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WT/REG/M/107  
 
21 July 2023 
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Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundredth  and Seventh  Session    
 
  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 5 JULY  2023  
Chair: Ambassador H.E. Ms. Clare KELLY (New Zealand)  
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1.1.  The 10 7th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/3 2/Rev.1 dated 23 June 2023.  
1.2.  The Chair welcomed Members  to the 10 7th Session of the CRTA  and reminded them  that the 
meeting w as subject to a hybrid approach, with some Members in the room and others connecting 
remotely through Interprefy . The Airgram set out the draft agenda.  
1.3.  The Committee adopted  the following agenda :  
 Adoption of the Agenda  
 Early announcements ( http://rtais.wto.org ) 
 Notification of Regional Trade Agreements  
(I) Free Trade Free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and New 
Zealand, goods and services ( WT/REG472/N/1  – S/C/N/1137 ) 
(II) Free trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and Australia, goods 
and services ( WT/REG471/N/1  – S/C/N/1136 ) 
(III)  Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Cambodia, 
goods (WT/REG470/N/1 ) 
(IV) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Indonesia and 
the Republic of Korea, goods a nd services ( WT/REG469/N/1  – 
S/C/N/1135 ) 
(V) Comprehensive  and Progressive Agreement for  Trans -Pacific  Partnership 
(CPTPP) , goods and services – entry into force for Brunei Darussalam 
(WT/REG395/N/5 ) – S/C/N/920/Add.4 ) 
(VI) Free Trade Agreement between El Salvador, Honduras and the Separate 
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, goods and 
services – Notification of suspension between El Salvador and the 
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu 
(WT/REG283/N/2  - S/C/N/544/Add.1 ) WT/REG/M/107  
 
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 Notification of changes to existing RTAs  
(I) Free Trade Agreement between Hong Kong, China and Chile, services 
(S/C/N/773/Add.1 ) 
(II) Free Trade Agreement between Iceland , Liechtenstein and Norway  and 
the United Kingdom , goods and services (WT/REG459/N/2/Add.1 -
S/C/N/1072/add.3)  
E. Non-notified RTA s (WT/REG/W/17 8) 
F. Status on the preparation of factual presentations (WT/REG/W /179) 
G. Improvements to the functioning of the CRTA to better serve Members:  
(I)  Fulfilling the mandate and strengthening the function of the CRTA – 
Communication from China (WT/REG/W/180)  
(II) Report by the Chairperson of the informal consultations held on  2 and 4 
May 2023 (JOB/REG/7) and on 22 June 2023 
(III)  Update by the Secretariat on procedural and other suggestions  
(IV) Communication from the United States (WT/REG/W/174) and comments 
from Members (JOB/REG/6/REV.1)  
H. Consideration of Regional Trade Agreements  
(I)  Free Trade Agreement between the Member States of the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Hong Kong, China, goods and 
services (WT/REG448/1, WT/REG448/2)  
(II) Free Trade Agreement between the EFTA  States and Türkiye, goods and 
services (WT/REG462/1, WT/REG462/2)  
(III) Comprehensive  and Progressive Agreement for  Trans -Pacific  Partnership 
(CPTPP), entry into force for Peru, goods and  services 
(WT/REG395/1/Add.8, WT/REG395/4)  
(IV) Partnership, Trade a nd Cooperation Agreement between the United 
Kingdom and North Macedonia, goods and services (WT/REG438/1, 
WT/REG438/2)  
I. Consideration of Regional Trade Agreements with Non-members  
(I) Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United 
Kingdom and S erbia, goods and services (WT/REG455/1, WT/REG455/2)  
J. Other Business  
B. EARLY ANNOUNCEMENTS  
1.4.  The Chair indicated that no early announcements had been received since 2019. She invited 
all Members that were active in negotiating RTAs to accordingly inform the  Committee of recent 
developments. She also reminded Members to inform the Secretariat of any changes in the status 
of early announcements.  WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  C. NOTIFICATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
1.5.  The Chair indicated that six new notifications had been received since the 10 7th Session of the 
CRTA. Of these  four were new RTAs, one referred to the entry into force of an existing agreement 
for one Party, and the last was about the termination of an agreement. The notifications were as 
follows , and she opene d the floor separately for each Agreement : 
I. Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and New Zealand, goods and services 
(WT/REG472/N/1  – S/C/N/1137 ) 
II. Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and Australia, goods and se rvices 
(WT/REG471/N/1  – S/C/N/1136 ) 
III. Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Cambodia, goods 
(WT/REG470/N/1 ) 
IV. Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Indonesia and the Republic of 
Korea, goods and services ( WT/REG469/N/1  – S/C/N/1135 ) 
V. Comprehensive  and Progressive Agreement for  Trans -Pacific  Partnership (CPTPP) , goods 
and services – entry into force for Brunei Darussalam ( WT/REG395/N/5 ) – 
S/C/N/920/Add.4 ) 
VI. Free Trade Agreement between El Salvador, Honduras and the Separate Customs Territory 
of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, goods and services – Notification of suspension 
between El Salvador and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and 
Matsu  (WT/REG283/N/2  - S/C/N/544/Add.1 ) 
1.6.  The Chair noted that on agenda item C.V I a similar notification had also been recently received 
from El Salvador and had been circulated in document WT/REG283/N/3 – S/C/N/544/Add.2. That 
notification had however been submitted after the deadline for the Airgram closed and  would 
therefore be included in the Airgram to be circulated prior to the September CRTA meeting.  
