G/L/1271  
 
29 October 2018 
(18-6757) Page: 1/3 
   
 
 
REPORT (201 8) OF THE COMMITTEE O N MARKET ACCESS  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR T RADE IN GOODS  
1.  Since the last review1, the Committee on Market Access has held two formal meetings ( 26 April  
and 9 October 2018 ) and two informal meetings ( 18 January  and 28 May).  An additional informal 
meeting is scheduled to take place on 6  November 2018.  The minutes of the formal meeting s are 
contained in documents G/MA/M/ 67 and G/MA/M/ 68 (to be issued) .   
2. At its formal meeting of 26 April  2018, the Committee took note of th e nomination of 
Ms Zsófia  Tvaruskó (Hungary) as Chairperson of the Committee for the current year and elected her 
by acclamation.  At its meeting of 9 October, the Committee elected Mr. Diego  Nunes Oger Fonseca  
(Brazil) as Vice -Chairperson.  
1  WAIVERS  
3. At its formal meeting of 9 October 2018 , the Committee approved the extension of the HS2002 
"collective" waiver (G/C/W/ 756), the HS2007 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/ 757), the HS2012 
"collective " waiver ( G/C/W/758), and the HS2017 "collective" waiver ( G/C/W /759)2.  The Committee 
agreed to forward the draft waiver decisions to the General Council through the Council for Trade i n 
Goods for appropriate action.  
2  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 1996 ( HS1996) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS  
4.  At its meeting s in 2018, the Committee took note of the status of the HS1996  transposition work 
undertaken pursuant to the procedures contained in L/6905 and WT/L/756.  At the formal meeting 
of 9 October 2018, the Chairperson announced that the Schedules of concessions of all the 
64 Members listed in the Annex of the Decision of 27 May 2009 (WT/L/756) had been successfully 
transposed int o HS96 and certified.  
3  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2002 ( HS2002) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS  
5. At its meetings in 201 8, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the introduction 
of HS2002 changes to schedules of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/605 and WT/L/ 807), 
as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which t he files 
containing the HS2002 changes of Members were examined. At the formal meeting of 
9 October  2018, the Chairperson announced that 114 Schedules of concessions had been transp osed 
into HS2002 and certified.  
4  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2007 (HS2007) CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS  
6. At its meetings in 2018, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the introduction 
of HS2007 changes to schedules of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/673 and WT/L/ 830), 
as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files 
containing the HS2007 changes of Members were examined. At the formal meeting of 
                                              
