Ministerial Conference - Fourth Session - Doha, 9 - 13 November 2001 - Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China
CONCLUSIONS 72
Draft Decision 73
DRAFT PROTOCOL 74
ANNEX 1a 86
ANNEX 1b 92
ANNEX 2A1 93
ANNEX 2A2 97
ANNEX 2B 103
ANNEX 3 116
ANNEX 4 137
ANNEX 5a 141
ANNEX 5b 164
ANNEX 6 167
ANNEX 7 170
ANNEX 8 176
ANNEX 9 177
INTRODUCTION
At its meeting on 4 March 1987, the Council established a Working Party to examine the request of the Government of the People's Republic of China ("China") (L/6017, submitted on 10 July 1986) for resumption of its status as a GATT contracting party, and to submit to the Council recommendations which may include a Draft Protocol on the Status of China.
Introductory Statements
In statements to the GATT 1947 Working Party and subsequently to the Working Party on the Accession of China, the representative of China stated that China's consistent efforts to resume its status as a contracting party to GATT and accession to the WTO Agreement were in line with its objective of economic reform to establish a socialist market economy as well as its basic national policy of opening to the outside world.
The representative of China further noted that the laws and regulations mentioned above were:
Law of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Venture; Law of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-
Foreign Contractual
Joint Venture; Regulations on the
Exchange
System of the People's Republic of China; and Regulations on the Sale and Purchase of and Payment in Foreign
Exchange
.
The representative of China confirmed that, without prejudice to China's rights in future negotiations in the Government Procurement Agreement, all laws, regulations and measures relating to the procurement by state-owned and state-invested enterprises of goods and services for commercial sale, production of goods or supply of services for commercial sale, or for non-governmental purposes would not be considered to be laws, regulations and measures relating to government procurement.
Those members noted, however, that China expected to maintain price controls on the goods and services listed in Annex 4 to the Draft Protocol, and stated that any such controls should be maintained in a manner consistent with the WTO Agreement, in particular Article III of the GATT 1994 and Annex 2, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Agreement on Agriculture.
In response, the representative of China stated that "The Administrative Rules on Intermediate Services" promulgated in 1999 by six central government agencies led by the State Development and Planning Commission ("SDPC") dealt with government pricing on intermediate services such as inspection authentication, notarization and arbitration and services which were in limited supply due to their special requirements.
Uniform Administration of the Trade Regime
Some members of the Working Party stated that it should be made clear that China would apply the requirements of the WTO Agreement and its other accession commitments throughout China's entire customs territory, including border trade regions, minority autonomous areas, Special Economic Zones ("SEZs"), open coastal cities, economic and technical development zones and other special economic areas and at all levels of government.
Those members stated their view that such restrictions were inconsistent with WTO requirements, including Articles XI and III of GATT 1994, and welcomed China's commitment to progressively liberalize the availability and scope of the right to trade so that within three years after accession all enterprises would have the right to import and export all goods (except for the share of products listed in
A
nnex 2A to the Draft Protocol reserved for importation
and exportation
by state trading enterprises) throughout the customs territory of China.
Further, the representative of China stated that for products listed in Annex 3 as being subject to quota and licensing requirements, any entity that will possess the right to trade in the quota year, including enterprises possessing trading rights to import such products or inputs for production purposes under a particular quota category, could apply for a quota allocation and licence to import products listed in Annex 3.
In addition, China would apply the provisions of the Decision on the Treatment of Interest Charges in Customs Value of Imported Goods, and the Decision on the Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment, adopted by the WTO Committee on Customs Valuation (G/VAL/5), as soon as practicable, but in any event no later than two years from the date of accession.
Their identities and responsibilities were as follows:
(a)
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (
"
MOFTEC
"
)
Receiving anti-dumping and countervailing petitions; Conducting investigation
s on foreign subsidies and
on dumping and dumping margin
s
and issuing relevant preliminary determination decisions and notices; Negotiating with foreign interested parties on
"
Price Undertaking
"
if necessary; Providing proposal on imposition of definitive anti-dumping or countervailing duties or proposals on duty refund, etc.
