RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/M/16
9 August 2000
(00-3258)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  English
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 21 JULY 2000
Chairman: Mr. Remo Moretta (Australia)
The agenda proposed for the meeting, circulated in WTO/AIR/1358, was adopted as follows:
1. Information on implementation and administration of the Agreement .................................1
(a) Notification made by de veloping count ry Members......................................................................1
(i) Extension of  delay period................................................................................................... ............1
2. Technical Assistance - Trade-related technical assistance:  Project for customs valuation .3
(a) Report by the Chairman...................................................................................................... ...........3
3. Other business............................................................................................................... ...............6
(a) Information on certain aspects of the Euro pean Communities' customs valuation policy.............6
(b) Date for the next meeting................................................................................................... ............6
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1. Information on implementation and administration of the Agreement
(a) Notification made by developing country Members
(i) Extension of delay period
1.1 The Chairman informed the Committee that there were three draft decisions to be considered
for adoption by the Committee.  The first concerned the draft decision contained in
G/VAL/W/56/Add.2 regarding the request for an extension by Egypt.  He proposed that the
Committee adopt this draft decision.
1.2 The Committee so agreed.
1.3 The representative of Egypt recalled that her delegation had requested a further extension of
the delay in applying the provisions of the Agreement on Customs Valuation under paragraph 1 of
Annex III for a period of three years.  This request had been subm itted to the Committee for
consideration earlier this year, around six months before the expiry of Egypt's five-year transition
period.  The five-year period proved to be insufficient for the completion of the Egyptian program forG/VAL/M/16
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technical and legal training of the personnel responsible for the application of the Agreement's
provisions, for adaptation to modern means of communications and information technology, for
developing a sound organizational structure, for creating the necessary coordination amongst the
various revenue and taxation bodies, for maximizing the awareness of the public and private business
communities in this concern, and for finalizing the executive instructions and regulations necessary to
enforce the implementation of the new legislative amendments introduced recently in this regard.
1.4 She added that her delegation had held a series of informal consultations with a number of
interested delegations, which had resulted in the Decision adopted at this meeting and its attached
work programme.  It was obvious from the Decision that Egypt did not maintain minimum values
except on sugar, and her delegation wished to note that her Government did not have the intention in
the meantime to raise further the minimum values imposed on its imports of sugar.  However, this waswithout prejudice to Egypt's rights and obligations under the Customs Valuation Agreement or any of
its Annexes.  She drew the attention of the Committee as well to the fact that Egypt did not use or
plan to use preshipment inspection services in customs administration and valuation and was ready to
implement and apply by 30 June 2001, paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Valuation of Carrier-media
Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment.   Finally, she emphasized that the extension
Decision did not by any means prejudice Egypt's rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement on
Customs Valuation.
1.5 The Chairman drew Members' attention to the draft decision contained in
G/VAL/W/46/Add.2 concerning the request for an extension of the transition period by Côte d'Ivoire.
He proposed that the Committee adopt this draft decision.1.6 The Committee so agreed.
1.7 The representative of the Côte d'Ivoire recalled that his delegation had requested an extension
under paragraph 1 of Annex III on 12 November 1999 for implementation of the Agreement on
Customs Valuation.  His delegation welcomed the outcome of the consultations on this request which
would contribute to his Government's rapid impl ementation of the Agreement by 1 July 2001.  His
Government undertook to respect the Decision and the implementation programme which had been
agreed with Members over the 18 month period.  Hi s Government also counted on the cooperation of
all Members, in particular the developed ones, to provide the necessary support towards the goal of
integrating all Members into the WTO system and to ensure their real participation in world trade.  Hewished to use this opportunity to request technical assistance from the WTO as well as from any other
Member which wished to strengthen technical cooperation with the Côte d'Ivoire.  He thanked
Members for their cooperation and support in approving the extension request.
1.8 The Chairman drew Member's attention to the draft decision contained in
G/VAL/W/52/Add.3 concerning the request for an ex tension by Guatemala.  He proposed that the
Committee adopt this draft decision.
