RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/193  
 
26 March 2021  
(21-2535) Page: 1/13 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 8 MARCH 20 21 
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 8 March 2 021. His Excellency 
Ambassador Manuel Teehankee (Permanent Representative of Philippines  to the WTO ), welcomed 
Members to the meeting.  
 
Recalling the recent approval of the slate of the new Chairpersons for the different WTO standing 
bodies  and committees , he said that he would be handing the baton of the CBFA over to the incoming 
Chair person , Ambassad or Bettina Waldmann of Germany, at the end of this meeting.  
 
1  ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
 
1.1.  The Chairman introduced the agenda for the day, bearing the reference WTO/AIR/BFA/42 and 
the annotated agenda bearing the reference JOB/BFA/48.  
1.2.  The agenda was adopted, without any amendments.  
2  2021 DRAFT WORK PLAN FOR THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET, FINANCE AND 
ADMINISTRATION – WT/BFA/W/ 539 
2.1.  The Chairman introduced the 2021 draft work plan for consideration by the Committee.  He 
informed the Committee that the date of the next meeting would be changed from 12 April to 
19 April. 
2.2.  A Member wished all ladies a happy  Women's Day  and thanked the Secretariat for  having  
prepar ed the draft work plan. The Member made comments on both the procedures and the 
substance.  
2.3.  With regard to the procedures, the Member made reference to the mandate of the CBFA, as 
captured in t he document bearing the reference WT/L/44/Rev.1 . The Member said this links to how 
the agenda items are set. She stated that, a ccording to the document, the terms of reference of the 
CBFA are to examine questions arising in connection with the audited acco unts and proposals for 
the budget and to study financial and administrative question s which may be referred to it by the 
Ministerial Conference or the General Council, or submitted by the Director -General. The Member 
said their delegation wants the CBFA to fully play its function through a transparent  process , with 
certainty and predictability. In this regard, the Member  said their delegation appreciate s the p roposal 
for procedur al improvement s.  
2.4.  The Member said the time allocated to the biennium budget for 2022 and 2023  is insufficient , 
as only two meetings are scheduled to review it before its adoption . The Member added that  more 
time is necessary for discussing the budget and to ensure that the process of consu ltations on it will 
be well managed . She added that, in 2020, a longer time had been taken to discuss the budget, and 
though giving the green light for adoption her delegation had not been fully consulted.  She said 
some standing items are missing from the work plan. For instance, the status report on the LDCs 
trust fund for participants to the Ministerial Conference and the annual report of the WTO Secretariat 
risk management, which had been scheduled in 2020 but not yet presented to the CBFA.   
2.5.  Subsequent t o expressing appreciation for the renewal of the work plan , a Member stated that 
it had been helpful in 2020, despite the challenges of that year. The Member said the use of small 
groups and informal sessions among interested Members would aid progress acr oss the diverse WT/BFA/193  
 
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  topics and expressed hope that the incoming  Chairperson would consider Members' requests for 
intersessional engagement to keep pace with the schedule set out in the draft work plan.  
2.6.  A Member suggested that the budget be presented in June, instead of September, as starting 
the budget discussions early in 2020 had allowed for adequate time for in -depth deliberations and a 
recommendation made for approval in time before the end of the year.  
2.7.  A Member suggested that the ITC be requested to make a presentation to the CBFA on its 
ongoing work in May as this would facilitate the discussions of the ITC budget from June onwards.  
2.8.  Several Members supported the suggestion to have the budget table d in June instead of 
September.  
2.9.  A Member stated that the wo rk plan is a good guide of the work to be achieved, and items can 
be added or removed during the course of the year, if necessary, as the work of the CBFA is not 
meant to be static.  
2.10.   Several  Members suggested that deliberations of some topics be continued in between formal 
CBFA meetings to advance the work  of the Committee . These could be in the form of working groups, 
open to all Members, or informal meetings.  
3  2020 WTO SALARY SURVEY  – WT/BFA /W/542 
 
3.1.  The Chairman recalled that  the Director -General has a mandate to approve the salary scales 
for each year, in accordance with the staff regulations and staff rules.  
3.2.  An Official of the Secretariat  informed the Committee that the salary adjustment me thodology 
is contained in Annex B o f the staff regulations. He recalled that the weight for benchmarking is 70% 
United Nations  Office in Geneva  salaries and 30% Coordinated Organizations ' salaries . He added 
that the 1.9% increase in the United Nations sala ries was fully offset by an equivalent decline in the 
post adjustment factor for Geneva, for professional staff, whilst the salary scales of general services 
staff members did not change. He noted that the salaries at the Coordinated Organizations had rise n 
by 3.4% and that this was offset by the reduction in the PPP/NER factor of the Euro and Swiss 
Francs. T he overall net effect resulted in no change in the WTO salary scales for 2021.  
3.3.  Turning to dependency allowances, the Official of the Secretariat said the cumulative 
movement in the salary scale s for the period 2018 to 2021 was +0.6%. As this is below the threshold 
of 2%, at which dependency allowances would be adjusted, no adjustment to dependency allowances 
was due in 2021.  
3.4.  A Member commended the Secre tariat for the technical work that went into determining the 
salary scale comparators. He indicated that salaries and emoluments are the main object of 
expenditure against the WTO budget and expressed appreciation that there was no change in the 
salary sca le.  
3.5.  The Committee took note of the 202 1 salary survey  report . 
4  STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF EXTERNAL AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS  – 
WT/BFA/W/540  
4.1.  An Official of the Secretariat said  that the external auditors perform two audits  every year : a 
financial audit which is mandated by the IPSAS; and  a performance audit in accordance with 
Financial  Regulation 44. The performance audit is conducted on specific areas selected by the 
external audito rs and agreed with the Secretariat.   
