JOB/GC/148/Rev.1  
JOB/CTG/10/Rev.1  
 
12 March 2018  
(18-1508) Page: 1/3 
General Council  
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
 
PROCEDURES TO ENHANC E TRANSPARENCY AND S TRENGTHEN NOTIFICATI ON 
REQUIREMENTS UNDER W TO AGREEMENTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE UNITED STATES  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 12 March  2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States.  This communication takes into account feedback from Members 
received during the 10  November  2017 Council for  Trade in Goods meeting.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Draft General Council Decision  
 
Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notific ation Requirements  
Under WTO  Agreements  
 
Decision of X  Date  
 
The General Council , 
 
 Recognizing  that transparency and notification requirements constitute fundamental 
elements of many WTO  agreements and a properly functioning WTO  system, and thus of Members' 
obligations;  
 
Acknowledging  the chronic low level of compliance with existing notification r equirements 
under many WTO agreements; and  
 
 Desiring  to strengthen and enhance transparency and improve the operation and 
effectiveness of notification requirements;  
 
 Decides:  
 
General  
 
1. To reaffirm existing notification obligations and recommit to providing complete and timely 
notifications under the WTO  Agreements w ithin the remit of the Council for  Trade in Goods, for 
which there is regular annual reporting provided by the Secretariat (G/L/223/Rev.24 and its 
revisions), including the:  
 
(a) Agreeme nt on Agriculture  
 
(b) Agreement on Implementation of Article  VI of the GATT  1994 (Anti -Dumping)  
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  
Agreement on Safeguards  
Understanding on the Interpretation of Article  XVII of the GATT  1994 (State Trading)  
Agreement on Implementation of Article  VII of the GATT  1994 (Customs Valuation)  
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures  JOB/GC/148/Rev.1 • JOB/CTG/10/Rev.1  
 
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  Agreement on Rules of Origin  
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection  
Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (G/ L/59/Rev.1)  
Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures  
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  
 
2. To instruct appropriate committees, working groups or other bodies, such as the Wor king 
Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures  (Working Group) , to assess and report annually 
to their designated supervisory bodies on Members' compliance with notification obligations under 
the agreements listed in paragraph  1, take appropriate st eps to reinforce compliance with the 
notification requirements under such agreements (for example, by carrying out notification 
workshops), and to make recommendations, as appropriate, on means by which greater 
compliance can be encouraged and achieved.  
 
3. To instruct the Working Group to meet before [x  date] to develop recommendations on 
improving Member compliance with notification obligations under the  agreements listed in 
paragraph  1. The Working Group will consult with appropriate committees, other w orking groups 
and bodies as appropriate, and consider both systemic and specific improvements that can help 
Members improve compliance with notification obligations. The Working Group will report t o the 
Council for  Trade in Goods on its findings before [x  date], and provide updat es at each subsequent 
meeting.  
 
4. In light of the particular importance Members attach to the WTO 's work to reform 
agriculture, and in order to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the review process of the 
implementation of  commitments in the Agreement on Agriculture, the Committee on Agriculture is 
requested to review and update its Notification Requirements and Formats (G/AG/2), taking into 
account recommendations made by the Working Group and other bodies described in par agraphs  2 
and 3.  
 
5. To instruct the Working Group to work with the Secretariat to update the Technical 
Cooperation Handbook on Notifications (WT/TC/NOTIF/INF/3) and present it to the Council for 
Trade in Goods for its [x  date] meeting.  
 
6. To instruct the  Trade Policy Review Body to ensure that beginning in 201 9 all trade policy 
reviews include a specific, standardized focus on the Member's compliance with its notification 
obligations under the agreements listed in paragraph  1. 
 
7. At any time, Members are  encouraged to provide a counter notification on behalf of another 
Member concerning notification obligations under the agreements listed in paragraph  1. 
 
8. That beginning in [x  date], a Member that fails to provide a required notification under an 
agreem ent listed in:  
 
(a) paragraph 1(a) within [720  days] [2  years] following the year that a notification is 
required by the Committee on Agriculture' s Notification Requirements and Formats 
(G/AG/2) or has failed to provide any prior required notification, tha t Member is 
encouraged to submit to the Committee on Agriculture by [x  date] of each subsequent 
year an explanation for the delay, the anticipated time -frame for its notification, and 
any elements of a partial notification that a Member can produce to limi t any delay in 
transparency;  
 
(b) paragraph  1(b) by the relevant deadline or has failed to provide any prior required 
notification is encouraged to submit to the relevant committee by [x  date] and by 
[x date] of each subsequent year an explanation for the delay, the anti cipated 
time-frame for its notification, and any elements of a partial notification that a 
Member can produce to l imit any delay in transparency.  
 
9. If a Member fails to provide a complete notification within one  year of the deadline set out in 
paragraph  8(a) or (b), the Secretariat shall research the matter and, in full consultation with the 
relevant Member, and only with the approval of that Member, provide a notification on its behalf.  
 JOB/GC/148/Rev.1 • JOB/CTG/10/Rev.1  
 
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  10. For an agreement listed in paragraph  1(a) and 1(b), if a Member fails to provide a complete 
notification within one  year of the deadline set out in paragraph  8(a) or (b) and that Member fails 
to cooperate with the Secretariat so that the Secretariat is unable to obtain enough information to 
provide a notification, the following administrative measures shall apply to that Member: 1 
 
(a) After one but less than two  full years from a notification deadline, the following 
measures shall be applied to the Member at the beginning of the second  year:  
 
(i) representatives of the Member cannot b e nominated to preside over 
WTO bodies;  
 
(ii) documentation will not be provided to Member delegations in Geneva or to the 
Member's capital;  
 
(iii) the Member's access to the WTO Members' web site will be discontinued;  
 
(iv) the Director -General will contact annually the Minister of the Member 
responsible for the WTO, or any other official at the appropriate level 
emphasizing the matter of notifications;  
 
(v) the Secretariat will report annually to the Council for  Trade i n Goods on the 
status of the Member's notifications; and  
 
(vi) the Member will be subject to specific reporting at the General Council 
meetings.  
 
(b) After two but less than three  full years following a notification deadline, the following 
measures shall b e applied to the Member at the beginning of the third  year, in 
addition to the measures in subparagraph  (a): 
 
(i) the Member will be designated as an Inactive Member;  
 
(ii) the Inactive Member will be denied access to training or technical assistance 
other  than t hat necessary to meet their WTO  Article  XIV:2 obligations; and  
 
(iii) when the Inactive Member takes the floor in the General Council it will be 
identified as such.  
 
11. At the beginning of each year when measures will be appl ied to any Member, the 
Director -General will notify the Ministers of those Members responsible for the WTO of the 
administrative measures being applied with respect to those Members. Once any such Member 
comes into compliance with its notification requirements, the measures will  cease to apply.  
 
12. Taking into account the decision of Ministers at the 11th Ministerial Conference to recommit 
to the implementation of existing notification obligations for fisheries subsidies 
(WT/MIN(17)/64;WT/L/1031), and recognizing the significant  contribution that enhanced fisheries 
subsidies notifications would make to the negotiation and implementation of prohibitions on 
harmful fisheries subsidies, the Rules Negotiating Group will develop enhanced notification 
procedures as part of the ongoing fisheries subsidies negotiations in that body, in consultation with 
the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures as appropriate.  
 
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1 The proposed administrative measures are derived from WT/BFA/W/410, concerning administrative 
measures for Members in arrears.