WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/GC/W/531 
30 June 2004 
 (04-2815) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
WTO AFRICA GROUP PERSPECTIVE ON THE JULY PACKAGE 
 
Communication from Nigeria on behalf of the African Group
 
  
 The following communication, dated 25 June 2004 and addressed to the Chairman of the 
General Council, is being circulated at the request  of the Delegation of Nigeria on behalf of the 
African Group.   
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  I wish to, on behalf of the Africa Group, fo rward herewith, the Perspective of the Group on 
the July Package which the Group wishes that you ta ke into account as you prepare the Package. May 
I request the Chairman to circulate the African Persp ective to all Members of the WTO as usual.  I am 
forwarding a copy of this letter to the Director- General, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi. 
  
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WTO AFRICA GROUP PERSPECTIVES ON THE JULY PACKAGE 
 
 Following the Informal Heads of Delegation meeting of 8 June 2004, during which you outlined the "skeleton" of the July package, I am pleased to submit the views of the African Group in 
the WTO as our contribution to the July package. 
 
Mandate
 
  At the outset, we would like to emphasize that the political guidance and common African negotiating objectives are provided by the Kigali D eclaration and its annex the Kigali Consensus 
contained in document WT/L/572.  It is our exp ectation that this important contribution by the 
African Ministers will be appropriately refl ected in the text of the July package. 
 Process
 
 
 Whilst we take note of your nine-paragraph ou tline, we would like to spell out some basic 
criteria which, in our view, should guide the pr ocess and the substance of  the July Package. 
  The African Group would like the following criteria to be fully observed in preparing the July Package:  
 - It should be an inclusive process, with the participation of all Members; 
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  - It should secure the consensus on the level of details and specificity.  This will be 
crucial if the forthcoming work on Modalities is to be successful; 
  - Due consideration should be gi ven to the Development component; 
 
 - The outcome should be balanced; 
  - It should reflect the current status of the ongoing negotiations  Substance
 
 
 In terms of substance, the African Group can  broadly go along with your suggested approach, 
subject to the following being taken into consideration:   Cotton
 
 
 A separate paragraph is devoted to cotton.  Ther e is need to give a sense of value added in the 
text on this issue.  We urge that this paragr aph should not pre-empt ne gotiations as to how the 
cotton issue will be handled by stating that the cotton sectoral initiative will be dealt with 
within the broader agricultural negotiations. 
 
 Development Issues  
  On Development Issues, there is a need to also encompass the Issues of Commodities, Trade 
and Transfer of Technology, and Trade, Debt  and Finance and the developmental aspects of 
RTA's.  The Africa Group wishes to observe si nce Cancún, there has not been meaningful 
consultations and progress on S&D.  Therefore,  your suggestion to attach Annex C to the 
General Council document does not command consensus. 
  TRIPS
 
  On Paragraph 6, at this juncture, whilst work  is geared towards putting in place a permanent 
solution, and given the importance of the Doha  decision on TRIPS and Public Health, we 
would like to see a mention specifically being ma de on this Issue, in addition to what has 
already been indicated under the rubrique "TRIPS". 
  Singapore Issues
 
 
 The paragraph on Singapore issues which sugg ests the launching of negotiations on trade 
facilitation does not accurately reflect the current status of the consultations.  Our position is 
that the July package should decide to con tinue the clarification process which will be 
followed by agreement on modalities based on exp licit consensus.  Concerning the treatment 
of the three remaining issues, we reiterat e that our position as enunciated in the Kigali 
Consensus that they should be dropped fro m the work programme remains unchanged. 
  Services
 
  We have taken note of the interest expressed by some delegations for the inclusion of a 
separate paragraph on Services.  The African Gr oup concurs with the appreciation that the 
Services Negotiations are of such crucial importa nce that they deserve a separate paragraph.  
In this context the Group will be comfortable with the inclusion of a separate paragraph on 
Services. 
  WT/GC/W/531 
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  Finally, the Group reaffirms its continued e ngagement on all aspects of the negotiations and 
its readiness to engage constructively and pragmati cally with other Members in order to achieve a 
framework that is acceptable to all Members by the July deadline. 
  
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