WT/GC/W/872  
 
26 April 2023  
(23-2965) Page: 1/3 
General Council  Original: English  
 
  
IMPROV ING THE OPERATION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL  AND 
HEADS OF DELEGATION/TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES  
The following communication, dated 26 April 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the United States.  
 
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1.  As a contribution to Member 's ongoing efforts to identify improvements to our way of working 
within WTO Committees and Bodies, the United States offe rs this proposal to modernize and update 
the General Council and Heads of Delegation/Trade Negotiations Committee agendas.  Our interest 
is in making preparations for the meetings more predictable and manageable for delegations and 
organizing  our discussion s and decision making to improve efficiency.  
2.  We believe that some minor modifications to the agendas for our General Council and HOD/TNC 
meetings may facilitate  more productive e ngagement from Members ; improve our ability to discuss 
relevant issues in an o rderly and direct manner ; ensure that all Members are prepared in advance 
for any specific decisions or deliberations  they may need to take part in ; and improve efficiency and 
time management of our meetings.  
3.  Our proposal is straightforward and simple.  We recommend instituting the practice of including 
an annotated agenda and organizing agenda items based on newness and the action required by or 
expected of Members.  
Informal Heads of Delegation or Trade Negotiations Committee  
4.  For meetings held under the Informal Heads of Delegation or Trade Negotiations 
Committee , specific and separate agenda items could help facilitate more direct engagement 
among Members and between Members and the Director -General . These meetings have recently 
taken on a secondary purpose, serving as the Director -General 's opportunity to engage with 
Members on issues outside of the negotiating agenda, such as suggestions for Secretariat reform, 
pension or budget related updates, or the transformation exercise.  However, the  agenda does not 
provide predictability or advance warning that would allow for a specific back and forth on these 
discrete issues.  Administrative and organizational issues such as these form an integral part of WTO 
reform discussions and deserve greater a ttention and a designated place on the agenda for more  
productive  exchanges.  
5.  We recommend that the Director -General create a separate agenda item for these updates, with 
separate and discrete sub -items indicating in advance the specific topics she intends to raise.  With 
advance notice, and a clear portion of the meeting set aside for discrete  discuss ions, we believe we 
could improve dialogue and exchange with the Director -General on important and relevant issues 
relating to issues outside of the negotiating  agenda.  
General Council  Agenda  
6.  For meetings of the General Council , we suggest including as part of each agenda item an 
indication of what action is required by Members, such as adoption, discussion or information.  We 
also propose a reorganization of the agenda items to group similar themes or action items together, WT/GC/W/872  
 
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  with the objectiv e to use the format of the agenda itself to help clarify expectations and to allow for 
easier preparation in capitals.  Our suggestions would prioritize new items and those requiring 
decisions or actions so that they occur early in the meeting when Members have t he most time 
available to engage and interact with each other.  On the other hand, items that are recurring , where 
there have been no updates or revisions , or are previously agreed upon by a subsidiary body or 
other Chair reports would appear later in  the agenda.  In that way, Members would be rewarded for 
making revisions to existing proposals  based on their outreach and feedback , and would be 
incentivized to submit items directly rather than relying on standing items with no proponents . 
Therefore, in the event that time constraints require abbreviated interventions, the priority items 
would not be sacrificed and written statements could be submitted in lieu of oral interventions if 
necessary.  
7.  We propose that the General Council Chair reorder  the agenda  in the following manner:  
Section 1 : New proposals , communications or submissions  by Members or new revisions of 
communications  previously discussed, prioritizing those requiring action or decision by the 
Council ; 
Section 2 : Additional items whe re GC action or decision is needed, including Waivers, 
CBFA  recommendations ; 
Section 3 : Chair reports, communications  or submissions  that are not specific proposals for 
action/decision but are submitted for discussion purposes only ; Members proposals for 
action/decision that have been on the agenda previously but have not been updated or 
revise d; 
Section 4 : Standing items (those with no proponents to lead or direct discussions) – TNC 
reports, Ministerial follow -up reports.  
8.  We note that Chapter II, Rule 3 of  the Rules of Procedures for the General Council (WT/L/161) 
provides the basis for creating an agenda but does not specify or limit the discretion of the 
General  Council Chair in determining the order of items proposed for any particular meeting.  
Therefore , we believe the proposal above is consistent with the current Rules of Procedure.  
9.  However, i f Members desire certainty,  the General Council could decide to modify Chapter II, 
Rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure as follows:  
The General Council decides to modi fy Rule 3  of the Rules and Procedures of the General 
Council (WT/L/161)  as follows:  
Rule 3  
A list of the items proposed for the agenda of the meeting shall be communicated to Members 
together with the convening notice for the meeting . It shall be open to any Member to 
suggest items for  inclusion in the proposed agenda up to, and not including, the day on 
which the notice of the meeting is to be issued.  [Items proposed for inclusion shall 
appear on the agenda consistent with Annex 4. ] 
[Annex 4  
The General C ouncil Chair may reorder the agenda in the following manner:  
Section 1 : New proposals, communications or submissions by Members or new 
revisions of communications previously discussed, prioritizing those requiring 
action or decision by the Council;  
Section  2: Additional items where GC action or decision is needed, including 
Waivers, CBFA recommendations;  WT/GC/W/872  
 
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  Section 3 : Chair reports, communications or submissions that are not specific 
proposals for action/decision but are submitted for discussion purposes only ; 
Members proposals for action/decision that have been on the agenda previously 
but have not been updated or revised;  
Section 4 : Standing items (those with no proponents to lead or direct discussions) 
– TNC reports, Ministerial follow -up reports.]  
General Council Time Management  
10.  We welcome the institution of a clock during General Council meetings.  While the clock has 
helped with the length of interventions, we believe more could be done.  We know that at other 
international organizations, the microp hone is simply turned off when the intervention exceeds the 
allotted time.  At a minimum here, the General Council Chair should tell a speaker when their time 
is expired.  The speaker could be provided a brief time to wrap up (for example, an additional 30 
seconds).  Once that additional time expires, the General Council Chair should announce the next 
speaker in line . Rather than restricting discussion between Members, we believe this step would 
encourage Members to utilize other venues such as subsidiary bodi es or informal open -ended 
meetings of the General Council to work toward consensus rather than relying on the formal General 
Council meetings for preliminary or technical deliberations.  
11.  Members who associate with a statement delivered on behalf of a group should limit their 
remarks to specific comments not already covered in the group statement.  
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