G/C/W/740  
 
28 July 2017  
(17-4148) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade in Goods  
 Original: English  
 
 
PROPOSAL FOR TEMPORA RY ADMISSION OF CONT AINERS,  
PALLETS AND PACKINGS  
COMMUNICATION  FROM AUSTRALIA  
The following communication, dated 27  July 2017, is being circulated at the request of the  
Delegation of Australia.  
 
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1  BACKGROUND1 
1.1.  In other fora WTO  Members have identified temporary admission for containers, pallets and 
packing s as a positive measure for facilitating trade and reducing costs for business and 
consumers. Agreements to this effect at the multilateral level include the 1 962 European 
Convention on Customs Treatment of Pallets used in International Transport, the 1972  Customs 
Convention on Containers, the 1990  Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission and the 
2006 Revised Kyoto Convention. Plurilaterally, this issue was ad dressed in the Trans -Pacific 
Partnership, and is under discussion in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 
(RCEP)  negotiations. It has also been addressed in bilateral negotiations, such as the 
China -Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA).  
1.2.  We are in  the midst of a cargo logistics revolution. Packed goods are travelling faster, more 
frequently and to a greater spread of destinations than ever before. We need modern rules 
attuned to this new reality. The economic benefits of getting logistics right are  clear. For example, 
estimates cite that the introduction of shipping containers increased bilateral trade 790% between 
22 industrialized countries over 20  years, compared to an increase of 285% over the same period 
attributable to GATT  membership. To illu strate the potential size of this issue, preliminary work 
suggests that the value of imports of containers, pallets and packing s globally in 2015 was over  
USD 65 billion, with an estimated average applied MFN  tariff of 10.5%. Efficiencies gained in their 
facilitation could be expected to result in a multiplied benefit for the global trading system. With 
global merchandise trade in 2016 valued at US  $16 trillion the potential financial benefits are 
significant.  
1.3.  Current multilateral agreements are limited in membership and strength of commitment. 
There are for example only 30  parties to the 1962  European Convention on Customs Treatment of 
Pallets used in International Transport and only 21  parties who have agreed without reservation to 
the relevant provisions of the 1990  Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission. The Revised 
Kyoto Convention enjoys a broader 109  party membership, but consists only of recommendations, 
not commitments.  
1.4.  A notable limitation of the 1990  Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission a nd the 
Revised Kyoto Convention is that they only provide temporary admission to containers that are 
one cubic metre or more in size. This narrow scope is clearly out of step with today's world of 
globalized trade, where participation in regional and globa l supply chains is of significant and 
increasing importance, and where shipment of containers of all sizes around the world is 
commonplace.  
                                                
1 The background reproduces the contents of Australia' s communication in document  G/C/W/738 . G/C/W/740  
 
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  1.5.  Under the WTO  Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA), provision is made for the temporary 
admission of goods, but the  TFA does not specifically address containers, pallets and packing s. 
1.6.  There is scope to do more in the WTO through a new initiative on temporary admission for 
containers, pallets and packing s, which build on and complements the TFA. WTO  Members have 
the opp ortunity to provide significant cost and administrative savings for importers, exporters and 
ultimately consumers. Developing Members and MSMEs will benefit as barriers to the reusability of 
pallets, containers and packing s are eliminated and access to bet ter technology makes the 
transportation of goods more cost effective and increasingly available to all. Of particular 
importance to agricultural dependent economies, reduced food waste and improved food security 
are notable benefits. This initiative promot es optimizing global supply chain efficiencies and 
making world trade more environmentally friendly and sustainable.  
1.7.  Australia is developing a formal proposal on this initiative with the aim of securing an 
outcome at the Eleventh  WTO Ministerial Conference  in Buenos Aires in December  2017, and 
would welcome further engagement with interested Members on this proposal.  
2  PROPOSAL  
2.1.  Australia puts forward the following proposal for  a decision at the Eleventh  WTO Ministerial 
Confere nce in Buenos Aires in December  2017. 
2.2.  The proposal is:  
WTO Members shall allow for duty free temporary admission for containers, pallets  
and packings used in the international transportation of goods.  
 
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