RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/C/M/14 
2 November 2004 
 
 (04-4654) 
Trade Negotiations Committee 
12 October 2004  
 
 
 
MINUTES OF MEETING 
 
Held in the Centre William Rappard  
on 12 October 2004  
 
Chairman: Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi (Director-General)  
 
 Subjects discussed
: Page  
 
1. Establishment of the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation and appointment 
of Chairperson................................................................................................................. ..........1  
2. Follow-up to General Council Decision – Statements by TNC Chairman and by 
Chairpersons of the Bodies Es tablished by the TNC.............................................................2  
3. Statements by participants..................................................................................................... ..6 
 
 
1. Establishment of the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation and appointment of 
Chairperson 
1. The Chairman  said that the Decision on the Doha Work  Programme that had been recently 
adopted by the General Council had instructed th e Trade Negotiations Comm ittee (TNC) to establish 
a Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation and appoint its  Chairman at its first meeting after the July 
session of the General Council.  The Negotiating Gro up itself had been instructed to agree on a work 
plan and schedule of meetings at its first meeting. 
2. As all delegations were aware, the Ge neral Council Chairman had been conducting 
consultations regarding the appointment of officer s to certain WTO bodies, including the Negotiating 
Group on Trade Facilitation.  The General Council Ch airman had been keeping him abreast of the 
progress of his consultations, particularly as they affected the TNC.  The General Council Chairman 
had informed delegations at the previous week's Heads of Delegations meeting that agreement had 
been reached on a set of names.  For the Negotia ting Group on Trade Facilitation, agreement had been 
reached that the Chairman would be Ambassador Noor (Malaysia).   
3. The Chairman accordingly proposed that the TNC establish  the Negotiating Group on Trade 
Facilitation and appoint  Ambassador Noor as its Chairperson. 
4. The Trade Negotiations Committee so agreed . 
5. On behalf of all Members, the Chairman  wished Ambassador Noor and participants every 
success in this new negotiating group.  He also noted that Members had a new Chairman for the 
Negotiating Group on Rules, Ambassador Valles Galmés (Uruguay), following the departure of TN/C/M/14 
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 Ambassador Pérez Motta (Mexico).  This matter wa s being pursued by the Chairman of the General 
Council. 
2. Follow-up to General Council Decision – Statements by TNC Chairman and by 
Chairpersons of the Bodies Established by the TNC  
6. The Chairman
 wished to start by expressing his appreciation for the efforts all delegations had 
put into reaching agreement at the end of July.  Now that Members had gathered some momentum in 
the negotiations, the biggest immediate challenge wa s to maintain the pressure and to make as much 
progress as possible.  He had intended to have a meeting of the TNC as soon as possible after the 
summer break to dispel any ideas that the Round woul d now go into hibernation.  However, this had 
not been possible due to the ongoing consultations regarding the appointment of officers to certain 
WTO bodies. 
7. Members needed to build on their July success.   He was personally committed to pushing on 
hard with the negotiations, and was ready to help delegations as much as he could.  Whatever the 
political events elsewhere, Members had mandates to fulfil, frameworks to fill out and much work to 
do. 
8. He was pleased therefore to note that Memb ers had got off to a good start.  The recent 
meetings of several negotiating gr oups had gone well.  It was important to begin this phase of the 
work on a positive note and he urged delegations to  bring this positive spirit into the forthcoming 
meetings of the other negotiating groups and the TNC. 
9. In many areas of the negotiations, the work in  the coming weeks would be of a somewhat 
technical nature.  It was only once work had advan ced considerably that Me mbers would be able to 
look towards the next steps for the Doha Developm ent Agenda (DDA) with any clarity.  He believed 
it would be premature to try now to plan in detail wh at should happen in 2005.  To do so at this stage 
would be a somewhat speculative exercise.  In hi s view, one should be very  prudent about launching a 
major procedural debate too early. 
10. This did not mean that one should take one's f oot off the accelerator, since a lot of very 
difficult work lay ahead.  One more negotiating body had just been added an d delegations should not 
forget that the July Decision contained some inte rmediate deadlines.  Dele gations should get down to 
this work in good faith and use the coming months efficiently and pragmatically in order to make 
progress across the whole of the DDA. 
11. Looking ahead, it would certainly be important , when Members knew the various parameters 
better, to develop a common vision of objectives for next year.  The Sixth Ministerial Conference 
would take place in December 2005, and he expected that attention would have to turn to the role of 
this Conference in the spring of that year.  That  would be an appropriate moment to review the 
progress in technical work and to start to set out the level of ambition for Hong Kong and beyond.  Of 
course, this approach did not prevent exchanging view s very informally in the meantime.  Indeed, that 
sort of exchange was usually very helpful. 
12. Clearly, the negotiating bodies provided the most su itable and effective platform to fill in the 
frameworks.  The TNC was there to coordinate the work of the negotiating bodies, and to provide a 
forum for Members to evaluate progress across the boar d.  The July Decision had been the result of a 
collective and coordinated effort.  In the forthc oming period, as work intensified, everyone should 
continue to coordinate activities as closely as before July, if not more.  His intention was for the TNC 
to continue to meet regularly and to exercise its ove rsight role, as provided for in the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration.  The TNC was the central body of th e negotiations and Members should use it to ensure  TN/C/M/14 
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 that the momentum generated by the July Decisi on and the serious work already under way in the 
negotiating bodies was maintained.  
13. He was planning the next meeting of the TNC for 9 December 2004.  At that time, all the 
negotiating bodies would have met again at least once more.  This would also be shortly before the 
December General Council and before the end of th e year.  That would seem to be an appropriate 
juncture for another opportunity for overall evaluation.   For his part, he intended to continue meeting 
regularly with all the negotiating body Chairpersons  and the General Council Chairman to ensure that 
everyone operated in a coherent and co-ordinated manner.  It went without saying that he would 
conduct other informal consultations as necessary an d his door was always open for any delegation 
that wished to express its views to the Chairman of the TNC.  
