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JOB/MA/152  
 
22 March 2022  
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Committee on Market Access   
 
EXPERIENCE -SHARING ON TRADE IN COVID -19 RELATED GOODS  
FIRST SESSION  
Note by the Secretariat1 
1.1.  The Committee on Market Access (CMA) held its first experience -sharing session on trade in 
COVID -19 related goods on 4 March 2022. The topic of the session was: "How Members defined 
their lists of "essential goods" to combat the pandemic, what challenges they faced with their tariff 
classification, and what can be learnt as a way forward, including for better international 
cooperation".2 
1.2.  The foll owing Members participated  as speakers to exchange views and experiences on this 
topic: Canada, China, Ecuador, the European Union  (EU), Singapore and the United Kingdom  (UK). 
The presentations by Members are reproduced in Annex 1.3 A representative from the World Customs 
Organization (WCO) also participated in the session and provided written contributions (see Annex 
2). At the meeting, o ther Members took the floor to share their views and experiences on this topic. 
Furthermore, Canada and Uruguay submitted two official communications after the meeting to 
complement information that was shared during the session.4 This note can be further updated to 
take into account additional contributions by Members.  
1  DEFINING THE LIST S OF COVID -19 ESSENTIAL GOODS  
1.1.  The definition of  a national list of  essential or critical goods was one of the first steps that 
Members had to take in response to the global pandemic. Once the se products were identified, it 
was also necessary to find their classification in the national tariff systems in order to target trade 
policy measures that would ensure adequate supply of such goods , particularly at the outset of the 
pandemic when  many of  these goods were in short supply . 
1.2.  Members used different cri teria to define their national lists of essential goods . Many of them 
worked in closed c ollaboration  with their national health authorities  and established internal 
coordination mechanisms to  identify them. Members  also referred  to the indicative lists developed 
by international organi zations like the WCO, the World Health Organization  (WHO)  and the WTO, 
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 As a result of the Chairperson's informal consultations on 9 February 2022, the Committee agreed to 
organize a series of experience -sharing sessions on issue s related to trade in COVID -19 goods. The following 
topics emerged as possible areas in which the Committee could engage in a technical dialogue on Members' 
practices: a) The definition of essential goods to combat the pandemic. That is, how Members have defined 
such lists and updated them over time; b) Tariff classification of these essential or criti cal goods within the 
Harmonized System. That is, once the products have been identified, whether Members faced issues with their 
HS classification. This is an area in which the collaboration with the World Customs Organization could be 
necessary; c) How Me mbers have monitored and measured trade in these essential goods to combat the 
pandemic, including the creation of national tariff lines or statistical breakouts; d) Sharing of Members' 
practices on measures aimed at easing trade under the purview of the C ommittee including, for example, in 
relation to tariff suspension, reduction, or elimination; and e)  How to improve transparency in export 
restrictions, as well as sharing of experiences with respect to the choices underpinning the use of such 
restrictions  (e.g., why a certain type of measure was chosen, what factors determined the termination/non -
renewal of certain measures, whether a review of their effectiveness was undertaken, etc.).  
3 In the original language  only. 
4 Documents G/MA/W/173 of Uruguay  and G/MA/W/174 of Canada.  JOB/MA/152  
 
