RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/207  
 
29 November 2022  
(22-8647) Page: 1/20 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 5 OCTOBER 2022  
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 5 October 2022. Her 
Excellency Ambassador Bettina Waldmann, German Ambassador to the WTO , welcomed Members 
to the meeting.  
1  OPENING REMARKS  
 
1.1.  The Chair informed the Committee that the focus of the meeting is to provide the opportunity 
for the Director -General to present the mid -term review of the budget and for Members to pose a 
first set of questions and comments.  
1.2.  The Chair said the Secretariat's proposal is contained in document WT/BFA/W/607. She stated 
that the request is that the WTO's budget be increased, as of 2023, by 7.7 percent, from 
CHF 197.2  million to CHF 212.45 million. She said about half (or a 3.9 percent)  of the increase is 
linked to contractual, external, and unavoidable costs and the remainder (or 3.8%) comprises 
increases in the number of promotions, and to cover 18 additional posts.  
2  WTO 2020 -2023 MID -TERM BUDGET REVIEW – WT/BFA/W/607  
2.1.  The Director -Gener al delivered the following statement1: 
2.2.  Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here, thank you very much for the opening. I 
am pleased to be here today with the DDGs, the team, to present to you the mid -term review for 
the 2022 -2023 budget, the firs t under my stewardship of the WTO. We circulated a detailed written 
analysis to you on 23 September, which will be the basis of my presentation to you this afternoon.  
2.3.  I am proud to lead a Secretariat that is dedicated to the mission that you, our Members, have 
set. As the complexities of trade have expanded, so too has our mission. Our successful outcomes 
in MC12, the considerable work that Members have launched for completion by MC13, and exigent 
circumstances beyond our control create an important, and, I  believe, compelling, context for this 
budget review.  
2.4.  As you know, the WTO Secretariat's budget has been at zero nominal growth since 2012, in 
effect from 2012 through 2023 – twelve years. Members also set a cap on our staff at 645.5 staff 
and directed tha t no more than 74% of our budget be spent on staff. So, we had a series of 
restrictions and caps.  
2.5.  We are committed to doing our utmost to meet your requirements within the resource limits 
that you set for us. And it is my responsibility to be transparent w ith you about how we spend the 
funds that you and your taxpayers entrust with us – that is our sacred duty.  
2.6.  But it is also my responsibility to inform you when I believe the financial situation is becoming 
unsustainable. My message to you is straightforwar d: we have now reached the point where a 
modest increase in our budget has become necessary to allow us to serve you effectively and that 
is why I am here today.  
2.7.  As I said to some of you, I do not bring this lightly. I should know better, a Finance Ministe r of 
seven years standing, not just one or even two years. This is not a good time to bring a budget 
 
1 The Director -General's Report is circulated through document JOB/BFA/ 67. WT/BFA/207  
 
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  request to anyone because your Finance Ministers are going to think are they crazy or what? This is 
not a good time for anyone. We have got very serious ex ogenous shocks and financial and fiscal 
difficulties in so many countries, virtually every country, none is free from this, from developed and 
rich countries, the developing and poor countries, there is a problem. So for us to table this request 
before you , at this time, there must be a serious reason why we think this is the time.  
2.8.  I have one message for you. Even if you end up deciding that you will not honour any of this 
budget request, we at least need to have a dialogue. We need to be able to tell you the truth of 
what is actually happening in the Secretariat. That is why we are here. So, I hope at the minimum 
we can have a dialogue that will be informing on what is going on, and at the maximum it may lead 
you to think that perhaps something needs t o be done. I am really not looking for answers today. I 
just want to engage with you and the team to engage with you. The document is thick and needs a 
lot of work, and I know it will take time for you to absorb all the things that have been put down in 
this document and let the people in capital know.  
2.9.  So all I am asking you today is not whether you approve or you are going to support us. No, I 
just want you to look at and listen to what we are going to say. And after you have had some time 
to digest it, yo u will be able to decide. So that is my plea to you today, if you can hear us out whether 
you are sceptical or not, whether you believe we deserve it or not. But as I say to many people, I 
now am speaking of straight from my heart. It would be quite easy t o just keep doing what we are 
doing, not making any request, not facing scepticism and negativism about the budget.  It would be 
easy, we can just go on, and the place would not shut down if you do not give us the budget. It will 
continue to work, but it wi ll work with a steady erosion of some of the key things we value in terms 
of staff skills, morale, and the ability to deliver and support you. These are some of the things that 
would not be there, and that is why we are bringing this to you, because after a year and a half, I 
feel that the situation warrants your attention.  
2.10.  So let me go back to the script before Angela has a heart attack. In many ways, perhaps, we 
are a bit special. With our remarkable success during MC12, the WTO has proven – you Members 
have proven – that this Organization brings considerable value to the world at such a delicate time. 
The multilateral system has proven its worth at a moment of the pandemic, the food crisis, the 
climate emergency, and even war. And our mission with respect  to developing country and LDC 
members is especially compelling during these crises.  
2.11.  You, our Members, rightly demand much from the Secretariat. You expect us to be experts 
on the latest trends in trade, whether it is digital modalities, supply chains chal lenges, the impact of 
environmental degradation on the food supply, or women's economic empowerment. The WTO's 
mission has expanded as you achieve and advance in your work. You also expect us – justifiably – 
to adapt to your new ways of working with respec t to constantly improving information technology, 
language services, with Interprefy being the most recent service we provide to improve your 
meetings.  
2.12.  We take pride in rising to your challenge as you ask us not to stand still. But what has stood 
still are  our resources. We are stewards of the means you provide us. We have made do with less. 
But we cannot achieve what you want with the limited resources we have.  
2.13.  Therefore, in this mid -term review, we are asking for a modest increase of 7.7 percent over 
2022 and the currently approved 2023 budget – CHF 15.25 million. Half of this increase is due to 
contractual, external, and unavoidable costs that we cannot control. The remainder is a reasonable 
sum to improve the Secretariat's resources and expertise to bett er serve you, our Members.  
2.14.  As I present this to you today, I should say that we could have sent you a wish list for 
considerable additional staff and resources we think we need - and I think we could have to justified 
every centime. But I instructed the st aff not to do so because of what I said:  these are not good 
times. Instead, I have asked them to prepare a list of the basic minimum that we need to carry out 
our work, maintain our world class staff, and keep the WTO as a world class institution that deli vers. 
2.15.  I hope you take note that when we prepared the budget proposal last year for 2022 -23, in 
the midst of the pandemic, we exercised prudence and, at our own initiative, refunded 
CHF 9.8 million to you – much of which we did not spend due to the pandemic , with the remainder 
going to the Working Capital Fund. This is a perfect illustration of the prudent financial management WT/BFA/207  
 
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  that is being pursued. We did not spend the amount recklessly in various ways because we knew 
that times were hard and some Members h ad a tough time. The honest thing to do was to be 
transparent about what we could not spend and to return it to you. We have cut costs where we 
can, reallocating staff and exercising sound financial management. We hope you understand that 
good stewardship as the staff and I come to you this afternoon.  
2.16.  As I said, we do not expect you to decide on this today. Rather, the purpose of this meeting 
is to present our request to you and to answer any questions you may have. We will continue our 
dialogue in conjunct ion with or supporting the Chair as you analyse and probe this request. We came 
to you as soon after MC12 as possible, particularly after the exogenous strains in the economy 
accelerated, the inflationary pressures, and the other pressures that you also ar e feeling in your 
countries.  
2.17.  As you know, our Zero Nominal Growth Budgeting began in 2012, and our resources have 
remained flat since then. But before 2012, there were regular budget increases, amounting to 86% 
in total from the WTO's creation in 1995 unti l 2011, an average increase of slightly more than 3% 
per annum during that period. This contrasts to no change at all in the nominal budget amount from 
2012 to date.  
2.18.  Of course, you, our Members, run the show, and you determine what type of budget you want 
us to have, and we have tried to respect that. We have also looked at other international 
organizations and there is variation. There are some who have had a nominal budget freeze for the 
past three or four years but prior to that, they did not. There is m aybe one other that we know about 
that also had several years of budget zero nominal growth - But if you look around there are not too 
many international organizations in that boat.  
2.19.  The economic realities and the structure of international trade has changed  significantly since 
2012. Think about it: 2012 was the year of iPhone 5 and Windows 8. Consider how the technology 
you come to expect from us has evolved in generations in just a few years. And the world of trade 
has changed dramatically since then: suppl y chains have become more complex; the role of services 
in the structure of global trade has grown; and developments in technology have led to an uptick in 
digital trade, which soared even further with the pandemic. In fact, global exports of digitally 
delivered services have more than tripled since 2005 – registering an average annual growth rate 
between 2005 and 2019 of 7.3% - far more than the 5.6% rate for other services exports, or the 
4.7% rate for goods.  
2.20.  Moreover, trade is no longer about a mere exch ange of goods and services. Consistent with 
the Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement, you have demanded that trade be a force for good, 
addressing modern challenges such as climate change or environmental degradation, the pandemic, 
and food security.  
2.21.  Our ma ndate has also evolved compared to 2012 – and if you ask me, that is a good problem 
to have. The best examples are the two new multilateral Agreements that you added to our rulebook 
– the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidie s. 
2.22.  As a result of our very successful Ministerial Conference earlier this year, you have entrusted 
us with even more work, which we welcome. And, of course, we are looking forward to supporting 
you as you undertake the important task of WTO reform.  
2.23.  We in the Secretariat are trying to keep pace with these developments, to evolve, and to 
provide the best possible services to you, our Members. And I think we have been trying to do this 
pretty well. But dealing with the ever -evolving modalities of trade requir es new approaches, tools, 
and resources, which we do not always have.  
2.24.  Simply put, our Zero Nominal Budget hamstrings our effort to serve you. And as I mentioned 
to you earlier, not only has our budget been constrained for so long, but our staffing level ha s been 
capped as well, at 645.5 posts. That level was reasonable and worked for us back then. But now, to 
make ends meet, the WTO Administration has been forced to take drastic measures.  
2.25.   First, we have reduced the number of more senior and experienced sta ff (what I mean is 
addressing the "inverted pyramid"). There is nothing wrong with it: you try to reduce the number of WT/BFA/207  
 
