RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/16
6December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5151)
GENERAL COUNCIL
7,8and13November 1996
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on7,8and13November 1996
Chairman: Mr.W.Rossier (Switzerland)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Iran-Request forobserver status atthe1996 Ministerial Conference 2
2. Laos -Request forobserver status atthe1996 Ministerial Conference 2
3. Agreement onPreshipment Inspection -Review under Article 6oftheAgreement 3
- Establishment ofaworking party 3
4. Extensions ofwaivers pursuant toParagraph 2oftheUnderstanding inrespect of
waivers ofobligations under GATT 1994 3
- United States -Imports ofautomotive products 3
5. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions 4
(a) Consultation withHungary 4
(b) Consultation withNigeria (WT/BOP/R/18) 4
(c) Adhocobserver status forinternational intergovernmental organizations 5
6. Salaries andpensions ofWTO staff 5
7. Arrangements foreffective cooperation withother intergovernmental organizations 7
- Relations between theWTO andtheInternational Monetary Fund andthe
World Bank 7
8. Preparations forthe1996 Ministerial Conference 7
(a) Attendance ofinternational intergovernmental organizations asobservers 8
(b) Report bytheDirector-General 8
(c) Reports of: 9
(i) Dispute Settlement Body andTrade Policy Review Body 9
(ii) Councils forTrade inGoods, Trade inServices andTRIPS 11
(iii) Committee onTrade andEnvironment 14WT/GC/M/16
Page2
(iv) Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Regional Trade Agreements,
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions, and Budget, Finance and
Administration 15
(v) Committees andCouncils under thePlurilateral Trade Agreements
(WT/L/190, WT/L/193, WT/L/178, WT/L/179) 17
(d) Adoption oftheGeneral Council report 17
(e) Election oftheChairperson andVice-Chairpersons fortheMinisterial
Conference 17
(f) Structure andorganization oftheMinisterial Conference 18
9. World Bank study onMERCOSUR 20
10. Status ofratification oftheWTO Agreement bycertain governments 21
11. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations 21
1. Iran-Request forobserver status atthe1996 Ministerial Conference (WT/L/191)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from Iranrequesting observer status at
theSingapore Ministerial Conference (WT/L/191). Regrettably, onthebasisofconsultations hehad
heldonthismatter, hehadtoinform theGeneral Council thatthere wasnoconsensus togrant this
request, andhetherefore intended toinform theIranian authorities accordingly.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.1
2. Laos -Request forobserver status atthe1996 Ministerial Conference (WT/L/192)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from Laosrequesting observer status at
theMinisterial Conference (WT/L/192), andproposed, onthebasisofhisinformal consultations, that
theGeneral Council agree togrant thisrequest.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Therepresentative ofJamaica saidthattheChairman hadclearly carried outinformal
consultations onthisrequest aswellasonthatunder Item1.However, Jamaica considered itimportant,
astheWTO helditsfirstMinisterial Conference, tosetguidelines fortheconduct ofbusiness inthe
mosttransparent manner sothatwhen Members tookformal decisions, theyknew precisely thebasis
onwhich these weretaken. While hehadnodifficulty ingoing along withwhatseemed tobeasilent
consensus onthisrequest, aswellasonthatunder Item1,hebelieved thatthebusiness oftheWTO
should beconducted inamanner suchthatalldelegations wereconsulted andweretherefore inaposition
tounderstand thebasis upon which decisions were taken.
TheChairman saidthathehadheldconsultations onthese requests, which hadclearly shown
thatthere wasnoconsensus ontherequest under Item1,andhehadaccordingly communicated this
totheGeneral Council. Ofcourse, ifJamaica sowished, hewould putthequestion onceagain to
theGeneral Council toseeifhisconclusion astoalackofconsensus ontherequest byIranwascorrect.
