RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
5 July 1999
(99-2748)
General Council
15 June 19991
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held in the Centre William Rappard
on 15 June 19991
Chairman:  Mr. Ali Mchumo (Tanzania)
Subjects discussed Page
1. Observer status for international intergovernmental organizations ...................................2
2. Committee on Balance-of -Payments Restrictions..................................................................6
(a) Consultations with Romania ................................................................................................. .....6
3. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce..........................................................................6
(a) Interim review of progress in the implementation of the Work Programme on
Electronic Commerce............................................................................................................ ......6
4. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement..............................................................12
(a) Harmonized System - Requests for Extension of  waivers........................................................12
(i) Bangladesh ................................................................................................................. ..............12
(ii) Nicar agua ................................................................................................................. ................12
(iii) Sri Lanka ................................................................................................................ ..................12
(b) Zambia – Renegotiation of Schedule LXXVIII........................................................................13
(i) Request for exte nsion of waiver ............................................................................................ ..13
(c) Decision on the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO Schedules of
tariff concessions on 1 January 1996........................................................................................13
(i) Extension of  time limit .................................................................................................... ........13
(d) Preferential tariff treatment for least-develope d countries .......................................................13
(i) Draft decision on waiver ................................................................................................... .......13
5. Report of the Working Party on Preshipment Inspection .................................................13
6. Promotion of the institut ional image of the WTO ...............................................................14
(a) Note by the Secretariat .................................................................................................... .........14
7. Accession to the WTO:  Process and procedures ................................................................20
8. Frequency and scheduling of WTO meetings.......................................................................26
9. Chairmanship of the Working Party on Accession of Nepal ..............................................27
(a) Announcement by the Chairman ..............................................................................................27
10. Observer status for international inter governmental organizations (IGOs) at the
1999 Ministerial Conference ..................................................................................................27
11. Attendance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the 1999 Ministerial
Conference..................................................................................................................... ..........27
At the outset of the meeting, the Chairman stated that the purpose of the meeting, which was a
resumption of the General Council meeting that had started on 14 April, was to consider the
remaining items on the agenda of the General Council adopted on 14 April.  The item on the
                                                     
1 This meeting is the continuation of the meeting that was adjourned on 14 April 1999 and reconvened
on 30 April and 1, 4, 6 and 26 May 1999.  The minutes of those meetings are contained in WT/GC/M/40 andAdd.1 and 2.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 2
appointment of the next Director-General would not be taken up at the present meeting since it was
being dealt with separately.  Regarding the atte ndance of representatives from International
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the 1999
Ministerial Conference in Seattle, he felt it would be appropriate to speed up the process of
registration for these representatives, in light of th eir need to make travel and lodging arrangements.
Thus, despite the fact that the procedures to be decided for the attendance of IGOs and NGOs had not
been on the agenda of the 14 April meeting, he would make a statement on these issues at the present
meeting under "Other Business".
1. Observer status for international intergovernmental organizations (WT/GC/22)
The Chairman recalled that this matter had been discussed in formal and informal meetings of
the General Council on several occasions, and that the General Council still needed to take action on a
number of requests for observer status from inte rgovernmental organizations (WT/GC/W/51/Rev.6).
This matter had been included on the agenda of the present meeting at the request of the UnitedStates, and that delegation had made a submission in document WT/GC/22.
The representative of the United States recalled that the General Council had pending before
it requests for observer status from a number of international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs),
as did a number of its subsidiary bodies.  Observership, where requested, would allow for cooperation
between the WTO and these organizations.  Action on granting observer status to a number of these
organizations had been delayed due to the lack of guidelines for granting such status.  Her delegationhad raised this issue several times recently, since lack of action on guidelines was delaying agreement
in the General Council and in other bodies – including the Committee on Trade and Development, the
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements, and the Council on Trade in Goods – on numerous
requests for observer status.  As a starting-point to unblocking this situation, Members could agree
that observer status be granted, where requested, to those IGOs with universal  membership, i.e. those
open to any country to join, and to those organizations or agencies within organizations that were
clearly and primarily economic in nature.  She asked that Members agree to the proposed guidelines at
the present meeting so that all pending requests could be considered as soon as possible.
Many representatives expressed their appreciation for the US efforts to break the impasse on
this matter and for the proposal in WT/GC/22.
The representative of the European Communities said that broadly speaking his delegation
supported the approach suggested by the United States to this long-standing problem.  However,
regarding the two criteria listed in WT/GC/22, one might add, at the end of the relevant sub-paragraphs, the following text:  "and can demonstrate a close relationship to or interest in international
trade".
The representative of Canada said that her delegation supported the US proposal which was
timely and would help unblock a situation that had existed for some time.  Regarding the criterion in
paragraph (b), it might be useful to keep in mind that the organizations at issue should have certain
defined purposes, such as an ability to foster intergovernmental dialogue and understanding of
international trade and economic issues, an ability to assist Member governments on how to conduct
negotiations on international trade and economic issues, and an ability to foster intergovernmental
understanding and dialogue within their regions on specific sectoral issues in the context of the larger
picture of the WTO.  She was not proposing these as amendments to the US proposal, but rather as
guidance on the criterion in paragraph (b) of the proposal.
The representative of Egypt said that his delegation had no difficulty with the criterion in
paragraph (a) of the proposal.  However, the criterion in paragraph (b) would seem to exclude certain
organizations, such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Organization of AfricanWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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Unity.  These organizations had a need to be up to date on WTO work in order to be able to properly
coordinate their work and assist their members regarding WTO issues.  This would foster a better
understanding of the WTO and a better integration of  the developing countries in it.  For example,
while the Organization of the Islamic Conference did not deal exclusively with economic matters, it
had a standing committee on economic relations, and conducted work regarding economic integrationamong its members.  The same applied to the Organization of African Unity.  Thus, his delegation
supported all requests for observer status in the WTO.
The representative of Japan said that it was important for the WTO to have a close
relationship with other IGOs and to facilitate pr ocedures for granting observer status to these
organizations.  A condition for such status should be  that such organizations be able to contribute to
discussions in the WTO.  In principle, Japan could support the US proposal, since the present criteriafor granting observer status were not clear.  Regarding the criteria in the proposal, two points had to
be examined.  First, "universal membership" did not always indicate that an IGO was not political in
nature, and the meaning of "universal" had to be clarified.  Second, regarding the term "demonstrably
principally economic in nature", there was a problem of how to adapt that criterion to individual
cases, and its relationship to the "universal" criterion had to be clarified.  It was also not clear thatsuch criteria could be considered objective.  There was therefore a need for further detailed
discussions on the criteria to be applied, including whether the organization in question was able to
contribute to the discussions in the General Council.  Clarifying the guidelines would be useful.  As
stipulated in the current guidelines, granting observer status to an IGO should be examined on a case-
by-case basis, taking into account the nature and role of the organization.  It would also be useful forIGOs seeking observer status to submit a paper or make a presentation to the WTO on how they could
contribute to its work.
The representative of Mexico asked for clarification as to whether both of the criteria in
paragraphs (a) and (b) had to be met or whether it was sufficient to meet one of them in order for an
organization to obtain observer status.  The fact that an organization was universal did not imply that
it had any relationship with trade, and it was no t clear what "universal" meant.  Regarding the
criterion in paragraph (b), he wondered who woul d decide whether a given organization or agency
was principally economic in nature.  There might be different interpretations of "principally" and
"economic in nature".  As Japan had suggested, it would be useful for organizations seeking observer
status to submit a paper explaining their interest and the reasons they considered their participation
would be useful to WTO work.  Determinations s hould be made on a case-by-case basis.  While it
was useful to establish criteria, these should not lead to automatic determinations.  He asked the
United States to provide a list of the organizations it felt met the criteria in paragraphs (a) or (b).
The representative of Tanzania said that his delegation shared some of the concerns expressed
by Egypt and needed further clarifications before it could take a decision on the proposal.  Canada's
ideas were useful and should be considered further.  Tanzania would be grateful to have the
clarifications requested by Mexico.
The representative of Bangladesh said that requests for observer status from organizations
whose functions covered the larger picture, as Canada had outlined, deserved to be considered.  These
should include sectoral and interest-based organizations, for example the International Textiles and
Clothing Bureau, whose membership was limited to textile exporters but which played an important
role in preparing many WTO Members for deliberations on key WTO issues.  If it was demonstrated
that an organization had a role in the broad picture of international trade, and if its contribution could
help integrate all Members into the multilateral trading system, it should be not only allowed, butencouraged, to be an observer in the WTO.
The representative of Australia said the US proposal was that Members agree on two criteria
as a starting-point for considering observer status  where requested by IGOs, and as such would not
preclude granting that status to other organizations.  Regarding the difficulty in agreeing on what wasWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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meant by the criterion in paragraph (b), this could be discussed in the relevant bodies.  Japan had
made some useful proposals, particularly the idea of organizations explaining how they could
contribute to WTO work.  In the case of some re gional organizations whose membership was largely
small developing and least-developed countries, it might be unreasonable to expect those countries to
have separate demonstrably principally economic organizations that were separate from what could beseen as political organizations, such as the South Pacific Forum, which dealt with both political and
economic issues.  His delegation assumed there would be flexibility in the specific application of any
criteria for observer status.
The representative of Cuba said that the US proposal was insufficient because it did not cover
all aspects of this question.  Regional organizations should be covered by the criteria, as should other
international bodies that showed considerable economic or commercial interest.  The most pragmaticapproach would be to make determinations on a case-by-case basis.  Most of the requests for observer
status that had been made should be granted.
The representative of Pakistan said that his delegation agreed with Egypt's statement.  In
limiting the granting of observer status only to those organizations that were demonstrably principally
economic in nature, Members were not doing justice to those organizations that were nevertheless
conducting economic activities, such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference.  He asked for
clarifications regarding the criteria.  Would paragraph (a) include non trade-related organizations?
Regarding paragraph (b), how would it be determined whether an organization was demonstrably
principally economic in nature?  Instead of having a piecemeal or starting-poi nt approach, it would be
more appropriate to have a whole package of guidelines for the granting of observer status, as this
would avoid the duplication of work and save time.
The representative of Brazil said that several of the organizations that had applied for
observer status in the WTO had already enjoyed that status in the GATT.  This was awkward, given
that the WTO was supposed to be a more universal organization.  Brazil thus supported the gist of the
US proposal, on the understanding that it was not a question of making automatic determinations
based on the criteria set out.  His delegation had no difficulty with paragraph (a), as a universal
organization would be bound to deal with economic affairs in one way or another.  Regarding
paragraph (b), the difficulties lay in what was meant by the term "agencies", and also in the word
"principally".  Both could perhaps be solved by amending "demonstrably principally economic in
nature" to read "which has a demonstrable interest in trade and economic matters and can contributeto the work of the WTO".  That would exclude or ganizations that had nothing to do with WTO work
and would permit, on the basis of a case-by-case analysis, bringing into WTO discussions those
organizations that had a demonstrable economic in terest, for example the Organization of American
States or the Organization of the Islamic Conference.   Every determination should be made on a case-
by-case basis, but these guidelines would help in making that determination.
