G/L/1140  
 
19 November 2015  
(15-6114)  Page: 1/11  
   
 
 REPORT (2015) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS 
In accordance with the "Procedures for an Annual Overview of WTO Activities and for Reporting 
under the WTO" (WT/L/105), the Council for Trade in Goods is to report each year to the General 
Council on the activities in the Council as well as in the subsidiary bodies. The reports are to be 
"factual in nature, containing an indication of actions and decisions taken, with cross references to reports of subordinate bodies and could follow the model of the GATT 1947 Council reports to the 
CONTRACTING PARTIES". 
Since its 2014 Annual Report (G/L/1094) was issued, the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG, or the 
Council) met three times in formal session, on the following dates: 26 March 2015 (G/C/M/122); 26 June 2015 (G/C/M/123); and 10 November 2015 (G/C/M/124
1). 
The subject matters raised and/or acted upon in the Council were as follows: 
1   ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS ........................ 3  
2   APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS FOR THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES OF THE COUNCIL ........... 3  
3   MATTERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS ..................................................... 3  
3.1   Derestriction of Historical Bilateral Ne gotiating Documentation of the Tokyo Round ............. 3  
3.2   Collective waiver requests on the in troduction of the Harmonized System 2002, 
2007 and 20 12 .................................................................................................................  3 
4   WAIVERS UNDER ARTICLE IX  OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ............................................. 4  
4.1   Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions: .................................................................................................................... 4  
4.1.1   Collective request for a waiver extension (G/C/W/715) ................................................. 4  
4.2   Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions: .................................................................................................................... 4  
4.2.1   Collective request for a wa iver extension (G /C/W/716/Re v.1)........................................ 4  
4.3   Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions: .................................................................................................................... 4  
4.3.1   Collective request for a waiver (G/C/W/717) ............................................................... 4  
4.4   United States of America – Request for a waiver relating to the Caribbean Basin 
Economic Recovery Act (CBERA as amended) (G /C/W/708) .................................................... 4  
4.5   Canada – Request for an Extension of the Waiver for the Caribbean Initiative: 
CARIBCAN (G/C /W/710) .................................................................................................... 4  
4.6   Jordan – Request for a Waiver Relating to the Transitional Period for the Elimination 
of the Export Subsidy Program for Jord an (G/C/W/705, G/C/W/705/Corr.1, and 
G/C/W/705/Rev.1) ............................................................................................................ 5  
4.7   United States of America – Request for a Waiver – Africa Growth and Opportunity 
Act (AGOA as amende d) (G/C/W/713) ................................................................................. 5  
                                               
