WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/MA/W/61/Add.2 
24 July 2006 
 (06-3537) 
Negotiating Group on Market Access Original:   English 
  
 
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
 
Negotiating Proposal on
 
Tariff Elimination in the Gems and Jewellery Sector  
 
Communication from Hong Kong, China; J apan; the Separate Customs Territory of  
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu;  Singapore; Switzerland; Thailand  
and the United States 
 
Addendum  
 
 The following communication, dated 20 July 2006, is being circulated at the request of the Delegations from Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Se parate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen and Matsu; Singapore; Switzerland; Thailand and the United States. 
 
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I. INTRODUCTION 
1.   As proposed in the previous communica tion of 21 September 2005 (ref. TN/MA/W/61) and 
7 November 2005 (ref. TN/MA/W/61/Add.1), tariff el imination in the gems and jewellery sector is 
another key element to achieving the objectives of th e Doha Development Agenda .  The participation of 
Members who are significant producers and traders is  necessary for a successful trade liberalization, 
which in turn promotes economic gr owth and development.  Since the nature of the gems and jewellery 
industry is composed of several stages where many  countries, both developed and developing, involve 
in, this initiative will benefit each one by increasi ng trade at every stage of the supply chain. 
 2. Taking into consideration the Ministeria l Declaration adopted on 18 December 2005 
(ref. WT/MIN(05)DEC), which instructed the Negotia ting Group to review proposals with a view to 
identifying those which could garn er sufficient participation, the following proposal is made for 
consideration of all Members. 
 
II. MODALITIES 
 
A. 
PARTICIPATION  
3. As agreed in paragraph 16 of  the Hong Kong Ministerial Declarat ion, participation should be on 
a non-mandatory basis.  A gems and jewellery sectoral initiative in the Doha Development Round 
should include WTO Members that are key traders as well as producers that have the potential to impact 
international markets through trade.  Critical mass w ill be attained when suff icient Members agree to 
participate in this initiative such th at their combined total trade reach es a threshold to be determined by 
Members.  To date, interested Members have proposed a critical mass of countries representing [90] 
percent of total WTO’s Members’ tr ade in the agreed product coverage. TN/MA/W/61/Add.2 
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B PRODUCT COVERAGE  
4. A gems and jewellery sectoral initiative should be as comprehensive as possible and simple for 
participating Members to implement.  Therefore,  the product coverage shoul d be broad and cover a 
range of products within the s upply chain of the gems and jewell ery sector, while taking into account 
the diverse nature of these products.   
 5. It is proposed that the product coverage of this sector should cover articles under Chapter 71 of 
the Harmonized System, which includes pearls, diam onds, precious stones, synthetic stones, silver, 
gold, platinum, jewellery, and other articles of the products aforementioned,  imitation jewellery, and 
coin. A tentative suggestion for prod uct coverage on the gems and jewelle ry sector is shown in Annex 1. 
Additional products of interest to pa rticipating Members may be added to  the list for consideration.  The 
ultimate decision on product coverage rests w ith the participants in the agreement.  
 
C TARGET RATE AND IMPLEMENTATION  
6. This sectoral initiative aims at immediate elimin ation of tariffs on gems and jewellery products.  
Such tariff elimination would commence when the agr eed critical mass is attained and in accordance 
with the special and differential treatment outlined below.   
D SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT  
7. Flexibility in implementation of the process c ould be employed to account for the needs of 
developing countries.  For certain highly sensitive produc ts, up to [X]% of [total value of a Member’s 
import] in the agreed product cove rage, Developing Members may elect  to implement this agreement 
based on the following three-step staging.   -  First, each Member has to reduce its bound tariffs  of those specific tariff lines to [Y] % or the 
post-formula values, whichever is the lower, over [Z
1] years in equal installments. 
  -  Second, Members may maintain the tariff ra te(s) achieved in the first step, without any 
reduction, for [Z
2] years. 
 -  Finally, after the first two steps are attain ed, Members has to eliminate bound tariffs without 
further staging. 
  8. Additional proposals for special and differentia l treatment are welcomed.  Specific conditions 
and limits for flexibility option will be further discussed  while all elements of special and differential 
treatment will be ultimately decided by the participants in the agreement.  
 