The representative of Venezuela said that further reflection was needed regarding the role of
some of the organizations requesting observer status.  The universality of the WTO was important,
and it would be appropriate to have a larger number of IGOs with observer status;  this would also
contribute to transparency.  Determinations of observer status should be made case by case and withflexibility.  Some regional organizations, due to th eir need to take into account what was going on
outside the region in question, took on aspects of greater universality, such as the Organization of
African Unity and the Organization of American States.  The US proposal was a basis for work to
define more clearly what should be done in this area.  Venezuela supported that proposal, provided
the criteria in it were sufficiently flexible.
The representative of Malaysia, on behalf of the ASEAN Members
, said that these countries
regretted that although many IGOs who had requested observer status conducted work that had a
bearing on the WTO's work and could contribute to that work, they were not able to do so, because
some Members deemed them to be inappropriate.  Notwithstanding the guidelines in the GeneralWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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Council's rules of procedure, the criteria for granting observership to IGOs should not be limited to
those that were "demonstrably principally economic in nature", as had been suggested, since this
implied that only organizations created solely for economic reasons were eligible for observer status.
Many IGOs had originally been created based on political or social reasoning, but as they evolved had
focused on economic issues or had established other bodies that were purely economic.  Theendeavours of many such organizations were aimed at raising standards of living and improving the
economic development of their members, which was in line with WTO objectives.  Also, many
IGOs had political as well as economic bodies that worked in tandem to achieve the objectives of their
members.  Hence, the criteria should provide observer status for IGOs that, although not originally
economic in nature, now had responsibilities related to those of the WTO.  The participation of
appropriate IGOs in the WTO would benefit Members both in terms of their contributions, as well as
through enhancing the transparency and the understanding of WTO activities.
The representative of Hungary said that with the well-known image problems of the WTO, it
was high time to unblock the present situation and to send a positive message that the WTO was not a
closed shop and had nothing to hide from other organizations that had a justified interest in WTO
work.  On this basis Hungary supported the US proposal.  While the criteria in that proposal were notperfect, they were reasonable and should be treated as a starting-point for granting observer status to
organizations that fulfilled them.  Further work could be done on these criteria in order to permit the
granting of such status to a larger number of organizations.
The representative of Senegal said that this was an important matter, and that the attitude of
the United States had made it possible to find the beginning of a solution to this problem in the
Committee on Trade and Development.  His delegation supported the statement by Egypt.  The
participation of the Organization of African Unity in the work of the WTO was of capital importance
to his delegation, and that Organization had for some time concentrated its work on economic and
trade concerns, even though some perceived its role as purely political.  It also followed very closelythe WTO's work.
The representative of Burundi said that there should be flexibility in the choice and
application of the criteria to be used.  Trade concerns did not exist in a vacuum, and there were links
between, for example, trade and the environment and  trade and health.  All organizations that were as
multidimensional as the United Nations, such as the Organization of American States and the
Organization of African Unity should be treated in the same way.  This matter should be consideredon a case-by-case basis.
The representative of Korea said that his delegation shared the concern over the delay in
consideration of pending requests for observer status.  The increasing interlinkage of the issues facing
international organizations and the urgent need for policy coherence among them required promptresolution of the current impasse.  Korea was still considering the merits of the US proposal and
sought clarification on three points.  First, were the new guidelines intended to replace the existing
ones in paragraph 4 of Annex 3 of the General Council's rules of procedure?  Second, was it the
United States' intention to give observer status to all organizations that were principally economic in
nature, regardless of the scope of their membership  or their relationship to the WTO?  Third, how
were the terms "economic" or "demonstrably principally economic" to be defined?
The representative of the United States said that many constructive points had been made in
the discussion and that her delegation would welcome consultations on this matter.  While the
Organization of the Islamic Conference and th e Organization of African Unity might not be
automatically eligible for observer status on the basis of the criteria set out, it would be the US
intention to grant that status, if requested, to the Organization of African Unity and to the standing
committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to which Egypt had referred.  However, her
delegation was not in favour of granting observer status to any essentially political organization.
Regarding Mexico's question, the intent was that it would be sufficient to meet either criteria.  Brazil'sWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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suggestions on the language in paragraph (b) were very useful.  She reiterated that the proposal was
only a starting-point, and that there was room for further clarification.  Regarding Korea's statement,
the intent was to supplement what was contained in Annex 3 of the General Council's rules of
procedure.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  that the Chairman would
undertake further consultations with interested delegations on this matter.
2. Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultations with Romania (WT/BOP/R/45)
Mr. Jodko (Poland), Chairman of the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions, said
that Romania had consulted with the Committee for the first time on 1 and 2 February 1999.  In
October 1998, Romania had introduced an import surcharge of 6 per cent that, in accordance with its
phase-out plan, had been reduced to 4 per cent;  on 1 January 2000 it would be reduced to 2 per cent
and eliminated at the end of that year.  Members had sympathized with the economic difficulties
Romania faced and the seriousness of the balance-of-payments problem, and welcomed the tradeliberalization efforts undertaken by the Government as well as recent measures to accelerate
restructuring and privatization.  While Members had welcomed the fact that the surcharge was a
price-based measure and had been notified promptly, they had sought clarification regarding the
coverage of the surcharge.  They had recommended that Romania pursue a lasting solution to its
balance-of-payments difficulties through fundamental macro-economic reform.  Noting Romania'sintention to keep the measure under review and that the timetable for its elimination might be
modified in the light of significant improvements in the balance of payments, the Committee found
Romania in conformity with its obligations under Article XII of GATT 1994.
The representative of Romania said that his country would have preferred not to have had to
invoke Article XII of the GATT 1994 and would do its utmost to improve the economic situation so
as to permit the progressive elimination of the measure taken.
The General Council took note of the statements and adopted  the report on the consultations
with Romania (WT/BOP/R/45).
3. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce
(a) Interim review of progress in the implementation of the Work Programme on Electronic
Commerce
The Chairman recalled that at the Special Session of the General Council on 24 and
25 September 1998, a Work Programme on Electronic Commerce was established.  Paragraph 1.2 of
the work programme provided that the General Council "shall play a central role in the whole process
and keep the work programme under continuous review through a standing item on its agenda".  At its
meeting on 15-16 February 1999, the General Council agreed that in order to give more time to the
bodies carrying out work in relation to electronic commerce, the interim review of progress in the
implementation of the work programme - which was to have been conducted by 31 March 1999 -would be conducted at the present meeting.  He dr ew attention to a number of inputs for the interim
review that had been received from the Councils fo r Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, TRIPs and the
Committee on Trade and Development, which had been circulated in documents WT/GC/24, S/C/8,
WT/GC/21 and WT/GC/23 respectively.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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The representative of Venezuela said that electronic commerce was among those topics that
aroused the most interest, not only in the WTO, but also in many other fora assessing its implications.
His delegation had tried to understand the benefits of electronic commerce for developing countries.
It had proposed in the working groups that an assessment be made from the trade perspective of the
production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of  goods and services by electronic means.  The
WTO had to approach the topic of electronic commerce within the context of its implications for trade
in general, and of the arguments for and agains t maintaining the moratorium on the application of
customs duties.  The conclusions of the working groups would generate the appropriate
recommendations for the 1999 Ministerial Conference.  Developing these recommendations was one
of the main obligations Members had assumed at the Geneva Ministerial Conference.  The
Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce required the General Council to establish a
comprehensive work programme to examine all trade-related issues relating to global electroniccommerce.  This had been done through the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for TRIPS, the
Committee on Trade and Development and the Committee on Government Procurement.  The work in
those bodies should continue the process of evalua tion that had been begun.  He suggested that the
work of the various committees might be concentrated in a single working subgroup that would bring
together what had been learned over the past months and would make it possible for Members tofocus more effectively on the questions that were actually connected with global electronic commerce
and that affected trade.  In view of the overloaded agendas of the various committees and of the
limited opportunities of small delegations to attend all of the meetings, the General Council might
consider this possibility of concentrating the resources and efforts – of the delegations and the
Secretariat alike – so that the implications of the topic could continue to be studied.
The representative of Japan said that interim reports by the subsidiary bodies recognized that
a number of issues remained to be resolved, and those bodies should continue their work.  Duplication
of work among them should be avoided.  Discus sions thus far had focussed on how existing WTO
rules should apply to electronic commerce, but did not prejudge future WTO work on how electroniccommerce should be treated in the WTO framework.  Future discussions should include:  (i) the
international harmonization of rules among Members in fields such as privacy protection, and (ii) the
creation of a business environment that secured free electronic commerce activities.  In considering
the issue of the treatment of digital contents, as opposed to their delivery, attention should be paid to
maintaining and strengthening a free cyberspace.  The digital contents now delivered by electronic
means had long been traded through carrier media, such as books and compact disks.  The freedom of
transaction of such contents had been underpinned by basic GATT principles, e.g. MFN, nationaltreatment and the prohibition of quantitative restrictions.  The application of these principles to the
delivery of digital contents should be taken into account when making a judgement on whether the
contents of electronic commerce should be classified as goods or services.
The representative of the United States said that there had been a healthy discussion in the
WTO bodies about how electronic commerce fit in the WTO framework.  Exploring the issues was as
important as drawing conclusions.  Electronic co mmerce would have a profound effect on the trading
system, but how it would was still unknown.  Th e developing nature of electronic commerce
necessitated caution about premature definitions and classifications.  While Members wanted to
ensure that existing trade disciplines would support electronic commerce, they should be open togiving electronic commerce a degree of freedom, to ensure that its development would not be
prejudiced by inappropriate or premature application of trade concepts or categories.  The Work
Programme had to ensure that flexibility was maintained.  The aim in this work should not be to
pigeonhole electronic commerce, but to explore the possibilities of ensuring that it was granted the
most trade-liberalizing treatment possible, however it was defined or classified.  The first stepMembers should take was to make the duty-free cyberspace declaration permanent.  This would give
electronic commerce providers and the firms that funded the enormous investment required by
electronic commerce a degree of certainty that governments would not undermine the creativity now
driving the global digital economy.  The interim report of the Council for Trade in Services
highlighted a number of important areas where a useful consensus appeared to be emerging, namely:WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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(i) electronic delivery of services fell under GATS and was subject to all general and specific GATS
provisions;  (ii) where a Member had GATS commitments, those commitments extended to the
electronic commerce delivery of  those services.  Her delegation agreed with the need for further
examination of the issue of classification, the relevance of modes of delivery, the question of
"likeness", the coverage of Internet-related servic es under existing commitments, and the relevance of
the Telecommunications Annex to the GATS.  However, the United States remained unconvinced of
the relevance of the last item in the report relating to the "valuation of encrypted payments", and
looked forward to receiving further explanation on this point.  Since Members did not currently
impose duties on electronically transmitted products and, with Member consensus, would not do so in
future, the relevance of this question was unclear.  If the question related to the valuation of products
for domestic non-tariff related purposes, its relevance to trade obligations was not clear either.  The
Work Programme should not be side-tracked by issues with no direct relevance to electroniccommerce and which WTO disciplines were never intended to address, including competition policy
issues, taxation issues generally, and domestic regulatory goals.  The competition-related provisions
of the WTO disciplines had been drafted very narrowly, and related mainly to government-endorsed
monopolies and specific issues relevant to major suppliers of basic telecommunications services.  The
Work Programme was not the appropriate context in which to seek extension of these disciplines tounrelated areas.  While all Members had legitimate concerns about taxation and the effect electronic
commerce would have on tax systems, taxes were a domestic matter outside the WTO's mandate.  The
exception was where taxes were applied in a manner that discriminated against trading partners.
