WORLD TRADE WT/TPR/41
28November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5248)
Trade Policy Review Body
TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM
REPORT OFTHE TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY FOR 1997
Chairman: H.E. Mr.Munir Akram (Pakistan)
1. TheTrade Policy Review Mechanism hasnowbeeninexistence forseven andahalfyears.
TheMarrakesh Agreement envisages anappraisal ofitsoperation atthelatest in1999("not more than
fiveyears aftertheentry intoforce oftheAgreement Establishing theWTO"). Members, however,
have kepttheMechanism under frequent review since itsinception andanumber ofprocedural
improvements havebeenintroduced.
2. Thisreport bytheTrade Policy Review Body seeks toprovide theBody'sannual assessment
oftheextent towhich theTPRM isfulfilling itsstated objectives anditsutility toMembers. Italso
discusses programmes andchallenges forthefuture. AtableofTrade Policy Reviews totheendof
1997 andthedraftprogramme for1998 areannexed.
3. TheTPRB isgrateful totheformer Chairperson, Ambassador Anne Anderson (Ireland), and
tothepresent Chairman oftheGeneral Council, Ambassador Celso Lafer (Brazil), forhaving chaired
twomeetings oftheBody intheunavoidable absence oftheChairperson.
Fulfilling itsObjectives
4. Inframing theirexpectations oftheTPRM, Members areguided bytheobjectives stated in
Annex 3totheMarrakesh Agreement:
"tocontribute toimproved adherence byallMembers torules, disciplines andcommitments
made under theMultilateral Trade Agreements and,where applicable, thePlurilateral Trade
Agreements, andhence tothesmoother functioning ofthemultilateral trading system, by
achieving greater transparency in,andunderstanding of,thetrade policies andpractices of
Members."
5. Bytheendof1997, 87reviews havebeenconducted, covering 61Members counting the
European Union asone(Annex I).TheTPRM spotlight has,asnoted intheTPRB 'sreport tothe
Singapore Ministerial Conference (WT/TPR/27), effectively focused onthesignificant members in
theWTO trading system andhasilluminated themostsalient trends. However, theMechanism has
toruntokeep upwiththeincreasing membership oftheWTO: since thereport toSingapore,
membership (counting theEUasone)hasrisenfrom108to117and32Governments areintheprocess
ofaccession.
6. During 1997, eight reviews havebeenconducted, forFiji,Cyprus, Paraguay, Benin, Chile,
Mexico, Malaysia andtheEuropean Union. Fourofthesehavebeenfirst-time reviews fortheMembersWT/TPR/41
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concerned; theothers were repeat reviews, thefourth overall inthecaseoftheEU.Thereview of
theEUwasthefirsttobeconducted under the"interim review" framework agreed bytheTPRB in
1996; assuch, itfocused ondevelopments intradepolicies inthepasttwoyears andonselected sectoral
issues, rather thanbeing comprehensive incoverage.
7. Anumber ofreviews havebeenrescheduled either within the1997 programme or,asnoted
inAnnex II,from1997into1998, forvarious reasons. Postponement ofreviews isalways undesirable,
duetotheeffects ontheoverall programme andfrequency ofreviews.
8. Theprogramme ofreviews for1998 (Annex II)contains, inaddition tothereviews carried
overfrom1997, provision forreviews offifteen Members. These comprise onemember onthetwo-year
cycle, fourreviews onthefour-year cycle, fivereviews onthe6-year cycle andfivereviews of
least-developed countries.
9. Generally speaking, procedures forreviews haverunsmoothly. Inmostcases, questionnaires
havebeenanswered andinformation provided within, orcloseto,theappropriate timeframes; missions
havebeenproductive; andpertinent comments havebeensupplied onSecretariat drafts, giving the
Secretariat thepossibility ofcorrecting misunderstandings orinaccuracies. Theresult hasbeenthat
thecontent andstyle ofthereviews continues toimprove. Thecontinued active cooperation of
delegations andtheauthorities incapitals isanessential partoftheTPRprocess, without which itwould
loseagreat dealofitsauthority.
10. Inthisconnection, fourother aspects maybestressed. Itisrecognized thattheSecretariat
reports andthepolicy statements byMembers complement eachother wellandprovide afirmbasis
forthediscussions intheTPRB. Theprocess hasalsobeenfavoured withexpert discussants whohave
consistently highlighted, inaneffective manner, theprincipal issues fordiscussion ineachReview.
Questions posed byMembers inthemeetings havebeenconcrete, specific andpertinent. Andthe
levelofcomposition ofdelegations frommembers under review continues tobestrong, withleadership
often atMinisterial orDeputy Ministerial level, orinother cases senior official level, andwith
delegations including substantial expertise fromcapitals. Alltheseelements areimportant inmaintaining
thestrength andcredibility ofthereview process.
