CONFIDENTIAL
To: Director of Commerce and Industry, Hong Kẳng.
From: Counsellor (Hong Kong Affairs), Geneva.
Memorandum No. 44
File No. GVA/10/8/1
My memorandum No, 7 of 17 January.
65
Date: 11 March 1969
OECD
AD HOC WORKING GROUP ON PREFERENCES
Introduction
Group of Experts on Rules of Origin
The group of experts on rules of origin referred to in paragraph 16 of my memorandum under reference held its first meeting in aris from 4-6 March. Its Mandate and agenda of work (drawn up by the Werking Party of the Trade Committee) is in TC/Pref./69.3 enclosed. The group elected Mr. L.J. White (H.M. Customs and Excise) as its Chairman.
2.
Despite three full days of discussiens, the group was not able to make much progress in a positive sense, although it was able to make a first run over the ground and to point up areas of agreement and disagreement. The lack of concrete progress was largely due to the fact that origin is only one facet of a system of preferences and that it is difficult to reach conclusions about the shape of an origin system until decisions are taken on at least the main features of any scheme or schemes to be ap lied. But it was also due to significant differences of pinion between various delegations about the type of origin system as such that would be desirable, particularly as regards the choice between a value added and a process or transformation system. A draft interim report is, however, being prepared for consideration at a further short meeting on 9/10 April and another meeting of the group will probably be held in about mid-May.
3. The group spent a good deal of its time (a) going over the 1967 report of the group of customs experts te the Special Group of Four (Annex II to TC(67)16) and (b) examining the main features of the rules of origin in existing schemes of preferences (described in UNCTAD document TD/B/AC.5/3/Add.1) in the light of the four criteria (a), (b), (c) and (d) in point (2) of its Mandate. This procedure threw up consider- able debate on all the major possible variables in a scheme of origin, e.g., value added v process or transformation criteria, common system or differing national systems, single country or greup crigin, recognition of importing (developed) country content and documentation and control. No agreement was reached on any of these questions and they will all need to be debated further at a later stage,
General Attitudes
4. The EEC made it clear from the start that their major concern was to preserve the system of origin they had established with their Associated States (transformation based on BN headings)
CONFIDENTIAL
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