WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/TPR/69
7 October 1999
(99-4207)
Trade Policy Review Body
TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM
Report of the Trade Policy Review Body for 1999
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Jean-Marie Noirfalisse
1. This report by the Trade Policy Review Body seeks to provide an annual assessment of the
manner and extent in which the TPRM is fulfilling its objectives as stated in the Marrakesh
Agreement.  The Report discusses the Reviews conducted in 1999 and the main issues arising from
them.  Tables are annexed showing the Members reviewed to the end of 1999, the geographical
coverage of the reviews as well as the proposed programme of reviews for the year 2000.
Fulfilling its objectives
2. The objectives of the TPRM, as described in Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement, are "to
contribute to improved adherence by all Members to rules, disciplines and commitments made under
the Multilateral Trade Agreements and, where applicable, the Plurilateral Trade Agreements, and
hence to the smoother functioning of the multilateral trading system, by achieving greatertransparency in, and understanding of, the trade policies and practices of Members."
3. In this regard, the TPRM is required to periodically review the trade policies and practices of
all Member countries.  By the end of 1999, the TPRM will have conducted 120 reviews (113 if
grouped reviews are counted as single reviews) si nce its formation (Annex I).  The reviews have
covered 71 Members, counting the European Union (EU) as one, and represent around 84% of theshare of world trade and around 63% of the total WTO Membership.  The increased importance given
to the reviews of least developed countries (LDCs) has led to 10 such reviews since 1989
1, six in the
past two years.
4. In 1999, the Trade Policy Review Body will have conducted 12 reviews:  Argentina, Bolivia,
Egypt, Guinea, Israel, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Romania, Thailand, Togo and theUnited States (Annex II).  Guinea, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea and Togo were reviewed for the
first time.  The Secretariat reports for the reviews of Guinea, Papua New Guinea and Togo were
prepared with the assistance of consultants under the supervision of Secretariat staff;  Australia and
Denmark provided the funding for these consultancies.  The Secretariat's reports continue to be
written in close collaboration with the authorities of the relevant Member under review.
5. Overall, procedures for the reviews have run smoothly.  Members are regularly consulted on
the programme of reviews and documentation has been provided within, or close to, appropriate times
in most cases.  In consequence, the TPRB has been successful in more evenly spacing reviews
throughout the year.  In preparing its reports, the Secretariat has attempted to reduce the burden on
Members by using, to the extent possible, alternative sources of documentation, particularly publicly
provided official information.  Secretariat visits to capitals have been productive and comments
provided to Secretariat drafts have been pertinent.  The result is that the quality, content and style of
the reviews has been maintained.  Improved inte rnal arrangements and a new cooperative publishing
                                                     
1 The least developed countries reviewed since the establishment of the Mechanism are: Bangladesh,
Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, the Solomon Islands, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.WT/TPR/69
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agreement reached with an international publishing company have shortened considerably the lag
between review meetings and the publication of reviews.
6. The programme of reviews for the year 2000 includes 14 countries:  Canada, the
European Union and Japan, on the 2 year cycle;  Brazil, Norway, Korea, Singapore and Switzerland,
on the four year cycle;  Iceland, Kenya, Peru and Poland, on the six year cycle;  and two least
developed countries, Bangladesh and Tanzania (Annex III).  The Secretariat report on Tanzania willbe drafted by a consultant, with funding provided by Denmark, under close supervision of the
Secretariat.
Appraisal of the operation of the TPRM
7. The TPRB undertook in 1999 an appraisal of the operation of the TPRM, as required by
Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement.  The TPRB agreed on 27 January 1999 on a procedure for the
appraisal and subsequently held 12 informal meetings in the period to September 1999.  The TPRB
adopted its Report to Ministers, for the Third Ministerial Conference, on 5 October 1999.  The Reportto Ministers is in WTO document WT/MIN(99)/2.
Utility of the TPRM
8. The TPRM continues to be a valuable forum in which Members can openly discuss and
provide an objective analysis of each others' trade policies, which is separate from the compliance and
legal work of the WTO.  Individual Members under re view also benefit from the exercise in that it
provides an independent and objective analysis of their trade policies and measures.  The reports
provide an overall picture of the relevant Member's institutional interaction and the effect of different
policies across sectors, which has often been appreciated by Members.  In addition, several
developing and least developed country Members have found the reviews valuable in providing
technical assistance.
9. The coverage offered by the reports and by the review process also places individual
Members' trade and economic regimes within the wider context of developments in their regions.
Given the growing importance of regional trade agreem ents and groupings, the analysis in the reports
has proved useful in discussing the wider impact of recent economic developments in certain regions,
as well as the more general question of the impact of regionalism on the multilateral trading system.
Points emerging from the 1999 reviews
10. While each review highlights the issues and measures facing individual countries, certain
common themes emerged during the course of the reviews conducted in 1999.  These included:
• transparency in policy-making and policy implementation;
• continued trade liberalization and economic reform;
• implementation of WTO Agreements;
• impact of the financial crisis on emerging economies and the importance of maintaining
openness to ensure recovery;
• regional trade agreements and their interaction with the multilateral trading system;
• applied and bound tariffs;
• non-tariff measures;
• the use of anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures;
• technical and sanitary measures and market access;WT/TPR/69
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• standards and equivalence with international norms;
• intellectual property rights;
• the growing importance of services sectors;
• special and differential treatment for developing countries;  and
• technical assistance in implementing the WTO Agreements.
