WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/15
26 January 1999
(99-0280)
General Council
GENERAL COUNCIL
Annual Report (1998)
The present report has been prepared in pursuance of the Procedures for an Annual Overview
of WTO Activities and for Reporting under the WTO (WT/L/105), and sets out the actions taken bythe General Council in the period since its previous annual report.
1
In carrying out its tasks, the General Council has held seven meetings since the period
covered by the previous report.  The minutes of these meetings, which remain the record of the
General Council's work, are contained in documents WT/GC/M/26-WT/GC/M/32.
The following subjects are included in the report:
Page
1. Preparations for the 1998 Ministerial Conference and the commemoration of the
50th Anniversary of the mult ilateral tradin g system.............................................................4
(a) Organizatio nal matt ers...................................................................................................... ..........4
(b) Participation of leas t-developed countries .................................................................................. 5
(c) Attendance of international in tergovernmental organizations ....................................................5
(d) Attendance of observers  at working sessions .............................................................................5
(e) Attendance of non-govern mental organizations .........................................................................5
(f) Report by the Director-General .............................................................................................. ....6
(g) Progress reports by the Chairp ersons of subsid iary bodies.........................................................6
2. Organization of Work for the September Special Session of the General Council.............6
3. Review of issues raised by Members at the working sessions of the second session
of the Minister ial Conf erence .................................................................................................. 6
4. Discussion of substantive issues arising from the Ministerial Declaration of May
1998, in particular paragraphs 9, 10 and 11, including proposals by Members .................7
5. Organization of work on these issues, including:...................................................................7
(a) The schedule of meetings of the General Council in pursuance of the process decided
by the Ministeria l Declaration; ................................................................................................ ...7
(b) Arrangements for work between formal se ssions of the General Council, including
for informal consulta tions..................................................................................................... ......7
6. Date of the Third Session of  the Ministeria l Conference ......................................................8
7. Committee on Balance-of -Payments Restrictions..................................................................8
                                                     
1 The annual report of the General Council for 1997 was circulated as WT/GC/10.WT/GC/15
Page 2
(a) Consul tations ............................................................................................................... ...............8
8. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration .............................................................9
(a) Reports..................................................................................................................... ...................9
9. Agreement on Preshipment Inspection – Review under Article  6 of the
Agreement...................................................................................................................... ............9
(a) Report of the Working Party................................................................................................. ......9
10. Committee on Regional Trade Agreements............................................................................9
11. Harmonization work programme on non-preferential ru les of origin ..............................10
(a) Recommendations on c ontinuation of work .............................................................................10
12. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement..............................................................10
(a) EC/France – Trading arrang ements with Morocco...................................................................10
(b) Harmonize d System........................................................................................................... .......10
(i) Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka...........................................................................................1 0
(c) Renegotiation of Schedule ................................................................................................... .....11
(i) Zambia ...................................................................................................................... ................11
(d) Decision on the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO schedules of
tariff concessions on 1 January 1996........................................................................................11
(e) Review of waivers pursuant to Ar ticle IX:4 of the WTO Agreement ......................................12
i) Canada – CARIBCAN, granted on 14 Oc tober 1996 until 31 December 2006........................12
ii) Cuba – Article XV:6, granted on 14 October 1996 until 31 December 2001...........................12
iii) EC – the Fourth ACP-EC Convention of Lomé, granted on 14 October 1996 until
29 February 2000 ............................................................................................................... ......12
iv) Hungary – agricultural export subsidies, granted on 22 October 1997 until
31 December 2001............................................................................................................... .....12
v) United States – Andean Trade Preference Act, granted on 14 October 1996 until
4 December 2001................................................................................................................ ......12
vi) United States – Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, granted on
15 November 1995 until 31  December 2005 ............................................................................12
vii) United States – former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, granted on
14 October 1996 until 31 December 2006................................................................................12
13. Accession................................................................................................................... ...............13
(a) Alg eria ..................................................................................................................... .................13
(b) Azerbaijan.................................................................................................................. ...............13
(c) Geo rgia..................................................................................................................... .................13
(d) Kazak stan................................................................................................................... ...............13
(e) Kyrgyz Republic............................................................................................................. ..........13
(f) Laos........................................................................................................................ ...................13
(g) Latvia ...................................................................................................................... ..................14
(h) Samoa....................................................................................................................... .................14WT/GC/15
Page 3
(i) Uzbek istan .................................................................................................................. ..............15
(j) State of play in acc ession working parties................................................................................15
14. Outcome of the major review of th e implementation of the Agreement on
Textiles and Clothing.......................................................................................................... ....15
15. End-of-year review of developments in international trade and the trading
system......................................................................................................................... ..............16
16. Ecuador - Commitments under the Protocol of Accession .................................................16
17. Appellate Body Report on "European Communities – Customs Classification of
Certain Computer Equipment".............................................................................................16
18. India's tariff increases .................................................................................................... ........16
19. United States export rest rictions vis-à-vis India ..................................................................17
20. Decision of APEC meeting in Kuala Lumpur ......................................................................1721. Notification obligati ons and procedures ...............................................................................17
22. Global electr onic commerce.................................................................................................. .17
23. Guidelines for the sc heduling of meetings ............................................................................19
24. High-level meeting on trade and environment.....................................................................19
25. High-level meeting on tr ade and development.....................................................................19
26. Transparency and derestriction ............................................................................................20
27. Transparency in WTO work..................................................................................................21
28. Accreditation of Permanent Representatives to the WTO..................................................21
29. Comments being directed to individu al cases brought before the dispute
settlement  system .............................................................................................................. ......21
30. Premature disclosure of dispute settlement panel reports ..................................................21
31. WTO Secretariat and Senior Management Structure.........................................................22
32. International Trade Centre UNCT AD/WTO.......................................................................23
(a) Reports of the Jo int Advisory Group........................................................................................2 3
33. Arrangements for effective cooperation with other intergovernmental
organizations .................................................................................................................. .........24
(a) Relations between the WTO and the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank........................................................................................................................... ...............24
34. Administrati ve matt ers...................................................................................................... .....24
(a) Appointment of the ne xt Director -General ...............................................................................24
(b) Conditions of serv ice of WTO staff.......................................................................................... 26
35. WTO Daily Bulleti n.......................................................................................................... ......27
36. Observer status ............................................................................................................. ..........27
(a) Gover nments................................................................................................................. ............27
(i) Bhutan...................................................................................................................... .................27
(ii) Cape Verde ................................................................................................................. ..............28WT/GC/15
Page 4
(b) International intergover nmental orga nizations .........................................................................28
37. Appointment of office rs to WTO bodies...............................................................................28
38. Election of Chairperson..................................................................................................... .....29
39. Review of WTO activities.................................................................................................... ...29
1. Preparations for the 1998 Ministerial Conference and the commemoration of the
50th Anniversary of the multilateral trading system
(a) Organizational matters (WT/GC/M/26, 27, 28)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman read out a statement
identifying points on which consensus appeared to be emerging and matters on which further
discussion was required.
The representatives of Egypt, Pakistan, Korea, Jamaica, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh,
Madagascar, and Brunei Darussalam (on behalf of the ASEAN Members) spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and that the points raised by delegations
would be discussed further in informal consultations.
At its meeting on 2 and 14 April 1998, the General Council further considered preparations
for the 1998 Ministerial Conference and the 50th Anniversary commemoration.
On 2 April, the Director-General presented a first report on his consultations concerning
substantive aspects of the preparations for the Ministerial Conference and in particular the preparation
of a text to be adopted by Ministers.
