REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES

1  Introduction

1.  This report is being prepared at the request[1] of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) and has been adopted by the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises (the Working Party) on 3 November 2025 for submission to the CTG.

2.  At its formal meeting of 9 April 2025, the CTG considered a new Secretariat report entitled "Notifications Status of Regular/Periodic and One Time Only Notifications in the Goods Area (1995‑2024)" (_G/C/W/859). The report, prepared at the request of the CTG, provides detailed data on submission rates and trends regarding these types of notifications. At the same April 2025 meeting of the CTG, Members recognized that each subsidiary body is best placed to address the specific notification obligations within its purview. Accordingly, they agreed that the CTG could play a coordinating role to support improvements in the overall status of such notifications, building on the model of the earlier reform by doing discussions.

3.  All CTG subsidiary bodies were thus requested to: (1) discuss the additional steps that could be taken to improve the regular/periodic and one‑time only notification requirements they oversee; (2) identify the steps needed to improve the quality and timeliness of notifications; and (3) inform the Council of past actions that have worked well in improving the number of submitted notifications. All subsidiary bodies were also requested to report back to the CTG by 10 November 2025, to enable consideration at the final formal CTG meeting of the year.

4.  At its Regular meeting held on 5 May 2025, the outgoing Chair of the Working Party made a statement under Other Business[2] explaining the above-mentioned process and indicating that it would be brought to the attention of the incoming Chair, who would initiate consultations with Members in this respect.

5.  Members were invited to attend an informal meeting of the Working Party to hold consultations on these matters by a communication of 16 September 2025. The informal meeting was held on 1 October 2025. At that meeting, Members raised certain concerns regarding the rate of submission of notifications and a few suggestions were made to improve the submission rate of notifications (see section 4 below). A separate item was also added to the agenda of the 3 November 2025 Regular meeting of the Working Party to discuss this report and adopt it for submission to the CTG.

6.  This report sets out: (i) the institutional framework for notification transparency and steps taken; (ii) past Secretariat activities undertaken to enhance transparency; (iii) the role of the Chair and related Working Party deliberations; and (iv) a summary of the discussion by the Working Party to improve the quality and timeliness of notifications.

2  Institutional frameword for STE notifications and past actions taken

7.  Article XVII:4 of the GATT 1994 and paragraph 1 of the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994 require Members to notify their state trading enterprises to the Council for Trade in Goods.

8.  Members have agreed on a "working definition" of state trading enterprises for purposes of notifications in paragraph 1 of the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994. Pursuant to its mandate, the Working Party completed an illustrative list of state trading relationships and activities, adopted by the Council for Trade in Goods on 15 October 1999 (_G/STR/4). This list reflects examples of those relationships and entities which Members have previously considered relevant in their notification of state trading enterprises. Members may consult this illustrative list for guidance in meeting their notification obligations.

9.   The Working Party also completed a mandated revision of the questionnaire on state trading, which was adopted on 14 November 2003 and is available in document _G/STR/3/Rev.1. This questionnaire was agreed upon in 1998 and replaced the previous questionnaire adopted in 1960. The questionnaire sets out a template for notifications, detailing their required content, and also contains "Guidelines for completing the questionnaire". Members that maintain one or more enterprises falling within the definition of a state trading enterprise must make their notification by completing the questionnaire, whereas Members that do not maintain any such enterprise must simply notify that this is the case.

10.  On 11 November 2003, the Working Party adopted a recommendation contained in document _G/STR/5 modifying the frequency of new and full notifications on state trading enterprises to a biennial basis only. Previously, new and full notifications had been due every third year and updating notifications were required in the intervening years. Since 2004, new and full notifications have been due every two years without any requirement to file updating notifications. A call for notifications is issued at the beginning of every even-numbered year when new and full notifications are due, reminding members of the requirement to notify by 30 June of that year.

11.  Notifications are reviewed at regular biannual meetings of the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises.

3  Secretariat activities to enhance notification transparency

3.1  Engagement with Members

12.  The Secretariat regularly meets delegations and responds to all queries related to notifications and other functions of the Working Party and, upon request, assists Members in submitting their notifications in time for circulation and review at upcoming meetings.

13.  In the context of the reform of the functioning of the Working Party conducted in 2023, the Secretariat held a training session for all Members, in person and remotely, on how to submit notifications for state trading enterprises. In early 2024, the Secretariat placed a recording of this training (and related materials) on the WTO webpage and the webpage of Working Party in all three WTO languages. A link to the recorded training is also now included in the convening notices for upcoming meetings of the Working Party.

3.2  Digital tools and portals

14.  The Secretariat has updated and reorganized the WTO webpage so that Members may easily access information resources on submitting notifications. The webpage provides access to a recording of training materials and information on how to submit notifications for state trading enterprises. A link to a Handbook on Notification Requirements is also included, containing information on submitting notifications.

15.  Further information on notification requirements and resources, and information on the functioning of the Working Party, is available on webpage of the Working Party, which was created for Members.

16.  The Secretariat also maintains a notification portal on open trade data which shows outstanding notifications for state trading enterprises for recent years.

3.3  Reminders and deadline management

17.  To support timely submissions, the Secretariat issues a call for state trading enterprise notifications to all Members at the beginning of every year on which a notification is due. Every year, the WTO Central Registry of Notifications sends reminders to all Members with outstanding notifications. Outstanding notifications for recent years are also signalled in the notification portal on open trade data and in the compilation of notification obligations issued by the CTG.

3.4  Role of the Chair and Working Party deliberations

18.  At every regular meeting of the Working Party, the Chair systematically raises the issue of missing notifications, and urges Members to fulfil their notification obligations, recommending that Members seek the Secretariat's assistance in case of difficulties or questions.

19.  A "status of notifications" is issued twice a year in connection with the Working Party's meetings, listing, for each Member, the STE notifications the Member has provided, and those it has not provided, since the inception of the WTO.

20.  Furthermore, in advance of the Working Party's autumn meeting each year, the Secretariat circulates a draft of the annual report for Members' review. Members not having made a notification for the current notification period are listed in the Working Party's annual report.

4  Summary of Discussion by the Working Party to improve the submission of notifications

21.  Although there were no specific steps to be approved by the Working Party, at the informal consultations held on 1 October 2025, Members nevertheless made a few suggestions to improve the submission rate of notifications. The following summarizes the discussion that took place at these consultations:

a._         Some Members expressed concerns with respect to the low rate of submission of notifications;

b._         The Working Party should make good use of tools, including the reminder of notifications and the document of the status of notifications issued twice a year;

c._         Should Members experience administrative capacity issues, the Secretariat could offer dedicated technical assistance to those Members, if requested; and

d._         Members could leverage other available information for the submission of notifications, such as information included in the Trade Policy Review reports.

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