14. Finally, he wished to mention the subject of implementation.  In the July Decision, he had 
been requested to continue his consultations on  the paragraph 12(b) implementation issues in his 
capacity as Director-General and to report to th e TNC and the General Council by May 2005.  He 
intended to carry out this task to the fullest extent  possible, and he was already planning consultations 
to this effect.  He would report to the TNC and Gene ral Council on an interim basis in the near future. 
15. Ambassador Jara (Chile), Chairman of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in 
Services , said his report on the Special Session held on 27 September and 1 October was contained in 
document TN/S/17 and he wished to add a few commen ts on his own responsibility.  At this meeting, 
he had witnessed a renewed momentum and had de tected a sense of satisfaction with the work, 
particularly because of the positive negotiating atmosphere following the July package.   
16. Four initial offers had been tabled by th e Dominican Republic, Gabon, Jordan and Kenya 
which had been warmly welcomed.  At least 10 Me mbers who had yet to submit an initial offer had 
provided updates on the preparation of their offers  in capital, which had been a welcome initiative 
because it had added to the transparency of the pr ocess and to the expectation of Members that all 
would have to play by the same rules at the end of the day. 
17. There had been rich discussions around certain  proposals and initiatives concerning modes of 
supply, such as mode 1 and particularly mode 4.  During the cluster, there had been an informal 
meeting on mode 4 to consider certain specific questions on this mode of delivery and these 
consultations would be c ontinued to determine how best to proceed.  Following the cluster, there had 
been a useful IOM/OECD/World Bank/WTO semina r concerning temporary movement of natural 
persons.  At this stage, it was important for Memb ers to retain that there was an increasing concern 
and interest in proceeding with work at a multinat ional level on certain modes of supply, such as 
mode 1 and mode 4, not excluding other modes of s upply.  Further consultati ons would have to be 
undertaken on how best to materialize these interests. 
18. The present good momentum could take delegations  only so far, because forty-eight Members 
had submitted offers, which in reality was only fort y-four because the European Union counted as one 
and one had to take into account its recent expansi on.  This left close to fifty Members, mainly 
developing countries, who had yet to submit their initia l offers.  Despite the ne w initial offers, the fact 
that so much time had gone by increased a political problem which he would characterise as dragging the negotiations to an important extent, which w ould continue to affect the negotiations if it 
continued.  This should be recognized as an increasingly serious problem, and Members should be 
asked to submit their initial offe rs as soon as possible.  The resources of the Secretariat to provide 
targeted technical assistance were available and they would certainly be taxed in the months to come, 
so he urged Members not to request targeted technica l assistance at the last minute because this might 
reduce the capacity of the Secretariat to respond.  He wished to underline that this was a serious 
problem and to urge Members to ta ke note and to react accordingly.  He did not see how the new May TN/C/M/14 
Page 4  
 
 2005 deadline for revised offers would be met when  there was still such a large number of initial 
offers to be submitted. 
19. The services negotiations also had another deadlin e – the July package set  out that the Special 
Session would review progress in these negotiations in  order to provide a full report to the TNC prior 
to the Sixth Ministerial Conference.  The Speci al Session would be organizing its work and co-
ordinating with other negotiating groups at the approp riate time to do a stocktaking of the situation in 
services and to seek the necessary political guidance from Ministers in that respect. 
20. A lot of work was anticipated for next year.  Th ere had been some useful indications, not only 
in the area of market access with the submission of initial offers, but also in the area of rule making 
particular on domestic regulations.  It was necessary to be very supportive of this renewed momentum 
in the negotiations and the Special Session would meet again in December in a cluster to programme 
the work for the coming year to furthe r advance the negotiations on services. 
21. The Chairman
 welcomed the informative and fra nk assessment by the Services Special 
Session Chairman and supported his view that desp ite the renewed momentum, Members could not be 
comfortable with the status of the offers thus far.   The task at hand should not be underestimated.  A 
large number of countries would have to submit initial  offers and there should be no excuse since the 
Secretariat stood ready at all times to provide the technical assistance needed in this respect.  He 
hoped that those who had not made an initial offer would do so as soon as possible in order to help 
move the negotiations forward.   
22. Ambassador Ahmad (Pakistan), Chairman of the Special Session of the Council for TRIPS , 
said that as foreseen in his report to the June TNC meeting, he had held in formal consultations on 
14 September on how the further work could be most constructively and purposef ully carried forward.  
In the light of the consultations, the time availa ble to the tenth meeting held on 23 September had 
been divided between formal sessions and informal  consultations among delegations.  The informal 
consultations between delegations  had been reported to the formal session as "very useful".   
23. With regard to the formal sessions, delegations had agreed to focus on three sets of issues: 
first, the two major issues of legal effects of registration and participation in the system; second, 
possible administrative and other burdens that might  fall on countries, in particular developing and 
least-developed countries, as a result of a notification and registration system; and finally, some issues of a technical or procedural nature relating to the operation of a multilateral system.  He believed the 
exchange had been useful, even if he had not de tected any substantive change in positions.  With 
regard to the organization of future work, it had been agreed that the next formal meeting of the 
Special Session would be held on 30 November, wh ich was immediately before the regular session of 
the Council for TRIPS.  He would hold informal cons ultations prior to the formal meeting on how the 
further work could be constructively and purposefully carried forward. 
24. Ambassador Spencer (Australia), Chairman of the Special Session of the Dispute Settlement 
Body , said that, as part of the July package, th e General Council had agreed to continue the 
negotiations on improvements and clarif ications of the DSU.  In this light, and after talking informally 
to a number of delegations, he had proposed to resume  the work with a meeting of the Special Session 
on 22 October.  An airgram was being issued fo r that meeting and would outline the meeting's 
purpose. 
