trade policy review mechanism
Communication
from the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body
Ambassador (Dr) Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid
(Nigeria)
Cambodia
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 26 and 28 March 2025 to conduct the third review
of the trade policies and practices of Cambodia (WTO/AIR/TPR/174).
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).
3._ Members' attention is drawn to the use of the
"alternative" time‑frame by Cambodia for submission of written
questions and responses.
1 Questions in writing in advance of the meeting AND MAIN POINTS
4._ Members wishing to submit
written questions to the Member under review should do so at least five weeks
before the review meeting to allow replies to be submitted one week prior to 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 19,
February 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 Cambodia has opted for the traditional way of
handling questions and answers.
5._ 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.
6._ The Secretariat shall identify the
main points contained in the questions submitted at least five 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 five-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
7._
Answers by the
Member under review should be distributed in writing. Advance questions submitted by the five week deadline
before the start of the TPRB review date should be answered in writing by the
Member under review one week prior to the start of the meeting (19 March 2025).
Written answers will be made available on the Members' website four working
days prior to the meeting (20 March 2025). 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.
8._ In the course of the discussions at
the review meeting, the Member under review may indicate that it intends to
provide supplementary information, in writing, on specific points raised. Upon
receipt, the Secretariat will circulate a document containing this information
to all Members.
3 Discussant
9._
In
consultation with the Member under review, the Chairperson of the Trade Policy
Review Body has chosen H.E. Ambassador James Baxter (Australia) to serve as
discussant for the Review of Cambodia in his personal capacity.
4 Structure of the meeting
10._ 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.
11._
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.
12._ 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
13._ Reports by the Member under review and the Secretariat are contained
in the following documents:
WT/TPR/G/469 Report by Cambodia
WT/TPR/S/469 Cambodia: Report by the Secretariat
14._
The press embargo
for the review of Cambodia will end at 2 p.m. Geneva time on 26 March 2025.
6 RECORD OF THE MEETING
15._
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.
__________