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  staff, so that you are not top heavy, and bring more at the bottom. So reversing this so -called 
inverted pyramid has been the attempt.  
2.26.  Second, we imposed a freeze on promotions from 2012 to 2016 and severely limited 
promotions at all grades since then. I can tell you that recently, I had an open house with staff to 
come in for one -on- one sessions. And as we found in the study that we did t o enable us to do the 
transformation, out of thirteen people who came for the open house, for seven it was all about that 
they have been in post for twenty years with no promotions at Grade 7 and 8. These are the qualified 
staff who are leading our work, a nd this is what they are talking about. For every type of promotion 
we do, ten or fifteen other people are waiting to be promoted and are qualified.  
2.27.  Third, we have been forced to maintain roughly 40 vacancies in our regular posts simply to 
balance the budg et. And fourth, we have reallocated staff where we can.  
2.28.  So, we have tried. My predecessors tried, and I have been trying since I came on board. We 
have trimmed and scrimped and saved to make ends meet. We have created efficiencies and found 
savings where w e could. In short, we have been diligent custodians of your money, as I said, and 
we even gave back the surplus when we did not use it.  
2.29.  Now we have reached a tipping point where we cannot do more with less. Compounding the 
problem, we have found that the m easures we adopted to avoid going into the red have created 
other adverse effects. For example, as a result of maintaining 40 vacant posts to give us necessary 
liquidity, seeking to reverse the inverted pyramid, and expanding areas of work from you, we hav e 
been over -relying on short -term staff, quite often at junior levels. It is initially an attractive option 
because it is cheaper. But it leads to unintended managerial and sunk organisational costs, such as 
higher recruitment costs due to the constant chu rn of these posts, loss of institutional knowledge, 
and constant need for training.  
2.30.  I know you are frustrated that we have spent four times our budget allocation on short -term 
staff – and I am frustrated too that our circumstances have led to this developm ent. We have tried 
to reign that in. I do not think that you question our need for and the value of short -term staff, but 
you have asked us to be more accountable, transparent, and realistic about our needs and budget 
allocation. And for our part, we want to be forthright with you about why we have been overspending 
in this category and explain our needs.  
2.31.  In recent months, we have imposed significant disciplines on the use of short -term staff to 
assure that such hiring is used only when necessary. We are al so planning to cut the use of such 
short-term staff by half from our actual usage in 2022.  
2.32.  But even with these measures in place, we still require an increase in short -terms from the 
historically budgeted levels – which are artificially low – to respond to  Members' needs and the 
evolution of our mission. The increase in the use of short -term staff is a symptom of the real problem, 
which is the freeze in the number of regular posts since 2011. And it is compounded by the need to 
leave vacant dozens of posts simply to pay for other essential resources. This is an interesting 
problem that I have not seen very often elsewhere.  
2.33.  In addition, the promotions freeze in 2012 -2016, and the severe limit on promotions since 
then, has stunted the careers of so many of our  staff. And this constraint has affected our staff at 
every level, from the most junior on up, diminishing morale and even causing some to leave. It is 
not uncommon to see deserving staff who have not been promoted for 20 years. We must provide 
career deve lopment and promotion opportunities if we want to keep the best talent. We must remain 
competitive. After all, our staff is our brain trust. And it does not cost that much. Increasing our 
promotions from 30 to 60 at an average of grade 8, as we propose, co sts CHF 500,000. That is a 
small price to pay for rewarding our staff, keeping them here, and making it less attractive to be 
lured away by our competitors.  
2.34.  I want to share a story with you that happened recently that you may not know. The one 
modeller who  knows how to run a trade model was about to leave, attracted away by the IMF at 
twice the level that he has here. When that happened, the Chief Economist ran to me and told me 
what was happening. I picked up the phone and called the Managing Director of t he Fund and said, 
"you cannot hire away the last modeller we have" and she said "well, it is a free market. If we are WT/BFA/207  
 
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  attractive to them, what I might to do?" So I had to go back to find out what were really the terms. 
He is the person who has done this ve ry good work with the team around him, showing that if we 
were to break in two blocks, there would be a 5% decrease in real GDP in the long -term – everybody 
is quoting it. Actually, the Fund and the Bank are now doing work on this, based on the work that 
this staff has done. We are about to lose this person. So this is the kind of thing I am talking about. 
We have some very skilled staff, and if we do not try to do the right things by them the temptation 
to go elsewhere is very high.  
2.35.  The constant drive to r educe costs means that we replace retiring staff at Grades 9 or 10 with 
junior staff at Grades 6 and 7. We even hire staff at Grades 6 and 7 when they have PhDs, law 
degrees, or other post -graduate qualifications in various fields that reflect the function al areas of 
the Secretariat, or substantial experience. As a result, we are facing two problems: (i) in some areas 
we lack sufficiently senior staff now –it means that the reversing the inverted pyramid and making 
the top less heavy has reached the limit; and (ii) after some time, it becomes difficult for us to retain 
staff who are overqualified for grades at which they were hired. And someone said to me, so why 
do they take it if you offer them such low grades. There is a human phenomenon, "let me get a fo ot 
in the door, once I get there I will be promoted very fast because of my work and competency", but 
they come and are not, and they get stuck.  
2.36.  Therefore, to improve our resources to better serve your needs, we need an additional 18  new 
posts at an averag e of grade 8, representing a modest 2.8 percent increase over the cap set by 
Members in 2012. And we are being completely transparent as to the skill and role of each additional 
post in the budget justification we shared with you.  
2.37.  You may find it counterintuitive that I have just said we have 40 unfilled vacancies, yet we 
are asking for 18 new posts. However, we had no choice but to keep these posts vacant to be able 
to fund other essential needs. We used the money that would have been used on thes e posts to 
create liquidity to finance mandatory staff bonuses and salary increments and the few promotions 
we grant, as well as to finance short -terms contracts. With our budget proposal, we will not have to 
maintain this artificial ceiling, which has had  the effect of shrinking out actual staff below the levels 
our Members set at the beginning in 2012.  
2.38.  We need these new posts to reinforce areas that are currently understaffed, such as 
information technology and digitalisation, data, economic modelling, ri sk, and legal and internal 
oversight functions to create more accountability to you.  
2.39.  We must also improve support to priority areas identified by Members in MC12 outcomes and 
in the lead -up to MC13, such as fisheries subsidies, digital trade, environment, women in trade, and 
of course WTO reform. As always, we are committed to our developing country Members and LDCs 
in negotiations, notifications, monitoring, and compliance, through technical assistance and 
capacity -building.  
2.40.  To make sure that the Secretari at is resilient, forward -looking, and able to address the 
challenges we face, we also need to boost our internal managerial and strategic capacities. We must 
add strategic planning and risk management functions in the Secretariat, which will help us improv e 
strategic allocation of resources, improve accountability to you, and enable risk -aware decision -
making. This is de rigueur in any organization of our size but I did not find it here. I know that 
strategic planning is of particular importance to you in t he CBFA and that many of you are interested 
in developing a long -term strategy for this Organization. I agree completely, I said it when I was 
here before. We need a vision of where we are now headed and how we must evolve to keep pace 
with the development s in international trade that I mentioned earlier. We need a strategy unit to 
implement that vision and to help us better allocate resources to achieve it. And of course, we invite 
your counsel as we develop the strategic plan, in fact beyond simply inviti ng your counsel, we would 
like you to be involved in the visioning and the strategic planning that we are looking to do. And we 
want to launch that work pretty soon. I hope we will work on this together. But to conduct this 
exercise effectively, we need th e two staff we are asking for.  
2.41.  Now there is the issue of the Global and Geographical Coordination Unit. I know that this has 
been misreported and misinterpreted in the press, such as the Washington Trade Daily. I do not 
read it, but somebody brought to me and said they are saying this is a Unit created to serve my 
briefing needs. There could be nothing further than the truth. The idea for this unit came when I WT/BFA/207  
 
