WORLD TRADE WT/REG/5
11March 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-0982)
Committee onRegional Trade Agreements
REPORTING ONREGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS
Recommendations bytheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements
totheCouncil forTrade inServices
Infulfilmentofitsmandateunderitem1(b)ofitstermsofreference,1theCommitteeonRegional
Trade Agreements (CRTA) adopted, on20February 1998, recommendations totheCouncil forTrade
inServices with respect tohow therequired reporting ontheoperation ofregional trade
agreements (RTAs) should becarried out.These recommendations arecontained intheAnnex tothis
document.
Thenature oftheserecommendations isessentially procedural andtheirimplementation would
notentail anychange inMembers 'legalrights andobligations. Therecommendations aregeared toward
standardizing, asmuch aspossible, thepresentation ofreports onRTAs toWTO Members; ensuring
theprovision ofconsistent information totheCRTA ondevelopments insuchagreements, which may
beuseful totheCommittee 'swork under itsterms ofreference; andmaking operational the
implementation ofreporting requirements contained inWTO legaltexts.
TheCRTA maysubmit further recommendations inlight oftheexperience gathered in
implementing therecommended procedures.
1"[T]o consider howtherequired reporting ontheoperation ofsuch[regional trade] agreements should be
carried outandmake appropriate recommendations totherelevant body"(WT/L/127).
./.WT/REG/5
Page2
ANNEX
REPORTING ONREGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS
Recommendations bytheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements
totheCouncil forTrade inServices
TheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements recommends, inthecontext ofitem1(b)of
itsterms ofreference, thattheCouncil forTrade inServices adopt thefollowing procedures, asgeneral
guidelines, withrespect toreports/information onregional trade agreements submitted toit:1
1. Suchreports/informationwillalsobeavailabletotheCommitteeonRegionalTradeAgreements,
asaninput totheCommittee 'swork under item1(d)ofitsterms ofreference.
2. Where appropriate, adescription ofdevelopments intheagreements notcontained inthe
information previously presented totheWTO2andtradestatistics covering thelastrepresentative period,
forbothtrade among parties totheagreements andtrade withthirdparties, should beprovided.3
3. Where appropriate, parties totheagreements maymake use,inpresenting information, ofthe
Standard Format forInformation onEconomic Integration Agreements onServices (document
WT/REG/W/14). Thiswould facilitate boththetaskofparties inreporting ontheiragreements and
thetaskofWTO Members inconsidering thereports.
Theabove procedures willnotinanywayaffect thelegal rights andobligations ofWTO
Members.
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1Regional trade agreements (RTAs) reporting totheCouncil forTrade inServices areagreements liberalizing
trade inservices among theparties, notified under Article V:7(a) oftheGATS. Inaddition toinitial notification
andprovision ofrelevant data, asrequested, parties toanRTA arerequired to"report periodically ...onits
implementation" inthecase ofanagreement which isimplemented onthebasis ofatime-frame (GATS
Article V:7(b)).
Further, when agreements undergo "anysignificant modifications", parties should notify thechanges and"also
make available ...such relevant information asmayberequested" (GATS Article V:7(a)).
2Incaseparticular sectors and/or modes ofdelivery were excluded from, oronlypartially covered by,the
regional liberalization process, therelevant datashould alsobeprovided.
3Statistics onthenational product atthecountry level, broken down bythedifferent services sectors orsub-
sectors, would alsobedesirable.