RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/M/25 
26 August 2008 
 (08-3971) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation   
  
 
 
SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE MEETING 
 
Held in the Centre William Rappard
 
from 14-18 July 2008  
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Eduardo Ernesto Sperisen-Yurt (Guatemala) 
 
 
1. The Chairman  recalled that the proposed agenda fo r the meeting had been circulated in 
WTO/AIR/3214. As indicated in the airgram, the mee ting sought to engage in focussed textual work 
on all elements of the mandate, looking also at the areas of technical assistance/capacity building 
(TACB) and S&D. In addition, Members would address the regular item of participation by the Annex D organizations.  
2. The agenda was adopted.
 
3. The Chairman  outlined his plans for the negotiatin g week. The structure of the sessions 
reflected their targeted objectives, focussing on textual work regarding the proposals under 
consideration. The individual texts would be taken up in the order that they had been reflected in the 
compilation document (TN/TF/W/43/Rev.15), starting with those relating to GATT Article X.  
4. Questions linked to TACB and S&D would be taken up on Thursday.  Friday would see the 
Negotiating Group (NG) address a few additional matte rs – including work related to assessing Trade 
Facilitation (TF) needs – before concluding in plenary mode.  
5. All of those items would be addressed in a variet y of formats to allow for a flexible approach. 
The morning sessions would be led by the Chair in op en-ended, informal mode.  He would also chair 
part of the afternoon discussions while also leav ing room for engagements amongst Members. An 
additional event would take the form of training sessions for experts from ACP and LDC states. They were timed to allow for participation in the NGT F discussions as well. The presence of these capital 
experts had been made possible by the generous  support from a number of EC Member states for 
which he wished to express his sincere thanks.    
6. Together, those activities sought to allow for a nother constructive meeting that moved the NG 
an additional step ahead.  The remaining amount of work was still considerable and time for its 
completion very limited. The following week mi ght offer additional guidance on the specific 
timeframe for completing the NG's task.  Members ha d to be prepared for an intensified mode of 
operation and could not risk falling behind.  
7. The opening plenary was adjourned
 and the informal working sessions commenced . 
 TN/TF/M/25 
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  A. N
EW AND REVISED PROPOSALS  
8. This part of the meeting was conducted in informal mode  with the exception of the 
introduction of the following new submissions: 
9. The representative of Barbados  introduced TN/TF/W/129/Rev.2, explaining that it was a 
revised version of the original document TN/TF/W/129 on regional aspects of trade facilitation.  It 
had been co-sponsored by a number of small a nd vulnerable economies (SVEs) such as Barbados, 
Cuba, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Isla nds. Although other SVEs had not yet been in a 
position to co-sponsor the proposal at the present ti me, he had been assured that the issue of the 
regional dimension of TF measures and the provision of technical assistance on a regional basis was 
important for many of them.  He also noted that the proposal had received a comfortable degree of 
support from other Members in the NG. 
10. Revision 2 expanded on the original document and provided three specific legal drafting 
suggestions.  The first could feasibly be included in the preamble section of an eventual Trade 
Facilitation Agreement as it recognized the regiona l aspect of TF and the additional option which 
developing Members could employ of using exis ting or new regional mechanisms to adopt and 
implement TF obligations.  Section II spoke specifi cally to the measure on enquiry points and should 
be read with the explanatory footnote, which made  clear that a regional approach did not undermine 
the national legal responsibilities of individual Members to whatever was agreed under the TF 
Agreement. The option of using a regional approach to  enquiry points could fit quite comfortably with 
what appeared to be a growing consensus on what the expectations of an enquiry point would be. 
11. The first section could be considered for inclus ion in the still to be  finalized language on 
technical assistance (TA) and capacity building (CB).  With regard to the first paragraph, it might not 
be necessary to specify that TA and CB should be prov ided to national and regional enquiry points as 
this could be subsumed in mo re generic language on TA and CB. But the concept of support for 
establishment, modification and maintenance of meas ures was an important and crucial aspect of what 
the sponsors of the proposal would expect from TA and CB and should be included as core principals 
in any section on TA and CB.   
