Market
Access Committee Updates WTO Members on COVID-19 Trade-related
Measures
·
QRs and the Multilateral Environmental
Agreements
·
Transparency Proposal
·
Trade Concerns
<Revised summary report attached>
At the formal meeting of the Committee on Market Access on 11
October, members were updated on trade-related measures related to COVID-19 and
on the Joint Indicative List of Critical COVID-19 Vaccine Inputs compiled by the
WTO Secretariat. Members also heard the report by the chair of the Committee, Mr Chakarin Komolsiri
of Thailand, on the information session held on 21 September on quantitative restrictions
(QRs) and their relation to the multilateral environmental agreements.
Members
welcomed the revised summary report (G/MA/W/168/Rev.1) on export restrictions and
prohibitions and trade-facilitating measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report seeks to compile and summarize the relevant information on export prohibitions
and restrictions that have been notified by members under the 2012 Decision on Notification
Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (QR Decision), the communications notified
to the Committee with information on trade-facilitating measures as well as other
measures by WTO members collected as part of the WTO's Trade Monitoring Exercise
and listed in “COVID-19: Measures affecting
trade in goods”.
The WTO
Secretariat reported that as of 4 October 2021, a total of 77 measures that prohibit
or restrict exports as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic had been adopted by members.
The majority of these export-restrictive measures took the form of full bans and
prohibitions (38.3%), followed by export restrictions in the form of non-automatic
export licences (22.2%) and conditional prohibitions (17.3%).
The vast majority of measures prohibiting and restricting exports were introduced
between February and April 2020 (57 out of 77 measures). This period coincides with
the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March
2020 and the consequent lockdowns and other health measures imposed by members in
response to COVID-19.
The majority
of measures prohibited or restricted the exportation of personal protective equipment
(PPE), which includes face and eye protection devices (36 measures), protective
garments (24 measures) and gloves (22 measures). Other restricted products included
sanitizers and disinfectants, such as alcohol (22 measures), pharmaceutical products
(21 measures), medical equipment, including mechanical respirators (13 measures)
and different types of medical supplies (13 measures). It would appear that almost
half of the export prohibitions and restrictions (41%), both notified as QRs and
those in the Trade Monitoring Exercise, continued to be in force by 4 October 2021.
The remaining measures seem to have expired as initially indicated (30%) or a notification
was submitted informing that the measure had been terminated (29%).
“We now
have a more accurate picture of the situation,” the chair said. He noted that the
additional information coming from the Trade Monitoring Exercise has contributed
to providing a more complete picture. However, given that information from the Trade
Monitoring Exercise is subject to further verification by members, he encouraged
delegations to promptly notify the relevant measures to the Committee. Members thanked
the Secretariat for its work on compiling information and asked it to continue updating
this report on a regular basis and to complement the analysis with trade data.
The Committee
also addressed document G/MA/QR/11 entitled “Status of Notifications
under the Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions”, which
summarizes the status of QR notifications as of 4 October 2021. The document notes
that the situation has slightly improved with respect to previous years, in particular
for the periods 2018-2020 and 2020-2022. The submission of notifications relating
to COVID-19 restrictions explains partly this increase, but the overall compliance
with the QR notification requirement remains relatively low, the chair said.
While
the number and quality of notifications has improved over the past years, the vast
majority of members have not provided information on the full list of QRs they maintain.
The chair encouraged members to contact the Secretariat in case they need technical
assistance to comply with this important transparency provision. Additional tools
and resources, such as the QR database or the organization of training
sessions, also play an important role in improving notification compliance.
The WTO
Secretariat also presented the Joint Indicative List of Critical COVID-19 Vaccine Inputs, which
was developed in collaboration with the World Customs Organization (WCO) and other
organizations. The list includes very detailed product and tariff classification
information in four areas: inputs needed for vaccine manufacturing; products needed
for vaccine storage and distribution; products needed for vaccine administration;
and other vaccine-related supplies and equipment. This report explores the most-favoured nation (MFN) tariffs and imports of COVID-19 vaccine
inputs by the 27 top vaccine manufacturing economies in order to identify possible
sensitive areas or “choke points”.
This
list was one of the stepping stones in preparing the updated version of the “Indicative list of trade-related bottlenecks and trade-facilitating
measures on critical products to combat COVID-19”, which
was published on 8 October 2021. This revised version is based on issues identified
and suggestions made by stakeholders as well as by vaccine manufacturers in the
context of meetings organized by the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19.
