WT/TPR/R/8  
 
12 June 2023  
(23-3971) Page: 1/3 
Trade Policy Review Body   
 
SEVENTH  APPRAISAL OF THE T RADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM  
REPORT ON THE INFORMATIVE SESSION ON IT TOOLS OF 2  JUNE 2023 
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Saqer Abdullah ALMOQBEL (Kingdom of  Saudi Arabia ) 
1. The Trade Policy Review Body met on 2  June 2023 to hold an informative session on IT tools. 
The Chair , Ambassador Saqer Abdullah ALMOQBEL (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) reminded 
WTO Members that the purpose of the meeting was to continue discussing the function ing and 
current capabilities of the digital tools for TPR questions and answers, including Members' 
experiences, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement.  
2. He stated that he would like to draw Members' attention to the fact that while improving th e 
functioning of the IT system is a continuous operational task, such discussion should not prevent 
the TPRB from getting an agreed language toward the conclusion of this Appraisal. He sought textual 
proposals from Members to make the conclusion on this ma tter more acceptable to all Members 
bearing in mind that the proposed conclusion language under his responsibility had presented after 
consultations with all Members. That prevented him from suggesting that the use of the IT  system 
be mandatory at this tim e.  
3. Several Members participated in the discussion. Noting that the Chair's document with 
proposed conclusions reflected discussions, a Member suggested that they could be more ambitious. 
It was proposed that three groups were established, to discuss: (a)  all issues related to the questions 
and answers (Q&A) process and the IT system; (b)  the reports by the Secretariat (length and 
structure) and trade monitoring reports; (c)  all other issues (including meeting structure, discussant, 
timelines etc.).  
4. Some M embers mentioned that it was important that all delegations were able to attend these 
discussions so that decisions could reflect a true consensus. Other Members were of the view that 
the full membership did not need to be in the discussion groups but woul d need to be present when 
a decision is taken at the end. Noting that TPRs are a very resource intensive product, it was 
mentioned that the review process that took place every five years must be done thoughtfully.  
5. It was observed that there was a large l evel of agreement on the IT basket and on the idea 
of establishing an IT taskforce. It was noted that there was apparent agreement regarding the 
establishment of the three  discussion groups. To address the issue of the inability of small members 
to partici pate in the discussions, it was suggested that the Secretariat provide a summary of the 
discussions in a written document and disseminate it to all Members.  
6. Regarding IT needs for the Q&A  system, it was noted that repeated questions were a problem, 
as wer e the large number of questions. A suggestion was made to upgrade the functionality of the 
system so the Member under review could download questions by country, paragraph of the report, 
and include a tagging option, and introduce a reminder about the numb er of questions posed, and, 
eventually, an AI option for automatic translation.  
7. Acknowledging Members suggestions, the Chair person  stated that he wanted to make sure 
that they were in a timeframe to finish the task and to bring textual proposals to enhanc e the revised 
draft of the 7th Appraisal.  WT/TPR/R/8  
 
