WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/TPR/269 
29 November 2010 
 (10-6417) 
Trade Policy Review Body  
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM 
 
Report of the Trade Policy Review Body for 2010
 
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Bozkurt Aran (Turkey) 
 
 1. This Report by the Trade Policy Review Body provides a brief assessment of the TPRM, and 
reports on the reviews of Members conducted in 201 0.  Tables are annexed showing the Members that 
will have been reviewed up to the end of 2010, the geographical coverage of the reviews conducted to 
date, as well as the proposed programme of reviews for 2011. 
Objectives of the TPRM
 
2. The TPRB is required to periodically review the trade policies and practices of all Members.  
By the end of 2010, the TPRB will have conducted 324  reviews since its formation, at 241 review 
meetings (Annex I).  The reviews have covered 140 of 153 Members, representing some 89% of 
world trade and 97% of the trade of Members.1  The trade policies and practices of four Members 
were reviewed for the first time in 2010.2 
3. The Trade Policy Review Body will have c onducted 19 reviews in 2010 (Annex II).  The 
Secretariat reports for the reviews of The Gambia  and Papua New Guinea were prepared with the 
assistance of consultants, under the close supervis ion of Secretariat staff.  Dutch and German 
financing in support of TPRs prove d invaluable in preparing the reviews of Benin, Burkina Faso, 
Malawi, Mali, Papua New Guinea, and The Gambia.3  The Secretariat's reports continue to be 
prepared in close consultation with the authorities of the Member under review. 
4. Procedures for the reviews conducted in 2010 ha ve generally run smoothly.  Responses to 
requests for documentation and questionnaires have normally been provided at or close to the 
requested dates.  In line with recent practice, th e Secretariat has attempted to reduce the burden on 
Members under review of providing responses by using,  to the extent possible, alternative sources of 
documentation, including Members' official web-sites or  other authentic sites on the Internet.  It has 
not been possible to do this for all Members under review, and requests for documentation continue to 
be followed up with a detailed questionnaire when  sufficient information is not available from 
alternative sources.  Secretariat visits to capitals  have continued to be productive, and comments 
provided on Secretariat drafts have been pertinent;  close contact with the Member under review  is 
necessary to help ensure the factual accuracy an d clarity of the documentation prepared for the 
Review.   
                                                      
1 Members not reviewed at end 2010 are:  Cambodia, Cap Verde, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, the Kingdom 
of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Macedonia, Moldova, Myanmar, Nepal, Tonga, Ukraine, and Viet Nam. 
2 Albania, Armenia, Croatia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
3 The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany make financing available 
under the DDA Global Trust Fund to undertake reviews of the "poorest and most vulnerable" countries and to 
facilitate the trade-policy review process to better adapt to the requirements of these countries. WT/TPR/269 
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  5. Efforts continue to be made to space meeti ngs of the TPRB as evenly as possible throughout 
the year and to avoid clashes with other meetings at the WTO so as to reduce pressure on Members. 
6. The Trade Policy Review programme for 2011 comprises 17 review meetings for 
19 Members (counting the EU as one) (Annex III).  
Coverage of least developed countries (LDCs)
 
7. Of the 32 least developed Members of the WTO,  28 will have been reviewed by the end of 
2010.4 
8. Trade Policy Reviews of LDCs have increasingly performed a technical assistance function 
along with increasing understanding of the trade policy st ructure in place and its relationship with the 
WTO Agreements.  The reviews have helped to enhance understanding in these countries of the WTO 
Agreements, enabling better compliance and integra tion in the multilateral trading system;  in some 
cases, better interaction between government agenci es has been facilitated by the reviews.  The 
reports' wide coverage of Members' policies also enables Members to identify any shortcomings in 
policy, and specific areas where further technical ass istance may be required.  The Secretariat Report 
includes a section on technical assistance and aid -for-trade needs and priorities, as identified in 
cooperation with the Member concerned, prepared in  close collaboration with staff of the secretariat 
of the Enhanced Integrated Framework as well as the WTO's Development Division and Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation. 
9. When requested by the Member concerned, th e Secretariat organizes ex-post seminars to 
discuss the outcome of the trade policy review process with domestic stakeholde rs.  No seminars were 
conducted in 2010. 
Monitoring of trade and trade-related measures  
10. The TPRM requires Members, in between their re views, to provide information on significant 
trade policy changes.  The WTO Secretariat uses this  and other information to prepare reports by the 
Director-General on a regular basis on the trade and trade-related developments of Members and Observer Governments.  The reports are di scussed at informal meetings of the TPRB.
5  The WTO 
Secretariat consults closely with delegations to ga ther complete, up-to-date and accurate information 
on their trade and trade-related measures, and h as received good cooperation.  The information is 
consolidated and presented in the Director-Gen eral's Annual Report on Developments in the 
International Trading Environment, as called for by paragraph G of Anne x 3.  The 2010 Annual 
Report will be discussed by the TPRB in December 2010. 
                                                      
4 The least developed countries reviewed since th e establishment of the M echanism are:  Angola, 
Bangladesh (three times), Benin (three times), Burkina Faso (three times), Burundi, Chad, Central African 
Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Gambia (twice), Guinea (twice), Haiti, Lesotho (three 
times), Madagascar (twice), Malawi (twice), Maldiv es, Mali (three times), Mauritania, Mozambique (twice), 
Niger (twice), Rwanda, Senegal (three times), Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands (twice), Tanzania (twice), 
Togo (twice), Uganda (three times) , and Zambia (three times).     
5 These reports were subsequently distributed in documents WTO/TPR/OV/W/1, dated 16 April 2009,  
and WT/TPR/OV/W/2, dated 15 July 2009 and WT/TPR/OV/W/3, dated 14 June 2010.  WT/TPR/269 
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  Annex  I  
TRADE POLICY REVIEWS  
WTO Members reviewed, 1989-2010 
 
