G/RO/97  
 
3 November  2022 
(22-8239) Page: 1/3 
   
 
 
REPORT ( 2022 ) OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN   
TO THE  GENERAL COUNCIL ON PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN   
FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES  
1. This report is being submitted by the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) to the General 
Council as required by the 2013 (Bali) and the 2015 (Nairobi) Ministerial Decisions on preferential 
rules of origin for Least -developed Countries (WT/L/917 and WT/L/917/Add.1 respectively). 
According  to the provisions of these Decisions, t he Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) " shall 
annually review the developments in preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from LDCs" 
and report to the General Council . 
2. The CRO discussed several matters rela ted to preferential rules of origin for LDCs in its two 
formal meetings held in 2022 : on 7 April and on 13 October. The minutes of these meetings are 
contained in documents G/RO/M/78 and G/RO/M/791 respectively. The following are some of the 
recent develo pments Members considered:  
Transparency (notifications ) 
− Members can now access  detailed and standardised information about preferential rules of 
origin and origin  requirements for LDCs . Almost all preference -granting Members have 
submitted a notification using the agreed notification template (G/RO/84). A notification 
describing the preferential rules of ori gin applied to LDCs is still outstanding for Armenia, 
Iceland and Morocco. In addit ion, Japan (G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1/Rev.1 and Corr.1) and Thailand  
(G/RO/LDC/N/THA/1/Rev.1) have submitted revised notification s with updates to their 
respective rules.  
− These notifications and detailed information about the  applicable rules of origin and other 
preferential  origin requirements can be accessed, at the tariff -line level, through the WTO, 
ITC and WCO "Origin Facilitator" ( www.findrulesoforigin.org ). 
− There have been significant improvements in 202 2 in relation to the notifications of import 
data. The Secretariat presented a report on the availability of information related to 
preferential rules of origin and import statistics  (G/RO/W/163/Rev.10) . The main development 
in this area is th at China, Iceland,  India, Türkiye and the United Kingdom made notifications 
about their preferential imports from the LDCs covering multiple years. These notifications 
significantly  improve the ability of the Secretariat to conduct analysis on trade from LDCs (the 
WTO now h as the most complete dataset covering trade with LDCs of any international 
organization). The data is being integrated in WTO databases and will be used in the notes 
that the Secretariat presents to the CRO on preference utilization by the LDCs. The Russia n 
Federation also submitted a notification covering several years, but the data is incomplete and 
cannot be integrated to the databases. In relation to import data , the Secretariat encouraged 
Members to also notify their preferential imports under regional  trade agreements, so that a 
more complete analysis can be conducted about their  trade with the LDCs.  No statistics or 
partial statistics only continue to be available for some preference -granting Members: 
Armenia; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Montenegro; Morocco; New Zealand; and Tajikistan.  
− These notifications , including preferential import statistics, can be accessed through the WTO 
Preferential Trade Arrangements  (PTA) database ( http://ptadb.wto.org ).  
 
1 To be issued.  G/RO/97  
 
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  Recent developments  
− The United Kingdom updated the Committee about the finalization of its new Developing 
Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) and the revised rules of origin to be implemented under it  
(a notification containing the revised rules of origin would be submitted soon) . The delegation 
organized, in addition, an information session to inform the LDCs about the changes being 
considered.  
− The United States reported that it had organized a webinar  during the 8th WTO Aid for Trade 
Review on " How can exporting countries improve utilization of US Trade Preference 
Programs? " 
Implementation of the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Decisions  
− Members  agreed, in April 2022, to a " Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin and the 
Implementation of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision ". In it, Members underscored the 
importance of identifying and addressing as appropriate specific challenges that LDCs face, a s 
Members may agree, in complying with preferential rules of origin and origin requirements to 
effectively use trade preferences. To that end, Members agreed to continue working in the 
CRO to ensure that the rules or origin used by Members in their non -reciprocal preferences 
for LDCs are simple and transparent. Such efforts could include identifying and agreeing to 
best practices and further analysing the utilization of trade preferences. This Decision was also 
acknowledged in paragraph 8 of the Outcome Doc ument of the 12th Ministerial Conference.  
− Members considered this Decision in the formal meeting of the CRO in October 2022  and 
discussed ways to translate the objectives of the Decision into the work of the CRO . The LDC 
Group said that they would make specific suggestions in writing in the coming weeks.  
 
Impact of preferential rules of origin on preference utilization (calcul ation of utilization rates)  
− Members considered a background note prepared by the WTO Secretariat on obligations 
related to the certification of origin and the utilization of trade preferences (G/RO/W/212). The 
note explained the relevance of national pract ices related to the certification of origin for the 
utilization of trade preferences, reviewed examples of trade -facilitating approaches in this area 
and recalled the relevant language contained  in the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Decisions. It 
then descri bed the related practices of preference -granting Members and LDCs and reported 
preference utilization rates in light of those practices. According to calculations reported in the 
note, self-certification seems to have a trade -facilitating impact although t his is not clearly or 
universally observed in the case of non -reciprocal preferences for LDCs . The note called for 
Members' cooperation for the collection of more detailed information in this area so that 
additional research could be conducted on this topi c. Members agreed to work further on the 
topics covered in the note.  
− On 7 April, Members participated in a public event organized by the WTO Secretariat at the 
margins of the formal CRO meeting on "What drives the utilization of trade preferences " 
(via Zoom, recording available ). This second event followed up on a first event held in 2021  
on this topic. Speakers explored the different factors which influence the ability and willingness 
of businesses to utilize trade preferences and shared their experience monitoring the 
utilization rates of their trade preferences. Speakers included govern ment officials from 
Canada ; Chile; Türkiye ; the United States;  and the EFTA Secretariat (Iceland ; Liechtenstein ; 
Norway;  and Switzerland).  
Other specific issues considered  
− Members considered  two notes prepared by the LDC Group on (i) documentary requiremen ts 
(G/RO/W/211 ); and (ii) a preliminary assessment of the new preferential rules of origin of the 
United Kingdom ( G/RO/W/ 216). G/RO/97  
 
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  Annual review of implementation  
− This report of the CRO to the General Council was considered by the CRO on 13 October 202 2 
and ad opted through written procedures . 
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