G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
27 October 2020  
(20-7493) Page: 1/9 
Committee on Market Access    
 
STATUS OF HS TRANSPOSITIONS  
REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
Revision  
This report by the Secretariat seeks to  provide  an overview of the overall state of play of the different 
exercises  to transpose the WTO Schedules of concessions to take account of amendments of the 
Harmonized System (hereafter referred to as "HS Transpositions") . It complement s the existing  
reports on different aspects of the changes to the Schedules of concessions .2 
 
1. BACKGROUND  
Each WTO Member has a Schedule of concessions3, sometimes referred to as a "Goods Schedule", 
which is either annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol to the GATT 1994 or to a Protocol of Accession . 
Following the entry into force of the Harmonized System (HS) on 1  January  1988 (HS88), the 
pre-WTO schedules of those GATT Contracting Parties that were also contracting parties to the 
HS Convention were required to be transposed into the HS nomenclature .4 The GATT Committee on 
Tariff Concess ions developed procedures to this end.5  
 
Since the n, the World Customs Organization (WCO) has adopted partial  amend ments to  the 
Harmonized System Convention which  came into force on 1  January  1992 (HS92) , 1 January  1996 
(HS96), 1 January  2002 (HS2002), 1  January  2007 (HS2007), 1  January  2012 (HS2012) , and 
1 January  2017 (HS2017).  It is envisaged that a new amendment will enter into force on 
1 January  2022 (HS2022).   
 
With a view to keeping the authentic texts of the Schedules of concessions  up to date and in 
conformity with the national customs tariff,  GATT contracting parties and WTO Members have 
adopted a series of Decisions to transpose the Schedules of concessions in order to reflect the 
amendments to the HS.  These transpositi on procedures require Members to update the 
nomenclature used to express their concessions, including the bound duties , in their Schedules of 
concessions, thereby allowing a  compar ison with their MFN applied duties.   
 
2. PROCEDURES AND REPORTS BY THE SECRETARIAT  
Since the WTO agreement entered into force, Members followed one pre -WTO procedure to 
transpose their Schedules of concessions into HS96 and have adopted eight Decisions relating to 
HS Transpositions.  The following is a list of the different pr ocedures and reports by the Secretariat 
describing the status of the different transposition procedures : 
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 For example, the "Situation of Schedules of WTO Membe rs" that periodically circulate under the 
G/MA/W/23/Rev document series and the "Factual Report on the Status of Renegotiations under Article  XXVIII 
of the GATT 1994" that periodically circulate under the G/MA/123/Rev document series.  
3 See Article XI of the WTO Ag reement.  
4 Article 3 of the HS Convention obliges HS contracting parties to ensure that their customs tariff and 
statistical nomenclatures are in conformity with the Harmonized System. It is to be noted that  those 
GATT  Contracting Parties that were not con tracting parties to the HS, but nevertheless applied the HS in their 
national customs tariff, also undertook this exercise in order to keep the authentic texts of their schedules up to 
date and in conformity with their national customs tariff.  
5 Decision o f 12 July 1983, GATT BISD 30S/17.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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HS 
amendment  HS transposition procedures  Status report by the 
Secretariat   
(last version)  
HS96  "Procedures to Implement Changes in the Harmonized 
System", Decision of 8  October  1991, Annex to GATT 
document L/6905, GATT BISD  39S/300 . 
 G/MA/TAR/2/Rev.47  
"Procedures Leading to the Verification and Certification 
of HS96 Changes Relating to the Schedules of 
64 Members ", Decision of 27  May 2009, WT/L/75 6. 
 JOB/MA/41/Rev.10  
HS2002  "Concessions Under the Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System – A Procedure for 
Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 Changes to 
Schedules of Concessions", Decision of 18  July 2001, 
WT/L/407.  
Note : This Decision was replaced and superseded by 
WT/L/605.  
 G/MA/TAR/4/Rev.8  
"A Procedure for the Introduction of Harmonized System 
2002 Changes to Schedules of Concessions using the 
Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) Database", Decision 
of 15 February  2005, WT/L/605.  
 JOB/MA/42/Rev.26  
"Amendment to the procedures leading to the  
certification of HS2002 changes" , Decision of 
14 December  2010, WT/L/807 . 
 
HS2007  "A Procedure for the Introduction of Harmonized System 
2007 Changes to Schedules of Concessions using the 
Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) Database", Decision 
of 15 December  2006, WT/L/673.  
 JOB/MA/104/Rev. 24 
"Amendment to the procedures leading to the 
certification of HS 2007 changes ", Decision of 
30 November  2011, WT/L/830.  
 
