RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/RO/M/55 
17 December 2010 
 (10-6794) 
Committee on Rules of Origin  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 28 OCTOBER 2010 
 
Chairperson:  Ms. Jasmine QUAH ZUBAIR (Singapore)
 
 
Subjects Discussed  
 
I. TECHNICAL ISSUES IN THE HARM ONIZATION WORK PROGRAMME – 
REPORTING OF THE INFORM ATION CONSULTATIONS ......................................................1  
A. REVISED STATUS UPDATE .........................................................................................................2  
B. ENDORSEMENT OF PRODUCT SPECIFIC RULES ........................................................................2  
C. HS TRANSPOSITION ...................................................................................................................3  
D. OVERALL ARCHITECTURE ........................................................................................................4  
1. General Rule 6 ................................................................................................................. .......4  
2. Appendix 2 ..................................................................................................................... .........4  
E. PRODUCT -SPECIFIC RULES OF ORIGIN .....................................................................................6  
1. Chapter Notes .................................................................................................................. .......6  
2. Split Heading 03.05(a) and (b) ...............................................................................................6  
3. Heading 04.04.................................................................................................................. .......6  
4. Split heading 07.12(b)......................................................................................................... ....7 
5. Heading or subheading 09.01.................................................................................................7  
6. Split heading ex15.21(a) ....................................................................................................... ..7 
7. Chapter 30 ..................................................................................................................... .........7  
8. Chapters 28 to 32.............................................................................................................. ......7  
9. Chapters rules of mach inery (chapters 84-90) .......................................................................7  
II. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 5 PARAGRAPH 4 OF ANNEX II OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN ..........................................................................................8  
III. ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN ..........................................................................................8  
IV. DRAFT REPORT (2010) OF THE COMMITTEE  TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN 
GOODS .......................................................................................................................... ........................8  
V. OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................. .....8  
 
 
I. TECHNICAL ISSUES IN THE HARM ONIZATION WORK PROGRAMME – 
REPORTING OF THE INFORMATION CONSULTATIONS 
1.1 Based on informal consultations with Members, the Chairperson  summarised the main issues 
related to the Harmonization Work Programme (HWP) as follows: G/RO/M/55 
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A. R
EVISED STATUS UPDATE  
 
1.2 The Chairperson  recalled that the Revised Status Update had been circulated in document 
JOB RO/Rev.1, and noted that, in line with feedback received from delegations, the main revisions 
concerned the first part of the document where a su mmary in pictorial form had been added, and in 
the third part of the document, where inaccuracies had been corrected.  The column "options" in the 
table in Part III had been deleted because the in tention was not to utilise this document as a 
negotiating document as it was for information and reference only.  
1.3 Some delegations stated that the indicated status  of issues in Part III, such as "No Member at 
this stage appears to object to the Chair's proposal " did not reflect appropriately Members' positions 
since outstanding product-specific rules (PSRs) were  part of the compromise package proposed by the 
Chairperson.  
1.4 Two delegations recalled that China, India and Pakistan had made a submission, (documents 
WT/GC/W/622 and WT/GC/W/622/Add.1) to the Ge neral Council in May 2010, proposing that the 
General Council discuss, among other things, the 94 core policy issues and the “dual rule approach” 
on machinery which had been referred to it by th e Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) in 2007.  
Members had expressed varying views.  Those two dele gations requested that their submission to the 
General Council be captured in the revised status update. 
 
1.5 The Chairperson
 took note of comments made and proposed to revise the document to 
include her notation to clarify that the outstanding  PSRs were part of th e compromise package, and 
that the column, in Part III, i ndicating the "status" of issues, wa s the subjective assessment of the 
Chairperson. 
 
