JOB/GC/204  
JOB/CTG/14  
 
1 November 2018 
(18-6887) Page: 1/4 
General Council  
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURES TO ENHA NCE TRANSPARENCY AND  STRENGTHEN  
NOTIFICATION REQUIRE MENTS UNDER WTO AGRE EMENTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM A RGENTINA, COSTA RICA , THE EUROPEAN UNION,  
JAPAN, AND THE UNITED STATES  
The f ollowing communication, dated 1  November  2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Argentina, Costa Rica, the European Union, Japan, and the United States.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Draft General Council Decision  
 
Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notification Requir ements  
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 within 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  
Agreement on Rules of Origin  
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection  
Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (G/ L/59/Rev.1)  JOB/GC/204 • JOB/CTG/14  
 
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  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 wo rking 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 also consult with 
the WTO  Secretariat as appropriate, including the WTO Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation (ITTC)  to assess the contribution of WTO trade -related technical assistance to improving 
notification compliance, as well as the Central Registry of Notifications . The Working Group will report 
to the Council for Trade in Goods on its findings before [x  date], and provide updates 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 effecti veness 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 b y the Working Group and other bodies described in paragraphs  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 2019 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 of another Member 
concerning notification obligations under the agreements listed in paragraph  1. 
 
8. That beginning in [x  date], a Member that fail s to provide a required notification under an 
agreement 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 fa iled to provide any prior required notification, that 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 pa rtial notification that a Member can produce to limit 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 anticipated 
time-frame for its notification, and any elements of a partial notification that a Member 
can produce to limit any delay in transparency; and  
 
(c) paragraph  (1a) as far as ad hoc no tifications are concerned, the Member shall follow 
current practice under G/AG/2.  
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  9. A developing country Member encountering difficulties to fulfil notification obligations or the 
information required under paragraph  8 is encouraged to request assistance  and support for capacity 
building from the Secretariat, either in the form of WTO  trade -related technical assistance or as ad 
hoc-assistance for a particular notification. The Secretariat shall advise Members on the most 
appropriate assistance available.  
 
10. Each developing country Member is encouraged to submit to the relevant committee and to 
the Working Group by [x  date] and by [x  date] of each subsequent year information on those 
notifications  under the agreements listed in paragraph  1 that it has not  submitted due to a lack of 
capacity, including information on the assistance and support for capacity building that the Member 
requires in order to submit complete notifications.  
 
11. If a Member fails to provide a complete notification within one  year of  the deadline set out in 
paragraph  8(a) or (b), the Member may request that the Secretariat assist the Member in 
researching the matter and, in full consultation with the relevant Member, and only with the approval 
of that Member, provide a notification on  its behalf.  
 
12. For an agreement listed in paragraph  1, 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 has not requested 
assistance from the Secretariat identified in paragraph  9 or if such assistance is requested but the 
Member has not cooperated with the Secretariat, the following administrative measures shall apply 
to that Member:  
 
(a) After one but less than two  full years from a notification deadline, the followin g 
measures shall be applied to the Member at the beginning of the second  year:  
 
(i) representatives of the Member cannot be nominated to preside over WTO  bodies;  
 
(ii) questions posed by the Member to another Member during a Trade Policy Review 
need not be  answered;  
 
(iii) the Member will be assessed a supplement of [x][5]  percent on its normal 
assessed contribution to the WTO  budget, to be effective in the following biennial 
budget cycle;  
 
(iv) the Secretariat will report annually to the Council for Trade in Goods on the status 
of the Member's notifications; and  
 
(v) 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) representatives of the Me mber will be called upon in WTO  formal meetings after 
all other Members have taken the floor, and before any observers; and  
 
(iii) when the Inactive Member takes the floor in the General Council it will be 
identified as such.  
 
(c) The administrative measures identified in paragraph 12 (a) and 12 (b) shall not apply  to 
Members that have submitted information on the assistance and support for capacity 
building that the Member requir es, as set out in paragraph  10. 
 
13. At the beginning of each year when measures will be applied 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.  
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  14. 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 enh anced 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 ne gotiations in that body, in consultation with the Committee 
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures as appropriate.  
 
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