Chapter 1 Objectives and Organisation of the WTO

After reading this chapter you will be able to: Understand the objectives and structures of the WTO Explain the main features of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism Describe how one NGO has used the Trade Policy Review Mechanism to raise its concerns Evaluate the human rights risks for a small country applying to join the WTO Explain why it is important to distinguish between the WTO Secretariat and its Members

1.1 What is the World Trade Organization?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only body making global trade rules with binding effects on its Members. It is not only an institution, but also a set of agreements. The WTO regime is known as the rules-based multilateral trading system. The history of the Organization dates back to 1947, when the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), was set up to reduce tariffs, remove trade barriers and facilitate trade in goods. Over the years, GATT evolved through eight rounds of multilateral trade negotiations, the last and most extensive being the Uruguay Round (1986-1994). The WTO came into being at Marrakesh on 1 January 1995, following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. GATT then ceased to exist, and its legal texts were incorporated into the WTO as GATT 1994. The list of WTO members is given at Annex II

1.2 The objectives of the WTO

The preamble to the WTO Agreement (Box 1.1) describes its objectives as including: raising standards of living ensuring full employment

Box 1.1 Agreement Establishing the WTO (Marrakesh Agreement)

Preamble (extracts) The Parties to this Agreement,

Recognizing that their relations in the field of trade and economic endeavour should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand, and expanding the production of and trade in goods and services, while allowing for the optimal use of the worlds resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, seeking both to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the means for doing so in a manner consistent with their respective needs and concerns at different levels of economic development, Recognizing further that there is need for positive efforts designed to ensure that developing countries, and especially the least developed among them, secure a share in the growth in international trade commensurate with the needs of their economic development.
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3D / FORUM-ASIA realizing these aims consistently with sustainable development and environmental protection ensuring that developing countries, especially the least developed countries (LDCs), secure a proper share in the growth of international trade. However, since its creation the WTOs emphasis has slipped from concentrating on these public interest goals to seeing itself primarily as an organization for liberalizing trade, and declaring that the systems overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible.1 This has been the source of one of the fundamental tensions surrounding the mandate and activities of the organization. Some (such as developing countries and non-governmental organizations) would like to see added emphasis on the public interest goals, whilst others (private companies and some industrialized countries, for instance) favour faster removal of obstacles to free trade. Today, an increasing number of voices are being raised to underline that free trade should not be an end in itself, but rather a tool to achieve equitable development and a better world. That the WTOs public interest objectives remain out of reach of many has drawn criticism that the organization is dominated by rich countries, functions in a secretive manner, and helps feed the greed of the rich in the name of trade liberalization.

1.3 The WTO agreements

The Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO incorporated several new substantive agreements, which gave the WTO a much broader mandate than GATT or any other trade agreement: The WTO introduced new rules on agriculture and textiles. Most significantly, and unlike GATT, the WTO encompasses areas beyond trade in goods. Three new subjects were brought into the multilateral trading system: trade in services through the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); intellectual property rights

1 WTO, Understanding the WTO, 3rd edition, 2003.

Higher objectives for the WTO Certain principles other than just fair market access must also be respected in order to make the global trading system fully fair to all. One such principle is that trade liberalization should not be enthroned as an end in itself. It is but a means for achieving ultimate objectives such as high and sustainable growth, full employment and the reduction of poverty. As such, trade policies should be framed with these ends in mind and be evaluated accordingly.
World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All, 2003.

That the purpose of the world trade regime is to raise living standards all around the world rather than to maximize trade per se has never been controversial. In practice, however, these two goals promoting development and maximizing trade have come to be increasingly viewed as synonymous by the WTO and multilateral lending agencies, to the point where the latter easily substitutes for the former the net result is a confounding of ends and means.
Dani Rodrik, The Global Governance of Trade as if Development Really Mattered, 2001.