B. ENDORSEMENT OF PRODUCT SPECIFIC RULES  
 
1.6 Based on informal consultations held with Members, the Chairperson  had suggested the 
possibility of continuing with the HWP without reso lving the difficult issue of implications, i.e. to 
consider endorsing those PSRs which might not invol ve the implications issue and which were not 
significantly controversial.  While some Member s were supportive of this suggestion, others 
expressed reservations.  Given the feedback r eceived at that meeting, the Chairperson  asked if 
delegations were prepared to consider the possibility of endorsing a smaller subset of these issues, i.e. 
lines which were not significantly controversial a nd which are non core policy.  The following five 
rules were suggested to the CRO for consideration: 
 
a. Issue No. 1 of Chapter 1-24 :  Each primary rule of subheadings 0101.11, 0102.10 and 
0103.10 shall read "[T]he origin shall be the country where the animal was born".  These 
subheadings cover "pure-bred breeding animals" , and no Member had previously objected to 
the suggested rule when it was last discussed. 
 
b. Issue No. 10 of Chapter 1-24 :  The primary rule of split head ing ex03.06(d) should read "The 
origin shall be the country where the crustaceans have been captured or gathered".  And the 
primary rule of split heading ex03.07(d) shall read  "The origin shall be the country where the 
animals have been captured and gathered".  No Member had previously objected to the 
suggested rule when it was last discussed. 
 
c. Issue No. 11 of Chapter 1-24 :  The primary rule of split heading ex03.04(a) (fish surimi) shall 
read "CTHS".  No Member had previously object ed to the suggested rule when it was last 
discussed. 
  G/RO/M/55 
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  d. Issue No. 37 of Chapter 1-24 :  The primary rule of heading 12.08 shall read "CTH".  No 
Member had previously objected to the s uggested rule when it was last discussed. 
 e. Issue No. 71 of Chapter 1-24
:  The primary rule of (sub)headings 20.02, 20.03, 2008.20-
2008.91 and 2008.99 shall read "CTH".  No Memb er had previously objected to the suggested 
rule when it was last discussed. 
 1.7 Delegations expressed divergent views regardi ng the possible consideration and endorsement 
of these issues.  Many delegations supported the Ch air's proposal to consider and endorse these five 
issues.  One delegation noted that the CRO had suspended negotiations on PSRs because it obtained 
few results for the efforts made and that, therefore,  many of the issues being considered had not been 
discussed with their domestic industry representatives in a long time.  It was also noted by other delegations, that other items in the agenda of th e CRO were more urgent, such as the transposition 
exercise. Other delegations stated that discussions  on PSRs could only resume when there was greater 
clarity about the implications of the proposed rules.  Some delegations added that they did not want to 
look at each issue in a piecemeal fashion and wo uld only be willing to consider PSRs as a full 
package of the HWP. Some delegations, while not  objecting to considering subsets of outstanding 
issues, raised the problem of linkages among all i ssues in the package.  Ot hers stated that the 
suggested piecemeal approach would meet certain limits.  1.8 Some delegations recalled that, at the May 2010 General Council meeting, Members 
discussed a submission by China, India and Pakist an concerning the way forward on the HWP, and 
that, in July, the Chairman of the General Council stated that it would be appropriate to allow the 
newly elected CRO Chair more time for her effort s in this respect.  They expressed disappointment 
that the CRO Chair's proposed way forward cont ained only five, and not many more, issues for 
endorsement. 
 
1.9 Some delegations noted that some rules enum erated in the consolidated text (document 
G/RO/W/111/Rev.5) did not contain square brackets whereas some reservations in their respect had 
not been clearly lifted by the members concerned.  They requested that the consolidated text be 
revised to add square brackets in those occasions.  C. HS
 TRANSPOSITION  
 
