A product unprocessed or in its natural state. Raw materials form the first stage of processing in the analysis of tariff escalation.
Goods brought into a country on a temporary basis and destined ultimately for other markets, sometimes after some value has been added.
Source: Walter Goode: Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, Fourth Edition, (Cambridge University Press/WTO, 2003), p.290
Some Members provide re-imports with their IDB imports submissions. These imports may refer to goods that have been re-imported after temporary exportation for outward processing. Goods imported under this procedure are totally or partially exempt from import duties and taxes. Therefore, they are stored separately in the IDB, in the "TR" (or Trade Re-imports) table and are not included in analyses produced from IDB information, since the goods are not subject to regular customs procedures.
The practice by which governments extend similar concessions to each other, as when one government lowers its tariffs or other barriers impeding its imports in exchange for equivalent concessions from a trading partner on barriers affecting its exports (a "balance of concessions"). Reciprocity was traditionally a principal objective of negotiators in GATT rounds. Reciprocity is also defined as "mutuality of benefits," "quid pro quo," and "equivalence of advantages." The Enabling Clause of the Tokyo Round Framework Agreement, GATT Part IV (especially GATT Article XXXVI), and the WTO Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries exempt developing countries from the rigorous application of reciprocity in their GATT and WTO obligations vis-à-vis developed countries.
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/trade/glossjr.htm#j
IDB reference files are used to standardize certain data from submissions received from reporting countries. For instance, countries use different coding schemes to identify their trading partners in the import submissions. In the PC IDB, the national codes are changed to standard WTO codes in order to have a common basis for statistical reporting. Furthermore, reference information provides users of the IDB with details on the comparability of data among reporting countries. Refer to GUIDELINES FOR SUPPLYING IDB SUBMISSIONS for more information.
The tariff item numbers used in the IDB tariff files are those reported in national tariffs for a given year which is taken as the "reference year". Reporting countries should provide all files in their submission according to the tariff nomenclature of the reference year.
A complete list of all RTAs notified to the WTO can be found at http://rtais.wto.org/?lang=1
The tariff relation is a code attached to each country of origin in the IDB import file, to identify the tariff relationship between a supplier and an importing country. The tariff relation code is unique for a given supplier on a given market.
Relation code |
Tariff relationship |
0 |
most favoured nation (MFN) |
1 |
free trade area (FTA) |
2 |
zone-zone (agreement between FTAs and/or Customs Unions) |
3 |
other preferential agreement |
4 |
GSP or MFN |
5 |
GSP or other preference |
6 |
GSP or general |
8 |
general |
9 |
unspecified |
The above codes were used in the mainframe IDB and are still used in the IDB CD-ROM. In the PC IDB, the relation codes 4 and 5 were changed and relation 6 was dropped. The sub-relation code has been introduced for GSP and LDC relations as follows:
Relation / Sub-relation |
Tariff relationship |
4/0 |
GSP or MFN |
4/3 |
GSP or other preference |
4/8 |
GSP or general |
5/0 |
LDC or MFN |
5/3 |
LDC or other preference |
5/8 |
LDC or general |
Most tariff negotiations are now conducted as part of multilateral trade negotiations or as sectoral negotiations like those resulting in the Information Technology Agreement, but the GATT sets out several ways of renegotiating tariffs during other periods. The listing provided by John Jackson and William Davey in Legal Problems of International Economic Relations is particularly useful. First, Article XXVIII:1 permits parties with a principal supplying interest or parties who have had earlier bilateral tariff negotiations to reopen these negotiations every three years. The period of three years originally reflected the United States practice of renewing the President's negotiating authority for three years at a time, and this was adopted as the period during which bindings could not be changed. Second, Article XXVIII:4 allows parties to request another party for special circumstance renegotiations. These would be small-scale negotiations confined to a few items resulting in a speedy conclusion, and they are meant to help countries relying on a relatively small number of primary commodities to diversify their economies. Third, Article XXVIII:5 envisages reserved renegotiations. This means that parties can reserve the right to modify their tariff schedules during the next three-year period in accordance with normal procedures, including the obligation to offer compensation to affected parties. Fourth, whenever two or more countries agree to form a customs union resulting in a common external tariff, part of the tariff schedules of participating members must necessarily be changed. Tariff renegotiations are therefore required under Article XXIV:6 to ensure that the overall level of tariffs of the members of the customs area does not exceed the levels in force when there were separate tariffs. Fifth, developing countries have the right under Article XVIII:7 to change, under defined conditions, a tariff schedule as part of promoting an infant industry. Sixth, Article XXVII gives parties the right to change a tariff concession negotiated with a country that either did not become a member of GATT or ceased to be one. Seventh, renegotiations of tariffs are possible also in the form of minor technical rectifications where clearly a mistake was made. WTO members tend to very careful to ensure that such technical changes do not amount to disguised substantive tariff increases which might entitle others to compensation. See also TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS.
Source: Walter Goode: Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, Fourth Edition, (Cambridge University Press/WTO, 2003), p.294
A WTO Member or acceding country or territory supplying data for the IDB.
Some market access negotiations in the WTO for goods and services have been conducted on the basis of bilateral requests and offers. Accession negotiations are confined to requests by existing members. Requests are normally made by countries that have a significant interest in the traded product. Offers can be made in response to requests or concurrently. When two parties have reached agreement on the extent of new market access they are willing to give and accept, the result must be extended to all other WTO members on a most-favoured-nation basis.
Derived from: Walter Goode: Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, Fourth Edition, (Cambridge University Press/WTO, 2003), p.295
See NUISANCE TARIFF.
Action taken by a country to restrain imports from a country that has increased a tariff or imposed other measures adversely affecting its exports. There are strict rules and procedures requiring exhaustion of dispute settlement under the WTO for retaliatory action, but countries sometimes are tempted to act outside these.
Source: Walter Goode: Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, Fourth Edition, (Cambridge University Press/WTO, 2003), p.296
Regulations to determine the country of origin for goods. Rules of origin are used for many commercial policy instruments, including for the purpose of obtaining MFN treatment or preferential treatment.
See Customs Topics on the WCO Website and Rules of Origin on the WTO Website for more information.
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