   
  
G/L/1470  
G/AG/W/229  
 
9 December 2022  
(22-9204) Page: 1/8 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Agriculture    
 
REPORT ON THE CURRENT FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE  
REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE  
The following report has been prepared under the responsibility of the Chairperson of the Committee 
on Agriculture, Mr Marcel Vernooij of the Netherlands, at the request of the Chairperson of the 
Council for Trade in Goods1. Improving transparency and eff iciency of the work of the Committee is 
an ongoing task. Members intend to continue their deliberations on these matters in the Committee 
next year.  
1  PAST EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE  
1.1.  The Committee on Agriculture (CoA) launched a work progra mme in 2009 in response to a 
communication2 by the Chairman of the General Council to the Chairs of all WTO Councils and 
Committees to examine ways to improve transparency and notification compliance in their respective 
bodies. While the main thrust of th e Committee's work programme3 remained on improving the 
timeliness and completeness of agriculture notifications, important changes were also introduced for 
the preparation and dissemination of Committee documents. T he work programme conducted 
during  2009-2011 also included elements on the development of digital tools and data systems to 
improve Members' accessibility to Committee's information, including the questions and 
answers  (Q&As) considered in the review process. Pursuant to the discussions under t he work 
programme, the Secretariat commenced the project for the development of an Agriculture 
Information Management System (AG -IMS)4 starting with the development of a module on the CoA 
review process (Q&A). Later on, an additional feature was added to the AG -IMS allowing Members 
to submit agricultural notifications electronically . A recent note by the Secretariat in document 
G/AG/GEN/206 dated 21 September 2022 describes the improvements introduced over the recent 
period towards the efficient organizati on of the Committee's work and its documentation practices.  
2  CURRENT STATUS OF COMMITTEE PRACTICES  
2.1  Assistance to delegates  
2.1.  The Secretariat regularly organizes presentations and information sessions in the margins of 
CoA meetings, including during informal meetings of the Committee. These presentations and 
information sessions routinely explain the main functions (as well as the recent enhancements) of 
the Agriculture Information Management System (AG -IMS) covering both the Q&A function and the 
online submis sion of agricultural notifications. Also as a result of the 2009 -2011 work programme 
discussions, the Secretariat, since 2009, has regularly delivered Geneva -based advanced agriculture 
notification workshops to provide training to government officials on t he preparation and analysis of 
agriculture notifications. Recent editions of the notification workshop have also focused on the work 
of the Committee, especially the review process, in response to call by Members for a more 
diversified participation of Mem bers, especially of developing country Members, in the work of this 
Committee.  
 
