WT/TPR/436  
7 August  2019 
(19-5176) Page: 1/2 
Trade Policy Review Body   
 
  
TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIRPERSON  
OF THE TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY  
COSTA RICA 
Arrangements for Review Meeting  
1.  In pursuance of Article IV, paragraph 4 and Annex 3 of the WTO Agreement, a meeting of the 
Trade Policy Review Body is scheduled for 18 and 20 September  2019 to conduct the fifth review of 
the trade policies and practices of Costa Rica (WTO/AIR/TPR/88).  
2.  This communication sets out arrangements concerning the review meeting . In this connection, 
attention is also drawn to the procedures for the conduct of reviews contained in the rules of 
procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body (WT/TPR/6/Rev.4).  
3.  Members' at tention is drawn to Costa Rica's use of the "alternative" time -frame for 
submission of written questions and responses (see below).  
1  QUESTIONS IN WRITING IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING AND MAIN POINTS  
4.  Members wishing to submit written questions to the Member und er review should do 
so at least five weeks before the review meeting, to allow replies to be submitted one 
week prior to the first session of the meeting . For the forthcoming review, such questions 
should therefore be with the Trade Policies Review Divisio n of the Secretariat (tprd@wto.org ) 
by 5.30 p.m. on Wednesday 14 August  2019, at the latest . Delegations are informed that Costa 
Rica has opted for the traditional way of handling questions and answers.  
5.  In accordance with the rules of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body (WT/TPR/6/Rev.4, 
paragraph  17), Members are reminded that they should group their written questions into the 
following three categories so as to facilitate responses : those related to t he Secretariat report (with 
a reference to relevant paragraph numbers) ; those concerning the Government report (with a 
reference to relevant paragraph numbers) ; and other questions.  
6.  The Secretariat shall identify the main points contained in the questions submitted at least 
five weeks before a review meeting, post them on the Members' website one week before the 
meeting, and distribute a revised list of main points during the first session of a review when 
questions received after the five -week deadline giv e rise to significantly new issues . The main points 
may be found on the Members' website under "Forthcoming Meetings : Documents for Meetings".  
2  ANSWERS IN WRITING BY THE MEMBER UNDER REVIEW  
7.  Answers by the Member under review should be distributed in writing . Advance questions 
submitted by the five -week deadline before the start of the TPRB review should be 
answered in writing by the Member under review one week prior to the start of the 
meeting (1 1 September  2019) . Written answers will be made available on t he Members' 
website four working days prior to the meeting (12 September  2019) . Questions posed 
subsequently should be answered, to the extent possible, before the start of the second session of WT/TPR/436  
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  the meeting . Questions left unanswered at the end of the seco nd session should be answered in 
writing no later than one month after the meeting with some latitude in the Chair's discretion for 
Members reviewing a very large number of questions.  
8.  In the course of the discussions at the review meeting, the Member under  review may indicate 
that it intends to provide supplementary information, in writing, on specific points raised . Upon 
receipt, the Secretariat will circulate a document containing this information to all Members.  
3  DISCUSSANT  
9.  In consultation with the Member  under review, the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body 
may choose a discussant who, in her/his personal capacity, will introduce the discussions in the 
Body. H.E.  Mr Mikael Anzén (Sweden) will act as discussant for the review of Costa Rica.  
4  STRUCTU RE OF THE MEETING  
10.  Trade policy reviews cover four broad headings:  
a. appreciation of the full range of the Member's trade policies and practices;  
b. relevant background : wider economic and developmental needs, including the external 
environment;  
c. impact of the Member's trade policies and practices on the functioning of the multilateral 
trading system ; and 
d. general comments by way of assessment and evaluation.  
11.  Meetings take place in two sessions . The first session is devoted to the opening statements by 
the Member  under review and the discussant, and remarks and questions from the floor . The 
discussion in the second session, when the Member under review will reply to questions, is based 
on main themes identified after the opening meeting by the Chairperson, the dis cussant and the 
Secretariat in consultation with the Member.  
12.  As indicated in the rules of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body (WT/TPR/6/Rev.4, 
paragraph  21), the speakers list will follow the order in which questions are received by the 
Secretariat a nd, in the event of more than one batch of questions, the final batch will determine the 
order of speakers . Delegations not submitting written questions will continue to speak second, in 
the order in which their flags are raised . On the day before each review meeting, the Secretariat will 
post on the WTO Members' website a provisional list of speakers for the first session of that meeting, 
for Members' advance information.  
5  DOCUMENTATION AND PRESS ARRANGEMENTS  
13.  Reports by the Member under review and the Se cretariat are contained in the following 
documents:  
WT/TPR/G/3 92  Report by Costa Rica  
WT/TPR/S/3 92  Costa Rica : Report by the Secretariat  
 
14.  The press embargo for the review of Costa Rica will end at 2 p.m. Geneva time 
on 18 September  2019. 
6  RECORD OF THE ME ETING  
15.  The record of the meeting will be circulated as a draft to Members for comments on their own 
statements and placed on the WTO website.  
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