WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/MA/W/88 
23 July 2007 
 
 (07-3140) 
Negotiating Group on Market Access Original:   English 
  
 
  
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
 
Non Tariff Barriers – Proposal on Procedures for the Facilitation of Solutions to NTBs
 
 
Communication from the African Group, Canada,  European Communities, LDC Group, NAMA -11 
Group of Developing Countries1, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan and Switzerland 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 20 July 2007, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations from the African Group, Canada, Eu ropean Communities, LDC Group, NAMA-11 Group 
of Developing Countries, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan and Switzerland.   
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The co-sponsors hereby submit the draft legal te xt of a Ministerial Decision on Procedures for 
the Facilitation of Solutions to Non-Tariff Barriers, as  part of the non tariff barriers negotiation in the 
Negotiating Group on Market Access, in accordance w ith the paragraph 16 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration.  This text shall replace the texts su bmitted by the European Communities (“Ministerial 
Decision on Procedures for Facilitating the Reso lution of Non-Tariff Measures between WTO 
Members”)
2 and the NAMA 11 (“Draft Text on Procedures for Resolution of Non-tariff Barriers”)3 in 
the Secretariat’s compilation of proposals on NTBs contained in document JOB(07)/57. 
 
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1 Argentina, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Braz il, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Philippines, 
South Africa and Tunisia 
2 JOB(07)/44 
3 JOB(07)/39 TN/MA/W/88 
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  M
INISTERIAL DECISION ON PROCEDURES FOR THE FACILITATION  
OF SOLUTIONS TO NON-TARIFF BARRIERS  
 
Ministers , 
 
 Recalling that in paragraph 16 of the Doha Mini sterial Declaration, Annex B of the 
Framework Agreement and paragra ph 22 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, Members agreed 
to negotiations on, inter alia , reduction or as appropriate elimin ation of non-tariff barriers, in 
particular on products of export in terest to developing countries, 
  
Conscious of the fact that non-tariff barriers aff ect market access opportunities for all WTO 
Members and may negate benefits sought to  be achieved from the reduction of tariffs, 
  
Recognizing that there is a need for facilitating the e xpeditious consideration of non-tariff 
barriers through comprehensive and flexible procedur es of a conciliatory nature involving a facilitator 
who actively assists Members in finding mutually a cceptable trade solutions that aid exporters and 
importers,  
 Recognizing  that these procedures neither alter the balance of rights and obligations of 
Members under the WTO Agreement nor prevent Memb ers, in line with paragraph 6 of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration, from taking measures n ecessary to achieve their legitimate regulatory 
objectives, 
 
Recognizing  that these procedures build upon and further the objectives of existing 
procedures in regular WTO bodies,  
Emphasizing that the procedures under this Decision are not intended to replace or otherwise 
affect the Understanding on Rules and Procedur es Governing the Settlement of Disputes, and 
Members’ rights and obligations thereunder, 
 Decide , on the basis of Article IV:1 of the WTO Agreement, as follows: 
 
 
G
ENERAL PROVISIONS  
 
1. Pursuant to this Decision, any Member may seek  to solve through recourse to the procedures 
set out below any non-tariff barrier (NTB) [ scope to be determined ], which it believes adversely 
affects its trade.  
2. The procedures are not intended to serve as a basi s for the enforcement of specific obligations 
under the WTO Agreement or for a subsequent di spute settlement procedure, or to impose new 
obligations on Members, and shall be without  prejudice to the Understanding on Rules and 
Procedures concerning the Settlement of Disputes a nd Members’ rights and obligations thereunder. 
3. Te procedures shall be applied in th e context of relevant WTO Committees1.  
4. Any time limit referred to in this Decision ma y be extended by mutual agreement between the 
Members involved in these procedures.  
                                                      
1 The relevant WTO Committee is the one overseeing the operation of the WTO agreement most 
closely related to the measure at issue. If there is no such Committee for a particular measure, the request shall 
be notified to the Council for Trade in Goods.  TN/MA/W/88 
 Page 3 
 
 
  5. Following an agreement between Members involve d to initiate these procedures, any Member 
involved may decide to discontinue the procedures.2 
6. At all stages of the procedures, particular cons ideration shall be given to the special situation 
of least-developed country Members involved in th e procedures. In this regard, Members shall 
exercise due restraint in raising matters under these procedures involving a least-developed country 
Member and solutions explored shall take into consideration the specific situation of the least 
developed country Member involved, if any.   
P
ROCEDURES FOR SOLVING NTB S 
 
Request and Response on a Specific NTB 
 
7. Any Member may, individually or jointly with other Members, submit in writing to the 
Member concerned, a request to initiate these pro cedures. The request shall identify and describe the 
specific measure concerned and provide a de tailed description of its trade effects.  
8. The Member to which the request has been su bmitted shall provide, within [20] days, a 
written response containing its comments on the information contained in the request. 
9. Upon their submission, the request and respon se shall be notified to the relevant WTO 
Committee3 and shall be circulated to all Members. Following the receipt of these notifications, upon 
the request of either the requesting or the r esponding Members (hereinafter referred to as “the 
parties”), the Chairman or one of the Vice Chairm en of the relevant WTO Committee shall convene a 
meeting of the parties to inter alia  address any outstanding issues and explore possible next steps. 
Initiation of the Procedures 
 