1Seealsothediscussion under Item 2.WT/GC/M/16
Page3
Therepresentative ofJamaica saidthathehadmerely wished toputonrecord thatthereshould
besome objective criteria forthebasis ofdecisions byMembers, andthatthese criteria should be
discussed inaformal setting sothattheybecame partoftherecord. Hebelieved thatthiswasimportant
when Members considered requests foraccession. Onecould nothavedifferent setsofcriteria for
accessionrequests,forobserverstatus,fornon-governmentalorganizations,orforoneparticularcountry
oranother. Members hadtoenumerate these criteria veryclearly sothatanysuchrequests were
considered onthebasisofatransparent setofcriteria suchthatnocountry submitting arequest would
feelitself disadvantaged atanytimeinthefuture.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthestatements andgrant the
request byLaos, andthatdueattention begiven intheforthcoming months tothematter raised by
Jamaica.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
3. Agreement onPreshipment Inspection -Review under Article 6oftheAgreement
- Establishment ofaworking party (WT/GC/W/41)
TheChairman saidthat,atitsmeeting on15October, theCouncil forTrade inGoods had
agreed torecommend thattheGeneral Council establish aworking party toconduct thereview provided
forunder Article 6oftheAgreement onPreshipment Inspection. Theworking party wastobe
established under theCouncil forTrade inGoods withthefollowing terms ofreference: "Toconduct
thereview provided forunder Article 6oftheAgreement onPreshipment Inspection andtoreport
totheGeneral Council through theCouncil forTrade inGoods inDecember 1997." Heproposed
thattheGeneral Council agree toestablish theworking party withtheterms ofreference hehadjust
readout.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/196).
4. Extensions ofwaivers pursuant toParagraph 2oftheUnderstanding inrespect ofwaivers of
obligations under GATT 1994
- United States -Imports ofautomotive products (G/L/103 andCorr.1, G/C/W/55)
TheChairman drewattention tothecommunication fromtheUnited States containing arequest
foranextension ofawaiver previously granted toitunder theGATT 1947 (G/L/103 andCorr.1),
andtotherelated draftdecision (G/C/W/55).
Mr.Narayanan (India), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting onthe
consideration ofthisrequest bytheCouncil, saidthattheCouncil hadconsidered thisrequest atits
meetings on19September and15October, andon15October hadapproved therequest andforwarded
therelated draftdecision totheGeneral Council foradoption.
Therepresentative ofNorway saidthathisdelegation hadnoted withsome concern thenumber
ofrequests forextensions ofwaivers. Stricter conditions applied forthegranting ofwaivers andtheir
possible extensions under WTO provisions thanunder theGATT 1947. Inparticular, Members
requesting waivers hadanobligation todulydescribe themeasures covered bythewaiver, thepolicy
objectivesandthereasonswhichpreventedtheobjectivesbeingachievedinanotherwiseWTO-consistent
way. Given thisbackground, amore restrictive practice should beexercised when requests forwaivers
weresubmitted andconsidered. Byitsverymeaning, awaiver wasmeant tobeanexception tothe
rule,andshould notitself become therule.WT/GC/M/16
Page4
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement agreed inNovember 1995(WT/L/93),
adopted theDecision ontheextension ofthewaiver (WT/L/198).
5. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultation withHungary (WT/BOP/R/17)
(b) Consultation withNigeria (WT/BOP/R/18)
(c) Adhocobserver status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
(a) Consultation withHungary (WT/BOP/R/17)
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing thereport ontheconsultation
withHungary (WT/BOP/R/17), saidthattheCommittee hadwelcomed themarked improvement in
Hungary 'sbalance-of-payments situation between 1995andthefirsthalfof1996, stemming fromexport
growth andanimprovement intheservices balance. Other contributory factors included alargeincrease
inFDIandaconsiderable decline inthesavings-investment imbalance. Theratioofnetinternational
debttoGDP hadalsobeenreduced. TheCommittee hadnoted thatatend-June 1996, gross official
reserves stood atapproximately eight months ofimports ofgoods andservices. TheCommittee had
recognized thatHungary waspursuing astrong adjustment programme, which hadledtoaconsiderable
improvement inthebudgetary position, andthattheauthorities were committed tofurther fiscal
consolidation andstructural reform in1997. Hungary hadconsidered itsBOPsituation stillfragile
andhadpointed totheinterrelationships among different elements ofmacroeconomic andstructural
policies which, initsview, hadmade itnecessary atthispoint toretain theimport surcharge inorder
toavoid anunmanageable situation. Ithad,however, confirmed itsfirmintention toeliminate the
surcharge anddisinvoke BOPprovisions by1July1997 atthelatest. TheCommittee hadconcluded
thatthere wasnolonger animminent threat ofaserious decline inthelevelofHungary 'smonetary
reserves, assetoutinArticle XIIofGATT 1994. While welcoming thereductions inthesurcharge
made inJulyandplanned forOctober 1996, theCommittee hadconsidered thatpresent conditions
showed noBOPreasons whyHungary should notcontinue itsprogressive phase-out andeliminate
thesurcharge more rapidly.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andadopted thereport ontheconsultation
withHungary (WT/BOP/R/17).
