WORLD TRADE WT/GC/10
7January 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-0026)
General Council
GENERAL COUNCIL
Annual Report (1997)
Thepresent report hasbeenprepared inpursuance oftheProcedures foranAnnual Overview
ofWTO Activities andforReporting under theWTO (WT/L/105), andsetsouttheactions taken by
theGeneral Council intheperiod since itsprevious annual report.1
Incarrying outitstasks, theGeneral Council hasheld8meetings since theperiod covered
bytheprevious report. Theminutes ofthesemeetings, which remain therecord oftheGeneral Council 's
work, arecontained indocuments WT/GC/M/17-WT/GC/M/25.
Thefollowing subjects areincluded inthereport:
Page
1. WTO Logo ...............................................3
2. Preparations forthe1998Ministerial Conference andthecommemoration ofthe50th
anniversary ofthemultilateral trading system .........................3
3. Arrangements forconvening theHigh-Level Meeting onintegrated initiatives forleast-
developed countries 'trade development .............................5
4. Working Groups ontherelationship between trade andinvestment, theinteraction
between trade andcompetition policy, andtransparency ingovernment procurement
practices .................................................6
5. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions ........................7
(a) Consultations .........................................7
(b) Notes onmeetings .....................................7
6. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration ......................8
- Reports ............................................8
7. Agreement onPreshipment Inspection -Review under Article 6oftheAgreement ..9
8. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement ......................9
(a) EC/France -Trading arrangements withMorocco ..................9
(b) Hungary -Agricultural export subsidies ........................10
1Theannual report oftheGeneral Council for1996 wascirculated asWT/GC/7.WT/GC/10
Page2
(c) Harmonized System ....................................10
(i) Bangladesh, Bolivia andNicaragua ......................10
(ii) SriLanka ......................................10
(iii) Bangladesh, Nicaragua andSriLanka ....................11
(d) Renegotiations ofSchedules ...............................11
(i) Senegal -Renegotiation ofSchedule XLIX .................11
(ii) Zambia -Renegotiation ofSchedule LXXVIII ...............11
(e) Decision ontheintroduction ofHarmonized System changes intoWTO
schedules oftariff concessions on1January 1996 ..................12
(f) Review ofwaivers pursuant toArticle IX:4oftheWTO Agreement ......12
9. Action pursuant toArticle X:9oftheWTO Agreement ...................13
(a) Deletion oftheInternational Dairy Agreement from Annex 4oftheWTO
Agreement ..........................................13
(b) Deletion oftheInternational Bovine Meat Agreement from Annex 4ofthe
WTO Agreement ......................................13
10. Accession ................................................13
(a) Andorra ............................................13
(b) Azerbaijan ..........................................14
(c) Georgia ............................................14
(d) Panama ............................................14
(e) Seychelles ...........................................15
11. Marrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization ............15
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheAgreement bytheRepublic of
theCongo ...........................................15
12. Brazil -Import financing restrictions ...............................16
13. Peru-Recent customs tariff changes ...............................16
14. Ecuador -Commitments under theProtocol ofAccession ..................16
15. Frugality measures inKorea ....................................16
16. United States -Recent action withregard toKorea under Section 301oftheOmnibus
Trade andCompetitiveness Actof1988 .............................16
17. Accreditation ofPermanent Representatives totheWTO ..................17
18. Institutional reform andrestructuring oftheSecretariat ...................17
19. Scheduling ofmeetings ofWTO bodies .............................18
20. Follow-up toparagraph 22oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration ...........18
21. Frequency ofmeetings ofWTO bodies .............................18
22. Supply ofinformation totheintegrated databaseforpersonal computers ........19
23. Issuance ofaDaily Bulletin .....................................19WT/GC/10
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24. Secretariat efforts toimprove transparency andgeneral contact withthepublic .....19
25. Status ofthecollaboration between theWTO andILOSecretariats pursuant to
paragraph 4oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration .....................20
26. Arrangements foreffective cooperation withother intergovernmental organizations ..20
(a) Office International desEpizooties ...........................20
(b) IMFandWorld Bank ...................................20
27. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO ..........................21
- Reports oftheJoint Advisory Group ..........................21
28. Administrative matters ........................................21
(a) Conditions ofservice ofWTO staff...........................21
(b) Offices oftheDeputy Directors-General ........................23
29. Observer status ............................................24
(a) International intergovernmental organizations .....................24
(b) Holy See...........................................25
(c) Ethiopia ............................................25
30. Appointment ofofficers toWTO bodies .............................26
31. Election ofChairperson .......................................26
32. Review ofWTO activities ......................................26
33. Annual overview ofdevelopments ininternational trade andthetrading system ....26
1. WTO Logo (WT/GC/M/19)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman recalled thatSingapore had
offered tohandovertotheWTO foritsusethelogousedatthe1996Ministerial Conference, together
withthecopyright thereon, andthatthisoffer--theonlyoneonthetable--hadreceived widespread
support. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council agree toaccept Singapore 'soffer, andauthorize the
Secretariat towork outthenecessary arrangements withSingapore.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/214).2
2. Preparationsforthe1998MinisterialConferenceandthecommemorationofthe50thanniversary
ofthemultilateral trading system (WT/GC/M/18, 19,20,21,23,25)
AttheMinisterial Conference inDecember 1996, Ministers hadagreed thatthenextMinisterial
Conference would beheldinGeneva andhadinvited theGeneral Council todetermine itsdates and
duration (WT/MIN(96)/SR/9). Ministers hadalsonoted thatthe50thanniversary ofthemultilateral
trading system would occur earlyin1998andhadinstructed theGeneral Council toconsider howthis
historic event could bestbecommemorated (WT/MIN(96)/DEC, paragraph 23).
2TheLogo oftheWTO, asadapted from theoriginal commissioned bytheGovernment ofSingapore for
thefirstMinisterialConference,wasofficiallyunveiledbytheDirector-Generalataceremonyon9October1997.WT/GC/10
Page4
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, therepresentative ofCanada proposed
ashort one-to-two daymeeting atMinisterial level tocommemorate the50thanniversary ofthe
multilateral trading system, andsuggested thatthismeeting could beheldback-to-back withanequally
short meeting oftheMinisterial Conference in1998.
Therepresentatives ofMorocco, Cuba andNewZealand, andtheDirector-General andthe
Chairman spoke.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementsandauthorizeditsChairmantoholdconsultations
onthismatter.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman announced thathehadraised
thequestion ofdates ofthenextMinisterial Conference ataninformal consultation withdelegations,
andthatthere appeared tobeawidespread viewthatthenextConference should beheldinthefirst
semester of1998. Heintended tointensify hisconsultations inthenearfuture, andinvited delegations
toreflect onthematter inthemeantime tohelpexpedite theconsultations.
Therepresentatives ofCanada, Switzerland, Norway, Morocco, Pakistan, Japan, Korea and
Cuba, andtheChairman andtheDirector oftheFinance andGeneral Services Division spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed thattheChairman should hold
consultations onthismatter.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on30June-1July1997, theChairman proposed, onthebasis
ofconsultations hehadbeen holding, thatthe1998 Ministerial Conference andthemeeting to
commemorate the50thanniversary ofthemultilateral trading system beheld intheperiod
18-20 May1998.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Atitsmeeting on16July1997, theDirector-General informed theGeneral Council ofpoints
thathadbeenraised inthemany multilateral andbilateral meetings hehadhadinthepastthreemonths
regarding theorganization ofthe50thanniversary commemoration meeting andthe1998 Ministerial
Conference.
TheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council ofconsultations
hehadbeen holding recently concerning preparations fortheMinisterial Conference andthe
commemoration ofthe50thanniversary ofthemultilateral trading system, onthebasis ofwhich he
proposed thattheGeneral Council agree thattheMinisterial Conference beheldon18-19 May, followed
on20Maybythecommemoration ofthe50thanniversary ofthemultilateral trading system. Hefurther
proposed thattheGeneral Council invite theDirector-General toprepare apaper ontheorganization
ofthecommemoration ofthe50thanniversary.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andsoagreed.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman reported onconsultations
recently heldonthepaper prepared bytheDirector-General regarding theorganization ofthe50th
anniversarycommemorationevent(document6410),andonpreparationsfortheMinisterialConference.WT/GC/10
Page5
Onthebasis oftheconsultations, heproposed thattheGeneral Council agree asfollows: (i)thatit
would bedesirable andimportant forMembers toindicate totheSecretariat, byatarget dateof
31January 1998, thelevel oftheirrepresentation atthecommemoration ofthe50thanniversary in
order toallow sufficient timeforthepreparation ofthisevent; and(ii)thatthereport oftheGeneral
Council tothe1998Ministerial Conference consist ofthe1997Annual Reports oftheGeneral Council
anditssubsidiary bodies together withabrief update report oftheGeneral Council concerning
developments inthefirstmonths of1998, andthatChairpersons ofsubsidiary bodies beinvited to
report orally totheGeneral Council onwork donesince December 1997.
Therepresentatives ofArgentina, Jamaica, Korea, Paraguay, Pakistan andHong Kong, China
spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements, alsotooknotethatfurther consultations would
beresumed atanappropriate timeinthefollowing year, andagreed totheChairman 'sproposals.
3. ArrangementsforconveningtheHigh-LevelMeetingonintegratedinitiativesforleast-developed
countries 'trade development (WT/GC/M/22)
AttheMinisterial Conference inDecember 1996, Ministers hadagreed to"organize ameeting
withUNCTAD andtheInternational Trade Centre assoonaspossible in1997, withtheparticipation
ofaidagencies, multilateral financial institutions andleast-developed countries tofoster anintegrated
approach toassisting these countries inenhancing theirtrading opportunities" (WT/MIN(96)/DEC,
paragraph 14).
Atitsmeeting on7October 1997, theGeneral Council considered arrangements forconvening
theHigh-Level Meeting onintegrated initiatives forleast-developed countries 'trade development.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council, astheWTO bodyinstructed toconduct the
functions oftheMinisterial Conference intheintervals between meetings ofthelatter, andfollowing
themandate given byWTO Ministers inSingapore, invite theWTO Director-General toconvene the
High-Level Meeting forLeast-Developed Countries 'Trade Development on27-28 October intheWTO,
towhich would beinvited WTO Members andobserver governments, andallleast-developed countries.
Special invitations toparticipate should beextended totheUNCTAD andITCsecretariats, inview
ofthekeyrolethattheywereplaying inpreparations fortheHigh-Level Meeting andtheimportance
thatWTO Members, andtheleast-developed countries inparticular, attached toUNCTAD 'sandITC's
fullandactive participation intheimplementation oftrade-related technical assistance activities under
theIntegrated Framework thatwould result fromtheHigh-Level Meeting. Invitations should similarly
beextended totheIMF, UNDP, andWorld Bank which, along withtheWTO, ITCandUNCTAD
secretariats, were directly involved inthepreparation andfollow-up totheHigh-Level Meeting.
Therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities, Bangladesh andPakistan, andtheDeputy
Secretary-General ofUNCTAD andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementsandagreedtotheChairman'sproposalregarding
theorganization oftheHigh-Level Meeting.
TheChairman thenproposed thattheintergovernmental organizations thathadobserver status
intheWTO and,uponrequest, other intergovernmental organizations thathadresponsibilities related
tothepurposes oftheHigh-Level Meeting should beinvited toattend theHigh-Level Meeting as
observers. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations might beinvited toparticipate incountry-
specific roundtables attheHigh-Level Meeting bythose least-developed countries thatwereresponsibleWT/GC/10
Page6
fororganizing theirowncountry-specific roundtables, andinthethematic roundtables uponinvitation
from theChairpersons ofthose roundtables.
TheGeneral Council agreed totheChairman 'sproposals regarding theattendance of
intergovernmental andnon-governmental organizations attheHigh-Level Meeting.
4. Working Groups ontherelationship between trade andinvestment, theinteraction between
trade andcompetition policy, andtransparency ingovernment procurement practices
(WT/GC/M/18, 19)
AttheMinisterial Conference inDecember 1996, Ministers hadagreed toestablish working
groups ontherelationship between tradeandinvestment, theinteraction between tradeandcompetition
policy, andtransparency ingovernment procurement practices (WT/MIN(96)/DEC, paragraphs 20and
21).
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theChairman saidthatsince thethree
working groups came within thepurview oftheGeneral Council, itwasimportant fortheGeneral
Council totakethenecessary steps toenable them tostarttheirwork assoonaspossible.
Therepresentatives ofPakistan, Jamaica, Morocco, Uruguay, Egypt andHong Kong spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed toauthorize itsChairman tohold
consultations andtopropose totheGeneral Council thenames ofchairpersons forthethree working
groups.
Therepresentatives ofMorocco, Singapore, theUnited States andIndia, andtheChairman
spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman announced thatinthelight
ofhisextensive consultations there appeared tobeconsensus onthefollowing appointments:
Mr.Krirk-Krai Jirapaet (Thailand) fortheWorking Group ontheRelationship between Trade and
Investment; Mr.Frédéric Jenny (France) fortheWorking Group ontheInteraction between Trade
andCompetition Policy; andMr.Werner Corrales Leal(Venezuela) fortheWorking Group on
Transparency inGovernment Procurement. Thetermofoffice ofthese Chairpersons would bethe
calendar yearof1997, withthepossibility ofreappointment foranother yearasappropriate. The
question ofpossible reappointment, ortheappointment ofnewchairpersons, would betaken upon
thecontext ofconsultations ontheappointment ofchairpersons ofWTO bodies for1998.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andagreed totheappointments (WT/L/215).WT/GC/10
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5. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultations (WT/GC/M/18, 19,23)
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon7February1997,theChairmanoftheCommitteeonBalance-
of-Payments Restrictions made anoralreport ontheCommittee 'sconsultation withIndia.
Therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities, theUnited States, Switzerland, Japan, India
andKorea spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon24April1997,theChairmanoftheCommitteeonBalance-of-
PaymentsRestrictionsintroducedtheCommittee'sreportsonitsconsultationswithIndia(WT/BOP/R/22)
andNigeria (WT/BOP/R/25).
Therepresentatives oftheUnited States, Australia, theEuropean Communities, Japan, New
Zealand, India andNigeria spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thereports inWT/BOP/R/22
andWT/BOP/R/25.
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon22October1997,theChairmanoftheCommitteeonBalance-
of-Payments Restrictions introduced theCommittee 'sreports onitsconsultations with Pakistan
(WT/BOP/R/27),India(WT/BOP/R/32),Tunisia(WT/BOP/R/31),theCzechRepublic(WT/BOP/R/33),
Bulgaria (WT/BOP/R/34) andNigeria (WT/BOP/R/35), andonthesimplified consultation with
Bangladesh (WT/BOP/R/28).
Therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities, theUnited States, India, Egypt, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Cuba, SriLanka, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Argentina
andNewZealand spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andthatitwould bedesirable toholdfull
consultations withBangladesh intheautumn of1998 orinanycasebefore May1999, agreed that
Bulgaria andTunisia bedeemed tobeincompliance withtheirobligations, andadopted thereports
inWT/BOP/R/27, WT/BOP/R/28 andWT/BOP/R/31-35.
(b) Notes onmeetings (WT/GC/M/19, 23,25)
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon24April1997,theChairmanoftheCommitteeonBalance-of-
Payments Restrictions drew attention totheCommittee 'sdiscussion ofitsongoing business reported
inWT/BOP/R/23 andWT/BOP/R/24.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andoftheinformation inWT/BOP/R/23 and
WT/BOP/R/24.
