JOB/GC/204/Rev.1  
JOB/CTG/14/Rev.1  
 
1 April  2019 
(19-2029) Page: 1/3 
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, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, COSTA RICA, THE EURO PEAN UNION,  
JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS  TERRITORY OF TAIWAN , PENGHU, KINMEN  
AND MATSU , AND THE UNITED STATES  
 
Revision  
The f ollowing communication, dated 29 March  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the European Union, Japan,  New Zealand,  
the Separate Cust oms Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu , and the United States.  
 
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Draft General Council Decision  
 
Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notification 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 complianc e with existing notification requirements 
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 required and timely 
notifications under the following WTO  Agreements  and Understandings 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.2 6 and its revisions):  
 
Agreement on Agriculture  
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/204/Rev.1 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.1  
 
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  Agreement on Rules of Origin  
Agreement on Preshipm ent 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  
Agreement  on Trade Facilitation, Section I  
 
2. To instruct the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures ( Working Group ) to 
meet before [x date] to  develop recommendations on improving Member compliance with 
notification obligations under the Agreements and Understandings  listed in paragraph  1. The 
Working Group will consult with appropriate committees, other working groups and bodies as 
appropriate, and consider both systemic and specific improvements that can help Members improve 
compliance wit h 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 subseque nt 
meeting.  
 
3. 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.  
 
4. To instruct the Trad e Policy Review Body to ensure that beginning in [ 20XX ] all trade policy 
reviews include a specific, standardized focus on the Member's compliance with its notification 
obligations under the Agreements and Understandings  listed in paragraph  1. 
 
5. To encou rage Members, at any time, to provide a counter notification of another Member 
concerning notification obligations under the Agreements and Understandings  listed in paragraph  1. 
 
6. That beginning in [x date]  a Member that fails to provide a required notification by the deadline 
provided  under an Agreement or Understanding  listed in paragraph  11, or has failed to provide any 
prior required notification  under an Agreement or Understanding  listed in paragraph  1, will be 
subject to the administrative measures under paragraph  11. 
 
7. Notwithstanding paragraph  6, with respect to the notification referred to as DS:1  in the 
Committee on Agriculture 's Notification Requirements and Formats (G/AG/2 ), the deadline for the 
purposes of paragraph s 8, 10(b), and 11 of this Decision  shall be two years following the  notification 
deadline required under G/AG/2 . This paragraph shall cease to operate on ce an update of G/AG/2 
has been adopted . An update of G/AG/2 is encouraged within two  years of this Decision.  
 
8. A Member that fails to provide a required notification within the deadline referenced in 
paragraph  6 or the deadline set out in paragraph  7 is encouraged to submit to the relevant 
committee by six  months after the relevant deadline and every six  months thereafter an  explanation 
for the delay, the anticipated time -frame for its notification, and any elements of a partial notification 
that a Membe r can produce to limit any delay in transparency.  
 
9. If a Member fails to provide a required  notification within the deadline  referenced in 
paragraph  6 or the deadline set out in paragraph  7, the Member may request  the Secretariat provide 
assistance  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.  
 
                                                
1 For the purposes of this Decision, the SPS  Committee and TBT  Committee, respectiv ely, will develop 
guidelines on  the conditions under which  a Member shall be deemed to have failed to provide a required 
notification with respect to ad hoc notifications for the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade such that administrative measures 
shall be applied pursuant to paragraph  11 of this decision. This decision shall not apply to ad hoc notifications 
under the TBT or SPS  Agreements until the relevant guidelines have been adopted.  JOB/GC/204/Rev.1 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.1  
 
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  10. A developing country Member encountering difficulties to fulfil its notification obligations is 
encouraged : 
 
(a) 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; and  
 
(b) to submit to the rele vant committee and to the Working Group by [six]  months after 
the deadline referenced in paragraph  6 or the deadline set out in paragraph  7 and every 
six months thereafter information on those notifications  under the Agreements and 
Understandings  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 required notifications.  
 
11. For an Agreement or Understanding  listed in paragraph  1, if a Member fails to provide a  
required  notification within one  year of  the deadline referenced  in paragraph  6 or the deadline set 
out in paragraph  7, and that Member has not requested assistance from the Secretariat identified in 
paragraph  10, the following administrative measures shall apply to that Member:  
 
(a) After one year from the deadline  referenced in paragraph  6 or the deadline set out in 
paragraph  7, the following administrative  measures shall be applied to the Member : 
 
(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 shall be assessed a charge by the Secretar iat at the rate of 
[x][5]  percent of its normal assessed contribution to the WTO  budget, to be 
effective in the following biennial budget cycle, that may be used for the purpose 
of providing Members with technical assistance to fulfil notification obligati ons, 
including through the ITTC;  
 
(iv) the Secretariat shall report annually to the Council for Trade in Goods on the 
status of the Member's notifications; and  
 
(v) the Member shall be subject to specific reporting at the General Council meetings.  
 
(b) A year after the administrative measures in subparagraph  (a) ar e applied, the following 
administrative measures shall also be applied to the Member, in addition to the 
measures in subparagraph  (a): 
 
(i) the Member shall be designated as a Member  with notification delay ; 
 
(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 Member with notification delay  takes the floor in the General Council it 
will be identified as such.  
 
(c) The commencement of the  administrative measures identified in paragraph  11(a) and 
11(b) shall be deferred a year, respectively, for a developing country Member that ha s 
submitted information on the assistance and support for capacity building that the 
Member requir es, as set out  in paragraph  10, if the Member still fails to provide the 
required notification.  
 
12. When the administrative  measures identified in paragraph  11 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 administrative  measure s will cease to 
apply.  
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