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  first arrived. Several Members tried to tell me where there was a gap – developing countries said to 
me that when they need to know the statistics about their country, they do not actually know where 
to go. Do they go to the Agriculture Division, or maybe TPRD or ERSD.   But there is no central place 
to go, and I heard this not from one Member only, but  several. That led me to think perhaps within 
the context of what we have, we need to organize in such a way that we respond to Members so 
that they know where to go if they need regional, country -related, or Member -related information. 
That is the genesis . Then I said at one point in time, I do not know whom I was talking to, that I 
also found a problem because I was going on a trip. When you are going to a country, you want to 
know what are the two or three things to discuss with the Prime Minister or the  President. You only 
have ten, fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, so you have to be quick and to the point, what are the 
two or three points, other than telling them what a wonderful job they are doing – what else do you 
need to tell them about what they are d oing in trade. I could not get this information. Instead, I 
received twelve or fifteen briefs from different Divisions, and I had to make something of that. I just 
use this example to illustrate. Of course, I am perfectly capable to do my own homework, and  I have 
been doing it. But I sympathised with what Members were saying to me. Please do not believe 
everything you read, because mischaracterisation and lies are sometimes what you see, and that is 
not what it is about.  
2.42.  The other half of our request – a 3.9 percent increase or CHF 7.6 million – relates to costs 
that we can neither control nor avoid. These are mostly costs of goods and services provided to us 
by external providers, energy costs, and increased costs of travel, all of which have increased 
because of inflation. Mandatory staff costs, interpreters, and software are other uncontrollable costs. 
Someone said to me that you should outsource the interpreters. I want Nthisana to just say quickly 
that when we outsource interpreters, they are charging mo re, and they can work fewer hours.  
2.43.  I wanted to note that of course languages services and interpretation are an essential part of 
our staff and staff cost. I love our staff – they are wonderful and fantastic – but when you ask 
yourself what are the priorit ies that maybe we could do less with, it really depends on Members. If 
Members would accept less interpretation and translation, maybe that is one area we could really 
look at. I just put that out there for you.  
2.44.  Mandatory staff costs, interpreters, and sof tware are other uncontrollable costs.  
2.45.  I know you are facing the same – and maybe even bigger – struggles at home. As I said, 
having served in government myself, I recognize your responsibility to prioritize the needs of the 
people you serve. But we, collec tively, also deliver for people all over the world through the work 
we do at the WTO. What we are saying is that this modest request will help us do better.  
2.46.  Even though Switzerland has not been hit by inflation as hard as some other countries, we 
very much  feel its effects on our operations, especially when you consider that we have been capped 
at the same budget for 11 going on 12 years.  The increase in consumer prices is the highest since 
August 1993.  
2.47.  In addition, we have seen a significant increase in el ectricity and gas prices, which will amount 
to an additional CHF 1.2 million next year. We have employed significant energy conservation 
measures, resulting in a savings of CHF 0.4 million between 2012 -2021. We are working on extra 
measures to help us save  even more.  
2.48.  Moreover, the cost of travel has dramatically increased, just as travel is resuming after the 
pandemic. Ticket prices to most destinations are now 40 -60 per cent higher than before the 
pandemic. Here too, we are endeavouring to discipline trave l through stricter controls. While we can 
rely on remote meetings to cut down on travel, other activities must take place in person to be 
effective, such as some technical assistance activities or activities related to trade policy reviews. 
Hence an increa se is necessary.  
2.49.  Contractual costs of external service providers have also increased. We buy many services 
from Swiss -based companies, whose costs are skyrocketing to reflect a rise in salaries negotiated 
by industry unions in Switzerland.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.50.  We are also faci ng unavoidable increases regarding contractual staff expenditure, including a 
mandatory increase in staff salaries of 1%, as well as mandatory adjustments to staff salary and 
annual increments, amounting to CHF 3.25 million. These are all contractual oblig ations.  
2.51.  The cost for interpreters has doubled due to the use of virtual meetings. The rules of the 
profession have cut in half the number of hours freelance interpreters are permitted to work in a 
day. This is what we just spoke about. Compared to 2012, ou r expenditure on interpreters has 
increased by CHF 2.3 million (234%).  
2.52.  Moreover, the technology for virtual and hybrid meetings itself is costing us money. We had 
to acquire this technology at the beginning of the pandemic to continue our operations, even though 
we had no specific budget allocation for it. We continue to rely on this technology because we know 
that you, Members, like it, need it, and use it. Moreover, it allows us to conduct some activities 
virtually and thus save on travel.  
2.53.  Finally, we als o must maintain our existing IT capabilities and improve them to serve you 
better. For example, as you may have noticed, the critical but deteriorating audio -visual technology 
in our meeting rooms is obsolete, disrupting important meetings. That system can not be repaired 
and must be replaced, amounting to CHF 1 million per year for three years.  
2.54.  I recognize that there is one item that I am not addressing with you right now, relating to 
long-term pension liabilities. As you as aware, the Pension Board will be  presenting its 
recommendations to Members, staff, and retirees shortly and will engage in an extensive 
consultation process to determine the appropriate reforms to the pension plan. I did not want to 
prejudge the outcome of this work in this request, or y our decision about how to handle the issue. 
But I stand ready to work with you on that important matter as well.  
2.55.  Madam Chair, excellencies, a few months ago, at MC12, you demonstrated to the world that 
you believe deeply in the WTO and in multilateralism m ore broadly. So do I, and so does the staff 
of the Secretariat. Multilateralism is a treasure worth protecting, nurturing, and expanding.  
2.56.  We are committed to serve you at the absolute best, and I want to thank you for listening. I 
am sorry that I have been  so long. I decided to try to explain to you the rationale behind each 
portion of the request.  
2.57.  And therefore, I am requesting this budget increase of 7.7 percent, from CHF 197.2 million 
to CHF 212.45 million. Most of all, I am requesting a dialogue with yo u. 
2.58.  Thank you.  
2.59.  A Member thanked the Chair, the Director -General, and the Secretariat team for the detailed 
presentation. The Member said the Secretariat has clearly and comprehensively explained the 
reasons and objectives of the proposal to increase the 202 3 budget by 7.7% from CHF 197.2 million 
to CHF 212.45 million. He noted that there are critical areas that require urgent attention such as 
retention and motivation of the Secretariat's staff. He mentioned the effect of observing Zero 
Nominal Growth for ma ny years, highlighting external factors such as inflation and the COVID -19 
pandemic that have placed pressure on the budget.  
2.60.  The Member said that the Secretariat must have the resources to keep pace with digital 
transformation and deploy IP infrastructure to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in order to 
better support Members and deliver outcomes. The Member said his country has consistently 
supported efforts to strengthen the WTO, which naturally includes ensuring that the Secretariat is 
sufficientl y resourced. He said to strengthen the WTO, Members must also strengthen the Secretariat 
and enable it to recruit and retain capable staff and reinforce its capabilities to deliver support for 
Members in priority areas. He said building a state -of-the-art Secretariat means including the 
adoption of best practices in digital transformation, strategic planning, and procurement. He added 
that a modernised and well -resourced Secretariat will be a key enabler of a strong multilateral 
system, which means that Mem bers must be prepared to provide the Secretariat with adequate 
funds.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.61.  The Member said his country would evaluate the proposal seriously and carefully, especially 
in the current context when the risk of a global recession has heightened and many Members face 
fiscal challenges. The Member said his delegation is encouraged by the fact that the Secretariat had 
returned a large portion of the 2020 budgetary surplus to Members. The Member concluded his 
intervention by saying that there is never a good time to request more funding. He thanked the 
Director -General for her courage in raising this issue at this challenging juncture.  
2.62.  Several Members thanked the Director -General for her presentation.  
2.63.  A Member expressed confidence in the request presented by t he Director -General. He said 
that as every delegate is a government official, they know that exigencies need to be addressed. He 
said the budget review is obviously focusing on productivity, efficiency, and expected positive 
results. He said that this requ est needs to be considered because Members have seen that recent 
developments in the WTO have created confidence in the Organization.  
2.64.  The Member acknowledged that the WTO is facing challenges and that the Director -General's 
proposal seeks to address these challenges. The Member said it is important to consider the proposal 
to obtain the expected efficiency in delivering services. He noted that the introduction of the 
document explains well why the Director -General is asking for more funds. The Member said h e 
noted the following: the mandatory increase in staff salaries and annual increments, the external 
physical and economic challenges, the existing IT capabilities and the need to improve them, the 
reinforcement of human resources to improve support, and th e need for promotions and recruitment. 
The Member concluded that the Committee had been talking about reforms to the functioning of the 
WTO and that all Members had supported the reform exercise sponsored by the Director -General. 
He said the results of the  reform are already visible and that, on this basis, his delegation has no 
objection to the budget request.  
2.65.  A Member said Member States have to aim for a reasonable balance between the demands 
of Members on the Secretariat, the quantity of work, the qualit y, the efficiency Members would 
expect from the Secretariat, and the resources Members make available. He said the budget should 
follow mid -term strategic priorities for the Organization, to be transformed into a work programme. 
The Member said that so far , this strategic perspective is not yet available, which makes it difficult 
to assess parts of the proposal.  
2.66.  The Member acknowledged that the Secretariat has increasingly worked towards higher 
efficiencies due to 12 years of Zero Nominal Growth and now has to offset some of the cost growth 
factors and to take into account newer priorities. The Member recognized t hat the increasing inflation 
rate is a driver for the proposal, noting that inflation coupled with other crises are also major issues 
for all governments. He said the proposal referred to anticipated high inflation and rising energy 
costs. He asked what th e projections for inflation for the next years are, and what had been the 
baseline for the past years. He asked what advice the Secretariat can give on how to respond to 
future inflation.  
2.67.  The Member asked for the basis for concluding that there is a brain drain among staff. He 
said that it had been systematically noted that the percentage of staff leaving the Organization on 
an annual basis is relatively low, even when including those who retire. He referred to temporary 
staff and asked why there is a propo sal to increase the number of temporary staff while at the same 
time temporary staff is mentioned as a negative consequence of the lack of opportunities. He also 
asked why there is still a need to increase the budget for promotions if it is true that with the 
expected higher retirement rates, salaries paid would decrease.  
2.68.  A Member thanked the Director -General and the Secretariat for providing the mid -term 
budget review proposal and acknowledged the amount of work done for the detailed account of the 
Organiz ation's various work streams and needs. He highlighted the importance and role of the WTO 
in the multilateral trading system and said the WTO must be able to fully perform its functions in 
the face of rising economic challenges such as inflation.  
2.69.  The Membe r said his capital is very willing to look at the report with an open mind and added 
that clarifications are needed. The Member said it is unfortunate that the discussion of the mid -term 
budget adjustment, given the time pressure, will likely end up substi tuting for the long -requested 
exchange on strategic orientation because such an exchange should have rather been the basis for WT/BFA/207  
 