1.9 The representative of Mexico stated that, in principle, his delegation had no problems which
would hold up the adoption of this draft decision.  He pointed out that there were some products
included in the draft decision which had not been considered in the capital and, therefore, he
requested that the Committee hold off adopting this draft for three days so that his delegation could
convey the information to its capital.  If his capital did not come back with any problems, the draft
decision could be adopted.
1.10 The representative of Guatemala asked that Me xico specify to which product it was referring
because the four products listed in the draft decision had been under consideration during the entire
series of consultations.G/VAL/M/16
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1.11 The representative of Mexico noted that its concerns were related in particular to rice.
1.12 The representative of Guatemala stated that  rice was not a recently added product and had
been included in the consultations related to his delegation's request since the outset.  His delegation
had not added any new product at the last minute.  He also noted that the expiration of Guatemala'stransition period was today and he was concerned as to what type of procedure would be used
following Mexico's request.
1.13 The Chairman proposed that the Committee allow Mexico three days at the end of which if
Guatemala received a positive response from Mexico, the draft decision would be adopted with effect
from today.
1.14 The Committee so agreed.
1.15 The representative of Guatemala expressed his delegation's gratitude to the Members of the
Committee for its positive reception to his Government's request and to the Secretariat for its support.
He added that his delegation wished to maintain its rights conferred by the Agreement, in particularthose under Annex III on the application of officially established minimum values.
1.16 The Chairman noted that there were three extension requests pending from Bahrain, Maldives
and Senegal.  He understood that consultations among interested Members were still on-going
concerning these requests.  He asked that Members which had made these requests keep theSecretariat up-dated on the progress of their requests and when and if a draft decision had been
formulated which they would like to put before th e Committee.  He would attempt to call a meeting of
the Committee as soon as possible thereafter to consider the drafts.  This did not prejudice the
consideration of any new requests which might come forward.
2. Technical Assistance - Trade-related technical assistance:  Project for customs valuation
(a) Report by the Chairman
2.1 The Chairman recalled that the European Communities had made an oral presentation at the
Committee's meeting of 14 June proposing a technical assistance project in the area of customs
valuation.  This presentation was subsequently circ ulated to Members in document G/VAL/W/71.  It
was agreed, following this presentation that the Secretariat would prepare a stocktaking paper as abasis for informal consultations that he would conduct on how to build on the principles outlined by
the EC in their presentation in taking the matter forward.  This stocktaking paper was subsequently
circulated as document G/VAL/W/70.
2.2 He added that the first set of consultations that he had conducted was in the form of an open-
ended informal meeting of the Committee, held on 13 July 2000.  He believed that it had been a useful
and thorough initial review of the EC proposal.  Following these consultations, the EC circulated a
draft work programme on technical assistance for capacity building in the area of customs valuation
which built on the initial proposal and was intended, he believed, to provide further insight into how
the EC saw the project evolving.  Noting that he could not do justice to all the points that were madeduring the consultations of 13 July, he wished to share with the Committee several themes which
emerged from the discussions, some of which found agreement among most, if not all, Members and
some of which required further work and reflection  The first concerned the general interest in
reinvigorating the Committee's work on technical assistance.  As G/VAL/W/70 showed, there was a
history in this Committee of work on technical assistance, which, he believed, all could agree shouldbe strengthened and would provide a solid basis upon which further work must be built.G/VAL/M/16
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2.3 Second, he considered it fair to say that all Members agreed that coherence and coordination
with other international organizations and bodies working in this area was necessary and that more
needed to be done towards this end.  In this regard, some Members made mention of the useful
presentation by the Inter-American Development Bank at the April meeting of the Committee, and of
the initiative carried out in providing several orga nizations, active in this area, with information
garnered from the Committee's work.  He believed that it was clear that the Committee should
encourage other organizations and bodies to come to future meetings and make similar informational
presentations.  He recalled a suggestion made that the WTO organize a symposium to bring together
the relevant organizations and bodies working in this area sometime early next year.  Perhaps this was
something to which the Committee may wish to devote further attention.
