trade
policy review mechanism
Communication
from the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body
Ambassador
(Dr) Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid (Nigeria)
Madagascar
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 12
and 14 February 2025 to conduct the fourth review of the trade
policies and practices of Madagascar (_
WTO/AIR/TPR/172).
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 Wednesday, 29 January 2025,
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 Madagascar 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. Ms Clara DELGADO JESUS (Cabo Verde)
to serve as discussant for the Review of Madagascar in her
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/466 Report by Madagascar
_WT/TPR/S/466 Madagascar: Report by the
Secretariat
12._
The press embargo
for the review of Madagascar will end at 2 p.m. Geneva time on 12 February 2025.
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.
__________