Export licences for these products were issued according to the stipulated commodity scope respectively by the Administrative Bureau of Quota and Licence ("ABQL"), the Special Commissioner Offices ("SCO") located in 16 provinces and the Commissions of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade ("COFTEC") of various provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government and those with independent budgetary status.
Those members of the Working Party first identified state support through the banking system, notably government owned banks, in the form of policy loans, the automatic roll over of unpaid principal and interest, forgiven and non performing loans, and the selective use of below market interest rates.
Several members of the Working Party requested information on the extent to which international standards were used as the basis for existing Chinese standards, details on China's plans for using international standards as the basis for new standards, and details on China's plans for reviewing existing standards so as to harmonize them with relevant international standards.
– Accept testing reports for products subject to the International Electrotechnical Commission's System for Conformity Testing to Standards for Safety of Electrical Equipment ("IECEE CB Scheme") to which China was a party, and simplify the procedures for obtaining the new, unified certification mark
– Shorten the time period needed for importers to obtain both marks regarding the same products, to no more than three months.
The representative of China confirmed that China also agreed to raise the limit within which investments in motor vehicle manufacturing could be approved at provincial government level only, from the current level of US$30 million, to US$60 million one year after accession, US$90 million two years after accession, and US$150 million four years after accession.
Textiles
Some members of the Working Party proposed and the representative of China accepted that the quantitative restrictions maintained by WTO Members on imports of textiles and apparel products originating in China that were in force on the date prior to the date of China's accession should be notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body ("TMB") as being the base levels for the purpose of application of Articles 2 and 3 of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing ("ATC").
The State Intellectual Property Office ("SIPO") was responsible for patent approval; the Trademarks Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce ("SAIC") was responsible for trademarks registration; the Copyright Office was responsible for copyright policy making; SAIC was responsible for anti-unfair competition, including the protection of trade secrets; the State Drug Administration ("SDA") was responsible for administrative protection of pharmaceuticals; the General Customs Administration was responsible for border measures; the Ministry of Agriculture and the State
Administration of
Forestry were responsible for protection of plant varieties; the Ministry of Information Industry was responsible for the protection of layout designs of integrated circuits; and the State General Administration of the People's Republic of China for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine
and SAIC were
responsible for combating counterfeiting activities
.
Special border measures
The
representative
of China s
tate
d that
on 5 July 1995 the State Council of the People's Republic of China had issued special legislation in respect of border measures for enforcement of intellectual property rights – the Regulations of the People's Republic of China Governing Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights – which came into effect on 1 October of the same year.
(b) Large scale commercial risk meant an insurance risk written on any large scale commercial enterprise if, upon accession, the aggregate annual premium exceeded 800 thousand RMB and the investment was more than 200 million RMB; one year after accession, if the aggregate annual premium exceeded 600 thousand RMB and the investment was more than 180 million RMB; two years after accession, if the aggregate annual premium exceeded 400 thousand RMB and the investment was more than 150 million RMB.
The representative of China stated that the full listing of official journals was as follows: Gazette of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China; Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China; Collection of the Laws of the People's Republic of China; Collection of the Laws and Regulations of the People's Republic of China; Gazette of MOFTEC of the People's Republic of China; Proclamation of the People's Bank of the People's Republic of China; and Proclamation of the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China.
China shall establish or designate an official journal dedicated to the publication of all laws, regulations and other measures pertaining to or affecting trade in goods, services, TRIPS or the control of foreign exchange and, after publication of its laws, regulations or other measures in such journal, shall provide a reasonable period for comment to the appropriate authorities before such measures are implemented, except for those laws, regulations and other measures involving national security, specific measures setting foreign exchange rates or monetary policy and other measures the publication of which would impede law enforcement.
Except in exceptional circumstances, and subject to notification to the WTO, price controls shall not be extended to goods or services beyond those listed in Annex 4, and China shall make best efforts to reduce and eliminate these controls.