25. The first proposed agenda item would be to look at an informal contribution that had been 
presented in May by a group of 6 delegations, relating to selected issues which had been under 
discussion in the Special Session.  The paper had b een presented last May as a "work in progress", but 
there had not been enough time to discuss it.  Me mbers would have an opportunity to pick up where 
they had left off and try to take issues forward on the basis of that contribution.  The second agenda  TN/C/M/14 
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 item would a discussion of the future work programme  of the Special Session.  He trusted that 
delegations would resume the negotia tions with the same enthusiasm that they had shown in the past. 
26. The Chairman  said the Special Session of the Committee on Trade & Environment was in the 
middle of a 2 day meeting and its Chairman would report to the next TNC meeting.  He understood 
that the Negotiating Group on Rules had already met and planned its meeting schedule, and its work 
was ongoing.  Similarly, the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture and the Negotiating 
Group on Market Access had both recently met and in the absence of the resp ective Chairpersons, he 
wished to say a few words about these meetings. 
27. The Negotiating Group on Market Access had met on 4 October, its first meeting since July.  
He understood that it had been a good meeting, con ducted in a positive and constructive environment.  
According to the report he had received from the Group's Chairman, interventions by Members had 
generally focused around four points:  (1) the structure of future work; (2) the elements of modalities on which the Group should focus; (3) technical issues requiring further work in the Group; and (4) technical input by the Secretariat. 
28. On the first point, delegations had supported the Chairman's request to have flexibility 
regarding the manner in which he organized the wo rk of the Group subject to the condition that 
transparency be ensured.  On th e second point, there had appeared to be broad agreement that the 
Group should concentrate on the formula, sectorals and flexibilities.  While some had viewed them as 
a "tripod" others had seen the formula as "first among equals".  On the third point relating to technical 
issues requiring further work in the Group, Members had made references to, inter alia , the 
methodology to be used to calculate ad valorem  equivalents and treatment of unbound tariffs.  On the 
fourth point concerning technical work to be unde rtaken by the Secretariat, there had been many 
requests ranging from updating earlier documents  to producing new ones and also conducting 
additional briefing sessions.   
29. It should be mentioned that at this meeting, a briefing on the mechanics of various formulae 
had been provided by the Secretariat which had stimulated an interesting exchange between 
delegations.  On NTBs, Members had been urged to make their notifications by 31 October 2004 as 
foreseen in the NAMA framework.  It had been also  agreed that a review would be undertaken on any 
new or revised notifications, and that the Secret ariat would hold a briefing session on NTBs at the 
Group's next meeting.  The next meeting of the Group would take place from 8 to 11 November.  It 
would be followed by another one in Dece mber, more precisely from 6 to 8 December 2004. 
30. Turning to the Special Session of the Committ ee on Agriculture, he was pleased to note from 
the report he had received from the Agriculture  Chairman that the Special Session had had a 
constructive start.  It had begun its work informally  on 6 October with a number of general statements 
by Members relating to the agreed Framework (Anne x A of the July Decision) and had continued on 7 
October with a discussion of a preliminary set of issues.    
31. These issues had included: a review of the Gr een Box; export credits and related facilities; 
trade-distorting practices with respect to export state trading enterprises; food aid practices; the issue 
of ad valorem  equivalents in relation to a tiered form ula for tariff reductions; and the Special 
Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries.  At the formal Special Session on 8 October, a 
number of delegations also had taken the opportuni ty to make general statements on the issues 
discussed during the previous week, the process dur ing this new phase of the negotiations, and the 
issue of the establishment and work of the Sub-Committee on Cotton. 
32. He understood that the set of issues discussed th e previous week at the Special Session was, 
of course, only a preliminary, initial list of the many items of technical work that had arisen from the 
agreed Framework.  The positive way in which delegations had approached the work and the TN/C/M/14 
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 flexibility they had shown, if con tinued, meant that progress would be possible.  However, it had been 
also clear from the discussion that much more wo rk would be needed on these and a wide range of 
other issues in order to develop modalities. 
33. According to the report he had received from th e Agriculture Chairman, in order to make 
progress at this stage of the nego tiations, it would be necessary to la y down a solid technical basis and 
common understanding of the terms used, approaches and principles set out in the framework.  This 
would, as a number of delegations had pointed out, al so require a considerable amount of factual input 
from the Secretariat. 
34. While the general objective for further negotia tions was the development of modalities, the 
immediate focus was on addressing technical issues arising from the agreed Framework.  He 
understood that the Agriculture Chairman had pointed  out at the Special Session that the discussions 
would have to be text-based in order to be eff ective, i.e. designed to progressively develop stand-
alone texts on a wide range of issues.  Delegati ons had indicated that work should proceed in a 
balanced manner across the three pillars of mark et access, domestic support and export competition, 
with special and differential treatment  being integral to all elements and with non-trade concerns to be 
taken into account.   
35. The Trade Negotiations Committee took note
 of the reports of the TNC Chairman and 
Chairpersons of the bodies established by it. 
3. Statements by participants 
36. Many delegations who spoke commended the Chairman, the Chairman of the General 
Council and the Chairpersons of the negotiating b odies for the hard work and sense of commitment 
they had demonstrated in the process which ha d led to the adoption of the July Decision. 
37. The representative of the United States  said all Members had surprised themselves in July.  
Delegations had been able to come together a nd make reasonable compromises with each other and 
achieve the results that they had been trying to achieve – a framework that could help move the 
negotiations forward.  Thus having achieved that framework, her sense of the post-July discussions 
was that everyone had a renewed sense  of confidence that they were going to be able to continue to 
move the negotiations forward to a reasonable conc lusion.  The post-July work described by the 
Chairman and other Chairs suggested th at that confidence was well placed.   
