WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/MA/156 
24 March 2005 
 (05-1265) 
Committee on Market Access  
 
TARIFF LINE LINK OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE  
CONSOLIDATED TARIFF SCHEDULES DATABASE WITH INFORMATION 
CONTAINED IN THE INTEGRATED DATA BASE 
 
Technical and procedural issues  
 
Approved on 19 March 2004 
 
Introduction  
1. At the meeting of the Committee on Market Access (CMA) on 20 October 2003, the Chair 
proposed to organize an informal meeting to discu ss technical and procedural issues involved in the 
integration of final bo und duties from the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS) database with the 
current MFN applied duties recorded in the Inte grated Data Base (IDB).  Having both bound and 
applied duties recorded in the same nomenclature w ill facilitate trade policy analysis and will enable 
Members to evaluate the impact of future reduc tions of bound duties on MFN applied and preferential 
duties.  Furthermore, such analysis could be carried  out using the analytical software developed by the 
Secretariat, should bound duties from the CTS database be included in the IDB.  
 
2. This technical note describes firstly, the contents  of the CTS database and the IDB.  It then 
presents the situation regarding the link between  the CTS and IDB.  Taking into account the 
differences in the structure of the CTS and IDB ta riff nomenclatures, a typology has been established 
of different types of tariff line relationships betw een the CTS and the IDB and solutions have been 
proposed that would allow for an integration of the IDB and the CTS.  Finally, procedural issues, 
which need to be addressed by Members before the Secr etariat can proceed with its work, are raised.    
 
The Consolidated Tariff Schedules database
1 
 
3. The CTS database contains all WTO Member s' concessions on goods in a standardized 
format.  The database was established as a working tool only, without implications as to the legal 
status of the information therein.  The CTS files, approved and provisional, are made available to Members through the IDB/CTS Internet File Tran sfer Facility. For each WTO Member, there is a 
CTS file in MS-Access 97 format containing its ta riff commitments and, if applicable, its specific 
commitments in Agriculture.  The information is also  available in text files, which can be imported 
into spreadsheet or database software.  The CTS fil es of all Members have also been disseminated on 
CD-ROM.  4. As part of the conversion of Members' schedul es to a standard database format, the original 
coding of commitments was expanded to at least the standard HS 6-digit nomenclature.  For example, 
if a commitment was given at the level of an HS 4-digit heading, the same  commitment was repeated, 
as part of the conversion, for all corresponding HS 6-digit subheadings.  For those cases where a 
                                                     
 
1 The CTS project was approved by the CMA on 27 November 1998 to improve the situation regarding 
the recording of Members' concessions on goods. The project involved the formatting, consolidation and 
standardization of Members' tariff commitments (bound tariffs) and specific commitments in agriculture (domestic support, export subsidies and tariff quota in formation).  CTS files for all Members are now available 
in a standard database format.   
 G/MA/156 
Page 2  
 
national tariff was available in the Secretariat,  each commitment in the CTS was expanded to the 
maximum length of the tariff line used in the nationa l tariff.  The tariff concessions have thus been 
transposed into the same level of detail (i.e. tariff line) as the national tariff nomenclature for the latest 
year available at the time of CTS conversion, wh ether they were included in the original list of 
concessions at the chapter, heading or subheading level of the HS nomenclature, or were part of a 
textual note (across the board ceiling binding for example).   
 5. Where a national tariff was not available, th e HS 96 standard nomenclature was used to 
expand all the tariff commitments up to the HS 6-digi t level.  In those cases where commitments were 
given at different levels of disaggregation, for ex ample as mixture of HS 4-digit codes and 8-digit 
tariff lines, the detailed tariff lines were kept, as f ound in the original documents, and the higher level 
(HS 4-digit or above) codes were expanded to the le vel of the HS 6-digit standard nomenclature.  The 
CTS shows therefore for some Members, commitments at different levels of detail, i.e., different 
lengths of tariff line codes.    The Integrated Data Base (IDB) 
 
6. The IDB contains WTO Members' annual notifica tions of tariffs and imports, linked at the 
level of tariff lines.
2 The IDB contains imports by country of origin, in value and quantity, by tariff 
line. On the tariff side, it contains MFN current applied duties.  Whenever provided, MFN current 
bound duties and additional inform ation covering preferential duties are also included.  Product 
descriptions at the tariff line level are also part of  the database.  Correlation tables, which keep track 
of the changes in the national tariff nomenclature, are also part of the IDB notification requirement 
but very few Members provide them.  The inform ation contained in the national submissions is 
converted by the Secretariat to a standardized data base format and coding scheme (duty types, country 
codes, quantity units, etc.).  The information is th en made available to authorized users via the IDB 
Internet File Transfer Facility and the Internet Analysis Facility.  The status of IDB submissions 
(document G/MA/IDB/2 and its revisions) is circulat ed to Members for the formal meetings of the 
CMA. 
 