4.2.  At the end of the audits, a set of recommendations is put forward and the Secretariat works to 
implement them. D uring the following audit, the external auditor s validate the closure of those 
recommendations  that have b een implemented .  
4.3.  At the issuance of the last External Audit Report in September 2020 there were 38 open 
recommendations: 10 for the financial audit and 28 for the performance  audit. The Secretariat WT/BFA/193  
 
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  implemented 26 of those recommendations and these are  to be validated by the external auditors 
during their next audit planned to take place in early May 2021.  
4.4.  The Secretariat continues to work on the 12 ongoing recommendations.  A large proportion of 
these relate to the Human Resources Division , many of which are to be addressed through the 
implementation of a new software that required a revisiting of the processes and strengthening of 
internal controls.  
4.5.  With regards to the audit recommendations for trust funds, in addition to the actions already 
implemented, the Secretariat will explore the harmonization of procurement processes.   
4.6.  The Official of the Secretariat recalled that the General Council had appointed the French Court 
of Accounts as the new exte rnal auditors , for a six -year mandate starting with the 2020 audit.  
4.7.  A Member appreciated the efforts of the Secretariat to implement recommendations. She asked 
for the guidelines for  recruiting  individual consultants to be issued to Members. This request was 
repeated by several other Members.  
4.8.  The Member said her delegation has been raising the issue of US taxes for several years. The 
Member said her delegation noted that the former external auditors had repeatedly recommended 
for at least  five consecutive years starting from 2014 the acceleration of the refunding procedure 
and negotiating and agreeing with the US Government on a similar reimbursement method based 
on the ILO approach. The Member said the issue had not been raised by the auditor in last year 's 
report , yet the partial unreimburse d amount appeared both in the budget report and the expenditure 
report of last year. The Member said her delegation had expressed their concerns during the  budget 
discussion  in the last formal CBFA formal m eeting in 2020. The Member said the  unreimbursed 
amount is quite significant and appears to be increasing : CHF 205K in 2016, CHF 287K in 2017, 
CHF 334K in 2018 ; and CHF 301K in 2019. The Member said, adjusted for foreign exchange loss of 
CHF 63K in 2019, t he expenditure linked to US taxes approximates  CHF 400k in one year, which is 
a cost borne by the WTO regular budget. The Member asked why this issue was out of  the external 
auditor 's recommendation  and if  there is any way to address it. The Member stated that her 
delegation would like a follow up discussion.  
4.9.  A Member informed the Committee that his delegation had provided specific questions to the 
Secretariat in advance of the meeting  and stated that they would be happy to either receive 
responses during the meeting  or in writing following the meeting , be it as part of the report of the 
meeting or through an Information Note to all Members . In this regard, the Secretariat has prepared 
a document entitled "Questions Related to the Status of the Implementati on of External Audit 
Recommendations (WTA/BFA/W/540) Received Before and Posed During the CBFA Meeting on 
8 March 2021" and bearing the reference WT/BFA/INF/14.  
4.10.   The Member asked for clarity on how consultants for Trust Funds are hired and why this is 
not done by the Human Resources Division. He emphasized the audit recommendations that called 
for the centralization of all procurement activities so as to ensure that the right expertise is used for 
this, rather than a devolution of some procurement to Divisi ons and sections that do not have the 
requisite skills and experience.  
4.11.   On the issue of US Taxes raised by another Member, the Member stated that there is a 
longstanding bilateral agreement between the WTO and the Government of the U.S.A. which focused 
only on income earned from the WTO. He said that reference to ILO cases is irrelevant because the 
WTO was never party to any ILO case on the subject . He asked why the ILO decision on this case is 
used as a reason yet there are other cases where ILO jurisprude nce was not agreed to or 
implemented by the WTO. He stated that the Auditors had suggested that the WTO could renegotiate 
the agreement with the U.S. He closed by saying that the WTO seems to be applying the income tax 
benefits to employees on non -income r elated remuneration  instead of only on salary . 
4.12.   Referring to audit recommendations 63, 64 and 65 a Member requested that the Secretariat 
provide concrete steps to be followed and the timelines by which the recommendations would be 
implemented. With reference to recommendation 70, the Member asked whethe r the school 
internship was no longer going to continue or if it was just not to take place in 2021.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  4.13.   A Member stated that there seems to be an inconsistent approach to hiring consultants across 
the Secretariat and called on this to be clarified.  
4.14.   The Memb er noted that due to the pandemic, some people may opt to not go on leave due to 
travel restrictions. Nonetheless, she said it is important that the recommendation on excess leave 
be addressed.  
4.15.   The Member asked whether the view had changed regarding the re commendation that an 
action plan be prepared for growing contributions.   
4.16.   The Committee t ook note of the update and the comments made.  
5  REVIEW OF OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS – 
WT/BFA/W/544  
5.1.  An Official of the Secretariat present ed a review of outstanding contributions from Members 
and Observers at the end of 2020 and an update on Members under administrative  measures as at 
8 March 2021 . 
5.2.  The annual receipts  from Members, for 2020, were significantly lower than in 2019, 84% in 
2020 relat ive to 92% in 2019 . 11 Members were subject to administrative measures  for a total of 
CHF 8.9 million , representing 22% of the total amount outstanding.  
5.3.  With respect to Observers, the amount of outstanding contributions was slightly lower than for 
2019, mainly due to payments received from Comoros and South Sudan.  Five Observers were 
subject to administrative measures at the end of 2020, for a total amount outstanding of 
CHF 569,000, representing 74% of the total outstanding contributions from Obser vers. 