The representatives of the United States, Egypt, Uganda, Pakistan, Tanzania, Mauritius, India,
Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, South Africa, Morocco and Australia spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed on organizational aspects of the
Ministerial Conference and the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary, agreed that the working
sessions would be open to the participation of all Members, agreed to a proposal by the Chairman
concerning the initiation of a process of consultations by the Director-General with all Members on
the possible text of the substantive outcome of the Ministerial Conference, and agreed that the presentmeeting would remain in session so that further meetings could be organized at short notice.
On 14 April, the General Council agreed, in the light of recent developments with regard to
the attendance of Heads of State or Government at the 50th Anniversary commemoration event, on
some adjustments in the organization of the two events.
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman in formed the General Council that in addition
to Singapore's and Switzerland's confirmed attendance at the Head of State or Government level at the
50th Anniversary event, up to twelve other Members were actively considering attendance at that
level.  He invited Members who intended to be represented by their Heads of State or Government tocommunicate details of their participation to the Secretariat as soon as possible and in any case not
later than 1 May 1998.
The representative of Norway announced that his country's Prime Minister would attend the
50th Anniversary event.WT/GC/15
Page 5
The General Council took note of the statements.
(b) Participation of least-developed countries (WT/GC/M/27)
At the General Council meeting on 2 and 14 April 1998, the Chairman made an appeal to
Members in a position to contribute to a Trust Fund to be created for the purpose of financing the
participation of the least-developed countries at the 1998 Ministerial Conference and the
50th Anniversary commemoration, in keeping with the past practice of voluntary contributions to
cover the costs of such participation, to contact the Secretariat as soon as possible.
The representatives of Uganda and Egypt spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
(c) Attendance of international intergovernmental organizations (WT/GC/M/27, 28)
At its meeting on 2 and 14 April 1998, the General Council agreed to an approach with regard
to international organization observers at the Ministerial Conference.
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman recalled that at an informal
meeting on 22 April, he had raised with delegations a request for observer status at the Ministerial
Conference from the South Centre, an organization not presently an observer to any WTO body, and
asked if the request could be granted.
The General Council agreed to grant the request by the South Centre.
(d) Attendance of observers at working sessions (WT/GC/M/27 )
At the General Council meeting on 2 and 14 April 1998, the Chairman said that since most of
the substantive discussions among Ministers would take place in working sessions held between the
formal opening and closing plenary meetings, with the discussions to be reflected in the minutes of
these sessions, he understood that observer governments and observer international intergovernmental
organizations would be entitled to attend the working sessions although, given the limited amount of
time that would be available, it was unlikely they would be able to speak.
The representative of Egypt spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
(e) Attendance of non-governmental organizations (WT/GC/M/26, 27)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman recalled that, in
preparing for the 1996 Ministerial Conference, the General Council had agreed on certain procedures
regarding the attendance of NGOs, and proposed that the same criteria as used for the Singapore
Ministerial Conference be applied to the requests from NGOs wishing to attend the next Ministerial
Conference in May and the 50th Anniversary commemoration.
The representatives of Egypt and Nigeria spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to apply the criteria enumerated
by the Chairman regarding the attendance of NGOs.
At its meeting on 2 and 14 April 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council that
151 non-governmental organizations had requested a registration form to attend the 1998 MinisterialWT/GC/15
Page 6
Conference and the 50th Anniversary commemoration event, and that a list of these organizations
would be circulated to Members on 3 April fo r their information before the confirmation of
registration was sent out by the Secretariat on 15 April.
The General Council took note of this information.
(f) Report by the Director-General (WT/GC/M/28)
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Director-General presented an oral
report on the work undertaken thus far in consultations held by him on a draft Ministerial text.
The General Council took note of the statement.
(g) Progress reports by the Chairpersons of subsidiary bodies (WT/GC/M/28)
In December 1997, the General Council agreed that Chairpersons of subsidiary bodies be
invited to report orally to the General Council at its final meeting before the Ministerial Conference
on work done in their respective areas since December 1997.  The General Council had noted that the
information provided by the Chairpersons in their oral reports would be reflected in the update of theGeneral Council's annual report to be submitted to the Ministerial Conference.
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairpersons of the subsidiary bodies
of the General Council as well as the Chairpersons of the DSB and the TPRB reported on the progress
of work in those bodies.
The representative of Egypt and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the progress reports and of the statements.
2. Organization of Work for the September Special Session of the General Council
2
(WT/GC/M/29)
3. Review of issues raised by Members at the working sessions of the second session of the
Ministerial Conference 3 (WT/GC/M/29)
At the General Council  meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman recalled that in the
1998 Ministerial Declaration, Ministers had decided that a process would be established under the
direction of the General Council to ensure full and faithful implementation of existing agreements,
and to prepare for the Third Session of the Ministerial Conference.  The Ministerial Declaration also
provided that, in this regard, the General Council would meet in special session in September 1998
and periodically thereafter to ensure full and timel y completion of its work.  He said that since time
was short, he intended to finalize an agenda for the September meeting before the end of July, so that
delegations would have the agenda to assist with the preparations in capitals.
The representatives of  Australia, Uruguay, New Zealand, Mexico, Jamaica, Switzerland,
Hungary, Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Member s), Egypt, Japan, Mauritius, the United States,
Chile, the European Communities, Canada, Turkey, India, Bolivia, Pakistan, Argentina, Uganda,
Korea, Tunisia, Morocco, Cuba, Brazil and Hong Kong, China, and the Director-General spoke.
                                                     
2 At the Chairman's suggestion the matters under points 2 and 3 were taken up together and the
discussion thereof is reflected accordingly in the minutes of the meeting.
3 See footnote 2.WT/GC/15
Page 7
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed that further informal
consultations be held by the Chairman on the question of preparations for the September Special
Session.
4. Discussion of substantive issues arising from the Ministerial Declaration of May 1998, in
particular paragraphs 9, 10 and 11, including proposals by Members  (WT/GC/M/30
and Corr.1)
and
5. Organization of work on these issues, including:
(a) The schedule of meetings of the General Council in pursuance of the process decided by the
Ministerial Declaration;
(b) Arrangements for work between formal sess ions of the General Council, including for
informal consultations
At its meeting on 24-25 September 1998, the General Council discussed the above-mentioned
items.  The Chairman noted that a revised checklist of issues raised by Members at the Ministerial
Conference, both at the working sessions as well as in written statements circulated at plenary
sessions, had recently been circulated by the Secretariat (Job No. 5002 of 18 September 1998).  With
regard to the organization of work on the issues, he suggested that the following schedule of formal
and informal intersessional meetings might be established by the General Council at its present
meeting to take up the following matters:
26 [and 27] October 1998 Suggested Focus: Issues and proposals relating to
paragraph 9(a)(i) of the Ministerial Declaration
23 [and 24] November 1998 Suggested Focus: Issues and proposals relating to
paragraphs 9(a)(ii) and (iii) of the Ministerial
Declaration
14 [and 16] December 1998 Suggested Focus: Issues and proposals relating to
paragraph 9(c) of the Ministerial Declaration, and the
organization of future work
Third week of January 1999 Suggested Focus: Issues and proposals relating to
paragraphs 9(b) and 9(d) of the Ministerial
Declaration, and the organization of future work
Third/Fourth week of February 1999 Special Session of the General CouncilHe said it would be understood that once an issue had been raised in the informal meetings,
delegations would have the possibility of returning to it at subsequent meetings.  In particular, the
meeting in December could be considered as an opportunity for delegations to return to the issues that
had been raised in earlier meetings under paragraph 9(a).
