RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/REG/M/1
27June1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2468)
Committee onRegional Trade Agreements
First Session
NOTE ONTHE MEETING OF21-22 MAY 1996
Chairman: MrJohnWeekes (Canada)
A. Adoption oftheAgenda
1. Thefollowing agenda wasadopted:
A. Adoption oftheAgenda
B. Rules ofProcedure
C. Work Programme for1996
(i) Examination ofAgreements
(ii) Reporting ontheOperation ofAgreements
(iii) Procedures toFacilitate andImprove theExamination Process
(iv) SystemicImplicationsofAgreementsandInitiativesfortheMultilateralTrading
System andtheRelationship between Them
D. Other Business
2. TheChairman welcomed delegates totheinaugural meeting. Herecalled that,atthemeeting
oftheGeneral Council on16April, heandthefourVice-Chairmen -Ambassadors Lode Willems of
Belgium, Stuart Harbinson ofHong Kong, Jaona Ravaloson ofMadagascar andMiguel Berthet of
Uruguay -wereappointed. Heindicated thathewould raisematters relating toobservership under
theagenda item"Other Business".
B. Rules ofProcedure
3. TheChairmanrecalledthat,asrequestedbytheCommitteeataninformalmeeting,theSecretariat
hadprepared draftrules ofprocedure fortheCommittee (WT/L/150). Heproposed thattheCRTA
follow closely therules ofprocedure oftheGeneral Council (WT/L/28) buttoadapt them to
accommodate thespecificities oftheCommittee, inaccordance withthepractice ofother WTO bodies.
Hethenoutlined thedifferences between theproposed rules ofprocedure andthose oftheGeneral
Council.WT/REG/M/1
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4. Therepresentative ofAustralia stated thatsincemany complicated regional trading agreements
weretobeexamined bytheCommittee, itwould facilitate theexamination process iftheCommittee
were toadopt arulewhich would require relevant documents tobecirculated wellinadvance of
meetings. Hisdelegation proposed thedeletion ofrule16.Should therulebemaintained initspresent
form, aquorum could beconstituted byasimple majority ofMembers present atthemeeting, whether
ornottheybelonged totheregional trading agreement under review. Healsosought clarification of
rule33,which provided that,intheevent ofconsensus notbeing reached, thematter would bereferred
foradecision totheCouncil forTrade inGoods, Council forTrade inServices ortheCommittee on
Trade andDevelopment. Hequestioned whether thismeant thattheCommittee, likeWorking Parties
established under theGATT, would beabletoreport onthelackofconsensus onthecompatibility
ofanagreement withtheprovisions ofanyWTO Agreement.
5. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities stated thattheworkloadbefore theCommittee
wasenormous, andthatitwould require acertain sense ofpragmatism andflexibility before the
objectives oftheCRTA could beachieved. Rules andprocedures needed tobeadapted inthelight
ofexperience. Thepriority oftheCommittee should betoclear thehugebacklog ofwork and,as
astarting point, itwould behelpful tohaveastandard format fortheprovision ofinformation; to
group examination ofagreements according totheirmembership andcontents, andtoprovide for
back-to-back examination ofsimilar agreements. TheCommunities looked forward tothedebate on
systemic implications ofregionalism forthemultilateral trading system, butbelieved thatthediscussion
would greatly benefit from knowledge gained from thereview ofsome ofthenotified agreements.
Withregard totherulesofprocedures, itwould bepreferable fortheCommittee tofollow thepractice
ofsome other WTO bodies (e.g. Committee onBalance ofPayments, Committee onTrade and
Development andtheTrade Policy Review Body), which presented astrong caseforextending the
term oftheofficers beyond themandatory twelve-month period. Extending their terms until
December 1997 would beofbenefit totheCommittee andconsistent withtheguidelines forthe
appointment ofofficers contained inWTO document PC/IPL/14. Withrespect torule14,thesecond
sentence shown initalics should bedeleted astheCommittee would fillanyvacant postwhen anofficer
wasunable todischarge his/her duties. Thereference inrule33to"therelevant WTO body" could
beclarified bynaming thecompetent bodies which aretheGeneral Council, Council forTrade inGoods,
Council forTrade inServices, andtheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment.
6. Therepresentative oftheUnited States agreed withtheEuropean Communities thatthefirst
priority wastotackle thebacklog. Inaddition tothe33agreements identified bytheSecretariat, there
wereanumber ofagreements which hadnotyetbeennotified. TheCommittee 'swork would begreatly
facilitated, were Members toupdate theinformation theyhadprovided totheSecretariat. Shewas
oftheviewthattextsoftradeagreements should becirculated atleastfourweeks inadvance, andthat
Members should explore thepossibility ofproviding information through electronic mailortheinternet.
Herdelegation agreed withtheproposal oftheEuropean Communities thatthemandate ofthepresent
officers beextended untilDecember 1997.
7. Therepresentative ofPerusaidthatwhile officers oftheCommittee should beappointed for
aperiod notexceeding twelve months, itwasnecessary tohavesome flexibility allowing Members
toextend theduration oftheterms ofappointment.
8. Therepresentative ofArgentina agreed thatclearing thebacklog should beapriority forthe
Committee. Rule12should beexamined critically, astheunnecessary rotation orturnover ofofficers
could becounter-productive, especially considering thattheCommittee wasinitsnascent stages. His
delegation didnotdisagree withtheoriginal proposal which specified thattherewould beoneChairman
andfourVice-Chairmen.WT/REG/M/1
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9. Therepresentative ofIndia saidthat,since theWTO elected officers foritsCouncils and
Committees attheendofeachyear, there wasnoreason whytheCommittee should notfollow the
same practice. Nonetheless, heagreed withtheproposal made bytheEuropean Communities that
themandate ofthepresent officers beextended untiltheendof1997 orthebeginning of1998. He
suggested inserting aclause intotherulesofprocedure tomake itclearthattheCommittee could prolong
thenormal termofofficers. With respect torule14bis,aclearrulewasneeded specifying howtasks
would beallocated toVice-Chairmen. With respect torule33,henoted that,inthepast,Working
Parties wereabletoreport alackofconsensus onthequestion ofwhether anagreement complied with
WTO rules. With respect toother matters, hisdelegation wasoftheviewthatanydecision hadto
betaken byconsensus. Failing that,thematter maybereferred toasuperior body foradecision.
Lastly, withrespect torule36,hisdelegation wasoftheviewthatthesummary records should closely
reflect theviews expressed bydelegations.
