. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG/W/15/Add.1 
16 November 2004 
 (04-4918) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements   
  
 
GUIDELINES ON PROCEDURES TO IMPROVE  
AND FACILITATE THE EXAMINATION PROCESS
1 
 
Note by the Chairman  
 
Addendum  
   The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter Committee or CRTA) has been mandated "to develop, as appropriate , procedures to facilitate and improve the examination process" 
(item 1(c) of its Terms of Reference).   
  In 1997, the Chairman of the Committee, on his own responsibility, drew up Guidelines 
defining procedural steps to facilitate and improv e the examination process (document WT/REG/W/13).  
Chairman's Guidelines were to be  considered as non-binding to Members, and could be reviewed in the 
light of experience.  Since 1997, examinations have proceeded on the basis of various elements defined 
in these Guidelines.  
  In that context and with the objective of assisting the Negotiating Group on Rules in its 
discussions on "Transparency of RTAs", Section II of the Chairman's Guidelines is modified, to read as follows: 
 
"II. Initial information on the RTA  
6. The Committee, before proceeding with a first round of examination of a 
notified RTA, may require some initial, basic information, in the form of: 
(i) a factual presentation of the RTA prepared by the Secretariat on its 
own responsibility, on the basis of an established outline and in consultation 
with the Parties to the agreement;
2 or 
(ii) a communication to be conveyed by the Parties according to the 
Chairman's Guidelines on a "Standard  Format for Information on RTAs" 
(document WT/REG/W/6) or those on a "Standard Format for Information on 
Economic Integration Agreements on Services" (document WT/REG/W/14);  
or 
(iii) written replies to written questions submitted by interested Members. 
                                                      
1The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements, at its meeting on 11 November 2004, took note of these 
amended Guidelines. 
2 This option is introduced on an experimental basis. WT/REG/W/15/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
 7. Though optional, the choice of option (i ) above by the Parties is encouraged, 
though not precluding options (ii) or (iii), as a means of supplying initial information on RTAs in a structured and comprehensive way. 
8. Once the examination of a RTA has been referred to the Committee, the 
Chairperson, in consultation with the Par ties, should establish a work programme for 
the examination of the individual RTA, in pa rticular with respect to the format and 
timing of the submission of initial inform ation, and the scheduling of the first 
examination meeting.  The Committee should be informed, as soon as possible, of that work programme. 
9. Information made available under the Secretariat's factual presentation, or the 
corresponding Standard Format, or resu lting from the preliminary questions-and-
replies process, should be circulated to Me mbers as a formal document at least three 
weeks before the first round of examination of the RTA.
6"  [Footnote 6:  "To speed up 
the processing and dissemination of inform ation (including trade data), delegations 
should submit it electronicall y, whenever possible."]  
 It is understood that the amendments to the Chairman's Guidelines are made on an experimental 
basis, and taking into account the parameters de fined by delegations (see  document WT/REG/M/37). 
 
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