RESTRICTED  
  
G/TRIMS/M/54  
14 November  2023 
(23-7652) Page: 1/18 
Committee on Trade -Related Investment Measures   
 
  
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON  
12 OCTOBER  2023 
CHAIR : Mr Po -Feng HUANG (CHINESE TAIPEI)  
1. The Chair started the meeting of the Committee by referring to the proposed agenda circulated 
in WTO/AIR/TRIMS/17  dated 2 October 2023 . No additional item was raised under "Other Business" 
and the Committee adopted the following agenda:  
1  KAZAKHSTAN – PREFERENCES FOR DOMESTIC AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY  ...............  1 
2  CHINA - DRAFT OF CHINESE RECOMMENDED NATIONAL STANDARD FOR 
OFFICE DEVICES  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  2 
3  CHINA - THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC 
OF CHINA  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  3 
4  INDIA  - IMPORT RESTRICTION ON AIR CONDITIONERS  ................................ ..............  4 
5  INDONESIA - COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF LOCALIZATION MEASURES  ......................  5 
6  INDONESIA - IMPORT RESTRICTION ON CARPETS AND OTHER TEXTILES  ...................  7 
7  INDONESIA - IMPORT RESTRICTION ON AIR CONDITIONERS  ................................ ..... 8 
8  A CASE FOR REBALANCING THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE -RELATED INVESTMENT 
MEASURES (TRIMS) – POLICY SPACE TO PROMOTE INDUSTRIALIZATION AND 
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  ................................ ....... 9 
9  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 6.2 OF THE TRIMS AGREEMENT AND 
PUBLICATIONS, IN WHICH TRIMS MAY BE FOUND  ................................ ........................  17 
10  DRAFT REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS, ON THE 
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMITTEE  ................................ .........  17 
11  OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 18 
12  ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  ................................ ....... 18 
13  DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING  ................................ ................................ ...................  18 
 
2. The Chairperson  recalled that this meeting was being conducted both in -person and online via 
Interprefy, and some participants were joining remotely. He reminded the remote participants of 
the technical arrangements, before moving on to the substantive par t of the meeting.  
1  KAZAKHSTAN – PREFERENCES FOR DOMESTIC AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY  
3. The Chairperson  noted  that this item was on the agenda for the first time at the request of 
the United States . He gave the floor to the delegate of the United States . 
4. The United  States  indicated the following:  
5. In order to support its agricultural sector and promote food production, the government of 
Kazakhstan currently provides a subsidy to purchasers of agricultural machinery, which is similar for 
imported and domestically pro duced machinery. A draft measure entitled Amendments to the Order 
of the Acting Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, dated 23 July 2018, number 317, G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  or order number 317, put forth by the Ministry of Agriculture would change that situation . 
Specifically, under this proposed measure, the subsidy for the purchase of imported agricultural 
machinery would be reduced to 15%, while the subsidy for domestically produced machinery would 
be 30%.  
6. This proposed measure has remained in draft form for m any years, and we have been assured 
as recently as last March that the subsidy would be administered in a non -discriminatory manner 
that is consistent with Kazakhstan's WTO commitments, including with respect to the 
TRIMs  Agreement. However, we have been i nformed that on August 1, 2023, the Prime Minister 
instructed the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development and the Ministry of Agriculture 
to lower the investment subsidy for the imported agricultural machinery. We understand that this 
will be accomplished through finalized amendments to a Ministry of Agriculture order related to 
subsidies for agricultural machinery.  
7. We have fielded concerns from our manufacturers that such a change in policy would put their 
products at a significant competitive disadvantage. Given prior assurances we received from 
Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan's awareness of our deep interest in this issue, this news has taken us 
by surprise.  
8. Therefore, we hope that Kazakhstan can clarify the situation for us.  
9. Can Kazakhs tan inform us of the current status of any plans to change the subsidy rates for 
agricultural machinery, particularly vis -à-vis any aspect of those plans that would set a different 
level of subsidy for imported and domestically produced machinery? We reque st that Kazakhstan 
keep the Committee informed of any plans to change their policies concerning imported agricultural 
equipment. Thank you.  
10. The Chairperson  thanked the United States and offered the floor to other delegations before 
turning to Kazakhstan. N o other delegation took the floor. The Chairperson then offered the floor to 
Kazakhstan. The delegation of Kazakhstan did not take the floor .  
11. The Committee took note  of the statement made.  
2  CHINA – DRAFT OF CHINESE RECOMMENDED NATIONAL STANDARD FOR OFFICE 
DEVICES  
12. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was first considered by the Committee in October 2022 
and was on the agenda at the request of Japan. He gave the floor to the delegate of Japan.  
13. Japan  indicated the following:  
14. Japan understands that this dr aft national standard is currently undergoing public comment 
procedures and that opinions are being sought.  Regarding this draft national standard, Japan has 
expressed concerns in various Committees, including this Committee, that the provisions requiring 
the development and production of multifunction devices and printers within China may violate 
WTO Agreements, including the TRIMs Agreement and the China Accession Protocol.  
15. It is noted that the current draft national standard does not include such provisions. Also, we 
understand that discussions and procedures will proceed toward the establishment of this national 
standard. We continue to request that content that discriminates between domestic and foreign 
countries and content that could lead to de  facto requests for technology transfer be not included. 
In this regard, the provisions of this draft national standard still pose concerns about leakage of 
trade secrets and technology leakage depending on the content of information provided by office 
equipment providers for security testing of office equipment. For example, this draft national 
standard requires the provision of materials related to the supply chain, materials related to 
third-party technology, and materials related to the manufacturing pr ocess of office equipment. But 
these materials may include information related to trade secrets and sensitive technologies.  
16. We request that the design and operation of security tests, including these points, be 
consistent with international law, including the WTO Agreement.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  17. Finally, Japan plans to submit opinions regarding this draft national standard based on the 
public comment procedure, and I would like to ask China to consider the content of those opinions. 
I thank you.  
18. The Chairperson  thanked Japan  and offered the floor to other delegations before turning to 
China . No other delegation took the floor. The Chairperson then offered the floor to China .  
19. China  indicated the following:  
20. Thank you Chair and good afternoon colleagues. We thank Japan fo r the continuous interest 
in this matter. This issue has been raised in various bodies, including the Council for Trade in Goods , 
Committee on Market Access, TBT Committee, as well as this Committee. Our position in this 
Committee remains  that this is an i ssue about China's recommended national standard, so we don't 
believe that the TRIMs Committee is the appropriate place to discuss this issue. Thank you.  
21. The Committee took note  of the statement made.  
3  CHINA – THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA  
22. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was first considered by the Committee in October 2022 
and was on the agenda at the request of Japan. He gave the floor to the delegate of Japan.  
23. Japan  indicated the following:  
24. In July last year, C hina published a draft for public comment on revision of the Government 
Procurement Law. In Article 23 of the revised law, local content requirement is maintained from the 
original law, which states that "Government procurement shall procure goods, works, and services 
in the home country unless they cannot be procured within China or cannot be  obtained under 
reasonable business conditions ". However, it is only if the local content requirement truly falls under 
government procurement,  that it can be permitted as a government procurement exception under 
Article III:8(a) .  
25. However, regarding government procurement entities in Article 2 and Article 12 of the revised 
draft, "other procurement entities " have been added to the "state agencies, business units, and 
organizations " in the current Article 2.  
26. Regarding other procurement entities, Article 12 of the revised law refers to "public inter est 
state-owned enterprises that engage in public works and operate public infrastructure or public 
service networks to realize public purposes " and adds that " other procurement entities to which  this 
Law applies, and their specific scope of procurement , shall be determined by the State Council ". If 
the scope of applications of the government procurement law expands to include entities that cannot 
be considered a "government agency ", even if they are involved in pub lic infrastructure or public 
service networks, etc, it will exceed the scope of procurement exceptions.  Thus, the above local 
content requirements may violate Article 2.1 of the TRIMs Agreement and Article  III:4 of the GATT.  