38. Most of the groups were back at work and from the reports at the present meeting, there was a 
positive attitude and, more important ly, real engagement was taking place.  People were listening and 
exchanging views, in the right spirit to continue th e work.  Her delegation agreed with the Chairman's 
suggestion that it was too soon to put a precise work  plan in place for the following year and, in 
particular, too soon for a precise plan of what Members were going to accomplish at the next Ministerial Conference.  Members had learned that large Ministerial meetings were a challenge and recent experiences had certainly highlighted that challenge. 
39. Thus, to ensure a successful Ministerial in Hong Kong, which certainly all Members wanted, 
it was necessary to engage thoughtfully with each ot her in both the fall and through the spring, and at 
an appropriate time in the spring, stop and reflect  and then decide what the objectives were for the 
Ministerial.  Members would also have to determine what they wanted to do before the Ministerial to 
prepare for it properly, what they wished to comp lete even perhaps before the Ministerial and what 
they wanted to accomplish post-Ministerial.  This would help them plan appropriately not only for 
next year, but for the time to come as the negotiations moved forward to completion.  TN/C/M/14 
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 40. The representative of Nigeria , on behalf of the African Group , said he wished to make a 
general statement at the present meeting.  It was the first meeting following the adoption of the July 
package and was therefore an important one which w ould put into effect some of the decisions taken 
in the July package, such as the establishment of the Negotiati ng Group on Trade Facilitation and the 
appointment of its Chairperson.  The African Grou p viewed the July packag e as a step in the right 
direction in putting the Doha Development Age nda (DDA) back on track and in achieving the 
objectives set in the DDA.  The Group stood ready to participate constructively in the modalities stage 
of the negotiations and beyond. 
41. The African Group wished to underscore the need  to give more priority to all development-
related issues in the DDA and to achieve meaningf ul outcomes in these areas in order to give real 
meaning to the name Doha Development Agenda.  Members needed to make progress on all the 
agreement-specific proposals on S&D and also on all implementation-related issues and concerns.  The Group wished to see an early completion of th e amendment process on TRIPS and Public Health, 
in order to make the temporary waiver  solution permanent and predictable. 
42. On agriculture, the Group wished to highlight some  of its main concerns and interests.  The 
DDA had given S&D treatmen t a central position in all elements of  the negotiations.  It was therefore 
important that it should be treated as  an integral part of all elements  under negotiations.  Similarly, the 
Group would like to see substantial discussion of some of its key concerns, such  as the treatment of 
net food-importing developing countries, exempti ons for LDCs, Special Products and the Special 
Safeguard Mechanism, long-standing preference er osion and the treatment of food aid.  The Group 
wished to see the development of  friendly modalities on agriculture. 
43. Regarding cotton, the Group attached great im portance to the Cotton Initiative and believed 
that it should be a standing agenda item in the Agriculture Special Session with reports from the 
Cotton Sub-Committee reviewed at every session.  Bo th the development and trade aspects of the 
Cotton Initiative should be given the same prior ity.  As far as the Cotton Sub-Committee was 
concerned, the group envisaged that it be formed as quickly as possible.  Its composition should be 
open-ended, but with the main players, including the proponents, on board.  As to its mandate, the 
Group reaffirmed the need to cover both develo pment and trade aspects and that these should be 
treated under all the pillars of agriculture.  The Gr oup wished also to request that, in view of its 
limited technical resources, sufficient time be given to the membership to pr epare for the difficult and 
detailed technical discussions ahead.  The Group would appreciate the preparation of a plan and list of 
issues for discussions at future meetings, which should be made available to Members well in 
advance. 
44. The Group noted that the negotiations on non-ag ricultural market access (NAMA) prior to the 
July package had been hard and difficult.  The inclusion of paragraph 1 to Annex B of the package had given the Group hope and assurance that its c oncerns would be addressed as a priority in the 
development of modalities.  Accordingly, the Gro up reiterated its hope that issues articulated in 
paragraph 1 of Annex B would be clarified and addressed as a priority to allow these countries to 
participate fully
- in the development of modalities on NAMA.  Some of the key concerns of Africa on 
NAMA were S&D, less than full reciprocity, the sectoral approach, loss of customs revenue, de-
industrialization in Africa and autonomous liberalization.  
45. The African Group welcomed the establishment of the Negotiating Group on Trade 
Facilitation and its new Chairman.  The Group wished  to reiterate the need  for a transparent and 
inclusive process in the negotiations and in adopting work programmes that were suitable to all.  It 
wished also to restate the need for the provi sion of technical assistance and support for capacity 
building for developing countries, as contained in  the modalities on Trade Facilitation, so that the 
members of the Group could participate effectively in the negotiations and implement any negotiated 
outcome.  The Group wished to recall the joint World Bank/IMF letter to the WTO before Cancún, TN/C/M/14 
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 and it called on both institutions and developed partners to provide the needed technical assistance, to 
enable developing countries to participate meaningf ully in the negotiations.  It was the Group's hope 
that the negotiations would result in a win-win situ ation, so that all could benefit from a future 
agreement on Trade Facilitation. 
46. On services, the Group would like to see mean ingful progress in the negotiations on sectors 
and modes of supply of export interest to developi ng countries.  The provision of targeted technical 
assistance as contained in Annex C of the July Ge neral Council Decision should be a priority and was 
key to the participation of the Group, not only in th e request and offer stage,  but also in the entire 
negotiations, so that the Group could derive mean ingful benefits from the services negotiations. 
47. The Group wished to remind the Chairman and the other Chairpersons of the importance it 
attached to transparency and in clusiveness, which should remain central to the modalities phase of the 
negotiations.  Concerning the management of the proc ess, the Group wished to stress the need to plan 
meetings of the different negotiating bodies in a wa y so that they were not juxtaposed, but rather 
fairly planned to enable small delegations to attend and contribut e to them.  The African Group 
remained committed to working pos itively and constructively as it had done on the July package so 
that Members could make further progress in realizing the objectives of the DDA negotiations. 