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  8. A staff member of the Secretariat took the floor to clarify some of the queries and issues 
raised by Members. Regarding the possibility of downloading questions based on sections of the 
report, most of that functio nality was already there. He suggested that immediate needs be 
addressed, i.e.  bulk uploads of answers. He noted that currently Members can only see their own 
questions; changing this would require a procedural decision by Members before it could be 
implem ented by the Secretariat. The intention was to implement the widely requested features and 
put off a complete redevelopment of the platform until it got traction, so as to provide Members 
more opportunities to give feedback.  
9. A Member suggested including a template for questions and responses and improving the 
system so as to have the capability to download and upload in Word to type and edit and Excel to 
track. It would also be good to have a "like" function (e -agenda). Another suggestion pointed to the 
inclusion in the system of a search function to access all the data once its derestricted, by using 
filters.  
10. The representative of the Secretariat took note of the suggestion and stated that his intention 
within the next two-three months would be to decide on  the list of elements which could be included 
into the existing platform. Other elements, like data mining, would have to wait for a complete 
redevelopment of the platform. Answering a question on whether the system prepares that 
Q&A report automatically, he answered that that was the case. On a question regarding there had 
been improvements to the system recently and links would be provided to access the system, the 
representative of the Secretariat answered that, if the platform is relaunched, it would di sseminate 
links and provide training and demos. There had been  no developments since the demo given at the 
end of last year. He noted that already there was a possibility to download an Excel template which 
contains the structure to be imported into the pl atform. That template could be shared with 
colleagues and questions could be compiled. There was also a "manage your users" facility – which 
allowed the administrator to approve questions and answers and to add additional users, who they 
can assign questio ns to. These additional users could then enter the platform and insert their 
answers, for the administrator to approve them. To a suggestion that Members might find it useful 
to have a tactile experience themselves. For instance, they could do a fake TPR a nd give a small 
window of time so Geneva - and capital -based officials could click around the system, the 
representative of the Secretariat replied that that was not a problem at all.  
11. Members noted the importance of receiving more training and a demo, given that many 
functions already existed in the IT  system, but many delegations were not aware of them. Some 
Members noted that they had used the IT  system in the TPRs as they had been af raid of not being 
able to organize questions internally. Some Members were of the view that it was important that the 
IT system could show questions in real time made by others, so that Members could either not make 
the same question or build it on another  question. This would make the Q&A  process more efficient. 
This would work if there was a function that allowed Member s to acknowledge or tag the question 
or add to the question. This would maximize Members choices and cut redundancy. Having filters 
would allow a Member to look at all questions asked on one topic, and to respond to all questions 
on a certain topic together. The representative of the Secretariat indicated that it would not be 
difficult to modify the system, so it showed questions as they cam e in. A Member express doubts 
about the usefulness of having the questions seen by all Members in real time  as this may not reduce 
the burden; his delegation would have to reflect some more on this. Another was doubtful whether 
the use of the IT system wou ld reduce the number of questions.  
12. It was noted that there was a relation between the number of questions, the timelines, and 
the IT  platform. The Secretariat was invited to provide figures on questions to have an idea if a cap 
on questions was needed. The  representative of the Secretariat stated that data for 2022 and 2023 
was available and could be provided to Members.  
13. A Member stated that one of troubles with the current system, is that questions were regularly 
receive questions after the deadline; a fun ction should be added to the IT  system, so that after 
deadline no additional question can be asked. The representative of the Secretariat responded that 
it would not be difficult to build this in the system, if it is not already built in. It was also noted  that 
the point of the review of the IT was to reduce the burden to take out middle steps, and its was 
hoped that with the portal, the number of unnecessary questions could be reduced. Concern was 
expressed about recent increases in the volume of questions ; Administrations would not be able to 
cope if things increase for future reviews.   WT/TPR/R/8  
 
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  14. Regarding the experience in using the IT  system, a Member stressed the importance of timely 
training, if possible one year and a half before a TPR. The use of the IT  system  should be brought 
to the attention of the Member reviewed, with an attached video, and followed by some additional 
training.  
15. During the discussions some Members expressed that they were in favor of ceiling or cap on 
the number of questions. It was argued  that that would foster transparency and make the system 
more efficient. Others considered that this issue should be a separate one in a broader discussion 
(not in a small group), since it needed to reflect the consensus of WTO Members  
16. Some Members noted t hat the IT Q&A system is a very important source of information. 
It would be of great benefit for Members and stakeholders if it could be accessed after the meeting.  
17. The Chair stated that the Secretariat and himself had taken good note of the points raise d 
during the meeting. He recalled Members that the 7th informal meeting would take place on 
Thursday  8 June 2023. The meeting would provide the opportunity to start narrowing down the 
possible conclusions of the 7th Appraisal on the basis of the revised su mmary note prepared under 
his own responsibility.  
 
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