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  which aimed at  provid ing guidance for the tariff classification of these product s at national and 
international level s.5 Some  Members recognized that this endeavour proved to be  particularly 
difficult and still represents  a challenge for updating  their own  national  lists as the pandemic evolves . 
1.3.  Based on Member's experiences, some of the criteria  used to define the national list s and 
identify which  products  were considered to be essential or critical to combat the pandemic included6: 
• Short supply  of the product  in the Member's territory  (determined in close collaboration with 
the national health authorities) ; 
• Inputs  provided by differ ent national stakeholders from both the public (e.g. government 
agencies) and the private sector (e.g. t raders );  
• The products identified in the  national lists  published by other Members;  
• Information made available by the relevant international organizati ons (e.g. WHO, WCO and 
WTO)  
• Publication s, reports  and analysis  from other sources, including academia , health experts , 
etc. 
1.4.  While many Members defined their national list s of essential goods, other Members followed 
alternative approaches. For example, the EU did not establish a common list at the  EU level ; rather,  
each EU  member State  was able to define its own list of product s based on their national needs  and 
sanitary situation . The lists of national needs  were then sent to the European Commission  and 
consolidated in an indicative no n-official  list of goods , which presented many similarities to the WCO -
WCO lists,  which was regular ly update d and amend ed mainly  to correct inaccuracie s. 
1.5.  Some Members highlighted the importance of having close collaboration among domestic 
agencies  and the establishment of  national consultation  mechanisms  across sectors and stakeholder  
group s, which were considered to be key in the identification of product  lists and the measures to 
be adopted . For example, when the state of health emergency  was declared in Ecuador , the 
government  established an inter -agency coordination mechanism, whereby : (i) the Ministry of Public 
Health had the authority t o define the list of essential goods ; (ii) the Ministry of Trade – through  an 
ad hoc  Committee  – analyse d and implemented selected trade policy measures; and (iii) Customs 
enforced these measures .  
1.6.  Members  also looked at available resources from regional initiatives.  In partic ular, t wo regional 
initiatives were mentioned: (i) the Joint Declaration by New Zealand  and Singapore on trade in 
essential goods7 - which aims at removing tariffs, export restrictions and non -tariff barriers on over 
120 COVID -19 related products, including PPE equipment, medical equipment, nutritional products, 
medicines and hygiene supplies; and (ii) a memorandum of understanding (MoU ) committing ASEAN 
member States to ensure smooth flow of essential goods and prevent supplies disruption during the 
COVID -19 pandemic .8 
2  CLASSIFICATION OF  COVID -19 ESSENTIAL GOODS  IN THE H ARMONIZED SYSTEM  AND 
BEYOND  
2.1.  Following the identification of essenti al or critical goods to combat the pandemic, or as a 
concurrent process, Members also had to identify where these products were classified in their 
national  tariff nomenclature , which is based on the Harmonized System  (HS) n omenclature . While 
the HS classi fication of some of these products was straightforward, Members faced challenges with 
the specific classification of some of them, which was a necessary step in the implementation of the 
national trade policies. Members acknowledged the importance of the valuable assistance that was 
provided by the WCO, WHO and WTO , which  issued several documents with guidance on the 
 
5 See Annex 2 and the WTO Information Note "Improving trade data for products essential to fight 
COVID -19: a possible way forward" . 
6 These crite ria are based on inputs shared by Members at the experience -sharing session and may not 
be exhaustive.  
7 Document G/C/W/777 of 16 April 2020 . 
8 https://asean.org/asean -mou-on-essential -goods -enters -into-force. JOB/MA/152  
 
