RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/C/M/15
28November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5042)
Council forTrade inGoods
1November 1996
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on1,4,5and6November 1996
Chairman: Mr.S.Narayanan (India)
Theproposed agenda contained indocument G/C/W/64 wasadopted withtheinclusion ofitems
under "Other Business", namely 2to7and9.
Page
1. Consideration ofreports ofsubsidiary bodies oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods 1
2. United States -Information Technology Agreement (ITA) 4
3. Canada -Proposal onfurther tariff liberalization 5
4. Hong Kong -Proposed conclusions andrecommendations ontheimplementation 5
oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing
5. EC-Proposal on"Trade Facilitation" 6
6. EC-Trade inpharmaceutical products 7
7. Pakistan -Draft Ministerial Decision onImplementation oftheATC 7
8. Adoption oftheReport oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods totheGeneral Council 8
inthecontext oftheSingapore Ministerial Conference (G/C/W/62)
9. Dateofthenextmeeting 14
_________________
TheChairman welcomed delegations tothismeeting convened byWTO/AIR/471.
1. Consideration ofreports ofsubsidiary bodies oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
1.1 TheChairman recalled thatatthelastmeeting oftheCouncil on15October 1996, broad
guidelines wereagreed towithregard tothehandling ofthereports of12oftheCouncil 'ssubsidiary
bodies (i.e., theCommittees onAgriculture, Anti-Dumping Practices, Customs Valuation, Import
Licensing, Market Access, Rules ofOrigin, Safeguards, Sanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, Subsidies
andCountervailing Measures, Technical Barriers toTrade, Trade-Related Investment Measures, andG/C/M/15
Page2
theWorking Party onStateTrading Enterprises). These bodies wereexpected tosubmit theirreports
totheCouncil inthecontext oftheSingapore Ministerial Conference onaconsensus basis. Itwas
agreed thattheCouncil would takenoteofthose reports anddecide toannex them totheCouncil 's
ownreport. Thiswould bewithout prejudice totheability ofMembers toraisepoints withregard
tothereports, andalsotheability oftheCouncil torecord observations, tomake recommendations,
andtotakedecisions, ifconsidered necessary. Withregard tothefactual report fromtheIndependent
Entity under thePreshipment Inspection (PSI) Agreement andthereport fromtheWorking Group on
Notification Obligations andProcedures, theCouncil hadagreed totreattheminthesame wayasthe
other 12reports. Asconcerned theTextiles Monitoring Body's(TMB 's)report, itwasagreed that
hewould consult informally onhowtodealwiththisreport. Following theconsultations, hefound
general agreement thattheTMB report should betreated inthesame wayasthereports oftheother
subsidiary bodies (i.e.totakenoteofthereport anddecide toannex thereport totheCouncil 'sreport),
subject totheunderstanding thatinthefactual partoftheGoods Council report there would bea
summary ofcomments made bydelegations ontheTMB report.
1.2 TheCouncil considered thefollowing reports ofitssubsidiary bodies:
1.3 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture ontheMarrakesh
Ministerial Decision onMeasures Concerning thePossible Negative Effects oftheReform Programme
onLeast-Developed andNetFood-Importing Countries adopted on24October 1996 andcontained
indocument G/L/125, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. TheCouncil 'sattention wasdrawn,
inparticular, totherecommendations forconsideration bytheMinisterial Conference inparagraphs
18(i),(ii),(iii)and(iv)ofthereport.
1.4 TheCouncil tooknotethatthereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture ontheImplementation
oftheAgreement onAgriculture andthework oftheCommittee hadnotbeenfinalized. TheCouncil
agreed torevert tothismatter.
1.5 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onAnti-Dumping Practices adopted on
22October 1996andcontained indocument G/L/123, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. The
Council 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, totheconcluding observations inparagraphs 23to27
andtheinformation onthestateofimplementation oftheAgreement inAnnexes AandBofthereport.
1.6 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onCustoms Valuation adopted on
25October 1996andcontained indocument G/L/121, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. The
Council 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, totherecommendation inparagraph 11ofthereport.
1.7 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onImport Licensing adopted on
23October 1996andcontained indocument G/L/127, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. The
Council 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, totheconclusions andrecommendations inparagraphs
17and18,ofthereport.
1.8 TheCouncil took noteofthereport oftheCommittee onMarket Access adopted on
1November 1996andcontained indocument G/L/132, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. The
Council 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, toparagraph 21ofthereport which contained
recommendations bytheCommittee totheCouncil. TheCouncil agreed toendorse those
recommendations.
1.9 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onRules ofOrigin adopted on
18October 1996 andcontained indocument G/L/119, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. The
Council 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, totheconclusions andrecommendations inparagraphs
20,21,26and27ofthereport.G/C/M/15
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1.10 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onSafeguards adopted on25October
1996 andcontained indocument G/L/129, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. TheCouncil 's
attention wasdrawn, inparticular, totheconcluding observations inparagraphs 31to33andthe
information onthestateofimplementation oftheAgreement intheAnnex ofthereport.
1.11 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
adopted on8October 1996 andcontained indocument G/L/118, anddecided toannex ittoitsown
report. TheCouncil 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, toparagraph 13,ofthereport inwhich the
Committee recommended thatMinisters endorse theapproach setoutinparagraphs 5,6,11and12
ofthereport andreiterate thestrong commitment ofallMembers tothefullimplementation ofthe
Agreement, including itsnotification andother transparency provisions.
1.12 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
adopted on24October 1996 andcontained indocument G/L/126, anddecided toannex ittoitsown
report.TheCouncil'sattentionwasdrawn,inparticular,totheconcludingobservationsinparagraphs34
to38andtheinformation onthestateofimplementation oftheAgreement inAnnexes AtoCofthe
report.
