REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON TRADE, DEBT AND FINANCE (2022) TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL

1.1.  It will be recalled that the Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance ("the Working Group") was established at the 4th Session of the Ministerial Conference in Doha (November 2001). Its mandate is set out in Paragraph 36 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.

1.2.  In 2022, the Working Group held two meetings, on 12 July and 8 December, under the Chairmanship of Mr Donatas Tamulaitis, Permanent Representative of Lithuania. Discussions focused on Trade Finance, on the basis of Document WT/WGTDF/W/98/Rev.1, with a view to making progress on finding consensus on the proposal. The minutes have been circulated in Document WT/WGTDF/M/44.

1.3.  During the meeting, proponents noted the convergence of Members on the relevance of pillar one of their proposal, which entails a Member-driven exchange of information. They requested that all other Members consider, on a voluntary basis, aspects or subjects on which they could exchange information and good practices regarding their own experiences, relating to the various aspects of trade finance. They reached out to other Members to provide clarifications on all pillars of their proposal. Other Members generally showed interest on pillar one. Some Members did not exclude possible exchanges of information related to aspects of other pillars, to the extent that this respected the mandate of the Organization. It was concluded that, while progress had been achieved between proponents and other Members regarding the scope and topics to be discussed, there was not yet enough clarity on such topics to declare consensus on the proposal. Proponents and other interested Members were therefore encouraged to engage in further consultations to this aim.

1.4.  At the meeting on 8 December, the Working Group examined and approved its Annual Report (2022) to the General Council on this basis.