G/L/1266  
 
18 October 2018  
(18-6530) Page: 1/1 
   
 
REPORT ( 2018 ) 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 su ch reviews."  
2. The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) held two formal meetings in 2018:  on 19 April and 
on 15 and 16 October.  The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents G/RO/M/70 and 
[G/RO/M/71] respectively.  The work of the Com mittee was cha ired by Mr  Gerald  PAJUELO (Peru) 
until April 2018 and by Mrs Thembekile MLANGENI (South Africa)  from that date . 
3. At its meeting of 15 and 16 October, the CRO conducted the twenty -fourth review of the 
implementation and operation of the Agreement and conducted a yearly review of developments 
with relation to preferential rules of origin for LDCs.  
4. With relation to non-preferential rules 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, the Committee continued to engage in an "educational 
exercise", trying to better understand existing non -preferential rules of origin and practices. 
Two additional information sessions were held in 2018: on "certificates of origin and other proofs of 
origin" on 18 April (G/RO/W/175)  and on "transparency and notification gaps" on 16 October. 
Additional sessions may be organized in the future depending on Members' needs.  In addition, some 
Members also held s everal informal consultations during the year to discuss ways to en hance 
transparency and notifications . 
6. With respect to preferential 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/9 17 and WT/L/917/Add.1). The 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 of preferential rules of origin and 
preferentia l trade data (G/RO/W/163/Rev.4). Members also discussed several aspects related to 
preferential rules of origin in dedicated agenda items  on the basis of two background notes by the 
Secretariat and presentations by LDC delegations.   
7.  Finally, the CRO condu cted its yearly  review of new developments in preferential rules of 
origin for LDCs according to the requirements of Ministerial Decision. As mandated by the Ministerial 
Decision, the Committee adopted a report of such review for the General Council and wi ll also inform 
the Sub -Committee on LDCs accordingly.  
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