WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/GC/W/639 
3 October 2011 
 (11-4776) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
IDEAS FOR STRENGTHENING OF THE WTO: MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE 
 
Communication from Argentina 
 
 
The following communication, dated 29 September 2011, addressed to the Chairman of the 
General Council, is being circulated at th e request of the Delegation of Argentina. 
 
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In light of the upcoming 8th Ministerial Conference, I have the pleasure of sending you 
herewith enclosed a text proposal containing ideas and suggestions on the monitoring and surveillance 
exercise in the TPRB.  
I should be very grateful if you could distri bute the above-mentioned text among Members as 
well as ensure proper consideration of this proposal .  My delegation remains open to any process of 
consultation that may deemed appropriate. 
 
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1. Rationale 
1. During the Fourth Appraisal of the Trade Po licy Review Mechanism a fruitful exchange 
among Members has taken place. While those discussi ons proved to be useful for improving specific 
aspects of the existing review system, we consider th at a broader discussion of the role of the TPRB is 
still indispensable. Taking into account that the upcoming Eight Ministerial Conference (8MC) will 
represent a significant opportunity to strengthen the in stitutional aspects of the WTO, it would be also 
an occasion to consolidate the role of the WTO in  its functions of monitoring and surveillance of 
developments in the international trading environment.  
2. Background 
2. The financial and economic crisis initiated in 2008 posed a significant challenge on 
international trade, placing the multilateral system in  an unprecedented situation. In order to assist to 
the collective compromise to resist protectionist pr essures, the WTO took a central role in monitoring 
trade-related measures adopted by Members as a response to the crisis. 
3. In this context, in January 2009 the Director Ge neral initiated a series of reports to the Trade 
Policy Review Body (TPRB) on trade related me asures implemented as a response to the crisis
1.  
                                                      
1 JOB(09)/2 (26 January 2009), WT/TPR/OV/W/1 (26 March 2009), WT/TPR/OV/W/2 (15 July 2009), 
WT/TPR/OV/W/3 (14 June 2010), WT/TPR/OV/W/5 (9 June 2011). WT/GC/W/639 
Page 2  
 
  When submitting those reports, the DG presented them
2 as "a preparatory contribution to the annual 
report by the DG under Paragraph G of the TPRB manda te (Annex III to the Marrakesh Agreement)".  
4. In parallel, and after the G20 London Summ it (2 April 2009) the WTO, UNCTAD and OECD 
Secretariats initiated a series of periodic reports on trade and investment related measures of G20 
Members3. While UNCTAD and OECD took a primar y responsibility on investment related 
measures, the WTO carried out the trade related sections of the reports. In doing so the WTO 
Secretariat has replicated (with some adjustments in order to focus exclusively on G20 Members) the 
content of the reports prepared for the DG reports to the TPRB.   
5. During 2010, the world economy showed signals of recovery; but in the current year 2011, 
there are again signals of a crisis, this time, relate d to the financial capacity of some Members. This 
new crisis is currently generating diverse types of responses. 
3. Systemic considerations 
6. While the monitoring exercise initiated as a resp onse to the crisis proved to be useful to 
enhance transparency and provide a better understand ing of measures implemented by Members, it is 
necessary to recognize that there is still room for further improvement, particularly, when facing the 
signals of a crisis that might generate responses w ith direct or indirect consequences on world trade. 
In this regard, we consider that a more instituti onalized approach to the monitoring exercise would 
provide an answer to some systemic  questions, including the followings: 
i)   The on-going monitoring exercise has been created on an "ad hoc" basis, as an urgent 
response to the crisis started in 2008. Up to th e present, Members have not yet thoroughly discussed 
whether or not the mechanism should be of a temporary or a permanent nature.  
 
