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WT/GC/M/195  
 
15 December 2021  
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General Council  – Special Meeting  
15 December 2021    
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING1 
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD AND IN VIRTUAL FORMAT ON 15 DECEMBER 2021  
Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Dacio Castillo (Honduras)  
1  REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF THE BALI DECISION ON TRQ ADMINISTRATION – 
EXTENSION OF DEADLINE FOR A DECISION ON PARAGRAPH 4 OF THE UNDERFILL 
MECHANISM  
1.1.  The Chair  recalled that, at MC9, Ministers had adopted the Decision on Tariff Rate Quota 
Administration in document WT/MIN(13)/39 – WT/L/914 which  had also required the Committee on 
Agriculture to review and monitor the implementation of Members' obligations established under the 
Decision.  The issue of the future operation of Paragraph 4 of the Underfill Mechani sm had been  
mandated to be taken during the Review exercise. Although the Review had been  concluded in 
December 2019, Members had agreed to defer the timeline for a decision on the future operation of 
Paragraph 4 of the Underfill Mechanism to the end of 20 21. 
1.2.  This matter had been  taken up by the General Council at its November meeting. At that 
meeting, the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture had reported that the Committee had agreed to 
forward the draft decision contained in the Annex of G/AG/32 for the consideration of the General 
Council and for its subsequent transmission to the Ministerial Conference.  
1.3.  At the same time, the CoA Chair  had noted that some Members had still been consulting their 
capitals on this matter. At the end of the discussion, he ha d reminded delegations that, considering 
the end of the year deadline for a decision, Members could  be required to revisit the matter should 
they not be in a position to reach an agreement at MC12.  
1.4.  In light of the postponement of MC12, the CoA Chair had co nvened an Informal open -ended 
meeting of the Committee on Agriculture on 7 December to consult with Members on the way 
forward. Subsequent to that meeting, the CoA Chair had informed him, in a letter dated 8 December, 
that a definitive agreement on a decis ion on the future operation of paragraph 4 of the Underfill 
Mechanism had not been deemed feasible within the mandated deadline of end -2021, as some 
Members had continued to need additional time to finalize their domestic consultations and convey 
their pos ition on this matter.  
1.5.  In these circumstances, Members seemed to be agreeable to an exceptional three -month 
extension of the deadline – that was, up to 31 March 2022, strictly in order to finalize an early 
decision on this matter. The CoA Chair had also noted that this extension  was agreeable on the same 
understanding reached in the 2019 recommendations of the review (in Annex 2 to G/AG/29) namely, 
that Members listed in Annex B of the TRQ Decision retained the right to discontinue the application 
of Paragraph 4 of Annex A beyond  31 March 2022, if no decision was made to extend Paragraph 4 
of Annex A in its current or modified form by that date.   
1.6.  In his letter, the CoA Chair had requested his assistance as General Council Chair in seeking 
the General Council's endorsement of the agreement reached among Members at the Informal 
meeting of the Committee on Agriculture.  In this regard, he had sent a communication to all 
 
1 The proposed agenda was circulated in document WT/GC/W/8 39. WT/GC/M/195  
 
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  Members on 9 December. He had  proposed that if no objection had been  received by Tuesday, 14 
December, it would be  deemed that the General Council had agreed to the exceptional extension of 
the deadline for a decision on Paragraph 4 of the Underfill Mechanism until 31 March 2022.  
1.7.  In this regard, he informed delegations that he had not received any objections on the prop osed 
extension in response to his communication. One delegation had however reached out to him to 
request a meeting of the General Council to take a formal decision on this matter. As a result, he 
had convened that day's special session to formally take ac tion on this issue.  
1.8.  Therefore, unless any delegation wished to take the floor at that point, he proposed that the 
General Council agreed to the exceptional extension of the deadline for a decision on Paragraph 4 
of the Underfill Mechanism until 31 March 2022.  
1.9.  The representative of the United States  noted that the United States could support the 
proposed statement and had also been prepared to support the revised language in Paragraph 4 of 
Annex A of the Bali Decision on TRQ Administration, in order to determine the future operation of 
the underfill mechanism by the 31 December deadline. The United States had appreciated the 
significant efforts, particularly by the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Costa Rica, to 
attempt to resolve this issue in a balanced and pragmatic way that had allowed for sufficient special 
and differential treatment for developing country Members. The United States was disappointed that 
Members were not able to agree to the revised language by the deadline at the end of this year but 
could support a short extension – lasting no longer than 31 March.  
1.10.   As stated before, the United States was ready to give up its rights under Annex B of the Bali 
Decision on TRQ Administration, if the Membership could find agreement on revise d language. The 
United States had however reminded Members that in the event that language could not be agreed 
by the new 31 March deadline, the United States reserved its right, as a Member of Annex B, to no 
longer apply the underfill mechanism. The Unite d States reserved this right because it needed to 
see an inclusive mechanism with appropriate special and differential treatment. The United States 
said that this should be the last extension and urged Members to use the time wisely over the next 
three mon ths to reach a consensus on this longstanding issue.  
1.11.   The representative of the European Union  agree d to the three months extension of the 
deadline until March 2022 to reach an agreement between Members on the review of the Bali TRQ 
decision . 
1.12.   The General C ouncil so agreed  and took note  of the statements.  
2  OTHER BUSINESS  
2.1.  The representative of the European Union , speaking under  "Other Business" , had received 
information according to which shipments of goods originating in Lithuania were not being cleared 
throu gh the Chinese customs and that import applications were being rejected. This concerns 
shipments of goods with Lithuania as country of origin or exportation, or shipments where Lithuanian 
goods had been  shipped as part of EU consignments, or shipments of E U goods containing 
components from Lithuania.  The European Union hope d that this matter, which was of serious 
concern for the European Union, c ould be resolved rapidly and in line with applicable WTO rules. The 
European Union stresse d also the need for transparency in relation to the specific measures that 
were being applied at China 's customs, as a requirement under the WTO agreement as an important  
first step towards a quick and satisfactory resolution of the issue.  
2.2.  The representative of China , speaking under  "Other Business" , said that t he issue ha d been 
raised in other Committees  and that technical discussions on the matter were being conducted in  its 
capital with relevant stakeholders.  China would  abide by the WTO rules and hope d this matter  could 
be solved  smoothly.  
2.3.  The General Council took note  of the statements.  
2.4.  Before closing the meeting, the Chair  thanked Members for their flexibility for par ticipating in 
this urgent meeting. He reminded delegations that the next regular meeting of the General Council 
was currently scheduled for February 2022 and that the exact dates would be communicated as soon WT/GC/M/195  
 
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  as possible.  He also informed them that furthe r to the meeting of the General Council in November,  
Ambassador Chambovey and he had initiated consultations for the Appointment of Officers to WTO 
Bodies for 2022 – that was, for Tier 1. The y had held a first meeting with group coordinators the 
previous week and would have another meeting with them that afternoon. Ambassador Chambovey 
and he intended to communicate to Members in the coming days any progress made in those initial 
consultations. With those words, he wished them and their families all the be st during the holiday 
season.  
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