G/L/1188  
 
11 October  2017 
(17-5470) Page: 1/1 
   
 
 REPORT ( 2017 ) OF THE COMMITTEE O N RULES OF ORIGIN  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR T RADE IN GOODS  
1. This report is being submitted to the Council for Trade in Goods in accordance with 
Article  6.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin  (the Agreement) , which provides  that 
"The Committee shall review annually the implementation and operation of Parts II and III of this 
Agreement having regard to its objectives .  The Committee shall annually inform the Council for 
Trade in Goods of developments during the period covered by such reviews."  
2. The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) held two formal meetings in 201 7:  on 2 March and 
on 4 October under the chairmanship of Mr. Chih-Tung CHANG (Chinese Taipei) and of 
Mr. Gerald  PAJUELO  (Peru) respectively .  One "information session" on non -preferential rules of 
origin was also held on 2 March and a  number of informal consultations were organized throughout 
2017. At its meeting of 4 October, the CRO conducted the twenty -third review of the 
implementation and operation of the Agreement and also conducted a yearly review of 
developments with relation to preferential rules of origin for LDCs.  
3. With relation to non-preferential rules of origin, the Committee did not hold discussions 
specifically related to the  Harmonization Work Programme  (HWP). The HWP, mandated under 
Part IV of the Agreement, has been stalled since 2007 due to divergences on a number of "core 
policy issues" . As noted in the 2013 Report of the CRO to the Council for Trade in Goods  
(G/L/1047) , Members hold different views regarding the need to finalize or not  the HWP .   
4. Pending the continuation of the HWP, the Committee pursued  its "educational exercise" and 
held, in March 2017, another  "information session" on non -preferential rules of origin . Following 
that session, the Chair man invited Members to reflect on the main messages which emerged from 
this educational exercise and to explore alternatives to take  forward  the work of the Committee on 
non-preferential origin matters . Additional sessions may be organized in the future dependin g on 
Members' needs.  
5. With respect to preferential rules of origin, the Committee  advanced significantly in the 
implementation of the 2015 Ministerial Decision on preferential rules of origin for least developed 
countries (LDCs) (WT/L/917/Add.1). In particu lar, the Committee took note of reports by several 
preference -granting Members about the "efforts being made" to implement the Decision. It also 
adopted a template for the notification of preferential rules of origin for LDCs (G/RO/84) and 
considered the information submitted by several preference -granting Members. Members 
discussed several aspects related to preferential rules of origin in dedicated agenda items. 
Furthermore, The Committee adopted a methodology for the calculation of preferential utilizati on 
rates and considered a report by the Secretariat on the matter . 
6.  Finally, the CRO conducted its yearly  review of new developments in preferential rules of 
origin for LDCs according to the requirements of Ministerial Decision. As mandated by the 
Minister ial Decision, the Committee adopted a report of such review for the General Council 
(G/RO/85) and will also inform the Sub -Committee on LDCs accordingly.  
__________