RESTRICTED
G/MA/M/58
11 November 2013
(13-6256)  Page: 1/8
Committee on Market Access   
 
MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS  
7 OCTOBER 2013 
CHAIRMAN: MR KRZYSZTOF TREPCZYNSKI (POLAND) 
Subjects discussed                   Pages 
 
A. PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITT EE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN 
GOODS - UPDATE ON CONSULTATIONS ............................................................................ 2  
B. EXTENSION OF THE HS2002 WAIV ER ...................................................................... 2  
C. EXTENSION OF THE HS2007 WAIV ER ...................................................................... 2  
D. EXTENSION OF THE HS2012 WAIV ER ...................................................................... 2  
E. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 1996 (HS96) CHANGES TO 
SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS (L/6905 AND WT /L/756) ................................................ 2  
F. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2002 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/605 AND WT/L/807) - 
STATUS REPORT ............................................................................................................... 3  
G. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/673 AND WT/L/830) - 
STATUS REPORT ............................................................................................................... 3  
H. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2012 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABA SE (WT/L/831) - STATUS REPORT ................ 3  
I. OPERATION OF THE INTEGRATED DATA  BASE (IDB), INCLUDING STATUS 
OF SUBMISSIONS (G/MA/IDB/2/REV.38), AND THE CTS DATABASE - STATUS REPORT ............................................................................................................................ 4
 
J. DOCUMENT CONSOLIDATING THE NOTI FICATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE 
IDB (JOB/MA/106 AND JO B/MA/106/REV.1) ................................................................. 4  
K. DECISION ON NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE 
RESTRICTIONS ................................................................................................................. 4  
(1) NOTIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................... 4  
(2) SUMMARY OF THE STATUS OF NOTIFICA TIONS ............................................................ 6  
L. PROPOSED PROCEDURES FOR THE DERESTRICTION OF THE NEGOTIATING 
MATERIAL OF THE KENNEDY  ROUND (JOB /MA/109) ....................................................... 7  
M. DRAFT REPORT (2013) OF THE CO MMITTEE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE 
IN GOODS (G/MA/SPEC/53) ............................................................................................ 7  
N. OTHER BUSINESS .................................................................................................... 8  
 
The Committee adopted the agenda as reproduced in WTO/AIR/4119 with the inclusion of the 
following item under Other Business:  "Date of the next meeting."  An annotated agenda was 
circulated in JOB/MA/107.  G/MA/M/58 
 
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  A. PERIODIC REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS - 
UPDATE ON CONSULTATIONS 
1.  The Chairman recalled that at the last form al meeting of the Committee, his predecessor had 
asked the Committee whether it could agree to dispense with the practice of sending two periodic 
reports to the Council for Trade in Goods. This practice of periodic reports had its origin in the 
almost automatic renewal of a large number of waivers in the early 1990s; a situation which did 
not exist currently.  The Secretariat had prepared a background note on this subject which was 
circulated in JOB/MA/105. The subject was discusse d at an informal meeting of the Committee in 
December 2012 where support was expressed for not continuing with this practice.  However, at the last formal meeting on 7 May 2013, interest was expressed by a delegation to continue with this practice. Subsequently, the delegation indicated that it could go along with the consensus. He 
proposed that the Committee agree to discontinue with the practice of periodic reports.   
 2.  The Committee so agreed. 
 3.  The Chairman further noted that the Council for Trade in Goods would be informed of the 
Committee's decision at its next meeting.  
 
B. EXTENSION OF THE HS2002 WAIVER  
4.  The Chairman recalled that a number of Memb ers were given an extension,  through the form 
of a "collective decision", in order to introduce HS2002 changes domestically and to subsequently 
introduce these changes to their respective schedul e of concessions and to undertake negotiations 
if required. This waiver decision was contai ned in document WT/L/873 and would expire on 
31 December 2013.  He proposed that the Committee agree to extend the waiver for another year. 
 
5.  The Committee agreed to forward the draft waiver decision granting such an extension 
(G/C/W/682) to the Council for Trade in  Goods for appropriate action.     
 
C. EXTENSION OF THE HS2007 WAIVER  
6.   The Chairman recalled that a number of Memb ers were given an extension  - through the form 
of a "collective" decision -  in order to introd uce HS2007 changes domestically and to subsequently 
introduce these changes to their respective schedul e of concessions and to undertake negotiations 
if required. This waiver decision was contai ned in document WT/L/874 and would expire on 
31 December 2013.  He proposed that the Committee agree to extend the waiver for another year. 
 
