JOB/GC/204/Rev.2  
JOB/CTG/14/Rev.2  
 
27 June 2019 
(19-4354) Page: 1/3 
General Council  
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURES TO ENHA NCE TRANSPARENCY AND  STRENGTHEN  
NOTIFICATION REQUIRE MENTS UNDER WTO AGRE EMENTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM A RGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, COSTA RICA, THE EURO PEAN UNION,  
JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS  TERRITORY OF TAIWAN , PENGHU, KINMEN  
AND MATSU , AND THE UNITED STATES  
 
Revision  
The f ollowing communication, dated 27 June 2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the European Union, Japan,  New Zealand,  
the Separate Custo ms Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu , and the United States.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Draft General Council Decision  
 
Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notification Requirements  
Under WTO  Agreements  
 
Decision of X  Date  
 
The General Council,  
 
 Recognizing  that transparency and notification requirements constitute fundamental elements 
of many WTO  agreements and a properly functioning WTO  system, and thus of Members' 
obligations;  
 
Acknowledging  the chronic low level of complianc e with existing notification requirements 
under many WTO  agreements; and  
 
 Desiring  to strengthen and enhance transparency and improve the operation and effectiveness 
of notification requirements;  
 
 Decides  as follows : 
 
General  
 
1. To reaffirm existing notification obligations and recommit to providing required and timely 
notifications under the following WTO  Agreements  and Understandings within the remit of the 
Council for Trade in Goods , including for which there is regular annual reporting provided by the 
Secretariat (G/L/223/Rev.2 6 and its revisions) : 
 
Agreement on Agriculture  
Agreement on Implementation of Article  VI of the GATT  1994 (Anti -Dumping)  
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  
Agreement on Safeguards  
Understanding on the Interpretation of Article  XVII of the GATT  1994 (State Trading)  
Agreement on Implementation of Article  VII of the GATT  1994 (Customs Valuation)  
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures  JOB/GC/204/Rev.2 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.2  
 
- 2 - 
 
  Agreement on Rules of Origin  
Agreement on Preshipm ent Inspection  
Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (G/L/59/Rev.1)  
Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures  
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade  
Agreement  on Trade Facilitation, Section I  
 
2. To instruct the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures ( Working Group ) to 
meet before [x date] to  develop recommendations on improving Member compliance with 
notification obligations under the Agreements and Understandings  listed in paragraph  1. The 
Working Group will consult with appropriate committees, other working groups and bodies as 
appropriate,  and consider both systemic and specific improvements that can help Members improve 
compliance with notification obligations. The Working Group will also consult with the 
WTO Secretariat as appropriate, including the WTO  Institute for Training and Technica l Cooperation 
(ITTC)  to assess the contribution of WTO trade -related technical assistance to improving notification 
compliance, as well as the Central Registry of Notifications . The Working Group will report to the 
Council for Trade in Goods on its finding s before [x  date],  and provide updates at each subsequent 
meeting.  
 
3. To instruct the Working Group to work with the Secretariat to update the Technical 
Cooperation Handbook on Notification  Requirements  for each of the agreements and understandings 
listed in paragraph  1 and present it to the Council for Trade in Goods for its [x date]  meeting.  
 
4. To instruct the Trade Policy Review Body to ensure that beginning in [ 20XX ] all trade policy 
reviews include a specific, standardized focus on the Member 's compliance with its notification 
obligations under the Agreements and Understandings  listed in paragraph  1. 
 
5. A Member that fails to provide a required notification wi thin the deadline referenced in  the 
relevant Agreement or Understanding listed in paragraph  1 is encouraged to submit to the relevant 
committee by six  months after the relevant deadline and every six  months thereafter an explanation 
for the delay, the anticipated time -frame for its notification, and any elements of a partial notification 
that a Member can produce to limit any delay in transparency.  
 
6. If a Member fails to provide a required  notification within the deadline referenced in  the 
relevant Agreement or Understanding listed in paragraph  1, the Member may request the Secretariat 
provide assistance in researching the matter and, in full consultation with the relevant Member, and 
only with the approval of that Member, provide a notification on its behalf.  
 