HS2012  "A Procedure for the Introduction of Harmonized System 
2012 changes to schedules of concessions using the 
Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) Database", Decision 
of 30 November  2011,  WT/L/831.  
 JOB/MA/129/Rev. 10 
HS2017  "A Procedure for the Introduction of Harmonized System 
2017 changes to schedules of concessions using the 
Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) Database", Decision 
of 30 November  2011, WT/L/995.  
 JOB/MA/ 143/Rev.1 
with 2 corrigenda  
Source:  WTO Secretariat  
 G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  3. STAGES OF THE ONGOING TRANSPOSITIONS PROCEDURES  
While  the different HS Transposition s since 2005  are contained in a wide range of  Decisions as listed 
above, they are all based on similar steps  that can be summarized as follows:  
 
Step Description  
Step 1:  
Preparation of the 
draft HS 
transposition file  Since  2005, the Committee on Market Access decided6 that the 
Secretariat would undertake the HS2002 transposition of the schedules 
of developing country Members, except for those who decide d to prepare 
their own transposition.  Developed country Members were required to 
undertake their own transposition.  The same approach was taken in the 
HS 2007  and HS 2012  transpositions.  For HS 2017 , there is no more 
distinction between developed and develo ping countries . Thus, the 
Secretariat shall transpose the schedules of all Members, except for 
those who decide to prepare their own transposition. Members that 
decide to undertake their own transposition shall submit all the required 
information to the Se cretariat  in electronic form .7  
Step 2:  
Review by the 
Secretariat  For Members that prepare d their own transposition  file, the Secretariat 
is required to review it.  
Step 3:  
The Secretariat  
consult s with the 
Member concerned  If the Secretariat prepared the transposition file, it is sent to the Member  
concerned  for review and approval.  
If the Member prepared its own transposition file, the Secretariat 
provides  comments to the Member, if any.   
Step 4:  
Release for review 
by ot her Members  
 Once the technical issues have been cleared between the Member 
concerned and the  Secretariat,  or in the absence of a response from the 
Members for whom the Secretariat prepared the file, the transposition 
file is released for multilateral review by the other Members. These files 
are posted the Tariff Analysis Online (TAO) Facility8 and an official notice 
is given to Members in a document of the corresponding 
G/SECRET/HSXX document series.  The files must be available for review 
for at least six weeks  before they can be considered in the HS multilateral 
review.  
Step 5:  
HS multilateral 
review  The transposition files are reviewed at an informal meeting of the 
Committee on Market Access referred to as " HS Multilateral Reviews ". 
The transp osition files are considered approved once there are no 
comments pending on the file. Sometimes, the files are approved on an 
ad referendum  basis, with additional time for comments.  In case there 
are comments, the concerned Members meet bilaterally and in form the  
Committee of their progress. In case changes to the transposition file 
are required, a revised transposition file is prepared by the Secretariat 
and it  is released again for review by the other Members  (Step 4) .  
Step 6:  
1980 Procedures.  Once a transposition file has been approved at an HS multilateral review  
and there are no comments pending , the file is circulated by the 
Secretariat under the 1980 Procedures for Modification and Rectification 
of Schedules in the G/MA/TAR/RS document seri es. Under the 1980 
Procedures, Members are given a three -month period for review and 
objections.  
Step 7:   
Certification  Once the three-month  period has lapsed, and in the absence of 
objections, the Director General certifies the change of the transpositio n, 
which are circulated in the WT/Let/ document series.  
 
 
6 Document WT/L/605 of 2 March 2005.  
7 Document WT/L/673 of 18 December 2006 for HS 2007, document WT/L/831 of 5 December 2011 for 
the HS2012 transposition and document WT/L/995 of 7 December 2016 for the HS2017 transposit ion. 
8 HS transposition files are accessible through Tariff Analysis Online (TAO) Facility: https://tao.wto.org . 
Select Download Data, then Database Export, then CTS Transposition, select a Reporting country and add to 
export li st, then Export in MS Access or Excel format.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  4. OVERALL STATUS OF THE HS TRANSPOSITIONS  
As of 22 October  2020, the overall situation of each HS transposition  procedure can be summarized 
as follows ( each Schedule of concessions  is counted once ): 
 
Step HS96  HS2002  HS2007  HS2012  HS2017  
1. Preparation of 
the draft HS 
transposition file  1 by the 
Member 
concerned 
(under 
L/6905 )  3 by the 
Members 
concerned  5 by the 
Members 
concerned  11 by the 
Member s 
concerned  
 None pending 
by the 
Secretariat  3 pending 
by the 
Secretariat 
(1 is awaiting 
conclusion of 
HS2002)  16 pending 
by the 
Secretariat 
(all awaiting 
conclusion of 
HS2007 
and/or 
HS2002)  67 pending 
by the 
Secretariat  
 