Asias experience [of gradual liberalization only after an initial period of high growth] highlights a deeper point. A sound overall development strategy that produces high economic growth is far more effective in achieving integration with the world economy than a purely integrationist strategy that relies on openness to work its magic. A relatively protected economy like Vietnam is integrating with the world economy much more rapidly than an open economy like Haiti because Vietnam, unlike Haiti, has a reasonably functional economy and polity.
Dani Rodrik, Trading in Illusions, Foreign Policy, March/April 2001.

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Box 1.2 The WTOs major legal texts

Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (The WTO Agreement) Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods (GATT 1994 + related agreements) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) Agreement on Agriculture Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement on Textiles and Clothing Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures Agreement on Preshipment Inspection Agreement on Rules of Origin Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement on Safeguards General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Dispute Settlement Understanding (Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes DSU) Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) Plurilateral Trade Agreements (Optional) Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft Agreement on Government Procurement through the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS); and the question of textiles was addressed for the first time in a meaningful way. The Uruguay Round transformed the GATTs dispute settlement system, giving the WTO serious teeth with which to enforce its rules. WTO Members also agreed on a Trade Policy Review Mechanism. All the WTOs legal texts are part and parcel of the so-called single undertaking of the WTO agreements: Members cannot pick and choose among the agreements but are bound by the package as a whole, with the exception of the two plurilateral agreements (see Box 1.2). Words in bold in the text refer to terms explained in the glossary (Annex I)

1.4 Functions and structure of the WTO

The major functions of the WTO include: administering the WTO agreements handling trade disputes monitoring national trade policies serving as a forum for trade negotiations cooperating with other international organizations Box 1.3 indicates the bodies responsible for carrying out the above functions. All Members may participate in all councils, committees, etc, except the Appellate Body, the Dispute Settlement panels, Textiles Monitoring Body, and plurilateral committees.

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Box 1.3 Organizational chart of the WTO

Source: WTO website www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org2_e.htm

1.5 The Ministerial Conference

The Ministerial Conference is the governing body of the WTO. It has the authority to adopt final decisions on all WTO matters. It meets at least once every two years for about four days, and is composed of trade ministers of all Members. Any Member can offer to host the Ministerial Conference, and Members decide on the venue by consensus. The next Conference is scheduled to take place in December 2005 in Hong Kong (see Box 1.4). The trade minister of the host country usually chairs the Ministerial Conference and can play a significant role. For example, after the collapse of the Conference in Cancn in 2003, some participants pointed the finger at the Mexican trade minister (and conference chair) Luis Ernesto Derbez, saying that he had decided to end the meeting prematurely although there was still a chance of reaching agreement. Ministerial Conferences are where final decisions, such as whether to launch new negotiations, are taken. Members begin preparing for Ministerials months in advance. This often involves intense negotiations in Geneva where delegates discuss numerous draft Ministerial texts
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Box 1.4 WTO Ministerial Conferences

1st: 2nd: 3rd: 4th: 5th: 6th: Singapore, December 1996 Geneva, May 1998 Seattle, November-December 1999 Doha, Qatar, November 2001 Cancun, Mexico, September 2003 Hong Kong, December 2005

for ministers to decide upon during the Conference, usually leaving the most contentious issues to be determined at the ministerial level. In practice, only issues concerning the strategic directions of the WTO are decided there, the bulk of the WTOs work being carried out by councils and committees that meet throughout the year in Geneva. NGOs who can demonstrate genuine interest in trade are eligible for accreditation to Ministerials, which is not the case for other WTO bodies. Almost 800 NGOs including business groups were accredited to participate in the Cancn Ministerial Conference. However, unlike the UN, where the Credentials Committee of ECOSOC has clear procedures for granting NGOs consultative status, the WTOs selection criteria are not clearly defined, and remain ad hoc. Since the Seattle Ministerial Conference in 1999, which saw unprecedented street protests, the WTO Secretariat has placed increasingly strict controls on the number of accredited NGO personnel that may attend. In Doha in 2001, each accredited NGO was allowed only two passes to enter the Conference site; in Cancn, NGOs were only allowed one.