1.13 Asregards thereport oftheCommittee onTechnical Barriers toTrade (TBT), therepresentative
ofEgypt stated thatherdelegation wasconcerned about theissue ofeco-labelling anditscoverage
intheTBTAgreement, asitwasreflected inparagraph 15ofthereport oftheTBTCommittee. In
herdelegation 'sviewthethirdsentence ofparagraph 15wasambiguous andcontained twocontradictory
statements. Herdelegation agreed thatthere wasnoconsensus onthecoverage intheAgreement of
eco-labelling schemes based onnon-product-related Processes andProduction Methods (PPMs) as
indicated inthesentence. Atthesame time, thesentence indicated thatitwasgenerally feltimportant
toreviewtheprocessofeco-labellingagainsttheprinciplesanddisciplinesoftheAgreement.Generating
consensus onthecoverage ofeco-labelling should precede anyreview. Infact,oncetheposition on
eco-labelling withrespect totheTBTAgreement wasclarified, thereview would notbenecessary,
andpossibly redundant. Thepoint wasnoteco-labelling perse,buttheuseofnon-product-related
PPMs. Theobjective ofsuchareview which might betointroduce thisaspect wentagainst theposition
ofherdelegation. ShedrewtheCouncil 'sattention tothefactthatthesamesubject wasbeing discussed
intheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment. Itwould beunfortunate iftwoWTO Committees were
tohavecontradictory views onthiscontroversial issue.
1.14 Therepresentatives ofMexico andIndia supported thestatement made bytherepresentative
ofEgypt. Therepresentative ofIndia saidthatduring discussions intheTBTCommittee oneco-
labelling, several delegations, including hisown, hadpointed outthatnon-product-related PPMs were
notcovered bytheTBTAgreement. Hisdelegation wished tostress thisaspect inorder toavoid any
misunderstanding thatmight becreated bythethirdsentence ofparagraph 15oftheTBTreport.
1.15 Therepresentative ofThailand, speaking onbehalf ofASEAN Members feltthatthethird
sentence ofparagraph 15oftheTBTreport wascontradictory. While thesentence acknowledged that
there wasnoconsensus onthecoverage ofeco-labelling schemes andonthecriteria based on
non-product-related PPMs, italsoreferred toareview ofsuchschemes against theprovisions ofthe
TBTAgreement. ASEAN Members were oftheviewthatgenerating consensus onthecoverage of
eco-labelling schemes should precede anyreview.
1.16 TherepresentativeofPeruassociatedhisdelegationtothestatementsmadebytherepresentatives
ofEgypt, India andThailand speaking onbehalf ofASEAN Members.
1.17 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatements andthereport oftheCommittee onTechnical Barriers
toTrade adopted on22October 1996 andcontained indocument G/L/122, anddecided toannex itG/C/M/15
Page4
toitsownreport. TheCouncil 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, toparagraphs 11,20and21of
thereport.
1.18 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee onTrade-Related Investment Measures
adopted on1November 1996andcontained indocument G/L/133, anddecided toannex ittoitsown
report.
1.19 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheIndependent Entity under thePreshipment Inspection
(PSI) Agreement contained indocument G/L/120 which hadbeenprepared bytheSecretariat pursuant
toParagraph I.CoftheStructures andFunctions oftheIndependent Entity (Annex IIof
WT/L/125/Rev.1), anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport. Thisreport indicated thatsince the
Independent Entity hadbecome operational, ithadreceived noapplication requesting anindependent
review. TheCouncil alsotooknoteoftheinformation onnotifications submitted byMembers under
thePSIAgreement contained indocuments G/PSI/N/1 andAdd.1 to4.
1.20 TheChairman recalled thatthereport oftheTextiles Monitoring Body (TMB), circulated in
document G/L/113, hadbeenconsidered attheCouncil 'slastmeeting, andthattheCouncil hadtaken
thenecessary action ontherecommendations contained therein. TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport
anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport.
1.21 TheChairman recalled thatthereport oftheWorking Group onNotification Obligations and
Procedures, circulated indocument G/L/112, wasalsoconsidered attheCouncil 'slastmeeting and
thattheCouncil hadtaken thenecessary action ontherecommendations contained therein. Hepointed
outthatarecommendation inparagraph 65ofthereport oftheWorking Group hadbeenadded as
point2(a)inSection IIoftheCouncil 'sownreport sinceitalsoimplied action tobetaken bytheGeneral
Council. TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport.
1.22 TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheWorking Party onStateTrading Enterprises adopted
on24October 1996, andcontained indocument G/L/128, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport.
TheCouncil 'sattention wasdrawn, inparticular, toparagraph 16andtheAnnex ofthereport. In
accordance withtherecommendation fromtheWorking Party contained inparagraph 16,theCouncil
agreed tourge allMembers tofulfil their notification obligations under Article XVII andthe
Understanding.
2. United States -Information Technology Agreement (ITA)
2.1 Therepresentative oftheUnited States, speaking under "Other Business", stated thatduring
thecourse ofinformal consultations, theUSanditstrading partners hadbeendeveloping aninitiative
concerning tariffs oninformation technology products which itwashoped would beagreed toatthe
Singapore Ministerial Conference (SMC). Apaper submitted informally totheCouncil contained a
briefsummary oftheITAAgreement thathadbeendeveloped among interested delegations. These
delegations viewed therealization oftheITAasapositive contribution totheSMC, justastheagreement
toexpandtheexistingUnderstandingonPharmaceuticals.Thosewhohadthemosttogainwereexpected
toparticipate inthisplurilateral agreement. Thesummary provided outlined thebasic parameters of
theAgreement interms ofproduct coverage, which wasstillthesubject ofdiscussion. While anactive
consultation process wasalready underway, hisdelegation wasready toconsult withanydelegation
whowished toknow more about thespecifics ofthisinitiative.
2.2 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatement.G/C/M/15
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3. Canada -Proposal onfurther tariff liberalization
3.1 Therepresentative ofCanada, speaking under "Other Business", drew Members 'attention to
aCanadian proposal onfurther tariffliberalization (G/MA/W/9). Tariff liberalization hadbeencentral
totheactivities oftheWTO andtheGATT. Herdelegation found itsurprising thattheissueoffurther
reductions inindustrial tariffs wasnotaddressed within thebuilt-in agenda. TheSMC provided atimely
opportunity toinclude thisintheWTO work programme. TheCanadian paper proposed the
establishment ofawork programme toensure thatfurther tariff liberalization would beconsidered
byWTO Members. Thepaper suggested ways toachieve thisobjective suchastheacceleration of
Uruguay Round tariffcuts,including thezero-for-zero agreements, expanding themembership ofsuch
initiatives, establishing newzero-for-zero initiatives inadditional sectors, expanding membership in
thechemical harmonization initiative, andidentifying additional sectors fortariffharmonization atlower
rates. Theobjective wasnottoprescribe anoutcome, buttourgeMembers tokeepthese suggestions
under review, withtheobjective ofseeking additional means toenhance trade liberalization.
