WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/TPR/W/45 
12 December 2011 
 (11-6433) 
Trade Policy Review Body  
  
 
 
DRAFT REVISION 
 
RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR MEETINGS OF 
THE TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY 
 
 
  The following revised  rules of procedure for the Trade Po licy Review Body were approved by 
the Body at its meeting on ?? January 2012 to take account of the results of the Fourth Appraisal of 
the Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
1  Revisions in the rules of procedure stemming from the 
Fourth Appraisal shall be implemented on a prov isional basis until the Fifth Appraisal has been 
concluded. 
 
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1. When the General Council convenes as the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), it shall 
follow the rules of procedure of the General Council, except as set out below.
2 
  Chapter I - Meetings 
 
2. The TPRB shall meet, as appropriate, to con duct Trade Policy Reviews of Members, 
including the European Union  considered as one trading entity.  The TPRB shall also meet to 
undertake the Annual Overview of Developments in  the International Trading Environment and in 
addition shall meet to consider the trade po licy monitoring reports by the Director-General .   
 
3. The cycle of reviews provided for in Paragra ph C (ii) of the Agreement on the Trade Policy 
Review Mechanism (TPRM)3 shall be applied with a general flex ibility of up to six months, if and as 
may be necessary.  Schedules of subsequent review s shall be established counting from the date of the 
previous review meeting.  Members should adhere strictly to the timetables for the preparation of 
reviews, once agreed. 
  
 
  
                                                      
 1 WT/MIN(11)/6.  
2 These additional rules incorporate all relevant el ements of the Communication from the Chairman of 
the GATT 1947 Council on Procedures for Review Meetings, dated 30 April 1993 (L/7208), the GATT 1947 
Council Decision on Arrangements for the Continued Operation of the TPRM, adopted on 10 May 1994 (L/7458), and the WTO General Council Decision of 14 May 2002 on Procedures for the Circulation and 
Derestriction of WTO Documents. 
3 Annex 3 to the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization.  WT/TPR/W/45 
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  Chapter II - Agenda 
 
4. The convening notice containing the proposed agenda for each review meeting of the TPRB 
shall be circulated to all Members not later than five  weeks before the relevant meeting.  Matters to be 
raised under "Other Business" shall be communicated  to the Chairperson or the Secretariat not less 
than ten calendar days befo re the relevant meeting. 
  Chapter V - Officers 
 
5. The TPRB shall elect its own Chairperson from among the representatives of Members.  The 
TPRB may also elect a Vice-Chairperson.  The election shall take place at the first meeting of the year 
and shall take effect at the end of the meeting.  The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall hold 
office until the end of the first meeting of the following year. 
6. If the Chairperson is absent from any meeting or part thereof, the Vice-Chairperson shall 
perform the functions of the Chairperson.  If a Vice-Chairperson is not elected or available , the 
Chairperson of the General Council, or in the la tter's absence, the Chairperson of the Dispute 
Settlement Body shall perform the functions of the Chairperson.  If the Chairpersons of the General 
Council and of the Dispute Settlement Body are also absent, the TPRB sh all elect an interim 
Chairperson for the meeting or that part of the meeting. 
7. If the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson can no longer perform the functions of the 
office, the TPRB shall designate a n interim  Chairperson in accordance with paragraph 6 to perform 
those functions pending the election of a new Chairperson. 
  Chapter VI - Conduct of Business 
 