The representatives of the European Communities, Australia, the Czech Republic (also on
behalf of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia), Japan, Norway,
Cyprus, Mexico, New Zealand, Uruguay, Indonesi a (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Korea,
Peru, Egypt (on behalf of the African Group), Chile,  Brazil, Cuba, India, the United States, Jamaica,WT/GC/15
Page 8
Switzerland, Uganda, Tanzania, Costa Rica, Argentin a, Colombia, Pakistan, Guatemala, Turkey, Sri
Lanka, Canada, Venezuela, Israel, the Dominican Republic and Hong Kong, China spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the organization of work as
proposed by the Chairman, including the understanding thereon read out by him.
6. Date of the Third Session of the Ministerial Conference  (WT/GC/M/30, 32)
At the General Council meeting on 24-25 September 1998, the Chairman recalled that at the
1998 Ministerial Conference, Ministers had agreed to accept the offer from the government of the
United States to host the Third Session, and had invited the General Council to determine the date and
duration of that session.
The representatives of the United States and Egypt spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to revert to this matter at an early
opportunity with a view to finalizing agreement on the date of the Third Session of the Ministerial
Conference.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman proposed that
the General Council agree on the dates of 30 November – 3 December 1999 for the Third Ministerial
Conference.
The General Council took note of the statement and agreed on the dates proposed.
7. Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultations (WT/GC/M/26, 28, 32)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman of the Committee on
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions introduced the Committee's reports on its consultations with
Pakistan (WT/BOP/R/39) and the Slovak Republic (WT/BOP/R/40).
The General Council took note of the statement and adopted the reports in WT/BOP/R/39 and
WT/BOP/R/40.
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman of the Committee on
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions introduced the Committee's report on its consultation with Nigeria
(WT/BOP/R/41).
The representatives of the United States, the European Communities, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Switzerland, Norway and Nigeria spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and adopted the report in WT/BOP/R/41.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman of the
Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions introduced the Committee's report on its
consultations with Bulgaria (WT/BOP/R/43).
The representative of Bulgaria spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and adopted the report in WT/BOP/R/43.WT/GC/15
Page 9
8. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
(a) Reports (WT/GC/M/28, 29, 31, 32)
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman of the Committee on Budget,
Finance and Administration introduced the Committee's report in WT/BFA/35.
The General Council took note of the statement, approved the Committee's specific
recommendation in paragraph 16 of its report in WT/BFA/35, and adopted the report.
At the General Council meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman of the Committee
on Budget, Finance and Administration introd uced the Committee's report in WT/BFA/36.
The representatives of Jamaica and Egypt, a nd Mr. Lavorel, Deputy Director-General, spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, approved the Committee's specific
recommendation in paragraphs 13, 28 and 29 of its report in WT/BFA/36, and adopted the report.
At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, it was agreed that since the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration had not yet completed its examination of the
budget, the General Council would revert to this question as early as possible.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, Mr. Lavorel, Deputy
Director-General, introduced the recommendations of the Committee on Budget, Finance and
Administration (WT/BFA/38).
The representatives of Jamaica, Egypt. Haiti and Bolivia spoke.The General Council took note of the statements, approved the specific recommendations
Roman one through six contained in document WT/BFA/38, and approved the draft Resolution
referred to in the recommendation Roman one.
9. Agreement on Preshipment Inspection – Review under Article  6 of the Agreement
(a) Report of the Working Party (GC/M/32)
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman of the
Working Party on Preshipment Inspection intr oduced the Working Party's report (G/L/273).
The General Council took note of the statement and agreed that the life of the Working Party
be extended until 31 March 1999 in order to conclude its work.
10. Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  (WT/GC/M/29)
At the General Council meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman of the Committee
on Regional Trade Agreements drew attention to his concern that the Committee's work was not
progressing as favourably as necessary for it to be able to fulfill satisfactorily two key elements of its
mandate, i.e. the examination of individual regional trade agreements (RTAs) and consideration of the
systemic implications of RTAs for the multilateral trading system.WT/GC/15
Page 10
The representatives of the European Communities, Japan, Australia, India, Canada, Hungary,
Argentina (also on behalf of Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), the United States, New Zealand,
Jamaica, Pakistan, Mexico, Norway, Romania and H ong Kong, China, and the Director-General and
the Chairman of the General Council spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
11. Harmonization work programme on non-preferential rules of origin
(a) Recommendations on continuation of work (WT/GC/M/29)
At the General Council meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, Mr. Saborio Soto (Costa Rica),
Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods, introduced a report by the Committee on Rules of
Origin which provided an overview of the status  of work on the harmonization work programme and
made recommendations on the continuation of the work (G/RO/25).  The Council for Trade in Goods
had approved the recommendations and proposals of the Committee as contained in paragraphs 4-6 of
G/RO/25, and had forwarded them to the General Council  for adoption.
The representatives of India, Brazil, New Zealand, Pakistan, Canada, Switzerland, the United
States, El Salvador, the European Communities and Hong Kong, China spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the report of the Committee on Rules
of Origin in document G/RO/25, and adopted the recommendations of the Committee as referred toby the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods.
12. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) EC/France – Trading arrangements with Morocco (WT/GC/M/32)
At its  meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the General Council considered a request by
EC/France (G/L/275) for an extension of a waiv er previously granted for France's trading
arrangements with Morocco, and a draft decision to this effect (G/C/W/130).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this request
by that Council.
The General Council took note of the statements and, in accordance with the Decision-
Making Procedures Under Articles IX and XII of  the WTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted the draft
decision (G/C/W/130).
(b) Harmonized System
(i) Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka (WT/GC/M/28, 31)
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the General Council considered requests by Bangladesh
(G/L/227), Nicaragua (G/L/230) and Sri Lanka (G/L/229/Rev.1) for extensions of waivers previously
granted in connection with their implementation of the Harmonized System, and draft decisions to this
effect (Bangladesh - G/C/W/107/Rev.1;  Nicar agua - G/C/W/110 and Corr.1;  Sri Lanka -
G/C/W/109).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of these
requests by the Council.WT/GC/15
Page 11
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 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decisions
(Bangladesh - WT/L/264;  Nicaragua - WT/L/265;  Sri Lanka - WT/L/266).
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council considered requests by
Bangladesh (G/L/255), Nicaragua (G/L/256) and Sri Lanka (G/L/257) for extensions of waivers
previously granted in connection with their implementation of the Harmonized System.
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of these
requests by the Council.
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 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decisions
(Bangladesh – WT/L/277; Nicaragua – WT/L/278 and Sri Lanka – WT/L279).
(c) Renegotiation of Schedule
(i) Zambia (WT/GC/M/28, 31)
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the General Council considered a request by Zambia
(G/L/228) for an extension of a waiver previously granted in connection with its renegotiation of its
schedule, and a draft decision to this effect (G/C/W/108).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this request
by the Council.
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 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decision(WT/L/267).
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council considered a request by
Zambia (G/L/258) for an extension of a waiver previously granted in connection with its renegotiation
of its schedule, and a draft decision to this effect (G/C/W/121).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this request
by the Council.
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 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decision
(WT/L/280).
(d) Decision on the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO schedules of tariff
concessions on 1 January 1996 (WT/GC/M/28, 31)
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the General Council considered a draft decision extending
the time-limit of the Decision on the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO
schedules of tariff concessions on 1 January 1996 (G/C/W/111).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this matter
by the Council.WT/GC/15
Page 12
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 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decision
(WT/L/268).
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council considered a draft
decision regarding the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO schedules of tariff
concessions on 1 January 1996 (G/C/W/127).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this matter
by the Council.
