WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/RO/67 
25 November 2008 
 (08-5771) 
Committee on Rules of Origin  
  
 
FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND 
OPERATION OF THE AGREEM ENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
 
 Article 6.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Orig in provides that "the Committee shall review 
annually the implementation and opera tion of Part II and Part III of this Agreement having regard to 
its objectives".  At the meeting on 9 October 2008 the Committee on Rules of Origin conducted the 
fourteenth annual review of the implemen tation and operation of the Agreement. 
 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. G/RO/67 
Page 2  
 
  Table of contents
 
 
1. Members and Observer status.................................................................................................3  
(a) WTO Members (153).............................................................................................................. ....3 
(b) Observer Govern ments (30)...................................................................................................... ..4 
(c) Observer International Organizations (9) ...................................................................................4  
2. Officers of the Committee on Rules of Origin........................................................................4  
3. Meetings of the Committe e on Rules of Origin ......................................................................4  
4. Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Goods ................................................................5   G/RO/67 
 Page 3 
 
 
  1. Members and Observer status 
(a) WTO Members (153) 
Albania Dominica Latvia Saint Kitts and Nevis 
Angola Dominican Republic Lesotho Saint Lucia 
Antigua and Barbuda Ecuador Liechtenstein Saint Vincent and the 
Argentina Egypt Lithuania    Grenadines 
Armenia El Salvador Luxembourg Saudi Arabia 
Australia Estonia Macao, China Senegal Austria European Community Madagascar Sierra Leone 
Bahrain Fiji  Malawi Singapore 
Bangladesh Finland Malaysia Slovak Republic Barbados Former Yugoslav Rep. of Maldives Slovenia 
Belgium Macedonia Ma li Solomon Islands 
Belize France Malta South Africa Benin Gabon Mauritania Spain 
Bolivia Gambia Mauritius Sri Lanka 
Botswana Georgia Mexico Suriname Brazil Germany Moldova Swaziland 
Brunei Darussalam Gh ana Mongolia Sweden 
Bulgaria Greece Moro cco Switzerland 
Burkina Faso Grenada Mo zambique Chinese Taipei 
Burundi Guatemala Myanmar Tanzania 
Cambodia Guinea-Bissau Namibia Thailand Cameroon Guinea, Republic of Nepal Togo 
Canada Guyana Netherlands Tonga 
Cape Verde Haiti New Zealand Trinidad and Tobago Central African Republic Honduras Nicaragua Tunisia 
Chad Hong Kong, China Niger Turkey 
Chile Hungary Nigeria Uganda 
China, Peoples's Rep. of  Iceland Norway Ukraine 
Colombia India Oman United Arab Emirates Congo Indonesia Pakistan United Kingdom 
Costa Rica Ireland Panama United States 
Côte d'Ivoire Israel Papua New Guinea Uruguay Croatia Italy Paraguay Venezuela 
Cuba Jamaica Peru Viet Nam 
Cyprus Japan Philippines Zambia Czech Republic Jordan  Poland Zimbabwe 
Democratic Republic of  Kenya Portugal  
   the Congo Korea Qatar  Denmark Kuwait Romania  
Djibouti Kyrgyz Republic Rwanda  
 G/RO/67 
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  (b) Observer Governments (30) 
Afghanistan Ethiopia Samoa 
Algeria Holy See Sao Tome and Principe 
Andorra Iran Serbia 
Azerbaijan Iraq Seychelles Bahamas Kazakhstan Sudan 
Belarus Lao, People's Democratic Republic of Tajikistan 
Bhutan Lebanon Ukraine Bosnia and Herzegovina Libya Uzbekistan 
Cape Verde Montenegro Vanuatu 
Equatorial Guinea Russian Federation Yemen    
   
 
(c) Observer International Organizations (9) 
ACP 
EFTA 
IADB IMF ITCB OECD 
UNCTAD 
WCO 
 World Bank  
2. Officers of the Committee on Rules of Origin 
Chairperson:  Ms. Vera Thorstensen (Brazil) 
 Vice-Chairman:  Mr. Yoshitomo Kondo (Japan)   
3. Meetings of the Committee on Rules of Origin 
3.1 The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) held two formal meetings on 24 April and 
9 October 2008.  The minutes of these meetings  are contained in documents G/RO/M/50-51. 
 