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  the budget proposal. The Member said that many elements of the budget proposal require a more 
global approach to better understan d linkages and projections into the future.  
2.70.  He said it would be necessary for the proposal to provide a stronger differentiation on what 
is urgent for the Organization, such as heating and electricity costs, and any other request. He said 
it is important t o keep in mind that the proposal does not reflect the increasing long -term liabilities 
for healthcare and pensions, which will likely lead to further requests for budget increases in the 
short to medium term. He said it might be difficult for Members to ma ke decisions on adding a 
significant number of staff before knowing the financial implications. He noted that while his country 
supports professional development and highly values staff expertise, the promotions also need to 
make sense for the Organization . He said doubling promotions can reverse the efforts to adjust the 
inverted pyramid.  
2.71.  The Member said he does not understand how why the reduction Grade 10 posts is described 
by the mid -term budget review as “ostensibly” leading to financial savings. Regar ding the proposal 
of adding 18 posts, the Member agreed that the health of the Organization should not rely on the 
relatively extensive use of temporary staff and, instead, it does need permanent positions. He said 
his delegation has questions regarding in dividual new posts and the overall approach. He noted as 
an example that in his opinion , the Director -General's Office is by far the largest it has ever been in 
the history of the Organization , but yet the proposal suggests adding another post to the Direc tor-
General 's Office.  
2.72.  The Member said a discussion on strategic orientation and the WTO reform would inform 
whether all working groups and committees are purposeful in their current structure or where an 
adjustment could be meaningful and positively reflec ted in the budget. The Member said that the 
proposal similarly does not mention what activities of the Secretariat have been, are, or should be 
discontinued. In this regard, the Member said the most prominent and unfortunate case is the 
appellate body, whe re staff have been assigned to other duties elsewhere. He said another example 
is that the Transformation Office will at some point be discontinued, and its staff current will become 
available. He said this could be reflected in the proposal.  
2.73.  The Member sa id the proposal on staff foresees the creation of two additional units, the 
planning and regional units. The Member said these units should be part of the broader discussion 
on the need and the strategic orientation of the transformation exercise. He said it would be relevant 
for Members to receive more information on the institutional place and responsibilities of these two 
units. He added that additional information on grade and concrete duties would be relevant for any 
decision pertaining to additional s taff to be allocated to the topic of climate and environment.  
2.74.  The Member said the proposal also indicates a big increase in temporary staff compared to 
the budget for this year and last year. He said his delegation considers the statement that the use 
of temporary staff is mainly to fill missing regular posts and is in the process of being more strictly 
controlled as being anomalous. He said if 18 new posts are put in place, this should reduce the need 
for temporary staff, but the budget proposal seems to s uggest the opposite.  
2.75.  The Member said suggestions for further savings are missing, such as a stricter review of the 
need for travel given the ample hybrid opportunities. The Member said that it is striking that budget 
increases are proposed for both hybrid meetings and travel and asked why this is the case. The 
Member said that if hybrid meetings can replace at least some of the travel, this would lead to an 
unchanged budget line despite increasing travel costs.  
2.76.  The Member concluded by asking why a budget in crease is necessary for consulting because 
if in 2021 and 2022, half the expenses under this budget line were due to the external advisory 
services for the Organization's transformation, this would no longer be the case in 2023. He said 
that some pre -existing flexibility should exist in this budget line.  
2.77.  He said the budgetary surplus in 2021 indicates that the budget is not being exhausted, and 
therefore, from a budgetary perspective, the WTO still has some funds available. He asked why this 
aspect was not considered by the Secretariat's proposal.  
2.78.  A Member began by noting that his government is known for being frugal. He said the proposal 
is a very good inventory of the work of the Secretariat and it is an important basis for understanding WT/BFA/207  
 
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  the important busi ness done so far. He said his delegation is still waiting for final instructions from 
its new government. He said that aside from this discussion on the budget increase, it would be 
good to discuss the contributions among Members, maybe as part of the tran sformation discussion. 
The Member said that his country contributed more than 1% of the budget to the WTO and welcomed 
the Zero Nominal Growth objective. He said with the Zero Nominal Growth budget, the WTO has 
proven that it has kept a very close eye on i ts resources.  
2.79.  The Member said that while the evaluation of the Secretariat's work since 2012 is very 
interesting, no State Administration or International Organization looks the same as before. As an 
example, he said his country has the same objective of Z ero Nominal Growth. The Member said that 
on page 24 and table 8 of the document there are proposals only for increasing, not decreasing, the 
budget. He said decreases should also be proposed. He gave an example that travel expenses are 
estimated to be CHF 5 million, which is an increase of 46% from the previous year. He said video 
conferences are available and that the impact of the carbon footprint ought to be considered. He 
said the Secretariat should consider how to reduce travel costs. He added that in his country, only 
Ministers are allowed to travel business class. He said he hopes that a similar rule could be applied 
in the Secretariat so that, to cut costs, only the Director -General would be able to travel in business 
class.  
2.80.  The Member asked why the costs of hybrid meetings are increasing, and not decreasing. He 
thanked the Secretariat for the explanation of the translation and transcription provided in the 
document and proposed that it would be helpful for Members to give the Secretariat their speaki ng 
notes.  
2.81.  The Member asked about the use of vacant posts to pay for other resources, noting that this 
is an awkward argument as the Secretariat could fill the vacant positions rather than having 
temporary posts. He said it is curious that the proposal also  refers to the increased workload, 
including in the area of accessions, but there has been no accession in a long time.  
2.82.  The Member asked for clarification about long -term liabilities, suggesting that the Secretariat 
must develop a long -term solution. He sa id this challenge should be addressed before increasing 
personnel costs.  
2.83.  A Member thanked everyone for the budget review document and stated that her country is 
the largest contributor to the WTO budget and all other international organizations, with over 
USD 4 billion in assessed contributions and over USD 11 billion in voluntary contributions. She said 
her country's bureaucracy engages in a robust review of any budget decision to ensure taxpayers' 
money is effectively and efficiently managed.  
2.84.  The Member s tated that her country's long -standing policy for efficient management of 
international organizations is through a framework of Zero Nominal Growth budget policies, adding 
that this is an effective management tool that goes beyond just cost -cutting as it h elps to clarify 
priorities and improve management.  
2.85.  The Member said there are three criteria to face to overcome the framework of a Zero Nominal 
Growth budget. The first one is to check if the work program and the budget are transparent to show 
how resource s align with the expected results and accomplishments. The second criterion is to check 
if the budget demonstrates actual or proposed cost savings from efficiencies, streamlining business 
processes, or reductions in low -priority activities. The third crite rion is to check if the budget 
indicates that the proposed accomplishments would not occur if the proposed budget increase does 
not receive approval.  
2.86.  The Member said that it is important to ensure that the resources are used effectively and 
efficiently sin ce money belongs to taxpayers. She added that the reform conversation of the WTO 
should also be part of this broader conversation on budget review.  
2.87.  The Member concluded that her country is willing to be engaged in this conversation and has 
no questions for  the Secretariat for the moment. She said she agrees with the questions asked by 
Members in the prior interventions.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.88.  A Member said the budget increase proposal has some very convincing elements, such as 
those related to inflation, which is something everyo ne is aware of. She noted that after twelve years 
of Zero Nominal Growth budgeting, there are some elements that are more subjective, such as those 
related to the changing nature of the activities of the Secretariat and the Organization as a whole. 
She sai d there are indeed new fields of action such as the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the 
Fisheries Subsidies Agreement and other multilateral work. She said parts of the proposal require 
more discussion to seek where more savings could be made or what bett er distribution of available 
resources could be achieved, including the reallocation of resources and staff. The Member said her 
delegation is ready to engage in the discussion with the Director -General and the Secretariat's team.  
2.89.  Several Members reiterate d that finding a long -term strategy to address long -term liabilities 
is important.  
2.90.  A Member said her delegation would look at the proposal with an open mind. She mentioned 
that the proposed increase of 7.7% is not insignificant, adding that due to the rela tive value of the 
euro, the impact would be higher. She said given the importance of the issue, her delegation would 
have liked more time to consider the proposal, adding that the elements of the requested increase 
relate to strategic and operational chang es in the Secretariat. She said it is important to make sure 
that the WTO Secretariat continues to be effective and to have strong and relevant expertise.  
2.91.  Noting that growing needs are highlighted in several substantive areas, the Member asked if 
there are  no other areas where there is less work so that resources could be reallocated to areas of 
growing need. She said the possible creation of new units for strategic planning and the global and 
geographical unit has been understood to be a part of the transf ormation exercise and said the 
exercise has not yet addressed those areas. She asked if the proposed increased budget will be the 
new baseline for future budget cycles or whether additional requests to increase resources for the 
next budget cycle will be f orthcoming. She asked for more information about the brain drain to 
justify promotions.  
2.92.  Several Members indicated that they would have preferred to have the strategic discussions 
about the future of the Secretariat before undertaking budget discussions.  
2.93.  A Member thanked the Director -General for her presentation. As he was speaking a different 
official language to the one the Director -General and the Chair were speaking, he said it would not 
be him the one who would tell the Director -General to seek saving s in translation and interpretation 
costs. H e also expressed sympathy to the argument about t he increased workload in terms of the 
number of meetings , since Members also directly suffer from it, with the same or, in his case, fewer 
resources . The Member observed that there is a substantial part of the budget problem that has not 
yet been revealed, specifically the long -term aspects such as the pension plan, on which his 
delegation would need to have clarity. He said that it will be very diffi cult to make any concrete 
decisions on the proposed budget without the whole picture.  
2.94.  The Member noted that during the pandemic , the reduction in travel might have allowed the 
Organization to balance the budget. He questioned whether it makes sense to re sume travel ling at 
the time at which its costs are  higher. He suggested this could be one area of the budget where the 
Secretariat could consider a reduction in what has been proposed.  
2.95.  Regarding additional posts, the Member said there are 645.5 posts in the Organization of 
which forty are currently vacant. While acknowledging that this would not induce any savings in the 
short run, he asked if the proposed increase in 18 posts can be covered by the vacant posts by 
reallocating these to where additional suppor t is required, without having to increase the number of 
posts in the Organization. He said this would be a more cautious approach for moving forward in the 
long term.  He asked whether the Human Resources Division requires a permanent increase for what 
appears to be a transitory problem of a temporary increase in workload. He said that if there are 
more regular posts, there should be less work for the Human Resources Division in recruiting short 
term staff and therefore it seems unnecessary to bring permanen t staff into the Human Resources 
Division.  
2.96.  The Member said he wonders if there could be increased synergy amongst Divisions and 
suggested this aspect could be discussed as part of the structural reform of the Secretariat. In 
particular, in relation to the regional coordination unit, he asked, without denying the needs that WT/BFA/207  
 