1 See document JOB/CTG/18 . 
2 Paragraph 72 of G/AG/R/54 refers.  
3 Annex 6 of G/AG/R/55 refers.   
4 https://agims.wto.org/ . G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  2.2  Organization of Committee work  
2.2.1   Digital tools used for Committee work  
2.2.  The idea to develop a data -system overseeing the Committee's review process as well as the 
online submission of agriculture notifications had been actively explored during the 2009 -2011 work 
programme of the Committee. In the very early stage of discussion s on the work programme, the 
then Chairperson, based on his consultations, had noted that "Members continued to accord the 
highest priority to the development of a database on specific implementation -related concerns raised 
since 1995 during the Review Pro cess" and had encouraged Members with experience in building 
such databases to contact the Secretariat for an initial exchange of ideas.5 Starting from that early 
conversation to the finalization of the AG -IMS and its routine enhancements, the Secretariat  has 
regularly consulted the Membership, including via the regular CoA briefings, in the design, 
development and regular enhancements of the AG -IMS.6 The AG -IMS has remained a dynamic tool 
which could adjust and improve based on evolving needs.7 Most of the enhancements introduced to 
the AG -IMS seek to implement the suggestions made by Members in the CoA formal and informal 
discussions.  
2.3.  Section 4.3 of the CTG Chair's report in JOB/CTG/1 6 refers to three specific examples of 'digital 
tools', namely the e -agenda, trade concerns database and notifications portal, as being already used 
by some Committees. The AG -IMS with its Q&A and on -line notification facilities integrates in it all 
these three specific elements. The AG -IMS Q&A facility hosts all written qu estions raised prior to a 
Committee meeting under the review process, which are then discussed at the corresponding 
Committee meeting. All responses and Members' follow -up comments are also subsequently hosted 
on the AG -IMS.8 The AG -IMS automatically notifies via a standardized e -mail message the 
questioning and answering Members whenever a question or answer has been submitted through 
the AG -IMS. All historical record of the Committee's review process since 1995 conducted pri or to 
the launch of the AG -IMS has also been populated on the AG -IMS Q&A facility which could be 
searched, inter alia , by meeting number, questioning or responding Members and numerous 
thematic possibilities and key words organized by notification types an d agricultural pillars or areas 
(e.g. market access, domestic support, export competition, export restrictions) as well as topics and 
agricultural products concerned. The on -line agriculture notification system was later integrated into 
the AG -IMS in end -2019 since when Members could submit their agriculture notifications through 
the AG -IMS portal.9  
2.4.  Some important contributions of the AG -IMS for an efficient conduct of the Committee's work 
and review process, including the recent enhancements10 it has inc orporated, can be found in 
section  3 of G/AG/GEN/206.   
2.2.2   Planning and organization of meetings  
2.5.  At the last yearly meeting of the Committee (usually in November), the Secretariat informs 
Members about the scheduled dates of formal Committee meetings for the u pcoming year. The dates 
announced during the meeting are then also included in an official document circulated in the 
G/AG/GEN11 series. In light of recent consultations by the Chairperson of the CTG on the scheduling 
of the meetings of the CTG subsidiary bodies, and to avoid  a potential overlap with a meeting 
of another CTG subsidiary body, the dates of the CoA meeting s are accordingly determined in 
consultation with the CTG Secretariat. Informal CoA meetings may be convened by the Chair to 
address some sp ecific matters on the Committee's agenda.  
 
5 Paragraph 41 of G/AG/R/57 refers.  
6 Refer for example to Paragraphs 24 a) of G/AG/R/67/Rev.1, 11 of G/AG/R/68, and 2.22 of G/AG/R/69.  
7 There is, for example, an ongoing AG -IMS extension projec t on Export Competition 
Questionnaire  (ECQ) which would enable online replies to the ECQ and online data extraction and reporting.  
8 Submission on questions and answers to the AG -IMS is done via the password -protected AG -IMS 
interface. Questions and answer s, once submitted, become accessible to all Members and the public.  
9 Section 2.8.1 of G/AG/R/93 refers.  
10 As a part of recent enhancements, the system now allows a Member  to join or co -sponsor a question 
already raised by another Member.  This feature has  the potential to improve and widen the participation of 
Members, especially developing country Members, in the Committee's Review Process. An increasing trend in the 
number of jointly -raised or cosponsored questions has already been evident over recent Co mmittee meetings  
11 The meetings for 2023 are contained under G/AG/GEN/212.  G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  2.2.3   Formal meetings  
2.6.  Pursuant to its working procedures12, the Committee meets three to four times a year, usually 
in the months of March, June, September, and November. The working procedures also allow for 
special mee tings to be convened.13  
2.7.  A typical cycle of a Committee meeting entails five stages: Reminder airgram, Advance 
questions, Convening airgram, Committee meeting, Summary report. These stages are described 
below. Section 2 of G/AG/GEN/206 provides additional information on the Committee's latest 
documentation practices and other organizational and procedural improvements organized around 
each of these five stages.  
2.2.3.1   Communication before meetings  
2.8.  While the Committee's working procedures do not specifically provi de for it, about four weeks 
prior to each Committee meeting, the Secretariat issues a "reminder airgram" which contains, 
among other things, the date(s) of the upcoming Committee meeting, a list of notifications issued 
since the previous Committee meeting,  and the deadline for the submission of questions or other 
items on the agenda of the meeting . 
2.2.3.2   Number of meetings  
2.9.  A total of 14 formal meetings took place from 2019 to 2022. Most formal meetings were 
preceded by half -day informal CoA meetings to prepare t he formal meetings. A number of 
information sessions, workshops and symposiums were organized in the margins of the Committee 
meetings as indicated in the table below.  
Table 1: Number of formal and informal meetings  
Year  Meeting 
Number  From  To Duration 
Formal  Duration 
Informal  Other  
(workshops, symposia, 
etc.)  
2019 90 26/02/2019  27/02/2019  2 0.5 26 February  
U.S. 2018 Farm Bill 
overview — Country policy 
presentation by the United 
States / 
The future of CAP and the 
shift towards performance 
— Country policy 
presentation by the 
European Union  
2019 91 25/06/2019  26/06/2019  2 0.5 26 June  
Information session on 
international food aid  
27-28 June  
Symposium on  the role of 
trade in the global agri -
food system  
2019 92 30/10/2019  31/10/2019  2 0.5 2 December  
CoA transparency 
information Session  
2020 93* 28/07/2020  28/07/2020  1 0 28 July  
Information Session on 
Covid -19 and Agriculture  
2020 9414 18/06/2020  18/06/2020  1 0  
2020 95 22/09/2020  23/09/2020  2 0.5  
 