1 To be issued. G/L/1140 
 
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  5   EUROPEAN UNION EN LARGEMENT: PROCEDURES  UNDER ARTICLE XXVIII:3 
OF GATT 1994 (G/L/1051/ADD.3 AND G/L/1051/ADD.4) ............................................... 5  
5.1   Enlargement of the European Union on 1 July 2013 (G/L/1051/Add.3 and 
G/L/1051/Add.4) .............................................................................................................. 5 
5.2   Enlargement of the European Union: Procedures under Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 
– Request fr om Br azil ........................................................................................................ 6 
6   ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC 
TO THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION (EAEU): PROCEDURES UNDER 
ARTICLE XXVIII:3 OF GATT 1994 (G/L /1110 AND G/L/11 10/ADD.1, AND 
G/L/1137, RESPEC TIVELY) .............................................................................................. 6  
7   NOTIFICATION OF RE GIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS .................................................... 6  
8   NOTIFICATIONS .......................................................................................................... 7  
8.1   Status of notifications under the provis ions of the Agreements in Annex 1A of the 
WTO Agreem ent ............................................................................................................... 7  
8.2   Notifications of actions taken under  the 1999 Waiver for Preferential Tariff 
Treatment for Least Developed Countries (WT/L/304 and WT/L/759) ........................................ 7  
9   INDONESIA'S IMPORT AND EXPORT RESTRICTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES 
– REQUEST FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION, JAPAN, AND THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA .......................................................................................................................... 7  
10   RUSSIAN FEDERATION – TR ADE RESTRICTING MEASURES ....................................... 7  
11   NIGERIA – LOCAL CONTENT MEASURES IN OIL AND GAS – REQUEST FROM 
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UN ITED STATES OF AMERICA ....................................... 8  
12   NIGERIA – RESTRICTION/BAN IMPOSED BY NIGERIA TO IMPORTS OF SEA 
PRODUCTS – REQUEST FROM ICELAND AND NORWAY ..................................................... 8  
13   NIGERIA – IMPORT RESTRICTION MEASURES – REQUEST FROM CHILE, THE 
EUROPEAN UNION, ICELAND,  NORWAY, AND URUGUAY .................................................. 8  
14   ECUADOR – IMPORT RESTRICTING MEASURES – REQUEST FROM JAPAN .................. 8  
15   PAKISTAN – DISCRIMINATORY TAXES – REQUEST FROM THE EUROPEAN 
UNION AND THE UNITED ST ATES OF AMERICA ................................................................ 9  
16   CHINA – ISSUES RELATED TO TRADE IN SEAFOOD – REQUEST FROM 
NORWAY ........................................................................................................................ .. 9 
17   ILLICIT TRADE: FIGHTING MONEY LAUNDERING IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE 
– STATEMENT FROM  COLOMBIA ....................................................................................... 9  
18   UKRAINE – ISSUES RELATED TO CUSTOMS VALUATION – REQUEST FROM 
NORWAY ........................................................................................................................ .. 9 
19   INDIA – PORT CLOSURES FOR APPLE IMPORTS – REQUEST FROM CHILE, 
THE EUROPEAN UNION, NEW ZEALAND, AN D THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........... 10  
20   BRAZIL – INDUSTRIAL NITROC ELLULOSE NON-AUTOMATIC IMPORT 
LICENCES – REQUEST FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION ...................................................... 10  
21   WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC CO MMERCE ................................................... 10  
22   ISSUES CONSIDERED UNDER AG ENDA ITEM "OTHER BUSINESS" ........................... 10  
22.1   Fostering Participation of Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in 
Regional Global Trade – Stat ement by the Philippines ........................................................... 10 
22.2   Status of the Election Process of th e Permanent Group of Experts (PGE) under the 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) – Statement by Japan .................. 10 
22.3   China – Information about the expiry da te of Section 15(a)(ii) of the Protocol on 
the Accession of the People 's Republic of China .................................................................... 11 G/L/1140 
 
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  23   CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL REPO RTS OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES OF THE 
COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN GOODS .................................................................................... 11  
24   ADOPTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN 
GOODS TO THE GENE RAL COUN CIL ................................................................................ 11  
 
1  ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS 1.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Council elected Ambassador Héctor CASANUEVA (Chile) as its 
Chairperson for 2015. 
2  APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS FOR THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES  OF THE COUNCIL 
2.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Council agreed on the nominations of the following persons as 
Chairpersons of its subsidiary bodies for 2015: 
Subsidiary Body Chairperson 
Market Access Miss Krizia Denisse MATTHEWS (Panama) 
Agriculture Mr Michael WAMAI (Uganda) 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Meas ures Mr Felipe HEES (Brazil) 
Technical Barriers to Trade Miss Alana Maria LANZA SUAZO (Honduras) 
TRIMs Mr Zaher AL-QATARNEH (Jordan) 
Anti-Dumping Practices Mr Hamed Mahmoud EL ETREBY (Egypt) 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Mr Mitsuhiro FUKUYAMA (Japan) 
Safeguards Mr Víctor ECHEVARRÍA UGARTE (Spain) 
Import Licensing Miss Carrie I-Jen WU (Chinese Taipei) 
Rules of Origin Mr Christian WEGENER (Denmark) 
Customs Valuation Mr Ping LIU (China) 
State Trading Enterprises Mr Andrew JORY (Australia) 
Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade 
in Information Technology Products (ITA Committee) Mr Andrew STAINES (UK) 
 
