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WT/BFA/167  
 
14 November  2017 
(17-6133) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 12 OCTOBER  2017  
1.1.  The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) met on 12 October 2017 
under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Peter BRŇO  (Slovak Republic ). The Terms of Reference 
and composition of the Committee are  set out in document WT/L/44/REV.1. The agenda con tained 
in document WTO/AIR/BFA/21  was adopted.  
1.2.  The Director -General addressed  the Committee to expound his budget proposals for the 
biennium 201 8-2019. Due to budgetary constraints and given the current un favourable economic 
situation, the Director -General presented a Zero Nominal Growth (ZNG) budget for 201 8 and 
2019, respecting the fact that many Members countries faced difficulties . He then underlined that 
ZNG budgeting  has been in place  since 2011. The fact that the Secretariat was able to present 
another ZNG budget was because it had undertaken great efforts to generate savings in many 
areas. The Director -General also informed the Committee about the digital registration and filing 
system, currently in place, which reduce s usage of  paper. In addition, he encouraged the Members 
to actively use the E -Subscription platform for documents and suggested to Members that the 
printed documentation be only dispatched  to specific Members  when explicitly requested b y them.  
1.3.  The Director -General further  underlined th at significant savings had been made by reversing 
the inverted pyramid, which led to a reduction of 25% of grade 10  posts , representing more than 
CHF 100,000 on a single replacement. He also informed the C ommittee that there is cost reduction  
emanating from the manner in which the Occupational Health Services is staffed  as well as the 
new service provider of the medical plan .  
1.4.  The Director -General reassured the Members that the Secretariat will continue to scrutinize 
all areas in order to further reduce  costs. He stressed the fact that additional costs were incurred  
to hire further resources to compensate the transition of posts which had been  transferred to the 
Dispute Settlement System.  He noted that the l evel of activity in dispute settlement was 
increasing significantly.  
1.5.  The Director -General expressed appreciation that the Members had mooted the idea that 
contributions from newly -acceded Members should be added  to the WTO budget, instead of 
transforming t hem into r ebate s for existing Member s. 
1.6.  He concluded his statement by emphasiz ing that looking beyond the budget of 2018 -2019, it 
was becoming increasingly important to consider the sustainability of the budgetary situation of 
the WTO.  
1.7.  Many Members thanked  the D irector -General  for his remarks and the Secretariat for their 
work on the 2018 -2019 Budget Proposal . They were supportive of another Zero Nominal Growth 
budget .  
1.8.  Several Members urged the Secretariat to co ntinue to look for mor e ways to reduce  
expend itures. One Member inquired whether it was possible to move funds between budget parts; 
i.e. from Part A to Part B , in case of need. Several other Members highlighted the importance of 
saving  on paper both , for both financial and environmental reasons.  WT/BFA/167  
 