Members
were also informed about the official launch on 7 October of the HS Tracker. This
application was developed in collaboration with the WCO. Its main goal is to allow
users to track the changes of headings or subheadings across different versions
of the Harmonized System, the system used to classify traded goods, including the
upcoming HS2022.
The chair
reported on the information session on
QRs and their relation to multilateral environmental agreements held
on 21 September. The information session involved five separate sessions. In Session
1, members were informed about the main rules and procedures relating to QRs, in
particular Article XI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the
notification requirements under the 2012 Decision. The two additional Secretariat
tools with information on QRs and trade-related environmental measures — the WTO Environmental Database and
the document entitled “Multilateral Environmental
Agreements Matrix” — were the subject of Session 2.
In Session
3, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) talked
about the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, what these conventions cover
and what their latest amendments contain as well as how they link to trade. In Session
4, a representative of the WCO explained how products covered by these environmental
agreements are classified according to the Harmonized System (HS) and what changes will
be implemented in the HS2022 nomenclature to incorporate the latest developments
in environmental conventions. Finally, in Session 5, representatives from Canada,
Colombia, Georgia and Mauritius shared their experience with the preparation of
the QR notifications.
From
the presentations and information shared, the chair said, it was evident that WTO
members implement trade restrictions or prohibitions to pursue a number of different
policy objectives, such as the protection of the environment. Therefore, it is key
that members are able to ensure transparency about these measures by notifying them
to the WTO. Members observed that it was difficult to obtain information on HS codes
related to QRs and reported that this represents one of the main hurdles for the
preparation of QR notifications.
In this
respect, the WCO “interconnection tables” with
information on HS codes covered by various international conventions can be an invaluable
tool for members wishing to notify QRs in relation to these conventions and they
could also be linked in the QR database. This will allow members to search directly
for the products and tariff codes covered under each convention and to include them
in the QR notification format. This is another functionality that the Secretariat
is exploring for inclusion in the QR database.
The Committee
heard an update on the proposal on transparency in applied tariff rate changes for
the 12th Ministerial Conference to be held on 30 November – 3 December. Raised at
the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session, the proposal is supported by Australia,
Brazil, Canada, the European Union and Ukraine.
The text
aims at enhancing predictability in the application of applied tariff rates and
the treatment of shipments en route. The proposal compiles
an inventory of current practices when an applied tariff rate changes, outlines
potential issues that arise when an applied tariff rate changes and proposes voluntary
options to enhance predictability in applied tariff rates.
One member
took the floor to stress that changes in applied MFN tariffs can be regularly notified
through the Integrated Database (IDB). They
are also reflected in the WTO trade monitoring reports. It did not support any additions
to what it considered an ever-growing list of obligations that seek to circumscribe
members' negotiated rights under the WTO agreements.
The Committee addressed 21 trade concerns, new
and previously raised, including:
·
Angola's import restricting practices, raised
by the European Union, the United States and the Russian Federation
·
Canada's restriction on the commercial
importation of cannabis and cannabis products for medical use, raised
by Colombia
·
China's trade disruptive and
restrictive measures, raised by Australia
·
The European Union's carbon border adjustment mechanism,
raised by China and the Russian Federation
·
The selective tax on certain
imported products by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, raised
by the EU, Switzerland and the United States
·
India's standards and import
restrictions in the automotive sector (quality orders): wheel rims, safety class,
helmets, raised by Indonesia
·
India's plain copier paper quality
order 2020, raised by Indonesia
·
India's quantitative restrictions
on imports of certain pulses, raised by Australia, Canada,
the European Union, the United States and the Russian Federation
·
India's import policies on tyres, raised by the European Union
and Indonesia
·
India's import restriction on
air conditioners, raised by Japan
·
India's import policies on tyres, television sets, and air conditioners, raised
by Thailand
·
Indonesia's import substitution
programme, raised by the European Union
·
Indonesia's customs duties on
certain telecommunication products, raised by the United States
·
Mexico's import quota on glyphosate, raised
by the United States
·
Nepal's import ban on energy
drinks, raised by Thailand
·
The Russian Federation's export prohibition on timber products,
raised by the European Union
·
The Russian Federation's discriminatory application of value added
taxes, raised by the United States
·
The Russian Federation's track and trace regime,
raised by the United States
·
Sri Lanka's import ban on various
products, raised by Australia, the European Union and
Thailand
·
Sri Lanka's import on palm oil, raised
by Indonesia
·
The United Kingdom's renegotiation of tariff rate quotas under Article
XXVIII of the GATT 1994, raised by the Russian Federation.