(b) Consultation withNigeria (WT/BOP/R/18)
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing thereport ontheconsultation
withNigeria (WT/BOP/R/18), recalled thattheCommittee hadconsulted withNigeria inFebruary
1996, andhadtaken noteofcertain positive macroeconomic developments, suchasadecline ininflation,
animprovement inthecurrent account balance andanincrease ininternational reserves toroughly
fourmonths ofimports inJune1996. Ontheotherhand, theexternal prospects hadremained precarious,
andNigeria hadstillbeenconfronted withserious economic challenges, suchaslowGDP growth,
weak export performance, andveryhighlevels ofexternal debt. TheCommittee hadsupported the
IMF'sanalysis thataboldandcredible programme foreconomic andtrade reforms wasessential to
achievelastingimprovementsinNigeria'sbalance-of-paymentsposition.TheCommitteehadconsidered
thattheimport prohibitions currently inforce inNigeria could nolonger bejustified onBOPgrounds.
Ithadrecalled Nigeria 'scommitments tomake allrestrictive trademeasures price-based andtoeliminate
thembydisinvokingArticleXVIII:B.TheCommitteehadtakennoteofNigeria'sstatementthattechnical
andlegislative processes hadbeeninitiated withaviewtoeliminating theimport prohibitions based
onBOPgrounds asof1January 1997. TheCommittee hadrequested Nigeria tonotify therelevant
decisions totheCommittee assoonastheywere taken. Ifallmeasures were removed bythe1997WT/GC/M/16
Page5
Budget, there would benoneedforfurther consultations; ifnot,theCommittee would resume its
consultation withNigeria inFebruary 1997.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andadopted thereport ontheconsultation
withNigeria (WT/BOP/R/18).
(c) Adhocobserver status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee, saidthatatitsmeeting on23-25 September,
theCommitteehadrecognizedtheadhocobserverstatusofthefollowinginternationalintergovernmental
organizations: ACP Secretariat, EBRD, EFTA, OECD, World Bank andUNCTAD.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
6. Salaries andpensions ofWTO staff(WT/GC/W/44)
TheChairman drewattention toadraftdecision onconditions ofservice applicable tothestaff
oftheWTO Secretariat (WT/GC/W/44), thathadbeenprepared inthelightofhisconsultations on
thismatter. Thedraftdecision hadbeenconsidered atameeting ofHeads ofDelegations on4November
withaviewtosubmitting itforadoption bytheGeneral Council atthepresent meeting.
Therepresentative ofNorway expressed regret atthecurrent situation. Despite thenumerous
effortsbytheChairmanandtheDirector-General,themainaimoffixingsalariesandmakingtherelevant
stipulations onpensions forSecretariat staffhadnotbeenachieved. Hisdelegation hoped however
thatitwould soonbepossible todoso.Today, Members were being asked toprolong until1July
1997 thepresent situation onsalaries andpensions, andhehoped thatthiswould bethelastsuch
prolongation inorder tosafeguard theWTO 'spolitical, administrative andhuman credibility given
theexcessive hesitation thathadbeenshown. Hetherefore proposed thatconsultations beengaged
withaviewtoestablishing aconcrete timetable forwhatneeded tobedonebetween nowand30June
1997.
Therepresentatives ofIceland, Morocco, Hungary, Colombia, Paraguay andSweden expressed
disappointment atthefailure toreach satisfactory agreement butemphasized theirappreciation forthe
workdonebytheChairman andtheDirector-General. Theyregistered agreement withthedraftdecision
and,together withtherepresentative ofKorea, appealed toalldelegations togivetheissuethepriority
itdeserved. Therepresentative ofIndia wassupportive oftheproposed decision andhoped thata
solution could befound wellbefore thedeadline of30June1997.
Therepresentative ofNewZealand, while supporting thedraftdecision, agreed withtheviews
expressed byNorway. Heregistered disappointment atthefailure tofinalize newconditions ofservice
forSecretariat staff, andexpressed hisdelegation 'scontinued fullsupport fortheestablishment of
independent WTO salary andpension arrangements.