2. Review  by the 
Secretariat  - - 1 1 1 
3. The Secretariat is 
consulting with the 
Member concerned  - 1 7 8 1 
4. Files r eleased for 
review  by other 
Members , but not 
yet examined  - - - - - 
5. Pending in an HS  
multilateral review  
due to reservations  
or approved 
ad referendum  - - 1 3 15 
6. Following  the 
1980 Procedures , 
but not yet certified  - 1 - 2 39 
7. Certified 
transposition s 104 115 109 97 - 
Note : Members with 
a Schedule of 
concessions annexed 
to a Protocol of 
Accession or that 
submitted a full 
Schedule under the 
1980 Procedures in a 
newer version of the 
HS nomenclature  (i.e. 
no transposition is 
required).  31 19 12 4 29 
Note:   The total number of Schedules of concessions varies  over the years due to accessions to the WTO and 
enlargements of the European Union , so the numbers across the columns are not necessarily 
comparable . The table does not take account of Schedules of concessions that have been withdrawn.  
The Annex provides a deta iled overview of the status of the HS transpositions for each Member.  
 
9 On 17 October 2017, the European Union circulated a draft EU -28 Schedule, which takes into account 
the HS2007, HS2012, and HS2017 transpositions. See documents G/MA/TAR/RS/506 and 
G/MA/TAR/RS/506/Add.1. Reservations were introduced. The United Kingdom with drew from the 
European  Union as of 1 February 2020. The United Kingdom submitted a full Schedule in HS2017 ; see 
documents G/MA/TAR/RS/570 and G/MA/TAR/RS/570/Add.1. Reservations were introduced.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  ANNEX  
STATUS OF THE HS TRANSPOSITION PROCEDURES, BY MEMBER  
(AS OF 22 OCTOBER  2020)  
Member  HS96  HS 2002  HS 2007  HS2012  HS2017  
Afghanistan  - - - PA 1980 
Procedures  
Albania  PA Certified  Certified  Certified   
Angola  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Antigua and 
Barbuda  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Argentina  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Armenia  PA Certified  Certified  Reservations   
Australia  Certified  Certified  Certified  Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  
Bahrain, Kingdom 
of Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Bangladesh  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures   
Barbados  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Belize  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Benin  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Bolivia, 
Plurinational State 
of Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting10  
Botswana  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Brazil  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Brunei Darussalam  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Burkina Faso  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Burundi  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Cabo Verde  - - PA Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Cambodia  PA Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Cameroon  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Canada  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Pending -
Member  
Central African 
Rep. Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Chad Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Chile Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
China  PA 1980 
Procedures  Pending -Prev Pending -Prev  
Colombia  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting   
Congo, Dem. Rep.  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Congo, Republic of  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Costa Rica  Certified  Certified  Certified  Pending -Prev  
Côte d'Ivoire  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
 
10 The HS2012 file of Bolivia was approved during an HS multil ateral review and the draft changes were 
circulated under the 1980 Procedures (G/MA/TAR/RS) . Further to the circulation of the G/MA/TAR/RS  
document Bolivia provided comments and the Secretariat is consulting in order to prepare a revised file.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  Member  HS96  HS 2002  HS 2007  HS2012  HS2017  
Cuba Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Djibouti  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Dominica  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Dominican 
Republic  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Ecuador  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting    
Egypt  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
El Salvador  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Sec Review  
Eswatini  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
European Union  Certified  Certified  Ad hoc  Ad hoc  Ad hoc11  
Fiji Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Gabon  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
The Gambia  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Georgia  PA Certified  Certified  Certified   
Ghana  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Grenada  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Guatemala  Certified  Certified  Certified  Pending -Prev  
Guinea  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Guinea -Bissau  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Guyana  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Haiti Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Honduras  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Hong Kong, China  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Iceland  Certified  Certified  Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  
India Certified  Certified  Certified  Reservations   
Indonesia  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Israel  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Jamaica  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Japan  Certified  Certified  Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  
Jordan  PA Certified  Certified  Certified   
Kazakhstan  - - PA Pending -Sec  
Kenya  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Korea  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -
Member  
Kuwait, the State 
of  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Kyrgyz Republic  PA Certified  Certified  Pending -Prev  
Lao People's Dem. 
Rep. - PA Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Lesotho  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Liberia  - - - PA 1980 
Procedures  
 
