RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/M/57
14 September 2000
(00-3580)
General Council
17 and 19 July 2000
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held in the Centre William Rappard
on 17 and 19 July 2000
Chairman:  Mr. Kåre Bryn (Norway)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. International Trade Centre UNCT AD/WTO.........................................................................2
(a) Report of the Jo int Advisory Group.......................................................................................... ..2
2. Requests for observer status ................................................................................................. ...2
(a) Bahamas..................................................................................................................... .................2
(b) Lib eria..................................................................................................................... ....................3
3. Accession of Cape Verde ...................................................................................................... ....3
(a) Communication from  Cape Verde..............................................................................................3
4. Accession of Yemen ........................................................................................................... .......6
(a) Communication from Yemen .................................................................................................... .6
5. Accession of Albania......................................................................................................... ........8
(a) Report of the Working Party................................................................................................. ......8
6. Accession of Croatia ......................................................................................................... ......10
(a) Report of the Working Party................................................................................................. ....10
7. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration ...........................................................13
(a) Reports of the Comm ittee .................................................................................................... .....13
8. Committee on Balance-of -Payments Restrictions................................................................14
(a) Consultation wi th Pakistan .................................................................................................. .....14
(b) Consultation wi th Bangladesh ................................................................................................ ..14
(c) Note on the meeting of 4 and 5 May 2000................................................................................14
9. Five-year review of the exemption provided under paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994 .......15
10. Waiver under Article IX of the WTO Agreement ...............................................................18
(a) EC/France – Trading arrang ements with Morocco...................................................................18
(i) Request for extens ion of th e waiver......................................................................................... .18
11. Work programme on el ectronic commerce..........................................................................18
12. Internal transparency and effect ive participation of members ..........................................24
13. Integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance to least-developed
countries (IF)................................................................................................................. ..........32
(a) Report by the Director-General .............................................................................................. ..32
14. Observer status for internationa l intergovernmental  organizations..................................44
15. Review of procedures for circulation and derestriction of WTO documents....................46
16. Revision of guidelines for th e scheduling of WTO meetings...............................................46
17. Procedures for the appointmen t of the Direct or-General...................................................51
18. WTO Secretariat and senior management structure ..........................................................52WT/GC/M/57
Page 2
19. Reports of the special sessions of the Committee on Agriculture and of the Council
for Trade in  Services.......................................................................................................... .....52
20. Accreditation of permanent rep resentatives to the WTO...................................................54
(a) Statement by  the Chairman................................................................................................... ....54
21. Statement by Panama on consultations held on implementation .......................................55
22. Statement of the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods concerning the
request for a waiver for the new ACP-EC partnership agreement....................................55
23. Statement by the Director-Gene ral on recent in itiatives.....................................................58
24. Possible WTO contribution to th e High-Level Event on Financing for
Development.................................................................................................................... ........59
25. Proposed Memorandum of Understand ing between the WTO and the WCO .................59
26. External transparency....................................................................................................... .....59
27. Chairmanship of the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation ..........62
1. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
(a) Report of the Joint Advisory Group (ITC/AG(XXXIII)/181)
1. The Chairman said that the Joint Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre
UNCTAD/WTO had held its Thirty-Third Session from 10 to 14 April 2000 and its report had been
distributed in document ITC/AG(XXXIII)/181.  At its meeting in June 2000 the Committee on Trade
and Development had examined the report which was now before the General Council for adoption.
2. The General Council took note of the statement and adopted  the report in
ITC/AG/(XXXIII)/181.
2. Requests for observer status
(a) Bahamas (WT/L/349)
(b) Liberia (WT/L/357)
(a) Bahamas (WT/L/349)
3. The Chairman drew attention to the communication from the Bahamas requesting observer
status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies (WT/L/349), in which the Bahamas, had
indicated its intention to apply for accession to the WTO Agreement and had provided a brief
description of its economy and foreign trade regime, in accordance with the guidelines for observer
status for governments in the WTO (WT/L/161, Anne x 2).  He proposed that the request by the
Bahamas be granted.
4. The General Council so agreed.
5. The representatives of Barbados, Canada , Cuba , Egypt , India , Jamaica  and Saint Lucia
welcomed the granting of observer status to the Bahamas and looked forward to supporting its
eventual accession to the WTO Agreement.
6. The representative of Barbados underlined the importance of achieving the WTO's
universality for the good functioning of the multilateral trading system.
7. The representatives of Cuba and Jamaica  noted that the Bahamas was a member of
CARICOM and believed that its presence in the WTO would bring about a significant contribution to
its work.WT/GC/M/57
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8. The Chairman, on behalf of the General Council, welcomed the Bahamas as an observer.
9. The representative of the Bahamas, speaking as an observer , said that his country had closely
followed developments in the WTO and its success in placing the issue of world trade liberalization at
the forefront of the world agenda.  The Bahama s could no longer remain on the sideline.  His
Government intended to use the period of observership to develop the fullest understanding of theWTO's work and to prepare the Bahamas' accession to the WTO.  He thanked Members and the
Secretariat for their support in preparing the request for observer status.  His Government would
consult with the Secretariat on how it could benefit from the WTO's technical assistance programme.
10. The General Council took note of the statements.
(b) Liberia (WT/L/357)
11. The Chairman drew attention to the communication from Liberia requesting observer status in
the General Council and its subsidiary bodies (WT/L/357), in which Liberia had indicated its intention
to apply for accession to the WTO Agreement and had provided a brief description of its economy
and foreign trade regime, in accordance with the guidelines for observer status for governments in the
WTO (WT/L/161, Annex 2).
12. The representative of the United States said that her delegation was looking forward to
granting observer status to Liberia in the future.  For the time being her delegation needed additional
time to examine Liberia's request.
13. The Chairman proposed that the General Council agree to defer consideration of this item.
14. The General Council so agreed.
3. Accession of Cape Verde
(a) Communication from Cape  Verde (WT/ACC/CPV/1)
15. The Chairman drew attention to the communication from Cape Verde in document
WT/ACC/CPV/1 requesting accession to the WTO Agreement.
16. The representative of Cape Verde, speaking as an observer , said that it was a pleasure and an
honour for his delegation to speak at the present meeting, which was a new stage in Cape Verde's
efforts to ensure its effective integration into the multilateral trading system.  Since 1998, Cape Verdehad been carefully following the activities of the WTO as an observer, a status which it had already
received in GATT.  Cape Verde's request to become a fully fledged WTO Member showed its firm
will to become as effectively integrated as possible in the activities of the WTO, and to further
strengthen its overall strategy for integration into the world economy.  A former Portuguese colony,
the islands of Cape Verde reached independence in 1975, at that time adopting a development strategy
based on an economic model characterized by a high level of state intervention, and oriented towards
Cape Verde's domestic market.  This orientation lasted until 1990.  Since 1991, the Governmentensued from multi-party elections, formulated and implemented a package of economic reforms
whose main objectives were to:  (i) create an export-oriented market economy;  and (ii) promote the
private sector.  Among the main components of this reform were the redefinition of the State's role in
the economy, the revision of trade legislation, trade liberalization as well as the adoption of market-
based rules.  A small archipelago of ten islands and eight islets, with a surface of 4,033 km
2, most of
Cape Verde's 400,000 inhabitants worked in fishing and agriculture.  Since 1999, noticeable progress
in the areas of industry and services had been registered, resulting from a new development strategy
adopted by the Government, which was based on the liberalization of the economy attracting foreignWT/GC/M/57
Page 4
direct investment and the privatization of public enterprises.  Pursuant to the Cape Verde's
Constitution, a clear separation between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary powers
existed, guaranteeing the respect of fundamental rights and freedom.  Cape Verde's Constitution also
called for free access to private property and to a means of production.  This access was aimed, inter
alia, to profit-making.  Since 1992, Cape Verde's economy had shown a significant recovery with a
sustained growth of its GDP as well as a decrease in its inflation rate.  In 1999, Cape Verde had
completed its trade policy reform, which consisted of:  liberalization of imports already initiated in
1991;  the definition of a legal trade regime as well as a price regime;  promotion of competition;  and
the defense of consumers.  It was also worth stre ssing the promotion of foreign direct investment,
fiscal and financial reform, resulting in the set-up of private foreign and domestic commercial banks
followed by the liberalization of Cape Verde's exchange system.  When signing a stand-by agreement
with the IMF with the view  to improving its debt situation, Cape Verde also adopted a stabilization
policy based on a zero budget deficit financed from internal resources.  Aware of the exports' role for
its national development, Cape Verde had set up the Center for the Promotion of Tourism,
Investments and Exports (PROMEX), and the Institute for the Support of Enterprise Development
(IADE) whose objectives were to:  (i) support the private sector;  (ii) apply measures formulated for
the private sector;  and (iii) promote export-oriented domestic production.  In recent years, theimportation of goods and services had grown considerably thanks to the liberalization of imports,
private investment, the improvement of Cape Verde's economic infrastructure and foreign direct
investment.  A considerable increase in the exports of goods, in particular of footwear and clothing,
had also been registered while over the last few years exports of traditional products i.e. bananas, had
significantly dropped.  The development of the services sector, in particular tourism, insurance andbanking had made a significant contribution to Cape Verde's national economic growth.  The
European Communities was Cape Verde's main trading partner, followed by Asia and America.  Cape
Verde applied the Tariff of the Economic Community of West Africa States, based on the
Harmonized System of Goods Designation and Co dification.  At present, Cape Verde's custom
services were almost completely computerized.  Cape Verde's custom tariff rates comprised of tencategories according to the types of products.  In its custom valuation procedures, Cape Verde applied
the International Convention of Value (Brussels).  Cape Verde counted on the support of the General
Council and solemnly appealed to all Members, th rough their representatives at the present meeting,
to support Cape Verde in its accession procedure.  Cape Verde firmly intended to make every possible
effort to ensure that its accession process would be successful, and that it would bring advantages to
its people as well as to its trading partners.
17. The representative of the European Communities expressed his delegation's full support to
Cape Verde's request for accession. Cape Verde was one of the Community's ACP trading partners as
well as a least-developed country.  Therefore, the Community appealed to Members to bear this
reality in mind when considering Cape Verde's request for accession.
18. The representative of Mozambique expressed his country's support to Cape Verde's request
for accession. Mozambique welcomed Cape Verde into the multilateral trading system, particularly at
a time when the Community of Portuguese-speak ing countries, known as CPLP (Communauté des
Pays de Langue Portugeuse) and which included Cape Verde, was meeting at its highest level in
Maputo with a view to exploring new avenues to foster cooperation among these countries.
Mozambique was of the view that in the accession process to the WTO, particular attention should be
given to the acceding country's development stage and economic situation.  This was particularlyimportant in the case of LDCs.  Cape Verde being a least-developed country, Mozambique appealed
and hoped that the analysis of Cape Verde's accession process would be conducted in such a way that
it would not be obliged to make commitments that went beyond its institutional capacity.
19. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group
, welcomed and supported
Cape Verde's request for accession. On behalf of Mauritius, he said that his country had many points
in common with Cape Verde, namely:  both countri es were members of the Organization of AfricanWT/GC/M/57
Page 5
Unity (OAU) as well as of the African Caribbean and Pacific Community (ACPC), and above all they
were both island states. Mauritius hoped and appealed to all Members to support Cape Verde's request
for accession.
20. The representative of Angola said that his delegation supported Cape Verde's request for
accession not only because of its long-standing and very close ties with Cape Verde, but also because
Cape Verde, notwithstanding its harsh climate and landscape, a small archipelago situated in the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean, had managed to master the situation and to move along the path of
economic development.  Angola had been following Cape Verde's political and economic
restructuring, particularly its domestic trade regime.  Cape Verde was a member of the CPLP and of
the OAU and Angola would ask Members from other regions to show their solidarity.  Supporting
Cape Verde's integration into the multilateral trading system would prove that, if there was the
political will, something positive could be done in the LDCs.  Cape Verde's political leaders had thatwill and were determined to build up their country so that generations to come would have a better
future.
21. The representatives of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDCs
, Barbados , Canada , Chile , Côte
d'Ivoire, Cuba , Czech Republic , Ecuador , Egypt , El Salvador , Gabon , Ghana , Honduras , Hungary ,
Iceland, India , Japan , Kenya , Madagascar , Malta , Morocco , Nigeria , Norway , Qatar , Saint Lucia ,
Senegal, Singapore , on behalf of the ASEAN Members , Slovak Republic , South Africa , Sri Lanka ,
Switzerland, Turkey , Uganda , United States  and Uruguay  welcomed and supported the application of
Cape Verde and the establishment of a working party.
22. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  to establish a working party with
the following terms of reference and composition:
Terms of reference:
"To examine the application of the Government of Cape Verde to accede to the WTO
Agreement under Article XII, and to submit to the General Council recommendations which
may include a draft Protocol of Accession."
Membership:
Membership would be open to all Members indicating their wish to serve on the
Working Party.
Chairman:
The General Council would authorize its Chairman to designate the Chairman of the
Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members and with the representative of
Cape Verde.
23. The Chairman invited the representative of Cape  Verde to consult with the Secretariat as to
further procedures, in particular regarding the basic documentation to be considered by the Working
Party.  He also invited Cape Verde, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of the
General Council and, as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an observer during the period
when the Working Party was carrying out its work.WT/GC/M/57
Page 6
4. Accession of Yemen
(a) Communication from Yemen (WT/ACC/YEM/1)
24. The Chairman drew attention to the communication from Yemen in document
WT/ACC/YEM/1 requesting accession to the WTO Agreement.
25. The representative of Yemen, speaking as an observer , thanked the General Council for its
decision to consider his country's request for accession to the WTO.  The Republic of Yemen had
been proclaimed on 22 May 1990 as a positive result of the reunification of the former Yemen Arab
Republic and the People's Democratic Repub lic of Yemen. Democracy and market economy
represented the framework and the clear choice of this newly born State.  During its first decade as the
Republic of Yemen, the focus had been on political democratization and economic reform.  However,
during its first five years Yemen had faced the challenge of fully merging the two former parts of
Yemen into one political and economic system.  The inherited old systems had to be transformed intoa totally new system in line with the new democratic choices made by the two former regimes.
Unfortunately, several negative economic indicators had marked the 1990-1994 period, such as slow
economic growth and governmental budget deficits.  In October 1994, the House of Representatives
(Parliament) of Yemen had introduced some democratic and market-economy principles to the
Constitution of the Republic.  Today, Yemen enjoyed a fully fledged political democratic systemwhere political parties, NGOs and civil society organizations were actively and freely participating in
the political process.  Yemen's Constitution and law guaranteed freedom of the press as well as other
political rights.  Moreover, women were fully integrated in the political process.  In April 1997, the
second democratic parliamentary election took place and in September 1999 the first ever presidential
election was held.  The long border disputes with neighbours had been settled.  The signing of thehistoric Yemeni-Saudi marine and land border Treaty had actually ended the 66-year-old dispute, and
had opened up new hopes of partnerships with Yemen' s neighbours and with the world at large.  Since
early 1995 Yemen had embarked on a comprehensive structural adjustment reform programme
supported and administered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).
The IMF and the WB had praised Yemen for its prompt implementation and commitment towards theachievement of this important endeavour.  New laws had been enacted and more liberal economic
policies had been approved and implemented.  In addition, subsidies had been removed.  As a result,
positive economic indicators had been registered, especially in terms of a lower inflation rate,
increased foreign reserves and diminishing budget deficits.  With regard to trade, laws had been
amended to reflect the new market-economy principles introduced in Yemen's Constitution.  The IMF
and the WB had fully participated in the preparation and introduction of the new trade policies.  Less
protective tariffs had been introduced and customs procedures streamlined.  Import and exportrestrictions and import licenses had been abolished, and a free market floating exchange rate had
replaced the several former rates.  The implementation of such reform policies had also resulted in
serious suffering, especially among the poor, and had faced opposition from some politically
motivated quarters.  Nevertheless, Yemen reiterated  its commitment to fully implement its structural
reform programme.  Yemen strongly believed that such policies would enable its economy tomaximize the use of its rather limited resources, and furthermore it would facilitate its endeavour to
establish more sustainable economic and trade policies in line with the WTO Agreement and with its
accession requirements.  The implementation of the reform programme and of its trade-related
policies had enabled it to partly prepare for full integration into the world economy.  Yemen's request
for accession to the WTO was a clear indication of its determination.  Moreover, Yemen had alreadytaken several preparatory steps towards its accession process.  A ministerial General Policy
Committee to oversee the whole accession and negotiation process as well as a National Committee
for Preparation and Negotiation with the WTO, and several sub-Committees had been set up to
prepare different economic sectors for this huge task.  In addition, a Communication and Coordination
Office with the WTO within the Ministry of Suppl y and Trade as well as a Negotiation Team for
future negotiations had been established.  Yemen strongly counted on Members' support to accede toWT/GC/M/57
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the WTO.  As a least-developed country, Yemen looked forward to the collective and individual
support of WTO Members, which would be needed and appreciated throughout its accession process.
26. The representatives of Angola, Bahrain , Bangladesh , on behalf of the LDCs , Barbados ,
Bolivia, Brazil , Bulgaria , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Cuba , Czech Republic , Ecuador , Egypt ,
El Salvador, European Communities , Ghana , Guinea , Honduras , Hungary , Iceland , India , Japan ,
Kenya, Korea , Kuwait , Macau, China , Madagascar , Malta , Mauritania , Mauritius , Mongolia ,
Morocco, Mozambique , Norway , Pakistan , Philippines , Qatar , Senegal , Singapore , on behalf of the
ASEAN Members, Slovak Republic , Slovenia , South Africa , Sri Lanka , Sudan , Switzerland ,
Tanzania, Turkey , Uganda , and the United States  supported the application of Yemen and the
establishment of a working party.
27. The representative of Egypt said her country looked forward to welcoming Yemen as a WTO
Member in the very near future, and hoped that Yemen's accession process would be rapid and
smooth, taking into account its status as a least-developed country.  Egypt also hoped that no
excessive demands would be made during such a process, and urged WTO Members to make all
possible efforts to facilitate Yemen's accession to the WTO.
28. The representative of Turkey said his country believed that Yemen's accession to the WTO
would contribute to the overall well-being of the people of Yemen as well as to the economic
development of the region.  Turkey was prepared to provide its full support to Yemen throughout its
accession process.
29. The representative of Tunisia recalled that Yemen's request for accession, submitted only one
year after having obtained observer status, showed a clear commitment to the WTO's principles and
rules.  Yemen's accession would contribute to strengthening the WTO's universality and enlargementof its geographical basis while enabling Yemen to fully contribute to the work of the WTO, and
would provide conditions for the successful implementation of Yemen's integration as well as of its
development programmes.
30. The representative of Kuwait supported the statement made by Egypt.
31. The representative of Morocco said that trade relations between Yemen and Morocco had
always been sound and constant.  Morocco also hoped that Yemen's accession process would proceed
rapidly and that it would have the full support of the membership.
32. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  to establish a working party with
the following terms of reference and composition:
Terms of reference:
"To examine the application of the Government of Yemen to accede to the WTO
Agreement under Article XII, and to submit to the General Council recommendations which
may include a draft Protocol of Accession."
Membership:
Membership would be open to all Members indicating their wish to serve on the
Working Party.WT/GC/M/57
Page 8
Chairman:
The General Council would authorize its Chairman to designate the Chairman of the
Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members and with the representative of
Yemen.
33. The Chairman invited the representative of Yemen to consult with the Secretariat as to further
procedures, in particular regarding the basic documentation to be considered by the Working Party.
He also invited Yemen, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of the General Council
and, as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an observer during the period when the
Working Party is carrying out its work.
5. Accession of Albania
(a) Report of the Working Party (WT/ACC/ALB/ 51 and Corr.1 and Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1
and 2)
34. The Chairman recalled that in December 1992, the GATT 1947 CONTRACTING PARTIES
had established a Working Party to examine the request by Albania for accession to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.  Having regard to the Decision adopted by the General Council on31 January 1995, the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a WTO
Accession Working Party. The report of the Working Party was now before the General Council in
document WT/ACC/ALB/51 and Corr.1 and Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1 and 2.
35. Mr. Pinto de Lemos (Portugal), Chairman of the Working Party, introducing its report, said
that the Working Party had concluded its activities with the adoption of the Report on 3 July 2000 on
an ad referendum basis.  The Report of the Working Party contained the commitments by the
Government of Albania to implement the WTO Agreements at the time of accession.  The Appendix
to the Report included the Draft Decision and the Protocol of Accession to which the schedules of
concessions in goods and services were attached.  Members of the Working Party had noted with
appreciation the flexibility and openness demonstrated by Albania throughout the accessionnegotiations.  Members had commended the manner in which the Government and the Parliament had
moved quickly to introduce WTO-consistent legislation in all relevant sectors of the trade regime.
Notwithstanding the serious crisis in the region, Albania had pursued a steadfast and committed
course towards the liberalization of all economic sectors and the implementation of a WTO-consistent
trade regime.  The relevant laws and regulations were listed in the Report.  Albania's commitment to
the principles and rules of the multilateral trading system were expected to consolidate the ongoing
reform process, contribute to economic development, diversification and growth, attract technologytransfers and foreign investment, and generate additional employment opportunities, thus improving
the standards of living of the population and Albania's integration into the multilateral trading
community.
36. The representative of Albania, speaking as an observer
, expressed her country's respect for the
high professional level of its negotiating partners who had supported Albania on its way towards
economic reforms.  WTO membership offered Albania a new role in the international community.
Her country was grateful for the support provided by the United States, the European Communities,
Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, India, Czech and Slovak Republics, Poland,
Bulgaria and Kyrgyz Republic, as well as for their appreciation of Albania's efforts aimed at joining
the world trading system.  Albania was fully convinced that the WTO would continue to support itduring its challenge of membership.  Albani a, as a WTO Member would make a maximum
contribution to the WTO's work in international trade.  This would be achieved through strict
compliance with WTO principles in order to make use of all opportunities that the rule-based system
provided to world development and the economies of developing countries.WT/GC/M/57
Page 9
37. The General Council approved the text of the draft Protocol of Accession of Albania, and in
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93) and adopted the draft Decision on the Accession of Albania.
The General Council then adopted the report of the Working Party in do cument WT/ACC/ALB/51
and Corr.1, Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1 and 2.
38. The Chairman, on behalf of the General Council, welcomed the accession of Albania.
39. The representatives of Canada, Ecuador , on behalf of GRULAC , Egypt , European
Communities, India , Israel , Malta , Pakistan , Poland , on behalf of CEFTA Members  and Estonia  and
Latvia, Singapore , on behalf of the ASEAN Members , Switzerland , Turkey  and the United States
welcomed the accession of Albania and looked forward to working with Albania in the WTO.
40. The representative of Turkey said that his country commended Albania for its efforts aimed at
concluding this difficult task and was glad that all countries in the region had expressed the wish to
accede to the WTO and were now in the process of carrying out the necessary reforms towards that
end.  Turkey, as a trading partner of Albania, had always appreciated its efforts in the area of
privatization and restructuring of the economy and, in particular, those aimed at establishing a legal
framework based on WTO's principles to ensure Alba nia's full integration into the multilateral trading
system.  Albania's accession would contribute to th e well-being of its people as a result of its
integration into the world economy.
41. The representative of the United States said that Albania had had to go through all the
difficulties of the accession process and had made ef forts to move into the right direction.  Albania
had considered the work of the Working Party to be one of its most important economic policy
objectives.  In adhering to the WTO principles and rules, Albania had shown that trade liberalizationwas one of the main pillars of its economic liberalization and stabilization.
42. The representative of the European Communities said that Community shared Albania's
satisfaction and achievement.  The decision just taken constituted  the right outcome for the hard and
steady work carried out by Albania since the negotiations had restarted about one and half years ago.
