G/RO/91  
 
23 November  2020 
(20-8445) Page: 1/2 
   
 
 
REPORT (2020 ) 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 Decision s 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 , the 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. Members  discussed several matters  related to preferential rules of origin for L DCs in the two 
meetings  held by the CRO in 2020.1 The following are some of the recent developments Members 
took note  of: 
Transparency (notifications ) 
− Members now have access to detailed information  about pref erential rules of origin and origin 
requirements for LDCs  as practically all preference -granting Members have  submitted a 
notification using the agreed notification template (G/RO/84) . Chile and Chinese Taipei have, 
in addition, updated their notifications  in 2020 . Information about the rules applied to LDC 
duty schemes is only missing for the schemes of Armenia and Iceland.  
− While progress with respect to preferential tariff and import data has been slower, there have 
been significant improvements in 2020, notably with the notification of preferential import 
statistics by China (2018) , Iceland, the Russian Federation and Thailand. Despite these 
improvements, n o statistics or only partial statistics were available for the LDC duty scheme s 
of Armenia; China; Iceland; India; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Montenegro; New Zealand; 
Russian Federation; and Turkey. Document G/RO/W/163/Rev.8 describes in detail  the 
information available with the Secretariat  to this date . 
− These notifications, inclu ding preferential import statistics, can be accessed through the WTO 
Preferential Trade Arrangements  (PTA) database ( http://ptadb.wto.org ).  
− In addition, information about origin requirements is available, at the tariff -line level, through 
the "Origin Facilitator"  (https://findrulesoforigin.org ), a collaboration between the Secretariats 
of the World Customs Organization, the International Trade Centre  and the WTO . 
The Secreta riat informed Members that the Facilitator is now also available in Spanish and 
French.  
Recent developments  
− The European Union updated  Members (RD/RO/86  and RD/RO/93 ) on the implementation of 
the self -certification  system for registered exporters (Registered Exporter system , REX) . 
The system is also  being implemented by the European Union;  Norway;  Turkey; and 
Switzerland.  
 
1 The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents G/RO/M/7 4 and [G/RO/M/7 5] respectively  
and contain a more detailed account of the discussions held in 2020 . G/RO/91  
 
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  − The Russian Federation highlighted the key elements of the revised p referential rules of origin 
for LDCs being  implemented under  the Eurasian Economic Union (E AEU)'s Common System 
of Tariff Preferences which ha d entered into force in January  2019 (G/RO/LDC/N/RUS/2 ). 
− The United Kingdom updated Members on the continuation of its trade pr eferences for LDCs 
during the transition period until 31 December 2020 and after its withdrawal from the 
European Union . 
− Thailand reminded Members that Thailand's PTA for LDCs was valid from April 2015 to 
December  2020. In view of the upcoming expiration of the scheme, Thailand's authorities had 
initiated stakeholder consultations with a view to extending the duration of the scheme, 
expanding the coverage of eligible products, and improving the rules of origin.  
Examination of current rules of or igin 
− Members reviewed and raised concerns about a submission from the LDC Group 
(G/RO/W/202; RD/RO/91) on preference -granting members' rules of origin based on the 
ad valorem  percentage criterion to determine substantial transformation (paragraph 1.1 of 
the Nairobi Decision ). 
Impact of rules of origin on preference utilization (calculation of utilization rates)  
− Members considered a revised note by the Secretariat on the impact of direct consignment 
requirements on preference utilization (G/RO/W/187 /Rev.1 ).  
− Switzerland reported that his delegation had initiated a  detailed  investigation of prefere ntial 
imports  from LDCs for both directly and indirectly consigned goods.  
− Members also considered a note and new calculations by the Secretariat concerning the 
utilization  of LDC trade preferences in the mineral and metal products sector  (G/RO/W/203) . 
Annual review  of implementation  
− The LDC Group  explained that 2020 marked the 5th Anniversary of the Nairobi Ministerial 
Decision.  Members considered and raised concerns about communications ( RD/RO/87 ; 
G/RO/W/198) proposing a work plan for the CRO focused on the Ministerial Decisions.  
− As required by the 2013 and 2015 Ministerial Decisions, Members conducted a review of recent 
developments  at the Committ ee's formal meeting of 13 November 2020.  
− In concluding the annual review, t he Chairperson thanked Members for their constructive 
engagement  and proposed that the Committee continue its technical and focused discussion 
on the Ministerial Decisions in order to pursue  monitoring the progress made in facilitat ing 
trade  for LDCs . 
− The report of the CRO to the General Council was revised and adopted through written 
procedures on 18 November 2020.  
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