The Link between CTS and IDB 
 7. The Secretariat began work on the link between the CTS and IDB in 2002.  Detailed 
correlation tables, which link each CTS tariff commi tment to the corresponding IDB tariff line(s), 
have been established for 60 Members thus far.  Th e link tables contain two sets of columns, which 
correlate HS tariff line codes from the CTS with th ose in the IDB.  These correlations have been 
established on the basis of the respective product descr iptions found in the CTS and in the IDB.   
 
8. The link has been established only for the year 2001 and in the HS 1996 nomenclature
3, with 
the exception of those Members th at recently acceded to the WTO. For these Members, the HS 2002 
nomenclature has been used and the link has been done with a more recent tariff file.  It is not planned 
to update the link to the year 2002 or more recen t years until the HS 2002 transposition exercise has 
been completed.   This information is also required for th e update of the CTS files and may also be 
required before the ongoing negotia tions can be concluded.   
   
                                                     
 
2 In July 1997 the General Council decided that all WTO Members should submit on an annual basis 
and in electronic form, import statistics and tariff info rmation at the tariff line level to the WTO Secretariat 
(WT/L/225).  The details regarding the notification requirements are explained in the document 'Guidelines for Supplying PC IDB submissions' (G/MA/IDB/W/6). 
3 In some cases, where 2001 applied tariffs were not available, earlier years have been used.  It is 
planned to update this to 2001 as soon as  the required information is available.   G/MA/156 
 Page 3 
 
 
Correlation Issues  
 
9. In these link correlation tables, most frequently, one bound CTS tariff line matches one tariff 
line in the IDB.   However, there are also so me cases where one bound CTS tariff line matches more 
than one tariff line in the IDB and vice-versa.  In  other words, the product breakdown is in some parts 
more detailed in the CTS and in other parts more  detailed in the IDB.  If the product breakdown is 
only more detailed in the IDB, there will be no problem in linking the final bound tariff lines to the IDB.  One would simply have to duplicate the tariff lines with bound duti es as needed in the IDB 
nomenclature.  In cases where the CTS produc t breakdown is more detailed, it is not as 
straightforward to include final bound duties in the IDB.   
 
10. To illustrate the issue better, a typology of cases has been developed showing the different 
types of correlations between CTS and IDB tariff lin es with an indication of their occurrence in the 
currently available link tables.  Each case represen ts a set of matching product descriptions for both 
the CTS and the IDB.  In order for the tariff line (p roduct) descriptions to match, it is necessary that 
the product descriptions match either literally or in terms of content irrespective of whether or not the 
HS tariff line codes match. For example, when two tariff line descriptions in the CTS match one tariff 
line description in the IDB, it means that the produc t coverage of the tariff line description in the CTS 
is equivalent to the product coverage of the one tariff line description in IDB. 
  11. The following cases can be distinguished: 
  
Case Description Occurrence of cases 
(in percent) 
1 One CTS tariff line description matches one IDB tariff line description 91.4 
2 One CTS tariff line description matches two or more IDB tariff line 
descriptions  6.3 
3 Two or more CTS tariff line descriptions match one IDB tariff line  
description 2.0 
4 Two or more CTS tariff line descriptions match two or more IDB tariff 
line descriptions  0.3 
Note: Percentages are based on a sample of 54 link tables 
 
 Case 1  applies to most tariff lines and is quite straightforward to solve.  IDB and CTS 
descriptions match at the tariff line level.  For a ll these tariff lines, CTS final bound duties can easily 
be transposed into the IDB nomenclature.  A diffi culty arises in those cases where for the same tariff 
line descriptions, different HS codes were used in th e IDB and the CTS.  It is proposed to use for all 
these tariff lines, the IDB HS codes in orde r to maintain the current IDB nomenclature .  For unbound 
IDB tariff lines, no matching CTS tariff lines exist and therefore the IDB HS codes will be maintained.  
 G/MA/156 
Page 4  
 
CTS file Link IDB file
HS code Suffix Tariff line description Final 
bound 
dutyHS code Suffix Tariff line description M FN 
ap plied 
duty
a
01011100   --Pure-bred breeding 
animals0 = 01011100   Pure-bred breeding animals 0
b
70193210   - - - Coated or 
i mpreg na ted wi th a sphal t, of a kind used as roofing15.7
= 70193220   Coated or impregnated with 
asphalt, for use as roofing10
c
(Un 
bound26159020 Vanadium ores and 
concentrates0
 
 
Link table
CTS         HS 
codeCTS 
SuffixIDB       HS 
codeIDB   
Suffix
a
01011100   01011100   
b
70193210   70193220   
c 
26159020 
 
 
Linked IDB table
IDB        
HS codeSuffix Description MFN 
applied dutyFinal bound 
duty
a
01011100   Pure-bred breeding animals 0 0
b
70193220   Coated or impregnated with asphalt, for 
use as roofing10 15.7
c
26159020 Vanadium ores and concentrates 0 
 
  Case 2 in which one CTS tariff line description matches two or more IDB tariff line 
descriptions, is less frequent and should not be difficu lt to solve.  It is proposed to allocate the final 
bound duty from the CTS tariff line to all the IDB ta riff lines, which, taken together cover the same 
products as the one CTS tariff line. 
 