Groups wishing to influence the content of Ministerials documents must start their work many months before the Ministerial Conference. See Chapter 7.3 for considerations as to whether it is worth while for your NGO to apply to attend a Ministerial.

1.6 The General Council

The General Council is the highest ruling body of the WTO when the Ministerial Conference is not in session, and the only one which can make binding decisions outside the Ministerial Conference. For instance, in July 2004 the General Council adopted a package of agreements, referred to as the July Framework, which effectively broke months of deadlock following the collapse of minister-level talks in Cancn in September 2003. The General Council can meet whenever Members want. In practice its meetings usually take place every two months, and are attended by the highest rank of trade diplomats in Geneva, mostly ambassadors. It is common practice for the General Council to elect its chairperson and those of other WTO bodies during its first meeting of the calendar year. The Councils meetings are often preceded by informal sessions that are not announced publicly. The functions of the General Council are wide-ranging: it follows up on issues arising from Ministerials it oversees the operation of WTO agreements, and shares with the Ministerial Council the responsibility of adopting interpretations of the WTO Agreement. An example is its 2003 decisions on TRIPS and public health (discussed in Chapter 4). it grants and extends waivers from WTO rules, on behalf of the Ministerial Conference. An example is the Kimberley Process waiver, to prevent trade in blood diamonds (discussed in Chapter 7.8). it meets as the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) and the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB); the two bodies and the General Council are considered as second level bodies after the Ministerial Conference, as indicated by the organizational chart in Box 1.3. it deals with accession-related matters (see Chapter 2.2), including authorizing the accession of new Members when the Ministerial Conference is not in session. For accession matters, the General Council decides on the establishment of working parties on accession, and endorses accession packages upon completion of negotiations. NGOs cannot attend or participate in any meetings of the General Council.

Reports of General Council meetings are a good source of information on the progress of the current negotiations. For how to find minutes and Annual Reports of General Council meetings, see Chapter 8.3.
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3D / FORUM-ASIA Chairpersons of negotiating groups (names available at www.wto.org) under the Doha Work Programme, for instance, can be influential in organizing the negotiations, setting interim deadlines, and producing draft texts which can frame further discussions. it supervises the overall conduct of negotiations such as the Doha Work Programme (see Chapter 3.5). Since the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) was set up to carry out the Doha negotiations, the General Council has regularly reviewed its work under a standing agenda item. The TNC reports to each regular meeting of the General Council on the activities of its negotiating groups. The General Council also deals with systemic issues (such as selection of Directors-General and external transparency), and performs specific tasks assigned to it by the Ministerial Conference.

1.7 The Dispute Settlement Mechanism

The Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) is a quasi-judicial system for resolving trade disputes. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) can authorize trade retaliation measures, or suspension of concessions in WTO jargon if Members do not comply with DSM panel or Appellate Body rulings. This particular enforcement mechanism of the WTO regime, though a last resort, remains unique among international tribunals. The DSB is composed of all WTO Members. Its functions are: to establish panels which examine the case in dispute to appoint the members of the standing Appellate Body to adopt reports of panels and the Appellate Body (the body which deals with appeals) to monitor implementation of rulings and recommendations to authorize sanctions or retaliation measures under the WTO agreements to adjudicate cases on textiles and clothing if they are not resolved by the Textiles Monitoring Body (TMB), the only other WTO body dealing with disputes The WTO dispute settlement mechanism is arguably more efficient and effective than almost any other international tribunal dealing with non-criminal matters. The DSM sets clear timeframes for different stages in resolving trade disputes among Members, which avoids cases dragging on for a long time. It usually takes between 12 to 18 months to settle a dispute, but the application of rulings often takes longer. The system nevertheless seems slow to traders, especially when the disputed measures are temporary in nature. For example, the US decision to impose temporary (for three years) higher tariffs on certain steel products triggered a dispute case in March 2002. By the time the DSB made a final decision in December 2003 that the measures were illegal, the higher tariffs had been in place for 19 months, long enough for significant harm to have been caused to countries and companies exporting steel to the US. It is also worth noting that dispute complaints are typically filed at the request of business interests, who usually seek their own expensive legal advice before turning to their government to request it to take up their case.2 The mechanism applies to all WTO agreements, and can cover plurilateral agreements as well, should parties to these agreements so decide. It applies only to WTO agreements: a Member can only turn to the DSM for resolution of a dispute concerning a WTO rule. The DSM will

