RESTRICTED  
  
G/TFA/M/ 23 
 
6 March  2023 
(23-1612) Page: 1/6 
Committee on Trade Facilitation   
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  
15 AUGUST  2022  
CHAIRPERSON: H.E. MR . ADAMU MOHAMMED ABDULHAMID (NIGERIA)  
Contents  
 
1   REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO NOTIFY DEFINITIVE DATES FOR  
CATEGORY  C PROVISIONS  ................................ ................................ ...............................  1 
2   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  5 
2.1   Outstanding notifications  ................................ ................................ ............................  5 
2.2   Date of the next meeting  ................................ ................................ ............................  6 
3   CONCLUSION ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
 
1.1.  The Chair welcomed delegations and recalled that the agenda for the meeting had been 
circulated in document  WTO/AIR/TFA/2 3/Rev.1.  There was one item on the agenda – requests by 
least developed countries (LDCs) for additional time to notify definitive dates for cate gory C 
provisions.  
1.2.  He recall ed that under Article 16.3 of the TFA, LDCs experiencing difficulties in submitting 
definitive dates for implementation of category C provisions within the deadline of 22 August because 
of the lack of donor support or lack of progress in the provision of assistance and support for capacity 
building  should notify the Committee as early as possible prior to the expiration of that deadline.  
1.3.  Requests had been received from five  Members – Chad, Guinea, Nepal, Tanzania and  Togo –
for additional time to notify their category C definitive dates.   
1.4.  The Chair  added t hree items to the agenda under "Other Business":  (1) consideration of how 
the Committee would deal with any the new requests for extensions up to the 22 August deadline; 
(2) a change in dates of the Committee's October meeting  as the  October meetin g would coincide 
with the meeting of the General Council ; and (3) the participation of Annex D organizations and the 
Global Alliance in the next Committee meeting.  
1.5.  The agenda was adopted  with the proposed changes.  
1  REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO NOTIFY DEFINITIVE DATES FOR CATEGORY  C 
PROVISIONS  
1.1.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the first request which was from Nepal and 
circulated in document G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.3 . Nepal requested an extension to 22 August 2023.  
1.2.  The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
1.3.  The Government of Nepal is fully committed to the effective implementation of the TFA and 
taking needful steps in this matter. Nepal has already notified the definitive dates of category B 
measures and indicative dates of category C mea sures. It also shifted 11 measures from category  C 
to category  B. The Government is currently working on fixing the definitive date of category C G/TFA/M/ 23 
 
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  measures. However, this is challenging. Implementation of category C measures need technical 
assistance from d onor country Members which is also important in finalizing the definitive dates. It 
also requires a wider level of consultation with agencies concerned, stakeholders, and donors. This 
all may take additional time to conclude in this critical situation afte r COVID -19 pandemic. Against 
this background, Nepal has submitted a request pursuant to Article 16.3 for additional time to notify 
its definitive dates for category C provisions and requests that the Committee considers extending 
the period for notificatio n by Nepal of its definitive dates for category C provisions until 22 August 
2023, at least by one year. The extended deadline would provide adequate  time necessary for 
finalizing the definitive implementation date through constructive discussion and wider -level 
consultation s. 
1.4.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.5.  The United States would like to thank Nepal for its notification. The United States supports 
Nepal's extension request for an additional year to notify category C definitive dates by 
22 August  2023.  
1.6.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.7.  Japan appreciate s Nepal's  notification of its request for additional time to notify the definitive 
dates for implementation of category C provisions in accordance with Arti cle 16.3 of the TFA. We 
hope that Nepal  will continue its efforts to do its best to submit the notification as soon as possible 
before the notified extended deadline  of 22 August 2023.  
1.8.  The Secretariat read the following statement on behalf of the European  Union : 
1.9.  The European Union takes note of and supports the request s for extensions made today. We 
would appreciate it if these Members could provide more information about their specific situations 
regarding their requests for assistance and gaps in assista nce at the upcoming dedicated session on 
technical assistance and capacity building support . The EU also stresses that there are still several 
LDCs that have not notified category C final dates for implementation. The EU does not exclude that 
such notifica tions arrive just before the deadline set by the TFA. If that is the case , the EU would 
exceptionally accept that a meeting or a silent procedure be launched to cover such notifications.  
1.10.  The Committee agreed  to extend the deadline for notification by Nepa l of its definitive dates 
for implementation of its category C provisions to 22 August 2023.  
1.11.  The next request was from Guinea and had been circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/GIN/1/Add.1 . Guinea had requested an extension to 22 June 2023.  
1.12.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.13.  Japan appreciate s Guinea's notification . We hope that Guinea will continue its efforts to do its 
best to submit the notification of its definitive date for category C provisions as soon as possible 
within the notified deadline of 22 June 2023.    
1.14.  The delegate of the United States indicated the following:  
1.15.  The United States supports Guinea's extension request for additional time to notify category  C 
definitive date by 22 June 2023.  
1.16.  The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
1.17.  The LDC group thanks the delegation of Guinea for its notification and supports its request 
for extending the deadline.  
1.18.  The Committee agreed  to the request from Guinea for an extension up to 22 June 2023.  
1.19.  The Chair took up a request from Togo which had been circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/TGO/1/Add.2.  Togo had requested an extension up 31 December 2023.  G/TFA/M/ 23 
 