Unless the focus was on the latter area, it made little sense to address this subject.  The Work
Programme should not be used as a vehicle to pursue an agenda of support for domestic regulatorygoals.  It should focus on the intent of WTO disciplines:  to limit restrictions on trade by ensuring that
restrictions based on domestic policy were non-discriminatory, were not burdensome, and were not
disguised trade barriers.
The summary of discussions in the Committee on Trade and Development underscored the
great potential electronic commerce had to contribute to economic development.  Her delegation fully
supported efforts to explore how electronic commerce could best achieve this goal, and agreed with
the need, noted in the report, to foster a domestic environment conducive to stimulating electronic
commerce. How to ensure openness to investment and promotion of a competitive
telecommunications market were areas to explore further.  It would be a mistake to focus on some
threat to customs revenue that electronic commerce might seem to pose.  The wealth-creating
potential that electronic commerce could provide in a liberalized environment would outweigh any
narrow revenue reductions, benefitting both govern ments and firms.  The report by the Council for
Trade and Goods provided a useful record of the difficulties in classifying electronic commerce and
the challenge electronic commerce posed in areas such as customs valuation and rules of origin.
These issues should be further explored and should also be reflected in the discussions relating to
services.  Clarifying the essential relation customs duties had to the classification of products as goodsand as physical imports would make the approach that attempted to impose duties on electronic
transmissions inconsistent with current disciplines and practices.  This was a cross-cutting issue that
had to be discussed by the General Council.  The Work Programme should not be used to pursue an
agenda to impose mandatory standards in the name of technology transfer or anything else.
Electronic commerce would not flourish without adequate intellectual property right protection.WIPO treaties were a critical element of the legal infrastructure necessary to bring the full benefits of
electronic commerce to all WTO Members, and ratification by all Members was crucial to building
this infrastructure.  Finally, the WTO bodies should endeavour to report or provide information on
progress in implementing the Work Programme by 30 July and should report to the 1999 Ministerial
Conference, as agreed.
The representative of Hong Kong, China said that his delegation had contributed actively to
the discussions in the various fora and wanted to deal with three aspects:  the development aspect, the
position of electronic commerce in relation to existing WTO rules, and the facilitatory framework.
On the first point, a number of papers had been produced for the Committee on Trade andWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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Development and a symposium had been held.  The potential of electronic commerce to assist
developing country Members had been shown, but th is would not happen by itself.  Members had to
ensure that the promise of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) being able to utilize the
Internet to market and sell to a larger number of customers was realized.  The WTO could not achieve
this objective on its own, and should collaborate with other international organizations and bodies.Only a tiny percentage of aid to developing countries was dedicated to trade and trade capacity-
building, and assistance devoted to the development of electronic commerce was likely to be even
less.  Members should look at ways to target their aid programmes, in particular aid devoted to
improving the physical infrastructure and human-resource capacities of developing countries.  In the
field of technology transfer and regulation, more work needed to be done.  With regard to the position
of electronic commerce in relation to WTO rules, his delegation was disappointed with the lack of
progress and welcomed the opportunity to discuss this matter in the General Council.  The lack ofclarity in the classification of electronic commerce transmissions and their contents put electronic
commerce in a legal limbo, and potentially put in question commitments that were accepted as falling
within the GATS.  Members should take a decision on this matter as soon as possible.  The content of
all electronic transmissions should be considered as services, and Members with any other view
should put their reasoning on the table so that this could be discussed.  The flourishing of electroniccommerce should not be at the expense of rules that properly applied to it and to services in general.
Electronic commerce was simply another technological way of doing business.  Thus, the rules
governing it were the rules that properly applied to other technological forms of delivery of products
or services.  Lastly, the WTO had a limited area of competence, and it should focus on electronic
commerce facilitation.  If regulatory matters such as privacy were to be discussed, this should be donein terms of a facilitatory framework of general principles.
The representative of India noted that the reports before the General Council had been
submitted by the Chairpersons of the various bodies on their own responsibility.  The Work
Programme undertaken by these bodies had enabled Members to understand some aspects of theenigma of electronic commerce.  The fact that there was a long way still to go in this understanding
was evidenced by the reports and by the statements at the present meeting.  It was encouraging that, at
least in this area of work, deadlines could be met, and this should set an example for other bodies.
The substantive trade-related issues arising from global electronic commerce that had been considered
by the subsidiary bodies were numerous and complex, and these bodies had thus far sought to raise
questions rather than to seek definitive conclusions on these issues.  Many issues could be discussed
only after a more detailed examination by these bodies of other issues, such as those related tovaluation, taxation, import licensing and rules of or igin, the initial consideration of which would
appear to be possible only after definitional and classification aspects had been explored in further
detail.  India had made oral contributions on the issue of standards and would provide inputs on other
issues.  Her delegation looked forward to further discussion of the Work Programme in the subsidiary
bodies so that a report on the progress of the Work Programme and recommendations for action,including on guiding  principles or objectives, could be submitted to the 1999 Ministerial Conference.
Regarding the point made by the United States on the last paragraph in S/C/8, her delegation would
respond in detail in the appropriate forum.  However, the Work Programme was open-ended and the
relevance of items listed therein would come out in the examination process itself.  No issue should be
prejudged.  While the United States had said that some issues should have primacy over others, thelast sentence of paragraph 3 of S/C/8 stated that "[i]n no case should any record of this interim report
be used to imply that a final view has been re ached on any issue;  all remain open for further
discussion."  Regarding the development dimension of electronic commerce, including the linkage
with technology transfer and the role of standards in fostering growth of electronic commerce in
developing countries, she reiterated that this was an issue of importance to India, and her delegationlooked forward to further discussion of it in the relevant bodies.  The General Council should take
note of the inputs from the subsidiary bodies and direct them to continue their work, as agreed.
The representative of Canada said that Members had followed a steep learning curve with
respect both to the trade-related aspects of electronic commerce and to the applicability of WTOWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 10
disciplines.  The review to date had pointed to a number of issues that would require considerable
further work to resolve, and to large areas of electronic commerce-related activity that might be
viewed as old activity under a new name.  In orde r to provide greater commercial certainty in and
public understanding of this area, Members should agree, where possible, to the applicability of WTO
provisions to electronic commerce activity.  Thus, further reports by the relevant subsidiary bodiesshould state clearly where there was agreement.  This would be a valuable contribution to the 1999
Ministerial Conference.  Her delegation was interested in Venezuela's proposal and would like to
discuss it further.  Canada supported the continuation of the standstill on the imposition of customs
duties on electronic transmissions.  There was a close relationship between this issue and the "goods
versus services" classification issue, and the two should be dealt with together and not in isolation.
The representative of Egypt said that the discussions on this issue in the various WTO bodies
had been constructive;  however, the interim reports  were now outdated.  Those reports indicated that
more work was needed in a number of areas.  For example, there was a question as to whether
electronic commerce was goods or services.  Egypt did not agree with Hong Kong, China that all such
commerce was services.  The US had suggested that the standstill agreed in May 1998 on customs
duties on electronic commerce should be extended indefinitely.  In Egypt's view, various electroniccommerce issues should be addressed in the context of the negotiations on services that were to start
by the year 2000.  His delegation shared the views expressed by India and Hong Kong, China
regarding the development aspects of electronic commerce, and the view of the United States that the
revenue reductions would not be considerable.  However, the benefits of electronic commerce would
not be automatic.  Egypt had indicated in the Committee on Trade and Development prerequisites in anumber of areas necessary for the benefits of electronic commerce to reach developing countries,
including infrastructure and access to capacity-building.  He cited two instances in which Egypt had
been unable to make use of electronic commerce due to the inadequacy of intellectual property right
protection in the areas in question.  The latter was essential to the development of electronic
commerce.  There was a need for a more integrated approach – including intellectual property rights,development aspects, infrastructure and relations with the private sector – in the consideration of
issues related to electronic commerce.  A number of organizations were dealing with this issue,
including the WIPO, the ITU, UNCTAD, the ITC and the WTO, and Members should strive for an
integrated approach among these organizations.  The World Bank, UNDP and the IMF should also be
associated with such an approach.  Egypt hoped th at this issue could be addressed in the various
bodies dealing with this issue.
The representative of the European Communities said that while there was an emerging
consensus on a number of issues, all issues were still subject to discussion within the various WTO
bodies.  The interim reports were somewhat out of date.  A number of very technical issues had had to
be dealt with, in particular the issue of classification, which needed to be resolved in order to allow
work to proceed on other issues.  The Community's views were known on the issue of whereelectronic commerce fit in the WTO.  It was important not to put technical forms of trade into some
form of limbo for the sake of trying to improve access.  Members had already made commitments in
the WTO, and there was legal clarity that existing obligations and rules applied to this new
technology, even though there might be a need to clarify the particular application of those obligations
and rules.  In the case of intellectual property right protection, there was also the difficulty ofenforcing the rules in an electronic world.  The WIPO treaties were important and could perhaps
provide the type of security to which Egypt had referred.  It was important that all Members benefited
from possibilities of electronic commerce.  For many developing countries, the issue of SMEs was
important, and electronic commerce eliminated some of the difficulties faced by enterprises because
of distance and size.  The Community looked forward to helping these countries through technologytransfer, capacity-building and the various issues under examination in the Committee on Trade and
Development.  Regarding Venezuela's proposal for a single sub-group, there was still much technical
work to do in the bodies currently considering this  issue that had the technical competence needed,
while using the General Council as an overseeing body for this work.  She suggested that the bodies in
question provide updated inputs for consideration at the July General Council meeting.  Regarding theWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 11
notion of the standstill on customs duties, a number of delegations had already made the point that
this was closely related to the classification issue and was also part of the overall decision by
Ministers in May 1998.  Therefore, it would be difficult to consider that issue in isolation, and some
Members still had concerns about revenue issues.