3.2 Therepresentatives ofMorocco andEgypt, thanking theUSandCanadian representatives for
theinformationprovided,saidthatlongdiscussionsregardingtheseproposalshadbeenheld,inparticular
intheMarket Access Committee. They wished therecords oftheCouncil toreflect thefactthatthe
views expressed atthemeetings oftheMarket Access Committee onthose proposals applied alsoto
theconsideration ofthematter intheCouncil.
3.3 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatements.
4. Hong Kong -Proposed conclusions andrecommendations ontheimplementation ofthe
Agreement onTextiles andClothing (ATC)
4.1 Therepresentative ofHong Kong, speaking under "Other Business", andalsoonbehalf of
theASEAN delegations ofBrunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore and
Thailand, andthedelegations ofColombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan andPerustated
thathisstatement concerned discussions onconclusions and/or recommendations onissues pertaining
totheimplementation oftheATC. Hedrew Members 'attention toparagraph 8.38onpage20ofthe
Council 'sdraftreport (G/C/W/62). Thisparagraph read,"Divergent views wereexpressed withrespect
topossible conclusions and/or recommendations withreference totheissues andproblems referred
toin[preceding] paragraphs". Ascorrectly reflected inthisparagraph ofthedraftreport, intensive
informal discussions hadrecently beenheld, involving anumber ofdelegations, including the12he
hadjustmentioned. Itwasthefirmobjective ofthe12delegations toachieve agreed conclusions and
recommendations onimportant matters pertaining totheATC anditsimplementation. Totheregret
ofthesedelegations, despite thebestefforts ofallparticipants aconvergence ofviews hadnotyetbeen
achieved. Todate, noconsensus hadbeen reached toenable theinclusion ofconclusions and
recommendations intheCouncil 'sdraftreport. Intheviewofthe12delegations theworkofthisCouncil
onthesubject oftheimplementation oftheATC hadyettobecompleted. Nevertheless, thisshould
notprevent theadoption ofthereport atthisCouncil 'smeeting. Forreasons oftransparency andto
facilitate continued efforts tosettle theunresolved issues, the12delegations hadcirculated toCouncil
Members proposed conclusions andrecommendations1onvarious aspects oftheimplementation of
theATC. Thisproposal should beusedasabasisforfurther consultations bytheCouncil. Headded
thatanumber ofother delegations hadalsoparticipated atearlier stages inthedevelopment ofthe
proposal, andthatthesponsorship listoftheproposal wasnotfinal.
1Subsequently circulated indocument G/C/W/65.G/C/M/15
Page6
4.2 Therepresentative ofMexico stated thattheconcerns putforward byHong Kong werevalid
andshould betaken intoaccount intheformulation oftheconclusions andrecommendations inthe
report ofthisCouncil ontheissue ofimplementation oftheATC.
4.3 Therepresentative ofKorea, supporting theinitiative, feltthattheproposed draftconclusions
andrecommendations accurately reflected theconcerns ofbothsides. Thisdraftdeserved tobebrought
totheattention ofMinisters inSingapore, andhisdelegation strongly supported theinclusion ofthese
conclusions andrecommendation intheCouncil 'sreport.
4.4 Therepresentative ofEgypt, supporting thestatement made bytherepresentative ofHong Kong,
believedthattheconcernsraisedwerelegitimate.SheurgedthattheCouncilattempttoreachconclusions
andrecommendations onthismatter, which wasofthehighest importance toherdelegation aswell
astomany other countries.
4.5 Therepresentative ofCuba associated hisdelegation withthestatement made byHong Kong
onbehalf of12delegations.
4.6 TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStateswishedtoregisteraproceduralobjectiontothediscussion.
Thedelegation ofHong Kong hadapparently attempted toinsert under "Other Business", aproposal
forfurther discussion oftheimplementation oftheATC which hisdelegation hadunderstood was
finished, andwhich wasreflected intheCouncil 'sownreport ontheATCaswellasintheTMB report
indocument G/C/W/62. Hisdelegation wasnotprepared toaccept thattheCouncil, atthisstage,
make further attempts toreach agreed conclusions andrecommendations inthisarea.
4.7 Therepresentative ofElSalvador supported theproposal made byHong Kong onbehalf of
12delegations. Forherdelegation thiswasanissue ofthehighest importance. Herdelegation felt
thatthere wasstillenough timetocontinue discussions andendupwithpossible recommendations
andconclusions.
4.8 Therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities, Switzerland andNorway supported the
statement made bytheUnited States. Additionally, therepresentative ofNorway stated thatMembers,
under guidance oftheChairman, hadhadextensive discussions toreach agreed conclusions and
recommendations onthismatter. TheChairman hadstated thathisefforts inthisrespect hadnotresulted
inagreement which wasarealistic conclusion tobedrawn fromtheexercise. Hisdelegation didnot
seeanypossibility atthisstage toreopen thisdiscussion.
4.9 Therepresentative ofHong Kong wished toregister adifferent understanding totheprocedural
question raised bytherepresentative oftheUnited States. Furthermore, hewished toindicate that
hehadsought theguidance oftheChair, astothemostappropriate moment forthisstatement which
hadbeenmade onbehalf ofanumber ofdelegations toreflect theirconcern.
4.10 Therepresentative ofArgentina stated thatnotwithstanding thefactthathisdelegation hadnot
beeninaposition toco-sponsor theproposal made bythisgroup ofcountries, itfeltthattheseconcerns
should beregistered intheminutes ofthisCouncil meeting.
4.11 Inresponse torequests forclarification from therepresentatives ofNorway andCanada, the
Chairman stated thattherewasnointention tohaveadiscussion ofpoints raised under "Other Business"
under items oftheadopted agenda. Hehadmerely indicated thatthepoints raised under "Other Business"
would havesome impact onthediscussions ontheCouncil 'sdraftreport.