5.4.  Three Members were subject to a Payment Plan at the end of 2020 (Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone). 
The Members that are not compliant with their payment plans are Burundi, Central African Republic  
and Guinea -Bissau.  
5.5.  One Member recalled that the Committee was due, under this agenda item, to make a 
recommendation to the General Council for Members subject to Administrative Measures to liquidate 
their arrears. He indicated, in this regard, that going into the previous meeting of the General Council 
held on 1 March 2021, it was impossible to know which Members were in arrears. While the Chair of 
the General Council had sought to identify inactive Members as such before giving them the floor, it 
was not clear that he had a complete list of such Members at the be ginning of the meeting.  
5.6.  Turning specifically to Section 3 of document WT/BFA/W/544, the Member queried why the 
document included the names of Members in arrears as at 31 December 202 0 – but did not list out 
the 26 Members subject to administrative measures  as at 23 February 2021 when the update was 
provided.  
5.7.  The Member suggested that, for transparency purposes, if the Committee's aim was to raise 
the issue of arrears at the General Council, then there should be a published document where 
Members can see whe ther they are subject to administrative measures, in advance of any General 
Council meeting.  
5.8.  The CBFA Chair agreed with points made, noting that he had developed a practice of sending 
to the General Council Chair an updated list of Members and Observers i n advance of each meeting 
of the General Council. He indicated that that he would be willing to share that list with delegations, 
as well as with the incoming Chair, for consideration. The Chair suggested that reporting on arrears 
at the General Council co uld take place under a formal agenda item, immediately before "Other 
Business". In this way, it would occur "at the end of each meeting of the General Council" as 
contemplated in the General Council Procedures. Moreover, if the issue of arrears were includ ed as 
a final formal agenda item at the end of each General Council meeting, it could then be accompanied 
by a published document circulated to all delegations in advance of the meeting. The information 
contained in that document could then be updated at t he end of the meeting of the General Council 
by the Chair of the CBFA, to reflect any positive payments received.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  5.9.  Following up on previous interventions, one Member highlighted the importance of ensuring 
utmost transparency on this topic. In doing so, he r eferred to an earlier suggestion whereby 
delegations could be provided with a full list of all Members and their status of contributing to the 
assessed budget, in the form of an annex to CBFA documentation regarding outstanding 
contributions.  
5.10.   The Chairman concluded by reading out the following recommendation to be made to the 
General Council, which the Committee endorsed.  
5.11.   The Committee invites the General Council to urge Members and Observers under 
Administrative Measures to liquidate their arrears .  
6  COHERENCE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF WTO TRUST FUNDS – 
WT/BFA/W/5 41 
6.1.  The Chairman opened by saying the topic is of  key interest and came up during several 
Committee meetings in the previous year. Given  the focus on the budget discussions at the end of 
2020, the Committee had agreed that the Secretariat would present some documents and 
suggestions to Members in early 2021.  
6.2.  An Official of the Secretariat said the paper that was tabled recapitulate d key elements of the  
previous  discussions and would  be a basis for Members to further express their views on priorities 
for moving forward. He highlighted that the CBFA Work Plan foresaw this item being on the agenda 
of the next c ouple of Committee meetings.  
6.3.  He said  Members deem the following  aspects as being important to coherence and trust fund 
management : implementation plans that should be based on consultations with both beneficiaries 
and contributors; transparent and regular reporting; periodic  reporting on evaluation ; preference 
that th e WTO avoid an unnecessary proliferation of trust funds ; encourage ment of  Members to work 
through existing trust funds where possible ; and  oversight of specific trust funds by Members 
through  an appropriate Committee . He added that Members were against  micromanagement of 
voluntary contributions or trust fund activities. However, there should be clear mechanisms for 
sharing information.  
6.4.  The Official of the Secretariat made reference to the recommendations of the external audit ors, 
pursuant to a performance a udit of trust funds and said that the Secretariat is working on the 
implementation thereof.  
6.5.  A Member said their delegation  support s the strengthen ing of  transparency and improvements 
of the management of the trust funds and reiterate d that such discussion s ought  to encourage more 
contributions and make  the right use of trust funds, rather than the opposite. The Member  added 
that her delegation's comments had been well  reflected in previous meetings on this topic , more 
especially during the June 2020 meeting . 
6.6.  The Member said her delegation had s hared her concern s and, as a contributor to trust funds, 
they support increase d transparency, especially on the projects funded by  her country . In this 
regard, the Member observed that not all delegations closely follow the WTO website adding that  
information on trust funds is therein contained. She suggested that the Secretariat could find a way 
to make Members aware that the relevant documents on trust funds are available on the website.  
6.7.  The Member said their delegation sees the importance for coherence in the supervision  of trust 
funds  in the WTO Secretariat,  though the Member has  no preference as to which division ought to  
manage which funds . The Member stated that their delegation's priority and focus are on how to 
manage trust funds with high efficiency to deliver the best results.  
6.8.  The Member said the  fundamental issue before  discuss ing questions and concerns  of trust funds 
is the need to hav e a common understanding of their role and whether they compete with or 
complement the regular budget.  Without such common understanding, people would always talk 
about it  in different ways with different explanations, and express different concerns on tha t. With 
that common understanding, Member s will have a better further discussion on the management of 
trust funds.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  6.9.  The Member added that it is stipulated in the document that the pre -requisite for the 
establishment of a trust fund is whether this would be consisten t with the policies, aims and activities 
of the WTO.  The Member said that, in line with th is, trust funds serve as a complement to the regular 
budget to jointly fulfil objectives of the WTO, especially in th e context of zero growth of the regular 
budget. The Member added that t rust funds significa ntly contribute to capacity building of developing 
Members  and that without trust funds many technical assistance projects would not be implemented.  