3.2 With regard to the work under Part II of the Agreement, the CRO discussed the 
implementation by Argentina of its commitment to the Agreement.  3.3. With regard to the work under Part III of the Agreement, the CRO took note of the 
notifications under Article 5 and pa ragraph 4 of Annex II of the Ag reement.  To date 79 Members 
have made notifications of non-preferential rules of  origin and 86 Members have made notifications 
of preferential rules of origin.  The Chairman expressed concern that a number of Members had not yet complied with the notification requirements.  He  urged Members who had not yet notified to do so 
as early as possible.  
3.4. With regard to the Harmonization Work Pr ogramme under Part IV of the Agreement, the 
General Council, at its meeti ng on 27 July 2007, recognized that, although important progress had 
been made over the last year, delegations in the CRO felt that the difficulties they had encountered on 
the "implications" issue and in the sector of ma chinery was such that guidance from the General 
Council was now warranted on how to take these i ssues forward.  The recommendation of delegations 
in the CRO was that work on th ese issues be suspended until such guidance from the General Council  G/RO/67 
 Page 5 
 
 
  would be forthcoming.  The General Council then agreed  that "in the meantime the CRO continue its 
work with a view to resolving all technical i ssues including the technical aspects of the overall 
architecture, as soon as possible".  The General Council also took note  of the statement that the 
General Council Chairman noted in this connection that "in terms of  next steps, delegations had 
requested the CRO Chair to continue the technical and architecture discussions in the regular business 
of the CRO".  The CRO, at its meetings on 24 Ap ril and 9 October 2008, continued its discussions on 
the technical issues.  
4. Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Goods 
The CRO adopted its report to the CTG (G/L/870). 
 
 G/RO/67 
Page 6  
 
  ANNEX
 
 1. Members that have notified N on-Preferential Ru les of Origin 
(37) 
 
Albania (G/RO/N/47) Georgia (G /RO/N/37) Norway (G/RO/N/8) 
Argentina (G/RO/N/2, 10 & 16) Hong Kong, China (G/RO/N/1, Peru (G/RO/N/4 & 5, 49, 50 & 52) 
Armenia (G/RO/N/41 & 53) 10, 24, 30, 37, 46 & 59) Qatar (G/RO/N/25) 
Australia (G/RO/N/1) Japan (G/RO/N/1) Senegal (G/RO/N/10) 
Burkina Faso (G/RO/N/19) Jordan (G /RO/N/30)  South Africa (G/RO/N/3) 
Canada (G/RO/N/1) Korea (G/RO/N/1) Suriname (G/RO/N/24 & 43) 
China (G/RO/N/37/Rev.1) Lesotho (G/RO/N/56) Switzerland (G/RO/N/4) 
Colombia (G/RO/N/1) Madagascar (G/RO/N/11) Chinese Taipei (G/RO/N/37) 
Croatia /G/RO/N/36) Mexico (G/RO/N/12) Tunisia (G/RO/N/7) 
Cuba (G/RO/N/3) Moldova (G/RON/36) Turkey (G/RO/N/8 & 28) 
EC (G/RO/N/1) Morocco (G/R O/N/2) Ukraine (G/RO/N/57) 
Former Yugoslav Rep. of  New Zealand (G/RO/N/1) US (G/RO/N/1 & 6) 
Macedonia /G/RO/N/45) Niger (G/RO/N/19) Venezuela (G/RO/N/1 & 10) 
 
2. Members that have notified that they do not have Non-Preferential Rules of Origin (42) 
 
Bolivia (G/RO/N/9) Haiti (G/R O/N/20) Nicaragua  (G/RO/N/10) 
Brazil (G/RO/N/14) Honduras (G/RO/N/3) Oman (G/RO/N/32) 
Brunei Darussalam (G/RO/N/5) Iceland (G/RO/N/5) Pakistan (G/RO/N/16) 
Burundi (G/RO/N/33) India (G/RO/N/1) Panama (G/RO/N/23) 
Chad (G/RO/N22) Indonesia (G/RO/N/16) Papua New Guinea (G/RO/N/32) 
Chile (G/RO/N/6) Israel (G/R O/N/13) Paraguay (G/RO/N/21) 
Costa Rica (G/RO/N/1) Jamaica (G/R O/N/4) Philippines (G/RO/N/6) 
Dominica (G/RO/N/24) Kenya (G/RO/N/ 9) Saudi Arabia  (G/RO/N/48) 
Dominican Rep. (G/RO/N/9) Macao, Ch ina (G/RO/N/21) Si ngapore (G/RO/N/3) 
El Salvador (G/RO/N/10) Malaysia (G/RO/N/6) Thailand (G/RO/N/1) 
Fiji (G/RO/N/17) Maldives (G/RO/N/ 22) Trinidad & Tobago (G/RO/N/7) 
Ghana (G/RO/N/44) Mauritius (G /RO/N/1) Uganda  (G/RO/N/12) 
Guatemala (G/RO/N/21) Mongolia (G/RO/N/20) United Arab Emirates (G/RO/N/17) 
Guyana (G/RO/N/42) Namibia (G/RO/N/26) Uruguay (G/RO/N/12) 
 