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  have been identified, whether the Secretariat might be able to cover those needs with existing 
resources from other Divisions. He said either the Trade Policy Review Division or the Econo mic 
Research and Statistics Division, depending on the exact nature of the needs identified, could  take 
that responsibility, without the need for additional staff or units.  
2.97.  Regarding paragraph 7.22 of document WT/BFA/W/607, in which an increase in insuranc e 
premiums amounting to CHF 500,000 is described as an unavoidable expense, the Member asked 
for clarification as to why health insurance coverage is being increased in this period of crisis.  
2.98.  Acknowledging rising inflation in Switzerland and many countries , the Member asked for 
information on the total accumulated level of inflation over the last 12 years since the budget was 
frozen. He said this would enable Members to have a better idea of what the actual pressures are. 
He noted that standard Consumer Pri ce Index may not be the most representative metric for 
evaluating the WTO's expenses and asked if a more appropriate metric, more in line with the 
spending structure of the Organization, could be found.  
2.99.  The Member noted the comment that other international  organizations have not had to endure 
similar budget freezes over the last ten or twelve years and suggested that comparative information 
on these differences in a graph or table would be useful. In conclusion the Member stated that these 
are difficult tim es, and it will be very difficult to convince capitals to agree to the budget increase, 
but would be grateful for any additional information the Secretariat could provide to try to do so.  
2.100.   While noting that the content of the document is very informative, a  Member stated that his 
delegation would like to see an even wider picture. He said while many areas are expanding, 
presumably there are opportunities for resources to be reallocated within the Organization. He said 
it would be preferable to first have a s trategic discussion on the transformation of the Secretariat, 
and WTO reform to provide a clear understanding about the direction of changes and then, based 
on the agreed priorities, agree on the budgetary implications. The Member noted that it would not 
be easy to introduce changes into their national budget at this late stage of their budget approval 
process. He said this is even more difficult during a period of economic recession. The Member said 
his delegation remains very open to discussion and findin g some innovative solutions, especially for 
the most urgent needs, to ensure that the Secretariat remains fully operational.  
2.101.   A Member thanked the Chair for her approach to chairing the Committee and thanked the 
Director -General for her presentation. He not ed that the mid -term budget review report proposes a 
significant increase in the WTO budget of 7.7% and said that his delegation is still assessing the 
implications but would like to offer some preliminary remarks while awaiting feedback from his 
capital. He said his delegation observes that, as per the information contained in the Mid -Term 
Budget Review, developing countries’ contributions in 2023 will be significantly increased if the new 
proposal for the revised WTO budget is approved. He said it is not clear what baseline the WTO 
Secretariat has used to arrive at such calculations.  
2.102.   The Member noted the impact of the Covid -19 pandemic and its subsequent impact on the 
entire economy. Consequently, the Member said he has serious concerns about the proposed 
increase in the budget, adding that his country is grappling with an inflation rate as high as 69.8%, 
and which is forecast to remain in double digits in 2023. He said even settling his country's current 
contributions has been difficult due to the prevaili ng economic situation in the country. He said his 
delegation would find it extremely difficult to justify any increase of contributions to their authorities.  
2.103.   The Member observed that there may be specific reasons why the budget has been 
increasing. He said , for instance, the Secretariat has been providing resources to the Joint Statement 
Initiatives including on staffing, interpreters, and other general services. He said the costs related 
to all this additional work, which is not mandated and agreed in the multilateral context, has 
significantly increased and no doubt contributed to the added pressure on the budget.  
2.104.   The Member said that the Secretariat should provide more information for Members to help 
them understand if the personnel issues identified in t he McKinsey report have been satisfactorily 
addressed so as to make an informed assessment about whether more Managers are needed. He 
added that given that many developing countries and LDCs are seeking assistance from the IMF due 
to the dire economic situ ation they are encountering at present, it may be more appropriate for the 
WTO to freeze new recruitments until an audit of existing posts and responsibilities is conducted.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.105.   A Member said that this is a very important issue and as a strong supporter of the  multilateral 
trading system, her delegation sees such a discussion as very valuable to help Members and the 
Secretariat to work together to have a better Secretariat. She said that her delegation is open to 
discussion. The Member said there is never a goo d time to make a request for increasing the budget. 
She said if her delegation wants support from its capital, it needs to give them clear reasons. The 
Member noted that as one of the largest contributors to the Organization, they estimated that 
although t he overall requested increase is 7.7%, the increase for her country would be 15.93% . She 
said this is a much higher increase than her country has previously experienced in any international 
organization while noting that domestically her country is also su ffering budget pressures. She said 
most public servants are suffering a one -third reduction in their salary and more reductions are 
likely.  
2.106.   The Member noted that the issue of short -term staff has been discussed in the CBFA for 
many years. The Member asked if there are clear guidelines for the recruitment of short -term staff 
because her impression is that there has not been a clear written response to this question. The 
Member said her delegation sees that there is room to have better rules or guidelines on such issues 
to ensure that every recruitment provides value for money.  
2.107.   The Member said another issue her delegation would like to raise relates to IT. She said the 
Committee has heard about the heavy load on translators and interpreters and noted her 
deleg ation's appreciation for their hard work as Members rely heavily on these services. The Member 
said her delegation questions why, with the digital transformation and new technology, the WTO is 
not using the developments of such technology more fully. The M ember said this issue was raised a 
couple of years ago, particularly the possibility of using Artificial Intelligence (AI). She said while 
there have been some developments in the area of AI, Members have not seen corresponding 
reductions in the budget.  
2.108.   The Member said her delegation would expect to see efficiency gains from increases in IT 
spending. She gave an example that her colleagues in the meeting use software on their computers 
to take notes automatically. She said it will be to the Members' advanta ge to have better technology 
as such investments will ultimately reduce costs. The Member said this is an issue raised many times 
in the Committee.  
2.109.   The Member mentioned her delegation hopes that the transformation exercise can help to 
address the roles of the OIO and the risk management official, as well as other outstanding issues 
of the Organization. She said her delegation is open to discussion of these issues and also to be 
updated and involved in the Secretariat's transformation, working together with the Secretariat and 
the Director -General to have a better outcome, both on the budget discussion as well as on the 
transformation.  
2.110.   A Member said his delegation recognizes the legitimate interest to ensure that conditions 
are met to maintain the outstanding  level of services rendered daily by the Secretariat to Members, 
including reinforcing its capabilities and giving staff fair opportunities for career development and 
adequate work conditions. He said his delegation has also listened carefully to other del egations that 
have noted that the current economic and fiscal environment might put constraints on Members' 
ability to approve an increased budget at this juncture. He said his delegation is considering the 
proposal with the necessary attention and will co ntinue to engage in dialogue with the Secretariat 
to ensure that the Director -General has the means to meet Members' needs.  
2.111.   Several Members stated that budget increases should be based on a strategic vision for the 
future of the WTO and said this process i s still pending.  
2.112.   A Member noted that budget issues are difficult in the best of times and that in these very 
specific circumstances, they are even more complex. He emphasised that the budget would have an 
impact on what Members are able to achieve in terms  of the reform of the Organization, or "where 
the rubber meets the road." He added that it will be important to find the limits of Members' 
ambitions and that the topic of reform is very important to improving accessibility, inclusivity, and 
transparency. The Member said the efficiency of the Organization and the essential elements put 
forward by the Secretariat are important for maintaining and improving the situation based on these 
principles. The Member stated that there are many steps that can be taken that in the medium term 
to allow Members to respond to these concerns.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.113.   The Member recalled that some of the issues identified are not new. He gave an example 
that the dispute settlement process could be improved as could protocols in the planning and 
provision of interpretation capacity to work in all official languages. The Member said his delegation 
had experienced first -hand delays of several months in moving forward in a dispute because there 
were no staff available to work in Spanish, which was the lan guage of both parties. He said this non -
compliance with deadlines is one of the concerns that has been raised in the context of the reform 
of the dispute settlement system.  
2.114.   The Member suggested that the terms of reference for new posts in the Secretariat s hould 
be appropriate as to the needs of the Organization and support for LDCs in disputes as a way of 
providing assistance through the dispute settlement system. He said these suggestions would 
improve access, transparency, and the capacity of the WTO to r espond to the concerns and the 
needs and priorities of its Members. He observed that the question is if Members are prepared to 
pay the price of the reform and noted that the transformation exercise can in parallel play a very 
important role in the process  of reform.  
2.115.   A Member said that, having listened to the Director -General's eloquent plea for the budget, 
his delegation is very sympathetic. The Member said having ten years without a budget increase is 
a long time. He said, however, Members are in the mids t of global uncertainty. He said his country 
is facing an economic plight of its own. He said his country's currency has depreciated by close to 
14% vis -a-vis the Swiss franc and that the budget increase would cause quite a burden to his 
country's budget. The Member said, from his delegation's point of view, the exercise should bring 
about efficiencies – to do more with less. The Member said a budget increase is getting to something 
different - to do more with more.  
2.116.   The Member asked how the WTO could use it s digital technology to bring about better and 
more efficient employment of its personnel. The Member also asked if the 7.7% budget increase 
would signal an increase in the following years.  
2.117.   The Member said many questions have been asked during the meeting by other delegations. 
He said his delegation looks forward to answers. He said his delegation may later have questions of 
its own and will consider the budget proposal with an open mind. He said in light of the answers to 
the questions raised by Members, h is delegation wants to ensure that it has a full understanding of 
the financial needs of this institution and the context in which it operates, before taking a position 
on what budget increase, if any, is warranted.  
2.118.   A Member said it is important for his de legation to have a strong Secretariat providing high -
quality and relevant services to Members. He said this is key for a strong multilateral trading system 
and that is why his delegation would like to engage with an open mind and positive spirit in this 
dialogue. The Member said, as a first reaction to the proposal, that his delegation is of the view that 
certain parts are quite straightforward and easy to understand, such as the increase of some 
contractual costs, the effects of inflation, and some other p articular cost increases, for example for 
IT infrastructure and interpretation – adding that even these need certain scrutiny. He said for 
assessing other elements like additional posts, a discussion on the strategy for the Organization and 
the Secretariat  might be helpful. He added that many good and detailed questions have been asked 
already, including the important issue of long -term liabilities linked to the pension plan, adding that 
this issue ought to be factored into the discussion.  
2.119.   A Member said her delegation notes that the Secretariat has exercised prudence and sound 
resource management when preparing the budget proposal for 2022 -2023, kept to the Zero Nominal 
Growth budget that has been established since 2011, and  shared a comprehensive analysi s of the 
various operational and financial challenges faced by the Secretariat in delivering its services to 
Members, particularly in response to Members' requests in new emerging areas such as the 
environmental -related trade issues and digital trade.  
2.120.   The Member said the Director -General has mentioned other challenges faced by the 
Secretariat such as the increase in the inflation rate and the increase in the prices of electricity and 
gas. The Member said these challenges are similar to those faced by govern ments. The Member said 
Members’ economies and public finances are still very much impacted by the current health and 
economic crises. She said requesting for such an increment when Members are still recovering from 
the shocks would require a detailed exami nation.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.121.   The Member said her delegation would like to highlight some areas on which it seeks 
clarification on the Director -General’s plans for the proposal and to assist in the delegation in its 
assessment. She asked if the CHF 212.45 million will only be f or the 2023 budget and whether the 
amount will be decreased back to CHF 197.2 million in 2024 and beyond.  
2.122.   The Member said there seems to be some contradictions when it comes to the transformation 
of the Secretariat and improving the way things are being do ne, compared to the proposed solutions 
being presented in the document. She said the plan seems to have ambiguity and does not 
necessarily explain how challenges will be faced. In relation to staff posts, the Member asked the 
following questions: What is t he fill rate of the current posts and the turnover rate? What is the 
performance of the current workforce? Will those who underperform be let go? Is there succession 
planning in place? How does the transformation exercise, currently being implemented by th e 
Secretariat, add value to the whole process, when in the end there is an increase in financial burden 
on Members?  
2.123.   The Member her delegation is  expected to exercise prudent financial management and is 
facing budget cuts for next year . She asked w hat the S ecretariat 's plans would be when it comes to 
prudent spending . She then asked about the role of the Global and Geographical Coordination Unit  
and what the distinction is between the role of this unit and the ITTC on developing trade capabilities. 
She said the WTO Secretariat should not be opening offices in other countries as this would be 
putting additional financial burden on Members.  
2.124.   The Member said her delegation notes t he increase of CHF  15.3 mil lion (7.8%) from CHF  
195.5 mil lion to CHF  210.8 mil lion would impact Members, and that w hile this amount may seem 
small compared to other bigger contributors, her country's current amount for contribution is already 
considered high for a small trading nation like hers. She said her country's current contribution  is 
already higher than the amount that some developed Members are contributing, and thus, her 
delegation welcomes the discussion of the reform in this context, as mentioned earlier by other 
Members.  
2.125.   Several Members expressed their appreciation to the Secr etariat for all the good work that 
it provided to Members to date and acknowledged the Secretariat's level of professionalism and 
expertise, adding that the Secretariat has been of great support for the WTO.  
2.126.   A Member said her delegation wishes to express a ppreciation to the Secretariat for the 
manner in which it manages and uses the budget of the Organization. She said her delegation also 
notes that the WTO facilities continue to be improved and modernized and recognizes the assistance 
and tremendous work t hat the Secretariat provides to Members on various issues and in committees. 
She said it is important for the budget to be used efficiently, effectively, responsibly, and 
accountably. She said the projected increase in expenditure in several areas must be carefully 
assessed. She said, in this regard, her delegation requires more time to review the proposed 
increase.  
2.127.   A Member said it is good to hear from the Director -General about the proposal and her 
stewardship of the Organization and Secretariat staff. Th e Member said as her delegation had set 
out yesterday in the General Council, her delegation values the work of the Secretariat and its 
expertise, wants to maintain that quality, and welcomes the dialogue. She said that, however, the 
public spending contex t is difficult in her country as people across the country are facing high living 
costs and expect the government to make efficiencies. She said her country is facing its own 
significant staffing costs in its public service. She said there is also a longst anding policy in her 
country that the starting point when considering budgets for international organizations is 
Zero Nominal Growth and added that her delegation would be required to make a strong case for 
any requests for budget increases. She said altho ugh her delegation has an open mind and welcomes 
this discussion, it does not yet have instructions.  
2.128.   The Member said her delegation would like further details on the following two issues: First, 
whether all the opportunities for creating a more dynamic workforce have been explored to fill the 
posts which have been identified, before recruiting new staff; and second, why ask for an increase 
now at the mid -term review, rather than for the next budget cycle, and why the urgency. The 
Member said her delegation would appreciate more details on these points.  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  2.129.   Several Members said they commit to studying and seriously reflecting upon the proposed 
increase of 7.7% with an open mind and focusing on how best to equip the Organization to more 
effectively deli ver upon its mandate.  
2.130.    Several Members said it is not a good time to seek an increase, even after 12 years of 
Zero Nominal Growth, as the request comes at a time of great pressure on budgets in all countries, 
especially developing countries and LDCs.  
2.131.   A Mem ber said the budget request is coming at a time when many Members are dealing with 
the continuing impact of Covid, as well as climate change in the form of drought and severe weather 
patterns, including cyclones in his country's part of the world. He said the request is also coming at 
a time when other international organizations are similarly asking for increases in assessed 
contributions, and in pretty much all cases, such proposals have encountered varying degrees of 
resistance from capitals. He said sim ilar proposals have instead generated requests for further efforts 
to be made by the Organization in question to focus on increased efficiency and further efforts to 
reduce operational costs and line items like travel, allowances, better use of IT, and sta ffing levels. 
He said in some cases, proposals have generated suggestions for the international organization to 
look at the possibility of phasing in such increases over a longer period. He said more work needs 
to be done, and more innovative thinking need s to be applied. He said his delegation will engage 
with its capital and is very willing to engage and to continue this conversation.  
2.132.   A Member said her delegation shares the views that increasing the budget is never popular, 
and there is never a good time for such a proposal particularly because of the difficult and challenging 
times that Member States are encountering, characterized by the polycrises to which the Director -
General had alluded - from COVID -19, to energy, to food crises and severe drought, in cluding in her 
country's region. The Member said there are such similar requests and discussions on budget 
increases in other international organizations and that from her country's perspective as a Least 
Developed African state, they are often sensitive a nd look very closely at the requests. She said as 
much as the amount might not be enormous, her country still feels the burden, is exposed to 
exogenous shocks, and is already sometimes struggling to fulfil its current contribution obligation. 
She said that  to make sure that her country is not in arrears in which it would have to face constraints 
such as limited access to documents, her delegation will be looking thoroughly into the proposal and 
will make sure that her capital's comments are conveyed in disc ussions.  
2.133.   The Member said budget cycles might also be different from the timing that is proposed for 
the requested increase in the budget. She said her delegation would need to seek guidance from 
capital on how the budget increase would impact her country's  economy and financial aspects. She 
said, the proposed budget increase would result in an increase of around 13.50% for her country. 
She requested the Secretariat to provide information on the proposed increase for each Member. 
She mentioned that her under standing is that each country's contribution is based on the country's 
share of international trade and, in this regard, she requested the Secretariat to provide information 
that will aid Members in better understanding how contributions are determined. Sh e said this would 
help her delegation in the discussions.  
2.134.   The Member said she was a little bit puzzled when she heard that at some time there was a 
proposal to cut interpretation and translation. She said her delegation views multilingualism as an 
integral  part for multilateralism. She said she was happy to hear several delegations take the floor 
to reiterate their strong support for multilateralism. She said Members had heard at least three 
languages of the Organization used during the interventions. She t hen asked which language would 
be used for meetings with no interpretation if the idea of cutting interpretation were entertained. 
She said multilingualism should be borne in mind when any discussions are held on the budget. She 
said she is speaking in Eng lish during the meeting, as an Ambassador of her country, but maybe her 
country might have an Ambassador that does not speak English, which will make it difficult for him 
or for her to engage in discussions.  
2.135.   The Member said her delegation stands ready to l ook at the best way to balance the specific 
national challenges of each Member State and the challenges that the Director -General had spelled 
out in her presentation.  
2.136.   A Member said, given the current global climate, many Members are grappling with many 
challenges, none more so than developing countries, which constitute the majority of the WTO. She WT/BFA/207  
 