6.10.   The Member said that if Members agree that capacity building and technical assistance are 
part of the Secretariat's job  then the logic would be that , with more money , the Secretariat could 
deliver more services to Members.  The issue s contained in Point s 3 and 5 listed in Para graph  2.4 of 
document  WT/BFA/W/541 w ere not  problems at all, and there is no need to debate how much is 
done with the secretariat 's left hand and how much with its right hand as long as the Secretariat 
finish es all the work they should do.  
6.11.   The Member said some question the need of capacity  building  and technical assistance in this 
organization and see these activities as a distraction of regular work . The Members said that this is 
a fundamental issue that needs to be discuss ed, not at the CB FA, which is a s technical level,  but 
maybe at the General Council as a mandate of the WTO.  
6.12.   The Member said if the discussion of trust funds is politicized, no outcomes will be achieve d, 
be it with regards to managing Trust Funds in the CBFA or for the WTO  as a whole.  She said that 
Point 4 listed in Para graph  2.4 of document WT/BFA/W/541  raised an issue that all should be 
extremely alert  to. Members should be mindful not to introduce politic ized issues into the WTO if 
everyone cares about this organization  and any political concern  expressed  should be based on 
concrete facts, rather than illusions, imaginations or worries.   
6.13.   A Member expressed strong support  for the e ndeavours aimed at rationalisation of the WTO 
trust funds. The Member said efforts towards im proving transparency, accountability, oversight, and 
reporting of new trust funds will be in the long -term interest of th e organization. The Member said 
the document tabled at the CBFA was on the right track and suggest ed that the Chair person  provides 
update s to Members on the progress in the discussions at each of the CBFA meetings.  
6.14.   The Member further suggest ed that small group discussion s, either formal or informal , be 
held amongst Members , with a view to reach ing an understanding on this issue by the end of the 
year. Similar suggestions were made by several other Members.  
6.15.   The Member called for more vigorous  follow up of audit recommendat ions in order to bring 
transparency to the management of the WTO Trust Funds.  
6.16.   A Member thanked the Secretariat for the paper, saying that it was raising issues that can 
move the discussions forward. The Member said there is a growing common understanding o n the 
key points relating to  the oversight of trust funds  and though there may be no commonly agreed  
answers, discussions thus far have helped Members  narrow down key points.  
6.17.   The Member said  the trust fund landscape has become more complex as activities o utside of 
traditional areas of capacity building or human resource development are being undertaken by the 
new trust funds  and added that a closer assessment of this has to be undertaken as to why n on-
traditional type s of activities are being  added.  
6.18.   First, the main point that was raised in the paper was really on what is going to be done  to 
promote or at least to explore this idea of consolidation which the Member thought was  the right 
starting point.  
6.19.   The Member said his delegation had had constructive bila teral conversations with the 
leadership of the ITTC and  had engaged with them , not only in the budget context , but in the CTD 
context, as part of ongoing efforts to improve the reporting of ITTC activities, primarily those funded 
by the Global Trust Fund. He said this is a critical component of their delegation's efforts in the CBFA  
in pursuit of the end result of  the CBFA's work on trust fund reform to strengthen Members ' support 
for and appreciation of the work carried out by the ITTC.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  6.20.   The Member said their delegation wants to  address the root causes of the flow of voluntary 
contributions away from the collective  mechanism of the Global Trust Fund toward more 
individualistic single -issue trust funds. The Member said they would start by asking the donors 
represented in the CBFA to also engage more actively with ITTC in this effort.  He cited the example  
that if getting greater publicity for individual donations is an increasingly important driver in capitals, 
then the Committee  should also be looking for ways to achieve that recognition with contributions 
to the Global Trust Fund. He said the publicity may be well re ceived at home, but there is a cost that 
is being borne by other  Member s that should not be overlooked.  
6.21.   The Member said their delegation  looks to the future Chair person  to assist in organizing a 
format where interested Members could exchange views and iden tify possible solutions . 
6.22.   The Member said the starting point in carving a path forward would be for the Committee to 
first reach agreement on the desirability of consolidating voluntary contributions. The Member asked 
if Members agree that the G lobal Trust Fund s hould be identified as the primary vehicle for donor 
contributions aimed at supporting capacity building for trade related reforms. The Member said his 
delegation is cognizant of the fact that the  ITTC has structural and valid limitations which ought  to 
be considered. He said that the practice  of creating new individualized trust funds for anything that 
does not fit inside ITTC  should be stopped  and that Members ought to have a robust process to ask 
fundamental questions like – if a trust fund is sugg ested to be established  outside of ITTC's 
competency, then is the WTO really the best place for this initiative and would it perhaps be better 
to direct those resources to better equipped organizations such as ITC, UNCTAD or OECD?  
6.23.   The Member said, s econd ly, Members ought to work to identify the appropriate process for 
contributions falling outside of ITTC consolidation – well in advance of funds actually being received 
by the WTO.  He added that t he current transparency process is a step in the right directi on, but it 
needs to be brought forward in time and not remain an ex -post notification.  In this regard, the 
Member said o ne option could be to adopt revisions to Financial Regulation 19, similar to what was 
previously proposed by another Member, to add a me aningful review step to the process prior to 
acceptance of funds by the Director -General. This would give all Members an opportunity to evaluate 
the appropriateness of a trust fund proposal before hand. The Member said t his could be done in 
coordination wit h revisions to how the Program Support Fund operates to ensure that the resource 
burden that accompanies new trust funds is borne by those funds themselves and not shifted to the 
regular budget.  