CTS  file Link IDB file
HS code Suffix Tariff line description Final bound 
dutyHS code Suffix Tariff line description MFN 
applied 
duty
03061400   - - Crabs 5.3 03061410   Frozen snow crab for 
processin g0
03061490   Other 5 
  G/MA/156 
 Page 5 
 
 
Link table
CTS       HS 
codeCTS 
SuffixIDB       
HS codeIDB Suffix
03061400   03061410   
03061400 03061490    
 
Linked IDB table
IDB        
HS codeSuffix Description MFN 
applied dutyFinal bound 
duty
03061410   Frozen snow crab for processing 0 5.3
03061490   Other 5 5.3 
 
 In Case 3,  the product breakdown in the CTS is more detailed than that in the IDB.  In this 
case, it is proposed to expand the nomenclature of the IDB in order to capture the more detailed 
product breakdown in the CTS .4   The product descriptions of these expanded IDB tariff lines would 
be taken from the CTS.  
 
CTS file Link IDB file
HS code Suffix Tariff line description Final bound 
dutyHS code Suffix Tariff line description MFN 
applied 
duty
a
020423 - - Boneless
02042310   - - - Of lamb 4.23¢/kg 02042300   Boneless 0
02042320   - - - Of mutton 4.23¢/kg
b
010410 - Sheep
01041010   - - - Pure-bred breeding 
animals0 01041000   Sheep 0
01041090   - - - Other .50$/each
 
 
Link table
CTS       HS 
codeCTS 
SuffixIDB       HS 
codeIDB Suffix
a
02042310   02042300   
02042320   02042300
b
01041010   01041000   
01041090   01041000 
 
                                                      
4 This more detailed breakdown could be generate d in the IDB nomenclature by using tariff line 
suffixes. These suffixes are additional codes that allo w the subdivision of any tariff line code into a more 
detailed breakdown. These suffixes ar e already used in both CTS and ID B for cases where a further breakdown 
of tariff lines is required and where different HS tariff line codes are not provided. If tariff lines with suffixes 
exist in the IDB and if these suffixes have to be broken down further because of a more detailed product 
breakdown in the CTS, IDB tariff suffix numbering may have to be changed. G/MA/156 
Page 6  
 
Linked IDB table
IDB        
HS codeSuffix Description MFN 
applied dutyFinal bound 
duty
a
020423 00 - - Boneless 0 4.23¢/kg
02042300 01 - - - Of lamb 0 4.23¢/kg02042300 02 - - - Of mutton 0 4.23¢/kg
b
010410 00 - Sheep 0
01041000 01 - - - Pure-bred breeding animals 0 001041000 02 - - - Other 0 .50$/each
 
 
 In Case 4,  where two or more CTS tariff line descriptions match two or more IDB tariff line 
descriptions, one would follow the same approach as in case 3.  In this case, it is proposed to expand 
the nomenclature for the concerned tariff line(s) in  the IDB in order to capture the more detailed 
product breakdown in the CTS.  The product descripti ons of these expanded IDB tariff lines would be 
taken from the CTS.   
CTS file Link IDB file
HS code Suffix Tariff line description Final bound 
dutyHS code Suffix Tariff line description MFN 
applied 
duty
1905904 - - - Pretzels: Pretzels:
19059041 - - - - Within access 
commitment2.2 19059061 Containing 25% or more 
by weight of wheat, 
within access 
commitment2
19059042 - - - - Over access 
commitment13.11¢/kg 
+ 4.3%19059062 Containing 25% or more 
by weight of wheat, in 
packages of a weight not 
exceeding 1.36 kg each, 
over access commitment2
19059063 Containing 25% or more 
by weight of wheat, in 
packages of a weight 
exceeding 1.36 kg each, 
over access commitment13.11¢/
kg plus 
4%
19059069 Other 2.2 
 
Link table
CTS       HS 
codeCTS 
SuffixIDB       HS 
codeIDB   
Suffix
19059041 19059061
19059041 1905906919059042 1905906219059042 19059063
19059042 19059069
 
