WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/GC/W/602 
14 May 2009 
 
 (09-2380) 
General Council 
26 and 27 May 2009 Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS AND THE ROLE OF THE WTO 
 
Communication by Argentina  
 
 
 The Chairman of the General Council has received the following communication, dated 
14 May 2009, from the delegation of Argentina with th e request that it be circulated to Members and 
included in the agenda for consideration at the meet ing of the General Council to be held on 26 and 
27 May. 
 
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I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The extent and impact of the current global ec onomic crisis have had a negative effect on the 
growth of international trade, placing the multilateral system in an unprecedented situation.  Creative 
action is called for in order to ensure that th e measures adopted by Members do not exacerbate the 
existing trade asymmetry, in particular for developing countries. 
2. The G-20 requested the WTO regularly to monitor and report on the measures adopted by its 
Members as a result of the economic and financial crisis.  The likelihood that these measures will 
have prejudicial effects on international trade was re cognized by the international leaders who, in the 
declaration at the London Summit of the G-20, pledged the following: 
• "… to refrain from raising new barriers to  investment or to trade in goods and 
services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing World Trade Organisation (WTO) inconsistent measures to stimulate exports.  In addition we will 
rectify promptly any such measures.  We extend this pledge to the end of 2010; 
• we will minimise any negative impact on trad e and investment of our domestic policy 
actions including fiscal policy and action in support of the financial sector.  We will 
not retreat into financial protectionism , particularly measures that constrain 
worldwide capital flows, especially to developing countries; 
• we will notify promptly the WTO of any such measures and we call on the WTO, 
together with other international bodies, w ithin their respective mandates, to monitor 
and report publicly on our adherence to these undertakings on a quarterly basis."
1 
                                                      
1 Paragraph 22 of the Declaration by the G-20 The Global Plan for Recovery and Reform , 2 April 2009. WT/GC/W/602 
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  II. REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL TO THE TPRB 
3. In this context, under his sole responsibility, th e Director-General submitted two reports to the 
Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) on the fina ncial and economic cris is and trade-related 
developments.
2  These were submitted as a preparatory contribution to the annual report by the 
Director-General that is called for in Paragra ph G of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism mandate 
(Annex III to the Marrakesh Agreement).3 
4. The Director-General's reports essentially refer to two types of measure:  
a. "trade restricting or distorting" measures such as import licensing, import tariffs and 
surcharges, anti-dumping duties and safeguards4;  and 
b. "potentially trade restricting or distorting" measures such as State aids and subsidies 
(through fiscal stimulus and financial s upport programmes) given to manufacturing 
industries and financial services, adopted by some Members as a response to the 
crisis.5 
5. With regard to the definition in point 4.b above on "potentially trade restricting or distorting" 
measures it is noticeable that the conditional is used wh en their real impact is clear.  It concerns those 
measures that are habitually used by developed countries and, in particular, those with greater 
economic weight.  These measures, which have beco me more pronounced during the current crisis, 
are likely to have a strong protective and distortin g impact on international trade because of their 
extent, resulting in a loss of competitiveness on the part of countries without any capacity to subsidize, in other words, developing countries.  An other important effect is related to the eventual 
closure of production facilities in developing countr ies because of the concentration of financial 
resources going to support domestic activities in developed countries. 
III. PROPOSAL 
6. The Director-General has asked for contributions  and guidance to enable him to prepare the 
aforementioned annual report.
6  In this connection and in order to  support the Director-General in his 
task, Argentina is submitting this communicati on to Members as part of its "…collective 
responsibility to monitor developments in the inte rnational trading environment that are having an 
impact on the multilateral trading system and, more  broadly, on the health of the global economy."7 
A. ASYMMETRY OF THE INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE TWO TYPES 
OF MEASURE AS DEFINED BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL 
 
7. Regarding the measures that restrict or distort tr ade mentioned in point 4.a, monitoring is part 
of the transparency obligations contained in the WTO Agreements, through the submission of 
notifications to the various Committees.  These a llow the universe of measures adopted to be known 
and their impact on international trade to be monito red.  It should be emphasized that a synthesis of 
their impact can be found in the periodic and re gular reports by the WTO, and in the Secretariat 
reports in connection with the Trade Policy Review Mechanism.  
                                                      