2.4 Nevertheless, he considered it obvious that hearing about the various activities going on
would not be sufficient to bring about coherence and coordination to the every day tasks of carrying-
out technical assistance at the ground level and the avoidance of duplication among activities.  It
could be a start, but he considered that the Committee needed to reflect on some practical, working
principles to this end.  In this context, he noted that in past discussions in this Committee, it had been
mentioned that duplication in this area was not always a negative thing since some Member'srequired several missions by various organizations, such as the WTO and the WCO, and that
Members themselves often requested assistance from both these organizations as well as others.
However, he believed that coordination was the key to ensuring that unnecessary duplication was
avoided and that technical assistance was carried out in the most efficient manner.  Again, the
Committee would need to clarify how coherence and co-ordination could be improved at the practical
working level in order to provide some guidance to the Secretariat.
2.5 A third area of discussion that emerged from the consultations concerned the demand-driven
nature of WTO technical assistance coupled with the idea of assessing needs.  Some Members noted
that the Committee had already devoted considerable time and energy to carrying out a needsassessment and that there had been little follow-up to this work.  He believed it fair to say that all
could agree that technical assistance must remain on a demand basis and that, as the EC pointed out in
its concluding remarks, more could be done towards assessing needs in this area.  He believed that the
Committee should reflect on how better it could assess needs, without entering into a judgmental or
prioritising exercise, and what would be the follow- up to such an assessment exercise.  In his view, it
would be best to have an idea of the latter before embarking on the work of the former.
2.6 A fourth point which emerged which he touched upon concerned funding for any new
technical assistance programme.  He believed that all took note of the fact that funding for technical
assistance activities across the entire WTO is a matter being extensively discussed in other WTO
bodies, as well as the point made by the EC that it was sometimes easier to gain financing for a well-
defined programme, rather than requesting funds for work in the abstract.  With these two points inmind, he believed that the Committee could continue its work towards clarifying and defining the EC
proposal and that, when funds would become necessary, the Committee would have to take stock of
the situation overall within the WTO as well as look forward to the results of the EC's own internal
efforts to gather funds earmarked for this programm e.  A related issue, in his view, concerned the
coverage of any emerging programme.  To an extent, this was touched upon by some Members whenthey asked what was meant by technical assistance as opposed to capacity building and what,
precisely, was the type of assistance the EC was aiming at in its proposal.  This was also an area
where further reflection would be needed, of course, with an appreciation of the systemic issues which
may arise, i.e what was the role of WTO technical assistance and how far should WTO assistance go
in bringing about implementation of its Agreements.
2.7 Finally, he noted that the question emerged as to which stage in implementation would be
considered relevant in determining who would benefit from technical assistance under this
programme.  The EC, in its concluding remarks, clar ified its view that all those in need of assistance,G/VAL/M/16
Page 5
whether implementing the Agreement for 10 months or 10 years, should be eligible to receive
assistance if needed.  The important point was clarifying Members' needs and the urgency of these
needs within the context of bringing about full  implementation of the Agreement for all Members,
which, in any case, should remain the primary focus of this work.
2.8 With this report, and bearing in mind the EC's request at the end of the consultations that
Members comment on the paper it had circulated on a model work programme, he opened the floor
for comments.  However, he reminded delegations that the Committee would have another round of
consultations and discussion on this matter after the summer recess.
2.9 The representative of the European Communities considered that the informal consultations
held on this matter had been extremely useful.  His delegation had received a number of questions
during these consultations and would be happy to receive additional questions as necessary.  He
explained that his delegation had circulated its informal paper to show its thoughts on this matter.  It
was not a final product but something for discussion in the future, particularly as it proposed that the
Committee agree to define such a work programme.  His delegation would consider it useful to have
such an agreement that would contain the basic points as outlined by the Chairman and that wouldallow the Committee to get on with the reinvigoration of the programme.  His delegation was seeking
definition of the starting line, not the end result, and the assurance that the Committee would work
together in pursuing such an approach.  This would be an ideal summing up of the discussion.