By acceding to the WTO, Albania had demonstrated its readiness to apply all the relevant WTOAgreements and to undertake a process of liberalization and modernization of its economic legislation
which would bear fruit in the near future.
43. The representative of Poland, on behalf of the CEFTA Members
 and Estonia  and Latvia ,
noted with satisfaction that the accession processes of Albania and Croatia initiated in 1992 and 1993
respectively, had been accomplished successfully.  The CEFTA Members, Estonia and Latvia were
particularly pleased since at previous meetings of the General Council they had urged Members to
accelerate, wherever possible, the successful conclusion of the ongoing accession processes.  Theaccessions of both countries would consolidate and support their economic transformation and would
be a promising signal for other countries negotiating accession.  The accessions of Albania and
Croatia would contribute to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system and to further trade
liberalization to the benefit of all participants.
44. The representative of Ecuador, on behalf of GRULAC
, said that Albania's accession would
benefit the multilateral trading system.  He wished to highlight Albania's efforts to harmonize its
foreign trade regime and to bring it into line with  WTO rules.  He also underlined that market-access
negotiations had contributed in a meaningful way to the continued liberalization of goods and
services.WT/GC/M/57
Page 10
45. The representative of India expressed appreciation for the manner in which Albania had gone
through the entire accession process and showed an exemplary and constructive attitude.  India hoped
that over the next few years Albania would be able to reap the benefits of being a WTO Member.
46. The representative of Canada said that her delegation congratulated Albania for the hard work
it had done during the accession process.  Albania's accession was extremely important for the
economic development, prosperity and stability in Albania and in the region.  Canada hoped that
Albania would reap the benefits of new opportunities.
47. The representative of Pakistan said that his delegation commended Albania for the work
undertaken during the accession process and looked  forward to seeing Albania in the WTO and
playing its part in the development of the multilater al trading system.  Pakistan urged Members to also
consider the long pending cases of Saudi Arabia and China for an early accession.
48. The representative of Singapore, on behalf of the ASEAN Members , congratulated Albania
for having achieved a successful outcome of its accession process and looked forward to working with
Albania in the WTO.
49. The representative of Egypt said that her country wished to pay tribute to Albania for the
efforts and determination demonstrated during the difficult accession process.
50. The representative of Malta said that his delegation hoped that the efforts made by Albania in
order to accede to the WTO would bare fruit for its people.
51. The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support.
6. Accession of Croatia
(a) Report of the Working Party (WT/ACC/HR V/59 and Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1 and 2)
52. The Chairman recalled that in October 1993 the GATT 1947 Council had established a
Working Party to examine the request by Croatia for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade.  Having regard to the Decision adopted by the WTO General Council on 31 January 1995,
the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a WTO Accession Working
Party.  The report of the Working Party wa s now before the General Council in documents
WT/ACC/HRV/59 and Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1 and 2.
53. Mr. Mout (Netherlands), introducing the report of the Working Party on behalf of the
Mrs. Plate (Netherlands), Chairperson of the Working Party, said that during the period 1996-2000,
the Working Party had held several meetings to car ry out an examination of Croatia's trade regime.
Throughout this process, Members had been impr essed with Croatia's broad-ranging and dynamic
reform process aimed at achieving conformity with WTO rules and disciplines.  In tandem with this
multilateral exercise, interested Members had also conducted intensive and detailed bilateral market-
access negotiations with Croatia in goods, including agricultural products and services.  The results ofall these negotiations constituted the complete accession package of Croatia to the WTO.  Document
WT/ACC/HRV/59/Add.1 and 2 reproduced the schedule  of concessions and commitments on goods.
Document WT/ACC/HRV/59/ Add.2/Corr.1 and 2 reproduced the schedule of specific commitments
on services.  This documentation had been adopted by the Working Party at its meeting on
21 June 2000 on an ad referendum basis.  By this action, the Working Party had completed itsmandate. Members of the Working Party had noted with appreciation the efforts made by Croatia in
putting into place the necessary legislation to implement the WTO Agreements by the date of its
accession to the WTO.  This would ensure Croatia's effective participation in the WTO immediately
upon entry into force of the Protocol of Accession.  The Appendix to the Report reproduced the DraftWT/GC/M/57
Page 11
Decision for the General Council and the Draft Protocol of Accession of Croatia to the WTO
Agreement.  Croatia's accession to the WTO was an important step towards the integration of
countries in that region into the world trading system, and thus contributed to the attainment of
sustained peace and prosperity in that area.  Croatia's membership was expected to show the way for a
number of other countries seeking accession by facilitating and accelerating their smooth entry.  Onbehalf of the Chairperson of the Working Party, he wished to pay tribute to the continuous efforts,
good will and spirit of compromise which had enabled Croatia to overcome the many difficulties
encountered in this accession process.  It was a great pleasure to note that the traditional spirit of
pragmatism of the GATT – and now the WTO – had prevailed and allowed us to conclude this work.
The results achieved in Croatia's case spoke for themselves.
54. The representative of Croatia, speaking as an observer
, said that the present meeting marked
the conclusion of the seven-year period of the accession of Croatia to the world trading system.  This
had been a difficult but, at the same time, very rewarding process for Croatia.  The initial phase of the
accession process had been long due to circumstances that Croatia had had to face, but once it had
overcome those circumstances it had managed to conclude this complex process of exhausting and
comprehensive negotiations in three years.  He expressed appreciation to all Members that had been
directly engaged in the accession process.
55. In the course of the accession, Croatia had proved that it was fully committed to the rules,
principles and disciplines of the WTO system.  Croatia was ready to contribute within its capabilities
to the further development and strengthening of the WTO.  Since its creation, the GATT and
particularly the WTO system had proved to be a very effective mechanism for economic integration
of national economies through progressive liberalization and elimination of trade barriers.  Croatiahoped that, in preparation for, and during the next round of trade negotiations, the WTO would
demonstrate its ability to balance its role with regard  to trade liberalization with its regulatory role in
the globalized trading system.  It was for this reason that Croatia considered WTO membership as one
of the main features of its economic and trade policy.  Croatia was confident that its accession would
have a significant positive effect on its economy, as it was in many aspects crucial for the ongoingprocess of economic reforms.  Croatia had already assumed its WTO commitments and obligations
and all necessary legislative changes had been applied as of 1 January 2000.  The WTO Agreements
had been accepted and the majority of them had already been implemented without any transitional
periods.  Croatia's commitments and its legislative framework were currently in full compliance with
Uruguay Round obligations.  As a small economy, Croatia had to achieve significant growth in a
rather short period of time through increased competitiveness and export capacity through trade
liberalization, economic integration and attraction of foreign direct investment.  WTO membership
would further confirm the transparency and predictability of Croatia's trade legislation and would lead
to the openness and integration of its market.  The negotiation of market-access conditions with
20 Members was a good sign that even a small market like Croatia had great trade potential.  Croatia
would act as a responsible Member and would be an active participant in the future round of trade
negotiations.
56. The General Council approved the text of the draft Protocol of Accession, and in accordance
with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in
November 1995 (WT/L/93), and adopted the draft Decision on the Accession of Croatia.  The General
Council then adopted the report of the Working Party (WT/ACC/HRV/59 and Add.1, 2 and
Add.2/Corr.1 and 2.)
57. The Chairman, on behalf of the General Council, welcomed the accession of Croatia.WT/GC/M/57
Page 12
58. The representatives of Australia, Bolivia , Canada , Ecuador , on behalf of GRULAC , Egypt ,
European Communities, Hungary , Iceland , India , Israel , Japan , Malta , Pakistan , Poland , on behalf of
CEFTA Members and Estonia  and Latvia ,1 Singapore , on behalf of the ASEAN Members , Slovenia ,
Switzerland, Turkey  and the United States  welcomed the accession of Croatia and looked forward to
working with it in the WTO.
59. The representative of Turkey said his country congratulated Croatia for all its efforts made in
the past seven years to conclude the accession process.  Turkey had always appreciated and supported
the efforts made by Croatia towards liberalization of its economy and structural reforms.  Croatia's
accession was a consequence of its economic reforms.  Turkey believed that the accession would
contribute to the well-being of the people of Croatia as well as to its economic development.
60. The representative of the European Communities said that the commitments undertaken by
Croatia were important and similar to those undertaken by other developed Members.  They were a
clear signal of Croatia's openness to the international economic community.  By joining the WTO,
Croatia would benefit from the commitments already made by other Members therefore opening to its
industries a secure access to international markets.
61. The representative of United States said her country wished to congratulate Croatia on the
quality of its accession package.  The United States believed that a predictable and stable trade regime
would, not only serve to make an attractive envi ronment for trade and investment, but would also
advance reforms designed to increase the standard of living.  Improved economic conditions would
help cement the success that had been achieved in the area of regional peace and security.  As an
institution, the WTO would also benefit from the participation of another country that was making a
very difficult transition to a market-based economy.  The WTO accession would also advanceCroatia's transition and would enable it to compete in the global market.  The United States also
believed that this accession would help establish the necessary institutions to allow Croatia to
integrate its economy more closely with those of its European neighbours.
62. The representative of Slovenia said that after much effort and hard work Croatia deserved to
be a WTO Member.  He  underlined the importance of Croatia becoming a part of the international
rule-based trading system which was of particular relevance for South Eastern Europe.  Croatia's
accession had sent the right signal and had offered an example to be followed by other countries in the
region, in particular Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia.  Slovenia had strongly
supported the accession of Croatia to the WTO given the progress that Croatia had made in all aspects
relevant for its membership, as well as in other areas of structural reforms.
63. The representative of Japan noted Croatia's satisfaction at the prospect of expanded
opportunities for further economic growth, increase d trade and investment expansion, as well as
improved economic structure.  Japan was convinced that Croatia would take full advantage of the
opportunities opened by its accession to the WTO and would meet any  challenges resulting from the
accession.
64. The representative of Ecuador, on behalf of GRULAC , said that countries entering the WTO
had made considerable efforts towards reforming their foreign trade regimes and consolidating
improvements in their market-access conditions.  These efforts had made a significant contribution to
the strengthening of the multilateral trading system from which Croatia would now benefit.
65. The representative of Canada said that her country was particularly pleased that flexibility and
cooperation had triumphed in this case.
                                                     
1 See statement made by Poland on behalf of the CEFTA Members and Estonia and Latvia under
item 5.WT/GC/M/57
Page 13
66. The representative of India said that his country commended the accession process and noted
that the accessions of both Croatia and Albania could have been expedited if Members had shown
more flexibility and had accepted the constraints under which the two countries had had to work.
67. The representative of Singapore, on behalf of the ASEAN Members , congratulated Croatia
for having achieved a successful outcome and hoped that Croatia would reap the benefits of its
accession to the WTO.
68. The representative of Pakistan commended the work undertaken by Croatia.
69. The representative of Hungary said that his country, being Croatia's neighbour, considered
that this accession was a recognition of the important progress made by Croatia in the process of its
difficult economic transition.  At the same time WTO membership was an important milestone in the
integration of Croatia into the world economy as well as the European economy.
70. The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support.
7. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
(a) Reports of the Committee (WT/BFA/47 and 48)
71. Mr. Akil (Turkey), Chairman of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration,
introducing the Committee's reports on its meetings of 25 May (WT/BFA/47) and 3 July
(WT/BFA/48), drew attention to paragraph 8 and 4 of documents WT/BFA/47 and WT/BFA/48
respectively, concerning the contributions of Jordan and Georgia following their accession to the
WTO, which were before the General Council for approval.  The Committee also recommended that
entry-level WTO positions in the professional series should henceforth be considered as Grade 7/8 so
that re-grading of the post would not be a requireme nt when an individual is  promoted from Grade 7
to Grade 8 (paragraph 19 of WT/BFA/47).  Furthermore, the Committee recommended to extend, fora period of two years, the mandate of the Netherlands Court of Audit as the WTO External Auditor
for the audit of the 2000 and 2001 accounts (paragraph 23 in WT/BFA/47).  The Committee had
examined the budget outline for the year 2001 of the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
which had estimated the WTO contribution at Sw F 14,799,200.  The Committee took note of the
Report of the Working Group on Method of Calculat ing Assessed Contributions to the WTO Budget.
The Working Group had held three meetings, and the Secretariat had prepared various simulations as
proposed by Members using statistical data for different years allowing for a comparison with the
contributions approved in 2000.  Without prejudice to the final report it had been noted that the Group
considered it important to have homogeneity in the statistical data.  The Working Group would meet
again next week to continue its discussions.  The Committee had established a Working Group to
examine questions related to voluntary non-governmental contributions to the WTO.  This Working
Group would hold its first meeting by the end of July.  The Committee had also examined the meritpay system and had decided to pursue its discussions on this matter at a later date.
72. The representative of Bulgaria said that his delegation would not oppose the recommendation
of the Committee concerning the extension of the mandate of the Netherlands Court of Audit for a
period of two years.  However, his delegation would have preferred that a new tender be announced
for selecting an auditor as the proposed recommendation changed the conditions of appointmentwithout following the procedures agreed.  While th e conditions proposed by the Netherlands Court of
Audit might be competitive, this should have been confirmed through proper procedures.  He also
believed that if it was considered that the auditors should not be changed so often since they needed
some time to familiarize themselves with the WTO's work and, if three years was too short a period,
then the rules should be modified to allow for the ap pointment of auditors for five years.  This shouldWT/GC/M/57
Page 14
be seen as a matter of principle which concerned an amount of money which was not negligible as it
was comparable or greater than the contributions of some Members.
73. The representative of Egypt said that her delegation attached importance to the Working
Group on Contributions which had held three meetings so far to examine the question of large
variations of Member's shares of contributions from one year to another.  Her delegation hoped thatthe discussions in the Working Group would lead to an appropriate agreement on the method of
assessing contributions that would provide Members and the Secretariat with the necessary
predictability and stability with regard to the WTO budget.  With respect to non-governmental
contributions  to the WTO, Egypt believed that this was a highly political and sensitive issue.  Despite
their potential for additional funding, which was much needed, in particular in the area of technical
assistance, such contributions did raise many legitimate questions and difficult problems and put to
the test, indeed undermined, the very inter-governmental contractual nature of the WTO.  Non-governmental contributions also gave rise to conflicts of interest which were of great concern to
Egypt.  Therefore, this issue needed to be thoroughly examined and for this reason Egypt had
supported the establishment of a Working Group to look into this matter and would participate in its
work.
74. The General Council took note of the statements, approved
 the Budget Committee's specific
recommendations in paragraphs 8, 19 and 23 of its report in WT/BFA/47 and in paragraph 4 of its
report in WT/BFA/48, and adopted the reports.
8. Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultation with Pakistan (WT/BOP/R/51)
(b) Consultation with Bangladesh (WT/BOP/R/50)
(c) Note on the meeting of 4 and 5 May 2000 (WT/BOP/R/49)
75. Mr. Pospišil (Czech Republic), in the absence of Mr. Hovorka (Czech Republic), Chairman of
the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions, introducing this item said that the Committee
had met to consult with Bangladesh and Pakistan on 4 and 5 May.  In both cases, the consultations
had been suspended to be resumed later in the year.  The consultations with Bangladesh were the firstheld under regular procedures.  The Committee had decided to suspend these consultations on the
understanding that, with technical assistance from the Secretariat, Bangladesh would notify a
comprehensive phase-out plan for the removal of the remaining balance-of-payments restrictions by
December 2000 and resume consultations shortly thereafter.  In the consultations with Pakistan, the
Committee had accepted Pakistan's commitments to present a full notification regarding the status of
implementation of its phase-out plan by the end of June, and any other measures taken for balance-of-
payments purposes and, on this basis had decided to suspend the consultations until September.  Thedate of 25 September had been subsequently set for resuming these consultations.  The Committee
had also considered notifications by the Slovak Republic and Romania in which these countries had
suggested that there might not be a need for annual consultations.  The Committee had decided, in
order not to set a wrong precedent, to maintain the procedures.  However, it had been agreed to hold
consultations without producing the normal set of documentation.  The date for such consultations hadbeen set for 18 September.
76. The representative of the United States expressed concern with regard to Pakistan's
notification, particularly the suspension of its phase-out programme.  The US hoped to discuss this
matter with Pakistan very soon and that the latter would reconsider the suspension of the programme.WT/GC/M/57
Page 15
77. The representative of Pakistan said his authorities looked forward to discussing with all
partners the question of the phase-out plan.  Pakist an's policy was certainly aimed at phasing-out all
remaining restrictions.  However, Pakistan was facing a very difficult balance-of-payments situation.
Although there had been no inflows from international financial institutions into Pakistan in the last
year, Pakistan had not imposed further restrictions.  Pakistan too was seeking greater market accessespecially for products of its interest.  A positive response from partners in areas of interest to
Pakistan that would make the task of removing the remaining few restrictions much easier and would
facilitate the implementation of the programme that Pakistan had intended to implement before the
series of balance-of-payments crisis.
78. The General Council took note of the statemen ts and of the communication in WT/BOP/R/49
and adopted the reports on the consultations with Bangladesh (WT/BOP/R/50) and with Pakistan
(WT/BOP/R/51).
9. Five-year review of the exemption provided under paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994
(WT/GC/W/228)
79. The Chairman recalled that the exemption under paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994 provided, in
subparagraph 3(b), for a five-year review after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement in
order to examine whether the conditions which created the need for the exemption still prevailed.  Theexemption would thereafter be reviewed every two years for as long as it was in force.  He also
recalled that at its meetings on 15 July, 6 October and 4 November 1999, 7-8 February 2000 and
3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council had considered this matter and had agreed to revert to it.
Since the May meeting of the General Council, further written questions had been submitted by Japan
(WT/GC/W/402) and the European Communities (WT/ GC/W/403).  The responses provided by the
United States to the questions by the European Communities and Japan, which had been made
available to delegations outside the room, would be circulated shortly.
2
80. The representative of Japan said that, at the present meeting, he would make preliminary
comments since the US answers had only been received by his delegation on 14 July 2000.  Further
responses would be provided at a later stage.  Japan was prepared to discuss with the United States thequestion of how to conclude the review.  However, he believed that the US answers would not allow
the review to be conclude in a satisfactory manner.   First, he wished to comment on the US answer
that "there is no provision in paragraph 3 of the GATT for the General Council to examine why the
US legislation was deemed necessary.  As has been noted previously, the terms of the exemption did
not require [US] to justify invocation of its coverage".  Japan did not agree with the United States'
interpretation of subparagraph 3(b) which stated that the review was "for the purpose of examining
whether the conditions which created the need for the exemption still prevail".  Japan had expressedits position on this matter on many occasions and regretted that the United States considered that by
merely stating that the legislation in question was still in place was sufficient to meet this requirement.
The US interpretation of this requirement would rend er the review meaningless.  The purpose of the
review was to examine collectively if such a need still existed and was not limited to simple
information as to whether or not the legislation was still in place.  Further discussions on this matterwere required with the United States in order to better understand its answers.  Japan was prepared to
consult with the United States as well as with other interested Members.
81. The representative of the European Communities said that his delegation endorsed many of
the points made by Japan.  The information provided by the United States on 14 July 2000 would be
referred back to Brussels.  He noted that many important sets of interests were at stake.  First,economic interests:  it continued to be a source of surprise that the most powerful economy still
required to protect its industry in this way.  He questioned whether the United States really needed
                                                     
2 Subsequently circulated in WT/GC/W/408.WT/GC/M/57
Page 16
this added protection.  Second, systemic interests:  the question was how to conclude this review and
what kind of review should be carried out.  The Community firmly believed that this review should
not simply be a rubber stamp operation, but that Members should have a substantive discussion on the
need for the United States to continue to have recourse to the exemption in paragraph 3 of the
GATT 1994.  In the Community's view, it was not tenable to argue, as the United States had done,that only one condition had to be satisfied namely, that in order to continue recourse to the exemption
no modification to the original legislation had taken place.  The Community believed that it was
unreasonable not to be able to have a debate on whether there was a continued need for recourse to
these provisions of the GATT 1994.  The General Council had a role to play in further consideration
of some of these issues.  The Community had also raised the question in the context of the discussions
on implementation of WTO Agreements since it believed very firmly that this was a question related
to implementation of the existing provisions.  The Community believed that given the difference ordivergence of positions between the United States and other delegations there was a need to discuss
seriously how one could take this matter forward.  This was perhaps an area where consultations
among interested delegations would be appropriate.  The Community wished to revert to this matter in
subsequent meetings of the General Council either in a regular meeting or in a special session dealing
with implementation.
82. The representative of Panama said that, in previous meetings, his country had supported the
initiative of establishing a working group to review the legislation notified by the United States under
paragraph 3 of GATT 1994.  Panama considered that consultations should be held with a view to
establishing such a group and regretted that due to the lack of time it had not been possible to do so.
In his country's view there could be no exemption if  the notified legislation did not comply with the
requirements of paragraph 3 of GATT 1994.  Thus far, the United States had notified a number of
laws, which it claimed complied with the requirements.  However, it had not yet been examined
whether this was indeed the case.  Panama had reasons to believe that the notified laws did not
comply with the requirements of paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 and had tried to clarify this as well as
other points in the General Council and in bilateral discussions.  He then drew attention to three
points.  First, while paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 stipulated that the legislation should be mandatory,
the notified laws provided for, and there had been, exceptions to or suspensions of the laws.  Second,
both the laws and the implementing regulations and rules, which the United States claimed were
covered by the exemption and which should comply with the same requirements, had been amended
on many occasions.  While paragraph 3 required that the laws should not be amended so as to
diminish their conformity, Panama had received no details regarding those amendments, nor
satisfactory replies to its questions on this subject. Panama and other Members had grounds to believethat some of these amendments had increased the inconsistency of the laws with the WTO
Agreement.  Third, paragraph 3 required that the laws should be applicable to national waters or
waters of an exclusive economic zone.  Some major aspects of the US laws applied to activities
carried out in the territorial waters of other nations and economic areas that could by no means be
classified as exclusive to the United States.
83. His delegation had not been able to attend the previous special session of the General Council
on implementation.  However, it was Panama's understanding that the review called for under
paragraph 3 would be covered by this process.  His delegation wished to be informed in good time of
any consultations or discussions on this issue in order to be able to participate therein.  Panama did
not consider the review process under paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 as being concluded at the presentmeeting.  On the contrary, the review could note even begin without first having considered the
preliminary question of whether the notified legislation met the requirements.  He reiterated that
Panama supported the establishment of a working group to examine this matter promptly and in
depth.  He also urged the Chairman to hold consultations as soon as possible.
84. The representative of the United States said that her country had answered the questions put
by Members and was prepared to continue to do so.  Panama has suggested that a working groupWT/GC/M/57
Page 17
should be established to examine this matter.  The Community and other delegations wished to
include this matter under implementation.  Some delegations had stated that they had not been
consulted and that they had some questions.  The United States had answered all the questions put by
Members but these answers had not satisfied them.  Paragraph 3(b) of the GATT 1994 required the
Ministerial Conference to review the exemption not later than five years after the entry into force ofthe WTO.  The review had begun at the July 1999 meeting of the General Council and had continued
in the October 1999, February and May 2000 meetings.  In September 1999, the United States had
organized consultations, in which a number of Members had participated, on the operation of the
exemption.  Since then the United States had answered many questions posed by Members and would
continue to do so.  The provisions of paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 were not a waiver but an important
part of the GATT 1994, which was necessary in or der to deal with non-conforming provisions of
domestic legislation of a non-discretionary character in the specific area addressed by the exemption.Under paragraph 3, as long as the legislation remained in force and had not been modified to reduce
its conformity with Part II of th e GATT 1994, it remained exempt and Part II did not apply to it.  This
provision had been agreed to by all the Members and was a central part of the Uruguay Round results.