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  classification of many of these products .9 Despite this guidance, some Members emphasiz ed in 
particular two problems  with respect to the tariff classification  of some essential goods , both at 
national and international level s, especially  for the purpose of monitoring trade in COVID -19 
essential goods : 
• The HS subheadings (i.e. HS 6-digit leve l) were not detailed enough  and comprised many 
additional goods ; and  
• The national breakouts  (i.e. national subcategories beyond the standardized HS categories ) 
created by some Members were not standardized  across Members . 
2.2.  At the outset of the pandemic , the specific description of certain  critical  product s was uncertain,  
so it was not clear  to Members  under which specific HS codes these products should be classified.  
For example, Singapore mentioned that the WCO-WHO list of COVID -19 medical supp lies added  
"alcohol solution s" under HS2208.90 , because alcohol is used as a disinfectant and sterilization 
product. However,  in the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature, subheading  2208.90 is also used 
to classify  "Samsu ", a type of alcohol which has no application as a disinfectant  or for sterilization.  
Similarly, the UK mentioned that the classification of key products , especially  at the early stages of 
the pandemic , such as  textile face masks , paper face masks , plastic face shields , had an ambiguous 
classification in  the HS and their  description  was not detailed enough, which  made it challenging to 
identify commodity codes and target policy measures effectively . 
2.3.  Moreover, it would appear that different Members  ended  up classif ying certain products (such 
as paper face masks, plastic face shields, laryngoscopes or infusion pumps ) under different HS 
subheadings , which affected Member's  ability to track trade  accurately and posed a challenge in 
their ability  to coordinate  policy measures  across supply chains.  Members also noted that v arious 
COVID -19 critical products were not assigned specific  tariff codes within the identified HS  
standardized  categories . This was particularly challenging for the classification of goods th at have  
"dual use " issues within these categories. For example, the UK noted that ambulances are classified 
with other vehicles of similar engine sizes making global trade tracking and policy interventions 
complex . 
2.4.  Some Members also decided to go beyond the standard HS 6-digit codes and introduc e new 
national tariff lines or statistical codes (i.e. codes beyond the national tariff line level that enable 
customs to differentiate imports)  on all or some of the products listed by the WCO -WHO-WTO 
indicative lists . For example, additional break outs were introduced by the UK on some products to 
target vaccines components based on the Joint Indicative List of COVID -19 vaccine components . 
National break outs were also  created at different level s of detail s in the national nomenclature,  
depending on the pursued trade policy objective . For example , the EU introduced 8 -digit codes in 
the Combined Nomenclature (CN) to monitor import s and exports and went up to 10 -digit codes for  
monitoring  import only. China also created new national breakouts  (i.e. at the  10-digit level)  based 
on the scope of application of the products in order to facilitate customs clearance and achieve 
efficient c ustoms supervision  (e.g. for COVID -19 vaccine s, COVID -19 tests kits , medical or surgical 
masks, and invasive ventilators, among others ). 
2.5.  In the case of Ecuador, no national break outs were created and specific COVID -19 related 
products (for example COVID -19 vaccines) were classified in the residual " Other" categor y, which is 
already provided for in the HS, with a more detailed description  in order to identify the product and 
implement targeted trade policy measure s. 
2.6.  Members consider that the following practices proved useful in identifying the appropriate tariff 
classification of COVID -19 goods:  
• The issuance of c ustoms notices that provide additional classification guidance and other 
information to assist traders  with the importation of critical goods and the relief mechanisms 
that may be available to  them (see section 1.3 below);  
 
• Identifi cation of  goods  based on their principal use  rather than the ir physical characteristics 
(i.e. "e nd-use" system ); 
 
9 See Annex 2.  JOB/MA/152  
 
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• Relying on additional information relating to the specific goods  - such as scope of application , 
product characteristics , declaration of transaction units of measurements , or applied tariff 
regime , among others – was useful in finding the appropriate classification;  
 
• Creation of mechanisms  (enquiry points)  that enable importers to consult with the Customs 
agencies regarding  the HS classification of critical goods , including  via online platforms . 
 