  G/MA/156 
 Page 7 
 
 
Linked IDB table
IDB       
HS codeSuffix Description MFN applied duty Final bound duty
19059061 Containing 25% or more by weight of 
wheat, within access commitment22 . 2
19059062 Containing 25% or more by weight of 
wheat, in packages of a weight not 
exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access 
commitment2 13.11¢/kg + 4.3%
19059063 Containing 25% or more by weight of 
wheat, in packages of a weight 
exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access 
commitment13.11¢/kg plus 4% 13.11¢/kg + 4.3%
19059069 00 Other 2.2
19059069 01 - - - - Within access commitment 2.2 2.2
19059069 02 - - - - Over access commitment 2.2 13.11¢/kg + 4.3%
 
 
12. Partially bound IDB tariff lines can be consider ed as a special case where one IDB tariff line 
is only partially matched by a CTS tariff line.  Th e unmatched part of the IDB tariff line has no CTS 
equivalent and is therefore unbound.  Such a case would require a breakdown of the IDB tariff line 
into two parts.  One part would carry the description of the CTS tariff line(s) that partially matches the 
IDB tariff line(s) and the other part would be descr ibed as the remainder, i.e., as other products not 
covered in the bound part.   
CTS file Link IDB file
HS code Suffix Tariff line description Final 
bound dutyHS code Suffix Tariff line description MFN 
applied 
duty
27100010 01 - - - - Other than 
Naphthenic oils for use in the manufacture of printing ink; Oils for use in the manufacture of goods of heading 
No. 38.08 or tariff item 
No. 9919.00.007.4 (partial) 27100010 White mineral oil (USP, BP 
or NF grades); Naphthenic oils for use in the manufacture of printing ink; Oils for use in the manufacture of goods of 
heading No.  38.08 or of 
tariff item No. 9919.00.000
 
 
Link table
CTS       HS 
codeCTS 
SuffixIDB       HS 
codeIDB Suffix
27100010 01 27100010
27100010
 
 G/MA/156 
Page 8  
 
Linked IDB table
IDB        HS 
codeSuffix Description MFN 
applied 
dtFinal bound 
duty
27100010 00 White mineral oil (USP, BP or NF 
grades); Naphthenic oils for use in 
the manufacture of printing ink; Oils 
for use in the manufacture of goods of heading No.  38.08 or of tariff item 
No. 9919.00.000
27100010 01 White mineral oil (USP, BP or NF 
grades); Naphthenic oils for use in 
the manufacture of printin
g ink;0
27100010 02 Other than Naphthenic oils for use in 
the manufacture of printing ink; Oils 
for use in the manufacture of goods 
of heading No. 38.08 or tariff item 
No. 9919.00.0007 . 4
 
 
13. As has been shown above, for cases 3 and 4, the proposed approach leads to the creation of 
additional tariff lines in Members’ IDB files.  Fo r about half of the tariff lines concerned by these 
cases, the final bound duties are the same.  One could th erefore consider, as an option, not to reflect in 
the linked IDB file the detailed pr oduct breakdown currently in the CTS,  if it does not reflect different 
levels of final bound duties.  Only where there are different bound duties relating to one IDB tariff 
line would one have to maintain the breakdown currently used in th e CTS to reflect correctly these 
differences in bound duties.  It might be worthwhile to consider this appro ach, which would avoid the 
proliferation of tariff lines in the linked IDB file w ithout any loss of information as concerns the level 
of the bound duties.5  The alternative of keeping the historical breakdown of tariff lines may lead to 
ever increasing levels of detail, which may not have  any more relevance for current tariff analyses.   
  Following this approach, case 3 example "a" w ould appear in a simplified linked IDB table as 
follows:  
 
Linked IDB table
IDB        HS 
codeSuffix Description MFN 
applied 
dtFinal bound 
duty
a
02042300 Boneless 0 4.23¢/kg 
 
Procedural Issues  
 
14. Once the technical issues have been reso lved, Members would need to agree on the 
procedures for updating the IDB files.   
 
15. It is proposed to add the final bound duties from the CTS as an additional duty type in the 
2001 IDB files and to store these linked IDB files, in addition to the existing 2001 files, in the IDB 
area of the File Transfer Facility .6 This would allow preserving access to the original national 
nomenclature as applied in 2001.  At the same time, a file with an expanded nomenclature would also 
be available, which would include the CTS final bound duties identified by a different duty type/duty 
code.  
                                                     
 
5 This consideration may become also an issue in the future conversion of the CTS to the HS 2002 
nomenclature. 
6 In those cases where the link has been done for a different year, the respective year would be used.   G/MA/156 
 Page 9 
 
 
16. If Members were to agree to such a procedure, the Secretariat could prepare linked IDB 
submissions for the year for which the link exists.  They would then be loaded in the Internet File 
Transfer Facility in the IDB area and would not replace the existing national IDB submissions.  The 
revised files would be loaded, as is current practice, first in the provisional area and would be transferred to the approved area after 60 days if there are no comments from the concerned Members.  
It is suggested that for those cases where there has been no change in the IDB nomenclature, a 
separate file including the final bound duties would be created as well.   
__________