2.2.  At the same meeting, the Council agreed to proceed on the understanding that, as concerns 
the Vice-Chairpersons, it would be for the subs idiary bodies to decide if they needed a 
Vice-Chairperson in cases where the option exis ted under the respective Agreement and/or rules 
of procedure, and for the respective Chairperson to hold the necessary consultations. 
3  MATTERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS 
3.1  Derestriction of Historic al Bilateral Negotiating Documentation of the Tokyo Round 
3.1.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council  considered and approved the draft decision on 
the "Derestriction of Historical Bilateral Negotiating Documentation of the Tokyo Round" contained 
in document G/MA/W/115/Rev.1, which was previously discussed and approved by the Committee on Market Access (CMA) on 29 September 2015. Th is Decision, once approved, was forwarded to 
the General Council for adoption. 
3.2  Collective waiver requests on the introduction of the Harmonized System 2002, 
2007 and 2012 
3.2.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council considered three collective waiver requests on 
the introduction of Harmonized System 2002, 2007 and 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of 
Concessions (see Point 4 below). G/L/1140 
 
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  4  WAIVERS UNDER ARTICLE IX OF THE WTO AGREEMENT 
4.1  Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions: 
4.1.1  Collective request for a waiver extension (G/C/W/715) 
4.1.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council considered a collective request for an extension 
of the waiver in connection with the introduction of HS2002 changes to the Schedules of 
Concessions. The Council approved the waiver request and recommended that the draft decision 
(G/C/W/715) be forwarded to the General Council for adoption. 
4.2  Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions: 
4.2.1  Collective request for a waiver extension (G/C/W/716/Rev.1) 
4.2.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council considered a collective request for an extension 
of the waiver in connection with the introduction of HS 2007 changes to the Schedules of 
Concessions. The Council approved the waiver request and recommended that the draft decision 
(G/C/W/716/Rev.1) be forwarded to the General Council for adoption. 
4.3  Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions: 
4.3.1  Collective request for a waiver (G/C/W/717) 
4.3.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council considered a collective request for a waiver in 
connection with the introduction of HS 2012 changes to the Schedules of Concessions. The Council 
approved the waiver request and recommended that  the draft decision (G/C/W/717) be forwarded 
to the General Council for adoption. 
4.4  United States of America – Request fo r a waiver relating to the Caribbean Basin 
Economic Recovery Act (CBERA as amended) (G/C/W/708) 
4.4.  At its meeting of 26 March the Council co nsidered a waiver request and a draft waiver 
decision submitted by the United States of America relating to the Caribbean Basin Economic 
Recovery Act (CBERA) contained in document G/C/W/708. The Council took note of the statement 
made by the United States of America and of the statements made by the European Union, India, 
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, and Haiti, approved the waiver request contained in document G/C/W/708, and agreed to forward the draft waiver decision contained therein to the General Council for adoption. 
4.5  Canada – Request for an Extension of the Waiver for the Caribbean Initiative: 
CARIBCAN (G/C/W/710) 
4.5.  At its meeting of 26 March the Council co nsidered a waiver request and a draft waiver 
decision relating to the extension of Canada's waiver for the Caribbean initiative: CARIBCAN 
(document G/C/W/710). The Council took note of the statement made by Canada to introduce its request and of the statements made by Jamaica,  Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, and the 
European Union. The Council agreed to revert to this issue at its next meeting. 
4.6.  At its meeting of 26 June the Council considered and approved the waiver request submitted 
by Canada in document G/C/W/710 and agreed to  forward the draft waiver decision contained 
therein to the General Council for adoption. G/L/1140 
 