Box 1.5 The Shrimp-Turtle case

The US banned imports of shrimp from four Asian countries India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand claiming that the way they caught shrimp harmed endangered species of sea turtles. The four Asian countries above complained about the ban to the WTO. In their rulings, the panel and Appellate Body took international environmental law into account in determining that a ban such as the US had imposed, could be legitimate under WTO law.

2 Lori Wallach and Patrick Woodall, Whose Trade Organization The Comprehensive Guide to the WTO, 2004.

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Box 1.6 The dispute settlement process

Request for Consultations Panel Established Panel Hearings and Examination
(Non-parties could potentially submit amicus briefs)

Panel Report

Appeal Appellate Body Review

(Non-parties could potentially submit amicus briefs)

DSB adopts panel/appeal report Implementation Retaliation in cases of non-implementation

therefore only rule on other matters, such as environmental policy, human rights or social questions, if these arise in a dispute concerning a WTO rule, as was the case in the Shrimp-Turtle dispute (Box 1.5). Nevertheless, the concern remains that the broad reach of WTO rules and their implications for a wide array of domestic policies makes the DSM a particular threat because it ensures strong enforcement of rules designed to favour trade liberalization, rather than to promote well-being or respect for human rights.

To track WTO disputes chronologically, by subject or by country, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions in Chapter 8.3.

Panels
A panel is a quasi-judicial body which examines the evidence and decides on the merits of the case, according to the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU): A panel usually consists of three (but sometimes five) experts from different countries. Panellists for each case are chosen from a roster of qualified professionals3 or from elsewhere, in consultation with Members involved in the dispute. The Director-General can also appoint panellists if the parties cannot agree on the panel. In a dispute between a developed country and a developing country, the latter can request that at least one of the panellists be from a developing country. Panellists serve in their individual capacity and do not receive instructions from any government. In general, panellists are considered to be impartial and competent. Panels have the right to seek information and technical advice from any individual or body which they deem appropriate. In many disputes the panel has consulted scientific experts or appointed an expert review group to prepare an advisory report. However, the question of uninvited, non-governmental input into the dispute settlement process is a contentious issue (see amicus curiae briefs below).

Appellate Body
Either party to a dispute may appeal to the standing Appellate Body against a panels ruling on points of law and legal interpretation of WTO agreements. The Appellate Body can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings of a panel and its conclusion, but cannot re-examine existing evidence or examine new issues.
3 WTO, Indicative List of Governmental and NonGovernmental Panelists, WT/DSB/ 33, 6 March 2003.

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Different views about opening the Dispute Settlement Process to Outsiders

In favour of openness
In dispute settlement, panels and the Appellate Body must continue to accept amicus curiae briefs and they must, in my view, make greater use of such briefs in dispute settlement. The opportunity to submit amicus briefs can give those from the wider world the chance to have their say without in any way undermining the essential intergovernmental nature of such proceedings.
Speech by James Bacchus, former Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body, to the US National Foreign Trade Council, 29 January 2004.