48. The Chairman
 said he was mindful of the need to schedule meetings in full respect of 
transparency and inclusiveness.  He would coordina te with the other Chairpersons on this matter. 
49. The representative of Botswana  said that his delegation was mindful of the fact that the 
Framework package was nothing more than a Framew ork package.  His delegation did not wish to 
underestimate the enormity of the task ahead of Me mbers when they now delved into the substantive 
details of the negotiations.  This was particularly so because the Framework package had shifted most 
of the difficult issues to future negotiations. 
50. The adoption of the Framework had brought hope to people in developing countries that the 
DDA would be successfully and conc lusively pursued in order that it could bring tangible and timely 
results, in particular sustained economic growth and prosperity, as  well as poverty alleviation and 
improved standards of living.  Otherwise the Fram ework deal would have been nothing more than a 
mirage.  The challenge Members fa ced was to fight hard and to build steadfastly on the foundation 
provided by the Framework deal and also to ensure that future negotiations did not roll back the gains 
inscribed in the Framework deal. 
51. His delegation endorsed the statement by Nige ria on behalf of the African Group.  His 
delegation welcomed the renewed sense of optimis m and commitment reported by the Chairs of the 
negotiating bodies.  Members needed to take fu ll advantage of what appeared to be a positive 
atmosphere to pursue the DDA negotiations to a timely and successful conclusion. 
52. On agriculture, Botswana welcomed Anne x A of the General Council Decision as it 
established the foundation for Members to deve lop negotiating modalities for commitments in 
agriculture.  The Framework highlighted some of the issues of importance to developing countries 
such as subsidies, domestic support as well as market  access.  Members now needed to add substance 
to this framework. 
53. Turning to NAMA, he said that this was an area of particular difficulty in the work leading up 
to the July Decision.  In this work, the African Group had insisted on language that would allow its 
interests to be fully accommodated.  His delegati on therefore took comfort at the inclusion of 
paragraph 1 of the NAMA Annex and expected that  the negotiations would address the issue of less 
than full reciprocity so as to minimize the poten tial impact on developing countries.  The issue of 
S&D could not be overemphasized, including in the S& D Work Programme.  In the end, S&D would be  TN/C/M/14 
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 the area where meaning would be given to the development Round, which was what the DDA was 
supposed to be.  On trade facilitation, Botswana ex pected that negotiations in  this area would assist 
developing countries to address the fundamental questio ns they had raised on this subject.  Botswana 
welcomed the consensus reached in  the July package to focus only on this issue among the Singapore 
issues, which would allow Members to devote their attention to other substantive issues in the DDA 
rather than having thei r attention distracted. 
54. Members should build on the foundation they had laid  in the July package.  In this work, they 
should avoid missing deadlines, as they had in the past.  Everyone was working towards the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference, and it was important to try as much as possible to meet the deadlines set out in the July package. 
55. The representative of Benin
 endorsed the statement by Nigeria on behalf of the African 
Group.  The work at the end of July and been arduous, and his delegation was pleased that it had 
resulted in the adoption of a framework agreement.  The Chairman's remarks on the result obtained 
showed that progress had been made in the negotiati ons since Cancún, but also that the task ahead 
was even more extensive and no less important. 
56. At the July meeting of the General Council, it ha d been decided that the issue of cotton would 
be taken up in the agriculture negotiations, by  addressing it ambitious ly, expeditiously, and 
specifically.  Members had also undertaken th e commitment to address both the trade and the 
development aspects of the issue and to ensu re the necessary coherence between these two 
fundamental aspects of the issue.  Cotton would be addressed in all three pillars of domestic support, 
export competition and market access.  In addition , the decision had been taken to set up a Sub-
Committee on Cotton which would report regularly to the Agriculture Special Session to assess 
progress. 
57. His delegation expected the decisions on cotton ta ken in July to be implemented as rapidly as 
possible and that Members would work in a spirit of  solidarity so that appropriate answers could be 
provided to the expectations of the peoples and the countries concerned.  In this light, his delegation 
urged that the Sub-Committee on Cotton be establishe d as soon as possible.  In addition, the schedule 
of work should avoid overlapping w ith meetings of other bodies.  The convening notices and agendas 
for each session should be issued sufficiently in adva nce to allow delegations to consult with their 
capitals.  This was important in the context of negotiations. 
58. Finally, he wished to make an appeal.  Deve loping-country delegations needed, at the present 
stage of the negotiations, technical assistance to a llow them to develop more fully their positions.  
These delegations were in need of a seminar or a workshop on the various boxes – Green Box, Amber 
Box and de minimis .  This was important for developing-country delegations , and those from LDCs in 
particular, so they could be properly pr epared for the forthcoming negotiations. 
59. The representative of Kenya  said the reports by the Chairpersons were a clear manifestation 
that Members were ready to start the next phase of negotiations on the right note, despite some minor 
problems in services, which his delegation hoped woul d be addressed in time.  Kenya welcomed the 
appointment of Ambassador Noor to chair the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation.  He assumed 
the Chair with strong personal contacts, a great r espect for Members' accomplishments, and the drive 
to make even greater things happen.  His ability to lead and desire to achieve results made him 
uniquely qualified to chair the new body and guide  Members in their work on trade facilitation. 
60. Kenya believed the General Council Decision was the beginning of the next important phase 
of establishing modalities for negotiations.  In Kenya 's view, the Decision should be read together 
with the Doha Ministerial Declaration which was the main document that provided the mandate for 
the current negotiations.  Kenya therefore expect ed the eventual modalities to be negotiated to TN/C/M/14 
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 embody the main principles mandated in the Doha Decl aration.  It considered the July Decision as a 
means or instrument to be interpreted and utilized in a manner that helped to achieve the appropriate 
modalities.  In order to achieve this, it might be necessary to clarify certain parts of the Decision 
before embarking on technical work on the elements contained therein. 