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  1.20.  The delegate of Togo indicated the following:  
1.21.  Togo w ould like to thank the Secretariat of the Committee for all the work that has been done 
to help L DCs and particularly Togo. We would like to reiterate our thanks for your support , Chair,  
and thank the Secretariat for supporting our country in helping us comply with the provisions of the 
Agreement.  
1.22.  As mentioned by speakers before us , Togo has had to divide up the different measures into 
category A, B and C and we had indicative dates for the implementation of category C measures . 
However , to date , we have not notified the definitive dates of such category C measures. Our 
Government in  implementing category C measures drafted the technical documents that apply to 
such measures for their implementation. However, most of the measures that were drawn require 
technical and financial support. To date , we have not been able to mobilize the ne cessary resources 
for the implementation of these measures. So we are unable to meet our obligations under the 
Agreement and this is why Togo is asking for a one year extension in order to have more time to 
prepare and request technical and financial partn ers to support us with the implementation of these 
projects. In this regard, we had also requested an extension for the implementation of category B 
measures. The initial deadline was 31 December 2022 for the category B measures. Due to the 
difficulties th at the Committee members face in implementing these measures , some structures 
have not been able to meet the requirements within the timeframe set out and have not been able 
to do what was necessary to eliminate the bottleneck that we face in implementatio n category B 
measures. So, the Government in the coming days will assess the negative impact of the pandemic 
on Committee members' work. That assessment will be carried out in the next couple of days in 
order to do away with this bottleneck and implement t hem. This is why Togo is asking for an 
extension to the definitive dates of both category C and B.  
1.23.  The delegate of Nepal indicated the following:  
1.24.  The LDC Group thanks Togo for its notification and supports its request for extending the 
deadline.  
1.25.  The deleg ate of the United States  indicated the following;  
1.26.  The United States thanks Togo for its notification. The United States supports Togo's extension 
request for additional time to notify category C definitive dates by 31 December 2023. We also look 
forward to  receiving notifications providing new category B dates.  
1.27.  The delegate of Japan indicated the following:  
1.28.  Japan appreciate s Togo's notification of its request for additional time to notify  the dates for 
category C provisions in accordance with Article 16.3 of the TFA. We hope that Togo will continue 
its efforts to do its best to submit the notification as soon as possible before the notified date of 
31 December 2023 .  
1.29.  The Secretariat read out from the following statement on behalf of Zimbabwe :  
1.30.  Zimbabwe supports the extension as requested by Togo. Zimbabwe  would also support 
assistance as requested to enable Togo to fulfil their obligations under the TFA.  
1.31.  The Committee  agreed  to the request from Togo for an extension up to 31 December 2023.  
1.32.  The next request was from Chad which was circulated  in document G/TFA/N/TCD/1/Add.2.  
Chad requested an extension to 31 December 2023.  
1.33.  The delegate of Chad indicated the following:  
1.34.  Thank you Chair and Members for your flexibility. I would also like to thank the Secretariat 
for all the work carried out. It was not easy to come to this meeting on 15 August in the middle of 
the vacation, so we are trying the demonstrate our flexibility a nd willingness here within the TFA. I 
would like to recall that on 22 February 2017 there was a major step forward for the multilateral 
trading system with the entry into force of the first multilateral agreement signed since the beginning G/TFA/M/ 23 
 