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  said the important role of the Secretariat in supporting the membership on issues mandated by 
Ministers is well acknowledged. She said there are areas of work th at are proposed in the document 
WT/BFA/W/607 that require further clarification. She said in some instances it is not clear whether 
the Secretariat cannot perform some of the functions with the existing staff complement, and where 
the mandate emanates from  for some of the functions that are envisaged. She said it is important 
for her delegation that any budget and resources adhere to priorities that have collectively been 
agreed to by the Members. She said it is equally important to ensure that any budget a nd resources 
are not only effectively and efficiently used but are also responsibly and conscientiously used, 
considering that these are taxpayers' funds.  
2.137.   The Member said some Members within the Africa Group are already struggling to meet their 
commitments  and that there is need to be mindful of the implications for those Members. She said, 
regarding the proposed 7.7% increase in the budget, that her delegation is engaged in consultations 
with their capital. She said the increase is significant and the curr ent times are challenging as 
countries are faced with budget cuts and are focused on prudent spending. She said that the 
proposed 7.7% increase is effectively a 10.49% increase for her country.  
2.138.   The Member said some of the preliminary observations from her delegation are: for some 
Members such as her country, exchange rate fluctuations imply higher contributions in real terms; 
and given the rise in debt for some Members due to the pandemic, and the current global economic 
conditions, the proposed increase wi ll require some serious reflections by Members.  
2.139.   A Member thanked the Director -General for her detailed explanation and acknowledgement 
that such a budget increase will necessarily cause concerns. The Member said more time is required 
to conduct a thorough analysis of the proposed increase. The Member noted several preliminary 
thoughts and concerns. First, the current global economic and financial environment will have a 
differential impact on developing countries.  Second, referring to the information contai ned in Table 
29 on page 40 of the document, the Member said the developing countries' contributions in 2023 
will be significantly increased and that out of the top 15 members, 11 are developing countries who 
will make the biggest percentage contribution, a nd for these 11 Members the increase in the 2023 
contribution will be much more than 20% compared to their 2022 contribution. She said her 
delegation would like clarity on these calculations, such as in the baseline used, adding that without 
such clarity, it will be difficult to justify the increased assessed contributions to Finance Ministries.  
2.140.   The Member said her delegation also notes that rising inflation has been cited as one of the 
reasons for the increase. She said this is a macroeconomic indicator th at is, at best, transitory in 
nature. She said the Swiss authorities have already forecast that inflation may reduce to 2% in 
2023, compared to the 3.5% that is being used as a basis in the mid -term review. She said more 
clarity, thought, and explanation i s required in this context.  
2.141.   The Member said her delegation would also like a better understanding of the overarching 
personnel vision of the Organization and the relationship that the vision has to the mandate of the 
Organization. She said a personnel audi t, which can determine the most efficient way to rationalize 
the resources available, is necessary. She added that this will also enable Members to evaluate if 
there are other alternatives available, rather than increasing contributions. The Member said in  the 
context of the great economic upheaval that developed, developing, and Least Developed Countries 
are going through, it may more appropriate for the WTO to freeze new recruitment until an audit of 
existing posts and responsibilities is conducted.  
2.142.   A Mem ber asked the Chair if she could give Members a timetable on how she intends to 
organize the discussions. He said there would possibly be a meeting of the General Council in 
December and asked the Chair if she intends to have a decision taken by that Gener al Council 
meeting. He also asked the Chair in which order in which she intends to engage Members.  
2.143.   A Member said the proposal for an increase is coming at a time when Members are struggling 
with multiple crises. She said the Director -General had, during he r statement at the Public Forum, 
said that Members are faced with health, food, and energy crises. She said there are financial, 
economic, and climate change crises and that the future is very unclear. She said her delegation has 
noted that the overall bud get is proposed to increase by 7.7%, amounting to CHF 15.25 million, 
which is directly linked with the restructuring of the Organization. The Member said the reform is 
unfortunately taking place at a difficult time when Members are struggling from the cons equences WT/BFA/207  
 