12. The second paragraph of that first section could al so be widened and included in a text on TA 
and CB to encapsulate the idea that assistance shoul d also be provided to regional bodies and regional 
mechanisms, which would assist Members in the implementation of TF obligations.   
13. The co-sponsors remained flexible with regard to  the eventual specific language agreed to but 
emphasized that some of the concepts and principl es on the role of TA and how it could be delivered 
as mentioned in the proposal should be reflected in the final outcome document. 
14. The representative of India  presented TN/TF/W/123/Rev.2, noting that is was equally 
sponsored by South Africa and Sri Lanka. 
15. Four basic changes had been made. In the first paragraph, the text talked about the exchange 
of information and documents on matters such as HS classification, description, quantity, country of 
origin and valuation of goods.  The concerns of  some Members had been taken into account. The 
earlier version of the proposal had mentioned "fu ll and accurate" before "description".  This phrase 
had now been omitted although full and accu rate information was required.   
16. In paragraph 4(c), the word "certify" had been re placed by "confirm".  Paragraph 7 stated that 
"each Member shall designate and notify to the WTO an agency within its administration for 
exchange of information and documents".  In r esponse to a concern expressed by Japan about the  TN/TF/M/25 
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  earlier proposal's reference to "a centralized agen cy", India had changed the language. The new text 
now only referred to an "agency". 
17. In paragraph 11, there was a new addition sta ting that "Information or documents exchanged 
shall not be used for purposes other than that fo r which it was sought, unless the requested Member 
agrees otherwise."  That had primarily been done  to accommodate the concerns of Switzerland and 
Japan. This was also already covered by the title of the proposal which referred to a "cooperation 
mechanism for customs compliance." 
18. Members' concerns had mainly focussed on two poi nts of the proposal. The first related to the 
alleged burdensomeness of the proposal.  The second was the confidentiality issue.  On the confidentiality aspect, the relevant paragraph had b een amended to say that the information and the 
document exchange should not be required to be di sclosed, except in judicial proceedings.  Taking 
into account the concerns that had been expressed by delegations, particularly Japan, the revision now 
also stated that this information would not be used in criminal proceedings unless the requested 
Member agreed. The language used  was no anathema to any Member. It could be found in many 
WTO instruments.  Article X of the Customs Valua tion Agreement, for instance, clearly authorized 
Members to disclose the information in judicial pro ceedings.  It clearly stated that the information 
which was provided on a confidential basis was to be treat ed as confidential except to the extent that it 
might be required to be disclosed in judicial proceedings.    
19. Identical language was used in Article 2(k) and in Article 3(i) of the WTO Agreement on 
Rules of Origin and in Article X of the Customs Va luation Agreement.  Artic le 12.4 of the Agreement 
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and Article  6.5 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement equally 
talked about the protection of confidential inform ation. Also, it should be kept in mind that the 
information could only be disclosed where it would be of significant competitive advantage to another 
party.  In unjustifiable cases, the investigating au thorities could also disregard this information. 
20. Article X of GATT 1994 also talked about the protection of the information, but only where 
the disclosure would impede law enforcement or woul d be contrary to public interest or where this 
would prejudice the legitimate commercial interest of a particular enterprise. The current proposal did 
not talk about the information which would affect a ll those mentioned points. Rather, it related to the 
exchange of information and documents on HS clas sification, the quantity of the goods, valuation and 
country of origin.  That was not information falli ng under the confidential category.  In the case of 
customs clarification, for instance, there could be a situation in the exporting country where the 
exporter classified the goods under the category of cotton bags.  The correct classification was 4202, 
but the Indian importer had classified it as 6307 which covered all sacks and bags falling under the 
"other made up articles" category . Or, for example, plastic combs, for which the correct classification  
was 9615, which had been stated correctly in the exporting country, with it however having been classified as articles of plastic under 3926 in the impo rting country.  One was talking about valuation 
issues, covering cases such as a situation where a value had been declared as $100 in the exporting 
country, with the Indian importer however referring to $75 instead.   