12 G/AG/1.  
13 This was, for example, the case when a special meeting of the Committee was convened in June  2020 
in response to requests from Members to deliberate on the situation arising from the COVID -19 pandemic and 
its impact on the state of international agriculture and food trade (G/AG/R/94 refers). This was the third such 
special meeting of the Committee since 1995.  
14 Special meeting of the Committee on COVID -19 and  Agriculture.  G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  Year  Meeting 
Number  From  To Duration 
Formal  Duration 
Informal  Other  
(workshops, symposia, 
etc.)  
2020 96 30/11/2020  01/12/2020  2 0.5 30 November  
CoA Transparency 
Information Session AG-
IMS: Q&A function  
The value of the 
Committee on Agriculture: 
Mapping Q&As to trade 
flows 
2021 97 29/03/2021  30/03/2021  2 0.5 29 March  
CoA Information Session 
"How to reply to the 
annual Export Competition 
questionnaire"  
Presentation by the WTO 
Secretariat  
Annual examination 
process of the  Nairobi 
Decision on Export 
Competition: Brazil's 
experience in brief  
2021 98 17/06/2021  18/06/2021  2 0.5  
2021 99 23/09/2021  24/09/2021  2 0.5  
2022 100 15/03/2022  16/03/2022  2 0.5 17 March CoA@100  
2022 101 27/06/2022  28/06/2022  2 0.5  
2022 102 14/09/2022  15/09/2022  2 0.5 14 September  
Agricultural policy 
monitoring and evaluation, 
2022 
OECD -FAO Agricultural 
outlook 20 22-2031 
2022 103 21/11/2022  22/11/2022  2 0.5 22 November  
IMF presentation on the 
Food Shock Window under 
the Fund's Emergency 
Financing Instruments  
G/AG/GEN/211 . 
* This meeting, originally scheduled  for 24 -25 March  2020, was postponed due to the COVID -19 
pandemic . 
2.2.3.3   Preparation of Airgrams and Agenda  
2.10.  The biggest share of substantive agenda of a CoA meeting is conducted based on a 
question -and-answer (Q&A) process. Members pose advance questions on specific notifications, 
matters relevant to the implementation of commitments under Article. 18.6 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture  (AoA), and the follow -up to ministerial decisions agreed under the  negotiations. The 
working procedures require Members to submit advance written questions under the review process 
prior to the release of the draft agenda (or the convening airgram) which is circulated 10 -days prior 
to the date of the meeting. As indicate d above, the Secretariat inform s Members about the deadline 
for posing questions prior to each Committee meeting by way of a reminder airgram.15  
2.11.  All questions received by the deadline for a Committee meeting are compiled by the 
Secretariat in a single document16 to facilitate the conduct of the review process.  The document also 
contains hyperlinks using the question AGIMS -IDs identifier s allowing access to available up -to date 
responses to the questions raised through the AG -IMS. In order to faci litate an efficient conduct of 
discussions on issues raised, the document organizes these questions by thematic areas and also 
includes annotations and key -words to those questions based on their content.  
 