27. In light of this, the State Council's definition of "other procurement entities " under Article 12 
of the revised law should not be expanded without limit.  
28. In addition to the existing local content requirements legislation, Article 23 of the revised law 
adds a new local content requirement that provides preferential treatment in government 
procurement for products with a high added value ratio within China. T his can also be permitted 
under the government procurement exception of GATT Article III :8(a) if it is truly government 
procurement, and Japan is keeping an eye on the scope of application.  Japan would like to add that 
these local content requirements are contrary to the substance and spirit of the Government 
Procurement Agreement that China is negotiating to access.  
29. These LCR measures show that China has not fulfilled the standard required by the GPA which 
China has been negotiating to join. Rather, it sh ows that the movement is going backwards. In this 
regard, we cannot help having doubts about  China's will to fulfil the standards even if China 
requested to join the GPA and other high standard agreements. Thank you.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  30. The Chairperson  thanked Japan  and offer ed the floor to other delegations before turning to 
China . No other delegation took the floor. The Chairperson then offered the floor to China .  
31. China  indicated the following:  
32. We thank Japan for the interest on this matter. Our position remains on this is sue. The 
amendment draft of China's government procurement law is not a TRIMs matter, but an issue of 
government procurement. So, we don't believe that the TRIMs Committee is an appropriate 
Committee to discuss this issue. Thank you.  
33. The Committee took not e of the statement made.  
4  INDIA  – IMPORT RESTRICTION ON AIR CONDITIONERS  
34. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was first considered by the Committee in March 2021  
and was on the agenda at the request of Japan. Questions posed to India were circulated in document 
G/TRIMS/Q/IND/1 . The Chairperson gave the floor to the delegate of Japan.  
35. Japan  indicated the following:  
36. Japan considers India's import ban on air conditioners, including refrigerants, based on 
notification number 41/2015 -2020 and introduced in October 2020, to be a measure that 
unreasonably imposes a restructuring of corporate supply chains.  Japan continues to have serious 
concerns that this measure  is likely to be an import ban that is inconsistent with Article XI:1 of the 
GATT and Article 2.1 of the TRIMs Agreement.  At the last TRIMs Committee meeting, India stated 
that Japan's concerns were not about Trade -Related Investment Measures, and it does not think it 
is a good forum to deal with this matter.  
37. However, this measure requires the localization of the main process of refrigerant filling by 
prohibiting the import of refrigerant filled air conditioners, and as such constitutes a trade -related 
investment measure. Therefore, it is appropriate to discuss this issue at the TRIMs Committee. India 
responded at its TP R and at the Council for Trad e in Goods that the measure is consistent with India's 
obligations under the Mont real Protocol. However, this i mport ban is unnecessary and irrational in 
that it covers a wide range of air conditioners that use refrigerants. And under Indian domestic law, 
refrigerants are subject neither to India's reduction and elimination obligation under the Mont real 
Protocol no r to the regulation of the ozone -depleting substance : freon gas. 
38. Japan drafted and submitted a written questionnaire in September 2021 regarding the points 
for which we would like to request a more detailed explanation. We look forward to a prompt and 
sincere response from the Indian side since the written questionnaire covers important matters as 
a prerequisite for constructive discussions to move forward.  
39. Also, India mentioned that India "updated the status at the relevant Committees " at CTG in 
July, but clear explanation was not made by India in WTO Committees. Japan has submitted written 
questions which Japan would like to request detailed explanation to in this Committee. However, 
Japan has not received answers.  
40. Regarding the highest standard certificat ion system based on the Quality Control Orders for 
air conditioners and their parts, we regret very much  that the system was enforced on 
1 October  2023 regardless of the request to further postponement by the Japanese Ambassador 's 
letter. In order to prevent delays in the certification procedure for import products, Japan would like 
to ask India that it conducts smooth overseas factory inspections by the Bureau of Indian Standards. 
Thank you.  
41. The Chairperson  thanked Japan  and offered the floor to other  delegations before turning to 
India.  
42. Korea  indicated the following:  
43. Korea shares the concerns expressed by Japan regarding India's import restriction on air 
conditioners.  Korea believes that the measure appears to be inconsistent with WTO rules, particu larly G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  Article XI:1 of the GAT T 1994 and Article 2.1 of the TRIMs Agreement, thereby creating an 
unnecessary obstacle to trade.  Korea requests that India resolve the issue in a timely manner. We 
stand ready to further engage with India. Thank you.  
44. The Chairperson  thanked Korea  and offered the floor to India. The delegation of India did not 
take the floor .  
45. The Committee took note  of the statement made.  
5  INDONESIA – COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF LOCALIZATION MEASURES  
46. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was first considered by the Committee in May 2019 
and that it was on the agenda at the request of Japan, the United States, and the European Union. 
Questions posed to Indonesia were circulated in document G/TRIMS/Q/IDN/5  and 
G/TRIMS/Q/IDN/6 . Responses provided by Indonesia were circulated in document 
G/TRIMS/Q/IDN/7  and G/TRIMS/Q/IDN/8 .  
47. The Chairperson offered the floor to the proponents, starting with Japan.  
48. Japan  indicated the following:  
49. Thank you, Chair. Japan has been expressing concerns on the WTO consistency at the 
TRIMs  Committee and CTG regarding local content requirement measures on 4G LTE machine s, TV, 
and retail , taken by Indonesia . At the last meeting, Indonesia said, "firstly, it concerns government 
procurement ; secondly, it concerns policies such as satisfying the welfare and basic needs of all 
Indonesian citizens ; thirdly,  it concerns policy -related items such as State-controlled strategic 
goods ", claiming legitimacy of the LCR measures.  
50. However, as Japan explained previously, among the LCR measures, those that fall under 
"government procurement " appear to be limited. In addition, it should be pointed out that "fulfilling 
the needs to maintain their li fe necessities ", etc, and "securing strategic resources ", cannot be 
grounds to immediately justify LCR measures under the WTO Agreement. Japan understands the 
importance of these objectives, but considers that taking LCR measures as an easy means to achiev e 
them, should not be permitted.  
51. At the last meeting, Indonesia also said as follows : "regarding the comprehensive review, I'd 
like to inform you that Indonesia has initiated multiple reviews of measures at the level of domestic 
components, and this proces s is ongoing ". In this regard, Japan would like to ask for a concrete 
explanation on the details, such as the schedule and the results of this study. These LCR measures 
are likely to be inconsistent with Article III:4 of the GATT and Article 2.1 of the TRI Ms Agreement. 
Japan would like to ask Indonesia to respond appropriately to the specific concerns of Members and 
to rectify these measures in a manner that is consistent with the WTO Agreement. Thank you.  
52. The Chairperson  thanked Japan and offered the floor  to the United States.  
53. The United States  indicated the following:  
54. Thank you, Chair. The Committee is well aware of the long -standing concerns we have with 
Indonesia's broad and expanding use of local content requirements across the telecommunications, 
mobile technology, energy, retail, and franchising sectors. The United States and other Members 
have been raising these concerns for over a decade now, and we regret that we again have to raise 
them today.  
55. In past meetings, Indonesia ha s assured us that they were conducting a comprehensive review 
of these harmful policies with the aim of removing any that may not be fully consistent with the 
TRIMs Agreement and with Indonesia's own economic interests. It is important that I underscore 
from the outset that we believe Indonesia's local content requirements run counter to Indonesia's 
own interests. Though they may help the government achieve certain short -term objectives, they 
seriously undermine Indonesia's own long -term competitiveness.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  56. This is a sentiment we hear frequently from U.S. companies interested in entering the 
Indonesian market but are discouraged by these policies. We again wish to call to Indonesia's 
attention several reports that support this perspective and highlight the dama ging nature of 
Indonesia's local content policies. Notably, the WTO Secretariat Report for Indonesia's 2020 Trade 
Policy Review summarized Indonesia's continued use of local content requirements and noted the 
long-standing and predominantly negative eviden ce of the impact of LCRs on economic development 
and trade.  