Therepresentative ofJapan thanked theChairman forhisefforts inthismatter andsaidhe
supported thedraftdecision although hehadthefeeling thatMembers hadmissed agoodopportunity
tosetupasalaries andpension system thatwasreasonable, achievable andinanycasebetter than
thepresent system without being anymore onerous. Heappealed tothose thatwere calling forthe
adoption oftheUNCommon System toexplain whytheyconsidered itbetter thantheproposal based
onindependent arrangements.WT/GC/M/16
Page6
Therepresentative ofCanada, noting thathisdelegation wasnotyetinaposition todecide
onthisquestion, saiditwasincumbent onthose whosupported adoption bytheWTO oftheUN
Common System toexplain toother Members whythatsystem would bebetter.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong saiditwasamatter ofregret thatyetagain Members had
failed toreach asolution tothislongdrawn outproblem. Hewashowever encouraged thatMembers
would nowcommit themselves toatarget dateof30June1997, andthattheyhadagreed tocontinue
theirwork onthebasisofadraftdecision dated 18September 1996. Asresponsible managers ofthis
important andstillfragile institution, Members hadtobesensitive tothestaff'sfeelings andfinda
solution assoonaspossible. Heagreed withNorway thatMembers should consider howthework
could bescheduled inanefficient manner sothatthenewtarget datewould inreality behonoured.
Therepresentative ofAustralia, sharing thedisappointment thathadbeenexpressed, saidhis
delegation supported thedraftdecision andalsotheproposal made byNorway, since itwasnecessary
tomove expeditiously toanindependent salaries andpensions system fortheWTO.
Therepresentative ofThailand, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, supported efforts
tofindasatisfactory conclusion without further delay, preferably before thetarget date. Hetherefore
supported theproposal made byNorway.
Therepresentative ofJamaica saidthatthematter ofsalaries andpensions ofWTO staffwere
aspects ofthewider issueofthecompetence, integrity andsupport ofanindependent Secretariat which
allowed Members toperform theirduties inasatisfactory manner. Itwould beuseful tocirculate,
asaformal document, theextensive documentation thatwasavailable andwhich contained thefull
range ofissues under consideration, including terms andconditions ofservice, conditions ofrecruitment
andpromotion, andthevarious elements ofaviable, independent pension system. Noting thatthe
WTO wasasuigeneris organization established outside theUNsystem, itseemed logical toestablish
aSecretariat thatwasoutside theCommon System.
Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthatwhile hisdelegation wassupportive ofthedraftdecision,
Members should notgoinadirection which would ruintheCommon System. Hecould notagree
toanindependent system attheWTO without taking intoconsideration alltherepercussions, including
thefinancial implications, ontheCommon System.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland supported theproposal contained inthedraftdecision of
18September 1996 andexpressed confidence thattheissues would besolved within thetime-frame
under discussion.
Therepresentative oftheCzech Republic wasdisappointed thatMembers hadnotreached the
goaldefined atMarrakesh. Invarious fora,hisdelegation hadrepeatedly stressed thattheSingapore
Ministerial Conference should sendtwoclearmessages: onetotheoutside world intheform ofthe
Ministerial Declaration andtheother inward-looking regarding Members 'ownadministrations and
theWTO Secretariat withaviewtoimproving thelatter'sworking conditions.
TheDirector-General saidthathedeeply regretted thecurrent situation, andpaidtribute both
totheability andthesense ofresponsibility oftheSecretariat staff. Hewould continue topress for
anindependent solution andsaidthathewasgrateful tothose delegations, representing animpressive
majority, which hadexpressed theirsupport fortheproposal bytheChairman.
TheChairman saidthatnoonecould object totheproposal thataprecise timetable bedrawn
upassoonaspossible sothatMembers could proceed inanorderly manner toconclude negotiations
atthelatest by30June1997. Heintended tobegin consultations tothateffect assoonaspossibleWT/GC/M/16
Page7
soastodefine thestages ofwork overthenextmonths. Theviews expressed atthismeeting would
betaken intoaccount inthecourse offuture work andallavailable documents thathadbeenrequested
would bedistributed. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthestatements andadopt
thedraftdecision inWT/GC/W/44.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/197).
7. Arrangements foreffective cooperation withother intergovernmental organizations
- Relations between theWTO andtheInternational Monetary Fund andtheWorld Bank
(WT/GC/W/43, WT/GC/W/42 andAdd.1 andAdd.2)
TheChairman drew attention tothedraftAgreements oncooperation withtheIMFandthe
World Bank contained inWT/GC/W/43, andtoadraft decision regarding theapproval ofthese
Agreements (WT/GC/W/42 andAddenda). Herecalled thatataninformal meeting oftheGeneral
Council on26September, hehadpresented thedraftdecision ontheIMFandWorld BankAgreements.
Asaresult offurther consultations, thedraftdecision contained indocument WT/GC/W/42 hadbeen
circulated withsupporting documents contained intwoaddenda (onebeing astatement bytheDirector-
General onconsultations andcoherence andtheother concerning aSecretariat estimate ofthebudgetary
implications oftheIMF/World BankAgreements). Asthatdocument hadonlybeendistributed shortly
before, hehadconvened aninformal meeting inorder toprovide clarifications thatmight beneeded.