21. The exchange of information was not so mething where the disclosure would lead  to 
something.  One should not forget that one was ta lking about illegitimate trade.  The basic philosophy 
of all Agreements and existing WTO instruments to  facilitate trade was that the goods originating 
from different countries competed w ith one another on the basis of equal footing and pure competitive 
advantage.  There was no scope for any wilful fraud, offences or suppressing of information.  
22. It was recognized that this exchange of inform ation might adversely affect the interest of a 
particular enterprise.  But while it might promote a private interest by giving wrong information, it created a clear competitive disadvantage for another country. This was not fair competition. TN/TF/M/25 
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  23. Initially, the text had stated that the information was required to be disclosed in judicial 
proceedings, because India felt that no harm would be caused by disclosing it in judicial proceedings which was also provided for in other WTO instruments.  Nevertheless, taking into account Members' concerns, the paragraph had been changed to now stat e that the information would not be disclosed in 
criminal proceedings, unless the requested Member agreed to do so. 
24. On the issue of the alleged burdensomeness of th e proposal, paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the 
text contained a number of changes to accommodate Members' concerns that requests would not be 
made in a routine or frivolous manner.  For inst ance, regarding paragraph 2, the EC had called for 
such requests to be made after the domestic channels  of investigation had been exhausted.  Paragraph 
10 stated that the requesting country had to make an  internal verification. Only then could it ask for 
the information. 
25. In paragraph 4, the original formulation had stated that the information and the documents 
exchange shall be authenticated by the requested Member.  It had never been India's intention that this 
was to be authenticated by the re quested Member.  Rather, the idea ha d been for the information to be 
exchanged only to be certified as true copies of th e documents.  But again, as a result of Members' 
concerns, the word "certify" had b een replaced by the word "confirm". 
26. Australia had suggested that Members would not be requested to modify the import/export 
procedures. As a result, paragraph 5(a) had been ad justed.  Basically, the text stated that Members 
were not required to ask for additional documents/in formation from the importer or exporter. They did 
not have to modify their existing procedures, impor t declarations/export declarations, and did not have 
to introduce paper documentation where there had b een none.  Rather, the proposal merely called for 
information, which was available, to be supplied. 
27. This information was not secret information.  It was already available in the importing 
country.  The identical information was available at  both ends of the transaction. What the proposal 
talked about was that this information, which was in the public domain, information that the importer/ 
exporter had filed, be supplie d to the requesting Member. 
28. India had tried to accommodate delegations' c oncerns. Each of the paragraphs had been 
modified to take them into account to the extent possible. For instance, regarding paragraph 7, Japan 
had been saying that in their administration, the exchange of information was done through the Ministry of External Affairs, not through customs.  As a result, "customs" had been deleted before 
"administration".  
29. In paragraph 8, a number of delegations su ch as Brazil, Morocco, the African Group and 
Japan had said that this information should be pr ovided in a mutually acceptable language.  Therefore, 
the paragraph had been amended to provide that  it would either be a WTO language or another 
language that was mutually acceptable. That shou ld enable, for instance, Brazil to exchange 
information with Mozambique in Portuguese. 
30. In paragraph 10, the EC had requested for there to be a cap on the number of requests.  In 
response, the number of requests had been put in s quare brackets in order for that to be discussed. 
31. All of these paragraphs had been amended si nce the proposal had been submitted in July 
2006.  Still, this was not the end of the story and India was willing to negotiate further.   
32. The representative of the European Communities
 introduced proposal TN/TF/W/109/Rev.1, 
informing that it was equally sponsored by Mongolia.  TN/TF/M/25 
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  33. In updating the earlier version of the proposal , the sponsors had tried to take previous 
discussions into account as well as Members' suggesti ons.  The EC had tried to restructure it slightly 
in terms of its presentation and readability, particularly in respect to the substance.  They had tried to 
be more clear and to spell out in more de tail the real benefits of the proposal.   
