JOB/GC/204/Rev.5  
JOB/CTG/14/Rev.5  
 
25 June 2021 
(21-5160) Page: 1/4 
General Council  
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
 
PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY AND STRENGTHEN  
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER WTO AGREEMENTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, COSTA RICA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
ISRAEL, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, 
KINMEN AND MATSU, UNITED KINGDOM, AND THE UNITED STATES  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 25 June 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the European U nion, Israel, Japan, New 
Zealand, the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, United Kingdom, 
and the United States.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Draft General Council Decision  
 
Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notification R equirements  
Under WTO  Agreements  
 
Decision of X  Date  
 
 
The General Council,  
 
Recognizing  that transparency and notification requirements constitute fundamental elements 
of many WTO  agreements and a properly functioning WTO  system, and thus of Members' 
obligations;  
 
Acknowledging  the chronic low level of compliance with existing notification r equirements 
under many WTO  agreements;  
 
Recalling  the difficulties that some Members are facing to comply fully with the notification 
requirements due to capacity limitations, and the necessity to give appropriate consideration to such 
difficulties and pro vide appropriate technical assistance to those Members to address them; and  
 
Desiring  to strengthen and enhance transparency and improve the operation and effectiveness 
of notification requirements;  
 
Decides as follows:  
 
Scope of Decision  
 
1. For the purpose of this decision "notification" shall mean the notification obligations in relation 
to each of the following WTO  Agreements and Understandings:  
 
Agreement on Agriculture;  
Agreement on Implementation of Article  VI of the GATT  1994 (Anti -Dumping);  JOB/GC/204/Rev.5 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.5  
 
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  Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures;  
Agreement on Safeguards;  
Understanding on the Interpretation of Article  XVII of the GATT  1994 (State Trading);  
Agreement on Implementation of Article  VII of the GATT  1994 (Customs Valuation);  
Agreement on I mport Licensing Procedures;  
Agreement on Rules of Origin;  
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection;  
Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (G/L/59/Rev.1);  
Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures;  
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;  
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; and  
Agreement on Trade Facilitation, Section  I. 
 
Reaffirming existing commitments  
 
2. The Members reaffirm existing notification obligations and recommit to submi tting timely 
notifications.  
 
Engagement in WTO  bodies to facilitate compliance  
 
3. The General Council instructs the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures 
(Working Group) to:  
 
(a) meet initially within six  months of this decision to deve lop recommendations on 
improving Member compliance with notification obligations;  
 
(b) consult with relevant committees and other working groups and bodies as appropriate 
and identify both systemic and specific improvements such as introducing simplified 
notification formats, updating reporting requirements, holding additional trainings and 
workshops at the committee level, and using new digital tools that can help Members 
improve compliance with notification obligations;  
 
(c) consult with the WTO  Secretari at as appropriate, including the WTO  Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC), to assess the contribution of 
WTO trade -related technical assistance to improving notification compliance and 
submission of notifications to the Central Registry of Notifications;  
 
(d) work with the Secretariat to update the Technical Cooperation Handbook on Notification 
Requirements for each of the agreements and understandings listed in paragraph  1 and 
present it to the Council for Trade in Goods;  
 
(e) review G/L /223 and recommend revisions to the report to [streamline/standardize] the 
factual analysis of Members ' notification compliance;  
 
(f) consult with the Secretariat on ways the WTO 's internal record -keeping procedures as 
regards notifications compliance can be streamlined and improved;  
 
(g) work with the relevant committees and the Secretariat to create a dedicated page on 
the WTO  website with resources, guidance, training videos, and other materials as 
relevant to aid Members in completing notifications;  
 
(h) work with the Secretariat to establish automatic reminder emails to Members, via the 
eRegistration system, [x]  weeks before a notification is due; and  
 
(i) report to the Council for Trade in Goods on its findings and recommendations within 
two years of the adoption of this decision, and provide updates at each subsequent 
meeting.  
 
4. The General Council instructs the Trade Policy Review Body to ensure that within one  year of 
this decision all trade policy reviews inclu de a specific, standardized focus on the Member's 
compliance with its notification obligations. The Secretariat shall include within country reports 
specific information on notification compliance by the Member. For preparing notifications, Members JOB/GC/204/Rev.5 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.5  
 
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  are enc ouraged to make use, as appropriate, of the information on Members ' trade policies and 
practices available under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism . 
 
