agreement.  
The CRO, in July 2002, forwarded 93 core policy issues as well as the implications issue to the 
General Council for discussion and decision at that level (G/RO/52;  WT/GC/M/75);  since then the 
matter has been in the hands of the General C ouncil.  The General Council, at its meeting on 
24-25 July 2003, extended the deadline for completion of the 94 core policy issues to July 2004.  The 
General Council also agreed that following resolu tion of these core policy issues, the CRO would 
complete its remaining technical work by 31 December 2004.  
4. Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Goods 
 The CRO adopted its report to the CTG (G/L/656). 
 
  G/RO/57 
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 ANNEX  
 1. Members that have notified N on-Preferential Ru les of Origin 
(43) 
 
Argentina (G/RO/N/2, 10 & 16) Hong Kong, China (G/RO/N/10, 24, 30 & 37) Norway (G/RO/N/8) 
Armenia (G/RO/N/41) Hungary (G/RO/N/2) Peru (G/RO/N/4 & 5) 
Australia (G/RO/N/1) Israel (G/RO/N/13) Poland (G/RO/N/8) 
Burkina Faso (G/RON/19) Japan (G/RO/N/1) Qatar (G/RO/N/25) 
Bulgaria (G/RO/N/17 & 27) Korea (G/RO/N/1) Romania (G/RO/N/1) 
Canada (G/RO/N/1) Jordan (G/RO/N/30) Senegal (G/RO/N/10) 
China (G/RO/N/37/Rev.1) Latvia (G/RO/N/25) Slovak Republic (G/RO/N/1) 
Colombia (G/RO/N/1) Lithuania (G/RO/N/36) Slovenia (G/RO/N/5, 7 & 29/Rev.1) Croatia (G/RNO/N/36) Madagascar (G/RO/N/11) South Africa (G/RO/N/3) 
Cuba (G/ RO/N/3)  Mexico (G/RO/N/12) Switzerland (G/RO/N/4) 
Czech Rep. (G/RO/N/2) Moldova (G/R ON/36) Taipei, Chin ese (G/RO/N/37) 
EC (G/RO/N/1) Morocco (G/R O/N/2) Tunisi a (G/RO/N/7) 
Estonia (G/RO/N/34) New Zealand (G /RO/N/1) Turkey (G/RO/N/8 & 28) 
Georgia (G/RO/N/37) Niger (G /RON/19) US (G/RO/N/1 & 6) 
  Venezuela  (G/RO/N/1 & 10) 
 
2. Members that have notified that they do not have Non-Preferential Rules of Origin (41) 
 
Bolivia (G/RO/N/9) Honduras (G/RO/N/3) Oman (G/RO/N/32) 
Brazil (G/RO/N/14) Iceland (G/RO/N/5) Pakistan (G/RO/N/16) 
Brunei Darussalam (G/RO/N/5) India (G/RO/N/1) Panama (G/RO/N/23) Burundi (G/RO/N/33) Indonesia (G/RO/N/16) Papua New Guinea (G/RO/N/32) 
Chad (G/RO/N22) Jamaica (G/RO/N/4) Paraguay (G/RO/N/21) 
Chile (G/RO/N/6) Kenya (G/RO/N/9) Philippines (G/RO/N/6) Costa Rica (G/RO/N/1) Macao, China (G/RO/N/21) Singa pore (G/RO/N/3) 
Cyprus ((G/RON/19) Malaysia (G/RO/N/6) Suriname (G/RO/N/24) 
Dominica (G/RO/N/24) Maldives (G /RO/N/22) Thaila nd (G/RO/N/1) 
Dominican Rep. (G/RO/N/9) Malta (G/R O/N/4) Trinidad & Tob. (G/RO/N/7) 
El Salvador (G/RO/N/10) Mauritius (G/RO/N/1) Uganda (G/RO/N/12) 
Fiji (G/RO/N/17) Mongolia (G/RO/N/20) United Arab Emirates (G/RO/N/17) Guatemala (G/RO/N/21) Namibia (G/RO/N/26) Uruguay (G/RO/N/12) 
Haiti (G/RO/N/20) Nicar agua (G/RO/N/10)  
 
3. Members that have not notified Non-Preferential Rules of Origin (47) 
 
Albania Egypt Mauritania 
Angola Former Yugoslav Rep. of Mozambique Antigua & Barbuda Macedonia Myanmar 
Bahrain Gabon Nigeria 
Bangladesh Gambia Rwanda Barbados Ghana Saint Kitts & Nevis 
Belize Grenada Saint Lucia 
Benin Guinea Bissau Saint Vincent & Grenadines 
Botswana Guinea, Rep. of Sierra Leone 
Cameroon Guyana Solomon Islands Central African Rep Kuwait Sri Lanka 
Congo  Kyrgyz Rep. Swaziland 
Côte d'Ivoire  Lesotho Tanzania D.R. of Congo Liechtenstein Togo 
Djibouti Malawi Zambia 
Ecuador Mali Zimbabwe 
 