1.10 The Chairperson  recalled that many delegations had not ed during informal consultations that 
the rules contained in G/RO/W/111/Rev.5 are based  on the HS 1996 nomenclature and that the CRO 
should discuss whether or not the CRO should embark on the transposition of the current rules to the 
newer versions of the HS nomenclature and, if so , whether the transposition should be undertaken to 
the HS 2007 or 2012 version. To assist delegati ons in their responses, the representative of the 
Secretariat briefly presented a non-paper by the Technical Committee on Rules of Origin (TCRO), which illustrated the process followed during the 1996 -2002 transposition exercise.  From the paper, it 
could be seen that some rules could not be mechani cally transposed for some merged or split headings 
and sub-headings, which meant that the transposition of the rules in some lines could entail complex 
decisions. 
 1.11 In response, delegations acknowledged that the gradual transposition of the rules to newer 
versions of the HS nomenclature was a major undert aking.  It was noted that some rules might be 
directly and simply transposed while others woul d require more complex decisions.  However, while 
some delegations believed it should be undertaken as a matter of priori ty as the current rules may be 
obsolete and unusable, others thought that the CRO should first focus its energy on the HWP, including the implications issue and on the rules for machinery.  Some de legations preferred to 
transpose the rules to the HS 2007 and others prefer red to transpose to HS 2012.  Some delegations G/RO/M/55 
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  pointed out that, given the regular revisions of  the HS nomenclature, transposition would be a 
continuous exercise, and that a more permanent mechanism to cater for it should be designed. 
 1.12 It was agreed that the WTO Secretariat, togeth er with the WCO Secretariat, hold a workshop 
on the transposition of the consolidated text on th e basis of HS changes, setting out the scope of 
transposition; illustrating the complexity of the exer cise; showing the process of the transposition, and 
explaining how the exercise could be conducted.  It  was also suggested that delegations could be 
invited to express their own experiences in the transposition of certain product-specific rules. 
 
D. O
VERALL ARCHITECTURE  
 
1. General Rule 6 
 
1.13 The Chairperson  recalled that the question under th is topic was whether the minimal 
operation rule should be located in Ge neral Rule or in Appendix 1 only.  
 
1.14 The CRO agreed  that this discussion be postponed until the exercise of overall-coherence. 
 
2. Appendix 2 
 
(a) Chairperson 's proposal for Appendix 2 General Rules. 
 
1.15 The Chairperson ’s non-proposal remained unchanged from its circulation in March 2010 as 
follows:  
 
Non-Proposal from the CRO Chair  
 
APPENDIX 2 – PRODUCT SPECIFIC RULES OF ORIGIN 
 
 This Appendix sets forth rules for determini ng the country of origin of a good when the good 
is not considered to be wholly obt ained in accordance with Appendix 1. 
 
 Rule 1:  Determination of Origin 
 
 This Rule shall be applied in sequence, taking into account Rule 2 where applicable: 
 
(a) The country of origin of a good is the country  in which the good is produced exclusively from 
 originating materials; 
 
 Primary Rules  
 
(b) When a primary rule by its own terms identifies the country of origin of a good, that country 
is the country of origin of the good;  
 
(c) The country of origin of a good is the last country of production, provided a primary rule 
 prescribed for the good in this Appendi x has been satisfied in that country; 
  G/RO/M/55 
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   Residual Rules  
 
(d) When a good is produced by further processing of  a material which is classified in the same 
subdivision1 as the good, the country of origin of the good shall be the single country in 
which the material originated; 
 
(e) When a good is produced by further processing a material that does not satisfy the primary 
 rule for the good, the country of origin of the good shall be the single country in which the 
 material originated.  For the purposes of this rule, account shall be taken of both originating 
 and non-originating material; 
 
(f) The country of origin of a good is the country where a residual rule at the chapter level is 
 satisfied; 
 
(g) The country of origin of a good shall be the c ountry of origin of material or materials 
 incorporated in the good by further processing, pr ovided the origin of material or materials is 
 a single country; 
 
(h) When a good is produced from materials of more than one country, the country of origin of 
 the good shall be the country in which the ma jor portion of those materials originated, as 
 determined by the criterion specified in  the Chapter where the good is classified;  
 
(i) Where the criterion for the application of Rule 1 (h) above specified in a Chapter is weight or 
 volume, and that criterion does not allow for or igin to be determined, the criterion of value 
 shall be used; where the criterion for the app lication of Rule 1 (h) above specified in a 
 Chapter is value, and that criterion does not allo w for origin to be determined, the criterion of 
 weight or volume, as appropriate, shall be used.  
  
