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JOB/CTG/27  
 
3 April 2023 
(23-2305) Page: 1/6 
Council for Trade in Goods    
 
 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
MC12  IMPLEMENTATION MATTERS – IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE CTG  
Next Steps Proposed by the Chairperson F ollowing  
the Informal Meeting  of 31 March  20231 
The annex to this document contains a list of issues  discussed at the informal meeting of the Council 
for Trade in Goods held on 31  March  2023, and is based on the list of issues identified by Members 
and annexed to the convening notice circulated in docum ent ICN/CTG/9 . It outlines the proposed 
next steps suggested by the Chairperson during the informal meeting  for each of the issues.  
 
In light of th e high degree of convergence, and based on the discussions at the informal meeting, 
three  issues (items  2.a, 3.a and 4.d ) will be presented to Members for consideration  at the Council's 
upcoming meeting o f 3-4 April 2023.  The three  issues will be described  by the Chairperson under 
agenda item  7 (MC12  Implementation Matters: Functioning of the CTG  and its Subsidiary Bodies and 
WTO Response to the  Pandemic ), which will be examined on 3  April. With a view to giving Members 
more time to consider the issues, the agenda item will be suspended, and the issues will be put 
forward for approval  during the afternoon of 4  April. 
 
1 The contents of this document were also circulated in document  ICN/CTG/ 9/Suppl.1.   
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- 2 - ANNEX  
IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE CTG – NEXT STEPS  
Informal Meeting of 31  March  2023  
Issue  Next informal meeting  Actions to be taken by the Chairperson 
or the Secretariat  Proposed action for the Council's formal 
meeting of 3 -4 April 2023  
1. Assistance to capital -based and Geneva -based delegates  
a.1 Regular introductory sessions on the 
functioning of the CTG   The Secretariat will develop a  draft 
introductory session on the functioning of the 
CTG so it can be presented to Members.   
a.2 Request the  GC to consider horizontally 
the question of regular introductory sessions 
on the functioning of WTO  bodies (WTO -wide 
approach)  Further discussion required .   
b. Development of a manual describing the 
functioning of the CTG   The Secretariat will develop a draft concise 
manual describing the functioning of the CTG  
in general terms so it can be consulted  with 
Members . The  Secretariat will also examine 
how best to make available  the information  
through the WTO website .  
2. Planning and organization of meetings  
a. Improved planning of meetings (for the 
entire Organization), including the date on 
which the agenda closes  Further discussion required, 
including on the sequencing of 
meetings of the CTG and its 
subsidiary bodies.  At the request of Members, the CTG Chair will 
inform in writing  the Chairperson of the 
General Council o f the concerns raised by 
Members at the CTG and, in particular, of  the 
problems faced when meeting dates are 
changed after their announcement. The CTG 
Chair should also mention that the W TO 
should : (i) fix the dates of all meeting s on an 
annual basis, including those of the GC;  and 
(ii) require each body that changes a meeting 
date, to explain in  writing  to Members the 
reasons for such change . In an effort to facilitate better preparation for 
formal meetings, Members will be asked  
whether they can agree to increase  the 
deadline for the closing of the agenda for 
CTG meetings  and agree to the following:  
"Members wishing to propose the inclusion of 
an agenda item for a formal meeting of the 
Council for Trade in Goods should , no less than 
fifteen calendar days prior to the date of the 
meeting , either include it in the eAgenda or 
inform the Secretariat in writing of their 
intention. If the deadline falls on a 
non-working day, it will be moved  to the 
previous business day. "  
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- 3 - Issue  Next informal meeting  Actions to be taken by the Chairperson 
or the Secretariat  Proposed action for the Council's formal 
meeting of 3 -4 April 2023  
b. Calendar of meetings (introduction of an 
automatic alert mechanism)   Secretariat to inform Members  of the changes 
that are currently under way to improve the 
calendar of meetings in the WTO  website and 
have a "walk through" of these changes .  
c. Cluster related meetings to facilitate 
increased value for capital -based attendance  Further discussion required . At the 
meeting it was noted that this issue 
includes both grouping different 
types of meeting of the same body 
(e.g. formal and informal meetings, 
thematic sessions), as well as 
grouping meetings of different 
bodies.    
d. Dedicated cross -cutting and joint sessions 
of two or more bodies to expand consideration 
of linked topics  Further discussion required .   
3. Work procedures  
Formal meetings  
a. Agenda setting (order in which trade 
concerns are listed, e.g.  start with the new  
ones)   In light of the broad convergence on this issue, 
Members will be asked whether they can agree 
to the following:  
"The Secretariat is instructed  to include a new 
subsection in the agenda to separate them and 
place them before previously raised trade 
concerns . Trade concerns within both 
subsections will continue to be organized on a 
'first come, first served' basis." 
Note: In practical terms, the trade concerns 
will be presented as follows in the agenda:  
TRADE CONCERNS  
-NEWLY RAISED TRADE CONCERNS  
-PREVIOUSLY RAISED TRADE CONCERNS   
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- 4 - Issue  Next informal meeting  Actions to be taken by the Chairperson 
or the Secretariat  Proposed action for the Council's formal 
meeting of 3 -4 April 2023  
b. Possible introduction of an annotated 
agenda (i.e. providing background and other 
information on the issues to be discussed  at 
the meeting)   The Secretariat will develop a draft template 
for a CTG annotated agenda, based on the 
CMA, TBT and SPS models, to be consulted 
with Members. The contents of the annotated 
agenda should be strictly  limited to factual 
information. Once feedback has been received 
and the template is adjusted, Members will 
decide whether it can be used on a trial basis  
at a formal meeting of the CTG .  
c. Trade concerns  (how to improve the 
effectiveness of discussions ?) Further discussion required .   
d. Possible improvements to the 
minutes/reports of formal meetings  Further discussion required . 
 Secretariat to present different approaches to 
the preparation of minutes.   
e. Oral reports by the Chairperson and the 
Secretariat to be shared shortly after the 
meeting  Further discussion required . It was 
noted that the issue may be solved 
with the implementation of the 
eAgenda or through changes to the 
way in which the minutes are 
prepared.    
f. Documentation:     
f.1 Online availability of all presentations 
and documents in all three 
WTO languages for consideration during 
the meeting . Further discussion required .   
f.2 E nsure that all references to 
documents (document symbols) include a 
hyperlink to Documents online   The Secretariat is already assessing how best 
to implement this request and will report back 
on progress made.   
Informal meetings  
g. Organization of informal meetings, 
including the possible alignment in procedures 
with formal meetings  Further discussion required .   
h. Reports by the Chairperson summarizing 
the outcome of informal meetings (circulation 
sufficiently in advance of the formal meeting Further discussion required .    
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- 5 - Issue  Next informal meeting  Actions to be taken by the Chairperson 
or the Secretariat  Proposed action for the Council's formal 
meeting of 3 -4 April 2023  
to take account of comments from Members), 
including reminder of next meeting date(s)  
i. Possibl e use of thematic sessions, e.g. to 
facilitate information sharing and informal 
dialogue (supported by an annual agenda 
item to provide dedicated time to potential 
Member -driven thematic sessions)  Further discussion required .   
Other  
j. Preparation of a "style manual" identifying 
best practices implemented by some 
Committees  Further discussion required .   
4. Use of digital tools  
a. eAgenda (Note: implementation on a 
preliminary basis under way)   In the next few days, the Secretariat will 
inform Members about the upcoming testing 
of the new eAgenda system for the CTG, and 
will provide an opportunity for Members to 
provide feedback.  
  