10. Therepresentative ofNewZealand welcomed theestablishment oftheCommittee andexpressed
thehope thatitwould beabletoexamine allthenotified agreements expeditiously. Given the
proliferation offree-trade agreements, mechanisms should beputinplace toensure thatthese
arrangements contributed totheultimate goalofmultilateral liberalization. Hisdelegation wasofthe
viewthatthenumber ofVice-Chairmen should reflect thework thathadtobedonebytheCommittee.
11. Therepresentative ofCanada stated thathisdelegation hadnothadsufficient timetoreview
thedraft rules ofprocedure, butthathewould liketoassociate himself withthecomment that
documentation should bedistributed todelegations atleastfourweeks before therelevant meeting.
Therepresentative ofJapan supported thestatement. Hesought clarification astowhether all
Vice-Chairpersons would bereplaced atthesame time. Therepresentative ofKorea wasoftheview
thattheCommittee should follow asclosely aspossible thepractice ofother WTO bodies, butthat
Members should havetheopportunity todecide attheendoftheyearwhether theywanted toprolong
thetermofthepresent officers. Furthermore, incasetheCommittee could notarrive ataconsensus,
thematter should bereferred toasuperior body fordecision-making. Herecalled thatKorea had
presented anon-paper totheinformal Heads ofDelegations 'meeting urging theSingapore Ministerial
Meeting toissueapolicy statement ontherelationship between regionalism andthemultilateral trading
system,andonthequestionofhowtofurthertheworkoftheCommittee.TherepresentativeofMorocco
wasoftheviewthatitshould bemade possible forMembers toprolong themandates ofserving officers.
Hisdelegation agreed thatthemandate ofthepresent officers beextended untilDecember 1997.
12. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthattherewasanurgent needtoimprove andstrengthen
theprocedures usedtoexamine agreements withaviewtoclearing thebacklog. Hesawmerit inthe
statement bytheUnited States thatMembers whohadnotnotified their trade agreements hada
responsibility todoso.Thiscould perhaps betaken upbytheCommittee initsconsideration ofthe
systemic implications ofregionalism forthemultilateral trading system. Hisdelegation attached great
importance toreceiving relevant documentation wellinadvance ofmeetings. Withrespect tosummary
records, itwashisviewthatasfarastheexamination ofagreements wereconcerned, theCommittee
should continue tofollow GATT practice. Itwould beintheinterest ofdelegations thatthesummary
records onlycontained theessential facts. Therepresentative ofMexico pointed totheneedtoreinforce
theprocedures usedtoexamine agreements, andnoted thatitwasessential thatthebacklog becleared
within areasonable period oftime. Therepresentative oftheCzech Republic queried thescope of
rule36biswhich provided forthesubmission ofareport ontheactivities oftheCommittee attheend
oftheyeartotheGeneral Council. Hewondered whether thereport would betransmitted directly
totheGeneral Council orthrough therelevant superior bodies, namely theCouncil forTrade inGoods,
theCouncil forTrade inServices andtheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment.WT/REG/M/1
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13. TheChairman thanked members oftheCommittee forpledging theirsupport forhimandthe
Vice-Chairpersons. Itappeared tohimthattherulesofprocedure could notbeadopted atthismeeting,
ascertain delegations werestillawaiting instructions fromcapitals. Other delegations hadproposed
amendments which needed further reflection. With respect tothemandates oftheofficers ofthe
Committee, hesuggested thatthemostsensible approach would betoadopt thepractice followed by
theGeneral Council toappoint officers foraperiod ofoneyear. However, asstressed bymany
delegations,therewastheneedforflexibilitytopermittheextensionofthemandatesofofficerswhenever
circumstances justified suchacourse ofaction. Heproposed thatsuchcircumstances beincluded in
achairman 'sstatement thatmaybereadoutatthetimeofadoption oftherulesofprocedure. With
respect totheappointment ofnewVice-Chairpersons, hesawmerit intheideaofstaggering thetiming
oftheappointment ofofficers. Thisunderstanding could alsobeincluded inachairman 'sstatement
when adopting therulesofprocedure. Withrespect totheneedtohavedocumentation wellinadvance
ofmeetings, hewasoftheview thatdocuments should becirculated toMembers atleastthree to
fourweeks inadvance ofthemeeting. Thistime-frame should beobserved where anagreement was
tobeexamined forthefirsttimebytheCommittee. Given thecomplexity ofsome ofthese new
agreements, ample timewasneeded todigest theirdetails. Itappeared tohim,however, thatthesame
considerations maynotapply tosubsequent reviews ofthesame agreement. TheCommittee needed
tobeflexible andpragmatic. Withrespect torule33,theChairman suggested thattheCommittee did
notpossess anydecision-making powers. Heagreed withthesuggestion thatthenames oftherelevant
bodies should bespeltout.Hefurther stated that,incases where theCommittee could notarrive at
aconsensus ontheconsistency ofanagreement withthemultilateral rules, GATT practice should be
followed. Thereport should detail thedifferences ofopinion andtheissues which werenotresolved.
Thematter might thenbereferred totherelevant superior body foradecision.
C. Work Programme for1996
(i) Examination ofAgreements
14. TheChairman stated thattheCommittee hadtooperate efficiently toclear thebacklog and
takeupother issues. Asafirststep,Members needed toagree ontheofficers whowould beresponsible
fortheagreements which hadbeennotified. They alsoneeded toagree onaschedule which would
specify thedates onwhich theagreements would beexamined. He,incollaboration withthe
Vice-Chairmen, hadmade adecision ontheallocation ofresponsibility asfarastheexamination of
agreements wasconcerned. Heintended topresent delegations withaproposed schedule detailing
thepossible dates onwhich theagreements could beexamined, forreview andaction bythem. Itwas
notsurprising thattheCommittee hadaveryheavy workload asnosteps oractions hadbeentaken
inthelasttwoyears toresolve thebacklog. Henoted thatofthe32notified agreements, onlythree
hadbeenthrough afirstround ofexamination. Supplementary information requested fromtheparties
tothesethreeagreements and/or specific replies toquestions subsequently puttothemhadbeenreceived
bytheSecretariat orweretobereceived fairly shortly. Fourteen additional agreements which were
notified under Article XXIV were inprinciple ready forafirstexamination. Inthecaseofthe
enlargement oftheEuropean Communities toinclude Austria, Finland andSweden, thebasic("questions
andanswers") document wasintheprocess ofbeing finalized andwould becirculated todelegations
inthenextfewdays. Thedocument containing preliminary information onmostofthese agreements
hadbeendistributed toMembers many months ago.Thisinformation needed toberegularly updated
withaviewtoallowing formeaningful examinations bytheCommittee. Withrespect totheremaining
15agreements, thepreliminary phase ofsending questions andreceiving replies hadnotyetbeen
completed. Inonecase, delegations hadnotyetsubmitted theirquestions, although theyhadbeen
invited todosoabout eighteen months ago.Parties toseven agreements hadnotsubmitted theirreplies
tothepreliminaryquestionsposedbyMembersthroughtheSecretariat.Intwootherinstances,Members
hadonlyrecently beeninvited tosubmit theirquestions. Inrespect offiveagreements, whose termsWT/REG/M/1
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ofreference were recently established, Members hadnotyetbeeninvited tosubmit theirquestions.