1.7.  The representative of El Salvador  thank ed the Secretariat for its efforts in preparing for the 
meeting and for including the information related to its notification in the Airgram. In compliance 
with the requirements established for notificat ions of regional trade agreements, the  Republic of El 
Salvador had made the notification relating to the termination of the Free Trade Agreement between 
the Separate Customs Territory of Taipei, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu and the Republic of El Salvador 
and the Republic of Honduras from 7 November 2022 in document WT/REG283/N/3 and 
S/C/N/544/Add.2.  
1.8.  The representative of the Separate Customs Territory of Taipei, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu 
(Chinese Taipei)  thank ed the Secretariat for including its notification i n the Airgram . Regarding  the 
status of its Free Trade Agreement with the Republic of El Salvador and the Republic of Honduras , 
its position ha d been reflected in document s WT/REG283/N/2 and S/C/N/544/Add.1 as of 13 April 
2023. The operation  of the FTA  between the Separate Customs Territory of Taipei, Penghu, Kinmen 
and Matsu and the Republic of El Salvador ha d been suspended from 15 May 2023.  
D. NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES TO E XISTING RTAS  
1.9.  The Chair indicated that two notification s of changes had been received since the 10 6th Session 
of the CRTA :  
I. Free Trade Agreement between Hong Kong, China and Chile, services (S/C/N/773/Add.1)  
II. Free Trade Agreement between Iceland, Liechtenst ein and Norway and the United Kingdom, 
goods and services (WT/REG459/N/2/Add.1 -S/C/N/1072/add.3)  
E. NON-NOTIFIED  RTAS  
1.10.  The Chair stated that an updated list of non -notified RTAs had been recently circulated as 
WT/REG/W/17 8. The list contained 5 6 RTAs issued in factual presentations up to 20 June 2023. 
Compared to the list issued in  March 2023 (WT/REG/W/17 5), three RTAs had been rem oved while 
three had been added.  WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  1.11.  The representative of China  noted  that some agreements had not been included in the list of 
non-notified RTAs. He was curious if such agreements constitute d an RTA . For example , the 
Agreement between the Government of the U nited States of America and the Government of Japan 
on Strengthening Critical Mineral Supply Chain s had not been notified ; however, the USTR website 
had placed it under the item of FTAs. He asked  if the Parties could  clarify whether the Agreement 
constitut ed an FTA under Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 or Article V of the GATS . 
1.12.  The representative of the United States  thanked China for the question. He thought it was a 
good question  and had been  wondering when that would  come up in the Committee . He stated that 
the U nited States notified its agreements to the CRTA as appropriate , and the United States and 
Japan had not notified the Critical Minerals Agreement ( CMA) to the WTO  as a "free trade area" 
within the meaning of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 . The Department of Treasury's April 2023 notice 
of proposed rulemaking had propose d a definition of "free trade agreement" to implement a provision 
of the Inflation Reduction Act that amend ed the US Tax Law. Applying that definition, the Treasury 
had proposed to designate Japan as a "country with which the United States ha d a free trade 
agreement in effect".  The CMA with Japan  was not a regional trade agreement within the meaning 
of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 as it did not provide any new market access or preferential terms 
of trade. He hoped he had responded  to China's question.  
1.13.  The representative of China  thanked the United States for the clarifications.  
F. STATUS ON THE PREPARATION OF FACTUAL PRESENTATIONS  
1.14.  As regards the preparation of factual presentations under the remit of the CRTA – in the case 
of RTAs involving WTO Members only – there were 5 2 RTAs for which a factual presentation had to 
be prepared, c ounting goods and services separately.  Factual presentations on a further 3 5 RTAs 
involving non -members were to be prepared, counting goods and services separately, as previously 
agreed by the Committee. Factual presentations for seven other services agree ments were on hold, 
pending the negotiation of services commitments. Of th ese, one involved non -WTO members. An 
updated list of all such RTAs had been recently circulated as document WT/REG/W/17 9/Rev.1 . 
1.15.  The representative of India requested a  factual  correction to the table regarding the date of 
the data received for India - United Arab Emirates Agreement  which  stated that data had been 
received from India on 14 February 2023, but he requested it to be changed to 13 February 2023 , 
as it had been requested i n the previous meeting . 
1.16.  The Chair passed the floor to the Secretariat to provide the Committee with more detail s on 
the status of the preparation of factual presentations.  
1.17.  A representative of the Secretariat  provided the following information.   
1.18.  Concerning Agreements among Members, comments from the Parties had been received and 
factual presentations would be circulated for the next meeting  for UK-Albania (goods and services) , 
but final comments were still awa ited from the Parties. For EFTA – Indonesia (goods and services)  
comments from the Parties were also awaited . For UK-Georgia (goods and services) a draft factual 
presentation had been sent to the Parties for comment s. Factual presentations were being drafted 
for UK -Viet Nam, and UK-Ecuador , Peru and Columbia  (all goods and services ), the ASEAN FTA 
(goods), and ASEAN -Japan (services) . For EU -Papua New Guinea , Fiji, ( goods ) data was awaited 
from Fiji but with regard to the accession to that agreement by Samoa  and the Solomon Islands, 
data had been received  and the Secretariat would start to draft the factual presentation . For ECOWAS 
(goods ), some data had been received from some of the Parties , but the data was not complete . For 
India-UAE ( services ), data had been  due on 13 February 2023  and had been received  from India 
and the Secretariat was drafting the factual presentation while awaiting the data from the UAE . For 
the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services, most of the data had been received from  the Parties. 
For EFTA -GCC, data had been  due on 23 December 2022, and had been received from EFTA only. 
For the GCC ( goods ), responses were awaited from the Parties to questions  raised by Members .  
