JOB/GC/204/Rev.9  
JOB/CTG/14/Rev.9  
 
28 April 2022  
(22-3370) Page: 1/3 
General Council  
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
 
PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY AND IMPROVE COMPLIANCE WITH 
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER WTO AGREEMENTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM ARGENTINA; AUSTRALIA; CANADA; CHILE; COLOMBIA; COSTA RICA; 
THE EUROPEAN UNION; ICELAND; ISRAEL; JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; LIECHTENSTEIN; 
MEXICO; NEW ZEALAND; NORTH MACEDONIA; NORWAY; PARAGUAY, THE PHILIPPINES; 
SINGAPORE; SWITZERLAND; THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, 
KINMEN AND MATSU;  UNITED KINGDOM; THE UNITED STATES; AND URUGUAY  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 28 April 2022, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Argentina; Australia; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; the European Union; 
Iceland; Israel; Japan; Republic of Korea; Liechtenstein; Mexico; New Z ealand; North Macedonia; 
Norway; Paraguay; the Philippines; Singapore; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; United Kingdom; the United States; and Uruguay.  
 
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Draft General Council Decision  
 
Proce dures to Enhance Transparency and Improve Compliance with Notification 
Requirements under WTO Agreements  
 
Decision of X Date  
 
 
The General Council,  
 
Recognizing that transparency and notification requirements constitute fundamental elements of 
many WTO agreements and a properly functioning WTO system, and thus of Members' obligations;  
 
Acknowledging the chronic low level of compliance with existing notification requirements under 
many WTO agreements;  
 
Recalling the difficulties that some Members are faci ng to comply fully with the notification 
requirements due to capacity limitations, and the necessity to give appropriate consideration to such 
difficulties and provide appropriate technical assistance and capacity building to those Members to 
address them;   
 
Desiring to strengthen and enhance transparency and improve the operation and effectiveness of 
notification requirements; and  
 
Recalling  the previous efforts of the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures;  
 
Decides as follows:  
  JOB/GC/204/Rev.9 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.9  
 
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  Scope of Decision  
 
1. For the purpose of this decision "notification" shall mean the notification obligations in relation 
to each of the following WTO Agreements, Understandings, and Decisions:  
 
Agreement on Agriculture;  
Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of  the GATT 1994 (Anti -Dumping);  
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures;  
Agreement on Safeguards;  
Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994 (State Trading); 
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation); 
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures;  
Agreement on Rules of Origin;  
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection;  
Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (G/L/59/Rev.1);  
Agreement on Trade Related Investment  Measures;  
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;  
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; and  
Agreement on Trade Facilitation, Section I.  
 
Reaffirming existing commitments  
 
2. The Members reaffirm existing notification obligations and recommit to submitting timely and 
complete notifications.  
 
Engagement in WTO bodies to facilitate compliance  
 
3. The General Council instructs the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures 
(Working Group), which is open to participation by all Members, to:  
 
(a) meet initially within six months of this decision to develop recommendations on improving 
Member compliance with notification obligations;  
(b) consult with relevant committees and other working groups and bodies to id entify both 
systemic and specific improvements, as appropriate, such as introducing simplified 
notification formats, updating reporting requirements, holding additional trainings and 
workshops at the committee level, and using new digital tools that can he lp Members 
improve compliance with notification obligations;  
(c) consult with the WTO Secretariat as appropriate, including the WTO Institute for Training 
and Technical Cooperation (ITTC), to assess the contribution of WTO trade -related 
technical assistance to  improving notification compliance and submission of notifications 
to the Central Registry of Notifications;  
(d) work with the Secretariat to update the Technical Cooperation Handbook on Notification 
Requirements for each of the agreements and understandings l isted in paragraph 1 and 
present it to the Council for Trade in Goods;  
(e) review G/L/223 and recommend enhancements to the report relating to the factual 
analysis of Members' notification compliance;  
(f) consult with the Secretariat on ways to enhance the WTO Notification Portal, including 
with regard to how it may be used to improve notification compliance;  
(g) work with the relevant committees and the Secretariat to create a dedicated page on the 
WTO website with resources, guidance, training videos, and other ma terials as relevant 
to aid Members in completing notifications;  
(h) work with the Secretariat to establish automatic reminder emails to Members before a 
notification is due;  JOB/GC/204/Rev.9 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.9  
 
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(i) report to the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) on its findings and recommendations wit hin 
two years of the adoption of this decision; and  
(j) report to the CTG on its continuing work annually or as appropriate thereafter . 
Trade policy reviews  
 
4. The General Council instructs the Trade Policy Review Body to ensure that within one year of 
this deci sion all trade policy reviews include a specific, standardized focus on the Member's 
compliance with its notification obligations. The Secretariat shall include within country reports 
specific information on notification compliance by the Member. For prepa ring notifications, Members 
are encouraged to make use, as appropriate, of the information on Members' trade policies and 
practices available under the Trade Policy Review  Mechanism.  
 
Technical assistance and capacity building  
 
5. Any Member may request that the Secretariat assist it in identifying and completing a 
notification. The Secretariat is instructed to provide such assistance in full consultation with that 
Member.  
 
6. Any Member encountering difficulty in fulfilling its notification obligations is encour aged to 
make a written request to the Secretariat for the notification -related technical assistance or capacity 
building needed in order to submit the relevant notification, and to share this request with the 
Working Group and the relevant Committee in the  interest of transparency.  
 
7. The Secretariat should take into account the specific needs identified in requests for assistance 
and support to provide more targeted training related to  notifications.  
 
Explanation for delay  
 
8. A Member that fails to submit a notification within the applicable notification deadline is 
encouraged to submit to the relevant Committee within six months after the relevant notification 
deadline, and every six months thereafter: an explanation for the delay; the anticipated t ime-frame 
for its notification; and any elements of a partial notification that a Member can produce to limit any 
delay in transparency.  
 
Review of progress and future work  
 
9. Three years after adoption of this decision and as appropriate thereafter, the General Council 
shall review the progress made by Members in improving compliance with notification obligations.  
 
10. The General Council may direct the Working Group to develop further recommendations.  
 
11. The General Council may consider expandi ng the efforts of the Working Group to other WTO 
Agreements, Understandings, and Decisions.  
 
 
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