TheChairman saidthatallthisshowed thattheCommittee hadanenormous taskbefore itandshould
beprepared tomeetthechallenge.
15. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland could notyetconfirm whether theproposed dates forthe
examination ofagreements inwhich Switzerland wasinvolved would beacceptable tohisauthorities.
Hisdelegation wasoftheviewthatMembers hadmixed theirpriorities. Itwould appear logical to
secure anagreement onhowtheagreements weregoing tobeexamined, before deciding onthedates
onwhen theywould beexamined. Theagreements which needed tobeexamined werenotuniform;
forsome, information wascomplete, while forothers information waslacking orwasoutdated. The
representative oftheUnited States saidthatifalltherelevant documentation wascomplete, examination
could proceed almost immediately. Where information waslacking orneeded updating, meetings could
bedeferred toallow parties toprovide fullandcurrent information toMembers. Itwould bedesirable
tohaveaschedule detailing theagreements which wereready forexamination andtheorder inwhich
theywere proposed forexamination.
16. Therepresentative ofArgentina wasconcerned thattheproposal tohaveastandard format
mightraisemoreproblemsthansolutionsandaskedthedelegationofSwitzerlandtoclarifyitsstatements.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland stated thatitwasnothisintention todelay theworkoftheCommittee.
Itwould perhaps bebetter fortheCommittee toknow inadvance which procedures itwasgoing to
usetoexamine these agreements. Ithadnotbeenhisintention toseekanagreement onthestandard
format before proceeding withtheexamination process.
(ii) Reporting ontheOperation ofAgreements
17. TheChairmanthenturnedtothesubjectofreportingontheoperationofagreements.Delegations
should havetwodocuments: onedealing withtheproposed allocation ofpresiding officers forthe
examination ofthevarious agreements, andonecontaining theproposed work programme ofthe
Committee fortherestoftheyear. Referring tothe1971Decision bytheCONTRACTING PARTIES
andparagraph 11oftheUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XXIV ofGATT 1994, hesaid
thattheexact scope ofthisobligation needed tobeidentified. Itwasunclear whether therequirement
wasapplicable toallagreements which wereinforce, andwhattheaimsandcontents ofthereports
should be.Would astandard format forusebyMembers facilitate thework oftheCommittee, and
ifso,whatshould beitscontents? Which body orbodies should these biennial reports bepresented
to;should therebeamultilateral discussion ofthesereports? TheCommittee would alsohavetodecide
onthequestion whether acalender forthesubmission anddiscussion ofreports wasneeded. Headded
thatneither the1971Decision northeUnderstanding indicated whatshould bedonewiththemorwhich
body wascompetent toreview them. Itwould make sense toresolve thisissue before proceeding to
atimetable forexamining theagreements reported onbyMembers.
18. Therepresentative ofAustralia saiditwould behelpful iftheSecretariat could compile alist
ofregional tradearrangements forwhich biennial reports should besubmitted. Hisdelegation favoured
theintroduction ofastandard format forusebythose Members whowereobliged tosubmit reports.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States agreed thatastandard format would easetheburden onparties
toregional tradeagreements, asitwould provide themwithguidance astowhattheirobligations were
under therulesoftheWTO. Thestandard format could dedesigned insuchawaythatitwould only
solicit basic information from parties toregional trading arrangements andafford interested parties
intheCommittee theopportunity toaskspecific orcomplicated questions. TheCommittee could then
undertake areview ofthereport andpassonitscomments totherelevant superior body. What that
bodydecided todowiththereport would beentirely lefttoit.Itwould alsobehelpful iftheSecretariat
could furnish Members withalistofalleligible arrangements anddrawupatimetable forconsidering
these reports. Shewasaware thatthere wasnoprovision intheWTO rulesforreviewing thebiennialWT/REG/M/1
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reports. Itwasherunderstanding thatoneofthereasons forestablishing theCommittee wastoentrust
itwithtaking careofthebiennial reports.
19. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthatthebiennial reporting requirement wasimportant
fortransparency reasons. Theexercise should haveasanobjective theupdating ofanyinformation
thathadbeenprovided during thepresentation orexamination ofagreements. Theproposed standard
format forbiennial reports should beidentical insignificant respects totheonecontemplated forthe
examination ofagreements. Ifparties toregional arrangements didnothaveanything toreport on,
thiscould beequally notified totheCommittee. Parties could berequired tosupply theCommittee
withstatistics soastoenable Members toseethetrends intheirtrade. Itshould bekeptinmind that
thebiennial reporting requirement wasdifferent fromtheinitial examination ofanagreement. However,
itwasperfectly within therightofeachMember toaskanyquestions ordemand information concerning
theregional trading arrangement. Members hadtodecide whether theywanted tosystematically
re-examine every twoyears alltheagreements which hadbeennotified totheWTO. Itwould appear
thathaving acalender ofmeetings todiscuss biennial reports thisyearwasanambitious objective,
considering thattheCommittee wasburdened withalotofwork.
20. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheexperience gained from the
examination ofagreements could giveMembers anindication ofhowtoproceed onthisissue. Given
therange oftransparency andnotification requirements thatexisted intheWTO, there wastheneed
toavoid duplication. TheEuropean Communities, forexample, submitted biennial reports totheTrade
Policy Review Body (TPRB), which ought tomake therequirement tosubmit suchreports tothis
Committee redundant. Theinformation provided totheTPRB could bepassed ontoMembers ofthis
Committee. Turning totheUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XXIV ofGATT 1994, he
asked whether thebiennial reporting requirement related onlytotrade ingoods. Perhaps, itwould
bedesirable tobroaden thescope oftherequirement tocover trade inservices aswell.
21. Therepresentative ofArgentina referred tothestatement made bytheSwiss representative
andstated thatthebiennial reporting requirement wasdifferent fromtheexamination process. Itwas
perhaps notappropriate tohavesimilar standard formats forthetwoscenarios. Hestressed thatstandard
formats should facilitate, nothinder, theworkoftheCommittee. Therepresentative oftheUnited States
stated thatthepurpose ofhaving standard formats wastosavetimeandpermit delegations toaskspecific
questions about thebiennial report orthetrade agreement, whichever wasunder review.
22. Inconcluding thediscussion under thisitemoftheagenda, theChairman proposed thatthe
Committee request theSecretariat toprepare adocument onbiennial reporting, which would listthe
issues highlighted andanyother relevant issues which hadbeenraised during thediscussion ofitem.
