 RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/PTA/M/7  
 
29 November  2021 
(21-8976) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Seventh Dedicated Session on Preferential Trade 
Arrangements    
 
  
 NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 10 NOVEMBER  2021 
Chairman: H.E. Dr Muhammad Mujtaba Piracha (Pakistan)  
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. STATUS OF THE WORK OF THE DEDICATED SESSION  ................................ ..............  1 
(I) Status of the preparation of factual presentations – Report by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/PTA/W/5)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  1 
C. CONSIDERATION OF PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS  ................................ . 2 
(I) Thailand – Duty-free and quota -free scheme for least developed countries 
(WT/COMTD/PTA5/N/1, WT/COMTD/PTA5/1, WT/COMTD/PTA5/2)  ................................ ............  2 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 2 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The draft agenda  as contained in Airgram WTO/AIR/COMTD/PTA/ 6/Rev.1 of 29 October  2021 
was adopted .  
B. STATUS OF THE WORK OF THE DEDICATED SESSION  
(I) Status of the preparation of factual presentations – Report by the Chairman 
(WT/COMTD/PTA/W/ 5) 
2. The Chairman  said that his report on the status of the preparation of factual presentations of 
preferential trade arrangements ( PTAs) was contained in document WT/COMTD/PTA/W/ 5. The report 
indicated that the Secretariat had received the required data from the United Kingdom regarding its 
Generalized System of Preferences scheme , and would therefore shortly begin the preparation of 
the factual presentation on this PTA.  However, there were a number of other PTAs that ha d been 
notified since the establishment of the Transparency Mechanism for PTAs, for which  the Secretariat 
had still not received the full set of data or information required for the preparation of the factual 
presentations. He therefore urge d the notifying Member s to provide all the required data and 
information as soon as possible.  He also shared his understanding that China had recently submitted 
several years of import data to the Secretariat,  in particular for the years 2010 to 2015, as well as 
for 2017. Altho ugh the Secretariat was not able to integrate this data into the Integrated Database  
(IDB) , he nevertheless express ed his appreciation to China, and encourage d continued close 
collaboration with the Secretariat so that the required data could  eventually be  submitted.  
 
3. The representative of China  thanked the Chairman for providing update s regarding the data 
submitted by China, and indicated  that she wished to provide further clarifications on China's  
notification status. She said that her delegation had submitted import data for the  years  2010 to 
2018. The d ata for  2016 and 2018 was valid according to the Secretariat, while data for the other 
years was invalid due to some data discrepancies with the IDB. She noted that , in the context of 
China's data, the Chairman's report stated that import data was received for 2016 and 2018, while 
data for other years was still outstanding.  She believed that this did not reflect the true status , and 
could be  misleading. The Secretariat was therefore encour aged to revise the language on China 's WT/COMTD/PTA/M/7  
 
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  notification status and provide feedback in due course. China was trying to resolve the data 
discrepancies , and would  submit the updated data when ready.  
 
4. The Chairman  invited a representative o f the Secretariat (Economic Research and Statistics 
Division) to respond to the points made by China.  
 
5. The representative of the Secretariat  said that note had been taken of China's request . The 
Secretariat would be in touch with the delegation of China to see how the request could be 
accommodated for the next report.   
 
6. The Chairman  encouraged the Secretariat and the delegation of China to work closely together 
and resolve any outstanding issues.  
 
7. The representative of the United States  thanked the Chairman for his report, which her 
delegation found very useful. She welcome d the Chairman's  remarks and interest in the 
transparency exercise. Her delegation  urged all Members that had not yet notified their PTAs to do 
so promptly. Her delegation also  urged notifying Members, and those that had not yet done so, to 
provide the Secretariat with the required data and information as soon as possible.  
 
8. The Committee took note  of the Chairman 's report,  and of the interventions.  
C. CONSIDERATION OF PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS  
(I) Thailand – Duty-free and quota -free scheme for least developed countries  
(WT/COMTD/PTA 5/N/1, WT/COMTD/PTA5/1, WT/COMTD/PTA5/2 )1 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
9. No matter was raised under "Other Business".  
10. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________  
 
1 The minutes relating to the consideration of this PTA are contained in document  
WT/COMTD/PTA5 /M/1.  