G/L/1515  
G/TFA/8  
16 November  2023 
(23-7720) Page: 1/3 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Trade Facilitation    
 
  
REPORT  ON IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FUNCTIONING OF  
THE COMMITTEE  ON TRADE FACILITATION  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  In October 2022, the Chairperson to the Council for Trade in Goods  (CTG)  requested the 
fourteen Chairpersons of the CTG subsidiary bodies to report, under their own responsibility and 
with the assistance of the Secretariat, on the current functioning of the Committees.1 The 
Chairperson of the Committee on Trade Facilitation (CTF) submitted s uch a report , providing clarity 
on the development of  the Committee's procedures to oversee the operation and implementation of 
the Trade Facilitation Agreement .2  
1.2.  Following discussions and suggestions by the Members at the informal meeting of the CTG held 
on 27  February  20233, the Chairperson of the CTG requested the Chairpersons of the subsidiary 
bodies to organize discussions in each respective bod y, in the context of formal or informal meetings, 
concerning the functioning of each Committee  to identify possible areas of improve ment, taking into 
account the comparative matrix that was prepared by the Secretariat .4 
1.3.  Further, subsidiary bodies were requested to submit a written report to the CTG describing the 
discussions held and improvements introduced and, to the extent possible , submit such written 
reports for consideration at the formal meeting of the CTG scheduled to take place on 
30 November  2023.5 
1.4.  This draft report descri bes the discussions held and improvements introduced in the Committee 
on Trade Facilitation in the context of the WTO "Reform  by Doing"  process  since the conclusion of 
MC12 (June 2022) , following extensive discussions by Members , and with a view to better responding 
to their mandate and terms of reference.   
2  PROCESS  AND PROPOSALS  
2.1.  At the meeting of 28 -29 November and 1 December 2022 of the CTF, t he Chairperson informed 
delegations about  the request made by the CTG Chairper son to the subsidiary bodies to prepare a 
report, under the Chairpersons ' own responsibility, des cribing the concrete actions their Committees 
had adopted over the past years to improve their work, as well as any proposals for improvements .6 
The Chair circulated  a draft  report to Members and invited them to submit comments  on the draft 
in writing . The report was circulated in document  G/TFA/W/88 ; G/L/1474 and presented at the CTG 
meeting on 31 January 2023 . 
2.2.  At the formal  meeting of the CTF of 21-22 March 20237, Members discussed ideas for the 
improvement of the functioning of the Committee and proponents referred  to the following  
document s: 
 
1 JOB/CTG/18 . 
2 G/TFA/W/88 . 
3 JOB/CTG/23 . 
4 G/C/W/824/Rev.1 . 
5 JOB/CTG/33 . 
6 G/TFA/M/24 . 
7 G/TFA/M/25 . G/L/1515 • G/TFA/8  
 
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  a. JOB/TF/232/Rev.1  - "Functioning of the CTG and its Subsidiary Bodies - Communication 
from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay , and Uruguay ".  
b. JOB/GC/223/Rev.1  - "LDC Views On WTO Reform Discussions and Proposals - 
Communication from Chad on behalf of the LDC Group ". 
2.3.  As a follow -up to that exchange, the Chair of the Committee circulated, on 3 April  2023, a 
summary of the inputs from the March meeting, requesting additional ideas and suggestions which 
could be consolidated into a document a s a basis for further discussions in the Committee.  At the 
request of the Chair, the Secretariat prepared document JOB/TF/234  which contain ed the 
consolidated list of suggestions identified by Members , the current practice in the CTF regarding the 
suggestions made . The Chair also took  the opportunity to include some comments and identify a 
number of the suggestions under his own responsibility . 
2.4.  At the formal meeting of the Committee of 15-16 June8, Members discussed  further  ideas for 
the improvemen t of the functioning of the Committee and proponents referred to the following 
documents:  
a. WT/GC/W/877  - "Improving The Operation of WTO Bodies to Revitalise the WTO's 
Monitoring and Deliberative Function - Communication From Australia; 
Brunei  Darussalam; C anada; Chile; Costa Rica; European Union; Guatemala; Iceland; 
Israel; Japan; Republic of Korea; Republic of Moldova; Montenegro; New Zealand; 
North  Macedonia; Norway; Peru; The Philippines; Singapore; Switzerland; The Separate 
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; Thailand; Ukraine; and the 
United Kingdom ". 
b. WT/GC/W/874  – "WTO reform: incremental changes to improve the functioning of the 
various WTO bodies - Communication from India ". 
2.5.  The Committee held an informal meeting on 26 July 2023  where document JOB/TF/234  formed 
the basis of the discussion on improving th e functioning of the Committee. The Committee identified 
six measures which could be implemented immediately without further action and agreed that 
two further measures would be proposed for formally adoption through written procedure s.9 The 
Chair circula ted a Summary Report  of the informal  meeting  in document JOB/TF/235  outlining the 
discussions and outcomes of the meeting.  
3  IMPROVEMENTS ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMITTEE  
3.1.  As a result of these discussions, the Committee agreed to implement eight changes with a 
view to improving its functioning , comprising  two changes  adopted through formal written 
procedures (JOB/TF/237  and G/TFA/7 ) and six changes where the Secretariat would introduce to 
the way in which it supports the work of the Committee.10  
3.2.  The improvements included or to be included in the work of the Committee include:  
General area  Improvements  in the functioning of the Committee  on Trade 
Facilitation  
Assistance to delegates  • Organizing periodic introductory sessions twice a year about the TFA, the 
TFA database, and update on the work of the CTF.  
• Drafting a manual describing the main procedural and substantive aspects 
of the work of the CTF. An outline will be shared with Members in advance.  
• Organizing capacity building sessions on TFA notification submissions on an 
annual basis, in the context of informal meetings.  Additional sessions to be 
held on and ad hoc basis as requested by Members. Participation of 
capital -based officials in the sessions will be considered.  
 
8 G/TFA/M/26 .  
9 JOB/TF/237 . 
10 The LDC Group expressed their systemic concern regarding written procedures and the view that 
different suggestions under the "reform by doing" discussions should be considered on a trial basis .  G/L/1515 • G/TFA/8  
 
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  General area  Improvements  in the functioning of the Committee  on Trade 
Facilitation  
Conduct of formal 
meetings  • The Secretariat to circulate an annotated agenda ahead of formal meetings 
of the CTF, ten days in advance of the meeting. The document could 
describe each agenda item and provide relevant background to help the 
preparation by delegations  
• The Secretariat to c irculat e documents with a document symbol sufficiently 
in advance of meetings so that they could be translated and made available 
through Documents Online, (Reference: JOB/CTG/32  item f.1.1) . Both 
Members and the Secretariat will make their best efforts to ensure tha t all 
presentations are circulated and made available online (i.e. under the 
RD document series) prior to the meetings, (Reference: JOB/CTG/32  
item f.1.2).  
• The Secretariat to circulat e the Chairperson's written reports or statements 
when this can be useful or  when it is requested by delegations  
Conduct of informal 
meetings  • The Secretariat to circulat e the Chairperson's written reports or statements 
when this can be useful or when it is requested by delegations.  
 
4  NEXT STEPS  
4.1.  The CTF will conduct f urther analysis and sharing of views needed regarding the format and 
preparation of the minutes of the CTF and discuss any possible recommendations in this area . 
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