WT/GC/W/777/Rev.4  
 
21 October  2019 
(19-6886) Page: 1/3 
General Council  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURAL GUIDELINE S FOR WTO COUNCILS A ND COMMITTEES ADDRES SING TRADE 
CONCERNS  
DRAFT GENERAL COUNCI L DECISION  
Communication from  Albania; Australia ; European Union; Hong Kong, China ; Iceland; Republic of 
Korea ; Republic of Moldova; New Zealand ; North Macedonia; Norway ; Panama ; Qatar; Singapore ; 
Switzerland ; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu ; 
Thailand;  Turkey ; and Ukraine  
Revision* 
The following communication, dated 18 October  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation s of Albania; Australia; European Union; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Republic of Korea; 
Republic of Moldova; New Zealand; North Macedonia; Norway; Panama; Qatar; Singapore; 
Switzerland; the Separate  Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu;  Thailand; 
Turkey  and Ukraine . 
 
_______________  
 
 
The General Council,  
 
Having regard to Article IV:2 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization;  
 
Recognizing  that regular WTO council and committee meetings offer Members the possibility to 
discuss and resolve concerns with trade -related measures of other Members;  
 
Seeking to encourage the effective resolution of such trade concerns among Members through 
dialogu e;  
 
Desiring to  strengthen the ability of regular WTO councils and committees to facilitate the effective 
resolution of such concerns by equipping them with horizontal procedural guidelines, taking into 
account the specific rules set by individual council s and committees;  
 
Decides  as follows:  
 
Meeting arrangements  
 
1. All documents to be considered at a formal meeting of a WTO body, including convening notices 
which shall indicate the items proposed for the agenda, shall be made available to Members at 
least 15 calendar days before the meeting. This shall not apply to proposed and annotated 
agendas, which may be circulated closer to the meeting, and room documents, which may be 
circulated at any time. The Secretariat shall remind Members of the closing dates f or proposing 
items for the agendas.  
                                                
* This revision is to add Iceland and North Macedonia  as co-sponsors to the submission . WT/GC/W/777/Rev.4  
 
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  2. Convening notices indicating the items proposed for the agenda shall indicate which trade 
concerns are raised for the first time and which have been previously raised as well as how many 
times. Convening notices shall be unrestricted1  and made publicly available on the WTO website.  
3. The minutes of a meeting of a WTO body shall normally be circulated within three weeks after 
the meeting and not later than 30 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled meetin g of 
that body.2 
4. At the end of the calendar year, the Secretariat shall circulate an indicative schedule of meetings 
for the coming year for each WTO body.  
5. To the extent that the meeting arrangements set out in paragraphs 1 to 4 are in contradiction 
with r ules set by individual councils and committees, the present decision shall prevail. This 
includes where committees apply mutatis mutandis  the Rules of Procedure for Meetings of the 
General Council .  
Consideration of trade concerns in WTO bodies  
 
6. Members re questing the inclusion of a trade concern in the agenda of a formal meeting for the 
first time should inform the respondent Member(s) concerned and the Secretariat at least 
20 calendar days prior to the meeting. They should provide the respondent Member(s)  with a 
substantive description of the concern so as to enable them to prepare a substantive reply. 
Respondent Members shall endeavour to address the substance of the concerns raised at the 
first meeting where the concern is included in the agenda.  
7. Members  raising a trade concern are encouraged to submit written questions or concerns to the 
respondent Member(s). If a Member receives written questions on a trade concern, that Member 
should respond in writing within 30 calendar days of circulation of the writ ten questions. Written 
questions and written replies on trade concerns shall be unrestricted, unless the Member raising 
or responding to the trade concern requests otherwise.  
8. The Secretariat will establish and manage a database on trade concerns in which a ll WTO 
documents pertaining to trade concerns are recorded, including written questions and replies, 
relevant minutes of meetings and relevant notifications. The database will contain a search 
facility to make all documents related to a particular trade co ncern easily accessible.  
9. If concerns over the same measure are raised in different WTO bodies, the Chairperson assisted 
by the Secretariat shall, when the agenda item is taken up, give an overview of the relevant 
discussions that took place in other WTO bo dies. This overview shall include information on which 
bodies have addressed trade concerns over the same measure and how often as well as a factual 
summary of substance.  
10. The Members raising and responding to a trade concern are encouraged to consult with each 
other between formal meetings. As far as practicable and appropriate, they should report about 
the outcome of their consultations at the next formal meeting if the trade concern is maintained 
on the agenda.  
11. When a trade concern is repeatedly raised at  a WTO body, Members taking the floor under the 
agenda item are encouraged, in order to make the best use of time and to the extent possible, 
to refer back to their previous statements which are on record.  
                                                
1 Convening notices shall be deemed to be official WTO documents which are unrestricted pursuant to 
paragraph 2(b) of the Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents of 14 May 2002, as 
contained in WT/L/452.  
2 Paragraph 3 concerning the circulation of the minutes of a meeting  of a WTO body shall replace the first 
sentence of footnote 3 of the Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents of 14  May 2002.  WT/GC/W/777/Rev.4  
 
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  Informal resolution of trade concerns  
 
12. If a trade concern has remained on the agenda for three or more consecutive meetings without 
resolution, the Member raising or responding to a trade concern may request the Chairperson 
to invite them to participate, on a voluntary basis, in an informal meeting with t he objective of 
finding a way forward. The Secretariat shall participate, unless one of the Members raising or 
responding to a trade concern disagrees. The Member raising or responding to a trade concern 
and the Chairperson may request the Secretariat to p rovide technical input. The Chairperson 
may invite other interested Members to the informal meeting if the Members raising and 
responding to a trade concern so agree.  
13. Members are encouraged to ensure the participation of capital -based experts at the inform al 
meeting as necessary and may request the Secretariat to facilitate their participation, including 
by means such as videoconferencing. If the Members raising and responding to a trade concern 
agree, technical experts from organi zations that have observer  status in the body concerned 
may participate at the technical meeting and may provide technical input upon request.  
14. The Chairperson shall orally report about the outcome of the informal meeting at the next formal 
meeting, unless the Member raising or resp onding to a trade concern disagree. The oral report 
shall include a factual summary of views expressed and any way forward agreed by the Members 
concerned.  
Assistance and review  
 
15. A developing country Member encountering difficulties to respond to a trade concern or to 
implement these Procedural Guidelines is encouraged to request assistance from the WTO 
Secretariat.  
16. In the light of the experience gained from the operation of the Procedural Guidelines, the General 
Council will, at an appropriate time, revie w and if necessary modify them.  
Scope and entry into force  
 
17. The Procedural Guidelines shall apply to the bodies set up pursuant to, and referred to by, 
Article  IV of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, with the 
exception of the Ministerial Conference and the General Council, including when it convenes and 
acts as the Dispute Settlement Body and the Trade Policy Review Body. They shall also apply to 
the Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Inform ation Technology Products, 
which was established pursuant to the provisions of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in 
Information Technology Products3 and the Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on 
Trade in Information Technology Products4. 
18. The present decision shall enter into force three months after the date of its adoption.  
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3 WT/MIN(96)/16 . 
4 G/L/160 .