WT/GC/W/777  
 
5 July 2019  
(19-4506) 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  Australia ; European Union; Hong Kong, China ; Republic of Korea ; 
New Zealand ; Norway ; Panama ; Singapore ; Switzerland ; and  Turkey  
The following communication, dated 4 July 2019, is being circulated at the request of the delegation s 
of Australia; European Union; Hong Kong, China; Republic of Korea; New Zealand; Norway; Panama; 
Singapore; Switzerland; and Turkey . 
 
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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;  
 
Acknowledging  that many such trade concerns remain unresolved and that the potential of the WTO 
to facilitate satisfactory outcomes for Members regarding trade concerns is underutili zed; 
 
Desiring to  strengthen the ability of regular WTO councils and committees to effectively resolve such 
concerns by equipping them with horizontal procedural guidelines , taking into account the specific 
rules set by individual councils and committees;  
 
Decides  as follows:  
 
Meeting arrangements  
 
1. All documents to be considered at a formal meeting of a WTO body, including convening notices 
indicating 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.  
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 availa ble on the WTO website.  
                                                
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.  WT/GC/W/777  
 
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  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 meeting 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 rules set by individual councils and committe es, 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 requesting 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 conce rn 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 s ubmit 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 written question. 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 all WTO 
documents pertaining to trade concern s 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 concern easily accessible.  
9. If concerns over th e 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 bodies. This overview shall include informatio n 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 unde r 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.  
Informal resolution of trade concerns  
 
12. If a trade concern has remained on the agenda for thr ee or more consecutive meetings without 
resolution, the Member raising or responding to a trade concern may request the Chairperson 
to invite them to an informal meeting with the 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 provide 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.  
                                                
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  
 
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  13. Members should ensure the participation of capital -based experts at the informal 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 tech nical input upon request.  
14. The Chairperson shall report about the outcome of the informal meeting at the next formal 
meeting, unless the Member raising or responding to a trade concern disagree. The report shall 
include a factual summary of views expressed  and any way forward identified.  
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 l ight of the experience gained from the operation of the Procedural Guidelines, the General 
Council will, at an appropriate time, review and if necessary modify them.  
Scope and entry into force  
 
17. The Procedural Guidelines shall apply to the bodies set up pur suant 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 Information Technology Products, 
which was established pursuant to the provisions of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in 
Information Techn ology Products3 and the Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on 
Trade in Information Technology Products .4 
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 .