RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/RTA/M/15  
 
30 November  2021 
(21-9024) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Fifteenth Dedicated Session on Regional Trade 
Agreements    
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 10 NOVEMBER  2021 
Chairman: H.E. Dr Muhammad Mujtaba Piracha  (Pakistan ) 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. NOTIFICATIONS RECEIVED  ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
(I) Notification concerning the Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme 
(CEPT) Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) (WT/COMTD/RTA21/N/1,  
WT/COMTD/RTA21/N/1/ADD.1)  ................................ ................................ ............................  2 
C. STATUS OF THE WORK OF THE DEDICATED SESSION  ................................ ..............  2 
(I) Status of the preparation of factual presentations - Report by the Chairman  
(WT/COMTD/RTA/W/8)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  2 
D. CONSIDERATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  ................................ .............  2 
(I) Partial Scope Agreement between Mexico and Ecuador (G oods) (WT/COMTD/RTA3/N/1, 
WT/COMTD/RTA3/1, WT/COMTD/RTA3/2)  ................................ ................................ ..............  2 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 2 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that, b efore turning to the draft agenda for the present meeting, he 
wished  to say a few words about the consideration of the Free Trade Agreement between Morocco 
and the United Arab Emirates in the Dedicated Session on Regional Trade Agreements ( RTAs) of the 
Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) . The factual presentation on this agreement was 
circulated on 6 August 2021 in document WT/COMTD/RTA1/1 . The agreement was originally 
scheduled to be considered at the present meeting , and i n preparation f or th e consideration, 
Members had been  invited to submit any written questions on the agreement to the Secretariat by 
10 September 2021. This part of the process had therefore been completed, with no written 
questions having been received.  However, as he had  informed Members in a communication dated 
7 October 2021, a request was subsequently received from the parties for the consideration of the 
agreement to be postponed. In light of this request, and as he had  indicated in his communication  
to Members, the consideration of the Free Trade Agreement between Morocco and 
the United  Arab Emirates w ould therefore take place at the next meeting of the CTD's Dedicated 
Session on RTAs.  He then turned to the draft agenda for the present meeting , which  was contained 
in Airgram WTO/AIR/COMTD/RTA/10/Rev.1, circulated on 29  October 2021. He inquired whether  
there were any requests to raise a matter under "Other Business" . 
 
2. A repres entative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  
said that he wished to make a brief announcement under "Other Business" concerning an upcoming 
training course organized by UNCTAD.  
 
3. The agenda was adopted  as amended .  WT/COMTD/RTA/M/15  
 
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  B. NOTIFICATIONS RECEIVED  
(I) Notification concerning the A greement  on the Common Effecti ve Preferential Tariff 
Scheme (CEPT) Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)  
(WT/COMTD/RTA 21/N/1, WT/COMTD/RTA21/N/1/Add.1 ) 
4. The Chairman  said that  a notification had been received from the member States of the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who were informing  the Committee that the 
Agreement on the CEPT-AFTA was superseded by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.  He noted 
that the Agreement on the CEPT -AFTA was originally notified under the Enabling Clause in 
GATT  document L/7111, dated 30 October 1992.  In order to provide the context for the new 
notification by the ASEAN member States, the originally notified text of the Agreement on the 
CEPT-AFTA ha d been reproduced in document WT/COMTD/RTA21/N/1. The new notification, 
informi ng that the Agreement on the CEPT -AFTA was superseded by the ASEAN Trade in Goods 
Agreement, ha d been circulated in document WT/COMTD/RTA21/N/1/Add.1 . 
5. The representative of the United States  thanked the parties for th e notification and for 
participating in th e transparency exercise.  
 