In favour of keeping the process closed

The deliberative process is secret for several sound reasons, one of which is to shield the adjudicator from outside pressures and from the passions of the day that do not relate to the merits of the legal issues pending before the court. [Should a national court be] open to lobbying by majority-race groups in cases affecting the civil rights of racial or ethnic minorities? Anyone can obtain a copy of a WTO panel or Appellate Body report and follow what are generally carefully reasoned opinions. Any more transparency than what already exists in the deliberative process of these bodies would threaten the integrity of the WTO dispute settlement process.
Kevin C. Kennedy in Book Review:A Review Of Globalization And Its Discontents (2002). Joseph E. Stiglitz, 35 George Washington International Law Review 251, 2003.

If an NGO wishes to submit an amicus brief, the best time to do so is before the first panel hearing. Since the dates of panel hearings are not announced publicly, the best way to follow this process is through the WTO External Relations Division directly or by contacting a Genevabased NGO that follows such issues (see Chapter 8). Another strategy is to ask a government involved in a particular dispute to submit an amicus brief on the interested partys behalf although some NGOs do not do this because they do not necessarily agree with that governments position.
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The Appellate Body consists of seven permanent members, and three of them hear each appeal case. Members of the Appellate Body are individuals recognized in the field of law and international trade, and not affiliated to any government. Members are appointed for a four-year term by the DSB, renewable once.

Box 1.7 Why submit an amicus brief?

First it could be that, for their own reasons, the lawyers representing the government parties to the dispute are not making appropriate arguments that reflect the kind of interests and values the submitting NGO is concerned with. Second, to signal publicly that a great deal is at stake in the dispute, i.e. that it is not a technical matter but something that deserves widespread pubic attention. Third, to give the adjudicator the benefit of a general perspective on the case to which they otherwise might not be sensitized. This is similar to the first reason but not the same; a general perspective is different from having a set of legal arguments unlikely to be raised by the parties, and might go to ways of looking at the facts more than the law... ...The success of amicus intervention should not be measured by whether the adjudicator says explicitly that they relied upon or followed the brief. Thats not going to happen very often; it doesnt happen domestically either very often. But the existence of such briefs, if there are serious and reputable groups behind them, adds gravitas to the position being advocated that, psychologically, adjudicators are unlikely to ignore. They and their clerks will read the arguments, and subliminal influence is going to be often the key. Thats important also in thinking about how to draft such briefs.
Robert Howse, personal communication, 20 August 2004.

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Implementation of dispute findings

According to the DSU, panel or Appellate Body decisions must be implemented within a reasonable period of time, usually defined as 15 months, although the parties to a dispute may agree to extend this period. The winning party can request the DSB to authorize trade sanctions if no remedial action has been taken upon the completion of the implementation period. If the parties cannot agree on the level of sanctions, a WTO arbitrator will set the level. Amicus curiae briefs Known informally as amicus briefs, these are submissions from non-parties to a dispute as friends of the court. In November 2000, the issue sparked controversy among Members when the Appellate Body decided to adopt procedures for dealing with them. The Body decided, in the interests of fairness and orderly procedure, to establish an additional procedure for receiving submissions by persons other than a party or a third party to the case. The decision drew criticism from a number of mainly developing country Members, who claimed that the Appellate Bodys action was beyond its jurisdiction and departed from the intergovernmental nature of the WTO.