57. The World Bank in a 2020 report on Indonesia stated that Indonesia's local content 
requirements in the solar energy sector increased costs and reduced quality. And the World Bank in 
a separate 201 8 report found that Indonesia's local content requirements for electronics  "have been 
associated with stagnating exports in contrast to the high and growing level of exports and imports 
of regional peers that have maintained more open trade and investment regimes " and "have 
negatively affected  the foreign and domestic investments ". 
58. We urge Indonesia to give serious consideration to these reports. At the last meeting, we saw 
updates from Indonesia on new measures. Specifically : 1) draft regulations announced by 
Indonesia's Ministry of Industry last June, which aim to tighten and further expand local content 
requirements for laptops ; 2) formal plans announced by the Indonesian government last August, 
which aim to suppress imports, includin g through the use of local content requirements with the 
goal of substituting 35% of imported products by 2022 ; 3) formal plans announced by Indonesia's 
ICT Minister last September, which would expand existing local content requirements for 4G cell 
phones and apply a 30% local content requirement on 5G devices ; and 4)  plans to impose local 
content requirements on medical devices.  
59. We request that Indonesia make a copy of all of these draft measures publicly available and 
hold a notice and comment period to e nsure affected parties have the opportunity to provide input 
during the drafting process.  
60. At today's meeting, unfortunately, we must report to the Committee that we are hearing about 
a new possible local content requirement. We have heard reports from ind ustry that Indonesia is 
planning on implementing additional mandatory local content requirements through the Naraka 
Komoditas, the commodity balance policy, which will ban imports of certain products where sales of 
domestic products are considered out of b alance. It is our understanding that this policy will apply 
to printers, but may be extended to other products.  
61. So, our question would be for Ind onesia  to please clarify this issue for us.  We strongly urge 
Indonesia to reconsider moving forward with these policies and to reconsider its use of local content 
requirements generally.  We stand ready to work with Indonesia to discuss and develop alternate 
policies that encourage rather than mandate investment.  And we thank the Indonesian delegation 
in advance for  its responses to our questions today.  Thank you.  
62. The Chairperson  thanked the United States and offered the floor to the European Union.  
63. The European Union  indicated the following:  
64. The EU would also like to reiterate its concerns on the wide -ranging local ization requirements 
applied by Indonesia. And that has been on the agenda of this Committee for a long time. At the 
last Committee, we were informed by Indonesia that the comprehensive review is still ongoing and 
that it involves a number of ministries. W e would like to hear from Indonesia how long this review 
will still last.  
65. We deeply regret that no further progress has taken place with regard to localization measures 
applied in the other sectors discussed in the previous meetings of this Committee. Rath er, we see 
an increased resort by Indonesia to localization measures, creating further concerns for the EU and 
for other Members, as we have just heard. To recall only two key sectors where the use of localization 
measures is pervasive, the EU refers to it s longstanding concerns regarding the pharmaceutical and 
medical devices sector, and notably requirements concerning (1) local content levels for 
pharmaceutical products (Minister of Industry Regulation No 16 of 2020); (2) compulsory purchase 
of domestic p roducts  (Presidential Regulation No. 16/2018, as amended by Presidential Regulation 
No. 12 of 2021); and (3) compulsory registration of imported medicines through domestic G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  companies, as well as compulsory transfer of technology and local manufacturing requ irements no 
later than five years after the medicines start being sold in Indonesia (Ministry of Health Regulation 
No. 1010 of 2008)  government hospitals of medical devices with a Domestic Content Level and 
Benefit Weight Value of 40% or more – regardless of available foreign products – and the subsequent 
non-transparent and uncertain practice of "freezing and unfreezing " of foreign medical devices in 
the Indonesian e -catalogue for public procurement, preventing their purchase by government health 
instituti ons (Presidential Regulation 12/2021).   
66. As mentioned at the last meeting, the EU stands ready to support Indonesia's objective on 
improving health care and promoting the development of the local industry in the health sector. 
However, we still believe that  rather than imposing local content requirements, the government 
should focus on policies that will incentivize more domestic and foreign investment in the local 
industry.  Additional restrictive localization measures will only further undermine the attractiveness 
of Indonesia as a market of choice for research based pharmaceutical investors.  
67. Second, regarding the energy sector, such as mining, oil and gas. We continue to be  concerned 
with (1) the local content requirements for goods and services in the energy sector, including mining, 
oil and gas, electricity and renewables : Decree number 1953 of 2018 ; (2) the requirement for license 
holders to prioritize the utilization of domestic goods and services according to the prevailing laws 
and regulation : Regulation 34 of 2017. Given that foreign companies are not regarded as providing 
domestic services in this regulation, even if they are locally incorporated, we consider that thi s 
measure de facto  creates discrimination.  
68. We understand that similar measures are introduced by the Mining Law on which we would 
welcome further information. Thank you very much for your attention.  
69. The Chairperson  thanked the European Union  and offered th e floor to other delegations before 
turning to Indonesia. No other delegation took the floor. The Chairperson then offered the floor to 
Indonesia . 
70. Indonesia  indicated the following:  
71. Thank you, Chair. First of all, Indonesia appreciates the continued intere st of concer ned 
Members investing in our country, and we understand that some Members have concerns about our 
local content measures. And we would like to reiterate that these measures have been implemented 
to ensure that the government supports domestic i ndustries and promotes economic development 
to meet the needs of the Indonesian people, such as ensuring access to affordable food and medicine 
and to protect strategic resources managed by state.  While we note Members ' concerns, Indonesia 
is committed to continue to review our local content measures in a spirit of cooperation and finding 
solutions that are acceptable for all. And we would also like to emphasize that our review process 
will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with our commitments to  the TRIMs Agreement and 
its objectives. I thank you, Chair.  
72. The Committee took note  of the statement s made.  
6  INDONESIA – IMPORT RESTRICTION ON CARPETS AND OTHER TEXTILES  
73. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was first considered by the Committee in March 2021  
and that it was on the agenda at the request of Japan . Questions posed to Indonesia were circulated 
in document G/TRIMS/Q/IDN/9 . The Chairperson gave the floor to the deleg ate of Japan.  
74. Japan  indicated the following:  
75. In October 2019, the Ministry of Trade regulation 77/2019 introduced an import registration 
approval system for textile products, substantially banning imports for sales to consumers. As a 
result, the export volume of textile products from the world to Indonesia in 2020 decreased 
significantly t o about one tenth of the volume in 2019. Though  this measure seems to be transferred 
to Ministry of Trade Regulation number 20/2021 and further transferred to the commodity balance 
system by Ministr y of Trade Regulation number 25/2022 , the substantial regulation  has not changed 
practically.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  76. Thus, Japan has doubts that this system is consistent with the national treatment stipulated 
in GATT Article III, the general elimination of quantitative restrictions stipulated in GATT Article XI, 
and the national treatment and quantitative restrictions stipulated in Article 2 of the 
TRIMs  Agreement. In addition, in February 2021, the safeguard measure f or carpets was imposed. 
Under this measure, however, the period of investigation (POI) was set to 2017 to 2019, which was 
immediately prior to the above -mentioned import decrease. As a result, increased imports were 
found by the Indonesian investigation au thority without considering the drastic decrease in import 
volumes due to the import registration approval system. Furthermore, this measure is to impose 
about 150 to 200% tariffs in ad valorem  conversion.  
77. Japan considers that this measure does not meet th e requirements for imposing safeguard 
measures such as those to the extent necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury. On 
August  24th, 2023, start of the extension investigation of the safeguard measure was notified to the 
Safeguards Committee and Japan  submitted government opinion to the hearing about the problems 
regarding the Agreement. I'd like to reiterate to lift the safeguard measures promptly. Japan has 
serious concerns about these measures and has expressed its concerns on various occasions. For  
example, we submitted a written questionnaire at this Committee in September 2021. Unfortunately, 
however, Indonesia has not yet responded to the written questionnaire.  