2 JOB(09)/2 (26 January 2009), WT/TPR/OV/W/1 (26 March 2009). 
3 JOB(09)/2, paragraph 1, WT/TPR/OV/W/1, footnote 1. 
4 WT/TPR/OV/W/1, paragraphs 28, 35, 41 and Annex 1. 
5 WT/TPR/OV/W/1, paragraphs 30, 43, 44 and Annexes 2 and 3 
6 JOB(09)/2, paragraph 6. 
7 Ibid.  WT/GC/W/602 
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  8. In this context, the Chairman of the Genera l Council (February 2009) asked the chairpersons 
of the Committees to examine possible improvements to  notification procedures.  Argentina considers 
that this initiative will enable fuller and more precise information to be obtained.  Consequently, there 
will be more reliable monitoring of the impact on trade flows of measures subject to notification.  
9. With regard to the measures mentioned in point  4.b, for example, State aids and subsidies 
under stimulus programmes, the situation is diamet rically the opposite as information is scarce, not 
systematized and not very transparent.8  This makes it difficult to evaluate and monitor their effects, 
even when the size and scope of the measures means that they have a strong negative impact on trade, 
in particular for developing countries, because of their obviously distorting nature.9 
10. The Director-General has indicated that as the se measures:  "…are often attached informally, 
and are of a political rather than contractual nature, it  is very hard to know of their existence and how 
they are being implemented".10  Fiscal stimulus and financia l support programmes "…have the 
potential to impact seriously and negatively on fore ign producers who specialize in activities that are 
the target of government support in other countries. … [and] they have the potential to create deep 
and long-lasting  distortions to global markets …"11 
11. The situation described above shows that the WTO currently has disciplines and resources to 
examine the measures in point 4.a, but lacks ade quate notification and information disciplines for 
State aids and stimulus packages, a circumstance th at prevents their impact on international trade from 
being monitored, in particular, the loss of th e benefits accruing to developing countries under 
multilateral agreements.  Argentina considers that it is imperative to examine such measures more 
carefully and in greater depth in order to reverse the structural distortions in global markets.  These 
could require the refinement or adoption of new disciplines.  
B. NEXT STEPS 
 
12. On 27 April last, the Director-General ask ed Members for information on trade and 
trade-related measures adopted afte r 1 March 2009.  For this purpose, he indicated that the annexes to 
the second report12 "… provide an illustration of the type of measures to be covered in the monitoring 
exercise".  In addition, he indicated his intention to "… report on any impact on trade of domestic policy actions including fiscal policy and action in support of the financial system".  
13. Argentina supports this initiative and considers that it should be unde rpinned by a programme 
of work designed to obtain informa tion and undertake the relevant analyses in order to determine the 
impact of these measures, not only in the current in ternational situation but also in the medium and 
long terms.  
14. A recommendation should therefore be transmitte d to the Director-General, and through him 
to the Secretariat, that information be obtaine d on the measures in point 4.b by examining the 
following aspects:  
• Comprehensive:  should cover all goods and servi ces, including financial services
13; 
                                                      
8 WT/TPR/OV/W/1, paragraphs 31 and 44, inter alia . 
9 WT/TPR/OV/W/1, paragraphs 30, 31 and 43. 
10 WT/TPR/OV/W/1, paragraph 31. 
11 WT/TPR/OV/W/1, paragraph 43 
12 Annex 1 (Trade and Trade-Related Measures), Annex 2 (Stimulus Packages), and Annex 3 
(Overview of National Bailout Measures/Plans an d Guarantee Schemes for Financial Institutions). 
13 The National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), drawn up by the USTR, could 
serve as a model.  It is an inventory of the most impor tant trade barriers affecting Un ited States exports of goods WT/GC/W/602 
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  • Forecasts :  should include information and statis tical estimations of the trade impact 
of these measures;  
• Specific:  should distinguish between horizont al stimulus measures and those 
intended for a particular sector, and provi de details on the individual measures 
according to their potential trade-restricting or distorting impact;  
• Systematized:  in relation to the preceding point, a horizontal, sectoral and detailed 
analysis of the impact on trade should be submitted;  
• Periodic:  to allow the measures adopted by Members to be followed up on a regular 
basis.  
15. This analytical work would respond to th e Director-General's  Statement to the 
General Council on 29 April last when he was re -appointed:  "Simply producing and publishing data 
is not enough".  They need to be "analysed".  In  his own words, "…We need to move from production 
to interpretation
, from raw numbers to trade intelligence ."  This is key, inter alia, in "monitoring".14 
16. Argentina considers that the inclusion of an  analysis such as that suggested by the 
Director-General in his reports will make a sign ificant contribution to the functioning of the 
multilateral system for the purpose of monitoring and preventing negative impacts on international 
trade, in particular for developing countries.  This approach should be  consistent with the 
transparency mandate laid down in the Marrakesh Agreement15 and would facilitate the refinement 
and eventual adoption of new disciplines.  
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and services, foreign investment and intellectual property rights.  In some cases, this Report gives quantitative 
estimates of the impact of such barriers on the value of North American exports.  In general, the Report not only identifies measures but also "policies" which restri ct exports, including "trade-distorting practices". 
14 JOB(09)/39, pages 6 and 7 in the English text. 
15 Annex 3 to the Marrakesh Agreement, the "Trade Policy Review Mechanism", provides among its 
objectives "achieving greater tran sparency in, and understanding of, the trade policies and practices of 
Members…".  Under this Mechanis m, Members may not only analyse all the trade measures of Members, but 
also, and this is even more important, may undertake an analysis of the impact of such practices: 
 
 "… the review mechanism enables the regula r collective appreciation and evaluation of the 
full range of individual Members' trade policies and practices and their impact  on the 
functioning of the multilateral trading system".  (Underlining added) (Annex 3, paragraph 
A(i)).