Coverage of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
11. The Trade Policy Review Body's Report to the Singapore Ministerial Conference suggested
that greater attention be paid to the coverage of least developed countries in the TPRB programme.
Two LDCs, Guinea and Togo, were reviewed in 1999, bringing to seven the number of LDCs
reviewed since the Ministerial and to ten the number of LDCs that have been reviewed since theinception of the TPRM.
2  Two LDCs, Bangladesh and Tanzania, are scheduled to be reviewed in
2000.
12. Trade Policy Reviews of LDCs have been useful in understanding the trade policy structure in
place and its relationship with the WTO Agreements.  The reviews have also provided technical
assistance to the relevant Members, especially in enhancing their understanding of the WTOAgreements and enabling better compliance;  in some cases, better interaction between government
agencies has been facilitated by the reviews.  The wide coverage of the Secretariat reports also
enables Members to recognize any shortcomings in policy and to identify specific areas where further
technical assistance may be required.
Conclusion
13. The Trade Policy Review Mechanism continues to function effectively in meeting its
transparency goals as outlined in Annex 3 of th e WTO Agreement.  The TPRM provides a forum that
is unique to the WTO in that it allows an open and frank peer review of individual Members' trade
policies and practices separate from legal issues relating to compliance with the WTO Agreements.
The reviews conducted in 1999 have in general been satisfactory, without postponements and delays.
In addition, the tendency towards a concentration of reviews at the end of the year has been
eliminated.  The programme for 2000 also aims to avoid delays and concentrations of reviews.
14. Although the TPRM continues to meet its goals, limited resources and a growing list of
countries to be reviewed annually makes it important to keep the Mechanism functioning as
efficiently as possible.  In particular, the continued active cooperation between Members and the
Secretariat plays an essential role in the success of the Mechanism and must be maintained to ensure
that the review process remains smooth;  that deadlines are met;  and that the quality of the reports ismaintained.
                                                     
2 At the end of 1999, the LDC Members of the WTO still to be reviewed by the TPRM will be: Angola,
Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau,Haiti, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone andTanzania.WT/TPR/69
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Annex I
TRADE POLICY REVIEWS
WTO members reviewed under GATT 1947 and WTO provisions, 1989-1999
Europe/Middle East Asia/Pacific Africa America
Austria1aAustralia (3)cBeninb, dArgentina (2)c
Czech RepublicbBangladesha, dBotswanabBolivia (2)c
CyprusbFijibBurkina Fasob, dBrazil (2)c
European Union (4)cHong Kong, China (3)cCameroonaCanada (5)c
Finland1aIndia (2)cCôte d'IvoirebChile (2)c
Hungary (2)cIndonesia (3)cEgypt (2)cColombia (2)c
IcelandaJapan (4)cGhanaaCosta Ricab
Israel (2)cKorea (2)cGuineab, dDominican Republicb
Norway (2)cMacauaKenyaaEl Salvadorb
PolandaMalaysia (2)cLesothob, dJamaicab
Romania (2)cNew Zealand (2)cMalib, dMexico (2)c
SlovakiabPakistanaMauritiusbNicaraguab
Sweden1a (2) Papua New GuineabMorocco (2)cParaguayb
Switzerland (2)cPhilippines (2)cNamibiabPerua
Turkey (2)cSingapore (2)cNigeria (2)cTrinidad and Tobagob
Solomon Islandsb, dSenegalaUnited States (5)c
Sri LankabSouth Africa (2)cUruguay (2)c
Thailand (3)cSwazilandbVenezuelab
Togob, d
Tunisiaa
Ugandab, d
Zambiab, d
Zimbabwea
15 18 23 18
( ) Figures in brackets show the number of reviews where this is greater than 1
1Included in EU from 1995
a Reviewed under GATT 1947
b Reviewed under the WTOc Reviewed under GATT 1947 and the WTOd Least developed country
Number of reviews conducted at end-1999 = 120
Number of WTO Members reviewed = 85 out of 134 (counting EU as 15)
= 63% of WTO Members (of which, 26 in Europe,
18 in Asia/Pacific, 23 in Africa and 18 in America)
Number of WTO Members reviewed = 71 out of 120 (counting EU as 1)Number of least-developed WTO Members = 10
Share of world trade of WTO Members reviewed
(excluding significant double counting, re-exportsfrom Hong Kong, China and Singapore and intra-EU trade) = 84%WT/TPR/69
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Annex II
TPR Reviews Conducted in 1999
CountryaMeeting Date Review Cycle (years)
Argentina (2) 20.01.99 6
Togo 27.01.99 6 b
Guinea 25.02.99 6 b
Egypt (2) 24.06.99 6
United States (5) 12.07.99 2
Bolivia (2) 19.07.99 6
Israel (2) 14.09.99 4
Philippines (2) 27.09.99 6
Romania (2) 04.10.99 6
Nicaragua 25.10.99 6
Papua New Guinea 15.11.99 6
Thailand (3) 15.12.99 6
aFigures in parenthesis indicate number of reviews completed
bLeast developed country
Annex III
Proposed programme of reviews for 2000
Two-year cycle Canada, European Union, Japan
Four-year cycle Brazil, Norway, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland
Six-year cycle Iceland, Kenya, Peru, Poland
Least-developed countries Bangladesh, Tanzania
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