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  4.6  Jordan – Request for a Waiver Relating to  the Transitional Period for the Elimination 
of the Export Subsidy Program for Jordan (G/C/W/705, G/C/W/705/Corr.1, and G/C/W/705/Rev.1) 
4.7.  At its meeting of 26 March, as agreed by  the CTG meeting of 17 November 2014, the Council 
continued considering Jordan's waiver request and draft waiver decision concerning the 
Transitional Period for the Elimination of the Ex port Subsidy Program for Jordan (G/C/W/705). The 
Chairperson informed the Council that, according to Article IX:3(b) of the Marrakesh Agreement, 
on 20 February 2015 he had made a factual report to the General Council informing it that this 
issue had been under the CTG's consideration for more than 90 days, and that this Council would continue considering this request. He also drew Members' attention to document G/C/W/705/Corr.1 submitted by Jordan clar ifying the exact date of the extension of the 
transitional period. The Council took note of the statement made by Jordan; and of the statements 
made by Australia; Kingdom of Bahrain; Canada; China; El Salvador; the European Union; Guatemala; India; Japan; the Republic of Korea; the State of Kuwait; Nepal; New Zealand; Oman; 
Pakistan; Qatar; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on be half of the Arab Group; Sri Lanka; Switzerland; 
Chinese Taipei; Turkey; Uganda; and the United States of America. The Council agreed to revert to this issue at its meeting in June 2015. 
4.8.  At its meeting of 26 June Jordan informed the Council of the further consultations it had had 
with interested delegations and the national stakeholders. Jordan also introduced 
document G/C/W/705/Rev.1 according to which the number of years indicated in its initial waiver request had been reduced to only four years af ter 2015, and specifying that in the meanwhile 
Jordan would design and implement an entirely new WTO-consistent subsidy programme to benefit 
SMEs. The Council took note of Jordan's statem ent and of the statements made by Australia; 
Kingdom of Bahrain; Canada; China; Egypt; the European Union; Guatemala; Japan; Republic of 
Korea; New Zealand; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Qatar; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on behalf of the 
Arab Group; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; Turkey ; and the United States of America. The Council 
also agreed to revert to this issue at its next meeting in November 2015. 
4.9.  At its meeting of 10 November Jordan informed the Council of the further consultations it had 
had with interested delegations and the Secretariat,  and of the technical assistance activity that 
had taken place in Amman. Jordan also introd uced document G/C/W/705/Rev.2, that further 
reduced, to only three years, or up to 2018, the extension period initially requested for the 
purpose of phasing out Jordan's subsidy programme and replacing it with a new and 
WTO-consistent programme, the details of which ha d been indicated in the programme attached to 
the document. In his closing remarks the Chair indicated that Jordan's request continued to have 
wide support among the WTO membership. Some Members still held systemic concerns, even 
though they recognized Jordan's unprecedented situation, and nevertheless welcomed Jordan's 
efforts, openness, and transparency to address their concerns, and particularly welcomed the 
"detailed action plan" attached to the revised request. The Council agreed to revert to this issue at 
its next meeting. 
4.7  United States of America – Request fo r a Waiver – Africa Growth and Opportunity 
Act (AGOA as amended) (G/C/W/713) 
4.10.  At its meeting of 10 November the Council considered a waiver request and a draft waiver 
decision relating to the extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA as amended), 
submitted by the United States of America and contained in document G/C/W/713. The Council 
took note of the statement made by the United St ates of America, approved the waiver request, 
and agreed to forward the draft waiver decision contained in document G/C/W/713 to the General Council for adoption. 
5  EUROPEAN UNION ENLARGEMENT: PR OCEDURES UNDER ARTICLE XXVIII:3 OF 
GATT 1994 (G/L/1051/ADD.3 AND G/L/1051/ADD.4) 
5.1  Enlargement of the European Union on 1 July 2013 (G/L/1051/Add.3 and 
G/L/1051/Add.4) 
5.1.  At the meeting of 26 March the Council agreed  to the extension of the deadline set out in the 
communication G/L/1051/Add.3 from the European Union, or until 1 January 2016. The Council G/L/1140 
 
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  also took note of the statements made by Argentina; Australia; Brazil; New Zealand; and Uruguay 
about the pace of the negotiations under Article XX VIII (Croatia's accession to the EU), and of the 
responses from the European Union. 
5.2.  At the meeting of 10 November the Council ag reed to the extension of the deadline set out in 
the communication G/L/1051/Add.4 from the European Union, or until 1 July 2016. The Council 
also took note of the information provided by the European Union on the compensatory offers it had submitted in 2014. 
5.2  Enlargement of the European Union: Pr ocedures under Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 
– Request from Brazil 
5.3.  At the meeting of 26 March the Council took note of the statement made by Brazil concerning 
the pace and content of the bilateral negotiations towards a mutually satisfactory agreement under 
GATT Article XXVIII. The Council also took note of the statements made by Argentina, Australia, 
New Zealand, and Uruguay, and of the responses from the European Union. 
5.4.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council  took note of the statement made by Brazil, 
echoed by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Uruguay, and of the responses from the 
European Union. 
6  ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC TO THE 
EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION (EAEU): PR OCEDURES UNDER ARTICLE XXVIII:3 OF 
GATT 1994 (G/L/1110 AND G/L/1110/ADD.1, AND G/L/1137, RESPECTIVELY) 
6.1.  At the meeting of 26 March the Council agreed  to the extension of the deadline set out in the 
communication G/L/1110 from the Republic of Armenia (until 2 January 2016). The Council also 
took note of the statements made by Canada; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Switzerland; Chinese 
Taipei; and Ukraine; and of the responses from Armenia. 
6.2.  At its meeting of 10 November the Council agreed to the extension of the deadline set out in 
the communication G/L/1110/Add.1 from the Republic of Armenia (until 2 January 2017). The 
Council also took note of the statements made by  Chinese Taipei, the European Union, Japan, and 
Ukraine. 
6.3.  At that meeting the Council also agreed to the extension of the deadline set out in the 
communication G/L/1137 from the Kyrgyz Republic  (until 9 November 2016). The Council also 
took note of the statement made by the European Union. 
7  NOTIFICATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS 
7.1.  At its meetings on 26 March, 26 June, and 10 November, the Council was informed of the 
following notifications on regional trade agreements: 
- Free Trade Agreement between the EFTA St ates and the Central American States – 
Costa Rica and Panama (WT/REG357/N/1); 
 