The representative of Australia said that his delegation welcomed the near completion of the
first stage of the Work Programme, and on the basis of the papers submitted thus far, would be
preparing a paper to move discussions forward on electronic commerce issues.  It would seek in that
paper to promote consideration of cross-cutting area s, and would discuss its own experience regarding
the effects of Internet commerce on trade, particularly the advantages of an industry-driven "light
touch" domestic regulation.  Regarding the reports that had been submitted, one should not proceed
on the assumption that electronic commerce – which was essentially a means of delivery – was aseparate or new area of trade.  Regarding the outcomes of the Work Programme, Members should not
be fixated on the need to produce a new set of commitments;  the work could be quite useful if it led
to a greater understanding of how electronic commerce could be used to promote existing WTO
objectives.  Members should be pragmatic in seeking to resolve the classification issue;  it was
premature to aim for any definitive determination in this area.  When the actual question arose,
Members could move to resolve the issue according to the nature of the specific transaction and its
context.  On customs duties, goods ordered and delivered electronically should continue to enter
tariff-free, and Australia supported the indefinite extension of the May 1998 decision.  There had been
considerable discussion in the Committee on Trade and Development and in other bodies on the
importance of developing countries having access to the telecommunications infrastructure that wouldbe crucial to those countries reaping the benefits of electronic commerce.  On the domestic regulation
of privacy, Australia's approach had been an industry-driven "light touch" regulation, which it
considered the most effective way to secure greater certainty for business and the community.  On
competition, it would be necessary to consider a nu mber of issues of concern to those who supplied
access to Internet-related services;  these issues were of concern to the bulk of on-line users, as theyaffected the price to consumers.  On access to electronic commerce for SMEs, particularly in
developing countries, Australia had found that the disadvantages of distance could to some extent be
compensated for by the use of electronic commerce by  such enterprises.  This was an area that needed
further work.  Australia would consider Venezuel a's proposal for the establishment of a working
group, but there should be no presumption created that this was a different form of trade that could not
be dealt with by the existing WTO bodies.
The representative of the United States referred to the last paragraph in the report by the
Council for Trade in Services (S /C/8), and said that her delega tion looked forward to India's
clarification regarding encrypted electronic payments and valuation.  She reiterated her delegation's
position that electronic commerce would not flouri sh without adequate intellectual property right
protection and that the TRIPS Agreement applied to electronic commerce.  Members should continueto explore other requirements in this area that might respond to the concerns of Egypt and the United
States.  Her delegation did not share Hong Kong, China's view that the classification issue would
create a legal or a market access limbo, since there was no definition in WTO provisions of "good" or
"service".  While a majority of electronic commerce was services, in such a dynamic medium there
should be no prejudging of the other elements.  Regarding the revenue concerns voiced by severaldeveloping countries, the benefits from the growth of electronic commerce in a liberal environment
would be greater than any losses.  Her delegation had taken into account the comments about the
critical need for infrastructure and capacity-building, and the United States had begun with assistance
programmes to complement the WTO work in this area.
The representative of Malaysia, on behalf of the ASEAN Members
, reiterated their position
that the issue of classification had to be considered and settled before one could even discuss an
indefinite continuation of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic commerce.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 12
The representative of Bangladesh said that developing countries, particularly the least-
developed, lagged far behind in the availability of technical facilities for conducting electronic
commerce.  However, all agreed that this type of trade would be an important feature of international
trade in the coming years.  This implied that capacity-building and the use of opportunities presented
by electronic commerce would have to be one of the priorities for such countries.  This should beborne in mind regarding technical assistance, and it was hoped that new resources would be made
available rather than existing resources diverted to this area.  Care should be taken that any future
understanding in this emerging field would not limit Members' operational freedom in their own
markets in the future.  A time-out for more study, with the status quo remaining intact, might be
advantageous, and Venezuela's proposal could be further examined.
The representative of Norway said that it was very important for the WTO to keep up with
technological developments so that there were no lacunae in WTO rules in this area.  One of the
crucial issues was where electronic commerce fit into the WTO system.  Norway's point of departure
was that such commerce had strong similarities to goods and was therefore covered by the rules in
that area.  However, there should be further work on classification.  Norway favoured a continuation
of the standstill on customs duties.  Work was goin g on in the OECD on the valuation issue that could
be useful in the WTO's consideration of this matter.
The representative of India said that the Unite d States' interest in the area of encryption
technology and valuation in the Council for Trade in Services could be deemed to be at variance with
its earlier statement in that body that these matters  might be irrelevant to the subject of electronic
commerce.  However, India would make its detailed contribution on this issue at the appropriate time
and in the appropriate body.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the inputs received from the relevant
WTO bodies, and agreed to revert to the issue of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce at its
next meeting.
4. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) Harmonized System - Requests for Extension of waivers
(i) Bangladesh (G/L/298, G/C/W/142)
(ii) Nicaragua (G/L/297, G/C/W/141/Rev.1)
(iii) Sri Lanka (G/L/296, G/C/W/140)
The Chairman drew attention to the requests by Bangladesh (G/L/298), Nicaragua (G/L/297),
and Sri Lanka (G/L/296) for extensions until 31 October 1999 of waivers previously granted in
connection with their implementation of the Harmonized System, and to the related draft decisions
(Bangladesh - G/C/W/142, Nicaragua - G/C/ W/141/Rev.1 and Sri Lanka - G/C/W/140).
Mr. Roger Farrell (New Zealand), Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of these requests, said that the Council had agreed to forward the draft
decisions to the General Council for adoption.
The General Council took note of the report and, in accordance with the Decision-Making
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decisions (Bangladesh - WT/L/299;  Nicaragua - WT/L/300 and Sri Lanka -
WT/L/301) with retroactive effect to 30 April 1999.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 13
(b) Zambia – Renegotiation of Schedule LXXVIII
(i) Request for extension of waiver (G/L/295, G/C/W/139)
The Chairman drew attention to the request fr om Zambia (G/L/295) for an extension until
31 October 1999 of the waiver previously granted in connection with its renegotiation of its schedule,
and to the related draft decision (G/C/W/139).
Mr. Roger Farrell (New Zealand), Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of this request, said that the Council had agreed to forward the draft
decision in G/C/W/139 to the General Council for adoption.
The General Council took note of the report and, in accordance with the Decision-Making
procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decision (WT/L/302) with retroactive effect to 30 April 1999.
(c) Decision on the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO Schedules of tariff
concessions on 1 January 1996
(i) Extension of time limit (G/C/W/145)
The Chairman drew attention to the draft decision regarding the introduction of Harmonized
System changes into WTO schedules of tariff concessions on 1 January 1996 (G/C/W/145).
Mr. Roger Farrell (New Zealand), Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of this matter, said that the Council had agreed to forward the draft
decision in G/C/W/145 to the General Council for adoption.  The draft decision listed in its annex 31
Members which had requested the waiver extension until 31 October 1999.
The representative of Japan said that Cuba, Japan and Hong Kong, China were the only
Members who had put the Harmonized System changes into place.  His delegation welcomed the fact
that an increasing number of Members were completing their work in this regard, and hoped that the
present decision would be the last extension of this time-limit.
The General Council took note of the report and of the statement and, in accordance with the
Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November
1995 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decision (WT/L/303) with retroactive effect to 30 April 1999.
(d) Preferential tariff treatment for least-developed countries
(i) Draft decision on waiver (G/C/W/135/Rev.1)
The Chairman drew attention to the draft decision on this matter, and proposed that in
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), the General Council adopt the draft decision in
G/C/W/135/Rev.1.
The General Council so agreed.
5. Report of the Working Party on Preshipment Inspection (G/L/300)
The Chairman recalled that the Working Party on Preshipment Inspection had been
established by the General Council in November 1996 with a mandate to conduct the review providedWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 14
for under Article 6 of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection and to report to the General Council
through the Council for Trade in Goods.  In December 1998, the General Council had agreed to a
further extension of the life of the Working Party until 31 March 1999.  The report in document
G/L/300 covered the Working Party's activities since its December 1998 report.
Mr. Jenkins (United Kingdom), introducing the report on behalf of the Chairman of the
Working Party, said that during 1998, the Working Pa rty had held four formal and several informal
meetings to exchange views on the outstanding items identified in the 1997 report.  Presentations had
been made by the International Federation of Inspection Agencies, the International Chamber of
Commerce, the World Customs Organization, UNCTAD and a firm of PSI auditors.  These
presentations and the subsequent question-and-answer periods had served to enlighten Members on
the numerous and complex issues surrounding the use of preshipment inspection.  The subject of tradefacilitation had also been discussed, following th e mandate from the Council for Trade in Goods to
include it on the Working Party's agenda.  The results of the Working Party's work during 1998 and
1999 were contained in the report in G/L/300, and he recommended that the report – which should be
read in conjunction with the Working Party's reports for 1997 (G/L/214) and 1998 (G/L/273) – be
adopted by the General Council.
The General Council took note of the statement and adopted
 the report in G/L/300.
6. Promotion of the institutional image of the WTO
(a) Note by the Secretariat  (WT/GC/W/158)
The Chairman recalled that at its meeting on 15-16 February 1999, the General Council had
had an extensive discussion of a proposal by Venezuela on this matter (WT/GC/W/142 and Corr.1),
and had agreed that the Secretariat would prepare a document, as proposed by Venezuela, within
60 days, taking into account the views expressed by delegations.  The Secretariat had prepared a Notewhich was contained in document WT/GC/W/158 and Corr.1.
The representatives of Malaysia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Egypt
, Mexico ,
Canada, Switzerland , United States , European Communities , Japan , India , Korea , Hungary , Norway ,
Pakistan and Hong Kong, China  said that the primary responsibili ty for informing the public lay with
individual Member governments.
The representative of Malaysia, on behalf of the ASEAN Members , said that these countries
supported the outreach programmes currently being undertaken, such as the NGO seminar and other
related fora.  These efforts would bear fruit in enhancing the awareness of the objective, function and
role of the WTO.  The WTO was a relatively young organization, and any comparison with other
organizations such as the World Bank and the IMF should factor in this element.  ASEAN had doubtsabout the utility of many of the other programmes mentioned in the Secretariat's document and about
the effectiveness of public relations efforts such as targeted press releases, public opinion research, or
television advertising campaigns.  The need for such programmes had not been clearly justified, nor
had the target groups been identified.  Most importantly, it remained an open question whether they
were the most cost-effective means of improving the institutional image of the WTO.  Most of theactivities that could be carried out should fall under the purview of national governments, as the latter
were aware of the sensitivities of their domestic constituencies.  Enhancing the credibility and public
image of the WTO required much more.  These efforts included ensuring that the concerns of all
Members, particularly the developing country Members, were fully taken into account in all
decisions.
The representative of Egypt said that the WTO's image would improve with the fuller
integration of developing countries in the system and the implementation of the various agreements.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 15
Members had to address their respective publics and to explain their positions regarding the WTO,
and this could not be done by the Secretariat.  As to the funds necessary to finance proposals for
various media advertising, there were other priorities at the present time.