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  1.9.  Other Members inquired how the Secretariat intended to fund the so far unfunded projects  
detailed in the budget  and how the priorities would be determined. One Member expressed his 
hope that despite cost savings, the WTO would continue to deliver high qualit y services.  
1.10.   Several Members suggested that contributions of newly acceding Members be added to the 
total assessed contributions instead of reducing existing Members' contributions. One Member 
suggested that the Secretariat should also find other ways of generating income.  
1.11.   Two Members expressed a concern with respect to the delays in the Dispute Settlement 
System and the associated risks for the functioning of the system  and pointed out that the 
situation need s to be taken with seriousness.  
1.12.   A Member suggeste d that additional staff be transferred to the Rules and Legal Divisions. 
The Committee's attention was drawn to the following figures: in the past it took an average of 
500 days in average from the request to a panel and 670 days to an appeal . Currently, t he periods 
have extended to 685 days and 1,056 days, respectively.  In addition, the  Member  stressed the 
fact that the translation of reports of dispute settlement took up to one year, which represented 
additional concerns.  
1.13.   Another Member enquired whether t he project of Physical Security for the legal divisions 
was related to an audit recommendation.  
1.14.   Another Member drew the Committee's attention to the possible adjustment of the salary 
expenditure due to the salary cut in the United Nations and inquired abo ut the potential outcomes. 
In addition a question about the new methodology for dependency allowances and expected 
savings resulting from this  was raised. The Member wondered how the Secretariat would use those 
savings.  
1.15.   The Director -General thanked Members  for their constructive comments. With respect to 
Dispute Settlement, he pointed out that if cases and the complexity continued to increase, it would 
be important to change the budget, otherwise it would be difficult  for the Secretariat to maintain 
the same quality of services. Regarding the lengthy translation time, the Director -General 
explained that the reports needed to be translated in -house in order to ensure consistency . He 
informed the Committee that resources were a limiting factor.   
1.16.   With respect t o the impact of the salary reduction in the UN System on the WTO, the 
reduction for the WTO salaries would be minimal . On dependency allowances, the Director -General 
highlighted that the costs would be lower than indicated in the draft budget as the method ology 
was about to be reviewed.  
1.17.   The Director -General reassured the Members that the Secretariat was constantly looking for 
savings by regularly re -negotiating new contracts with service provider s. He then reminded the 
Members that 29 posts had already bee n shifted to the D ispute Settlement  area. That approach 
had an impact on other Divisions, which had to hire temporar y assistance to cover the workload.   
1.18.   With respect to infrastructure projects that are currently not funded, he explained that some 
of the p rojects would be implemented in phases and that the implementation would be decided on 
the basis  of risk and urgency.  
1.19.   The Director -General concluded by urging the Members to liaise with the Secretariat in 
order to tackle the issues within the Dispute Sett lement  area. He also emphasized that Members 
should consult with experts in Dispute Settlement in order to better understand the complexity of 
the system.  
1.20.   With respect to unfunded infrastructure projects, an Official stated that the Secretariat was 
not co mmitted to any priority at this stage  and highlighted that focus would be on risk 
assessment. In addition, the Secretariat would try to achieve savings , in related area s of the 
budget , through  strict management of funds. The Official then stated it might b e necessary to 
transfer funds from Part A to Part B  at later stage . The Official  stated that the Financial Regulations 
restrict t he Secretariat from transferring  funds between budget parts .  In view of this, the WT/BFA/167  
 
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  Secretariat would, at the appropriate time, request the express approval of the CBFA before 
transferring funds between different Parts of the budget.  
1.21.   An Official from the Secretariat announced that the Dependency Allowances figure in the 
budget is an interim amount, pending the approval of a new Met hodology by the CBFA. Thereafter, 
the Dependency Allowances will be adjusted and the corresponding amount transferred to Staff 
Costs. 
1.22.   Another Secretariat Official  confirmed that the physical security for legal divisions was linked 
to an audit recommendatio n. Regarding the question on the replacement of the telephone system , 
the Secretariat stated that the current contract was close to expiration and that the technology for 
telephone systems has changed.   
1.23.   Responding to a suggestion to show the segmented fore cast performance  for the WTO 
Secretariat and the Appellate Body relative to the budget, to year end, as well as the consolidated 
amounts the Official responded in the affirmative.  The Director of Human Resources explained the 
impact of the proposed UN salary adjustment of 7.5%. The Committee was informed that only 
70% of the WTO salary depends on the UN sa lary. Moreover , a 7.5% cut would only impact  the 
salaries of the professional staff . Therefore , only half of the WTO staff would  be affected. Another 
comp onent to consider was the exchange rate of EUR to CHF  as well as the contribution of the 
salary reference of the Coordinated Organizations . 
1.24.   Responding to a follow up question on the impact of the salary adjustment on the frozen 
salary scales, t he Director of Human Resources stated that if the reduction took place it would be  
applied only to newly hired employees . The frozen salary scales would not be affected . In addition,  
it was mentioned that the UN would  apply the adjustment only in February  2018, so the WTO 
would get to apply it o nly in 2019.  
1.25.   A Member inquired if the Committee would be asked to make a decision regarding potential 
salary adjustment s. The Secretariat replied  that all potential adjustments would be presented in 
the annual salary survey as u sual. 
2  OTHER BUSINESS  
2.1.  One M ember intervened and emphasized that the revised methodology for calculating 
dependency allowances is of great importance. He impressed upon the Secretariat to  finalize the 
document on this soon as possible.  
2.2.  The Chairman reminded  the Committee  that the next CBFA meeting will take place on 
6 November 2017 and closed the meeting.  
 
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