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon22October1997,theChairmanoftheCommitteeonBalance-
of-Payments Restrictions drewattention totheCommittee 'sdiscussion ofitsongoing business reported
inWT/BOP/R/26 andWT/BOP/R/29-30.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andoftheinformation inWT/BOP/R/26 and
WT/BOP/R/29-30WT/GC/10
Page8
.
AttheGeneral Council Meeting on10December 1997, theChairman oftheCommittee on
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions drewattention totheCommittee 'sdiscussion ofitsongoing business
reported inWT/BOP/R/36 andWT/BOP/R/38.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andoftheinformation inWT/BOP/R/36 and
WT/BOP/R/38.
6. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration
- Reports (WT/GC/M/17, 19,21,23,25)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on26November 1996, theChairman oftheCommittee on
Budget, Finance andAdministration introduced theCommittee 'sreport inWT/BFA/28.
TheGeneral Council took note ofthestatement, approved theCommittee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 4,20,23,24,25,26,27,28,29and30ofitsreport inWT/BFA/28,
andalsoapproved thedraftResolution referred toinparagraph 20.TheGeneral Council thenadopted
theBudget Committee 'sreport inWT/BFA/28, including therecommendations contained therein and
theResolution ontherevised expenditure oftheWTO in1997 andtheways andmeans tomeetthat
expenditure.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman oftheCommittee onBudget,
Finance andAdministration introduced theCommittee 'sreport inWT/BFA/30.
TheGeneral Council took note ofthestatement, approved theCommittee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 8and10ofitsreport inWT/BFA/30, andadopted thereport.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on16July1997, theChairman oftheCommittee onBudget,
Finance andAdministration introduced theCommittee 'sreport inWT/BFA/31.
Therepresentatives ofMorocco andBangladesh spoke.
TheGeneral Council took note ofthestatements, approved theCommittee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 12,13,17and20ofitsreport inWT/BFA/31, andadopted thereport.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, theChairman oftheCommittee onBudget,
Finance andAdministration introduced theCommittee 'sreport inWT/BFA/32.
Therepresentatives ofMorocco andtheUnited States spoke.
TheGeneral Council took note ofthestatements, approved theCommittee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 4,5,19,32,33and38ofitsreport inWT/BFA/32, aswellasthe
contents ofparagraph 41,andalsoapproved thedraftResolution referred toinparagraph 19.The
General Council then adopted theBudget Committee 'sreport inWT/BFA/32, including the
recommendations contained therein andtheResolution ontherevised expenditure oftheWTO in1998
andtheways andmeans tomeetthatexpenditure.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman oftheCommittee on
Budget, Finance andAdministration introduced theCommittee 'sreport inWT/BFA/33.WT/GC/10
Page9
Therepresentative ofEgypt referred tothetextinthesecond sentence ofparagraph 7ofthe
Committee 'sreport, which hesaidhadbeenadded aftertheinitial agreed texthadbeencirculated to
Committee Members. Hisdelegation hadnotpreviously beenaware ofthismodification andsuggested
thatthetextinquestion bedeleted from theCommittee 'sreport totheGeneral Council.
Therepresentatives ofJamaica andGermany, andtheBudget Committee Chairman andthe
Chairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andofthewishofCommittee Members that
thetextinthesecond sentence ofparagraph 7beconsidered deleted fromtheCommittee 'sreport before
theGeneral Council inWT/BFA/33. TheGeneral Council thenapproved theBudget Committee 's
specific recommendations inparagraph 6ofitsreport, andadopted thereport asamended (WT/BFA/33
andCorr.1).
7. Agreement onPreshipment Inspection -Review under Article 6oftheAgreement
(WT/GC/M/25)
InNovember 1996, theGeneral Council, onthebasisofarecommendation fromtheCouncil
forTrade inGoods, hadestablished aworking party under theGoods Council toconduct thereview
provided forunder Article 6oftheAgreement onPreshipment Inspection, andtoreport totheGeneral
Council inDecember 1997 through theGoods Council.
Atitsmeeting on10December 1997, theGeneral Council considered theWorking Party's
report (G/L/214).
Therepresentative ofJamaica andtheChairman oftheWorking Party spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements, approved therecommendations oftheWorking
Party inparagraphs 1-9ofsection Bofitsreport, andadopted thereport. TheGeneral Council agreed
thatthelifeoftheWorking Party beextended foroneyearforthepurposes described inparagraph 8
ofsection Bofitsreport.
8. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement (WT/GC/M/23)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, theChairman oftheCouncil forTrade
inGoods addressed thegeneral question ofrequests forwaivers submitted forinitial consideration to
theGoods Council.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
(a) EC/France -Trading arrangements withMorocco (WT/GC/M/25)
Atitsmeeting on10December 1997, theGeneral Council considered arequest byEC/France
(G/L/196) foranextension ofawaiver previously granted forFrance 'strading arrangements with
Morocco, andadraftdecision tothiseffect (G/C/W/96).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthisrequest
bytheCouncil.
Therepresentatives ofAustralia andtheEuropean Communities spoke.WT/GC/10
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TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision
(WT/L/250).
(b) Hungary -Agricultural export subsidies (WT/GC/M/23)
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered arequest byHungary
(G/L/183) forawaiver fromitsobligations under paragraph 3ofArticle 3,Article 8,andparagraph 2
ofArticle 9oftheAgreement onAgriculture, andadraftdecision tothiseffect (G/C/W/86).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthisrequest
bytheCouncil.
Therepresentative ofMexico, andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements3and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision
(WT/L/238).
(c) Harmonized System
(i) Bangladesh, Bolivia andNicaragua (WT/GC/M/19)
Atitsmeeting on24April 1997, theGeneral Council considered requests byBangladesh
(G/L/163), Bolivia (G/L/161) andNicaragua (G/L/166) forextensions ofwaivers previously granted
inconnection withtheirimplementation oftheHarmonized System, anddraftdecisions tothiseffect
(Bangladesh -G/C/W/74; Bolivia -G/C/W/72; Nicaragua -G/C/W/77).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration oftheserequests
bytheCouncil.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecisions
(WT/L/209 -Bangladesh; WT/L/212 -Bolivia; andWT/L/211 -Nicaragua).
(ii) SriLanka (WT/GC/M/21)
Atitsmeetingon16July1997,theGeneralCouncilconsideredarequestbySriLanka(G/L/164)
foranextension ofawaiver previously granted inconnection withitsimplementation oftheHarmonized
System, andadraftdecision tothiseffect (G/C/W/73/Rev.1).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthisrequest
bytheCouncil.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision
(WT/L/224).
3Including thestatement byHungary onthismatter atthemeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods on
6October 1997 (G/C/M/23, item4).WT/GC/10
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(iii) Bangladesh, Nicaragua andSriLanka (WT/GC/M/23)
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered requests by
Bangladesh (G/L/186), Nicaragua (G/L/187) andSriLanka (G/L/188) forextensions ofwaivers
previouslygrantedinconnectionwiththeirimplementationoftheHarmonizedSystem,anddraftdecisions
tothiseffect (Bangladesh -G/C/W/89; Nicaragua -G/C/W/87; SriLanka -G/C/W/90).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration oftheserequests
bytheCouncil, andtherepresentative ofBangladesh spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecisions
(Bangladesh -WT/L/239; Nicaragua -WT/L/240; SriLanka -WT/L/241).