However his indications were that it might be too early to have such a conclusion.  He wanted to be
able to report to his authorities that the idea of redefining the technical assistance approach, ofstrengthening and building upon what had already been done, of being more systematic, had found the
approval of the Committee.  He needed this in order to start looking for funds and initiate further work
on this matter.  The earlier this could be done, the more progress could be made.
2.10 The representative of India understood the EC delegation to say that the programme of
technical assistance should be taken up after the Committee defined such a programme.  She noted
that Article 20.3 of the Agreement provided th at developed country Members should draw up
programmes of technical assistance.  Therefore, she hoped that the EC was not taking an approach
which precluded existing technical assistance programmes nor prejudiced in any way what was
already set out in Article 20.3.
2.11 The representative of the European Communities stated that the concern raised by India was
not at all the intention of his delegation which was merely seeking to get the Committee to work
jointly on a technical assistance programme.  This would certainly include coordination among
various developed countries which was, indeed, on e of its objectives.  The programme proposed was
not replacing the General Council debate nor individual donors' programmes but was a way to
reinvigorate the work already underway in the Committee.
2.12 The representative of the United States thanked the EC delegate for the clarification.  He
shared the view that this programme would be without prejudice to on-going activities which his
delegation was actively pursuing on a bilateral basis.
2.13 The representative of Mexico requested circulation of the Chairman's report.
2.14 The representative of Canada also requested circulation of the report following conclusion of
the meeting.  His delegation also shared the view of India and the United States that the EC proposal
would not replace any other technical assistance efforts in this area.
2.15 The representative of the European Communities also considered that circulation of the
Chairman's report would help Members to focus on the matter.  He appealed to delegations to work on
this issue before the next informal consultations so that questions could be addressed before theG/VAL/M/16
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meeting.  Such work would entail reflection on his delegation's informal paper and on the Chairman's
report.  His delegation wished to make progress as rapidly as possible.
2.16 The representative of India requested that it be made clear that the Chairman's report would
be on his own responsibility as it had not captured all of the points that had been made in the informal
consultations.
2.17 The Committee took note of all statements.  It agreed  that the Chairman would circulate his
report, made on his own responsibility, to Members and that any Members which wished to make
additional contributions on this matter could do so in writing either to the Chairman or to the
Secretariat and that these would be taken into account when the Chairman continued his consultations
after the summer recess.
3. Other business
(a) Information on certain aspects of the European Communities' customs valuation policy
3.1 The representative of India recalled that in November 1998, her delegation had raised the
matter of  the standard values which the EC applied on certain products.  Her delegation had posed
questions to the EC which it had answered and to which her delegation had posed further questions.
She recalled that at the Committee's meeting in April, the EC had stated that it would like to resolve
this matter in a bilateral manner but that a number of other delegations had indicated their interest in
the matter.  She reported that since the last meeting, there had been no further progress in the matterwhich her delegation regretted.  Her delegation requested that the Committee keep this item on its
agenda for the next meeting and that it urge the EC not to delay this matter further as it seriously
prejudiced her delegation's rights and obligations.
3.2 The representative of the European Communities stated that her delegation had responded to
India's questions in writing, including very recently, providing complete replies which were circulated
to Members in order to ensure transparency.  Her delegation further responded to these questions and
others from India during the trade policy review of the EC.
3.3 The representative of India noted that at the last meeting of the Committee, further questions
and concerns had been raised by her delegation.  She recalled that the EC delegation had stated that it
would resolve these bilaterally.  The fact that India had to raise the matter again in another body waswithout prejudice to the discussions in this Committee and indicated that her delegation had felt
compelled to do so by the lack of a satisfactory resolution to the matter.  Her delegation hoped that the
EC would take this factor into account.
3.4 The Chairman urged both parties to make all efforts towards resolving the matter and that
bilateral efforts continue with a view to resolving any discrepancies on this matter.(b) Date for the next meeting
3.5 The next formal meeting of the Committee was scheduled for 7 November 2000.  If the need
arose to meet before this date, the Chairman woul d inform delegations with sufficient advance notice.
3.6 The meeting was adjourned.
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