JOB/GC/204/Rev.8  
JOB/CTG/14/Rev.8  
 
12 November 2021 
(21-8577) Page: 1/4 
General Council  
Council for Trade in Goods  Original: English  
 
PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY AND IMPROVE COMPLIANCE WITH  
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER WTO AGREEMENTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM ARGENTINA; AUSTRALIA; CANADA; CHILE; COSTA RICA;  
THE EUROPEAN UNION; ICELAND; ISRAEL; JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; MEXICO;  
NEW ZEALAND; NORWAY; PARAGUAY, THE PHILIPPINES; SINGAPORE; SWITZERLAND; THE 
SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU;  
UNITED KINGDOM; AND THE UNITED STATES  
Revis ion 
The following communication, dated 11 November 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Argentina; Australia; Canada; Chile; Costa Rica; the European Union; Iceland; 
Israel; Japan; Republic of Korea; Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; P araguay; the Philippines; 
Singapore; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; 
United Kingdom; and the United States.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Draft General Council Decision  
 
Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Improve Compliance with 
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 compliance with existing notification requirements 
under many WTO agreements;  
 
Recalling  the difficulties that some Members a re facing to comply fully with the notification 
requirements due to capacity limitations, and the necessity to give appropriate consideration to 
such difficulties and provide appropriate technical assistance to those Members to address them; 
and  
 
Desiring  to strengthen and enhance transparency and improve the operation and 
effectiveness of notification requirements;  
 
Decides as follows:  
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  Scope of Decision  
 
1.  For the purpose of this decision "notification" shall mean the notification obligations in 
relation to each of the following WTO Agreements and Understandings:  
  
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;  
Agreement on Rules of Origin;  
Agreement on Preshipment 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; and  
Agreement on Trade Facilitation, Section I.  
 
Reaffirming existing commitments  
 
2.  The Members reaffirm existing notification obligations and recommit to submitting timely 
notifications.  
 
Engagement in WTO bodies to facilitate compliance  
 
3. The General Council instructs the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures 
(Workin g Group) to:  
 
(a) meet initially within six months of this decision to develop recommendations on 
improving Member compliance with notification obligations;  
 
(b) consult with relevant committees and other working groups and bodies to identify both 
systemic and s pecific improvements, as appropriate, such as introducing simplified 
notification formats, updating reporting requirements, holding additional trainings and 
workshops at the committee level, and using new digital tools that can help Members 
improve complia nce with notification obligations;  
 
(c) 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 and submission of 
notifications to the Central Registry of Notifications;  
 
(d) work with the Secretariat to update the Technical Cooperation Handbook on 
Notification Requirements for each of the agreements and understandings listed in 
paragraph 1 a nd present it to the Council for Trade in Goods;  
 
(e) review G/L/223 and recommend revisions to the report relating to the factual analysis 
of Members' notification compliance;  
 
(f) consult with the Secretariat on ways the WTO's internal record -keeping procedure s as 
regards notifications compliance can be streamlined and improved;  
 
(g) work with the relevant committees and the Secretariat to create a dedicated page on 
the WTO website with resources, guidance, training videos, and other materials as 
relevant to aid M embers in completing notifications;  
 
(h) work with the Secretariat to establish automatic reminder emails to Members via the 
eRegistration system before a notification is due; and  JOB/GC/204/Rev.8 • JOB/CTG/14/Rev.8  
 
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(i) report to the Council for Trade in Goods on its findings and recommendations within 
two years of the adoption of this decision, and provide updates at each subsequent 
meeting.  
 
4. The General Council instructs the Trade Policy Review Body to ensure that with in one year 
of this decision all trade policy reviews include a specific, standardized focus on the Member's 
compliance with its notification obligations. The Secretariat shall include within country reports 
specific information on notification compliance by the Member. For preparing notifications, 
Members are encouraged to make use, as appropriate, of the information on Members' trade 
policies and practices available under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism .  
 
5. Members are encouraged to bring to the attentio n of the relevant Committees notifications 
that another Member has not made.  
 
