WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/IT/W/15 
20 December 2004 
 (04-5597) 
Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in 
Information Technology Products  
 
  
CLASSIFICATION DIVERGENCES 
 
List V of G/IT/W/6/Rev.3 - Items and Specific Questions Referred 
 
to the Committee to be Addressed  
 
Note by the Secretariat  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 At the Committee's meeting of 3 December 2004, the Secretariat was asked to prepare a 
document that would further assist participants in their discussions of the items in document 
G/IT/W/11 (List V of G/IT/W/6/Rev.2).  In particular, participants requested that the document 
contain the specific questions posed by the Customs Experts Group to the Committee and a brief 
introduction.   
 
 Thus, the following list shows the items in List V of document G/IT/W/6/Rev.3 and the 
corresponding issue or question posed to this Commi ttee.  This document is based on the information 
contained in documents G/IT/W/6/Rev.3 and G/IT/14/Rev.1/Add.1. 
  The same numbering of the 20 items listed in List V of G/IT/W/6/Rev.3 is reproduced here 
for ease of reference. Classifications indicated in bold  were still outstanding issues noted by the 
Customs Expert Group, whereas those not bolded were essentially agreeable by the Customs Expert Group at the technical level. 
 
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 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO G/IT/W/15 
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 1. 122- Apparatus for stripping or cleaning semiconductor wafers ( 845691 , 845699, 847989)
 
 
 The issue concerned 'wet' versus 'dry' processes.  Also, there was concern whether ‘etching’ 
was synonymous with ‘stripping’ or not. 
 
Question:  Were the processes of ‘etching’ and ‘str ipping’ synonymous?, thus were they two separate 
processes or one in the same?   
 
Question:  Were ‘wet and dry’ processes or only ‘dry’ processes covered by the description?  
 2. 129- Parts for machines for sawing monocrystal semiconductor boules into slices, or wafers 
into chips (846691, 846610 , 846620 , 846630 ) 
 
  Discussions focused on the issue of 'parts' versus 'accessories'.   The group remained divided 
on whether items could be classified in 846610, 846620, and 846630 because the description of these 
HS classifications referred to specific items, in whic h some thought were accessories to the machines 
and not parts of the machines.   
 Question:  Whether tool holders/work holders/dividing heads and other special attachments for 
machines for sawing monocrystal semiconductor boules into slices or wafers into chips should be 
covered under the ITA? 
 3. 130- Parts of dicing machines for scribing or scoring semiconductor wafers (846691, 846610 , 
846620 , 846630 ) 
  The same question as number 2 above.  
 
4. 133- Parts of lasercutters for cutting contacti ng tracks in semiconductor production by laser 
beam (846693, 846610 , 846620 , 846630 ) 
 
 The same question as number 2 above.  
 
5. 135- Parts of apparatus for stripping or cleaning semiconductor wafers (846693, 847990, 
846620 , 846630 ) 
  The same question as number 2 above.  
 
6. 139- Automated machines for transport, handling and storage of semiconductor wafers, wafer 
cassettes, wafer boxes and other material for semiconductor devices (842839, 842890, 
847950, 847989)  
 
 Discussions focused on whether the machines covered by this description were a complete 
machine or involved separate processes in modu lar form.  The group was not sure if the ITA 
description as drafted was meant to cover machines that only performed one or more function listed, 
or whether it had to perform all functions.  Question:  Was it one machine that had to perform al l the specific functions (transport, handling, and 
storage), or was it appropriate if the ma chine only performed one or two functions? 
 
 
  G/IT/W/15 
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 7. 153- Parts of apparatus for wet etching, developing, stripping or cleaning semiconductor 
wafers and flat panel displays (842490, 846691, 847990, 846620 , 846630 ) 
 
 The same question as number 2 above. 
 
8. 154- Parts of automated machines for transport, handling and storage of semiconductor 
wafers, wafer cassettes, wafer boxes and other ma terial for semiconductor devices (843139, 
847990) (depends on the outcome of # 139)  
 
 Answer to the question under number 6 above would determine the outcome of this item as it refers to the respective host apparatus.  
9. 157- Parts of machines for bending, foldi ng and straightening semiconductor leads (846694, 
846610 , 846620 , 846630 ) 
 
 The same question as number 2 above.  
10. 166- Wafer probers (853690, 903082)
 
 
 Discussions focused on whether the products covered by this description were the wafer 
prober apparatus, or just the tip.    Question:  Whether it was the entire apparatus that wa s meant to be covered, or was it just the tip of 
the apparatus that was used to probe (usually in conjunction with other measuring devices)?  
 
11. 169- Parts of apparatus for wet etching, developing, stripping or cleaning semiconductor 
wafers and flat panel displays (842490, 846691, 847990, 846620 , 846630 ) 
 
 The same question as number 2 above. 
 
