Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken in the General Council of the World Trade Organization

Summary:

Proposal presented on 30 October 2019 by the European Commission establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the Union regarding the review of the Understanding on Tariff Rate Quota Administration Provisions of Agricultural Products (TRQ Understanding).

Further information:

In December 2013, at the Ninth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference, Ministers adopted a decision on 'Understanding on Tariff Rate Quota Administration Provisions of Agricultural Products'. The objective of the TRQ Understanding is to streamline tariff rate quota administration for agricultural products.

In 2018, the Committee on Agriculture reviewed the TRQ Understanding, taking into account the experience with its operation to date. Early in 2019, the Secretariat of the Committee issued a draft report to be addressed to the General Council of the WTO giving an account of the developments to date.

Given the lack of consensus among the WTO members on the substantive changes to the TRQ Understanding, the Committee recommends to the General Council to extend the review period until end-2021 and to enhance transparency of TRQ administration. These recommendations will be presented to the General Council in December 2019.