78. Japan requests that Indonesia recognize the aforementioned problems with these measure s 
and lift them as soon as possible. We hope to receive a sincere response from the Indonesian 
government on this matter. At the import licensing Committee in May 2023, Indonesia stated that 
if all required document was properly submitted, import authoriza tion will be processed in a relatively 
short period, which is consistent with Import Licensing Agreement. However, there is no change on 
the situation of import restrictions, and I would like to request withdraw  the measure promptly. 
Thank you.  
79. The Chairpe rson thanked Japan  and offered the floor to other delegations before turning to 
Indonesia. No other delegation took the floor. The Chairperson then offered the floor to Indonesia . 
80. Indonesia  indicated the following:  
81. Thank you, Chair. Indonesia appreciates the concerns of Japan, and regarding our import 
regulations on the products in question, we would like to reiterate that the regulation is a non -
discriminatory import measure that is not related to investment and is consistent with Indonesia's 
WTO commitme nts. We believe that this issue is more appropriate to be discussed in the Committee 
of import licensing. Thank you, Chair.  
82. The Committee took note  of the statement s made.  
7  INDONESIA – IMPORT RESTRICTION ON AIR CONDITIONERS  
83. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was first considered by the Committee in March 2021  
and that it was on the agenda at the request of Japan . Questions posed to Indonesia were circulated 
in document G/TRIMS/Q/IDN/10 . The Chairperson gave the floor to the delegate of Japan.  
84. Japan  indicated the following:  
85. Regarding the import restrictions on air conditioners, it has been reported that not only it is 
difficult to predict the number of permits and the timing  of approval after an import application has 
been submitted, but also that the number of import permits is decreasing. Also, Japanese companies 
still face the problem that the reason for limiting the quantity and the judgment criteria are unclear. 
Therefor e, Japan is concerned that this measure is still an import restriction and may violate both 
GATT Article XI :1 and Article 2.1 of the TRIMs Agreement.  Japan submitted a written questionnaire 
in September 2021 regarding the operational status of this measure , and we expect Indonesia to 
provide a prompt response at this Committee.  
86. At the import licensing Committee in May 2023, Indonesia stated that all required document 
was properly submitted. Import authorization will be processed in relatively short period,  which is 
inconsistent with Import Licensing A greement . However, there is no change on the situation of 
import restrictions, and we do not see improvement.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  87. Japan understands that th is item is regulated by the Commodity Balance System by Ministry 
of Trade regulation No. 25/2022, and Japan would like to request Indonesia to operate  this measure 
not to restrict imports, as well as to regulate the approval  standard procedure in a more tran sparent 
manner.  
88. The Chairperson  thanked Japan  and offered the floor to other delegations before turning to 
India.  
89. Korea  indicated the following:  
90. Korea shares the concerns expressed by Japan regarding Indonesia's import restriction on air 
conditioners. It  has been reported that our businesses still face challenges in fully participating in 
the Indonesian market, mostly due to the limitation of the approved quantity. In particular, our 
businesses are concerned about their approved quantity falling short of their initial request without 
clear explanations, as well as undue delays in approval procedures. From Korea's perspective, this 
measure appears to be inconsistent with WTO rules, notably GATT Article XI:1 and Article 2.1 of the 
TRIMs Agreement. Korea requ ests that Indonesia provide further clarifications and resolve this issue 
in a timely fashion so as not to hamper our bilateral trade. Thank you.  
91. The Chairperson  thanked Korea  and offered the floor to Indonesia.  
92. Indonesia  indicated the following:  
93. Indonesi a acknowledges the interests of Japan and Korea in our import regulation on the 
product in question, and we reiterate that the regulation is a non -discriminatory import measure 
that is not related to investment and is consistent with Indonesia's TRIMs comm itments.  We note 
that the same issue has been raised in the Committee on Import Licensing, which we believe is a 
more appropriate forum to discuss it. Thank you, Chair.  
94. The Committee took note  of the statement made.  
8  A CASE FOR REBALANCING THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE -RELATED INVESTMENT 
MEASURES (TRIMS) – POLICY SPACE TO PROMOTE INDUSTRIALIZATION AND 
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
95. The Chairperson  recalled that this item was on the agenda at the request of the African Group. 
He gave the floor to the delegate of South Africa, on behalf of the African Group.  
96. South Africa  indicated the following:  
97. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for giving me the floor. Firstl y, I would like to thank you for considering 
this item for our deliberations today. This agenda item is one of great importance to the 
Africa n Group that I have the honor of representing today. Colleagues will recall that we have 
presented as the Africa n Group a series of papers on policy space for, among others, industrial 
development. Now this particular paper is a subject -specific paper on trade -related investment 
measures that sets for th our perspective on this particular area. So, our paper entitled A Case for 
Rebalancing the TRIMs  Agreement, Policy Space to Promote Industrialization and Structural 
Transformation in Developing Countries , is an important element of the development package sought 
by the Africa n Group. It is not a topic for deliberation, b ut a call for concrete action.  
98. Many developing countries, particularly in Africa, continue to be trapped in economic and trade 
structures that mirror the patterns established during colonial times. Their trade profiles often lack 
diversity, with exports pr edominantly consisting of basic commodities and raw materials, mainly 
from extractive industries like fossil fuels, metals, and ore. Meanwhile, they heavily rely on importing 
value -added goods. Africa's share in global trade has not only remained small, bu t is also dwindling. 
We note that in the 1970s, it stood at about 5% to approximately 2% to 3% in recent times. This 
trend is primarily characterized by a dominance of basic commodities and raw materials, particularly 
from extractive industries.  Several fa ctors have contributed to this situation, including 
deindustrialization in many African economies, driven partly by structural adjustment programs in 
the 1980s and 1990s. Other factors include a lack of diversified economic structures, insufficient G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  infrast ructure development, low levels of investment and infrastructure, limited high -value 
manufacturing capacity, and minimal integration into global production value chains.  
99. Economic growth in Africa has been accompanied by a decline in manufacturing and indus trial 
sectors' contributors to GDP over time. This results in many developing countries, including African 
economies, occupying the lower tiers of the global value chains, even in products containing the 
same raw materials that they have a comparative adva ntage in, such as natural resources. The trade 
patterns described pose evident balance of payment risks. They also have significant socio -economic 
implications, particularly in terms of dealing with a growing number of unemployed or 
underemployed individua ls, a substantial portion of which are young people. The COVID -19 
pandemic, ongoing and worsening food crises, and the frequency of climate -related disasters have 
highlighted the risks faced by African economies when global supply chains are disrupted.  
100.  This is despite Africa's substantial potential for developing various industries by leveraging its 
natural and comparative advantages, including untapped agricultural potential. However, these 
potentials are hindered by unfair and imbalanced trade rules that permit developed countries to offer 
excessive subsidies to their farmers, sustaining false comparative advantages. The over -
concentration of production and supply among a few countries poses systemic risks to the economic 
resilience of many developing econ omies and hinders shared prosperity.  
101.  From the early days of the GATT through to the W TO, the multilateral trading system 
recognized the disparities in economic development among its Members. It acknowledged the need 
for proactive measures to ensure that de veloping countries, especially the least developed among 
them, obtain a share of international trade growth commensurate with the economic development 
needs. However, the very policy tools that today's advanced economies used for industrialization 
are now prohibited by current rules, despite their proven effectiveness in promoting advanced 
manufacturing, economic diversification, and integration into global value chains.  
102.  To address this imbalance, the Africa n Group has developed a series of papers on policy  space 
for industrial development. The overarching paper, Policy Space for Industrial Development, a Case 
for Rebalancing Trade Rules to Promote Industrialization and to Address Emerging Challenges such 
as Climate Change, Concentration of Production, and D igital Industrialization , was presented at the 
GCE meetings of March and July.  
