. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/BFA/W/50/Rev.2
9 August 2000
(00-3259)
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
DRAFT RECOMMENDATION ON THE METHOD OF CALCULATION OF
CONTRIBUTIONS ASSESSED ON MEMBERS OF THE WTO
Revision
I. BACKGROUND
1. The Joint WTO/GATT Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration recommended to
the General Council on 29 June 1995 a new methodology for the calculation of the assessment of
Members’ contributions to the WTO budget (document WT/BFA/6-L/7633).  The General Council
had approved the recommendations on 15 November 1995 (document WT/GC/M/8).  Among the
recommendations of the Committee, were the following:
(a) The share to be contributed by each Contracting Party/Member to the annual
operating budget of the GATT/WTO shall be established on the basis of that
country’s (or separate customs territory’s) international trade (imports plus exports)
in relation to the total international trade of all GATT Contracting Parties/WTO
Members.
(b) The figures used shall be those for the last three years for which data are available.
(c) The statistics used shall relate to trade in goods1 services and intellectual property
rights as reported in Balance of Payments statistics from the International Monetary
Fund (IMF); with regard to services, the statistics shall relate to the definition of
commercial services as applied in the WTO.
(d) Where IMF data deviate from IMF guidelines2 and include transactions not related to
goods, services or intellectual property rights, adjustments provided to the WTO bythe Central Bank or the National Statistical Office of a Contracting Party/Member
shall be taken into account by the Secretariat when adequately documented and
justified.
(e) If IMF data are not available, the WTO Secretariat will use estimates based on the
best other available sources.
(f) A minimum contribution of 0.03 per cent will be applied to those contracting
parties/members whose share in the total international trade of all GATT Contracting
Parties/WTO Members is less than 0.03 per cent.
2. Further, the Committee recommended on 14 Decem ber 1999 that the minimum contribution
be fixed at 0.015 per cent (document WT/BFA/44).  The General Council approved therecommendation on 17 December 1999 (WT/GC/M/52).
                                                     
1 Excluding gold held as a store of value (deposit money banks).
2 Balance of Payments Manual, Fifth Edition, International Monetary Fund.WT/BFA/W/50/Rev.2
Page 2
3. In the discussions of the proposed budget for 2000 in the autumn of 1999, it was noted that
the contributions of some WTO Members could vary, largely as a result of the years for which trade
statistics were available for the two consecutive years. It had been suggested that the Committee
examine this question and see whether it might be possible to minimize large variations in
contributions from one year to the next.
4. In 2000, a Working Group, formed to study the matter, had come to the conclusion that the
homogeneity of statistical data, that is the years taken into account for the calculation of contributions,
was not only important to minimize the problem, but th at such homogeneity was also fair. If the draft
recommendation (see paragraph 6 below) were accepted, the calculation of contributions for 2001
would be made on the statistical data for the same years for 87 per cent of WTO Members above the
minimum contribution, which corresponded to 97 per cent of the total trade.
5. The draft recommendation emanating from the Working Group (i) made no change
whatsoever in the type of statistics which would be used; the principle of contributions assessed on
trade share would therefore be maintained; (ii) would ensure a greater measure of fairness in that
statistics for the same years for the greatest number of WTO Members would be used and; (iii) there
would be greater predictability with regard to assessed contributions. This predictability would
become even greater from 2004 when statistics relative to five years would be used.
II. DRAFT RECOMMENDATION
6. The Committee, desiring to ensure a greater measure of homogeneity in the years for
which statistical data are used for the calculation of contributions to the WTO Budget, and to
minimize to the extent possible wide variations in contribution percentages from one year to the
next,  recommends to the General Council that paragraph (b) of the recommendation of the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (paragraph 33, WT/BFA/6) approved by the
General Council on 15 November 1995 (WT/GC/M/8) be amended as follows:
(b.1) Calculations of assessed contributions for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 (which
are prepared in the course of the resp ective previous year) shall be based on
international trade statistics for the years 1996-1998, 1997-1999 and 1998-2000,
respectively; or, if these statistics are not available, for the last three years for which
statistics are available.
(b.2) Calculations of assessed contributions for at least the following ten years, i.e.
2004, 2005, 2006 to 2013, (which are prepared in the course of the respective previous
year) shall be based on international trade statistics: for the years 1997-2001, 1998-2002,
1999-2003, etc. respectively; or, if these statistics are not available, for the last five years
for which statistics are available.
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