(d) Renegotiations ofSchedules
(i) Senegal -Renegotiation ofSchedule XLIX (WT/GC/M/19)
Atitsmeeting on24April 1997, theGeneral Council hadbefore itarequest bySenegal
(G/L/165) foranextension ofawaiver previously granted inconnection withitsrenegotiation ofits
schedule, andadraftdecision tothiseffect (G/C/W/76).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods informed theGeneral Council thatsince the
Goods Council meeting atwhich thisrequest hadbeenconsidered, Senegal hadconcluded itspending
negotiations under Article XXVIII ofGATT 1994. Senegal wastherefore notpursing itsrequest on
thewaiver, andtheGeneral Council didnotneedtotakefurther action onthisitem.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
(ii) Zambia -Renegotiation ofSchedule LXXVIII (WT/GC/M/19, 23)
Atitsmeeting on24April 1997, theGeneral Council considered arequest byZambia (G/L/162)
foranextension ofawaiver previously granted inconnection withitsrenegotiation ofitsschedule,
andadraftdecision tothiseffect (G/C/W/75).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthisrequest
bytheCouncil.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision
(WT/L/213).
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered arequest byZambia
(G/L/189) foranextension ofthewaiver previously granted inconnection withitsrenegotiation of
itsschedule, andadraftdecision tothiseffect (G/C/W/91).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthisrequest
bytheCouncil.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision
(WT/L/242).WT/GC/10
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(e) Decision ontheintroduction ofHarmonized System changes intoWTO schedules of
tariff concessions on1January 1996 (WT/GC/M/19, 23)
Atitsmeeting on24April 1997, theGeneral Council considered adraftdecision extending
thetime-limit oftheDecision ontheintroduction ofHarmonized System changes intoWTO schedules
oftariff concessions on1January 1996 (G/MA/W/12 andCorr.1).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthismatter
bytheCouncil.
Therepresentatives ofSwitzerland, Trinidad andTobago andArgentina, andtheChairman
andtheDirector-General spoke.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementsandofthereportbytheChairmanoftheCouncil
forTrade inGoods, including ontheconsultations heldontheproposal made bySwitzerland
(WT/GC/W/56 -G/C/W/79), andofhisintention toholdfurther consultations withaviewtofinding
asolution intimeforthemeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods on2June. TheGeneral Council
thenadopted thedraftdecision (WT/L/216) inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures Under
Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93).
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered adraftdecision extending
thetime-limit oftheDecision ontheintroduction ofHarmonized System changes intoWTO schedules
oftariff concessions on1January 1996 (G/C/W/93/Rev.1)
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthismatter
bytheCouncil.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport andthatCuba hadrequested tobewithdrawn from
thelistofMembers annexed tothedraft decision and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision
asamended (WT/L/243).
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
(f) Review ofwaivers pursuant toArticle IX:4oftheWTO Agreement (WT/GC/M/23)
Under Article IX:4oftheWTO Agreement, "Any waiver granted foraperiod ofmore than
oneyearshallbereviewed bytheMinisterial Conference notlaterthanoneyearafteritisgranted,
andthereafter annually untilthewaiver terminates." TheArticle further provides that:"Ineachreview,
theMinisterial Conference shallexamine whether theexceptional circumstances justifying thewaiver
stillexistandwhether theterms andconditions attached tothewaiver havebeenmet. TheMinisterial
Conference, onthebasis oftheannual review, mayextend, modify orterminate thewaiver."
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council conducted areview ofthefollowing
waivers: Canada -CARIBCAN (WT/L/185); Cuba -Article XV:6 (WT/L/182); EC-TheFourth
ACP-EC Convention ofLomé (WT/L/186); United States -Andean Trade Preference Act(WT/L/184);
United States -Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act(WT/L/104); andUnited States -Former
Trust Territory ofthePacific Islands (WT/L/183). Insodoing, theGeneral Council considered reports
ontheimplementation ofthewaivers submitted bythefollowing governments: Canada (WT/L/236),
Cuba (WT/L/231), theEuropean Communities (WT/L/235), andtheUnited States (WT/L/232-234).WT/GC/10
Page13
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereports submitted under thewaivers.
9. Action pursuant toArticle X:9oftheWTO Agreement
(a) Deletion oftheInternational Dairy Agreement fromAnnex 4oftheWTO Agreement
(WT/GC/M/25)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman recalled thaton
30SeptembertheInternationalDairyCouncilhaddecidedtoterminatetheInternationalDairyAgreement
"asof1January 1998" (IDA/8), andhadrequested thattheMinisterial Conference delete theAgreement
from Article 4oftheWTO Agreement upon itstermination, inaccordance withArticle X:9ofthe
WTO Agreement. Accordingly, heproposed thatthedraftdecision tothiseffect inWT/GC/W/70
beadopted.
Therepresentative ofKorea andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thedraftdecision (WT/L/251).
(b) Deletion oftheInternational Bovine Meat Agreement from Annex 4oftheWTO
Agreement (WT/GC/M/25)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman recalled thaton
30September theInternational Meat Council haddecided toterminate theInternational Bovine Meat
Agreement "attheendof1997" (IMA/8), andhadrequested thattheMinisterial Conference delete
theAgreement fromAnnex 4oftheWTO Agreement uponitstermination, inaccordance withArticle
X:9oftheWTO Agreement. Accordingly, heproposed thatthedraft decision tothiseffect in
WT/GC/W/71 beadopted.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/252).
10. Accession
(a) Andorra (WT/GC/M/23, 25)
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered acommunication from
Andorra (WT/ACC/AND/1) concerning itsinterest inacceding totheWTO Agreement pursuant to
Article XII.
Therepresentatives ofAndorra (asanobserver), theEuropean Communities, Argentina, the
United States, Brunei fortheASEAN Members, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela, Tunisia, Chile, the
Czech Republic, theSlovak Republic, Japan, Romania, Mauritius andCanada andtheChairman spoke.
Therepresentative ofCuba wished tobeplaced onrecord aswelcoming andsupporting Andorra 's
request.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andoftheexpression ofsupport, agreed to
establish aworking party toexamine Andorra 'sapplication, andauthorized theChairman tohold
consultations ontheprocedures andterms ofreference oftheWorking Party. TheGeneral Council
further agreed torevert tothismatter aftertheconsultations were concluded.WT/GC/10
Page14
TheChairman invited Andorra, onbehalf oftheGeneral Council, toattend meetings ofthe
General Council and,asappropriate, meetings ofother WTO bodies asanobserver during theperiod
when theWorking Party wascarrying outitswork.
Atitsmeeting on10December 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council thatin
consultations hehadheldithadbeenagreed thattheWorking Party would carry outitswork under
standard terms ofreference asfollows: "Toexamine theapplication oftheGovernment ofAndorra
toaccede totheWTO Agreement under Article XII,andtosubmit totheGeneral Council
recommendations which mayinclude adraftProtocol ofAccession", andthatMr.B.Jonsson (Iceland)
hadagreed tochair theWorking Party.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
(b) Azerbaijan (WT/GC/M/21, 23)
Atitsmeetingon16July1997,theGeneralCouncilconsideredacommunicationfromAzerbaijan
(WT/ACC/AZE/1) concerning itsinterest inacceding totheWTO Agreement pursuant toArticle XII.
TheGeneral Council agreed toestablish aworking party toexamine Azerbaijan 'sapplication,
andauthorized itsChairman todesignate theChairperson oftheWorking Party inconsultation with
representatives ofMembers andwiththerepresentative ofAzerbaijan.
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council thathewas
stillpursuing consultations onthedesignation ofachairperson fortheWorking Party.
Therepresentative ofAzerbaijan spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
(c) Georgia (WT/GC/M/19)
InJuly1996, theGeneral Council hadestablished aworking party toexamine Georgia 's
application foraccession totheWTO Agreement, andhadauthorized itsChairman todesignate the
Chairperson oftheWorking Party inconsultation withrepresentatives ofMembers andwiththe
representative ofGeorgia.
