RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/M/76
5 November 2002
(02-6079)
General Council
15 October 2002
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held in the Centre William Rappard
on 15 October 2002
Chairman:  Mr. Sergio Marchi (Canada)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Accession of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Report of the
Working Party.................................................................................................................. .........2
2. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO - Report of the Joint Advisory
Group on its Thirty-fifth Session ............................................................................................6
3. Iran – Request for Accession ................................................................................................ ..7
4. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee ..........................................8
5. Work Programme on Small Economies – Report by the Chairman of the
Dedicated Sessions of the Committee on Trade and Development.....................................10
6. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce – Institutional Arrangements –
Statement by the Chairman ...................................................................................................10
7. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration ...........................................................11
(a) Report of the Committee on its meeting of  5 July ...................................................................11
(b) Director-General's Conditions of Service – Statement by the Chairman of the
Committee...................................................................................................................... ...........11
8. Marrakesh Ministerial Decision concerning the possible negative effects of the
reform programme on least-developed and NFIDCs - Report of the Inter-
Agency Panel on short-term difficulties in financing normal levels of commercialimports of basi c foodstuffs ................................................................................................... .12
9. Committee on Agriculture – Report on the follow-up to the Committee's
recommendations concerning implementation-related issues approved by the
Doha Ministerial Conference ................................................................................................14
10. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement..............................................................15
(a) Introduction of Harmonized System 1996 changes into WTO schedules of tariff
concessions – Request s for waiv ers..........................................................................................15
(i) Argentina - Schedule LXIV .................................................................................................. ....15
(ii) El Salvador - Schedule LXXXVII ............................................................................................ .15
(iii) Israel - Sc hedule XLII ................................................................................................... ...........15WT/GC/M/76
Page 2
(iv) Morocco - Schedule LXXXI .................................................................................................. ...15
(v) Norway - Sc hedule XIV ...................................................................................................... ......15
(vi) Thailand - Schedule LXXIX ................................................................................................. ....15
(vii) Venezuela - Schedule LXXXVI .............................................................................................. ...15
(b) Transposition of schedules into the Harmonized System - Sri Lanka - Schedule VI -
Request for extensio n of waiver ..............................................................................................1 6
(c) Zambia - Renegotiation of Schedule LXXVIII  - Request for extension of waiver .................16
(d) Review of waivers pursuant to Ar ticle IX:4 of the WTO Agreement ......................................16
(i) Canada – CARIBCAN, granted on 14 October 1996 until 31 December 2006........................16
(ii) Madagascar – Customs Valuation Agreement, granted on 18 July 2001 until
17 November 2003 .............................................................................................................. .....16
(iii) Switzerland – Preferences for Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, granted on 18 July
2001 until 31 Ma rch 2004 ...................................................................................................... ..16
(iv) United States – Former trust territory of the Pacific Islands, granted on 14 October
1996 until 31 December 2006 ..................................................................................................1 6
11. Chairmanship of the Working Party on the Accession of Nepal........................................18
12. Better management of WTO meetings..................................................................................18
1. Accession of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Report of the Working
Party (WT/ACC/807/27 and Add.1 and 2)
1. The Chairman welcomed, on behalf of all Members, the delegation of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and recalled that in December 1994, the Preparatory Committee
for the World Trade Organization had established a Working Party to examine the request by FYROM
for accession to the WTO Agreement.  The report of that Working Party was now before the General
Council for consideration and adopti on in WT/ACC/807/27 and Add.1 and 2.
2. Mr. Bryn (Norway), Chairman of the Working Party, said that the Working Party had been
established in December 1994, but that its first meeting had been held only in July 2000.  In
accordance with the guidelines and procedures established under the WTO Agreement, the Working
Party had then moved rapidly to hold several meetings during the period from July 2000 to September
2002 to carry out an examination of the foreign tr ade regime of FYROM.  During that period, the
accession process of FYROM had maintained and progressively increased its impressive momentum,
making this one of the fastest accessions in the history of the WTO.  He wished to pay tribute to the
authorities of FYROM and to its Minister of Ec onomy, Mr. Besnik Fetai, who had conducted the
negotiations with speed and with a dedication which bore almost no comparison.  That praise alsoapplied to his team, composed of devoted and committed negotiators who had met all of the
challenges of the accession process boldly, rapidly and constructively.  FYROM had proceeded with
broad-ranging and dynamic reforms aimed at achieving conformity with WTO rules and disciplines.
These efforts had been particularly impressive, since the past two years had been a difficult period in
the region. He also expressed appreciation to the WTO membership for its flexibility and good will,which were the traditional hallmarks of the GATT-WTO system, and congratulated all concerned on
bringing this important accession process to a satisfactory conclusion.
3. The results of these negotiations constituted the complete accession package of FYROM to
the WTO Agreement, and were contained in the following documents:  the report of the WorkingWT/GC/M/76
Page 3
Party (WT/ACC/807/27), the schedule of concessions and commitments on goods
(WT/ACC/807/27/Add.1), and the schedule of specific commitments on services
(WT/ACC/807/27/Add.2).  The Working Party had adopted these documents at its meeting on
17 September 2002 on an ad referendum basis, thus completing its mandate.  Members of the
Working Party had noted with appreciation the efforts made by FYROM in putting into place thenecessary legislation to implement the WTO agreements by the date of accession to the WTO
Agreement.  The appendix to the report reproduced the draft decision of the General Council and the
draft Protocol of Accession of FYROM to the Ma rrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.  In
accordance with usual WTO practice, the Protocol of Accession incorporated the specific
commitments undertaken by FYROM in relation to matters negotiated in the Working Party.
4. FYROM would be the third constituent of the former Yugoslavia to become a Member of the
organization pursuant to Article XII of the WTO Agreement.  Accession to the WTO Agreement was
an important step in the integration of the countrie s of that region into the multilateral trading system,
thus contributing to the attainment of sustained peace and prosperity in the Balkans.  He paid tribute
to the continuous efforts, good will and spirit of compromise shown by all in this accession process.
The traditional spirit of pragmatism of the WTO had prevailed and had allowed the work to be
concluded.  The results achieved in the Working Party spoke for themselves.
5. The representative of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, speaking as an observer,
said that he was pleased and honoured to sign, on behalf of his country, the Protocol for the Accession
of his country to the WTO Agreement.  He hoped that through its WTO membership, FYROM's
economy would adjust to the multilateral trading syst em and would give an impetus to the production
of products for which FYROM had a comparative advantage.  Hence, his country expected foreigndirect investment to increase.  The legislation which his country had enacted and harmonized in
accordance with WTO rules and principles, and the liberalization of its customs tariff, provided
attractive conditions and security to foreign investors.  Accession to the WTO Agreement would
provide conditions for FYROM companies to benefi t from the challenges and opportunities of the
multilateral trading system.  The economic development of the country and the living standard of itspopulation would rise.  Accession to the WTO Agreement had not been an easy task and had required
time, effort and work.  As the National Coordinator of the WTO Accession Process, he wished to
underline that the accession process had been a challenge.  However, with the dedication and work of
his team of the Coordinative Body for Accessi on, FYROM, through a patient and rational approach,
had managed to conclude its accession process successfully.  He expressed appreciation to Members
and to the Chairman of the Working Party for their efforts and cooperation during the accession
process.  FYROM, as a future Member, would act in a constructive and responsible manner to justify
Members' confidence.