15 The deadline for submitting questions is also published on the AG -IMS ( agims.wto.org ). 
16 Issued in the G/AG/W/ series.  G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  2.12.  The convening airgram of a Committee meeting is is sued usually 10 days prior to the date of 
the meeting. The main items of the Convening airgrams are standardized (e.g. matter relevant to 
the implementation of commitments under Article 18.6  of the AoA , notification subject to advance 
questions, overdue no tifications , etc), the specific issues raised under each of those standardized 
agenda items for a meeting are itemized in a detailed attachment to that meeting's convening 
airgram. Table  2 below indicates the timelines of circulation of reminder and conven ing airgrams in 
respect of the CoA meetings held in 2019 -2022.  
Table 2: Preparation of Airgrams and Agendas  
Year  Meeting 
No. Date of CoA 
meeting  Reminder 
Airgram Date  No. of days 
before 
meeting  Convening 
Airgram Date  No. of days 
before 
meeting  
2019 90 26/02/2019  25/01/2019  32 15/02/2019  11 
2019 91 25/06/2019  28/05/2019  28 14/06/2019  11 
2019 92 30/10/2019  27/09/2019  33 18/10/2019  12 
2020 93 28/07/2020  25/02/2020  154* 15/07/2020  13 
2020 94 18/06/2020  19/05/2020  30 08/06/2020  10 
2020 95 22/09/2020  21/08/2020  32 09/09/2020  13 
2020 96 30/11/2020  30/10/2020  31 20/11/2020  10 
2021 97 29/03/2021  26/02/2021  31 18/03/2021  11 
2021 98 17/06/2021  17/05/2021  31 04/06/2021  13 
2021 99 23/09/2021  23/08/2021  31 08/09/2021  15 
2022 100 15/03/2022  15/02/2022  28 04/03/2022  11 
2022 101 27/06/2022  25/05/2022  33 17/06/2022  10 
2022 102 14/09/2022  15/08/2022  30 05/09/2022  9 
2022 103 21/11/2022  26/10/2022  26 11/11/2022  10 
* This meeting, originally scheduled for 24 -26 March 2020, was postponed due to the COVID -19 
pandemic.  
2.2.3.4   Distribution of documents prior to meetings  
2.13.  Along with the Convening airgram , the following documents are released: i)  compilation of 
questions with suitable annotations as indicated above; ii) record of Members' compliance with 
notification obligations17; iii) compilation of outstanding responses to questions raised under the 
review process18. In addition to being accessible on Docs -on-line, the Secretariat shares these 
agenda documents with agriculture delegates and observer organizations by e -mail. A  growing 
practice has been observed whereby Members submit responses to question s prior to the concerned 
meeting allowing for in -depth exchanges during the Review Process at the meeting . The information 
on Members' responses submitted in advance of the meeting  as well as any additional submission 
by Members or observer international o rganizations are also released before the meeting.  Section  2 
of G/AG/GEN/206 contains  additional details  on Committee's organization of work and 
documentation practices.  
2.2.3.5   Communication after meetings  
2.14.  The day after the c losure  of the Committee meeting, the  Secretariat distributes to Members 
a message containing information concerning the next meeting of the Committee, including 
circulation dates for the reminder and convening airgrams, and the deadline for submission of 
questions. At the same time, the AG -IMS is set up to receive questions for the next meeting of the 
Committee allowing a much longer advance notice for responding Members.  
2.2.3.6   Summary report of Meetings  
2.15.  The Secretariat prepares a summary report of each Committee meeting which is issued in the 
G/AG/R/ series. Based on the discussions among Members during the 2009 -2011, the record of the 
Committee's discussions based on Q&A is no longer summarized in the Secretariat's summary 
reports. As of the March 2010 meeting, the Secretariat has circulated the compilation of responses 
 