6. The Committee took note  of the notification , and of the interventions.  
C. STATUS OF THE WORK OF THE DEDICATED SESSION  
(I) Status of the preparation of factual presentations - Report by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/RTA/W/ 8) 
7. The Chairman  said that his  report on the status of the preparation of factual presentations of 
RTAs notified under the Enabling Clause  was contained in document WT/COMTD/RTA/W/ 8. 
The report indicated that , while the factual presentation on the agreement between 
the Gulf Cooperation Council and Singapore was to be issued, it was still not possible for the 
Secretariat to finalize a number of  other  factual presentations. In some cases, the Secretariat was 
still awaiting the submission of the full set of data, while in others , all comments on the draft factual 
presentations ha d not been received. He urged all the parties to these agreements to provide the 
data and information as soon as possible. He also noted that his report referenced one RTA  notified 
under the Enabling Clau se that had not been ratified by all the parties. This was the 
Pacific  Island  Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA). Following the procedures of the 
Committee  on Regional Trade Agreements, a factual presentation on PICTA would only be drafted 
after the agreement had been ratified by all the parties. The  parties to PICTA were urged to inform 
the Secretariat as soon as all ratifications were complete.  
8. The representative of the United States  thanked the Secretariat for its diligence in advancing 
the prepara tion of factual presentations for several RTAs. She also urged Members with outstanding 
information or comments  to submit them to the Secretariat as soon as possible . 
9. The Committee took note  of the Chairman's report, and of the interventions.  
D. CONSIDERATION  OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
(I) Partial Scope Agreement between Mexico and Ecuador  (Goods)  (WT/COMTD/RTA 3/N/1, 
WT/COMTD/RTA 3/1, WT/COMTD/RTA 3/2)1 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
10. The representative of UNCTAD  said that an online global training course titled "Negotiating 
RTAs for trade in times of crisis and pandemic " was being organized by UNCTAD from 22 November 
to 14 December  2021, in cooperation with the U nited Nations Economic and Social Commission for 
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).  The COVID -19 pandemic ha d revealed countries ' reliance on ad -hoc 
unilateral measures in response to the crisis. While hundreds of RTAs ha d been signed, they 
 
1 The minutes relating to the consideration of this agreement are contained in document  
WT/COMTD/RTA 3/M/1.  WT/COMTD/RTA/M/15  
 
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  appear ed to have provided limited guidance on handling trade under pandemic situations. Against 
this backdrop, the objective of the course was to strengthen the understanding and capacity of 
participants in designing and drafting legal provisions in RTAs so that trade agreements c ould 
promote greater preparedness and resilience of  the parties to cope with future crises. In particular, 
the course w ould provide a range of drafting options of provisions that could  be used in future RTAs. 
The course would  be held on UNCTAD 's e-learning platform and consist ed of pre-recorded video 
lectures and readings; online quizzes to test participants ' understandings ; and interactive 
live sessions with the participation of guest speakers. The live sessions were scheduled on 7, 9 and 
14 December  2021. He went on to say that the  online course was put together  within the framework 
of a United Nations  global initiative to develop model provisions for trade in times of crisis and 
pandemic in regional and other trade agreements , which started in May 2020. The initiative was led 
by UN ESCAP in cooperation with UNCTAD, and with the participation of all U nited Nations Regional 
Commissions, as well as the WTO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , 
and involved a series  of joint activities. A global policy hackathon was firstly conducted between May 
and June 2020 to generate and promote innovative ideas on how to tackle crisis situations under 
trade agreements . Based on the outcomes of the hackathon, a "Handbook on Provisions and Options 
for Trade in Times of  Crisis and Pandemic " was prepared , which formed the basis for the upcoming  
UNCTAD online training course. A pilot online course on the same topic was successfully organized 
for the Asia -Pacific region by UNESCAP between  July and August 2021. Building on t hese 
experiences, the upcoming  course sought  to reach out to Geneva -based trade negotiators and the 
broader global audience. The online cours e was  open to the public , and was  intended for anyone 
working in the international trade field, including  trade neg otiator s, policymaker s, researcher s, civil 
society and private sector representatives. In closing, he  encourage d and welcome d the participation 
of interested delegations in th e training course , for which the r egistration deadline was 
18 November  2021. Further details o n the course were available on the UNCTAD website. The exact  
link would  be provided to the Secretariat for delegations'  information . 
11. The Chairman  encouraged delegations to register for the course. He invited UNCTAD to 
disseminate information on the course to the missions in Geneva, so that capitals could also be 
informed.  
12. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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