G/L/1454  
G/TRIMS/14  
 
28 November 2022  
(22-8868) Page: 1/5 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Trade -Related Investment Measures    
 
 
CURRENT FUNCTIONING OF THE  
COMMITTEE ON TRADE -RELATED INVESTMENT MEASURES  
REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS   
BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE -RELATED INVESTMENT MEASURES  
The following report has been prepared under the responsibility of Mrs Debora PONCE as Chairperson 
of the Committee on Trade -Related Investment Measures, with the assistance of the Secretariat, at 
the request of the Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Goods.1 
 
1  PAST EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE WORK OF  THE COMMITTEE  
The past efforts to improve the work of the Committee are referred to in detail under 
part 2 below. However, the following are the highlights of these past efforts which 
resulted in the current status of the Committee's practices : 
 
• A compila tion of all notifications under article 6.2 of the Agreement is prepared and circulated 
by the Secretariat as the need arises, pursuant to a decision of the Committee dated 
30 October 1996 and reflected in document G/TRIMS/5.  
 
• A call for notification unde r Article 6.2 of the Agreement is issued twice a year ahead of each 
meeting (pursuant to the Chairperson's report on ways to improve timeliness and 
completeness of notifications, which is reflected in the minutes of the meeting held on 
20 May 20092).  
 
• An annotated draft agenda is circulated at least three weeks prior to the meetings, pursuant 
to the Rules of Procedure of the Committee.  
 
• Members are reminded and encouraged by the Chair, at every meeting, to provide their 
missing notification under Articl e 6.2.  
 
• Courtesy copies of all room documents issued prior to the meetings and placed online are 
also sent to a regularly updated contact list of delegations.  
 
2  CURRENT STATUS OF COMMITTEE PRACTICES  
2.1  Assistance to delegates  
- The Committee does not regular ly organize training activities for Geneva -based delegates on the 
practical aspects of its functioning and has never been requested by Members to provide such 
activities. The Secretariat systematically provides assistance to all delegations involved in the  
meetings before and after such meetings.  
 
- Ahead of each meeting of the Committee, the Secretariat circulates a "reminder" recalling the 
dates of the next meeting as well as deadlines to request that items be placed on the agenda of the 
meeting. It also  contacts delegations (by phone/email/in person) to remind them of the upcoming 
 
1 See document JOB/CTG/18.  
2 See document G/TRIMS/M/28.  G/L/1454 • G/TRIMS/14  
 
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  meeting, the issues raised and whether there are any outstanding questions to answer before or at 
the meeting.  
- The Committee has not undertaken specific initiatives to incre ase the participation of capital -based 
officials per se , as the Committee is regularly attended by capital -based delegations. The Secretariat 
conducts training activities for capital -based delegates on a regular basis, either in the context of 
trade policy  courses or in the context of national workshops.  
 
- The fact that the dates of upcoming meetings are proposed at the end of each meeting makes it 
easy for capital -based officials to plan their travel and organize their meeting dates with certainty 
and pr edictability. The only exception was during the COVID -19 pandemic when capital -based 
officials and in a couple of meetings Geneva -based delegates, were unable to attend in person. 
However, despite time zone differences capital -based officials attended onli ne meetings via 
Interprefy and interacted effectively.  
 
2.2  Organization of Committee work  
2.2.1   Digital tools used for Committee work  
- All correspondence between the Secretariat and delegates involved in the activities of the 
Committee takes place by email.  
 
- Interprefy is now offered at each meeting, along with the physical presence of delegates in the 
room.  
 
2.2.2   Planning and organization of meetings  
- The proposed dates for upcoming meetings, as well as proposed deadlines for the submission of 
items to be placed o n the agenda, are announced by the Chair at the end of each meeting so that 
delegations can plan their work accordingly.  
 
- An annotated draft agenda is circulated at least three weeks prior to the meetings of the 
Committee.  
 
- Written questions and answers received from Members are circulated by the Secretariat upon 
receipt.  
 
2.2.3   Regular meetings and meetings of informal subsidiary bodies  
Table 1: Number of formal and informal meetings  
Year Formal meeting  
(number and duration)  Informal meetings  
(number and duration  Other (e.g. workshops, 
symposia, etc.)  
2019  Twice (half day each)  n.a n.a 
2020  Once (half day in autumn) (No 
Spring meeting due to COVID)  n.a. n.a. 
2021  Twice (half day each)  n.a. n.a. 
2022  Twice (half day each)  n.a. n.a. 
2.2.4   Annotated draft agendas and airgrams  
- The Committee issues detailed annotated draft agendas3 at least three weeks before the meeting, 
where different items are listed along with the relevant information and deadlines. It also informs 
Members of the date by which they can submit any comments or add any items to the agenda, prior 
to the issuance of  the formal airgram convening the meeting.  
 