6.24.   The Member expressed their delegation's  prepared ness to engage on these suggestions, in 
any format , to help clarify what elements of trust fund governance and voluntary contribution 
guidelines need further attention. The Member said their delegation is  confronted with the same 
question they had asked in their initial set of questions to the Secretariat circulated in WT/BFA/INF /6, 
found in responses to questions 4 to 7. He said the Secretariat 's response clarified that there are no 
consistent policies that apply organization wide, divisions are left with wide  discretion, and most 
policies are done on an ad hoc basis, and often none in management above the concerned D ivision 's 
Director is even aware of the development related to new trust funds. In view of this, the Member 
said their delegation would seek  clarity and some help from the Secretariat in trying to identify the 
precise policies where the CBFA can help clarify.  The Member said the only entry point , from his 
delegation's perspective, is Financial Regulation 19.  
6.25.   A Member said o n one hand  the topic  in part reflects some of the audit recommendations that 
have been made but much more general issues as well. The Member said that the  only place where 
Members  can have more general discussion s on trust funds  is the CBFA and that their delegation 
looks forward to a result on this.  Regarding the landscape, the Member said their delegation 
generally see that it is most useful to have as few trust funds as possible so that they are  manageable 
and their information flow transparent. The Member said their delegation i s also interested in seeing 
that the earmarking of funds do es not affect the general objective or mandate, not only of the funds 
but also of the WTO .   
6.26.   On the issue of having discussions at the relevant Committees , the Member said first and 
foremost the fu nds are meant to be in a system to implement the agreement s, both for commitments 
and to assist in rights and benefits of Members.  The Member said, o n the one hand, there is what  
falls inside the ITTC work on technical assistance an d capacity building , which could include the TFAF 
and the SDTF but there is also  research and development funding which we could  be seen as being 
for complementary activities and not as alternative or funded by other activities of the Secretariat. WT/BFA/193  
 
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  The Memb er also highlighted the travel of capital -based officials to Geneva to participate in 
negotiations or in the Ministerial Conference as being, from their delegation's perspective,  a simple 
procurement issue.  
6.27.   A Member pointed out that, 2021 being a year for the Ministerial Conference, it is good to 
start the discussion  on trust funds  early. The Member said their delegation sees a strong link to the 
current discussions and the external auditors ' recommendations on creating a single unit to manage 
trust funds , although this would be subject to further discussion because there are very different 
types of  trust funds.  
6.28.   The Member said their delegation w ould welcome small group, formal or informal formats  to 
advance discussions on this issue , where different views a nd narrative could be expressed. The 
Member added that maybe the CBFA is not the only forum to discuss this but probably the one where 
all these different aspects could be discussed together by participants.  
6.29.   In response to a question about t he composition of the category  "other smaller project -
oriented funds"  an Official of the Secretariat said these are established  where a contribution is made 
for a specific time limited activity  or project , as opposed to multi -donor multiyear ongoing initiatives.  
6.30.   A Member said that the following aspects are to be discussed: the harmonization of the rules ; 
the establishment and management of trust funds;  enhance ment of  the efficiency at the Secretariat 
in administering the funds ; and the overarching plan. The Member said s uch a plan that provide s a 
frame for areas for technical assistance is already in place.  
6.31.   A Member said the right balance between increasing clarity on one side but not increasing 
rules on the other  is needed . The Member said no Member  disputes the fundamental role for the 
WTO to dispense technical assistance  as this is a key function of the organization.  The Member added 
that all  agree that there is a role for permanent staff to provide technical assistance  but there is a 
need to articulate something that is sufficiently clear but also flexible to adapt to individual situations. 
The Member said S pring could be devoted to discussing trust funds  and, hopefully by this Summer,  
Members  would have address ed the issues . 
6.32.   An Official of the Secretariat said the Secretariat is open to any additional inputs from 
Members and stated that the Secretariat takes note that Members are interested in engaging 
formally or informally or in smaller group arrangements and that th e Secretariat  can support these 
processes . 
6.33.   The Committee took note of the paper and deliberations  on how to take the discussions further 
during the Committee meetings scheduled for 19 April and 20 May .  
6.34.   The Chairperson acknowledged the suggestions for intersessional discussions by the 
Committee on this topic, be it through small -groups, informal and formal meetings . 
7  PROPOSED FINANCIAL REGULATION FOR THE CONTINUATION OF OPERATIONS 
PENDING THE APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET  – WT/BFA/W/ 507/REV.2  
7.1.  The Chairman introduce d the proposed financial regulation by recalling that the Committee had 
had several discussions during Committee meetings  in 2020  as well as having been small group 
discussions . 
7.2.  The Chairman mentioned that he had circulated a n informal  room paper  during the Committee 
meeting in October 2020, setting out some of the changes that were discussed and proposed  
refinements to the text subsequent to  consultations . He said there were four aspects that are 
outstanding: the kind of expenditure th at could be incurred; the interim period; the regularity and 
format for reporting to Members; and the basis for assessed contributions.  
7.3.  The Chairman referred the Committee to the revised version of the text as well as the table 
showing specific changes mad e to the previously tabled version.  
7.4.  In introducing the paper, an Official of the Secretariat thanked Members for having approved 
the 2021 budget relatively easily compared to the difficult budget discussions in 2019.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  7.5.  The Official of the Secretariat stated that the reality is that there is no regulation that would 
assure continuity of operation in the event of a delay in  the approval of the budget.  