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  of the WTO and t hat date was particularly important for us. This shows the very important link that 
our country has to this Agreement. Since then, COVID has had devastating effects on our economy. 
We have many shortcomings in the implementation of measures under category C, and Chad, in 
accordance with Article 16, has notified its need for additional time before setting definitive dates 
for the provisions of category C provisions. Chad would like to ask the Committee to envisage 
extending the notification deadline for the dates for the category C provisions until 
31 December  2023. Our colleagues in capital have asked us to request the 31  December  2023 
because it would be very helpful to help Chad work with all stakeholders and partners in notifying 
the dates of category C p rovisions. In view of the flexibilities provided under the TFA, LDCs will only 
be required to make commitments according to their abilities and capacities. Currently, Chad faces 
some difficulties in the area of human resources, institutional and financial capacities too, and we 
cannot meet the requirements of the TFA with regards to notifications. Therefore, Chad requires 
additional time and technical support. I would also like to recall that Chad has already notified 
definitive dates for category B provisi ons and indicative dates for category C provisions. We do attach 
a lot of importance to the TFA, it is very important for LDCs and, therefore, this Agreement should 
help reduce the average cost of trade and reduce the time required for imports and exports and 
should help businesses export for the first time. All of this is extremely useful to our country. 
However, we face challenges and need support for other LDCs too in order to meet the requirements 
set out under the TFA such as the requirement to notify the definitive dates under category C 
provisions. That is basically an outline of our request. I hope you will be able to accept it.  
1.35.  The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
1.36.  The LDC Group supports Chad' s request for extending the deadline.  
1.37.  The dele gate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.38.  We thank Chad for its notification. The United States supports Chad extension request for 
additional time to notify Category C definitive date by 31 December 2023.  
1.39.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.40.  Japan appreciates Chad's notification  of its request for additional time to notify extension to 
the dates for Category C provisions . We hope Chad will continue its efforts to do the best to submit 
the notification of its definitive date for Category C provisions as soon as possible within the notified 
deadline  of 31 December 2023.  
1.41.  The delegate of Niger  indicates the following:   
1.42.  I am taking the flo or to support all of the requests presented to extend definitive deadlines 
for category C provisions. All of the reasons that have been put forward prove the need once again 
to provide technical assistance in our country in order to implement the provision s of the TFA. I 
would like to recall that my country was the first LDC to ratify the TFA. We notified our definitive 
dates last June and we would like to ask all Members and all of our partners to give all the support 
needed.  
1.43.  The delegate of  Zimbabwe  indicated the following :  
1.44.  Zimbabwe supports the request by Chad.  
1.45.  The delegate of Bangladesh  indicated the following:  
1.46.  Bangladesh would like to support all the submissions presented toda y.   
1.47.  The Committee agreed  to the request from Chad for an extension up to 3 1 December 2023.  
1.48.  The Chair turned to the request for an extension received from Tanzania which had been 
circulated that morning.   G/TFA/M/ 23 
 