6. The General Council then approved the text of the draft Protocol of Accession of the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as contained in the report of the Working Party 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 on the Accession of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia as contained in the report of the Working Party.  The General Council next
adopted the report of the Working Party as a whole in WT/ACC/807/27 and Add.1 and 2.
7. The Chairman then welcomed, on behalf of the General Council and all Members, the
accession of FYROM.
8. The representative of Argentina said that Ar gentina had joined in the consensus which had
just approved FYROM's accession, and congratulated FYROM on its entry into the WTO.  Argentina
welcomed the commitments made by FYROM particular ly those to the effect that it would not grant
new export subsidies and would remove any that it might currently be granting.  However, Argentina
saw a need to place on record its position with regard to the "ex" positions in the tariff lines forWT/GC/M/76
Page 4
cheeses and certain alcoholic beverages included in the Schedule of goods of FYROM (Schedule
CLIV, document WT/ACC/807/27/Add.1, Part I-A) – con cerning the following tariff lines at the six-
digit level:  HS 04 06 40;  04 06 90;  22 04 10;  22 04 21;  22 04 29 and 22 08 20 – which were
differentiated according to origin or the name of a region.  In this connection, her delegation wished to
state that Argentina considered that this novel form of tariff classification was not provided for in the
current Harmonized System Nomenclature, which took into account exclusively the nature and
objective characteristics specific to the set of goods classified, without establishing any differentiation
based on origin.  For Argentina, the goods included in the tariff lines in FYROM's Schedule were
"like products" within the meaning of the GATT 1994 and other relevant WTO instruments, in
particular the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  Any tariff differentiation that FYROM
wished to apply in future to Argentine products under this classification would be considered a
violation of Article I:1 of the GATT 1994.  Argentina's consent to FYROM's accession could not beconstrued as a precedent for accepting similar "ex" positions of tariff lines in other ongoing accession
negotiations.
9. The representatives of Norway, Turkey
, Paraguay (on behalf of GRULAC) , China , Slovak
Republic (also on behalf of Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech  Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania and Slovenia), Croatia , European Communities , Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN
Members), United States , India , Slovenia , Albania , Kenya (on behalf of the African Group)  and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (as an observer) welcomed the accession of FYROM and looked
forward to working with FYROM in the WTO.
10. The representatives of Norway, Turkey , China , Slovak Republic  (also on behalf of Bulgaria,
Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovenia),
Croatia, India , Slovenia , Bulgaria  and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (as an observer ) underlined
the importance of their respective relations with FYROM.
11. The representatives of the Slovak Republic (also on behalf of Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuani a, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), Croatia , Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia (as an observer) said that FYROM's accession would contribute to the further
strengthening of the multilateral trading system.
12. The representatives of the European Communities, India  and Kenya (on behalf of the African
Group) thanked the Chairman of the Working Party for his hard work and very professional guidance
during this accession process.
13. The representative of Turkey said that his Government commended FYROM for its efforts to
conclude the accession process in a short period of time and appreciated FYROM's efforts to
liberalize its economy and its trade in order to fu lly integrate into the multilateral trading system.
FYROM's accession to the WTO Agreement would contribute to the well-being of its people as well
as to its economic development.  It was a further positive step toward the establishment of a free-
market economy in the Balkans region, and would contribute to stability and prosperity in that region.
His delegation wished to draw attention to the fact that Turkey recognized the country under its
constitutional name, i.e., the Republic of Macedonia.
14. The representative of Paraguay, speaking on behalf of GRULAC,  said that these countries
congratulated FYROM for the efforts made in its acce ssion process.  The results of the Working Party
spoke for themselves.  These countries welcomed FYROM as it embarked on a more effective and
efficient integration into the world economy through the WTO multilateral trading system.
15. The representative of China said that, looking at the accession processes of recently acceded
Members and the processes of the 30 acceding countries which were still ongoing, one element
deserved Members' attention.  It was now quite difficult for countries, including for very smallWT/GC/M/76
Page 5
economies or the least-developed countries, to complete their accession processes.  One obvious
reason was the lack of clear rules and guidance for accession negotiations.  Therefore, in order to
facilitate and accelerate the accession processes of the acceding countries, Members should establish
guidelines for the accession negotiations.
16. The representative of the Slovak Republic, speaking also on behalf of Bulgaria, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, said that these
countries had always attached great importance to the accession of new countries to the WTO, and to
making its membership more universal.  FYROM's accession was an important contribution to its
economic transformation.  Becoming part of the multilateral trading system complemented the
broader economic policy objectives of FYROM.  Integrating into the multilateral trading system
would contribute to FYROM's drive for increas ed economic growth through economic reform,
liberalization and diversification.  The adoption of WTO provisions and FYROM's commitments tothe basic principles of transparency, predictability and rule of law would contribute to the
development of a legal framework necessary for its further growth and development.
17. The representative of Croatia said that as a country that had recently joined the WTO, Croatia
was aware of how challenging the accession process could be, particularly when it was undertaken in
parallel with an economic transition process within the complex world economic situation.  However,WTO accession and full adherence to its rules, objectives and principles would have important
positive effects on FYROM's economy and would contri bute to the reform process and its further
integration into global and European trade flows.  FYROM's accession would further enhance
bilateral economic relations with Croatia, as well as contribute to further developing trade and
strengthening stability in the region.  He hoped that this accession would provide further impetus forthe early accession of other neighbouring countries, which would enable them to further develop their
trade within the WTO framework.
18. The representative of the European Communities said that the successful conclusion of the
negotiations on FYROM's accession was recognition of the efforts made to transform its economy and
to establish a liberal trade régime.  The Community particularly welcomed FYROM's efforts to adoptthe range of legislative and institutional reforms re quired to bring it into conformity with the WTO
agreements, and its commitments to a liberal, open trading system through the adoption of
commercially sound market-access commitments.  The Community fully supported the integration of
FYROM into the multilateral trading system, which would reinforce stability in this region.
19. The representative of the United States said that the agreed terms of FYROM's accession
were substantial and signalled in concrete terms its determination to reform its economy and establish
a strong foundation for future economic growth.  FYROM's accession had been accomplished in arelatively short period of time.  It was a great achievement and demonstrated FYROM's commitment
to the WTO principles.  Her Government welcomed FYROM's achievement in light of the strong
support the United States had provided for this process, both through technical assistance and through
detailed bilateral work with the delegation of FY ROM on the terms of accession.  The United States
looked forward to working with FYROM in the Doha negotiations and in the day-to-day work of theWTO.