23. TheCommittee soagreed.
(iii) Procedures toFacilitate andImprove theExamination Process
24. TheChairman noted thattheprocedures forexamining Article XXIV onregional trade
agreements, asdescribed intheSecretariat document distributed on6May, hadnever beenformalized.
Theexamination ofthese agreements wasgenerally based onadocument containing theanswers by
theparties tothepreliminary questions putbytheWTO Members. Theexamination itselftookplace
inmeetings atwhich interested members could askforclarification ofthereplies orraiseanyother
relevant matter. Herecalled thatthisitemwasdiscussed attheinformal meeting oflastmonth.
Delegations hadasked theSecretariat then, andatthismeeting, toprepare astandard questionnaire
forusebytheCommittee. Asindicated, thequestionnaire would bebased onananalysis ofpast
questions puttoparties ofregional trading arrangements.WT/REG/M/1
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25. Therepresentative ofJapan stated thatitwasnecessary fortheCommittee toknow inadvance
howitwasgoing toexamine theagreements interms oftheprocedures. Hisdelegation wasofthe
view thatthere wastheneed foracommon understanding soastoallow uniform andefficient
examination ofthevarious regional agreements. Establishment ofguidelines would havetheadditional
advantage ofassisting inthedesigning ordrafting ofthestandard questionnaire. Itwould greatly
facilitate theworkoftheCommittee, ifthefollowing fourpoints could beclosely looked at:(a)whether
thelevelofprotection vis-a-vis theexterior washigher ornot;(b)whether thepreferential rules of
origin wereoperated inanarbitrary manner; (c)whether anti-dumping orsafeguard measures were
notautomatically extended tothemembers ofsuchregional trading arrangements; and,(d)whether
non-member countries were discriminated against intheareaofgovernment procurement. The
representative ofArgentina stated that,while hisdelegation appreciated theneedtohaveastandard
questionnaire, itappeared thatsome oftheproposals would require therenegotiation ofGATT 1994
andthevarious Agreements thatwereadopted during theUruguay Round. Referring tothestatement
made bytherepresentative ofJapan, hesaidthatgovernment procurement wasnotmentioned either
inArticle XXIV oritsUnderstanding.
26. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthathisdelegation favoured theideathattheSecretariat
berequested toprepare astandard questionnaire. Currently, Members whoentered intopreferential
trading arrangements were onlyrequired tonotify thetextoftheTreaty. Astandard questionnaire
could seektoobtain information ontheessential elements oftheagreement under review. Themodel
usedbytheAccessions Division oftheWTO Secretariat could provide Members withsome insights
astowhattheformat forthequestionnaire should be.Parties toregional arrangements should supply
theCommittee withabasicdescription andwithstatistical records, aswellasinformation oncoverage,
timetables, exclusions andtherationale fortheregional tradeagreement. Parties toregional agreements
should inaddition berequested toprovide ananalytical assessment ofthepossible impact ofthe
agreement onthirdparties; information ontheexpected tradecreation andtradediversion effects would
facilitate theexamination process. Therepresentative ofNewZealand wasinfavour ofastandard
questionnaire; theJapanese delegation hadprovided insights onthekindofquestions thatmight be
asked.Thequestionnaireshouldhavequestionsrelating,interalia,toproductcoverageandthetimetable
forimplementing theagreement. Itshould attempt toelicitinformation fromtheparties onanyincrease
ineffective protection against thirdcountries, especially during theperiod between thesignature of
theagreement anditsimplementation.
27. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthattheCommittee could relyonpastprocedures andimprove
uponthem. Formal examination procedures should beestablished inorder toexpedite theexamination
process. However, theprocedures should beflexible allowing theCommittee enough room to
manoeuvre. There might bemerit indeveloping guidelines todealwitheachstepintheprocess. Time
limits could beprovided soastoensure thatexaminations werecompleted within areasonable period.
Itshould beborne inmind thattheCommittee didnothavethemandate todealwithsubstantive issues.
Therelevant provision provided thattheCommittee "develop, asappropriate, procedures tofacilitate
andimprove theexamination process". TheCommittee should therefore notexceed itsmandate as
specified inthedecision oftheGeneral Council. Theguidelines should onlydealwithprocedural issues.
28. Therepresentative ofMorocco stated thathisdelegation supported thedrawing upofastandard
questionnaire, provided itwould nottaketoomuch timeoftheCommittee anddetract itsattention
fromthebulkofthework oftheCommittee. Itwould beprudent tokeepthestandard questionnaire
simple; itshould seektoobtain basic factsfromparties toregional trading arrangements. Interested
partiesshouldhavetheopportunityinthecourseoftheexaminationprocesstoaskforfurtherinformation
orseekclarification onanypoint. Therepresentative oftheUnited States agreed withtheMoroccan
proposal thatthestandard questionnaire should onlyseektoelicit basic information. Thedrafting of
itshould nottaketoomuch oftheCommittee 'stime. Itshould bewellfocused andnotplace anundue
burden onparties toregional trading arrangements. Since mostofthereviews thathadtaken placeWT/REG/M/1
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related onlytotrade ingoods, theSecretariat should explore thepossibility ofincluding questions on
trade inservices. Thequestionnaire should takeintoaccount thespecific requirements applicable to
customs unions. Forherdelegation, experience withArticle XXIV:5 ofGATT 1994 hadbeen
frustrating. Thisprovision required theSecretariat toundertake ananalysis ofthegeneral incidence
ofduties andother restrictive regulations ofcommerce. Without adequate information andstatistical
records anddata,theSecretariat could notcompute correctly thegeneral incidence ofduties. Parties
toregional trading arrangements should ensure thattheypromptly furnish theSecretariat withallthe
relevant information. Sheagreed thatparties toregional tradeagreements should berequired tosubmit
analytical reports ontheimpact ofthearrangement onthird countries. While thisideawasagood
one,parties should nevertheless notberequired tosubmit theanalysis before thecommencement of
theexamination process. Anything which would havetheeffect ofdelaying theprocess should be
avoided asmuch aspracticable.
29. Therepresentative ofPoland supported theadoption ofastandard format, theprovisions of
which should reflect theconcerns ofWTO Members. Thequestionnaire should notbeoverly ambitious;
itshould bedrafted inawaywhich would faithfully reflect therelevant provisions oftheWTO including
those ontradeinservices. Ifthequestionnaire waskeptsimple, Members could askdetailed questions
orseekclarification ofanymatter during theexamination oftheagreement bytheCommittee. While
questions could beasked about tradecreation andtradediversion, itshould beborne inmind thatthere
were noagreed methods forevaluating sucheffects.
