trade policy review mechanism
Communication from the Chairperson of the Trade Policy
Review Body
AMBASSADOR (DR) ADAMU MOHAMMED ABDULHAMID (NIGERIA)
Sierra Leone
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 15 and 17 April 2025 to conduct the third
review of the trade policies and practices of Sierra Leone (_
WTO/AIR/TPR/175).
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
"regular" time‑frame by Sierra Leone 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 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 Tuesday, 1 April
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 Sierra Leone 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
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
7._
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
8._
In
consultation with the Member under review, the Chairperson of the Trade Policy
Review Body has chosen H.E. Mr. Muhammadou KAH (The Gambia) to serve as discussant
for the Review of Sierra Leone in his personal capacity.
4 Structure of the meeting
9._ 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.
10._
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.
11._ 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
12._ Reports by the Member under review and the Secretariat are contained
in the following documents:
_WT/TPR/G/470 Report
by Sierra Leone
_WT/TPR/S/470 Sierra
Leone: Report by the Secretariat
13._ The press embargo for the review of
Sierra Leone will end at 2 p.m. Geneva time on 15 April 2025.
6 RECORD OF THE MEETING
14._
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.
__________