In order to ensure a smooth transition from the current system, China shall ensure that, upon accession, all certification, safety licensing, and quality licensing bodies and agencies are authorized to undertake these activities for both imported and domestic products, and that, one year after accession, all conformity assessment bodies and agencies are authorized to undertake conformity assessment for both imported and domestic products.
If such consultations fail to lead to an agreement between China and the WTO Member or Members concerned within 60 days after the notification, the requesting WTO Member shall be free, in respect of such product, to withdraw concessions accorded to or otherwise limit imports from China, to the extent necessary to prevent or remedy such diversions.
Consideration of issues pursuant to this Section shall be without prejudice to the rights and obligations of any Member, including China, under the WTO Agreement or any Plurilateral Trade Agreement, and shall not preclude or be a precondition to recourse to consultation or other provisions of the WTO Agreement or this Protocol.
2 of the Agreement
(i) ongoing updates on the conformity assessment bodies that are recognized by China
(j) enactment and implementation of a new law and relevant regulations regarding assessment and control of chemicals for the protection of the environment in which complete national treatment and full consistency with international practices would be ensured within one year after China's accession following conditions set out in 3(t) of the TBT Working Party Report
(k) information on whether, one year after accession, all conformity assessment bodies and agencies are authorized to undertake conformity assessment for both imported and domestic products and are following the conditions outlined in Section 13, subparagraph 4(a) of the Protocol
(l) assignment of the respective responsibilities of China's conformity assessment bodies solely on the basis of the scope of work and type of product without any consideration of the origin of a product no later than eighteen months after accession
(m) notification of the respective responsibilities assigned to China's conformity assessment bodies to the TBT committee 12 months after accession
8.
33
24011090 Tobacco other than flue-cured, not stemmed/stripped
34
24012010 Flue-cured tobacco, partly or wholly stemmed/stripped
35
24012090 Tobacco other than flue-cured, partly or wholly stemmed/stripped
36
24013000 Tobacco refuse
37
24021000 Cigars, cheroots & cigarillos, containing tobacco
38
24022000 Cigarettes containing tobacco
39
24029000 Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco substitutes
40
24031000 Smoking tobacco whether or not containing tobacco substitutes in any proportion
41
24039100 Homogenized or "reconstituted" tobacco
42
24039900 Manufactured tobacco and tobacco substitutes, nes; tobacco extracts and essences
43
48131000 Cigarette paper in the form of booklets or tubes
44
48132000 Cigarette paper in rolls of a width
≤
5cm
45
48139000 Cigarette paper, nes
46
55020010 Cellulose diacetate filament tow3
47
56012210 Cigarette filter tips of man-made fibres
48
84781000 Machinery for preparing or making up tobacco,
mixtures not specified in the foregoing subheadings
68
31031000 Superphosphates
69
31032000 Basic slag
70
31039000 Mineral or chemical fertilizers, phosphatic, nes
71
31041000 Carnallite, sylvite & other crude natural potassium salts
72
31042000 Potassium chloride
73
31043000 Potassium sulphate
74
31049000 Mineral or chemical fertilizers, potassic, nes
75
31051000 Goods of chapter 31 in tables or similar forms or in packages of a gross weight
≤
10kg
76
31052000 Mineral or chemical fertilizers containing the three fertilizing elements nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium
77
31053000 Diammonium hydrogenorthophosphate (diammonium phosphate)
78
31054000 Ammonium dihydrogenorthophosphate (monoammonium phosphate) and mixtures thereof with diammonium hydrogenorthophosphate (diammonium phosphate)
79
31055100 Mineral or chemical fertilizers containing nitrates & phosphates
80
31055900 Mineral or chemical fertilizers containing the two fertilizing elements nitrogen & phosphorus, nes
81
31056000 Mineral or chemical fertilizers with phosphorus & potassium, nes
82
31059000 Mineral or chemical fertilizers, nes
PRODUCTS
NO
HS
NO
DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTS STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES
COTTON 83
52010000 Cotton, not carded or combed 1.
Luoyang Cotton Mill, Henan Province
68 52030000 Cotton, carded or combed
COTTON YARN, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton
* 69 52041100 Cotton sewing thread, cotton by weight
≥
85%,not put up for retail sale 70 52051100 Uncombed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring
≤
14 metric number, not put up for retail sale 71 52051200 Uncombed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring, >14 metric number but
≤
43 metric number, not put up for retail sale 72 52051300 Uncombed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >43metric number but
≤
52metric number, not put up for retail sale 73 52051400 Uncombed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >52metric number but
≤
80metric number, not put up for retail sale 74 52051500 Uncombed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >80metric number, not put up for retail sale 75 52052100 Combed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring
≤
14metric number, not put up for retail sale 76 52052200 Combed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >14metric number but
≤
43metric number, not put up for retail sale 77 52052300 Combed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >43metric number but
≤
52metric number, not put up for retail sale 78 52052400 Combed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >52metric number but
≤
80metric number, not put up for retail sale 79
52052600
Combed single cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >80metric number but
≤
94metric number, not put up for retail sale 80 52053100 Uncombed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring
≤
14metric number 81 52053200 Uncombed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >14metric number but
≤
43metric number, not put up for retail sale 82 52053300 Uncombed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >43metric number but
≤
52metric number, not put up for retail sale 83 52053400 Uncombed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >52metric number but
≤
80metric number, not put up for retail sale 84 52053500 Uncombed cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >80metric number, not put up for retail sale 85 52054100 Combed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring
≤
14metric number, not put up for retail sale 86 52054200 Combed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >14metric number but
≤
43metric number, not put up for retail sale 87 52054300 Combed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >43metric number but
≤
52metric number, not put up for retail sale 88 52054400 Combed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >52metric number but
≤
80metric number, not put up for retail sale 89
52054600
Combed multiple or cabled cotton yarn, cotton by weight
≥
85%, measuring >80metric number but
≤
94metric number, not put up for retail sale 90 52071000 Cotton yarn (excl.
46 54023990 Synthetic filament textured yarn, nes, not for retail sale 47 54024910 Single synthetic yarn of polypropylene, with
≤
50 turns/m, not for retail sale 48 54024920 Single synthetic yarn of polyurethane, with
≤
50 turns/m, not for retail sale 49 54024990 Single synthetic yarn, nes, with
≤
50 turns/m, not for retail sale 50 54025910 Single filament yarn of polypropylene, with
>
50 turns/m, not for retail sale 51 54025990 Single synthetic filament yarn, nes, with
>
50 turns/m, not for retail sale 52 54026910 Multiple or cabled yarn of polypropylene not for retail sale 53 54026920 Multiple or cabled yarn of polyurethane, not for retail sale 54 54026990 Multiple or cabled yarn of synthetic filament, nes, not for retail sale 55 55013000 Synthetic filament tow of acrylic or modacrylic 56 55033000 Synthetic staple fibres, of acrylic or modacrylic, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning 57 55063000 Synthetic staple fibres of acrylic or modacrylic, carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning 58 55093100 Single yarn, with
≥
85% acrylic or modacrylic staple fibres, not put up for retail sale 59 55093200 Multiple or cabled yarn,
≥
85% acrylic/modacrylic staple fibres, not put up for retail sale 60 55096100 Yarn, <85% acrylic or modacrylic staple fibres, mixed mainly or solely with wool or fine animal hair, not put up for retail sale 61 55096200 Yarn, <85% acrylic or modacrylic staple fibres, mixed mainly or solely with cotton,
To whom and how the subsidy is provided
The preferential tariff rates are granted to the automotive enterprises whose localization reaches the following ratios:
(1) Localization rate reaches 40 per cent, 60 per cent or 80 per cent on products that incorporate imported technology on whole vehicles of M Category;
(2) Localization rate reaches 50 per cent, 70 per cent or 90 per cent on products that incorporate imported technology on whole vehicles of N and L Categories; and
(3) Localization rate reaches 50 per cent, 70 per cent or 90 per cent on products that incorporate imported technology on automobile and motorcycle assemblies and key components.