7.  The Committee agreed to forward the draft waiver decision granting such an extension 
(G/C/W/683) to the Council for Trade in  Goods for appropriate action.     
 
D. EXTENSION OF THE HS2012 WAIVER  
8.  The Chairman recalled that a number of Member s were granted a waiver  - through the form of 
a "collective" decision - in order to introduce HS2012 changes domestically and to subsequently 
introduce these changes to their respective schedul e of concessions and to undertake negotiations 
if required. This decision was contained in document WT/L/875 and would expire on 31 December 2013.   Argentina had also requested to be covered by the waiver. He proposed that 
the Committee extend the waiver for a year.   
 9.  The Committee agreed to forward a revised version of G/C/W/684 which included Argentina 
and which granted such an extension to the Council for Trade in Goods for appropriate action.    E. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 1996 (HS96) CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS (L/6905 AND WT/L/756)  
10.  The Chairman noted that there were two pr ocedures which had been used by Members to 
introduce HS96 changes to schedules of concessions. The general procedure contained in GATT 
document L/6905 dated October 1991 and the specific one contained in WTO document WT/L/756 
dated 29 May 2009.  He recalled that under the first one, Members had to transpose their own 
schedules, whereas under the second one the Secretariat had transposed the schedules of 64 developing countries and LDCs. G/MA/M/58 
 
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  11.  There were four Members whose schedules were pending under either one or the other of 
these procedures, now there are three.  He was pleased to inform the Committee that Ecuador's 
HS96 file had been approved during the multilater al review of 12 July 2013 which now left the files 
of only Bangladesh, South Africa and Venezuela open.  The Secretariat and Bangladesh were in 
contact and he believed that things were moving in the right direction.  In the case of South Africa, 
questions had been raised by a delegation concer ning the changes in the binding status of some 
tariff lines in HS chapters 4, 33 and 35.   He believed that South Africa was still looking into these 
questions.   In the case of Venezuela, the next step continued to be the organization of a meeting 
or a video conference between the Secretariat an d relevant Venezuelan authorities so that the 
revised documentation which had been sent to Venezuela in 2012 could be reviewed together.     
12.  The Committee took note of the report.   
 
F. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2002 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/605 AND WT/L/807) - STATUS 
REPORT 
13.  A member of the Secretariat (Ms. Alya Belk hodja) stated that a revised full report which 
reflected the state-of-play of the HS02 transposition work was issued as JOB/MA/42/Rev.9 on 
2 July 2013.  The status of the HS02 transposition after the multilateral review held on 12 July 2013 was the following:  109 HS02 files were certified; one HS02 file was approved on an ad referendum  basis; five HS02 files were released for multilateral review and had received 
comments from other Members; one draft HS02 file had been completed and sent to the Member 
for its first review; two draft HS02 files remained to be prepared.  
14.  The Committee took note of the Secretariat report. 
 
G. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/673 AND WT/L/830) - STATUS 
REPORT 
15.  A member of the Secretariat (Ms. Alya Belkhodja) noted that a revised full report which 
reflected the state-of-play of the HS07 transpos ition work was issued as JOB/MA/104/Rev.3 on 
2 July 2013.  The status of the HS07 transposition after the multilateral review held on 
12 July 2013 was the following:  fourteen HS07 files were certified and thirteen HS07 files were in the certification process; 48 HS07 files were released for multilateral review; six HS07 files were 
released for multilateral review and Members had submitted comments on them; nine draft HS07 
file had been completed and sent to Members for their first review; three Members' submissions remained to be verified by the Secretariat;  31 draft HS07 files remained to be prepared.    
 
16.  At the informal meeting of 3 May 2013 the Secretariat had presented a revision of its implementation of the HS07 transposition methodology concerning HS tariff lines 8486, 3006.92 and HS 4823.90.  A Job document JOB/MA/108 was issued on 9 July 2013 updating the original 
room document of 2 July 2012 in order to reflect the new methodology of transposition which 
would be used by the Secretariat on these lines.     
17.  As a result of this new methodology, Me mbers' schedules which were affected by these 
changes were revised and sent to the Members concerned for their review and approval/comments.  The files had been posted again for multilateral review.  From now on, all 
files which were posted for multilateral review would take into account the new methodology.  
Finally, it was to be recalled that Members always  had the possibility to submit their own HS07 
breakouts and duty levels.   
18.  The Committee took note of the Secretariat report. 
 
H. INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2012 CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF 
CONCESSIONS USING THE CTS DATABASE (WT/L/831) - STATUS REPORT 
19.  A member of the Secretariat (Ms. Alya Belkhodja) noted that as work was on-going on the 
HS2007 transposition the only information to report under this item was that the Secretariat had 
received one Member's HS2012 submission which was from the United States on 3 October 2012.  
 G/MA/M/58 
 
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  20.  The Committee took note of the Secretariat report. 
 
I. OPERATION OF THE INTEGRATED DATA BASE (IDB), INCLUDING STATUS OF SUBMISSIONS (G/MA/IDB/2/REV.38), AND THE CTS DATABASE - STATUS REPORT 
21.  The Chairman drew attention to document  G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.38 which contained information 
on the status of submissions to the IDB. 
 
22. The representative of the United States noted that some large countries were several years 
behind in their tariff data and import data submissions to the IDB.  His delegation requested all 
Members to devote the necessary resources in order to submit data to the IDB in a timely manner.  
23.  A member of the Secretariat (Ms. Antonia Diakantoni) stated that since the circulation of the 
Status of Submissions document, G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.38, the Secretariat had received the following 
submissions:  El Salvador's imports for 2012; Republic of Korea's imports for 2012; Nepal's tariffs 
for 2013 and imports for 2011 and 2012. 
 24.  On IDB dissemination, 1664 country-periods  covering 129 out of 130 WTO Members and six 
acceding countries (Algeria, Bahamas, Belarus, Iran, Liberia and Serbia), were now available on 
the IDB websites. No data submission had been received so far from Tajikistan.  The Secretariat wished to remind recently acceded Members to su bmit recent years' tariff and import information 
to the IDB.  
 
25.  A member of the Secretariat (Ms. Alya Belkhodja) noted that the Secretariat currently had 
files for 121 Members in the new CTS formats (described in G/MA/244) available on the FTF site.  
Out of these 121 Members:  109 Members had certified HS02 schedules; six Members had acceded 
in the HS02 nomenclature;  six Members had acceded in the HS07 nomenclature.   The remaining nine Members were still in the HS96 nomenclature  using the previous CTS format.  They would be 
updated to the new format once their HS02 changes were certified.   
 26.  The Committee took note of document G/MA/IDB/2/Rev.38,  the Secretariat reports and the 
statement.  
 
J. DOCUMENT CONSOLIDATING THE NOTI FICATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE IDB 
(JOB/MA/106 AND JOB/MA/106/REV.1) 
27.  The Chairman noted that this document was first discussed at an informal meeting of the 
Committee on 3 May 2013 and then at its 7 May 2013 formal meeting on the basis of a slightly 
revised note. The purpose of this document was to compile in one place the numerous documents 
that had been issued, including revisions and corrigenda which specified in detail the data 
coverage, data formats and deadlines in relation to the General Council decision in July 1997 on the supply of information to the IDB.  It appeared that a consolidation of these various documents in one comprehensive text, taking into account also the experience gained in data collection would 
be useful for delegations.  At the end of the discussion at the formal meeting, there was a request 
to revert to this document which was why it was on the agenda of this meeting.   
28.  The Committee took note of document JOB/MA/106/Rev.1
1.  
 
29.  The Chairman recommended that delegations fo rward this document to the relevant officials 
in capital dealing with IDB notifications as it would be a useful tool.   
  K. DECISION ON NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS 
(1) NOTIFICATIONS 
30. The representative of the United States indica ted that his authorities were still reviewing these 
notifications.  With the exception of Ukraine' s notification, they did not have any specific 
comments.  His authorities wished to maintain all the listed notifications on the agenda for a future 
meeting.  
 
                                               
1 The document was re-issued as G/MA/288.  G/MA/M/58 
 
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  31. The Chairman noted that in light of this stat ement, the Committee would need to revert to the 
notifications at the next meeting.  He invited those delegations having specific comments on any 
of the notifications to make them.   
- European Union   
 
32.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the notification by the European Union 
circulated in G/MA/QR/N/EU/1.  33.  The Committee agreed to revert to th is notification at its next meeting.  
 
- Hong Kong, China   
 
34.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the notification by Hong Kong, China 
circulated in G/MA/QR/N/HKG/1/Add.1. 
 35.  The Committee agreed to revert to the notification at its next meeting.  
 - Korea  
 
36.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attentio n to the notification by Korea circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/KOR/1. At its last meeting, the Committee had agreed to revert to it. 
 
37. The Committee agreed to revert to this notification at its next meeting.  
 
- Mali  
 
38.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attentio n to the notification by Mali circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/MLI/1. 
  
39.  The Committee agreed to revert to the notification at its next meeting.  
 
-  Peru  
 
40.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attentio n to the notification by Peru circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/PER/1.  
 
