G/L/1378  
23 November  2020 
(20-8443) Page: 1/2 
   
 
  
REPORT ( 2020) OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
1. This report of the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) summarizes the work undertaken by 
the Committee in 2020. Article  6.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin  provides  that 
"The Committee shall review annually the implementation and operation of Parts II a nd III of this 
Agreement having regard to its objectives " and " inform the Council for Trade in Goods of 
developments during the period covered by such reviews. " 
2. The CRO held two formal meetings in 2020: on 5 March and on 13 November. The minutes of 
these m eetings are contained in documents G/RO/M/74 and [G/RO/M/75] respectively. 
On 4 March  2020, Members also participated in an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 
Agreement on Rules of Origin. In addition, the Committee held several small -group and bilateral 
consultations on different matters.  Mr. Han -Ming HUANG (Chinese Taipei)  was elected Chairperson 
of the Committee in Ju ly 2020. He followed Ms Uma MUNIANDY (Singapore) as Chairperson of the 
Committee . 
3. At its meeting of 13 November , the CRO conducted the twenty -sixth review of the 
implementation and operation of the Agreement (document G/RO/W/ 199/Rev.1 ) and the annual 
review of developments with relation to preferential rules of origin for LDCs . 
4. With relation to non-preferential rul es of origin, the Committee did not hold discussions 
specifically related to the  Harmonization Work Programme  (HWP). Discussions on t his work 
programme , mandated under Part  IV of the Agreement, have been stalled since 2007. Members held 
different views regarding the implications of adopting harmonized non -preferential rules of origin f or 
other trade policy measures. These "core policy issues"  were described in the 2013 Report of the 
CRO to the Council for Trade in Goods  (G/L/1047) . Members continue to hold different views 
regarding the need to finalize or not  the HWP . 
5. Pending the continuation of the HWP, Members have been discussing  ways to better access 
information about and better understand current national practices rela ted to non -preferential origin.  
In that context, Members have continued their consider ation of  a proposal to "enhance  transparency 
on non -preferential rules of origin" (G/RO/W/182/Rev. 3). The  proposal seeks to update and 
standardize notifications of non -preferential rules of origin and origin requirements. The information 
notified  would be made available by the Secretariat through an electronic platform for easier access.  
Consultations are ongoing on the proposal.  
6. Members also heard a presentation by t he Secretariat describing some of the measures taken 
to temporarily ease rules of origin requirements in response to the COVID -19 pandemic. The 
Secretariat described measures taken by Argentina, the EU, the Eurasian Economic Union and Japa n 
such as accepting electronic certificates of origin instead of paper documents, accepting copies 
instead of originals, or allowing for the retrospective issuance of certificates. Canada and India noted 
that their governments had also implemented similar measures to facilitate trade.  
7. In addition, 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the WTO Uruguay Round Agreements, 
including the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin. An event, organized by the Secretariat, celebrated 
this milestone by bringing together governme nt officials, international organizations and the private 
sector . The programme, presentations, video recordings and a summary (G/RO/W/196)  of the event 
were made available through the rules of origin page of the WTO website. In reporting on the event 
to the CRO, the Chairperson encouraged all delegations to review those materials as they contained G/L/1378  
 
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  interesting recommendations and messages that could be considered by Members when deciding 
how to advance the work of the Committee.  
8. Finally, w ith respect to pre ferential rules of origin, the Committee  continued to review the 
implementation of the 2013 and 2015 Ministerial Decision s on preferential rules of origin for least 
developed countries (LDCs) ( WT/L/917 and WT/L/917/Add.1).  
9. In that context, Members consider ed and raised concerns about  communication s from the LDC 
Group (G/RO/W/198 ; G/RO/W/202 ) on the Ministerial Decisions . 
10. In addition, t he Committee took note of reports by prefere nce-granting Members about the 
efforts being made to implement the Decision. The Committee also reviewed the latest status of 
notifications in this area (G/RO/W/163/Rev. 8) and examined  substantive matters related to 
preferential rules of origin , including:  rules based on the ad valorem  percentage (value added) 
criterion and utilization rates for the LDC preferences in the minerals  and metals sector . As required 
by the Ministerial Decisions,  a detailed report describing these discussions and recent developments 
has been prepared for the G eneral Council  and an oral report will be delivered for the Sub -Committee 
on LDCs . 
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