Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the position to be taken within the World Trade Organization on the frequency of WTO Trade Policy Reviews and the rules of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body

The objective of this proposal is to establish the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to adjust the frequency of the Trade Policy Reviews of the WTO Members set out in paragraph C (ii) ("Procedures for review") of Annex 3 to the WTO Agreement and the rules of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body.

The expansion of the membership of the WTO since 1995 has also increased the number of reviews necessary to comply with paragraph C (ii) of Annex 3. This has increased the burden on the Members and the WTO Secretariat and the current cycle of Trade Policy Reviews has become thus unsustainable.

Discussions among WTO Members in the context of the Sixth Appraisal of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism have led in particular the Trade Policy Body to suggest:
- adjusting the frequency of the Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs) extending by one year the cycles currently set out in paragraph C (ii) of Annex 3, and
- changing slightly the rules of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body to facilitate the review process.

The Commission should be authorised to take a position on behalf of the European Union to join the consensus with a view to supporting the adoption of the decisions taken by the Ministerial Conference (or the General Council, in the interval between Ministerial Conference meetings), regarding the extension by one year of the current review cycles in paragraph C(ii) of Annex 3 to the WTO Agreement. The Commission should also be authorised to take a position on behalf of the European Union in the TPRB to join the consensus with a view to supporting the modification of the rules of procedure of the Trade Policy Review Body.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2017)137: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2017:137:FIN

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