1.19.  With regard to agreements involving  the U nited Kingdom , data was complete for some 
agreement s, however, as agreed with the United Kingdom, the Secretariat would go slowly through 
these factual presentations . For a number of other agreements involving the U nited Kingdom , data 
had been received from the UK but not  from the other partners. Data requests had also been sent WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  for the most recent notifications. They were due on 3 August  2023 for Israel -Colombia (goods and 
services), 1 September 2023 for UK -Australia and UK -New Zealand , and by 6 and  13 November 
2023 for Indonesia -Korea  and Korea -Cambodia . For the ratifications by Chile and Malaysia of the 
CPTPP , data ha d been received , and data for the ratification by Brunei Darussalam of the CPTPP was 
due on  30 August  2023. The Secretariat ha d agreed  with the Parties that it would  draft one single 
factual presentation for all three ratifications.  
1.20.  With regard to factual presentations involving non -WTO members,  the Secretariat had  sent 
for comments the factual presentation for PACER Plus ( goods  and serv ices), which were due on 19 
July 2023 . For the CIS Agreement ( goods ) some comments had been received but not from all the 
Parties. For the EAEU -Iran Agreement ( goods ), data had been due on 22 June 2020 and no data had 
been received  from any of the Parties . For the EAEU -Serbia Agreement ( goods ) data had been 
received only from Serbia. For the accession of the Comoros to the EU -ESA Agreement data had 
been due on 30 March 2021 and  had been received only from the EU. For UK -Faeroe Islands, UK-
Lebanon, and UK -Cariforum, data had been due on 5 May 2021,  and was still awaited from the non -
UK parties. For UK -Palestine, data had been due on 10 May 2021 and had been received only from 
the UK . For Türkiye -Kosovo and UK -Kosovo data had been received . For Türkiye -Faeroe Islands, 
data had been due on 12 January  2023, and was still due from the Faeroe Islands.  
1.21.  For the following agreements data was not complete: EFTA -Lebanon, Türkiye -Syria, 
Ukraine -Azerbaijan, Ukraine -Turkmenistan, and the Russian Federa tion-Turkmenistan (all goods ). 
The data requests had been made a few years ago.  
1.22.  The representative of Indonesia  thank ed the Secretariat for the information on the latest 
status of the agreements related to Indonesia and ASEAN. Regarding the EFTA - Indonesi a 
Agreement , he inform ed the Committee  that comments from capital had been  received , and he 
would inform the Secretariat at the first opportunity.  
1.23.  The representative of Senegal , echoing the information provided by the  Secretariat that data 
had been  received from some  of the  Parties  for 2019 -2020, he recalled that out of  fifteen  ECOWAS 
Member States,  four countries had communicated the information required for the preparation of 
the factual presentation . To facilitate the process, he suggested that the Secretariat reach out to the 
Member States of ECOWAS in Geneva  to organize an informal meeting. He also mentioned recent 
discussions in the WTO Committee on Market Access regarding the  renegotiations o f tariff 
concessions  by the ECOWAS Member States . He suggested t he Secretariat could get  in touch with 
Ghana, who was the ECOWAS coordinat or. In his view, s uch an informal meeting could help  to 
relaunch the file that had been  going on for too long  and would  allow the Parties  to communicate 
the necessary information  to the Secretariat  and to move things forward for preparing the factual 
presentation on ECOWAS .  
1.24.  The representative of the United States  encourag ed Members  to provide the required full set 
of data and information i n order for the Secretariat to complete the drafting of outstanding factual 
presentations.  
G. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE FUNCTIONING OF THE CRTA TO BETTER SERVE MEMBERS  
1.25.  The Chair noted Members' significant engagement in improving the Committee's work to 
better serve the Membership . Since the communication from the United States in January, there had 
been a number of consultations and the Secretariat ha d already started making a few incremental 
changes. She suggested addressing  Agenda  item G.I first by giving the floor to China to introduce 
its recent communication, to be followed by reactions from Members. Items G. II, G.III and G.IV 
would  follow. At the end of the formal exchange, she planned  to move into informal mode to give 
Members the opportunity for a more consistent  and comprehensive discussion. She planned to  
summarize the discussions and refer to possible next steps once back in formal mode.  
G.I  Fulfilling the mandate and strengthening the function of the CRTA – Communication 
from China (WT/RE G/W/180)  
 
1.26.  The representative of China  stated that China had expressed its position on improving the 
function ing of the CRTA by responding to the US questionnaire, joining the discussion at that meeting 
of the CRTA and participating in  the Chair's informal consultations. China appreciated the efforts by WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  the Chair and Members to improve the function ing of the CRTA through meetings and written 
opinions. To invoke more innovative and practical tools and approaches to improve the CRTA, China 
had submitted a proposal on 22 June 2023 in the document "Fulfilling the mandate and the 
strengthening the function of the CRTA", WT/REG/W/180.  
1.27.  China believe d that reviewing consistency between RTAs and the WTO rules and their system ic 
implications for the multilateral trading system was an important mandate of the CRTA and one of 
its key value s. It believed that t he CRTA currently face d certain difficulties in  achieving its mandate , 
as the number of RTAs had been  constantly increasing, its form constantly changing and its content  
constantly enriched, which had added a challenge to the CRTA's ability to fulfil its mandate.  
1.28.  China believe d that the CRTA should  consider enhancing its function in the following areas to 
achieve its mandate : on CRTA working procedure s, improving the efficiency of the CRTA's work 
through various means such as digitalization was very important. There ha d been some good 
practices in othe r committees and the Chair ha d also taken many suggestions from Members into 
the work plan. China was willing to work with all Members to actively propose more feasible 
suggestions for optimizing the working procedure.  
