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WT/REG/M/100  
 
9 July 2021 
(21-5447) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundredth  Session    
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 21 JUNE  2021  
Ambassador H.E. Dr. Cleopa Kilonzo MAILU (Kenya)  
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1.1.  The 100th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA " or the 
"Committee ") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 25/Rev.1  dated 11 June 2021. 
1.2.  The Chairman  welcomed delegations to the to the 100th Session of the CRTA . He stressed that 
the Membership  had come  a long way since the Committee's establishment in February 1996. The 
Chairman thanked all Members for the continuous efforts and support they had dedicated to the 
Committee's work.  
1.3.  The Chairman also welcome d the Director -General to the meeting of the CRTA . She  would be 
addressing the Committee  to mark th e milestone achievement.  
1.4.  The 100th Session of the CRTA had been reflected in  the WTO's social media  posts . There 
Members would  find a video from Ambassador Guillermo Valles Galmés, w ho had been  the C hair of 
the Negotiating Group on Rules at the time of the adoption of the Transparency Mechanism for 
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) , and two infographics prepared by the Secretariat. He invite d all 
Members to consult these elements which  contain ed very enlightening and interesting information. 
The RTA page of the WTO website would  soon include links to them.  
1.5.  The Chairman  referred to Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/2 5/Rev.1 dated 11 June 2021, which 
contained the Agenda for the Session of the CRTA and the note regarding "Organizational and 
Technical Arrangements" for the meeting. As stated therein, the meeting was being held through 
the Interprefy platform. He drew delegates' attention to a few practical points for the sm ooth conduct 
of the meeting.  
1.6.  With respect to Agenda Item E "Other Business", he wished to inform Members about the 
proposed schedule for CRTA meetings for the rest of the year.  
1.7.  The Committee  accordingly adopted  the following  Agenda:  
 Adoption of the Agenda  
 
 Statement by the Director -General on the 100th Session of the Committee  
 
 Implementation of the RTA Transparency Mechanism  
I. Early Announcements  
II. Notifications of Regional Trade Agreements  
III. Non-notified RTAs  
IV. Status on the Preparation of Factual Presentations  
 
 Consideration of Regional Trade Agreement s 
I. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans -Pacific Partnership 
(CPTPP) , goods  and services  
 Other Business  WT/REG/M/100  
 
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  B. STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL ON THE 1OOTH SESSION OF THE 
COMMITTEE  
1.8.  The Direct or-General  welcomed delegations  to the 100th session of the Committee on Regional 
Trade Agreements  (CRTA) . She commend ed the Committee for its work over the past 25 years in 
scrutinizing RTAs and considering their systemic implications for the multilateral trading system.  
1.9.  The Director -General further  recall ed a few key points and dates:  the CRTA had been  
established by a Decision of the General Council on 6 February 1996. Its first session was on 21 May 
1996, with Ambassador John Weekes of Canada as Chair. The establishment of the CRTA had led to 
a substantial change in the manner in which the membership examined regional trade agreements  
(RTAs) . Instead of setting up Working Parties to look at individual RTAs, all Members could examine 
all such agreements in the Committee, which provided a standardized opportunity to obtain 
information on RTAs and their t rade implications. For the first ten years of its existence, between 
1996 and 2006, the Committee examined 66 RTAs, including NAFTA and some of the enlargements 
of the European Union.  
1.10.   In 2006, Members established a Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade  Agreements, 
which ha d significantly enhanced and standardized transparency and information -sharing for the 
more than 190 RTAs that ha d been reviewed in the CRTA since then. She also noted that the 
Transparency Mechanism was provisionally applied, as it te chnically represented an early harvest 
from the Negotiating Group on Rules that had been  adopted by the General Council. At an 
appropriate time, she said that Members might wish to consider making the mechanism permanent.  
1.11.   The Director -General further menti oned that RTAs ha d grown in number and evolved in terms 
of complexity. Before the WTO had been  established, on average approximately 3 RTAs were notified 
per year to the GATT. Since 1995 that average ha d grown to around 16 per year. At present , every 
WTO Member, at every level of development, was party to at least one RTA.  
1.12.   Taken together, RTA partn ers covered almost 50% of global merchandise trade in 2019 
compared to just over a quarter in 1995. The Director -General noted that more than half of trade 
among RTA partners took place on an MFN -zero basis – i.e. in products for which all WTO members 
received duty -free access. She also pointed out that over 75% of global trade occur red on MFN 
terms, duty -free or otherwise, underscoring the continuing commercial importance of WTO 
commitments. Still, WTO estimates suggest ed that close to 20% of global mercha ndise trade 
occur red between RTA partners on the basis of preferential tariff rates.  
1.13.   The nature of provisions in RTAs ha d also evolved. In 1996, most of the RTAs notified included 
commitments to liberalize tariffs and, in some cases, trade in services. In comparison, modern RTAs 
went beyond market access in goods and services and related WTO rules and include d provisions on 
issues such as investment, competition, government procurement, environment, labour, electronic 
commerce, small and medium sized enterprises, and gender related issues. She pointed out that 
these provisions tend ed to be non -discriminatory.  She stressed  that the work of the Committee in 
considering these more complex trading relationships was especially valuable . In this respect she 
referred to the consideration by the Committee of  one of the largest and most complex RTAs, the 
CPTPP , which was  scheduled for later that day . 
1.14.   Regarding  RTAs and the multilateral trading  system, the Director -General stressed the 
existing close relationship between RTAs and the multilateral trading system. As an example, several 
WTO rules were based on ideas first de veloped in RTAs. Similarly, many RTA provisions built on 
existing WTO rules and, increasingly, went beyond  them. The work done by the Committee helped 
to understand how this relationship had been  evolving, and was a regular reminder of how important 
it was for RTAs and the multilateral trading system to work towards the same goals. She urged 
Members to not los e sight of the overall objectives of the WTO, to use trade as a means to raise 
living standards, create jobs, and promote sustainable development and human wellbeing.  
1.15.   The Director -General said that RTAs could complement multilateral efforts, and their succ ess 
in tackling new and traditional issues provide d lessons that WTO Members could apply in the 
multilateral context. But despite their benefits, RTAs could not be a perfect substitute for the 
multilateral trading system. In a multipolar world economy, wit h multiple problems of the global 
commons, such as the world had seen with the pandemic, effective multilateral governance  was WT/REG/M/100  
 
