WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/326
22 October 1999
(99-4595)
Original:  English
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE SAARC1 COMMERCE MINISTERS ON
THE FORTHCOMING THIRD WTO MINISTERIAL
CONFERENCE (SEATTLE)
Bandos Island, Maldives
9 August 1999
Communication from Sri Lanka on behalf of the
SAARC Member States of the WTO
The following Joint Statement by the Commerce Ministers of the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was received from the Consulate General of Sri Lanka with the
request that it be circulated to Members.
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1. Pursuant to a decision taken at the Second Commerce Ministers' Meeting in Islamabad and
thereafter endorsed at the Colombo Summit to intensify consultations among SAARC Member States
on WTO related issues, the Commerce Secretarie s of SAARC countries held two Consultative
Meetings respectively in New Delhi (10-12 May 1999) and in Bandos Island, Maldives
(7-8 August 1999) with a view to adopting a common position well in advance of the forthcoming
Third WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled to be held in Seattle later this year.
2. The Commerce Ministers of SAARC countries are of the view that:
(a) preparations in the WTO General Council are for the forthcoming Seattle Ministerial
Conference and not for any new or fresh round of multilateral trade negotiations as is
being proposed by some countries.  There has been no agreement so far nor any
consensus on structuring future work as a new Round of Negotiations, much less on asingle undertaking;
(b) it is premature, accordingly, to discu ss at this stage, the contours of any new
negotiating agenda or the question of 'a single undertaking', unless Members are
satisfied with the details of the scope or the nature of the agenda before them.  Themandated negotiations and the mandated reviews taken together with implementation
issues provide a sufficiently broad agenda for consideration;
(c) there is a move to further overload the WTO agenda with 'new issues' such as social
clauses, environment, 'governance', labour standards, etc.  Since these are not traderelated, they should be kept out of the multilateral trading system;
(d) the SAARC region should strongly emphasize that expeditious action be taken for the
full and fair implementation of existing agreements and commitments made thereon,
                                                     
1 SAARC Member States are – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldive Islands, Nepal, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka.WT/L/326
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with special reference to the impact on developing and least-developed countries, and
that imbalances and asymmetries in these Agreements be addressed as a clear
priority.  This would enhance the credibility of the multilateral trading system among
developing and least-developed countries;
(e) there is a need to deepen and broaden concessions already provided under S&D
clauses in favour of developing and least-developed countries.  Operationalization of
these clauses need to be addressed as stand-alone issues to balance the substantive
obligations already assumed by the developing and least-developed countries under
the Uruguay Round;
(f) the Uruguay Round negotiations did not result in greater market access for the
exports of developing and least-developed countries as was expected, due to the
existence of 'tariff peaks', the phenomenon of tariff escalation, and the use of
non-tariff barriers, in respect of products of export interest to the developing and
least-developed countries.  Action should be taken to ensure effective market access
for the exports of these countries;
(g) there is a need for meaningful integration of the textile and clothing sector under
GATT.  Measures which would result in increased market access for textile and
clothing items need to be considered.  These would include, inter alia , adequate and
faster coverage of items for meaningful integration, regular monitoring of the processof integration by the Textile Monitoring Body, dis-allowing unilateral modification of
rules of origin to the detriment of developing and least-developed countries,
avoidance of arbitrary anti-dumping, anti-subsidy or safeguard measures by
developed countries and full and effective compliance with the special and
differential treatment provisions;
(h) increased commitment should be sought from developed countries with regard to
market access in services especially by way of movement of natural persons;
(i) with regard to the TRIPS Agreement, extension of the moratorium on applicability of
the non-violation clause be sought as also a finite extension of the transition period
for the implementation of the provision of TRIPS for the developing countries, whichis at present scheduled to end on 1 January 2000.  There is a need to prevent piracy of
traditional knowledge built around bio-diversity and to seek the harmonization of the
TRIPS Agreements with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity so as to ensure
appropriate returns to traditional communities.  It would be desirable to join forces
with other developed and developing countries for the grant of a higher level ofprotection by way of geographical indication to products apart from wines and spirits
so that products of export interest to the region could benefit.  The relevant provisions
of the TRIPS Agreement relating to meaningful transfer and dissemination of
technology to developing and least-developed countries should be effectively
operationalized;
(j) as regards the TRIMs Agreement, there should be an extension of the transition
period for developing countries for removal of trade-related investment measures.
There should be no further amplification of the list of such measures under the
disciplines of the TRIMs Agreement.  Greater flexibility in the TRIMs Agreement fordeveloping countries is important to enable them to pursue their developmental
objectives.  In particular, the local content requirement is important as it (i) promotes
domestic activity in raw material and intermediate inputs;  (ii) encourages ancillary
industry to upgrade production level;  (iii) affects saving in foreign exchange
spendings thus impacting balance-of-payment situations;  and (iv) establishes abalance between FDIs and national growth levels;WT/L/326
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(k) in view of the increasing marginaliztion of LDCs in world trade, the following
measures, among others, should be taken within the framework of the WTO to
enhance their participation in the multilateral trading system:
(i) least-developed country applicants for WTO membership should be allowed
to accede on a fast-track basis with obligations commensurate with their stage
of development.  The duration of the accession process should be shortened,
conditions simplified, and these must not be more restrictive than those
applied to other LDCs during the change of their membership from GATT to
WTO.  In the case of LDCs the transitional period provided under various
Agreements should commence from the date of their accession;
(ii) special and differential provisions under all WTO Agreements and Decisions
should continue to be an integral part of the multilateral trading system;
(iii) LDCs should be granted duty-free access on an autonomous basis for their
exports.  These should be exempt from anti-dumping duties, safeguard
actions and non-tariff barriers;
(iv) rules of origin, including those under unilateral preferential regimes such as
the GSP, applicable to LDCs should be harmonized and tailored to promotetheir participation in global production chains;
(v) export subsidies should be exempt from competitiveness thresholds and non-
actionable categories of subsidies expanded to include subsidies for
development, diversification and upgrading of industries;
(vi) all notification requirements should be made simpler and deadlines for full
implementation of all Agreements extended to match their technical
capacities;
(vii) the proposed legal advisory centre and a special cell for LDCs in WTO
should be established as soon as possible;
(viii) technical assistance should be regarded a right for LDCs and adequate
resources should be made available under the WTO regular budget;  and
(ix) developed countries should give priority to the concessional transfer of
technology to LDCs.
(l) the use of unilateral trade measures inconsistent with international law, WTO
Agreements and the basic tenets of a multilateral trading system should be rejected;
and
(m) representatives of SAARC Countries accredited to the WTO in Geneva should consult
more closely and coordinate their positions on all matters relating to the preparatory
process leading to the Third Ministerial Conference in Seattle.
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