2.1  Trade policy measures targeting COVID -19 goods  
2.7.  WTO Members adopted a number of trade and trade -related measures to tackle the COVID -19 
crisis. Trade in some  of the essential goods  was already duty -free for several  Members  at the start 
of the pandemic  either on a n MFN basis, pursuant to preferential trade agreement s, or under  existing  
programmes for  tariff relief  or donated goods . However, some of the  key COVID -19 goods were still 
subject to customs duties and  internal taxes, which represented  potential supply barrie rs and 
increased costs for importers and consumers alike .  
2.8.  In an effort to support continued trade flows for essential goods, and to provide liquidity 
support for importers, several Members adopted a series of trade easing measures  on imports  of 
essential goods , which included the following10: 
• Temporary reduction or elimination of customs duties  on imports ; 
• Temporary relief from payment of customs duties and/or internal taxes, such as Value Added 
Tax (VAT) , sales taxes, consumption taxes, etc. ; 
• Waiver or deferral of  payments of customs duties and other  taxes . 
2.9.  Some of these temporary schemes were applied on a conditional basis . For example , some 
measures  were designed to apply only to essential  goods imported by, or on behalf of, specific 
entities (e .g. state organi zations, charitable or philanthropic associations, public health  agencies , or 
for the benefit of "disaster victims "). For example,  Canada initial ly waived the payment of customs 
duties and sales taxes on goods imported by , or on behalf of , public health agencies, hospitals, 
testing sites, and first response organizations (e.g., police, fire and local civil defen ce groups) . 
Subsequently the duties were waived on imports of products used by  public or private care 
residences  - such as senior residences, retirement homes, nursing homes and shelters . Finally, at a 
later stage, this relief mechanism was made available to all importers of these  goods , including 
businesses, distributors, and individual Canadians.  
2.10.   Besides measures aimed at reducing the costs of imports, some Members also adopted other 
types of trade facilitating measures , such as the introduction of special procedures  for fast er customs 
clearance of imported pandemic prevention and control goods, simplification of approval procedures, 
acceleration of inspection and release processes of exit and entry of cargos , among others.  For 
example, Mauritius made provisions for the clearance of several consignments of goods related to 
the COVID -19 pandemic  as "relief consignments " and exempted them from the payment of customs 
duties, excise duty and taxes.  It also extended the warehouse period from  24 to 36 months . 
3  LESSONS LEARNED  
3.1.  Members recognized tha t, in time s of cris is, the international community should continue to 
work together and  ensure that trade continues to flow freely and remains uninterrupted, including 
through the removal of trade restrictive measures on essential goo ds, to protect supply chains , and 
to keep critical infrastructure open. Against  this background, t he WTO and the multilateral rules -
based system , continue to play a key role  in maintaining free and open markets.  Members have 
drawn a number of lessons from the COVID -19 pandemi c, which can be summari zed as follows  (non-
exhaustive list) . 
 
10 While no specific obligation with respect to the notification of the measures to the WTO exist s, some 
Members decided to inform the Committee  on Market Access  about them. The full list of measures aimed at 
easing trade in COVID -19 goods is compiled by the Secretariat in G/MA/W/157  and its revisions .  JOB/MA/152  
 
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  3.1  Ensure regular review and update of the lists of essential goods  
3.2.  As the pandemic evolves, the definition of essential goods to combat COVID -19 also needs to 
be adapted. In this respect, Members highlighted the following practices : 
• Ensure that there is a mechanism for the periodic evaluation and update of the national lists 
of essential products, in order to provide timely information which can guide decision -
making;  
• Review domestic tariff nomenclatures (either at national tariff line or the statistical levels) 
to ensure that they  are sufficiently precise for identifying critical  goods and allow for targeted 
policy measures ; 
• Regularly u pdate customs notices based on what has been learned from the initial phases of 
the crisis ; 
• As new products become relevant to the crisis , consult or collaborate  with the relevant 
stakeholde rs to discuss how best to update the national lists of products ; 
• Create mechanisms/initiatives to generate common reference lists faster and ensure their 
regular update ; 
• Identify a  common list at HS  6-digit codes that are "critical" for Members, with specific 
common national breakouts  or standardize d product descriptions . 
3.2  Deepe ning national cooperation  
3.3.  It was pointed out that n o Member was ready to combat a global pandemic when the outbreak 
of the COVID -19 was declared  and that sharing of experiences a mong Members about what solutions 
worked well to come up with a national response to the pandemic was particularly important. In this 
respect, the following practices were highlighted:  
• Establish  or reinforce cross -departmental efforts  and interagency mech anisms  to identify 
critical goods ; 
• Define c lear leadership , assign responsibility, and ensure coordination among different 
actors  and stakeholders to avoid duplicat ion of  procedure s and processes , particularly in 
times of crises;  
 
• Ensure participation and commitment of all stakeholders ; 
 