- Eurasian Economic Union (the EAEU) be tween the Russian Federation, Belarus and 
Kazakhstan (WT/REG358/N/1); 
 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Australia 
(WT/REG359/N/1); 
 
- Free Trade Agreement between the EFTA  States and Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(WT/REG360/N/1); 
 
- Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and Australia (WT/REG361/N/1); 
 
- Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Korea (WT/REG362/N/1); 
 
- Accession of Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union (WT/REG363/N/1); G/L/1140 
 
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- Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Honduras (WT/REG364/N/1); 
 
- Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Ch ile and Viet Nam (WT/REG365/N/1); and 
 
- Accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic 
Union (EAEU) (WT/REG366/N/1). 
 
8  NOTIFICATIONS 
8.1  Status of notifications under the provis ions of the Agreements in Annex 1A of the 
WTO Agreement 
8.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Council took  note of the latest revision of the status of 
notifications contained in document G/L/223/Rev.22. 
8.2  Notifications of actions taken under  the 1999 Waiver for Preferential Tariff 
Treatment for Least Developed Countries (WT/L/304 and WT/L/759) 
8.2.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council took note of the notification submitted by 
Thailand in document G/C/W/714 – WT/COMTD/N/46 on the preferential tariff treatment for Least 
Developed Countries (LDCs). 
9  INDONESIA'S IMPORT AND EXPORT RE STRICTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES – 
REQUEST FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION, JAPAN, AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
9.1.  At its meeting of 26 March the Council took no te of the statements made by Australia; Brazil; 
Canada; Chile; the European Union; Japan; New Zealand; Chinese Taipei; and the United States of 
America reiterating their continued concerns abou t Indonesia's lack of transparency and use of 
protectionist measures, including import entry restrictions, non-automatic licensing requirements, 
export restrictions, discriminatory taxation, local content requirements, and of the law on 
distribution and the Industry and Trade Laws. Conc erns also referred to the statements made by 
members of the new government about the reduction of imports, and the increase of exports to 
balance both the trade and current accounts. The Council also took note of the responses from 
Indonesia. 
9.2.  At its meeting of 26 June the Council took note of the statements made by Australia; Brazil; 
Canada; the European Union; Japan; New Zealand; Chinese Taipei; and the United States of 
America reiterating the concerns already raised in the CTG and at the Committees on Import 
Licensing, TBT, TRIMs, and SPS, about Indonesia' s lack of transparency and use of protectionist 
measures, which included import entry restrictions, non-automatic licensing requirements, export 
restrictions, discriminatory taxation, local content requirements, and of the law on distribution and 
the Industry and Trade Laws. The Council also took note of the responses from Indonesia. 
9.3.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council took note of the statements made by the 
European Union, Japan, and the United States of  America, supported by Australia, Brazil, Canada, 
Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Norway, and Swit zerland, on their continued concerns about 
Indonesia's increased trade and investment restrictions affecting a broad range of products. The Council also took note of the responses from Indonesia. 
10  RUSSIAN FEDERATION – TRADE RESTRICTING MEASURES 
10.1.  At its meeting of 26 March the Council considered this issue at the request of the 
delegations of the European Union and Japan. The Council took note of the statements made by 
Australia; Canada; the European Union; Japan; Republic of Korea; New Zealand; Chinese Taipei; 
Ukraine; and the United States of America rega rding their continued concerns over the trade 
restricting measures applied by the Russian Federati on, such as the control of freight and lorries at 
the Russian border; transit restriction measures affecting agricultural goods; local content 
requirements in the industrial assembly programme to obtain preferential treatment; import tariffs on refrigerators; lack of transparency regarding border measures; lack of adherence to accession 
commitments; tariff treatment applied to certain agricultural and manufactured goods; and local G/L/1140 
 