The representative of Venezuela said that the Secretariat Note contained various alternative
courses of action designed to respond to the WTO's image problem.  The latter could have a negative
impact on the future development of the organization and on the design of Members' trade policies.  It
was not a question of trying to delude public opinion in Member countries, since Members were not
trying to sell a falsely improved image of the WTO, or hoping to correct possible deficiencies in the
multilateral trading system through a publicity campaign.  The aim of Venezuela's proposal was to
provide the WTO Secretariat with the elements needed to facilitate the dissemination to a wider public
of an understanding of WTO activities, and to develop specific instruments to support the activities ofeach Member in publicizing the rules of the organization.  A large number of international
organizations that were part of the United Nations family had a mechanism to deal with the public
image of the work they were trying to do.  Inasmuch as the implementation of the proposed project for
the WTO involved budget appropriations, the General Council should, with the cooperation of the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration, assess any administrative implications and reportback to Members on the best way to secure the necessary resources.  The General Council itself
should be able to authorize the development of programmes that did not necessitate particular
resources and that could be implemented by the Secretariat.  In response to the statements made by
Malaysia and Egypt, he said that Venezuela's proposal had two facets.  First, a better understanding of
WTO activities in promoting the image of the organization, and second, a contribution to ensuringthat the general public in Member countries had a better knowledge of Members' responsibilities in
the organization.  To explain to the general public the role and the functioning of the organization
would be useful, not only for the success of the WT O as a whole, but also for Member governments.
The representative of Mexico said it was a good idea to discuss how to improve the WTO's
image, and the Secretariat Note allowed Members to become more aware of the different ways and
means to work on that image.  It was important to explain to the public in general the principles,
objectives and procedures, as well as the limitations, of the organization, and this was first and
foremost the responsibility of each Member govern ment.  However, the WTO as an institution should
do more to project its image and to help Members to do so.  Not all proposals in the Secretariat Note
were achievable, since some implied high costs.  However, some, such as an exchange of views on
national experiences, the setting-up of national committees that would examine WTO issues, thepreparation of information documents for Members' public opinion, journalists, universities, schools
and chambers of commerce, and an increased use of the WTO website did not involve high costs.
Consultations should be held to allow Members to  fine tune their efforts.  Members should take
advantage of the visibility of the WTO during the 1999 Ministerial Conference to improve the WTO's
image by implementing now means that had been assessed in the Secretariat Note.  He agreed thatMembers should consult with the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration to see whether
financial resources would be available to cover implementation of certain proposals, and outside
donors could also be found to assist with funding.
The representative of Canada said that it was vitally important for all Members to work to
build public support for the multilateral trading system.  Improvements in institutional transparency
would lead to a better understanding of the WTO and its mandate.  However, her delegation had some
concerns with the cost estimates for various approaches to improving and promoting the WTO's
image, particularly given the financial and human resource pressures created by the current and future
work agenda.  Canada supported Mexico's proposal for consultations on these issues and wanted tojoin in them.
The representative of Switzerland said that the Secretariat Note provided a good overview of
the current information policy of the WTO.  In examining the Note's comparative statistics on other
organizations regarding their respective information policies, one should bear in mind that theseWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 16
organizations were different in size, scope and objectives.  Switzerland agreed with the Secretariat
proposals on developing information activities within the organization.  The testing of public opinion
would be useful in developing new information products, and would have to take account of the
heterogeneity of public opinion.  An in-depth analysis should be made of the role and need of
information policies of each Member, as well as an analysis of the complementarity between nationalpolicies and the WTO information policy.  The development of the WTO's information policy should
not give the public the impression that the WTO was acting independently of its Members, and it
should be made clear that the WTO was a Member-driven organization.  As to media
recommendations, Switzerland was in favour of strengthening links with the press during symposia
and high-level meetings.  Guided visits of WTO premises, similar to those organized by the United
Nations, was also a good idea.  The updating of audio-visual material that was largely disseminated
could be markedly improved.  Videos should be objective and credible, should not serve aspropaganda, and could be translated into languages in addition to the WTO official languages.  On the
other hand, having WTO officials travel to m eet with the local media could probably not be
implemented with the means currently available.  The Information and Media Relations Division
could, however, offer training to journalists, especi ally those from countries in transition to a market
economy and developing countries.  Publicity campaigns through television channels were costly andwould not necessarily achieve their objective.   As a first stage, information policy activities should be
limited to improving means that already existed and that would cost less.  Statistics on connections to
the WTO website showed public interest in obtaining general information on the organization, and
additional products for that website should be developed in order to provide information that was
more digestible and more user-friendly.  With regard to publications, the recently issued brochureswere excellent, concise and easy to read by the public at large, and their translation into additional
languages could be useful, so as to reach an even greater public.  Brochures on other specific subjects
of interest to the public could also be drawn up.
The representative of the United States said that some of the proposals in the Secretariat
document were high-cost options, but that others that could be undertaken by Members to improve the
WTO's image were not.  First, it was Members' responsibility to work with their domestic
constituencies to improve the WTO's image.  Second, with respect to increasing transparency and
openness and providing ways for stockholders to be heard, the WTO website could be improved, both
in its organization and content.  It would be useful for Members to discuss the information and
educational material to be included, in order to as sist them as they interacted with their national
constituencies.  All of these efforts would complement those by Members to try to improve access toinformation on the WTO through derestriction of documents, early panel report release, and the
establishment of institutional ways to have a consultative process with non-governmental
organizations and other IGOs.
The representative of the European Communities said there was a clear need to address the
WTO's image problem.  However, the efficiency of an overall information campaign that would be
launched and mainly managed by the Secretariat was doubtful, as this would involve the engagement
of corporate image specialists.  To begin with, Members should focus their efforts on a more limited
area, such as enhancing transparency through derestriction of documents.  His delegation hoped that
the latter issue would be considered soon in order to examine the proposals thereon, that had a modestbut important role to play in improving the image of the WTO.  On the other hand, there was value in
holding specific events that would facilitate dialogue with members of civil society, such as the recent
successful high-level symposia on trade and environment and on trade and development.  Secretariat
support for national publicity campaigns would also be welcomed, but linguistic balance had to be
preserved.  The ongoing improvement of the WTO website should be encouraged and the Secretariatshould continue to work in that expanding area.  Finally, it would be useful to have an exchange of
views on an informal basis among delegations who had embarked on or were considering publicity or
image-related campaigns within their own countries.  The Community wanted to participate in further
consultations on this important area of work.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 17
The representative of Japan said that his delegation shared Venezuela's concern about the
need to improve the WTO's image as well as to deepen public understanding of WTO activities in
order to have greater support for them.  Japan appreciated the activities carried out by the Secretariat
in this area, and the Secretariat could provide useful support to Members' own efforts.  His delegation
supported the idea of an exchange of views on natio nal experiences in fostering public support for the
WTO.
The representative of Australia said that the Secretariat Note usefully divided its analysis into
two parts:  estimates of costs, and an assessment of the utility and content of a possible marketing
campaign.  The costs were impressive, and the Budget Committee should be consulted thereon.
However, one should bear in mind not only the costs, but also the impact, of the increased resources
for such activities on the overall balance of WTO activities.  The basic messages proposed in theSecretariat document for a marketing campaign should be more specific, but agreeing on the content
would be difficult if not impossible, since it woul d have to address different situations.  Regarding
ways of assisting Members with their national information campaigns, the proposals were useful and
merited further consideration.  Many could probably be applied without great cost, and would be
consistent with the view of most Members that th e primary responsibility for informing the public lay
with individual Members.  Australia would join in any consultations on this matter, and establishing a
mechanism for an exchange of views on nationa l experiences on such campaigns was a good idea.
An example of how governments could try to im prove the image and understanding of the WTO was
a study his Government had recently released on how the WTO, through the launch of a further round
of trade negotiations, could contribute to global welf are.  That study had been partly elaborated on the
basis of information publicly available from the Secretariat.  His delegation was ready to discuss that
initiative in greater detail within the framework of a mechanism for an exchange of views.
The representative of Jamaica said that Venezuela's initiative had raised a number of
important points which the Secretariat had tried to capture in its study.  Members should not be
engaged in a promotional campaign.  An information campaign aimed at individuals or groups of
persons with decision-making authority, or those able to influence public opinion in their respective
countries was neither the work nor the role of the WTO Secretariat.  To entrust these roles to the
Secretariat would be to give it an independent authority to make policy, to interpret policy and to set
the debate that should in fact take place between and among governments.  If the WTO Secretariat
and its Members wished to influence public opinion, one ought to concentrate on developing material
that could be easily accessed.  The initiative of establishing a WTO website warranted Members' fullsupport.  This initiative had made valuable information accessible to people not in Geneva.  The
Secretariat should further develop such information and programmes.  His delegation encouraged
modalities and means described in the Secretariat paper to develop comprehensive databases of WTO
materials for the website.  With respect to budgetary implications, there should be no increase in the
budget allocated either to promotional or directional material, or to WTO activities on these matters.Even if additional resources were found outside the regular WTO budget, this would require changes
in terms of Secretariat staff to manage such increased resources and would have an impact on the
balance of work.  Videos and lectures overseas, and informational campaign material designed to
improve public awareness of the organization, were not the responsibility of the WTO Secretariat.  As
to the proposal for openness and transparency, he suggested that the public be allowed to attendGeneral Council meetings, thus making the work of the WTO more accessible.  Also, an agreement
with the Inter-parliamentary Union should be considered.  Regarding Members' attitude and approach
to work, he suggested that meetings start on time, work be undertaken expeditiously and decisions on
important matters be taken in a timely manner.  He referred to a recent editorial in a highly respected
newspaper in which the WTO was strongly criticized but without identifying the fundamentalproblem, which was the WTO's lack of a predictable decision-making mechanism.  Each Member
should assume a personal responsibility for this situation.
The representative of India said that as pointed out in the Secretariat Note, most Member
governments were better placed than the Secretariat to understand and address public sentiment andWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 18
sensitivities in their respective countries.  Moreover, governments had budgets and better access to
channels of information than the Secretariat.  Given the diversity of the WTO membership and the
uniqueness of the situations in each of the Member countries, it would be difficult, if not impossible,
to design and execute a common programme of action in Geneva, and the cost of running a
meaningful programme could be considerable.  Thus, it was not clear how much benefit could bederived from such an exercise.  Moreover, some of the problems associated with WTO could not be
resolved through marketing techniques, such as problems of perception that would have to be tackled
by the Member itself.  There was no single best stra tegy that applied to all Members.  With regard to
the suggestion in the Secretariat Note to request the Information and Media Relations Division to look
into ways and means of better utilising existing resources to achieve the stated objectives of
transparency and information, India was open to examining proposals from Members and/or the
Secretariat.
The representative of Hong Kong, China said that the WTO enjoyed, on the whole, an
excellent image in his country, as both a powerful force for trade liberalization and the fountainhead
of the rules-based multilateral trading system.  Thus, for Hong Kong, China there was no image
problem.  Communication with domestic constituents was primarily the responsibility of individualMember governments, because they were best placed to understand the sentiment and sensitivities in
their respective economies.  The danger of the WTO taking too much upon itself was that it would
foster the supranational image that was the very th ing one needed to counter.  Even so, Hong Kong,
China could support in general the idea of devoting greater efforts to enhancing public awareness and
understanding of the WTO.  There was room for the Secretariat to do more to promote the WTO tothe general public and the media in providing stronger technical support to Member governments in
formulating their domestic publicity programmes.  His delegation had reservations on some of the
possible approaches identified in Part II of the Secretariat Note.  With regard to public opinion
research, Hong Kong, China had doubts about the value of such research, partly because the opinions
gathered would be very general and might not add va lue.  With respect to media relations, the need to
engage specialist public relations firms to issue targeted press releases on behalf of the WTO was
doubtful.  With the advance of information technology, press releases issued through the WTO
website were easily accessible to the media around the world.  Also, individual Member governments
should be responsible for disseminating information of interest to their constituents.  As to
advertisement campaigns on television, this option was too costly, and it was doubtful that a
30 second commercial would bring out an accurate, positive and meaningful image of the WTO.  On
the actions directed specifically towards individuals or groups of persons with decision-makingauthority, his delegation agreed that the Secretariat' s main role was to provide tools and ideas to assist
Member governments in raising public awareness of the WTO.  The Secretariat should strengthen its
capacity in this regard and produce more useful briefing materials, e.g. videos and fact sheets, for
Members' use.  Some of the ideas mentioned in Part  III of the Note could be further explored.  The
initiatives described in the Secretariat Note clearly had a cost dimension, and his delegation wouldhave to examine them carefully and would be intere sted in joining in further consultations on this
subject.