3. Members that have not notified Non-Preferential Rules of Origin (47) 
 
Angola Ecuador Nigeria 
Antigua & Barbuda Egypt Rwanda 
Bahrain Gabon Saint Kitts & Nevis 
Bangladesh Gambia Saint Lucia 
Barbados Grenada Saint Vincent & Grenadines 
Belize Guinea Bissau Sierra Leone 
Benin Guinea, Rep. of Solomon Islands 
Botswana Kuwait Sri Lanka 
Cambodia Kyrgyz Rep. Swaziland 
Cameroon Liechtenstein Tanzania 
Cape Verde Malawi Togo 
Central African Rep Mali Tonga 
Congo  Mauritania Viet Nam 
Côte d'Ivoire  Mozambique Zambia 
D.R. of Congo Myanmar Zimbabwe 
Djibouti Nepal   G/RO/67 
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  4. Members that have notified Preferential Rules of Origin  (82) 
 
Albania (G/RO/N/47 & 53) Guatemala (G/RO/N/21) Nicaragua (G/RO/N/10) 
Argentina (G/RO/N/16) Guyana (G/RO/N/42) Niger (G/RO/N/19) 
Armenia (G/RO/N/41) Haiti (G/RO/N/ 20) Norway (G/RO/N/8, 22 & 23) 
Australia (G/RO/N/1 & 51) Honduras (G/RO/N/3 & 10) Oman (G/RO/N/32) 
Bolivia (G/RO/N/1, 22&23) Iceland (G/RO/N/15, 22 & 23) Pakistan (G/RO/N/16) 
Brazil (G/RO/N/12) India (G/RO/N/1) Panama (G/RO/N/23) 
Brunei Darussalam (G/RO/N/4) Indonesia (G/RO/N/4) Paraguay (G/RO/N/12) 
Burkina Faso (G/RO/N/19) Israel (G/R O/N/13) Papua New Guinea (G/RO/N/32) 
Canada (G/RO/N/1, 6 & 8) Jamaica (G/RO/N/4) Peru (G/RO/N/1 & 49) 
Chad (G/RO/N/22) Japan (G/RO/N/6) Philippines (G/RO/N/4) 
Chile (G/RO/N/6&38) Jordan (G/RON/30) Qatar (G/RO/N/25) 
China (G/RO/N/37/Rev.1) Kenya (G/RO/N/9) Senegal (G/RO/N/10) 
Colombia (G/RO/N/1) Korea (G/R O/N/7) Singapore (G/RO/N/3 & 4) 
Costa Rica (G/RO/N/20/Rev.1) Kyrgyz Republic (G/RO/N/39) Suriname (G/RO/N/24) 
Côte d'Ivoire (G/RO/N/11) Lesotho (G/RO/N/56) Switzerland (G/RO/N/6, 22, 23, 29 & 30) 
Croatia (G/RO/N/36) Liechtenstein (G/RO/N/22) Thailand (G/RO/N/1 & 4) 
Cuba (G/RO/N/3) Madagascar (G/RO/N/11) Trinidad &Tobago (G/RO/N/7, 24 & 54) 
Dominica(G/RO/N/24) Malaysia (G/RO/N/4) Tunisia (G/RO/N/7) 
Dominican Rep. (G/RO/N/5, 39&40) Maldives (G/RO/N/22) Turkey (G/RO/N/8 & 28) 
D.R. of Congo (G/RO/N/48) Mali (G/RON/35) Uganda (G/RO/N/12) 
EC (G/RO/N/1) Mauritius (G/R O/N/1) Ukraine (G/RO/N/58) 
Ecuador (G/RO/N/12) Mexico (G/RO/N/12) United Arab Emirates (G/RO/N/17) 
El Salvador (G/RO/N/10, 11&30) Moldova (G/RO/N/36) Uruguay (G/RO/N/5) 
Fiji (G/RO/N/17) Mongolia (G/RO/N/20) US (G/RO/N/1 , 6 & 18) 
Former Yugoslav Rep. of  Morocco (G/RO/N/2) Venezuela (G/RO/N/1) 
Macedonia (G/RO/N/45) Myanmar (G/RO/N/36) Zambia (G/RO/N/15) 
Georgia (G/RO/N/38) Namibia (G/R O/N/26) Zimbabwe  (G/RO/N/55) 
Ghana (G/RO/N/44) New Z ealand (G/RO/N/1 & 51)  
 
5. Members that have notified that they do not have Preferential Rules of Origin  (4) 
 
Burundi (G/RO/N/34) 
Chinese Taipei (G/RO/N/37) Hong Kong, China (G/RO/N/1) 
Macao, China (G/RO/N/21) 
 
6. Members that have not notified Preferential Rules of Origin  (40) 
 
Angola Egypt Saint Lucia 
Antigua & Barbuda Gabon Saint Vincent & Grenadines 
Bahrain Gambia Saudi Arabia 
Bangladesh Grenada Sierra Leone 
Barbados Guinea Bissau Solomon Islands 
Belize Guinea, Rep. of South Africa 
Benin Kuwait Sri Lanka 
Botswana Malawi Swaziland 
Cambodia Mauritania Tanzania 
Cameroon Mozambique Togo  
Cape Verde Nepal Tonga 
Cent. African Rep. Nigeria Viet Nam 
Congo Rwanda  
Djibouti St. Kitts & Nevis  
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