RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/ 541 
24 February  2021 
(21-1527) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
COHERENCE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF WTO TRUST FUNDS   
1  INTRODUCTION  
This paper is a follow up to the paper  (WT/BFA/W/522)  that was presented to and discussed 
by the CBFA during its meeting in June 2020 and takes into consideration further input from  Members 
and additional consultations within the WTO Secretariat . The objective of this paper is to incorporate 
some new aspects  for consideration and update Members on the proposals being explored by the 
Secretariat to effectively address  questions being raised about coherence  in the establishment and 
management of trust fund s.  
Table 1 at the end of the paper  is a summary of the  121 Trust Funds managed by the WTO 
Secretariat.  The Global Trust Fund (GTF) managed by the Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation (ITTC)  and the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) a quasi -independent  
entity with its own governance and oversight mechanisms set out in the STDF Operational Rules , 
make up a large percentage of the overall trust funds, in terms of fund balances and  annual 
expenditure . These two funds are already subject to reasonably well documented and established 
procedures for planning and governance, transparency and reporting, and monitoring and 
evaluation.  
The previous paper on this topic identified several po ints around which there was a common 
understanding. These included the principle that trust funds should have  1) implementation plans 
based on consultations with beneficiaries and contributors  and subsequently approved by oversight 
bodies . More specificall y, trust fund oversight should be linked to an appropriate committee, and 
there should be separation between the division/staff responsible for managing a trust fund and the 
divisions/staff servicing technical policy and negotiating committees ; 2) transpar ent and regular 
narrative and financial reporting; and 3) periodic  and independent monitoring and evaluation.  
Additionally, the WTO should a void the proliferation of trust funds, especially small value short 
duration initiatives. Where possible, Members ma king contributions should be encouraged to work 
through existing trust funds  and not micromanage voluntary contributions or trust fund activities . 
In all cases  there  should be clear mechanisms for sharing information . 
Based on the above principles, the Secretariat has suggested that the Technical Assistances 
Plans developed by ITTC in coordination with Members and centred around the GTF should continue 
to form the foundation on which voluntary contributions are managed.  Expanding the brea dth of 
ITTC's responsibilities to potentially include additional funds and activities will require making sure 
that ITTC have the capacity  and resources  to manage an expanded TA Plan .  
At the same time , there have been  evolutions in the  orientation of volu ntary contributions and 
how Members think about the activities they support. S ome of the more recent  trust funds /activities  
do not  conform to  the traditional scope of TA coordinated by ITTC  and the role of Members and the 
Secretariat in providing oversight  of the extra -budgetary landscape may also need to evolve .  
2  ADDITION AL ISSUES FOR ENSURING TRUST FUND GOVERNANCE  ADAPTED TO THE NEW 
LANDSCAPE   
While the ITTC, TA Plan model can be refined to ensure conformity with Members' expectations, 
there are clearly evolving ideas of what kind of activities Members may wish to support with 
voluntary contributions. In some cases , it may make sense for trust f unds to be established outside 
 
1 In our last paper on this topic we reported 13 Trust Funds in the middle of 2020 . One of those, Natural 
Disasters and Trade , was closed at the end of 2020 and will not be included in 202 1 trust fund reporting.  WT/BFA/W/5 41 
 
- 2 - 
 
  of the TA Plan scope for policy or structural reasons  even when the funds align with the principles 
applied to the ITTC and the TA Plan . For example, the STDF or the TFAF2 follow very similar models 
but operate independently .  
Alternatively , there may be circumstances where different principles and different model s might 
be appropriate  going forward . For example, projects with a more  targeted and time limited focus 
and initiatives with  an academic/ research -orient ation beyond short term technical assistance . What 
additional questions/topics will need to be addressed to adapt to the new landscape?  
Aside from the interest expressed by Me mbers in the CBFA over the past 18 months  on specific 
funds or aspects , Members have not been engaged by the Secretariat in  active ly reviewing or 
defining priorities for trust fund governance. Most work undertaken at this level was originally done 
around t he establishment of the DDAGTF 20 years ago. The Members and the Secretariat have been 
active in updating the ensuring that the TA Plan evolves and stays relevant, but certain aspects of 
governance and management may benefit from more intentional engagemen t. 
Aspects that have attracted attention from Members in previous formal and informal exchanges 
on trust fund governance include : 1) clarifying the role of the WTO and its Secretariat in providing 
technical assistance and capacity building and what the sco pe of that role should be ; 2) the 
comparative advantage of the WTO relative to other entities in certain types of activities ; 3) the role 
of Secretariat staff funded from the regular budget in coordinating and supporting extra -budgetary 
initiatives and activities ; 4) the role of individual Members regarding initiatives viewed as politically 
sensitive by some ; and  5) the approaches to managing overhead and cost recovery and what 
constitutes additional financial liability for the Organizati on. 
To facilitate further exchange and deliberation on trust fund governance and the evolving 
context of voluntary contributions at the WTO, it is planned to include dedicated agenda items on 
the first few CBFA meetings in 2021.  
Members are invited to exch ange views and raise questions of relevance to help clarify what 
elements of trust funds governance and voluntary contribution guidelines need further attention and 
the eventual resolution , thereof . 
 
 
 
2 WT/BFA/W/522, the previous paper on this subject outlined how the TFAF would align more closely to 
the TA Plan model  including formal presentation of a work plan and oversight by the Trade Facilitation 
Committee . How specifically these changes will be implemented is still under consideration and further input 
from Members is welcome.   
  WT/BFA/W/5 41 
 
- 3 - Table 1 2020 Trust Funds – Provisional statement of accounts  
Trust Fund  Division Responsible  Expenditure  
2020   Balance 20 20   % of All 
Trust 
Funds 
(exp.)  % of All 
Trust 
Funds 
(bal.)  
Global Trust Fund  ITTC 4,050,103  11,187,801  35.0%  34.9%  
French -Irish Mission Internship Programme  ITTC 1,046,085  1,256,102  9.1%  3.9%  
Netherlands Trainee Programme  ITTC 1,061,359  995,989  9.2%  3.1%  
China LDCs & Accessions Programme  ITTC/ Accessions  75,043  1,126,641  0.6%  3.5%  
Subtotal TA Plan Funds   6,232,590  14,566,534  53.9%  45.4%  
Standards and Trade Development Facility - STDF - Agriculture/ STDF Policy 
Committee  4,232,819  10,929,830  36.6%  34.1%  
Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility  Market Access  294,922  4,990,557  2.6%  15.5%  
Subtotal Other Large Multi -Donor Funds   4,527,741  15,920,387  39.2%  49.6%  
LDC in the 12th WTO Ministerial Conf, Kazakhstan  Administration  92,585  456,103  0.8%  1.4%  
LDC Graduation Fund  Development  78,971  176,854  0.7%  0.6%  
WTO Fisheries LDCs Participation Rules  60,626  125,425  0.5%  0.4%  
Transferring technologies for the dev. of Cotton  Agriculture  69,026  61,633  0.6%  0.2%  
China Development Cooperation Research Initiative       
· ASYCUDA TIVA Databases  Economic Research  495,999  592,913  4.3%  1.8%  
· Investment Facilitation for Development  Economic Research  994 194,936  0.0%  0.6%  
Subtotal Other Smaller Project Oriented Funds  ITTC  798,201  1,607,865  6.9%  5.0%  
Total    11,558,532  32,094,787  100%  100%  
 
 
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