One-Thirteen Committee

One-Thirteen Committee (113 Committee) in relation with International Trade

In the context of trade organizations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following definition of One-Thirteen Committee (113 Committee): The central organization in the trade policymaking Structure of the European Community. The Committee is comprised of 12 member-state delegates and one from the EC Commission, and is the primary link between the Commission and member states on trade issues. The 113 Committee assists the Commission in defining and implementing the Community's commercial policy, including tariff rates, export policies, and measures to liberalize trade or-protect EC industries. While the Commission usually acts as the policy initiator and primary trade negotiator with non-EC countries, it works closely with the 113 Committee –taking into account various national interests –in order to ensure eventual approval of its draft agreements. Each member state appoints its own representatives to the 113 Committee; the senior delegates are called “titulaires,” and are backed by deputies. As the main Committee members, the titulaires are the key trade policymakers in their respective governments, holding positions (usually as career civil servants) roughly equivalent to a US Assistant or Under Secretary. The 113 Committee deputies –primarily counselor- level officials from the member states' permanent missions to the Community –work out the mechanics of trade proposals and participate in various subcommittees devoted to specific issues, often joined by working-level experts from their capitals. The number of attendees at the Committee's monthly meetings can reach 50, including advisers and staffers. The Chair of the 113 Committee rotates every six 11'1onths and is held by the member state currently serving as EC president. The Committee takes its name from Article 113 of the Treaty of Rome (Sec.l).