4.12 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatements.G/C/M/15
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5. EC-Proposal on"Trade Facilitation"
5.1 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities, speaking under "Other Business", drewthe
Council 'sattention toaproposal which wasintroduced asanon-paper2intheheads ofdelegations
process relating totheSMC. Inthepast,much ofthework hadbeenconcerned withthereduction
oftariffandnon-tariff barriers. Nowitwastimetolookatanother areawhich hadledtoverysignificant
coststothebusiness community andtotheconsumer. Thecostsofcomplying withofficial requirements
fortheimportation, exportation andtransit ofgoods could oftenexceed thetariffduties byaconsiderable
extent. Hisdelegation therefore proposed thatthequestion of"trade facilitation" beaddressed inthe
Council andhadmade anumber ofspecific suggestions inthiscontext. Hisdelegation wasaware
thatworkinthisareawasbeing carried outinseveral international organizations, including inparticular
theWorld Customs Organization (WCO). Thepurpose oftheCommunity 'sproposal wastodraw
theattention ofMembers totheimplications fortheWTO ofthiswork. Itwassuggested thatMinisters
inSingapore should provide anewpolitical impulse tothequestion ofsimplification andharmonization
oftradeprocedures. Hisdelegation wished toencourage active participation byMembers inthework
currently underway within theWCO. Itwassuggested thatMinisters invite theWTO, incooperation
withrelevant bodies, toundertake exploratory andanalytical work. Thiscould include anexamination
ofthetradefacilitation workcurrently going onindifferent forawithaviewtoensuring thatstandardized
trade procedures weredeveloped inacoordinated way. Theresults ofthisexploratory andanalytical
work could bereflected inareport tobepresented tothisCouncil which would assess theimpact on
trade andthescope formore effective andtransparent disciplines within theWTO. Oneitemwhich
shouldbegivenattentionwasthequestionofmodernizationoftheKyotoConventiononthesimplification
andharmonization ofcustoms procedures. Onthebasisofthereport, theCouncil could decide whether
there wasscope forapossible codetobedeveloped within theWTO intheareaoftrade facilitation.
5.2 Therepresentatives ofAustralia, Colombia, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Morocco, Norway,
Slovak Republic andSwitzerland supported theCommunity 'sproposal.
5.3 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatements.
6. EC-Trade inPharmaceutical Products
6.1 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities, speaking under "Other Business", wished
torecord onbehalf oftheMembers concerned thepositive contribution totrade liberalization which
wasachieved bythe1996review oftheproduct coverage ontradeinpharmaceutical products. Members
concerned hadagreed toadd465products forduty-free treatment tothe6,000 products already covered,
tobeimplemented early in1997. Details onthecoverage following thisreview hadbeendeposited
withtheWTO Secretariat intheconsolidated versions ofAnnexes 1to4ofdocument L/7430.
6.2 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatement.
7. Pakistan -Draft Ministerial Decision onImplementation oftheATC
7.1 Therepresentative ofPakistan, speaking under "Other Business", stated thathisdelegation
regretted thefactthatdespite numerous rounds ofinformal consultations under theaegisofthisCouncil
noagreement hadbeenreached onconclusions andrecommendations ontheissueoftheimplementation
oftheATC. Formany developing countries likehisown,textiles constituted thesingle mostimportant
sector interms ofitscontribution toGDP export earnings andemployment. Hisdelegation believed
thatitwould beunfortunate ifnorecommendations reached Singapore forconsideration oftheMinisters.
Itwasagainst thisbackground andasafollow-up tothestatement made bytherepresentative ofHong
2Subsequently circulated indocument G/C/W/67.G/C/M/15
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Kong onconclusions andrecommendations thathisdelegation alsoonbehalf ofsome other exporting
countries wassubmitting adraftMinisterial Decision3fortheSingapore meeting. Aswould beseen
from thisdraft, itreflected notonlytheviews expressed bythetextile exporting countries, butalso
tookintoaccount theconcerns raised bysomemajor textile-importing countries regarding circumvention
andmarket access.
7.2 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatement.
8. Adoption oftheReport oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods totheGeneral Council inthecontext
oftheSingapore Ministerial Conference (G/C/W/62)
8.1 TheChairmandrewattentiontothedraftreportoftheCouncilcirculatedindocumentG/C/W/62.
Thereport comprised twosections: Section Icontained thefactual partandSection IItheconclusions
and/or recommendations arising from theCouncil 'sdeliberations. Headded thatthereport would
beupdated ormodified inlightofthework done bytheCouncil atthismeeting andcomments by
delegations onanyofthepoints.
8.2 Therepresentative ofAustralia referred toaproposal made byhisdelegation forinclusion
ofaparagraph inSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport. Thetextwould readasfollows: "Members agree
tokeepunder review theprospect ofeffecting further tradeliberalization, including onanautonomous
plurilateral ormultilateral basis." HisGovernment wasstilltrying tounderstand whythere wasno
reference intheCouncil 'sconclusions and/or recommendations totrade liberalization, particularly in
lightofthecommitment ofallMembers toprogressive trade liberalization, oneofthekeyfunctions
oftheWTO. HisGovernment hadhoped thattheSMC would demonstrate thecontinuing relevance
oftheWTO tothebusiness community, which wasinterested intariff liberalization. Onthebasis
ofthecontents oftheCouncil 'sreport sofar,andmoreparticularly theconclusions section ofthereport,
themessage tothebusiness community wasthattheCouncil could notevenagree tokeepunder review
theprospectsforfurthertradeliberalization.Thiswasdisturbingbecauseitwoulddiminishtherelevance
oftheWTO totheglobal business community ortoworld trade. Against thatbackground, Australia
hoped thatdelegations would beprepared tolookatthetextproposed byAustralia forinclusion in
SectionIIoftheCouncil'sreportwhichwouldamounttoanon-prejudicialandnon-committalrestatement
ofthecommitments oftheMembers ofthisOrganization totrade liberalization.