12. 193- Flat panel display devices (including LCD, Electro Luminescence, Plasma, Vacuum-
Fluorescence and other technologies) for produc ts falling within this agreement, and parts 
thereof. (847149, 847160, 847330, 853120, 853180, 853190, 854389, 854390, 854890, 
901380, 901390)  
 
  Discussions focused on whether the descript ion was meant to cover the complete monitors, 
flat panels, and/or only display units/devices.   
 
Question:  Was the description meant to cover finish ed products?, or if it also was meant to cover 
items in the semi-finished/component state? 
 
13. 197- Paging alert devi ces, and parts thereof ( 852520 , 852790, 852910, 852990)  
 
 Discussions did not reach agreement on the issu e of a product called ‘two-way pagers’.  The 
group could not come to agreement on whether two-way pagers (ones that could send and receive messages) were covered by the ITA description.  Some argued that pagers involved one-way 
communication, and thus this product was not covered.   
 
Question:  Whether the description covering "pag ing alert devices" was meant to cover items that 
were called "two-way pagers"?  G/IT/W/15 
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 14. 199- Printed Circuit Assemblies for products falling within this agreement, including such 
assemblies for external connections such as cards that conform to the PCMCIA standard.  
Such printed circuit assemblies consist of one or  more printed circuits of heading 8534 with 
one or more active elements assembled thereon, with or without passive elements "Active 
elements" means diodes, transistors, and similar semiconductor devices, whether or not 
photosensitive, of heading 8541, and integrated circuits and micro assemblies of heading 
8542. (841990, 842191, 842490, 843139, 846691, 846693, 846694, 847150, 847180, 847310, 
847321, 847329, 847330, 847340, 847350, 847790, 847990, 850490, 851440, 851490, 
851590, 851750, 851780, 851790, 851890, 852290, 852390, 852491, 852812, 852990, 
853190, 853890, 854389, 854390, 854890, 900990, 901090, 901190, 901290, 901390, 
901790, 902690, 902790, 903090, 903190)  
 
  Some took the view that only PCAs not cove red elsewhere would be covered, whereas others 
were of the view that this description should be  comprehensive and list all PCAs regardless of the 
coverage elsewhere in the ITA.  As part of the discussion, the group identified for the relevant HS 
items where PCAs would be classified.  For some items, PCAs were not relevant, whereas for others, 
the respective parts classification was typically the classification to use. 
 Question:  Was it the comprehensive approach, i.e. identifying classifications of PCAs for all ITA 
products, necessary? or a more limited approach, i. e. identifying only items that were not already 
covered by the ITA elsewhere? 
 15. 201-
 Proprietary format storage devices including media therefor for automatic data 
processing machines, with or without removable media and whether magnetic, optical or 
other technology, including Bernoulli Box, Syqu est, or Zipdrive cartridge storage units 
(847170, 852311, 852312, 852313, 852320, 852390, 852431, 852439, 852440, 852491, 
852499)  
 
   The group was not sure about the coverage of the media, as covered, if separate from the 
apparatus or not. 
 
Question:  Was the associated media meant to be covered whether or not it was included in the 
device? 
 
16. 137- Encapsulation equipment for assembly of semiconductors (847710, 847740, 847759, 
847989)  
 
 Discussions continued on what was meant by ‘encapsulation’.  There was the issue of whether encapsulation was determined by the type of material—i.e. plastic, rubber, glass, ceramic, epoxy, etc…   
 
Question:  Was the description meant to cover ‘enc apsulation’ by all different types of materials 
(plastic, rubber, glass, ceramic, epoxy, metal, etc…),  and thus all the respective machines that perform 
encapsulation with the various materials (e.g . molding, thermoforming, welding, etc…)? 
 
17. 138- Parts of encapsulation equipment (847790, 847990)
 
  Answer to the question under number 16 above would determine the outcome of this item as 
it refers to the respective host apparatus.    G/IT/W/15 
 Page 5 
 
 
 18. 144- Encapsulation equipment for assembly of semiconductors (847710, 847740, 847759, 
847989)  
 
 The same question as number 16 above. 
 
19. 155- Parts of encapsulation equipment for assembly of semiconductors (847790, 847990)  
 
 Answer to the question under number 16 above would determine the outcome of this item as 
it refers to the respective host apparatus. 
 20. 192- Electric amplifiers when used as repeater s in line telephony products falling within this 
agreement, and parts thereof (851750, 851780, 851790, 851840, 851890)  
 
   Discussions continued on the issue of amplifiers, especially audio-frequency versus electric 
amplifiers.  It was noted that one could not distin guish repeaters that were used in telephony only.  
Without imposing an end-use criteria, it would be difficult to identify only those products used in line 
telephony. 
 Question:  Are all repeaters inte nded to be covered?, not only those used in line telephony only? 
 Question:  If repeaters are limited to line telephony, how should one distinguish between those 
intended for different uses?  
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