The representative of Korea said that Members' responsibility in improving the image of the
WTO was all the more significant as they were about to start a new round of trade negotiations that
would have direct implications on the economic life of their citizens.  Korea endorsed the suggestion
of having an informal meeting among Members to exchange their experiences.  The idea of
establishing national WTO committees was interesting, and Korea hoped that the suggested informal
meeting would offer an opportunity to learn about ot her Members' experiences in this area.  On the
issue of the desirability of conducting marketing campaigns, Korea needed more time for reflection.Given the limited financial resources of the WTO, the estimated cost of hiring media relations
companies or advertising companies seemed high.  In addition, his delegation was not sure whether
marketing campaigns or advertising campaigns woul d be the most cost-effective method, in view of
their suggested scales.  Nevertheless, discussions on this subject were useful and Members should
continue to consider these issues and to exchange views.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 19
The representative of Hungary said that his delegation supported proposals for exchanging
national experiences on the establishment of national WTO committees and other activities, with a
view to improving the image of the WTO.  Collectively improving transparency, derestricting
documents, and making the WTO more open and more accessible were efforts in the right direction.
On the other hand, Hungary was sceptical regarding proposals for opinion-polling exercises,television advertising campaigns or sophisticated direct-marketing techniques.  The best propaganda
was success – early successful election of a Director-General, a successful Ministerial Conference in
Seattle and, in particular, a successful launching of a new round of negotiations.  Further, these tactics
would be almost free of charge.
The representative of Norway said that the reasons Members had the main responsibility for
informing the public was because it would be difficult to agree on the content of a common message,
and because not all criticism of the WTO in the outside world was based on misunderstandings.
Much of it was based on a good knowledge of WTO objectives and policies.  Therefore, it could even
be counterproductive for the Secretariat to try to master large-scale campaigns, television or
otherwise, that would try to portray an image that was perhaps not the whole truth.  It was for national
governments to explain the role of the WTO in relation to their own policies and their own priorities.However, the Secretariat had an important role to play in providing factual background information,
both written and in videos, accessible through the Internet, in order to allow groups or individuals to
get information in a balanced way.  An exchange of views on national experiences would be useful
and would help governments to tailor their programmes.
The representative of Brazil said that his delegation agreed that the image of the WTO had to
be improved.  However, when too much time was devoted to an image question, it was because
something was wrong with reality and one wanted to  change the image without changing the reality.
The image of the WTO would not be very good as long as development concerns were not
mainstreamed into the WTO.  The main concerns that Members should deal with related to reality andnot to image, and to the question of access to markets rather than having access to marketing.  With
respect to increasing information and educational work, Brazil considered these favourably, but this
should not be confused with the idea of marketing a certain image that might not correspond to
reality.  The messages should be elaborated in relation to reality, and the opinion of a Director-
General would be important in this area, since improving the image of a faceless organization was
difficult.  An early informal exchanges of views on respective national experiences in this area would
be useful.
The representative of Pakistan said that the various activities undertaken by the Secretariat
were a positive contribution to the image-building of the WTO.   There was a common understanding
among delegations that the institutional image of the WTO had to be improved.  However, there were
differences as to the modalities to deal with that matter.  For some, this objective could be achievedby launching information campaigns that targeted individuals, specifically decision makers,
politicians, legislative and business associations, and by using electronic media, besides devising
marketing guidelines, techniques for the private sector, government and international organizations.
The financial implications of such proposals had al so been indicated in the Secretariat Note, and one
could question whether this was the most cost-effective means for image building.  The objective ofimproving the WTO's image could be better achieved by the Members and at less cost, first, by their
demonstrating the will to implement WTO obligations so that the promised benefits would accrue to
all.  National governments were better placed than the Secretariat to understand public sentiment and
sensitivities in their respective countries.  However, since Members had not implemented the Uruguay
Round results, they found themselves  in an awkward position to convince the civil society in their
jurisdictions of the positive role of the WTO.  Second, taking appropriate account of the concerns of
developing Members in all decision-making processes would boost the public image of the
organization.  Third, the balance of benefits and obligations should be, and should be seen to be, fair
and equitable.  As stated by Brazil, Members should address the development issue, as this was very
relevant in the context of image-building of the organization.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 20
The General Council took note of the statements and of the Note by the Secretariat and agreed
to revert to this matter at its next meeting.
7. Accession to the WTO:  Process and procedures (WT/ACC/7 and Corr.1,
WT/GC/W/153)
The Chairman recalled that the question of accession to the WTO had been discussed at the
December 1998 meeting of the General Council at the request of Egypt and Jamaica.  In response to
the request made at that meeting, the Secretariat had prepared a Technical Note on the accession
process, which had been circulated in document WT/ACC/7 and Corr.1.  This Note, which was of a
factual nature, set out the results of the accessions concluded since the establishment of the WTO in
1995, and was intended to assist Members in their discussion of the issue of accession to the WTO.The Secretariat would update this paper periodically to take into account further accessions,
particularly during 1999 when a number of accession processes were expected to be concluded, and
an updated version would be prepared for the 1999 Ministerial Conference to enable Ministers to have
the latest picture in this area of WTO activity.  Also in response to a suggestion at the December 1998
meeting, the then-Director-General, Mr. Ruggiero, had held an informal meeting on 23 March 1999with Chairpersons of Accession Working Parties, and had intended to make an oral report on these
discussions at the meeting on 14 April.  As that meeting had been adjourned, Mr. Ruggiero had not
had the opportunity to do so.  Since the Chairman thought it useful that delegations be informed about
those discussions, he read out the report that ha d been prepared by Mr. Ruggiero for 14 April.  He
also drew attention to a recent submission by the European Communities on the question of accession(WT/GC/W/153).
He then read out Mr. Ruggiero's report.
2  In preparation for the discussion of this item the
Secretariat had fulfilled the two major tasks Members had charged it with.  The first was the
Technical Note describing the mechanics and results of the accession process as it had operated sincethe establishment of the WTO.  The second was the then-Director-General's consultations with
Chairpersons of the Accession Working Parties on 23 March 1999.  The aim in those consultations
had been to look at the accession process as a whole, with a view to drawing conclusions on how the
process was working and whether any improvements should be made.  Among the broad conclusions
that had emerged were the following:  additional steps needed to be taken to ensure better and quicker
results from the accession process, e.g. periodic information should be available to Members on the
state of play in each accession, and work on draft reports should start as early as possible in theprocess.  There should be maximum participation by Members in accession working parties.  The
reasons that accession processes were taking longer than anticipated should be clarified;  however, the
pace of an accession negotiation depended largely on the acceding government itself.  To ensure the
smooth functioning of the accession process, Memb ers had to respond without delay to the demands
the process placed on them, and should also consider practical ways to accelerate the accessionprocess.  For example, the possibility of commonly agreed yardsticks and criteria should be
considered.  Chairpersons had a key role in ensuring the necessary information flows.  The terms and
conditions required of acceding countries should uphold the integrity of the system, and transition
periods for specific problems should be considered whenever necessary.  Technical assistance should
be provided from the earliest stages, and increased efforts should be made to identify the needs ofacceding governments and to coordinate the responses to those needs.  Special efforts should be made
regarding LDCs' accession and implementation of commitments.  Urgent attention should be given to
the relationship between the accession process and the new round of multilateral trade negotiations.
Acceding governments should be associated as closely as possible with these negotiations and should
be able to participate as observers in the preparatory process under way in the General Council.
                                                     
2 The oral report was subsequently circulated in document WT/GC/W/212.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 21
All representatives who spoke expressed appreciation for Mr. Ruggiero's report, for the
Technical Note by the Secretariat and for the submission by the European Communities.
The representative of the European Communities recalled that his delegation had raised this
issue in February 1999.  Efforts should be redoubled to complete the accession process of as many
candidate countries as possible before the launch of new multilateral negotiations.  The aim was to
ensure the participation of new Members in the next phase of liberalization and rule-making, and to
ensure that Members could respond to the interests and concerns of acceding countries.  In its
submission, the Community had suggested that participation in the negotiations be open to countries
who had made a request to accede, and that they be given observer participant status in the context of
the negotiations both on market access and on new rules.  It was important to strike the right balance
in this area.  Acceding countries should not be asked to undertake commitments that, in some cases,even the major trading Members had not undertaken, nor to undertake commitments that were not
foreseen by the WTO.  It was also important to ma intain respect for the WTO rules and to ensure that
they were implemented by the time of the deposit of the ratification instruments in Geneva.  Particular
attention had to be paid to the needs of the least-developed applicant countries in the accession
process.  This was why the Community had suggest ed a so-called "fast-track" approach that would
entail setting a number of clear targets that these countries should aim to attain in the area of market
access commitments.  The idea was that should the LDCs make the necessary effort to reach those
targets, their accession could be finalized without lengthy and costly negotiations.  Mr. Ruggiero's
report had referred to the need to provide technical assistance, and he asked delegations to take this
matter into consideration, keeping in mind that the 1999 Ministerial Conference was only a fewmonths away.  In its conclusion on this item, the General Council should seek to send the clear
political message that the WTO was an open institution and that its Members were committed to
seeking the maximum number of accessions among those countries ready to abide by its rules and to
undertake meaningful market access commitments.