(3) For enterprises in services sectors with foreign investment more than US$ 5 million and operation term over 10 years, income tax for the first year shall be exempted and that for the second and third years shall be reduced by 50 per cent, subject to the application and approval by the local taxation authorities.
In case that the new or the expanded enterprises with the re investment are hi tech enterprises, or that profits are from foreign-invested enterprises in Hainan Special Economic Zone and re-invested into infrastructure projects or agriculture development projects of the same Special Economic Zone, 100 per cent of the paid income tax for the re investment shall be refunded.
Subsidy per unit, or in cases where this is not possible, the total amount or the annual amount budgeted for that subsidy
For direct appropriation from the central budget, the total from 1991 to 2000 is RMB 103.
To whom and how the subsidy is provided
For raw materials, spare parts, assemblies and packing materials imported for the purpose of processing and assembling for overseas clients or manufacturing products for export, tariffs shall be exempted, or in the case that tariffs have been collected, refund of the collected tariffs shall be made, according to quantities of the final products exported.
Background and authority for the subsidy
Reform of China's planning economic system began first with the reform of the pricing system, and by now 95 per cent of the commodities and services in China have already been determined by the market forces.
To whom and how the subsidy is provided
For high-tech enterprises in the high-tech development zones approved by the State Council, the income tax rate applied shall be reduced to 15 per cent; for newly-established high-tech enterprises, income tax shall be exempted for the first two years since the operation.
To whom and how the subsidy is provided
The preferential tariff rates are granted to the automotive enterprises whose localization reaches the following ratios:
(1) Localization rate reaches 40 per cent, 60 per cent or 80 per cent on products that incorporate imported technology on whole vehicles of M Category;
(2) Localization rate reaches 50 per cent,
0 15 41031010 Slabs of goats, fresh, or salted, dried, limed, pickled or otherwise preserved, but not tanned, parchment-dressed or further prepared, whether or not dehaired or split 20.
European Communities: phasing-out timetable of industrial (non-textile) quotas on imports from China
Product HS/CN Code 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Footwear falling within HS/CN codes ex 6402 99 5%
increase 5%
increase 10%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal 6403 51
6403 59 5%
increase 10%
increase 15%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal ex 6403 912
ex 6403 992 5%
increase 5%
increase 10%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal ex 6404 11 5%
increase 5%
increase 10%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal 6404 19 10 5%
increase 5%
increase 10%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal Tableware, kitchenware of porcelain or china 6911 10 15%
increase 15%
increase 15%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal Ceramic tableware or kitchenware 6912 00 15%
increase 15%
increase 15%
increase 15%
increase proposed removal
Hungary: quantitative restrictions maintained on imports from China
Hungary undertakes to phase out these restrictions by the year 2005.
Product HS Import from China in 1999 Increase of quotas in per cent 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Footwear falling within HS codes 6401
6402
6403
6404
6405 71 000 pairs
10 625 000 pairs
600 000 pairs
4 450 000 pairs
2 140 000 pairs 5
5
5
5
5 5
5
5
5
5 10
10
10
10
10 15
15
15
15
15 proposed removal
proposed removal
proposed removal
proposed removal
proposed removal Overwear
Flexibility rates: 10% of which carry forward shall not represent more than 5% 4203, ex 4303, ex 4304, 6101, 6102, 6103, 6104, 6106, 6110, 6112, 6113, 6114, 6201, 6202, 6203, 6204, 6206, 6210, 6211 15 900 000 $ 6 6 6 6 proposed removal Other clothing and ready-made clothing products
Flexibility rates: 10% of which carry forward shall not represent more than 5% ex 4303, ex 4304, 6117, 6213, 6214, 6215, 6301, 6302, 6304, 6306, 6307, 9404 4 570 000 $ 6 6 6 6 proposed removal
Mexico: anti-dumping measures maintained against imports from China
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Protocol, during six years after the accession of China, Mexico's existing measures listed below shall not be subject to the provisions of either the WTO Agreement or the anti-dumping provisions of this Protocol.
WTACCSPECCHN1R3.doc
