G/RO/W/163/Rev.4  
 
8 October 2018  
(18-6195) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Rules of Origin    
 
STATUS OF NOTIFICATI ONS OF PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN FOR LDCS AND 
PREFERENTIAL IMPORT DATA  
Note by the Secretariat1 
Revision  
Paragraph 4.3 of the 2015 (Nairobi) Ministerial Decision on preferential rules of origin for least 
developed countries (LDCs) reiterates Members' commitment to notify their preferential rules of 
origin for LDCs as well as data concerning their preferential imports from LDCs.  This note 
summarizes existing notifi cation requirements and reports on the notifications received to date by 
the Secretariat.  
1  REQUIREMENT TO NOTIF Y PREFERENTIAL RULES  OF ORIGIN AND PREFE RENTIAL 
IMPORTS  
1.1 The following WTO instruments require Members to notify their preferential rules of or igin for 
LDCs and their preferential trade imports from LDCs:  
- Paragraph 4 of Annex II of the Agreement on Rules of Origin  requires Members to notify 
"promptly" "to the Secretariat" any preferential rules of origin.  Notifications are circulated 
under the  G/RO/N/ document series and are examined by the Committee on Rules of Origin 
(CRO);  
- The Transparency Mechanism for Preferential Trade Arrangements (WT/L/806 of 
14 December  2010)  requires Members to provide detailed and product -specific rules of origin 
"to the Secretariat".  Annex 1 of the Decision enumerates the specific information which should 
be provided, including preferential rules of origin. The Decision also requires Members to 
notify, at the tariff line level, import data under their PTAs. Notifi cations of PTAs under the 
Transparency Mechanism are circulated as documents of the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD). Notifications are considered by the CTD in Dedicated Session (CTD -DS), 
on the basis of a "factual presentation" prepared by the Se cretariat.  Only PTAs notified after 
the adoption of the Decision in 2010 have been examined under these procedures. In addition, 
a "guide" for each PTA is prepared in consultation with the Member implementing the PTA, 
and is placed in the Database on PTAs  (http://ptadb.wto.org ) after its approval by the 
implementing Member.  
- The 2013 (Bali) Ministerial Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs (WT/L/917)  and 
the 2015 (Nairobi) Decision (WT/L/917/Add.1)  reitera te these obligations. In addition, the 
CRO agreed on a t emplate to be used by all WTO preference -granting Members (G/RO/84) 
when notifying their preferential rules of origin. These notifications are circulated under the 
G/RO/LDC/N/ document series.  
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and  is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO . G/RO/W/163/Rev.4  
 
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  2  STATUS OF NOTIFICATIONS AND  IMPORT DATA RECEIVE D TO DATE  
2.1 The following table enumerates, for each preference -granting Member, the latest notifications 
received concerning trade preferences in favour of LDCs.  It lists:  
- The references of the latest notificat ions which were sent either or both to the CTD, the WTO 
Integrated Base, and to the CRO;  
- The date in which a notification and PTA was considered by the CTD; and  
- The availability of information about the tariff coverage of preferential schemes as well as data 
concerning preferential imports. "Yes" means the data has been n otified and is available. 
The sign " -" indicates that the information has not b een notified by the Member. 
The abbreviation "n.a." means that the preferences had not yet been implement ed by the 
Member and that, as a result, no notification obligation was applicable.  
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  G/RO/W/163/Rev.4  
 