b. Maintain virtual participation option for 
formal and informal meetings to facilitate 
capital participation  Further discussion required.    
c. eRegistration (modifications to improve 
communication with Members; identification 
of capital -based officials with responsibilities 
related to WTO bodies)  Further discussion required.  The 
Secretariat will report at the next 
informal meeting.  The Secretariat will examine the request to 
allow capital -based officials to indicate, under 
the eRegistration system, the bodies that they 
follow and whether they would like to  receive 
e-mails from these bodies. Currently, both 
options are only possible for Geneva -based 
delegates.  
  
d. Trade concerns database (possible 
adoption by the CTG)    In light of the broad convergence on this issue, 
Members will be asked whether they can agree 
to the following:  
"The Secretariat is instructed  to integrate the 
CTG data on trade concerns into the Trade 
Concerns Database, subject to budgetary  
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- 6 - Issue  Next informal meeting  Actions to be taken by the Chairperson 
or the Secretariat  Proposed action for the Council's formal 
meeting of 3 -4 April 2023  
constraints. As the project progresses, the 
Secretariat will consult with Members on 
potential adjustm ents, such as how to link  
trade concerns  raised at the CTG with  STCs 
raised in other bodies. " 
e. Notifications portal and online 
notifications     
e.1 Notifications portal  Secretariat to present the current 
status and work being developed in 
this area.    
e.2 O nline notifications  Further discussion required .   
f. WTO Calendar of meetings  See 2.b. above.    
g. WTO website     
g.1 Improved consistency; add time stamps 
for website updates  Further discussion required .   
g.2 Improve the search function  Further discussion required .   
g.3 A llow for personalization and central 
management of user options across the 
different WTO webpages  Further discussion required .   
h. WTO Digital Tools Overview Session (hold 
regular sessions)  Further discussion required . There 
appears to be convergence towards 
holding a session at least once per 
year, which should be recorded and 
made available to Members.    
i. Development of basic productivity apps 
for mobile phones (delegate directory, 
Secretariat directory, meeting calendar, 
meeting room reservation)  Further discussion required .   
 
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