RESTRICTED  
  
WT/TPR/W /124 
31 January 2017  
(17-0602) Page: 1/4 
Trade Policy Review Body    
 
* In Original language only/ En langue originale seulement /En el idioma original solamente . 
  AMENDMENT OF THE TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM  
DRAFT MINUTES  OF THE MEETING* HELD ON 27 JANUARY 2017  
Delegations are invited to submit factual corrections, if any, on their own statement to the 
Secretariat ( Mrs Barbara Blanquart: barbara.blanquart@wto.org , or to  tprd@wto.org ) no later 
than 7 February 2017 . 
 
Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales  
 
MODIFICATION DU MÉCANISME D 'EXAMEN DES POLITIQUES COMMERCIALES  
PROJET DE COMPTE RENDU DE LA R ÉUNION* TENUE LE  27 JANVIER 2017  
Les délégations sont invitées à soumettre  leurs éventuelles corrections factuelles concernant leurs 
propres déclarations au Secrétariat ( Mme Barbara Blanquart: barbara.blanquart@wto.org , ou 
tprd@wto.org ) le 7 février 2017  au plus tard.  
 
Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales  
 
ENMIENDA DEL MECANISMO DE EXAMEN DE LAS POLÍTIC AS COMERCIALES  
PROYECTO DE ACTA DE LA REUNI ÓN* CELEBRADA EL DÍA  27 DE ENERO DE 2017  
Las delegaciones pueden enviar a la Secretaría (Sr a. Barbara Blanquart: 
barbara.blanquart@wto.org , o tprd@wto.org ) a más tardar el  7 de febrero de 2017  las 
correcciones fácticas que deseen introducir en sus propias declaraciones.  
 
 
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 WT/TPR/W/124  • Amendment of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism  
 
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  AMENDMENT OF THE TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM  
DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING  
27 January 2017  
Chairperson: Ms. Irene Young (Hong Kong, Chi na) 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
1. A very good morning to you all. We are coming to the end of the week but we are getting 
near to the lunar New Year, so ahead of tomorrow I wish you all a very happy lunar New Year of 
the rooster. And now we are s tarting our formal meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body.  
2. As the convening Airgram WTO/AIR/TPR/47 says, the objective of this meeting is to consider 
and approve the submission of a proposal to the General Council, for a decision to be made by the 
Genera l Council in due course, to amend the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) contained in 
Annex 3 to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. This process is necessary to 
implement a change in the trade policy review cycles as agreed by the TPRB in Dece mber 2016.  
3. At our informal meeting on the 16th of January, I explained in detail the proper legal 
procedures for amending Annex 3. In case some of you were not at that meeting, let me briefly 
recapitulate.  
4. There are two steps:  
 Step One is for me, as Chair , to invite the TPRB to submit the amendment proposal to the 
General Council. Step One is just a procedural step.  
 
 Step Two is for the General Council to approve in due course that proposal. That will be the 
decision with real legal implications.  
5. Today, at this TPRB meeting, we are doing the step One, the procedural step. Thereafter, 
some Members may have to complete their own domestic procedures before we all go to step Two. 
So, let me be clear: step Two will not be taken immediately. We are not submitti ng the proposal to 
the General Council today. The proposal will be put on the General Council's meeting Agenda later 
when all Members are ready to do so. But I hope this will not take very long. Once the General 
Council decides to approve our proposal in d ue course, that General Council's decision will take 
effect for all Members. But, as the decision itself says, the new review cycles will only apply from 
2019 onwards.  
6. What I have said just now has been confirmed by the legal advisors from the WTO 
Secretar iat. They have assured us that the approach we are taking is legally sound, because it 
fully satisfies the requirements of Article X:8 of the Marrakesh Agreement. The lawyers have also 
prepared the document in front of you, WT/TPR/391, so the text should a lso be in order and fit for 
purpose.  
7. Unless any Member wishes to take the floor, I would like now to propose that the TPRB 
approve the submission of the proposal in due course to the General Council as contained in 
document WT/TPR/391.  WT/TPR/W/124  • Amendment of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism  
 