1.29.  On transparency and notification comp liance , China believe d that a large number of non-
notified and untimely notified RTAs ha d affected the RTA T ransparency Mechanism. The CRTA and 
the Secretariat should better serve Members , especially developing Members , to solve their 
difficulties in notification. The CRTA could help to strengthen Member's capacity building on 
notification s and to reduce Members' notification  costs. China encourage d developing Members, 
especially the LDCs, to participate in that discussi on and jointly improve the work on notification s. 
1.30.  On the monitoring function of the CRTA, China believe d that it was important to encourage 
the CRTA to better implement the mandate to discuss the systemic implication s of RTAs for the 
multilateral trading s ystem. Other than revising the content of factual presentation s, new tools and 
approach es could also be explored to better implement its monitoring function. In addition, like 
many other Members , China ha d witnessed many new forms of  RTAs and new provision s in RTAs 
were emerging. China believe d that the CRTA should make its unique contribution to monitoring the 
consistency of these RTAs and their provisions with the WTO rules. China was willing to work with 
all Members to discuss effective ways to strengthe n the monitoring function of the CRTA.  
1.31.  In conclusion , China hope d that its proposal could serve as a reference for  discussion s on 
improving the function ing of the CRTA. It was willing to work with all Members to support the CRTA 
in better fulfilling its mandate, increasing participation and activit ies, and promoting the 
development of WTO reform in the right direction.  
1.32.  The representative of the United States  thank ed China for it s very thoughtful and constructive 
communication . His delegation certainly agree d with China that there was some space and room to 
strengthen the functioning of the CRTA. He agree d that the CRTA enjoy ed a fairly expansive mandate 
to voluntarily, he underli ned, voluntarily , explore new directions in trade policy as suggested by new 
initiatives.  
1.33.  In line with the sentiment  that had been  expressed by India during the CRTA informal 
consultations , in reference to  paragraph 1 .D of the CRTA 's Terms of Reference1 "to consider the 
systemic implications of such agreements and regional initiatives for the multilateral trading 
system", there was  an expansive mandate to explore some of those new emerging issues on a 
voluntary basis . The United States ha d been very consi stent and saw value in sharing those 
experiences and knowledge and was only limited by  the appetite to do so and  what was required.  
He also mentioned the discussion he had had with the representative of India about what the 
mandate  of the CRTA  was, what was in and outside of the mandate  and what Members were obliged 
to do and what they could  voluntarily do.  
1.34.  With respect to the consistency of an RTA with the WTO rules , the point was about whether 
or not an agreement fell within the meaning of Article XXIV o f the GATT . In his view, the obligation 
was to notify an agreement of a preferential nature that ha d a market access component. He would 
not call a  lot of agreement s RTAs because they were  not within the meaning of Article XXIV of the 
 
1 WTO d ocument WT/L/127 , 7 February 1996.  WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  GATT ; but a lot of the new economic initiatives contain ed novel provisions that many Members were 
pursuing . He believed  that within the CRTA 's expansive mandate there was scope to discuss those 
types of issues on a voluntary basis. The United State s was under no obligation t o notify the CMA 
because in its view that Agreement  fell outside of Article XXIV of the GATT . It might however be 
willing to discuss that agreement in the future on a voluntary basis.  
1.35.  In conclusion, h e agree d with China on the working procedures of the CRT A. He reiterated 
the position of the United States to try new things and to have a culture of change . He did not  feel 
the need to micromanage the Secretariat.  
1.36.  The representative of the United Kingdom  welcome d China's communication and encourage d 
all Member s to continue sharing pragmatic ideas that prioritise d the "reform by doing" process that 
had been  undertaken across the WTO . The UK ha d submitted a compilation of inputs on the 
functioning of the CTG  and its  subsidiary bodies  which  had, in his view,  some helpful suggestions. 
While each WTO body was empowered to look at its own functioning and to proceed with reforms 
that made sense to its specific reality and practice, looking at the discussions in the majority of the 
WTO bodies could help eliminate  unnecessary  discussions and provide a good benchmark for the 
CRTA.  
1.37.  The representative of India thank ed China for its submission , which  had significant idea s for 
discussion. One thing that had been  agree d, was incremental reforms by doing, making small 
changes  that all ha d been working  on. On other ideas , fruitful discussion s had been held in the 
informal meeting held by the Chair. He noted that  new terms had been heard that day, for example  
"expansive mandate" and "voluntary ideas" . He hoped that there would be further discussion s on 
that in informal mode. Like other Members, India had also submitted  suggestions for implementing 
reforms in the work of the Committee, as well as  in the WTO. He noted that there was significant 
scope for implementing  those incremental reforms to improv e the functioning of the CRTA . 
G.II Report by the Chairperson of the informal consultations held on 2 and 4 May 2023 
(JOB/REG/7) and on 22 June 2023   
 
1.38.  The Chair recall ed that since the last CRTA  meeting in March, two rounds of informal 
consultations  had been organized . One -to-one consultations had been held on 2 and 4 May 2023 
with 13 Members who had responded positively to the Chair's invitation. The consultations had been 
grouped under three br oad themes: procedural suggestions; thematic discussions; and matters 
requiring further discussion among Members. She had also invited comments on what Members had 
wanted from the Committee. The Chair's report on those consultations had been circulated as 
JOB/REG/7.  
1.39.  On 7 June 2023 the Chair had  invited Members to an informal meeting of the CRTA. At that 
meeting, she had  updated Members on her consultations and  delegations had pursued the debate 
on improving the functioning of the CRTA. Discussions had been again organized around the same 
themes - namely issues which the Secretariat had already fully or partially implemented; thematic 
sessions ; and a variety of other issues which still require d further discussion between Members.  