17 In the G/AG/GEN/86 series.  
18 In the G/AG/W/204/  series.  G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  separately as a formal document in the G/AG/W/ series. This Q&A -based discussion along with any 
follow -up exchanges is also hosted on the AG-IMS, which Members m ay access directly in the System 
by inputting the ID number of the concerned question. T he Secretariat's Summary Reports include 
this record by reference; it includes a tabular list of a ll questions raised during a meeting under 
various agenda items along with the relevant question ID numbers and the corresponding hyperlinks 
to access questions, responses and any follow -up exchanges.  
2.16.  As a part of the ongoing enhancement of the Q&A functi on of the AG -IMS, Members could 
download an up -to-date compilation of responses for a particular Committee meeting (in a formatted 
Word document) at any time directly through the password protected site of the AG -IMS 
(Q&A function ). In light of this enhancement, and with a view to streamlining the Committee's 
documentation, the Secretariat, starting from the Committee meetings in 2019, issues a single 
'annual' compilation of Q&A for all  Committee meetings in a particular year  in a G/AG/W/ series 
document.19  
2.17.  The table below shows the release date of summary reports of CoA meetings for the 
period  2019-2022.  
Table 3: Preparation of Summary Reports  
Year  Meeting Number  Last date of the formal meeting  Date of summary report  No. of days  
2019 90 27/02/2019  12/04/2019  44 
2019 91 26/06/2019  30/07/2019  34 
2019 92 31/10/2019  29/11/2019  29 
2020 93 28/07/2020  19/10/2020  83 
2020 94 18/06/2020  17/08/2020  60 
2020 95 23/09/2020  22/12/2020  90 
2020 96 01/12/2020  04/02/2021  65 
2021 97 30/03/2021  12/05/2021  43 
2021 98 18/06/2021  13/07/2021  25 
2021 99 24/09/2021  25/11/2021  62 
2022 100 16/03/2022  12/04/2022  27 
2022 101 28/06/2022  08/08/2022  41 
2022 102 15/09/2022  31/10/2022  46 
2022 103 22/11/2022  N/A* N/A* 
* The 103rd CoA meeting concluded on 22 November 2022.  The report of this meeting is under 
preparation.  
2.2.4   Informal meetings  
2.18.  Informal meetings typically take place back -to-back with the formal meetings of the 
Committee. The date of the informal meeting is communicated as part of convening airgram. To deal 
with some matters, for example those subject to specific timelines, informal meetings are sometimes 
organized by the Chair in between Committee meetings. In all  cases, a separate convening notice 
for the informal meeting is sent separately to Members with background information and proposed 
agenda to be discussed. The Chair provides a summary of discussions in informal meetings without 
attribution during the form al Committee meetings under the relevant agenda items. This summary 
is later annexed to the summary report of the relevant CoA meeting. The table below contains 
information on the scheduling of informal CoA meetings during 2019 -2022.  
Table 4: Convening of informal meetings  
Year  Meeting No.  Date informal meeting  Date of 
communication email  No. of days 
before meeting  
2019 90 25/02/2019  19/02/2019  6 
2019 * 29/05/2019  24/05/2019  5 
2019 91 24/06/2019  17/06/2019  7 
 
