The 4^th Meeting of the 2^nd Round the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) was held on 10 - 12 September 2007 in Ankara to continue and conclude its deliberations on the Rules of Origin and the Non-tariff Barriers of the OIC Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC).

At the same venue, the Rules of Origin of the TPS-OIC was presented for signature at the 2^nd Meeting of the Ministers of Commerce of the Member Countries, held on September 12^th.

The 19th COMCEC Session, which was held on 20-23rd October, 2003, marked the milestone meeting for officially launching the first round of trade negotiations for the establishment of an OIC trade preferential system. In that session, the Ministerial Declaration which outlines the objectives and principles of the first round, and the Rules of Procedure of the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) were adopted. The Ministerial Declaration set the date and venue for launching the first round as April 2004 in Antalya (Turkey).

The First Round of Trade Negotiations was successfully concluded in 2005, producing the Protocol on the Preferential Tariff Scheme for TPS-OIC (PRETAS), which was submitted to the 21st Session of COMCEC for adoption and signature. Up to now, among the member states of TNC, 10 have signed and two of them ratified the PRETAS. The PRETAS will enter into the force with the completion of the ratification process by 10 TNC Member States.

The Second Round was launched by the Ministerial Meeting on 24th November 2006 in Istanbul. The Ministerial Declaration, adopted at the said meeting, put the target of 1st of January, 2009 for establishing the TPS-OIC and making it operational. In this respect, the second round was devoted to the completion of the rules of origin of the TPS-OIC and other trade-related issues which will prepare the ground for the operation of the TPS-OIC. The outcome will be submitted to the 23rd Meeting of COMCEC in November 2007 for its adoption. The TNC has had three consecutive meetings in November 2006, March and June, 2007.

The 4th Meeting of the 2nd Round of the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) was held on 10th of September 2007 in Ankara to continue and conclude the deliberations on the Rules of Origin and the Non-tariff Barriers of the OIC Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC). At the end of the 4th Meeting of the 2nd Round prior to the 2nd Meeting of Ministers of Commerce of the Member Countries, the TNC completed the negotiations on the Rules of Origin. The Rules of Origin of the TPS-OIC was presented for signature at the 2nd Meeting of the Ministers of Commerce of the Member Countries, held on September 12th.

Five countries namely; Republic of Guinea, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey and State of United Arab Emirates signed the TPS-OIC Rules of Origin at the Signing Ceremony. It was also agreed that the TPS-OIC Rules of Origin will be submitted to the COMCEC Ministerial Session to be held in November. Emphasis was laid on the member states to act accordingly to accomplish the goal of establishing the TPS-OIC at the specified date of January 1st 2009. The determination of the Para-Tariff and Non-Tariff Measures was decided to be considered after the entry of PRETAS into force.

In the course of the meeting, the delegates provided the TNC with information about the procedures of their countries regarding the status of signing and/or ratifying the agreements of the TPS-OIC. In this context, most countries stated that the deadline of 1st January 2009 will hopefully be reached successfully and that the TPS-OIC will be operational on time.