 
3 Table 2.  G/L/1454 • G/TRIMS/14  
 
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  - The formal airgram is issued at a minimum 10 days prior to the meeting. The airgram contains the 
proposed agenda which has already been circulated in detailed form in the annotated draft agenda 
document along with any items requested to be placed by the set deadline on the agenda by any 
Member. The order of the agenda is fixed, whereby items requested by Members are listed first, 
followed by notifications under Article 6.2, followed by Other Business, date of t he next meeting, 
election of officers (Spring meeting) and adoption of the Committee's Annual Report to the Council 
for Trade in Goods (Autumn meeting).  
Table 2: Preparation of annotated draft agendas and airgrams  
Year Date of formal meeting  Date of circul ation of 
airgram  No. of days before the 
meeting  
2019  6 June 2019  
13 November 2019  27 May 2019  
1 November 2019  10 
2020  15 September 2020  4 September 2020  12 
2021  23 March 2021  
12 October 2021  12 March 2021  
1 October 2021  11 
11 
2022  23 March 2022  
12 October 2022  11 March 2022  
30 September  2022 12 
12 
 
2.2.5   Other documents circulated before and after the meetings  
- Prior to each meeting, the Secretariat circulates a list reflecting the status of notifications under 
Article 6.2 as well as a call for such notifications which are still pending.  
 
- Prior to each meeting, the Secretariat circulates an updated list of contact details of delegations 
for Members' review and submission of further updates, if any.  
 
- Prior to the October meeting, the Secretariat circulates the draft annual report for Members' review 
and written comments.  
 
- The Secretariat receives answers  and questions from Members as well as notifications under 
Article  6.2. These are formatted and circulated upon receipt, and they are automatically placed on 
the agenda of the next meeting.  
 
2.2.6   Preparation of the minutes  
- Minutes produced are those for the r egular meetings of the Committee.  
 
- The Secretariat starts drafting the minutes of the meetings immediately after the Regular meeting 
but can only finalize the first draft when it receives all the written versions of the statements or after 
the recording  of the meeting is transcribed to make sure that the minutes are comprehensive, 
accurate and complete. The minutes are basically a detailed summary of what Members said at the 
meeting. The draft minutes are then sent to Members that took the floor at the m eeting to comment 
on whether the summary reflects their interventions or not. The draft minutes are also sent to 
Members regarding which item was raised, even if they did not take the floor, to alert them that 
there was an issue raised. Members who took th e floor at the meeting are given 10  calendar  days 
to comment on their own interventions. The minutes are immediately circulated past that deadline 
after introducing the necessary changes, if any.  G/L/1454 • G/TRIMS/14  
 
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  Table 3: Preparation of the minutes/summary reports  
Year Last date of the 
formal meeting  Date of circulation 
of the minutes  No. of pages  No. of days  
2019  6 June 2019  
13 November 2019  20 September 2019  
14 January 2020  13 
10 106 
62 
2020  15 September 2020  30 October 2020  8 45 
2021  23 March 2021  
12 October 2021  25 May 2021  
2 December 2021  9 
8 63 
51 
2022  23 March 2022  
12 October 2022  25 April 2022  
To be circulated  8 33 
 
2.2.7   Informal meetings  
- The Committee does not hold informal meetings.  
Table 4: Convening of informal meetings  
Year Date of informal meeting  Date of communication 
convening the informal 
meeting  No. of days  
2019   
 
NONE  2020  
2021  
2022  
 
2.3  Substantive work  
2.3.1   Notifications  
- The only notification obligation currently in force is the obligation to notify publications in which 
TRIMs may be found, pursuant to Article 6.2 of the Agreement.  
 
- A call for notification under Article 6.2 (provided for in the minutes of the meeting held on 
20 May 2009) is issued twice a year ahead of each meeting.  
 
- A compilation of all notifications under article 6.2 of the TRIMs Agreement is prepared and 
circulated by the Secretariat as the need arises.  
 
- The Committee's annual report includes several tables reflecting the status of all types of 
notifications submitted by Members and those that are missing.  
 
- At every Committee meeting, the Chair raises the issue of missing notifications and strongly urges 
Members to fulfil their notification obligations. This is reflected in the minutes of all Committee 
meetings and in the Committee's annual reports.   
 
2.3.2   Reports prepared by the Secretariat  
- Prior to the last meeting of the year, the Secretariat issues a draft annual report to Members for 
commen ts. These reports are adopted by the Committee at the end of the last meeting of the year.  G/L/1454 • G/TRIMS/14  
 
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  2.3.3   Participation by external stakeholders  
NONE  
 
2.3.4   Work with other Committees or WTO bodies  
NONE  
 
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