WT/REG/W/153  
 
19 October 20 20 
(20-7186) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements    
 
DRAFT REPORT ( 2020 ) OF THE  
COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL  
CHAIRM AN: MR MĀRTIŅŠ KREITUS (LATVIA)  
 
 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  The first meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements ( CRTA ) in 2020, originally 
scheduled for 7 and 8 April , was suspended  following the announcement made by the WTO Director -
General on 16 March 2020 of a temporary suspension of all WTO meetings due to the COVID -19 
pandemic.  
1.2.  Accordingly, f ollowing  an exceptional procedure  conducted by  the Chairman of the General 
Council , Ambassador Mārtiņš Kreitus (Latvia) was formally appointed as Chairman of the CRTA on 
11 May 2020.   
1.3.  Despite the limitations and restrictions caused by the pandemic, the CRTA was able to resume 
its activities. D uring 2020, the Committee held three sessions (in Ju ly, September and November). 
Meeting s were in-person with a virtual add -on through the Interpr efy platform. The minutes of those 
meetings are listed in the Attachment. Four sessions are foreseen in 2021, depending on the 
Committee's workload.  
2  OBSERVER STATUS  
2.1.  No decision was taken with respect to the requests for observer status listed in document 
WT/REG/W/11/Add.4/Rev.2.   
3  EARLY ANNOUNCEMENTS  
3.1.  In the period 16 October 2019 to 15 October 2020, no early announcements were received 
from Members . 
4  NOTIFICATIONS  
4.1.  In the period 16 October 2019 to 15 October 2020, the CRTA received 12 notifications of  new 
RTAs, seven  on trade in goods notified under Article XXIV of GATT 1994, and five on trade in services  
notified under Article  V of GATS.1 The CRTA also received additional notifications on two notified 
agreements .2 
4.2.  In an effort to enc ourage the notification of non -notified RTAs, the Chairmen with the help of 
the Secretariat, continued to draw up and circulate in advance of CRTA meetings a list of non -notified 
 
1 Hong Kong, China -Australia (G&S); Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) -Iran (G); European Union -
Singapore (G&S); Chile -Indonesia (G); Peru -Australia (G&S); European Union -Viet Nam (G&S); United States -
Mexico -Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA/T -MEC) (G&S) . 
2 EFTA-Philippines (G&S) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, G&S). WT/REG/W/153  
 
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  RTAs which have been verified by their parties as being in force and appeared  in factual presentations 
circulated between September 2009 and November 2020.3  
4.3.  At the 96th Session, the EU thanked LAIA member countries for their answers to its follow -up 
questions  and for the subsequent notifications of the agreements falling under th e framework of the 
Treaty of Montevideo, made under the Enabling Clause . Regarding the notification of the remaining 
agreements still appearing in the list  of non -notified agreements, LAIA Parties indicated that they 
were working to resolve these issues as soon as possible . 
4.4.  At the 96th Session , the delegation of Brazil inquired about the inclusion of certain agreements 
in the list of non-notified agreements . At the 97th Session the Secretariat indicated that two of the 
three agreements had been  taken off the list.  
5  CONSIDERATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
5.1.  In the period 16 October 2019 to 15 October 2020, 12 factual presentations were distributed 
reflecting 15 notifications, counting goods and services separately, all of which were used as the 
basis for consideration of RTAs in the CRTA in 2020.4  
5.2.  In an effort to unblock the backlog in the receipt of delayed data and comments , the Chairm an 
consulted with a number of delegations and encouraged them to  provide the missing information  as 
soon as possible . The Chairm an with the help of the Secretariat drew up and circulated in advance 
of CRTA meetings a list of such RTAs.5 
5.3.  Although considerable progress has been made in the preparation of factual presentations, the 
Committee continues to experience some difficulties in adhering to its work programme. This is due 
to a number of factors: delays in the receipt of statistical data from parties, data discrepancies in 
Members' submissions, and delays in the receipt of comments from parties.  
6   SUBSEQUENT NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING  
6.1.  In the period 16  October 2019 to 15 October 2020, no notification s of changes were received.  
6.2.  The Secretariat circulated a list of RTAs subject to end of implementation (EOI) reports as of 
15 April 2020 (document WT/REG /W/148). EOI reports were due for 145 RTAs, and the EOI for 
twelve  RTAs was in 2020. The EOI for  106 RTAs is from 2021 onwards, while for one RTA the EOI 
year is not available . One such report w as submitted in the period 16 October 2019 to 15 October 
20206.  
7  DATABASE ON RTAS  
7.1.  The Secretariat continues t o update  the database on individual RTAs , in accordance with the 
requirements of the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs . 
7.2.  At the 96th Session, the Chairman drew delegates' attention to new material posted in the RTA 
pages of the WTO website . These include infographics on facts and figures on RTAs for the period 
January -June 2020, t he Handbook on Notification Requirements , which include s a section on 
notification obligations under the legal provisions relating to RTAs , and "the Key CRTA documents" 
 
