ORGANISATION MONDIALE ORGANIZACI ÓNMUNDIAL
DUCOMMERCE DEL COMERCIO
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Centre William Rappard Téléphone: (4122)7395111
RuedeLausanne 154 Ligne directe: (4122)7395482
Case postale Téléfax: (4122)7395620
CH-1211 Genève 21 Télex: 412324OMC/WTO CH
Télégramme: OMC/WTO, GENÈVE
Référence: 23february 1996
COMMITTEE ONTRADE AND ENVIRONMENT
Communication from theWorld Customs Organization (WCO)
Inorder toprovide abetter basis toconsider therequest forobserver status in
theCommittee onTrade andEnvironment bytheWorld Customs Organization (WCO),
theCommittee decided atitsmeeting on14December 1995 toasktheWCO for
additional information onitsspecific interest intheCommittee 'swork andonthe
contribution theWCO could make inthatcontext.
Inaletter dated 31January 1996 inresponse tothisrequest, theWCO stated
that"theWCO, established astheCustoms Cooperation Council, isan
intergovernmental body ofCustoms Administrations withamembership of
140countries. TheWCO 'sHarmonized System (HS)isamulti-purpose nomenclature
applied by150countries foruniform classification ofgoods forthepurposes of
customs tariffs andcompilation ofinternational trade statistics, covering more than
95% ofworld trade. WTO Members apply theHSanduseittofileWTO schedules of
tariff concessions."
TheHSisapplied inother areas such astodetermine thecountry oforigin of
goods, import andexport controls, internal taxation, tariff negotiations, andtomonitor
thetransfrontier movement ofcontrolled substances ofenvironmental andsocial
concern, such ashazardous wastes, ozone-depleting substances, chemical weapons
andnarcotic drugs.
Inthecontext ofareview forup-dating theHS,theWCO andtheHSCommittee
oftheInternational Convention oftheHarmonized System areexamining proposals
from theBasel Convention Secretariat andtheOECD toprovide separate HScodes for
goods ofenvironmental andsocial concern. TheWCO alsocoordinates theactivities of
Member customs administrations intheareas ofcustoms procedures andmeasures to
counter fraud withrespect tothetransfrontier movement ofgoods. Thisincludes
enforcement measures related tothefollowing trade-related environmental measures:
- nuclear andhazardous material: concerning theillicitcross-border
movement ofnuclear andhazardous material, theWCO hasdeveloped an
Action Plan(1994) covering thedevelopment ofanEnforcement Training
Module, training programmes, andaseparate database;
- intellectual property rights (IPRs): theWCO hasdesigned anIPRAction
Planandestablished aJoint Customs-Business Working Group onIPR
protection (1993), covering implementation oftheTRIPS Agreement, IPR
training programmes, model legislation, IPRdatabase, andMemorandum
ofUnderstanding applications atthenational andinternational levels.
./.
96-0689 WT/CTE/COM/3ORGANISATION MONDIALE DUCOMMERCE ORGANIZACI ÓNMUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Page 2
- Convention onInternational Trade inEndangered Species ofWildFauna
andFlora (CITES) programme: regarding theimplementation ofCITES,
theWCO hasdeveloped anAction Planincluding Memorandum of
Understanding atthenational (between customs andnational CITES
management authorities) andinternational levels (between theWCO and
theCITES Secretariats), ajointdatabase withCITES, andcustoms
training packages forCITES.
TheWCO isinterested inandcould contribute tothefollowing areas ofthe
Committee 'swork:
"- environmental taxation: thisrequires proper identification ofgoods andtheir
correct classification intheHS.Border taxadjustment measures arealso
implemented bycustoms administrations;
- product coverage formultilateral environmental agreements (MEAs): listing of
products forcontrols insuch agreements areoften notinterms oftheHS(e.g.
Basel Convention). TheWCO would beabletoprovide itsexpert advice onthe
HSclassification ofthese goods. Further, theongoing work intheWCO for
assigning separate HScodes tosuch products would helpinminimizing trade
disputes;
- trade indomestically prohibited goods (DPGs): HSclassification would facilitate
transparency oftrade inDPGs; and
- packaging andlabelling requirements: these requirements for
environmental purposes have tobeenforced bycustoms administrations
attheborders. TheWCO would beabletocontribute tothediscussions
onthepractical aspects ofthese measures."
"The WCO isalready maintaining close tieswiththeWTO byproviding its
expertise fortheuniform application oftheHSfortrade purposes, development of
harmonized rules oforigin andtheworld-wide implementation oftheAgreement on
Customs Valuation. TheWCO hasobserver status intherelated WTO Committees on
Market Access, Rules ofOrigin andCustoms Valuation. Itwould beappropriate to
have observer status intheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment sothattheWCO
could contribute tothediscussions onthecustoms-related aspects."
Theoriginal letter from theSecretary General oftheWCO canbeconsulted in
office 3025, Centre William Rappard.