SEVENTH Appraisal of the Trade policy review
mechanism
Report on the three dedicated sessions on 10,
11 and 13 July 2023
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Saqer Abdullah ALMOQBEL
(Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
1.
The Trade Policy Review Body
met on 10, 11, and 13 July 2023 to hold three dedicated sessions under the
three baskets of issues: question-and-answer process; Secretariat report; and
"Other Issues". The meetings were chaired by Ambassador H.E. Mr Saqer
ALMOQBEL (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).
2.
During these meetings, the
Chair invited delegations to comment on some of the Chair's reworked draft
conclusions following Members' suggestions during previous dedicated sessions. In
the meetings, the Secretariat displayed the Chair's reworked draft conclusions
on the screen for Members' consideration.
3.
During the meeting of 10 July
2023, Members made drafting suggestions to the three conclusions on the
Secretariat report: (i) independence and responsibility of the Secretariat in
writing high quality, objective, coherent, and consistent reports across all
Members; (ii) requesting the Secretariat to produce, to the extent possible,
concise reports that are focused on recent trade policy changes, and cover new
and emerging trade policies; and (iii) reference to outstanding issues raised
in the previous review.
4.
During the meeting of 11 July,
Members made drafting suggestions to three of the conclusions regarding the
question-and answer (Q&A) process: (i) current and alternative timelines
for submitting advance written questions; (ii) establishment of a Task Force
for strengthening the IT system for the submission of written Q&A; and
(iii) possible indicative cap on written questions. In this meeting, Members
also started making drafting suggestions on the two conclusions on meeting
structure: (i) deferring the discussion on adding value and interactivity to
TPR meetings to the next Appraisal; and (ii) TPRB as the main forum to share information
on trade policy developments, especially during times of global crisis.
5.
During the meeting of 13 July,
Members continued making drafting suggestions to the conclusion on the possible
cap on written questions; the two conclusions under meeting structure; and the paragraph
regarding the date of the next Appraisal. Delegations also commented on the
conclusions regarding the Trade Monitoring exercise, which the Secretariat also
showed on the screen: (i) inviting the Secretariat to explore, implement and
extend IT solutions to facilitate the trade monitoring exercise for Members,
including through the digital platform for the submission and verification of
measures online; (ii) increased engagement and participation of Members in the
trade monitoring exercise, including through training and briefing sessions
offered by the Secretariat's trade monitoring outreach programme; and (iii) frequency
of its Reports.
6.
The Chair stated that the
suggestions made throughout this Appraisal, including during these dedicated
sessions, would be reflected in the second revision of the draft Chair Note of
26 May 2023, under his own responsibility. He indicated that this draft would
be circulated to delegations before a last dedicated session on Monday 17 July
where he would like to listen to Members' views and comments on such revised
draft. After that, an informal open-ended meeting would be scheduled for Friday
21 July, and then a formal meeting to adopt the Appraisal Report on Wednesday
26 July.
7.
The Chair closed the meeting by
indicating Members that the next meeting would take place on Monday 17 July
at 3 p.m. in room D.
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