103.  The said paper, as well as that pertaining to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures, TRIPS, and our series on technology transfer, as well as this current paper  on TRIMs, 
were discussed extensively in the retreat on 26 and 25 September.  
104.  In the context of TRIMs, I've given you a broad preamble as to the broader challenge that 
we're seeking to address, but for the specific purposes of this Committee, our paper has proposed 
the following. One, to provide flexibility under the TRIMs Agreement to allow developing countries 
policy space and tools in support of their developmental policies. Two, to implement measures to 
ameliorate their foreign exchange challenges. This exception should be availed to those countries 
that are facing balance of payment challenges. Three, provide for an exemption from the 
TRIMs  Agreement, together with Articles III and XI of the GATT, and the obligations under the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, to the extent that they apply to the concerned 
measure for local content requirements and similar TRIMs  undertaken to address specific objectives 
aligned with the climate response and the nationally determined contributions under t he 
Paris Agreement, and targeted at diverting balance of payment crises. Four, consider a threshold 
that can be applied to local content requirements to facilitate industrialization and structural 
transformation. The threshold aim s to ensure a balance betw een advancing trade and investment 
objectives. As such, Members would be allowed to impose up to an amount to be determined, let's 
call it for now X, percentage of local content requirements to boost domestic production. Five, 
consider a specific flexibili ty that would extend to cover situations of crises, including but not limited 
to climatic and natural disasters, financial and economic crises, health emergencies, food security 
related crises, and similar crises. And finally, TRIMs taken by LDCs should be  given an exemption 
under the Agreement, together with Articles III and XI of the GATT, and the obligations under the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing measures, to the extent that they apply to the concerned 
measure, which extends for as long as t he country is an LDC.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  105.  In conclusion, Chair, I would indicate that while this paper is a product of deliberation among 
the Africa n Group and has an Africa -focused lens, we do recognize that other developing countries 
would indeed or may indeed face similar challenges. And certainly, this is not to preclude other 
developing countries from exploring such options. In fact, we welcome that, and we look forward to 
having an engagement today where we can see how best to take our ideas forward. Many thanks.  
106.  The Chairperson  thanked South Africa for its presentation and offered the floor to other 
delegations.  
107.  Colombia  indicated the following:  
108.  We would like to express our gratitude to the African Group for the document and the 
presentation made today. For Col ombia, we have particular interest in examining the way in which 
the Agreement, the TRIMs Agreement, has an impact on sustainable development in developing 
countries such as mine and for the least developed countries, particularly in such crucial areas as 
the promotion of renewable energy and the development of technology, transfer of technology, 
digital transformation, and the construction of sustainable value chains . The points made in the 
analysis such as the necessity to balance trade liberalization and  economic development and the 
political recommendations made strengthen our belief that it is important to approach these themes 
with a broad and holistic vision. We hope to be able to discuss this and collaborate further on an 
issue which is of such relev ance for sustainable development.  
109.  Argentina  indicated the following:  
110.  Argentina would like to thank the African Group for the document submitted.  Our delegation 
considers that the discussion on trade policy space at the WTO must aim to reduce the existing gaps, 
to broaden the insertion of LDCs in world trade and in the world value chains, and to broaden the 
policy space of developing countries with a view to supporting their industrialization. With this in 
view, I would like to make a couple of preliminary comments on the documents submitted by the 
African Group. Argentina considers that the proposal 3.2 , about Article 4 of the TRIMs Agreement , 
recognizing  the possibility for developing countries to adopt strategies to promote their development 
policies , is positive . They must have a sufficiently leeway to adopt measures, even if they're 
incompatible with the commitments they made in the context of the WTO. Argentina shares the 
concern expressed by the African Group. The interpretation by Members of Article 4  of the  
TRIMs  Agreement is complex and so are  the requirements necessary to implement it. And this has 
prevented developing countries from using  it effectively. In this regard, it is fundamental for WTO 
provisions not to present obstacles,  but to promote differentiated treatment for developing countries 
that are confronted with difficulties. Which means that they need  the necessary flexibility to promote 
their indus trial development and the diversification of their economies.  
111.  Brazil  indicated the following:  
112.  Let me start by thanking South Africa on behalf of the African Group for the communication 
G/TRIMS/W/173  and for the detailed presentation. We are still asse ssing the communication 
internally, but we would welcome further discussion as proposed by the submission of the 
African  Group on the needs of developing these flexibilities  under the TRIMs Agreement to preserve 
the policy space necessary to achieve their public policy goals in areas of sustainable development, 
industrialization, economic diversification, climate adaptation, among others, as well as to respond 
to multiple and diverse crises. Thank you.  
113.  The United States  indicated the following:  
114.  Thank you f or the opportunity to comment on the paper. We do know that this paper focuses 
on ways in which Members can raise manufacturing productivity and move into new technologies. 
However, it is somewhat less clear to us from the paper why the proponents believe that the 
TRIMs  Agreement inhibits this, nor why a more flexible approach to the TRIMs Agreement would 
help promote those outcomes. Recent discussions in the TRIMs Committee have shown that the 
impact of measures potentially inconsistent with the TRIMs Agre ement is complex and subtle. For 
example, discussions have shown that policies adopted by large developing countries focused on 
promoting local content has resulted in a loss of investment in their smaller developing country 
neighbours. Other discussions i n the WTO and among academics have focused on whether there is G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  a difference in impact from the sector upon which a TRIM is applied, including whether TRIMs strain 
the resources of development finance institutions and whether discussion of investment measur es 
should be expanded to look at digital products. We encourage the proponents to consider how 
requests for flexibility might be tailored to respond directly to the specific needs of some Members, 
as blanket flexibilities for all self -declared developing c ountries will not resolve the concerns of the 
less integrated Members and may actually exasperate their problems. Thank you.  
115.  Canada  indicated the following:  
116.  I thank the African Group very much for their proposal. I'd like to come in just echoing the 
United  States and add that while Canada is certainly sympathetic to the overall aim of the proposal, 
unfortunately, we would find it very difficult to agree with the proposed approach . Simply for us, the 
reason being that it provides broad exemptions for nearly two-thirds of the Membership from core 
WTO obligations. Thank you.  
117.  Costa Rica  indicated the following:  
118.  Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you to South Africa and the African Group for their 
intervention. The first thing I'd like to say,  is that  it's very refreshing to have such a topic on the 
agenda of this Committee that generally is dominated by trade  concerns , so thank you very much 
for bringing this matter to the agenda. First, I share with the African Group their desire for the 
greater indu strialization and structural transformation of their countries. The main question we 
should ask ourselves in this context is whether or not we can reach this objective without, first, 
changing the multilateral rules that exist at present, including in the context of the 
TRIMs  Agreement, because countries have a great number of public policy options that could help 
reach this objective of industrialization . And  the implementation of the policies will depend on the 
reality in each country, so there is no sing le way that will apply to all. However, from my delegation's 
point of view, we do consider that it is possible to promote and to reach industrialization and 
structural transformation harmoniously and in a way that's compatible with our commitments here 
at the WTO. Our experience shows this. In the 80s of the 20th century, we were mainly an 
agricultural country. We had exports in a limited number of products, bananas and coffee mainly, 
but thanks to our public policies based on a strategy of comprehensive  integration into the world 
economy and attraction of foreign investments, we have managed to reach a high level of trade 
diversification. In 2021, 63% of our exports were non -agricultural products. 35%  of these exports 
were medical devices , our main exported  product, which represents five times the value of our main 
exported agricultural product  (bananas). T his data shows the success of my country in its process 
of structural  transformation and industrialization. And this has been achieved while complying wit h 
our international commitments . So, we hope in future to share more experience about this topic, 
and we'd like to thank the African Group for the submission and for bringing such an important  topic 
to the agenda of this Committee. Thank you very much.  
