RESTRICTED  
  
G/MA/SPEC/56  
 
6 October  2016 
(16-5336) Page: 1/3 
Committee  on Market Access    
 
DRAFT  
REPORT (201 6) OF THE COMMITTEE O N MARKET ACCESS  
1.  Since the last review1, the Committee on Market Access has held two formal meetings ( 19 April  
and 11 October 2016 ) and three  informal meetings ( 17 March, 16 June, and 28 September  2016). 
The minutes  of the formal meeting are contained in documents G/MA/M/ 63 and [G/MA/M/ 64].   
2.  At its meeting of 19 April 2016 , the Committee took note that the consultations in the Council 
for Trade in Goods concerning  the Chairpersons of the subsidiary bodies remain ed ongoing, and 
agreed that, once the issue had been resolved, the Secretariat would send a fax with the proposed 
candidate and give a one week period for objections .  On 12  May 2016 , the Secretariat circulated a 
fax informing Members that Ms Hanna Olsen B ODSBERG (Norway) had been nominated,  and she 
was elected with no objections on 19 May 2016.  At its meeting of 11 October  2016, the 
Committee elected [ Dr. Abid Mostafa Khan (Bangladesh) ] as Vice Chairperson.  
1  WAIVERS  
3.  [At its meeting of 11 October 2016 , the Committee approved the extension of the HS2002 
"collective" waiver (G/C/W/ 728), the HS2007 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/ 729) and the HS2012 
"collective " waiver ( G/C/W/730).  In addition, it approved a draft HS2017 waiver (G/MA/W/125) 
and invited Members  wishing to be included in the Annex to contact the Secretariat  and to provide 
the dates on which the amendments would be implemented. The Committee agreed to forward the 
draft waiver decisions to the Council for Trade in Goods for appropriate action.]  
2  INTRODUCTION OF HARMONI ZED SYSTEM 1996 (HS1 996) CHANGES TO SCHE DULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
4.  At its meetings in 2016, 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.   
3  INTRODUCTION OF HARMO NIZED SYSTEM 2002 (H S2002) CHANGES TO SC HEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
5.  At its meetings in 201 6, 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 the files containing the HS2002 changes of Members were examined.   
4  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2007 ( HS2007) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CON CESSIONS  
6.  At its meetings in 2016, 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.   
                                                
1 G/L/1131/Rev.1 , date d 30 October 2015 . G/MA/SPEC/56  
 
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  5  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2012 ( HS2012) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
7.  At its meeting of 19 April , the Committee took note that the Secretariat had commenced the  
technical work for this transposition  of schedules .  [At its meeting of 11 October , the Committee 
considered and [approved] a Note on Methodology prepared by the WTO Secretariat (JOB/MA/126). ]  
6  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTE M 2017 (HS2017) CHAN GES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
8.  At its meeting of 19 April, the Committee took note of two documents with information from the 
World Customs Organization (WCO) concerning the amendments that will result from the 
introduction of HS20 17 (G/MA/W/121, G/MA/W/122 , and G/MA/W/122 /Corr.1 ).  In addition, the 
Chairperson instructed the Secretariat to prepare draft HS2017 transposition procedures for the 
Committee's consideration.  
 [9. At is meeting of 11 October, the Committee discussed and [ approved] a draft entitled 
"Procedure for the Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 changes to Schedules of Concessions 
using the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database " (G/MA/W/124 and G/MA/W/124/Corr.1). 
The Committee agreed to forward the draft d ecision containing the draft procedures to the Council 
for Trade in Goods for appropriate action. ] 
7  DECISION ON NOTIFICA TION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRIC TIONS  ("QR 
DECISION")  
10.  During its meetings in 201 6, the Committee examined the quantitative r estriction notifications 
submitted by several Members  and took note of a report by the  Secretariat (G/MA/QR/ 4), which 
reflected the status of such notifications .   
8  DATABASES  
11.  At its formal meetings in 201 6, the Secretariat reported on the status of wor k 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 assistance.  The Comm ittee also took note of the document s which 
reflected the status of submissions to the IDB (G/MA/IDB/2/Rev. 43, G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.43/Corr.1,  
and G/MA/IDB/2/Rev. 44).  
9  OTHER ACTIVITIES  
12.  At its meeting of 19 April , the Committee took note of the Secretariat d ocument entitled 
"Situation of Schedules of WTO Members" (G/MA/W/23/Rev. 12), which listed all  legal instruments 
relating to each Member's schedule.  It also took note  that the Secretariat's was exploring the 
possibility of changing the format of the docume nt and invited Members to indicate if they had a 
preference or idea on how best to organize it.  
13. The Committee took note of a notification by the Kyrgyz Republic concerning Article X:1 of the 
GATT 1994 (G/MA/W/118).  
14. At its meeting of 19 April, the Committee took note of a draft report by the Secretariat on the 
status of renegotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 (JOB/MA/122).  The draft was 
adjusted to take account of comments received and  a revised report  circulated (G/MA/W/123)  
15.  At i ts 19 April and 11 October  meetings, t he Committee took note of the following specific 
concerns  raised by Members :   
 European Union (Argentina – newly adopted law in the auto -part sector)  
 European Union ( Russian Federation – export ban on raw hides and ski ns) 
 European Union, Japan, Korea, and the United States (India – customs duties on 
telecommunication and other products – statements; GMA/W/120)  
 Switzerland (Kingdom of Bahrain – customs duties on cigarettes);  G/MA/SPEC/56  
 
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   Switzerland ( Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – custom s duty increase on cigarettes ); and 
 United States ( Oman– customs duties on tobacco) . 
Note:  The draft report will be completed in light of the discussions that will take p lace at 
the Committee meeting of  11 October 2016 . 
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