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  needed . Attempting to solely rely on trade agreements with selected partners was a recipe for 
suboptimal outcomes.  In closing the Director -General  referred  to the importance of transparency for 
the CRTA's work. Alongside the almost 350 RTAs that ha d been notified to the WTO, the Secretariat 
had estimate d that there were over 50 RTAs in force that ha d not yet been notified. Around 90  RTAs 
still need ed to be considered by the CRTA. She further reiterated that f or the Transparency 
Mechanism to keep delivering useful results, it was imperative that Members stay ed engaged, 
including by notifying their RTAs in a timely manner and providing  relevant data and comments so 
that the Secretariat was able to prepare the necessary background documents. She thanked 
delegations for their attention and wished them a productive 100th session.  
1.16.   The representative of Colombia  acknowledged the Director's General remarks. She stressed 
that it was good to hear the historic context of the work of the Committee as well as her mentioning 
of transparency and how important multilateral rules and world governance were for a small 
econo my such as Colombia.    
C. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RTA TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM  
1.17.   As was usual practice, the Chairman  provided an update of the Committee's work and the 
implementation of the Transparency Mechanism.  
C.I  Early announcements  
1.18.   The Chairman  indicated that a total of 36 early announcements were currently on the WTO 
website (not counting those which had been subsequently notified). The latest early announcement 
received was for the FTA between Canada and MERCOSUR . He thanked Members who had submitted 
information in line with the requirements of the Transparency Mechanism and encouraged others to 
do so. He reminded Members to inform the Secretariat of any changes in the status of early 
announcements.  
C.II Notifications of regional trade agreements  
1.19.   The Chairman indicated that 18 notification had been received since the circulation of the 
Airgram  of the 9 9th Session of the CRTA held on 22 March  2021 and had thus been included in the 
Airgram  for the Session. They were:  
- Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom and Serbia, goods 
and services (WT/REG455/N/1 -S/C/N/1056);  
- Partnership Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom and Albania, goods 
and services (WT/REG454/N/1 -S/C/N/1055);  
- Association Agree ment between the United Kingdom and Jordan , goods (WT/REG453/N/1) ; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Central America , goods and services  
(WT/REG452/N/1 -S/C/N/1054) ;  
- Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement Between India and Mauritius, 
services (S/C/N/1053);  
- Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (Pacer Plus), goods and services 
(WT/REG451/N/1 -S/C/N/1052) ; 
- Trade Agreement between Namibia and Zimbabwe, goods (WT/REG450/N/1) ; 
- Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom and Kosovo1 goods  
(WT/REG411/N/1/Rev.1)  
 