85. She recalled that on 20 December 1994, the United States had invoked the provisions of
paragraph 3(a) with respect to the specific legislat ion that met the requirements of that paragraph and
this had been acknowledged by the Director-General on the same day.  That exemption carried with it
an obligation to provide Members, and this was what the United States had done, with annual
statistical reports pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 3(c) of the exemption.  The United States
had fully abided with this reporting requirem ent, submitting reports in WT/L/112 for 1995, in
WT/L/201 for 1996, in WT/L/257 for 1997 and in WT/L/293 for 1998.  The terms of the exemptiondid not require the United States to justify the invocation of its coverage.  However, she would once
again provide the context for the legislation at issue.
86. The core shipbuilding industrial base in the United States, upon which the US Navy depended
to meet the acquisition needs, had historically been sustained by a combination of commercial
shipbuilding for the domestic trade and military orders.  With defense orders declining in a tightbudget environment, it was critical for US shipbuild ers to build commercial ships for this trade if a
viable industrial base was to be maintained to meet Navy requirements.  The Navy relied upon
shipyards that performed commercial work for the Jones Act trades from day-to-day maintenance of
naval and surge fleet vessels, such as the Ready Reserve Fleet.  Vessels in the Ready Reserve Fleet
were maintained in a state of readiness by the US Government, capable of providing strategic sealift
resources to meet national defence and other national security requirements.  It was the United States'
strongly held position that the only purpose of the review provided for in paragraph 3(b) was toexamine whether the conditions which had created the need for the exemption still prevailed.  In other
words, whether the legislation in force had not been amended in any way which would disqualify it
from coverage under the exemption.  The conditions which created the need for the use of this
exemption by the United States still existed.  Since the United States had invoked this exemption in
1994, there had been no amendments, legislative changes or measures adopted by the United Statesthat would alter the US position in conforming to the coverage by the exemption.  The United States
had satisfied the requirements contained in paragraph 3.  First, it had provided detailed annual
reporting of vessel orders and deliveries from US shipyards as required by paragraph 3(c) of the
GATT 1994.  Second, there had been no amendments, legislative changes on measures adopted by the
United States that would alter the US position in conforming to the coverage by the exemption.Third, under the terms of paragraph 3, satisfaction of the requirements allowed the exemption to
continue.  The United States believed that the General Council, acting for the Ministerial Conference,
should conclude its examination by noting that the conditions which had created the need for this
exemption still existed.  She questioned whether consultations requested by delegations could resolve
this matter.  If a working group was established bu t the matter remained unresolved, then delegations
would perhaps wish to deal with it in the context of implementation.  If that was not possible thenWT/GC/M/57
Page 18
perhaps during the next round.  She sought guidance on this matter because the United States had met
the requirements.
87. The Chairman said that he had indicated at the May meeting that he would hold consultations
on this matter.  However, since then he had had some bilateral discussions which had seemed to
indicate that such consultations were not possible, not  only due to the lack of time, but also to the lack
of confidence to reach any results.  At the pr esent meeting, delegations had stated that such
consultations should be held both on the substance and the procedures. He therefore announced that
such consultations would be held on 13 September 2000 at 10 a.m.
88. The representative of the Dominican Republic said that his delegation wished to participate in
the consultations referred to by the Chairman.
89. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  to revert to this matter.
10. Waiver under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) EC/France – Trading arrangements with Morocco
(i) Request for extension of the waiver (G/L/357, G/C/W/194)
90. The Chairman drew attention to the request for extension of the waiver in document G/L/357,
and to the related draft decision in document G/C/W/194, and invited Mr. Pérez del Castillo
(Uruguay), Chairman of the Council for Trade in G oods, to report on the consideration of this matter
by the Council.
91. Mr. Pérez del Castillo (Uruguay), Chairman of  the Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of this request, said that the Council had agreed to forward the draft
decision contained in G/C/W/194 to the General Council for adoption.
92. The General Council took note of the request an d, in accordance with the Decision-Making
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decision in G/C/W/194.3
11. Work programme on electronic commerce
93. The Chairman recalled that, at its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council had
agreed that the Chairman would conduct consultations on the way to proceed with this issue and to
revert to this matter at the present meeting.  At the informal meetings on 4 and 11 July 2000, it had
been clear that a consensus existed in the General Council to get back to work on e-commerce.  It had
also been possible to reach an unwritten understanding that since there continued to be differences in
views among Members as to the status of the 1 998 Declaration, there was a need for a pragmatic
approach that did not prejudice the view of any delegation.  Since the 1998 Declaration was political
"without prejudice to the rights and obligations of Members", this had to be the basis for actions at the
present meeting.
94. As he had stated on 11 July 2000, the consultations and informal discussions in the General
Council had shown broad support for an approach comprising the following three elements:  (i) to
agree to reinvigorate the work in the WTO on e-commerce on a practical basis, which was understood
to be without prejudice to any delegation's position on the status of the 1998 Declaration;  (ii) to invite
the four subsidiary bodies:  i.e. the Goods, Services and TRIPS Councils and the Committee on Trade
                                                     
3 The Decision was subsequently circulated in WT/L/361.WT/GC/M/57
Page 19
and Development, to pick up where they had left off in their work on e-commerce within their
respective spheres of competence, identify cross-sectoral issues, and report back to the General
Council at its regular meeting in December 2000;  and (iii) to agree to consider how best to organize
the General Council's work on e-commerce in light of  the reinvigorated work of the subsidiary bodies,
including the question of an ad hoc task force to assist in consideration of subsidiary body reports andcross-sectoral issues.  The timing of this discussion would depend on consultations to be held on this
issue following the present meeting.
95. All representatives who spoke expressed appreciation to the Chairman for the consultations
carried out on e-commerce.
96. The representative of Pakistan said that his delegation fully acknowledged the importance of
the work that was required to be done in the area of e-commerce including the examination of some of
the practices and proposals which were being currently considered in certain countries in this area.Pakistan was prepared to go along with the understanding to resume work on e-commerce without
prejudice to the position of any party regarding the 1998 Declaration.  During previous discussions on
this matter, his delegation had raised other related issues on which there was a need for the WTO to
begin work.  Those issues related to the areas of more direct and immediate interest to developing
countries such as the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, trade and debt, and tradeand finance.  The Chairman, in his concluding remarks at the General Council informal meeting, had
stated that although he had not envisaged any linkage between the work programme on e-commerce
and the other three programmes of work suggested by Pakistan, he was prepared to hold consultations
on those issues, if there was an agreement.  He had noted that no objection had been raised to this
proposal.  He therefore considered that the Chairman would carry out consultations on Pakistan'sproposal regarding the need for work programmes on the aforementioned issues.
97. The Chairman said that, as stated by Pakistan, he had indicated at the informal meeting that
he did not wish to create any linkage between the work programme on e-commerce and the other
work programmes, but that he was prepared to hold consultations as requested by Pakistan.  He
confirmed that it was his intention to do so in the autumn.
98. The representative of Australia said that her country welcomed the Chairman's proposal to
resume work on e-commerce and wished that the subsidiary bodies would circulate their reports well
ahead of the December General Council meeting so that Members would be in a position to decide at
that meeting on priorities and to further structure the work programme on e-commerce.
99. The representative of Japan said that the Chairman's proposal was practical and reasonable.
Japan supported the proposal to resume the work programme on e-commerce and to consult on how
best to organize the General Council's work, including the possibility of establishing a task force toaddress horizontal issues.  Taking into account the very rapid development of e-commerce, it would
be desirable that an ad hoc task force be established as soon as possible, preferably at the October
General Council meeting.  Japan believed that promoting substantive discussions on cross-sectoral
issues of e-commerce would be in the interests of both developed and developing countries who
wished to maximize the benefits resulting from information technology development.  He welcomed
the fact that this matter would be addressed independently from other issues.  In Japan's view, the
question of establishing working groups to deal with other issues should be examined on a case-by-
case basis and separately from the issue of e-commerce.
100. The representative of New Zealand said that his country together with other APEC Members
at the recent meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in Darwin (Australia) had called for the
continuation of the WTO work programme on e-commerce, noting in this regard the need for better
horizontal coordination among relevant WTO bodies.  Accordingly, New Zealand supported the calls
made at the present meeting for the WTO to advance its work in the dynamic e-commerce area.  TheWT/GC/M/57
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General Council had a crucial role to play in providing the necessary policy guidance that would be
needed to progress the useful work already undertaken by the subsidiary bodies.  In this regard, while
New Zealand welcomed any further contributions that the subsidiary bodies might make in this area in
the coming months, it considered it important that the General Council did not lose sight of the reports
that the subsidiary bodies had already submitted.  The General Council was in a position to take upthis work along with any supplementary contributions at its December meeting.  He recalled that the
subsidiary bodies had already sought the General Council's guidance in specific areas, and the General
Council needed to address these points when the issue would be taken up later in the year.  New
Zealand remained flexible concerning the working mode that the General Council might pursue to
facilitate this work, whether it be by way of an informal task force, or simply through focussed
informal consultations.  In the view of New Zealand these were really one and the same thing.  The
goal in either case was to provide the policy guidance needed to take this important issue forward.
101. The representative of India said that his delegation broadly supported the three elements of
the future work programme on e-commerce.  India noted that the Chairman in his statement had
reiterated that the resumption of work in the subsidiary bodies was without prejudice to the Members'
positions with respect to 1998 Declaration and their rights and obligations.  Furthermore, it was
important to ensure that, while continuing with  the work in the subsidiary bodies, no issue was
excluded a priori.  The Chairman had indicated his intention to hold consultations on how and when
the General Council should deal with this subject and India wished to participate constructively in
such consultations.  His country welcomed the Chairman's intention to carry out consultations on the
proposal for the establishment of other groups.
102. The representative of Cuba said that her country was in favour of the resumption of work on
e-commerce in the subsidiary bodies and supported the views expressed by Pakistan and India on this
matter.  She welcomed the Chairman's statement concerning work in other areas of interest to
developing countries such as trade and transfer of  technology, trade and debt, and trade and finance.
103. The representative of Singapore, on behalf of the ASEAN Members , noted with satisfaction
that there was agreement to continue the work on e-commerce.  The reports of the four subsidiary
bodies had highlighted a number of issues that would require further consideration and hence, the
work programme on e-commerce should resume as soon as possible.  In this respect, ASEAN
supported the Chairman's proposal that the subsidiary bodies update their reports for consideration by
the General Council.  This was a sensible approach as it had almost been a year since the subsidiary
bodies had completed their reports.  The subsidiary bodies, in their reports, should clearly identify
horizontal and sectoral issues for further examination.  The General Council should then examine
those reports and provide opportunities to discuss the horizontal issues identified.  If necessary, theChairman could designate a friend to facilitate technical discussions.  At the same time, the four
subsidiary bodies would address the sectoral issues identified in their reports.  This approach would
help to address the concerns of Members and, at the same time, provide a practical way to bring
forward the work on e-commerce.
104. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group
, said that the African Group
attached great importance to the work on e-commerce being reinvigorated since this new type of trade
presented numerous challenges and opportunities to developing countries, especially in Africa.  The
Group had no difficulties in going along with th e Chairman's proposal, which was without prejudice
to any delegation's position on the status of the 1998 Declaration.  The Group also noted the
Chairman's response to the question raised by Paki stan, namely, that he would carry out consultations
on other issues which were of  crucial importance for the development of the African region.
105. The representative of Brazil reiterated his country's support for the Chairman's proposal.
Brazil was satisfied that the Chairman had taken in to account the points raised by it, namely, theWT/GC/M/57
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question of timing and the need to hold consultations.  Brazil considered that any additional work
should await the reports of the subsidiary bodies.
106. The representative of Ecuador said that his delegation supported the Chairman's proposal and
wished to participate in the consultations on other issues of interest to developing countries, and in
particular the issue of the relationship between trade and debt raised by Ecuador in the course of thepreparatory work for the Ministerial Conference.
107. The representative of Venezuela thanked the Ch airman for the proposal on how to resume the
work on e-commerce.  His country's position, in favour of continuing to identify sectoral issues was
known.  This matter should be fully examined taking due account of its importance for developing
countries and the need to deal with related issues which had implications for the WTO Agreements.  It
was necessary to identify those Agreements that covered the issues related to e-commerce and the
areas in which efforts were required to develop trade policies – or digital policies – to be part ofmultilateral commitments.  In this respect Venezuela was ready to work with the Chairman.  It was of
fundamental importance to continue discussions on e-commerce, in particular since the work in the
WTO on this matter lagged behind as compared to the work in other international organizations.
108. The representative of Korea supported the Chairman's proposal for the resumption of work on
e-commerce in the four subsidiary bodies.  As Korea had repeatedly stated, there was an urgent need
to discuss trade-related aspects of e-commerce in order to ensure that unnecessary trade barriers
would not be imposed.  This was particularly important since e-commerce had rapidly developed in
the absence of a regulatory regime.  Korea did not have a strong view on the question of theestablishment of a task force, but preferred the establishment of such a task force as soon as possible,
rather in October than in December.  Since there were some cross-cutting issues which would not be
dealt with in the subsidiary bodies, the establishment of such a task force should not be delayed.
109. The representative of Hong Kong, China support ed the way ahead as envisaged in the three
elements outlined by the Chairman's proposal.  Hong Kong, China welcomed the fact that consensus
existed to get back to work on this strategically important issue.  His delegation was particularly glad
that the four subsidiary bodies were now being re-mandated to pick up work where they had left off.
This was clearly the most pressing issue.  The pragmatism shown by delegations in this respect was
much appreciated.  His delegation was interested in participating in future consultations, both on the
organization of work at the General Council level – including the question of a possible ad hoc taskforce – and on the separate issues mentioned by other delegations such as trade and transfer of
technology, trade and debt, and trade and finance.
110. The representative of Canada supported the proposal on e-commerce and welcomed the
consensus to resume work in this area.  Her delegation supported the establishment of an ad hoc task
force and looked forward to particip ating in future consultations.  Canada appreciated the clarification
that the Chairman would hold consultations on the issues raised by Pakistan in the autumn.  She
recalled that in 1999 Canada had made a proposal to establish a working party on globalization andmight also request consultations on this matter.
111. The representative of the European Communities said that his delegation had stressed on
many occasions the importance that the EC attached to resumption of work on e-commerce and
therefore supported the Chairman's three-part proposa l.  With regard to the consultations on how the
General Council should carry its work forward, the EC wished to reserve its right to reflect and revisitits position in the light of those consultations.
112. The representative of Uganda said that his country supported the views expressed by
Mauritius on behalf of the African Group.  His country was glad  that subsidiary bodies were expected
to pick up were they had left off and, in this context, noted the work done by the Committee on TradeWT/GC/M/57
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and Development.  Uganda expected that the Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries would
also examine the issues of relevance to the LDCs.  He noted the Chairman's intention to consult on
other equally important issues.  Uganda had an interest in the working group on trade and transfer of
technology which was linked to the question of e-commerce and wished to participate in the
consultations thereon.
113. The representative of Chile said that his country supported the resumption of work on
e-commerce.  This was important and pressing work in the WTO.  Chile was in favour of an extension
of the moratorium on e-commerce.  He recalled that at a recent meeting in Darwin (Australia), the
Ministers of Trade of APEC had announced an AP EC-wide moratorium on the imposition of customs
duties on electronic commerce transmissions.  Had the moratorium in the WTO been in force, such a
declaration in APEC would not have been necessary.  Chile wished that the moratorium be renewed at
the appropriate time.
114. The representative of Israel supported the Chairman's proposal and hoped that it would be
possible to make progress on various aspects which were under discussion on this matter.  By doing
so, the WTO would prove again that it was a relevant forum to respond in time to the needs and
developments of the market.
115. The representative of the Czech Republic said that his country supported the Chairman's
proposal to resume the work programme on e-commerce.  With regard to future work, the main role
should be played by the subsidiary bodies under the supervision of the General Council.  Although his
country did not oppose the establishment of a task force, it believed that, if such a task force were to
be established, it should act as a facilitator be tween the General Council and the subsidiary bodies.
His country was ready to participate in any future consultations to be held on this issue.
116. The representative of Mexico said that his country agreed to proceed along the lines proposed
by the Chairman.  Mexico attached importance to the fact that the decision on resuming work on
e-commerce be taken without prejudice to the Members' positions on the status of the
1998 Declaration, and in particular the moratorium.  Mexico wished to participate in a constructive
manner in future consultations.
117. The representative of Switzerland supported the Chairman's proposal and hoped that the
resumption of the work in the subsidiary bodies would make it possible to identify the issues that had
to be dealt with on a priority basis and would give a more operational aspect to the WTO work in the
area of e-commerce.  Switzerland wished to participate in the consultations to be held on the work
programme on e-commerce as well as the consultations on the question of establishing working
programmes, as suggested by Pakistan.
118. The representative of Norway said although the Chairman's proposal was short of its
expectation, Norway could go along with that proposal in order to bring this matter back on the
agenda before the world and the press were to discover that the WTO, unlike other fora, had not dealt
with this issue for more than one year.
119. The representative of Guatemala said that her country supported the Chairman's proposal to
continue the work on e-commerce.  It was particularly important for the subsidiary bodies to identify
horizontal and sectoral issues.  Guatemala wished to participate in the consultations on the question of
a task force.
120. The representative of Uruguay said that his country attached particular importance to the
work on e-commerce and supported the Chairman's proposal to resume the work on this issue in the
subsidiary bodies.  Uruguay would participate actively in the consultations to be held by theChairman.WT/GC/M/57
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121. The representative of the United States said that e-commerce was important to all Members
and her country supported the Chairman's proposal to allow the subsidiary bodies to take up where
they had left off and to further identify cross-cutting issues to assist the General Council in
accordance with the 1998 Declaration.  Her delegati on welcomed the APEC statement affirming the
moratorium on e-commerce which was still in force in the WTO.
122. The representative of Turkey said that his country supported the Chairman's proposal.  He
believed that the proposal was an appropriate starting point and that the resumption of the work
programme would enable Members to speed up work in this area and would bring a significant degree
of clarity.  If Members considered this work to be insufficient, Turkey would be ready to discuss other
options.  A task force should be established if Members considered it could make a concrete
contribution.  Otherwise, it would be a diversion of the work that had been done thus far.  If the
principles of the work on e-commerce were redefined, the issue of the moratorium would have to bediscussed.  Turkey wished to participate in future consultations.
123. The representative of Panama supported the resumption of the work on e-commerce.  Panama
considered that it would be appropriate that a task force be established as suggested by the Chairman
to work under the auspices of the General Council.  There was one pending issue, namely, the terms
of reference of such a task force which included the issues to be dealt with, membership and time-frame.  At this stage, any work should be limited to the horizontal issues set out by the subsidiary
bodies in order to avoid duplication and to ensure that no delegation was overburdened with too many
meetings.  The task force should have a limited time-frame and should be open-ended and its
meetings announced in advance.  Panama supported the consultations on the issues proposed by
Pakistan and Ecuador.
124. The representative of the Dominican Republic supported the resumption of the work on
e-commerce in the subsidiary bodies without prejudice to delegations' views on the 1998 Declaration.
His country also supported Pakistan's proposal to hold consultations on the issues of interest to
developing countries such as trade and technolo gy transfer, trade and debt, and trade and finance.
125. The representative of Jamaica supported the three point proposal for resuming the work on
e-commerce.  Jamaica also looked forward to partic ipating in the consultations to be held after the
summer break on trade and debt, trade and finance, and trade and transfer of technology.
126. The representative of Costa Rica said that from the outset his country had supported the work
in this area and therefore welcomed the Chairman's proposal to resume the work on e-commerce.
Costa Rica supported the point made by Japan, Korea and other delegations with regard to the need to
establish an ad hoc task force in this area.
127. The representative of Colombia supported the resumption of the work on e-commerce on this
issue which was of great importance for developing countries.  His country welcomed the
establishment of an ad hoc task force, but wished to reserve its position on the question of other
working groups.  There was already a very heavy burden of work in the WTO and therefore, any new
working group would need to have a very specific aim and clearly defined goals.
128. The representative of the Slovak Republic said that her country had no difficulties in going
along with the Chairman's proposal.  The Slovak Republic supported the work on all issues related to
e-commerce and welcomed the resumption of the work in this area.
129. The representative of Hungary said that give n the growing importance of e-commerce and the
fact that Members had not, thus far, managed to address all e-commerce related issues in the WTO,
his country strongly supported the continuation of the work programme and supported the Chairman'sproposal.  His country believed that there was a need  to establish an ad hoc technical group to dealWT/GC/M/57
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with horizontal issues.  Hungary was ready to take part in the consultations to be held on this issue as
well as on the other three issues referred to by Pakistan.
130. The representative of Honduras supported the Chairman's proposal to resume the work in the
subsidiary bodies which was understood to be without prejudice to the status of the 1998 Declaration.
His country also supported the need for consultations with regard to the issues such as trade andtechnology transfer, trade and debt and trade and finance and wished to participate in future
consultations thereon.
131. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed
 to proceed with the work on
e-commerce in line with the three points contained in the proposal made by the Chairman.
12. Internal transparency and effective participation of members
132. The Chairman recalled that at the informal meetings of the General Council on 4 and 11 July
Members had provided a number of constructive comments on his proposed statement on this issue.
In light of these discussions he had made a number of changes to accommodate the concerns of
delegations.  This statement was by no means the end of the road for the issue of internal
transparency, but rather intended as a stock-taking exercise of the practices applied by Members over
the past six months.  He recalled that the issue of internal transparency and effective participation of
Members had been identified as one of the priorities for further consultations at the General Councilmeeting on 7-8 February.  Members had subsequently been invited to submit written inputs as a
means to guide the discussion and some 19 contributions had been received from individual or groups
of countries.  Following the initial exchange of views on 28 March, an informal paper (Job(00)/2331),
containing the main points made by delegations had been circulated by the Secretariat.  Furthermore,
he had circulated a short discussion paper (Job(00)/2551) to provide a non-exhaustive list of questionsand issues which had been suggested by the debate and which could be addressed in further
deliberations.  The General Council addressed the issues at its meeting on 3 and 8 May.  At the
informal meeting on 4 July, Members engaged in a further exchange of views on many of the issues
raised in the discussion paper.
133. The frank and positive discussion on internal transparency and the effective participation of
Members which delegations had engaged in over the past six months demonstrated the organization’s
ability to respond to an issue which went to the very core of how the multilateral trading system
operated.  In the course of the discussions he had suggested that the various issues be grouped in three
clusters, i.e. overriding questions, the day-to-day consultation process and the preparation and
organization of Ministerial Conferences.  So far the discussions had mainly focused on the first two
clusters.  This process had gone hand-in-hand with determined efforts by himself and the Chairs of
subsidiary bodies to improve the inclusiveness and flow of information of the various consultativeprocesses.  It was his impression that most Members appreciated that improvements had been made.
Some Members, however, had indicated that the impr ovements fell short of their wishes.  Members
had agreed to continue the discussion with a view to identifying and agreeing on further
improvements in the day-to-day consultative process in this organization.  He believed that Members
faced a common responsibility in keeping the practices of the WTO under continuous and closescrutiny.
134. Based on that assessment he highlighted a number of points which reflected the mainstream
of the discussions of the first two clusters so far as well as the practices Members had tried to follow
for consultations during the last few months.  First, within the framework of the WTO Agreement it
seemed that Members generally did not see the need for any major institutional reform which couldalter the basic character of the WTO as a Member-driven organization and its decision-making
process.  There was also a strong commitment of the Members to reaffirm the existing practice of
taking decisions by consensus.  Second, Members seemed to recognize that interactive open-endedWT/GC/M/57
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informal consultation meetings played an important role in facilitating consensus decision-making.
As a complement to, but in no way a replacement of this open-ended consultation process,
consultations might also take place with individual Members or groups of Members.  In such cases, in
order to ensure that the consultations contribute to the achievement of a durable consensus, it was
important that Members were advised of the intention to hold such consultations, that those Memberswith an interest in the specific issue under consideration were given the opportunity to make their
views known, that no assumption should be made that one Member represented any other Members
except where the Members concerned had agreed on such an arrangement, and that the outcome of
such consultations was reported back to the full membership expeditiously for consideration.
