WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/157 
27 November 2008 
 
 (08-5821) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, HONG KONG CHINA, 
NORWAY, THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN,  
PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU AND, SWITZERLAND 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 26 November 2008, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegations of Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong China, Norway, the Separate Customs Territory 
of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen a nd Matsu, and Switzerland. 
 
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DISCUSSION PAPER REGARDING A TRADE FACILITATION COMMITTEE 
 
 1. The need to have a Committee to supervise the functioning of a new Trade Facilitation 
Agreement has been recognized in a number of previous submissions to the Negotiating Group on 
Trade Facilitation (NGTF).
1  The comments below thus assumes th at there is agreement on the need 
for a  Trade Facilitation Committee. 
2. This paper explores the elements that need to be taken into account when drafting a provision 
for a Trade Facilitation Committee ("Committee"),  and suggests a simple provision based on 
examples from existing WTO Agreements. 
I. INTRODUCTION 
3. Committees under the various WTO Agreements ha ve certain shared functions, and certain 
functions that are specifically mandated by the respective agreements. 
4. The general functions include: 
• Overseeing the functioning of the Agreement, including the progressive 
implementation of commitments2; 
• Overseeing the work under the Agreement, including overseeing work of subsidiary 
bodies; 
• Forum for consultations; 
• Receiving notifications from Members3; 
• Establishing contacts with other intern ational organizations relevant to the 
Agreement. 
                                                      
1 See, in particular, the proposal for the es tablishment of a Committee on Trade Facilitation 
(TN/TF/W/141 submitted by Chinese Taipei).  See also a number of proposals that make reference to 
notifications or competencies administered by the Committee. 
2  See, e.g., Article 18.1 of  the Agreement on Agriculture. 
3  See, e.g., Article 12 of the Safeguards Agreement. TN/TF/W/157 
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  5. More specific functions may be set forth in each  Agreement, but often in specific articles and 
not in the article on the Committee itself, such as: 
• Recommendations regarding waiver of obligations; 
• Agreeing to time-limited derogations from specified obligations
4; 
• Setting up of subsidiary bodies5; 
• Approval of suspension of benefits by  one Member towards another Member6; 
• Annual7, biannual8 or triannual9 reviews of the Agreement; 
• Review particular measures of a Member.10 
 
6. We propose to follow the general scheme em ployed by the various Agreements under 
the WTO, that is to have a simple, short provision regarding the Committee, a nd to let the substantive 
provisions of the agreement deal with which areas should be within the Committee's competence.  
7. This practice can already be seen from quite a few of the proposals that have been tabled in 
the Trade Facilitation negotiations, and which make reference to the Committee.  This means that 
the more sensitive issues regarding the work of the Committee will have to be tackled within  
the relevant substantive articles. 
II. REMARKS ON SOME ASPECTS OF THE PROPOSAL 
8. On para 2:  Composition and elections  are not strictly necessary, but are, nevertheless, very 
often found included in other agreem ents, and it is therefore also suggested to include them here.  
Apart from the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration, the general norm is that 
committee membership is open to each and every Me mber.  Note that election of officers is done 
formally by the committee itself, but  the chairmanship is part of the overall "slate" decided by the 
relevant Council. 
9. On para 3:  The frequency of meetings  depends on the tasks provi ded in the substantive 
provisions of the new agreement.  There is a ge neral requirement for each committee to present an 
annual report to the General Council on its work, so one yearly meeting is normally the minimum. 
We suggest to specify a minimum, coupled with a proviso stating it should meet as needed and 
envisaged by the relevant substa ntive provisions of the agreement.11 
10. On para 5 – Subsidiary bodies :  Whether there is a concrete need for subsidiary bodies will 
depend on the outcome of the negotiations.  Irrespec tive of the outcome, there is merit in having a 
general provision enabling the Committee to set up such subsidiary bodies as may be required.  
All such bodies will necessarily have to report to  the Committee.  Where subsidiary bodies are 
established jointly with, e.g., the World Customs Organization (WCO), there may be merit in special 
                                                      
4  See, e.g., SPS Article 10.3; SCM Art. 27.4. 
5 See, e.g., the "Permanent Grou p of Experts", established according to Article 24.3 of the SCM 
Agreement. 
6 See e.g., Article 8.2 of the Safeguards Agreement;  Article 22.6 of the Dispute Settlement 
Understanding. 
7  See, e.g., Article 32.7  of the SCM Agreement. 
8 See, e.g., Article 7.1 of th e Import Licensing Agreement. 
9  See e.g., Article 15.4 of the TBT Agreem ent; and Article 12.7 of the SPS Agreement. 
10  See, e.g., Article 27.14 of the SCM Agreement. 
11  This is the solution found for the SCM Commi ttee, see Article 24.1 of the SCM Agreement.  TN/TF/W/157 
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  rules of procedure and reporting requirements as  is the case for the technical groups under the 
Customs Valuation Agreement12 and the Rules of Origin Agreement.13 
11. On para 6 – International organizations :  The mandate for the negotiations makes reference 
to other relevant international or ganizations, in particular the WCO. Close contact, and the possibility 
to invite representatives of those or ganizations to the meetings of th e Committee, or to perform jointly 
certain tasks, are some of the functions that may be included here.  The minimum required would 
seem to be to provide for close contacts and invita tions to meetings, and th is is included below.  
Further jointly operated tasks (e.g., joint techni cal committee work as under the Customs Valuation 
Agreement) will depend on the outcome of the nego tiations and may require a stand-alone provision.  
It is suggested in this paper that the decisi on to invite representatives of other international 
organizations be taken by the Committee, which, following normal committee rules of procedure, will 
take such a decision upon suggestion from one or more Members. 
12. On para 7 – Review of the Agreement:  Whether there is to be annual, biannual or triannual 
review of the Agreement is something that remain s to be seen.  Such review provisions are often 
included in separate articles within  the agreement, although the relevant committee is normally tasked 
with such a review.  We have, therefore, for the time being suggested to place such a review in this 
paragraph.  
III. REMARKS ON SOME ELEMENTS THAT ARE NOT (YET) IN THE PROPOSAL 
(Rules of procedure and decision making) 
 
