G/RO/85  
 
11 October  2017 
(17-5476) Page: 1/2 
   
 
 REPORT (2017) OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL  
ON PREFERENTIAL RULE S OF ORIGIN FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUN TRIES  
1. This report is being submitted by the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) to the General 
Council  in accordance with the requirements of Paragraph 1.10 of the Ministerial Decision of 
7 December 2013 (WT/L/917 , the "Bali Ministerial Decision" ) and of Paragraph 4.4 of the 
Ministerial Decision of 15 December  2015 (WT/L/917/Add.1 , the "Nairobi Ministerial Decision" ) on 
Preferen tial Rules of Origin for Least Developed C ountries (LDCs).   According to these  decisions, 
the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) "shall annually review the developments in preferential 
rules of origin applicable to imports from LDCs" and report to the Genera l Council.   
2. The CRO therefore discussed preferential rules of origin for L DCs in several meetings held 
in 2017 and conducted a review of developments at its formal meeting of 4 October  2017.  
The Committee took note of a number of recent  developments , including the following : 
 As required by  paragraph 4.2 of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision , a number of 
preference -granting Members inform ed the Committee about the measures being taken in 
order to implement the provisions of the Nairobi Decision. In the case of developed country 
Members, this informatio n was due by 31 December 2016. The Committee took note of 
communications from Switzerland (G/RO/ 80); Japan (G/RO/81); Canada  (G/RO/82); and 
the United States (G/RO/83) .  In addition, Australia; the European Unio n; and Norway had 
made oral statements to that effect duri ng the CRO meeting of September  2016 
(Paragraphs  4.1 to 4.7 of G/RO/M/67) ; 
 Norway 's government  established an inter -ministerial working group to examine the 
Norwegian GSP scheme, including the appli cable rules of origin, in light of the Nairobi 
Ministerial Decision . As a result, expand ed cumulation was introduced (i.e. among LDCs).  
In addition, Norway started implement ing the REX System of self-certifi cation for registered 
exporters;  
 In China, t he 2013 regulations on preferential tariff treatment for LDCs  were amended to 
introduce  a series of improvements. First, new cumulation options were introduced 
(i.e. between China and the beneficiary countries and between LDC countries and members 
of a regiona l group ). Second, simplified documentary requirements for country -of-origin 
certification  were introduced , allowing for an importer's declaration based on any advance 
origin ruling issued by the customs administration of China.  Third, a de minimis  value fo r 
low-value shipments (not  more than 6,000 Yuan ) had been introduced. For such shipments, 
no certification would be required. Finally, a system of electronic certification was being 
rolled out to further simplify certification procedures ; 
 Australia had als o initiated a comprehensive review process of Australia's GSP, including 
Australia' s preferential rules of origin; and  
 The LDCs promoted a detailed discussion in the Committee about developments related to 
different aspects of existing preferential rules o f origin  (document G/RO/W/169).  
3. In concluding the annual review, the Chairman invite d all WTO preference -granting Members 
to review their preferential rules of origin for LDCs with a view to identifying areas for possible 
simplification and improvement, in  line with the objectives, guidelines  and provisions of the 
Ministerial Decisions.  G/RO/85  
 
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  4. In addition , in 2017, the Committee made significant progress in the implementation of 
follow -up actions required by the Nairobi Ministerial Decision . In particular:  
5. The Co mmittee adopted a new template for the notification of preferential rules of 
origin for LDCs . Notifications using the new template will enable the examination of more 
harmonized and more detailed information, thereby enhancing transparency and promoting a 
better understanding of existing requirements. All WTO preference -granting Members should notify 
their preferential rules of origin for LDCs using the agreed template . The Committee took note and 
started the examination of the notifications of the followin g Members : Australia 
(G/RO/LDC/N/AUS/1); Canada (G/RO/LDC/N/CAN/1); China (G/RO/LDC/N/CHN/1); the European 
Union (G/RO/LDC/N/EU/1); In dia (G/RO/LDC/N/IND/1); Japan ( G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1); 
Korea  (G/RO/LDC/N/KOR/1);  Norway (G/RO/LDC/N/NOR/1); New Zealand (G/RO/L DC/N/NZL/1); 
the Russian Federation (G/RO/LDC/N/RUS/1); Switzerland (G/RO/LDC/N/CHE/1 and 
(G/RO/LDC/N/CHE/1/Corr.1); Chinese Taipei (G/RO/LDC/N/TPKM/1 and 
(G/RO/LDC/N/TPKM/1/Corr.1) ; Thailand (G/RO/LDC/N/THA/1) ; and  the United States 
(G/RO/LDC/N/USA/1, G/R O/LDC/N/USA/2 and G/RO/LDC/N/USA/3).  
6. As part of its discussions about existing preferential rules of origin, the Committee also 
initiated an examination of preferential utilization rates  on the basis of calculations made by 
the Secretariat (G/RO/W/168/Rev. 1). Because preferential rules of origin are a central 
pre-requisite for the granting of trade preferences, low utilization rates may indicate difficulties in 
complying with product -specific rules of origin or with origin -related procedures (certification or 
transportation rules). On the basis of tariff and trade data notified to the WTO, the Secretariat was 
able to calculate the utilization rates for the GSP of twelve preference -granting Members.  Trade 
data (i.e. import statistics) are currently not avail able for the following WTO preference -granting 
Members: China; Iceland; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz  Republic;  New Zealand; Russian Federation; 
Tajikistan; and Turkey.  
7. With respect to preferential trade data and preference utilization rates, the Committee also 
heard a presentation by the Secretariat on the Database on Preferential Trade Arrangements  
(PTA) . Members can retrieve sector -specific, LDC -specific and PTA -specific preference utilization 
rates and trade statistics  through the database website: http://ptadb.wto.org .   
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