61. It was clear from the Doha Ministerial Declar ation and the General Council Decision that the 
main foundations and principles underlying the negotia tions were the promotion of the special needs 
and interests of developing and least-developed coun tries.  These special needs and interests were 
measures that would spur economic growth and de velopment in these countries.  This should be 
reflected in the eventual modalities to be agreed upon. 
62. To operationalize the development principle, it w as not enough to provide lesser rates of tariff 
reduction or longer implementation periods.  Developing countries n eeded adequate policy space that 
provided flexibility on policy options that would fa cilitate their economic grow th and development.  
Future negotiations would have to  take the development principle fully into account for the modalities 
to be acceptable to developing and least-developed countries. 
63. Members needed to bring development back to the forefront of the negotiations as had been 
agreed in Doha.  Doha had acknowledged that so me countries had undergone painful liberalization 
experiences which had impacted negatively on thei r development.  Therefore, Members could not 
continue to sideline development and the July Deci sion offered an opportunity to redeem the pledge 
made in Doha to resolve all development-related issues such as S&D, implementation-related issues 
and concerns, and TRIPS and Public  Health on a priority basis. 
64. The role of the Secretariat was crucial as Members entered the new phase of their 
negotiations.  Kenya expected the Secretariat to co llect or prepare data, conduct simulation exercises 
and presentations that would broaden and deepen Members' understanding on the technical issues 
under negotiation.  The recent presentation in th e NAMA negotiations had been very useful in 
providing in-depth analysis, besides also refresh ing delegations' memories.  Kenya endorsed the 
statement by Nigeria on behalf of the African Group that the Chairmen of the different negotiating 
bodies should establish a clear schedule of meetings on technical issues well in advance to allow 
adequate time for small de legations to respond and par ticipate effectively.  He did not need to reiterate 
Kenya's commitment to a transparent and all-inclus ive process, because this point had been clearly 
made by Nigeria and Kenya endorsed it fully. 
65. The representative of Uruguay
 supported the Chairman's assessment of where Members stood 
and how the future process should be seen at the present stage.  In Uruguay's view, it was necessary 
to:  first, protect the framework agreement;  sec ond, maintain the momentum; and third, keep the 
same level of ambition.  It was important to protect the framework agreement since it had been 
reached only after a great deal of effort and comp romise from each delegation.  It was a transitional 
instrument for the work on modalities and for the final phases of the negotiations.  It should be 
protected as a form of capital, which had emerged in July with the good will and co-operation of all 
Members, by not engaging in new debates on th e issues that had been already agreed in the 
framework package. 
66. Maintaining the momentum was important because Members would now have to focus more 
on the technical aspects of work than the political ones.   In this respect, he agreed with the Chairman 
that winter should not become hibernation, and that  progress in the technical work should be reviewed 
in the spring.  At that point in time, it would be possible to look at targets for the work leading up to 
the Ministerial Conference.  This brought him to the third point – the level of ambition had to be 
maintained.  Everyone was aware of the political difficulties both in Geneva and in each member 
country, but it was important not to lose sight of where the process was head ed.  There was a clear 
objective to the process, which could be further re fined in the following year, and this had to be  TN/C/M/14 
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 constantly kept in mind.  Whatever it was called – modalities or simply the path to the conclusion of 
the negotiations – it had to have a high level of  ambition.  Another important aspect was political 
impetus, but delegations could not on ly wait for this to come from the outside, they had to make sure 
this came about through transparency and the Director-General's leadership.   
67. The representative of Brazil  said he wished only to make a few remarks on the process.  
Everyone agreed that the July package was a land mark in the WTO.  It represented the formal 
expression of a shared commitment from Members to  the multilateral trading system, to the Round 
and to the preservation of the level of ambition in  all areas of the Doha mandate.  It demanded from 
each and every one a deep sense of purpose and a lot of  hard work.  The success ful conclusion of the 
July package had injected a very positive momentum in the negotiations.  It was up to delegations to 
take advantage of this positiv e momentum and move ahead.   
68. The reports from the Chairmen of the negotiatin g groups were encouraging and pointed in the 
right direction.  Members were prepared and willi ng to remain engaged.  They should build upon this 
positive momentum upon the solid basis they had in front of them to proceed.  The work to be 
undertaken should be carried out at a parallel pace by all negotiating bodies.  Parallelism in all areas 
should be the guiding principle.  During the coming months, Members should aim at laying the 
groundwork for the actual negotiations sometime  early the following year and concentrate on 
preparing papers and exploring ideas to cover the w hole field of the negotiation.  This preparatory 
work could be conceived as a sort of a pre-negotia ting stage in the process.  When the time came the 
following year, Members would have at their disposal most if not all the elements that would be needed to make the crucial decisions that would give shape to this Round.  
69. As the Chairman had indicated, delegations s hould work with a continued sense of purpose 
and timing, while constantly reviewing the progress in  the negotiations.  He agreed that they would 
have to devise appropriate mechanisms as they move d into 2005 in order to set precise goals in 
tandem with the actual progress that they would have been able to achieve and with the expectations 
they would have been able to generate on that basi s.  Probably the spring of 2005 would be right time 
to do that.  He did not agree with the view that, at this stage, it might be counterproductive to set rigid 
goals for the following year and in particular for th e Hong Kong Ministerial.  But, at the same time, 
he believed it would be very important to keep the work focussed.  The best wa y to do this was to set 
as a goal, not necessarily a formal one, that Members should achieve modalities by the end of 2005.  Finally, he wished to support the request by Nigeria on behalf of the African Group that, as far as the question of the scheduling of meetings was con cerned, transparency and inclusiveness should be 
ensured. 
70. The representative of Cuba
 said that the framework agreement was below the expectations of 
her delegation.  However, it was a positive step forw ard in the negotiations.  The July Decision should 
be considered as transitional and as an element to  be taken into account which should be read in 
conjunction with the Doha Ministerial mandates.  It  should not be considered a step backwards but 
rather a step forward in achieving what  had been agreed upon in Doha.   