Case study of a dispute: India versus the EU The EU-India GSP dispute looked at whether industrialized country Members of the WTO could grant different tariff rates to products originating in different developing countries under so-called Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) schemes. In particular, the dispute addressed whether countries granting trade preferences could condition access to their markets on labour and environmental standards, or efforts to combat illegal drugs. India brought the complaint to the WTO in 2002, arguing that anti-drug arrangements included in the EUs GSP were discriminatory, as the benefits the EU granted were available only to certain specified developing countries. In particular, India pointed out that Pakistans entry to the scheme and benefits under the GSP anti-drug arrangements had affected EUR 205 million of Indian exports, which faced higher tariffs than their Pakistani equivalents on the EU market. On 7 April 2004, the WTO Appellate Body released its report, where it ruled that WTO provisions did not prevent developed countries from differentiating among products originating in different developing countries under the GSP, provided that such differential treatment meets certain conditions (set out in the so-called Enabling Clause). In so doing, it overturned the earlier panel decision in the case, which had originally ruled in favour of India. However, the Appellate Body decision was not a clear-cut victory for the EU. The conditions included ensuring that identical treatment is available to all similarly-situated GSP beneficiaries that have the development, financial and trade needs that the treatment in question is intended to respond to. Looking at the EUs special arrangement for combating the production and trafficking of illegal drugs, the Appellate Body found that as the preferences granted under the drug arrangements were not available to all GSP beneficiaries similarly affected by the drug problem, they were not justified under the Enabling Clause. It therefore urged the EU to bring its GSP scheme into conformity with the Enabling Clause conditions. By contrast, the Appellate Body noted that the EUs GSP incentive arrangements for the protection of labour rights and the environment, which were not at issue in this case, included detailed provisions setting out the procedure and substantive criteria that apply to a request by a country to become a beneficiary. This would seem to imply that these arrangements are WTO-compatible, provided they meet the relevant conditions. The process from notification of consultations to the release of the Appellate Body report took just under two years. But it is not over yet. On 10 August 2004, following a request by India, the WTO appointed an arbitrator to determine the reasonable period of time required for the EU to bring its measures into conformity with WTO rules. As such, it could be another year and a half before the EU either changes its GSP legislation or faces the threat of sanctions.
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), WTO Appellate Body: Differentiation Possible Under Preference Schemes, in BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest, 22 April 2004.

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Box 1.8 Figures on the use of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism

More cases have been launched in the WTOs 10-year history than under the GATT from 1947 to 1994, indicating a significant buy-in to the dispute settlement process on the part of Member States. Since the establishment of the WTO until June 2004: 312 disputes have been brought to the DSM, with 92 panel and Appellate Body reports adopted. The US and the EC are by far the most frequent users of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, both as complainants (139) and as respondents (128). Developing countries have brought 113 cases to the dispute settlement mechanism 65 against developed countries and 48 against other developing countries. The DSB has authorized trade sanctions in just seven cases, where Members had failed to bring their legislation in line with WTO rules.
WTO, Update of WTO Dispute Settlement Cases, WT/DS/OV/21, 30 June 2004.

To find out how to read the full text of the decision on the India-EU dispute, see Chapter 8.3.

To date, NGOs continue to submit amicus briefs by sending them to the WTO Secretariat, though no specific guidelines exist for admitting or refusing them, either at the panel or the Appellate Body level. This means that in practice it is still up to the individual panels and/or Appellate Body members to decide on acceptance or refusal. In the absence of rules, no record is kept of which dispute panels or Appellate Bodies actually received, accepted or used amicus briefs. Hence the process remains case-by-case.

1.8 The Trade Policy Review Mechanism

The WTO agreements stipulate that each Member shall ensure that its laws, regulations and administrative procedures conform to its WTO obligations. The Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), through regular reviews of individual Members trade policies and practices, seeks to improve adherence by Members to the commitments made under the WTO agreements, and to facilitate the smooth functioning of the multilateral trading system by enhancing the transparency of Members trade policies. The frequency of reviews depends on a Members share of world trade. The Quad countries the EU, the US, Japan and Canada are examined once every two years. The next 16 Members, ranked according to their share of world trade, are reviewed every four years. The remaining Members are reviewed every six years, with the possibility of longer interim periods for the least-developed countries. Two reports are prepared for each review: 1. a government report or a policy statement by the Member under review. Members are required to report on changes in their trade policies and provide updated economic and