 Rule 2:  Application 
 
(a) The rules provided in this Appendix are to be applied to goods based upon their classification 
 in the HS as referred to in General Rule 1 of this Annex and any additional subdivisions 
 created for the purposes of this Appendix; 
(b) Reference to a change in tariff classifica tion in primary rules shall apply only to non-
originating materials;   
(c) Reference to materials in the residual rules shall apply to originating and non-originating 
materials. 
(d) When the primary rule requires a change in  tariff classification, the following changes in 
 classification shall not be considered in determining the origin of the good; 
 (i) changes which result from disassembly, 
 (ii) changes which result from packaging, repackaging, or putting up for retail sale, 
 (iii) changes which result solely from applica tion of General Rule of  Interpretation2(a) of 
the HS with respect to collections of parts that are presented as unassembled or 
disassembled articles. 
 
However, such changes shall not preclude conferri ng origin on a good if origin is conferred as 
 a result of other operations. 
                                                      
1 The term "subdivision" relates to the lowest level of classification of the good, i.e. heading, 
subheading, split heading or split subheading, at which a primary rule is specified in this Appendix. G/RO/M/55 
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  (e)  Intermediate materials  
 Materials which have acquired or iginating status in a country are considered to be originating 
materials of that country for the purpose of de termining the origin of a good incorporating 
such materials, or of a good made from such materials by further working or processing in 
that country; 
(f)   Interchangeable goods and materials  
 When it is not commercially practical to keep separate stocks of interchangeable materials or 
goods originating in different countries, the country of origin of commingled materials or 
goods that are interchangeable may be allocated  on the basis of an inventory management 
method recognized in the country in which the materials or goods were commingled; 
(g)   De Minimis 
 For the purposes of the application of primar y rules based on tariff classification change, non-
originating materials that do not satisfy the prim ary rule shall, unless otherwise specified in a 
certain Chapter, be disregarded, provided that  the totality of such materials does not exceed 
10% of the value of the good. 
 
 
1.16 Some delegations reserved th eir positions on this issue. 
(b) Rule 1(e) 
1.17 One delegation made a short presentation of cases in which General Rule 1(e) would be 
useful and distinguished its scope from that of Ge neral Rule 1(d). While General Rule 1(d) would 
concern origin when a good and a material are clas sified in the same heading or subheading, General 
Rule 1(e) would cover cases where the good and the material are classified in different tariff 
subdivisions. 
E. PRODUCT -SPECIFIC RULES OF ORIGIN  
 1. Chapter Notes 
1.18 The Chairperson
 recalled that Egypt preferred the word ing "is origin conferring" instead of 
"considered as origin conferring" and stated that  this issue should be c onsidered during the overall 
coherence exercise. 
1.19 The CRO agreed  that this issue be postponed until the exercise of overall-coherence. 
2. Split Heading 03.05(a) and (b) 
1.20 The Chairperson  recalled that there had been a suggestion that split heading 03.05(a) would 
still further be split.  The Chairperson  therefore suggested that the primary rule of split heading 
03.05(a) (Dried) and split heading ex03.05(d) (H eavy salted) read "CTHS", and ex03.05(e) be 
renumbered as (f). 
1.21 One delegation reminded the Committee this wa s a core policy issue, and therefore the 
Committee should be prudent in amending it. 
3. Heading 04.04 
1.22 Egypt maintained its reservation.   G/RO/M/55 
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  4. Split heading 07.12(b) 
1.23 Japan stated that since freeze-dried vegetabl es could be easily reversed to its original 
condition, it should not be origin-conferring.  It was noted that this issue ha d been discussed several 
times and there seemed to be no arguments agains t Japan's position.  However, some delegations 
appeared to be reluctant to endorse this rule.  
1.24 The CRO agreed  to revert again to this issu e when there is agreement on it. 
5. Heading or subheading 09.01 
1.25 Guatemala explained its proposal that "the origin shall be the country where the grain was 
sown and harvested" and that the percentage of Ch apter 9 residual rules regarding mixture be raised 
from 50% to 85%. Guatemala also stated that it supports the "CTH" rule for split subheadings 
ex0901.21(b) and ex0901.22(b). 
6. Split heading ex15.21(a) 
1.26 Egypt maintained its reservation on this issue. 
7. Chapter 30 
1.27 A technical presentation on the rules of or igin in the pharmaceutical sector including 
background information was made and it was stressed that robust rules of origin were needed for all 
materials which compose a medicament in orde r to avoid origin shopping: (1) living cells 
(HS3002.90), (2) pharmaceutical active substances, and (3) measured doses (HS3002.10).  The Swiss 
delegation had concerns with the current consolidated text since it contemplates cases in which a 
medicament is composed of only one material and cases where the material had a single origin 
whereas, in reality, several materials and sever al origins can intervene in the production of a 
medicine. In view of the meetings that were held  on 26 October (informal meeting) and 28 October 
(formal meeting), the Swiss delegation subm itted two documents (G /RO/137 and G/RO/138) 
explaining the rationale for the changes they propo sed for this Chapter.  According to the Swiss 
delegation, there is indeed a need to  align outdate d rules of origin to the state of the art in the 
pharmaceutical and bio-technology industries. 
1.28 Delegations exchanged views on the presentati on and on the two new documents submitted 
by the Swiss delegation. 
1.29 The CRO agreed  to revert to this issue at its next meeting. 
8. Chapters 28 to 32 
1.30 The Chairperson  recalled that a point had been raised  that the Chapter Residual rules of 
Chapters 28-32 were similar to Rule 1(g) and that therefore there might be no need for Rule 1(g) for 
those chapters. 
1.31 The CRO agreed  to revert to this issue at its next meeting. 
 