11 The Europ ean Union circulated a draft EU -28 Schedule, which takes into account the HS2007, 
HS2012, and HS2017 transpositions. See documents G/MA/TAR/RS/506 and G/MA/TAR/RS/506/Add.1. 
Reservations were introduced.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  Member  HS96  HS 2002  HS 2007  HS2012  HS2017  
Macao  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Madagascar  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Malawi  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Malaysia  Certified  Certified12  Pending -Prev Pending -Prev  
Maldives  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Mali Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Mauritania  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Mauritius  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Mexico  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting   
Moldova  PA Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures   
Mongolia  PA Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Montenegro  - - PA Certified   
Morocco  Certified  Certified  Member sub  Member sub   
Mozambique  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Myanmar  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Namibia  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Nepal  - PA Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
New Zealand  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -
Member  
Nicaragua  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Niger  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Nigeria  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
North Macedonia  - PA Certified  Certified   
Norway  Certified  Certified  Certified  Reservations  Pending -
Member  
Oman  PA Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting  
Pakistan  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Panama  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Papua New Guinea  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Paraguay  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Peru Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Philippines  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Qatar  PA Certified  Certified  Certified   
Russian Federation  - - PA Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  
Rwanda  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Saint Kitts and 
Nevis  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Saint Lucia  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Saint Vincent and 
the Grenadines  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Samoa  - - PA Certified   
Saudi Arabia, 
Kingdom of  - PA Certified  Certified   
 
12 Errors were detected by Malaysi a.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  Member  HS96  HS 2002  HS 2007  HS2012  HS2017  
Senegal  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Seychelles  - - PA Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Sierra Leone  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Singapore  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting   
Solomon Islands  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
South Africa  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Sri Lanka  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Suriname  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Switzerland  Certified  Certified  Certified  Pending -
Member  Pending -
Member  
Chinese Taipei  PA Certified  Certified  Certified  Pending -
Member  
Tajikistan  - - PA Certified  Ad referendum  
approval  
Tanzania  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Thailand  Certified  Certified  Reservations  Pending -Prev  
Togo Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Tonga  - PA Certified  Certified   
Trinidad and 
Tobago  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Tunisia  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -Prev  
Turkey  Certified  Certified  Sec Review13 Pending -Prev  
Uganda  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Ukraine  - PA Certified  Certified   
United Arab 
Emirates  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
United Kingdom  - - - - Ad hoc14 
United States  Certified  Certified  Certified  Consulting  Pending -
Member  
Uruguay  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Vanuatu  - - PA Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Venezuela, 
Bolivarian Rep. of  Pending -
Member15 Consulting  Pending -Prev Pending -Prev  
Viet Nam  - PA Certified  Certified   
Yemen  - PA Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Zambia  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified  1980 
Procedures  
Zimbabwe  Certified  Certified  Certified  Certified   
Source :  WTO Secretariat records.  For more details  on a particular transposition procedure , see the relevant 
Secretariat report  listed in section 2, page 2 of this report .  
 
  
 
13 The HS2007 fi le of Turkey was approved during an HS multilateral review and the draft changes were 
circulated under the 1980 Procedures (G/MA/TAR/RS) . After the circulation of the G/MA/TAR/RS  document , 
Turkey provided a new submission and the Secretariat is in the proc ess of reviewing it.   
14 The United Kingdom submitted a full Schedule in HS2017; see documents G/MA/TAR/RS/570 and 
G/MA/TAR/RS/570/Add.1. Reservations were raised.  
15 The HS96 transposition procedures in G/SECRET/HS96/12  remains uncertified due to errors found in 
the documentation.  G/MA/W/158/Rev.1  
 
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  Symbols used in the table:  
 
Step Symbol  Description  
1.a Pending -Sec 
 
Pending -Prev 
 
 
Pending -Member  The draft HS transposition file has not been prepared by the Secretariat  
 
The Secretariat cannot prepare the draft HS transposition file because a 
previous procedure has first to be completed  
 
The Member has to submit a draft HS transposition file or the Member has 
yet to respond to questions by the Secretariat  
1.b Member sub  Draft HS transposition file was prepared by the Member and submitted to 
the Secretariat , but it has not yet been reviewed  
2 Sec Review  The Secretariat is in the process of reviewing a draft HS transposition file 
that was submitted by a Member  
3 Consult ing The Secretariat is in the process of consulting a draft  or providing 
comments on an  HS transposition file with the Member concerned  
4 For Review  
 
 
Ad referendum  
approval  The draft HS transposition file has been released for  review, but has not 
yet been examined in an HS multilateral review  
 
The files were approved ad referendum  during an HS multilateral review 
and will be considered to be approved unless comments are submitted 
within a deadline  
5 Reservations  The draft HS Transposition file was examined in a multilateral review, but 
reservations are pending  
6 1980 Procedures  The Transposition file was approved during an HS multilateral review, and 
the draft changes were circulated under the 1980 Procedures 
(G/MA/TAR/RS)  
7 Certified  Certified by the Director -General (WT/Let)  
 Ad hoc  The transposition is contained in a separate procedure under the 1980 
Procedures  
PA Schedule annexed to the Member's Protocol of Accession  is in the relevant 
nomenclature  
- Not applicable  
 
__________