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Preference -
granting 
Member( i) 
 Notifications (CTD)  Guide  Considerat
ion by the 
CTD Notifications (CRO)   2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 
1. Armenia  No No No No Tariffs  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes - - 
Imports  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. - - - 
2. Australia  WT/COMTD/N/18  
21 January 2004  No No G/RO/LDC/N/AUS/1  
12 September 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
3. Canada  WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.3  
17 November 2014  06/04/2016  No G/RO/LDC/N/CAN/2  
10 October 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - 
4. Chile  WT/COMTD/N/44 and 
Add.1/Rev.1  
23 October 2014 16/09/2014  11/03/2015  G/RO/LDC/N/CHL/1  
18 October 2017  Tariffs  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes Yes Yes - - 
5. China  WT/COMTD/N/39/Add.2  
21 November 2016  11/11/2016  Pending  G/RO/LDC/N/CHN/1  
10 July 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes - - - - - Yes - 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
6. European 
Union  WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.7  
1 July 2015  03/08/2016  No G/RO/LDC/N/EU/1  
30 June 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
7. Iceland  WT/COMTD/N/17 and Corr.1  
20 January 2004  No No No Tariffs  - - - Yes Yes  Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  - - - - - - - - - 
8. India  WT/COMTD/N/38 and Add.1  
18 November 2015  18/11/2015  Pending  G/RO/LDC/N/IND/1  
27 June 2017  Tariffs  Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
Imports  - - - - - Yes - - - 
9. Japan  WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.16  
4 November 2015  22/11/2016  No G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
11 July 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
10. Kazakhstan  No No No G/RO/LDC/N/KAZ/1  
3 April 2018  Tariffs  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. - - - 
11. Korea, Rep. 
of WT/COMTD/N/12/Rev.1/Add.1  
20 March 2012  24/05/2016  No G/RO/LDC/N/KOR/1  
27 September 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
12. Kyrgyz Rep.  No No No No Tariffs  Yes - Yes Yes - - - - - 
Imports  - - - - - - - -  
13. Montenegro  No No No No Tariffs  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes - 
Imports  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. - - 
14. New Zealand  WT/COMTD/27  
20 November 2000  17/11/2011  No G/RO/LDC/N/NZL/1  
5 September 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  - - - - - - - - - 
15. Norway  
 
 WT/COMTD/N/6/Add.6  
1 June 2016  25/05/2016  No G/RO/LDC/N/NOR/1  
30 June 2017 Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
16. Russian Fed.  WT/COMTD/N/42  
5 April 2013  No Pending  G/RO/LDC/N/RUS/1  
18 September 2017  Tariffs  - - Yes Yes Yes - Yes - - 
Imports  - - - - - - - - - 
17. Switzerland  WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.5  
26 September 2012  09/11/2011  No G/RO/LDC/N/CHE/1 
and Corr.1  
6 July 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes  Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  - - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
18. Chinese 
Taipei  WT/COMTD/N/40 and Corr.1  
28 February 2012  13/03/2012  Pending  G/RO/LDC/N/TPKM/1  
and Corr.1  
31 July 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - 
19. Tajikistan  No No No No Tariffs  - - - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
Imports  - - - - - - - - -  
  G/RO/W/163/Rev.4  
 
- 4 -  
Preference -
granting 
Member( i) 
 Notifications (CTD)  Guide  Considerat
ion by the 
CTD Notifications (CRO)   2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 
20. Thailand  WT/COMTD/N/46  
23 July 2015  No Pending  G/RO/LDC/N/THA/1  
7 August 2017  Tariffs  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes Yes Yes - 
Imports  n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Yes Yes - - 
21. Turkey  WT/TPR/S/259/Rev.1  
7 March 2012  01/03/2012  No No Tariffs  Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes - - 
Imports  - - - - - - - - - 
22. USA - GSP WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.9  
8 February 2016  21/09/2016  No G/RO/LDC/N/USA/1  
11 July 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - 
USA – Haiti  
 WT/L/1012  
12 July 2017 13/06/2016   G/RO/LDC/N/USA/2  
11 July 2017  Tariffs  - - - - - - - - - 
Imports  - - - - - - - - - 
USA - AGOA  WT/L/1006  
20 January 2017  13/06/2016   G/RO/LDC/N/USA/3  
11 July 2017  Tariffs  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
Imports  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes - 
 
Note: (i) Some PTA schemes entered into force after the adoption of the PTA transparency mechanism, i.e. Armenia; Chile; Kazakhstan; Montenegro; and Thailand.  
 
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