The representative of Egypt said that his delegation appreciated the spirit behind the
Community's submission, which included many positive elements, some of which his delegation
agreed with, and others not.  Egypt agreed with the need to accelerate the accession process and with
the fast-track approach suggested.  The WTO was intended to be a universal organization, and it was
an anomaly that the Russian Federation and China were still awaiting membership.  The Secretariat
Note confirmed that there were numerous difficulties in the accession process:  the cost to acceding
countries to join the WTO had become extremely high – particularly for developing countries;recently acceding Members were not able to enjoy transitional periods at a level similar to those
enjoyed by current Members with equivalent levels of development;  there was a need for additional
technical assistance to acceding countries;  there was a need to expedite the process of accession;  and
there was a need to agree on the manner in which acceding countries would participate fully in future
negotiations.  Acceding countries should abide by WTO rules;  however, the standards of accessionshould not be raised to a level that was unduly burdensome for developing countries.  To this end, his
delegation proposed the following.  First, that the General Council establish and adopt clearer
guidelines for accession.  The EU paper suggested a fast-track accession procedure for LDCs and that
agreement be reached on a range of minimum criteria that would allow for rapid accession.  Egypt
supported this approach, and a similar approach should be put in place for developing countries.Second, acceding countries should not be pressured to join plurilateral agreements as a pre-condition
for their accession.  This should be a matter for the sovereign decision of the acceding country, with
no linkage to the accession process.  Third, acceding countries should enjoy special and differential
treatment on an equal footing with current WT O Members.  Fourth, market access commitments
should correspond to commitments of current WTO Members at similar levels of development.  Fifth,the Secretariat should prepare a factual paper on the manner in which observers and acceding
countries had participated in previous negotiations.  Informal consultations should start at an early
stage to reach agreement on the modalities of their participation in future negotiations.  While his
delegation welcomed some of the ideas and elements in the Community's submission, Egypt was
preparing its own submission addressing the accession process.  The General Council should followWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 22
the process of accession more closely, and to that end, a regular factual note by the Secretariat on
developments in the accession negotiations should be made available, so that the General Council
could continuously keep abreast of progress in these negotiations and monitor the process of
accession.  He reiterated his delegation's earlier proposal that acceding countries, as well as countries
with observer status, be allowed to participate in the informal meetings of the General Council on
preparations for the 1999 Ministerial Conference.  He suggested that the Chairman organize informal
consultations to discuss the following:  (i) ways and means of accelerating the process of accession,
including providing technical assistance to LDCs;  and (ii) an understanding on the modalities of
participation of acceding countries in future mandated negotiations, and the reviews provided in the
WTO Agreements once their accession was completed.
The representative of Hungary, on behalf of the CEFTA countries , recalled that at the
December 1998 meeting of the General Council, these countries had stressed the importance of
accelerating the accession process on the basis of full adherence to existing rules and disciplines and
on mutually satisfactory conditions, and had opposed the application of a double-standard.  Thus, they
had opposed the relaxation of existing rules, but had found it unacceptable to request acceding
countries to undertake obligations that went beyond the framework of present agreements anddecisions.  Recent accession processes had shown that these concerns were not theoretical.  His
delegation welcomed the Community's submission, and supported the idea of intensifying accession
negotiations for countries that showed the appropriate level of preparedness to conform their
economic systems to WTO rules and to offer meaningful market access openings.  This should clearly
be done within the rules, and the consequence of accelerated accessions should not distort the WTOsystem.  Further efforts had to be made to allow the acceding countries to join the WTO before the
new round of negotiations started.  The CEFTA countries were sympathetic to the idea of accelerating
the accession process for LDCs without creating new accession mechanisms or a new type of
membership.  They agreed that acceding countries should be allowed to participate, without the right
to object to the final consensus, both in the mark et access negotiations and in the negotiations on new
rules.  In the market access negotiations, these countries should also undertake appropriate standstill
commitments.  An early decision on the participation of the acceding countries in the new round of
negotiations would increase the confidence of these countries in the WTO system.  Thus, acceding
countries should be allowed to attend the informal meetings of the General Council on preparations
for the 1999 Ministerial Conference.  During the new round of negotiations, Members had to keep
open the possibility of acceding countries joining the WTO.  It would be useful for the 1999
Ministerial Conference to have an update of the Secretariat Note.
The representative of Jamaica recalled that the process of examining this matter had begun in
December 1998.  Mr. Ruggiero's report indicated that the consultations that had been held had
included only the Chairpersons of the accession working parties, and not the representatives of the
acceding countries.  Future consultations should include the latter.  As a priority, the General Councilshould focus attention on taking the appropriate decision for acceding countries to participate as
observers along the lines indicated in the Community's submission, or along the lines proposed by
Egypt.  The General Council should take such a decision at its next meeting, in order not to delay the
acceding countries' participation in the further work.  Regarding issues Jamaica had raised previously,
it would be useful for the Secretariat to prepare a factual note on the question of initial negotiatingrights in the context of current accession negotiations.  Another important issue was that of
"downpayment for accession".  Some Members who were active in the accession working parties had
claimed that they had received the latter in the form of accelerated market access commitments or
extra-WTO undertakings.  Jamaica agreed with Hungary that accelerating the process of accession
should not result in a different category of membership, as all countries acceding to the WTO shoulddo so on the same terms and conditions.
The representative of Hong Kong, China said that his delegation supported applications for
WTO membership in respect of all economies prepared to abide by WTO principles and rules, and on
the basis of market access commitments commensurate with the stage of their economic development.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 23
The integration into the multilateral trading system of all economies was in the interest of all, and
could better promote the integrity of that rules-based system by making it the basis for the conduct of
international trade.  In particular, the legally binding nature of WTO obligations could help forestall
back-sliding and help promote transparency and predictability of trade policies and measures.  In
addition, a more universal WTO could make future liberalization efforts more encompassing.  Theresultant improved market access would be to the benefit of all.  His delegation would like to see as
many candidates as possible complete the accession process before the launch of the new round of
negotiations.  Where this was not possible, the accession processes and the new round of negotiations
should be treated as separate processes and be conducted in parallel.  Practical arrangements should
be considered to enable the acceding economies to actively engage in the new round of negotiations,
since any agreements or obligations agreed in the new round would also apply to them upon
accession.  All acceding economies should be treated alike in the new round, irrespective of their sizeor stage of accession, since it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine objectively the stage
of accession of individual acceding economies.
The representative of India said that Article 12 of the WTO Agreement and the procedures
agreed by Members thereunder had a flexibility within its structure, as well as elements for promoting
transparency, that were designed to mitigate problems arising from complications in the accession
process due to the expansion in scope and coverage of multilateral trade rules under the WTO.  The
existing process was far from perfect, and every possibility of improvement should be explored at
both the procedural and substantive level.  Regarding some of the issues identified in the Secretariat
Note, each accession process had to strike a balance between the capacities and demands of theapplicant government, on the one hand, and the need to safeguard the integrity of the system for the
existing membership, on the other.  The credibility of the WTO would be strengthened if greater
objectivity were imparted to the accession process and if acceding countries were not asked to
undertake obligations that were outside the framework of the WTO Agreement.  Her delegation
continued to support universal membership of th e WTO based on terms of accession that were fair,
equal and commensurate with the acceding country's level of development.  Second, 39 governments
had applied to accede to the WTO after the entry into force of the WTO Agreement, and only seven of
those had completed the accession process and become WTO Members.  Third, one of the key
elements of the accession process was the examin ation of the commitment an applicant government
should undertake in respect of rules.  While informal discussions complemented the formal meetings
of the working parties, fully transparent proceedings would help to hasten the pace of the accession
process.  Fourth, the difficulties faced by the six LDC applicants needed to be fully recognized andtaken into account, and all efforts had to be made by Members to provide the necessary technical
assistance so that these countries' process of integration into the global trading community could be
accelerated.  Another key element of the accession process was the negotiation of terms of accession
relating to special and differential treatment, including transition periods for developing country
applicants.  Since developing countries also typically needed substantial technical assistance, bothfrom the WTO Secretariat – which had limited resources – and from national governments in order to
uphold the commitments they would undertake, flexibility in this matter was necessary.
The representative of Japan said that his delegation shared the view that the accession process
should be expedited so that as many applicants as possible could join the organization before the
launch of new negotiations.  If the applicant was a developing country or in the process of transition
to a market economy, it should be able to benefit from special and differential treatment.  Regarding
transition periods, the applicants should clarify their future plans in detail, so that Members could
accurately assess the need for and the length of the transition period requested.  There should be no
extra conditions imposed on applicants, such as asking them to make market access commitments orabide by rules that went beyond what the WTO agreements required, or asking them to participate in
plurilateral agreements.  Japan generally shared the idea behind the Community's submission and
welcomed its initiative.  As had been the case in the Uruguay Round negotiations, the acceding
countries should be allowed to participate in the next negotiations, and should also be allowed to
participate in the current informal process of preparations for the 1999 Ministerial Conference.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 24
The representative of Korea said that acceding governments should demonstrate a renewed
commitment to joining the WTO, and the best way to demonstrate this would be the submission of
wider market access offers in goods and services.  As called for in both the Singapore and Geneva
Ministerial Declarations, there should be "meanin gful market access commitments".  Members had to
recognize that without sufficient flexibility to strike a reasonable compromise between the efforts ofthe acceding governments and what was required of them, accession processes would drag on.
Acceding countries should not be asked to assume so-called "WTO-plus" obligations.  Korea
supported the main thrust of the Community's proposal for a fast-track accession procedure for the
LDCs.  The terms of accession for some developing countries should be tailored to their specific
situation.  In particular, a more flexible modality should be sought regarding transition periods for
implementation of WTO agreements by acceding countries.  Members should consider providing
developing country and LDC applicants with appropriate periods of transition for priority areas,provided they offered reasonable justifications for this and suggested practical blue-prints for phasing
out such periods.  There was a need to increase the technical assistance provided to developing
countries, in particular to the LDCs, by the WTO, UNCTAD and other organizations, since the
accession process imposed a heavy burden on human resources and the institutional capacity of these
countries.  For countries that would not yet have completed their accession process when the newtrade negotiations started, the General Council shou ld consider how they could participate in the
negotiations as effectively as possible.  The mode of participation suggested in the Community's
proposal could serve as a useful basis for exploring constructive and practical modalities beneficial to
both existing Members and to acceding governments.  The global economic turmoil had heightened
the importance of bringing more economies within the WTO's binding rules and disciplines.Flexibility was key to a successful conclusion of the accession process and the achievement of a truly
universal world trading system.
The representative of Costa Rica said that his delegation agreed with the Community's
proposal that modalities be agreed on the participation of the acceding countries in the next round of
trade negotiations.  This would enable them to prepare for the future negotiations and would ensure a
more effective participation by them, and would foster the implementation of the results of those
negotiations.  A logical and necessary extension of the Community's proposal would be to allow these
countries to participate as observers in the preparatory process for the 1999 Ministerial Conference,
which would enable them to better prepare for the future negotiations that would affect them.
The representative of Bangladesh supported the proposals by Egypt, Jamaica and Costa Rica
for observers and acceding countries to be allowed to participate in the preparatory process for the
1999 Ministerial Conference.  Many Members had stated that steps should be taken to expedite the
accession process of LDCs, and the sooner those countries became WTO Members, the sooner they
would be integrated into the multilateral trading sy stem.  There were seven such countries at various
stages of accession:  Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Samo a, Sudan, Tonga and Vanuatu.  His delegation had
earlier suggested the development of a fast-track approach for these countries that had been endorsed
by many Members.  His delegation welcomed the Community's support for this concept and its
proposed list of criteria, which set targets in relation to industrial tariffs, agriculture, services and
alignment to WTO rules.  Some of these targets were still too steep, but this could be discussed.  Such
an approach should not be seen as WTO-minus or system-distorting in any way, but as an endeavourto make the WTO universal.  Technical assistance should be made available in order to help acceding
countries to undertake implementation of commitments and also to support the process itself.  In the
meantime, the applicants should not be denied the pr ivileges, benefits and facilities accorded to other
LDC Members.  The aim should be to complete the process for as many of these countries as possible,
so that they could be fully associated with all activities of the 1999 Ministerial Conference.