20. The representative of India said that his delegation shared the views expressed by China that
procedures should be worked out for faster accession in the future.
21. The representative of Slovenia said that the fact that the FYROM was becoming a part of the
multilateral rule-based trading system was of particular relevance for South-East Europe as a whole.
It sent the right signal and offered an example to be followed by other countries in the region, in
particular to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  FYROM's
accession to the WTO Agreement provided a new perspective for its accession to CEFTA and itsWT/GC/M/76
Page 6
stronger inclusion in European integration proces ses.  Slovenia had supported FYROM throughout the
accession negotiations.  This support had been based on Slovenia's knowledge and experience of the
progress made by FYROM in all aspects relevant to  WTO membership, as well as in other areas of
overall structural reforms.  He said that FYROM had concluded a Free Trade Agreement with
neighbouring countries which was being applied and administered without any major problem.
22. The representative of Albania said that the current approach achieved by FYROM was an
important one, which aimed at seeking to mainstream trade policy areas of action into regional
development plans.  He believed that the effort s of FYROM would yield positive results for its
domestic economic development.  Albania was conf ident that the compatib ility of FYROM's trade
regime with WTO rules, and the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Liberalization and
Facilitation which FYROM had signed with ot her countries, would both enhance the mutual
cooperation among these neighbouring countries.
23. The representative of Bulgaria said that although his delegation would examine Argentina's
statement, it did not regard that statement as leading to any legal consequences.  He added that
Bulgaria recognized FYROM under its constitutional name, i.e., the Republic of Macedonia.
24. The representative of Kenya, speaking on behalf of the African Group , said that every new
accession enhanced the profile of the WTO.  She hoped that the expectations and commitment of
FYROM, as it joined the WTO, would yield the in tended results from integration of the country and
its people into the multilateral trading system.
25. The representative of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, speaking as an observer , said that
FYROM's accession gave an impetus to other acceding countries, like his own, which were currently
preparing and undertaking important steps to that effect.  FYROM's accession would contribute tofurther stabilizing the overall situation in the region, as well as to improving trade and economic
cooperation in the region, to which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was endeavouring to
contribute fully.  His Government was confident th at successful cooperation with FYROM and other
countries of the region would continue to develo p, and wished FYROM prosperity and success in its
continued development in the interest of its peoples.
26. The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of welcome and
support.
2. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO - Report of the Joint Advisory Group on its
Thirty-fifth Session (ITC/AG(XXXV)/191)
27. The Chairman recalled that the Joint Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre
UNCTAD/WTO (JAG) had held its Thirty-Fifth Sess ion from 15-19 April 2002.  The report of the
Joint Advisory Group had been distributed in ITC/AG(XXXV)/191.  In keeping with customarypractice, this report had been considered initially by the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD)
at its meeting on 1 July 2002.  The report was now before the General Council for formal adoption.
At the meeting of the CTD on 1 July, the Chairman of that Committee had indicated that he would
report to the General Council on the Committee's discussion of the report.
28. Mr. Rana, Deputy Director-General, speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee on
Trade and Development, said that the JAG had held its Thirty-fifth Session on 15-19 April 2002.  The
report of the JAG had been before the Forty-first session of the CTD on 1 July, and Mr. Girard
(Switzerland), Chairman of the JAG, had introduced  the report.  In the course of the discussion, the
issue of translation of the JAG report into Arabic and Chinese had been raised.  The ITC Executive
Director, Mr. Bélisle, had offered to provide more detailed information on how the requests fortranslation of the report into additional languages had been dealt with.  That information hadWT/GC/M/76
Page 7
subsequently been provided by the ITC Secretariat and had been circulated to Members in
WT/COMTD/40.  The CTD had then agreed to forw ard the report to the General Council, on the
understanding that its Chairman would inform the Ge neral Council that the translation issue had been
raised.
29. The representative of Egypt said that during the course of the JAG meeting, as well as during
the CTD meeting, Egypt had underlined the importance of translating documents of that important
annual meeting for the dissemination of information on the activities of the ITC.  Such information
would probably be even more beneficial to small- and medium-sized enterprises than to other
participants.  For this reason, Egypt insisted on the translation of such documents.  This matter had
been discussed at the July meeting of the CTD.  At the European Communities' request, background
information on the proposal to issue the documentation in Arabic and Chinese had been prepared by
the ITC and circulated to Members in WT/COMTD/40.  Egypt hoped that this informationcorresponded to the Community's request, and that funds for translation could be obtained.
30. The representative of China expressed gratitude to Deputy Director-General Mr. Rana for his
report on behalf of the Chairman of the CTD on the Thirty-fifth Session of the JAG, and
congratulated the ITC on the excellent work it had been doing for years in the area of technical
cooperation with developing countries for trade promotion.  China encouraged the ITC to redouble itsefforts in this regard, and invited the WTO to strengthen its support and guidance to this work.  With
respect to the issue of languages used in JAG official documentation, China believed in equality of
working languages and strongly requested, as it had done on more than one occasion, that both Arabic
and Chinese be treated on an equal footing with the other four languages.  This was not only a matter
of principle, but also for the sake of facilitatin g the participation of Arabic- and Chinese-speaking
delegates in the work of the JAG.   China looked forward to an early resolution of this problem.
31. The Chairman said he had been informed that the issue of translation of ITC documentation
into two additional languages would be taken up for consideration by the Committee on Budget,
Finance and Administration at its forthcoming meeting on 18 October in the context of considering
the 2003 draft budget.  He therefore proposed that the General Council await the Budget Committee'sconsideration of this issue before reverting to it in the General Council.  He wished the Executive
Director of the ITC, Mr. Bélisle, and his orga nization continued success on what had been a very
successful life thus far for the ITC.
32. The General Council took note of the report and of the statements, and agreed
 to the
Chairman's proposal.
3. Iran – Request for Accession (WT/ACC/IRN/1)
33. The Chairman drew attention to the communicat ion from Iran in WT/ACC/IRN/1, requesting
accession to the WTO Agreement.  He recalled that the General Council had last considered this
matter at its meeting in July, and had agreed to revert to it at the present meeting.
34. The representative of the United States said that her delegation did not have anything to add
to its statement at the July meeting.  The issue of Iran's accession to the WTO Agreement was under
review by her Government, and her delegation was not in a position to speak to this matter at thepresent meeting.
35. The representative of Malaysia, speaking on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing
Countries, said that Iran's request for accession had been on the agenda of the General Council for
some time, and this group of countries believed that it should be given the attention it merited.  They
hoped that the matter would be resolved in an expeditious manner and urged the United States toprovide a positive response to this issue at the next meeting of the General Council.WT/GC/M/76
Page 8
36. The General Council took note of the statements and agreed  to revert to this matter at its next
meeting.
4. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee
37. The Director-General, Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee1, reporting on the
TNC's fourth meeting on 3-4 October, said that it had marked the start of a new phase of the
negotiations – the phase of substantive engagement.  Indeed, this meeting had been the first time that
substance itself had been discussed in such detail at the level of the TNC.  The prime function of the
TNC was to build a sense of the negotiations as a whole, which was vital if Members were to arrive at
a balanced package in line with the single undertaking that Ministers had agreed on.  In this respect,
he believed that the fourth meeting had been a step  in the right direction.  He wished to thank the
Chairpersons of the bodies established by the TNC for their written reports, but especially for their
oral interventions at the meeting.  Members had made a good start at making the TNC a moreinteractive forum – this was something he intended to encourage at future meetings.  The TNC would
be more active as the negotiations advanced, and as its Chairman, he would be an activist.  He
believed this was what delegations expected of him.  He would work closely with the Chairpersons to
support and help them where he thought it might be useful, in the interests of advancing progress in
the negotiations.  He would also be active in consulting with delegations, first of all, as Membersprepared for the important issues that would be on the table in December.  He would, of course, also
work in close cooperation with the Chairman of the General Council, as set out in the TNC's
Principles and Practices agreed earlier in 2002.
38. He also thanked delegations for their many constructive statements and suggestions covering
a wide range of views, different priorities and concerns.  He had listened carefully to everything thathad been said at the meeting, and as he had noted in his concluding remarks, the issues of agriculture,
special and differential treatment, implementation, and TRIPS and public health stood out as the areas
at the forefront of everyone's mind in the period until December.  Clearly there were some strongly-
held views in these areas and Members would have to work hard to reach consensus.  The
Chairpersons' reports and the comments by delegations on them had confirmed his impression of theircurrent situation, i.e. Members had got off to a reasonably good start, but much more remained to be
done in a very short period of time, and time was running quickly.  From the Chairpersons' reports, it
was clear that in some areas there was an urgent need to move forward and a shortage of written
inputs.  He repeated his exhortation to all Members to make the greatest possible effort to submit their
remaining papers rapidly – this was essential if they were to meet the deadlines that were coming up
fast.
39. Prior to the meeting he had circulated to all participants, on his own responsibility and
without prejudice to any participant's position on the issues listed, a revised timeline to Cancún.  He
had done this because he wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of the key dates and deadlines
established so far.  He hoped that participants would keep all of them in mind when they considered
their tactical and strategic moves as they entered the middle period of the negotiations.  It was
important that Members met all of the deadlines set out in the timeline.  But a deadline was not an endin itself.  Deadlines were important because they allowed Members to measure how they were
advancing.  And all Members knew they had to advance the substance of the negotiations
progressively across all areas of the negotiating agenda as a whole.  Members had some important
deadlines coming up over the next few months, and leaving too much for Cancún, he believed they
might make the task of achieving a successful outcome to the negotiations almost impossible.
40. However, he had found it encouraging at the meeting that there was already a widespread
sense of the globality of the negotiations, of the need to make progress across a broad front and to
                                                     
1 The statement was subsequently  circulated as Job(02)/145.WT/GC/M/76
Page 9
build a balanced overall result.  But he encouraged  delegations to move rapidly away from defensive
positions – there was no longer time to wait for someone else to make the opening move.  This was
not a zero-sum game.  It was certainly about national interests, but it was also about a shared interest
in a system which delivered for all its members.  Members had a shared responsibility to move these
negotiations on to a timely and positive conclusion.  Trade was often mentioned as a means to find away out of the evolving economic uncertainties that the world faced and was likely to increasingly
face in the near future.  Members could counter these uncertainties only by strengthening
predictability, and by achieving what they were supposed to achieve within the time they had been
mandated to do so.  He wished to mention briefly one administrative matter, namely the issue of
scheduling of meetings.  In his discussions with the Chairpersons and also with other Members, it had
emerged that they were facing some practical problems in this area.  This question involved many
aspects, such as how to apply the relevant guidelines in a way which helped, not hindered, their work,as well as other purely physical limitations, such as the number of meeting rooms and the availability
of interpreters, and the limitations faced by small delegations.  In order to address this problem, and in
line with the TNC's Principles and Practices, he had decided to ask Deputy Director-General
Mr. Abbott to work together with the Chairpersons and with the smaller delegations, in the first
instance, to ensure that Members would be in a position to meet their deadlines while also taking intoaccount the constraints those delegations were facing.  The coming months would be a busy period for
them all, and he was sure that with careful management and appropriate mechanisms, Members could
respect their mandate to conduct the negotiations in a transparent manner among participants, in order
to facilitate the effective participation of all.
41. The representative of Kenya, speaking on behalf of the African Group
, said that as the
Director-General had noted in his report, significant progress had been made in some negotiating
bodies, and these countries agreed that this was a step in the right direction.  Nevertheless, there were
other areas where progress had been very slow, and in some cases deadlines had been extended to
accomplish the task.  A number of these areas were crucial to the African Group, and the overall
progress made in negotiations would depend on the outcome in these specific areas.  The area ofspecial and differential treatment was one of them.  Implementation issues were another.  An
expeditious resolution regarding Paragraph 6 of the Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health was the
third issue, although it did not directly fall under the TNC.  The outcome in these areas would
determine the pace and level of the negotiations in other areas.  The African Group had been told that
some of their proposals were either too ambitious and needed to be scaled down, or that they were
unrealistic, and these countries were eager to see alternative solutions and proposals to those they had
put on the table.  Members needed to move away from generalization and get into specifics.  TheAfrican Group needed to know, for example, th e exact levels that some Members considered
reasonable and realistic.  This was the only way Members could, and had to, strive to move forward.
The African Group was ready and willing to engage in meaningful discussions to ensure that
Members accomplished their work within the deadlines set and without having to seek any further
extension.
42. Another area that needed immediate attention was the number of meetings taking place in the
WTO, and the African Group was pleased to hear what the Director-General had said about this
matter.  Along with the present General Council meet ing, there were two informal meetings that were
taking place at the same time, one on TRIPS and public health and the other on technical barriers to
trade.  These issues were extremely important to the African Group, but these countries were not ableto cover them effectively because of their limited human resources.  The African Group wished to see
a situation where the needs and concerns of small and medium-sized delegations were taken into
consideration in accordance with the letter and principle of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.
43. The General Council took note of the statement and of the report by the Chairman of the
Trade Negotiations Committee.WT/GC/M/76
Page 10
5. Work Programme on Small Economies – Report by the Chairman of the Dedicated
Sessions of the Committee on Trade and Development
44. The Chairman recalled that at its meeting in February/March, the General Council had taken
note of a framework and procedures for the conduct of the Work Programme on Small Economies,
under which the Work Programme would be a standing item on the General Council's agenda.  Theframework and procedures also provided that the Committee on Trade and Development would report
regularly to the General Council on the progress of work in its dedicated sessions on this subject.