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  1.49.  The delegate of Tanzania  indicated the following:  
1.50.  I would like to express our commitment to fully implement the TFA. However,  like other LDCs 
our notification timing has been affected by COVID -19, therefore we would like to request an 
extension until August 2023.  
1.51.  The Chair indicated the following:  
1.52.  I informed the Committee that Tanzania has submitted their request this morning and it had 
been circulated informally. I believe that the Committee requires additional time in order to consider 
the request.  
2  OTHER BUSINESS  
2.1  Outstanding notifications  
2.1.  The Cha ir indicated the following.  
2.2.  This brings us to the broader issue of outstanding notifications.  
2.3.  The current status of notification by LDCs reflects that n otifications have been submitted by 15 
Members, requests for extensions have been submitted by 6 Member s. Indications have been 
received from a further 5 Members that they are in the process of finalizing their notification dates 
by 22 August. This situation leaves the possibility that some Members may request an extension 
between today and 22 August.  
2.4.  I believe that the  Committee could consider 2 alternative means of reviewing such requests:  
An alternative approach would be to carry out a review through a paper process. Under this  
approach, any request received that meets the requirements of providing the r eason for the 
extension request as well as the duration of the extension being requested would be circulated to 
Members with a deadline for any objection to the request to be submitted by Members by close of 
business on 22 August. Tanzania's request would be considered in accordance with the procedure 
decided upon this morning by the Committee. So on this basis I also want to say that if the paper 
process is not considered then we have no option than to call for another meeting on 22 August.  
2.5.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the following:  
2.6.  In terms of your suggestions for a proposed paper process, the United States is willing to 
consider positively future written requests that are: i) received in a timely manner by 22 August; ii) 
clearly state the justification for the extension request; iii) include an extension date that falls within 
calendar year 2023. However, for any requests that do not meet the se perimeters the TF Committee 
will need to convene by 22 August to discuss those particular request s to allow Members to pose 
questions. So, I would say that we can agree to a paper process on these three  conditions.  
2.7.  The Chair indicated the following:  
2.8.  We have taken note of the three conditions  outline  and they must be taken into consideration. 
So if any further requests are submitted and meet all these  requirements to be circulated , and if 
there are any objection s within the 22 August deadline given then a meeting will have to take place 
but if the requirements are met then we will consider that.  
2.9.  The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
2.10.  The U nited Kingdom  recognizes the challenges set out by Nepal, Guinea, Togo, Chad and 
Tanzania in submitting their Article 16 definitive dates notifications to the Committee and the reasons 
why extra time is necessary. We have taken note of these and we encourage any other Member in 
need of further time to submit their definitive dates utilizin g the mechanism available to them within 
the TFA before 22 August 2022. The U nited Kingdom  is content with either a paper review process 
or for a further Committee meeting by 22 August in this regard.  G/TFA/M/ 23 
 
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  2.11.  The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
2.12.  The LDC Group thanks the delegation of Tanzania for its notification and supports its request 
to extend the deadline. There is still some time until the 22 August deadline and some LDCs are 
working hard to meet the deadline  and therefore they may be in the proces s of finalizing the 
definitive dates. However, if the notification could not be completed in time , they may request an 
extension with some justification at the last moment. In this context , the LDC group wishes to 
request the Committee in advance to consid er those requests positively . The LDC group supports 
the proposal outlined by the Chair . 
2.13.  The Chair indicated the following:  
2.14.  Under the proposal made by  the United States regarding a paper process, if any request for 
an extension to the notification date, including that of Tanzania, is made by the deadline of 
22 August, if they meet the three requirements identified by the United States, the requests will be  
circulate d in writing  for comments or for objection . If no objection is received by the deadline of 
close of business of 22 August, then the request  will be considered as been reviewed.  
2.15.  A communication would be circulated to the Committee confirming that any notifications 
received from today until 22 August that complied w ith the three requirements that had been agreed 
upon will  be circulated to the Committee with a deadline of close of business 22  August  2022 for any 
objections to be submitted in writing. If no objection is received, the request will be considered to 
have been positively reviewed.   
2.16.  The Committee s o agreed.  
2.2  Date of the next meeting  
2.17.  The dates of the Committee 's October needed to be changed as they now conflicted with the 
recently confirmed dates of the meeting of the General Council. The new  dates would be circulated 
in due course.  
2.18.  The Committee agreed to the participation of Annex D organizations and the Global Alliance 
in the next Committee meeting . 
3  CONCLUSION  
3.1.  The Chair  thank ed all delegations for their participation and the interpreters for their valuable 
work.   
3.2.  The meeting was adjourned .  
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