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  of crises and are, as a result, borrowing from international financial institutions such as the IMF and 
World Bank to finance basic social services and try to recover from the crises. The Member said the 
proposed increase is coming at a point wher e Members are at crossroads and countries have become 
more sensitive to increases in government expenditure.  
2.144.   The Member said her government was quite pleased with the adjustments made in the year 
2021, in which the Secretariat returned to Members unspent f unds from the 2020 budget. She said 
this step was seen as the Secretariat's consideration of its Members' economic situation. The Member 
said the current proposal will communicate the opposite.  
2.145.   The Member said it is critical and very important for Members to ask themselves what their 
priorities are during this time when they are facing economic and social crises, in which some 
developing countries and the LDCs are struggling even to make food available to their citizens. She 
asked if it is really necessary to increase the WTO managerial capacity and add eighteen additional 
staff posts at this juncture. She asked if this is indeed Members' priority. She said the timing is not 
appropriate.  
2.146.   The Member said her delegation is interested in better understanding the baseline in the 
calculation of Members' increased assessed contributions, considering that international trade has 
not significantly increased. She said more time is needed to consult with capitals and Ministries of 
Finance. She said the WTO ought to rethink alternative possibilities that will cut expenses and reflect 
Members' current economic situations.  
2.147.   The Chair thanked Members for their questions and comments. She then invited the Director -
General to respond to some of the more pressin g questions. She said that, to be efficient with time, 
the remainder of the questions would be responded to in writing.  
2.148.   The Director -General thanked Members for their exhaustive comments. She said it is 
interesting that most people have just sent the propo sal to their capitals for comment yet they made 
a lot of comments already and asked questions. She said what will come from the capitals may be 
much lengthier and noted that the Secretariat will be ready. She said that she understands, having 
seen through her many years of managing finance that there is never a time when a budget increase 
has been welcomed. She emphasized she is not expecting any Member to welcome the proposal. 
She expressed gratitude to the Members that had welcomed the proposal and those that said they 
would look at it.  
2.149.   The Director -General said the idea is to engage in dialogue, noting that even if she had made 
the request during a period when there was 10% growth, it still would not be well received. She 
noted that this time is even more  difficult. She underlined that the WTO has to make a strategic 
decision, adding that she appreciates Members' comments that this is not an easy time. She said 
the time will never be easy, which is why it is important for the Secretariat to answer Members'  
questions so that they have the ammunition they need and full understanding of the request.  
2.150.   The Director -General said there were many questions and comments, and that the 
Secretariat would answer some of them during the meeting and then provide written an swers given 
that the time allotted for the meeting was nearly finished.  
2.151.   Referring to the comment, at paragraph 2.107, about using Artificial Intelligence and 
technology, the Director -General said there must be investment in technology to improve service to  
Members.  
2.152.   Following a problem with the headset of the Chair, DDG Ellard referred to the proposed 
amount of CHF 1 million for audio -visual equipment. She explained that the current audio -discussion 
system had been installed during the renovation of the buil ding and was now obsolete and no longer 
serviced. The Director -General added that this is a necessary investment built into the budget 
request.  
2.153.   DDG Paugam replied to the question on reallocation of staff, posed at paragraph 2.88, and 
mentioned that the rea llocation of the Appellate Body Secretariat staff is the most prominent 
example of appropriate reallocation having been undertaken. He added that there is a limit to the 
possibilities of reallocation as staff with highly specialised skills, like lawyers, c ould not substitute WT/BFA/207  
 
