RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/W/229 
7 March 2011 
 (11-1122) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
MEMBERS SUBJECT TO ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Membership has established a number of Administrative Measures for Members that 
have one full year or more of assessed contributions  remaining outstanding at the end of the financial 
year.  This document provides a situation of Members subject to Administrative Measures on 
28 February 2011 and contains a proposed recommendation on Inactive Members.  
II. MEMBERS SUBJECT TO ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES 
2. There are four categories of Administrative Measures depending on the number of years of 
outstanding contributions. 
Category Administrative Measures 
I After one full year's assessed contribution rem ains outstanding at the end of the financial 
year: 
- documentation will not be poste d to delegations in Geneva, 
- representatives will not be nominated to preside over WTO bodies. 
II 
 After more than one but less than two full year s' assessed contributions remain outstanding at 
the end of WTO's financial year, in addition to the above measures: 
- at the start of each meeting of the General Council, the Chairman of the Committee on Budget, 
Finance and Administration  will provide information with regard to which Members are under 
Administrative Measures in Categories II through IV; 
- each year the Director General will contact directly the minister  of the Member responsible for 
the WTO emphasizing the question of arrears and report on his results to the General Council. 
III 
 After two but less than three full years' asse ssed contributions remain outstanding at the end 
of WTO's financial year, in addition to the above measures: 
- documentation will not be posted to members; 
- use of the WTO Members' Web site will not be available; 
- recommendations by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration to the General 
Council on financial matters will be acted on only by Members whose contributions are paid or 
who have less than two full years' assessments outstanding; 
- at each meeting of the General Council, the Ch airman will request Members in Categories III 
and IV to inform him/her before the next meeting of the General Council as to when the 
payment of arrears may be expected.  The Ch airman will report on Members' replies at each 
subsequent meeting. 
IV After three full years' assessed contributions rema in outstanding at the end of the financial 
year, in addition to the above measures: 
- a Member will be designated as an Inactive Member; 
- the list of Inactive Members will be notified to the General Council by the Committee on 
Budget, Finance and Administ ration at the beginning of each calendar year with a 
recommendation that these members be urged to liquidate their arrears; 
- inactive Members will be denied access to trai ning or technical assistance other than that 
necessary to meet their WTO Article XIV-2 obligations; 
- inactive Members taking the floor in the General Council  will be identified as such. WT/BFA/W/229 
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  3. There are 23 Members subject to Administrative Measures on 28 February 2011.  There are 
four Members in Category I, eight in Category II,  two in Category III and nine in Category IV.  A 
detailed list of these Members is provided for information as an Annex. 
4. The Secretariat is actively seeking solutions with  these Members.  The Director-General has 
engaged direct contacts with several Members in Category IV.  Payment plan proposals are foreseen 
from some of these Members in the coming months.  
III. INACTIVE MEMBERS 
5. Under the Administrative Measures, a Member is  declared as an Inactive Member if more 
than three full years of assessed contributions remain outstanding at the end of the financial year.  The Administrative Measures also require that: "the lis t of Inactive Members be notified to the General 
Council by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Ad ministration at the beginning of each calendar 
year with a recommendation that these Member s be urged to liquidate their arrears". 
6. The Committee is invited to recommend to th e General Council that the following nine 
Members be urged to liquidate their arrears : 
Burundi
1 
Chad 
Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Dominica Guinea Guinea-Bissau 
Mauritania 
Sierra Leone 
 7. The Chair of the Committee would update the recommendation of the Committee if an 
Inactive Member settles its arr ears before the next meeting of the General Council.  
IV. MEMBERS FOLLOWING PAYMENT PLANS 
8. The General Council may suspend the applica tion of Administrative Measures for Members 
in Category IV which agree to, and abide by, a de fined schedule of instalment payments aimed at 
liquidating all arrears. 
                                                     
 
1 Burundi has accepted, on 3 March 2011, the paym ent plan proposed by th e Committee on Budget, 
Finance and Administration.  The Committee will recommend that the General Council suspend the application of the administrative measures for the Republic of Burundi at its next meeting.  WT/BFA/W/229 
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9. In the last two years, the General Council has approved seven payment plans.  The situation 
on these payment plans on 28 February 2011 is presented in the following table. 
Members General Council
Approval Date Plan 
duration
in years Last payment
received Amount 
outstanding 
for 2010 Amount 
outstanding 
for 2011 
Central African Republic 29/07/2010 30 02-Feb-11 1,071 55,802 
Congo 29/07/2010 5 13-Apr-10                     -  73,832 
Côte d'Ivoire 04/05/2010 10 04-Mar-10 62,726 195,552 
Gabon 26/05/2009 3 22-Feb-11                     -  153,086 
Gambia 21/10/2010 10 09-Jun-10 1,004 98,976 
Niger 14/12/2010 15 10-Aug-10 8,842 76,135 
Togo 21/10/2010 5 27-Aug-10 7 115,802 
Total       73,650 769,185 
10. Some of these Members have more difficulty in  complying with the approved payment plans.  
Payments are not always received on time.  The major concern is currently with Côte d'Ivoire, where a 
balance of CHF 62,726 remains outstanding for 2010. WT/BFA/W/229 
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  ANNEX 
 
Members subject to Administrative Measures 
 
 
Situation as at 28 February 2011  
 
Category Members GATT 
Accession 
Year WTO 
Accession
Year Outstanding 
Years Outstanding 
 payment  
to the 
Working 
Capital 
Fund Outstanding 
contribution 
I Bolivia, Plurinational State of 1990 1995 2  -   101,746 
I Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia - 2003 2  -   105,171 
I Ghana 1957 1995 2  -   172,673 
I Malawi 1964 1995 2  -   57,515 
II Benin 1963 1996 3  -   59,616 
II Burkina Faso 1963 1995 3  -   61,451 
II Cameroon 1963 1995 3  -   180,726 
II Grenada 1994 1996 3  -   83,640 
II Mali 1993 1995 3  -   59,262 
II Nicaragua 1950 1995 3  -   109,269 
II Peru 1951 1995 3  -   801,300 
II Venezuela 1990 1995 3  -   1,884,578 
III Saint Kitts and Nevis 1994 1996 3  -   84,769 
III Uganda 1962 1995 3  -   96,535 
IV Burundi1 1965 1995 33  -   1,189,888 
IV Chad 1963 1996 43  33,518   1,426,892 
IV Democratic Republic of the 
Congo 1971 1997 20  -   820,030 
IV Djibouti 1994 1995 16  -   432,695 
IV Dominica 1993 1995 8  -   203,586 
IV Guinea 1994 1995 18  -   480,415 
IV Guinea-Bissau 1994 1995 18  29,756   495,519 
IV Mauritania 1963 1995 33  -   1,213,240 
IV Sierra Leone 1961 1995 36  -   1,294,404 
23 Total       63,274  11,414,920 
 
 
__________  
                                                      
1 Burundi has accepted, on 3 March 2011, the paym ent plan proposed by th e Committee on Budget, 
Finance and Administration.  The Committee will recommend that the General Council suspend the application of the administrative measures for the Republic of Burundi at its next meeting.