The representatives of Japan and Australia spoke.The General Council took note of the report and of the statements and, in accordance with the
Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted
the draft decision (WT/L/281).
(e) Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement (WT/GC/M/32)
i) Canada – CARIBCAN, granted on 14 Octobe r 1996 until 31 December 2006  (WT/L/185,
WT/L/285)
ii) Cuba – Article XV:6, granted on 14 Octobe r 1996 until 31 December 2001  (WT/L/182,
WT/L/284)
iii) EC – the Fourth ACP-EC Convention of Lomé, granted on 14 October 1996 until 29
February 2000  (WT/L/186, WT/L/286)
iv) Hungary – agricultural export subsidies, granted on 22 October 1997 until 31 December
2001  (WT/L/238, WT/L/290)
v) United States – Andean Trade Preference Act, granted on 14 October 1996 until 4 December
2001  (WT/L/184, WT/L/289)
vi) United States – Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, granted on 15 November 1995
until 31 December 2005  (WT/L/104, WT/L/288)
vii) United States – former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, granted on 14 October 1996
until 31 December 2006  (WT/L/183, WT/L/287)
At its meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the General Council considered reports on the
above seven waivers.
The representatives of Australia, New Zealand and Hungary spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the reports in documents WT/L/284
through 290.WT/GC/15
Page 13
13. Accession
(a) Algeria  (WT/GC/M/29)
At its meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council that
Mr. Pérez del Castillo (Uruguay) had agreed to chair the Working Party on the Accession of Algeria.
The General Council  took note of this information.
(b) Azerbaijan (WT/GC/M/28)
In July 1997, the General Council established a working party to examine Azerbaijan's
application for accession to the WTO Agreement, and authorized its Chairman to designate the
Chairperson of the Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members and with the
representative of Azerbaijan.
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council that
Mr. W. Höynck (Germany) had agreed to chair the Working Party.
The representative of Japan, and the Secretary of the General Council spoke.The General Council took note of this information and of the statements.
(c) Georgia (WT/GC/M/31)
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council
that Mrs. Anderson (Ireland) had agreed to replace Mrs. Herfkens (Netherlands) as chair of the
Working Party on the Accession of Georgia.
(d) Kazakstan (WT/GC/M/31)
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council
that Mr. Huhtaniemi (Finland) had agreed to repl ace Mr. Ekblom (Finland) as chair of the Working
Party on the Accession of Kazakstan.
(e) Kyrgyz Republic (WT/GC/M/31)
In April 1996 the General Council had established a Working Party to examine the Kyrgyz
Republic's request for accession to the WTO Agreement.
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council approved the text of the
Protocol of Accession (WT/ ACC/KGZ/29) and the text of the draft Decision on the Accession of the
Kyrgyz Republic 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 Decision on the Accession
of the Kyrgyz Republic (WT/ACC/KGZ/28).  The General Council then adopted the report of the
Working Party (WT/ACC/KGZ/26 and Corr.1, Add.1, Add.1/Corr.1 and Add.2).
(f) Laos (WT/GC/M/26, 28)
At its meeting on 19 February 1998, the General Council considered a communication from
Laos (WT/ACC/LAO/1) concerning its interest in acceding to the WTO Agreement pursuant to
Article XII.WT/GC/15
Page 14
The representative of Laos (as an observer), Brunei Darrusalam (on behalf of the ASEAN
Members), Japan, and Australia spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to establish a working party to
examine the application by Laos, and authorized its Chairman to designate the Chairperson of theWorking Party in consultation with representatives of Members and with the representative of Laos.
The Chairman invited Laos, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of the
General Council and, as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an observer during the period
in which the Working Party was carrying out its work.
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council that
Mr. G. Raby (Australia) had agreed to chair the Working Party.
The General Council took note of this information and of the statements by Japan, the
Chairman and the Secretary of the General Council.
(g) Latvia (WT/GC/M/29, 31)
At the General Council  meeting on, 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman said that this item
was on the Agenda at the request of the European Communities.
The representatives of the European Communities, the United States, the Czech Republic
(also on behalf of Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Bulgaria) Mexico,
Japan, Australia, Latvia (as an observer), Jamaica and Norway  spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, including the proposal by Jamaica for an
agenda item on the next regular General Council meeting to deal with the progress in the accessionprocess of the various acceding countries.
In December 1993 the GATT 1947 Council had established a Working Party to examine
Latvia's request for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Subsequently, in
pursuance of the decision regarding requests for WTO accession adopted by the WTO General
Council on 31 January 1995,
4 the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a
WTO Accession Working Party.
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council approved the text of the
Protocol of Accession (W T/ACC/LVA/35) and the text of th e draft Decision on the Accession of
Latvia 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 Decision on the Accession of
Latvia (WT/ACC/LVA/34).  The General Council then adopted the report of the Working Party
(WT/ACC/LVA/32, Add.1 and Add.2).
(h) Samoa (WT/GC/M/29)
At its meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the General Council considered a communication
from Samoa (WT/ACC/WSM/1) concerning its interest in acceding to the WTO Agreement pursuant
to Article XII.
The General Council agreed to establish a working party to examine the application by
Samoa, and authorized its Chairman to designate the Chairperson of the Working Party in
consultation with representatives of Members and with the representative of Samoa.
                                                     
4 See WT/GC/M/1, item 4(g).WT/GC/15
Page 15
The Chairman invited Samoa, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of the
General Council and, as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an observer during the period
in which the Working Party was carrying out its work.
(i) Uzbekistan  (WT/GC/M/32)
At its meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council
that Mr. Alejandro de la Peña (Mexico) had agreed to chair the Working Party on the Accession of
Uzbekistan.
The General Council took note of this information.
(j) State of play in accession working parties (WT/GC/M/31, 32)
At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Chairman recalled that at
the July meeting of the General Council a request had been addressed to the Secretariat to prepare a
factual note on the state of play in various accession working parties.  This note had been circulated in
WT/GC/W/100.
The General Council  took note of this information.At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman drew attention
to the fact that a non-paper (Job No. 6787) on this matter had been circulated at the request of
Jamaica.
The representatives of Egypt, Jamaica, Japan, Pakistan, Australia, the United States, the
European Communities, Canada, the Czech Republic (also on behalf of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia and Slovenia), Bangladesh, Cuba, Norway, the People's Republic of China (as an observer)and the Russian Federation (as an observer), and the Director-General spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed to ask the Secretariat to prepare a
technical note on the accession process, and agreed to revert to this item at a future meeting.
14. Outcome of the major review of the implemen tation of the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (WT/GC/M/26)
At the meeting of the General Council on 19 February 1998, the Chairman of the Council for
Trade in Goods recalled that he had informed the General Council in December 1997 that the Goods
Council had conducted the major review of the implementation of the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing in meetings held from October to December, and that in spite of determined efforts by many,it had not been possible to arrive at sufficient common ground on the summary of the discussions and
on a set of conclusions to the review that would attract consensus.  In January 1998, consultations had
been held with a number of delegations and, as a result of the spirit of compromise and flexibility
shown by the Members that had participated activel y in the subsequent informal consultations, it had
been possible to reach substantive agreement on a text containing a detailed summary of thediscussions and conclusions, which had been adopted by the Council for Trade in Goods on
16 February 1998 (G/L/224).
The General Council took note of the statement.WT/GC/15
Page 16
15. End-of-year review of developments in international trade and the trading system
(WT/GC/M/31)
At the General Council meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Chairman made
suggestions as to how to handle the end-of-year revi ew of developments in international trade and the
trading system, so as to provide more time for delegations to address this matter.