Atitsmeeting on24April 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council that
Ms.E.Herfkens (Netherlands) hadagreed tochair theWorking Party.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
(d) Panama (WT/GC/M/19, 20)
InOctober 1996, theGeneral Council hadadopted aDecision (WT/ACC/PAN/20) authorizing
Panama toaccede totheWTO Agreement under terms setoutinitsProtocol ofAccession
(WT/ACC/PAN/21). Assetoutinitsparagraph 7,theProtocol wasopenforacceptance byPanama
until30June1997.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman announced thatPanama had
recently indicated thatitmight notbeabletomeetthetime-limit of30June1997 foritsacceptance
oftheProtocol ofAccession. Ifthisproved tobethecase, adraftdecision proposing anextension
ofthetime-limit would beplaced before theGeneral Council forconsideration atitsnextmeeting.WT/GC/10
Page15
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
Atitsmeeting on30June-1July1997, theGeneral Council considered acommunication
fromPanama requesting thatthetime-limit foracceptance inparagraph 7ofitsProtocol ofAccession
bechanged to31October 1997 (WT/GC/W/59), andadraftdecision tothiseffect intheAnnex to
thatdocument.
TheGeneral Council adopted thedraftdecision (WT/ACC/PAN/22).
Therepresentative ofPanama spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
(e) Seychelles (WT/GC/M/23)
InJuly1995, theGeneral Council hadestablished aworking party toexamine Seychelles '
application foraccession totheWTO Agreement, andhadauthorized itsChairman todesignate the
Chairperson oftheWorking Party inconsultation withrepresentatives ofMembers andwiththe
representative ofSeychelles. InJuly1996, theGeneral Council hadtaken notethatMr.Ravaloson
(Madagascar) hadagreed tochair theWorking Party.
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council that,following
thedepartureofMr.Ravaloson(Madagascar)fromGeneva,Mr.Berthet(Uruguay)hadagreedtoreplace
himasChairman oftheWorking Party.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
11. Marrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheAgreement bytheRepublic oftheCongo
(WT/GC/M/19)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman announced thattheRepublic
oftheCongo hadnotified theWTO on25February 1997ofitsratification oftheMarrakesh Agreement.
However, thetime-limit foracceptance oftheMarrakesh Agreement bycontracting parties toGATT
1947 eligible tobecome original Members expired on1January 1997, asprovided inArticle XIV:1
oftheAgreement. Given thattheRepublic oftheCongo wastheonlyremaining contracting party
toGATT 1947 eligible tobecome anoriginal Member before 1January 1997 which wasnotyeta
Member, itwasproposed thattheGeneral Council adopt thedraftdecision inWT/GC/W/54, which
would extend retroactively thetime-limit foracceptance bytheCongo oftheMarrakesh Agreement
to25February 1997.
TheGeneral Council adopted thedraftdecision (WT/L/208).4
4TheCongo wasthusdeemed tobeaWTO Member asof27March 1997, i.e.30daysafter receipt ofits
notification ofratification, asprovided forinArticle XIV:1 oftheWTO Agreement.WT/GC/10
Page16
12. Brazil -Import financing restrictions (WT/GC/M/21)
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon16July1997,therepresentativeoftheEuropeanCommunities
expressed concern atmeasures recently imposed byBrazil onimport financing which hesaidhadthe
effect ofreducing theavailability ofshort-term credit.
Therepresentatives ofBrazil andSwitzerland spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
13. Peru-Recent customs tariff changes (WT/GC/M/19)
Atitsmeeting on24April 1997, therepresentative ofPeruinformed theGeneral Council that
tariff duties ongoods imported intoPeruhadbeenmodified asof13April, andthatthese unilateral
changes didnotaffect Peru'srights andobligations under theWTO Agreement.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
14. Ecuador -Commitments under theProtocol ofAccession (WT/GC/M/18)
Atitsmeeting on7February 1997, theGeneral Council considered acommunication from
theUnitedStates(WT/L/202)expressingconcernthatEcuadorhadnotimplementedcertaincommitments
initsProtocol ofAccession.
Therepresentatives oftheUnited States, Ecuador, theEuropean Communities, Venezuela also
onbehalf ofColombia, NewZealand andSwitzerland spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
15. Frugality measures inKorea (WT/GC/M/19)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, therepresentative oftheEuropean
Communities expressed concern attheimpact onCommunity exports oftheso-called frugality campaign
inKorea, which affected notonlytrade ingoods butalsotrade inservices.
Therepresentatives oftheUnited States andKorea spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
16. United States -Recent action withregard toKorea under Section 301oftheOmnibus Trade
andCompetitiveness Actof1988 (WT/GC/M/23)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, therepresentative ofKorea expressed
concern atrecent USaction identifying Korea 'sautomobile market practice asa"priority foreign country
practice" under Section 301oftheOmnibus Trade andCompetitiveness Actof1988, andreserved
Korea 'srights under theWTO Agreements inthisconnection.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.WT/GC/10
Page17
17. Accreditation ofPermanent Representatives totheWTO (WT/GC/M/21, 23)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on16July1997, theChairman saidthatthismatter hadbeen
discussed ataninformal meeting on23Juneonthebasis ofatextcirculated bytheSecretariat athis
request (WT/GC/W/61), andatafurther informal meeting on10Julyonthebasis ofarevised text
bytheSecretariat (WT/GC/W/61/Rev.1). Itappeared thatadditional timewasneeded tosettle certain
aspects oftheissueandtoallow forfurther reflection bysome delegations. Hehoped that,following
further work ontheprocedures, itwould bepossible totakeadecision thereon afterthesummer break.
Therepresentatives ofSwitzerland, Tunisia, Paraguay, Japan, Uruguay, Singapore onbehalf
oftheASEAN Members, Canada, Chile andHungary spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed torevert tothismatter atitsnext
meeting.
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council thatarevised
textonaccreditation procedures (WT/GC/W/61/Rev.2) hadbeenconsidered ataninformal meeting
on2October, andthatfollowing thecomments made atthatmeeting hehadundertaken tocirculate
afurther revised textwithaviewtoseeking agreement thereon. However, ithadnotproved possible
toreach aconsensus onthistext,andheproposed therefore tocontinue consultations withinterested
delegations before submitting afurther revised proposal. Hehad,inthemeantime, requested the
Secretariat tocirculate anoteontheexisting accreditation practices withregard tointernational
intergovernmental organizations.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andagreed torevert tothismatter atafuture
meeting.
18. Institutional reform andrestructuring oftheSecretariat5(WT/GC/M/19, 23,25)
AttheGeneralCouncilmeetingon24April1997,theChairmansaidthatanumberofdelegations
hadbeenoftheview that,inthelightofthefirsttwoyears ofoperation oftheWTO Secretariat,
consideration should begiven tohowitsfunctioning andoperational efficiency might beenhanced to
meetthechallenges facing theOrganization. Theviewhadalsobeenexpressed thatthenumber of
DeputyDirectors-Generalshouldbereducedatanappropriatetime.Hedrewattentiontoadraftdecision
ontheWTO Secretariat andsenior management structure (WT/GC/W/57), which hadresulted from
broad-based informal consultations onthismatter.
Therepresentatives ofPakistan, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, Mexico, Hong
Kong, India, Korea, Colombia, New Zealand, Trinidad andTobago, Peru, Argentina, Morocco,
Switzerland, Norway, Venezuela andTunisia spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thedraftdecision ontheWTO
Secretariat andSenior Management Structure (WT/L/207).