8.3 Therepresentative ofNorway stated thathisdelegation hadbothformally andinformally
expressed interest andsupport fortheAustralian andCanadian proposals. Ithadalsoaccepted that
therewasnoconsensus forincluding sucharecommendation inthereport. Withregard totherelatively
modest goalexpressed byAustralia, hisdelegation noted withconcern thattheWTO asamultilateral
trade organization wasnotinaposition toagree tokeeping under review theprospect ofeffecting
further tradeliberalization, which inhisdelegation 'sviewhadverymuch todowiththe"raison-d 'être"
oftheGATT/WTO.
8.4 Therepresentative ofMorocco stated thattheAustralian proposal should bereflected inthe
factual partoftheCouncil 'sreport, ashadbeenthecasewithother proposals andinitiatives ontrade
liberalization submitted bytheUnited States, theEuropean Community andCanada. There weretoo
many divergences ofviews onthismatter, andanyadditional discussion would bepointless atthis
stage.
8.5 Therepresentative ofHong Kong stated thathisdelegation would continue tosupport the
Australian proposal. However, Members hadtobeguided bythepractice ofconsensus.
3Subsequently circulated indocument G/C/W/66.G/C/M/15
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8.6 Therepresentative ofNewZealand concurred withthecomments made bytherepresentatives
fromHong Kong andNorway withrespect totheAustralian proposal andexpressed disappointment
withtheoutcome ofthediscussion onthismatter. Considerable effort hadbeenexpended trying to
reach bothintheCouncil andintheMarket Access Committee aforward looking statement onthe
possibility offurther tariff liberalization. Hisdelegation would havehoped thatWTO Members could
havedonebetter intheleaduptothefirstMinisterial Conference ofthisOrganisation. While some
Members oftheOrganization werenotready toembark upon preparations forfurther liberalisation,
hisdelegation feltthatMinisters should collectively keepsuchinitiatives under review atalltimes;
since thiswasthefinalpurpose ofthisOrganization. Arecommendation concerning thepossibility
offurther liberalization would haveallowed topresent amorepositive picture totheworld atSingapore.
8.7 Therepresentative ofBrazil stated thatinBrazil, boththegovernment andtheprivate sector
appeared tobestilloverwhelmed withtheimplementation oftheWTO Agreement. Brazil wasstill
adapting tonewrules, stilldrafting internal regulations, stillevaluating theconcrete consequences of
itscommitments.TheAustralianrepresentativehadreferredtogivingasignaltothebusinesscommunity.
Butthereweredifferent businesses intheworld andasfarasbusiness inBrazil wasconcerned, Brazilian
businessmen wereworried withthepaceofliberalisation commitments undertaken bythegovernment.
Intherecent tradepolicy review ofBrazil, certain delegations hadmentioned thatthegovernment should
resist protectionist pressures, something thathisgovernment hadbeentrying todo.IfBrazil were
toaccept inclusion ofthereference tofurther liberalisation intheCouncil 'sreport, eveninthesimple
form ofareview, thismight cause negative reactions inhiscountry. Therefore, atthisstage, his
delegation wasnotinfavour ofincluding suchlanguage intheCouncil 'sreport.
8.8 TherepresentativeofCanadasharedtheviewsexpressedbydelegationsofAustralia,HongKong
andNewZealand. Hisdelegation would finditanomalous thatthisOrganisation could notevenreflect
afairly modest proposal tokeepunder review thepossibility ofeffecting further trade liberalisation.
Canada hadalsopresented apaper along similar lines. Hisdelegation recognized thatthere wasno
consensus ontheAustralian proposal andunder these circumstances, itwould notbepossible tohave
conclusions orrecommendations tothateffect intheCouncil 'sreport.
8.9 Therepresentative ofChile supported theAustralian proposal. Itwould beunfortunate for
theWTO ifMembers could notagree onatextasinnocuous as"keeping under review theprospect
ofeffecting further trade liberalisation". Herdelegation regretted thatthere wasnoconsensus onthis
matter.
8.10 Therepresentative ofIndia stated thattheAustralian proposal forfurther industrial tariff
negotiations wasdiscussed intheMarket Access Committee aswellasintheCouncil. Inbothfora,
theAustralian proposal wasopposed byalargenumber ofdelegations forvarious reasons. IntheMarket
Access Committee, Australia hadrequested thatthisproposal beincorporated intherecommendations
partoftheCommittee 'sreport. TheCommittee hadbeenunable toagree tothis,asthere wasno
consensus. ThisCouncil hadalsodiscussed theAustralian proposal andthere wasnoconsensus on
it.Hence, hisdelegation could notagree totheinclusion oftheAustralian proposal inSection IIof
theCouncil 'sreport.
8.11 Therepresentative ofEgypt stated thattheviews presented byherdelegation intheMarket
Access Committee onthismatter were valid alsointhisforum, andasaresult shecould notagree
tohavetheAustralianproposalincludedintherecommendationsandconclusionssectionoftheCouncil's
report.
8.12 Therepresentative ofVenezuela stated thatrecommendations byMinisters were notneeded
to"keep under review theprospect offurther tradeliberalisation intheindustrial sector", because any
country thatwished toreduce tariffs onindustrial products didnothavetowaitforrecommendationsG/C/M/15
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from Ministers todoitbutcould dosoautonomously. Hisdelegation didnothavedifficulties as
regarded theactual draftoftheAustralian proposal, butitwasobvious thattheproposal hadnotmanaged
toobtain aconsensus either intheMarket Access Committee orintheCouncil. Astheprinciple of
consensus wasfundamental tohisdelegation, itcould notsupport theinclusion oftheAustralian proposal
inSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport. However, hedidnotseeaproblem withitsinclusion inthefactual
partoftheCouncil 'sreport.
8.13 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities stated thattheCommunity wascommitted
tofurther liberalisation andwasassociated withanumber ofspecific initiatives inthearea,forexample
information technology products andpharmaceuticals. Thelanguage proposed bytheAustralian
delegation reflected notmore thanwhatshould bepartofthenormal work ofthisCouncil andtherefore,
hisdelegation sawmerit intheproposal. However, ashadbeennoted, theCouncil hadtobeguided
bythepractice ofconsensus.