34. In terms of new elements, para graph 1 now contained an additio nal section, consisting of the 
phrase "In addition to the facilitation measures provided to all operators set out in this Agreement".    
Further simplification was then made possible for a specific class of operators which met certain 
criteria related to compliance with customs requi rements, the so-called "authorized traders".  
35. What had effectively remained the same were th e specific criteria that each party would have 
to meet.  The only small change in that context was that the text now referred to having an appropriate 
record of compliance with "customs requirements"  instead of "import and export requirements".  
36. With respect to the actual facilitations as such, th ey had to be a key part of the proposal.  The 
relevant language had been cleaned up, listing the individual elements more precisely. For example, 
the original text had just talked about facilitati ons with respect to declarations, duty payments, 
documentation, documentation inspec tions and data. The revision was more precise, saying that there 
would be additional facilitation measures that would include things such as the possibility of periodic 
declarations and payment of duties.  That was a clarification that would enhance facilitation.  
37. The language about reduced physical inspections had also been modified slightly. An 
additional key facilitation had been created by refe rring to the right to have reduced documents and 
data requirements subject to domestic law. This co uld be manifested through, for example, a single 
declaration for an entire consignment.   
38. The list of facilitations was not an exhaustiv e one. The text distinguished between key 
facilitations that were really crucial and other ones that were highly recommendable and desirable, 
provided that one had the means to do it and th e technology. The revision newly mentioned two 
additional measures in that context: local and remote filing.   
39. The rest of the proposal was effectively the same.  Delegates would see from the text that the 
order of the additional elements had been changed and the language tied up.  There was also an open 
reference to international standards. It had been  considered unnecessary to make a precise reference to 
just one.  The sponsors had wanted this to be more accessible through the existing and developing 
international standards. 
40. Those were the main points the sponsors hoped to  achieve with the revision.  The EC would 
be glad to hear comments and questions which would be taken into account the way previous 
feedback had been reflected.  
41. The representative of th e European Communities  presented proposal TN/TF/W/110/Rev.1, 
informing that is was co-sponsored by  Mongolia, Chinese Taipei and Switzerland. 
42. The revised text on customs brokers was a refo cused proposal in that it moved the emphasis 
from the gradual elimination of customs brokers to disciplining rules applicable to customs brokers.  
It was the result of the Swiss intervention in an  earlier meeting of the Negotiating Group and the 
bilateral contacts the EC had had with the interested parties. 
43. The first three paragraphs of the proposal set out the disciplines the sponsors wished to see 
applied to licensing procedures on customs brokers.  They should be transparent and proportionate.  
Everybody who met these transparent and proportiona te rules should be allowed to have a license. TN/TF/M/25 
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  44. The fourth paragraph was a standstill provision.  It was proposed that, from the entry into 
force of the commitment, Members did not introd uce or apply any requirements to use customs 
brokers.  It was important to clarify that this pr oposal was not about services.  It was not about the 
freedom of providing a customs broker service to non- nationals.  Rather, it was something to facilitate 
trade that met a valid business con cern. This was contained in paragraph 2 of the proposal where it 
was stipulated that companies, legal persons we re allowed to operate in-house customs brokers.  
Those customs brokers would still be licensed by the relevant national authority but they would work 
for the specific company, operating under its payroll.  The EC would be pleased to address any further 
concerns Members might have about the proposal. 
45. The representative of Uganda
 introduced document TN/TF/W/156 by Uganda and the United 
States.   
46. In a joint communication, TN/TF/W/104 of 10 May 2006, Uganda and the Unites States had 
submitted a textual proposal stating that "a Member shall not require a consular transaction, including 
any related fee or charge, in connection with th e importation of any good".  Joint submissions had 
been made earlier, proposing elements of a comm itment of this nature (TN/TF/W/22 of 21 March 
2005 and TN/TF/W/86 of 4 April 2006). 