119.  Switzerland  indicated the following :  
120.  We'd like to thank the African Group for their submission contained in G/TRIMS/W/173 . This 
is an element that belongs to broader WTO reform. The development dimension remains indeed a 
central element of the reform pro cess. We do hear that some Members are of the view that the 
multilateral trading system entails a number of imbalances and asymmetries that must be 
addressed. While we have a priori a different assessment, we stand ready to engage constructively 
and in goo d faith in the dialogue on that issue. We emphasize, however, the importance of having 
evidence -based discussions. This is the only way we can build on a common understanding about 
the concrete challenges of developing countries and LDCs. An evidence -based  dialogue is also a way 
to develop effective special and differential treatments. In turn, we have yet to have an evidence -
based discussion on the specific and individual needs of developing countries for more policy space 
in the context of the TRIMs Agree ment. Thank you.  
121.  Korea  indicated the following :  
122.  Korea would like to thank the African Group for their proposal and its presentation today. 
Korea understands the need for policy space and the importance of access to technology as a 
potential instrument for  economic development and growth, particularly for LDCs. With this in mind, 
Korea has been actively participating in discussions on development issues in the context of G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  WTO reform so as to build on our multilateral trading system in a more inclusive and resilient 
manner. However, rebalancing of the current WTO rules is not the only way for industrial 
development. Rather, with multifaceted and rapidly evolving global challenge s such as climate 
change and digital transformation, strengthening existing rules and formulating new ones which 
reflect the current trade realities can be more powerful tools for industrial development to happen. 
In this light, we should continue factual and evidence -based case studies, and only after careful 
examination and analysis in a detailed manner will we be able to identify what is needed and how 
to move forward. To this end, Korea looks forward to our detailed study and technical sessions in 
the context of TRIMs Committee going forward. Thank you, Chair.  
123.  The European Union  indicated the following :  
124.  The European Union would also like to thank the African Group for their paper and their 
presentation today. Integration in the world economy by reducing barriers to trade, technological 
advancement and participation in global value change is a powerful means to achieve economic 
growth, human and capital development, and reduce poverty. While we acknowledge the 
African  Group's efforts to facilitate  industrialization, we urge to be cautious and to shy away from 
protectionism. The adjustments to the TRIMs Agreement sought by the African Group would allow 
for broader local content requirements. Given that local content requirements force economic 
opera tors to buy goods or services locally instead of importing them, how would any adjustment 
differ in practice from import substitution measures, which have been prohibited under the 
GATT/WTO since its inception? On what grounds does the African Group assume  that local content 
requirements could contribute effectively to the objectives of encouraging upstream complex 
industry to invest and/or source locally and incentivizing the development of downstream industry, 
which could be beneficial for the development  of the States involved? Concerning technology 
transfer, the EU questions, how limiting the openness to international trade and investment and a 
reduction of the predictability of the legal frameworks could contribute to increase technology 
transfers assoc iated with the integration in global value chains or acquisition of foreign direct 
investment? The proposal in paragraph 3.3 on page 5 mentions, I quote, "that most developing 
countries have not notified any TRIMs ", unquote. Could the proponent please expl ain how they 
consider contribution or support to be improved in order to increase the level of notifications? Thank 
you. 
125.  The Russian Federation  indicated the following:  
126.  I would like to thank the African Group for this presentation. The Russian Federation generally 
welcomes the effort of the develop ing Members to promote industrialization. A good start of 
discussions and productive exchange of views between Members has been made in September  at 
the informal meeting on WTO reform. The retreat has shown that Members see a number of 
challenges to industrialization and development. The proposal of the African Group lists some of 
them, but not the full range of them. At the outset, we believe that the most important question 
before us is how to address the challe nges comprehensively. We also deem it vital for the 
Membership to have additional clarity on the details of the African Group's initiative. For instance, it 
includes six proposals to ad apt the TRIMs Agreement and related GATT provisions. Some of them 
sugge st to introduce amendments to the relevant provisions of the Agreements. Others do not 
specify how exactly the rulebook should be amended and simply speak of provision of certain 
flexibilities. Would the sought flexibilities require additional amendments t o the Agreement, which 
are not described in the proposal? Besides, the proposal suggests a single list of solutions for all the 
development Members. At the same time, the retreat has also shown doubts of the Members that a 
one size fits all approach can be  feasible. It appears that obstacles for industrialization faced by 
development Members differ. And the question is what tools would be appropriate in each case. We 
would welcome clarification from the African Group and we are interested to hear the views of the 
Members on the issue we have raised. The Russian Federation remains ready for further discussions. 
Thank you.  
127.  China  indicated the following :  
128.  We would like to thank South Africa and the African Group for bringing this matter to the 
Committee. The pr oposal provides a new perspective of analyzing the TRIMs Committee and enhance 
Members' understanding on this TRIMs Committee. We share the view of the proponents that the 
developing Members are facing various challenges in the process of industrialization  and structural 
transformation. We believe that the WTO should focus more on development and provide more G/TRIMS/M/54  
- 14 - 
  public goods to developing Members to address those challenges and support sustainable 
development. Currently, we are conducting a comprehensive revie w on this proposal and we will 
constructively engage with proponents on this matter. Thank you.  
129.  Australia  indicated the following.  
130.  Australia welcomes engagement from the African Group and we thank South Africa for its 
statement. We acknowledge the African  Group's proposals on the TRIMs Agreement, the GATT and 
other Agreements. We recognize that Members may consider it necessary to adopt measures such 
as subsidies, targeting research and development, regional development and environmental 
protection, but em phasize that this can be developed and implemented in a matter consistent with 
existing WTO Agreements. TRIMs provide flexibilities to allow developing Members the policy space 
and tools in support of their developmental policies. For example, Article 4 al lows developing 
countries to deviate temporarily from the obligations of the agreement, as provided under 
Article  XVIII of the GATT 1994 and related WTO provisions on safeguard provisions for balance of 
payment difficulties. We acknowledge the challenges t hat some developing countries and LDCs face 
in their industrialization and economic development pathways. There is scope for further evidence -
based investigations into perceived underutilization of current flexibilities in WTO rules. We would 
support inves tigating how best to support developing country Members to strengthen their ability to 
comply with TRIMs, TRIPS, SCM and other WTO agreement requirements, including by designing 
subsidies for research and development, regional development and environmental  protection in a 
way that integrates them further into the WTO and the multilateral trading system. Thank you.  
131.  The United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
132.  The United Kingdom would like to thank the African Group for their presentation today and to 
thank t hem more broadly for their engagement with the TRIMs Agreement. And on an opening note, 
I would highlight the UK's openness to discuss their multiple proposals as highlighted at the recent 
WTO retreat. So, on this proposal, we would note that there are exi sting flexibilities for developing 
and LDC Members to address contemporary challenges, including through the GA TT, as well as under 
Article 4 of the TRIMs agreement, which, of course, allows for developing country Members to deviate 
temporarily from some r equirements. On TRIMs, we would request some more information from the 
Group on Members' challenges in accessing these existing flexibilities in the TRIMs, as described in 
the proposal, in order to better understand what could be achieved via existing rule s to support 
domestic industry. We'd certainly encourage the proponents to continue to brief Members and to 
present the evidence base around both what possible improvements could better unlock existing 
flexibilities, as well as what other challenges Member s face. We'd note that the proposals introduce 
new concepts, including percentage -allowable domestic content. So, there is a need for further 
clarity and discussion on what these would actually mean in practice and their implications. So, for 
example, what  percentage domestic content would be deemed necessary to achieve state d 
objectives versus non -trade distortive? What would the basis be for this calculation and how would 
it be monitored? We would also note that some proposals impact the application of ru les across other 
WTO agreements, for example, on new national treatment flexibilities, such as obligations under the 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement, and also cut across rules at the heart of the WTO 
that are already being discussed elsewhe re in other venues. So, we would welcome greater clarity 
regarding the intention of these cross -cutting provisions and how different African Group proposals 
interact. And having a bit more clarity here would help us consider the impact of these proposals, 
where they fit and understand potential implications. Because we would highlight the need for 
Members to consider the impact of these cross -cutting  proposals and think outside of siloed specific 
agreement issues. So, to help us analyze this, like others, w e do have some specific technical 
questions.  So, I've posed two of these more specific technical questions just now. I'm happy to 
follow up in writing, certainly we don't expect a response in the room, but we wanted to put this 
forward in the meeting for t ransparency.  