Thecovering notetothedocuments hadstated thatinlightoftheinformal consultations heldbyhimself,
itappeared thatthetextmetwiththeconsensus ofMembers which, inhisview, wasstillthecase.
TheGeneral Council adopted thedraft decision (WT/L/194 andAddenda) approving the
Agreements withtheIMFandtheWorld Bank (WT/L/195).
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities welcomed theadoption oftheDecision and
saidthattheAgreement withtheIMFhadbeenadifficult negotiation which showed theneedforgreater
transparency intheprocess. Heappreciated thespecific reference totheestimate onbudgetary
implications which wasuseful. Herequested, thattheBudget Committee notmerely remain informed
butbeactively involved in1997 andbeyond inthewayinwhich theAgreement wasapplied. Itwas
hisdelegation 'sunderstanding thattheAgreement didnotaffect therights andobligations oftheIMF
withrespect tothework oftheWTO anditsvarious bodies asderived fromArticle XVofGATT 1994
relating toexchange arrangements. Hehoped thattheWTO would nowwork inaspirit ofpragmatism
andcooperation withtheIMFsoastogivepractical meaning totheAgreement toensure benefits for
bothinstitutions.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
8. Preparations forthe1996 Ministerial Conference
(a) Attendance ofinternational intergovernmental organizations asobservers
(b) Report bytheDirector-General
(c) Reports of:
(i) Dispute Settlement Body andTrade Policy Review Body
(ii) Councils forTrade inGoods, Trade inServices andTRIPS
(iii) Committee onTrade andEnvironment
(iv) Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Regional Trade Agreements, Balance-
of-Payments Restrictions, andBudget, Finance andAdministration
(v) Committees andCouncils under thePlurilateral Trade Agreements
(d) Adoption oftheGeneral Council reportWT/GC/M/16
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(e) Election oftheChairperson andVice-Chairpersons oftheMinisterial Conference
(f) Structure andorganization oftheMinisterial Conference
(a) Attendance ofinternational intergovernmental organizations asobservers
TheChairman saidthatsincetheGeneral Council hadlastconsidered thismatter atitsmeetings
on2and14October, thefollowing additional organizations thatwerenotobservers totheWTO had
requested attendance attheMinisterial Conference asobservers: ASEAN, Asian Development Bank,
OrganizationofAfricanUnity(OAU),OrganizationoftheIslamicConferencesandtheSouthernAfrican
Development Community (SADC). Heproposed thattheseorganizations, aswellasallorganizations
ofaregional orsub-regional nature thatexpressed awishtoattend theMinisterial Conference as
observers beinvited thereto.
Therepresentative ofIsrael saidthathisGovernment wasstillexamining these requests and
regretted thathisdelegation hadnothadtheopportunity tosaysointhehopethatthere could have
beenfurther consultation.
TheChairman saidthathehadbeengiven assurances thatalldelegations concerned hadbeen
consulted andthatnodelegation hadanyobjection. Heregretted thattheconsultations hadnottaken
place inthemanner hethought theyhad,andexpressed awillingness tocontinue consultations ifIsrael
sowished.
Therepresentative ofIsrael saidthathisdelegation didnotwishtobreak theconsensus although
hebelieved thatattendance attheSingapore Ministerial Conference should beconfined tothose
internationalintergovernmentalorganizationswhoseprimaryareasofconcernandactivityrelateddirectly
tothework oftheWTO andwhich hadalready beenaccorded therighttohaveobserver status inthe
WTO.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementsandagreedtotheChairman'sproposalregarding
these requests andthose from organizations ofaregional orsub-regional nature.
(b) Report bytheDirector-General
TheDirector-General saidthatthiswashisfifthreport totheGeneral Council ontheactivities
oftheinformal process ofHeads ofDelegations inthecontext ofpreparations fortheSingapore
Ministerial Conference. Theprevious day,hehadcirculated areport, onhisownresponsibility, to
theGeneral Council inanon-paper which hadbeenmade available toallMembers. Inthatreport,
which wasofapurely factual nature, hehadtriedtorecapitulate theactivities oftheHOD process
fromthebeginning earlier thisyeartothisday.Hethought itwould beuseful fordelegations tohave
suchasummary. Since hismostrecent oralreport totheGeneral Council on14October, twoinformal
HOD meetings hadbeenheldon22October and2November, inbothcases mainly toconsider draft
textsoftheministerial declaration. Additional non-papers hadbeenintroduced atbothmeetings, which
werementioned inhiswritten report. Throughout theperiod, several informal bilateral andplurilateral
consultations hadbeenheldonthedraftministerial declaration andontheotheroutstanding HOD issues.
