WT/GC/W/777/Rev.6  
 
15 July 2021  
(21-5606) Page: 1/3 
General Council  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES FOR WTO COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES  
ADDRESSING TRADE CONCERNS  
DRAFT GENERAL COUNCIL DECISION  
Communication from Albania; Australia; Canada; China; European Union; Hong Kong, China; 
Iceland; Republic of Korea; Republic of Moldova; New  Zealand; North Macedonia; Norway; 
Panama; Qatar; Singapore; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen and Matsu; Thailand; Turkey; and Ukraine  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 14 July 2021, is  being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of Albania; Australia; Canada; China; European Union; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; 
Republic of Korea; Republic of Moldova; New Zealand; North Macedonia; Norway; Panama; Qatar; 
Singapore; Switzerland; the Se parate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; 
Thailand; Turkey and Ukraine.  
 
_______________  
 
 
The General Council,  
 
Having regard  to Article IV:2 of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization ("the 
Agreement");  
 
Recognizing  that the role of regular WTO councils and committees is to oversee the functioning of 
their respective agreements, and that their meetings offer Members a forum to discuss concerns 
regarding trade -related measures of other Members (hereafter re ferred to as "trade concerns");  
 
Desiring  to strengthen the ability of regular WTO councils and committees to facilitate the effective 
consideration of such trade concerns by equipping them with horizontal procedural guidelines, which 
should complement spe cific rules, procedures and existing practices of individual councils and 
committees, as well as streamlined meeting arrangements;  
 
Seeking  to encourage the effective resolution of trade concerns among Members through dialogue;  
 
Decides  as follows:  
 
Meetin g arrangements  
 
1. All documents to be considered at a formal meeting of a WTO body, including convening 
notices which shall indicate the items proposed for the agenda, shall be made available to 
Members at least 15 calendar days before the meeting. This shal l not apply to annotated 
agendas, which may be circulated closer to the meeting, and room documents, which may be 
circulated at any time. The Secretariat shall remind Members of the closing dates for proposing 
items to be included on the agendas.  WT/GC/W/777/Rev.6  
 
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  2. Convening  notices indicating the items proposed for the agenda of a WTO body shall indicate 
which trade concerns are raised for the first time in that body and which have been previously 
raised as well as how many times. Convening notices shall be unrestricted1 and made publicly 
available on the WTO website.  
3. The minutes of a meeting of a WTO body shall normally be circulated within three weeks after 
the meeting and not later than 30 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled meeting 
of that body. This par agraph shall replace the first sentence of footnote 3 of the Procedures 
for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents of 14  May 2002.  
4. At the end of the calendar year, the Secretariat shall circulate an indicative schedule of 
meetings for the comin g year for each WTO body that is consistent with the Guidelines on the 
Arrangements for Scheduling of Meetings of WTO Bodies.2 
5. To the extent that the meeting arrangements set out in paragraphs 1 to 4 are in contradiction 
with rules set by individual counc ils and committees, the present decision shall prevail. This 
includes where councils and committees apply mutatis mutandis the Rules of Procedure for 
Meetings of the General Council.3 
Consideration of trade concerns in WTO bodies  
 
6. A Member requesting the inclusion of a trade concern in the agenda of a formal WTO meeting 
for the first time should inform the respondent Member concerned and the Secretariat at least 
20 calendar days prior to the meeting. The Member requesting the agenda item should provide 
the respondent Member with a description of the concern so as to enable the latter to prepare 
a substantive reply for the meeting. If the respondent Member needs clarification of the 
agenda item or the measure underlying it, that Member should contact the Mem ber raising 
the trade concern prior to the formal WTO meeting. The respondent Member shall endeavour 
to address the substance of the concerns raised from the first meeting where the concern is 
included on the agenda.  
7. A Member raising a trade concern in a f ormal meeting is encouraged to submit to the 
Secretariat, for circulation to Members, written questions to the respondent Member, as a tool 
to facilitate engagement. If a Member receives written questions on a trade concern, that 
Member should normally res pond in writing within 60 calendar days of circulation of the written 
questions. If submitting such written responses is not feasible within that timeline, the 
respondent Member should explain why at the next formal meeting of the WTO body 
concerned. Writt en questions and written replies on trade concerns shall be unrestricted, 
unless the Member raising or responding to the trade concern requests otherwise.  
8. In consultation with Members, the Secretariat will establish and manage a database on trade 
concerns for Members' use in which all WTO documents pertaining to trade concerns are 
recorded, including written questions and replies, relevant minutes of meetings and relevant 
notifications. The database will contain a search facility to make all documents relat ed to a 
particular trade concern easily accessible, including when a trade concern is raised in multiple 
WTO bodies over time. The database shall not affect the restriction level of individual 
documents.  
9. If trade concerns over the same measure are raised i n different WTO bodies, the Chairperson, 
assisted by the Secretariat, shall, when the agenda item is taken up in a meeting, indicate 
which bodies have addressed trade concerns over the same measure and how often.  
10. The Members raising and responding to a tra de concern are encouraged to consult with each 
other between formal meetings, as appropriate. Members are encouraged to involve 
capital -based experts in the ir consultations  as necessary and may request the Secretariat to 
facilitate the ir participation, inc luding by means such as videoconferencing.  The Members 
 
1 Convening notices shall be deemed to be official WTO documents which are unrestricted pursuant to 
paragraph 2(b) of the Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents of 14 May 2002, as 
contained in WT/L/452.  
2 WT/L/106.  
3 WT/L/161.  WT/GC/W/777/Rev.6  
 
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  raising and responding to a trade concern may also agree to request the Secretariat or 
technical experts from organizations that have observer status in the body concerned to 
participate in the consult ations. Their participation shall be limited to providing factual or 
technical input. As far as practicable and appropriate, the Members may give a brief oral report 
about the outcome of their consultations at the next formal meeting if the trade concern i s 
maintained on the agenda.  
11. When a trade concern is repeatedly raised at a WTO body, Members taking the floor under 
the agenda item are encouraged, in order to make the best use of time and to the extent 
possible, to focus on new developments on the matter since the last time the trade concern 
was discussed in that body.  
Assistance and review  
 
12. Developing country Members, in particular Least Developed Countries, encountering 
difficulties to respond to a trade concern or to implement these Procedural Gu idelines are 
encouraged to request technical assistance from the WTO Secretariat.  
13. In the light of the experience gained from the operation of the Procedural Guidelines, the 
General Council will, at an appropriate time, review and if necessary modify them.  
Scope and entry into force  
 
14. The Procedural Guidelines shall apply to the bodies set up pursuant to, and referred to by, 
Article IV of the Agreement, with the exception of the Ministerial Conference and the General 
Council, including when the latter convene s and acts as the Dispute Settlement Body and the 
Trade Policy Review Body. They shall also apply to the Committee of Participants on the 
Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products, which was established pursuant to 
the provisions of the Ministe rial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products4 and 
the Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology 
Products.5 
15. The present decision shall enter into force three months after the date of its adoption.  
 
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4 WT/MIN(96)/16.  
5 G/L/160.