7.6.  The Official of the Secretaria t noted that there had been discussions on the text and that three 
Members had h ad strong views that had been incorporated into the present revised version. The 
Official of the Secretariat added that the Secretariat is cautiously ambit ious about the prospect of 
having the Committee approve the current text  right away,  while recognizin g that this may not be 
on the day. The Official of the Secretariat said  the aim was to get agreement on the text, whilst 
recognizing that there was not yet consensus on the necessity of the financial regulation and there 
were prospective difficulties regar ding the suggested basis for sending requests for assessed 
contrib utions to Members.  
7.7.  The p oints emphasized by the Secretariat were: the financial regulation in no way relieves 
Members fr om the ir obligation to contribute to the budget of the Secretariat; th e organization, in 
spite of a n approved budget or not, has standing legal obligations that ought to be met e.g. staff 
emoluments, heating, lighting and other general elements of managing the building; the elements 
that are deemed to be imperative to meet w ere articulated in detail in the current version , instead 
of the previous approach of stating what was to be  excluded ; other areas for which there would be 
a moratorium on expenditure were now added thus listing capital expenditure, appointment and 
renewal  of contracts for short term employees and consultants; clarification that quarterly updates 
to Members would either be during CBFA meetings or in writing if no CBFA meeting was scheduled 
within reasonable time; the period of the interim period is now limi ted to six months – the end of 
June; assessed contributions would be based on the prior period asse ssed contributions and later on 
adjusted after the approval of the budget.  
7.8.  DDG Brauner said that the current text reflected that the Secre tariat had very carefully listened 
to Members and taken their suggestions on board. He said that having an instrument such as 
Financial Regulation 10 is a necessity for prudent governance of the organization, as is the case in 
many Governments. He closed by stating that F inancial Regulation 10 is a must have.  
7.9.  The Official of the Secretariat said that the Secretariat had taken heed of the suggestion to 
commence the budget discussions in June, adding that the fruits of an early start had been 
recognized in 2020.  
7.10.   Before openi ng the floor for question s, the Chairman mentioned that the financial regulation 
would be a subject for further discussions under the tenure of the new Chairperson . 
7.11.   The Committee took note of the update and comments from the DDG . 
8  UPDATE ON AFTER SERVICE HEALTH INSURANCE (ASHI) – WT/BFA/W/5 43 
8.1.  An Official  of the Secretariat introduced the annual report on the status of ASHI and the medical 
plan. He stated that m ost of the data reflects analysis of 2019 information as the data analysis for  
2020 was s till to be done . 
8.2.  He noted that the paper includes background information as t he financial and actuarial aspects 
of a medical plan are not immediately intuitive for non -specialists  and to enable new Committee 
members to be better able to comprehend the subj ect. 
8.3.  The Official of the Secretariat highlighted the following key elements: the plan is pay -as-you-
go i.e. there is no  systematic mechanism for financing the liabilities as they accrue ; the financing of 
the plan is managed on a cash flow basis ; the risks of the medical plan are not transferred to an 
insurance compan y; higher medical expenditures will lead to higher premiums in future years ; and 
the C OVID -19 situation had the effect of supressing demand for medical services and hence claims  
in 2020 . 
8.4.  The cost of the Plan is shared between plan participants and the WTO budget. 60% is covered 
by the budget and 40% by participants. Therefore, both sets of stakeholders have an interest in 
controlling costs.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  8.5.  Demographic s are an important driver of the costs of the plan. While the population of active 
staff is relatively stable, the number of retirees is growing each year. This means that , on average, 
the population of plan participants is getting older.  
8.6.  ASHI is the portion of costs borne by the WTO budget tha t are attributable to retired staff. 
Older  participants tend to have higher health care costs than younger participants. However, this is 
also a key principle of solidarity in the plan. It is well understood that younger participants help to 
subsidize olde r participants. The premiums charged are not varied by the risk profile of any given 
individual or segment of the population.  
8.7.  The ASHI liability that is reported each year in the financial statements of the WTO is very 
significant and has no underlying ass ets to fund it . This is an estimate of the future costs of paying 
for already accrued after service health insurance rights.  Due to an aging population and medical 
inflation that is higher than general inflation, th e liability is forecast to grow steadily over the coming 
years.  
8.8.  The long -term cost implications for the budget require an actuarial study which is not 
undertaken every year. The next such valuation will be done in  2021.  
8.9.  In 2017 a Special Reserve Account was established to "ring -fence" savings on the budgeted 
amount for the medical plan. As of the end of 2020, the accumulated balance resulting from savings 
on the medical plan from the regular budget amounts to CHF 4.5 million, plus another CHF 1.3  million 
from extra budgetary funded staff.  
8.10.   A Member  said there is a  logical relationship between active contributors and the people who 
have gone on  retirement , with health expenditure being  greater for the retired. He said similar 
challenges are faced by social security systems in many countries.  He said that, in his country, a 
gradual transition is underway to increas e the retirement age from 65  years  to 67  years and that 
this might increase further over the years . He asked whether the WTO has  been thinking about th is 
type of issue.  
8.11.   An Official of the Sec retariat said the challenges being faced at the WTO are similar to those 
being faced by national systems and other entities around the world. He said that the mandatory 
retirement age at the WTO had not so long ago been increased  from 62 years  to 65 years .  
8.12.   The Committee took note of the report . 
9  PROCEDURAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR  THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET, FINANCE AND 
ADMINISTRATION – WT/BFA/W/538/REV.1  
9.1.  In introducing the paper, a Member said a n umber of delegations  are making suggestion  for 
procedural improvements in the CBFA, circulated to Members in WT/BFA/W/538/Rev.1.  The Member 
said that the suggestions aim at improving the operations of the Committe e and that m any of the m 
are drawn on practices from other WTO Committees or bodies.  