41.  The Committee agreed to revert to the notification at its next meeting.  
 
- Thailand  
 
42.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to  t h e  n o t i f i c a t i o n  b y  T h a i l a n d  c i r c u l a t e d  i n 
G/MA/QR/N/THA/1 and Corr.1. At its last meeting, the Committee had agreed to revert to it.  
 
43.  The representative of Thailand stated that co ncerning the question raised by Australia at the 
last meeting on Thailand's export prohibition on natural sand as reflected in Thailand's QR 
notification, his capital had considered this issue and wished to share with Members the following 
information. The prohibition had been issued to tackle the illegal smuggling of natural sand out of 
the country and to conserve the natural resource.  Thailand had also issued laws and regulations governing sand mining in the country. To ensure the effective natural conservation, the 
government required operators to get permission from the relevant authorities and strictly follow 
the relevant regulations.  Moreover, when th ey were considering granting permission, the 
authorities would consult the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for their 
environmental recommendation. 
 44.  The Committee took note of the statement and agreed to revert to the notification at its next 
meeting.  
 
- Singapore  
 
45.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the notification by Singapore circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/SGP/1.  G/MA/M/58 
 
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  46.  The Committee agreed to revert to the notification at its next meeting.  
 
- Ukraine  
 
47.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to the notification by Ukraine circulated in 
G/MA/QR/N/UKR/1.  At its last meeting, the Commi ttee had agreed to revert to the notification.  
Since its circulation there had been two additional notifications which had been submitted by 
Ukraine.   
 48.  The representative of the United States st ated that on 13 March 2013, Ukraine had issued 
Resolution No. 225 "On Amending the Cabine t of Ministers of Ukraine Decree, dated 
19 December 2012 No. 1201" (later amended by Resolution No. 462 of 3 July 2013, which set 
import quotas on coking coal and coke.  The quotas were 10.2 million tons for coking coal and 210,000 tons for coke. On 22 April 2013, Ukraine had issued a Resolution of the Cabinet of 
Ministers of Ukraine (No. 312) "On Interagency Commission for Quotas - Allocation for the Goods 
subject to Import Licensing in 2013."  The measure imposed quotas on coking coal, bituminous coal and coke, used in the production of metals, including steel.  On 15 May 2013 Ukraine had 
notified the measures to the Committee on Market Access (G/MA/QR/N/UKR/1/Add.1) and on 
26 August 2013, Ukraine had made a further notification of these measures (G/MA/QR/N/UKR/1/Add.2).  The United States, Australia and the European Union had raised concerns about this measure at the 22 April 2013 meeting of the Import Licensing Committee and 
on 7 May 2013 at the Committee on Market Access.  On 18 September 2013, Ukraine had 
responded to questions by Australia, the European Union and the United States about the coking coal and coke import licensing measures administering the quotas.  
 
49.  While the United States welcomed notification of these measures, it still had concerns that the 
import quotas might unduly impose barriers on imports of these coal products.  In this connection, 
his delegation had the following  questions for Ukraine:    
 - What were the quota levels currently in effect for:  a) coking coal; b) bituminous coal; and 
c) coke for 2013?  Had the quota expired for coke, effectively preventing imports of coke 
into Ukraine? 
 - How would quota amounts be determined for this measures in the future, if the measure 
continued past 2013? 
 - How were these import quotas justified under Article XI of the GATT?  
 
- Ukraine had indicated that it had concerns about excess coal and coke creating 
"environmental health and safety" problems in Ukraine.  What measures had Ukraine taken to address the problem of excess stockpiles of coal and coke in Ukraine?  Had production 
restrictions been imposed? Had Ukrainian officials instituted domestic environmental and 
safety measures to address the perceived problems? If so, information was requested on the domestic measures. Were imports of coking coal and coke in Ukraine treated differently than 
domestic coal for purposes of environmen tal health and safety regulation?    
 - Would the measures automatically end on 31 December 2013? 
 