8.14 Therepresentative ofKorea stated thatfromaprocedural perspective hisdelegation believed
thatthisproposal should havebeenreflected inthereport oftheMarket Access Committee. Amore
substantive discussion hadalready taken place intheMarket Access Committee onthisproposal, and
theCommittee hadcompleted itswork andtabled itsownreport. Itwasdifficult tounderstand why
Australia wanted toinclude thesame textinSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport, especially when ithad
notachieved consensus onitinthesubsidiary body oftheCouncil. While hisdelegation wasofthe
viewthattheAustralian textwasinnocuous, other Members didnotthink so.Asthere hadbeenno
consensus onthesame matter intheMarket Access Committee, hisdelegation could notsupport the
inclusion oftheAustralian proposal inSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport. Infact,ifAustralia had
proposed thepresent textattheinitial stages, hisdelegation could havesupported itwithout anyproblem.
Thepossibility offurther comprehensive negotiations onindustrial tariffs wasapolitically sensitive
issueinKorea. Korea wasfirmly committed totradeliberalisation butcould notsupport theAustralian
proposal atthisjuncture.
8.15 TherepresentativeofAustraliastatedthatitwasimportantnottoamplifythedivergencesbetween
delegations, anditwaswiththisinmind thatAustralia hadtabled itsrevised proposal asaconclusion
oftheextensive discussion thathadtaken place intheCouncil ontrade liberalisation. Itwasnot
unnatural toseecompromise proposals inthecontext ofthedebate thathadpreceded them. Thatmight
beregrettable butitwasunderstandable. What hewished delegations todo,evenatthislatestage,
wastoconsider thewords oftheAustralian proposal. Hisownunderstanding ofthewords wasthat
Australia wasnotasking foracommitment tospecific tariff negotiations, norforpreparations for
negotiations, norforpositive consideration oftheproposal thatithadmade forfurther industrial tariff
negotiationsintheyear2000.TheonlythingAustraliawasaskingforwasareaffirmationbythisCouncil
ofthecorebusiness oftheWTO. Hehoped thatother delegations would trytolookatthewords
proposed byAustralia inthespirit inwhich theyhadbeenproposed. Herecognized thatthere was
noconsensus toAustralia 'soriginal proposal forindustrial tariff negotiations intheyear2000, and
hecould accept thatthatproposal beincluded onlyinthefactual partoftheCouncil 'sreport. Itwould,
however, beahelpful conclusion ofthediscussions iftheCouncil could reaffirm tothefirstWTO
Ministerial Conference thatitwould keep under review theprospect foreffecting further trade
liberalisation. With respect totheadoption ofthereport ofthisCouncil, theAustralian Government
wasstillassessing thesituation.
8.16 Therepresentative ofHong Kong, referring totheissueofimplementation oftheATC, wished
tomake clear thatithadnotbeentheintention ofthe12delegations todepart from theestablished
practice oftheWTO nortocause anydelay intheprocess ofadoption oftheCouncil 'sreport. In
response toCanada 'ssuggestion toreflect theconcerns ofthe12delegations inthefactual partofthe
report aswellasintheminutes ofthismeeting, thedelegations concerned would giveitpositive
consideration. Regarding thequery bytheUnited States ontheprocedural propriety ofthesuggestionsG/C/M/15
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made bythedelegations concerned, hewished topropose three possible ways ofaction: (1)continue
discussions onthe"Implementation oftheATC" thathadnotyetbeenconcluded; (2)ifthere were
results, theyshould beadopted bythisCouncil; and(3)incorporation ofpossible results inthefinal
report. Noassumptions were being made, andthere wasnoprejudice totheoutcome. Intheview
ofhisdelegation, efforts should continue tobemade onanissueofsuchimportance tomany delegations.
Itwasnottheintention ofhisdelegation toblock theadoption ofthereport. Hehadunderstood that
today'smeeting might notbethelastoccasion tomeetinthissession oftheCouncil, andtherefore
therewasopportunity forfurther work. Hehoped thatthiswould betaken advantage ofandhewould
welcome suggestions which would enable progress.
8.17 Therepresentative ofJapan stated thathisdelegation hadsome sympathy forHong Kong's
suggestion thattheCouncil should continue discussions toreach consensus ontheconclusions and
recommendations regarding thissubject. From theprocedural point ofview, inspiteoftheresponse
andadditional clarification given byHong Kong, theconcerns andviews putforward byCanada, US,
theCommunity, Norway andSwitzerland werelegitimate. However, iftherewasconsensus toreopen
andcontinue work inorder toreach agreement onthismatter, hisdelegation would bewilling to
participate intheprocess.
8.18 Therepresentative ofNorway saidthathisdelegation would participate inaconstructive manner
inanydiscussions onthisissue.
8.19 TheCounciltooknoteofthestatementsandsuspendedthemeetinginordertodiscussinformally
theaction tobetaken onmatters raised inthediscussion.
8.20 Following theresumption ofthemeeting, theCouncil agreed tocontinue itsmeeting on
4November 1996inorder toconsider thereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture onImplementation
oftheAgreement onAgriculture andthework oftheCommittee. TheCouncil noted thatthere was
noconsensus withrespect totheAustralian proposal, noragreement withregard tofurther consultations
before 4November 1996 ontheimplementation oftheATC.
8.21 TheCouncil resumed itsmeeting on4November 1996. TheChairman recalled thatthere
were three issues pending from themeeting of1November 1996, which hadprevented adoption of
theCouncil 'sreport totheGeneral Council: (1)Australia 'srequest thattherecommendation "Members
agree tokeep under review theprospect ofeffecting further trade liberalization including onan
autonomous, plurilateral ormultilateral basis" beincluded inSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport; (2)
possible inclusion ofrecommendations andconclusions regarding theimplementation oftheATC; and
(3)finalization ofworkconcerning thereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture. Headded thatarevision
totheCouncil 'sreport hadbeenissued indocument G/C/W/62/Rev.1, which reflected theCouncil 's
work atits1November 1996 meeting.