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  content requirements applied to automobiles and telecommunication equipment. The Council also 
took note of the responses from the Russian Federation. 
10.2.  At its meeting of 26 June the Council considered this issue at the request of the delegation 
of Japan. The Council took note of the statements made by Australia; Canada; the European 
Union; Japan; New Zealand; and the United States of America on their continued systemic and 
commercial concerns about the resolutions adopted by the Russian Federation providing subsidies to the automobile producers in four specific areas; the lack of transparency and responses 
concerning the bans and controls imposed at the Ru ssian border; the lack of implementation of the 
Russian Federation's accession commitments; and the industrial policies which favoured Russian products at the expense of competition. The Council also took note of the responses from the Russian Federation. 
11  NIGERIA – LOCAL CONTENT MEASURES IN OIL AND GAS – REQUEST FROM THE 
EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
11.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Council took  note of the statements made by Australia; the 
European Union; Japan; and the United States of America reiterating their concerns about the 
Local Content Act of 2010, the review of Schedule  A of such Law and the lack of responses from 
Nigeria to the written questions posed to it at the TRIMs Committee. The Council also took note of 
the responses from Nigeria. 
11.2.  At its meeting of 26 June, the Council took note of the statements made by Australia; the 
European Union; Norway; and the United States of America, and reiterated their longstanding 
concerns about the Local Content Act of 2010 and its revised Bill which required mandatory use of 
locally manufactured products in the oil and gas industry, and about how Nigeria intended to 
achieve the goal of enhancing domestic capacity in  its oil and gas industry through this Law. The 
Council also took note of the responses from Nigeria. 
12  NIGERIA – RESTRICTION/BAN IMPOSED BY NIGERIA TO IMPORTS OF SEA 
PRODUCTS – REQUEST FROM ICELAND AND NORWAY 
12.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Council took  note of the statements made by the European 
Union; Iceland; Norway; the United States of America; and Uruguay, reiterating once again their 
concerns about the lack of transparency and predicta bility of Nigeria's regime applied to imports of 
fish and fish products and the possible new fish import policy that Nigeria was preparing. The Council also took note of th e statement made by Nigeria. 
13  NIGERIA – IMPORT RESTRICTION MEASURES – REQUEST FROM CHILE, THE 
EUROPEAN UNION, ICELAND, NORWAY, AND URUGUAY 
13.1.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council t ook note of the statements made by Chile, the 
European Union, Iceland, Norway, and Uruguay, su pported by Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, and 
the United States of America about a recent restriction applied to a group of 41 products for which foreign exchange transactions were prohibited. This affected imports of fish as well as agricultural 
products, plastics, aircraft and aircraft parts, and metal and metal products. Under this new 
agenda item, concerns were also expressed with regard to the local content requirements in Nigeria's oil and gas industry, an issue already raised at the CTG and at the TRIMs Committee. The Council also took note of th e statement made by Nigeria. 
14  ECUADOR – IMPORT RESTRICTING MEASURES – REQUEST FROM JAPAN 
14.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Council took note of the statements made by Canada; the 
European Union; Japan; and the United States  of America, expressing concerns about the 
restricting measures on automobiles adopted by Ecuador since 2012, which had been extended to 
end–December 2015 and justified by Ecuador under GATT Article XX(b); however, a different treatment was applied to imported assembled cars and to CKD assembled cars circulating in 
Ecuador. The Council also took note of the systemic concerns raised by Colombia; Guatemala; 
Japan; Mexico; Panama; Peru; and the United States of America about Ecuador's Resolution 11-2015 establishing a surcharge in the form of temporary taxes for balance of payment reasons on a wide range of goods; Ecuador had justified such measures under G/L/1140 
 