TheDirector-General spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
5Some discussion relating tothismatter iscarried under sub-point 28(b) -"Offices oftheDeputy Directors-
General".WT/GC/10
Page18
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council thatthereport
requested oftheDirector-General onthismatter bytheDecision of24April 1997 (WT/L/207) had
recently beencirculated todelegations, andthatheintended toholdconsultations thereon inthenear
future.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman saidthattheDirector-
General 'sreport hadbeendiscussed briefly atinformal consultations on2December, atwhich hehad
invited delegations togivecareful consideration tothereport andhadindicated hisintention tohold
further consultations onthismatter early inthefollowing year.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
19. Scheduling ofmeetings ofWTO bodies (WT/GC/M/18)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theChairman saidthatconcerns expressed
byanumber ofdelegations about theexcessive number ofmeetings andtheirability tofollow them
pointedtotheneedtofurtherintensifyeffortstorationalizeworkintheWTOthroughastricteradherence
totheguidelines onarrangements forscheduling ofmeetings (WT/L/106). Heintended tosuggest
tothefuture Chairperson oftheGeneral Council totakethismatter intoaccount inconsultation with
chairpersons ofotherWTO bodies toensure thattheguidelines wereapplied tothefullest extent possible
andtoseekpractical solutions totheproblems encountered.
Therepresentative ofTanzania spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
20. Follow-up toparagraph 22oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration (WT/GC/M/19)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, therepresentative ofEgypt expressed the
hopethatinformal consultations onwaystominimize theburdens ondelegations, especially those with
more limited resources, intheorganization oftheWTO 'swork referred toinparagraphs 20and21
oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(96)/DEC), would becontinued.
TheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
21. Frequency ofmeetings ofWTO bodies (WT/GC/M/23, 25)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, therepresentative ofEgypt expressed
concern atthefrequency ofmeetings ofWTO bodies, andurged consideration ofthisissue bythe
General Council toensure strict adherence totheguidelines onthearrangements forscheduling of
meetings ofWTO bodies (WT/L/106) andtheprovisions ofparagraph 22oftheSingapore Ministerial
Declaration inthisregard (WT/MIN(96)/DEC).
Therepresentatives ofJamaica, Brunei onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, India andCuba
spoke.WT/GC/10
Page19
TheChairman proposed thatheholdstructured consultations onthismatter. Theconsultations,
opentoall,would beheldassoonaspossible andwould takeintoaccount thesuggestions made by
Egypt onhowtoaddress thisissue. TheSecretariat would berequested toprepare some additional
information forcirculation toMembers onthismatter.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andsoagreed.
Atitsmeeting on10December 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council ofinformal
consultations hehadheldrecently onthismatter.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
22. Supply ofinformation totheintegrated databaseforpersonal computers (WT/GC/M/21)
Atitsmeeting on16July1997, theGeneral Council considered adraftdecision onthesupply
ofinformation totheintegrated databaseforpersonal computers (G/C/W/82).
TheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods reported ontheconsideration ofthismatter
bytheCouncil.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andadopted thedraftdecision (WT/L/225).
23. Issuance ofaDaily Bulletin (WT/GC/M/21, 25)
Atitsmeetingon16July1997,theChairman,onthebasisofconsultationshehadheldregarding
thepossibilityofissuingadailybulletintoassistdelegationsinfollowingmeetingsattheWTO,informed
theGeneral Council that: (i)thebulletin would beissued inEnglish onlyandplaced inthepigeon
holes assigned todelegations attheWTO before theclose-of-business oneachworking day.Itwould
indicate themeetings tobeheldthefollowing day,andcontain abrieffactual description oftheresults
offormal meetings heldtheprevious day; (ii)thebulletin would notbemade available tothepublic
andthepress; and(iii)thebulletin would becirculated onatrialbasis forthree months starting in
September 1997, andwould bereviewed inthelightofexperience andfinancial implications, ifany.
Therepresentatives ofCôted'Ivoire andVenezuela spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman proposed that,inlight
ofthegenerally positive experience thusfarwiththeissuance oftheDaily Bulletin, theBulletin continue
tobeissued forafurther trialperiod ofthree months inenglish only, since itsissuance inFrench and
Spanish would havefinancial implications thatwould havetobeexamined bytheCommittee onBudget,
Finance andAdministration.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andsoagreed.
24. Secretariat efforts toimprove transparency andgeneral contact withthepublic (WT/GC/M/25)
Atitsmeeting on10December 1997, theDirector-General informed theGeneral Council of
efforts being made bytheSecretariat toimprove transparency andgeneral contact withthepublic.WT/GC/10
Page20
Therepresentatives oftheUnited States, Switzerland andPakistan spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
25. Status ofthecollaboration between theWTO andILOSecretariats pursuant toparagraph 4
oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration (WT/GC/M/21)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on16July1997, therepresentative ofNorway recalled the
provisions ofparagraph 4oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(96)/DEC) andrequested
theDirector-General forinformation astothestatus ofthecollaboration between theWTO andILO
secretariats andwhether theWTO Secretariat hadreceived anyinformation ontheissueoftheILO's
work oncorelabour standards thatcould beshared withMembers.
TheDirector-General, andtherepresentatives oftheUnited States, Egypt, Pakistan, Brazil,
Morocco, India, Peru, Australia, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, Canada, Japan, Cuba,
Colombia, theEuropean Communities andSwitzerland, andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
26. Arrangements foreffective cooperation withother intergovernmental organizations
(a) Office International desEpizooties (WT/GC/M/23)
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered drafttextsofanexchange
ofletters proposed asthebasisforestablishing relations between theWTO andtheOffice International
desEpizooties (G/SPS/W/61), which hadearlier beenapproved bytheGeneral Session oftheOIE
andbytheWTO Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures andtheCouncil forTrade in
Goods.
TheGeneral Council approved thedrafttextsoftheexchange ofletters.
(b) IMFandWorld Bank (WT/GC/M/23, 25)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, theChairman recalled thatunder the
Decision approving theAgreements between theWTO andtheIMFandWorld Bank (WT/L/194),
theDirector-General wastoholdconsultations withMembers under theauspices oftheGeneral Council
Chairman, andthatthese consultations should include reports onthecoherence consultations between
theHeads ofthethree organizations aswellasonother matters. Heinformed theGeneral Council
thatafirstreport wasbeing prepared, andthattheconsultations withMembers would beheldinthe
nearfuture.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
Atitsmeeting on10December 1997, theChairman informed theGeneral Council thatthe
Director-General hadheldconsultations withMembers on2December under theauspices ofthe
Chairman oftheGeneral Council onmatters relating totheimplementation oftheAgreements with
theIMFandWorld Bank, inthecourse ofwhich theDirector-General 'sreport ontheimplementation
oftheAgreements (WT/GC/W/68) hadbeenconsidered.WT/GC/10
Page21
Therepresentatives ofJamaica, Pakistan, theUnited States, India, Argentina, Korea, Norway,
Morocco andHong Kong, China, andtheDirector-General andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andoftheDirector-General 'sreport, and
agreed thattheideaofbroad discussions early thefollowing yearonthematters raised byMembers
bepursued. TheGeneral Council alsoagreed thattheSecretariat compile thereferences intheWTO
Agreements totheIMFanditsArticles ofAgreement.
27. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
- Reports oftheJoint Advisory Group (WT/GC/M/18, 21)
Atitsmeeting on7February 1997, theGeneral Council considered thereport oftheJoint
Advisory Group oftheInternational Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO onitstwenty-ninth session
(ITC/AG(XXIX)/157).
TheVice-Chairman oftheGroup introduced thereport. Therepresentatives ofEgypt, Jamaica,
India, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, andJapan, andtheExecutive Director ofthe
ITCandtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thereport.
Atitsmeeting on16July1997, theGeneral Council considered thereport oftheJointAdvisory
Group oftheInternational Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO onitsthirtieth session (ITC/AG(XXX)/164).
TheChairman oftheGroup introduced thereport, andtherepresentative ofPakistan spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thereport.
