RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/RO/W/34
24 June 1998
(98-2529)
Committee on Rules of Origin Original:  Spanish
PREPARATION OF AN ANALYSIS PAPER BY THE SECRETARIAT
WITH REGARD TO THE MAJOR PROPOSALS ON RULES OF ORIGIN
IN THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING SECTOR
Proposal by El Salvador
The following communication, dated 28 May 1998, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of El Salvador.
_______________
El Salvador considers textiles and clothing to be a special sector of world trade, different from
other sectors – as is also true of the agricultural sector, where the situation with respect to rules of
origin is clearer since most products are wholly obtained in the country of origin.  In the case oftextile products, however, in the course of conv ersion and processing various countries having
comparative advantages in such processes are involved.  My country therefore considers it necessary
for the Secretariat to carry out an analysis of the imp act of rules of origin in the textile sector on the
various WTO agreements.
By this, my Government means that the study should be carried out impartially and
transparently by the Secretariat, as it has done on other occasions.  We consider that it is theSecretariat that has the necessary expertise to carry out technical studies of this kind.  Such an
analysis should focus on the application of rules of  origin and their impact on Members' rights and
obligations under the various WTO instruments, such as the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing,
Article VI of GATT 1994 and other provisions  of GATT 1994, including origin marking
requirements, etc.
It is understood that the Committee Members remain the final authority responsible for
decisions on these points.  The analysis will simply help Members to hold the necessary discussions,
examine the impact of the various sets of proposals on rules of origin for the textile sector, and build a
consensus on the proposals in a clearer and more transparent manner.
__________