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  for digital trade experts or climate change economists. He said that everyone can intuitively think of 
pockets of low productivity or under -occupation but that a tool needs to be developed to objectively 
benchmark the activities in diff erent parts of the Secretariat to inform management of where 
reallocations could be possible. He said this is the objective for establishing a Strategy and Planning 
Unit. 
2.154.   Responding to a concern raised at paragraph 2.123, the Director -General said there is  
absolutely no plan to open any WTO office outside Geneva but rather to create a cluster or a 
coordination function to serve Members or regions with appropriate information.  
2.155.   On the issue of languages, raised in paragraph 2.134, the Director -General clarifi ed that she 
has is not proposing to cut any languages. She noted that she was simply making the point that 
Members could choose to prioritize this. She added that the WTO had more staff doing back -office 
functions than front -office functions, and that the Secretariat is missing specialised expertise such 
as experts on climate and trade modelling. She pointed out that mainly short -term staff are working 
on the flagship report on trade and climate and that there is a certain urgency to recruit fixed term 
staff on these projects to better serve members.  
2.156.   Regarding the question on the staffing of the Director -General's Office raised at 
paragraph  2.71, the Director -General replied that the DGO consists of several units in addition to 
her own office. She noted that  the one slot under the new posts requested relates to support for the 
Office of the Legal Counsel, which is very stretched.  
2.157.   Further to this issue, the Chief of Staff informed the Committee that there are 10 staff 
members in the DGO (7 advisors and 3 suppo rt staff), noting that there were 10 staff members 
under the previous Director -General (4 advisors and 6 support staff) and 14 during the tenure of 
the Director -General prior (6 advisors and 8 support staff).  
2.158.   With reference to the budget cycle, the Directo r-General said she understands that the 
budget proposal is quite detailed and that Members need time to understand its contents and ask 
questions. She acknowledged that the timing of the budget proposal might be out of budget cycle 
for some Members. She em phasized there are several contractual needs over which the WTO has 
little control that require some urgency. She repeated that an answer from Members is not expected 
by the following General Council meeting, and that the Secretariat is ready to reply to a ll upcoming 
questions from Members. She noted, however, that a decision has to be made at some point.  
2.159.   In reply to comments about pension liabilities, contained in paragraphs 2.70, 2.93, and 
2.118, DDG Ellard said the Secretariat is fully aware of how diffi cult it is for Members to not have 
the full picture, so that the Secretariat does not expect an answer from Members immediately.  
2.160.   As to the question of redeployment of staff and cutting costs, DDG Ellard said that the WTO 
Secretariat has completely redeploy ed the Appellate Body Secretariat staff to areas of need. She 
also emphasized that maintaining 40 vacant posts effectively represents a staff cut – these posts 
have not been filled specifically to use the funds for other budget needs. She said the WTO has in 
fact been doing more with less in terms of staffing.  
2.161.   Regarding the questions and comments at paragraphs 2.75, 2.79, 2.94, and 2.131 
pertaining to travel costs, DDG Ellard replied that the nature of work has changed and that there 
has been a significant increase in virtual and hybrid meetings. But she noted that this increase has 
considerably increased the cost of interpreters. She also said that travel costs have gone up by 40 -
60%, so even a cut in trips can result in higher expenditures.  
2.162.   Regarding the q uestion at paragraph 2.107 pertaining to AI and related cost savings, 
DDG Ellard explained that the Secretariat has started using AI to take minutes but that considerable 
work is still needed to make the output useable, not necessarily resulting in cost sa vings. She 
emphasized that many new IT tools have been implemented since the time that the Zero Nominal 
Growth Budget has been set, all without additional budget.  
2.163.   Regarding the question at paragraph 2.106 pertaining to short -term staff, DDG Ellard 
explaine d that the objective is to cut the actual usage of short -term staff in 2023 by half. This would 
represent a doubling of the 2022 allocated budget from CHF 2.2 million to CHF 4.4 million. She noted  WT/BFA/207  
 
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  this allocation would respond to the request from Members t o be more "honest" and accurate about 
the budget allocation for short -term staff to be more transparent to Members. She added that the 
explosion of short -term staff is an area the Secretariat is addressing, noting that senior management 
has created a Short -Term Needs Committee (made up of the four DDGs, the Chief of Staff, the 
Director of the Human Resources Division, and the Director of the Administration and General 
Services Division).She added that this Committee has already been disciplining the use of short-
term staff.  
2.164.   Regarding the questions at paragraphs 2.67 and 2.70 on promotions and new posts, 
DDG Ellard explained that all additional posts were calculated on the basis of Grade 8, meaning that 
the additional posts and promotions cannot all be to Gra de 10. Instead, she noted that for each 
recruitment or promotion above Grade 8 would have to be balanced with recruitment or promotion 
at a lower grade to meet the budgeted amount.  
2.165.   Regarding the question at paragraph 2.122, on transformation, the Director -General 
explained that the objective of the transformation exercise from the beginning is not to lay off staff 
but to create efficiencies in various areas such as recruitment and procurement. She added that the 
budget had been held constant for a long time  and that the Secretariat had undertaken all the 
redeployment and efficiencies it can. The transformation exercise will create more efficiencies, she 
added.  The Secretariat, she said, is at its limit.  
2.166.   Regarding the question at paragraph 2.98, pertaining to inflation, an Official of the 
Secretariat said that the Secretariat will provide the data in written form.  
2.167.   The Official further explained that the surplus returned in the previous year was mainly 
linked to the effects of the pandemic and very  prudent management of funds. She said the 
Secretariat would respond to the question on short -term staff that a Member had raised during 
previous meetings.  
2.168.   A Member asked for clarification about the reallocation of the Appellate Body budget and 
about the 4 0 vacant posts. In response, DDG Ellard said that maintaining the 40 vacant posts was 
necessary to meet expenditures and stay within the budget at the 2012 level, given the constraints 
of the Zero Nominal Growth budget.  
2.169.   An Official of the Secretariat said the salary budget has increased every year because of 
several mandatory factors, including regular staff increments and bonus, as well as limited 
promotions, during the period of Zero Nominal Growth in the budget. She said the Secretariat made 
savings by r ecruiting staff at lower grades and used a vacancy factor to cover increments in staff 
costs, whilst remaining within the budget. She said the vacancy factor was initially 12 vacant posts 
and that it increased over the years, reaching 40 vacant posts. She said the vacancy factor was also 
used to cover short -term staff expenditure because they are less expensive than regular staff.  
3  CLOSING REMARKS  
3.1.  In her closing remarks, the Chair announced that the next CBFA meeting will take place on 
8 November and that th e last meeting of the General Council is planned for 19 and 20 December. 
She also announced that in the coming weeks consultations in different settings and configurations, 
including informal sessions of the CBFA will be planned, to ensure inclusiveness an d transparency. 
Furthermore, this topic will be on the agenda of the November 8 – meeting. She expressed her 
thanks to the Director -General for her presence at the meeting and the interpreters.  
_________