10. Following this initial exchange, the parties shall decide on whether to initiate the procedures. 
If one of the parties requests to initiate the pro cedures, the other party shall accord sympathetic 
consideration to the request.  
11. Any agreement to resort to the procedures under this Decision shall be notified by the parties 
to the relevant WTO Committee.     
12. Any other Member with a substantial interest in the NTB concerned may convey its request 
for participation in the procedures, as a third party, to the parties. There shall be no participation by 
such other Members in these procedur es unless the parties mutually agree. 
Appointment of a Facilitator 
 
13. Upon agreement between the parties to launc h the procedures, they shall appoint the 
Chairman of the relevant WTO Committee, or one of the vice Chairmen, as facilitator, unless one of 
the parties requests that another person serve as facilitator. If the parties cannot agree on the 
appointment of a facilitator within [15] days of the launch of the procedures, the [Chairman of the 
Council on Trade in Goods] shall appoint the facilita tor within [25] days of the launch of the 
                                                      
2 For the purposes of paragraph 5, Members involved shall only refer to the requesting and responding 
Members. 
3 If the Committee to which these communications were notified considers itself not to be the relevant 
Committee, it shall forward the notificati ons to the Committee most closely related to the measure at issue or, if 
it is unclear which Committee is most rela ted, to the Council for Trade in Goods. TN/MA/W/88 
Page 4  
 
  procedures and after consulting the parties. Citizen s of Members whose governments are parties to the 
procedures shall not serve as the facilitator, unless the parties agree otherwise. 
Seeking Mutually Agreed Solutions 
 
14. The facilitator, in consultation with the parti es, shall have full flexibility in organizing and 
conducting their deliberations under these procedures, which may take place at the WTO 
headquarters, or any other place by mutual agreem ent of the parties and taking into account possible 
capacity constraints of developing country parties. The facilitator and the parties may rely on existing 
working procedures of any WTO Committee concerned, to the extent they are relevant for prompt 
resolution of the NTB in question. Video conferencing and other telecommunication facilities may be 
utilized, if considered suitable and agreed to between the Parties.  
15. Either party may present to the facilitator and the other party any info rmation that it deems 
relevant.  
16. The role of the facilitator under the procedures sh all be to actively assist, in an impartial and 
transparent manner, the parties in bringing clarity to  the NTB concerned and its possible trade effects. 
The facilitator may:  
(a) offer advice and propose solutions for the parties’ consideration taking into account 
the information presented by the Parties; provided  any such opinion shall not pertain 
to the WTO consistency of the NTB, nor to  the rights and obligations of the parties 
involved;  
(b) meet individually or jointly with the parti es in order to facilitate a mutually agreed 
solution; and 
(c) seek assistance of the WTO Secretariat and, after consulting with the parties, consult 
with relevant experts and stakeholders. 
17. All deliberations and information acquired pursuan t to paragraph 15 and 16 of this procedures 
shall be confidential and without prejudice to the ri ghts of any Member in any further proceedings.  
18. The procedures shall be completed within [60] days from the appointment of the facilitator. 
Pending final resolution of the NTB, the parties may consider possible interim solutions, especially if 
the NTB relates to perishable goods. 
Outcome and Implementation 
 
19. The procedures end with a written factual report by the facilitator, in consultation with the 
parties, to the relevant WTO Committee, providing a brief summary of (1) the NTB subject to these 
procedures; (2) the procedures followed; and (3) an y mutually agreed solu tion reached as the final 
outcome of these procedures, including possible interim solutions.  
20. Any mutually agreed solution shall be implemen ted in conformity with Members’ rights and 
obligations under the WTO Agreement.   TN/MA/W/88 
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  FINAL PROVISIONS  
 
Transparency 
 
21. For the purposes of transparency, the Chairm en of the concerned WTO Committees shall 
provide, on an annual basis, a status report of  notified requests and responses and of ongoing and 
recently completed procedures, together with any re ports by facilitators. Where no solution has been 
found to a specific NTB, the parties are expected to  state the reasons for this outcome following the 
Chairman’s presentation of the status report. Upon request, adequate opportunity shall be provided for 
an exchange of views among Members. 
Technical assistance 
 
22. Developing country Members and in particular least developed country Members may request 
assistance from the WTO Secretariat to promote their understanding of the use and functioning of these procedures. Technical assistance required by least developed country Members would be made 
available through the Technical Assistance Progr ammes of the WTO. Developed country Members 
are encouraged to provide technical assistance, in ter alia, to share with developing country Members 
their experience for effective participation in these procedures. 
Review 
 
23. In light of experience gained from the operati on of these procedures, the [Council for Trade in 
Goods] will undertake a review of the procedures under this Decision no later than 3 years after the 
adoption of this Decision. Based on this review, the General Council will assess the need to modify 
this Decision, including the possibility of extending these procedures to other matters falling under the 
WTO Agreement.   
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