13. Most committees apply the rules of procedure of  the General Council.  There does not seem 
to be a need for special rules of procedure for th e Committee, but final decision in this regard may 
have to wait the final outcome of the negotiations .  Establishing these rules of procedure to the new 
Committee is a task that does not require a refe rence in the Trade Facilitation Agreement itself. 
14. WTO works by consensus, but with the possib ility to resort to voting - except as otherwise 
provided.  As long as the general rule, set forth in Article IX:1 of the WTO Agreement, is considered 
applicable, there is no need to refer to voting in an  Article on the Committee.  Only where there is an 
exception to Article IX:1 of the WTO Agreement w ill there be a need to specify it in the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement.  It is, therefore, at least fo r the time being, suggested to not have a reference 
to decision making procedures in the Article establishing the Committee. 
(Relationship to the Council for Trade in Goods) 
 15. Committees do not live in isolation.  The general system is that all committees report to one 
of the three Councils – Council for Trade in G oods, Council for Trade in Services and the TRIPS 
Council.  These councils are established in accordance with Article IV:5 of the WTO Agreement, and 
may set up such subsidiary bodies as required.  The committees report to one of the three. 
16. For a Trade Facilitation Committee, which has its basis in three GATT provisions, it is logical 
that the Council for Trade in Goods has the overseeing function, as also stipulated in Article IV:5 of 
the WTO Agreement for all Multilateral Trade Agreem ents in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.  
The inclusion of this new Agreement on Trade F acilitation into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement 
                                                     
 
12 Agreement on the implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 (the Customs Valuation 
Agreement), Annex II. 
13 Agreement on Rules of Origin, Annex I. TN/TF/W/157 
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  thus ensures the relationship of the Committee in respect of the Council for Trade in Goods.
14  There 
are agreements where the relationship between the committee and the Council for Trade in Goods is 
specifically set out in the agreement, but this is not strictly necessary if the agreement has been placed 
into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement.15 
17. It is, therefore, not suggested to retain a sp ecific provision regulating the general relationship 
between the Committee and the Coun cil for Trade in Goods in the Trade Facilitation Agreement. 
18. Some WTO Agreements provide that notifications  shall be made to one of the three councils, 
or that decisions are to be taken by one of the counc ils.  In such cases, the preparatory work is handled 
by the committee, and notifications are made thr ough the committee.  Should the negotiations lead to 
such solutions, then appropriate provisions will have  to be made in the Trade Facilitation Agreement. 
(Specific tasks for the WTO Secretariat) 
 
19. Some WTO Agreements make reference to specific tasks of the Secretariat, in particular the 
task to draw up annual factual reports to th e Committee based on the notifications to it.16  S u c h  a  
provision is not strictly necessary, as the Secretariat can be tasked to do this  by the Committee in any 
case.  It is not excluded that there may be specifi c tasks of the Secretariat worth mentioning in the 
Agreement, but until the negotiations make this clear it is suggested not to have such a provision in 
this Trade Facilitation Agreement. 
  
                                                     
 
14 We are not yet sure how the outcome of the Trade Facilitation negotiations will be presented to WTO 
Members. It is assumed here that there will be a "Final  Act" of the Doha Round Negotiations, and that such a 
Final Act will set out the placement of this new Agreement within the normal structure.  
15  See, e.g., Article 13.1 of the Safeguards Agreement. 
16  See, e.g., Article 13.2 of the Safegua rds Agreement, which stipulates that:   
"To assist the Committee in carrying out its surveillance function, the Secretariat shall prepare 
annually a factual report on the operation of this Agreement based on notifications and other reliable 
information available to it".  TN/TF/W/157 
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  TEXTUAL PROPOSAL FOR A PROVISION ESTABLISHING  
A COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION 
 
 
[Article X] 
 
 
1. A Committee on Trade Facilitation is hereby established. 
2. The Committee shall be open for participation by  all Members.  The Committee shall elect its 
own Chairman.   
3. The Committee shall meet as needed and envi saged by the relevant provisions of the 
Agreement, but no less than once a year, for the purpose of affording Members the opportunity to 
consult on any matters related to the operation of this  Agreement or the furtherance of its objectives.   
4. The Committee shall carry out such responsibiliti es as assigned to it under this Agreement or 
by the Members.  
5. The Committee may set up such subsidiary bodies as may be required.  All such bodies shall 
report to the Committee. 
6. The Committee shall maintain close contact with other international organizations in the field 
of trade facilitation.  Representatives of such or ganizations may be invite d to meetings of the 
Committee. 
7. The Committee shall review the operation and im plementation of this Agreement [X] years 
after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement, and thereafter as the need arises. 
 
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