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  GATT Article XVIII:B but it had already applied simi lar measures in 2009. The Council took note of 
the statement made by Ecuador on these issues. 
14.2.  At its meeting of 26 June the Council took note of the statements made by Canada; Chile; 
Colombia; Costa Rica; the European Union; Israel; Japan; Republic of Korea; Mexico; Panama; 
Chinese Taipei; the United States of America; and Uruguay, reiterating their concerns expressed at 
the previous meeting about the measures applied by Ecuador to the automobile sector and about 
the tariff surcharge imposed by Ecuador as from 11 March 2015 for balance of payment purposes. 
The Council also took note of the statement ma de by the Dominican Republic explaining the 
situation faced by Ecuador as it did not have a Central Bank; and of the statement made by Ecuador. 
14.3.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council took note of the statement made by Japan, 
echoed by Canada, Korea, Mexico, and the United States of America, over the restricting measures 
on automobiles adopted by Ecuador since 2012, which had been extended to end-December 2015. Chile, Colombia, the European Union, Japan, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, and the United States of 
America also reiterated their systemic concer ns about Resolution 11-2015 that established a 
surcharge in the form of temporary taxes on a wide  range of products. The Council also took note 
of Ecuador's answers. 
15  PAKISTAN – DISCRIMINATORY TAXES – REQUEST FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION AND 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
15.1.  At its meeting of 26 June, the Council took  note of the statements made by Canada; the 
European Union; Norway; Switzerland; and the Unit ed States of America expressing concerns over 
Pakistan's Regulatory Order No. 1125 on domestic sales taxes, which covered a large number of 
products destined for industrial use and retail sale such as apparel, footwear, leather, and sporting goods. The Regulatory Order imposed a sales tax of 17% upon imported goods, while similar 
domestically produced goods were taxed only at 5%; these ran counter to GATT Article III. The 
Council also took note of th e statement made by Pakistan. 
15.2.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council  took note of the statements made by the 
European Union and the United States of Americ a, echoed by Canada, Japan, and Switzerland, 
reiterating their concerns over Pakistan's Regulatory Order No. 1125 on domestic sales taxes. Delegations indicated that this issue had also b een raised at the Committee on Market Access and 
during Pakistan's Trade Policy Review (TPR). The Council also took note of Pakistan's responses. 
16  CHINA – ISSUES RELATED TO TRADE IN SEAFOOD – REQUEST FROM NORWAY 
16.1.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council  took note of the statement made by Norway, 
echoed by the European Union, expressing concerns over China's measures established since 2010 
that included quarantine and testing procedures, import licences for salmon, and lack of indication 
about the list of companies authorized to export se afood to China. The Council also took note of 
the responses from China. 
17  ILLICIT TRADE: FIGHTING MONEY LA UNDERING IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE – 
STATEMENT FROM COLOMBIA 
17.1.  At its meeting on 10 November, the Council took note of the statement made by Colombia 
presenting the conclusions of the Panel on Illicit Trade and Money Laundering in International 
Trade that took place at the 2015 WTO Public Forum, and to include this issue on the 
WTO agenda. The Council also took note of th e statements made by Chile, Costa Rica, the 
European Union, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. 
18  UKRAINE – ISSUES RELATED TO CUSTOMS VALUATION – REQUEST FROM NORWAY 
18.1.  At its meeting of 10 November the Council took note of the statements made by Norway, 
Iceland, and Switzerland on Resolution 724, which permitted the use of indicative prices for 
customs valuation purposes. The Council also took note of the statement made by Ukraine. G/L/1140 
 