1 G/L/11 90, dated 17 October 2017 . 
2 A revised version was circulated  in G/C/W/759 /Rev.1  G/L/1271  
 
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  9 October  2018, the Chairperson announced that 108 Schedules of concessions had been transp osed 
into HS2007 and certified.  
5  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2012 ( HS2012) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS  
7.  At its meetings in 2018 , the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the introduction 
of HS2012 changes to schedules of con cessions using the CTS database (WT/L/831), as well as the 
outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files containing the 
HS2012 changes of Members were examined.  At the formal meeting of 9 October 2018, the 
Chairperson  announced that 87 Schedules of concessions had been transp osed into HS2012 and 
certified.  
6  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2017 ( HS2017) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS  
8. At its meetings in 2018, the Committee took note of the status of work concern ing the introduction 
of HS2017 changes to schedules of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/995).  At its meeting 
of 9 October 2018, the Committee considered the Note on Methodology prepared by the WTO 
Secretariat (JOB/MA/135)  and agreed to hold inform al consultations on the issue . 
7  DECISION ON NOTIFICA TION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRIC TIONS   
("QR DECISION")  
9. At its meetings in 2018 , the Committee examined new QR notification s submitted by eleven  
Members: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, the European Union, India, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, 
New Zealand, the Russian Federation, and Seychelles .  The Committee also continued reviewing  
notifications which had been previously submitted by other Members.   At its meeting of 
9 October  2018, the Committee took note of a report by the Secretariat (G/MA/QR/6)  with the status 
of such notifications.3   
10. At its meeting  of 26 April  2018, the Committee took note of a revised P ractical Guide for the 
Notification of Quantitative R estrictions (JOB/MA/101/Rev.1 and JOB/MA/101/Rev.1/ Corr.1), and 
took note of a report by the Vice -Chairperson concerning a "Capacity Building Workshop on the 
Notification of Quantitative Restrictions" held on 24 -25 April 20184. At its meeting  of 9 October 2018, 
the Committee took note of a second revision of the practical guide (JOB/MA/101/Rev.2), which was 
adjusted by the Secretariat to take account of comments received from Members.  
8  DATABASES  
11. At its formal meetings in 201 8, the Secretariat reported on  the status of work concerning the 
Integrated Data Base (IDB) and the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database. The reports 
provided information on inter alia  the use of information in the databases, the status of software 
development and technical ass istance.  The Committee also took note of the document s which 
reflected the status of submissions to the IDB (G/MA/IDB/2/Rev. 47, G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.47/Corr.1 and 
G/MA/IDB/2/Rev. 48). At its meeting of 9 October 2018, the Committee agreed to  hold informal 
consultations to  explore the possibility of revisiting the IDB Decision in WT/L/225, G/MA/IDB/1/Rev.1 
and G/MA/IDB/1/Rev.1/Add.1.  
9  OTHER ACTIVITIES  
12. At its meeting of 26 April  2018, the Committee took note of the Secretariat document entit led 
"Situation of Schedules of WTO Members" (G/MA/W/23/Rev. 14), which lists all legal instruments 
relating to each Member's schedule.  It also took note of the Secretariat document entitled "Factual 
Report o n the Status of Renegotiations u nder Article XXVI II of the GATT 1994" (G/MA/W/123/Rev.3 ), 
which was further revised by the Secretariat (G/MA/W/123/Rev.4) for the formal meeting of 
9 October .  
                                              
3 A revised report was circulated  in G/MA/QR/6 /Rev.1.  
4 For more information, s ee https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news18_e/qres_24apr18_e.htm .  G/L/1271  
 
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  13.  At its 26 April  and 9 October  meetings, t he Committee took note of the following specific trade 
concerns :   
Issue  Raised by:  
Angola – Consumption tax  European Union  
Australia – Discriminatory Market Access 
Prohibition on 5G Equipment  China  
China - Customs duties on certain integrated 
circuits  European Union, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and 
the United States  
Croatia - Regulations on import and sale of 
certain oil products  Russian Federation  
Enlargement of the European Union to include 
Croatia - Negotiations under Article XXIV:6 of the 
GATT 1994  Russian Federation  
European Union – Renegotiation of tariff rate 
quotas under Article  XXVIII of the GATT 1994  Russian Federation  
India – Customs duties on telecommunication and 
other products  Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, 
Norway, Chinese Taipei, and the United 
States  
India – Quantitative restrictions on mung beans, 
black lentils, and pigeon peas  Australia  
India – Quantitative restrictions on certain pulses  Australia, Canada, the European Union and 
the United States  
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Excise tax on energy 
drinks and carbonated soft drink produc ts European Union and Switzerland  
Kingdom of Bahrain,  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 
and the United Arab Emirates – Selective Tax on 
Certain Imported Products  European Union, the United States, and 
Switzerland  
Modification of the Republic of Haiti's Tariff 
Schedule  XXVI  Dominican Republic  
Oman – MFN customs duties on cigarettes  European Union and Switzerland  
Rectifications and modifications of Schedule XIX -
United Kingdom  Russian Federation  
Russian Federation – Quantitative Restrictions on 
Birch Logs  European  Union  
United States – Prohibitive proposal on 
communications equipment or services released 
by the FCC  China  
 
14.  At its 9 October  meeting, the Committee took note of a communication where  Belize  informed 
Members that it had reduced certain  most-favoured -nation applied tariffs (G/MA/W/139 ).  
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