 G/RO/57 
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 4. Members that have notified Preferential Rules of Origin 
 (85) 
 
Argentina (G/RO/N/16) Honduras (G/RO/N/3 & 10) Norway (G/RO/N/8, 22 & 23) 
Armenia (G/RO/N/41) Hungary (G/RO/N/2, 22 & 23) Oman (G/RO/N/32) 
Australia (G/RO/N/1) Iceland (G/RO/N/15, 22 & 23) Pakistan (G/RO/N/16) 
Bolivia (G/RO/N/1, 22&23) India (G/RO/N/1) Panama (G/RO/N/23) 
Brazil (G/RO/N/12) Indonesia (G/RO/N/4) Paraguay (G/RO/N/12) 
Brunei Darussalam (G/RO/N/4) Israel (G /RO/N/13) Papua New Guinea (G/RO/N/32) 
Bulgaria (G/RO/N/15, 22, 23 & 27) Jamaica (G/RO/N/4) Peru (G/RO/N/1) 
Burkina Faso (G/RO/N/19) Japan (G/RO/N/6) Philippines (G/RO/N/4) 
Canada (G/RO/N/1, 6 & 8) Jordan (G/RON/30) Poland (G/RO/N/8, 22 & 23) Chad (G/RO/N/22) Kenya (G/R O/N/9) Qatar (G/RO/N/25) 
Chile (G/RO/N/6&38) Korea (G/RO/N/7) Romania (G/RO/N/14, 22 & 23)  
China (G/RO/N/37/Rev.1) Kyrgyz Republic (G/RO/N/39) Senegal (G/RO/N/10) Colombia (G/RO/N/1) Latvia (G/RO/N/25) Singapore (G/RO/N/3 & 4) 
Costa Rica (G/RO/N/20/Rev.1) Liechtenstein (G/RO/N/22) Slovak Republic (G/RO/N/1, 22 & 23) 
Côte d'Ivoire (G/RO/N/11) Madagascar (G/RO/N/11) Slovenia (G/RO/N/5, 7, 22 & 23) Croatia (G/RO/N/36) Malaysia (G/RO/N/4) Suriname (G/RO/N/24) 
Cuba (G/RO/N/3) Maldives (G/RO/N/22) Switzerland (G/RO/N/6, 22, 23, 29 & 30) 
Cyprus (G/RO/N/19) Mali (G/RON/35) Thailand (G/RO/N/1 & 4) Czech Rep. (G/RO/N/2, 22 & 23)  Malta (G/R O/ N/4) Trinidad &Tob. (G/RO/N/7 & 24) 
Dominica(G/RO/N/24) Mauritius (G/RO/N/1) Tunisia (G/RO/N/7) 
Dominican Rep. (G/RO/N/5, 39 & 40) Mexico (G/RO/N/12) Turkey (G/RO/N/8 & 28) EC (G/RO/N/1) Moldova (G/RO/N/36) Uganda (G/RO/N/12) 
Ecuador (G/RO/N/12) Mongolia (G/RO/N/20) United Arab Emirates (G/RO/N/17) 
El Salvador (G/RO/N/10, 11&30) Morocco (G/RO/N/2) US (G/RO/N/1 , 6 & 18) Estonia (G/RON/31) Myanmar (G/RO/N/36) Uruguay (G/RO/N/5) 
Fiji (G/RO/N/17) Na mibia (G/RO/N/26) Ve nezuela (G/RO/N/1) 
Georgia (G/RO/N/38) Ne w Zealand (G/RO/N/1) Zambia (G/RO/N/15) 
Guatemala (G/RO/N/21) Ni caragua (G/RO/N/10)  
Haiti (G/RO/N/20) Ni ger (G/RO/N/19)  
 
5. Members that have notified that they do not have Preferential Rules of Origin  (4) 
 
Burundi (G/RO/N/34) Chinese Taipei (G/RO/N/37) Hong Kong, China (G/RO/N/1) Macao, China (G/RO/N/21) 
  G/RO/57 
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 6. Members that have not notified Preferential Rules of Origin  (42) 
 
Albania Former Yugoslav. Rep. of Nigeria 
Angola   Macedonia Rwanda 
Antigua & Barbuda Gabon St. Kitts & Nevis 
Bahrain Gambia Saint Lucia 
Bangladesh Ghana Saint Vincent & Grenadines 
Barbados Grenada Sierra Leone Belize Guinea Bissau Solomon Islands 
Benin Guinea, Rep. of South Africa 
Botswana Guyana Sri Lanka Cameroon Kuwait Swaziland 
Cent. African Rep. Lesotho Tanzania 
Congo Lithuania Togo  D.R. of Congo Malawi Zimbabwe 
Djibouti Mauritania  
Egypt Mozambique  
 
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