E MISCELLANEOUS ELEMENT  
9. Nothing in this sectoral initiative shall preven t participating Members to exercise control over 
movement of gold or silver as necessary in acco rdance with Article XX and Article XXI of the 
GATT 1994. 
III. NEXT STEPS 
10. The results of this negotiation will be incor porated into each participating Member’s schedule 
of commitments.   TN/MA/W/61/Add.2 
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Annex 1 
 
Product Coverage for the Gems a nd Jewelry Sectoral Initiative 
 
HS 2002 Description 
710110 Natural Pearls, Not Mounted Or Set 
710121 Cultured Pearls, Unworked 
710122 Cultured Pearls, Worked, Not Set 
710210 Diamonds, Unsorted 
710221 Diamonds, Industrial, Unworked Or Simply Sawn, Cleaved Or Bruted 
710229 Diamonds, Industrial, Worked 
710231 Diamonds, Non-industrial, Unworked Or Simply Sawn, Cleaved Or Bruted 
710239 Diamonds, Non-industrial, Worked, Including Polished Or Drilled 
710310 Precious Stones (Other Than Diamonds) And Semiprec ious Stones, Unworked Or Simply Sawn Or 
Roughly Shaped 
710391 Rubies, Sapphires And Emeralds, Otherwise Worked 
710399 Semiprecious Stones, Otherwise Worked 
710410 Piezo-Electric Quartz, Not Mounted Or Set 
710420 Synthetic Or Reconstructed Gemstones, Unwo rked Or Simply Sawn Or Roughly Shaped 
710490 Synthetic Or Reconstructed Precious Or Se miprecious Stones Nesoi, Otherwise Worked 
710510 Diamond Dust And Powder, Natural And Synthetic 
710590 Dust And Powder Of Natural Or Synthetic Pr ecious (Except Diamond) Or Semiprecious Stones 
710610 Silver Powder 
710691 Silver, Unwrought Nesoi (Other Than Powder) 
710692 Silver, Semi-manufactured 
710700 Base Metals Clad With Silver, Not Fu rther Worked Than Semi-manufactured 
710811 Gold, Nonmonetary, Powder 
710812 Gold, Nonmonetary, Unwrought Nesoi (Other Than Powder) 
710813 Gold, Nonmonetary, Semi-manufactured Forms Nesoi (Other Than Powder) 
710820 Monetary Gold 
710900 Base Metals Or Silver, Clad With Gold, No t Further Worked Than Semi-manufactured 
711011 Platinum, Unwrought Or In Powder Form 
711019 Platinum Metal, Semi-manufactured 
711021 Palladium, Unwrought Or In Powder Form 
711029 Palladium, Semi-manufactured 
711031 Rhodium, Unwrought Or In Powder Form 
711039 Rhodium, Semi-manufactured 
711041 Iridium, Osmium And Ruthenium, Unwrought Or In Powder Form 
711049 Iridium, Osmium And Ruthenium, Semi-manufactured 
711100 Base Metals, Silver Or Gold, Clad With Plati num, Not Further Worked Than Semi-manufactured 
711230 Ash Containing Precious Metals  Or Precious Metal Compounds 
711291 Waste And Scrap Of Gold, Including Metal Clad With Gold But Excluding Sweepings Containing 
Other Precious Metals 
711292 Waste And Scrap Of Platinum, Including Metal Clad With Platinum But Excluding Sweepings 
Containing Other Precious Metals 
711299 Waste And Scrap Of Precious Metal, Nesoi 
711311 Jewelry And Parts Thereof, Of Silver 
711319 Jewelry And Parts Thereof, Of Precious Metal Other Than Silver 
711320 Jewelry And Parts Thereof, Of Base Metal Clad With Precious Metal TN/MA/W/61/Add.2 
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  HS 2002 Description 
711411 Articles Of Silver (Other Than Jewelry), Whether Or Not Plated Or Clad With Other Precious Metal 
711419 Articles Of Gold Or Platinum (Other Than Jewelry ), Whether Or Not Plated Or Clad With Other 
Precious Metal 
711420 Articles Of Goldsmiths' Or Silversmiths' Wares (O ther Than Jewelry) And Parts Thereof, Of Base 
Metal Clad With Precious Metal 
711510 Catalysts, Platinum, In The Form Of Wire Cloth Or Grill 
711590 Articles Nesoi, Of Precious Metal Or Of Metal Clad With Precious Metal 
711610 Articles Of Natural Or Cultured Pearls 
711620 Articles Of Precious Or Semiprecious Stones (Natural, Synthetic Or Reconstructed) 
711711 Cuff Links And Studs Of Base Metal, Whether Or Not Plated With Precious Metal 
711719 Imitation Jewelry Nesoi, Of Base Metal, Whether Or Not Plated With Precious Metal 
711790 Imitation Jewelry Nesoi (Not Of Base Metal) 
711810 Coin (Other Than Gold Coin), Not Being Legal Tender 
711890 Coin, Nesoi 
 
 
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