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  STATEMENTS BY MEMB ERS 
THE SEPARATE  CUSTOMS  TERRITORY  OF TAIWAN,  PENGHU,  KINMEN  AND  MATSU  
8. Thank you Chair and happy New Year to everybody. We appreciate your efforts and 
leadership throughout this 6th TPRM Appraisal and the tremendous significant achievements being 
made. We would like to reiterate our position in this case. We need more time to see our domestic 
procedure and, therefore, we echo your statements that this proposal shall be sent to the General 
Council meeting after all the Members are ready to do so. Thank you v ery much.  
JAPAN  
9. Thank you very much. I just would like to briefly clarify what "effective as of 2019" means 
so as to specific cases. We will count a new period (3, 5 and 7 years) from 2019. When it comes to 
Members which are planned to be reviewed in 2019 like, for example, Japan, EU, Australia, India, 
Canada, Costa Rica, Kyrgyz Republic, Macedonia and so forth, with this amendment, those 
Members will be reviewed in 2020 instead of 2019. Am I right?  
CHAIRPERSON  
10. Yes, this is correct.  
SOUTH  AFRICA  
11. Thank you C hair. We, South Africa, do not have any concerns as such with the content of 
the document. But we may need time for internal processes. So maybe we might want a 
clarification as to when we present the document to the General Council, what we do expect from  
Members, what does that mean, because for us the TPR is a customs union issue that South Africa 
will review with Members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The first meeting of 
SACU will be sometimes in February and that will have to be passed through or discussed at the 
meeting and then we will be able to say that we can approve. We do not have concerns as such 
with the document but we need authorization. Thank you.  
CHAIRPERSON  
12. That is not a problem. As I have explained very clearly just now, w hat we are doing today 
does not have legal effect. We are doing and taking necessary procedural step so that in due 
course, when all Members are ready to join the consensus, the proposal will be put to the General 
Council Agenda. So, no worries. We are jus t doing a procedural step today. The real step Two for 
making the legal amendment will take place later when all Members feel comfortable, are ready to 
join the consensus. The Secretariat will be checking the Members' readiness in due course before 
the ite m is put on the General Council Agenda.  
INDIA  
13. Thank you Madam Chair. Just what Japan mentioned and to seek a little clarification. Would 
it be possible for the Secretariat to share the new cycles as they are drafted for 2019 -2020 based 
on this proposal? At  this stage, does the Secretariat have the revised cycle for the years beginning 
from 2019 onwards?  
MR. WILLY  ALFARO  (SECRETARIAT)  
14. Thank you Madam Chair and thanks to India. Yes, we have been working in preparing the 
list of countries that could be reviewe d as of 2019 and, in a previous informal meeting, I indicated 
that the year 2019 will be very peculiar in the sense that, if we apply 2019 immediately, the 
revised cycle will have only around 11 Members to be reviewed. And, therefore, that is why 
Members d iscussed that there has to be some sort of flexibility so as to apply this in a smooth 
manner. That means that we will be inviting those Members that, according to the new cycle, 
should be reviewed in 2020, if they voluntarily agree to come one year earlie r. We have had some 
indications of a couple of them saying that, in principle, they would be willing to do so and that 
would allow the smooth transition to the new cycle.  WT/TPR/W/124  • Amendment of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism  
 
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  BANGLADESH  
15. Thank you Chair. Just one clarification. We have our Trade Policy Review i n 2018 so that will 
not be changed then.  
CHAIRPERSON  
16. I wish to thank you all sincerely for your participation. I think the credits go to all Members 
that we have been able to take this matter through. Congratulations to you all and see you on the 
14th of February at Sierra Leone's Trade Policy Review and, in the meantime, I think I have already 
heard that some delegations might not be ready for the item to be put on the General Council 
Agenda at this stage. I would suggest that those delegations who do not expect themselves to be 
ready by the February General Council to let the Secretariat know so that we will hold it. We will 
not put the item on the General Council Agenda if we know that some of you are not ready. So 
please let the Secretariat know if that is your case. Thank you very much again.  
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