28. Administrative matters
(a) Conditions ofservice ofWTO staff(WT/GC/M/18, 19,20,21,23,24)
InNovember 1996, theGeneral Council haddecided thatitwould in1997 continue its
consideration ofthedraftdecision of18September 1996onconditions ofservice ofWTO staff, with
aviewtoreaching afinalconclusion by30June1997 atthelatest (WT/L/197).
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theChairman proposed theestablishment
ofanopen-ended working group toassist theGeneral Council inmeeting the30Junedeadline for
afinalconclusion tothismatter, withterms ofreference thathereadout.
TherepresentativesofEgypt,Germany,Morocco,Norway,theUnitedStates,Uruguay,Jamaica,
Hong Kong, Canada, Haiti, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, Mexico andKorea, and
theDirector-General andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements, agreed totheChairman 'sproposal regarding
theestablishment andterms ofreference ofaworking group tostudy thismatter, andauthorized the
Chairman todesignate theChairman oftheWorking Group inconsultation withMembers.6TheGeneral
6Onthebasis ofhisconsultations, theChairman subsequently designated Mr.Morjane (Tunisia) asChairman
oftheWorking Group (WT/L/205).WT/GC/10
Page22
Council alsoagreed thattheChairman should holdfurther consultations onthequestion ofparticipation
oftheWTO StaffCouncil asanobserver intheWorking Group.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman oftheWorking Group on
conditions ofservice reported onthework undertaken bytheGroup thusfar.
TheDirector-General expressed concern thatwork intheGroup hadthusfarnotproceeded
aswellorasexpeditiously asexpected. Hesuggested that,inorder tofacilitate consensus, Members
firsttakethepolitical andinstitutional decision, andthenaddress thebudgetary aspects ofestablishing
anindependent Secretariat.
Therepresentatives ofNorway, Hong Kong, Iceland, Nigeria, Brazil, theCzech Republic,
Japan, Turkey, Australia, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, Korea, France, Switzerland,
Belgium, theUnited Kingdom, Germany, India, ItalyandMorocco spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
Atitsmeeting on30June-1July1997, theGeneral Council hadbefore itadraftdecision
onconditions ofservice ofWTO staff(WT/GC/W/63) prepared bytheChairman oftheWorking Group
onconditions ofservice. Following further informal consultations during thecourse ofthemeeting,
theGeneral Council considered arevised textofthedraftdecision (WT/GC/W/63/Rev.2).
Therepresentatives oftheUnited States, Germany, theUnited Kingdom, Paraguay onbehalf
oftheLatin American andCaribbean Group (GRULAC), andNigeria spoke.
TheGeneral Council took note ofthestatements andadopted thedraft decision in
WT/GC/W/63/Rev.2.7
TheChairman thenreadthefollowing statement: "Inlightoftheviews expressed bysome
Members,subjecttoyouragreementIproposetorequesttheDirector-GeneraltocontacttheInternational
Civil Service Commission assoonaspossible inorder toexplore thepossibilities forimplementing
reforms inWTO conditions ofservice, taking intoaccount thedifferent options raised byMembers.
TheDirector-General willreport backtotheGeneral Council notlaterthanOctober 1997ontheresults
ofthese consultations." Headded thathehaddiscussed thismatter withtheDirector-General, and
thelatter wasready torespond tothisrequest.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisstatement, andoffurther statements bytheChairman
andtherepresentative ofMorocco.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on16July1997, theChairman recalled thattheWorking Group
onConditions ofService established inFebruary hadbeenasked tosubmit itsfinalreport bytheend
ofMay1997. BytheirDecision onconditions ofservice ofWTO staffof1July(WT/L/223), Members
hadimplicitly extended the30June deadline forafinalconclusion tothismatter established in
November 1996(WT/L/197) byagreeing thattheGeneral Council would consider thismatter further
notlaterthanOctober1997.Sincemuchtechnicalworkwasstillrequiredinconnectionwiththequestion
ofconditions ofservice, hewished toconfirm thattheoriginal mandate oftheGroup wasalsoextended
sothatitmight pursue itswork asappropriate inlightofthe1JulyDecision.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
7TheDecision wassubsequently alsoadopted bytheExecutive Committee oftheInterim Commission for
theInternational Trade Organization (ICITO), andcirculated asWT/L/223.WT/GC/10
Page23
TheChairman theninformed theGeneral Council ofhisdecision, pursuant toparagraph 2
ofthe1JulyDecision onconditions ofservice (WT/L/223), andinconsultation withtheChairman
oftheWorking Group onConditions ofService, todesignate Mr.Christopher Daykin, theGovernment
Actuary oftheUnited Kingdom, toprepare thesecond opinion onthecalculations oftheWTO consulting
actuary withregard totheproposed WTO pension plan.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, theChairman noted thattheadditional
information onthismatter thatMembers hadrequested attheGeneral Council meeting on30June-1 July
hadsince beenreceived fromtheUNJointStaffPension Fund, theUKGovernment Actuary andthe
International Civil Service Commission. Itwashisunderstanding thatcertain governments werestill
considering thismatter andwerenotyetinaposition tojoininaconsensus. Hetherefore proposed
that,notwithstanding thedeadline ofOctober 1997setbytheGeneral Council foradecision, theGeneral
Council agree todefer further consideration ofthismatter toafuture meeting tobeconvened bythe
second week ofNovember atthelatest.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairperson oftheWTO StaffCouncil, andtheDirector-General spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on14November 1997, therepresentative oftheUnited States
indicated thathisauthorities could inprinciple accept theestablishment oftheWTO Secretariat on
anindependent basis, andspecified conditions which theUnited States would expect toseereflected
inthepackage prior toafinaldecision.
TherepresentativesofMorocco,theNetherlands,JapanandHongKong,China,andtheDirector-
General andMr.Lavorel, Deputy Director-General, spoke.
Inthelightofthestatements thathadbeenmade, theChairman invited theChairman ofthe
Working Group onConditions ofService toprepare arevised draftdecision fortheconsideration of
Members, taking intoaccount thelatest developments. Heproposed thatthemeeting beadjourned
inthemeantime andthatitbereconvened attheearliest possible datewithaviewtotaking adecision
onthismatter.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andsoagreed.8
(b) Offices oftheDeputy Directors-General (WT/GC/M/18, 19)
Atitsmeeting inApril 1996, theGeneral Council hadagreed thatthecontracts ofthethree
Deputy Directors-General thatwereduetoexpire on31July1996 beextended foroneyear, andthat
theDirector-General initiate consultations onfurther renewals ornewappointments earlyin1997, well
inadvance ofthedateofexpiration oftheirterms ofoffice.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theDirector-General, inaccordance with
theprocedures forthefuture appointments oftheDeputy Directors-General (BISD 34S/173), informed
theGeneral Council oftheinitiation ofhisconsultations ontheposts oftheDeputy Directors-General.
8Thediscussion atthereconvened meeting willbereflected inanaddendum tothepresent report.WT/GC/10
Page24
Therepresentatives ofMorocco, Pakistan, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, and
Mexico, andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theDirector-General announced thathe
haddecided toextend thepresent contracts ofthefourDeputy Directors-General until30April 1999,
thedateonwhich hewould leave office. Hebelieved thatintaking hisdecision hewasnottouching
onMembers 'freedom ofaction tochange thepresent senior management structure9andthetimetable
forimplementing thatchange.
Therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities, Colombia andMexico, andtheChairman
spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andoftheDirector-General 'sannouncement.