8.22 Therepresentative ofAustralia informed theCouncil, thatfollowing further reflection and
consultations withhisauthorities, Australia wasnolonger insisting ontheinclusion ofitsproposal
inSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport. Thishadbeenadifficult decision forhisgovernment totake
given thatthere wasnoconclusion orrecommendation inthereport ontariff liberalization, noteven
theconfirmation recently proposed byAustralia thatthisCouncil would keepunder review proposals
forfurther liberalization. Hisdelegation waspleased thatthefactual partoftheCouncil 'sreport
recognized theextensive discussion onAustralia 'soriginal proposal forfurther tariff liberalization as
wellasproposals made byotherMembers moregenerally forfurther tradeliberalization. Hisdelegation
hadbeenencouraged toknow thatasignificant number ofdelegations agreed thatthefirstMinisterial
Conference oftheWTO should sendapositive message ononeoftheOrganization 'scorefunctions,
i.e.tariff liberalization. Australia would notstand inthewayofadoption oftheCouncil 'sreport.
Hisdelegation would continue towork withother delegations towards theobjective thattheSMCG/C/M/15
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underline thecommitments oftheWTO tofurther progressive liberalization oftariffs through successive
rounds ofmultilateral trade negotiations. Hisdelegation believed thatthiscould bedone inaway
thataccommodated theveryrealconcerns ofthose countries thathadmade significant concessions
during theUruguay Round, andwere presently fullyabsorbed inthedifficult taskofimplementing
those commitments. Australia believed thatthepresent draftoftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration
provided agoodbasisforacommitment tofurther trade liberalization anditintended tobuild onthat
basis.
8.23 TheChairmaninformedtheCouncilthatasregardspossibleconclusionsand/orrecommendations
ontheimplementation oftheATC, additional texthadbeenincluded attheendofthesection ofthe
Council 'sreport dealing withtheimplementation oftheATC, i.e.thefactual partstarting onpage16,
paragraphs 16.1to16.41. Since thistexthadbeenarrived atafterplurilateral informal consultations
among alldelegations, hewould deem thatthisissuewasresolved asfarastheCouncil wasconsidered.
Furthermore, theworkoftheCommittee onAgriculture relating toitsreport hadnotyetbeenfinalized.
Many delegations hadexpressed adesire tocontinue work intheCommittee onAgriculture, toarrive
ataconsensus-based report. Therefore, heproposed thattheCouncil encourage theCommittee on
Agriculture tocontinue work withaviewtofinalizing thereport onaconsensus basis atitsmeeting
scheduled on5November 1996. Heproposed thatallissues, withtheexception ofthereport ofthe
Committee onAgriculture, hadbeensatisfactorily resolved, andthattheCouncil should adopt itsreport
leaving outthepartrelating tothereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture. Thereport from that
Committee would beforwarded asanaddendum totheCouncil 'sreport totheGeneral Council.
8.24 AsconcernedtheCouncil'sdraftreport,circulatedindocumentG/C/W/62/Rev.1,theChairman
indicated thatthestructure ofthereport hadbeenchanged bybringing administrative issues tothe
frontofthereport andaddressing themore substantive issues later. Thefollowing specific changes
were made tothetext: (1)onpage1,attheendofthefirstintroductory paragraph, thewords "as
outlined under item19(a)" hadbeenadded; (2)onpage14,anewsub-item (i)hadbeenadded to
point 13ofthereport, i.e.paragraph 13.12 relating totheECproposal on"Trade Facilitation"; (3)on
pages 16-23, paragraphs 16.1to16.41 hadbeenintroduced onthe"Implementation oftheATC and
related matters"; (4)onpages 23-26, paragraphs 17.1to17.8hadbeenintroduced onthe"Textiles
Monitoring Body"; (5)onpages 26and27,paragraphs 18.4, 18.6and18.7hadbeen added on
"Proposals andInitiatives forFurther Trade Liberalization"; (6)onpage27,paragraph 19.4hadbeen
added reflecting theconcerns ofsome delegations withaparagraph oftheTBTreport; (7)thetitle
ofSection IIhadbeenchanged from"Conclusions and/or Recommendations arising fromtheCouncil 's
deliberations" to"Conclusions and/or Recommendations"; and(8)twointroductory sentences had
beenadded justafterthetitleofSection IIon"Conclusions and/or Recommendations" andbefore the
textoftherecommendations themselves.
8.25 Therepresentative ofNorway stated thatthelastsentence ofparagraph 17.1ofdocument
G/C/W/62/Rev.1 ontheTMB readthat"TheTMB'sreport istherefore notareport byabodyconsisting
ofWTO Members". Hisdelegation hadraised aconcern informally about thissentence because it
might givetheimpression thatrepresentatives ofcountries whowere notWTO Members might be
appointed toserve ontheTMB; thiswasclearly notthecase. Thepoint wasthatpersons serving
ontheTMB were appointed among Members, buttheyserved ontheTMB inapersonal capacity,
which wasmade clearbytheprevious sentence. Therefore, hisdelegation feltthatthesentence was
misleading. Hisdelegation would notinsist onre-opening discussion onthistext,butreserved its
position withregard toanyprecedents thesentence might create interms ofapossible interpretation
oftheroleofthemembers oftheTMB.
8.26 TherepresentativeofMoroccostatedthatanumberofdelegationshadsupportedtheECproposal
on"Trade Facilitation", anditmight beuseful toreflect thisfactintherelevant section oftheCouncil 's
report. With respect totheAustralian andCanadian proposal andtheinformation provided bytheG/C/M/15
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USontheInformation Technology Agreement (ITA) andbytheEConpharmaceutical products it
would beuseful toinclude thefollowing textwhich formed partofthereport oftheMarket Access
Committee onthesame matter: "theCouncil welcomed theinformation provided andtooknoteofthe
communications".
8.27 Therepresentative ofEgypt stated thatherdelegation wished tohaveasentence included on
theCanadian proposal which reflected theviews ofthedelegations regarding thisproposal. One
possibility could be:"Divergent views wereexpressed bydelegations, some ofthem evenexpressed
opposition tothisproposal".
8.28 Therepresentative ofIndia stated thatasentence toreflect thedivergent views expressed by
delegations ontheCanadian proposal should beincluded inparagraph 18.6, forexample, "Members
expressed divergent views ontheCanadian proposal". Healsoproposed thatthefollowing sentence
beincluded attheendofparagraph 18.7which dealt withtheother trade liberalization initiatives:
"theCouncil welcomed theinformation provided andtooknoteofthecommunications".