133.  So, the first question relates to the 2007 UNCTAD report that's cited in the paper. This report 
mentions the importance of foreign direct investment for the development of Argentina's automotive 
industry. A key aspect of the TRIMs Agreement i s that it facilitates investment by providing a stable, 
predictable, transparent environment. So, unwinding the existing WTO rules in TRIMs  could 
potentially lead to less certainty and less investment. And if that's the case, how would the 
African  Group plan to address this? So that's the first question.  G/TRIMS/M/54  
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  134.  The second is that the African Group paper suggests that the unwinding the existing WTO 
rules in the TRIMs space could improve balance of payments. But we consider this could lead to 
protectionist -like policies that may negatively impact consumers through fewer options and higher 
prices and impact producers through higher production costs. This is because protectionism can 
lower competition and efficiency. So even if unwinding the existing WTO rules in place under TRIMs 
could improve balance of payments in some cases, has the African Group considered and quantified 
those risks? We welcome any further analysis on the balance of risks versus opportunities here and 
any supporting further calculations. So , I will convey these very technical questions to the 
African  Group and I thank them again for their presentation today.  
135.  Singapore  indicated the following.   
136.  Singapore thanks the African Group for the paper and our colleagues' comprehensive 
introduction of it earlier. Now we thank our colleague from Costa Rica for sharing his country's 
experience in promoting their industrialization, structural transformation, and economic 
diversification while complying with their WTO commitments. It is very encouraging to hear. We also 
echo earlier comments regarding the importance and value of evidence -based discussions, and we 
look forward to having such conversations, as this would help to apply flexibilities, if needed, on a 
needs -based basis. Lastly, we urge Members to  exercise caution when considering proposals that 
may ultimately weaken the principles of the multilateral training system and our WTO rules. Thank 
you very much.  
137.  Japan  indicated the following.   
138.  First of all, Japan would like to thank the African Group for  their proposal, which is one of the 
elements of broad WTO reform. The d evelopment aspect is one of the important topics in WTO, and 
Japan has been actively and constructively participating in discussions on this issue in the context 
of WTO reform. However , regarding each proposal by the African Group on the TRIMs Agreement, 
Japan thinks that there are many aspects to be discussed. For example, according to the OECD 
report on the local content requirement in individual sectors, such as renewable energy and 
automobile, such measures may achieve the objectives of protecting the domestic industry in the 
short term, but at the same time, those measures force investment and technology transfer s, which 
are not at the will of enterprises, and they undermine free in vestment activities by enterprises. In 
this regard, they undermine the competitivity of the target industry in the middle and long term. 
Furthermore, according to another OECD report, preferential treatment for domestically produced 
products can reduce the  availability of parts and other items from overseas, which can actually 
reduce the international competitiveness of the industry in question. Furthermore, economic analysis 
has also shown that for industries where the measures are not taken, the trade res trictive effects of 
the measures will impede the procurement of raw materials and parts, thereby hindering domestic 
economic diversification. Therefore, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of industrialization and 
economic development for developing coun tries, it is necessary to thoroughly consider whether it is 
really appropriate to relax the rules of the TRIMs agreement and grant preferential treatment for 
domestic products. There are international organizations such as the World Bank that could 
contrib ute to the discussion, and one of the ideas is to invite those international organizations to 
express their studies and views so that we can discuss with more evidence. It should be noted that 
in the TRIMs  Agreement, there is room for a certain degree of f lexibility and exceptions to terms 
measures for developing countries and LDCs. For example, exception provisions already exist in 
Article 4 and 5.3, as other Members mentioned. However, the boundaries of the proposed flexibility 
on restrictions based on th e policy objectives of the measures are ambiguous, and this flexibility 
could lead to unclear discipline s. In this regard, we need to discuss more. Furthermore, if a country 
with an internationally competitive industry were to utilize this type of exceptio n, it would be 
unreasonable in international law, and there may be a need to discuss the scope of developing 
countries covered by the exception. As many ambassadors mentioned at the retreat, one -size-fits-
all approach will not work on this matter, and the discussion needs to be fact -based and needs -
based approach on each proposal. We look forward to constructive discussion on this proposal. Thank 
you. 
139.  Egypt  indicated the following:  
140.  Thank you very much. Now, on this agenda item, I thank you very much, Mr. C hairperson, 
and definitely we associate ourselves with the statement made by South Africa on behalf of the 
African Group presenting this very important document. And, Chair, the African Group submission G/TRIMS/M/54  
- 16 - 
  contained in the document G/TRIMS/W/173  discusses the role of the TRIMs Agreement in the 
industrial development of developing and least developed countries. TRIMs are policy tools that can 
attract foreign investment, promote local production, technology transfer, and job creation. The 
TRIMs Agr eement actually regulates all these measures. The African Group submission emphasizes 
the importance of TRIMs for developing countries, particularly in Africa, to address industrialization 
challenges. It also highlights the potential of TRIMs in addressing  climate change and other global 
challenges. The test suggests that the rules of the TRIMs Agreement should be adapted to better 
serve the needs of developing countries in the face of various challenges, including climate change 
and digital transformation.  It is worth mentioning that TRIMs have been used and are being used in 
some of our developed partners in response to global challenges like inflation and climate change. 
For example, some countries offered subsidies or incentives to companies in the renew able energy 
sector to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy sources. TRIMs, such as incentives for renewable 
energy investments, could help unlock this potential and boost the continent's contribution to clean 
energy generation. Chair, Egypt apprecia tes the opportunity to address the importance of adapting 
the TRIMs Agreement rules to enable industrialization and structural transformation, as outlined in 
the African Group's proposal. We firmly support the principles and recommendations presented in 
the document, which resonate with our development priorities and the broader interests of many 
other developing countries. In this regard, we endorse the proposal for flexibility under the 
TRIMs  Agreement, allowing developing countries the policy space to im plement measures in support 
of their developmental policies. In Egypt, we are investing in renewable energy and digital 
transformation, and such flexibility would enable us to advance these initiatives more effectively. 
We, like many other developing count ries, face foreign exchange challenges. An exception to address 
balance of payment challenges under the TRIMs Agreement is crucial. It would allow us to manage 
these challenges more effectively, thereby strengthening our economic resilience. We support the  
exemption from the TRIMs agreement for local content requirements, aimed at addressing climate 
response and national determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. For instance, Egypt is 
working on implementing clean energy projects, and this exempti on would facilitate our efforts to 
meet climate goals. Egypt recognizes the importance of providing exemptions for LDCs under the 
TRIMs Agreement. As a country that values international solidarity, we stand by this 
recommendation, and it would help LDCs pr omote their development efforts effectively. Chair, we 
believe that these recommendations, if implemented, will contribute to the collective goals of 
achieving economic growth and sustainable development for all developing countries, for all 
countries actu ally, and especially for developing countries. It is crucial to strike a balance between 
trade liberalization and supporting the economic development of developing countries, and these 
proposals should provide a path to achieving that balance. I thank you,  Mr. Chairperson.  
