WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/REG/13
5 December 2003
(03-6463)
REPORT (2003) OF THE
COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL
Chairman:  Mr. Jaynarain Meetoo (Mauritius)
I. INTRODUCTION
1. At the first meeting on 3-4 April 2003, the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements
(CRTA) elected Mr. Jaynarain Meetoo (Mauritius) as Chairman of the Committee.  Dr. Vassili Notis
(Greece) retained his position as Vice-Chairman; Mr. B. Weston (Trinidad and Tobago) and Mr. S.
Dalela (India) were elected as Vice-Chairmen.
2. During 2003, the Committee held two sessions (in April and December).  The minutes of
those meetings are listed in Attachment 1.  The Committee plans to hold two meetings in 2004.
II. OBSERVER STATUS
3. The Committee agreed to continue the granting of observer status in the CRTA to the Latin
American Integration Association (LAIA), on an ad hoc  basis.  No decision was taken with respect to
the requests for observer status listed in do cument WT/REG/W/11/Add.3, pe nding the guidelines to
be defined by the General Council.
III. EXAMINATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS
4. As of 5 December 2003, 273 RTAs have been notified to the GATT/WTO.1  Of these, 227
agreements were notified under GATT Article XXIV, of which 143 are still in force today; 19
agreements were notified under the Enabling Clause;2 and 27 under GATS Article V.
5. The Committee has currently under examination a total of 147 agreements.  The examination
of 119 of these agreements has been referred to the Committee by the Council for Trade in Goods, 27
by the Council for Trade in Services and one by the Committee on Trade and Development.  For 22RTAs, the Committee has not yet started the factual examination. 43 RTAs are currently undergoing
factual examination.  For the remaining 82 RTAs th e factual examination is already complete (see
Attachment 2).  No progress was made, however, on the completion of the examination reports.
6. At its Thirty-Fifth Session, the Chairman made a status report on the examination work under
the Committee's purview.  He expressed concern with respect to repeated delays in the submission ofdocuments required for the examination of individual agreements.  He also indicated that informal
                                                     
1 This figure corresponds to notifications of new RTAs, as well as accessions to existing RTAs.
2 Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fulle r Participation of Developing
Countries , Decision of the GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES of 28 November 1979.WT/REG/13
Page 2
consultations would be held on a few procedural issues impairing the examination work of the
Committee (see paragraph 12  below).
IV. REPORTING ON THE OPERATION OF AGREEMENTS
7. Six biennial reports due in 2001 are still outstanding (see Attachment 3).
8. At its Thirty-Fifth Session, the Committee was presented with the 2004 Schedule for
Submission of Reports, circulated as WT/REG/W/ 48.  The Chairman invited delegations to respect
the deadline for the submission of such reports and to consolidate those biennial reports still
outstanding from earlier reporting cycles into a detailed report in 2004.
V. PROCEDURES TO IMPROVE AND FACILITATE THE EXAMINATION PROCESS
9. No discussion took place on this item.
VI. SYSTEMIC IMPLICATIONS OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND
INITIATIVES FOR THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM AND THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM
10. No discussion took place on this item.
VII. OTHER
11. At its Thirty-Fifth Session, the Committee had a preliminary debate on issues related to the
forthcoming Enlargement of the European Communities to 25 member states, introduced by one
delegation under "Other Business".  Several delegations echoed calls for a rigorous compliance with
WTO procedural provisions governing the Enlarg ement, in particular its timely notification.
12. At that same Session, the Chairman reported on his informal consultations on three issues
related to problems encountered in the course of examination of (a) services agreements in which
specific commitments had not yet been negotiated; (b) agreements that would cease to exist once the
Enlargement of the EC to 10 new member states  took place; and (c) RTAs concluded by WTO
Members with non-Members.  Some of those issues required further reflection and exchange views; asecond round of informal consultations will take place in early 2004.
13. Also, as agreed at the Committee's Thirty-Second Session, the Secretariat provided the
Committee with information regarding RTA-related technical assistance implemented from June 2002
to December 2003 and those scheduled for 2004, and with a summary of the proceedings of the WTO
Seminar on Regional Trade Agreements and the WTO held on 14 November (see programme in
Attachment 4).
