The Trade Policy Review Mechanism was an early result of the Uruguay Round, being provisionally established at the Montreal Mid-Term Review of the Round in December 1988. Annex 3 to the Marrakesh Agreement, agreed by Ministers in April 1994, placed the TPRM on a permanent footing as one of the WTO’s basic functions and, with the entry into force of the WTO in 1995, the mandate of the TPRM was broadened to cover services trade and intellectual property.

All WTO Members are subject to review under the TPRM. The Annex mandates that the four Members with the largest shares of world trade (currently the European Union, the United States, Japan and China) be reviewed each two years, the next 16 be reviewed each four years, and others be reviewed each six years. A longer period may be fixed for least-developed country Members.

Reviews are conducted by the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) on the basis of a policy statement by the Member under review and a report prepared by economists in the Secretariat's Trade Policy Review Division.

In preparing its report, the Secretariat seeks the cooperation of the Member, but has the sole responsibility for the facts presented and views expressed.

The reports consist of detailed chapters examining the trade policies and practices of the Member and describing trade policymaking institutions and the macroeconomic situation; these chapters are preceded by the Secretariat's Summary, which summarize the report and presents the Secretariat's perspective on the Member's trade policies. The Secretariat report and the Member's policy statement are published after the review meeting, along with the text of the TPRB Chairperson's Concluding Remarks delivered at the conclusion of the meeting.

For 2023, the schedule of TPR have been fixed as follows:

• 24 & 26 January: Dominican Republic
• 8 & 10 February: Malaysia
• 22 & 24 February: Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
• 1 & 3 March: Japan
• 8 & 10 March: Türkiye
• 18 & 20 April: El Salvador
• 24 & 26 May: Liberia
• 5 & 7 June: European Union
• 27 & 29 June: CEMAC
• 12 & 14 July: Honduras
• 19 & 21 July: Fiji
• 27 & 29 September: Jordan
• 25 & 27 October: Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
• 7 & 9 November: Chinese Taipei
• 22 & 24 November: Albania
• 6 & 8 December: Hong Kong, China
• 12 & 14 December: Chile

Source: WTO