1.40.  With respect to procedural changes implemented by the Secretariat , general support had been 
shown for empowering the Secretariat to make sensible procedural changes. There was no need for 
the Committee to micro -manage the work of the Secretariat; Members had shown  confide nce in the 
good sense of the Secretariat.  The need to ensure coherence between reforms proposed and 
implemented in the CRTA and in other bodies in light of parallel discussions being held elsewhere 
should be kept under review by the Committee.  India had ra ised concerns on the proposal to 
circulate factual presentations in one single batch, compared to current procedures of circulating as 
and when the factual presentation was finalized. In trying to take into account other views, the Chair 
had invited Members to reflect on trying the single batch  approach for some meetings and to take 
stock after some time. She planned to revert to that during the informal discussions.  
1.41.  With respect to thematic sessions , the Committee had held a useful discussio n reflecting a 
wide range of views. The following had been raised as options to consider in that debate:  the extent 
to which any such thematic discussions were aligned with the Committee's mandate  and if there was 
no conflict, th ose could be held; otherwis e, the Committee could, if it so wished, work on expanding 
its mandate. There was general satisfaction with the way in which the Committee had discharged  its WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  duties , with some delegates believing that improvements could be made.  Thematic discussions could 
be jointly organized by the CRTA and another WTO body – without necessarily meaning the 
organization of back -to-back meetings.  Members could also envisage organizing seminars as had 
been done previously in the WTO.  Interest had been shown in making the bes t use of resources in 
all WTO Committees.  While she had  sense d a willingness from some Members to engage further 
along this road, some Members d id not support this initiative.  She had  proposed that the Committee 
reflect on scheduling a thematic session for  the second part of the year to see and test Members ' 
appetite for such an exercise.  The suggestion had been made that the term "gender" in the list of 
possible issues to be addressed be replaced by "women's economic empowerment".  The broad 
nature of item 1.D of the Committee's Terms of Reference had been noted.  Organizing thematic 
sessions on various "systemic issues", as had previously been discussed in the Committee, had been 
suggested. In that respect  the Secretariat had clarified that the list of systemic issues had been 
developed on the basis of issues that had appeared at that time during the examination of RTAs in 
the Committee;  it would appear that there would be no conflict with the Committee's mandate if 
informal seminars were organized on RT A-related issues;  and it had also been suggested that the 
Secretariat could prepare inputs for discussions on systemic issues.  
1.42.  With respect to issues requiring further discussion , a useful discussion had been held on some 
items. Very few delegations had ta ken the floor.  The Committee should aim at identifying in July 
those issues where there was a convergence of views and those which need ed further discussions.  
1.43.  In conclusion, she noted that there had been  general support – or no disagreements on - 
fewer mee tings, 3 instead of the current 4 meetings a year, shorter factual presentations, the 
addition of an executive summary and that novelties in RTAs be highlighted.  
1.44.  The representative of India thanked the Chair for  the brief on the informal meeting on 22  
June 2023. He noted that o ne issue  that had come  up time and again was that there were certain 
ideas which the Committee should be experimenting with and trying for a few meetings, and then 
maybe amending it, even though Members currently had a different view on that . That view on 
whether the Committee should  actually be going ahead on  an experiment al basis had not crystallized 
because the experiment al basis also require d certain resources from Members . In those 
experiment s, if significant chan ges were required , they could introduce  distortion s. On the circulation 
of factual presentation s in one batch , India did  not actually see much benefit  to it. There was  a 
capacity issue, for example, if a Member got five factual presentations in one day and  had to report 
back to the capital and then got back feedback from the capital  - that was  a resource issue, a 
capacity issue for Members , for example developing countries,  that already faced capacity 
constraints. He did not see  much of an issue with the se gregated and stepwise  sending out  of 
prepared factual presentations to Members. He was not sure  why th ose changes had been required 
and how  they would  help the Committee, so before moving even to implementation on an 
experiment al basis, he requested further discussion on that issue .  
1.45.  On thematic sessions , following discussions  that day and during the informal meeting  about 
the precision of the mandate , what Article XXIV of the GATT meant and what could be covered there 
mandatorily , the best way forward, if Members wanted to know about new ideas, was the scope of 
the mandate of the Committee , which was limited. Systemic issues which had implications for the 
multilateral trading system needed to be identified in the context of the mandate of th e Committee  
with reference to what had been discussed that day about  what Article XXIV of the GATT  entail ed. 
He suggested that before planning the thematic discussion, the Committee  should be looking at what 
was the best way forward on information sharing on new ideas and how the Secretariat could pitch 
in there. As regards the list of issues mentioned for thematic discussions under para 2.2, there were 
various for a where th ose discussions were already happening . In the CRTA , Members were more 
concerned about the monitoring mechanism  and transparency . He noted that  in fact a number of 
issues had been raised  such as capacity  constraints which had resulted in  Members  not being  able 
to provide information  and as a result  factual presentations could  not be prepared ; and a number of 
RTAs were not being reported or pending . If Member s wanted to know about novel ideas , he 
suggested asking the Secretariat to hold sessions as in the past.  As regards the issues requiring 
further discussion under para. 3, he agreed that  on certain issues there had been  general agreement, 
for example on reducing the number of meetings or making a factual presentation precise, but there 
were other issues where Members had  had concerns , which could be further discussed  in the i nformal 
session . There were also other issues like the meaning of  a comparison of "ambitious RTAs ", issues 
affecting third  parties and issues around involvement of outside stakeholders.  WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  1.46.  The representative of Canada  thanked India for its comments. In his personal experience, 
circulating factual presentations in a single batch required fewer  resources when a number of factual 
presentations could be sent to the capital  all at once instead of in a piecemeal fashion. He personally 
found it more challenging to attract  the attention of busy colleagues  in capital when they received a 
variety of e -mails with regard to a single Committee that met a limited number of times per year. 