30. Therepresentative ofBrazil stated that,likeArgentina 's,hisdelegation wasflexible asregards
theissue ofdeveloping astandard questionnaire forusebytheCommittee. Forthesakeofclarity,
itwasnecessary tospecify which agreements would besubject tothenewprocedures. Hisdelegation
agreed withArgentina thatthequestionnaire should reflect thelegal provisions oftheWTO. The
Committee should keepinmind itsterms ofreference andnotexceed itsauthority. Therepresentative
oftheCzech Republic stated thatsome ofthequestions puttohisdelegation inconnection withthe
regional agreement towhich theCzech Republic wasaparty were notclear atallandrequired
painstaking reflection. Hisdelegation supported theideaofhaving guidelines drawn upbythe
Secretariat. Suchguidelines should beapplicable toallagreements, including those intheexamination
pipeline.
31. TherepresentativeofSwitzerlandwasnotconvincedthattheappropriatetitlewas"questionnaire".
Herecalled thattheterm"guidelines" wasusedbytheAccessions Division oftheWTO Secretariat.
Theguidelines enabled prospective Members topresent theirforeign trade regime andtrade policies
insuchawaysoastoallow fortheprovision ofallthebasic information required fortheexamination
oftheapplication. Since theguidelines hadworked well, itwould beadvisable fortheCommittee
toadopt thesame practice. Theguidelines should bedrawn upbearing inmind thequestions which
werefrequently putinthepastandwhich reflected theconcerns ofMembers. Theguidelines should
beascomprehensive aspossible enabling parties toprovide simple answers toquestions. Inthedrawing
upoftheguidelines, particular attention should bepaidtothemandate intheterms ofreference of
theCommittee andtherespective mandates ofthesuperior bodies. Subjects suchasgovernment
procurement would bebeyond thescope ofthislimited exercise. While theAustralian proposal, that
parties toregional tradearrangements should provide ananalysis ofthetradecreation andtradediversion
effects oftheiragreements, wasinprinciple agoodidea,itwasnevertheless fraught withdifficulties.
There were noagreed methods forevaluating theeffects ofregional trading arrangements. The
representative ofCanada agreed thatastandard questionnaire would greatly facilitate thework ofthe
Committee andMembers needed todecide which regional arrangements would havetocomplete the
standard questionnaire. Itmight beadvisable, however, torequire allregional trade arrangements
tocomplete thequestionnaire, unless anexchange ofquestions andreplies hadalready taken place.
Hisdelegation wasoftheviewthatitdidnotmatter whether thedocument wascalled aquestionnaireWT/REG/M/1
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oranotification format. What wasnecessary wasadocument which would improve theexamination
process oftheWTO.
32. Therepresentative ofAustralia noted thatsome delegations wereoftheviewthathisproposal
thatananalysis ofthetrade creation andtrade diversion effects beprovided wastooexacting. His
delegation tooktheposition thatsupplying suchanalysis would notposeanysignificant difficulties
forparties toregional tradeagreements, whowerelikely tohavecarried outpreliminary studies before
implementing theiragreement. Allthathewasasking forwasthatparties provide theCommittee with
preliminaryinformationastothelossesandbenefitsthatwouldbeobtainedasaresultofsuchagreement.
Therepresentative ofPoland saidthatitwasuncertain, evenamong economists, which model should
beusedtoprovide suchanalyses; some hadindicated apreference forgeneral equilibrium analyses
andothers forpartial equilibrium analyses. Similarly, economists hadnotbeen abletodecide
conclusively whether astatic approach should befavoured overadynamic approach. What wasstriking
wasthateachofthemodels would yield adifferent result ifusedtoevaluate aparticular agreement.
Assuch, there would beanelement ofarbitrariness ifonemodel waschosen overtheother. Inthe
lightofthisindeterminacy, itmight beadvisable nottorequire parties toprovide suchanalyses.
33. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities commented ontheintervention which asserted
thatcustoms unions were"tolerated" under Article XXIV. Itwasnotaccurate fromacareful reading
ofArticle XXIV toallege thatcustoms unions andfree-trade areas weremerely tolerated intheWTO.
Referring tothe32agreements which werestilltobeexamined, hestated thatthequestionnaire would
beofrelevance toagreements falling under tables DandEoftheSecretariat document of6May1996.
Intheinterest ofefficiency, itwould notbeadvisable tostartafresh where preliminary questions had
already beensentout. Headded, there wastheneedtoimprove andstrengthen theprocedures for
examining agreements. Inthatcontext, developing astandard format oraquestionnaire would beof
helpandtheEuropean Communities wasprepared toparticipate inthedrawing upofsuch a
questionnaire. TheCommittee should notspend toomuch timeonthequestionnaire asithadother
important matters toattend to.
34. Therepresentative ofArgentina stated thatthestandard format should incorporate elements
which haditsbasisintherelevant provisions oftheWTO. AsMembers hadnotcommitted themselves
torenegotiate Article XXIV andother relevant provisions oftheWTO Agreement, theCommittee
should keepwithin thebounds ofitsauthority. Referring tothestatement made byNewZealand,
hestated thattheCommittee 'sjurisdiction extended onlytotrade restrictions which wererecognised
under therelevant provisions oftheWTO. Article XXIV didnotmention government procurement,
andassuchitshould bedeemed tobebeyond theauthority oftheCommittee tolookintoquestions
relating togovernment procurement. Thestandard outline mustbesimple. Extraneous matters should
notbeintroduced intoit.
35. TheChairman proposed thattheCommittee request theSecretariat toprepare astandard format
based onrelevant questions which hadbeen putinthepastandtaking intoaccount theuseful
contributions thathadbeenmade bydelegations atthismeeting. Forthesakeofconsistency, hewould
prefer tocallthedocument a"standard format foraquestionnaire". Thename thatwould begiven
tothedocument would notinanyway influence thework oftheCommittee; whatwasimportant was
itscontents.
36. TheCommittee soagreed.WT/REG/M/1
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(iv) Systemic Implications ofAgreements andInitiatives fortheMultilateral Trading System
andtheRelationship between Them
37. TheChairman thenturned totheissueofthesystemic implications ofregional tradeagreements.
Healsointended toaddress theissues which werediscussed attheinformal meeting thedaybefore.