9.2.  Regarding Item 6 in the paper, the Member said the suggestion is just for a review of the 
current practice of Committee recordkeeping and not any specific action at this t ime. Here, Member 's 
experiences with other Committee practices would be instructive  and there are multiple examples 
of recordkeeping across the organization  which would inform discussions.  
9.3.  The Member said Item 1 is just intended to provide a heads up to M embers that the agenda 
will close in case they wanted to add an item to the agenda, as the CBFA meets more regularly and 
frequently than other Committees and there is often a very short window between CBFA Meetings.  
9.4.  Item 2 brings forward a common practice  in almost every other Committee and provides a 
clear and predicable moment in time when changes to the agenda can and should be announced 
and discussed.  
9.5.  Item 3 seeks to ensure that Members can stay updated on any progress or developments on 
small group w ork or Chair consultations on work program items for the periods when those items 
do not formally appear on the CBFA agenda for discussion.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  9.6.  Item 4 is a request for the Secretariat to revise internal deadlines for longer reports so that 
Members could be gi ven additional time, where possible and appropriate, to review longer 
documents.  
9.7.  Item 5 seeks to establish a more consistent use of revision documents and comparison charts 
when the Committee is reviewing documents that are modified over time based on Mem bers' input.  
9.8.  Item 6 raises the question of whether certain Committee discussions should be captured in a 
format that makes it easier for Members to review past discussions and better prepare for future 
engagement on issues that may span months or sometimes  years. He cited the example of  the 
accompanying document for the  updated proposal for Financial Regulation 10, which tabulated and 
tracked changes to the previous text. He added that other  Committees have established practices 
for treating certain discussions in formal or informal mode, but in the case of the CBFA all discussions 
are currently summarized in informal mode.  
9.9.  Item 7 recognizes that delegates and capital -based officials often r ely on reports or minutes 
from previous meetings in developing guidance for future meetings. To the extent possible, those 
reports should be issued at least 10 days prior to the next meeting so that they can inform the 
guidance for upcoming meetings.  
9.10.   Several Member expressed their delegations support for the suggestions and stated that they 
look forward to having further discussion , if needed .  
9.11.   Pursuant to expressing support or the spirit of the proposal and its valuableness to the 
proceedings of the CBFA,  a Member made the following suggestions: With regard to Item 3  about 
the agenda issue , the Member said compared with the previous  CBFA agenda in recent  years, 
especially in the last two, there  have been more and more items and meeting s have become much 
longer than before . The Member said it is  important to have new  items in the discussion, especially 
if they are relevant to th e CBFA mandate . Nonetheless, the Member suggest ed to the Secretariat to 
help Members to have better understand ing on how the agenda has been expanded . For example, 
some agenda items are regular , some are routine  within the scope of Terms of Reference  and some 
are items  coming from the Secretariat itself or from being identified by the Secretariat  from the 
discussions of the Members . 
9.12.   The Member said her delegation is aware that the CBFA is different from the G eneral Council , 
the CTS or TBT  but know s that in other Committees o r Bodies, there is a time open for the Members 
to submit items for the agenda . The Member asked for  clarification on how Members that are  
interest ed in adding  items  on the agenda would do so  and how non -routine items are put forward 
for discussions in the CBFA . 
9.13.   On Item 6, the Member said their delegation recognizes the importance of having  clear reports 
and minutes for discussions  and said small group discussions are a good process. In this regard, the 
Member said s ometimes  these small group discussions have been very important  for the decision 
making in this committee . The Member asked if, b esides minutes or reports mentioned in this 
document, is it possible to have some other suggestions in the document to ensure that those  small  
group  discussion s could also be well reflected  and reported to the Members  with written reports. The 
Member said, c urrently , there are some oral reports from Chair persons  and asked if it  would be 
helpful to have  some kind of written reports.  
9.14.   The Member that had presented the paper thanked those that had commented, for this and 
said he would follow up with the Member that had made additional suggestions for paragraph 3 and 
paragraph 6 . He said the i ntent was  to spark some creative suggestions . He noted that there is  
broad support for  the other items and so what said these could be implemented  on a trial basis while 
Members  discuss Item 6 in terms of fl eshing out ways to better capture some of the C ommittee 's 
discussions .  
9.15.   The committee t ook note of the proposal, the exchange of interventions and the constructive 
suggestions .  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  10  APPOINTMENT OF THE CHAIRPERSON  OF THE CBFA  
10.1.   The outgoing Chairperson, Ambassador Manuel Teehankee, said he was  privileged to have 
serve d as Chair person  of this important Committee . He said ensuring passage of the WTO 2021 
Budget had been the Committee's foremost priority. He thanked delegations for the constructive 
discussions which led to it s successful adoption .  
10.2.   Ambassador Teehankee recalled that the Committee had initiated discussions on strategic 
planning  and continued to discuss matters such as horizontal coordination, trust funds and the WTO's 
Financial Regulations.   
10.3.   He said he would be  remiss if he did not address a few words directly to DDG Karl Brauner.  
He said, when looking back on his time with the WTO, D DG Brauner should know that what had 
been accomplished in the CBFA  would not have been possible without his wise counsel and patie nt 
advice.  He said, a s a judicious steward of t he organization , at a time when there was no Director -
General, DDG Brauner  never flinched in the face of challenges, and always succeeded in handling 
matters with skill, elegance, diplomacy and a welcome sense  of humour. He especially thank ed 
DDG Brauner  for his dedication, and behind -the scenes efforts to ensure passage of the 2021 WTO 
Budget, as well as for the great deal of work he had  already done back in 2019 on budget matters.  