He noted, that far from the intention to make  it more challenging for other delegations to complete 
their work on factual presentations, if the majority of delegations at the Committee, including from 
developing countries, were of the view that multiple emails with various factual presentations were 
more useful or easy on resources , Canada believed that  it could be appropriate to continue with the 
current practice.  
1.47.  The representative of the United States  thanked the Chair for her report on the informal 
consultations. His delegation believed in the "tr y and see" culture. If the circulation of factual 
presentations in one batch was too much of a resource constraint for delegations such as India and 
others, he suggested to try it first and if it did not work then it could be  change d. But the important 
point was to try, to advance and try to continually improve.  On the thematic sessions and whether 
or not they require d consensus , the United States continue d to see value in holding them. In 
response to India's question about the mandate and that the scope of the mandate was limited to 
systemic issues  of such agreements and regional initiatives , how could one identify systemic issues  
if India was limiting the ability of Members to talk about the systemic issues from their perspective s. 
He did not understand why the Committee would task the Secretariat to identify systemic issues 
when there was  a whole room of Members that could share their experiences on the novel issues  
and their perspectives  on the systemic implications of such agreements and regional initiatives on 
the multilateral trading system.  
1.48.  The representative of New Zealand  thanked the Chair for the report and consultations as well 
as the delegations that had  submitted papers. New Zea land strongly supported reform by doing. 
With regard to  the first section of the Chair's report,  there w ere a number of straightforward 
procedural and helpful practical suggestions that had been  made . From the discussions that day , 
China's paper and other papers, there appeared to be a great deal of agreement  in the Committee , 
for example that  the Secretariat should feel empowered to take practical steps and to move forward 
where it was clear that it could be helpful to the Committee.  
1.49.  New Zealand was  broad ly supportive of the notion of thematic sessions that would be informal 
with the participation of Members and what Member s would bring to that would be of a voluntary 
nature. There were other Committees in which information was being b rought for the benefit of the 
wider Membership of what was happening in regional trade agreement negotiations but also in other 
fora. T here was value in learning from the experience of what each  Member was doing in RTAs, 
including in newer areas that were pushing the boundaries that Members were  grappling with in the 
WTO in coming to grips with an understanding of them . Members could benefit from experience in 
RTAs in informal mode.  
1.50.  On the question of circulating factual presentations in a single batch  or not, in her opinion  
there was a relatively easy practical way to resolve that . They could  be circulated as they were 
received and then circulated in a reminder e -mail contain ing all of  them in one batch in the requisite 
period of time - 12 weeks before the CRTA. If it did not add too much to the Secretariat's workload, 
factual presentations  could  continue to be circulate d as and when they were ready and then a 
reminder email could be sent with the batch so that  Members did not neglect the fact that something  
had been circulated much earlier.  
1.51.  The representative of China  reiterated his opinion and reminded Members of China's  proposal. 
He agreed that the trial approach to improve the procedure s of the CRTA was very good, however 
there may be advantages or disadvantages of some suggestions. He suggested trying things that all 
Members agree d on at the first stage. On thematic sessions, China saw a lot of interest from 
Members in talking about those issue s. Looking at the list of sug gested topics, China saw two kinds 
of issues. One that was unique to the CRTA, for example,  new types of RTAs and other types of 
agreements, which could not be discussed in any other Committee. China  believed that  issues  such 
as e-commerce and environment  in RTAs were different from those in the WTO, but resources were 
limited , thus he suggested trying something unique in the CRTA which might be more valu able for 
Members.  WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  1.52.  The representative of the Republic of Korea  thanked the Chair and the Secretariat for  the 
comprehensive report and continued efforts in enhancing the functioning of the Committee. Joining 
others, Korea believed that it would be conducive to try and  enhanc e the Committee by trying some 
additional approaches, including as suggested by other delegations. In order to seek the CRTA's 
improvement, it might be beneficial for Members to try  and see  whether th e new approache s might 
have been beneficial and useful for the whole Membership, and then alter some of them as 
appropriate . In his view that was a kind of "reform by doing". A thematic session was also one of 
the things that Members could approach in th e same  way, so it would be possible for Members to 
hold a thematic session in the upcoming period  and then decide  whether that might have been 
beneficial and whether it could genuinely enhanc e Members' awareness of that issue. Instead of 
making a final decision on a specific point at that point in time, he suggested trying to improve the 
Committee for the benefit of the whole Membership.  
1.53.  The representative of the European Union  appreciated the good discussion on improving the 
functioning of the Committee. The latest exchanges among Members during the informal meeting in 
June as well as that day, had show n that there was a lot of interest a nd shared objectives in 
improving the Committee's work.  The EU appreciated that procedural and other suggestions were 
already being implemented and it supported the Secretariat's continued work on those matters . 
1.54.  On the issue of thematic sessions, the EU shared the objective of increasing the value of 
Committee work. She noted a clear benefit in exchanges and more interactive engagement in areas 
of interest. Thematic sessions would bring further value to the Committee 's work and inject more 
dynamism into the  current, very limited discussions among Members who did not show great interest 
in the Committee 's work.  Such sessions could aim to increas e interactive engagement in areas of 
interest, new types of agreements, and trade agreements, such as bilateral or r egional digital trade 
agreements, that went beyond traditional market access issues. The EU hoped that thematic 
sessions could support more interactive engagement in areas of interest, while on many new issues 
there would be value in ‘de -siloing the Organi sation’ and bringing together the expertise of various 
WTO bodies and external stakeholders where appropriate.  Considering the importance and number 
of RTAs in the trading system as well as their potential contribution to future multilateral 
negotiations, it was very important to encourage greater participation, and if there was consensus, 
the EU would support holding the first session already in the second half of the year.  