135. With respect to the third cluster on the preparation and organization of Ministerial
Conferences Members had yet to have a substantive discussion.  He recalled that Members had agreed
to take up this issue well in advance of the next Ministerial Conference, and that he would initiateconsultations in the autumn.
136. All representatives who spoke appreciated the efforts made by the Chairman in finding a
solution to the important issue of internal transparency.
137. The representative of Brazil agreed that the statement reflected the Chairman's interpretation
of the current status of the discussions on internal transparency and that it fully recognized that more
work had to be done.  In light of this Brazil could support the Chairman's progress report.
138. The representative of Bulgaria said that participation in the decision-making process was one
of the most important aspects of membership in the WTO.  Since WTO decisions were legally binding
and could have significant consequences, especially for highly trade dependent countries like
Bulgaria, his delegation attached special importance to the question of how to improve the internaltransparency in the WTO so as to ensure the effective participation of Members in the decision-
making process.  The discussions in the General Council on internal transparency and effective
participation of Members had made a good start and he hoped that they would continue in a
constructive spirit so that Members could arrive at solutions and real improvements.  Although the
Chairman's draft statement which had been presented at the informal meeting of General Council on11 July had not been accepted as expressing a common view it was a useful contribution to the
discussion insofar as it had helped to focus the debate on a few important points.  He said that
Members had made some practical progress in the working methods of the General Council.  In
particular on one issue there had been preparatory meetings which had sought to encompass all
delegations, grouped together in several small groups.  However, last minute changes in the draft texts
following such meetings had already taken place.  If Members aimed at making genuine progress in
the current practices, delegations should seek to formulate a set of principles as well as agree on waysof implementing these.  This would ensure that transparency and effective participation would
become permanent features of WTO decision-making in the future.
139. One principle, mentioned both in the Chairman's discussion paper and in his informal draft
text, was the consensus principle.  His delegation believed that it would be insufficient only to
reaffirm this principle.  If addressed in the context of internal transparency and effective participation,this principle should be formulated so as to state th at internal transparency and effective participation
of all Members were indispensable for genuine consensus.  In his delegation's view, the core
principle, which would ensure internal transparency and effective participation by all Members,
would be the requirement that decisions were formally adopted only after extensive informal
consultations, open to all Members, and initiated well in advance of the formal adoption of decisions.
140. From the point of view of transparency and effective participation the two key factors in such
consultations were information and time.  The purpose of informal consultations should be to give
delegations sufficient information about the proposals made, including drafts tabled, and anWT/GC/M/57
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opportunity to interact and exchange views with ot her Members.  There should be sufficient time to
enable Members to identify their interests and formulate their positions.  Each proposed draft decision
should be tabled sufficiently in advance so that delegations could contact their capitals and a process
of coordination with domestic agencies and constituencies could be undertaken.
141. He emphasized that small group meetings in no way could replace informal meetings, open to
all Members and as such could not be considered consultations.  In some exceptional circumstances,
and only if it could be demonstrated that small group meetings could usefully complement the open-
ended consultations, could such meetings be allowed to play a limited preparatory role.  This role
would have to remain both auxiliary and subordinate to the role of the open-ended consultations.
Small group meetings with the participation of Secretariat staff should be subjected to strict
disciplines which would guarantee their auxiliary, subordinated, and preparatory character with
respect to the open-ended consultation process.
142. Further work on the issue of preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences was
necessary.  One of the most important lessons which Members could draw from Seattle was to avoid
last minute proposals agreed between some Members in exclusive small group meetings.  The present
time-frame for the submission of proposals twelve hours before the respective meeting was
inadequate for a transparent and inclusive decision-making process and proposed that this time-framebe increased and that draft decisions be submitted before or together with the convening notice for the
meeting at which they were to be discussed.  He believed that solutions were within reach and that if
Members genuinely wished to improve the transparency of this organization and make its decision
making more inclusive, work should continue and be intensified after the summer break.
143. The representative of New Zealand agreed that the discussions on internal transparency had
been encouraging and had highlighted a number of useful points, particularly about the importance of
effective consultation and information dissemination processes in contributing to the development of
a durable consensus.  His delegation believed that it would be fitting for the General Council to note
in positive terms the progress that had been made in discussions so far in increasing understanding of
the issues involved.  However, it was the practices themselves, not what was said about them, that themembership stood to be judged by.  His delegation believed that these practices stood up to the test.
In light of the discussions so far there seemed to be a renewed commitment on the part of the
membership to strive to ensure internal transp arency and effective participation for all Members.
144. The representative of Nigeria said that the Chairman's statement was a balanced and
important step towards helping Members find solutions  to the issue of internal transparency.  This
issue was of major concern and importance to most developing Member countries of the WTO.  His
delegation had already submitted a paper on internal transparency which he hoped would be takeninto account by Members in their further considerations.  He urged the Chairman to continue
consultations in this area so as to counter the grow ing frustration of some Members.  He said that it
had become clear that the exclusion of some or a majority of Members from the decision-making
process could affect negatively progress in  other aspects of the WTO work programme.
145. The representative of Paraguay expressed his delegation's support for the Chairman's
statement.  He thanked the Chairman and the Dir ector-General for their efforts to achieve genuine
progress on the internal transparency of the organization.  The principle of consensus remained
fundamental to the work of the WTO.  Effective and timely dissemination of information would allow
Members to decide whether they wanted to participate in the informal discussions of a specific topic.
Recent discussions on internal transparency had helped clarify certain issues on which furtherprogress could be made and his delegation would support the Chairman in his endeavours to bring this
issue closer to a conclusion.WT/GC/M/57
Page 27
146. The representative of El Salvador, on behalf of the Paradisus Group , i.e. Guatemala ,
Honduras, Nicaragua , Panama , and the Dominican Republic , as well as Venezuela  and Cuba , thanked
the Chairman, the Director-General, and Deputy Director-General, Mr. Rodríguez, for their efforts in
conducting this debate.  Although the practices for internal consultations were moving in the right
direction further debate to find and implement concrete solutions to problems resulting from a lack oftransparency was clearly needed.  The ultimate objective should be the complete elimination of non-
transparent practices ensuring the effective participation of all Members in the decision-making
process.  He said that Members had not yet fully complied with the Chairman's invitation to comment
on his discussion paper (Job(00)/2551) of 26 April.   The list of issues in this paper was very
comprehensive.  His delegation believed that such a debate of the Chairman's discussion paper could
benefit from written reactions from Members.  The Paradisus Group would be submitting a paper
explaining its position in detail as well as elaborating on all the issues which had been raised by theChairman in that document.  His delegation lo oked forward to finding definitive and practical
solutions to the problem of internal transparency in the coming months.
147. The representative of Saint Lucia acknowledged the efforts by the Chairman towards
facilitating greater internal transparency and effective participation of Members which were essential
to building confidence in the WTO processes.  She said that the spirit of transparency had beenmaintained in a growing number of open-ended informal consultations and even in consultations in
smaller groupings.  It was clear that on a day-to-day basis greater transparency in WTO processes was
being put into effect and although Members had not defined precise guidelines on this issue progress
had been made.  However, much remained to be done.  She said that her delegation was reluctant to
join any consensus which would appear to sanction negotiations and/or decision-making in smallgroups. She acknowledged the utility of informal consultations in smaller groups when open-ended
sessions appeared to have reached an impasse and when some Members needed to consult more
closely towards achieving a compromise acceptable to the general membership.  Members were free
to consult among themselves towards this end and the good offices of other Members could be sought
where necessary.  With respect to small informal consultations held by chairpersons, the Director-General, Deputy Directors-General, and the Secretariat among interested delegations, her delegation
believed that individual WTO Members should be allowed to decide whether they had an interest in a
specific issue under consideration and wished to express their views.  Where consultations occurred in
small groupings, an opportunity to engage in such consultations should be given to all Members, even
if this could only be accommodated through a series of small gatherings open to Members on a self-
selection basis.  She said that the decisions of the WTO had an impact on all Members and this was
why the rules-based multilateral trading system required that the entire membership was given anopportunity to effectively participate.
148. The representative of Panama said that it was clear that it would not be possible to reach a
consensus decision on a draft statement on internal transparency.  It was equally clear that the
statement should not be a negotiated text or in any way attempt to draw conclusions.  However, the
Chairman's statement was valuable as it provided Members with a clearer picture of his view on theprogress made on specific items raised by delegations during informal previous meetings.  He
believed that the Chairman's statement was a useful contribution to the on-going debate on internal
transparency and his delegation looked forward to providing more specific comments during further
deliberations on this important issue.
149. The representative of Mexico agreed that it was important to continue work in the three
clusters identified by the Chairman so as to improve internal transparency and the effective
participation of all Members.  He said that his delegation would need to study the Chairman's
statement in more detail before making further comments. He agreed that there was no need to enter
into a drafting exercise since this was the Chairman's progress report.  However, Members should be
given the opportunity to comment in more detail at a la ter stage.  With regard to information flow his
delegation believed that this should focus on the evolution of consultations rather than specific results.WT/GC/M/57
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It was imperative to ensure that the absence of a Member at a smaller group consultation did not
disadvantage such a delegation in any way.  His delegation believed that it was important to
emphasize that smaller group consultations could never pretend to be reaching a consensus and that
consensus could only be secured through the participation of the full membership. It would be an
improvement in the practices of the WTO to clearly establish this principle.
150. The representative of  Singapore, on behalf of the ASEAN Members , supported the general
thrust of the Chairman's statement, which had broadly captured the various views that had been
expressed by Members. This would bring the work  forward in improving the internal transparency
and effective participation of Members.  He reiterated his understanding that a proper combination of
the small group process with regular open-ended meetings was indispensable. ln this regard, the
outcome of discussions in the small group process should be promptly and regularly reported to the
entire membership.  Open-ended meetings would provide the opportunity for all Members to expresstheir views and positions on the discussions in the smaller groups, which should actively take into
account this feedback in their further work.  Such a back-and-forth process should continue as
necessary.  He added that the processes of decision-making and consultations should always be
Member-driven, with decisions taken on the basis of consensus.
151. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group
, said the issue of internal
transparency was of crucial importance to the confidence in the functioning of the WTO as a
Member-driven organization.  He noted that that the Chairman had captured most of the elements
contained in the paper on internal transparency and effective participation of all Members, which had
been submitted by the African Group as a contribution to the debate.  It remained clear that some
Members still believed that the improvements witnessed so far fell short of their wishes and thatfurther consultations were required on several issues.  He emphasized the need for the decision-
making process to be inclusive and with the broad participation of all Members.  However, his
delegation recognized that the WTO as a Memb er-driven organization c ould not dispense with
informal consultations in the decision-making process at various levels and in the different WTO
bodies.  In order to avoid that these consultations resulted in the marginalization of any Member, clearguidelines for their conduct were required.  Such guidelines would allow for a clear and structured
approach to informal consultations, including the identification of the circumstances under which such
consultations were to be initiated, who should initiate these and with whom, the obligation to report
the outcome of such consultations on a regular basis to the whole membership, and the obligation to
take into consideration the views expressed by Members during deliberations on such reports.  With
respect to the third cluster on the preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences his
delegation could go along with the Chairman's propos al and looked forward to further consultations in
the autumn.
152. The representative of Colombia supported the Chairman's statement.  As all Members began
to feel that they could fully exercise their rights, the work of the WTO would be considerably
facilitated.  The confidence-building exercise was a precondition for future success in the organization
and Colombia attached top priority to the topic of internal transparency in WTO decision-making.Members shared a responsibility to assist the Ch airman in finding a way towards a solution to this
topic.  His delegation supported the notion that the Director-General, the Chairman of the General
Council and Chairpersons of subsidiary bodies were free to hold consultations at any time and on any
issue as long as these consultations had been requested by Members.  Such consultations had to be
open to anyone wishing to participate in them.  In addition, Members should be informed as soon aspossible regarding the outcome of these consultations in open-ended informal meetings of the General
Council or subsidiary bodies as appropriate.  He emphasized that any agreement reached in such
informal consultations could in no way prejudge the consensus-building among the entire
membership.WT/GC/M/57
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153. The representative of Jamaica thanked the Chairman for his statement.  He noted that the
statement was made on the Chairman's own responsibility and seemed to capture the current status in
what was an ongoing process.  His delegation believed that progress had been made towards greater
inclusiveness in the work of the organization but that more work was required.  He said that the
attention which the issue of internal transparency had received since Seattle demonstrated that theorganization was responding to the concerns of its Members.  Jamaica believed that much work
remained to be done with respect to smaller group consultations to ensure that Members had full and
prior knowledge of such meetings and of the issues  involved.  He emphasized that inclusion in such
consultations should be a matter of choice for each delegation.  His delegation looked forward to
making further progress on this issue.
154. The representative of Korea said that the consultations on internal transparency had been very
useful and that meaningful improvements in how the WTO does business had already taken place.  He
agreed that more work on this issue was needed and Korea looked forward to further consultations in
the months to come.  The issue of internal transparency had attracted great attention from outside the
organization and it was clear that the result of further deliberations would have a bearing on the
credibility of the WTO.  As a result, his delegation believed that at a certain point in the consultation
process, Members needed to take stock and let the outside world know how far this process had
moved and where it was heading.  In this light the Chairman's progress report was very useful.
155. The representative of Hong Kong, China ag reed that because the issue of internal
transparency had been a priority issue since February, it was important that Members received a
progress report.  He expressed appreciation for Chairman's leadership in what had been at times a
rather complex discussion.  He said that the Chairman's statement reflected the mainstream of thediscussions on the first two clusters and noted that there had been some substantive improvements in
the consultative processes over the last few months.  He agreed that more work remained to be done,
particularly on the third cluster relating to the preparation and organization of Ministerial
Conferences.  His delegation looked forward to taking part in further consultations on this issue.
156. The representative of Hungary welcomed the Chairman's statement which was both pragmatic
and realistic and which reflected the general thrust of the discussion Members had engaged in on the
issue of internal transparency.  He agreed that more work needed to be done, especially concerning
the preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences.  He agreed with the representative of
New Zealand that while the process of finding solutions to the questions on internal transparency was
important, the real yard stick was the tangible improvements in the practices applied by this
organization.  He thanked the Chairman for his efforts to ensure that such real improvements were
continuously taking place.
157. The representative of Bolivia said that she did not believe that Members had to accept or
reject the Chairman's statement since it was merely his understanding of the current state of play on
the issue of internal transparency.  Her delegation supported the statement made by El Salvador on
behalf of the Paradisus Group.  She acknowledged that improvements in the area of internal
transparency had been made over the past six m onths.  However, Bolivia did not believe that much
progress could be made if Members continued to work on texts which seemed to lend legitimacy to
the work of smaller groups.  She expressed concern that the Chairman's statement seemed to suggest
that smaller group consultations were acceptable as long as these made the results of the consultations
known to the entire membership.
158. The representative of Uganda endorsed the statement by Mauritius on behalf of the African
Group and noted that the Chairman's statement represented his assessment of progress made in the
area of internal transparency.  As such, Uganda agreed with the representative of Bolivia that
Members did not have to accept or reject the statement.  It was clear that there should be a continuous
interaction between any smaller group consultations taking place and the open-ended process.  InWT/GC/M/57
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addition, participation in smaller groups should be matter of choice for individual delegations.  His
delegation looked forward to further consultations on all the clusters outlined in the Chairman's
statement.
159. The representative of Egypt welcomed the changes made by the Chairman to the draft
statement discussed on 11 July.  Egypt did not believe that Members had exhausted the discussions on
this important item which should lead to the adoption of concrete and comprehensive measures to
improve internal transparency and allow for the effective participation of all Members in the decision-
making process.  She said that her delegation had welcomed the compilation by the Secretariat
(Job(00)/2331) of 14 April as this provided a comprehensive overview of the main points raised by
delegations. She expressed disappointment with the Chairman's discussion paper (Job(00)/2551) of
26 April because it neglected those elements that could help to improve the functioning of the WTO
as an intergovernmental organization and avoid the recurrence of another Seattle while fullyrespecting the rules of procedure.  Although she recognized that the Chairman's discussion paper was
not exhaustive, her delegation still believed that Members needed more time to discuss specific
measures such as informal open-ended consultations, limited consultations known as the Green Room
or plurilateral consultations.  In addition, further consultations would be needed on such issues as how
to revive the role of the formal mode as the sole negotiating and drafting exercise, the format ofnegotiations, role of the Chairman, duration and frequency of negotiating meetings, management of
meetings and many other elements contained in the submission of the African Group and in that of a
Group of like-minded countries including Egypt.  Her delegation believed it was premature to attempt
to conclude on the discussions so far.  She agreed w ith the Chairman's division of the issues into three
clusters but emphasized that Egypt favoured dealing with all three clusters simultaneously rather thanseparately.
160. The Chairman's statement should be seen more as a status report of the deliberations among
Members so far.  With regard to the present statement, her delegations had a number of preliminary
comments.  First, the reference to the general se ntiment among Members that there was no need for
any institutional reform concerning the practice of taking decisions by consensus was incompletewithout a specific mention of Article IX of the WTO Agreement.  Second, the issue of informal
consultations still required more work before any conclusions could be put forward.  Third, the
reference to the modalities of one form of informal consultations remained ambiguous as to how and
who could initiate such consultations, how Memb ers could make their views known and how they
could avail themselves of the opportunity.  These were all pending questions which needed clearer
answers.  She said that the reference to an outcome and status of such consultations remained unclear
since their principal objective was to facilitate consensus-building rather than produce a specificresult.  Egypt looked forward to pa rticipating in further consultations.
161. The representative of the United States welcomed the Chairman's statement as a balanced
progress report of the discussions on the issue of internal transparency.  By incorporating some of the
concerns voiced by a number of delegations at informal meetings the Chairman had ensured that his
report would help Members move forward on this important issue.  The United States believed thatsignificant improvements to the consultative process, including the communication among Members
as well as between the membership and the Secretariat, had already been made.  Such improvements
were, to a large extent, due to the efforts of the Chairman, the Director-General, the Deputy Directors-
General and the Secretariat to ensure transparency throughout the consultation processes.  She agreed
that more work was needed on this issue and she encouraged the Chairman to continue consultations
in the autumn.
162. The representative of Barbados said that it was clear that the functioning of the WTO,
including the process of decision-making, was of the utmost importance to Members and should be
based on a strong foundation of internal transparency and participation by all delegations.  Her
delegation believed that such principles were of particular importance to small delegations which hadWT/GC/M/57
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limited leverage to ensure that their views were taken into account.  Barbados believed that the open-
ended consultative process played a central role in facilitating consensus decision-making.  However,
in the event that some consultations could benefit from a different format than the open-ended process
it remained crucial that every effort was made to en sure that all Members could contribute with their
positions.  She agreed with the Chairman that it was equally important that no presumption was madethat some Members represented the interests of other delegations.
163. The representative of India said that since the Chairman's statement was a progress report on
his responsibility his delegation did not wish to enter into a detailed discussion.  However, India
would have preferred such a progress report to be  communicated through an agreed Chairman's text.
This was important because such texts would prov ide guidance for the future course of the work.
Even sensitive issues should be dealt with by consensus despite the fact that it would take more time.
He expressed concern that the outside could interpret a Chairman's statement as a collective decisionreflecting the views of the entire membership where, in fact, it was merely an assessment by the
Chairman, on his responsibility, of the current state-of-play in the process of internal transparency.
He said that despite the fact that the Chairman, as well as several delegations, had emphasized that
this was only an interim progress report, the Chairman's statement seemed to suggest that Members
had finalized work on the first two clusters. He asked the Chairman for clarification on this point andnoted that his delegation believed that keeping the working practices of the WTO under close scrutiny
had to be a continuos task.  India would study the Chairman's statement in more detail and reserved
the right to provide additional comments at a later stage.
164. The Chairman said that the discussion among Members had so far mainly focused on the day-
to-day consultative process and that was what he had attempted to reflect in his statement.  However,
it was clear that Members had agreed to continue the discussion on the day-to-day consultative
process.  He said that it was also clear that since Members had yet to address the issue of the
preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences in detail this issue would figure prominently
in future consultations.
165. The representative of Pakistan noted that the Chairman's statement reflected the various areas
of disagreement among Members as well as the need for further consultations.  His delegation agreed
with the views expressed by Mexico, Egypt and India in terms of raising certain systemic and
pertinent questions.  He agreed that the Chairman's statement was an assessment on his responsibility
of the discussions so far, had no legal status and would have no bearing on future discussions on the
issue of internal transparency.  His delegation shared the views expressed by the representative of
India as to the perception of a Chairman's statemen t outside the organization.  Pakistan considered the
question of participation of all the smaller delegations in the decision-making process a major issue.His delegation believed that any statement on consensus decision-making which did not mention
Article IX of the WTO Agreement was incomplete.  His delegation was of the view that Job(00)/2551
remained on the table and that a number of issues required further elaboration by Members and urged
the Chairman to hold further consultations on these outstanding issues.  Pakistan believed that open-
ended informal consultations was the most prudent way forward so as to avoid the risk ofmarginalizing smaller delegations.  Some clarification was required on a number of issues relating to
consultations with individual Members or groups of Members, who could decide which Members to
invite and on which subject matter.  Pakistan agreed that smaller group consultations on the specific
issues did have some merit but it was imperative that the process remained manageable.  He stressed
that such consultations could not ultimately lead to decision making since consultations, by their verynature, were not formally a part of the decision-making process.  The decision-making process
ultimately belonged to the General Council or other relevant WTO bodies.
166. The representative of the European Communitie s agreed that internal transparency was an
important issue which merited further reflection by Members and encouraged the Chairman to pursue
all aspects of the matter through informal consultations in the autumn.  He recalled that on the basis ofWT/GC/M/57
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the Ministerial Declaration of May 1998, the General Council also had a mandate to look at the issue
of external transparency.  Although not referred  to in the Chairman's statement the Community
expected that consultations on this issue would be initiated shortly.  He announced that the
Community hoped to present a formal submission on possible improvements in the functioning of the
WTO later this year.
167. The representative of Turkey recognized that the statement was not a negotiated text but
rather a balanced summary of discussions so far as well as an indication of the direction of further
consultations.  It was clear that more work had to be done on this issue and Turkey supported the
Chairman in his efforts to find an urgent and satisfactory solution.
168. The representative of Canada said that the large number of interventions on internal
transparency clearly showed that this was an im portant issue to all Members.  She recalled that
Canada had submitted a written contribution which touched upon both internal and externaltransparency.  Her delegation considered the Chairman's statement on internal transparency as a
snapshot of the discussions so far rather than an attempt at concluding on the process.  Several
delegations had commented on the fact that the practices of the WTO had improved over the past
six months and that Members had a much better sense of the current activities of the organization.
This progress was positive, but it was clear that more consultations were needed, particularly on thedifficult issues related to the preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences.  Canada looked
forward to participating in such consultations in the autumn.
169. The Chairman expressed his appreciation for the constructive approach which Members had
taken to the discussion on internal transparency.  This would serve as a good basis for further
consultations.  He suggested that delegations took note of the statements and agreed to come back tothe issue of internal transparency in the autumn.
170. The General Council so agreed.
13. Integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance to least-developed countries
(IF)
(a) Report by the Director-General
171. The Chairman invited the Director-General to make a report to the General Council on
progress made on the review of the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to
Least-Developed Countries (IF).
172. The Director-General said that his report was based on the decisions of the Heads of the six
core agencies as contained in their Joint Statemen t, which had been circulated in WT/LDC/SWG/IF/2,
and to which he drew Members' attention for consideration and support in its implementation.  Heads
of the other agencies would also be reporting to their respective Governing Bodies.  Collectively, thesix core agencies were confident that the implementation of the decisions contained in the Joint
Statement would significantly improve the func tioning of the IF which was a complex inter-
agency/Member-driven exercise, and which had sought to address trade-related development needs of
the LDCs.  Ministers had instructed the WTO to start this job in 1996.  He had focussed on this matter
in February 2000, and had been disappointed with the findings.  While time would be required for theimprovements to begin to take effect, these improvements would be delivered.
