. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/WGTDF/M/1
13 May 2002
(02-2639)
Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF 15 APRIL 2002
1. The Working Group held its first meeting on 15 April 2002 under the Chairmanship of
Ambassador Hernando José Gómez (Colombia).   The Working Group adopted the agenda contained
in WTO/AIR/1763.
2. The Chairman reported on his informal consulta tions.  He informed Members that first, with
respect to  procedural issues, three more meetings were planned for the remainder of the year, on 11and 12 July, on 30 September, and on 17 December.  With regard to international intergovernmental
organizations, the Chairman proposed that all regular observers to the General Council be granted
observer status in the Working Group.  These organizations were: 
the FAO, IMF, ITC, OECD,
UN, UNCTAD, WIPO and the World Bank.  It was so agreed.
3. Next, in reporting on his consultations regarding the Group’s work programme, the Chairman
noted that there was a clear interest in examining th e interlinkages between trade, debt and finance, as
an educational process and a necessary first step to help promote integrated thinking on the scope ofthe Group’s work programme.  Members supported the need for up-to-date information on what was
being done globally by other organizations in the area of international finance and debt issues. The
Chairman informed the Working group that, at the end of the Group’s discussion, the IMF, one of the
WTO’s two partner organizations under the 1995 Declaration on Coherence, would make a
presentation to the Group on existing financing facili ties, the HIPC debt relief programme and work it
had undertaken with respect to the reform of the financial architecture.  Members supported the idea
that invitations to address the Group be extended to other intergovernmental organizations with
relevant expertise.
4. The topic of trade, debt and finance covered a vast area.  If the Working Group were to
complete its mandate with a report to the Fifth Ministerial Conference, the Chairman said that his
informal consultations had led him to believe that there was support among Members to narrow the
focus of its work.  He reported various views expressed by Members in this regard, including:  anyrecommendations would need to be “on steps that might be taken within the mandate and competence
of the WTO”, in line with the Group's mandate;  the Group should identify solutions within the WTO
rules and provisions to any problems that existed in the relationship between trade, debt and finance.
Some had noted in this regard, however, that the Group's mandate did not extend to the negotiation of
WTO rules;  duplication of ongoing work in other WTO bodies should be avoided, including theCommittee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions and in the area of Rules and Financial Services,
while keeping in mind that the Group might wish to address recommendations to other WTO bodies;
and the Group might wish to make suggestions to other intergovernmental organizations on steps they
might take within their respective areas of compet ence to help strengthen the functioning of the
trading system.
5. He said that he had found support for taking up the issues of trade and finance and trade and
debt separately, at the meetings in July and September, although clearly not at the expense of ignoring
the bigger picture where the issues of trade, debt and finance overlap.  The Secretariat was asked to
prepare background material including a literature survey, perhaps in the form of an annotated
bibliography, and a factual paper on WTO provisions that might be relevant to the Group’s work,WT/WGTDF/M/1
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taking into account any provisions identified by Members in this regard.  Written contributions by
Members would be very important in focusing the Group’s work.  In this context, the Chairman
invited those delegations associated with WT/GC/W/444 and 445 to introduce these documents in the
Working Group at an appropriate time.
6. The Chairman introduced document WT/WGTDF/W/1, containing his proposal for the
Group's work programme and spelling out topics to be addressed at each meeting for the remainder of
the year.  For the July meeting on the relationship between trade and finance, the Chairman proposed
the Group invite the OECD, UNCTAD, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian
Development Bank to brief it on their work and experience in the area of trade, debt and finance.
7. There was general support for the Chairman's proposed work programme.  One delegation
proposed that under "Financial Architecture and Trade", the Group should examine the issue of
exchange rates and their effect on competitiveness, how the present financial architecture respondedto financial crises, and how trade-financing facilities could be strengthened and made more secure.
Concern was expressed about the wording of sub- heading II.B, "Market Access for Heavily Indebted
Countries".  Some delegations felt that this was too narrow a perspective from which to address the
trade-debt link;  others believed it was important to stress the positive relationship between trade and
debt, and a number of delegations felt the wording should be expanded to refer to trade-related issuesin general.  The point was made that neither trade nor trade measures alone could solve a country's
debt problems, but others felt that trade needed nonetheless to be seen as part of the solution.  The
Chairman concluded that he would consult further on the proposed work programme.
8. The Chairman invited Members to submit written contributions on the respective topics
focusing on issues that they felt should be discussed by the Group, and said he would circulate arevised work programme.
9. IMF staff representatives briefed the Group on the IMF’s financing facilities, the IMF-World
Bank HIPC Initiative, and initiatives to strengthen the financial architecture (WT/WGTDF/W/2).
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