1.55.  The EU saw  that important discussion as part of the broader WTO reform effort, whic h 
envision ed improving all the organisation's functions, including the deliberative and monitoring 
functions of which the CRTA was an important component, as well as discussions in the context of 
the 7th Appraisal of the TPRM, from which a deliberation on the CRTA could also draw lessons and 
ideas.  On the remaining specific issues, the EU  had expressed its views during the informal meeting 
in June and  appreciate d hearing the views of other Members.  
1.56.  The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked the Chair for holding informal consultations 
in May 2023.  He appreciated the improvements that the Secretariat had already made, like including 
hyperlinks in Airgrams and fast distribution of the minutes, which had helped to improve the 
functionin g of the Committee. There was a range of other practical steps that the United Kingdom 
supported: introductory sessions on the CRTA for Geneva and capital officials, advance circulation 
of the dates of the meetings, which were very helpful to the UK delega tion in organizing its work.  
He also supported innovations that would enrich discussions in the Committee as well as organizing 
informal thematic sessions, that would be separate from the CRTA meetings, and allowing the 
inclusion of experts from other WTO Committees and international organizations as well as business, 
academia, civil society organizations. The United Kingdom also supported increasing attendance by 
technical experts from capitals, either in the CRTA meetings themselves or in the informal the matic 
sessions.  
1.57.  The representative of Canada  believed that transparency was essential for the activities of 
the CRTA. Discussions aimed at improving those activities were appreciated and Canada was happy 
to participate in them. Canada thanked Members for their contributions on that important issue as  
well as  the Chair and the Secretariat for their outstanding work in moving that issue forward.  Canada 
supported the work already undertaken by the Secretariat to improve Airgrams and communications  
to Members, including the consolidation of factual presentations. Ideas such as revising the template 
used for factual presentations and including executive summaries, were also welcome. Canada also 
supported holding thematic sessions, including to highli ght or discuss further rules that were 
innovative or of systemic interest in  RTAs which were  good candidate s in the spirit of "reform by WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  doing ". Canada believe d that it was relevant to explore ways to improve technical support for 
delegations in order to facilitate their work when preparing for the  consideration of their RTAs . 
Canada remained  ready and motivated to work to facilitate the implementation of practical and 
concr ete improvements on the activities of the Committee.  
G.III Update by the Secretariat on procedural and other suggestions  
 
1.58.  The representative of the Secretariat  reported on procedural changes  made by the Secretariat 
or in progress.  On Airgrams , hyperlinks had been added to all documents . A reminder had been 
added with the early Airgram (issued 6 weeks before the meeting) of the date on which the final 
revised Airgram would close . The early Airgram for the next CRTA meeting in September was due 
to be issued soon and the Secretariat would  follow that practice . 
1.59.  On m inutes of meetings , the Secretariat had  always striven to issue them as soon as possible 
but would now ensure they were issued within 2 weeks of the meeting  if not earlier . 
1.60.  The Secretariat also present ed its proposals for making the programme  of consideration of 
RTAs available on the websit e, to assist delegations in tracking progress on the preparation of factual 
presentations and their consideration by the CRTA. A prototype of the RTA consideration  calendar 
offered several key features:  the dates of the upcoming Committee meetings,  a list of RTAs that 
were scheduled for consideration at each Committee meeting and  an up -to-date status of 
corresponding factual presentations.  It also provided direct access to all the documents related to 
the RTAs and factual presentations once they had been issued. The calendar would offer a snapshot 
of the RTAs scheduled for consideration at the Committee's meetings and would be available online  
once internal technical consultations regarding its placement had been  finalized. In addition , the 
Secretariat presented a dashboard that provided information relevant to the notified RTA and 
progress in preparing the factual presentation. The information  was also summarized at the bottom 
of the dashboard for easy reference. Members could also use filters to identify RTAs by country or 
customs territory to have an idea of the stage of the consideration process for RTAs involving that 
specific country or cu stoms territory. It was also possible to filter by a specific CRTA meeting. As in 
the RTA consideration calendar, all RTAs were linked to the RTA database, in case further information 
was needed either on the factual presentation or a particular RTA. The d ashboard also included 
information on the RTA's coverage; details of the consideration process, including the deadlines for 
the data submission, comments on the factual presentation and replies to questions raised by other 
Members; the status of the factua l presentation; and a schedule or tentative date of the CRTA 
meeting in which that particular RTA would be considered. Additional remarks relevant for a 
particular RTA were reflected in the last column. Th us, while the first tool provided Members with a 
snapshot of what the current situation was regarding the agreements to be considered in future 
meetings, the second one provided details on exactly where the agreements were in the 
consideration process.  
1.61.  In addition, as had been requested, the Secretariat w ould be issuing a tentative workplan for 
2024 at the last meeting that year. It would  be subject to change , but the changes would be reflected 
on the programme made available online.  The Secretariat had  also started sending out the initial 
letter with the proposed schedule for consideration along with the data request. A revised letter 
would be sent when the factual presentation was  sent for comment to Parties .  
1.62.  On factual presentations , their circulation to Members would not be  in batches but as and 
when they bec ame available.  A draft summary of a factual presentation would  be circulated at the 
next meeting and if Members agree d, the Secretariat could  work to make them part of factual 
presentations more systematically.  The Secre tariat was also working to reduce the size of its factual 
presentations. That require d to some extent summarizing language in RTA texts and therefore 
Members should be aware that the factual presentation was a summary and did not necessarily 
repeat the leg al language in the text.   