Work inboththese areas wascontinuing. TheHeads ofDelegations wereworking intensively ona
revised textofthedraftdeclaration, which would beprovided inthethree languages inadvance of
thenextHOD meeting. Heurged delegations tomake every effort toarrive atthebestcompromise
onthedeclaration andtherelated issues. Time wasveryshort, butwiththenecessary political will,
hebelieved Members should beabletofindsolutions totheproblems before them.
Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthattheMinisterial Conference should beprimarily concerned
withtheimplementation oftheUruguay Round Agreement, inparticular asitaffected developingWT/GC/M/16
Page9
countries andtheirfurther integration intothemultilateral system. Hisdelegation wascommitted to
thebuilt-in agenda butcould notaccept theacceleration ofanyoftheelements ofthatagenda asit
wasanagreed package ofbalanced interests thatshould notbetampered with. Hisdelegation was
opposed totheintroduction attheConference ofanyofthenewissues thatcould carry theseeds of
newprotectionism ashadbeenmentioned byhiscountry 'sPresident inarecent address tothesummit
oftheGroup ofFifteen developing countries inHarare, Zimbabwe. Thepastfewweeks had
demonstrated thatmany developing countries wereunable tofollow thenumerous andsimultaneous
meetings thatweretaking placeintheWTO, leading totheriskthattheirinterests could becompromised
orsacrificed. Hetrusted thatthedraftdeclaration would bebrought intolinewiththerecommendations
ofvarious WTO bodies andthatwhere there werenorecommendations orconclusions suchasinthe
textiles andclothing area,itwould benecessary todealwiththematter intheHOD process. Healso
expected thattheissues thathadnotcommanded consensus would notappear inthedraftthatwould
gotoSingapore.Dealingeffectivelywiththequestionofimplementationwouldconstituteagreatsuccess
fromhisdelegation 'sperspective butherealised thatsome partners weremore ambitious andwished
toproceedmorerapidly.Thiswouldbeverydifficultformanydevelopingcountriesthatwerestruggling
toimplement andcomprehend theUruguay Round Agreements. Heconcluded bysaying thatraising
expectations oftheMinisterial Conference toanunrealistic levelmight bedetrimental tothecredibility
oftheWTO andwould victimize animportant number ofdeveloping countries whoranthedanger
ofbeing further marginalized.
Therepresentative ofIndia associated hisdelegation withEgypt 'sstatement.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
(c) Reports of:
(i) Dispute Settlement Body andTrade Policy Review Body (WT/DSB/8,
WT/TPR/27)
Mr.Lafer (Brazil), Chairman oftheDispute Settlement Body, saidthatthe1996Annual Report
oftheDSBwasbefore theGeneral Council indocument WT/DSB/8. Thereport setouttheactions
bytheDSBsince theprevious overview ofWTO Activities heldinDecember 1995. Aside from a
factualpart,thereportalsoincludedasectionentitled"SummaryConclusions"whichcontainedanumber
ofobservations aftertheDSB'sexperience in1995 and1996. Furthermore, theAnnex tothereport
provided afactual overview ofthestate-of-play ofdisputes intheWTO from 1January 1995 to
18October 1996. Heemphasized that,asindicated inthe"Summary Conclusions", theroleofthe
DSBinmanaging thesettlement ofdisputes within thenewmultilateral trading system under theWTO
hadbeenpositive. Theeffective operation ofthedispute settlement system during thefirsttwoyears
ofitsexistence hadfostered greater cooperation amongst Members, reflecting theirgrowing trustin
themultilateral system. TheDSUhadprovided Members withboththepossibility ofreaching mutually
satisfactory solutions totheirdisputes, consistently withtheWTO Agreement, andwiththecertainty
ofalegalsolution ofsuchdisputes, when necessary. Furthermore, heunderscored, inhispersonal
capacity, theimportance ofArticle 3.10oftheDSU, which stated that"theuseofthedispute settlement
procedures should notbeintended orconsidered ascontentious actsandthat,ifadispute arises, all
Members willengage inthese procedures ingood faith, inaneffort toresolve thedispute". Finally,
there wasnothing compared totheWTO dispute settlement mechanism intheinternational arena.
