WT/TPR/ R/16 
 
17 July 2023 
(23-4836) Page: 1/2 
Trade Policy Review Body   
 
 
SEVENTH APPRAISAL OF THE T RADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM  
REPORT ON THE THREE  DEDICATED SESSION S ON 10, 11 AND 13 JULY 2023 
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Saqer Abdullah ALMOQBEL (Kingdom of Saudi  Arabia)  
1. The Trade Policy Review Body met on 10, 11, and 13 July 2023 to hold three dedicated 
sessions  under the three baskets of issues: question -and-answer process; Secretariat report; and 
"Other Issues" . The meeting s were chaired by Ambassador H.E. Mr Saqer ALMOQBEL  (Kingdom of 
Saudi  Arabia) .  
2. During these meetings , the Chair invited delegations to comment  on some of the Chair's 
reworked draft conclusions following Members' suggestions during previous dedicated sessions . In 
the meetings, t he Secretariat displayed the  Chair's reworked draft conclusions on the screen for 
Members' consideration.   
3. During the meeting o f 10 July 2023 , Members made drafting suggestions  to the three 
conclusions on the Secretariat report : (i) independence and responsibility of the Secretariat in writing 
high quality, objective, coherent, and consistent reports across all Members; (ii) request ing the 
Secretariat to produce, to the extent possible, concise reports that are focused on recent trade  policy 
changes, and cover new and emerging trade policies; and (iii) refer ence to outstanding issues raised 
in the previous review.  
4. During the meeting of 11 July, Members made drafting suggestions  to three of the conclusions 
regarding the question -and ans wer (Q&A) process: (i) current and alternative timelines for 
submitting advance written questions; (ii) establishment of a Task Force for strengthening the IT 
system for the submission of written Q&A; and (iii) possible indicative cap on written questions.  In 
this meeting, Members also started making drafting suggestions on the two conclusions on meeting 
structure: (i) deferring the discussion on adding value and interactivity to TPR meeting s to the next 
Appraisal; and (ii) TPRB as the main forum to share i nformation on trade policy developments, 
especially during times of global crisis.  
5. During the meeting of 13 July, Members continued making drafting suggestions  to the 
conclusion on the possible cap on written questions; the two conclusions under meeting st ructure; 
and the paragraph regarding the date of the next Appraisal . Delegations also commented on the 
conclusions regarding the Trade Monitoring exercise , which the Secretariat also showed on the 
screen : (i) inviting the Secretariat to explore, implement and extend IT solutions to facilitate the 
trade monitoring exercise for Members, including through the digital platform for the submission 
and verification of measures online ; (ii) increased engagement and participation of Members in the 
trade monitoring e xercise, including through training and briefing sessions offered by the 
Secretariat's trade monitoring outreach programme ; and (iii) frequency of its Reports .  
6. The Chair s tated that the suggestions made throughout this Appraisal, including during these 
dedicated sessions, would be reflected in the second revision of the draft Chair Note of 26 May 2023 , 
under his own responsibility . He indicated that this draft would be circulated to delegations before a 
last dedicated session on Monday 17 July where he wou ld like to listen to Members' views and 
comments on such revised draft. After that, an informal open -ended meeting would be scheduled 
for Friday 21 July, and then a formal meeting to adopt the Appraisal Report on Wednesday 26 July.  WT/TPR/R/1 6 
 
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  7. The Chair closed the meeting by indicating Members that the n ext meeting  would take place 
on Monday  17 July at 3 p.m. in room D. 
 
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