8.29 Therepresentative ofKorea, stating thatattheprevious meeting hisdelegation hadsupported
theproposal submitted byHong Kong onbehalf of12delegations onproposed conclusions and
recommendations ontheimplementation oftheATC, hisdelegation wished thistobereflected inthe
relevant section ofthereport. Therepresentative ofArgentina stated thathisdelegation hadalso
supported thisproposal.
8.30 TheChairman wished toclarify thatanumber ofthecomments made bydelegations related
toitems raised under "Other Business". Inthiscontext, heproposed thatheholdinformal consultations
onthetextual changes proposed bydelegations inrespect ofcertain paragraphs oftheCouncil 'sreport.
TheCouncil agreed totheChairman 'sproposal.
8.31 TheCouncil adopted itsreport totheGeneral Council contained indocument G/C/W/62/Rev.1
except fortheportion relating tothereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture. TheCouncil further
noted thatitsreport would beamended inlightofthediscussion heldatthismeeting andissued in
itsfinalversion indocument G/L/134.
8.32 TheCouncilagreedtosuspendthemeetingandresumeon5November1996inordertoconsider
thereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture.
8.33 TheCouncil resumed itsmeeting on5November 1996. TheChairman recalled thatatthe
resumed meeting of4November 1996, theCouncil 'sreport hadbeenadopted withtheexception of
thepartonthereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture. TheCouncil hadalsoagreed toresume its
meeting on5November 1996 ontheexpectation thattheCommittee onAgriculture would haveby
thenfinalized itsreport. TheChairman pointed outthatthefinalversion oftheCouncil 'sreport in
document G/L/134 wasnowavailable.
8.34 TheChairperson oftheCommittee onAgriculture, Mrs. Tantraporn, informed theCouncil
thattheCommittee, atthisstage, hadbeenunable toreach consensus onitsreport. Members ofthe
Committee hadrequested more timetoconsult withtheirrespective authorities, andtheCommittee
hadagreed toadjourn themeeting until6November 1996 inorder tofinalize itswork.
8.35 Therepresentative ofPakistan recalled thatthisCouncil wassupposed tohavefinished itswork
on1November 1996. Itwasinview ofthedeadlines established forthesubmission ofreports of
alltheCommittees andCouncils totheGeneral Council by7November 1996thatMembers hadsought
toexpedite thework ofthisCouncil. Forthatreason, hisdelegation andseveral others hadagreed
nottocontinue workonpossible recommendations andconclusions intheCouncil 'sreport onthesubjectG/C/M/15
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oftextiles. NowtheCouncil wasfaced withtheprospect offurther delay inthefinalization ofitsreport
because oftheissueofagriculture. Hebelieved thatinthiscaseasinthatoftextiles, theCouncil should
notethatagreement could notbereached.
8.36 Therepresentative ofAustralia agreed thattherepresentative ofPakistan hadbeenright in
reminding theCouncil ofexisting deadlines andthesensitivity ofparticular issues; agriculture was
averysensitive partofthisCouncil 'swork. TheChairperson oftheCommittee onAgriculture as
wellasanumber ofdelegations hadbeenworking hardtoachieve anacceptable outcome regarding
thereport ofthatbody. Time wasshort, butitwasintheinterest oftheproper functioning ofthis
Council andintheinterest ofobtaining thebestoutcome onawhole range ofareas thatutmost efforts
werebeing made toreach consensus. Inlightofthis,theCouncil should allow thatextratimeinorder
toenable theCommittee onAgriculture tobring itswork toasuccessful conclusion.
8.37 TheCouncil agreed torequest theCommittee onAgriculture through theChairperson ofthat
Committee tocontinue intensive efforts toarrive atapositive outcome andensure thattheCommittee
wasinaposition toadopt itsreport atitsmeeting scheduled for6November 1996. Thiswasallthe
more important asthisCouncil hadtomake available itsreport totheGeneral Council on
7November 1996.
8.38 TheCouncil agreed tosuspend themeeting andtoresume on6November 1996 inorder to
consider thereport oftheCommittee onAgriculture.
8.39 Attheresumed meeting on6November 1996, theChairman informed theCouncil thatthe
Committee onAgriculture hadadopted itsreport. TheCouncil tooknoteofthereport oftheCommittee
onAgriculture circulated indocument G/L/131, anddecided toannex ittoitsownreport andtoforward
ittotheGeneral Council asanaddendum toitsownreport.
8.40 Therepresentative ofPakistan stated thathisdelegation waspleased tonotethattheCouncil
hadadopted thevarious reports including thatofagriculture onaconsensus basis. However, his
delegation wasextremely disappointed with theoutcome oftheCouncil 'sdeliberations onthe
implementation oftheATC. Hisdelegation considered itamatter ofdeepregret thatdespite long
drawn deliberations, ithadnotbeenpossible toreach aconsensus intheCouncil onconclusions and
recommendations ontheimplementation oftheATC. Hisdelegation continued tobedeeply concerned
withthefateoftheimplementation oftheATC asitbelieved thatwithout fairtreatment tothetextiles
sector, theoutcome oftheSMC would befarfrom balanced. Pakistan would, therefore, continue
topress forthefaithful implementation oftheATC intheGeneral Council aswellasintheparallel
preparatory process fortheSMC. Inthiscontext, Pakistan would beseeking thereaffirmation ofthe
Ministers atSingapore that: (a)theATC wasimplemented inletter andspirit; (b)thesecond and
thirdphase integration programmes reflected theprogessivity asembodied intheATC; (c)thesanctity
ofArticle 6oftheATCwasmaintained bystrictly following theconcept ofthesparing andcircumspect
useofthesafeguard measure; (d)changes intherules oforigin were notmade insuchawayasto
impair themarket access ofthetextiles exporting countries; and(e)thattheTMB played anactive,
impartial andeffective roleinensuring theimplementation oftheATC inletter andspirit.
Notwithstanding theseremarks, Pakistan reserved itsrighttoraisethetextiles issueinanyotherrelevant
foraincluding theGeneral Council andtheheads ofdelegations process.
8.41 TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatement.
9. Dateofthenextmeeting
9.1 TheCouncil tooknotethatitsnextmeeting wasscheduled for29November 1996.