G/L/1190  
 
17 October  2017 
(17-5589) Page: 1/3 
   
 
 
REPORT (201 7) OF THE COMMITTEE O N MARKET ACCESS   
TO THE COUNCIL FOR T RADE IN GOODS  
1.  Since the last review1, the Committee on Market Access has held two formal meetings ( 2 May  
and 22 September 2017 ) and three  informal meetings ( 9 March, 23 June, and 
22 September  2017). The minutes of the formal meeting s are contained  in documents G/MA/M/ 65 
and G/MA/M/ 66 (to be issued) .   
2.  At its meeting of 2 May 2017 , the Committee took note that the consultations in the Council for 
Trade in Goods concerning  the Chai rpersons of the subsidiary bodies remained ongoing, and 
agreed that, once the issue had been resolved, the Secretariat would send a fax with the proposed 
candidate and set a deadline for objections .  On 11 May 2017 , the Secretariat circulated a fax 
informing Members that Mr Ahmed El Libedy (Egypt)  had been nominated,  and on 12 May 2017  he 
was elected.  At its meeting of 22 September 2017 , the Committee elected Mr Michael Cannon 
(Canada) as Vice  Chairperson.  
1  WAIVERS  
3.  At its formal meeting of 22 September 2017 , the Committee approved the extension of the 
HS2002 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/ 741), the HS2007 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/ 742), the 
HS2012 "collective " waiver ( G/C/W/743), and the HS2017 "collective" waiver (G/C/W/744  and 
G/C/W/744 /Corr.1 ).  The Committee agreed to forward the draft waiver decisions to the General 
Council through the Council for Trade in Goods for appropriate action.  
2  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 1996 ( HS1996) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
4.  At its meetings in 2017, the Committee took note of the status of the HS1996  transposition work 
undertaken pursuant to the procedures contained in L/6905 and WT/L/756.   
3  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2002 ( HS2002) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
5.  At its meetings in 201 7, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2002 changes to schedules of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/605 
and WT/L/ 807), as well as the outcomes of the informal dedic ated sessions of the Committee 
during which the files containing the HS2002 changes of Members were examined.   
4  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2007 ( HS2007) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
6.  At its meetings in 2017, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2007 changes to schedules of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/673 
and WT/L/ 830), as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee 
during which the files containing the HS200 7 changes of Members were examined.   
                                                
1 G/L/11 54, dated 19 October 2016 . G/L/1190  
 
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  5  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2012 ( HS2012) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
7.  At its meetings in 2017, the Committee took note of the status of work concerning the 
introduction of HS2012 changes to schedules of concessions using the CTS database (WT/L/831), 
as well as the outcomes of the informal dedicated sessions of the Committee during which the files 
containing the HS2012 changes of Members were examined.  At its 2 May meeting, the Committee 
agreed to amen d "Simplification 2" in the “Notes on Methodology” for this transposition 
(G/MA/330/Add.1) . 
6  INTRODUCTION OF HARM ONIZED SYSTEM 2017 ( HS2017) CHANGES TO S CHEDULES 
OF CONCESSIONS  
8.  At its meeting  of 2 May , the Committee took note that the Secretariat had prepared the HS2017 
reference nomenclature and correlation tables in a standardized format, and that they had been 
made available for download on the IDB File Exchange Facility .   
7  DECISION ON NOTIFICA TION PROCEDURES FOR QUANTITATIVE RESTRIC TIONS   
("QR DECISION")  
9.  At its meetings in 2017, the Committee examined one new QR notification  for the period 
2014-2016 that had been submitted by Mauritius, as well as 11 new QR notifications for the period 
2016-2018 which had been submitted by  Australia, Canada,  the European Union, Japan, 
Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Singapore, Switzerland, the United States, and Uruguay. The 
Committee also continued reviewing  notifications previously submitted by other Members . 
10.  At its meeting  of 2 May 2017, the Committee took note of a report by the Secretariat entitled 
"Quantitative Restrictions: Factual Information on Notifications Received" (G/MA/W/114/Rev.1), 
and discussed how to improve the number and quality of these notifications. At it s formal meeting 
of 22 September  2017, the Committee examined the quantitative restriction notifications 
submitted by several Members  and took note of a report by the  Secretariat (G/MA/QR/ 5), which 
reflected the status of such notifications .  It also took note of a report on the consultations 
conducted by  the Chairman on the issue , and agreed to instruct the Secretariat to update the 
Practical Guide on QR notifications (JOB/MA/101) , to review the WTO webpage and the QR 
database , and to organize a capacity b uilding workshop on QR notifications back-to-back with the 
first Committee meeting of  2018.   
8  DATABASES  
11.  At its formal meetings in 201 7, the Secretariat reported on the status of work concerning the 
Integrated Data Base (IDB) and the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database. The reports 
provided information on inter alia  the use of information in the databases, the status of software 
development and technical assistance.  The Committee also took note of the document s which 
reflected the status of submissions to the IDB (G/MA/IDB/2/Rev. 45 and G/MA/IDB/2/Rev. 46).  
9  DERESTRICTION OF NEG OTIATING MATERIAL OF  EARLIER GATT ROUNDS  
12. At its me eting of 2 May, the Committee agreed on procedures for the derestriction of 
additional negotiating materials from previous multilateral rounds of negotiations (G/MA/334) .  At 
its formal meeting of 22 September, the Committee considered a draft "Decision fo r the 
Derestri ction of Additional Negotiating Materials " (G/MA/W/131), which had been elaborated 
pursuant to those procedures . The Committee approved the derestriction  and agreed to transmit 
the draft Decision  to the General Council , through the Council fo r Trade  in Goods , for adoption.  
10  OTHER ACTIVITIES  
13.  At its meeting of 2 May , the Committee took note of the Secretariat document entitled 
"Situation of Schedules of WTO Members" (G/MA/W/23/Rev. 13 and G/MA/W/23/Rev.13/Corr.1 ), 
which lists all legal instruments relating to each Member's schedule.  It also took note of the 
Secretariat document entitled "Factual Report o n the Status of Renegotiations u nder Article XXVIII 
of the GATT 1994" (G/MA/W/123/Rev.1).  G/L/1190  
 
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  14. At its 2 May  meeting, the Committe e took note of an action by the C anadian government to 
unilaterally  eliminate certain most-favoured -nation applied tariffs (G/MA/W/130).  
15. At its 2 May  and 22 September  meetings, t he Committee took note of the following specific 
concerns  which were raised2:   
 
 Angola – Consumption tax ; concern raised by the  European Union (G/MA/W/129);  
 Argentina – Law on the auto -part sector ; concern raised by the  European Union and 
Mexico ; 
 China - Customs duties on certain integrated circuits ; concern raised by the  European 
Union, Japan,  Chinese Taipei,  and the United States ; 
 China - Import tax on personal effects at the border ; concern raised by  Japan ; 
 India – Customs duties on telecommunication and other products ; concern raised by 
Canada, European Union, Japan, K orea, Chinese Taipei, and the United States 
(GMA/W/120 and G/MA/W/128 ); 
 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Excise tax on energy drinks and carbonated soft drink 
products ; concern raised by  Switzerland (G/MA/W/132) . 
 Oman – MFN customs duties on cigarettes ; concern raised by Switzerland;  and 
 Russian Federation – Taxation on wine; conce rn raised by the European Union.  
 
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2 Includes issues raised under "other business".