141.  The Chair  gave the floor back to South Africa.  
142.  South Africa  indicated the following :  
143.  I think this has been a very rich session. I want to thank the distinguished colleagues for their 
engagement with the paper. As my distinguished friend  from Scotland mentioned, it may not be the 
time to respond in detail to each and every one of the questions that have been posed, given that 
there were quite a lot of them, and it was a bit difficult to capture them all. I think what I can suggest 
is the following. If possible, through the Secretariat, delegations that have specific questions could 
send those questions to my delegation and we will respond in detail. I think we had quite a bit of 
extensive discussion on these issues at the 25 and 26 Septemb er retreat. However, I think certainly 
this is the first time we've discussed these issues here in this Committee in detail, so I think it's a 
good start of the conversation. We welcome the opportunity to engage further, and not only in the 
regular meeting s, but I think from what I've heard, the scope to actually have some ad hoc sessions. 
I mean, the sense I get from colleagues is that there's a willingness to really engage, so we are open 
and we look forward to doing that. I think as a broad concept, I wa nt to say that we've heard 
different views, different perspectives from different countries, and I think some of these debates 
are quite numerous and have been had in the economic literature for a long time. I see people who 
are nationals of the same count ry as some of the largest contributors to these discussions.  
144.  I think of the great Korean economist, Ha -Joon Chang, I think of Professor Stiglitz of the 
United States, who have all expressed the view that many of today's industrialized countries 
achieved a level of development in an environment where many of the rules that apply today didn't 
apply, and that assisted them. And there's a lot of empirical data to that effect. These economists 
have also noted that today's developing countries in seeking to achie ve a similar level of 
industrialization have been hindered. I note the remarks from the distinguished delegate of G/TRIMS/M/54  
- 17 - 
  Costa  Rica, and we are also ready to engage with that delegation to see how their experience may 
differ from other countries, and we welcome t hat engagement. In addition to the general theme that 
some of the economists have expressed, we've also seen that in recent work, I think, again, of a 
U.S. economist, Professor Mazzucato, has expressed how today's industrialized countries, even 
today, in s eeking to address challenges such as climate change, are instituting measures which the 
current rules, may not permit them to take in pursuit of legitimate objectives. So, I request that 
colleagues could have an open mind and be ready to listen to perspect ives that may differ to their 
own. We are certainly happy to do that, and we hope that this is the first of a very robust discussion 
in this regard. Thank you.  
145.  The Chairperson  thanked colleagues for their very constructive interventions on this agenda 
item. The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
9  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 6.2 OF THE TRIMS AGREEMENT AND PUBLICATIONS, 
IN WHICH TRIMS MAY BE FOUND  
146.  The Chairperson  recalled that  the Secretariat had sent out  a reminder regarding Article 6.2, 
notificatio ns, on 15 September 2023, in document G/TRIMS/W/174 . The Committee issued the 
updated list of notifications on 14 September 2023, in document G/TRIMS/N/2/W/33 . The Chair  
urged Members that have not yet notified to do so promptly .  
147.  The Committee took note  of the information provided.  
10  DRAFT REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS, ON THE IMPROVEMENTS IN 
THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMITTEE  
148.  The Chair person  recalled  that the CTG chairperson ha d requested all the CTG subsidiary bodies 
to submit written report s to the CTG, with respect to the discussions heard, and improvement s 
introduced on the issue of the better functioning of these bodies. T his report should be submitted to 
the CTG no later than the first week of November 2023. By way of background, he recapped  what 
took place since the Committee's last regular meeting in February 2023.  
149.  The Chairperson indicated the following:  
150.  Immediately f ollowing my election, I invited Members to an informal meeting of the Committee 
on 19 July 2023 to discuss proposals on the functioning of our Committee. Three proposals gathered 
support from Members. And following a written procedure, the Committee adopte d a decision on 
1 August, containing the following improvements. First, the WTO Secretariat will organise 
introductory sessions on the TRIMs Agreement and the functioning of the Committee for Geneva -
based and capital -based delegates. On that note, the Secr etariat is proposing that the first training 
session could be held on November  23. An invitation will be sent to all delegations to that effect 
after this meeting. Second, Members also decided that, starting with today's regular meetings of the 
Committee, the minutes will be prepared in verbatim  style, on a trial basis. Finally, the Chair will 
circulate a factual summary of committee meetings on a trial basis, starting with today's regular 
meeting of the Committee. Since these last two improvements were decided on a trial basis, I 
suggest that the Committee refer to this issue at its second regular meeting of 2024, so that 
Members can provide feedback an d decide whether or not to continue with minutes in verbatim  style 
and with the circulation of factual summaries by the Chair.  
151.  Two weeks ago, on 29 September 2023, I circulated a draft report on the discussions held and 
the improvements introduced on the issue of the better functioning of the TRIMs Committee. This 
report reflects the discussions in the Committee leading to the decisions to improve certain aspects 
of the work of this Committee, adopted on 1 August 2023. The draft of this report was also pla ced 
for your consideration as room document for meetings on the WTO website as RD/TRIMS/41  on 
29 September 2023. I intend today to finalise the draft report and propose its adoption by the 
Committee. Please note that the Secretariat has not received any wri tten comments from any 
Members on this draft report. However, I want to flag that one delegation requested that the name 
of my predecessor as Chairperson of the TRIMs Committee, Ms. Debora Ponce, should be added to 
the text of the report. This change appea rs on the text which is now projected on the screen. I will 
now seek comments from the floor on the report. For that purpose, I suggest that we switch into 
informal mode. We will revert back to formal mode once the discussion is over in order to adopt the G/TRIMS/M/54  
- 18 - 
  report to the C TG. If any delegates wish es to make his or her statement in formal mode, they are 
free to do so. We can also indicate that your statement made in the informal mode should be taken 
into consideration for the minute s. Otherwise, the discussion s made under the informal mode will 
not be reflected in the minute s. Is this way of proceedings agreeable for everyone? Thank you. It is 
so decided . 
152.  After turning back to formal mode, t he Committee  adopted  the report . The Chairperson said 
that t he report would be circulated in the G/L document series  and as a TRIMs document to assist 
Members in more easily identifying it. The Committee so decide d. 
11  OTHER BUSINESS  
153.  The Committee took note  that no Member requested to raise any issues under Other Business.  
12  ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
154.  The Chairperson  moved to the  adoption of the Committee's 2023 Annual Report to the Council 
for Trade in Good, as required by Article 7.3 of the TRIMs Agreement.  
155.  The Chairperson said the following:  
156.  As usual, the draft annual report for 2023 has been placed for your consideration as room 
document and document for meetings on the WTO website on 2 October 2023 as RD/TRIMS/42 . 
Please note that the Secretariat has not received any written comments from any Members on this 
draft report. I will now seek comments from the floor on the report and on its annexes. For that 
purpose, I suggest we switch now into informal mode. We will revert back to formal m ode once the 
discussion is over in order to adapt the report to the CTG. If any delegate wish es to make his or her 
statement in formal mode, they are free to do so. We can also indicate that your statement made 
in the informal mode should be taken into con sideration in the minutes. Otherwise, the discussions 
made under the informal mode will not be reflected in the minutes. Is this way of proceeding 
agreeable for everyone? Thank you, it's so decided . 
157.  After reverting to formal mode,  the Committee adopted  its report for the year 2023.  
158.  The Chairperson  said that the report would  be circulated in the G/L document series  and as a  
TRIMs document to assist Members in more easily identifying it. The Committee so decide d. 
13  DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING  
159.  The Chair person  proposed to  schedule the next regular  meeting on Wednesday, 
27 March  2024. The Secretariat would then issue the annotated draft agenda on Wednesday, 
6 March  2024. Therefore  requests to place items on the annotated draft agenda should be submitted 
by Monday , 4 March. Members wishing to make comments on the draft agenda or to circulate 
document should do so by Wednesday, 13 March 2024. The airgram convening the meeting will be 
issued on Friday, 15 March 2024.  
160.  Before closing , the Chairperson  requested delegat ions to send their statements to the 
Secretariat : Alexis Massot  (alexis.massot@wto.org ) and Vatsal Vasudev ( vatsal.vasudev@wto.org ) 
and to look at and, if necessary, update the Secretariat's contact list for the TRIMs Committee.  
161.  The Chairperson adjourned  the meeting .  
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