1.63.  On introductory sessions , a first session of such a presentation was proposed for 20 
September (am) and 21 September (pm) 2023 to facilitate participation by all capital colleagues as 
well. A convening note would be sent out short ly.  
1.64.  The representative of China  thanked the  Chair and the  Secretariat for the remarkable 
presentations. China saw a lot of value in what had been already  done; the new tools were very WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  useful for all Members, especially for developing Members . He wished the information could be 
provided  to all Member s, especially developing Members, for reference  after th e meeting .  
1.65.  The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked the Secretariat for presenting the new 
tools,  both of which  looked useful. He noted that for the United Kingdom, which  provid ed the 
Committee with regular input, it would be  helpful to keep track of where they were  and what their 
homework remain ed to be done. On the issue of circulating factual presentations, he noted that 
because  there were resource implications , circulating factual presentations in one batch  could lead 
to delays with producing  timely  feedback . Circulating factual presentations in a batch could work if 
the Secretariat had started preparations especially early and gave Members  more time for data 
collection , reviewing the drafts and providing joint comments. It was a unique problem to the United 
Kingdom at that time and he reiterated that the United Kingdom would  continue to work as hard as 
possible  with the Chair and all Members . 
1.66.  The representative of India thank ed the Secretariat for two valuable presentations about the 
tools. Both  looked very promising  and useful ; however,  going forward , their utility  would be 
determined , including  if they require d further improvement . The tools were what India considered 
as "reform by doing"  as they would help delegations to monitor and  look at what was pending.  
1.67.  The representative of Hong Kong, China  thank ed the Secretariat for presentation s and for its 
work. Joining other Members in seeing  the value of th e tools, he asked  about the timeline of their 
placement  on the website . It would be more useful if they could be launched before the introduct ory 
sessions in September, so that they might  be available for all deleg ations, and especially for new 
delegates.  
1.68.  The Secretariat  noted that the tools were ready to be made  available online to Members . It 
would however  be made available in the context of current  changes being discussed by the 
Secretariat to the way in which Committee work was to be presented  on the WTO website .  
G.IV Communication from the United States (WT/REG/W/174) and comments from 
Members (JOB/REG/6/R ev.1) 
 
1.69.  The representative of the United States  made three brief points on issue s that had been 
discussed that day. First, he thank ed all Members that had responded to its communication and for 
their willingness to consider practical steps to improve the functioning of the Committee. On the 
second point, he thank ed and applaud ed the Se cretariat for moving forward proactively on a number 
of practical changes on Committee procedures. On the third point related to thematic discussions, 
while the United States  support ed them and  had heard  a lot of support in the room, there were other 
deleg ations that did not support holding thematic sessions. Regardless of the Committee's decision 
on that question, the United States look ed forward to working with other Members to share their 
experiences and to expand the discussion around new approaches on trade policy in whatever format 
that ultimately would take.  
1.70.  In order to facilitate the discussion, the Chair proposed to move the meeting into informal 
mode, and upon conclusion of the discussion, to revert to formal mode and propose follow -ups. 
1.71.  In formal mode, she noted a comprehensive and coherent discussion around various elements 
raised by Members to improve the functioning of the Committee. With respect to procedural changes 
implemented by the Secretariat , extensive support had been  expressed by Mem bers for empowering 
the Secretariat to make sensible changes. She pointed out that presentation s on two new tools had 
shown the Committee what the Secretariat had been  doing to improve its work. On sending out 
factual presentations in batches,  there had be en no agreement among Members,  so the current 
practice would continue. She noted that the suggestion from New Zealand might be worth 
considering at some poin t, but for the time being the Secretariat would  keep distributing factual 
presentations, as it had  been.  With respect to thematic sessions, Members had had another rich 
conversation regarding differences o n the interpretation of the CRTA mandate and the extent to 
which it restricted  the ability to consider issues arising in trade policy and regional tra de agreement 
on a thematic basis. She noted that there had been a convergence to use resources in the most 
dynamic way possible to get the most value out of that process. There also seemed to have been 
convergence around the fact that that nothing preclude d delegations from sharing experiences and 
to organizing themselves to discuss the novel aspects of FTAs, RTAs or other elements of RTA WT/REG/M/107  
 
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  negotiations they wanted to discuss. So, it was an  issue that the Committee would have to come 
back to at the next  meeting. Finally, w ith respect to issues requiring further discussion, she noted a 
wide range of views amongst Members , so discussion  on these  would also continue during the 
September meeting . She asked the Secretariat to compile a document reflecting the se points .  
H. CONSIDERATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
ITEM H.I 
(The minutes of the consideration of this Agreement were being distributed as a separate document 
WT/REG 448/M/1) 
 
ITEM H.II  
(The minutes of the consideration of this Agreement were being distributed as a separate document 
WT/REG 462/M/1)  
 
ITEM H.III 
(The minutes of the consideration of this Agreement were being distributed as a separate document 
WT/REG 395/M/2) 
 
ITEM I.IV 
(The minutes of the consideration of this Agreement were being distributed as a separate document 
WT/REG 438/M/1)  
 
I. CONSIDERATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH NON -MEMBERS  
ITEM I.I 
(The minutes of the consideration of this Agreement were being distributed as a separate document 
WT/REG 455/M/1) 
  
J. OTHER BUS INESS  
1.72.  The Chair informed the Committee that the next CRTA meeting s were tentatively scheduled 
for 25-26 September  and 23 -24 November  2023.  
1.73.  The Committee took note of all the comments made  during the meeting . 
__________  