50.  His delegation looked forward to written responses to these questions.     51.  The Committee took note of the statements made  and agreed to revert to the notification at 
its next meeting.  
 (2) SUMMARY OF THE STATUS OF NOTIFICATIONS  
52.  The Chairman drew the Committee's attentio n to document G/MA/QR/1 entitled "Status of 
Notifications under the Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions 
(G/L/59/Rev.1)".  This document had been prepared by the Secretariat pursuant to paragraph 7 of 
that Decision.  
 53.  The representative of Australia noted that the status report gave an opportunity to his 
delegation to reflect on what had occurred during the last twelve months since Members had G/MA/M/58 
 
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  begun receiving these notifications. It had been an interesting exercise.  His delegation 
appreciated the effort from Members especially th ose to whom his delegation had asked questions 
and who had provided the responses either bilaterally or in the Committee such as Korea and Thailand, respectively.  The status report gave his delegation an opportunity to register 
disappointment with the level of notifications.  It  had been a year and the Committee had received 
only 18 notifications.  A few Members had notified changes. This was good as it kept the notifications up to date. However, a large numbe r of Members, including some key Members, had 
not yet submitted a notification.  Transparency was a key aspect of the WTO and Australia, in 
multiple Committees, had been raising notification compliance issues.  Members needed to work hard to try and meet their commitments. Australia urged Members who had not done so to make the notification. Another thing the Committee needed to consider was how to address the gaps of 
information between notifications. While he did not have specific comments today on the 
notifications, his colleagues in capital had noticed wide differences in both the issues covered and the level of information provided in the columns. That was something that needed to be looked at 
further perhaps in the context of an informal m eeting.  In addition, there needed to be more 
notifications in order to get a better sample.  Australia looked forward to other Members' views and working on this in the future.  
 
54.  The representative of the European Union supported the comments made by Australia.  The 
poor level of compliance of these notifications/obligations was disappointing and raised some 
questions as to whether Members had encountered problems in meeting the requirements set 
forth in the decision.  Therefore, his delegation wished to suggest that the WTO Secretariat could 
undertake an assessment of this first exercise with two objectives: (1) find out what the problem was in making these notifications; and (2) have a comparative analysis of what had been 
submitted.   In this regard, he wished to echo what Australia had said. It seemed that there was a 
clear difference in quality and kind of information being provided in these notifications. Such an assessment could start in the coming month, with a view to allowing Members to prepare their 
notifications for 30 September 2014. Based on th e results of the assessment, the Committee could 
consider whether there was a need to update the practical guide for notification of quantitative restrictions circulated as document JOB/MA/101. Of course it was disappointing and his delegation wished to point out that it was very hard to assess without proper notifications whether WTO 
Members had fulfilled their WTO obligations and co mmitments and to evaluate the impact of such 
activities on international trade.   
55. The Committee took note of the docume nt G/MA/QR/1 and of the statements.  
 
L. PROPOSED PROCEDURES FOR THE DERESTRICTION OF THE NEGOTIATING 
MATERIAL OF THE KENNEDY ROUND (JOB/MA/109) 
56.  The Chairman noted that these procedures were not new and had already been used to 
derestrict the negotiating material of the Dillon Round.  The procedure provided for in the 
document was the following:  (1) Once the document was adopted it would be issued as a G/MA/- 
document; (2) Members who were responsible for having drawn up the negotiating records would 
have six months from the date of circulation of the G/MA/- document to notify the Secretariat of any negotiating record that they would like to keep restricted.  They would also be provided 
electronic versions of the relevant records upon request to the Secretariat.  Such requests should 
be made within one month of the date of circ ulation of the G/MA/- document; (3) After the six-
month period, open-ended informal consultations would be held sometime in May to decide on 
when the documents which could be derestricted should be derestricted and to decide on what to 
do with those documents which had been identified by Members as requiring restriction; and (4) Such a decision would be proposed for adoption at the Committee's next formal meeting after the 
May consultation.  
 
57.  The Committee approved the procedure as contained in document JOB/MA/109
2. 
 
M. DRAFT REPORT (2013) OF THE CO MMITTEE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN 
GOODS (G/MA/SPEC/53) 
58.  The Chairman noted that the Committee was required to submit annually a report on its 
activities to the Council for Trade in Goods.  A draft report, covering the activities of the 
                                               
2 Approved document was issued as G/MA/285. G/MA/M/58 
 
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  Committee in 2013, was circulated in document G/MA/SPEC/53.  The report would be updated in 
light of the meeting.   59.  He proposed that the updated draft report would be sent to Members by fax, and if no 
comments were forthcoming within a short time period, the updated report would be considered 
adopted.  If there were minor changes, a revise d report would be circulated with the changes 
marked clearly and if no comments were submitted within a short time frame, the revised report 
would be considered adopted.  The short deadlines were necessary given that the Council for 
Trade in Goods meeting where this report would be considered was convening on 18 October.  60.  The Committee took note of the comment and agreed to the Chairman's proposal
3.     
 N. OTHER BUSINESS 
- Date of the next meeting 
  
61.  The Committee took note that its next meeting would take place in May 2014.  
 
__________  
                                               
3 The final report was issued as G/L/1049.