JOB/GC/211  
 
14 December 2018  
(18-7929) Page: 1/4 
 Original: English  
 
 
STRENGTHENING THE DE LIBERATIVE FUNCTION OF THE WTO  
DISCUSSION PAPER  
COMMUNICATION FROM C ANADA  
The following communication, dated 14 December 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Canada.  
 
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One of the functions of the WTO, as identified in Article III:1 of the Marrakesh Agreement, is to 
"facilitate the implementation, administration and operation, and further the objectives " of the WTO 
Agreements. In practice, this deliberative function consi sts of three separate, but related activities: 
1) information sharing; 2) policy deliberation and dialogue; and 3) discussing and resolving specific 
trade concerns. With the support of the WTO Secretariat, these activities sustain intergovernmental 
coopera tion and mitigate both the temptation and opportunity to pursue trade distorting policies.  
 
This discussion paper has been prepared in follow -up to the recent call by a group of WTO members 
to engage on concrete ideas to "strengthen the monitoring and tran sparency of Members ' trade 
policies… "⁠1.  It is intended to support further dialogue and action in the near term to strengthen the 
deliberative function of the WTO.  
 
1. Improve information sharing about dome stic measures and their impacts  
Effective deliber ation and dialogue depend on the availability of reliable and objective information 
on domestic measures that might affect trade. Proposals to strengthen adherence to notification 
requirements have already emerged from members⁠.2 Notification of trade policies is, however, only 
one element of transparency and information sharing, and compliance with notification obligations 
is only one mechanism to ensure the availability of pertinent information. In addition to existing 
proposals  to strengthen adherence to notification requirements, other actions to improve the 
availability and quality of the information that is shared and discussed among members might 
include:  
 
• Information needs : each WTO C ouncil could, in a systemic manner and t aking account of 
any of its current or past efforts, conduct a review of its information needs, evaluate whether 
these needs are sufficient to allow it to achieve its objectives, and identify additional steps 
that might improve access to, and availability of, pertinent information;  
 
• Notification requirements : each WTO C ommittee could, in a systemic manner and taking 
account of any of its current or past efforts, conduct a review the notification requirements, 
if any, under its mandate.  As appropriate, each  WTO committee could then update, clarify 
or streamline those notification requirements to ensure they are not unnecessarily complex 
                                                
1 See "Joint Communiqué of the Ottawa Ministerial on WTO Reform ", 25 October 2018, online: 
<https://www.canada.ca/en/global -affairs/news/2018/10/joint -communique -of-the-ottawa -ministerial -on-wto-
reform.html>.  
2 See "Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notification requirements under WTO 
Agreements:  Draft General Council Decision ", JOB/GC/20 4-JOB/CTG/14 , 1 November 2018.  JOB/GC/211  
 
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  and burdensome and that they require only information that is fit for the purpose for which 
it is sought3; 
 
• Role of the Sec retariat : Members could request the Secretariat to conduct factual information 
gathering and sharing from public sources to complement the information gathering from 
existing sources and country notifications for each respective council or committee.  Any s uch 
work would remain consistent with the Secretariat 's mandate as set out in the Marrakesh 
Agreement.  
 
2. Improve the capacity a nd opportunity for deliberation  
Informed deliberation and policy dialogue in the WTO 's regular bodies is the foundation of succ essful 
trade cooperation. It helps members understand how the measures of other members operate, 
provides opportunities to learn how to achieve policy objectives with the least trade restrictive effect, 
offers an avenue to diffuse potential trade irritants , and may identify the need and opportunity for 
negotiations on new commitments.  
 
In this regard, the organization of the work of the regular bodies might be streamlined, strengthened 
and reoriented to allow for more effective information sharing, deliberation and dialogue. Actions 
might include:  
 
• Scheduling : review and adjust, if necessary, the frequency and timing of meetings to ensure 
that deliberations are timely, relevant and responsive to the needs and circumstances of 
given policy areas.  Thi s may include, if possible, clustering related meetings, including 
coordination with Secretariat training efforts, to better attract capital -based participants;  
 
• Coordination : coordinate among different WTO bodies to facilitate information sharing on 
substantive issues as well as mutual learning about practices that foster effective 
deliberation and cooperation. Joint working groups, or at least joint sessions, might be 
established to engage in discussions of thematic, cross -cutting issues, e.g. major domestic 
policy developments affecting trade;  
 
• Format : utilize different meeting formats and configurations, including both formal and 
informal modes, more thematic or information -sharing sessions, based on ideas and material 
submitted by members. The expe riences in the Working Group on Implementation of the 
Committee on Ant -Dumping Practices and the Triennial Review of the TBT Committee might 
provide lessons that can be applied in other areas;  
 
• Role of the Secretariat : request help of the Secretariat for t he preparation of background 
material for thematic discussions, including factual analysis of the effects on trade of certain 
kinds of measures.  Any such work would remain consistent with the Secretariat 's mandate 
as set out in the Marrakesh Agreement.  
 
