CACCI endorsed a Policy Statement on Rules of Origin. In the paper, CACCI urged governments to re-double their efforts to find a pathway forward to conclude the current Doha Round of WTO negotiations and ratify as quickly as possible the Trade Facilitation Agreement negotiated in 2014. Ratifying the Agreement, according to CACCI, will be a major step toward improving the movement of goods through global supply chains, adding that it will also create investment opportunities as improved trade related infrastructure is upgraded in each nation.
CACCI, however, acknowledged that the negotiation process can be arduous and that many compromises are necessary to be able to reach an acceptable outcome for all parties to any negotiation. As each negotiation is with a different counterparty, despite many agreements following a common template and covering common issues, the final results can still differ in terms of “landing zone” of ambition as well as specific details on market access, coverage and timetables for reform, CACCI noted Hence, in order to attain consistency and harmonization within these agreements so that they can all eventually be drawn together inside a WTO agreement, CACCI endorsed the Policy Statement on Non-Preferential Rules of Origin developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and called on its members to circulate this to their governments.
CACCI members also urged governments party to bilateral and regional Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) negotiations must instruct their negotiators to ensure that their regional and bilateral agreements harmonise Rules of Origin by following wherever possible the provisions and procedures of the Revised Kyoto Convention (2006), and embracing the principles of harmonisation contained in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (2013).