Explanation for delay  
 
6.  A Member that fails to submit a notification within the applicable notification deadline should 
submit to the relevant Committee within six months af ter the relevant notification 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 Member can produce to limit any delay 
in transparency.   
 
Technical assistance and capacity building  
 
7. Any Member may request that the Secretariat assist it in compiling and completing a 
notification. The Secretariat is instructed to provide such assistance in full consultation with that 
Member.  
 
8. A Member enc ountering difficulty in fulfilling its notification obligations shall not be subject 
to measures under paragraph 10(a) until two years after the notification deadline has passed 
provided it has:  
 
(a) requested assistance and support for notification -related capacity building from the 
Secretariat, whether in the form of WTO trade -related technical assistance, ad hoc 
assistance for a particular notification, or capacity building; and  
 
(b) submitted written information to the Secretariat, the Working Group, and the relevant 
Committee on the assistance and capacity building needed in order to submit the 
relevant notification.  
 
9. A Least Developed Country Member encountering difficulty in fulfilling its notifica tion 
obligations shall not be subject to any measures under paragraph 10 provided it has:  
 
(a) requested assistance and support for notifications -related capacity building from the 
Secretariat, whether in the form of WTO trade -related technical assistance, ad  hoc 
assistance for a particular notification, or capacity building; and  
 
(b) submitted written information to the Secretariat, the Working Group, and the relevant 
Committee on the assistance and capacity building needed in order to submit the 
relevant notifi cation.  
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  Administrative measures  
 
10. Beginning on January 1, [2025] [2026]1, a Member that fails to submit a notification within 
the applicable notification deadline2 shall be subject to the following measures:  
(a) Phase 1 Measures  shall apply to a Member one year after the expiry of the notification 
deadline.  
 
A Member subject to Phase 1 Measures:  
 
(i) shall be designated as a "WTO Member with notification delay", and shall be  
identified as such in a standing item  on the General Council agenda;  
 
(ii) shall be called upon to speak in WTO formal meetings after all other WTO 
Members have taken the floor, but before any observers, except in the case of 
negotiations; and  
 
(iii) shall have its overall notification compliance reported upon annually by the 
Secretariat in the Council for Trade in Goods as part of the reporting for G/L/223.  
The information collected therein shall be used by the Secretariat to provide 
more-targeted trainin g related to notifications.    
 
(b) Phase 2 Measures  shall apply to a Member that has been subject to Phase 1 Measures 
for one year, and has nevertheless not submitted the relevant notification(s). Upon 
request of a Member subject to Phase 1 Measures that cont inues to encounter difficulty 
in fulfilling its notification obligations, the Committee to which the notification must be 
submitted may decide whether the Member with notification delay shall be exempted 
[for X amount of time] from the application of Phase  2 Measures.  
 
In addition to the Phase 1 Measures which shall continue to apply, a Member subject 
to Phase 2 Measures:  
 
(i) shall have its notification performance reported upon by the Secretariat annually 
at General Council Meetings;  
 
(ii) may pose questions du ring Trade Policy Reviews, but Members shall not be 
obliged to respond; and  
 
(iii) shall not have its representatives be nominated to preside over WTO bodies.  
 
11. Phase 1 and 2 Measures shall be immediately rescinded when the Member has submitted the 
relevant notification(s).  
 
12. When measures are applied at Phases 1 and 2, the Director -General shall inform the relevant 
Minister representing that Member.  
 
 
__________  
 
1 As regards notifications which are outstanding as of 1 January [2025] [2026], Members which have 
not submitted the relevant notification(s) shall be subject to administrative measures no sooner than 1 January 
[2026] [2027].  
2 For the purposes of this dec ision, the SPS Committee and TBT Committee, respectively, 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 Applica tion of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade such that administrative measures shall 
be applied pursuant to paragraph 10 of this decision. This decision shall not apply to ad hoc notifications under 
the TBT or SP S Agreements until the relevant guidelines have been adopted.