The General Council  took note of the statement.
16. Ecuador - Commitments under the Protocol of Accession (WT/GC/M/26)
At its meeting on 19 February 1998, the General Council considered a communication from
the United States (WT/GC/W/76) expressing concern that Ecuador had not yet implemented certain
commitments in its Protocol of Accession.
The representatives of the United States, Ecuador5  and the European Communities spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
17. Appellate Body Report on "European Communi ties – Customs Classification of Certain
Computer Equipment" (WT/GC/M/29)
At its meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the representative of the United States asked the
General Council to consider two issues raised in the Appellate Body Report on "European
Communities – Customs Classification of Certain Computer Equipment" (WT/DS62/AB/R-
WT/DS67/AB/R-WT/DS68/AB/R).  These were:  (1) the role of tariff treatment in tariff negotiations,
and (2) the fact that the Appellate Body had questioned the extent to which Members could rely on
the tariff treatment practices of individual member States of the European Communities.  The UnitedStates was concerned that the Appellate Body Report might be interpreted in a manner that would
ignore the basic practicalities of tariff negotiations or would undermine Members' reliance on tariff
nomenclature as a basis for determining future tariff bindings. Therefore, the United States believed
that the General Council should consider how best to reaffirm certain principles that should be part of
tariff negotiations.
The representatives of the European Communities, India, the United States and Jamaica, and
the Chairman spoke.
The General Council  took note of the statements.
18. India's tariff increases  (WT/GC/M/29)
At the General Council  meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the representative of the
European Communities expressed concern about the recent tariff increases by India in the form of the
Special Additional Customs Duty introduced in the 1998/99 budget, urged India to bring its tariffs and
charges into conformity with its obligations and soug ht clarification with regard to India's intentions.
The representatives of Canada, Japan, the United States, Switzerland, Turkey, India, the
European Communities, Jamaica and Mauritius, and the Chairman spoke.
                                                     
5 The full text of Ecuador's statement presenting its second annual report on the status of
implementation of its accession commitments was subsequently circulated as WT/GC/COM/4.WT/GC/15
Page 17
The General Council  took note of the statements.
19. United States export restrictions vis-à-vis India  (WT/GC/M/32)
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the representative of India
expressed concern over what he said were unjustified United States export restrictions vis-à-vis India.
The representatives of the United States and Pakistan spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
20. Decision of APEC meeting in  Kuala Lumpur  (WT/GC/M/32)
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the representative of
Malaysia informed Members of a decision taken at the recent APEC meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
The representative of New Zealand spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
21. Notification obligations and procedures (WT/GC/M/26)
In November 1996, the Council for Trade in Goods, having considered the report of the
Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures and the recommendations contained
therein (G/L/112), made certain recommendations  to the General Council.  At its meeting in
November 1996, the General Council approved the recommendations of the Council for Trade inGoods and agreed to revert to this matter at a future meeting.
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman proposed that (i) on the
basis of discussions held by the former Chairm an of the Working Group on Notification Obligations
and Procedures, certain recommendation of the Counci l for Trade in Goods be kept under review and
reverted to at a future date as appropriate;  and that (ii) in pursuance of the recommendation that the
General Council take steps to eliminate the notification obligation relating to import licensingprocedures (L/3756 and SR/28/6), the General Council adopt the draft decision in the Annex to
WT/GC/W/75.
The representative of the United States spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the Chairman's proposals.
22. Global electronic commerce (WT/GC/M/26, 28, 29, 30, 31
6, 327)
At its meeting on 19 February 1998, the General Council considered a proposal by the United
States regarding global electronic commerce (WT/GC/W/78).
                                                     
6 In these minutes, this item was called "Work Programme on Electronic Commerce".
7 See footnote 6.WT/GC/15
Page 18
The representatives of the United States, Egypt, Japan, Australia, the European Communities,
Canada, New Zealand, Nigeria, Switzerland, India, Pakistan, Brunei Darussalam (on behalf of the
ASEAN Members), Norway, Turkey, Hungary and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the General Council considered a proposal by Canada
regarding a tariff standstill for electronic commerce (WT/GC/W/82), and heard a presentation by the
European Communities regarding a recently circulated communication on electronic commerce
(WT/GC/W/85).
The representatives of Canada, the United States, Japan, the European Communities, Norway,
Switzerland, New Zealand, Argentina, the Czech Republi c, Pakistan, Brunei Darussalam (on behalf of
the ASEAN Members), Australia, Egypt, India, Br azil, Chile, Korea, Hungary, Iceland, Poland and
Hong Kong, China spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.At the General Council  meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman recalled that the
Ministerial Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce required the General Council to establish a
comprehensive work programme to examine all trade-related issues relating to global electronic
commerce including those issues identified by Members.  He said that delegations would need towork together to develop a possible work programme in the present month so that Governments
would have an opportunity to reflect on that in capitals before the Special Session in September.
The representatives of Egypt, the European Communities, India, the United States, Japan,
Norway, Canada, Brazil Turkey, the Czech Republic (also on behalf of Hungary, Poland, Romania,the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Bulgaria), Switzerland, Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN
Members), Venezuela, Jamaica, Pakistan, Chile,  Australia, Uruguay, New Zealand, Morocco, Korea,
Peru, Uganda, Panama and Hong Kong, China spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed to revert to this matter at the Special
Session of the General Council in September, and al so agreed that, in the meantime, further informal
consultations be held by the Chairman.
At the General Council  meeting on 24-25 September 1998, the Chairman said that on the
basis of informal open-ended consultations that had been held over the past two months, a draft
comprehensive work programme had been circulated to delegations for consideration (Job No. 5099
of 23 September 1998).     Regarding the penultimate sentence of paragraph 1. 1 of the draft work
programme as contained in that document, which read "Further issues may be taken up at the request
of Members by any of these bodies", he made clear his understanding that the words "request of
Members" meant request of any Member.
The representatives of the United States, the Dominican Republic, Norway, Japan, Indonesia
(on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Peru, Cuba, India, Uruguay, Egypt, Argentina, Pakistan,
Uganda, Israel, Brazil, Jamaica and Colombia spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and adopted the Work Programme on
Electronic Commerce in Job No. 5099 of 23 September 1998 with the understanding that theChairman had proposed at the outset of the discussion on this item.WT/GC/15
Page 19
At the General Council meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Secretariat was requested
to provide information on work on electronic commerce carried out elsewhere8.
At its meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the General Council considered this item.
The representative of the United States spoke.The General Council took note of the statement.
23. Guidelines for the scheduling of meetings (WT/GC/M/32)
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the representative of Mexico
(on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing Countries) expressed concern over the number of
formal and informal meetings in the WTO.
The representatives of Egypt (on behalf of the African Group), India, Pakistan and Jamaica
spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed that the Chairman would undertake
consultations on this matter in advance of the next meeting, and agreed to revert to this matter at its
next meeting.
24. High-level meeting on trade and environment (WT/GC/M/31, 329)
At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the representative of the
European Communities raised the matter of the Community's initiative to convene a high-level
meeting on trade and environment under the auspices of the WTO (WT/L/273).
The representatives of Norway, the United States, Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN
Members), Egypt, Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Pakistan, Mexico,
Korea, Cuba, Argentina and Hong Kong, China spoke.
The General Council  took note of the statements.
25. High-level meeting on trade and development (WT/GC/M/31, 3210)
At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the representative of Egypt
made a proposal to convene a high-level meeting on trade and development and said that a written
submission on this subject would be made in due course.