3. Improve opportunities and mechanisms to address specific trade concerns  
Some WTO bodies have developed mechanisms to discuss "specific trade concerns " (STCs), which 
can lead to clarification and even resolution of trade irritants before recourse to the p rocedures of 
the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) need be considered. Not all bodies provide for such 
opportunities, and the procedures that do exist are not always robust enough to facilitate an 
adequate exchange of views and potential for resolution. An org anization -wide effort could be taken 
to improve the mechanisms and opportunities for addressing STCs at the level of Committees, with 
the dual benefit of improving trade cooperation and reducing the demand for the formal dispute 
settlement system. Actions might include:  
 
• Strengthen procedures : provide more detailed and robust mechanisms for raising STCs, 
containing more prescriptive procedures for how they will be discussed and addressed (e.g., 
                                                
3 For example, the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises examined and modified the frequency of 
notifications to new and full notifications on a biannual basis only.  After a tr ial period of four years (G/STR/5), 
the trial was extended twice for two years each time (G/STR/6 and G/STR/7) and finally indefinitely (G/STR/8).  
Previously, new and full notifications had been due every third year and updating notifications were required  in 
the intervening years.  JOB/GC/211  
 
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  deadlines, information requirements, etc.). To promote triage a nd early resolution of STCs, 
a meeting between the parties, perhaps involving the chairperson, could be encouraged prior 
to an item being placed on the formal meeting agenda of the relevant WTO body;  
 
• Third-party intervention : provide clear procedures for the involvement, when appropriate, 
of third parties, including using the "good offices " of chairpersons or referral to confidential 
third-party mediation or conciliation;  
 
• Make mechanisms widely available : share information between different WTO bodies abo ut 
experiences with different STC and mediation mechanisms. A single approach need not be 
used, but all WTO bodies should be expected to make available robust procedures for raising, 
discussing and resolving STCs. The experiences of the TBT Committee with STCs and the 
SPS Committee with mediation⁠4 could be examined more closely for lessons that can be 
applied in other Committees;  
 
• Coordination on STCs : share information on individual STCs between relevant bodies, 
possibly through a central repository that lists and categorizes STCs and tracks their status. 
This might also include special joint sessions of relevant bodies in cases where there are 
cross-cutting STCs that raise concerns in different areas of trade policy.  
 
NEXT STEPS  
The priority in strengthen ing the deliberative function of the WTO should be on immediate and 
concrete actions. However, improving this function should not be a top down exercise, but instead 
should be based on improving the dissemination of existing good practices throughout the 
organization.  
 
With more information on, and experience with, good practices among the regular bodies, the 
General Council may eventually decide to recommend or require broader adoption of specific 
approaches found to be effective in engaging members and preserving cooperation on trade. While 
incremental improvements to the deliberative capacity of WTO bodies will not, on their own, resolve 
current trade tensions, they can contribute to restoring trust in the multilateral trading system, the 
WTO as an inst itution for cooperation, and in each other as trading partners.  
 
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4 See Decision of the SPS Committee, G/SPS/61, 9 July 2014; See also Draft Ministerial Decision prepared 
by the Negotiating Group on Market Access on procedures for the facilitation of solutions to non -tariff barriers. 
TN/MA/W/106/Rev.1, 3 February 2010.  JOB/GC/211  
 
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  ANNEX – REFERENCES T O PREVIOUS WORK ON T HE WTO 'S DELIBERATIVE FUNCT ION 
1.  Bertelsmann Stiftung (ed.) - Revitalizing Multilateral Governance at the World Trade 
Organization: Report of the High -Level Board of Experts on the Future of Global Trade 
Governance – 2018 
 
2.  Manfred Elsig - The Functioning of the WTO: Options for Reform and Enhanced Performance - 
2016 
 
3. Manfred Elsig   - Functioning of the WTO: Mapping  the Challenges and Asking the Hard 
Questions – 2013 
 
4.  Pascal Lamy – Speech to General Council "Strengthening the WTO as  the global trade body " 
– Section on Improving Implementation – 2009 
 
5.  Warwick Commission – The Multilateral Trade Re gime: Which W ay Forward? – 2007 
 
6.  Peter Sutherland et al – The Future of the WTO: Addressing institutional challenges in the new 
millennium - 2004 
 
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