• Transmitting information early on to importers regarding the typical classification of medical 
goods to smoothen importation and minimize  classification challenges . 
3.3  Improve dialogue among Members  
3.4.  One of the main lessons lea rned is that no Member was spared by the COVID -19 pandemic  and 
that international cooperation , especially in times of crises, is  quintessential.  Based on this 
experience, Members recognized that there is scope for improving dialogue at international level, in 
particular by : 
• Creat ing or enhanc ing mechanisms to establish dialogue amongst Members and allow for 
the rapid exchange  of information between policy makers  regarding classification issues ; 
• Speeding up and standardiz ing classificatio n decisions  and implementation of trade policy 
measures . The Harmonized System Committee of the WCO may have an important role to 
play with regards to the classification aspects ( see below ); 
• Ensuring the publication  by Members  of the ir national list s of products and classification 
decisions on COVID -19 critical goods , preferably through national websites ; JOB/MA/152  
 
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  • Sharing of  national lists of products with other Members, including through the WTO . 
3.4  Strengthening collaboration with international organizations  
3.5.  Members considered that the advice  provided by international organizations was key , as these 
organizations were  best placed to provide guidance on  the identification of  critical  goods and their 
classification  at the different stages of the  pandemic. Members called for greater engagement and 
strengthened collaboration by international organizations, particularly between the WCO, WHO and 
WTO, in the following areas:  
• Sharing reflections from the WCO and WHO on what has  or has not worked well  in the 
identification and classification of  essential goods , what were the main challenges , and future 
plans to formalize lists or issue further guidance/decisions on classification ; 
 
• Developing a common reference list, which would include tariff classificatio n with reference 
to WCO and WHO initiatives ; 
 
• Organising f ormal sessions on reflections and lessons learnt by multilateral organi zations 
that have been involved in producing independent lists ( e.g. how much engagement took 
place, whether it was effective, and could be adapte d); 
 
• Participation  by Members  in drafting of the HS Classification reference for COVID -19 medical 
supplies under the framework of the WCO, WHO and other international organization s. 
 
3.5  Enhance transparency and experience sharing  at the WTO  
3.6.  Members also highlighted the important role that could be played by the  WTO and suggested 
concrete actions that could be taken within the framework of the CMA , such as : 
• Continue to share informatio n to support  the decision -making  processes  on trade policy 
measures ; 
 
• Enhance transparency and facilitation of trade policy measures related to COVID -19 essential 
goods , including by voluntarily submitting additional information beyond the notifications  
requirements ; 
 
• Holding seminars  or workshops  and inviting experts from the WCO and WHO on technical 
issues of specific products  classification ; 
 
• Engage stakeholders affected by trade  in COVID -19 in the discussions in order to reflect 
their inputs in the work of the CMA;  
 
• Discuss trade measures related to combat the pandemic within the mandate of the 
Committee and encourage Members to share experiences . 
 
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  ANNEX 1  
PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS  
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  PRESENTATION BY ECUADOR  
 
 
 
 
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  PRESENTATION BY THE EUROPEAN UNION  
 
 
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  PRESENTATION BY SINGAPORE  
 
 
 
 
 
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  PRESENTATION BY THE UNITED KINGDOM  
 
 
 
 
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  ANNEX 2  
REPORT BY THE WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO)  
1.  When the pandemic started in March 2020, it was expected that the movement of relief goods 
(supplies, medicines and medical equipment) across borders would increase dramatically and it was 
critical that Customs administrations could continue to facilitate not only relief goods but goo ds in 
general to help minimize the overall impact of the COVID -19 outbreak on our economies and 
societies.  
2. On the WCO website, a dedicated webpage  was created to compile information about the 
instruments, tools, initiatives and databases that c ould be utilized in th e efforts to address the 
various COVID -19-related challenges faced by WCO Members and their stakeholders worldwide.  
3. Under WCO Instruments and tools , the WCO made available three  lists: 
• The HS classification reference for Covid -19 medical supplies  
• The List of priority medicines  
• The INN List 124 Covid -19 Special Edition  
4. By the end of 2020, when vaccination distribution started, another dedicated webpage called 
COVID-19 vaccines distribution across borders  was created.  On that webpage, under WCO tools and 
guidance materials a new list called "HS classification reference for vaccines and related supplies 
and equipment " was made available.  The four lists could be downloaded in different languages at 
the provided links . All these lists were updated in January 2022  following the entry into force of  the 
HS 2022 amendment.  
5. As a contribution  to the work with relevant international organizations to develop guidance 
materials related to the cross -border movement of vaccines and related products, the WCO 
contributed to the classi fication of products compiled by the WTO in the  Joint Indicative List of Critical 
COVID -19 vaccine inputs . The WCO  is ready to assist the WTO in updating  the list  to HS 2022 and 
the classification of any new products.  
 