38. Therepresentative ofPakistan stated thathiscountry attached greatimportance tothesystemic
implications ofregional agreements andinitiatives forthemultilateral trading system. Itwascommon
knowledge thatmany oftheseagreements andinitiatives contained provisions which wentbeyond what
hadtraditionally beenthecontent oftheseagreements. Thecomplexity oftheseagreements asreflected
inprovisions relating torules oforigin, standards, dispute settlement presented anewchallenge for
themultilateral trading system. Hisdelegation wasconscious ofthecurrent debate andviews expressed
about thecomplementarity ofthese agreements withthemultilateral trading system; theirprovisions
attimes conflicted withthose oftheWTO andneeded tobecarefully looked atbyMembers. The
proliferation ofagreements hadadirect bearing onthebalance ofrights andobligations oftheWTO
Members anddiscrimination against non-members wasareality. Hereferred tothenon-paper submitted
byKorea, andstated thathisdelegation supported itsbasic thrust. TheCommittee, withthehelpof
theSecretariat, could undertake research oftheimpact ofregional tradearrangements onthemultilateral
trading system across arange ofelements. Itwashisdelegation 'swishthattheCommittee draw up
aclear programme andpresent ittoMinisters inSingapore fortheirconsideration andapproval.
39. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthathiscountry attached great importance tothemandate
oftheCommittee toconsider thesystemic implications ofregional tradeagreements forthemultilateral
trading system. Hisdelegation expected theCommittee togivepriority tothissubject matter, sothat
work onitcould proceed expeditiously andproductively. Given thebacklog, itwastobeexpected
thattheCommittee would devote much ofitstimetoexamining agreements which hadbeennotified.
While hisdelegation could appreciate theneedtoclearthebacklog assoonaspossible, itdidnotbelieve
thatitwould beproper fortheCommittee toneglect itsbroader mandate toconsider thesystemic
implications ofregional trade agreements andinitiatives. Given thegeopolitical implications ofthis
issue, itdeserved tobeaccorded attention atthepolitical level andwithin theWTO. TheWTO
Ministerial Conference scheduled forDecember inSingapore would betheappropriate forum toraise
theprofile oftheCommittee andtobring theissues ithandled inthelimelight. With theSingapore
Ministerial Conference inmind, hisdelegation wished tointroduce anon-paper which ithadsubmitted
totheinformal Heads ofDelegation meeting of15May. Thepaper aimed atattracting political attention
andsupport, aswellasatproviding guidance totheworkoftheCommittee, particularly onthequestion
ofthesystemic implications ofregional trade arrangements. Hisdelegation wasconfident thatthe
Committee, inclose coordination withtheheads ofdelegations, would beabletolaythegroundwork
forfuture work inthisarea. Hisdelegation hoped thatitsnon-paper, which covered bothprocedural
andsystemic elements, could beusedasreference material bytheCommittee. Hisdelegation intended
tosubmit afollow-up toitsnon-paper onthesystemic issue induecourse totheCommittee andthe
informal heads ofdelegation meeting. Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthathisdelegation also
attached greatimportance tothesystemic implications ofregional tradearrangements forthemultilateral
trading system. Therateatwhich regional trading arrangements were proliferating boretestimony
tothefundamental shiftininternational economic relations.
40. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities stated thatthesystemic implications were
important andwelcomed thecontribution ofKorea tothisdebate. Hisauthorities looked forward to
receiving theadditional paper onthesubject. TheCommittee needed toapproach thetopic, bearing
inmind itsterms ofreference: thedistinction between themandate tocarry outexamination of
agreements andtheneedtoconduct systemic reviews should notbeconfused. TheCommittee was
under alegalobligation toexamine agreements which werereferred toitbytherelevant superior bodies.
TheKorean paper made anumber ofinteresting suggestions which needed further reflection. HeWT/REG/M/1
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cautioned against making anyrushjudgments, especially where acritical massofagreements hadnot
beenexamined. Itwaspremature todraw conclusions interms oftheprocedural improvements that
could bemade totheexamination process. Itwasnottheintention oftheCommunities todelay the
debate onthisissue. Areasonable number ofexaminations would suffice asfarasconsideration of
thisissue wasconcerned. TheCommittee should notbeoverly ambitious; ithadtoproceed slowly
andcarefully.
41. Therepresentative ofIndiaattached greatimportance tothework oftheCommittee, especially
asfarassystemic implications wereconcerned. Regional agreements wereproliferating day-by-day,
andsome ofthese agreements could notbyanystretch oftheimagination beappropriately described
asregional tradeagreements. Increasingly, theefficacy ofthem.f.n. principle, which wasthebedrock
ofthemultilateral trading system, wasbeing eroded. Whereas regional trade agreements could be
positive fortheparticipating countries, thesame wasperhaps nottruefornon-participating countries.
While itwasunderstandable thattheCommittee should givepriority totheexamination ofagreements
andclear thebacklog assoonaspossible, itshould notignore thisimportant aspect ofitsmandate.
42. Therepresentative ofJapan expressed appreciation forthenon-paper submitted byKorea.
HisgovernmentwasoftheviewthattheestablishmentoftheCommittee,andtheexaminationofdifferent
agreements under itsaegis, would place Members inabetter position tocome togrips withtheissue
ofsystemic implications ofregional trading arrangements andinitiatives forthemultilateral trading
system.
43. TherepresentativeofArgentinasaidthatanyanalysesshouldbeconductedwithintheframework
oftheWTOAgreements.Theexaminationofthesystemicimplicationsofregionaltradingarrangements
should therefore belimited toexisting rules. Hisdelegation wascommitted tosupporting theCommittee
initsexamination ofthesystemic elements providing thatitdidnotaffect theprogress thatwasbeing
made inother areas, particularly theclearing ofthebacklog. Hisdelegation wasoftheviewthatthe
Committee should review areasonable number ofagreements before proceeding totackle thesystemic
implications ofregional trade agreements forthemultilateral trading system. TheSecretariat could
contribute tothediscussion byproviding Members withgood background material.
44. Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thatherdelegation feltstrongly about thesystemic
implications ofregional trade agreements andinitiatives forthemultilateral trading system. Itwould
beadvisable fortheCommittee togainexperience from theexamination process before proceeding
withthisissue. Itshould beborne inmind thatMembers hadalegal obligation tonotify their
agreements, andthattheCommittee hadalegalobligation toexamine them. Priority should therefore
begiven totheexamination ofsuchagreements. Itwasamisconception thatonlyArticle XXIV
agreements hadtobereviewed. Agreements included allbilateral, regional andplurilateral trade
agreements ofapreferential nature. Inorder tohavearichandinteresting debate onthesystemic
implications ofregional trading arrangements, itwould behelpful ifparties toallsortsofarrangements
notified theiragreements totheWTO enabling theCommittee toexamine them. Withahighproportion
ofrelevant agreements stillunnotified, theCommittee wasnotabletohaveanoverall viewoftheimpact
ofregionalism onmultilateralism. Therepresentative ofIsrael stated thatthesystemic examination
ofregional trade agreements hadnotledtoanypositive conclusions. Hisdelegation hadnoobjection
totheChairman 'sproposal thattheCommittee usetwoofitssessions todiscuss thisissue.