45. Mr. Rana, Deputy Director-General, speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the Dedicated
Sessions of the Committee on Trade and Development, reported on the Committee's activities on this
matter.  This report was being made pursuant to th e decision of the General Council at its meeting on
1 March 2002.  The General Council had instructed the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD)
to develop a programme of work on small economies through dedicated sessions.  It had also beenstated that the CTD should report regularly to the General Council on the progress of the work in the
dedicated sessions.  As had been stated in the first two reports, the CTD had formally begun this work
by holding its first dedicated session on 25 April.  A second Dedicated Session had been held on
1 July.  A number of informal consultations had also been held.  The proponents of this Work
Programme had requested that the next dedicated session be scheduled to coincide with the "GenevaWeek" for non-resident Members and observers.  Thus, when the "Geneva Week" had been postponed
from the beginning of October to the beginning of November, the third Dedicated Session had also
been postponed.  Members expected the November meeting to be a productive one.  The Secretariat
had prepared a paper on small economies.  Further research and analysis, which had been requested
by the small economies, was being undertaken by the Secretariat to assist Members in theirdeliberations.  This work was expected to be circulated well in advance of the next Dedicated Session.
Members would continue their work on fulfil ling the mandate in paragraph 35 of the Doha
Declaration and the instructions to the CTD given by the General Council on 1 March, at the third
Dedicated Session, which was scheduled for 4 November.
46. The General Council took note of the report by  Deputy Director-General Mr. Rana on behalf
of the Chairman of the Dedicated Sessions of the CTD.
6. Work Programme on Electronic Commerce – Institutional Arrangements – Statement
by the Chairman
47. The Chairman recalled that Ministers at Doha had agreed to continue the Work Programme
on Electronic Commerce, and had instructed the General Council to consider the most appropriate
institutional arrangements for handling the Work Programme and to report on further progress to the
Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference.  With regard to future work on e-commerce, the GeneralCouncil had agreed in December 2001 as follows:  First, a further dedicated discussion on cross-
cutting issues would be held under the auspices of the General Council early in 2002.  Second, the
Chairman of the General Council would conduct informal consultations with delegations on the most
appropriate institutional arrangements for handling the Work Programme and would report to the
General Council after the second dedicated discussion on cross-cutting issues.  And third, the GeneralCouncil would continue to oversee progress made in the four subsidiary bodies involved in e-
commerce, i.e., the sectoral Councils and the Committee on Trade and Development, and would keep
future work under periodic review, as appropriate.
48. The second dedicated discussion on cross-cutting issues under the auspices of the General
Council had been held on 6 May 2002  Subsequently, at the General Council meeting in July, he hadinvited Members to reflect on the most appropriate  institutional arrangements for handling the Work
Programme as a whole, with a view to taking a decision on this matter at the present meeting.WT/GC/M/76
Page 11
49. Since then, and at his request, former Depu ty Director-General Mr. Stoler had held an
informal open-ended consultation in September, and had reported to him that Members had been in
agreement with maintaining the institutional arrangem ents that were currently in place, namely, that
the Councils for Trade in Services, Trade in Goods and TRIPS, and the Committee on Trade and
Development would examine and report on aspects of electronic commerce relevant to theirrespective areas of competence, and that the General Council would play a central role in the entire
process, would keep the Work Programme under continuous review and would consider any trade-
related issue of a cross-cutting nature.
50. On the basis of these consultations, he proposed that Members agree to maintain, for the
duration of the work until the Fifth Ministerial Conference, the current institutional arrangements for
handling the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce as outlined by him.
51. The General Council so agreed.
52. The Chairman then informed the General Council that at the consultations held by Deputy
Director-General Mr. Stoler, delegations had also been in agreement with the notional schedule of
future dedicated discussions on cross-cutting issues under the auspices of the General Council as
follows:  25 October,  late December,  late February 2003;  and the May-June 2003 period.
53. The General Council took note of this information.
7. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
(a) Report of the Committee on its meeting of 5 July (WT/BFA/60)
54. Mr. McMillan (United Kingdom), Chairman  of the Committee on Budget, Finance and
Administration, introducing the report in WT/BFA/60, said that at its meeting on 5 July, the
Committee had looked at various administrative up-dates and progress reports, including the status of
pledges made and funds received for the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund.  It had
continued its deliberations on results-based management and possible funding for an agreed staff
termination scheme under the existing staff rules.  Discussions on both these issues would continue
over the next few months and probably into 2003, but certainly in the light of the 2003 Budget
Proposal which would be issued in the coming week.  The Committee had also heard a report from thedelegation of Switzerland on the construction of a new WTO Annex.  The process of seeking
architectural designs had already started in September 2002 and the building was expected to be
completed by December 2007.
55. The General Council took note of the statement and adopted
 the report in WT/BFA/60.
(b) Director-General's Conditions of Service – Statement by the Chairman of the Committee
56. Mr. McMillan (United Kingdom), Chairman  of the Committee on Budget, Finance and
Administration, drew attention to his 3 October lette r to all delegations drawing their attention to a
report he had made to the Budget Committee on 2 October.  As he had informed the Committee, he
had been holding consultations over the past six months on the subject of the Director-General's
salary package.  Unlike other WTO staff, the Dire ctor-General's salary was not subject to annual
review to take account of inflation.  It had no t been reviewed since the package for the former
Director-General Mr. Sutherland was agreed in 19 93.  He therefore proposed that Members might
consider an adjustment to take account of infl ation in Geneva since 1993, which would work out at
about 10 per cent.  He had received no objections to proceeding in this way, but some delegations
required that any such adjustment should be made under certain conditions.  These were the
following:  that the base salary  within that package, which worked out to Sw F 287,000 per annum,WT/GC/M/76
Page 12
and the related pension rights should remain unc hanged;  that the package would apply without
further change for the full term of the present Director-General;  and that it would not be reviewed
until such time as the Members so decided.  He therefore wished to suggest that Members consider an
increase of 10 per cent based on the total package of benefits, but without affecting the base salary
level.  This would thus involve an increase of Sw F 45,650 per annum, applicable from 1 September2002 until the end of the Director-General's term of office in August 2005.  Since sending this letter,
he had received a number of confirmations from delegations that they were content to proceed in this
way, although clearly some delegations might need time to consider the proposal further.
57. The Chairman proposed that the General Council agree ad referendum to the terms of the
Director-General's conditions of service as outlined by the Chairman of the Budget Committee.  If no
Member indicated any reservations to him by clos e-of-business on 28 October, the Director-General's
conditions of service would be considered agreed and a notice to this effect sent to Members.
