WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/51/Add.4 
10 March 2006 
 
 (06-1083) 
Committee on Trade and Development Original:   English 
  
 
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON COMPRE HENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION 
BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS  
AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
 
Communication from the Parties to the Agreement
 
 
Addendum  
  
 The following communication dated 7 March 2006 has been received from Japan, and is 
being circulated at its request. 
 
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QUESTIONS BY JAPAN WITH RESPECT TO THE "FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION 
OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA"  
AND THE "AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN GOODS OF THE FRAMEWORK  
AGREEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION  
BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS  
AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA" 
 
 Current Status
 
 
Question 1:  Entry into force and State of Play (Article 23, Agreement on Trade in Goods) 
 (1) Have all the Parties completed their intern al procedures for the entry into force of the 
agreement?  If not, could the Parties provide us  with information on the current situation?  
 
(2) As for ASEAN 6 and China, if they successf ully completed the internal procedures for the 
entry into force of the agreement, their tariff reduction or elimination should have taken place 
no later than 1 July 2005.  Could the Parties inform us if the expected tariff 
reduction/elimination occurred as stated in the Agreement?  
 
(3) How can the public know the exact tariff rate  for specific products?  Can the public foresee 
the change of tariff rates well in advance?   
 
 
Question 2:  Philippines' List (Article 6, Framework Agreement and Protocol/Article 3, 
Agreement on Trade in Goods) 
  Has the Philippines established the lists under the Early Harvest Programme and the list of 
goods which will be included in the Normal Track?   If not, when do the Parties expect it to be 
established?   WT/COMTD/51/Add.4 
Page 2  
 
   
Question 3:  Rules of Origin (Article 5, Agreement on Trade in Goods, Annex 3) 
 
 Could the Parties explain the current situation of the negotiation on the product-specific Rules 
of Origin? 
 
 
Question 4:  Trade in Services and Investme nt (Article 4 and 5, Framework Agreement) 
  Could the Parties give us updated information on the status of the negotiation in the area of 
Trade in Services and Investment? 
 
 
Tariff Reduction and Elimination in Trade in Goods
 
 
Question 5:  Establishment of Lists (Article 3, Agreement on Trade in Goods)  
 Article 3 of the Agreement on Trade in Goods  states that tariff lines which are covered 
subject to the tariff reduction or elimination progra mme under the agreement shall be categorized into 
Normal Track and Sensitive Track, which is furt her categorized into Sensitive List and Highly 
Sensitive List. 
 (1) Could the Parties explain how each Party made the Lists attached in Annex 1 and 2?  What 
does "on its own accord” mean?  Can each Party decide which products are put into which 
category without negotiating with other Parties? 
 
(2) Should we understand that all products are cat egorized under the Normal Track when they are 
not listed in Appendix 1 (Sensitive List) or Appe ndix 2 (Highly Sensitive List) of Annex 2 of 
the Agreement on Trade in Goods, and the Earl y Harvest Programme under Article 6 of the 
Framework Agreement?      
 
 
Question 6:  The Ceiling for the Sensitive Track (Article 3, Agreement on Trade in Goods, 
Annex 2) 
  Paragraph 1 in Annex 2 of th e Agreement on Trade in Goods states that the maximum ceiling 
of the number of tariff lines which each Party can place in the Sensitive Track depends on the number 
of tariff lines and percentage of the total import value.  
 (1) Does "the total import value" include im ports from both China a nd the ASEAN Member 
Countries?  In other words, does a Member Country of the ASEAN include the import value 
from other ASEAN Member Countries when it calculates “the total import value” in 
accordance with this Annex? 
 
(2) Could the Parties give us the background information on the provisions which set the 
different ceilings for (a) China, (b) ASEAN 6 and (c) CLMV? 
 (3) As for the ceilings based on tariff lines, is th is number based on the HS 6 digit level, or based 
on the level used domestically? 
 (4) Could the Parties give us the background information on how numbers such as 40 per cent 
and 100 tariff lines were decided for the ceiling?   
  WT/COMTD/51/Add.4 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
Question 7:  Reciprocity (Article 3, Ag reement on Trade in Goods, Annex 2) 
 
(1) The reciprocal tariff rate treatment is provi ded in paragraph 6, Anne x 2 of the Agreement on 
Trade in Goods. We think that the scope of tariff reduction/elimination under the Agreement 
could become narrower because of this reciproc ity. Could the Parties give us their views on 
this point? 
 
(2) It is also provided in Annex 2 that "the tariff  rate for a tariff line placed by a Party in the 
Sensitive Track must be at 10 per cent or below in  order for that Party to enjoy reciprocity."  
Do the customs authorities check the tariff rate each time they handle an imported product 
from a Party? 
  Trade Data
 
 Question 8:  Trade Data 
  Could the Parties give us the annual trade value (in US $) of imports in  Chapters 1 – 24 and 
Chapter 44 of HS Code and the other Chapters of  HS Code, according to how they are classified 
within the Highly Sensitive Line, the Sensitive Line, the Normal Track and the Early Harvest, 
respectively among Parties?  From ASEAN Member C ountries, we would like to have the trade value 
country by country, and from China, we would lik e to have the trade value of imports from the 
ASEAN Member Countries as a whole.    
 
 
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