Thiswasaunique system, interms ofitsrole,itsscope, anditsrelevance infostering thepeaceful
settlement ofdisputes between nations. Theconfidence thatMembers hadshown inthesystem inthe
twoyears ofitsexistence hadcontributed towards thestrengthening andtheconsolidation oftheWTO
andtheopenmultilateral trading system.WT/GC/M/16
Page10
Mrs. Anderson (Ireland), Chairperson oftheTrade Policy Review Body, saidthatthereport
oftheTPRB (WT/TPR/27) hadbeenadopted byconsensus intheTPRB on22October 1996. She
hoped andbelieved thattheTPRB hadachieved whatithadsetouttodo,namely toproduce asuccinct
andanalytical document which would sumupwhatwasbeing doneandwhere theTPRB wasgoing.
Thereport looked atthecoverage, content andstyleofthereviews; thevalue toMembers under review
andtrading partners; thecosteffectiveness oftheexercise andways inwhich thismight beenhanced;
thespecificchallengeofextendingcoverageofdevelopingcountries;andthescopeforfurtherprocedural
improvements. Ithadconcluded withacouple ofshortoverview paragraphs. Thereport didnotcontain
aseparate recommendations section asitwasfeltthatneither thestyle northebrevity ofthetext
particularlylentitselftosuchanapproach.Instead,undereachheadingcommentsonthepresentposition
hadbeencombined withorientations forfuture work. Shehoped thatthereport captured thedepth
anddynamism oftheprocess, aswellastheTPRB 'sdetermination tocontinue toenhance itsimpact.
Therepresentative ofElSalvador saidthatasallthose innational administrations entrusted
withtradepolicy studied theTPRdocuments, itwasnecessary tocontinue giving theTPRmechanism
thenecessary resources.
Therepresentative ofJamaica saidthatinhisunderstanding bothbodies whose reports were
being considered under thissub-item would report directly totheMinisterial Conference. Thefact
thattheirannual reports werepassing through theGeneral Council didnotrequire anyaction bythe
General Council except totakenoteofthereports. Thismeant, inhisview, thatthereports ofthe
DSBandTPRB could onlybereviewed bytheMinisterial Conference.
TheChairman saidthatthereports would bepartoftheGeneral Council report thatwould
besubmitted toMinisters atSingapore fortheirexamination asappropriate.
Therepresentative ofJamaica asked whether intheGeneral Council aMember could callfor
amendments tothetextsofthereports.
TheChairman saidthatthereports which hadbeensubmitted totheGeneral Council were
reports adopted byconsensus inthevarious WTO working bodies andalldelegations hadthepossibility
ofparticipatingintheconsensus.Therefore,theGeneralCouncilwasnotexpectedtoreopenaconsensus
obtained inanother bodybecause otherwise itwould bepossible toreopen anyandallsubjects although
hebelieved thatnodelegation wascompletely satisfied withthecontent ofthereports.
Mr.Barthel-Rosa, Secretary oftheGeneral Council, saidthatonceareport hadbeenadopted
byasubsidiary bodyandwassubmitted totheGeneral Council, itwashisunderstanding thattheGeneral
Council could notchange thatreport. Inreceiving thereport, theGeneral Council would either take
noteofit,orwould adopt it,orcould decide toalteranydecisions orrecommendations contained in
thatreport initsownsovereign righti.e.byendorsing ornotendorsing whatwasinthereport.
Therepresentative ofPakistan drew attention totheprovisions ofArticle IVoftheWTO
Agreement onthestructure oftheWTO andthevarious functions oftheGeneral Council. Hecould
notagree thatwhathadbeendecided inthesubsidiary bodies could notbeamended bytheGeneral
Council. Article IXoftheWTO Agreement provided thatdecision-making would bebyconsensus
andwhere thiswasnotpossible there would berecourse tovoting. Inhisview, Members could not
depart from those provisions eveninexceptional circumstances.
Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthatitwasnecessary toagree oncommon procedural rules:
would theGeneral Council apply theconsensus ruleforeverything or,where thiswasnotpossible,
would voting come intoplay? Sofaritseemed thatMembers hadbeenworking solely onthebasis
ofconsensus butitwasnecessary forallMembers toknow where theystood asfrom now.WT/GC/M/16
Page11
Therepresentative ofEgypt, supported bytherepresentative ofTanzania, recalled thathis
delegation, likemany others, haddifficulties inparticipating inthemany meetings thathadbeentaking
place, andurged theChairman andtheDirector-General totakeintoaccount thelimited capacity of
developing countries toattend meetings atwhich decisions might havebeentaken intheirabsence.