71. Much work was to be done, in particular in  areas whose urgency and priority demanded 
substantive solutions.  In this respect she wished  to highlight the strengthening of S&D treatment 
provisions, to make them more efficient, precise a nd operational in line with the Doha mandate.  An 
appropriate solution was needed on implementation issues.  Work in both of these areas should be 
undertaken by the dates agreed in July.  Abidi ng by these deadlines would clearly demonstrate the 
political will of Members to work towards a str ong commitment to provide answers to the most 
serious problems facing developing countries today. 
72. On agriculture, her delegation, as a member of the G20, wished to reiterate what had been 
mentioned in the recent Special Session on the im portance of the objectives of rural development, TN/C/M/14 
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 food security and poverty alleviation, S&D treatment for developing countries and the concerns of the 
net food importing countries.  On market access negotiations for both agricultural and industrial products, Cuba believed that it was important to take  into account the concerns and interests of small 
economies.  Finally, her delegation supported Nigeri a and Brazil on the need to plan meetings ahead 
of time so that all delegations could prepare themselve s fully and participate actively in all meetings.   
73. The representative of Colombia
 said the challenge of reachi ng agreement on the Decision at 
the end of July, and the long hours of work it had represented, had given rise to much momentum.  It was now important to maintain this momentum, in  the face of any external influences which might 
come to bear on the process.  July was only a ha lfway point on the way to a successful Ministerial 
Conference.  The first step should now be to est ablish a work programme, in cluding a schedule of the 
meetings of the different negotia ting groups and the issues to be taken up.  This would enable 
delegations to improve their co-ordination with ca pitals and ensure a broa der participation in the 
work.  Secondly, the process should be followed closely, by holding open formal and informal 
consultations with different groups to ensure the broadest possible participation of Members, which 
would also guarantee the greatest po ssible transparency in the process. 
74. Thirdly, Colombia believed it would be importa nt to organize a mid-term review of this 
process.  This should take place neither too early no r too late, and the spring would perhaps be a good 
time to hold a meeting at the level of senior offi cials from capital.  This review would be an 
opportunity to examine any problems, evaluate the work programme, assess balance and determine 
how the work tallied with the DDA.  Each Member had their own concerns, many of which had been 
reflected in the July package, and the challenge w as how to make this framewo rk a reality within the 
time available. 
75. The representative of Indonesia
 welcomed the establishment of the Negotiating Group on 
Trade Facilitation and congratulate d Ambassador Noor for his appointm ent as Chairman.  Turning to 
agriculture, he said that Indone sia viewed the framework as an important turning point in the 
agriculture negotiations.  While the ultimate goal was to fulfil the Doha Mandate, the agriculture 
framework provided a clearer roadmap and key benc hmarks for continuing these negotiations.  As a 
more technical phase of the agriculture negotiations began, it was important to approach and structure the negotiations in a correct manner.  Indonesia su pported the Chairman's effort to draw-up a work 
programme for the upcoming negotiations, and believed it should ensure that negotiations on core elements of the framework took precedence over di scussion on various exceptions.  This, however, did 
not mean that S&D issues should not have priority.  His delegation wished to emphasize that the 
issue of S&D was an integral part of all elemen ts of the framework and of the discussion of 
both the core elements and the exceptions.  This sh ould be the general rule for all pillars in the 
agriculture negotiations.  In approaching technical wo rk on paragraphs 41 and 42 of the framework, 
his delegation believed that it was important to keep  in mind the objectives of the two concepts, which 
were to provide much needed policy space for deve loping countries, to implement enabling policies to 
improve food security, rural de velopment and rural livelihood. 
76. On NAMA, some Members had indicated their concern about the objective of the next 
Ministerial Conference.  In this regard, Indonesi a believed delegations needed to have a clearer 
picture of the objective of future work and given th e time constraints, it was of utmost importance to 
know exactly what was going to be achieved in Hong Kong.  Members should focus discussions on 
the technical issues of the elements stipulated in pa ragraph 1 of Annex B of the July package.  There 
were at least three issues, among others, that Me mbers could consider to start the negotiations: 
formulas, flexibilities, sectorial elimination, S&D treatment  and the principle of less than full reciprocity.  His 
delegation wished to reiterate that non-tari ff measures should be tackled in parallel. 
77. To make future work more fruitful, it was n ecessary to have more structured discussions.  
Instead of leaving the discussions to the Members themselves to organize.  His delegation would like  TN/C/M/14 
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 the Secretariat to provide more presentations on certain topics of the elements of Annex B that suited 
the needs of Members.  A better result would be obtained if all the efforts being undertaken were 
done in a transparent and inclusive mode. 
78. Turning to the question of progress in the servic es negotiations, and in particular with respect 
paragraph (c) of Annex C, Indonesia agreed with ot hers that Members should pay more attention to 
the substantive  outcome  and high quality of offers, particularly in sectors and modes of supply of 
export interest to developing countries, which was m ode 4.  To this end, Indonesia believed it was 
important that further deliberations on mode 4 s hould be undertaken with a view to increasing the 
participation of developing countries in services tr ade.  Furthermore, his delegation wished to 
underline the role of rule making in the present round of services negotiations.  I ndonesia believed 
there should be a concerted effort  to ensure a balanced outcome between market access and rule 
making, including the emergency safeguard mechanis m.  Technical assistance was important to 
developing countries for them to bett er participate in the services negotiations.  Finally, Indonesia 
believed that the issues it had highlighted, and in  particular the issues of concern to developing 
countries set out e xplicitly in the General Council Deci sion, would have to be addressed 
appropriately and as a matter of priority in the fu ture work if this was truly to be a development 
Round 
79. The representative of Malaysia  said that, while the adoption of the July package was a 
success, his delegation wished to em phasise the need to remain loyal to  the declared aims of the Doha 
Round.  On agriculture, the modalities should allow fo r substantial improvement of market access for 
products of developing countries into all markets both developed and devel oping.  On NAMA, work 
should focus on the primary modalities, which were the formula and flexibilities for developing 
countries.  There had been accusations that the DDA was not looking like a development Round, therefore as Members continued with their work , they should ensure that these remained only 
accusations and no more. 