173. The review of the IF had been mandated by  the framework documen t (WT/LDC/HL/1/Rev.1)
endorsed at the High-Level Meeting for LDCs in October 1997.  This review was designed essentially
as an inter-agency exercise, involving the six IF agencies (World Bank, IMF, UNDP, UNCTAD, ITC
and the WTO).  To initiate the review, the core agencies had agreed that an evaluation would beWT/GC/M/57
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necessary to provide a basis for the review, and that the World Bank would task-manage this
independent evaluation.  The review team had provided an evaluation, which had been circulated in
WT/LDC/SWG/IF/1.  The agencies had carefully considered the team's conclusions and
recommendations as a useful input for the whole review exercise.  In the review exercise, the agencies
had considered inputs from Members, pursuant to the framework document requiring the agencies totake into account the views expressed by the LDCs as well as those of their development partners.  In
preparing its report, the review team had consulted representatives of the LDCs, agencies and donors
both in Geneva and in capitals.  Following the issuance of the report, and during subsequent
discussions among the core agencies on necessary changes to the IF, he had conducted several
informal consultations with both the LDCs a nd WTO Members, who were also members of the
Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, separately and jointly, in order to obtain
their reactions prior to the meeting of the Heads of Agencies held on 6 July 2000 in New York.  Theother core agencies had also conducted similar consultations both with their members and their
Governing Boards.
174. The following key elements came out of the New York Meeting:
(i) Mainstreaming
175. The notion of mainstreaming was probably the single most important feature of the new IF
arrangements.  Trade policy, like any other policy, only made real sense when it was understood and
acted upon in the context of national development and poverty-reduction strategies as a whole.  Thus,
in order for trade policy and trade-related technical assistance needs to receive full consideration in
national deliberations on development strategies, the IF process needed to be mainstreamed.  The bestframework to do so was the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process.  This
approach had been developed by the World Bank and the IMF as a means of articulating national
economic priorities as a basis for dialogue with the international community.  The mainstreaming
exercise would encompass two stages.  First, the strategy formulation stage, where trade policy and
trade-related technical assistance needs would be spelled out as an integral part of nationaldevelopment and poverty reduction strategies.  This  stage would be led and coordinated by the World
Bank, which was equipped with development expertise and field presence, through its PRSP process.
The other core agencies would participate in the PRSP exercise, making contributions, as appropriate,
in their respective areas of competence and expertise.  Other agencies and interested parties would
also participate in the PRSP process.  Second, trade-related projects and programmes arising from the
strategy formulation stage would feed into the World Bank Consultative Group (WBCG) or the
UNDP round table meetings.  At these meetings, countries would present their medium-term policyframework, including their integration strategy and trade-related projects, and their financing needs
for support by the donor community.  The WTO would continue to pursue current programmes under
the auspices of the IF.  The WTO also wished to ensure that appropriate arrangements were made to
deal with situations in which the WBCG meetings or the UNDP round tables were not taking place, or
were trade-related activities, i.e. those organized on a regional basis, did not naturally fall into theWBCG/round tables process.
(ii) Governance
176. The core agencies felt that the new IF needed  to ensure transparency, accountability and
ownership on the part of its stakeholders.  Therefore, the agencies had decided to expand the oversightbody of the IF, currently the Heads of Agencies, to a Steering Committee where both the donors and
the LDCs would take part in decision-making relating to the overall functioning of the IF.  This
enhanced oversight body was to ensure that the new IF did not become another bureaucratic process,
something for which it had been cr iticized in the past, and that any difficulties arising from the
functioning of the IF could be quickly identified and tackled at the highest level.  The agencies hadgiven themselves until 31 October 2000 to develop the details of the structure and operatingWT/GC/M/57
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procedures of the Steering Committee, and would consult with all interested parties on this matter.  At
the administrative level, the WTO would continue to chair the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG),
which in turn would report to the Steering Committee.  The Administrative Unit, currently located in
the ITC, would be folded back into the WTO Secretariat.  The role of the WTO Secretariat would
consist largely of coordination, including servic ing the IAWG, and ensuring information flows among
agencies, donors and LDCs.  As for the Steering Committee, the agencies would draw up precise
terms of reference for the Working Group by 31 October 2000, again in close consultation with
interested parties.
(iii) The IF Trust Fund (TF)
177. The core agencies had decided to seek donor support for and voluntary contributions to an
Integrated Framework Trust Fund (TF) with the pur pose of mainstreaming trade and trade-related
technical assistance into development architecture.  The six agencies were fully convinced that
without allocating resources to the IF it would be impossible to deliver the improvements that they
were committed to.  In many countries, trade and trade-related technical assistance needs had not
always received the attention they deserved in national policy formulation.  Therefore, homework was
essential for:  (i) strategy formulation, including th e analysis of LDCs' constraints in integrating into
the multilateral trading system:  and (ii) the identification of specific needs for technical assistance
and capacity-building.  The bulk of the proposed TF would be used for the purpose of underwriting a
successful mainstreaming process.  However, a pa rt of it would be used for capacity-building
initiatives for those LDCs which were not adequately covered by the mainstreaming exercise.  The TF
could also finance regionally based activities, i.e. seminars on trade negotiating skills.  The amountthe six agencies were seeking for the TF was US$20 million over the next three-years (2001-2003).
There was an impression in some quarters that this proposal was an attempt by the WTO Secretariat to
get its hands on additional technical assistance resources. He wanted to make it clear that this
impression was wrong.  The fund was not intended as an additional pot of resources for the WTO to
carry out its technical assistance activities but predominately for the mainstreaming exercise.  TheWTO's role in the mainstreaming exercise would be  very modest.  The TF would be administered by
the UNDP, which had consid erable expertise in such matters.  Resource mobilization for the TF
would be led by the UNDP as part of the collective responsibility of the inter-agency process.  The
agencies had agreed to assess the position with respect to the TF towards the end of 2000.  The Heads
of Agencies had also agreed that progress made on the new IF would be reported to the on-going
preparatory process of the Third UN Conference on LD Cs, to be held in May 2001.  By that time, the
six agencies hoped to have something positive and concrete to report on.  He would continue to seekMembers' advice and support as he believed that the IF contained elements that could be very useful
to the most marginalized Members.
178. The representative of Japan thanked the Director-General and said that his country welcomed
the understanding reached among the six core agencies to share responsibility in the better functioning
of the IF.  Japan also welcomed the idea that the World Bank would lead the effort to mainstreamtrade-related development projects in the overall development strategies, and that the other agencies
would also provide their contribution. Combined with the efforts made by the agencies, Japan firmly
believed that it was important for developed countries, including Japan, to promote better
coordination and cooperation between trade and development officials.  He fully recognized that the
Director-General had attempted to find an early so lution to the establishment of a TF and was aware
that the Director-General had organized two cons ultations with the DAC countries before the New
York meeting.  However, Japan would appreciate if, before committing itself on matters which
involved, inter alia, financial contributions, the Director-General would fully consult with the
Members concerned.WT/GC/M/57
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179. The representatives of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDCs , Canada , Egypt , European
Communities, Guinea , Haiti , Japan , Lesotho , Madagascar , Mauritania , Mauritius , on behalf of the
African Group, Norway , Switzerland , Tanzania , Uganda , United States , and Zambia  thanked the
Director-General for his report and his efforts for improving the IF.
180. The representative of Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDCs , said that so far the IF had few
meaningful results.  For the LDCs it had been a long wait.  He recalled that the message of the
Geneva-based LDC delegations to the Heads of Agency meeting in New York had welcomed their
collective commitment reflected in the Joint Statement.   This was a step in the right direction, against
the wider endeavour to integrate the LDCs into the global economy in a mutually beneficial manner
through capacity-building in trade.  The LDCs co nsidered the IF to be a key instrument for the
achievement of this important objective.  The recent independent review of the IF had revealed issues
that required urgent addressing.  At the New York meeting the Director-General had said that:  "TheIF has not been working as well as it should have ".  The LDCs acknowledged that this might run the
peril of being read as an Anglo-Saxon understatement.  Nevertheless, the LDCs applauded his
contribution to the proceedings and drew solace from  the fact that new arrangements were sought to
be put in place to rectify the situation.  The LDCs looked forward to the outcome of the new IF,
welcomed the concept of mainstreaming resultin g from the New York meeting, as well as the
reassuring mention that necessary resources would be made available to foster necessary skills,
institutions and infrastructure for the effective in tegration of the LDCs into the multilateral trading
system.
181. Another feature of the new arrangement was the establishment of a Steering Committee to
oversee the functioning of the IF on a continuous basis.  This was a good idea, which had the LDCs'support.  In order to enhance their participation and their sense of ownership of the IF, the LDCs
hoped to be fully consulted and to play a meaningful  role in this process.  The suggestion to include
donors in the Steering Committee was also welcome.  The LDCs wished to see donors in a more
prominent role in the implementation and the management of the IF.  The plan also sought donor
support through voluntary contributions to a Trus t Fund of about US$20 million over a three-year
period.  This was a modest goal, but it was understandable in the present context.  Compared to the
magnitude of donors' commitments made in the Singapore Ministerial Declaration, the need for funds
to implement the IF was likely to be very large.  Beginning with even a modest sum would be
considered critically helpful in this context.  Some LDCs had already submitted their Multi-Year
Programme (MYP) inventory that listed projects c onsidered as high priority in their respective
countries.  The LDCs proposed that these MYP pr ojects be considered in the implementation
programme.  As regards suggestions on how the resources of the proposed fund could be better spent,the LDCs were ready to assist the Steering Committee in the selection of projects which added value
to the programme and which were of crucial importance to them.  This fund should be spent in the
implementation of concrete projects submitted by the countries.
182. With regard to the division of labour among the six core agencies proposed in the penultimate
paragraph of the Joint Press Release, the LDCs had articulated their ideas on several occasions in thepast.  The broad principles laid down in this regard in the New York statement were acceptable, and
the LDCs wished the six agencies to perform in the way they had agreed upon.  However, there
should be no overlaps and duplications nor should there be frequent changes of course.  As
beneficiaries of the proposed system, the LDCs' interest lay in seeing that the coordinating
relationship among the six core agencies worked smoothly so as to evolve towards a better synergyand a larger output.  In this context, he drew attention to the set of five proposals entitled
Comprehensive New Plan of Action for the LDCs, submitted at Seattle.  This Plan had asked for a
coordinated approach covering all aspects of market access and capacity-building with emphasis on
the removal of supply-side constraints.WT/GC/M/57
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183. The LDCs' perception of the IF was that Technical Assistance (TA) was one of the
commitments made by Members in the Marrakesh Agreement to the benefit of developing countries,
particularly the least-developed among them.  Since 1995, despite the paucity of funds the WTO had
been providing technical assistance in a significant way to both developing and least-developed
countries, which they had all benefited from and for which they were thankful.  However, the IF wasnot part of the routine TA programme that the WTO now accorded pursuant to its mandate as
stipulated in the Marrakesh Agreement.  The IF was a specifically targeted fast-track assistance
programme of trade-related capacity-building in the LDCs, which the Ministers had pledged in
Singapore, and therefore it was a binding commitment by the membership.  This special position of
the IF did not preclude the LDCs from their due share of the regular TA programme, which the WTO
administered.  With regard to the enlargement of th e IF, the present performance record of the IF did
not warrant its extension.  Nevertheless, as a tool for assistance, the LDCs could not disagree with theIF replicability elsewhere.  The expansion of the group of core agencies through the inclusion of other
IGOs, like the FAO and the UNIDO, could also be co nsidered and would have the LDCs' support.  In
this context, the lessons of the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme in selected LDCs and
other African countries were highly relevant and the IF could profit from that experience.
184. The forthcoming LDC-III Conference to be held in Brussels in May 2001, which would be
hosted by the European Union, had a crucial significance.  The LDCs underlined the importance of
linking the IF with the LDC-III Conference so that in the post-Conference phase there would be better
coordination between the IF and the possible outcome of the Conference.  However, these two events
were parallel but independent.  The IF remained the litmus test of credibility of the international
community's often cited desire to assist the LDCs to better integrate into the multilateral trading
system, and could also be an acid test of the credibility of the system itself.
185. The representative of Uganda supported the statement made by Bangladesh and emphasized
that multilateralism could be a powerful tool only if the LDCs could effectively participate, and
influence its outcome.  To this end, capacity-buildin g was vital. In this context, the LDCs needed:
(i) issue-understanding;  (ii) fund-raising;  (iii) gathering of relevant economic intelligence;(iv) appropriate policy design and implementation;  (v) monitoring and evaluation;  (vi) feed-back
mechanisms;  and (vii) continuous dialogue with civil society on government policy.
186. Uganda welcomed the fact that capacity-building had been accepted by both developed and
developing countries as a requisite for development, the set-up of a consultation mechanism for the IF
as well as the dialogue between the beneficiaries and the donors.  In this regard, at the high-level
meeting with the United States, the African Ministers had been able to express their needs and their
views on how the IF should be implemented.  Uganda commended the Director-General's advocacyfor the IF and for the integration of the LDCs into the multilateral trading system.  It also welcomed
his work  with the other core agencies, and hoped that this time mainstreaming would be implemented.
In the past, it had been suggested that round tables and consultative groups be used as a means for
programme formulation and resource mobilization.  Unfortunately, experience had shown that this
had not been the case.  Uganda therefore hoped that in this instance a commitment would be taken soas to avoid the marginalization of trade-related issues in consultative group meetings.  Uganda had
been able to make this point bilaterally with donors, and hoped that the commitment by the six
agencies would result in mainstreaming and resource mobilization.  However, such a process should
not become a conditionality or a cross-conditionality in consultative groups, as had happened in the
past when new and complex goals had been added to the requirements for acceptance of LDCseconomic performance.
187. Uganda welcomed and looked forward to the involvement of the LDCs stakeholders in the IF
oversight mechanism, and hoped that such involvement  would work well.  As Bangladesh had
indicated the lack of funds for implementation had caused the lack of sense of ownership of the IF,
each agency claiming its contribution by listing its past activities.  Uganda hoped that through the newWT/GC/M/57
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TF it would be possible to formulate trade-related programmes and projects that could be submitted to
and taken into account by the consultative groups, and that in the preparation of country-strategy
notes the WTO would take the lead so as to ensure that national projects would be taken into account
in the resource mobilization process.
188. Uganda also noted the statement made by Japan with regard to the TF.  However, it hoped
that Japan would not insist on the fact that the Director-General should consult donors before making
his appeals. It was important that the Director-General consulted and identified needs with both
beneficiaries and donors. Uganda hoped that in the preparation for the Conference for the LDCs,
Japan would not put forward its point as a criticism to the Director-General, and would support his
continued consultations with donors, including Japan, to encourage them to contribute to the IF.
189. Clarifications regarding the future of  projects which were in the pipeline, and of round tables
that had not yet been held as initially scheduled were needed.  Uganda hoped that the folding of theadministrative unit into the WTO Secretariat would not mean another diffusion, and that the WTO
would focus on better implementation of the IF.  As Bangladesh had stated, the IF was a coherence
test among agencies and  Uganda hoped therefore that they would be able to work together.
190. The representative of Haiti supported the statement made by Bangladesh, to which he wished
to add a few points.  His country was concerned that the joint statement by the six agencies had not
sufficiently taken into account the statement is sued by the Geneva-based LDCs.  The essential
objective of the IF was to strengthen export supply capacities, trade-related technical assistance and
market access of the LDCs.  Therefore, the LDCs' overall development objectives and their poverty
reduction strategies, while important and complementary to the IF, should not replace its specific
objectives.  Haiti believed that the more the six ag encies discussed the IF, the more it lost its meaning
and the less the LDCs' trade-related concerns were taken into account. The review team had suggested
a division of labour that did not appear to have been fully taken into account by the 6 July Press
Release, together with the joint statement by the six core agencies.  The penultimate paragraph of that
document seemed to send parties back to square one.  Haiti feared that the parties concerned were
going around in circles, and that they were ultimately ringing the death knell of the IF as it had beenproposed by Ministers in Singapore.  However, Haiti duly noted the decision taken to set up a
Steering Committee by 31 October 2000 to ensure the oversight of the IF and which would include
representatives of the LDCs and of donors as well as Heads of Agencies.  He hoped that this would
ensure the follow-up to the poverty-reduction strategy.
191. In Haiti's view, the TF would not solve the problem of trade-related TA and wondered
whether the area of activities to be covered by the TF was not too broad.  The IF aimed to finance
over a three-year period the:  (i) formulation of country-strategies for trade integration as part of theirpoverty-reduction programmes (PRSPs), (estimated cost :  US$7 million for 25 LDCs);  (ii) design of
trade capacity-building projects, (estimated cost:   US$7 million for 25 LDCs);  (iii) funding of
regional projects and of limited and priority capacity-building activities for the LDCs, (estimated cost:
US$6 million for 48 LDCs). This resulted in an average of US$4,167 per LDC per year.  The joint
statement seemed to be more of a solution to the problems of the poverty reduction strategy than tothose of trade-related technical assistance, which was the main objective of the IF. Haiti remained
convinced that a lot needed to be done in order to attain IF objectives, as no solution had been found
for funding the projects stemming from round tables.  Out of the US$20 million pledged, not a penny
was envisaged for funding the projects stemming from the sectoral round tables on trade.
192. The General Council had a choice between two alte rnatives:  (i) trying to reach a consensus
on the recommendations of the review team.  This did not seem to have been done in New York;  or
(ii) reporting its failure to the Ministerial Conferen ce.  Haiti would prefer the first solution, for which
Members had to:  (i) improve the IF by remedying the main problems identified during the review
along the lines proposed by the review team;  (ii) clarify the general objectives of the IF in a realisticWT/GC/M/57
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manner by confining it to trade-related technical assistance, and by entrusting the infrastructure
investment to the World Bank Consultative Group and the UNDP round tables;  (iii) define priorities,
together with the governments concerned, in the field of trade-related technical assistance while
establishing a link with the overall development aid systems;  (iv) resolve coordination problems
within the WTO and among the core agencies, giving priority always to trade-related TA;(v) envisage the financing of the projects stemming from the sectoral round tables on trade;
(vi) ensure the follow-up of the results of trade-related technical assistance by widening the
framework of the LDCs trade policy reviews so as to include the evaluation of the extent to which
trade regimes and trade-related technical assistance were contributing to the LDCs' integration into the
world trading environment;  (vii) invite other United Nations organizations, such as the FAO,
UNIDO, WIPO and ITU to participate in the IF.
193. The representative of Guinea supported the statement made by Bangladesh on behalf of the
LDCs and welcomed the joint statement on the IF made by the six core agencies in New York.  Since
the set-up of the IF it had been clearly demonstrated that it was urgent for all  Members to step up
their trade-related assistance to the LDCs.  Members should not forget that the IF had been set up to
assist  the LDCs in the area of trade with the view  to improving their overall capacity, to meeting the
challenges and enjoying the different possibilities of the multilateral trading system.  In 1999, in hiscomments on the overall development of interna tional trade and environment the Director-General
had stated that:  "there are few points on which economists have agreed, but they have all agreed on
one thing, and that is the advantages generated by trade".  While recognizing the advantages and
benefits of trade, Guinea had also established as a priority the promotion of the private sector related
to trade and appealed to donors to provide assistance to the trade-related programmes of LDCs.Guinea was one of the countries that had been programmed to organize a round table this year.
Efforts had been made at the domestic level to this effect.  His country hoped that thanks to the
announced TF, which would be established through vo luntary contributions, it would be in a position
to organize this round table in the near future.  Guinea was concerned with the funding of projects
stemming from round tables, and put great hope in tr ade as an instrument to fight against poverty.
194. The representative of Egypt said that her country commended the six agencies for their
commitment to the IF, and their persistence in followi ng its activities, with the view to assisting the
LDCs to integrate into the world economy in a manner that would support their overall development
objectives.  Egypt shared the view of the six core agencies that "the Integrated Framework has not
been working as well as it should".  It was worth mentioning that on 14 December 1998, Egypt had
made a statement on behalf of the African Group in an Informal Meeting of the General Council on
the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting, presenting some of the difficulties that the African Group,with the largest number of LDCs among its membership, considered as major obstacles to the
implementation of the IF.  These difficulties included lack of clarity about the coordination and
management mechanism for IF activities, lack of  financial resources to implement the activities
identified by the LDCs in their needs assessmen t, and maintaining the barriers facing the most
important exports for LDCs in major markets.  Not surprisingly, the new arrangements agreed to bythe six core agencies in the meeting in New York had addressed many of these difficulties.
Unfortunately, precious time had gone by.  Nevertheless, Egypt welcomed these arrangements as a
step in the right direction.
195. It had long been argued that trade-related technical assistance had been treated in isolation
from the countries development-related policies.  This might be correct and should be addressedwhere it occurred.  But mainstreaming trade was not a sufficient guarantee by itself for ensuring that
trade-related technical assistance would deliver the expected results.  Attention had to be given to the
quality, timeliness and responsiveness of technical assistance activities.  Egypt also welcomed the
establishment of a Trust Fund.  While noting that part of the resources would be used for
mainstreaming trade into national development stra tegies, Egypt believed that the bulk of such
resources should be directed towards activities relating to training and capacity-building.WT/GC/M/57
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196. Egypt welcomed the establishment of a Steering Committee that would broaden the current
supervisory arrangement to include representatives of Members and was confident that other
developing countries and economies in transition that had shown support for the LDCs, especially
during the WTO High-Level Meeting in October 1997, would be ready to contribute to its effective
functioning.  Egypt looked forward to participate in  the consultations to be held on the structure and
operating procedures of the Steering Committee, and noted with satisfaction the setting of a deadline
for its set-up by 31 October 2000.  Finally, Egypt supported the division of labour agreed upon by the
six core agencies, and emphasized the importance of continuing to coordinate their activities through
the Inter-Agency Working Group.  Egypt also l ooked forward to an effective and fruitful
implementation of the IF in the future, and fully ag reed with the Director-General that such fruitful
implementation was up to all parties concerned.
197. The representative of the European Communities said that all Members agreed that the IF had
not worked, and was not working, in the way they had hoped.  As the Community had been
instrumental in the establishment of the IF, it had a stake in ensuring that the IF did work. The
Community also believed that all Members shared the commitment to improve the IF.  Like other
delegations, the Community had some misgivings about points of procedure, and certain features
presented in the report that was before Members including, inter alia, the TF.  However, it believed
that it was now time to put these misgivings to one side.  The Director-General had negotiated with
best interest of the LDCs and of the WTO in mind, Members had to give it a try.  However, the
Community reiterated its earlier appeals for greater transparency as matters developed in relation to
the IF, and invited the Director-General to fully inform the Community on any new developments.
The Conference on the LDCs to be held in Brussels in 2001 would provide a very important occasionto review the operation of the IF.  The Community hoped that such a review would take place on the
basis of the successful revitalization of the IF.
198. The representative of Lesotho supported the statement made by Bangladesh.  With regard to
the decision taken by the core agencies to streamline and enhance both the profile and the role of trade
policy in the context of the poverty-reduction strategies of the World Bank.  Lesotho considered thatthis was a very positive move which would enhance the political commitment of both beneficiaries
and donors to the IF, and that if rightly implemen ted, it would improve the functioning of the IF.
Lesotho looked forward to the set-up by 31 October 2000 of the Steering Committee to oversee the
functioning of the IF, and to work closely with, and possibly to participating in it.  This approach
would tackle the ownership issue which had been, inter alia, responsible for the poor functioning of
the IF.  However, Lesotho would be concerned if the bulk of funds allocated for the IF was to be used
for the functioning of the Steering Committee instead of financing the LDCs' programmes.  Lesothowelcomed the establishment of the TF, and encouraged the Director-General to ensure greater
transparency in its functioning in order to allow Members to keep track of activities and programmes
funded through it.