58. The General Council took note of the statement and so agreed .2
8. Marrakesh Ministerial Decision Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform
Programme on Least-Developed and NFIDCs - Report of the Inter-Agency Panel on
short-term difficulties in financing normal levels of commercial imports of basic
foodstuffs (WT/GC/62-G/AG/13 and Corr.1)
59. The Chairman recalled that at its meeting on 8 and 31 July, the General Council had
undertaken a first consideration of the report of the Inter-Agency Panel on short-term difficulties in
financing normal levels of commercial imports of basic foodstuffs.  Differing views had been
expressed as to whether the Panel had fully completed its mandate.  In particular, many delegations
had noted that the Panel had not completed a study of the feasibility of an ex-ante financingmechanism for food importers.  Differences of view were also expressed on the appropriate way to
deal with the Panel's recommendation in this regard.  At the same time, an important group of
countries, the LDCs, had noted that they needed more time to study the Panel report in depth, and in
particular its recommendations.  Accordingly, the General Council had agreed to revert to this matter
at the present meeting, and to invite the Chairm an of the Committee on Agriculture to consult with
interested Members on the way forward with rega rd to following up on the Panels' recommendations
– especially with respect to paragraph 168(b) re garding the ex-ante financing mechanism – and to
report on the results of these consultations to the General Council at its present meeting.
60. Dr. Farahat (Egypt), Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, said that in response to the
request by the General Council in July, he had held informal open-ended consultations with interested
Members regarding the issue of how to proceed with  the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Panel
report.   The main outstanding issue had been the question of what steps, if any, should be taken togive effect to the recommendation by the Panel that  the feasibility of an ex-ante financing mechanism
aimed at food importers be explored.  As a result of these consultations and the formal consideration
of this issue at the regular meeting of the Comm ittee on 26 September, he could report the following:
First, the Committee recommended that the General Council approve the four recommendations
contained in Paragraph 168 of the Inter-Agency Panel report.  Second, the Committee recommended,with regard to the recommendations in Paragraph 168(a), (c) and (d), that  the General Council
authorize its Chairman to write to the Internatio nal Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the
Integrated Framework Agencies, requesting them to review the Panel report as it related to issues
within their competence.  Third, the Committee re commended, with regard to the recommendation in
Paragraph 168(b) of the Panel's report, that the question of the feasibility of an ex-ante financingmechanism aimed at food importers be pursued by the Committee on Agriculture, on the
                                                     
2 No reservations having been received by the Chai rman, the Director-General's conditions of service
were thereby considered agreed.  A notice to this effect was circulated to Members in WT/GC/67.WT/GC/M/76
Page 13
understanding that a proposal regarding the establis hment of an ex-ante financing mechanism would
be submitted by the WTO Net Food-Importing Devel oping Countries (NFIDCs), and that a follow-up
report concerning the discussion of the proposal would be submitted to the General Council following
the regular meeting of the Committee in November.
61. The representative of Kenya, speaking on behalf of the African Group , said that the Uruguay
Round had recognized that the reform process in agriculture would have a negative impact on
NFIDCs.  The decision that had been expected to address this problem remained merely a hope at the
present time.  The request by the NFIDCs for the establishment of a revolving fund had been
motivated by the non-implementation of the Marrakesh Decision concerning the possible negative
effects of the reform programme on this group of countries that included the LDCs.  While the Inter-
Agency Panel that had been established to look into this issue had found that an ex-post financing
facility would not add value in terms of reducing short-term financing difficulties, it had not ruled outthe establishment of such a fund.  The Panel had gone further and recommended the possibility of an
ex-ante financing mechanism.  Since the tabling of the report, there had been consultations in which
Kenya had been involved.  As the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture had reported, the
NFIDCs were working on a proposal for an ex-ant e financing mechanism aimed at food importers.
The African Group hoped that the next meeting of the General Council would be able to reach adecision on this issue.  If this issue were not resolved, it was the intention of the African Group to
pursue some cushioning mechanism in the Special Sessions of the Committee on Agriculture.
However, they hoped that this would not be necessary.
62. The representative of Senegal said that the work of the Inter-Agency Panel and the
consultations held since the submission of its report to the General Council showed clearly that the
issue of short-term financing of normal levels of commercial imports of basic foodstuffs needed to be
dealt with in further detail under the Doha Ministerial mandate.  The Panel had carried out its work in
a highly professional manner and Senegal had welcomed its report, but it had to be acknowledged that
in relation to the central issue of the feasibility of the fund, the Panel's conclusions called for further
work with a view to establishi ng the practical arrangements for the operation of the fund.  The
possibility and desirability of setting up such a fund had not been questioned in the report.  This was a
very sensitive issue which related both to the food security of least-developed countries and NFIDCs
as well as to the stability of their balance-of-payments.  There was, therefore, no reason at the present
stage to raise the question of whether implementation of the Agreement on Agriculture had or had not
already led to a rise in commodity prices for these countries.  Instead, the right approach was to
establish a preventive mechanism so as to ensure that  any future difficulty in this area that might be
linked to the reform process in agricultural trade would be alleviated.  The limitations noted in thePanel's report with regard to the IMF compensato ry financing facility and other existing mechanisms
made the principle of a new fund all the more relevant.  Without prejudging how this fund should
operate, it should be characterized by flexibility in responding to emergency situations and, while its
terms should be less burdensome than those of the ma rket, it should be efficient enough to ensure its
viability in terms of resources.  In Senegal's opinion, these were the conditions necessary for it tooperate on behalf of the intended recipients and to ensure that these countries became more involved
in the reform process.  On the basis of these cons iderations, Senegal was in favour of continuing the
Panel's mandate in the light of the new proposals that would certainly be submitted by LDCs and
NFIDCs at a later stage.  His delegation also wished to note and to support the suggestion by the
Chairman of the Agriculture Committee that the in formation in the Panel's report be given to the
World Bank and the IMF and other institutions that were part of the Integrated Framework.
63. The Chairman, in the light of the report made by the Chairman of the Committee on
Agriculture, proposed that the General Council take  note of the statements and of the report of the
Inter-Agency Panel in document WT/GC/62-G/AG/13 and Corr.1, and approve the four
recommendations contained in Paragraph 168 of the report.  He then proposed, with regard to therecommendations in Paragraphs 168(a), (c) and (d), that the General Council authorize him, asWT/GC/M/76
Page 14
Chairman, to write to the IMF, World Bank and the Integrated Framework Agencies requesting them
to review the Panel report as it related to the issu es within their competence.  Finally, with regard to
the recommendation in Paragraph 168(b), he proposed that the General Council approve to the
recommendation of the Committee on Agriculture that the question of feasibility of an ex-ante
financing mechanism aimed at food importers be pursued by the Committee, on the understandingthat a proposal regarding the establishment of an ex-ante financing mechanism would be submitted by
the WTO net food-importing developing countries, and that a follow-up report concerning the
discussion of the proposal be submitted to the General Council following the regular meeting of the
Committee in November.