1 Any r eference to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council 
resolution 1244 (1999).  WT/REG/M/100  
 
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  - Economic Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and the CARIFORUM States,  
goods and services (WT/REG420/N/1/Add.1 - S/C/N/1025/Add.1) ; 
- Interim Agreement establishing an Economic Partnership Agreement between the United 
Kingdom and Cameroon, goods (WT/REG418/N/1/Add.1);  
- Economic Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and Kenya, goods  
(WT/REG417/N/1/Add.1); and  
- Association Agreeme nt between the European Union and Central America, goods and services 
(WT/REG332/N/1/Add.1 -S/C/N/680/Add.1) . 
1.20.   The representative of the  United States  thank ed all Members for the ir notifications . The United 
States placed a great emphasis on transparency, and greatly appreciate d these notifications. She 
remarked that the way these notifications had been set out in the Agenda was  confusing . The United 
Stated  request ed that future meeting s go through notifications one by one .   
1.21.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
C.III Non-notified RTAs  
1.22.   The Chairman  stated that an updated list of non -notified RTAs had been circulated on 
11 June 2021 as WT/REG/W/15 9 and contained 55 RTAs issued in factual presentations up to 
11 June 2021. Compared to the list issued before the previous CRTA in November 2020  
(WT/REG/W/15 7), one RTAs had been removed  following notification , namely Namibia -Zimbabwe, 
goods , and three agreements had been  added, namely  ASEAN – Japan, services; CARICOM – Cuba, 
services; and United -States – Japan, goods . 
C.IV Status on the preparation of Factual Presentations  
1.23.   The Chairman  informed the Committee that as regards the preparation of the factual 
presentations under the remit of the CRTA – in the case of RTAs involving WTO Members only – 
there were currently  72 RTAs for which a factual presentation had to be prepared, counting g oods 
and services separately . He noted that this represent ed a large increase compared to previous 
numbers and was mainly due to the agreements notified recently by the United Kingdom and its 
partners following the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.  
1.24.   Factual presentations on a further 34 RTAs involving non -members were to be prepared,  
counting goods and services separately,  as previously agreed by the Committee. The factual 
presentations for 6 services agreements were on hold, pending the negotiation o f services 
commitments. Of th ose, one involved non -members.  
1.25.   The Chairman  recalled that he had held consultations with delegations regarding the backlog 
of factual presentations due to late receipt of data necessary for the ir preparation and also comments 
on draft factual presentations. He hoped that delegations would provide the needed information as 
soon as possible. An updated list of all such RTAs had been recently circulated as document 
WT/REG/W/ 160, dated 18 June 2021. 
1.26.   As customary , he invited a representative of the Secretariat to provide additional information 
on the status of the preparation of factual presentations.  
1.27.   With regard to agreements among Members, t he representative of the Secretariat  stated that  
for GCC -Singapore, services, comments had been received from Singapore but not from most of the 
GCC parties. For EU -Viet Nam , goods and services,  comments had been recently received from the 
parties and  the factual presentation would be  distributed shortly to the Members . For EU -Central 
America , goods and services, all requested data ha d been received and the  drafting of the  factual 
presentation  was in progress . For EU -PNG, Fiji, goods, no data had been received either from PNG 
or Fiji. With regards to  the accession to that agreement by Samoa and the Solomon Islands, data 
had been received. For ECOWAS, goo ds only , some data had been received from  the part ies, but 
not all of them.  For the GCC, goods, the Secretariat was awaiting responses to questions that had 
been raised by Members. For the Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada  
(USMCA/CUSMA/T -MEC), goods and services, the  factual presentation  had been sent to the Parties 
for comments  that had been  requested by 14 July 2021 . For Indonesia -Australia,  goods and services,  
the factual presentation had also been sent to the Parties with comments requested by 15 July 2021 .  WT/REG/M/100  
 
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  1.28.   With regard to the large number of notifications received  recently , data requests had been 
sent and had been  due by 5 May 2021  for: EU-UK, UK -Chile, UK -Central America, UK -Cote d'Ivoire, 
UK-Egypt, UK -Georgia, UK -Japan, UK -Kenya, UK -Korea, UK -Moldova, UK -Morocco, UK -North 
Macedonia, UK -Norway and Iceland, UK -Pacific States, UK -Switzerlan d and Liechtenstein, UK -Viet 
Nam, UK -Turkey, UK -Tunisia, UK -Ukraine, UK -SACU and Mozambique, and UK-Singapore. Data from 
some of the parties had been received and the Secretariat was in contact with the remaining parties 
for the missing data. For UK -Ghana for which data had been  due by 17 May 2021  it was still  await ed 
from Ghana . For China -Mauritius data had been  due by 31 May 2021 , and most of the data had now 
been received . For Ukraine -Israel data  which had been  due by 7 June 2021  had been received and 
the factual presentation would shortly be sent to the Parties for comment . For ASEAN -Hong Kong, 
China data were due by 1 July 2021.  
1.29.   As regards agreements involving non -members, for the CIS Agreement, goods, comments on 
the factual presentation had been received  from some of the Parties . For the EAEU -Iran Agreement, 
goods, the deadline for data submission had been  22 June 2020 and no data had been received.  Data 
were not complete for EFTA -Lebanon, Turkey -Syria, Ukraine -Azerbaijan, Ukraine -Turkmenistan, and 
the Russian Federation -Turkmenistan.  For the accession of the Comoros to the EU -ESA Agreement 
data had been  due on 30 March 2021 , and had been received from the EU . For U K-Faeroe Islands, 
UK-Lebanon, and UK -CARIFORUM, data had been  due on 5 May 2021. For UK -PLO data had been  
due on 10 May 2021. For UK -Kosovo2 data had been  due on 12 May 2021.  
D. CONSIDERATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
ITEM D.I 
 
(The minutes of the consideration of this Agreement  were being distributed as a separate document 
WT/REG 395/M/1)  
 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
1.30.   The Chairman  informed  the Committee of the tentative dates for the CRTA's meetings in 202 1 
(20–21 September  2021). The last meeting of the year , to adopt the Committee's annual report , 
would be scheduled according to the dates of the Ministerial Conference.  
1.31.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
__________  
 
2 Any r eference to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council 
resolution 1244 (1999).