RESTRICTED  
  
JOB/CTG/29  
 
5 April 2023 
(23-2403) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade in Goods    
 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS AND SUBSIDIARY BODIES  
MC12  IMPLEMENTATION MATTERS  
Better Functioning of the CTG  and its Subsidiary Bodies  
The following communication, dated 5 April 2023, was sent to Chairs and Secretaries of subsidiary 
bodies by the outgoing Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Goods ( CTG) and is being circulated 
for the information of delegations.  
 
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Dear Chairpersons and Secretaries of the Subsid iary Bodies of the Council for Trade in Goods,  
 
At its formal meeting of 3 -4 April, the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) took up agenda item 
"MC12 Implementation Matters: Functioning of the CTG and its Subsidiary Bodies and 
WTO Response to the Pandemic  – Status Report from the Chairperson". Under this agenda item, 
Members requested that I share with you the current status of work at the Council, as reflected in 
document  JOB/CTG/28 . I would like to highlight, in particular, that the Council has thus far been 
able to reach formal agreement on the following four issues:  
1. Adopting the use of the eAgenda in the work of the CTG on a trial basis ; 
2. Extending the deadline for the inclusion of agenda items to 15  calendar days before the 
formal meeting to allow Members to better prepare for the high number of trade concerns 
raised at the CTG;  
3. Instructing the Secretariat to separate newly raised trade co ncerns and place them in the 
agenda before previously raised concerns;  
4. Instructing the Secretariat to integrate the CTG  data concerning trade concerns into the 
Trade Concerns Database , subject to budgetary c onstraints . 
In addition, there are approximately 11 other issues that the Council will not discuss again, at least 
for the moment, because the Council has instructed either the CTG  Chair or the Secretariat to take 
some action towards addressing the issues,  or because they are cross -cutting issues that may need 
to be addressed at a horizontal level  or have budgetary implications . 
At the formal meeting, some Members underlined that there was broad convergence on a number 
of issues that had been discussed at t he CTG which should  also be taken up for discussion under the 
subsidiary bodies, and in particular those  related to assistance to capital -based and Geneva -based 
delegate s, planning and organization of meetings , and working procedures. While your committees  
may find inspiration in some of the actions that have been taken by the Council, it goes without 
saying that it is up to each subsidiary body to decide which issue to discuss and what kind of action 
to take to improve its functioning.  
Allow me to remind y ou that, a t a later stage, subsidiary bodies will be requested to submit a written 
report to  the CTG describing the  discussions held and improvements introduced  and that, to the 
extent possible, such written reports shall be submitted for consideration at the last formal meeting 
of the CTG, which is scheduled to take place on 30  November  2023. In this regard, and to ensure a 
smooth transition, I would appreciate your collaboration in briefing the new Chairpersons that will 
be replacing you with respect to this area of work as soon as they are appointed.  JOB/CTG/29  
 
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  Finally, I would like to thank you for your constructive engagement and hard work in this process, 
which I trust  will continue under the new Chairperson of the Council, H.E.  Dr Adamu MOHAMMED 
ABDULHAMID (Nigeria).  
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