VIII.  FINAL REMARKS
14. The Committee has pursued its examination work, but has been unable to finalize reports on
any of the examinations before it.WT/REG/13
Page 3
ATTACHMENT 1
Minutes of the Meetings held in 2003
Thirty-Fourth Session – 3-4 April 2003
WT/REG/M/34
WT/REG109/M/3 EC and Mexico, Services
WT/REG126/M/1 EFTA and Me xico, Goods and Services
WT/REG125/M/1 Chile and Mexico, Goods and Services
( Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan
and Tajikistan
( Kyrgyz Republic and Russian Federation
WT/REG/GEN/M/9 ( Kyrgyz Republic and Ukraine
( Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan( Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan
( Kyrgyz Republic and Armenia
( Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova,
Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic
( Georgia and Russian Federation
( Georgia and Armenia
WT/REG/GEN/M/10 ( Georgia and Azerbaijan
( Georgia and Ukraine
( Georgia and Turkmenistan( Georgia and Kazakhstan
WT/REG124/M/1 Israel and Mexico
WT/REG135/M/1 Turkey and Slovenia
WT/REG128/M/1 Hungary and Estonia
WT/REG143/M/1 EC and Latvia, Services
WT/REG144/M/1 EC and Estonia, Services
WT/REG145/M/1 EC and Lithuania, ServicesWT/REG146/M/1 EC and Slovenia, Services
Thirty-Fifth Session – 2-3 December 2003
WT/REG/M/35
WT/REG154/M/1 EFTA, Services
WT/REG138/M/2 European Econ omic Area (EEA), Services
WT/REG127/M/2 New Zealand and Si ngapore, Goods and Services
WT/REG140/M/1 Japan and Singapore, Goods and ServicesWT/REG135/M/2 Turkey and Slovenia
WT/REG132/M/1 EFTA and Croatia
WT/REG133/M/1 EFTA and Jordan
WT/REG38/M/5 Canada and Chile, Services
WT/REG136/M/1 Chile and Cost a Rica, Goods and ServicesWT/REG/13
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ATTACHMENT 2
List of RTAs Under Examination3
A. RTAs for which factual examinations have been completed and the draft examination
reports are in various stages of consultation and finalization (82):
ANZCERTA (S) EC-Israel EFTA-Morocco Kyrgyz Rep.-Moldova Slovenia-Latvia
Bulgaria-FYROM EC-Latvia EFTA-Pol and NAFTA (G&S) Slovenia-Lithuania
Canada-Chile (G&S) EC- Lithuania EFTA-RomaniaNew Zealand-
SingaporeSwitzerland-Faroe Isl.
Canada-Israel EC-Poland (G&S) EFTA-Slovenia Norway-Faroe Isl. Turkey-Bulgaria
CEFTA4 EC-Romania Estonia-Faroe Isl. Po land-Faroe Isl. Turkey-Estonia
Czech Rep.-EstoniaEC-Slovak Rep.
(G&S)Estonia-Latvia-
LithuaniaPoland-Latvia Turkey-FYROM
Czech Rep.-Latvia EC-Slovenia Estonia- Ukraine Poland-Lithuania Turkey-Hungary
Czech Rep.-Lithuania EC-Tunisia Hungary- Latvia Romania-Moldova Turkey-Israel
Czech Rep.-Turkey EFTA-Bulgaria Hungary-Li thuania Slovak Rep.-Estonia Turkey-Latvia
EC-P. of Andorra EFTA-Estonia Iceland-Faroe Isl. Slovak Rep.-Latvia Turkey-Lithuania
EC-Bulgaria EFTA-FYROM Israel-Czech R ep. Slovak Rep.-Lithuania Turkey-Poland
EC-Czech Rep. EFTA-Hungary Israel-Hungary S lovak Rep.-Turkey Turkey-Romania
EC-Enlargement
(G&S)EFTA-Israel Israel-Poland Slov enia-Croatia Turkey-Slovenia
EC-Estonia EFTA-Latvia Israel-Slovak Rep. Slovenia-Estonia
EC-Hungary (G&S) EFTA-Lithuania Isr ael-Slovenia Slovenia-FYROM
B. RTAs under factual examination (43):
Chile-Mexico (G&S) EC-Mexico (G&S) European Economic Area (S) Kyrgyz Rep.-Russian Fed.