Utility toMembers
11. Asnoted inthe1996Report oftheTPRB, there isaclearvalue forWTO Members inhaving
aforum, separated fromthelegal, dispute-related work oftheWTO, where theycanopenly discuss
allaspects ofeachother'strade policies andpractices, elicit information andregister concerns. The
TPRM permits notonlythe"peer pressure" envisaged initsorigins butalsoanassessment bythewhole
WTO membership ofthesystemic effects oftheirtrade policies andpractices. Themechanism can
alsoprovide avaluable input intonational policy making, byserving asanindependent, objective
assessment which canassist governments inpursuing desirable trade policy reforms. Members have
alsocommented ontheextent towhich theexperience ofreview hashelped tostrengthen inter-agency
discussion andco-operation intheirowncountries. TheTPRM may, inaddition, illuminate areas
ofWTO obligations which mayhavereceived insufficient attention andhelptoensure thatthese are
addressed; andfordeveloping countries, themechanism maybeaneffective contribution totechnical
assistance efforts.
12. Initsreport totheSingapore Ministerial Conference, theTPRB noted that,inreviewing a
cross-section ofcountries eachyear, theTPRM inevitably shows upwider patterns which influence
policy approaches inindividual Members. TheSecretariat hastraced thesewider patterns inthechapters
dealing with"Developments inTrade Policy" intheAnnual Reports oftheWTO for1996and1997.WT/TPR/41
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TheAnnual Overview ofDevelopments intheInternational Trading System, provided forinSection G
oftheAgreement ontheTPRM, mayalsobeusedtodevelop astructured approach tothecomposite
picture emerging from individual reviews andtoidentify wider themes forconsideration byWTO
members andcommittees.
Principal Themes Emerging from 1997 Reviews
13. Each review isspecific, andtheissues raised ineachmeeting arenecessarily peculiar tothe
Members concerned. Nevertheless, during theyear, anumber ofcommon themes havearisen during
reviews.
- Themacroeconomic andstructural context fortradepolicies, andtherelationship among these
elements, have consistently been animportant theme. Inthisfield, Members have been
concerned withthedirection ofeconomic andtradereforms, andtheireffects; thetransparency
ofpolicy making; theeffects ofspecific incentives ontrade, investment, andcompetition
conditions; andanypossible reversals stemming fromdeterioration ineconomic performance.
- Thebalance among unilateral (autonomous), bilateral, regional andmultilateral strands oftrade
policy making hasbeenamajor theme. Virtually allMembers reviewed in1997aremembers
of,orpotential adherents to,significant regional arrangements. Thepriority given to,andthe
relative paceof,regional andmultilateral liberalization havebeenimportant systemic concerns.
- Generally, there hasbeenacloser linkthanpreviously between thediscussion ofindividual
Members 'tradepolicies andpractices andtheimplementation ofWTO Agreements. Attention
hasbeen paidtospecific WTO-related aspects oftrade policies, inter alia,fulfilment of
notificationrequirements;theevolutionoftariffs,includingmeasuresintroducedunder"ceiling"
bindings;participation,ormovestowardparticipation,inparticularWTOAgreements,including
theuseofanti-dumping measures, introduction bydeveloping countries ofWTO customs
valuation methods, andimplementation ofTRIPS; adaptation ofnational legislation toWTO
requirements, particularly where regional agreements arealsoconcerned; andGovernment
procurement andState trading.
- Sectoral elements ofpolicy discussed inTPRB meetings haveincluded price-related andhealth
measures inagriculture; provisions applied totheautomotive sector; andmeasures related to
services, including telecommunications andfinancial services. Theinter-sectoral effects of
protective measures havealsobeenhighlighted.
Coverage ofLeast-Developed Countries
14. InitsReport toSingapore, theTPRB noted that"The question ofcompleting thecoverage
ofTPRs, particularly tothesmaller developing andleast-developed countries, isonewhich willrequire
particular attention inthepreparation oftheTPRB timetable."
15. Upto1997, theTPRM hascovered tenleastdeveloped countries (LDCs). ForLDCs, the
reviews mayprovide initial contact withtheWTO processes, ordeepen suchcontact overanextended
period; giveauseful occasion forpresentation oftheirtrade policies andneeds totheother Members
oftheWTO; andbeagateway tocontinuing technical cooperation. TheSecretariat has,asrequested
in1996, attempted togroup reviews ofLDCs, aswellascertain other developing countries, tothe
extent feasible andlogical; theprogramme for1998 includes "grouped" reviews ofBurkina Faso,
Togo, andMali among LDCs, oftheSouthern African Customs Union, which includes oneLDC
(Lesotho), andofTrinidad andTobago andJamaica.WT/TPR/41
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16. According totheAgreement ontheTPRM, leastdeveloped countries aresubject toreview
every sixyears, oratalonger interval. Theconclusions oftheHigh Level Meeting ofOctober 1997
encourage LDCs toseektradepolicy reviews andencourage theWTO toaccommodate suchrequests.
Outofthe29LDCs thatarecurrently WTO Members, TPRs havesofarcovered, areinprogress
for,orhavebeenrequested by,thirteen LDCs (Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African
Republic, Chad, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mali, Uganda, Solomon Islands, Togo andZambia).
