WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/477
28 June 2002
(02-3639)
Original:  English
PREPARATORY PROCESS IN GENEVA AND NEGOTIATING
PROCESS AT MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES
Communication from Australia;  Canada;  Hong Kong, China;  Korea;
Mexico;  New Zealand;  Singapore;  Switzerland
The following communication, dated 27 June, has been received from the delegations of
Australia, Canada, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong, China.
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. In April a group of 15 delegations circulated a paper on the preparatory process in Geneva
and the negotiating process for ministerial conferences. Following an initial discussion at the May
General Council it was agreed that the topic woul d be placed on the agenda for the Council’s July
meeting. The Chairman also stated that he proposed to undertake consultations on the subject
following the summer break.
2. This submission takes up some of the issues raised in the May discussion in light of
experience since Seattle.
II. DIVERSE MEMBERSHIP AND INTERESTS
3. The composition of the WTO's membership has practical consequences for the preparatory
process and for negotiations. The membership is expanding but there are wide differences in
delegations’ capacity to participate in Geneva processes. Within an overall commitment to an
effective multilateral trading system there are different specific interests and objectives. Finding
consensus within WTO processes and delivering on the Doha mandate remains a challenge.
4. WTO practice is to take decisions by consensus.  This is not the easy approach: with such a
large and diverse membership forming consensus is difficult and time-consuming. Given the
implications of alternative approaches to decision-making processes we nevertheless expect that
consensus will remain the rule.
5. To meet Doha objectives will call for a large amount of work in a limited time, some of it
involving issues on which there are divergent views. The next ministerial conference will be an
important milestone for the Doha targets. We shall need to draw on the experience of recent years to
help find practical ways to achieve consensus on the preparatory process and the ministerial
conference.WT/GC/W/477
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III. BACKGROUND
6. Article IV of the Marrakesh Agreement Establ ishing the World Trade Organisation describes
the role of the Ministerial Conference. The Ministerial Conference is given the authority to take
decisions on all matters under any of the Multilateral Trade Agreements.
7. There was debate in the General Council in 2000 on internal transparency and effective
participation of members. The process adopted by the Chairman of the General Council involved a
series of open-ended consultations and invitati ons to put forward specific suggestions for
improvement. Ambassador Bryn provided an interim report on this work in July 2000 (see Job 6591)
in which he highlighted the following points:
(a) Within the framework of the WTO Agreement it is my impression that Members
generally do not see the need for any major institutional reform which might alter the
basic character of the WTO as a Member-driven organisation and its decision-makingprocess. I also note a strong commitment of the Members to reaffirm the existing
practice of taking decisions by consensus.
(b) Members seem to recognize that interactive open-ended informal meetings play an
important role in facilitating consensus decision-making. As a complement to, but in
no way a replacement of this open-ended consultation process, consultations may alsotake place with individual Members or groups of Members. In such cases, in order to
ensure that the consultations contribute to the achievement of a durable consensus, it
is important that:
(i) Members are advised of the intention to hold such consultations;
(ii) Members with an interest in the specific issue under consideration are given
the opportunity to make their views known;
(iii) No assumption should be made that one Member represents any other
Members except where the Members concerned have agreed on such an
arrangement;
(iv) The outcome of such consultations is reported back to the full membership
expeditiously for their consideration.
8. At the conclusion of the process at the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 December 2000
the Chairman made a statement (JOB(00)/7891/Rev.1) reflecting the broad conclusions reached in the
course of the year’s work. Key points in his statement were the following:
- Members’ emphasis on having a maximum of flexibility in the process
leading up to, and including, Ministerial Conferences – and on the need for
any guidelines for the preparation and conduct of Ministerial Conferences tobe broad and flexible.
- Broad recognition of the need to establish an efficient Geneva-based
preparatory process which would allow for solutions to be worked out in
advance for most issues.
- A general view that a strong, inclusive and transparent process leading up to,
and including, Ministerial Conferences was fundamental in order to ensure a
successful outcome.WT/GC/W/477
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IV. PREPARATORY PROCESS AND THE FOURTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
9. The points listed above from Ambassador Bryn’s July and December statements provided the
framework for the Doha preparatory process. In the first half of 2001 the General Council Chairman
convened a series of open-ended consultations, on the basis of which he developed a list of possible
elements for a ministerial declaration, followed by a draft declaration. A revised version of that drafttext was transmitted to Ministers as a basis for their work in Doha.
10. Reflecting the diversity of interests and views within the membership there were differences
over the scope of the agenda and the status of various elements within it. Final judgments on the more
intractable issues had to be made by Ministers in Doha on the basis of their assessment of overall
balance. The Doha ministerial declaration in its final form was nevertheless close to the text that had
been developed in Geneva. The judgment of most participants, both during the Geneva process and
after final decisions were taken in Doha, was that the preparatory process had been successful inreconciling the broad range of members’ interests with the need to provide a platform for effective
decision-making in the Ministerial Conference.
11. In the plenary discussion on the final morning in Doha a broad cross-section of delegations
spoke. Members paid tribute to the approach taken by the Conference Chairman and acknowledged
the role ministerial facilitators had played in re solving differences on specific issues. A key theme
was satisfaction at having reached agreement, in spite of the hard decisions involved and the
inevitable compromises, on a package that offered an acceptable overall balance.
V. LOOKING AHEAD
12. Further discussion on transparency and participation in decision-making is timely: the
preparatory process for the Fifth Ministerial Conference will probably need to get under way fromearly 2003. Decisions on the format of the preparatory process will have to take account of several
practical points:
- The mandate within which we are to work has been laid down by Ministers in
the Doha ministerial declaration.
- Delegations will be heavily committed to negotiations in individual
negotiating groups until shortly before Cancun.
- The tight timetable will call for a process that does not build in unnecessary
delays or procedural hurdles.
- The level of participation and transparency provided by the Geneva process
in 2001 will need to be maintained and where possible improved.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
13. There are nevertheless some procedural lessons to be drawn from the experience of recent
years. In view of the challenge before us in delivering on the Doha mandate we offer the following
conclusions:
- Prescriptive and detailed approaches to the preparatory processes are
inappropriate and will not create the best circumstances for consensus to
emerge in the Cancun meeting.WT/GC/W/477
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- In a Member-driven organization processes need to be kept flexible. We need
to avoid rigidities.
- The processes and practices we have followed since Seattle on internal
transparency and the effective participation of Members should continue to
guide our approaches to the preparatory process for Cancun.
- The preparatory process should leave space for the Ministerial Conference
take up those issues which call for resolution at ministerial level.
- The most critical consensus is that required to conclude negotiations, and that
will depend on whether all members judge they have secured a balanced
overall result.
14. In processes of this sort much depends on members’ level of ambition and the force with
which they pursue individual objectives. Ultimately consensus will be achievable only if members are
prepared to moderate these objectives and take a wider view of what their interests require. Restraint
and flexibility will be essential.
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