WT/BFA/W/538  
15 February 2021  
(21-1272) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET,  
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION  
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, CANADA, FRANCE, GERMANY, ISRAEL, MEXICO, 
NORWAY, AND THE  UNITED  STATES  
The above cosponsors would like to propose for Member's discussion and possible adoption, the 
following suggested procedural improvements in the operation of the CBFA meetings.  
1  REMINDER NOTICE ISSUED FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE AGENDA CLOSES  
1.1.  A notice be issued, in the form of an airgram or email, five days pr ior to the closing date of any 
meeting agenda (ten days prior to a formal meeting). This reminder would ensure that all Members 
are aware of the closing date of the meeting agenda and have sufficient time to request inclusion of 
any additional items on the  agenda.  
2  INCLUSION OF A SPECIFIC ITEM FOR ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
2.1.  A specific item appearing on the agenda would provide a clear and predicable marker for where 
and when any suggested changes to the agenda would be raised with Members and agreed upon. If 
the Chair or Secretariat would like to seek Member's approval to combine items that appear 
separately on the agenda, the addition of a specific item for adoption of the agenda would prompt 
this discussion at the beginning of the meeting.  
3  INCLUSION OF AGENDA I TEM FOR CHAIR REPORTS ON ONGOING WORK  
3.1.  The establishment of a clear work plan for the CBFA in 2020 was a welcomed improvement 
and many Members found the structure to be helpful in guiding work on particular issues over the 
course of the year. One enhancemen t to the annual work plan could be to include a general item on 
the agenda where the Chair could provide updates or reports, as necessary and appropriate, on work 
stream issues that do not appear on the agenda for that particular meeting. The new agenda it em 
could include a report on a range of issues, thus informing Members of any work in progress or 
consultation activity that has or will be taking place.  
4  ADDITIONAL TIME PROVIDED TO MEMBERS TO REVIEW LONGER REPORTS  
4.1.  Extending Members time for review for any Secretariat report over 10 pages to a recommended 
circulation date of 15 days prior to the meeting where the document is to be discussed, rather than 
the current 10 days unless there are exceptional or urgent circu mstances that make earlier 
distribution impractical. In instances where several reports are placed on an agenda for review at 
the same meeting, this would allow Members sufficient time to review and comment on detailed 
reports.  WT/BFA/W/538  
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  5  CONTINUED USE OF REVISION DO CUMENTS TO CLARIFY CHANGES AND 
MODIFICATIONS MADE TO SECRETARIAT DOCUMENTS  
5.1.  A continuation of the practice established in 2020 by the Secretariat to produce comparison 
charts to supplement Committee documents undergoing revisions. Members found the summary or 
comparison charts, which clearly showed the before and after text versions, useful in tracking and 
understanding changes made to Committee documents.  
6  FLEXIBLE APPROACHES TO CAPTURING CBFA DISCUSSIONS – REPORTS AND MINUTES 
FORMAT  
6.1.  Review the procedures f or reporting on meetings of the CBFA. While summarized and 
anonymized "reports" may be preferable in most instances for routine Committee business, the 
increase in substantive discussions among Members on discrete topics that span across several 
meetings r equires some re -evaluation in how the Committee keeps and reports on Member's 
discussions. For certain discussions, a "minutes" format, similar to most other Committee records 
may be more helpful in establishing a useful record of Members' comments and dis cussions on 
particular topics. While "minutes" (verbatim remarks that are attributed to individual Members) may 
be more resource intensive, they may be more appropriate for certain discussions among Members. 
There should be some flexibility in how meetings  are reported on, with certain topics covered 
differently than others. Reports of the CBFA could be adapted to reflect a hybrid approach.  
7  ISSUANCE OF MEETING REPORTS OR MINUTES PRIOR TO SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS  
7.1.  The CBFA meets more frequently than other WTO Co mmittees, and the short turnaround time 
can pose challenges to getting meeting reports and/or minutes issued rapidly. Nevertheless, many 
Members rely heavily on the formal reports and/or minutes as part of their engagement with their 
capitals and in the pr eparation for guidance and instructions on a range of issues. To the extent 
possible, reports and/or minutes should be issued at least 10 days prior to the subsequent CBFA 
meeting to enable all Members to review the official record of CBFA discussions.  
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