45. Therepresentative ofCanada waslooking forward toasubstantive discussion ofthisitemin
theCommittee andwelcomed thecontributions made bydelegations, especially Korea. Heproposed
thattheSecretariat prepare areport ontheavailability ofbackground information withtheview of
assisting Members intheirdeliberation ofthisissue. Thereport would beparticularly helpful ifit
covered different agreements andinitiatives, whether ornottheyhadbeennotified totheWTO. The
representative ofAustralia wasoftheviewthatpriority should begiven totheexamination ofagreementsWT/REG/M/1
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withtheview ofclearing thebacklog. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland stated thathisdelegation
attached importance totheissue ofsystemic implications andthatanydebate should beproperly
structured butshould remain general innature. TheSecretariat 'sstudy published lastyearcould be
usedasabasis forthediscussion ofthisagenda item. Inorder tohaveafruitful debate, itwould be
advisable forthechairman toholdconsultations before thenextmeeting inJuly. Ifconsensus should
emerge onthestructure ofthegeneral debate attheinformal meeting, itwaslikely thatthefirstdebate
onthisissue would beasuccess.
46. TherepresentativeofMoroccostatedthatsystemicimplicationsofregionalismforthemultilateral
trading system should bediscussed freely andwithout anyprejudices, ashadbeenstressed byother
delegations. Thediscussion should beapolitical andbased onrelevant information, andtheCommittee
should structure thedebate inalogical manner. Consultations withinterested Members could play
apositive roleintheprocess. Therepresentative ofBrazil recalled hiscountry 'smembership of
MERCOSURandstatedthathisdelegationbelievedthatregionaltradeagreementscouldinfusedynamism
intothemultilateral trading system andexpand opportunities foreachcountry. TheCommittee should
concentrate onthereview ofagreements soastoclearthebacklog within areasonable period oftime.
Therepresentative oftheCzech Republic welcomed theKorean non-paper. Thenotion of"systemic
implications" wasanamorphous concept which wascapable oftaking onanewmeaning depending
onthesurrounding circumstances. Itwasimportant todraw adistinction between provisions which
entailed legal obligations andrelationships, andthose which carried nolegal consequences. The
Committee should review asubstantial number oftheagreements which wererecently notified before
proceeding fullywithadiscussion ofthisissue. Hisdelegation shared theconcerns raised bythe
United States 'delegation inrespect ofregional trade agreements which hadnotbeennotified. The
Committee should, initswork programme, givepriority totheexamination ofagreements. The
representative ofthePhilippines stated thatMembers should notbeconcerned thatregionalism posed
athreat tothemultilateral trading system. Therepresentative ofPoland wasoftheviewthatacritical
massofagreements hadtobereviewed bytheCommittee before anymeaningful debate could behad
onthisissue. However, sincebothelements werereferred tointheterms ofreference oftheCommittee,
hisdelegation would favour aparallel process. Discussions could beheldonthesystemic implications
ofregional trade agreements assoonaspracticable. TheKorean non-paper andthestudy prepared
bytheWTO Secretariat could serve asinitial background documents. TheChairman could convene
informal consultations withaviewtodiscussing some ofthepotential issues andthestructure thedebate
should follow. Therepresentative ofNorway stated thatitwould bepremature tocommence substantive
discussions onsystemic implications ofregional trade agreements. Hesupported theproposal that
informal consultations should beheld.
47. TheChairmanstatedthatitwasclearthatMembersattachedprioritytothisaspectofthemandate
oftheCommittee. Itwasimportant fortheCommittee tohaveastructured andproductive discussion
oncethisissue wasaddressed. Hehadtaken noteoftherequest thatinformal consultations beheld
prior tothemeeting inwhich thisissuewould bediscussed. Relevant documentation wasanecessary
prerequisite foranyfruitful discussion. Thenon-paper presented byKorea andthestudy prepared
bytheWTO Secretariat entitled WTO Regionalism andtheWorld Trading System could beusedas
suchbackground documents fortheinitial discussion. Itwasimportant thattheSecretariat compile
anexhaustivelistofavailabledocumentationonthesubject,asitwouldassisttheCommitteetoundertake
anin-depth analyses ofexisting regional trade agreements andinitiatives, asmandated byitsterms
ofreference. Turning totheorganization ofthework oftheCommittee, theChairman referred
delegations toapaper dated 22May1996 which wasarevised version ofhisearlier proposal and
incorporated some ofthecomments thatweremade bydelegations. Given timeconstraints, andthe
preponderance ofopinion thatmeetings should bewellstructured andthatdelegations should begiven
ample timetoprepare, heproposed thatthemeeting scheduled for6Juneshould bemoved to2-3July.
TheSecretariat wasstillintheprocess ofdrafting thestandard format forthequestionnaire and,in
thisway,delegations would havemore timetoprepare adequately forthemeeting. Atthatmeeting,WT/REG/M/1
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heintended todiscuss thethree aspects oftheWork Programme thatdidnotrelate specifically tothe
examination ofagreements. Withrespect todocumentation, hehadalready made clearthattheKorean
non-paper andtheSecretariat 'sStudy would beusedasbackground material forthediscussion on
systemic implications ofregional tradeagreements forthemultilateral trading system. TheSecretariat
would circulate astandard outline forthesubmission ofpreliminary information tofacilitate andimprove
theexamination process. Hesuggested that,atthatmeeting, theCommittee would alsohaveaninitial
discussion onthequestion ofreporting ontheoperation ofagreements (thebiennial reporting
requirement). Heindicated thatheandtheVice-Chairmen hadrequested theSecretariat tocompile
alistofagreements which werestillinforce. Thislistwould enable delegations toestimate thesize
ofthetaskandtodecide onhowtoproceed under thisitemoftheagenda. With anestimated 80
agreements stillinforce, Members needed todecide whether priority should begiven tothisaspect
ofthemandate oftheCommittee. Adocument listing theissues hehadalluded toearlier would also
beprepared bytheSecretariat. With respect tothemeeting, scheduled for7October, heintended
toinclude ontheagenda forthatmeeting "apossible report totheGeneral Council", asthismatter
hadbeenraised byanumber ofdelegations atthismeeting. Hehadalsoreorganized thedates on
which theCommittee would examine thesystemic implications ofregional trade agreements and
initiatives. These were nowscheduled totakeplace before thedebate onthereport totheGeneral
Council. Heinvited delegations tosubmit fordiscussion anyissues which theywanted tobetaken
upattheSingapore Ministerial; these could beincluded inthereport totheGeneral Council, which
would laterbetransmitted toMinisters atSingapore. Itwasnotnecessary togotoSingapore with
anydefinite results. TheCommittee could describe thevarious stages ithadreached asregards the
work thatitwascarrying out.TheChairman furthermore recalled thattheCommittee hadbeennotified
oftheaccession ofSlovenia toCEFTA. Asaresult ofthisdevelopment, itwasnolonger necessary
fortheCommittee toexamine theagreements between Slovenia andtheCzech Republic, Slovenia and
theSlovak Republic, andSlovenia andHungary. TheCEFTA hadrendered these agreements
superfluous. Given theincreased membership ofCEFTA, andthefactthatMembers hadneglected
tosubmit questions when invited todoso,itwould besome timebefore theCommittee could undertake
anexamination ofthatagreement. Itfollowed from theCEFTA development thatthenumber of
agreements tobeexamined haddecreased from 32to29.Heproposed thattheCommittee examine
23oftheagreements thisyear. Twoofthem before thesummer break, and21inthecourse ofthe
autumn. Onthebasis ofthiscalculation, theCommittee would examine about 80percentofthe
agreements thathadbeennotified. Theoneswhich would notbeexamined thisyearwereamong the
lastbatch recently notified totheWTO. Hestated thatwhile itwasnotruled outatallthatthe
Committee could achieve thetarget ithadsetforitself, thiswould nevertheless beremarkable. He
cautioned against complacency asitwasdifficult toproject suchresults withaccuracy. Hewasputting
forward hisproposal asa"Chairman 'sproposal", instead ofadocument, foradoption bytheMembers.