64. The General Council so agreed.
9. Committee on Agriculture – Report on the follow-up to the Committee's
recommendations concerning implementation-related issues approved by the DohaMinisterial Conference (G/AG/14)
65. The Chairman recalled that in paragraph 2 of the Doha Ministerial Decision on
Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns, Ministers approved a recommendation that the
Committee on Agriculture, following its regular meeting in September 2002, should report to the
General Council on:  (i) its examination of possible means to improve the effectiveness of theimplementation of the Marrakesh Decision regarding net food-importing developing countries;  and
(ii) the implementation of Article 10.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture.  Ministers had also endorsed
a decision by the Agriculture Committee to keep under review the submission, by Members
administering tariff quotas, of addenda to their no tifications to the Committee in accordance with the
decision of the General Council regarding the administration of tariff rate quota regimes in atransparent, equitable and non-discriminatory manner.  The Committee had reported to the General
Council on these matters in G/AG/14.
66. Dr. Farahat (Egypt), Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, in introducing the report,
said that he wished to highlight a few points of the report adopted at the regular meeting of the
Committee on 26 September.  The first issue covered by the report was the implementation ofArticle 10.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture, which concerned the development of internationally
agreed disciplines on export credits and related facilities.  A two-track procedure had been adopted to
make progress on this issue.  In the regular meetings of the Committee, the focus of this work had
been on the implementation of Article 10.2, whereas the negotiations in the Special Sessions of the
Committee had focused on the proposals on export credit practices.  The issue of the implementation
of Article 10.2 had been a standing item on the regular Committee's agenda.   In an effort to enhance
its expertise in the area of export credit practices, the Committee had held a seminar with expertrepresentatives from the OECD Secretariat to help delegations familiarize themselves with concepts
in the area of export credits.  To improve transparency, the Committee had invited Members to
complete and submit to the Committee a questionnaire concerning export credit programmes and
related facilities.  With respect to the implementa tion issues in the context of the Marrakesh NFIDC
Decision, the Committee's focus had been on questions related to the NFIDC Inter-Agency Panel, andhere he would refer to his statement under agenda Item 8 of the present meeting.  Finally, the
Committee would continue to invite and review the addenda to Members' notifications on their tariff
quota administration, in an effort to improve the transparency and equity of tariff quota regimes,
particularly for the benefit of the developing countries.
67. The representative of Brazil said that his delegation reiterated its call for the complete
elimination of all forms of export subsidies in agriculture in the shortest period of time.  During the
Uruguay Round, Members had undertaken, under the Agreement on Agriculture, to "work toward the
development of internationally agreed disciplines to govern the provision of export credits, export
credit guarantees or insurance programmes and, after agreement on such disciplines, to provide exportWT/GC/M/76
Page 15
credits, export credit guarantees or insurance programmes only in conformity therewith."  This set of
disciplines had not yet been developed in the WTO, which was the appropriate forum for the
negotiation of "internationally agreed disciplines on export credits."  Thus, Article 10.2 of the
Agreement on Agriculture remained unimplemented.  This was, of course, an implementation issue
and as such should be treated in accordance with the Doha work programme in the Special Sessions ofthe Committee on Agriculture.  At the same time, Brazil believed that the Committee on Agriculture
had a role to play in the discussions of export credits and welcomed the recent initiatives taken by the
Committee on the existing domestic support programmes on export credits, export credit guarantees
or insurance programmes Members might have.  Brazil trusted that this exercise would be of benefit
to all Members.  His delegation appreciated the recent submissions to the Committee by the United
States and other Members on their domestic programmes and looked forward to further discussion of
this issue in accordance with the report of the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.
68. The representative of Argentina said that his delegation's position on this issue was very
similar to that of Brazil, and in the interests of saving Members' time, he would simply support the
statement just made by Brazil.
69. The General Council took note of the statements and of the report by the Committee on
Agriculture in G/AG/14.
10. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) Introduction of Harmonized System 1996 changes into WTO schedules of tariff concessions –
Requests for waivers
(i) Argentina - Schedule LXIV (G/L/559, G/C/W/409 and Corr.1)
(ii) El Salvador - Schedule LXXXVII (G/L/563, G/C/W/413 and Corr.1)
(iii) Israel - Schedule XLII (G/L/ 560 and Corr.1, G/C/W/410 and Corr.1)
(iv) Morocco - Schedule LXXXI (G/L/568, G/C/W/417)
(v) Norway - Schedule XIV (G/L/562, G/C/W/412 and Corr.1)
(vi) Thailand - Schedule LXXIX (G/L/564, G/C/W/414 and Corr.1)
(vii) Venezuela - Schedule LXXXVI (G/L/561, G/C/W/411 and Corr.1)
70. The Chairman drew attention to the requests from Argentina, El Salvador, Israel, Morocco,
Norway, Thailand and Venezuela for a waiver for the introduction of Harmonized System 1996
changes into WTO schedules of tariff concessions, and to the related draft Decisions.
71. Mr. Supperamaniam (Malaysia), Chairman of th e Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of these requests, said that at its meeting on 2 October the Council had
agreed to the requests by Argentina (G/L/559), El  Salvador (G/L/563), Israel (G/L/560 and Corr.1),
Morocco (G/L/568), Norw ay (G/L/562), Thailand (G/L/564), and Venezuela (G/L/561) and had
recommended that the draft decisions in the relevant  documents be forwarded to the General Council
for adoption.
72. 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),WT/GC/M/76
Page 16
adopted the draft Decisions in G/C/W/409 and Corr.1, G/C/W/413 and Corr.1, G/C/W/410 and
Corr.1, G/C/W/417, G/C/W/412 and Corr.1, G/C/ W/414 and Corr.1 and G/C/W/411 and Corr1.3
(b) Transposition of schedules into the Harmonized System - Sri Lanka - Schedule VI - Request
for extension of waiver (G/L/565, G/C/W/415/Rev.1)
73. The Chairman drew attention to the request from Sri Lanka for an extension of the waiver
previously granted in connection with its establishment of a new Schedule VI (G/L/565), and to the
related draft decision in G/C/W/415/Rev.1.
74. Mr. Supperamaniam (Malaysia), Chairman of th e Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of this request, said that at its meeting on 2 October the Council had
agreed to the request by Sri Lanka and had recommended that the draft decision in G/C/W/415/Rev.1
be forwarded to the General Council for adoption.
75. 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 in G/C/W/415/Rev.1. 4
(c) Zambia - Renegotiation of Schedule LXXVIII - Request for extension of waiver  (G/L/567,
G/C/W/416)
76. The Chairman drew attention to the request from Zambia for an extension of the waiver
previously granted in connection with the renego tiation of its Schedule LXXXVIII (G/L/567), and to
the related draft decision in G/C/W/416.
77. Mr. Supperamaniam (Malaysia), Chairman of th e Council for Trade in Goods, reporting on
the Council's consideration of this request, said that at its meeting on 2 October the Council had
agreed to the request by Zambia and had recommended that the draft decision in G/C/W/416 beforwarded to the General Council for adoption.