Thussixteen LDCmembers oftheWTO remain tobereviewed: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic
ofCongo, Djibouti, TheGambia, Haiti, Madagascar, Maldives, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Niger, Rwanda Sierra Leone andTanzania.
Thebalance ofdemands andresources
17. Theprogramme ofreviews for1998 isasubstantial increase from 1997 and,indeed, from
previous years. Asnoted above, newrequests forreviews havealready resulted fromtheHigh Level
Meeting onIntegrated Initiatives forLeast Developed Countries 'Trade Development, andmore are
boundtofollow.Thecontinuingchallengeistoensuremaximumeffectivenessofthehumanandfinancial
resources usedinthese circumstances, while maintaining quality.
18. Additional reviews requested have, insome cases, beencarried outwiththeassistance of
consultants, under theclose supervision oftheSecretariat. Thishasbeendoneinthreecases, covering
nineMembers (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia andSwaziland intheSACU jointreview; Burkina Faso,
Guinea, MaliandTogo; andtheSolomon Islands). Funding fortheseconsultancies hasbeenprovided
onaproject ortrustfundbasis from theUnited Kingdom, Denmark andAustralia.
Enhancing awareness oftheTPRM
19. During theyear, progress hasbeenmade inenhancing awareness oftheTPRM outside the
Geneva circle. Documents distributed forreviews arenowmore readily available toalldelegations
inelectronic format through theSecretariat 'sDocument Management System. Press briefings are
regularly heldbytheChair andinsome cases bytheMembers under review. TheSummary
Observations bytheSecretariat, theWTO press release, andtheClosing Remarks bytheChair are
made available ontheWTO Internet home page(http://www.wto.org). Theprocess ofpost-meeting
publication hasbeenaccelerated, achieving publication ofreports bytheWTO Secretariat, atleast
inEnglish, within, onaverage, twomonths ofTPRB meetings. Inaddition, TPRs arebeing made
available on-line under theFinancial Times Information Service network from theendofNovember
1997. Discussions arealsobeing pursued withaninternational publishing company topublish and
market Trade Policy Reviews onbehalf oftheWTO. There is,moreover, asubstantial bibliography
ofacademic andjournal publications concerning theTPRM, which shows thataccess toandawareness
ofthemechanism isgrowing.WT/TPR/41
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Conclusion
20. During 1997, theTPRM hascontinued tofulfilitsroleasaneffective exercise intransparency
andevaluation ofthefullrange ofMembers 'tradepolicies. Theparticipation ofMembers under review
hasbeengenerally satisfactory, although thepostponement ofreviews isregretted; adherence tothe
schedule ofreviews, onceestablished, should betaken asapriority bytheMembers andSecretariat.
21. Theexpansion oftheMechanism todealeffectively withquestions ofservices, intellectual
property andother issues intheWTO agenda hascontinued. Theprogramme for1998, comprising
17review meetings covering 24members, shows theincreasing interest taken intheMechanism by
many Members, including least-developed countries. Taking intoaccount thelimited resources of
theSecretariat andthegrowing number ofrequests forreviews, itisnecessary tokeeptheefficient
functioning oftheMechanism under review.WT/TPR/41
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Annex I Trade Policy Reviews Conducted, 1989-1997
Europe/Middle East Asia/Pacific Africa America
Austria1aAustralia (2)aBéninbArgentinaa
Czech RepublicbBangladeshaCameroonaBrazil (2)c
CyprusbFijibCôted'IvoirebBoliviaa
European Union (4)cHong Kong, China (2)aEgyptaCanada (4)c
Finland1aIndiaaGhanaaChilec
HungaryaIndonesia (2)aKenyaaColombia (2)c
IcelandaJapan (3)aMauritiusbCosta Ricab
IsraelaKorea (2)cMorocco (2)cDominican Republicb
Norway (2)cMacauaNigeriaaElSalvadorb
PolandaMalaysia (2)aSenegalaMexico (2)c
RomaniaaNewZealand (2)cSouth AfricaaParaguayb
SlovakiabPakistanaTunisiaaPerua
Sweden1(2)aPhilippinesaUgandabUnited States (4)c
Switzerland (2)cSingapore (2)cZambiabUruguaya
TurkeyaSriLankabZimbabweaVenezuelab
Thailand (2)c
15 16 15 15
a Reviewed under GATT 1947.
b Reviewed under theWTO.
c Reviewed under GATT 1947 andtheWTO.
1 Included inEUfrom 1995.
() Figures inbrackets show thenumber ofreviews where thisisgreater than1.WT/TPR/41
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Annex II Programme oftrade policy reviews for1998
Reviews onthetwo-year cycle: Canada (interim), Japan1
Reviews onthefour-year cycle: Australia, Hong Kong China, Hungary1,India1,Indonesia,
Southern African Customs Union1,Turkey
Reviews onthesix-year cycle: Argentina, Ghana, Jamaica withTrinidad andTobago
(grouped review)1,Nigeria1,Uruguay
Reviews ofLDCs: Burkina FasowithMaliandTogo (grouped review),
Guinea, Solomon Islands
1Rescheduled from 1997 programme