5. The General Council instructs the Committee on Agriculture to review and update G/AG/2 
within two  years of this decision, with a view to improving Members' compliance with notification 
obligations.  
 
6. Members are encouraged to bring to the attention of the relevant Committees any notifications 
that a Member considers have not been made.  
 
Explanation for del ay 
 
7. A Member that fails to submit a notification within the applicable notification deadline should 
submit to the relevant Committee within six  months after the relevant notification deadline and 
every six  months thereafter an explanation for the delay,  the anticipated time -frame for its 
notification, and any elements of a partial notification that a Member can produce to limit any delay 
in transparency.  
 
Technical assistance and capacity building  
 
8. Any Member may request assistance from the Secretaria t in compiling and completing a 
notification. The Secretariat is instructed to provide such assistance in full consultation with that 
Member.  
 
9. A Member encountering difficulty in fulfilling its notification obligations shall not be subject to 
measures u nder paragraph  11(a) until two  years after the notification deadline has passed provided 
it has:  
 
(a) requested assistance and support for notification -related capacity building from the 
Secretariat, whether in the form of WTO  trade -related technical assis tance, ad hoc 
assistance for a particular notification, or capacity building; and  
 
(b) submitted written information to the Secretariat, the Working Group, and the relevant 
Committee on the assistance and capacity building needed in order to submit the 
relevant notification.  
 
10. A Least Developed Country Member encountering difficulty in fulfilling its notification 
obligations shall not be subject to any measures under paragraph  11 provided it has:  
 
(a) requested assistance and support for notifications -related capacity building from the 
Secretariat, whether in the form of WTO  trade -related technical assistance, ad hoc 
assistance for a particular notification, or capacity building; and  
 
(b) submitted written information to the Secretariat, t he Working Group, and the relevant 
Committee on the assistance and capacity building needed in order to submit the 
relevant notification.  
 
Administrative measures  
 
11. Beginning in [2025] [2026]1, a Member that fails to submit a notification within the ap plicable 
notification deadline2 shall be subject to the following measures:  
 
 
1 As regards notifications which are outstanding as of 1 January  [2025] [2026], Members which have 
not submitted the relevant notification(s) shall be subject to administrative measures no sooner than 
1 January  [2026]  [2027].  
2 For the purposes of this decision, the SPS  Committee and TBT  Committee, respectively, will develop 
guidelines on the conditions under which a Member shall be deemed to ha ve failed to provide a required 
notification with respect to ad hoc  notifications for the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade such that administrative measures shall 
be applied pu rsuant to paragraph  11 of this decision. This decision shall not apply to ad hoc  notifications under 
the TBT or SPS  Agreements until the relevant guidelines have been adopted.  JOB/GC/204/Rev.5 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.5  
 
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  (a) Phase  1 Measures  shall apply to a Member one  year after the expiry of the notification 
deadline.  
 
A Member subject to Phase  1 Measures:  
 
(i) shall be designated as a "WTO Member with notification delay ", and shall be 
identified as such when offered the floor in the General Council;  
 
(ii) shall be called upon to speak in WTO  formal meetings after all other 
WTO Members have taken the floor, but b efore any observers; and  
 
(iii) shall have its overall notification compliance reported upon annually by the 
Secretariat in the Council for Trade in Goods as part of the reporting for G/L/223.  
 
(b) Phase  2 Measures  shall apply to a Member that has been subject to Phase  1 Measures 
for one  year, and has nevertheless not submitted the relevant notification(s). Upon 
request of a Member subject to Phase  1 Measures that continues to encounter difficulty 
in fulfilling its notification obligations, the Committee to which the notification must be 
submitted may decide whether the Member with notification delay shall be exempted 
[for X  amount of time] from the application of Phase  2 Measures.  
 
In addition to the Phase  1 Measure s which shall continue to apply, a Member subject to 
Phase  2 Measures:  
 
(i) shall have its notification performance reported upon by the Secretariat annually 
at General Council Meetings;  
 
(ii) may pose questions during Trade Policy Reviews, but Members sha ll not be 
obliged to respond; and  
 
(iii) shall not have its representatives be nominated to preside over WTO  bodies.  
 
12. Phase  1 and 2 Measures shall be immediately rescinded when the Member has submitted the 
relevant notification(s).  
 
13. When measures a re applied at Phases  1 and 2, the Director -General shall inform the relevant 
Minister representing that Member.  
 
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