8. The TPRB shall adopt a programme of reviews fo r each year, as referred to in Section C(iv) 
of the Agreement on the TPRM, by the middle of the previous calendar year. 
9. There shall be no requirement of a quorum fo r the TPRB to conduct trade policy reviews. 
10. A TPRB meeting  shall normally take place in two sessions (each typically half a day) with a 
day in between.  Upon request by a Member under review,  the Chairperson shall consult with 
Members on the possibility of holding a one-day meeting for that Member on a pilot basis (with 
the first session in the morning and the second in the afternoon).  
11. Members under review may volunteer to apply the alternative timelines (shown in 
Annex 1) on a pilot basis.  Volunteers should in form the TPRB, through the Secretariat, of their 
choice of the alternative timelines at the time  the dates for their TPRB meetings are set. 
12. Documentation relating to each review meeting sh all be circulated in all working languages 
not less than five weeks in advance of the relevant meetings under the current timelines, or seven 
weeks in advance in the case of Members und er review having volunteered to apply the 
alternative timelines .   
13. Reports by Members under review shall be in th e form of policy statements, whose form and 
length is essentially to be determined by the Memb er under review.  Secretariat reports should focus 
principally on the trade policies and practices of  the Member under review, seen, to the extent 
necessary, in the context of overall m acro-economic and structural policies.  WT/TPR/W/45 
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  14. Members should submit written questions to th e Member under review at least two weeks 
before the TPRB meeting under the current timelines, or four weeks in advance under the 
alternative timelines , to allow time to prepare replies.   
15. Members are encouraged to submit their writte n questions in as few batches as possible, 
and ideally in just one batch (see also paragraph 19).  In order to improve the coherence of their 
written questions, Members should group them into the following three categories:  those 
related to the Secretariat report; those concerni ng the Government report; and other questions 
(see proposed template in Annex 2).  Where the questions relate to the Secretariat or Government reports, they should refer to the paragraph numbers in these reports.  
16. The Secretariat should identify the main points contained in the questions submitted at least 
two weeks before a review meeting under the current timelines or four weeks under the 
alternative timelines , post them on the Members' Website one week before the meeting, and 
distribute a revised list of main points during the first session of a review when questions received after the two- or four- week deadline give rise to significantly new issues.   
17. The Chairperson's Introductory Remarks shou ld identify key themes for discussion, 
covering in particular issues of importance  to the multilateral trading system.  The 
Chairperson's Concluding Remarks should be consis tent across all TPRs.  It is understood that 
these remarks should not deal with matters be ing addressed by the Dispute Settlement Body.  
Nor should they have any legal force. 
18. During the first session of the TPRB Meeting, i nitial remarks by Members under review 
should be limited to 15 minutes and should prov ide an overview of policies, noting any new 
developments since the completion of the Secretariat and Government reports.  Discussants' 
statements should not exceed in length that by Member s under review.  Members' s tatements from 
the floor should not exceed seven minutes.  
19. Delegations that have submitted written questions will be invited by the Chairperson to 
speak first,  in the order in which the written questions were received.  In the event of more than 
one batch of questions, the timing of the receipt of the final batch will determine the order of 
speakers.   (Delegations not submitting written questions will continue to speak second , in the 
order in which their flags are raised.)  
20. In accordance with the current timelines, advance questions submitted by the two-week 
deadline before the TPRB meeting  should be answered in writing by Member under review by the 
start of the meeting.  As regards the alternative timelines, advance questions submitted by the 
four-week deadline before the TPRB meeting should be answered in writing by Members under 
review one week prior to the meeting .  Written  questions posed subsequent to either of these 
deadlines  should be answered, to the extent possible,  before the start of the second session of the 
meeting.   
21. The statement  by Member
s under review at the beginning of the second session  should be 
comprehensive and structured according to the ma in themes identified in consultation with the 
Chairperson, discussants and Secretariat; these themes, based on the revised list of main points 
identified by the Secretariat in Members' advance written questions as well as their statements 
during the first session,  should be distributed to Members in advance of the second session of a 
TPRB meeting, where t ime will be given for discussion by discussants and Members of each theme.     
22. Questions left unanswered at the end of th e second session should be answered in writing no 
later than one month after the meeting with some  latitude in the Chair's discretion for Members WT/TPR/W/45 
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  receiving  a very large number of questions.  Members under review are obliged to respond only to 
questions that are submitted or received within the TPRB’s prescribed deadlines.  
23. Members on a six-year frequency, especially least-developed countries , can request a 
follow-up to their TPRs.  This follow-up coul d involve a workshop/seminar to discuss and 
disseminate the results of the review as well as to identify the trade-related technical assistance 
and capacity-building needs of the reviewed Members.  
24. The possibility of video-conferencing, web-linking or podcasting TPRB Meetings should 
be offered to Members under review as long as th e Secretariat is able to provide this service 
within existing budget limitations. 
  Chapter IX - Records 
 
25. Reports by the Member under review and by the Secretariat shall be de restricted immediately 
on the expiry of the relevant press embargo; a Me mber under review may request the Chair to de-
restrict the two reports at an earlier date. 
26. The Annual Report by the Director-General on the Overview of Developments in the 
International Trading Environment and minutes of TPRB meetings shall be issued as unrestricted 
documents. 
 
 
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  WT/TPR/W/45 
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Annex 1 
 
Timelines for Distribution and Receipt of Documents 
 
 Weeks (working days)before TPRB
 Current  Alternative
Secretariat and Government Reports to translation  9  11 
Distribution of Reports to Members  5 7 
Receipt of Written Questions from Members  2 4 
Receipt of Written Answers from Member under Review  By the start of 
the meeting  1 
Dissemination of Written Answers, Notes, etc.a (working 
days)  (0) (4) 
a: Secretariat's List of subjects covered by advance written ques tions and Addendum (if 
necessary) as well as Secretariat and Government Reports. WT/TPR/W/45 
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Annex 2 
 
Proposed Format of Written Questions for Reference 
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW OF MEMBER A  
 
WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM MEMBER B 
 
PART I:  QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SECRETARIAT REPORT 
II TRADE POLICY REGIME:  FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES 
Page 11 (Para 1) 
 
Member A's overall trade policy aim has remained unchanged since its  previous Trade Policy Review;  it is to accelerate the ope ning of its 
economy to the outside world, to introduce foreign technology a nd know-how, develop foreign trade,  and promote economic develop ment 
that is "mutually beneficial" with its trading partners.  In th is context, Member A has recentl y concentrated more on the openi ng up of its 
services sectors.   
 Questions: 
 1. Does Member A have any plans to unilate rally liberalise the services sectors?   
 
2. If so, could Member A please elaborate on these plans and the anticipated timeframes? 
 
PART II:  QUESTIONS REGARDING THE GOVERNMENT REPORT 
Page 18 (Para 65) 
 
In April 2009, Member A decided to launch a pilot program to settle  the cross-border trade in the local currency in five cities .  The 
implementation measures followe d up in July that year.   
 
Questions: 
 
3. Would Member A please explain the effec tiveness of the pilot program on settlement of cross-border trade in the local curren cy? 
 
4. How does the Government of Member A intend to  enhance the utility of this settlement program? 
 
PART III:  OTHER QUESTIONS 
Reference No., title and date of law, decree, regulation, etc. 
 Description and specific information 
 
Questions: 
 
5.  
 
 
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