Members endorse thematic sessions workplan, welcome progress on vaccine classification

Thematic sessions

The interim Chairperson, Ms. Nicola Waterfield (Canada), reported to the Committee about the series of thematic sessions on supply chain resilience held by the Committee in 2023-2024 to which more than 20 experts from members have participated.

Based on proposals by several delegations, the Committee agreed to organize a wrap-up session before the end of 2024 looking at examples of other multilateral initiatives on supply chain resilience and how the WTO, and more specifically the Committee on Market Access, can support members in using the data and information available to inform their policy responses in building resilience. Furthermore, the Committee agreed to move to the topic of "greening" the Harmonized System and transparency in environment and trade in 2025.

In highlighting the key role and mandate of the Committee in implementing Paragraph 21 of the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(24)/DEC), Pakistan proposed to organize thematic sessions by the Committee looking at what trade policy tools and market access measures can be utilized by members to support their crisis management frameworks and increase resilience.

WHO-WCO-WTO proposal for new HS codes on vaccines

The Committee heard a report from the World Customs Organization (WCO) about recent developments at the latest sessions of the WCO's Harmonized System Committee (HSC) and Review Sub-Committee (RSC) relating to the Committee's communication on the classification of COVID-19 essential goods.  The report noted the Committee's interest in making the HS classification more granular in respect of vaccines. 

Currently, there is only one subheading for "vaccines for human medicine", under which all vaccines traded today are classified. This has complicated the adoption of targeted trade policy measures and the collection of international trade statistics, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The HS Review Sub-Committee continued the examination of a revised proposal from the World Health Organization, which was developed in collaboration with the WTO and the WCO secretariats, to streamline the number of new subheadings that are being proposed to cover all major disease groups for which vaccination is important. According to the proposal, a new heading 3007, "vaccines for human medicine", will be created in HS 2028, under which seven new positions are included. This will include several HS subheadings naming a total of 36 vaccines against specific diseases.

The Committee was informed that the HS Review Sub-Committee agreed to approve the wording of the revised vaccine proposal, which will be submitted to the HSC meeting in March 2025 for provisional adoption. The WCO thanked the WTO and its members for their constructive cooperation with WCO counterparts. It said this joint work is a concrete and positive example of collaboration among international organizations which will have a positive impact both in terms of trade and public policy objectives.

The interim Chairperson said she agreed that the collaboration among the WCO, WHO and WTO was instrumental in achieving the approval of the vaccine proposal and represented a tangible outcome.  Improving the granularity of vaccines in the next version of the HS will render their trade flow more transparent and will facilitate the implementation of trade but also public health policies, she said. This will contribute among other things to a more effective response in future global health crises, she added.

Improvements in the functioning of the Committee

Members welcomed the updated report on additional improvements to the functioning of the Committee following on from 2023 discussions on "reform by doing". The report highlights the latest changes adopted with regards to a new online system for notifications of quantitative restrictions, improvements in the annotated agenda, the development of new functions in eAgenda, the adoption of the new Airgram, and thematic sessions.

The Chairperson noted that the Committee has implemented all improvements identified by members, delivering on both efficiency and inclusivity and setting a benchmark on best practice to be followed by other committees.

Committee work on Harmonized System changes to schedules of concessions

The Committee considered a status report by the WTO Secretariat providing an overview of the overall state of play of the different exercises to transpose the WTO schedules of concessions to take account of amendments to the Harmonized System. On 22 July, the General Council adopted new procedures from the Committee for the introduction of multiple HS changes to goods schedules (WT/L/1200). These will help streamline the Committee's work on HS transposition, particularly for those members that have their bound concessions recorded in very old versions of the HS nomenclature.

The Committee agreed to extend the HS collective waivers for another year, until 31 December 2025. This is in order to allow members to domestically implement the recommended amendments to the Harmonized System in their national nomenclature pending incorporation of such changes into their schedules of concessions. The waivers will be submitted to the General Council, through the Council for Trade in Goods, for adoption.

Operation of the Integrated Database

Regarding the status of submissions to the WTO's Integrated Database (IDB), the Secretariat presented an update for the 2024 reporting period. Out of 138 members expected to submit notifications on applied tariffs, 74 members, representing 53% of the WTO membership, had done so by 11 November.

With regard to import data for 2023, which were due on 31 October 2024, the Secretariat had received 47 notifications, accounting for 35% of total notifications due.  In regard to overall compliance of members with IDB tariff and import data notifications, 35 members are fully compliant and another 27 members are 90% compliant. These 62 members account for 90% of world trade, confirming the availability of relevant data in the IDB. The current status of data notifications to the Integrated Database can be consulted on the WTO's online Notification Portal.

The IDB is the only database based on official data supplied by members on tariffs and import data. It contains data supplied annually on the tariffs members apply on a non-discriminatory basis in line with the most-favoured nation (MFN) principle, as well as their annual imports by tariff line and country of origin. Data on preferential duties under free trade agreements (FTAs) and/or preferential schemes for developing economies are available for some members.

Secretariat report on status of notifications for quantitative restrictions

The interim Chairperson drew attention to a status report from the Secretariat regarding the 2012 decision by the Council for Trade in Goods requiring members to make complete notifications of all quantitative restrictions in force by 30 September 2012 and at two yearly intervals thereafter. While the volume and quality of notifications has been increasing over the past few years, the overall level of compliance with the 2012 decision remains relatively low, she said.

To date, 77 members have never submitted a notification of their quantitative restrictions. The interim Chairperson urged members to comply with this notification obligation and to contact the Secretariat should they need assistance.

European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)

Members discussed a revised communication from Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru regarding the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and their request to the EU to have the EUDR notified to the Committee as a quantitative restriction.

Trade concerns

Members discussed 34 trade concerns, seven of which were raised for the first time. New concerns dealt with measures relating to quantitative import restrictions on apples in Kazakhstan; tariff rate quotas on cheese in Canada; and new quality control measures on a number of goods imported from India.

Other new concerns related to excise taxes on spirits in Mongolia, restrictions on the import of copper, wooden boards, and tyres in India, Canadian tariffs on certain goods from China, new Section 301 tariffs on certain goods from China and new investigations on maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industry of China in the United States.

The list of STCs discussed during the meeting is available here.

2025 meetings of the Committee

The Committee tentatively agreed to hold formal meetings next year on 14-15 April and 15-16 October 2025.

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