WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/743 
15 December 2008 
 (08-6140) 
  
 
 
REPORT (2008) OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
TRADE IN CIVIL AIRCRAFT 
 
 
1. This report is submitted under Article 8.2 of  the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft 
(hereinafter the "Agreement") and Article IV.8 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization.  It sets out the activities of the Committee since November 2007. 
2. There are 30 Signatories to the Agre ement: Canada, the European Communities1 (the 
following 20 EC Member States are also Signatories to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft in 
their own right: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denm ark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, 
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Ne therlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and 
the United Kingdom),  Egypt, Georgia, Japan, Macao China, Norway, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and 
the United States.  Those WTO Members with obser ver status in the Committee are: Argentina, 
Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Co lombia, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Israel, 
the Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and 
Tobago, Tunisia and Turkey.  In addition the Russian  Federation is also an observer.  The IMF and 
UNCTAD are also observers.  
3. Since its last Annual Report to the General Council (WT/L/701), the Committee on Trade in 
Civil Aircraft held one regular meeting, on 10 November 2008.  At this meeting, the Committee 
considered the following matters on its agenda: the election of a new Chairperson; revision of the 
Product Coverage Annex of the 1979 Agreement on Trad e in Civil Aircraft; and the date of the next 
regular meeting. The agenda and minutes of this  meeting will be issued as document TCA/M/24. 
4. Due to the departure of the Committee's Chairper son, Mr. Guilluame Cliche, since the date of 
the last Committee meeting in November 2007, the Committee meeting was opened by 
Mr. Johann Human, Director of the Rules Divisi on.  Under the first agenda item, the Committee 
elected Ms Cecilie Kverme, of Norway, as the next Committee Chairperson.  Under the second 
agenda item, the Committee discussed the Technical Note prepared by the Secretariat on the possible 
revisions to the Product Coverage Annex in the li ght of the Harmonized Commodity and Description 
System that entered into force in 2007.  The Committee agreed to revert to this item at its next regular 
meeting, but left open the possibility that a mee ting to advance the Committee's work might be 
convened before then depending up on consultations to be undertaken by the Chairperson with the 
Signatories in the new year. 
5. The Technical Sub-Committee of the Committee on Trade in Civil Aircraft did not meet 
during the period under review and neither did the Sub-Committee of the Committee on Trade in 
Civil Aircraft. 
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1 Currently comprising 27 Member States: Belgium,  Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, 
Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus , Latvia, Lithuania, Luxe mbourg, Hungary, Malta, the 
Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, and the 
United Kingdom.