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Glossary
Although we have tried to use plain English content
on the site, you may come across specialist
terms and acronyms. Find
out what they mean in our glossary of terms.
If you come across a term that isn't
included in the Glossary please send
us an email.
Individuals, companies and governments involved
in trade and investment need to know as much
as possible about the conditions of trade in
the countries they want to deal with. Increased
transparency is a feature of many WTO agreements.
Policies that aid
certainty and predictability in trade
The following policies aid certainty and predictability
about trading conditions:
Publication: Governments are obliged to
publish relevant laws and regulations.
Notifications: Every time a government
introduces or makes a change to specific
measures, policies or laws that may have
a significant effect on trade, they have
to inform the WTO and fellow members and
give details of how these laws are being
applied. WTO members are allowed a reasonable
period to make comments on these proposed
changes.
National enquiry points: Under some agreements,
a single point of contact is established,
so other WTO members can easily request information
and documentation. The national enquiry point
is obliged to answer any reasonable requests.
Enquiry points are usually governmental agencies,
but their duties can also be assigned to
a private body.
New Zealand ’s enquiry points
are: Technical barriers to trade (technical
regulations) - Standards New Zealand; sanitary
and phytosanitary - Ministry of Agriculture
and Forestry.
In the Uruguay Round negotiations, General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)/WTO
members agreed to set up regular reviews
of member countries’ trade policy.
Originally, like GATT, they focussed on goods
trade but in 1995, with the creation of the
WTO, their scope was expanded to include
services and intellectual property. The reviews
focus on members’ own trade policies
and practices. They also take into account
the countries’ wider economic and developmental
needs, their policies and objectives, and
the external economic environment they face.
The reviews have two broad results: (i)
they enable other WTO members to better understand
a country’s trade policies and circumstances,
and (ii) they provide feedback to the reviewed
country on its performance and encourage
them to follow WTO rules and disciplines
more closely.
For each review two documents are prepared:
a policy statement by the government under
review and a detailed report written by the
WTO secretariat.
A meeting is then held, usually lasting
two days, in which all members are given
the opportunity to question the country under
review on specific aspects of its trade policy.
The minutes of the Trade Policy Review Body’s
meeting and answers to the questions are
published by the WTO secretariat shortly
afterwards.
The frequency of reviews depends on the country’s
size:
The four biggest traders (the EU, US, Japan
and Canada) are examined approximately once
every two years
The next sixteen countries in terms of
their share of world trade are reviewed every
four years
The remaining countries (including New
Zealand) are reviewed approximately every
six years, with the possibility for a longer
interim period for the least-developed countries.
2006 reviews
In 2006 the following countries will be reviewed:
Malaysia, Israel, Angola, Djibouti, United
States, China, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay,
Iceland, Chinese Taipei, Togo, Nicaragua, Bangladesh,
Congo, Kyrgyz Republic, Kenya, Tanzania and
Uganda, Colombia, Hong Kong and China.
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