2021 OCTOBER MEETING OF THE SUBSIDIES COMMITTEE

Proposal from Canada, the European Union,
Japan and the United States

The following communication, dated and received on 13 October 2021, is being circulated at the request of the delegations of Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the United States.

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PROCEDURE FOR REVIEW

OF 2023 NEW AND FULL subsidy NOTIFICATIONS^[1]

1.    Pursuant to Article 25.1 of the SCM Agreement, 2023 new and full subsidy notifications must be submitted by 30 June 2023. As delays in notification would make it difficult for the Secretariat to translate and circulate notifications in a manner which would allow the procedures set forth below to operate, the Committee considers it important that all Members respect the 30 June 2023 deadline for submission of notifications, as well as the deadlines for the questions and answers procedure set out below.

2.    The 2023 new and full subsidy notifications will be reviewed at special meetings to be held in conjunction with the regular meetings of the SCM Committee in Autumn 2023, Spring 2024, and (if required) Autumn 2024. The length of the special meetings will be determined by the Chair in light of the number and extent of the notifications scheduled for review. Only notifications distributed in all three WTO working languages not less than seventeen weeks before a meeting may be reviewed at that meeting.

3.    The review of new and full notifications will be held on the basis of a written procedure, i.e. on the basis of written questions and written answers provided before the meeting. Written questions shall be submitted to the notifying Member and to the Secretariat not less than thirteen weeks before the date of the meeting at which a notification is to be reviewed, and written responses shall be submitted not less than four weeks before the date of that meeting. Members are required to provide written answers to all written questions posed, including questions regarding specific subsidies not included in the notification. Members desiring clarification of answers, identifying issues for discussion, or otherwise following-up on written responses are encouraged to submit follow-up questions in writing in advance of the meeting. Written answers to follow-up questions are required only where the follow-up questions are submitted in writing.

4.    The written procedure is intended to avoid the repetition of lengthy questions and answers in the meeting and to allow the Committee to (a) follow-up in areas where the written answers were unclear and (b) discuss issues identified as a result of the written procedure. The result should be shorter and more focused meetings where meaningful discussion could occur.

5.    In order for this format to be effective, two conditions must be fulfilled. First, questions and answers need to be provided on a timely basis. Thus, a Member is not required to provide written answers in advance of a meeting where the questions were provided after the deadline had passed. On the other hand, a Member that fails to provide written answers within the specified time period shall provide full oral answers at the meeting itself. Second, the purpose of the written procedure is to allow better discussion in the meetings, not to replace the meetings. Meaningful discussion can only occur if the responsible officials are present; thus, Members should make maximum efforts to bring appropriate capital-based officials to the reviews of their notifications.

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