29. Observer status
(a) International intergovernmental organizations (WT/GC/M/17, 18,23,25)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on26November 1996, theChairman saiditwashis
understanding that,pending agreement ontheorganizations tobeaccorded observer status intheGeneral
Council inaccordance withtheguidelines forsuchstatus agreed on18July199610,theUnited Nations,
UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, FAO, WIPO andOECD would beinvited tothenextmeeting ofthe
General Council.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theChairman noted thattheIMFand
theWorldBankhadbeengivenobserverstatusintheGeneralCouncilandotherWTObodiesasprovided
forintheirrecently concluded respective Agreements withtheWTO (WT/L/195), andproposed the
following withregard tootherinternational intergovernmental organizations thathadrequested observer
status: (a)thattheorganizations thathadadhocobserver status intheGeneral Council, namely, the
United Nations, UNCTAD, FAO, WIPO andOECD begranted observer status immediately; (b)that
theChairman consult ontheinternational intergovernmental organizations whose requests forobserver
status hadnotyetbeenconsidered; and(c)thattheGeneral Council invite other WTO bodies toproceed
inasimilar waywithregard toobserver status forinternational intergovernmental organizations.
Therepresentatives ofJamaica, theUnited States andMorocco spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed totheChairman 'sproposal.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on22October 1997, therepresentative ofEgypt expressed
concern attheinconsistency indealing withrequests forobserver status from certain international
organizations invarious WTO bodies, andrequested information from theChairman onhisefforts
tofindanacceptable solution soontothisissue.
9Seepoint 18-"Institutional reform andrestructuring oftheSecretariat".
10Theguidelines arereproduced asAnnex 3ofWT/L/161.WT/GC/10
Page25
Therepresentatives ofBrunei onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, Bangladesh andArgentina,
andtheChairman spoke. TheChairman saidthathewould reactivate broad informal consultations
withdelegations onthismatter assoonaspossible.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
AttheGeneral Council meeting on10December 1997, theChairman reported thathehad
recently heldconsultations onthismatter, andthatfurther consultations would needbeheldearly the
following year. Inthemeantime, heproposed thattheInternational Trade Centre, asajointsubsidiary
organ oftheWTO andUNCTAD, beinvited, asappropriate, toattend meetings ofthose WTO bodies
itwished toattend without having tosubmit arequest forobserver status.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andsoagreed.
(b) Holy See(WT/GC/M/19, 21)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on24April 1997, theChairman recalled thatininformal
consultationshehadinformeddelegationsofinformalenquiriesfromtheVaticanregardingthepossibility
ofbeing allowed toobserve meetings oftheGeneral Council, andhadinvited alltoreflect onthismatter
andtoinform himbythetimeofthatmeeting whether theywould haveanydifficulty inconsidering,
atafuture meeting, aformal request fromtheVatican. Heannounced thatnoMember haduntilthen
indicated anydifficulty inconsidering sucharequest.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
Atitsmeeting on16July1997, theGeneral Council considered acommunication from the
HolySeerequesting observer status intheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council (WT/L/221).
Therepresentatives ofIndia andParaguay, andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed togrant theHoly Seeobserver
status atmeetings oftheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council. Taking intoaccount the
uniqueness oftheHoly See'ssituation, theGeneral Council further agreed towaive therequirement
concerning theintention toinitiate accession negotiations setoutinAnnex 2oftheRules ofProcedure
(WT/L/161), ontheunderstanding thatthisdidnotconstitute aprecedent forfuture decisions onrequests
forobserver status.
Therepresentatives ofEgypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Paraguay onbehalf oftheLatin American
andCaribbean Group (GRULAC), andIndonesia, andtheobserver fromtheHolySee,andtheDirector-
General andtheChairman spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
(c) Ethiopia (WT/GC/M/23)
Atitsmeeting on22October 1997, theGeneral Council considered arequest fromEthiopia
(WT/L/229) forobserver status intheGeneral Council anditssubsidiary bodies, andagreed togrant
therequest.
Therepresentatives ofEthiopia (asanobserver), Morocco onbehalf oftheAfrican Group,
Egypt, Kenya, India, Brunei onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, andBangladesh spoke.WT/GC/10
Page26
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
30. Appointment ofofficers toWTO bodies (WT/GC/M/18)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theChairman saidthatinaccordance
withtheguidelines forappointment ofofficers toWTO bodies (WT/L/31), hehadheldconsultations
onthismatter, andconsidered thatthere wasaconsensus onthefollowing slateofnames:
Chairperson oftheGeneral Council Mr.C.Lafer (Brazil)
Chairperson oftheDispute Settlement Body Mr.W.Armstrong (New Zealand)
Chairperson oftheTrade Policy Review Body Mr.M.Akram (Pakistan)
Chairperson oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods Mr.T.Johannessen (Norway)
Chairperson oftheCouncil forTRIPS Mrs. C.LuzGuarda (Chile)
Chairperson oftheCouncil forTrade inServices Mr.J.Yung Sun(Korea)
Chairperson oftheCommittee onTrade and Mr.B.Ekblom (Finland)
Environment
Chairperson oftheCommittee onTrade and Mr.D.Baichoo (Mauritius)
Development
Chairperson oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance Mr.K.Morjane (Tunisia)
andAdministration
Chairperson oftheCommittee onBalance-of-Payments Mr.P.R.Jenkins (United Kingdom)
Restrictions
Chairperson oftheCommittee onRegional Trading Mr.J.Weekes (Canada)
Arrangements
Therepresentatives ofHong Kong, Singapore onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, andTanzania
spoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andoftheconsensus ontheabove slateof
names.
31. Election ofChairperson (WT/GC/M/18)
AttheGeneral Council meeting on7February 1997, theChairman, astheoutgoing presiding
officer oftheGeneral Council, made astatement (WT/GC(97)/ST/1).
TheGeneral Council thenunanimously elected Mr.Lafer (Brazil) totheChair.
32. Review ofWTO activities11(WT/GC/M/25)
33. Annualoverviewofdevelopmentsininternationaltradeandthetradingsystem11(WT/GC/M/25)
Atitsmeetingon10December1997,theGeneralCouncilconductedareviewofWTOactivities
inpursuance oftheDecision concerning procedures fortheoverview ofWTO activities andforreporting
under theWTO (WT/L/105), aswellasanoverview ofdevelopments ininternational trade andthe
11AttheChairman 'ssuggestion thematters under points 32and33were taken uptogether andthediscussion
thereof isreflected accordingly intheMinutes ofthemeeting.WT/GC/10
Page27
trading system asrequired under paragraph GoftheTrade Policy Review Mechanism. Insodoing,
theGeneral Council considered annual reports for1997 from WTO bodies andanannual report by
theDirector-General ondevelopments ininternational trade andthetrading system (WT/TPR/OV/3
andCorr.1).
TheChairpersons oftherespective WTO bodies presented theannual reports submitted by
those bodies.
TheGeneral Council agreed tothecomposition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body asproposed
bytheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods (WT/L/253), andalsoagreed toaproposal by
theDirector-General thattheChairman oftheTMB, Mr.Szepesi, bereappointed forafurther period
ofthree years asof1January 1998.
Therepresentatives ofEcuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Brunei fortheASEAN Members, Egypt,
India, Pakistan, theUnited States, theEuropean Communities, Canada, Norway, Mexico andHong
Kong, China, andtheChairman thenspoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements, adopted thereport oftheCommittee onTrade
andDevelopment andtooknoteofthereports oftheother WTO bodies.
TheChairman oftheTrade Policy Review Body andtheDirector-General thenspoke.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
TheGeneral Council nextheard statements onboththese points fromrepresentatives12.The
General Council thenagreed thatthereview ofWTO activities andtheoverview ofdevelopments in
international trade andthetrading system for1997 hadbeenconducted. Itfurther agreed thatthe
Chairman would consult withdelegations onthepossibility ofconvening aninformal meeting early
thefollowing yearforthepurposes ofholding apolicy discussion todealwiththematters raised by
delegations relating totheconduct oftheend-of-year reviews intheGeneral Council.
__________
12Thestatements were subsequently circulated asdocuments intheWT/GC(97)/ST/- series.