The representative of Switzerland said that his delegation agreed with the Community's
proposal to set up an expedited accession procedure for LDCs.  With regard to the participation of
acceding countries in the forthcoming multilateral nego tiations, it was important to associate acceding
countries to negotiations in market access for goods as well as services.  However, the Community'sWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
Page 25
proposed criteria for that participation differed  from those applied throughout the Uruguay Round.
Switzerland wanted to give further thought to this  point, but favoured the procedures applied during
the Uruguay Round.
The representative of Australia said that with regard to the fast-track accession procedure for
LDCs, his delegation understood that the Community's  concern was to have the maximum number of
LDCs participating in the next round of negotiations.  However, only one of the seven such countries
in the process of accession was in a position to do so.  His delegation wanted to discuss further the
market access criteria the Community had proposed.  In services, the Community had suggested that
LDCs make commitments in three sectors.  Vanuatu had already done more than that.  Australia
wondered whether this approach was fair to LDCs, such as Vanuatu, which had already made efforts
to adjust to WTO rules.  Rushing an accession proc ess for small LDCs, particularly those with limited
human resources and with a great need for capacity- building, might not be helpful to them in the long
run.  His delegation was ready to discuss these ideas further.  All Members should increase their
efforts to support countries in their efforts to meet accession criteria.  The Community's idea on
acceding countries' participation in the next round was useful.  A decision would have to be taken at
the 1999 Ministerial Conference on the terms for non-Members' participation in the next round, andAustralia welcomed further discussion on this point.
The representative of Turkey said that WTO membership required all Members to adhere to
the obligations of all WTO agreements as a single undertaking.  This was an important reason for
increasing pressure on acceding countries to comply  with all obligations and to undertake, in some
cases, commitments going beyond obligations assumed by current Members.  The accession process,
especially for developing countries and LDCs, was too long and demanding, as the Secretariat report
highlighted.  The accession process had taken three to ten years for the six countries out of the 39 that
had been able to complete their accession procedures and become WTO Members.  Applicants had
failed to provide timely responses and to meet requirements.  In many cases, the process had beenoverly ambitious, and acceding governments had been required to undertake more obligations than
present WTO Members, regardless of their level of economic development.  Many provisions relating
to special and differential treatment for developing countries had not been granted to developing
country applicants, i.e., provisions on export subsides and transition periods.  Although, technical
assistance was important at all stages of the accession process, it could not by itself expedite the
integration of developing countries into the WTO.  First, Members should be reasonable in their
demands and expectations from applicants.  If applicants were developing countries or LDCs, allexisting WTO provisions on special and differential treatment should be extended and without
negotiations.  Second, the accession procedures, especially for the LDCs, should be simplified and the
accession process accelerated, and new procedures should be adopted to this end.
The representative of the United States said that the current process for accession had been
working well and had evolved to incorporate improvem ents as the need had arisen.  Although five or
six accession processes had begun under the GATT 1947 and had faced the task of expanding the
scope of negotiations under the WTO, membership had been achieved on average about four years
after the submission of initial documentation, and the General Council had approved the protocol
package only two and a half years from the time of the first meeting of the Working Party.  Most ofthe WTO provisions had been adopted by the acceding countries in the process of their accession.
The market access terms established had been forward-looking and had supported efforts by the WTO
to support on-going trade liberalization.  Technical as sistance to LDC applicants was the best way for
Members who wished to do so to assist these c ountries to rapidly meet WTO requirements.  Her
delegation was ready to work with the WTO Secretariat and delegations to move negotiationsforward, and supported technical assistance coordination with other international organizations.
However, the speed of the negotiations was up to the acceding country.
The representative of Canada said that her delegation shared the view that a maximum
number of on-going accession negotiations should be finalized before the launching of a new round ofWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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trade negotiations.  Accession was a challenge, especially for smaller and least-developed countries,
and the process of admitting new Members should not take longer than necessary.  Two principles had
to be taken into account, namely, applicants should comply with the WTO framework, and they
should provide meaningful market access commitments.  Canada was ready to consider a request for a
transition period when the applicant could justify the need for this and show steps taken to complywith commitments.  There was a need for improved coordination among multilateral agencies
providing technical assistance.  Canada provided trade-related assistance to a number of applicants.
Members were currently devoting extra efforts to complete negotiations for applicants demonstrating
a willingness to implement WTO rules and to provide meaningful market access before the launching
of new negotiations.  For those applicants whose accession would not be completed before the launch
of new negotiations, provision should be made for them to participate as observers.
The representative of Pakistan said that qualification levels for entrance to the WTO had
become more and more difficult.  Requirements for admission of developing countries, including
China, Saudi Arabia, Oman and others, went beyond commitments undertaken by WTO Members.
Accession of these developing countries and others was essential if the WTO was to call itself the
World Trade Organization.  Accession negotiations should be accelerated, and by the time of the 1999Ministerial Conference, most of the acceding countries – especially, China, Saudi Arabia and Oman –
should become Members of the WTO.
The representative of the Russian Federation, as an observer
, said there was a need to
consider modalities to expedite the accession process.  Acceding countries should not be asked to
undertake commitments and concessions that went beyond the scope of the WTO agreements and
commitments originally undertaken by WTO Members.  Excessive demands were unfair and against
the spirit of the multilateral trading system, and were likely to lead to economic and social hardships
in acceding countries.  Acceding countries should participate in the forthcoming round of trade
negotiations, as well as in preparations for it.  They would thus have an opportunity to express theirviews on substantial items proposed to be included on the agenda for those negotiations, and their
concerns regarding the commitments to be negotiated could be dispelled.  They would also gain
experience that would be of great value once they became WTO Members.
The Chairman proposed that the General Council take note
 of the statements and agree  to
revert to this matter at its next meeting.  He also proposed that Mr. Ruggiero's report be circulated as a
document3 for the purpose of future discussions in the General Council on the question of accession to
the WTO.  He invited delegations to reflect on the question of the relationship between the accession
process and the new round of multilateral trade negotiations, and how to enable the acceding
governments to participate, as observers, in the preparatory process currently under way in the
General Council.  He proposed that the General Council note the fact that delegations in general
supported the idea that the process of accession should be accelerated as much as possible, inparticular in the course of 1999, prior to the launching of a new round of trade negotiations.
The General Council so agreed.
8. Frequency and scheduling of WTO meetings
The representative of Mexico, speaking under "Other Business", said that the document in Job
No. 2122 regarding the Frequency and Scheduling of WTO meetings had been submitted by the
Informal Group of Developing Countries.  It provided a series of ideas to rationalize the formal and
informal meetings in the WTO so as to resolve th e problems that affected a large majority of WTO
Members and that prevented them from effectively participating in the WTO's work.  The purpose of
the document was to make a contribution to the consultations the General Council had agreed to carry
                                                     
3 The oral report was circulated in document WT/GC/W/212.WT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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out on this matter.  He asked that this item be included on the agenda of the General Council's next
meeting.
The General Council took note of the statement, and agreed  that this matter be subject to
informal consultations and that the General Council revert to it at its next meeting.
9. Chairmanship of the Working Party on Accession of Nepal
(a) Announcement by the Chairman
The Chairman, speaking under "Other Busine ss", informed the General Council that
Mr. Roger Farrell (New Zealand) had agreed to Chair the Working Party on the Accession of Nepal,
replacing Mr. G.C. Fortune who was no longer available to Chair that Working Party.
The General Council took note of this information.
10. Observer status for international inter governmental organizations (IGOs) at the
1999 Ministerial Conference
The Chairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that the General Council had
agreed, in July 1996 and April 1998, to invite international organizations as observers to the
Ministerial Conferences in Singapore and in Geneva on the basis of the following guidelines:  (a)
organizations that were observers to the General Council would be automatically invited;  (b)
organizations that were observers to subsidiary bodies would be invited if they requested to attend;and (c) consultations would be held to determine which other organizations that were not observers to
the WTO and that requested attendance at the Ministerial Conference should be invited.  He also
recalled that paragraph 10 of the guidelines for observer status for international organizations in the
WTO (Annex 3 of the Rules of Procedure in WT/L/1 61) provided that: "[i]f for any one-year period
after the date of the grant of observer status, there has been no attendance by the observerorganization, such status shall cease.  In the case of sessions of the Ministerial Conference, this period
shall be two years."  Pursuant to this provision, the IGOs that were automatically invited to the 1999
Ministerial Conference would be listed in a document to be circulated by the Secretariat.  IGOs that
would again have to request observer status to attend the 1999 Ministerial Conference were the
following:  Co-operation Council for the Arab St ates of the Gulf, Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean, and Office international des épizooties.  Regarding other international
organizations that had not yet attended any Ministerial Conference as observers, he suggested that theGeneral Council agree to proceed on the basis of the same guidelines followed for the Geneva
Ministerial Conference.  Thus, organizations that  were observers to the General Council would be
invited automatically, those that were observers to subsidiary WTO bodies and that requested
attendance at the 1999 Ministerial Conference would also be invited, and consultations would be held
on requests received from organizations that were not presently observers to any WTO body.
The General Council so agreed.
11. Attendance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the 1999 Ministerial
Conference
The Chairman, speaking under "Other Business", said that in order to take care of the requests
from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to atte nd the 1999 Ministerial Conference, he proposed
that the General Council adopt the same criteria it had adopted for the two previous Ministerial
Conferences held in Singapore and Geneva.  In preparing for the 1996 and 1998 MinisterialWT/GC/M/40/Add.3
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Conferences, the General Council had agreed on the following procedures regarding the attendance of
NGOs at the Conference:  (i) NGOs would be allo wed to attend only the Plenary Sessions of the
Conference (without the right to speak);  (ii) applications from NGOs to be registered would be
accepted on the basis of Article V, paragraph 2 of the WTO Agreement, i.e. NGOs "concerned with
matters related to those of the WTO";  and (iii) a deadline would be established for the registration ofNGOs that wished to attend the Conference.  He proposed that the General Council speed up the
process for those NGOs who were duly registered for the two previous Ministerial Conferences and
the two Symposia in March 1998, as they had already submitted the detailed presentation of their
activities.  Thus, these NGOs would be requested to  send only a short presentation.  All other NGOs
which had not attended previous Ministerial Conferences or the March 1999 Symposia would be
requested to supply in detail the necessary information showing how they were concerned with
matters related to those of the WTO.  He also suggested that requests for registration be submittedbefore 16 August 1999.  The registration forms should be returned duly completed by the NGOs to
the External Relations Division not later than 15 September.  Confirmation of registration would be
sent to the NGOs as from 1 October, after the list of NGOs having requested registration had been
circulated to Members for information.  He proposed that the General Council agree to this procedure
to allow sufficient time for the NGOs to be informed and to submit formal requests for attendance.
The General Council so agreed.
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