19 The annual compilati on of responses to meetings in 2019, 2020 and 2021 are contained in 
G/AG/W/215, G/AG/W/216 and G/AG/W/218 , respectively . G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  Year  Meeting No.  Date informal meeting  Date of 
communication email  No. of days 
before meeting  
2019 92 29/10/2019  18/10/2019  11 
2020 95 21/09/2020  15/09/2020  6 
2020 96 30/11/2020  23/11/2020  7 
2021 97 29/03/2021  22/03/2021  7 
2021 98 17/06/2021  10/06/2021  7 
2021 99 23/09/2021  16/09/2021  7 
2022 * 02/02/2022  26/01/2022  7 
2022 100 15/03/2022  09/03/2022  6 
2022 101 27/06/2022  21/06/2022  6 
2022 102 14/09/2022  06/09/2022  8 
2022 * 11/10/2022  20/09/2022  21 
2022 * 27/10/2022  14/10/2022  13 
2022 103 21/11/2022  16/11/2022  5 
* These informal meetings were convened in between the regular committee meetings to discuss 
some specific timebound issues.  
2.3  Substantive work  
2.3.1   Thematic sessions  
2.19.  Thematic  discussions are frequently held in informal CoA meetings based on suggestions and 
submis sions by Members. Thematic discussions are also held, both in formal and informal settings, 
in response to tasks assigned to the Committee by higher bodies. The latter include s, for example, 
matter s related to the follow -up to the Nairobi Decision on expor t competition or the Bali Decision 
on tariff rate quota (TRQ) administration. The Committee's working procedures also require it to 
undertake discussions on some specific matters. At its November meetings, the Committee 
undertakes annual monitoring exercis e on the follow up to the Marrakesh NFIDC Decision and annual 
consultations under Article  18.5 of the A oA to review the normal growth of world agricultural trade 
in the context of export subsidy commitments.   
2.3.2   Notifications  
2.20.  There  is a total of 12 distinct notification requirements applicable in the domain of agriculture 
covering the following five areas: (i) Market access (Tables MA:1 to MA:5), (ii) Domestic support 
(Tables DS:1 to DS:2), (iii) Export subsidies (Tables ES:1 to ES: 3), (iv) Export prohibitions or 
restrictions (Table ER:1), and (v) Follow -up to the Marrakesh NFIDC Decision (Table  NF:1). 
The applicability of a notification requirement to a Member is largely dependent on the specific 
commitments it has assumed under the  AoA. In many cases, a limited number of notification 
requirements will apply for a particular Member. Simultaneously, there are a few notification 
requirements especially in the area of agricultural subsidization (i.e. Tables  DS:1 and  ES:1) that 
apply to all WTO Members . Additionally, the Ministerial Decision on Export Competition20 requires 
Members to provide information on export subsidies, export credit, export credit guarantees or 
insurance programs, international food aid and agricultural exporting st ate trading enterprises by 
replying to an export competition questionnaire (ECQ) contained in Annex to the Nairobi Decision. 
Since 2021, all Members have been required to reply to the ECQ following the expiry of the grace 
period pursuant to footnote  17 of the Decision.21 
2.21.  For several years the Committee has engaged in discussions on how to improve t imeliness 
and completeness of notifications. In addition to organizing dedicated training events on 
notifications, the Secretariat  has created numerous tools and training manuals to assist Members 
fulfil their agriculture notification obligation, including by hosting a dedicated transparency toolkit  
on the WTO website.22  
2.3.3   Reports by the Secretariat  
2.22.  The Secretariat  routinely prepares background documents for the Com mittee to support 
discussions under specific themes based on Members' request. Some of these documents include 
 
20 WT/MIN(15)/45 - WT/L/980.  
21 Section 4 of G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.47 refers.  
22 WTO | Agriculture — members’ transparency toolkit  or user guides on https://agims.wto.org/ .  G/L/1470 • G/AG/W/229  
 
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  background notes in the G/AG/W/32/ series to support annual consultations  under Article 18.5 of 
the AoA, annual notes in the G/AG/W/42/ series to  facilitate discussions on the follow up to the 
Marrakesh NFIDC Decision pursuant to  Article 16.2  of the AoA , notes on TRQ administration and fill 
rates in the G/AG/W/183/ series and background notes in the G/AG/W/125/ series to support 
dedicated discussi ons on export competition.  
2.3.4   Participation by external stakeholders  
2.23.  The following international intergovernmental organizations have regular observer status in 
the Committee: Food and Agriculture Organization  (FAO) , International Monetary Fund  (IMF) , the 
International Grains Council  (IGC) , Organisation for Economic Co -operation and 
Development  (OECD ), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD ), World Food 
Programme  (WFP) , and the World Bank.  The Inter -American Institute for Cooperation on 
Agricultur e (IICA) is also invited to CoA meetings on an ad hoc basis.  
2.24.  The Committee actively engages with other organizations, as necessary and appropriate, and 
has received numerous detailed submissions23 from these organizations on specific issues, inc luding 
on the COVID -19 pandemic and the recently launched deliberations on food insecurity.  
2.3.5   Work with other Committees or WTO bodies  
2.25.  The Committee liaises with other relevant bodies on matters of common interest commonly 
through the Secretariat staff servicing those bodies.  
 
__________  
 
23 Accessible in the G/AG/GEN/series.  