WT/GC/W/881  
 
13 June 2023  
(23-4016) Page: 1/2 
General Council  Original: Spanish  
 
  
FUNCTIONING OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL AND ITS SUBSIDIARY BODIES  
COMMUNICATION FROM ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, PARAGUAY AND URUGUAY  
The following communication, dated 12  June 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay.  
 
_______________  
 
 
At the Twelfth Ministerial Conference, Ministers pledged to work towards the necessary reform of 
the World Trade Organization .1 
 
The delegations co -sponsoring th is communication welcome the discussions that have taken place 
in the past few months in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies on improving the functioning 
of the various regular bodies of the WTO, as well as the documents submitted by several Memb ers 
that set out concrete proposals and suggestions regarding the improvement of the functioning of 
the Organization.  
 
We consider it extremely important for these discussions to take into account the challenge posed 
by the increasing number of formal and informal meetings held at the WTO, together with the 
amount of information that such  meetings  generate on a wide variety of topics, which represents a 
challenge for all delegations, but in particular small delegations and/or those with limited human 
resour ces. These challenges can hamper delegations' work and thereby compromise outcomes in a  
Member -driven  organization  where  decisions are based on consensus.  
 
1  RESPECT FOR THE WORKING METHODS OF EACH COUNCIL AND SUBSIDIARY BODY  
1.1.  The General Council and its subsidiary bodies have common, but also specific, functions, 
objectives and working procedures that reflect the tasks mandated under the WTO Agreements, and 
it is therefore necessary to recognize that, a priori , there should be no single format or solution to 
improve the functioning of the Organization. For this reason, a case -by-case analysis is required to 
identify areas for improvement taking into account the  particularities of the General Council itself 
and each subsidiary body.  
1.2.  The ultimate goal of improving the functioning of WTO bodies will be measured by the impact 
that such improvements have on the preparation, participation and follow -up of all delegati ons in 
respect of the discussions and expected  outcomes of meetings, in an organization that requires 
consensus to achieve results and adopt decisions.  
1.3.  By way of example, discussions on improving the day -to-day functioning of the subsidiary 
bodies of the C ouncil for Trade in Goods have progressed significantly  in recent months. This 
progress must be acknowledged and encouraged, and not delayed.  
 
1 WT/MIN(22)/24.  WT/GC/W/881  
 
- 2 - 
 
  2  THE ROLE OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL IN THESE DISCUSSIONS  
2.1.  According to the Ministers' mandate, the General Council and its subsidiary bodies will conduct 
the work, review progress, and consider decisions, as appropriate, to be submitted to the next 
Ministerial Conference .2 
2.2.  The General Council, as the highest authority between Ministerial Conferences ,3 should 
facilitate t his process without curbing or impeding the "reform by doing" that the various bodies 
have already embarked upon  or may decide to undertake  within their sphere  of competence , which  
does not require a decision at the General Council level.  
2.3.  Furthermore, the General Council should consider encouraging the subsidiary Councils to 
examine how they function and to consider their own improvements, taking into account their 
particularities, under its stewardship.  At the same time, the General Council should provide a space  
for giving and receiv ing feedback on the progress of these talks, in order to ensure structured and 
coherent dialogue throughout the Organization.  
2.4.  For example, one of the aspects that should be put to the consideration of the General Counci l 
is the budgetary impact, if any, of expanding the use of digital tools (eAgenda and E -Registration). 
To move forward with this analysis, the General Council could request the Committee on Budget, 
Finance and Administration to consider the matter, which w ould go hand -in-hand with the work 
being carried out by the Information Technology Solutions Division in this respect. If the necessary 
will is there, the General Council could adopt such a decision at its next regular meeting.  
3  THE "REFORM BY DOING" APPROA CH 
3.1.  We call on Members to seek convergence and take pragmatic action as soon as possible. Recent 
discussions held in light of the mandate received from Ministers at the Twelfth  Ministerial Conference 
show that Members agree on the need to strengthen the WTO  and ensure its proper functioning, in 
line with the principles and objectives set out in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization.  
3.2.  In addition to providing space for giving  and receiving feedback and examining horizontal 
issues relating to  the reform of the Organization, the General Council should think about how to 
improve its own functioning. This should take into account the interests of all Members, on the 
principle that improvements to the functioning of the General Council sh ould facilitate the work of 
the delegations - particularly those with limited human resources - and thus expedite progress on 
the issues, and the delivery of results to our countries' citizens and businesses, on the basis of 
consensus.  
3.3.  For instance , a chan ge in the dates of General Council meetings affects the sequencing of all 
the other subsidiary bod y meetings . In this regard, an overall calendar of meetings is an incremental 
proposal, but with an important and immediate effect that will help us all to im prove our activities 
within the WTO. In order to implement this reform and afford predictability to the work conducted 
each year, the General Council should, at the last regular meeting held each year, approve the 
annual calendar for the next calendar year .4 
 
__________  
 
2 WT/MIN(22)/24, para. 3.  
3 Art. IV:2 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.  
4 A calendar of formal meetings for the whole year is a proposal already included in the Guidelines on the 
Arrangements for Scheduling of Meetings of WTO Bodies (WT/L/106). In addition, the co -sponsors emphasize 
the importance of having such a calendar, on the understanding that it would provide predictability for preparing 
meetings and act as a coordination tool to avoid overlap between the meetings of the various bodies, which, for 
reasons of substance, could be attended by the same delegates.