ii)  As mentioned above, the current exercise invol ves some duplication in the monitoring efforts. 
Currently, we have two parallel reports: the DG re ports to the TPRB on measures taken by Members, 
and a more selective one, focused on G20 measures.  Members might have to consider streamlining 
the WTO monitoring and surve illance mechanism, in light of the new economic and trade 
environment. 
 iii)   A crucial aspect of the monitoring exercise consists of an involvement of Members in the 
submission of information on trade related measures, beyond the regular notification mechanisms of the WTO. As a matter of fact, the traditional DG Annual Report
4 (essentially a document on the DG 
exclusive responsibility) became -at the end of th e day- the result of a more collective kind of 
exercise.  
 7. The aforementioned elements demand a renewed c onsideration on whether the sole paragraph 
G of Annex III of the Marrakech Agreement is a su fficient basis for the exer cise. In the next section 
of this non-paper, we suggest some elements to be taken into account. 
4. Items to be discussed 
8. At this stage, it is possible to advance some sp ecific elements that deserve further discussion:  
 
                                                      
2 Paragraph 1 of JOB(09)/2, and footnote 1 of the subsequent reports. 
3 The reports were circulated: 14 Sept 2009; 8 March 2010; 14 June 2010; 4 Nov 2010 and 
24 May 2011. 
4  The list of annual reports is classified under the signatures WT/TPR/OV/1 to 13.  WT/GC/W/639 
 Page 3 
 
 
  a) Information and data collection:  
 9. Currently there are two main sources of inform ation on measures taken by Members. The first 
one is related with the system of notifications to the regular WTO bodies. The second one consists in 
the information on specific measures which is collected , in a more "ad hoc" basis, in cooperation with 
Members during the preparation of the DG reports. Is there still room for improvement and further 
coordination in the data collection?  
b) Analysis and interpretation:  
 10. Analytical sections of the reports provide Members with useful insights on trade 
developments. In this regard, could a more active pa rticipation of the Membersh ip in proposing issues 
for analysis be envisaged?  
11. Up to the present, the reports have mainly u sed the inventory method. Even though this 
approach has proved to be useful, it has also limita tions Could any other method be applied in order to 
obtain a more clear idea on the effects of the measur es on some variables such as prices, consumption, 
production and trade?  
c) Scope of the analysis 
 12. The current format of the Reports operates from a cut-off date (2008), therefore only new 
measures are taken into account, wh ile longstanding measures (including subsidies) are disregarded. 
In doing so the impact of previous measures (inc luding pre-existing distortions) is excluded from the 
analysis.  It may be desirable a more comprehens ive approach, which the inclusion of the following 
variables:  
(i)  A consideration on whether the adverse economic environment faced by many Members at 
the beginning of a crisis (particularly but not onl y by developing country Members) could have been 
the result of a cumulative effect on trade of   measures previously existent. 
 
(ii)  The situation of some sectors already hi ghly protected prior 2008 crisis due to their 
'sensitiveness'. In those areas, important distorti ons remained, even in cases when they were not 
subject to additional protective measures.  d) Specific issues:  
 
13. Several proposals with specific issues related to trade were submitted by Members in the 
course of the last years, among them: impact of the stimulus packages granted as a response to the crisis on trade of goods as well as in financia l services, or the relationship among currencies and 
trade
5.  A comprehensive debate on the improvement of the WTO monitoring system should include a 
consideration on whether and how to include specific issues proposed by Members. 
5. Proposal 
14. The 8MC will provide an opportunity for Ministers to decide whether a more institutionalized 
approach to the monitoring exercise is desirable. 
                                                      
5 Communication from Argentina, Ecuador and India on "The financial and Economic Crisis and the 
Role of the WTO (WT/GC/W/617); Document submitted by Argentina, Ecuador, India, and South Africa to the Committee on Trade in Financial Services;  Communi cation from Brazil to the WGTDF (WT/WGTDF/W/53) 
on currencies and trade. WT/GC/W/639 
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  15. In this regard, we believe that a comprehens ive decision that completes Paragraph G of the 
Annex 3 of the Marrakech Agreement would provide the WTO with a more solid institutional basis, 
strengthening its role in the mon itoring and surveillance of interna tional trade. We remain open to 
suggestions and further consultations in th e context of the preparation for the 8MC. 
 
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