Chile-Costa Rica (G&S) EC-Morocco Georgia-ArmeniaKyrgyz Rep.-Russian Fed.,
Belarus, Kazakhstan  and
Tajikistan
Commonwealth of
Independent StatesEC-Romania (S) Georgia-Azerbaijan Kyrgyz Rep.-Ukraine
EC-Bulgaria (S) EC-Slovenia (S) Georgia-Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Rep.-Armenia
EC-Czech Rep. (S) EC-Turkey Georgi a-Russian Fed. Kyrgyz Rep.-Uzbekistan
EC-Estonia (S) EFTA (S) Georgia-Turkmenistan MERCOSUR
EC-Faroe Islands EFTA-Croatia G eorgia-Ukraine Mexico-Israel
EC-FYROM EFTA-Jordan Hungary-Estonia New Zealand-Singapore (S)
EC-Latvia (S) EFTA-Mexico (G&S) Japan-Singapore (G&S)
EC-Lithuania (S) European Union (S) Kyrgyz Rep.-Kazakhstan
C. RTAs for which factual examination has not yet commenced (22):
Bulgaria-Estonia EC-Croatia Singapore-Australia (G&S)Bulgaria-Israel EC-Lebanon Turkey-Croatia
Bulgaria-Latvia EC-Jordan Slovenia-Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria-Lithuania EC-Palestinian Aut hority Turkey- Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canada-Costa Rica EC-South Africa United States-Jordan (G&S)
CARICOM (S) EFTA-Palestinian Authority
Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina EFTA-Singapore (G&S)
                                                     
3 Examinations of RTAs refer to trade in goods only, unless indicated otherwise:  trade in services only
(S), or trade in both goods and services (G&S)
4 Including accessions of Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia.WT/REG/13
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ATTACHMENT 3
Schedule for the Submission of Biennial Reports on RTAs
A. Reports not submitted to the WTO under the 2001 schedule for the submission of
biennial reports on RTAs  (6)
Australia-Papua New Guinea Agreement (PATCRA)
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)
Central American Common Market (CACM)
EC-Cyprus
EC-Malta Association Agreement
United States/Israel
B. Reports due on 31 July 2004 (19)
Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA)
Australia-Papua New Guinea Agreement (PATCRA)Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)
Central American Common Market (CACM)
Czech/Slovak Customs Union
European Communities (EC)/Algeria
EC/CyprusEC/Egypt
EC/Iceland
EC/Malta
EC/Norway
EC/Certain Non-European C ountries and Territories II
EC/Syria
EC/Switzerland and LiechtensteinEuropean Free Trade Association (EFTA)
EFTA/Czech Rep.
EFTA/Slovak Rep.
EFTA/Turkey
United States/IsraelWT/REG/13
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ATTACHMENT 4
PROGRAMME OF THE WTO S EMINAR ON RTA S
(14 November 2003)
09:00-09:15 W ELCOMING WORDS
09:15-09:45 S ESSION 1 - RTA S, THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM AND THE DOHA
DEVELOPMENT AGENDA :  CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
/g113 RTAs and the multilateral trading system:  recent developments in the global and
regional trade agendas
09:45-10:45 S ESSION 2 - RTA S AND MFN IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY :  DIVERGENT OR
CONVERGENT PATHS ?
/g113 The case for free trade and the role of RTAs
/g113 Competitive liberalization and the role of RTAs
10:45-11:00 COFFEE BREAK
11:00-12:00 S ESSION 3 - RTA S AS A DEVELOPMENT TOOL : TO WHAT EXTENT AND UNDER WHICH
CONDITIONS ?
/g113 Lessons from South-South Agreements: the case of Latin America
/g113 North-South Agreements: Integrating developing countries into the World
Trading System?
12:00-13:00 S ESSION 4 - REGULATORY PROVISIONS IN RTA S:  CAN AND SHOULD THEY BE
SYMMETRICAL ?
/g113 A legal overview of RTAs' regulatory provisions:  crossing the boundaries of
GATT Article XXIV?
/g113 Facilitating or hindering trade:  the role of rules of origin in RTAs
13:00-14:30 LUNCH BREAK
14:30-16:00 S ESSION 4: cont.
/g113 Standards, technical regulations and SPS provisions in RTAs
/g113 Safeguards in RTAs
/g113 Trade and competition policy:  anti-dumping and anti-trust policies in RTAs
16:00-16:15 COFFEE BREAK
16:15-17:45 S ESSION 5 - EXTENDING RTA S BEYOND GOODS TRADE :  TRADE IN SERVICES ,
INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
/g113 Economic integration in trade in services
/g113 Investment provisions in RTAs
/g113 Intellectual Property provisions in RTAs and TRIPS
17:45-18:00 W RAP-UP SESSION AND CONCLUDING REMARKS
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