Customs and the World Trade Organisation (Course, Master)

Syllabus of the Online Subject: Customs and WTO (World Trade Organisation).

1. The Role of the World Trade Organisation in Customs
2. Multilateral Trading System
3. World Trade Organisation Agreements
   1. Tariffs
   2. Agriculture
   3. Standards and safety
   4. Textiles
   5. Anti-dumping, subsidies, and safeguards
   6. Non-tariff barriers
4. Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
5. Agreement on Customs Valuation
6. Customs Valuation Rules
7. Customs Valuation Methods:
   1. Transaction value
   2. Identical or similar goods
   3. Deductive or computed method
   4. Fall-back
8. Pre-shipment Inspection Agreement
9. Rules of Origin Agreement
10. Customs and Regional Trade Agreements
11. Customs Procedures and the Doha agenda

The objectives of the Online Subject “Customs and World Trade Organisation” are to understand the

1. Role of the World Trade Organisation in custom procedures
2. WTO's agreements
3. Fundamental concepts related to customs: non-tariff barriers, customs valuation, transaction value, pre-shipment inspection, rules of origin, and import licences
4. Customs Valuation Methods

Example of the Online Subject (Customs and World Trade Organisation):

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Description of the Subject (Customs and World Trade Organisation):

Import licensing

In International Trade, import licensing are administrative procedures that need the compliance of documentation to the administrative organisation as a previous condition for importation of products.

The Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures of the World Trade Organisation refers to “import licensing should be simple, transparent and predictable.”

Customs valuation.

Customs valuation is a procedure applied by customs to find out the “Customs value of imported products.”

In the case that the rate of duty is “ad valorem,” the customs value is necessary to find out the duty to be paid on an imported product.

For importers, the process of estimating the value of a product at customs can present some troubles.

The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Customs Valuation aims for a fair, uniform and neutral system for Customs Valuation.

The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Customs Valuation defines that customs valuation should (excluding in specified circumstances) be based on the actual price of products (usually marked on the invoice). The following six methods are considered in the Agreement on Customs of the WTO:

1. Transaction value
2. Transaction value of identical products
3. Transaction value of similar products
4. Deductive method
5. Computed method
6. Fall-back method

Transaction value is the price paid by the importer to the benefit of the exporter for the imported products.

Pre-shipment inspection

When the exporter or the importer outsource specialised private companies to control shipment details (price, quantity, and quality) of products. The Pre-shipment Inspection Agreement recognises that General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) principles and obligations apply to these pre-shipment activities.

Rules of Origin

The “Rules of origin” define where a product was produced. The concept of rules and certificate of origin is a fundamental pillar of international trade rules (quotas, preferential tariffs, anti-dumping, or counter export subsidies)

Related subjects:

1. Non-tariff Measures
2. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   1. Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
3. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   1. Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
4. Anti-dumping Measures and Safeguards
   1. Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
5. Import Licensing and Quotas
6. Pre-shipment Inspection
   1. Agreement on Preshipment Inspection
7. Convention relating to Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention)

(Source: World Trade Organisation).

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