78. 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 in G/C/W/416. 5
(d) Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement
(i) Canada – CARIBCAN, granted on 14 Octobe r 1996 until 31 December 2006 (WT/L/185,
WT/L/483)
(ii) Madagascar – Customs Valuation Agreement, granted on 18 July 2001 until 17 November
2003 (WT/L/408)
(iii) Switzerland – Preferences for Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, granted on 18 July 2001
until 31 March 2004 (WT/L/406, WT/L/482)
(iv) United States – Former trust territory of the Pacific Islands, Granted on 14 October 1996
until 31 December 2006 (WT/L/183, WT/L/484)
                                                     
3 These Decisions were subsequently circulated as WT/L/485 – Argentina; WT/L/486 – El Salvador;
WT/L/487 – Israel;  WT/L/488 – Morocco;  WT/L/489 – Norway;  WT/L/490 – Thailand;  and WT/L/491 –Venezuela.
4 The Decision was subsequently circulated as WT/L/492.
5 The Decision was subsequently circulated as WT/L/493.WT/GC/M/76
Page 17
79. The Chairman recalled that in accordance with Paragraph 4 of Article IX of the WTO
Agreement, "any waiver granted for a period of more than one year shall be reviewed by the
Ministerial Conference not later than one year after it is granted, and thereafter annually until the
waiver terminates."  The following waivers were be fore the General Council for review:  (i) Canada –
CARIBCAN (WT/L/185);  (ii) Madagascar – Customs Valuation Agreement (WT/L/408);
(iii) Switzerland – Preferences for Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina (WT/L/406);  and (iv) United
States – Former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (WT/L/183).  The Decisions on the waivers for
Canada, Switzerland and the United States provided that an annual report should be submitted by
these Members on the operation or implementation of the waivers, with a view to facilitating the
annual review by the General Council under Paragraph 4 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement.  The
reports from these delegations had been circulated in WT/L/483, 482 and 484, respectively.
80. The representative of Paraguay said that his delegation wished to state the following for the
record under this sub-item, and specifically regarding the extension of the waiver Decisions regarding
Canada's obligations under Article I:1 of the General Agreement (WT/L/185), Switzerland's
preferences for Albania and Bosnia Herzegovina (WT/L/406 and the United States measures for the
former trust territory of the Pacific Islands (WT/L/183).  Developed countries had the [faculty – his
word] [ability/capacity] of granting facilities and priv ileges to developing countries.  This was an act
which depended entirely on their own free will.  In other words, it was a matter of choice for
developed countries.  However, for this special and differential treatment to be fair, once it was
adopted it had to be in line with the binding rules and provisions governing the granting of such
special treatment.  Paraguay wished to point out th at the Enabling Clause established these rules in a
clear and binding manner.  Nevertheless, Paraguay understood that there had to be flexibility.  Itaccepted the principle of flexibility, but could not accept that the principle of flexibility should be
applied to some in a manner that injured others.  Should this occur, the developing-country Member
affected could choose among a number of options.  These were the following:  (a) opposing the
extension, so that there was no flexibility;  (b) re ceiving acceptable compensation for minor injury, so
that flexibility could take place;  or (c) the developed-country Member could extend the sametreatment to the injured country.
81. This position was not based on any wish to oppose for the sake of opposing, or to obtain
compensation at any price for each and every one of the WTO waivers.  What Paraguay was seeking
to avoid was that the benefits or advantages granted to some developing countries were to the
detriment of Paraguay, which faced enormous difficulties at the present time because it was land-
locked, meaning it did not have access to deep-water ports or third markets even within its region.  If
this were not the case, it would have no difficulty in being flexible and approving waivers, as, forexample, in the case of those granted to least-developed countries.  This was a valid opportunity for
displaying the flexibility to which Paraguay was refe rring.  The basis of this flexibility was that none
of the waivers requested and being applied by Canada, Switzerland or the United States should raise
barriers, distort Paraguay's foreign trade or create undue difficulties for it.  Paraguay congratulated
Canada, Switzerland and the United States on the decision that had been adopted, which tendedtowards the goal of developing fairer multilateral trade by increasing the participation of the
beneficiary countries in international trade and thereby improving their development possibilities.  He
reiterated that this was how Paraguay viewed the compatibility and balance between the principles of
flexibility and of non-discrimination, in accordance with WTO rules and provisions, in the framework
of fair, equitable and predictable trade.
82. The General Council took note of the statement and of the reports in documents WT/L/482,
WT/L/483 and WT/L/484.WT/GC/M/76
Page 18
11. Chairmanship of the Working Party on the Accession of Nepal
83. The Chairman, speaking under "Other Business", said that following consultations held on his
behalf by the Accessions Division of the Secret ariat, and upon their recommendation, he wished to
inform delegations that Mr. Girard (Switzerland) had agreed to Chair the Working Party on the
Accession of Nepal, replacing Mr. Farrell (New Zealand) who had left Geneva and was no longeravailable to Chair the Working Party.
84. The General Council took note of this information.
12. Better management of WTO meetings
85. The Chairman, speaking under "Other Business", said that he wished to raise this matter at the
present meeting in order to give delegations time to  reflect on it before the meeting of the General
Council in December.  At a number of meetings recently, and also at the Retreat for Permanent
Representatives over the past weekend, one very prominent topic had been the sheer volume ofmeetings that delegations and the Secretariat had to deal with, and the need to manage this in the most
efficient way possible.  He recalled that the Director-General himself had referred to this at the
meeting of the TNC earlier that month, and he was certain that delegations would welcome the fact
that the Director-General had requested one of his Deputies to look into this question in consultation
with delegations, as appropriate.  There was, of course, a wider need to think creatively and workcooperatively to lighten the burden on all, as one entered what would be an even busier period ahead.
Some very useful creative thinking had already b een done, for example, by the Chairman of the
TRIPS Council, who had surveyed delegations recent ly on how to increase the efficiency in the
conduct of meetings of that body.  As General Council Chairman, he was committed to improving the
efficiency of General Council meetings.  For the December meeting of the General Council therefore,where there was a very heavy agenda, he was considering encouraging delegations to show discipline
and cooperation in limiting the length of their interventions.  He asked that, in the period between now
and the December General Council, delegations think about this in the context of making that meeting
more efficient and thus lightening the burden on all.  Some ideas to consider included:  (i) circulating
the texts of lengthy statements of position and making short oral statements drawing attention to themain points;  (ii) not making lengthy interventions  in order simply to agree with other delegations;
and (iii) where all members of a group shared a common position, arranging for one representative to
speak on behalf of the group.  He intended to be quite proactive in December in urging delegations to
be brief and focussed and to avoid unduly long debates, in the interests of equity and fairness to
others.
86. The General Council took note of the statement.
__________