9. Chapters rules of machinery (chapters 84-90) 
1.32 China briefly introduced its new proposal stressi ng that its purpose was to improve the logic 
and structure of the Chapter rules rather than making substantial changes, except in few occasions. G/RO/M/55 
Page 8  
 
  1.33 One delegation argued that the Chapter rules fo r machinery would be less important if one 
applied the value added approach for these chapte rs. Second, a delegation had reservations about 
accepting multiple countries or any formula to attr ibute origin for countries "unknown".  Another 
delegation argued that the proposal contained s ubstantive changes, especially related to the 
introduction of value added criteria and a formula fo r determining recovered goo ds, and that would be 
reopening topics that had been previously agreed on by Members. 
1.34 The CRO agreed
 to revert to this issue at its next meeting. 
 
II. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 5 PARAGRAPH 4 OF ANNEX II OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN 
2.1 The Chairperson  informed the CRO that, since the last review on notifications by the 
Committee, the Secretariat circulated nine documen ts informing Members of notifications submitted 
by Ukraine, Gabon and Tanzania (G/RO/N/64-66). As of the date of the meeting, 80 Members have 
made notifications of non-preferential rules of or igin, and 125 Members have made notifications of 
preferential rules of origin. Nevertheless, the Chairperson  expressed her concern that a number of 
Members have not yet complied with the notifica tion requirements and urge d Members who have not 
yet notified to do so as early as possible.  2.2 The CRO took note
 of this statement. 
 
III. ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN 
3.1 The Chairperson  recalled that the WTO Secretariat circulated a draft Annual Review 
document (G/RO/W/136), as required by Article 6.1 of the Agreement. 
 3.2 The CRO adopted
 the annual review. 
 
IV. DRAFT REPORT (2010) OF THE COMMI TTEE TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE 
IN GOODS 
4.1 The Chairperson  drew the Committee's attention to document G/RO/W/136 which contained 
the draft annual report of the Committee to the Council for Trade in Goods.  
4.2 The CRO adopted
 the annual report. 
 
V. OTHER BUSINESS 
5.1 The Chairperson  suggested that the dates and agenda for the next meeting of the CRO be set 
in consultation with  delegations.   
 
5.2 It was so agreed . 
  
 
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