Europe/Middle East Asia/Pacific Africa America 
Albaniaa Australia (5) Angolab Argentina (3) 
Armeniaa Bangladeshb (3) Beninb,2 (3) Antigua and Barbuda2 (2) 
Austria1 Brunei Darussalam (2) Botswana2 (3) Barbados (2) 
Bahrain (2) China (3) Burkina Fasob,2 (3) Belize (2) 
Bulgaria1 Fiji (2) Burundib Bolivia (3) 
Croatiaa Georgia Cameroon2 (3) Brazil (5) 
Cyprus1 Hong Kong, China (6) Chadb Canada (8) 
Czech Republic1 (2) India (4) Central African Republicb Chile (4) 
European Union (9) Indonesia (5) Congo, D.R.a Colombia (3) 
Finland1 Japan (9) Congo, Rep. of Costa Rica (3) 
Hungary1 (2) Korea, Rep. of  (5) Côte d'Ivoire Dominica2 (2) 
Iceland (3) Kyrgyz Republic Djiboutib Dominican Republic (3) 
Israel (3) Macao, China (3)  Egypt (3) Ecuador 
Liechtenstein2 (3) Malaysia (5) Gabon2 (2) El Salvador (3) 
Norway (5) Maldivesb (2) Gambia b (2) Guatemala (2) 
Poland1 (2) Mongolia Ghana (3) Grenada2 (2) 
Qatar New Zealand (4) Guineab  (2) Guyana (2) 
Romania1 (3) Pakistan (3) Kenya2 (3) Haitib 
Slovak Republic1 (2) Papua New Guinea (2) Lesothob,2 (3) Honduras (2) 
Slovenia1 Philippines (3) Madagascarb (2) Jamaica (2)  
Sweden1 (2) Singapore (5) Malawib (2) Mexico (4) 
Switzerland2 (5) Solomon Islandsb (2) Mali,2 (3) Nicaragua (2) 
Turkey (4) Sri Lanka (3) Mauritaniab
 Panama 
United Arab Emirates Chinese Taipei (2) Mauritius (3) Paraguay (2) 
Jordan Thailand (5) Morocco (4) Peru (3) 
Oman  Mozambiqueb (2) St.Kitts and Nevis2 (2) 
  N a m i b i a2 (3) St.Lucia2 (2) 
  N i g e rb,2 (2) St.Vincent & Grenadines2 (2) 
  Nigeria (3) Suriname 
  R w a n d ab Trinidad and Tobago (2) 
  S e n e g a lb,2 (3) United States (10) 
  S i e r r a  L e o n eb Uruguay (3) 
  South Africa2 (4) Venezuela (2) 
  Swaziland2 (3)  
  Tanzaniab,2 (2)  
  Togob (2)  
  Tunisia (2)  
  U g a n d ab,2 (3)  
  Z a m b i ab (3)  
  Z i m b a b w e   
42 Members (59 reviews)  25 Member s (86 reviews) 40 Members (88 revi ews)  33 Members (91 reviews)  
( ) Number of reviews completed where this is greater than one. 
a First review in 2010. 
b Least developed Member. 
1 Now included in European Union (EU27). 
2 Joint review but counted as individual Members for statistical purposes from 2009. 
Reviews conducted at end- 2010   = 324 reviews at 241 review meetings 
WTO Members reviewed   = 140 out of 153 Members 
Least developed WTO Members reviewed   =     28 out of 32 
Share of world trade of WTO Members reviewed 
(excluding significant double counting and intra-EC trade) =  around 89% WT/TPR/269 
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  Annex II
 
Trade Policy Reviews conducted in 2010 
 
Membera Meeting date 
(scheduled) Review cycle (years) 
Malaysia (5) 25/01/2010 4 
El Salvador (3) 10/02/2010 6 
Croatia (1) 24/03/2010 6 
Armenia (1) 06/04/2010 6 
Albania (1) 28/04/2010 6 
People's Republic of China (3) 31/05/2010 2 
Malawi* (2)) 09/06/2010 6 
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen And Matsu (Chinese Taipei) (2) 05/07/2010 4 
The Gambia* (2) 14/09/2010 6 
Honduras (2) 20/09/2010 6 
United States (10) 29/09/2010 2 
Benin* (3) 04/10/2010 6 
Burkina Faso* (3) 04/10/2010 6 
Mali* (3) 04/10/2010 6 
Sri Lanka (3) 03/11/2010 6 
Belize (2) 03/11/2010 6 
Papua  New Guinea (2) 16/11/2010 6 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1) 24/11/2010 6 
Hong Kong, China (6) 01/12/2010 4 
 
* Least developed country. 
a Figures in brackets indicate number of reviews. 
 
  
Annex III
 
Proposed programme of reviews for 2011 
 
Two-year cycle Euro pean Union, Japan 
Four-year cycle Australia, Canada, India, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 
Thailand, 
Six-year cycle Cambodia*, Ecuador, Egypt, Guinea Conakry*, Jamaica, 
Kuwait, Mauritania*, Nepal*, Nigeria, Paraguay, 
the Philippines, Zimbabwe 
 
* Least developed country. 
 
 
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