199. The representative of Switzerland said that his country believed that particular efforts had to
be made to improve the functioning of the IF.  This could be done through a better coordination of
activities among the core agencies.  Switzerland therefore welcomed the steps taken at the meeting in
New York as they went in the right direction.  The improvement of the functioning of the IF required
better integration of trade, trade-related technical assistance and the strengthening of capacities in the
LDCs national development plans and strategies.  The idea of integration or mainstreaming had been
retained in the decision taken by the six agencies was a very positive evolution.
200. The folding of the administrative unit into the WTO would imply an increase in the workload,
in particular as the persons responsible would have to participate in the UNDP round tables and the
meetings of the World Bank Consultative Group (WBCG).  Therefore, Switzerland hoped that the
strengthening of the WTO Secretariat would lead to the secondment of colleagues from the other core
agencies.  In this context, it would be highly desirable to acquire the services of experts from theWT/GC/M/57
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World Bank and the UNDP, who had experience in the preparation of round tables and in managing
technical assistance projects.  As regards the decision to set up a TF supported by voluntary
contributions, Switzerland had similar concerns as Japan.  The IF had created expectations which to a
great degree had not been met.  Switzerland had the feeling that the establishment of a TF with a
precise goal of US$20 million without any prior gu arantee that the funds would be available might
create further expectations, which in turn might once again lead to disappointment.  This would
further exacerbate the legitimate LDCs' frustrations.
201. The financing of programmes drawn up within the IF depended on the quality of the projects
submitted to the donors. In Switzerland's view, three conditions had to be met:  (i) the needs-
assessment had to be undertaken very carefully by th e recipient country with the assistance of the core
agencies;  (ii) trade-related projects had to be identified as a priority by the recipient country at the
WBCG meetings or the UNDP round tables, and should be integrated in a consistent manner into astructural reform framework;  (iii) the trade policy-related aspects should involve a real responsibility
by the recipient countries, and which should be sustained by a strong political commitment.  These
three requirements, if met, would increase the chan ces of ensuring financing by donors.  This support
would not be achieved unless there was a clear indication as to what extend these three conditions
would be met.  On this basis, Switzerland would de cide to participate or not in the financing of the
programmes stemming from the IF, whatever the financing modalities envisaged may be, i.e a TF as
suggested by the six core agencies or any other type of instrument.
202. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group
, said that the African Group
agreed that the Integrated Framework was an important aspect of the WTO's efforts to address the
trade-related capacity-building needs of the LDCs, and to assist their integration into the multilateral
trading system.  The African Group also shared the views expressed by other delegations that the IF
had not worked as the LDCs had hoped, and that therefore there was the need to strive hard
collectively to make it more effective through greater coordination.  The African Group endorsed the
statement made by Bangladesh on behalf of the LDCs.  At the 3 and 8 May General Council meeting,
the LDCs had heard from the Director-General that there was a large measure of support in theirfavour from other Members.  This was clearly demonstrated by practical measures taken by Canada,
European Communities, Japan, United States, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Korea,
Norway, New Zealand, Slovenia, Australia, Turkey and Switzerland to improve market access for the
LDCs.  Since then, the LDCs had heard of improved market access by the European Communities as
well as by the United States which had announced improved preferential treatment, particularly to
Africa, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act apart from the specific packages for the LDCs.
The African Group trusted that more countries would follow this example, and would provide
improved market access to LDCs with a view to alleviating their problems.
203. The representative of Canada welcomed the assessment of the IF prepared under the aegis of
the IAWG.  Canada agreed to a very large extent with the working group's assessment and
conclusions.  Canada was pleased that the agencies appeared ready to give more attention to trade-
related technical assistance and trade-related capaci ty-building, to bring trade to development and to
take the IF seriously.  Canada was prepared to work with the WTO and the other agencies to make the
IF work.  In this respect, Canada also endorsed the broad approach taken by the agencies, in particular
the coordination role for the WTO regarding agreement-related technical assistance, the wider
implementation role for the World Bank in trade-re lated capacity-building and the additional funding
for the IF.  However, Canada was surprised by the level of funding requested to operationalize the IFthrough the TF.  Given the progress already made on completing the needs assessment and calls to
move forward on the follow-up and implementation, Ca nada wished to have further details regarding
the actual use of those funds.  As the report on the IF suggested, and as discussions at the present
meeting had shown there were different perceptions between the LDCs and donors with regard to the
objectives of the IF.  In Canada's view, the decisions taken on the objectives of the IF, its structureand its implementation should reflect the needs of the LDCs.  Like Switzerland, Canada wasWT/GC/M/57
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concerned that Members might create expectations that might be difficult to fulfill.  Finally, all
interested stakeholders should be involved in the development of the terms of reference of both the
Steering Committee and the Trust Fund.
204. The representative of Norway welcomed the initiative for closer coordination among the core
agencies to mainstream and make trade-related technical assistance more efficient.  To this effect,
Norway appreciated the reference made by Bangladesh as to the Anglo-Saxon understatement in
relation to the indication that the IF was not functio ning as well as Members wished.  Members had to
face this unpleasant reality.  The IF had not been able to take off after its launching by Ministers in
1996.  One important question was why?  One obvious re ason was:  the lack of funding.  The follow-
up question, that the six core agencies had surely asked, would be:  what changes would have to be
made to secure the necessary funds?  In this regard, representing a major donor in the area of trade-
related technical assistance, Norway wished to  provide some thought from a donor-perspective.
Having a concrete sum, based on a certain percentage of its GNP to allocate to development
assistance, Norway had to consider where the funds would be put to work most efficiently.  With
respect to the issue under scrutiny, the main question would be:  what initiatives were best suited to
secure that developing countries, and in particular the LDCs, were benefitting in the most efficient
way from the funds allocated in the area of trade.  First, Norway believed that the WTO had a uniquecompetence in providing targeted technical assistance on the problems faced by developing countries
in implementing their responsibilities and benefi tting from their rights in accordance with the WTO
Agreements.  Norway found it crucial for the func tioning of the multilateral trading system that
targeted, demand-driven technical assistance be provided by experts in the WTO Secretariat so as to
secure that all Members would be able to identify and address their implementation-related needs.This would not only be a prerequisite for full integration of developing countries into the multilateral
trading system, but it would also provide a viable basis for the countries concerned to more
efficiently, distinguish between problems directly related to the multilateral trading system, and those
of structural nature which would have to be addre ssed on a more overall basis.  This approach would
improve developing-country Members' possibility to tailor-make their requests to the WB, UNDP,UNIDO and other agencies in a more efficient way.  Secondly, Norway was not fully convinced that
an attempt to jump-start the IF would benefit from  dividing responsibilities between the various main
agencies.  The issue of efficient coordination arose.  It was somewhat difficult to detect the added
value to be provided by US$20 million fund.  Like Lesotho, Norway would like to see the bulk of the
funds go to financing the LDCs projects.  Before de ciding whether to finance a project or not, Norway
as a donor would ask itself, in addition to whether this was a priority objective for its technical
cooperation at large, whether such a project had been designed so as to guarantee with a certaindegree of security that it would achieve its objectives.  Assuming that other donors thought the same
way, Norway believed that there was a need for all Members to take a closer look into how the
comparative advantages of the WTO could most efficiently be utilized within a broader framework of
coordinated trade-related technical assistance.  If not, Norway was afraid that sufficient funding
would fail to materialize again in the future.
205. The representative of Mauritania supported the statements made by Bangladesh on behalf of
the LDCs and by Mauritius on behalf of the African Group.  In his country's view it was clear that the
IF had not met the expectations of the LDCs, primarily because of diverging approaches which had
emerged during its formulation stage on the role and even the objective of the IF.  A review was
therefore essential in order to remedy this situation by the adopting new arrangements.  The workdone by the review team and above all the 6 July inter-agency meeting were very timely.  It was
necessary to take stock of the situation, and to define new arrangements, as four years after its
adoption the global and integrated plan of action for the LDCs had remained virtually a dead letter.
However, these new arrangements had not taken into account the efforts made by the LDCs, including
Mauritania, to prepare for their round table, in cluding by setting their trade-related technical
assistance needs, defining their priorities and even drawing-up project documents for submission to
the round table.  This work was in itself a positive result.WT/GC/M/57
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206. The New York meeting set out a new approach asking the LDCs to redefine the role of  trade
in their national development and poverty-reduction strategies.  The LDCs and the developing
countries had always preferred an integrated approach to development, as compartmentalization could
bring only limited results.  In some cases the formulation of the poverty-reduction strategy papers had
almost been completed, while the bulk of trade-related technical assistance activities would now haveto be incorporated into this framework.  These spec ificities should be taken into account by the new
IF.  The establishment of a Steering Committee was a welcome development as it would ensure
proper coordination among those concerned and a better functioning of the new IF.  The new division
of labour among the core agencies also appeared to have taken due account of their comparative
advantage by entrusting to each of them the area in  which it had the greatest expertise.  Finally, the
decision to set up a TF touched on a fundamental aspect, as the lack of financial resources largely
explained the implementation problems that the IF had faced until now.  The amount set for this fundwas certainly modest in relation to the needs of the LDCs as well as the effort required to integrate
them into the multilateral trading system.  This  fund would not be able to cover investments in
infrastructure and other equipment, that would have to be covered by other mechanisms such as the
Strategic Framework for Poverty Reduction or the United Nations development assistance framework.
Nevertheless, it might be necessary to envisage specific provisions for those countries that werealready at an advanced stage of preparing their poverty-reduction strategy plans, as the investments in
the trade-related basic infrastructure were essentia l for the development of trade.  Trade could only
play its role as a catalyst of economic growth if  the LDCs received adequate technical assistance for
institutional and human capacity-building, increas ing their exporting capacity and providing the
necessary basic infrastructure.  Only then, would they be able to reverse the trend that was currentlycausing their marginalization.  The review recently carried out was important as it had clarified and
redefined the objectives of the IF and, above all, had foreseen specific resources for it.  The support
expressed by the six agencies for the Third United Nations Conference on the LDCs was also
welcomed as it showed the increasing emphasis placed by the agencies on coherence and
coordination.
207. The representative of Madagascar thanked the six agencies involved in the IF for the
decisions and commitments taken on 6 July 2000.  Madagascar supported the statement made by
Bangladesh, which had been further elaborated upon by Uganda and Mauritius on behalf of the
African Group.  The establishment of a Steering Committee, including representatives of the LDCs,
donors and the six agencies, as well as the creation of a TF went in the right direction and met many
of the concerns that Madagascar had already expressed in previous consultations.  However, these
arrangements were neither sufficient nor perfect.  In this respect, Madagascar would have preferredmore substantial and predictable resources.  The LDCs would have to make the most of the efforts.
However, the allocation of funds for carrying out activities within the IF should not be tied to
complex conditions.  Furthermore, the LDCs should not be excluded from the technical cooperation
and capacity-building TA programme for developing countries.  Madagascar wished that projects and
programmes within the IF become a reality.  They should contribute to:  (i) solving the supply-constraint problems;  (ii) diversifying exports;  (iii) improving products actually exported  so as to
adapt them to the standards of markets and of consumers;  (iv) finding new market opportunities;
(v) helping the LDCs to be more competitive.  Madagascar also wished that the ongoing activities also
be taken into consideration, and drew attention to the decision taken to hold a round table on trade for
Madagascar in November 2000.  The preparatory work was already underway, and it had beenofficially launched in the presence of representatives of organizations involved in the IF in
March 2000 by the Prime Minister of Madagascar, which demonstrated the importance which
Madagascar attached to this round table.
208. The representative of Tanzania said that his country hoped that the new initiative would lead
to the IFs rebirth.  As Members knew, during the past four years of IF no work had been done.  The
TF should have adequate resources to address issues  identified by the LDCs in their needs assessment
exercise.  For the IF to really be demand-dri ven, the LDCs should own the programme.  In thisWT/GC/M/57
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respect, Tanzania hoped that the agencies would include the LDCs in their decision-making. Tanzania
asked agencies and donors, and the LDCs' national govern ments, to coordinate so as to ensure that the
IF could work well.
209. The representative of  the United States welcomed some of the recommendations made by the
Director-General in his report.  However, the United  States was concerned with regard to some points,
on which it believed further consultations might be needed.  The United States supported the
fundamental principle of mainstreaming trade into broader development vehicles, as concluded by the
six core agencies.  The United States agreed with the set-up of the Steering Committee, as an
important tool that could help to ensure political accountability for the IF.  The United States also
agreed that the WTO Secretariat should continue to chair the IAWG, and accepted folding the
administrative unit into the WTO Secretariat.  The United States believed that the effectiveness of the
IAWG remained central to the operational success of the IF, and it expected to participate in thedrafting of its terms of reference as well as in the creation of the Steering Committee.
210. However, the United States, like other delegations, had concerns with regard to the TF as
proposed by the six agencies.  The United States supported the delivery of specific assistance of the
LDCs, funded at the level that addressed trade-related priorities in the context of the national overall
development programmes, and shared Egypt's view th at TA activities, i.e. training, should aim to
improve the capacity of the LDCs to participate in  the WTO's activities and in international trade.
From the Director-General's introductory statement,  it appeared that the bulk of the funds would be
used for mainstreaming and homework.  This sounded  like the funds would mainly go to consultants
and coordination rather than to country projects.  Many beneficiaries had expressed their concerns
about the lack of funds for follow-up projects stemming from the national round tables, and whichtherefore were a dead letter.  Now, Members were told that coordination and coherence of trade-
related projects were to cost a large fee before anything began to happen for the capacity-building of
the LDCs.  The TF would be available to pay that fee, if Members could come up with the needed
amount of money to be allocated over the three-year period.  This approach would bring a halt to the
IF.  Members had heard no report or analysis on coherence of existing funds already committed totrade-related technical assistance under existing programmes while additional resources were
demanded without specifying what were they needed  for.  The United States would think that they
should be allocated for administrative purposes.  The IF was not only a fast-track technical assistance
project but also a method for coordinating and achieving coherence in the provision of trade-related
assistance among the six agencies.  The United States was really concerned that the new IF would set
inappropriate expectations for the LDCs, and set all Members up for disappointment.  Especially,
when the funds were intended for the same purposes as those allocated since 1997, and from whichMembers had seen no tangible results for the LDCs. The proposed reform package was also expected
to further develop terms of reference and structures over the next three months. The United States was
sure that the six agencies did not intend that th e IF would remain inactive until the needed amount,
US$20 million, became available.  Such an impression would be detrimental to the credibility of the
IF, and to the commitment of all the parties to make its improvement a top priority.
211. A number of real and specific steps could a nd should be pursued immediately by the WTO in
its position of chair of  the  IAWG, namely:  (i) the creation of a combined schedule of IF-related
activities by the IAWG, the WB and the UNDP count ry activities, as these were timed together;
(ii) the set-up of a bulletin board containing information on TA offered by multilateral, bilateral and
other donors.  In this regard, the United States had just completed the list of its aid activities indifferent countries, which would shortly be provided to the WTO;  (iii) the coordination and
collaboration with other organizations on the formulation of standard curriculum for trade-related
courses;  (iv) the incorporation of trade into the up-coming WBCG meeting and also the UNDP round
tables for the LDCs covered by the IF, even if the identification of trade-related needs and programme
design were still under preparation.  The United States welcomed the fact that such a process wasWT/GC/M/57
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underway, and hoped that tangible results would o ccur after that meeting;  (v) the channelling
regional initiatives into specific detailed proposals.
212. On the basis of the report by the Director-General, some positive elements and constructive
proposals had emerged from the discussions.  Members could very soon continue to discuss these
issues with a view to address some of the concerns expressed by delegations.  The United States wasaware that the IF had been one of Director-General's as well as the United States' top priority.
However, the United States believed that before moving forward, some issues needed to be looked
into and addressed.
213. The representative of Zambia said that he wi shed to comment on the relationship between the
LDCs, donors and the core agencies.  In this connectio n, he referred to two points made at the two
days of reflections on technical cooperation.  First, the point made by the World Bank regarding TA
provided by the United States to Africa on the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitarymeasures.  As most LDCs were in Africa and faced many difficulties in the implementation of the
SPS Agreement, this gesture was important and deserved a word of thanks and encouragement to the
United States.  Zambia had consistently asked for more assistance from donors, including from the
United States.  In this connection, Zambia had ad vised Mr. Stoler, the Deputy Director-General in
charge of Finance, to use his good offices to get more funding from major donors.  Zambia hoped thatother donors would follow the US example, and that  there would be a link between bilateral and WTO
activities.  Second, he stressed the importance of coherence among donors, the LDCs, and the
secretariats concerned with TA.  At the days of reflections, Zambia had stressed the need for harmony
and cooperation among TA players.  One strategy that could motivate the donors to contribute more
would be by building the donors constituency.  This meant cultivating donors and bringing themalong in programmes, not regarding them simply as people to collect contributions from.  Like the
LDCs, as recipients, donors also needed to be given ownership of TA programmes from beginning to
end.  The LDCs needed to raise donors' sights in  terms of how they can support them.  The LDCs
were important as beneficiaries, and they also needed to be brought along in these programmes.
Finally, the secretariats were equally important in th is matter, as they talked to donors for the LDCs,
they planned the TA, they advised the LDCs on best practices, and they executed TA programmes.  A
consensus had emerged in the reflections meeting that strategic planning within the Secretariat should
not be overemphasized.  Zambia reminded Members that it was essential for all players to move
together towards providing TA to the LDCs and to make further improvement in this process.
214. The General Council took note of the report of the Director-General, and of the statements.
14. Observer status for internationa l intergovernmental organizations
215. The Chairman recalled that at the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May, he had
announced his intention to resume consultations on observer status for international intergovernmental
organizations (IGOs).  He had held consultations with several delegations, in particular with those
which had in earlier discussions indicated that they had difficulties with expanding the list of
intergovernmental organizations having observer status.  He had to report that he had found no
solution to this issue.  There were several reasons for this.
216. First, several delegations had made the point that the problem was not only the acceptance of
individual organizations on the basis of the merit of each organization but also to reach a package i.e.
to have an overall solution or no solution at all.  This approach might make it impossible to progress
on the basis of small steps at a time.  A second observation made in consultations, was that there was
not one particular set of problems, but several.  The problems were also highly political and in somecases depended on developments outside the WTO.  This of course made the situation even more
difficult when those two observations were seen in conjunction.  His conclusion at this stage, was that
under the existing circumstances and the linkages which had been made, it was simply not possible toWT/GC/M/57
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achieve any solution.  His impression was that unless there was a political will to make compromises
it would not be possible to move ahead, as the solution did not depend on some sort of able drafting,
but was conditional upon the political will in examining various requests from organizations and
trying to reach compromises from all those who had strong feelings on this matter.  He was ready to
resume the consultations if he received indications of willingness to show a sense of compromise.Unless he had such indications he saw very little possibility of progress.
217. The representative of the United States said this was an important issue and her delegation
appreciated the Chairman's efforts.  She had participated in some of the consultations where the
Chairman had tried to see how to move forward and it became obvious that the United States'
proposal of last year would not work.  Therefore the Chairman had tried to explore other solutions.
As the Chairman said this would not be feasible  without the necessary political will from Members.
Her delegation encouraged the Chairman to continue his efforts bearing in mind that opening up theWTO to a broad observership was critical for improving the understanding of its work.
218. The representative of Turkey said the issue of observer status for IGOs was important and
was closely related to the transparency of the WTO.  Granting observer status to IGOs should be
considered in the broad context of WTO's transparency, as the participation of these organizations in
the WTO as observers would be an important step to enhance its external transparency.  Delaying thedecision on observer status for IGOs was not consistent with the general approach to external
transparency.  Turkey had so far supported the proposals aimed at external transparency of the WTO.
However, if the decision on observership for IGOs was further delayed, Turkey would have to
reconsider its position on external transparency.
219. The representative of Egypt said that the matter at hand was important and required a
generally acceptable solution on the basis of the relevance of individual organizations to the WTO's
work.  Although the current rules of procedure were a sufficient guide, her delegation would be
prepared to consider further guidelines which could be adopted provided they applied to all pending
requests.  Egypt would not accept discrimination against any requests.  Any categorization of these
requests into two categories such as international versus regional organizations or into four categories,namely UN organizations, other international organizations, GATT Council observers or regional
organizations, would be unacceptable.  Her delegation wished to reiterate the importance it attached to
the requests put forward by Arab, African or Islamic regional organizations.  Her delegation
encouraged the Chairman to continue his consultations with a view to reaching a conclusion to the
matter at hand.  What was needed was a constructive positive spirit and the necessary political will.
220. The representative of Mauritius, on behalf of the African Group
, said that his statement was
without prejudice to any position which individual member States of the Group might have.  At the
previous meeting of the General Council, the Chairman had rightly said that observer status for IGO's
was one of the important pending issues before the General Council.  This issue had been on the
agenda both of the General Council and of subsidiary bodies for a long time, despite the fact that clear
guidelines had been laid down for admission of observers to the WTO.  It required urgent
consideration as part of enhancing confidence in the WTO and also among Members.  It was ratherembarrassing for Members that no solution had been found to this issue.  As the Chairman had said, a
solution required political will on the part of each and all Members.  The African Group, encouraged
the Chairman to continue his consultations on observer status for IGOs.
221. The representative of Hungary said his delegation was also disappointed by the lack of a
solution to the issue of observership for IGOs.  He encouraged the Chairman to continue his
consultations on this important issue which affected the image of the WTO.  He believed that
subsidiary bodies of the General Council should be encouraged to act on their own and grant observer
status to those intergovernmental organizations w hose work could effectively contribute to the work
of the WTO.WT/GC/M/57
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222. The representative of Pakistan said that, like previous speakers, he would urge the Chairman
to continue his consultations to resolve this very important issue at the earliest.  His delegation urged
Members to show the necessary political will to resolve it.
223. The representative of Israel said his delegation attached great importance to the issue of
observer status for IGOs in the WTO.  This status if correctly granted, could be of benefit to both the
WTO and the respective IGOs and their member States.  The professional focus and functioning of
the WTO bodies should be preserved and it was imperative that the organization applying for observer
status demonstrate that its activities and policies were compatible, and in no way contradictory, to the
objectives and principles of the Marrakesh Agreement.
224. The representative of Cuba encouraged the Chairman to continue his consultations without
any discrimination vis-à-vis any organization.
225. The Chairman said that in the light of the statements made he would continue consultations in
the autumn in order to see whether progress could be made.
226. The General Council took note of the statements.
15. Review of procedures for circulation and derestriction of WTO documents
and
16. Revision of guidelines for the scheduling of WTO meetings
227. The Chairman proposed that these two items be taken up together.  He recalled that at its
meeting of 3 and 8 May the General Council had agreed that Mr. Rodriguez, Deputy Director-
General, would conduct consultations on both issues.  Two Secretariat notes had been circulated at his
request on derestriction and scheduling of meetings in Job Nos. 1629 and 2005 respectively.  Also at
that meeting Mexico had suggested that the paper submitted by the Informal Group of DevelopingCountries on scheduling of meetings (Job(00)/4380, circulated in 1999 as Job No. 2122) be discussed
at the present meeting.  He then invited Mr. Rodriguez to report to the General Council on his
consultations.
228. Mr. Rodriguez, Deputy Director-General made the following report:
"On the issue of Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO
Documents, I have consulted so far with a limited number of delegations, in particular with
those that had shown an interest in this matter in the discussions that took place in 1998 and
1999.  The aim of these consultations was to see whether we could introduce some changes to
the Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents adopted in 1996 so
that we can move to a more accelerated policy in the WTO regarding document dissemination
to Members and to the public at large.