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  19  INDIA – PORT CLOSURES FOR APPLE IMPORTS – REQUEST FROM CHILE, THE 
EUROPEAN UNION, NEW ZEALAND, AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
19.1.  At its meeting of 10 November the Council took note of the statements made by Chile, the 
European Union, New Zealand, and the United Stat es of America, supported by China, concerning 
India's decision, adopted in September 2015, to limit imports of apples to only one port (Nhava 
Sheba), an issue that had also been raised at th e Committees on Agriculture, Import Licensing, 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and TBT. The Council also took note of the statement made 
by India. 
20  BRAZIL – INDUSTRIAL NITROCELLULO SE NON-AUTOMATIC IM PORT LICENCES – 
REQUEST FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION 
20.1.  At its meeting of 10 November the Counc il took note of the statement made by the 
European Union over Brazil's import licensing requir ements to import industrial nitrocellulose (NC), 
an issue in which the Ministry of Defence of Brazil had also been involved. It also took note of the 
statement made by Brazil. When adopting this An nual Report, Brazil requested, and the European 
Union accepted, that the title of this item be changed to "Industrial Nitrocellulose Non-Automatic 
Import Licences", instead of "Industrial Nitrocellulose Import Ban" as indicated in the meeting's agenda. 
21  WORK PROGRAMME ON  ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
21.1.  At its meeting of 26 March, the Chairperson reminded delegations that Ministers in Bali 
agreed, first, to continue with the positive wo rk under the Work Programme on E-Commerce based 
on its existing mandate and guidelines and on th e basis of proposals submitted by Members in the 
respective WTO bodies; second, to instruct the General Council and its relevant bodies, including 
this Council, to continue to reinvigorate this work, especially under the initiatives taken in relation to commercial issues, development, and evolving te chnologies; and third, that any relevant body 
of the Work Programme might explore appropriate mechanisms to address the relationship 
between electronic commerce and development in a focused and comprehensive manner. He 
invited delegations to express their opinions and to make suggestions as to how to work on the 
preparations of the periodic reviews to be held in the General Council at its session of July 2015. 
The Chairperson also informed the Council that, on 16 February 2015, the 10
th Dedicated Session 
on E-commerce had taken place, where Members had expressed varied views on the way forward on possible outcomes for MC10, and where dele gations had emphasized the importance of a 
bottom-up approach; he also indicated that a background information note had been prepared by 
the Secretariat. The Council also took note of the statement made by Canada. 
21.2.  At its meeting on 26 June, the Chairperson recalled the Bali mandate on the Work 
Programme on E-commerce and invited delegations to make further comments on this issue. In 
the absence of any comments he informed the Council that he, on his own responsibility, would make a factual report to the General Council on the discussions held in the Goods Council.
2 
22  ISSUES CONSIDERED UNDER AGENDA ITEM "OTHER BUSINESS" 
22.1  Fostering Participation of Micro-, Sma ll-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in 
Regional Global Trade – Statement by the Philippines 
22.1.  At its meeting of 26 June, the Council took note of the statement made by the Philippines to 
introduce this issue at the WTO, and of the statement made by Malaysia on behalf of ASEAN. 
22.2  Status of the Election Process of th e Permanent Group of Experts (PGE) under the 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) – Statement by Japan 
22.2.  At its meeting of 26 June, the Council took note of the statement made by Japan about the 
status of the election process of a member of th e PGE of the SCM Committee. It also took note of 
the statements made by Thailand and Turkey. 
                                               
2 Document G/C/56. G/L/1140 
 
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  22.3  China – Information about the expiry date  of Section 15(a)(ii) of the Protocol on 
the Accession of the People's Republic of China 
22.3.  At its meeting of 10 November China informed the Council that Section 15(a)(ii) of its 
Protocol of Accession would expire on 11 De cember 2016 and indicated that, consequently, 
Members using the surrogate or analogue country methodology in their anti-dumping 
investigations against China should take the necessary steps to bring their legislation into line with the new conditions after the expiry date of Section 15. 
23  CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL REPORTS OF  SUBSIDIARY BODIES  OF THE COUNCIL 
FOR TRADE IN GOODS 
23.1.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Council t ook note of the annual reports of its subsidiary 
bodies.3 
24  ADOPTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS TO THE 
GENERAL COUNCIL 
24.1.  At its meeting of 10 November, the Counc il adopted its Annual Report (2015) to the 
General Council. 
__________  
 
 
                                               
3 Agriculture (G/L/1126); TRIMs (G/L/1123); Subsid ies and Countervailing Measures (G/L/1133); 
Anti-dumping (G/L/1134); Safeguards (G/L/1130 and G/L/1130/Corr.1); Market Access (G/L/1131/Rev.1); Import Licensing (G/L/1132); Customs Valuation (G/L/1135); Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(G/L/1129); ITA (G/L/1125); Preshipment Inspection an d Independent Entity (G/L/1136); Rules of Origin 
(G/L/1127 and G/RO/77); Technical Barriers to Trade (G/L/1138); and Working Party on State Trading Enterprises (G/L/1124).