6. The lists of HS -coded medical supplies, vaccines and related supplies were widely appreciated by 
stakeholders and taken into consideration by govern ments when preparing their responses to secure 
and facilitate trade in these supplies. They served as the basis for identifying the cross -border 
movement of products needed during the pandemic, applying contingent tariff and non -tariff relief 
policies, mon itoring and combating falsified supplies, and even for taking responsive actions to 
address shortages.  
 
7. Listening to the comments made by many delegations in regard to problems in the classification 
of certain COVID -19 related medical supplies, I would like to note that when the pandemic started, 
as an initial response to the unprecedented demand in medical supplies at the beginning of the 
COVID -19 pandemic around the world, and in order to help countries speed up the cross -border 
movement of these criti cal products,  the WCO , in collaboration with the WHO , elaborated an initial 
list (HS classification reference for Covid -19 medical supplies) in March 2020, containing essential 
products that were expected to be needed, such as COVID -19 diagnostic test kits  and masks, certain 
protective personal equipment, medical devices such as ventilators and ECMO (extracorporeal 
membrane oxygenation), consumables and disinfectant products that may be used for the 
prevention and treatment of the disease.  The list was prov ided as an indicative lis t only and it was 
expanded three times to clarify the classification of certain products and to cover a greater range of 
medical equipment and supplies that were required as critical items by the WHO.  
 
8. The list of WHO products w ere sometimes not clear enough to allow a proper classification of the 
products. Members had problems with the classification of some goods, and face masks is an 
example.  This is expected, as the simple description of the name "face mask " does not provide 
information if the mask was made of paper, woven or non -woven textile, etc., and it may lead to a 
different understanding of the product. This is a similar problem to that which was experienced by JOB/MA/152  
 
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  certain sanitary products, leading to a new heading  (HS 9019) being created in HS 2017 to classify 
such goods regardless of material. To date, no similar suggestion has been made for face masks . 
 
9. It has also been noted that Members may classify the same product in different subheadings. One 
of the causes for th is can be different Members having a different understanding of the product or it 
could be caused by certain difficulties in the interpretation of the HS text of the 
headings/subheadings. In addition, national judicial rulings can alter the classification of some 
products.  
 
10. When the WCO was aware of different classifications or understanding of medical supplies, the 
list contains certain additional information to clarify the product and sometime indications of possible 
different classifications by Membe rs. Most importantly,  it refers trade  policy makers  to confirm 
classifications with the administration concerned. In addition, the HS classification reference for 
Covid -19 medical supplies contains at the end, links to Member sites for their national lists  of medical 
supplies.  
 
11. An additional problem highlighted is that 6-digit code often do not provide much description of 
certain goods, reducing visibility. One solution to this is opening additional national subheadings. In 
the longer term, with future emergencies in mind, countries can seek amendments to the HS at the 
Harmonized System Committee.  Countries are of course, also welcome to request classification 
opinions on certain problematic products to the Harmonized System Committee as the class ifications 
contained in the lists are only indicative.  Unfortunately, during the pandemic period there was no 
time to wait for the HSC to meet to discuss the classification of products, so as a lesson learnt it 
would be advisable to try to describe essenti al traded products in the most complete way to allow 
for a proper classification.  
 
12. The WCO is always amending the HS to clarify grey areas in the HS and we welcome Members  
requests on this regard.  
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