RESTRICTED  
  
G/AG/W/192  
 
21 December 2018  
(18-8075) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Agriculture    
 
REVIEW OF THE OPERAT ION OF THE BALI DECI SION ON TRQ ADMINIST RATION  
DRAFT REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
1.1.  At the Ninth Session of the Ministerial Conference, Ministers adopted the Decision on 
"Understanding of Tariff Rate Quota Administration Provisions of Agricultural Products, as defined in 
Article 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture" (WT/MIN(13)/39). Ministers instructed the Committee to 
review the operation of this Decision, commencing no later than 2017, taking into account 
experience gained up to that ti me.2 The Review discussions commenced at the October 2017 meeting 
of the Committee.3 At the February 2018 meeting, the Committee agreed to the process and 
timelines to conduct the Review in document G/AG/W/171.4 As per the agreed procedure, the review 
has been conducted through open -ended informal meetings of the Committee scheduled 
back-to-back with the regular meetings of the Committee.  
1.2.  Members discussed the Review in four informal meetings  of the Committee in 2018 on 
20 February, 11  June, 25 September an d 26 November. A thematic session on tariff quota 
administration and underfill was held during the November informal meeting involving the 
participation of industry representatives. The review discussions also benefitted from a number of 
written contributi ons by Members. Similarly, in response to requests from Members and as per the 
agreed process and timelines to conduct the review, the Secretariat prepared a background paper5 
on tariff quota administration and fill rates to facilitate the Review. Annex 1 includes a list of all 
written documents considered thus far in the review.  
1.3.  Members have identified the following themes in the review discussions: 1) Effective 
implementation and follow -up of the substantive obligati ons arising out of the Bali TRQ  Decisi on; 
2) TRQ transparency requirements; 3) Underfill Mechanism. The main elements raised under each 
of the three themes, including during the thematic discussions in November, are indicated below.  
EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW -UP OF THE SUBSTANTIVE OBL IGATIONS 
ARISING OUT OF THE BALI TRQ DECISION  
• Reallocation of tariff quotas;  
• Administration of TRQs with country -specific quantity (CSQ) allocations;  
• Sharing of experiences and best practices on reallocation including from TRQs under RTAs.  
TRQ TRANSPARENCY  REQUIREMENTS  
• Timely and complete TRQ notifications;  
• Prompt reporting of changes in TRQ administration;  
• Consistent reporting of fill -rates by all Members with TRQ commitments;  
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 Paragraph 13 of WT/MIN(13)/39 . 
3 Section 2.2.1 of G/AG/R/86 refers.  
4 Section 2.5.1 of G/AG/R/87 refers.  
5 G/AG/W/183.  G/AG/W/192  
 
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  • Harmonized notifications practices (e.g. for TRQs not opened or scheduled TRQs w ith no tariff 
advantage);  
• Reporting of reasons of underfill;  
• Sharing of national experiences and best practices of TRQ administration;  
• S&D (Burdensomeness of notification requirements);  
• Linkage with notification requirements in the area of import licensing  procedures;  
• Technical assistance by the Secretariat towards impr oved notification compliance 
of Members.  
UNDERFILL MECHANISM  
• Differing obligations of Members (paragraph 4 of Annex A);  
• S&D;  
• Potential less -than-universal applicability in future;  
• Linkage bet ween Annex B and paragraph 4 of Annex A;  
• Relationship between preferential and multilateral TRQs;  
• Exploration of the causes of underfill;  
• Targeted examination of TRQ underfill in some specific sectors;  
• Practical applicability of the Underfill Mechanism (exploration of reasons including potential 
complexity, as to why it has not yet been invoked, sharing of experiences, simplification of 
procedural requirements);  
• Maintenance of list of underfilled TRQs by the Secretariat.  
1.4.  A general point was also made abo ut the scope of review to be limited to seeking improvement 
in TRQ administration and the need to distinguish it from the market access negotiations. The 
possibility of taking up the TRQ -related issues in the market access negotiations was also not 
discoun ted.  
1.5.  The chairperson reminded Members about the timelines to finalize the review to enable the 
General Council to take a decision on the recommendations no later than 31 December 2019. The 
review discussion is expected to intensify in 2019 towards the fin alization of the recommendations.  
 
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 G/AG/W/192  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
List of documents  
G/AG/W/169  
10 October 2017  Monitoring and review of Members' obligations established  under the 
Bali Decision on TRQ administration . 
 
Note by the Secretariat  
G/AG/W/171  
9 February 2018  Proposed process for the Review of the Operation of the Bali  Decision 
on TRQ Administration.  
 
Note by the Secretariat  
G/AG/W/175  
18 May 2018  European Union submission to Committee on Agriculture on the Process 
for the Review of the Operation of the Bali Decision  on Tariff Rate 
Quota Administration1. 
 
Communication from the European union  
G/AG/W/179  
6 June 2018  Review of the Operation of the Bali Ministerial Decision on 
"Understanding on Tariff Rate Quota Administration provisions of 
Agricultural Products… "2. 
 
Submission from the Cairns Group  
G/AG/W/183  
31 July 2018  Tariff quota administration methods and fill rates 2007 -2016. 
 
Background Paper by the Secretariat  
G/AG/W/186  
19 September 2018  Review of Bali Decision on TRQ administration . 
 
Submission from Australia  
 
 
__________  
                                                
1 Document G/AG/W/171 of 9 February 2018.  
2 WT/MIN  (13)/39 AND WT/L/914 dated  11 December 2013 .