The representative of Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members) spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
                                                     
8 Information on OECD activities on electronic commerce was subsequently provided in Job No. 5626
and 5708.
9 This item and item 25 were taken together at this meeting.
10 See footnotes 9.WT/GC/15
Page 20
At its meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the General Council considered a paper on
this subject from Egypt (WT/GC/W/109) and the Director-General made a statement on the
organization of the high-level meetings on trade and environment and on trade and development.
The representative of Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members) spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
26. Transparency and derestriction (WT/GC/M/26, 28, 31
11, 3212)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the representative of the United States
said that the time had come to evaluate the General Council's decision of July 1996 regarding
procedures for the circulation and derestricti on of documents (WT/L/160/Rev.1), paragraph 7 of
which called on the General Council to review and if necessary modify the procedures not later than
July 1998.  In order to permit the General Council to carry out its responsibilities in relation to the
required review, the United States proposed that the General Council agree to organize informal open-
ended consultations amongst interested delegations with the aim of considering possible modificationsto these procedures.
The representatives of Canada, the European Communities, Mexico, Norway, India and
Egypt, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed that its Chairman consider ways
and means to advance the proposal by the United States.
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the representative of the United States
recalled her delegation's suggestion at the 19 February meeting for informal open-ended consultations
to consider possible modifications to the July  1996 Decision on procedures for the circulation and
derestriction of WTO documents, and asked if the Chairman could inform Members as to his ideas on
this matter.
The representatives of Canada and Mexico, and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Chairman said that he
had requested Mr. Hoda, Deputy Director-General , to conduct consultations on the review of
procedures for circulation and derestriction of WTO documents.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman informed the
General Council of developments in this area, and introduced a Chairman's proposal (Job No. 6871)
aimed at bridging the differences on this matter.
The representatives of Mexico, Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), the United
States, Japan, India and Canada spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to revert to this matter at its next
meeting.
                                                     
11 In these minutes this item is called "Review of procedures for the circulation and derestriction of
WTO documents".
12 See footnote 11.WT/GC/15
Page 21
27. Transparency in WTO work  (WT/GC/M/29)
At the General Council meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman recalled that in
paragraph 4 of the 1998 Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(98)/DEC), Ministers had recognized the
importance of enhancing public understanding of the benefits of the multilateral trading system and,in this context, had indicated that it was their intention to consider how to improve the transparency of
WTO operations.  He would continue to hold consultations on these matters.
The representatives of the United States, the European Communities, Canada, Egypt,
Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Norway, Turkey, Peru, New Zealand, Brazil,
Australia, Mexico, Uruguay, Jamaica, Chile, Cuba, Japan, Pakistan, Uganda, Mauritius, Korea, India,
Switzerland, Panama, Burundi, Argentina and Hong Kong, China, and the Director-General spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed to proceed in the manner proposed
by the Chairman, and further agreed to revert to this matter at its next regular meeting.
28. Accreditation of Permanent Representatives to the WTO (WT/GC/M/26)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman said that he had been
encouraged to note that a number of Members had adjusted their WTO accreditation practices to the
international practice in respect of representation to international organizations -- outlined in a Note
by the Secretariat of 4 December (WT/GC/W/72) -- and hoped that more Members would begin tomove in this direction.
The General Council took note of the statement.
29. Comments being directed to individual ca ses brought before the dispute settlement
system  (WT/GC/M/26)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Director-General expressed
concern that a number of comments had been directed  over the past few months to individual cases
brought before the dispute settlement system.  While these comments had no doubt been made in
good faith, in some cases they had not been made on the basis of all the relevant facts.  Comments
based on a less than complete knowledge of a particular case, or made while it was still in progress,were an unfair challenge to the integrity of the dispute settlement system, to the WTO's rule-based
procedures, and to the multilateral trading system.  He wished to increase the awareness of this
problem among all Members, and would call it to the attention of the appropriate WTO bodies in the
context of the review of the dispute settlement system that had to be undertaken before the end of
1998.
The General Council took note of the statement.
30. Premature disclosure of dispute settlement panel reports (WT/GC/M/28)
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Director-General expressed concern
that the premature disclosure of dispute settlement panel reports threatened to undermine the WTO's
Dispute Settlement Understanding, and hoped that Members would discuss this matter in the review
of the DSU later in the year.WT/GC/15
Page 22
The representatives of the United States, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Tunisia, Thailand and
Colombia spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
31. WTO Secretariat and Senior Management Structure13 (WT/GC/M/28, 29, 31)
In April 1997, the General Council decided:  (i) to request the Director-General to submit a
report with his recommendations not later than October 1997 on how the functioning and operational
efficiency of the Secretariat might be enhanced to meet challenges facing the Organization, including
through a rationalization of the senior management structure in the light of Members' intention to
reduce significantly the number of Deputy Directors-General;  and (ii) that consideration of thematters referred to in (i) above would be initiated before the end of 1997, so that decisions might be
taken before the appointment of the next Director-General and reflected in the 1999 Budget of the
WTO (WT/L/207).  In December 1997, the General Council took note that the Director-General's
report (WT/GC/W/74) had recently been discussed in informal consultations and that the Chairman
intended to hold further consultations early the following year.
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman informed the General Council that it had been
his intention to propose, on the basis of consultations he had held, that the General Council agree to
reduce the number of posts of Deputy Directors-General in the future senior management structure of
the Secretariat to two, and that other aspects of the Director-General's report remain open for furtherconsideration.  However, one delegation was firmly of the view that agreement on this aspect should
only be reached in conjunction with an understanding to undertake a further study on how the
Secretariat should respond to the challenges outlined  in the Director-General's report.  He proposed to
consult on this matter as soon as possible and to revert to it when the meeting of 2 and 14 April was
reconvened in early May.
The General Council took note of the statement.At the General Council  meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, the Chairman said that in the
light of the informal consultations he had held on this matter, he proposed that the General Council
agree that: (1)  the WTO senior management structure would be composed of one Director-General
and two Deputy Directors-General;  (2) the question of  appointing an Assistant Director-General or a
Senior Director to deal with administrative questions  would be left within the purview of the Director-
General's authority to determine the structure of the Secretariat;  of course, any appointment would
need to be consistent with the resource allocati ons determined by the Budget Committee;  (3)  in
October the General Council would revert to other broader issues in the Director-General's report
contained in Section B of the report on how to respond to the major challenges ahead of the WTO:namely the composition of this new organization, the accession within the next few years of a
significant number of candidates, and the evolution of the system itself, as well as on the issues
contained in Section D of the report concerning "Functioning and Operational Efficiency of the
Secretariat".  Additionally, he proposed that the General Council invite the Director-General to report
to it before the end of the year on action taken under Article VI, paragraph 3 of the WTO Agreementin response to these challenges.  He also proposed that the General Council further invite the Director-
General to submit to it, before the end of the year, suggestions or recommendations he might have in
light of the discussions at the October General Council meeting.
                                                     
13In the Annual Report of the General Council for 1997 this item was called "Institutional reform and
restructuring of the Secretariat."WT/GC/15
Page 23
The representatives of Egypt, Japan, Uganda, Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members),
Jamaica, Australia, Cuba, Turkey, the United States and Venezuela, and the Director-General and Mr.
Lavorel, Deputy Director-General, spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed that the meeting be adjourned
after the discussion on the items under "Other Business", to allow for further consultations to be held
on the present Agenda item.
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, prior to the adoption of the Agenda, the
General Council agreed that the meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998 be considered closed and that the
question of WTO Secretariat and Senior Management Structure be taken up at a future meeting of the
General Council.