80. The representative of Chile
 agreed with the United States and Brazil that it was premature to 
establish benchmarks, deadlines or targets for the Hong Kong Ministerial.  However, it was not 
premature, but it was perhaps politically impor tant, to communicate among delegations on 
expectations for Hong Kong.  The time would come to sit down, appraise the situation and determine 
where the negotiations should be by next December.  Like other Members, Ch ile's general expectation 
was to have modalities on agriculture and NAMA.  Members did not yet know the shape of these 
modalities, but had a close idea of what they should be.  But this would require other things as well, 
such as substantial results in areas like rules, in particular anti-dumping, and services at least in terms 
of clear political guidance.  There should also be a clear idea of what a result on dispute settlement would be.  And in trade facilitation, it would be necessar y to have a profile of an agreement.  It would 
be necessary to see what there was going  to be at the end of the day.  By the time Ministers met at the 
next Ministerial Conference, it should be possible to  envisage that the conclusion of the negotiations 
would take place six to eight months later.  Th ese were Chile's expectations, and his delegations 
would elaborate more on them at a later date. 
81. His delegation agreed with Uruguay that Members had to protect the July package, the 
momentum and the level of ambition.  His delegation also agreed with others on the need to organise 
the negotiations to allow the particip ation of all with the fullest transparency possible.  However, there 
were some unavoidable factors in this regard.  Too many meetings were required, not much space 
existed in the WTO building and time was short.  Inevitably, difficult choices would be required due 
to clashes of meetings.  There were some guidelin es, but they were insufficient.  A balance was 
needed between the rhythm at which progress was d esired in the negotiations and the requirements of 
transparency, participation and in clusiveness.  His delegation invi ted the TNC Chairman, negotiating 
body Chairpersons and the Secretariat to have a fr esh look at how best to square this circle.   TN/C/M/14 
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 82. Finally, there was a need for balance in the nego tiations and Chile believed that the role of the 
TNC would be increasingly important and of an increasingly substantive nature as progress was made 
in the negotiations.  Reflection should be given to  both the agenda of the TNC and the time which 
should be devoted to it. 
83. The representative of Thailand
 said that the July General Council decision had not only put 
Members back on track and provided a roadmap for future negotiations, but also revived the 
credibility of the WTO and confidence in the multilate ral trading system.  The current challenge was 
to build on these achievements.  An arduous task and difficult negotiations were ahead.  It was 
Members' collective responsibility and commitment to  ensure that the negotiations move forward and 
successfully to fulfil the mandate given at Doha. 
84. To begin the next phase of work, it was important that Members set a clear objective of what 
they hoped to achieved at the Ministerial Conferen ce in Hong Kong, China.  Doubts had been raised 
about the risks of setting clear targets for the Conf erence – it might be too early and targets had been 
missed in the past.  However, Thailand believed that any work process need ed objectives, be they 
short-term, medium-term, or long-term.  Without clear objectives and a work plan, Members ran the 
risk of reeling aimlessly.  December 2005 should no t be treated as a rigid deadline, but rather be a 
target date to achieve the work. 
85. To make the objectives attainable by December 2005, the TNC should request the 
chairpersons of the negotiating bodies, in consulta tion with Members, to identify their respective 
goals for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference a nd report back by next spring when political 
commitments would be possible again.  The TNC w ould need to assess and take stock of the progress 
in the negotiations and provide guidance to ensure that each group could achieve their goals and keep 
pace with each others' ambitions.   
86. Until the spring, the TNC could guide each gr oup to focus on technical matters, especially 
technicalities for core issues in each area.  There might be a need to bring about political level 
involvement during the course of the year, and in this regard, the principle of inclusiveness and 
transparency should not be overlooked.  Finally,  her delegation wished to reaffirm Thailand's 
commitment to the multilateral trading system a nd wished to see the success ful conclusion of the 
Doha round with a high level of ambition. 
87. The Chairman  said he appreciated the focused and businesslike comments of delegations and 
hoped that with this start, delegations would keep up their work as prior to the July decision.  He also hoped that they could keep up the thoughtful and constructive engagement.  The focus was now on 
technical work, but Members should also keep th eir sights on further progress and the subsequent 
work post-spring 2005 to further progress on the DDA.  If a stocktaking were to take place in the 
spring, there would have to be some content behind  it.  It was not possible to review progress in the 
spring by just wishing for something to take stock of .  This meant that the work in the coming months 
would have to be substantive.   
88. He also wished to remind Members that dead lines loomed in May and July of the coming 
year.  There was a mandate of the July decision fo r the CTD Special Session to complete the review 
of all the outstanding agreement-specific proposals and to report to the General Council with clear 
recommendations for a decision by July 2005.  This  was a tall order given the number of agreement-
specific proposals still on the table.  He hoped that  Members would remain active and meet this 
deadline.  The deadlines in implementation and for revised offers in services by May 2005 were also 
important to keep in mind. 
89. With regard to the references by some dele gations to inclusiveness and transparency, he 
wished reiterate that all the Chairpersons, includi ng the Chairman of the General Council and himself,  TN/C/M/14 
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 would do their best to accommodate everyone.  He would ensure the regular co-ordination meetings 
between the Chairs would address this issue, with the aim of having full  participation by all Members.  
He would also continue with his consultations in a number of areas, in particular on implementation, 
and he urged all Members to help him find an acceptable approach on implementation.   
90. The Trade Negotiations Committee took note  of the statements. 
91. In closing the meeting, the Chairman  said the next meeting of the TNC would take place on 
9 December 2004.   
 
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