"It was clear in my consultations that at this stage we cannot make any significant
progress as different views existed among Members as to how to proceed.  However, I would
like to share with the Council my overall appreciation of these consultations.
"First, there was a widely held view that the existing procedures for
circulation and derestriction of WTO documents have been working reasonably well.
The July 1996 Decision represented an important step forward in making the work of
the WTO more transparent and in enabling us to disseminate information more
widely and quickly than before.  Analysis by the Secretariat shows, for example, that
nearly 65 per cent of all WTO documents are now circulated unrestricted to beginWT/GC/M/57
Page 47
with, and that the remaining documents are derestricted in accordance with the
procedures and the time-frames established in the 1996 Decision.
"Second, most Members accepted the idea that there is scope for further
improvements in the functioning of the WTO in this area through a more expeditiousprocedure for the derestriction of WTO documents.  For example, minutes of
meetings and background notes by the Secretariat do not need lengthy restriction
periods before they are made available to the public.  Indeed, it was pointed out that it
is in the Members' own interests to act promptly in this regard.
"And third, there is a growing understanding that final reports of dispute
settlement panels should be made available to all Members, and to the public, soonerthan is the case now.
"I would like to point out that another issue that has arisen in the context of document
derestriction procedures is the increasing burden faced by the Secretariat with regard to the
translation of documents into the three working languages.  The demand for translation hasgrown enormously in the past five years in re lation to the resources available to meet this
demand.  Ideally, of course, all documents should be circulated in the three working
languages at the same time, and this is far from being the case at present.  This is a matter that
also needs to be dealt with appropriately.
"On the issue of scheduling of meetings, no consultations have taken place yet.
However, I have had the opportunity to look into the proposal submitted by Mexico on behalf
of the Informal Group of Developing Countries in 1999,
4 and have also consulted with the
relevant Divisions in the Secretariat to see how we can move ahead so that we can effectively
rationalize the scheduling of meetings and meet the concerns of many Members in this area.
"I should like to inform the Council that, on the basis of my discussions, I have put
down some ideas on this issue in a working pape r.  This paper is available to delegations
outside the meeting room, in English only for the moment (Job(00)/4526).  It is also being
translated, and will be available in the other languages very soon.  I would invite delegations
to contact me with their comments on this paper, on the basis of which I will conduct the
consultations that you have requested me to hold.  In this context, I will aim to submitproposals for action by the Council at its next meeting".
229. The representative of Mexico said that the statistical data contained in the Secretariat note Job
No. 1629 confirmed his delegation's view that with regard to derestriction of documents the WTO was
neither a secret nor an opaque organization.  At present more than 90 per cent of WTO documentswere available to the public, and most of those remaining restricted, were issued by the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration or contained information provided by other international
organizations and were subject to the derestriction rules of those organizations.  The divergence of
opinion between some Members did not relate to the number of derestricted documents but to the time
involved in derestricting them.  Reducing the time -frame for derestricting documents could have an
impact on negotiations or discussions, and it was for this reason that Mexico remained sceptical as to
the advisability of lifting the restricted status of documents too quickly.  As to minutes of meetings,
Mexico would be in favour of reducing the time before proposing them for derestriction from six to
three months, even though this might divert Members' attention in the course of meetings from trying
to find solutions to a concern as to who might be reading these minutes outside the organization.  Ifthe purpose of this exercise was greater transparency, this could only be achieved if documents were
circulated in the three official languages at the same time.  In order to facilitate discussions on the
                                                     
4 Job(00)/4380.WT/GC/M/57
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derestriction issue and to help solve problems in other areas such as dispute settlement, the WTO
structural problem relating to the volume of translation would have to be solved.
230. The representative of Hong Kong, China fully agreed with the report of Mr. Rodriguez and
underlined that the translation issue had been identified as a major problem not only in the
consultations on derestriction but also in informal discussions which had been held in the DisputeSettlement Body.  It was clear that this was a resource problem within the institution, and in his view
the General Council should ask the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration to look into
the matter as a priority and to report back with appropriate recommendations.  With regard to
scheduling of meetings, Hong Kong, China would reflect on the Secretariat note (Job(00)/4526) and
would continue to participate positively in future consultations.
231. The representative of the United States expressed disappointment that no agreement had been
reached on the derestriction issue, which had been going on for several years.  In her view, the issue
was not the percentage of documents that were derestricted but the time required to derestrict them.
The Secretariat note in Job No. 1629 indicated that 99.6 per cent of all documents were accessible to
the public.  However, 40 to 60 per cent of that figure had become derestricted only after one year.
The US believed that providing greater access to documents was an essential means of fostering a
greater understanding and appreciation of the WTO, both internally and externally.  As to the proposalrelating to "Findings and Conclusions" of panel reports, her delegation considered that this was also
an important aspect of the work on internal transparency and would put Members on a more even
footing in terms of timely access to panel reports. Members should therefore continue their efforts to
bring the consultations on derestriction to what she would call a modest success.  Regarding the
translation of WTO documents, her delegation understood the concerns expressed by somedelegations and agreed that this was a problem which would have to be addressed.
232. The representative of New Zealand regretted that the derestriction issue had shown no sign of
moving to a conclusion.  Like previous speakers, he also believed that restricted documents were
subject to outdated derestriction procedures taking on the average over one year to be derestricted.
His delegation would therefore continue to support the call for reforms in this area.  As to the problemof serious delays with regard to translation, he supported the view of Hong Kong, China that the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration should look into this matter on a priority basis
with appropriate guidance from the General Council.  As to the proposal relating to the circulation of
the "Findings and Conclusions", this  would respond to the need for Members and the public to receive
timely accurate information about the outcome of pane l proceedings as an alternative to reading about
it in the newspapers.  With regard scheduling of meetings, his delegation welcomed and concurred
with the Secretariat note (Job(00)/4526).  Improv ed scheduling and management of meetings would
provide greater stability and predictability, not only for small resource-strapped delegations but also
for those Members furthest from Geneva.
233. The representative of Singapore, on behalf of the ASEAN Members
, noted the comment
made by Mr. Rodriguez that at this stage no significant progress could be made.  While there had been
general support for the Chairman's proposal in Job No. 929 dated 18 February 1999 some Membersstill had reservations.  The more contentious point related to the proposed circulation of the "Findings
and Conclusions" portion of panel reports as an unrestricted document as soon as it was available in
all the three languages. ASEAN supported that proposal because, under the current practice, Members
received panel reports 15-30 days after their release to the two disputing parties concerned.  In the
interim, however, leaks to the media on the "Findi ngs and Conclusions" often occurred, thus placing
at a disadvantage WTO Members that were non-parties to the dispute.  Withholding the "Findings and
Conclusions" would only give rise to speculations  as to their exact content.  ASEAN's support was
based on the premise that the suggested changes did not alter the agreed DSB working practices in
respect to dispute settlement procedures and did not  modify Members' rights and obligations under the
DSU.  Regarding minutes of meetings, ASEAN could support the proposal that "Member-approved"WT/GC/M/57
Page 49
minutes be proposed for derestriction three months after their circulation.  In this connection, minutes
should be considered "Member-approved" only when all Members who had made statements had
agreed with the final draft prepared by the Secretariat.  With regard to the translation problem, which
was separate from the derestriction issue, it should be addressed in the Committee on Budget, Finance
and Administration, with appropriate advice from the Secretariat as to how this could be overcome.In conclusion, ASEAN urged Members to continue di scussions in the consultations on derestriction so
as to achieve a positive outcome as soon as possible.
234. The representative of Japan expressed disappointment at the lack of progress on the
derestriction issue but hoped that the Chairman's proposal in Job No. 929 would be implemented as
soon as possible.  Since the translation problem was related to this issue, Japan also believed that the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration should be instructed to study how to improve the
Secretariat's capability to produce documents in all official languages as soon as possible.  Translationconstraints had a great bearing on the question of early derestriction of panel reports.  With regard to
scheduling of meetings, his delegation would study the Secretariat note (Job(00)/4526) and suggested
that Members also considered as additional elements to that note a closer coordination among the
chairpersons of the different bodies and the inclusion of informal meetings in the scope of the
discussion.
235. The representative of India concurred with the comment made by Mr. Rodriguez that the
existing rules on derestriction had generally been working well.  In the consultations on derestriction
his delegation had noted the concerns of non-English mother tongue delegations with regard to delays
in the circulation of documents in the official languages other than English.  At the present meeting,
several delegations had pointed out that the translation problem had hampered the discussion on thederestriction issue and suggested that the General Council request the Committee on Budget, Finance
and Administration to see whether the translation process could be improved.  In his delegation's
view, the translation problem had always existe d and Members should not raise expectations that
could not be fulfilled.  They should not believe that by simply asking the Committee on Budget,
Finance and Administration to look into the issue, funds would be made available and thus solving theproblem very quickly.  With respect to scheduling of meetings, his delegation believed that it was the
number of informal meetings, which posed additional burdens on smaller delegations, that was the
root cause of the problem and, in this respect, th e Secretariat note in Job(00)/4526 did not seem to go
very much beyond existing guidelines.  In his de legation's view, Members should also examine the
issue of informal meetings in the consultations on scheduling of meetings.
236. The representative of Canada said that the derestriction issue was not related to the number of
documents which were circulated as non-restricted but how quickly restricted documents become
accessible to the public.  In this connection, a number of delegations had referred to the issue of panel
report leaks.  These leaks, which had always been one of the key concerns of his delegation, put at a
disadvantage both Members and the public who did not have access to the actual reports for a
considerable length of time.  As to the translation question, which was separate from the issue of
derestriction of documents, it related to both supply and demand.  On the one hand, Members weredemanding the translation of an ever increasing number of documents and on the other they were not
providing an adequate supply of translators.  Therefore this issue should be looked into from both
aspects, and in particular as regards panel reports which were becoming ever more lengthy.  On the
question of scheduling of meetings, his delegation would study the Secretariat note in Job(00)/4526
and noted India's comment about the importance and di fficulties relating to informal meetings.  In this
connection, Members could not ask for more internal transparency which required more informal
meetings, and then complained about the large number of such meetings.
237. The representative of Panama said that his delegation would also be interested in continuing
to participate in the consultations on this issue.  Panama was among those delegations which believed
that the WTO was a very transparent body as regards communication and information to the outside.WT/GC/M/57
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As pointed out, 65 per cent of WTO documents were unrestricted.  As to restricted documents, it
would be interesting to know about the time trend fo r derestricting them.  He believed that only a very
small number of documents remained restricted and were so for valid reasons.  With regard to the
"Findings and Conclusions", Panama would consider positively the proposal regarding their
circulation to Members as this would resolve a problem that had been referred to by manydelegations.  Regarding their circulation to the public, Members could study that possibility but
should proceed with caution.  The problem of panel report leaks would also have to be addressed.  A
way to solve it could be to circulate the "Findings and Conclusions" only when available in all three
languages.  As to the proposal relating to "Member-approved" minutes, this would introduce the
concept of adoption of minutes, which was not the current practice, and whose implications would
have to be studied carefully.  On the question of scheduling of meetings, Panama would support the
proposal submitted by the Informal Group of Devel oping Countries (Job(00)/4380).  In that proposal
some points could be implemented very easily such as the establishment of a centralized schedule.
The date for meetings should remain tentative until it had been ascertained that the number of
informal or formal meetings for each day did not go beyond the agreed guidelines.  With regard to the
Secretariat note on scheduling of meetings in J ob No. 2005, his delegation suggested that the two
statistical tables be harmonized so as to have comparable and complementary information, and soughtclarification on the definition of "private meetings".  With regard to the graph of the Secretariat note,
it should be based on statistics on informal and formal meetings only and should not include data on
private meetings, since most Members did not participate in them.  Moreover, if data on private
meetings was removed, the number of meetings on Fridays would probably be lower.  Finally
regarding ways to alleviate the translation burden, one could envisage reducing the official languagesto French and Spanish.
238. The representative of Mexico said that his delegation could not agree with those Members
who believed that the circulation of "Findings an d Conclusions" would prevent leaks.  The only way
to avoid leaks would be to impose copyright.  Furthermore, to circulate "Findings and Conclusions"
might mislead the public since panel reports could be appealed and the outcome might be changed bythe appeal.  His delegation would continue to participate in the consultations on the issue, which could
not be disconnected from translation problems because transparency should be equitable in the three
official languages.  Also, nothing should be do ne on derestriction that would affect the DSU.
Elements affecting the DSU should be dealt with within the DSU review.  In relation to scheduling of
meetings, he believed that the Secretariat note in Job(00)/4526 was a good step in the right direction,
at least as regards rationalizing formal meetings which would enable the WTO to make savings on
services that were ultimately not used but still paid for.  His delegation looked forward to participatingconstructively in the consultations but believed that  the proposal in the Secretariat note as such could
be implemented at the end of this year in order for Members to benefit from it next year.
239. The representative of Singapore, on behalf of ASEAN Members
, said that with regard to
scheduling of meetings ASEAN would examine the Secretariat note in Job(00)/4526 and would revert
to it at the next General Council meeting.  ASEAN looked forward to participating in theconsultations thereon.
240. The representative of Argentina shared the views expressed by previous speakers on the
problem of translation.  With respect to the proposal relating to "Findings and Conclusions", his
delegation believed that the civil society as well as governments should get information on panel
cases and that the circulation of the "Findings and Conclusions" portion would benefit third partiesonly.  Therefore to facilitate their understanding of panel cases, factual presentations of the parties
concerned should be circulated along with the "Findings and Conclusions" portion of panel reports.
241. The representative of the Czech Republic said that the report of Mr. Rodriguez had been
extremely helpful, in particular for those dele gations who had not been associated with the
consultations and were not familiar with all aspects of the derestriction issue.  His delegation hopedWT/GC/M/57
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that an agreement would soon be reached.  From the Secretariat note in Job No. 1629 it was obvious
that much had been done to enhance access to WTO documents and to provide more rapid
information on WTO activities.  However, the situation was not satisfactory since more than 35 per
cent of all documents were initially circulated as restricted.  This percentage was too high and most
restricted documents retained their restricted status for unduly long periods of time.  The derestrictionissue did not relate only to figures, but also to the way the general public perceived the WTO.
Therefore the derestriction issue should be examined in the context of additional measures to ensure
better understanding of WTO activities and to build public confidence in the multilateral trading
system.  His delegation hoped that progress would be made not only on this issue but also on other
aspects of internal and external transparency.  As to scheduling of meetings, his delegation would
study the Secretariat note in Job(00)/4526 carefully.  He wished to express his delegation's
appreciation to the Director-General for his personal involvement and dedication to the issue ofrationalization of WTO meetings and effective participation of all Members in WTO activities, and in
particular searching for maximum information regarding steps to be taken to evaluate and improve
service provided by the Secretariat to WTO Members.
242. The representative of Barbados said that the issue of scheduling of meetings was linked to the
question of effective participation and internal transparency, and was of critical importance to small
delegations.  As to the Secretariat note in Job(00)/4526, she wished to make two preliminary
comments.  First, her delegation as a small one welcomed the proposal to take into account as much
as possible the timetable of meetings of other international organizations in Geneva.  Second, on the
question of informal meetings, while their proliferation created problems, they were valuable and
therefore a balance should be found.
243. The representative of Bolivia expressed gratitude to the Director-General for his efforts
throughout the year to improve the internal transparency of the organization.  Her delegation believed
that a calendar of meetings should be carefully worked out and should also include a certain number
of informal consultations.  If some scheduled informal consultations were not needed, Members
would have some time set aside to work back in their offices.  The calendar would have to be spreadout over time and the number of formal meetings might have to be reduced.
244. The Chairman said that with respect to the proposal made by several delegations that the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration look into the translation issue, it was his
understanding that the Committee was already doing so.  He would consult with the Chairman of the
Budget Committee and with the Director-General to see whether short- and long-term solutions could
be made in this matter.  He proposed that the General Council agree that the Deputy Director-General
continue his consultations on the derestriction issue, and take note of the statements thereon.  He alsoproposed that the General Council agree that Mr. Rodriguez continue consultations on scheduling of
meetings, take note of the statements thereon and revert to the matter at its next meeting.
245. The General Council so agreed.
17. Procedures for the appointment of the Director-General
246. The Chairman recalled that the Decision adopted by the General Council on 22 July 1999 on
the appointment of the next Director-General (WT/L/308) provided that "in order to improve and
strengthen the current rules and procedures [for the appointment of Directors-General], a complete set
of rules and procedures for such appointments shall be elaborated and adopted by the end of
September 2000".  He had prepared a number of questions for delegations in order to facilitate future
discussions on this matter. He did not expect substantive discussions on this matter at the presentmeeting but hoped that the list of questions posed to delegations, which was not exhaustive could
contribute to start the process of consultations in September.  He then read out the following list of
questions:WT/GC/M/57
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(i) Should there be established qualification criteria for the Director-General?
(ii) How long should the terms of office be and what should be specified with respect to
renewals of appointment?
(iii) Should governments be invited to make nominations, or should candidates be
identified through a selection process?
(iv) Should a selection committee be established and, if so, how should it be composed?
(v) Should the selection committee have established guidelines (geographical or other),
or a high degree of flexibility?
(vi) How long should the selection process take?  Should there be fixed deadlines?
(vii) Should there be a special decision mechanism for forcing matters if consensus proves
impossible?
(viii) Is it desirable to have specific rules for the role of Deputy Directors-General in the
transition period?
247. The Chairman reiterated that he would start consultations on the issue of the Procedures for
Appointment of the Director-General in the autumn.  Although it might not be possible to finish this
work by the end of September, he hoped that the discussions in the autumn would lead to an improved
set of rules of procedure.
248. The General Council took note of the statement, agreed  that the Chairman would conduct
consultations on this matter and agreed to revert to it at its next meeting in October.
18. WTO Secretariat and senior management structure
249. The Chairman recalled that in October 1999 the General Council had agreed that the review
of the WTO Secretariat and Senior Management St ructure would be carried out in conjunction with
the review of the current rules and procedures for appointment of Directors-General, to be concluded
by the end of September 2000.  It was understood that this review would be carried out in the light of
the earlier discussions and on the basis of the Decision of 27 April 1997 of the General Council
(WT/L/207).  He intended to conduct consultations on this matter in due time.
250. The General Council took note of the statement, agreed  that the Chairman would conduct
consultations on this matter and agreed to revert to it at a future meeting.
19. Reports of the special sessions of the Committee on Agriculture and of the Council for
Trade in Services (G/AG/NG/1, G/AG/N G/R/1, G/AG/NG/2, S/CSS/M/1, 2, 3 and
Corr.1)
251. The Chairman recalled that at its meeting on 3 and 8 May, the General Council had agreed
that the reports of the first special sessions of the Committee on Agriculture and the Council for Trade
in Services be taken up at the present meeting and that subsequently, and for the duration of themandated negotiations in question, the reports on them would be a standing item on the General
Council's agenda.
252. Mr. Voto-Bernales (Peru), Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, introducing the reports
of the Committee on Special Sessions, said that at the first Special Session in March, under theWT/GC/M/57
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Chairmanship of Mr. Farrell (New Zealand), it had been agreed that a short factual report would be
made to the General Council on the Chairman's responsibility.  At the second Special Session, on
29-30 June 2000, this arrangement was confirmed as a basis for reporting to the General Council on
each Special Session.  This had been on the understanding that the report, once circulated, could if
necessary be amended to correct any errors of a factual nature.  The reports by the Chairman served toinform the General Council on progress in the negotiations, and to provide delegations with an
executive summary or record very shortly after each meeting in advance of the Secretariat reports on
the meetings.  The report in G/AG/NG/2 confirmed that substantive work was now underway in the
negotiations for continuing the reform process for trade in agriculture under Article 20 of the
Agreement.  This involved, in terms of the prog ramme for the first phase of the negotiations, both
work under paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Article 20, as well as the presentation and consideration
of negotiating proposals.  As the report noted, nine proposals had been presented at the second SpecialSession.  The initial consideration of these proposals was to be completed at the next Special Session
at the end of September.  There would be full opportunities for delegations to revert to any of these
proposals at future meetings.  At the request of the Committee, 13 background papers had been
prepared by the Secretariat and had been made available before the second Special Session.  Further
background papers were to be prepared, and other follow-up work undertaken by the Secretariat at therequest of the Committee.  Finally, he urged delegations intending to table submissions or proposals
to do so as far as possible in advance of the third Special Session, which was to be held on
28-29 September.
253. Mr. Bryn (Norway), in the absence of Mr. Ma rchi (Canada), Chairman of the Council for
Trade in Services, said that the Council for Trade in Services had so far held four meetings in Special
Session devoted to the mandated negotiations under Article XIX of the GATS.  Those meetings had
been scheduled back-to-back with the regular mee tings of the Council and along with other meetings
of subsidiary bodies in order to facilitate the participation of capital-based officials.  During these
meetings, the Council had focused on matters relating to the organization and content of the
negotiations.  At its meeting of 26 May 2000, the Council had agreed on a work programme for thefirst phase of the negotiations.  According to these arrangements, Members would be submitting
proposals for discussion at the Special Session by the end of December 2000, on modalities for
negotiations, modalities for the treatment of auto nomous liberalization, how to facilitate the
increasing participation of developing countries, and in particular, how to give special priority to
least-developed country Members and also, proposals on issues arising from the work carried out in
the Council and its subsidiary bodies.  The date of December 2000 would not preclude the submission
of further or more detailed proposals at a later stage.
254. The work programme also provided that the process of assessment of trade in services, overall
and on a sectoral basis, would be an ongoing process and would constitute a standing item on the
agenda of the Special Session.  It was clearly understood by all Members that this work programme
was without prejudice to the elaboration of the gu idelines and procedures required by Article XIX of
the GATS.  It had also been agreed that guidelines and procedures for the negotiations would bedeveloped, drawing upon the ongoing trade assessment and any conclusions Members may reach in
that process.  The Council for Trade in Services in Special Session had received negotiating proposals
on the liberalization of tourism services from a group of developing countries, which included the
possibility of developing an annex to the GATS on the tourism sector.  It had also been proposed that
the Council should organize a symposium on the subject.  These proposals were currently underdiscussion and delegations had shown positive interest in examining the issues and achieving
progress.
255. The Council had also received proposals on modalities for negotiating specific commitments.
Australia and the European Communities had made submissions proposing the use of the so-called
"clusters" technique in the negotiation of liberalization commitments in groups of related sectors.  Theproposals were currently under examination and it was clear that they had raised a number ofWT/GC/M/57
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interesting issues which would continue to be discussed after the summer break.  The Council, in
Special Session was receiving regular reports from its subsidiary bodies through their Chairpersons.
The overall sense of the process was very positive.  Delegations had started the negotiations with
active participation in a very heavy work programme and a sincere desire to achieve progress.
256. The representative of Brazil, on behalf of MERCOSUR Members , noted with interest that
proposals had been submitted both in the Committee on Agriculture and in the Council for Trade in
Services that advocated time-frames for the conclusion of both negotiating processes or for the
presentation of initial requests in the case of services.  He reiterated that MERCOSUR Members
believed that the mandated negotiations in services and agriculture should not be isolated from one
another and therefore a degree of parallelism ought to be observed between the two processes in terms
of rhythm and overall results.  He also proposed that the item on Special Sessions be taken up in the
discussion in future meetings of the General Council at an earlier stage and not towards the end ofmeetings.
257. The representative of Bulgaria reiterated the understanding of his delegation that the
mandated negotiations included negotiation on geographical indications under Article 24.1 of the
TRIPS Agreement.
258. The General Council took note of the reports of the Special Sessions of the Committee on
Agriculture and of the Council for Trade in Services and of the statements.