The representatives of Pakistan, India and Egypt spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
32. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
(a) Reports of the Joint Advisory Group (WT/GC/M/18, 21)
At its meeting on 7 February 1997, the General Council considered the report of the Joint
Advisory Group of the International Trade Ce ntre UNCTAD/WTO on its twenty-ninth session
(ITC/AG(XXIX)/157).
The Vice-Chairman of the Group introduced the report.  The representatives of Egypt,
Jamaica, India, Singapore (on behalf of the AS EAN Members), and Japan, and the Executive Director
of the ITC and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and adopted the report.At its meeting on 16 July 1997, the General Council considered the report of the Joint
Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO on its thirtieth session
(ITC/AG(XXX)/164).
The Chairman of the Group introduced the report, and the representative of Pakistan spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and adopted the report.At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council considered the report of
the Joint Advisory Group on its thirty-first session (ITC/AG(XXXI)/171).
The Chairman of the Group introduced the report, and the representative of Chile (on behalf
of GRULAC) spoke.
The General Council  took note of the statements and adopted the report.WT/GC/15
Page 24
33. Arrangements for effective cooperation wi th other intergovernmental organizations
(a) Relations between the WTO and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
(WT/GC/M/31, 3214)
At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the Chairman recalled that
the General Council's Decision on the Agreements between the WTO and the IMF and the World
Bank (WT/L/194) provided that the Director-General, should, inter alia , hold consultations with
Members under the auspices of the Chairman of the General Council on matters relating to the
implementation of the Agreements.
The Director-General made a report to the General Council.The representative of Jamaica, and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and of the report by the Director-General
and agreed to revert to this matter at its next meeting.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Director-General
introduced the report of the managing Director of the IMF, the President of the World Bank and the
Director-General of the WTO on Coherence (WT/GC/13).
The representatives of Jamaica, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Egypt, Korea, Bangladesh, Norway,
India, Uganda, Switzerland, Australia, Ghana, the United States and Bolivia spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the report (WT/GC/13).
34. Administrative matters
(a) Appointment of the next Direct or-General (WT/GC/M/29, 31, 32)
At the General Council  meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1988, the Chairman said that in
keeping with the terms of the procedures for the a ppointment of the Director-General, he had initiated
a process of consultation on this matter.  He suggested that Members aim to have identified the new
Director-General by consensus by the end of November, and to use the December meeting of the
General Council to confirm the appointment.  In order to ensure that this important process was
conducted in an atmosphere free of any question about its integrity, he intended to askMr. William Rossier  (Switzerland) to consult with Members on how one might best proceed in the
circumstances, and to make any recommendations wh ich the latter might consider appropriate in the
light of those consultations.  He suggested that Members meet informally to take stock of the various
aspects of this matter immediately after the 1 October deadline.
The representatives of Brazil, Egypt, Norway, Tanzania, Jamaica, Hungary, Mexico,
Mauritius, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Turkey, Argentina, the United States, Morocco, and Hong
Kong, China spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the procedure outlined by the
Chairman.
                                                     
14 At this meeting the item was called "Agreements between the WTO and the IMF and the World
Bank".WT/GC/15
Page 25
At the General Council  meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, Mr. Rossier reported on his
consultations on the appointment of individuals to carry out consultations on the selection of the next
Director-General.  This included the recommendation that the Chairman undertake consultations with
a view to identifying two individuals, or failing that one individual, who would be jointly charged
with the conduct of the consultations on the selection of the next Director-General.
The representatives of the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Jamaica spoke.The Chairman requested the General Council to agree to invite the candidates to come and
meet informally in Geneva, and to authorize him to undertake consultations with the delegations that
had nominated the candidates in order to determine the best arrangements for organizing such a
meeting as early as possible.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the Chairman's proposal.At the resumed General Council  meeting on 23 October, the Chairman reported in detail on
his consultations and proposed that the General Council invite Mr. Rossier and Mr. Celso Lafer(Brazil) to jointly assume responsibility for the conduct of the consultations on the appointment of the
next Director-General.  He also proposed how to describe the task conferred on Messrs. Rossier and
Lafer, and proposed several points which he said would serve as guidance to them for the conduct of
the consultations.
The representatives of Jamaica, Norway and Egypt spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the proposals set out by the
Chairman.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, Mr. Lafer informed the
General Council that he and Mr. Rossier had made a report (WT/GC/W/125) to the General Council
at an informal meeting of the latter on 2 December 1998.  He made a further report describing the
state of affairs as he and Mr. Rossier saw it (Job No. 6888).
The representatives of Jamaica, Chile (on behalf of GRULAC), Egypt (on behalf of the
African Group), Pakistan, Norway, Mexico, Indonesi a (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Hungary,
Australia, Japan, India, Colombia, the European Communities, the Czech Republic, the United States,
Norway, Morocco and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the report and of the statements and agreed to suspend
discussion of this item and to revert to it at a reconvened meeting.
At the reconvened meeting of the General Council on 18 December 1998, Messrs. Lafer and
Rossier made a further report on their consultations.  The Chairman made a summing up of the
meeting (WT/GC/W/130).
The representatives of Egypt (on behalf of the African Group), Mexico (on behalf of the
Informal Group of Developing Countries), Chile (on behalf of GRULAC), Argentina, Jamaica,
Norway, the Czech Republic (also on behalf of Bu lgaria, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia),
Australia, Pakistan, India, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti,  Switzerland, Senegal, Romania, Iceland, Bangladesh,
Indonesia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Tu nisia, Zambia, Turkey, Mauritania, Colombia,
Japan, Venezuela, the United States, Uruguay and Hong Kong, China spoke.WT/GC/15
Page 26
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed to the points in the summing up by
the Chairman (WT/GC/W/130) and agreed to reconvene its meeting in January 199915.
(b) Conditions of service of WTO staff (WT/GC/M/28, 29, 31, 32)
At its meeting on 14 November 1997, the General Council invited the Chairman of the
Working Group on Conditions of Service to prepare a revised draft decision on this matter for the
consideration of Members taking into account the latest developments, and agreed that its meeting be
adjourned and reconvened at the earliest possible date with a view to taking a decision thereon.  On 19
February 1998, the General Council agreed to a proposal by its Chairman that the 14 November
meeting be considered closed, and that the question of conditions of service be taken up again at a
future meeting of the General Council as and when it became ready for consideration.
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the General Council considered a draft decision on this
matter (WT/GC/W/83).
The Chairman read out a statement with regard to the draft decision, which was intended to
clarify the intention of certain parts of the draft decision.  He then proposed that the Draft Decision beadopted in the light of his statement.
The General Council adopted the draft decision in the light of the Chairman's statement
(WT/L/269).
The representatives of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Venezuela,
Egypt, Norway, Korea, Brunei Darrusalam (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Bangladesh, the
Netherlands, and Hong Kong, China, and the Director-General spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.At the General Council  meeting on 15, 16 and 22 July 1998, Mr. Farrell (New Zealand),
Chairman of the Working Group on Conditions of Service of WTO Staff, reported on the Group's
activities and sought the approval of the General Council to appoint a panel of independent actuaries
to provide an actuarial assessment of the Chair's current draft compensation and personnel scheme.
The representatives of Jamaica, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Turkey,
Tunisia and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman of the General Council spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements  and approved the appointment of the two
actuaries proposed by the Chairman of the Working Group.
At its meeting on 14, 16 and 23 October 1998, the General Council considered a draft
decision (WT/GC/W/102/Rev.1), the report by the Chairman of the Working Group (WT/GC/W/101)
and background documentation (WT/GC/W/103).