7. A developing country Member encou ntering difficulties to fulfil its notification obligations is 
encouraged : 
 
(a) to request assistance and support for capacity building from the Secretariat, either in 
the form of WTO  trade -related technical assistance or as ad hoc -assistance for a 
particular notification; and  
 
(b) to submit to the relevant committ ee and to the Working Group by six  months after the 
deadline provided under the relevant Agreement or Understanding listed in paragraph  1 
and every six  months thereafter information on thos e notifications  that it has not 
submitted due to a lack of capacity, including information on the assistance and support 
for capacity building that the Member requires in order to submit required notifications.  
 
8. With respect to the notification referred to as DS:1  in the Committee on Agriculture 's 
Notification Requirements and Formats (G/AG/2), the deadline for the purposes of paragraphs  5 and 
7(b) of this Decision  shall be two  years following the notification deadline required under  G/AG/2 . 
This paragraph shall cease to operate on ce an update of G/AG/2 has been adopted . An update of 
G/AG/2 is encouraged within two  years of this Decision.  
 
9. To encourage Members, at any time, to bring to the attention of the relevant Committee 
information they consider has not been notified by another Member in accordance with  the 
Agreements and Understandings listed in paragraph  1. 
 JOB/GC/204/Rev.2 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.2  
 
- 3 - 
 
  10. Beginning in 20XX , if a Member fails to submit  a required  notification : 
 
(a) except as provided in subp aragraph s (b) and (c), by one  year from the deadline 
provided under the relevant Agreement or Understanding listed in paragraph  11; 
 
(b) by three  years from the deadline required under  the Committee on Agriculture 's 
Notification Requirements and Formats (G/AG/2)  with respect to the notification 
referred to as DS:12; or 
 
(c) by one year of this Decision being adopted  with respect to an outstanding one -time 
notification , or required update , containing the most  current  information , 
 
the following administrative measures shall apply to that Member:  
 
(i) the Member shall be designated as a Member with notification delay ; 
 
(ii) representatives of the Member will be called upon in WTO  formal meetings after 
all other Members have taken the floor, and before any observers;  
 
(iii) when the Member with notification delay  takes the floor in the General Council it 
will be identified as such ; 
 
(iv) the Secretariat shall report annually to the Council for Trade in Goods on the 
status of the Member 's notificat ions; and  
 
(v) representatives of the Member cannot be nominated to preside over WTO  bodies.  
 
11. If after one  year of the administrative measures in paragraph  10 are applied, the Member has 
failed to submit the relevant notification, the following administrative measures shall also be applied 
to the Member, in addition to the measures in paragraph  10: 
 
(i) the Member shall be subject to specific reporting at the General Council  meetings;  
 
(ii) questions posed by the Member to another Member during a Trade Policy Review 
need not be answered; and 
 
(iii) the Member shall be assessed a charge by the Secretariat at the rate of 
[x][5]  per cent of its normal assessed contribution to th e WTO  budget, to be 
effective in the following biennial budget cycle, that may be used for the purpose 
of providing Members with technical assistance to fulfil notification obligations, 
including through the ITTC.  
 
12. The commencement of the administrative measures identified in paragraph s 10 and 11  shall 
be deferred a year, respectively, for a developing country Member that has submitted information 
on the assistance and support for capacity building that the Member requires, as set out in 
paragraph  7, if the Member still fails to provide the required notification.  
 
13. When the administrative  measures identified in paragraph s 10 and  11 will be applied to any 
Member, the Director -General will notify the Ministers of those Members responsible for the WTO of 
the administrative measures being applied with respect to those Members.  
 
14. Once any such Member comes into compliance with its notification requirements, the 
administrative  measures will cease to apply.  
__________  
                                                
1 For the purposes of this Decision, the SPS  Committee and TBT  Committee, respectively, will develop 
guidelines on  the conditions under which a Member shall be deemed to have failed to provide a required 
notification with respect to ad hoc notifications for  the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade such that administrative measures shall 
be applied pursuant to paragraph  10 of this decision. This decision shall not apply to ad hoc notifications under 
the TBT or SPS  Agreements until the relevant guidelines have been adopted.  
2 This subparagraph and paragraph  8 shall cease to operate once an update of G/AG/2 has been adopted. 
An update of G/AG/2 is encouraged within two  years of this Decision.