trade policy review mechanism
Communication
from the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body
Ambassador
(Dr) Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid (Nigeria)
Maldives
Arrangements for Review Meeting
1._
In pursuance of Article IV,
paragraph 4 and Annex 3 of the WTO Agreement, a meeting of the Trade
Policy Review Body is scheduled for 23 and 25 October 2024 to conduct the fourth review
of the trade policies and practices of Maldives (_
WTO/AIR/TPR/165).
2._ This communication sets out
arrangements concerning the review meeting. In this connection, attention is
also drawn to the procedures for the conduct of reviews contained in the rules
of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body (_WT/TPR/6/Rev.4).
1 Questions in writing in advance of the meeting AND MAIN POINTS
3._
Members wishing
to submit written questions to the Member under review should do so normally at
least two weeks before the review meeting to allow replies to be prepared
in time for the first session of the meeting. For the forthcoming review,
such questions should therefore be with the Trade Policies Review Division of
the Secretariat (tprd@wto.org) by 5.30 p.m. on 9 October 2024, at the latest. Advance
written questions should reach the Secretariat no later than the day before the
start of the meeting, by 2 p.m. at the latest to allow time for the
Secretariat to process them. Questions sent on the day of the meeting will be
processed after the end of the first session of the meeting. Delegations
are informed that Maldives has
opted for the traditional way of handling questions and answers.
4._ In accordance with the rules of
procedure of the TPRB (_WT/TPR/6/Rev.4, paragraph 17), Members are
reminded that they should group their written questions into the following
three categories so as to facilitate responses: those related to the
Secretariat report (with a reference to relevant paragraph numbers); those
concerning the Government report (with a reference to relevant paragraph
numbers); and other questions.
5._
The Secretariat
shall identify the main points contained in the questions submitted at least
two weeks before a review meeting, post them on the Members' website one week before the meeting, and distribute a
revised list of main points during the first session of a review when questions
received after the two‑week
deadline give rise to significantly new issues. The main points may be found on
the Members' website under "Forthcoming Meetings: Documents for
Meetings".
2 Answers in writing by the MEMBEr under review
6._
Answers by the
Member under review should be distributed in writing; advance questions
submitted by the two‑week deadline before the start of the TPRB review should
be answered in writing by the Member under review by the start of the meeting.
Questions posed subsequently should be answered, to the extent possible, before
the start of the second session of the meeting. Questions left unanswered at
the end of the second session should be answered in writing no later than one month
after the meeting with some latitude in the Chair's discretion for Members
reviewing a very large number of questions.
3 Discussant
7._
In
consultation with the Member under review, the Chairperson of the Trade Policy
Review Body has chosen H.E. Mr. Colin MURDOCH (Antigua and Barbuda) to serve as discussant
for the Review of Maldives in his personal capacity.
4 Structure of the meeting
8._ Trade policy reviews cover four broad headings:
a._
appreciation of
the full range of the Member's trade policies and practices;
b._
relevant
background: wider economic and developmental needs, including the external
environment;
c._
impact of the
Member's trade policies and practices on the functioning of the multilateral
trading system; and
d._
general comments
by way of assessment and evaluation.
9._
Meetings take
place in two sessions. The first session is devoted to the opening
statements by the Member under review and the discussant, and remarks and
questions from the floor. The discussion in the second session, when the
Member under review will reply to questions, is based on main themes identified
after the opening meeting by the Chairperson, the discussant, and the
Secretariat in consultation with the Member.
10._ As indicated in the rules of procedure for TPRB meetings (_WT/TPR/6/Rev.4, paragraph 21), the
speakers' list will follow the order in which questions are received by the
Secretariat and in the event of more than one batch, the final batch will
determine the order of speakers. Delegations not submitting written questions
will continue to speak second, in the order in which their flags are raised. On
the day before each review meeting, the Secretariat will post on the WTO Members' website
a provisional list of speakers for the first session of that meeting, for
Members' advance information.
5 Documentation and press arrangements
11._ Reports by the Member under review and the Secretariat are contained
in the following documents:
_WT/TPR/G/461 Report by Maldives
_WT/TPR/S/461 Maldives: Report by the Secretariat
12._ The press embargo for the review of
Maldives will end at 2 p.m. Geneva time on 23 October 2024.
6 RECORD OF THE MEETING
13._
The record of the
meeting will be circulated as a draft to Members for comments on their own
statements and placed on the WTO website.
__________