The Chairman of the Working Group introduced the Group's report (WT/GC/W/101).The representatives of the United States, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
Japan, Egypt, India, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada, Tunisia, Korea,
Turkey and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman of the General Council, the Director-General and
Mr. Lavorel, Deputy Director-General, spoke.
                                                     
15 Although the subsequent meeting of the General Council on 12 January 1999 was in effect a
resumption of the 18 December 1998 meeting, it is covered by a distinct set of Minutes (WT/GC/M/33).WT/GC/15
Page 27
The Chairman read out a text in connection with the draft decision.
The General Council took note of the statements, took note of the report by the Chairman of
the Working Group in document WT/GC/W/101, took note of the certification provided by the panel
of independent actuaries in document WT/GC/W/103, and adopted the draft decision in documentWT/GC/W/102/Rev.1
16.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman, reporting on
progress in the implementation of the General Counc il's Decision of 16 October 1998, said that the
WTO staff had accepted the proposed conditions of service and that on 12 and 13 November the
Board of UNJSFP had decided to recommend the termination of ICITO's membership in the Fund.
The representatives of Jamaica, Norway and Japan spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
35. WTO Daily Bulletin (WT/GC/M/28)
In July 1997, the General Council agreed that the Secretariat should issue a Daily Bulletin, in
English only, for a trial period of three months beginning in September 1997, and that the issuance of
the Bulletin be reviewed in the light of experience and financial implications if any.  In December
1997, the General Council agreed that the Bulletin be issued for a further trial period of three monthsin English only, since its issuance in French and Spanish would have financial implications that would
have to be examined by the Budget Committee.
At the General Council meeting on 24 April 1998, the Chairman said it appeared that
delegations regarded the issuance of the Daily Bulletin as useful, and proposed that the Daily Bulletin
continue to be issued by the Secretariat.
The General Council so agreed.
36. Observer status
(a) Governments
(i) Bhutan (WT/GC/M/28)
At its meeting on 24 April 1998, the General Council considered a request from Bhutan
(WT/L/262) for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies, and agreed to grant
the request.
The representatives of India, Bangladesh, Br unei Darrusalam (on behalf of the ASEAN
Members), Pakistan and Bhutan (as an observer), and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
                                                     
16 The Decision was circulated in document WT/L/282.WT/GC/15
Page 28
(ii) Cape Verde (WT/GC/M/26)
At its meeting on 19 February 1998, the General Council considered a request from Cape
Verde (WT/L/258) for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies, and agreed to
grant the request.
(b) International intergovernmental organizations (WT/GC/M/26)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman recalled that at the
General Council meeting in December 1997, he had reported that consultations had recently been held
on the pending requests from international organizations for observer status in the General Council,
and that further consultations would need to be held early in 1998.  He urged delegations to give
further thought to this matter so that it could be settled rapidly.
The General Council took note of the statement.
37. Appointment of officers to WTO bodies (WT/GC/M/26, 32)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman said that in accordance
with the guidelines for appointment of officers  to WTO bodies approved by the General Council in
January 1995 (WT/L/31), he had held informal consultations on this matter, on the basis of which he
considered that there was a consensus on the following slate of names:
General Council Mr. John Weekes (Canada)
Dispute Settlement Body Mr. Kamel Morjane (Tunisia)
Trade Policy Review Body Mr. Ali Said Mchumo (Tanzania)
Council for Trade in Goods Mr. Ronald Saborio Soto (Costa Rica)
Council for TRIPS Mr. Istvan Major (Hungary)
Council for Trade in Services Mr. Nobutoshi Akao (Japan)Committee on Trade and Environment Mr. Chak Mun See (Singapore)
Committee on Trade and Development Mr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury (Bangladesh)
Committee on Budget, Finance and
   Administration Mr. Wilhelm Meier (Switzerland)
Committee on Balance-of-Payments
Restrictions Mr. Peter R. Jenkins (United Kingdom)
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Mr. Jean-Marie Noirfalisse (Belgium)Working Group on the Relationship between Mr. Krirk-Krai Jirapaet (Thailand)
   Trade and Investment
Working Group on the Interaction between Mr. Frédéric Jenny (France)
   Trade and Competition Policy
Working Group on Transparency in Mr. Werner Corrales Leal (Venezuela)   Government Procurement
The representative of Norway spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and of the consensus on the above slate of
names.
At the General Council meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the Chairman said that he
would need more time for consultations on this matter, and asked the General Council to waive the
ten-day rule for the convening of its meetings to allow him the possibility of convening a meeting on
short notice to adopt a slate of names.WT/GC/15
Page 29
The General Council took note of the statement and so agreed.
38. Election of Chairperson (WT/GC/M/26)
At the General Council meeting on 19 February 1998, the Chairman, as the outgoing
presiding officer of the General Council, made a statement (WT/GC(98)/ST/1).
The General Council then unanimously elected Mr. Weekes (Canada) to the Chair.
39. Review of WTO activities  (WT/GC/M/32)
At its meeting on 9-11 and 18 December 1998, the General Council conducted a review of
WTO activities in pursuance of the Decision concerning procedures for the overview of WTO
activities and for reporting under the WTO (WT/L/105).  In so doing, the General Council considered
annual reports for 1998 from WTO bodies.
The Chairpersons of the respective WTO bodies presented the annual reports submitted by
those bodies.
The General Council adopted the report of the Committee on Trade and Development
(WT/COMTD/15), took note of the reports from WTO bodies in documents WT/GC/W/110,
WT/DSB/14 and Add.1, WT/TPR/59, G/L/285, S/ C/6, IP/C/15, WT/BOP/R/44, WT/BFA/37,
WT/REG/7, WT/CTE/13, WT/GTI/2, WT/WGTCP /2, WT/WGTGP/2, GPA/25 and WT/L/291, and
took note of the statements.  The General Council took the following decisions and made the
following recommendations:
(1) With respect to the review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the General
Council decided to continue and to complete the review process including thepreparation of the report by the end of July 1999.
(2) The General Council decided that the Working Group on the Relationship between
Trade and Investment shall continue the educational work that it has been
undertaking on the basis of the mandate contained in paragraph 20 of the Singapore
Ministerial Declaration.  The work of the Working Group, which shall be reviewed
by the General Council, shall continue to be based on issues raised by Members withrespect to the subjects identified in the Check list of Issues Suggested for Study.  It is
understood that this decision is without prejudice to any future decision that might be
taken by the General Council, including in the context of its existing work
programme.
(3) The General Council decided that the Working Group on the Interaction between
Trade and Competition Policy shall continue the educative work that it has been
undertaking pursuant to paragraph 20 of the Singapore Ministerial Declaration.  In the
light of the limited number of meetings that the Group will be able to hold in 1999,
the Working Group, while continuing at each meeting to base its work on the study ofissues raised by Members relating to the interaction between trade and competition
policy, including anti-competitive practices, would benefit from a focused discussion
on:  (i) the relevance of fundamental WTO principles of national treatment,
transparency, and most-favoured-nation treatment to competition policy and vice
versa;  (ii) approaches to promoting cooperation and communication amongMembers, including in the field of technical cooperation;  and (iii) the contribution of
competition policy to achieving the objectives of the WTO, including the promotion
of international trade.  The Working Gr oup will continue to ensure that theWT/GC/15
Page 30
development dimension and the relationship with investment are fully taken into
account.  It is understood that this decision is without prejudice to any future decision
that might be taken by the General Council, including in the context of its existing
work programme.
The representatives of Honduras, Jamaica, India, the Dominican Republic and Brazil, and the
Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
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