3 Documents WT/REG/W/ 146/Rev.1 , WT/REG/W/ 149, WT/REG/W/ 151 and WT/REG/W/154  (to be 
issued) . 
4  Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) –Japan (G); ASEAN –Republic of Korea (G); 
Agreement between the G UAM participating States (Republic of Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine) 
(G); Chile–Indonesia (G); EFTA –Philippines (G&S ); Hong Kong, China –Australia (G&S) ; Hong Kong, China –
Georgia (G&S); India–Republic of Korea (G);  European Union –Armenia (S) ; European Union –Cameroon (G);  
European Union -SADC States (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Esw atini) (G); 
Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) –Israel (G) . 
5 Documents WT/REG/W/ 147, WT/REG/W/ 150, WT/REG/W/ 152 and WT/REG/155 (to be issued) . 
6 Hong Kong, China -New Zealand,  documents WT/REG291/R/I and WT/REG291/R/I/Corr .1 (in English 
only). WT/REG/W/153  
 
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that provide s a link to all relevant legal provisions on RTAs and other relevant material such as the 
notification formats.  
8  TECHNICAL ASSISTANC E 
8.1.  [At the 98th Session of the Committee, the Secretariat gave an account of the RTA -related 
technical assistance activities it had undertaken in 2020 and those planned for 2021.] 
9  PROCEDURES TO IMPROVE AND FACILITATE THE EXAMINATION PROCESS  
9.1.  No discussion took place on this item.  
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 WT/REG/W/153  
 
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  ATTACHMENT  
MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS HELD IN 2020 
Ninety -Sixth Session – 27 July 2020  
 
 WT/REG/M/ 96 
 
 WT/REG277/M/1 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Japan, goods  
 WT/REG287/M/2 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Republic of 
Korea , goods  
 WT/REG39 7/M/1 Hong Kong, China - Georgia , goods and  services  
 WT/REG3 93/M/1 Peru - Honduras , goods  and services7 
 WT/REG38 3/M/1 Agreement between the Guam participating States (Republic of 
Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine) , goods  [non-member]  
 
Ninety -Seventh  – 22 September 2020 
 
 WT/REG/M/ 97 
 
WT/REG405/M/1 European Union - Armenia , services  
WT/REG398/M/1 Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) - Israel , goods 
 
Ninety -Eighth Session – 18 November 2020 (to be issued ) 
 WT/REG/M/ 98 
 
WT/REG/W/ 153 Draft Report ( 2020) of the CRTA to the General Council  
WT/REG274/M/1 European Union - Cameroon , goods   
WT/REG381 /M/1 European Union – SADC States (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, 
Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini) , goods  
WT/REG286/M/2  India – Republic of Korea, goods  
WT/REG394/M/1  EFTA – Philippines, goods and services  
WT/REG400/M/1  Hong Kong, China – Australia, goods and services  
WT/REG403/M/1  Chile – Indonesia, goods  
 
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7 The factual presentation was d istributed in the period 16 October 2018 to 15 October 2019.