48. Turning tothemeeting scheduled for2-3July,theChairman saidthattheagenda forthemeeting
would likely follow theformat contained inhisproposal. Itwasimportant toplanahead sothat
delegations would beaware when theexamination oftheiragreements wasgoing totakeplace, and
afford them andinterested parties theopportunity toadequately prepare forthemeeting. Itwashis
intention towrite togovernments verysoontoinform them about theschedule thathadbeenfixed
fortheexamination ofagreements. Hewould remind themofthereasons which ledtotheestablishment
oftheCommittee andthegeneral disposition towards theelimination ofthebacklog. TheSecretariat
would soonbesending outanotice requesting updated information inrespect ofthese agreements,
andincertain cases reminding delegations thatquestions should beasked inrespect oftheidentified
agreements. Lastly, theChairman indicated thathehadbeenconsidering whether toprepare aninformal
report under hisownresponsibility totheGeneral Council describing among other things, theprogress
theCommittee wasmaking inthedischarge ofitsfunctions. Heexplained thatingrouping the
agreements forexamination, heandtheVice-Chairmen hadbeenmotivated bythesubmissions that
weremade bydelegations atthismeeting including theneedtoallow more timeforpreparation, and
thefactthatpeople from capitals might havetocome toGeneva toparticipate inthereviews.WT/REG/M/1
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49. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
50. Therepresentative oftheUnited States requested theSwiss delegation toclarify thestatus of
theagreements between theEFTA countries andtheBaltic States. Sheexpected information relating
totheagreements tobeexamined inSeptember tobeupdated toallow adequate timetoprepare for
themeeting. Sherequested theSecretariat tomake available alistoftheagreements inthereview
cycle andthedocuments which hadbeenissued inrespect ofthese agreements. Incompiling thelist
ofagreements which wereinforce, itwould bedesirable thattheSecretariat include agreements which
existed buthadnotbeennotified totheWTO.
51. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland confirmed thesigning offreetrade agreements between the
EFTA countries andthethree Baltic States. Theagreements hadbeen notified andcould have
implications fortheProgramme ofWork oftheCommittee, especially asregards themeetings scheduled
forthe6-7November. Hisdelegation would favour theconvening ofinformal consultations todiscuss
thepossible elements thatshould beincluded intheextended outline forthesubmission ofpreliminary
information onagreements, similar totheprocedure followed bytheAccessions Division oftheWTO
Secretariat. Heinvited delegations toforward theirproposals totheSecretariat. Hisdelegation agreed
thatthere wasaneedtoupdate information inatimely manner. Itwould greatly facilitate thework
oftheCommittee ifitweredoneatleastfourweeks priortothemeeting. Hisdelegation would update
information onallagreements towhich Switzerland wasaparty before thesummer break. Itwould
behelpful ifthestandard outline could bedrafted quickly sothatitcould bereviewed when delegations
were updating theirinformation.
52. TheChairman saidthat,inrespect oftheupdating ofinformation, itwasclearly important
fordelegations tohavetheinformation wellinadvance ofmeetings. With respect toachecklist of
documents, heproposed thattheCommittee request theSecretariat todistribute adocument veryshortly.
Withregard tothenon-notification ofagreements, theChairman stated thatanimportant source could
bethestudy prepared bytheWTO Secretariat lastyearentitled "theWTO Regionalism andtheWorld
Trading System".
53. TheCommittee soagreed.
D. Other Business
54. TheChairman stated thatrequests hadbeen received forobserver status from different
organizations including theIMF, World Bank, FAO, EFTA andtheOrganization ofAmerican States
(OAS). Hestated thattheOAS hadbeensupporting theInitiative onFreeTrade fortheAmericas
launched inDecember 1994, andEFTA hadsixagreements tobeexamined bytheCommittee. The
issue ofobservership forintergovernmental organizations remained unsolved intheGeneral Council
andassuchnodefinitive decision could betaken ontherequests. Under theprocedures agreed last
yearbytheHeads ofDelegations, WTO bodies could, onanadhocbasis, invite anorganization to
itsmeeting asanobserver. Organizations which benefitted fromthisrulewerethose which hadaclose
workingrelationshipwiththeGATT/WTO.SincetheFAO,WorldBankandIMFenjoyacloseworking
relationship withtheGATT/WTO, theywereregularly invited tomeetings oftheWTO. BothEFTA
andtheOAShadobserver status under theGATT. Hesuggested thatorganizations suchastheFAO,
World Bank andtheIMF, which already hadobserver status inother bodies oftheWTO, begranted
interim observer status bytheCommittee. Therequests ofEFTA andtheOAScould beputonhold
untilthenextmeeting oftheCommittee.WT/REG/M/1
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55. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland indicated hisagreement withtheChairman 'scompromise
solution.TherepresentativeofMoroccorepliedthatunlesstherewereformalobjectionbyhisdelegation,
theChairman would befreetoinvite those organizations toparticipate inthenextmeeting ofthe
Committee.
56. TheChairman proposed thattheCommittee agree toinvite asobservers theFAO, World Bank
andIMFtoitsnextmeeting, andthatobservership would bethefirstitemontheagenda ofthenext
meeting oftheCommittee.
57. TheCommittee soagreed.