Reviews of trade in China Following Chinas accession to the WTO in December 2001, the General Council began conducting an annual transitional review of Chinas implementation of its WTO commitments. Members insisted on putting this unique process in place due to the significant amount of change required in bringing such a large, centrally-planned economy into conformity with WTO rules. This annual review exercise is scheduled to end by 2010. It is a case in point where additional requirements, not applicable to existing members, are sometimes imposed on acceding members.
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The fiction of free trade, as seen through the TPRM lens I am not very hopeful that a TPR in a countrylike Madagascar wouldbring much to Madagascar. Or to anyone. Trade policy in Madagascar is set by the IMF and the World Bank, and as a result Madagascar has become, under most indicators, one of the most open economies in the world, as regards trade, certainly more open thanSouth Africa and Mauritius, let alone the EU, Switzerland and Japan! Even non-WTO members have goods entering here very freely. So I have no doubt that the OECD trade people who attend WTO meetings will give a favourable response to the TPR of Madagascar.
Source: Interview with a former UN official.

trade statistics. There is no agreed format or standard guidelines on what elements should be included, and Members are free to submit whatever information they deem appropriate. The 2004 US report mentioned labour standards but in general, reports tend to focus on narrowly-defined trade issues, usually ignoring the broader economic or social effects of a countrys trade liberalization. 2. a detailed report prepared independently by economists in the Secretariats Trade Policy Review Division. So far, the reports prepared by the Secretariat have not explicitly included issues related to human rights or to labour standards, even though there has been discussion in the TPRB of the latter. The reports, together with the TPRB chairpersons concluding remarks, are made public and available to the press after the review process. Minutes of the TPRB meetings are published four weeks later. The review process allows other Members to submit written questions in advance of the TPRB meeting and to raise oral questions at the meeting. A discussant is chosen among representatives of Members to stimulate the debate. In 2000, Canada proposed making the TPRM more transparent by opening it up to accredited observers from the public and webcasting its own trade policy review, declaring that live web feeds of the meeting would enhance the quality of discussions between Members and provide a progressive example of the WTOs openness to public. The proposal was resisted by a number of developing countries, including India, Pakistan, Argentina and Mexico, who argued that opening up the process could threaten the intergovernmental character of the WTO and set a precedent for other committees that they were not prepared to consider. Without agreement on the matter, the TPRB remains closed to outsiders.

There is no official procedure in place for NGOs to submit information or alternative reports to the TPRB. The only NGO to provide alternative reports* on a regular basis is the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). These are given to its national affiliates and faxed to selected WTO missions in Geneva (those they consider most likely to raise labour issues at the TPRB, such as the US and the EU) prior to TPRB meetings. As NGO documents have no official status in the TPRM, it is up to individual Members whether to bring up issues raised in these reports during the review process.
* available at www.icftu.org

1.9 The WTO Secretariat

The WTO is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Its official languages are English, French and Spanish. The Secretariat, with over 500 staff headed by the WTO Director-General, services the daily activities of different WTO bodies. Although the Secretariat is officially neutral, many observers criticize it for being too pro-trade liberalization, regardless of the benefits or otherwise for individual WTO Members. Other critics claim that the Secretariat defends the interests of the powerful WTO Members rather than being neutral or defending developing countries.4 The Director-General is chosen by Members through consensus. The office term of Supachai Panitchpakdi as Director-General comes to an end in August 2005. Given that Members themselves make all decisions concerning the organization, the position of Director-General has little formal authority, but does play an important informal role of facilitator among Member governments. This is particularly so during sensitive negotiations, such as those at Ministerial Conferences and under the current Doha negotiations: the Director-General chairs ex officio, the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC).

Fatoumata Jawara and Aileen Kwa, Behind the Scenes at the WTO the real world of international trade negotiations, 2003.

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1.10 The budget of the WTO

In 2004, the WTO budget amounted to CHF 162 million (EUR 103 million). The budget is financed by membership fees determined according to each Members share of total world trade in the previous three years, including trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights. A minimum contribution of 0.015% applies to Members whose share in world trade is less than this percentage. While over two-thirds of WTO Members are developing countries, contributions from the Quad countries the US, the EU, Japan and Canada finance over half of the total budget.

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