20. Accreditation of permanent representatives to the WTO
(a) Statement by the Chairman
259. The Chairman recalled that at the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May he had made a
statement on this issue.  Since a few delegations ne eded more time to consider the matter, the General
Council agreed to revert to it.  He then read out the following statement:
"As Members will recall, Ambassador Lafer in 1997 in his capacity as the then Chairman of
the General Council raised the issue of accreditation of permanent representatives to the
WTO.  Since the WTO was no longer legally associated with the United Nations system,
Amb. Lafer proposed that Members agree to send separate notes of accreditation of theirpermanent representatives in Geneva to the WTO, and no longer continue the practice of
sending to the WTO a copy of the letter of accreditation addressed to the United Nations in
Geneva.
"Following informal consultations with a number of delegations I am pleased to inform you
that most missions now appear to be following the practice of addressing a separate note of
accreditation of their permanent representatives to the Director-General of the WTO.  Itherefore propose that Members agree to continue the application of such procedures in
future."
260. The representative of Pakistan said that the proposal of addressing a separate note for
accreditation of permanent representatives to the Director-General of the WTO created certain
difficulties for his country because of the existing domestic administrative and legislative
arrangements in force.  His delegation did not object to the consensus on the proposed procedure but
reserved the right to continue the present prac tice for the accreditation of Pakistan's permanent
representatives to the WTO which was in conformity with his country's domestic legislation.  Pakistan
intended to make an arrangement with the Secretaria t, perhaps in the form of an explanatory letter
attached to the copy of the accreditation letter which would be addressed.WT/GC/M/57
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261. The General Council took note of the statements.
21. Statement by Panama on consultations held on implementation
262. The representative of Panama, speaking under "Other Business", said that at the General
Council meeting on 17 July several delegations had received invitations which apparently concerned
consultations on implementation with limited participation.  While his delegation did not have theresources, the interest, or even the instructions to participate in all consultations and meetings, he
believed that delegations themselves should decide on their participation.  Although the discussion on
internal transparency at the 17 July General Counc il meeting had been very useful and educational,
the way the subsequent consultations had been convened demonstrated the need for a better
understanding of how the WTO could become more transparent.  He hoped that all delegations would
be informed of the results of those consultations.  In discussions on internal transparency and effective
participation of Members, several delegations had underlined that the first prerequisite to achieve thatobjective was that all delegations be given the opportunity to participate in the process.  This meant
that all delegations should be informed in advance of the subject of consultations so that they could
decide whether or not to participate.  All delegations should be given the opportunity to express their
positions on an equal footing.  Furthermore, all delegations which did not participate in certain
consultations should be informed of their results.  Despite the fact that there had been noticeableimprovements in internal transparency and effective participation of Members, further efforts should
be made to improve WTO working practices.
263. The Chairman said that at the last of the two meetings which had been held on
implementation, it became clear that the preparation of the October meeting was very difficult and
involved a very heavy workload.  Therefore, he had said that further discussions were needed on howto consult with Members.  To this effect, he intended to make a proposal at a Heads of Delegation
meeting to be organized for 20 July.  He also wished to verify some of his ideas with what he thought
to be a representative sample of the membership.  The objective was not so much to have country
positions, as the consultations were not about substance.  Their purpose was to get ideas on how the
consultation process could be developed.  On 20 July, at the HODs meeting he would informMembers of the result of those consultations and the conclusions that would be drawn.  Also at that
meeting he had intended to provide the explanations that he had just given.  He was always open to
discussing how the consultations process should be organized.  However, the Chairman's task would
be very difficult if he was not allowed to talk to delegations.  Moreover, he could not, with the best of
his ability reach everybody at every opportunity.  He understood Panama's frustration which was duly
noted.  He would come back to this issue at the HODs meeting on 20 July.
264. The representative of Honduras supported Panama's views.  He had noted the Chairman's
statement, especially with respect to the repres entative group and to the consultations on substance.
His delegation hoped that in the future the representation of all Members would be taken into account.
265. The representative of Bolivia said that participation in meetings and consultations should be
decided by each delegation and not by Chairpersons.
266. The General Council took note of the statements.
22. Statement of the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods concerning the request
for a waiver for the new ACP-EC partnership agreement
267. Mr. Perez del Castillo (Uruguay), Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG),
speaking under "Other Business", made a statemen t on his own responsibility, on the state-of-play
regarding the waiver requested for the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.  Before presenting his factualreport, he expressed his warmest appreciation to all delegations concerned for their spirit ofWT/GC/M/57
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cooperation and the positive and constructive way in which they had presented their views and
suggestions during the many consultations that had been held.  He then read out the following report5:
"The first discussion of the subject took place at the CTG meeting of 5 April.  This was
followed by an open-ended informal meeting held on 18 April;  my summary of the
discussions of that meeting was circulated to Members in a written report dated 26 April 2000which I submitted as Chairman on my own responsibility.  Subsequently, I held consultations
with a broad range of interested parties.  I convened another open-ended informal meeting on
18 May in order to hear Members' views on the outstanding procedural issues.  At the same
time, I continued to hold periodic consultations with a number of delegations.  Finally, I
convened a third informal meeting on 5 July to take stock of the situation and proposed that I
report to the General Council on my own aut hority.  This suggestion was formally approved
by the CTG on 7 July 2000.
"My impression from these many meetings and consultations is on the one hand positive, in
the sense that no Member objects to the granting of tariff preferences for ACP countries and
all delegations with whom I have consulted are – in principle – ready to grant a waiver at the
appropriate time.
"On the other hand, however, the predominantly pr ocedural problems that were identified at
our 18 April meeting have persisted.  These problems, as you are aware, chiefly concern the
question of "how" and "when" the request should be examined, i.e. the sufficiency of
documentation and the starting date of the 90-day examination period pursuant to Article IXof the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization.  It appears that
everyone recognizes that we have reached a deadlock ("impasse") in the process relating to
the waiver request due to continued divergent positions.
"For some delegations the key problem is that the waiver requested in the documents before
the CTG (i.e. the request itself in G/C/W/187, the draft decision in G/C/W/187/Add.2 and the
full text of the Partnership Agreement in G/C/W/204) do not contain the necessary
documentation with respect to the EC preferences to be accorded to banana imports.
Furthermore, some delegations were of the view that the requirement of paragraph 1 of the
Understanding in Respect of Waivers of Obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade 1994 has not been met by the waiver request, whereas other delegations felt that
the requirement has been fully complied with.  I should also add that during my consultationsMembers raised matters that concerned neither procedure nor bananas in  particular , including
the issue of the repercussions of the Partnership Agreement on the markets of non-ACP
developing countries.
"As regards the beginning of the 90-day pe riod, you are all aware that according to
Article IX:3(b) of the WTO Agreement, the Council for Trade in Goods is required to
consider the waiver request during a time-period not exceeding 90 days.  At the end of the
time-period, the Council must submit a report to the General Council.  In view of the situation
created as a result of the CTG decision of 5 April, the 90 day time-period should have begun
on 14 April, that is, on the date on which the draft decision on waiver was submitted in thethree official languages.  Some delegations have questioned the validity of beginning the
90-day period for consideration as decided on 5 April by my predecessor, either because of
translation problems at the time of adoption of the decision or because they were not familiar
with the content and scope of the texts which were not available at the time.
                                                     
5 Subsequently circulated to delegations in Job No. 4510.WT/GC/M/57
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"At the informal meeting of the CTG of 18 May,  after listening to the positions of all the
parties, I tried to adopt a pragmatic and flexible approach and made a suggestion based on the
following elements:
1. The 90-day examination period would begin on 4 May (the date at which the full text
of the Agreement was made available in the official languages), with the
understanding that it would expire at the end of July 2000.  The examination would
cover what can be evaluated on the basis of the information available.  In other words,
it would for the time being exclude the EC banana regime.
2. The conducting of the examination would in no way prejudge the results – that is, the
content and form of the report to be submitted to the General Council.
3. If, prior to the expiry of the 90 days, Members were provided with information on the
new EC banana regime, steps would be taken to conduct a thorough examination of
the regime in the context of the waiver request.
4. If the EC banana regime was not on the table by the time the examination period
expires, various options or arrangements would be considered to resolve the situation.
5. During the examination period, consideration would continue to be given to all of the
other problems and concerns raised by Members.
"The purpose of my consultations was to find, on the basis of the above elements, common
ground to enable us to move ahead with the process.
"As I mentioned, during the past weeks I have been conducting new and intensive
consultations, and consultations have also been taking place among the interested Membersthemselves.  As a result of these consultations, and in line with the proposal made by the
Chairman to which I referred beforehand, I was provided informally with a draft text agreed
among various delegations and supported by a number of interested parties proposing a
possible basis for a solution to the matter at issue.  On 4 July, we received a new proposal
with amendments and modifications to the pr evious text, prepared by other interested
Members.
"While neither of these texts were considered in the framework of the CTG, I must inform
you that the consultations that I have conducted in this respect suggest that neither of them
would constitute a solid basis for reaching a consensus that would take account of the
interests of all of the parties.
"In view of this situation, I convened an informal meeting of the CTG on 5 July to discuss
how we could proceed.  As I noted at the outset, it was agreed at that meeting, and again at
the formal Council meeting of 7 July 2000, that in view of the deadlock reached in the waiver
request procedure, it was important for the General Council to be informed of the state of
play.  Given the aforementioned problems facing the CTG in agreeing on a report to betransmitted to the General Council, I have been authorized, as Chairman and on my own
responsibility, to submit this factual report of the current situation under the agenda item
"Other business".
"There remains  broad agreement in the CTG that  my role as Chairman is to facilitate the
waiver request examination process, so that my intention is to continue consultations with a
view to reaching a consensus which takes account of the interests of all Members."
268. The General Council took note of the statement.WT/GC/M/57
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23. Statement by the Director-General on recent initiatives
269. The Director-General, speaking under "Other Business", said that he wished to report briefly
on a number of recent initiatives of relevance to the work and functioning of the WTO.  These
initiatives, taken together, could be important and complementary to the WTO's core business.  He
remained of course open to more advice and suggestions from Members on all these matters.
270. First, the WTO had a new intern policy which was more transparent, and consistent and
offered opportunities to as wide a cross-section of the membership as possible.  The details of the new
policy had been widely circulated.  Second, there was the idea of possible expansion of the WTO's
capacity to deliver residential commercial policy courses which were well regarded and received.  He
intended to look into the possibility of doubling the WTO's capacity to deliver such courses.  At
present, each eligible Member could expect to have one official trained on average every two years.
This situation could be improved.
271. Third, it had been suggested to establish a board to oversee the training facilities.  The board
could comprise some Members (perhaps the Chairpersons of certain WTO bodies on an ex officio
basis), outside experts and members of the Secretariat.  He also wished to involve other agencies that
were providing training such as UNCTAD, in order to ensure greater coherence and more consistent
standards.  The WTO might in turn assist these agen cies in some of their training activities.  Fourth,
he was discussing with UNCTAD and the ITC the idea of setting up an advisory board for the ITC.
This could bring to the ITC fresh private sector advice.  It was important to emphasize that such a
board would in no way undermine or challenge the ownership of the ITC by governments but it could
provide an extra source of expertise and advice that could even help with income flow.  Further
consultations with Members would be held on this idea.
272. Fifth, as delegations were aware, in Seattle a number of parliamentarians had organized a
meeting in parallel to the Ministerial Conference.  One of the issues discussed at that meeting was
how parliaments and legislative experts might become more closely associated and familiar with the
work of the WTO.  Various ministers and representatives had raised this issue with him on which he
would consult further with Members.  Sixth, he continued to explore ways to ensure fullerparticipation of non-resident Members in the work of the WTO.  Different ideas had been put
forward, including the establishment of a support centre for non-resident missions.  He had had
discussions with representatives of non-resident Members, smaller Geneva-based missions, donors,
and other key players in this area such as the Agency for International Trade, Information and
Cooperation and the Commonwealth Secretariat.  The key idea that had emerged was that any
initiative should be focused on the specific needs of the beneficiaries, should not be duplicative of
existing efforts, and should take on board the principle of ownership by the beneficiary countries.
273. Seventh, he recalled that in May he had circulated a questionnaire to Members requesting
them to evaluate various aspects of WTO work and the services provided by the Secretariat.  To date,
he had received 40 replies and work was beginning on the preliminary analysis of these replies.  He
asked those Members who wished to submit a response to do so as soon as possible.  In due course, he
would report to the membership on his findings.  The responses received to date had been constructiveand practical and he was considering taking action on some of these straight away so as to improve
the flow of information to delegations, both Geneva- and non-Geneva based.  Finally, he recalled that
he was planning another "Geneva week" for non-re sidents and observers of the WTO which would be
held in October this year.  "Geneva Week 2000" would begin with a seminar on small economies on
21 October and close with the 30
th Session of Committee on Trade and Development on 27 October.
As in the past, other agencies in Geneva would be involved.  Some financial assistance had been
provided by some of the agencies for the "Geneva Week 2000".
274. The General Council took note of the statement.WT/GC/M/57
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24. Possible WTO contribution to the High-Level Event on Financing for Development
275. The Chairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that on 19 May 2000, an informal
meeting with members of the UN Preparatory Committee for the High-Level Event on the Financing
for Development, Heads of Delegations of WT O Members and Senior Officials of the WTO
Secretariat, had been held in order to hear from the Bureau of the UN Preparatory Committeeproposals for a closer dialogue and cooperation wi th the WTO for the preparation of the High-Level
Event scheduled for 2001.  He also mentioned that the Secretariat was already involved in two of the
preparatory working groups i.e. on trade and on systemic issues.  Given the strong wish of the
Preparatory Committee of the High-Level Event to receive also a political input from the WTO
membership, he proposed that the contact point for such an input be the Committee on Trade and
Development (CTD) and that its Chairman be in contact with the Preparatory Committee.  Issues
which might be raised in the context of the preparations for the High-Level Event would be discussedin the CTD.  He also recalled that the input from the GATT to the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro had been very much based on a similar
pattern, namely an input from the Secretariat and discussions among Members in the appropriate
Committee.  If this approach was acceptable, he would inform the Co-Chairs of the UN Preparatory
Committee accordingly.
276. The representative of the United States welcomed and supported the Chairman's proposal to
provide an overall input to this important Event.  It was also important that any contribution to the
Event reflect the views of the membership in keep ing with the Member-driven character of the WTO.
277. The Chairman said that the CTD would have precisely the role of reflecting the views of the
membership in any contribution to the Event.
278. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  to the Chairman's proposal.
25. Proposed Memorandum of Understand ing between the WTO and the WCO
279. The Chairman speaking under "Other Business", re called that at the informal meeting of the
General Council on 29 February, he had circulated a first draft text of a Memorandum of
Understanding between the WTO and the WCO.   Following some preliminary comments by
delegations, he had requested the Secretariat to carry out consultations on this text both with Members
and the WCO.  Following these consultations, it appeared that the best way to proceed would be to
continue cooperating with the WCO under the present informal arrangements.  As many Members had
stated, these informal arrangements were working well, and provided a good basis for effective
cooperation in the future.  The Secretariat had also received indications from the WCO that the draft
as it had emerged after the consultations was not fully satisfactory to them.  He therefore proposed
that the idea of a formal MOU not be pursued at this stage.
280. The representative of Japan said that his delegation did not object to the Chairman's proposal
but believed in strengthening cooperation be tween the WTO and the WCO on the basis of a
memorandum of understanding and hoped that this matter would be reverted to in the future.
281. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  to the Chairman's proposal.
26. External transparency
282. The Chairman speaking under "Other Business", said that a number of delegations had
expressed the wish to discuss the issue of external transparency.  He recalled that at the General
Council meeting on 3 and 8 May he had indicated that he would consult informally on the procedures
to be followed for such a discussion.  In light of these consultations he proposed that Members drewWT/GC/M/57
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on some of the procedures which had been used for the discussions on internal transparency.  In
particular, it could be useful to invite Members to make written contributions on external transparency
so as to familiarize delegations with this issue.  He recalled that some Members, in their contributions
on internal transparency, had already included proposals on external transparency and suggested that
Members engage in a series of informal consultati ons in the autumn to discuss such contributions, as
well as any other issue they wished to rais e in the context of external transparency.
283. The representative of Mexico said that he was aware that some delegations had already
described their own ideas on external transparency.  However, his delegation did not believe that the
General Council had reached an agreement to discuss this issue.  There were other more important
questions that should be discussed first.  He acknowledged the right of Members to submit written
contributions on any topic they considered appropriate but expressed concern that the Chairman's
proposal to initiate consultations on the submissions on external transparency suggested that Membershad reached a collective agreement in the General Council to proceed along those lines.  His
delegation wished to make clear that no agreement had been reached to include the topic of external
transparency in the work of the General Council.  In the consultations on external transparency
proposed by the Chairman his delegation would focus on the very need to have such discussions.
284. The Chairman agreed with the representative of Mexico that Members could raise any issue
they deemed important and that the approach take n to any informal consultation was entirely up to
each individual delegation.
285. The representative of Hong Kong, China said that he did not object to substantive discussions
on external transparency at some stage.  However, the pace of such discussions should be at a
comfortable rate for all Members.  He recalled that at the 3 and 8 May General Council meeting, theChairman had suggested that a substantive discussi on of external transparency remained premature
and his delegation continued to share that view.  He suggested that the Chairman pursued further
consultations regarding the actual form and the timing of such substantive discussions.
286. The Chairman acknowledged that different views existed as to whether discussions on the
issue of external transparency were premature.  This had been the case in May, but it was also clear
that a number of Members now had a different view.
287. The representative of India said that his delegation agreed with the broad concerns outlined
by Mexico and Hong Kong, China.  He expressed concern that Members were in the process of taking
a major decision under "Other Business" when it was generally recognized that delegations would not
attempt to do so under this item of the agenda.  External transparency was a sensitive subject for his
delegation and his delegation would have to seek instructions from his capital before presenting
India's position.  He agreed that any Member had the right to place an issue on the agenda butexpressed some reservation with respect to the Chairman's proposal to engage in substantive
consultations based on the written contributions on external transparency already submitted as well as
any future submissions.  He indicated that his delegation would need to reflect further on the
implications of such a process and requested the Chairman to allow delegations more time to convey
their views to him informally.
288. The Chairman said that it was clear that while no delegation could be denied the right to raise
an issue, the subject of external transparency should  be addressed in an informal setting.  Placing this
issue on a formal agenda would be very difficult at this stage.  This was the principal motivation for
raising the issue of external transparency under "Other Business" as there was no intention of
formalizing the discussions at this point.  However, since a large number of delegations had expressedthe desire to address external transparency he believed that it would be difficult to continuously
postpone even an informal discussion.WT/GC/M/57
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289. The representative of the United States said that the issue of external transparency was of
great importance, not only to her delegation, but to the WTO as an institution.  She recalled that her
delegation had called for informal discussions on this issue on several occasions and that no one had
objected to having such discussions.  The United States had already provided specific suggestions on
the issue and encouraged others to contribute simila rly.  It was an inescapable fact that there was
strong and growing interest in the work of the WTO and that Members had to find ways of responding
positively while at the same time respecting the intergovernmental character of the institution.  The
General Council had undertaken important work this year on institutional issues of interest to many
Members and her delegation had participated actively and constructively in this work.  She hoped that
delegations could adopt a similar approach to the issue of external transparency which was of great
importance to many delegations.  Regarding the discussion on whether this issue was ripe or not, she
said that her delegation had engaged in discussions on issues which the United States did notnecessarily feel were ripe.  However, it was the right of any Member to raise issues and request
informal consultations.  She acknowledged that external transparency was a sensitive issue to many
delegations but called on these to approach the issue in a constructive fashion.
290. The representative of Cuba supported the interventions by Mexico, India and Hong Kong,
China.  His delegation believed that rather than engaging in substantive discussions on external
transparency, it would be more appropriate initially to consult informally on the need to address this
issue at all.
291. The Chairman said that he believed such an approach would set a dangerous precedent since
it would be a discussion on what Members can legitimately discuss.  He emphasized the importance
of the sovereign right of every delegation to raise issues which were within the sphere of competenceof the WTO.  The approach suggested by Cuba  would have serious ramifications for how the
organization operated.
292. The representative of Canada said that this issue was of great importance to his delegation and
that Canada had already submitted proposals on external transparency.  In recognition of the
sensitivity of this issue, his delegation had precisely avoided pushing for the inclusion of externaltransparency on the formal agenda of the General Council.  He supported the Chairman's approach to
informal consultations where those delegations that considered it appropriate could put forward
submissions.  It was his understanding that such contributions would be informal papers to be
discussed informally.  He expressed concern with the notion of holding consultations on whether to
engage in substantive discussions.  He agreed that "Other Business" was not the place to have
substantive discussions and encouraged the Chairman  to pursue the matter informally in the autumn.
293. The representative of Mexico said that he wished to offer some clarification on his previous
intervention since some delegations had interpreted it to the effect that Mexico did not wish to be a
part of the informal consultations.  His delegation would be willing to participate in the consultations
to see how Members could deal with the interests of some delegations in this area.  However,
Mexico's approach to such consultations would be that this issue was neither urgent nor relevant.  He
saw two possible outcomes of such consultations.  The first possibility would be that the proponentsof the issue of external transparency decided that it would be better to place it on the formal agenda.
This would then require other Members to decide whether they could adopt this agenda or not.  The
second possibility would be that of finding a way to  use the role of the Chairman to help the entire
membership find a solution to the issue.  His delegation did not agree that the General Council had
accepted to discuss the issue of external transparency and was not prepared to take any decision under"Other Business".
294. The Chairman thanked the representative of Mexico for this clarification.  He agreed with
Mexico's assessment of the purpose of the proposed informal consultations, i.e. to utilize informal
consultations to gauge if the entire membership is ready or not to move forward on any specific issue.WT/GC/M/57
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295. The representative of Uruguay took note of the Chairman's proposal to hold informal
consultations on this topic.  His delegation would not oppose these consultations since the question of
external transparency seemed to be important for many Members.  He expressed concern over the
interpretation and definitions that some delegations had given to this theme and which were reflected
in some of the substantive proposals that the Chai rman intended to examine in the course of the
consultations.  Although Uruguay would participate in those consultations constructively he wanted to
register his delegation's reservations in advance.  The fact that informal consultations were going to
take place should in no way pre-empt the result as to whether or not this item was going to be dealt
with in the General Council.
296. The representative of the Philippines pointed to the risk of proceeding along the course
suggested by the Chairman because the issue of external transparency was of concern to some
Members.  Members often expressed concern over different issues which were not formally on theagenda.  He did not wish to appear formalistic but there was a real risk that other delegations at some
later stage would express concerns in the General Council with the expectation that the Chairman
would initiate consultations.
297. The Chairman said that when the General Council had discussed electronic commerce,
Pakistan had expressed the wish that the Chairman initiated consultations on certain issues of
importance to them.  He said that he would initiate such consultations because nobody opposed it and
because these issues were of great importance to Pakistan.  In this light, there was little difference
between the approach taken on electronic commerce and that taken on external transparency.
298. The representative of the European Communities supported the Chairman's proposal to hold
informal consultations on the issue of external transparency and welcomed his invitation to Members
to submit contributions on that issue.  The fact that there was disagreement on substance was not
relevant to the present discussion.  He agreed that it was the Chairman's duty to identify the different
shades of opinion and positions that delegations held on this sensitive issue.  He pointed to other
issues on the agenda where no consensus existed but where the Chairman had announced his intention
to hold consultations.  His delegation fully supported the Chairman's right to hold consultations onthese matters and he urged other Members to do the same.
299. The Chairman said that he sensed a growing clarity regarding his intentions on the issue of
external transparency.  He assured Members that he did not intend to rush anyone into a formal
process which was why he had proposed to approach the issue in an informal fashion.
300. The General Council took note of the statements.
27. Chairmanship of the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation
301. The Chairman, speaking under "Other Business" said that on the basis of consultations that
had been held, he had agreed to accept, subject to Members' approval, the invitation to chair the
Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation following the departure of the former
Chairman, Mr. Rossier (Switzerland).
302. The General Council took note of this information and so agreed  .
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