47. The communication TN/TF/W/156 detailed the history of costs and burdens as well as the 
lack of transparency in the procedures applied in processing consularization requirements.  In light of 
the Negotiating Group's efforts to have a more focused discussion of Members' proposals and to 
advance Members' understanding of the consularizat ion proposal, Uganda and the US were providing 
Members with additional information on the cost s and burdens associated with consularization 
requirements as well as the historical efforts to eliminate consularization. 
48. The utility of consularization requirements had l ong been questioned. In the view of the costs 
and burdens related to these requirements, there had been a long history of efforts to eliminate them, 
going back at least to 1923.  Since 1948, elimination of consularization had been a persistent theme 
under the GATT and later the WTO. 
49. The GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES recommended the elimination of consularization 
requirements in decisions between 1952 and 1962 that re mained in effect in the WTO. In the modern 
trading system, consularization requirements were clearly obsolete. The fees and delays associated 
with consularization requirements had had an inordi nate impact on exporters from developing country 
Members and, more particularly, least-devel oped and landlocked countries, such as Uganda. 
50. The processing of papers was not only cumbersome  but expensive as exporters often had to  
travel long distances to have their documents stam ped.  And for stamping these documents, there was 
no specific skill or scientific knowledge required.  No rmally, they were deposited at the reception or 
at the security where they were stamped and traders had to pay without any expert advice. 
51. For small- and medium-sized enterprises, c onsularization requirements represented a burden 
to market access. Furthermore, consularization requirements  served no  discernable legitimate 
customs-related function, for a small exporter had to pay between $125 - 200 upfront, even when the 
assignment might be less than $1,000. 
52. Eliminating consularization requirements woul d result in cost savings for traders and 
administrators alike, and would remove a practice that continued to prevent traders in developing 
countries and LDCs from enjoying the maximum bene fits from the WTO Agreements and the results 
of the Doha Round negotiations (including the Trade Facilitation negotiations).  It would also achieve 
a long-standing goal of the GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES and WTO Members.  TN/TF/M/25 
 Page 7 
 
 
  53. The representative of the United States  co-introduced TN/TF/W/156, saying that the 
document had been submitted in an effort to furt her elaborate on the costs and burdens associated 
with consularization requirements and to set fort h in more detail the long history of efforts to 
eliminate these requirements.  Those details were  set forth on pages 3 and 4 of TN/TF/W/156. The 
case for the elimination of consularization requirements  was clear. The US appreciated the many 
expressions of support from Members on proposal TN/TF/W/104.  
54. As noted in TN/TF/W/156 on pages 3 and 4, the CONTRACTING PARTIES had 
recommended the elimination of consularization requirements and decisions between 1952 and 1962 
that remained in effect to the present day.  
55. The Negotiating Group took note  of the statements made. 
56. The plenary was adjourned .  
57. Upon resumption  of the plenary meeting, the discussions continued in informal mode with the 
exception of the following items: 
B.  A D HOC ATTENDANCE OF RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS , INCLUDING THE 
IMF,  OECD,  UNCTAD,  WCO  AND THE WORLD BANK, AT THE NEXT MEETING OF THE 
NEGOTIATING GROUP  
58. The Chairman  suggested inviting relevant internati onal organizations, including the IMF, 
OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and the World Bank to attend the next formal meeting of the Negotiating 
Group on an ad hoc basis, as provided for in the Work Plan. 
59. It was so agreed . 
C. O THER BUSINESS  
60. The Chairman  addressed the issue of the Group's next meeting, suggesting to hold it in mid-
September. Details on the timing and the agenda  would be communicated at a later stage. 
61. It was so agreed .  
62. The representative of the European Communities  requested that the structure of the next 
meeting allow Members to address the remaining parts of the GATT Article VIII proposals and the 
GATT Article V proposals early in the negotiating week. Only once that had been done should the 
NG revert to the Article X proposals and to other i ssues. That would provide a fair opportunity for the 
less-discussed subjects to be thoroughly explored. 
63. The Negotiating Group took note  of the statements made. 
64. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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