10.4.   The Chairman then profoundly  thanked the Secretary of the Committee and the Secretariat 
team that provided professional and technical support to the Committee. The Chairman said the 
Secretary of the Committee has  truly been integral to all aspects of the work of the  Committee and 
the improvements made in 2020  and that t ogether with DDG Karl, the she  had made an enormous 
contribution to this organization  with tireless devoti on of time to the work of the Committee.  
10.5.   Turning to the incoming Chairperson, Ambassador Teehankee  propose d that the Committee 
on Budget, Finance and Administration formally appoint s her Excellency Amb assador  
Dr. Bettina  Waldmann of Germany as Chair person, by acclamation.  
10.6.   The Committee adopt ed the appoint ment of its  new Chair person,  by acclamation . 
10.7.   Ambassador Waldmann expressed her gratitude and being honoured to be chairing  the CBFA . 
She said that the Committee is, at  the first instance , responsible for the financial well -being of the 
WTO and the  approval of the 2022 -2023 budget.  Addition ally, the Committee is  an important 
contributor to the smooth and efficient functioning of the organization. She added that the 
Committee  can play a significant role in making and keeping the organization relevant , to quote the 
new D irector General,  "not business as usual" .  
10.8.   The Chairperson said she would like to further build on the invaluable work of her predecessor , 
Ambassador Teehankee , who succeeded in gavelling the 2021 budget at a crucial time. She said her  
and hopefully the Committee's common interest is to advance the CBFA work further. This would  
include smaller working groups as well as regular reports so that the Committee stays up to date  on 
ongoing topics . She said she had heard the various requests from the Members for different format s 
and had noted them well and will come back to the Committee on this . 
10.9.   The Chairperson said the Committee's workplan is not static and would evol ve as the year 
progresses . She asked for  help, cooperation, flexibility and active participation  from Members and 
said the support of the Secretariat is naturally  essential  for the Committee to achieve results.  She 
pledged to carry out her responsibilities  in an open, transparent and unbiased manner.  
10.10.   In closing her statement, Ambassador Waldmann thank ed Ambassador Teehankee for his 
engagement of the Committee during  the past year  and wished him every success in Chairing the 
Committee on Trade and Environment  and in the future.  
10.11.   The Chairperson paid tribute to DDG Karl Brauner , saying that she has known him for many 
years and that he is very well respected among Members as well as by the Secretariat staff. She 
said the  WTO Secretariat will be losing a very devoted and knowledgeable trade expert, passionate 
multilateralist  and advocate for free trade. She said that, a t the same time, he is someone who 
never lost sight of the social di mension.  WT/BFA/193  
 
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  10.12.   DDG Brauner congratulate d Ambassador Waldmann o n her election as Chair person  of the 
CBFA. He said during a meeting , in the morning , to celebrate International Women's Day, the 
Director -General  had asked Secretariat male staff members what they are going to do for women  
today and added that just wearing a yellow tight is not good enough. He said that he would report 
to the Director -General that Members had elected Bettina Waldmann as a Chair person  of the CBFA , 
a Committee that is , from his  perspect ive, the most important Committee that the WTO has.  
10.13.   DDG Brauner said he first met Ambassador Waldmann in Bonn and , incidentally,  she was 
wearing a yellow pullover. That was when the Government was still in Bonn. S he had just returned 
after three years in Br ussels. Prior to that,  she had been posted to Geneva  for four years and was 
present during the historical events related to the  transition of the GATT to the WTO . DDG Brauner 
said Ambassador Waldmann is  well rooted in this system . He added that during the time they worked 
together in the Ministry of  Economics  she had a number of different positions and he got to know 
her as somebo dy who is well organized , who plans ahead and is demanding . He said this would see 
to the Committee's success.  
10.14.   DDG Brauner said he had been in the Secretariat for s even and a half years and worked 
closely with  eight Chairperson, some more active than other s. He said that he had gained a 
reputation for playing music at the beginning of meetings  and that some will remember that he had 
played "Money Money Money," by Abba when the Ambassador of Sweden was the Chairperson.  
10.15.   DDG Brauner heartily thanked Ambassado r Teehankee, saying that  he would have played  
Frank Sinatra 's "I Do It My Way" for him had there not been technolo gical impediment s. He said 
Ambassador Teehankee had done things his  way and been successful, as evidenced by his having  
secure d the budget . DDG Brauner wished Ambassador Teehankee w ell in his new endeavours and 
in the Committee on Trade and Environment . He noted that Ambassador Teehankee is  an expert  in, 
and has written a book on , trade and environment.  
10.16.   DDG Brauner said he had ver y much enjoyed working  at the WTO Secretariat, and with the 
CBFA. He said that he had previously worked in the budget division of the Ministry of Economics  of 
Germany . He said he had had to deal with a sovereign there  and that the CBFA was akin to a 
sovere ign in his current role. He said in Germany , the Parliament were very rough  in the context of 
their role on budget matters. DDG Brauner said he has always appreciated how polite  and 
consider ate the Committee has always been when engaging with the  Secretari at. He said, jointly, 
results  were produced  where crucial . 
10.17.   He added that t here were more incidents where he would have liked to see results, l ike on 
ASHI. In this regard, he said that a lot of time had been spent in motivating for the establishment 
of an ASHI asset base so as to generate some stability for the ASHI obligations  though in the end 
this was not achieved.  
10.18.   DDG Brauner said he regret s that during the last year it was not possible to have soci al 
luncheons like before as these allowed for friendly engage ment among Members and officials of the  
Secretariat . He thanked the Committee and expressed gratitude to the o utgoing Chairperson for 
having mentioned that it is possible to be German and have  a sense of  humour . In closing, he wished 
everyone all the best.  
10.19.   The meeting was adjoined . 
 
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