TheChairman agreed thatithadbeendifficult formany delegations toparticipate fullyinthe
preparatory process forSingapore, andsaidthatitwasnecessary toexamine howtheprocess could
bemade more acceptable foralldelegations.
TherepresentativeofJamaicanotedthattheChairmanoftheDSBhademphasisedinhispersonal
capacity theimportance ofArticle 3.10oftheDSU. Hethenreferred toasentence onpage17of
theDSBreport (indocument WT/DSB/8) which read: "Certain problems intheoverall operation of
thedispute settlement system havebeenidentified andinmost cases, working practices havebeen
developed tosolve these problems inapragmatic manner". Hethennoted that,according tothesame
paragraph, itwasonlyattheendoffouryears (after theentry intoforce oftheMinisterial Decision
toreview thesystems 'soperation) thattheopportunity would beprovided foranevaluation andthe
introduction ofanynecessary improvements. Hisdelegation hadpreviously highlighted anumber of
points which required timely review iftheDSBwasnottoembark onapaththatwould disadvantage
some Members. Hebelieved thatso-called operational practices -ordueprocess -wasimportant in
attaining theequity inthesolution ofadispute. Itwastherefore mostimportant tohavetheclearest
understanding oftheresponsibility oftheGeneral Council, theDSBandtheMinisterial Conference
inrespect ofthose practical problems which hadbeenidentified sothatallMembers could havean
adequate opportunity toaddress them.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andofthereports oftheDSB(WT/DSB/8)
andtheTPRB (WT/TPR/27).
(ii) Councils forTrade inGoods, Trade inServices andTRIPS (G/L/134 and
Add.1, S/C/3, IP/C/8)
Mr.Narayanan (India), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, saidthatthereport of
theCouncil forTrade inGoods indocument G/L/134 anditsaddendum comprised aSection I:factual
part, andaSection II:conclusions and/or recommendations. Italsocovered theactivities ofthe
subsidiary bodies oftheCouncil. Incarrying outitstask,theCouncil hadheldeightregular meetings
andthework undertaken bytheCouncil atthese meetings hadbeenreflected under the19items in
thefactual partofthereport. Hereferred toSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport on"Conclusions and/or
Recommendations" which arose fromthedeliberations oftheGoods Council. The"Conclusions and/or
Recommendations" ofthesubsidiary bodies oftheCouncil werecontained inthereports oftherespective
bodies annexed totheCouncil report asindicated intheintroductory paragraph ofSection II.
Inthisregard, hedrew attention tocertain paragraphs ofthereports ofthesubsidiary bodies
which called foraction orrequired theattention oftheGeneral Council ortheMinisterial Conference.
First, asregards thereport oftheCommittee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures (G/L/118), he
drewtheattention oftheGeneral Council inparticular totherecommendation inparagraph 13.Second,
asregardsthereportoftheCommitteeonAgricultureontheMarrakeshMinisterialDecisiononMeasures
Concerning thePossible Negative Effects oftheReform Programme onLeast-Developed andNetFood-
Importing Countries (G/L/125), hedrew theattention oftheGeneral Council inparticular tothe
recommendations forconsideration bytheMinisterial Conference inparagraphs 18(i), (ii),(iii)and
(iv)ofthereport. Turning toSection IIoftheCouncil 'sreport, hepointed tothethreerecommendations
which hadarisen from thedeliberations oftheCouncil. Thefirstrelated totheAgreement onWT/GC/M/16
Page12
Preshipment Inspection andhadalready beenacteduponbytheGeneral Council atitspresent meeting.2
Theother tworelated tothework oftheWorking Group onNotification Obligations andProcedures.
Regarding notification obligations andprocedures, thereweretworecommendations: firsttheCouncil
hadrequested theGeneral Council totakethenecessary stepstoeliminate thenotification obligations
incertain Decisions oftheGATT 1947 CONTRACTING PARTIES relating toimport licensing
procedures. Second, theCouncil hadrequested theMinisterial Conference ortheGeneral Council
toconsider appropriate further action relating tonotification obligations andprocedures. Herecalled
thattheCouncil hadagreed atitsmeetings of15October and1November totransmit totheGeneral
Council andtheMinisterial Conference these recommendations forappropriate action.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthatthereport ontheimplementation oftheAgreement
onTextilesandClothingandrelatedmattersreinforcedhisbeliefthattheGoodsCouncilhadacontinuing
roletoplayinoverseeing implementation oftheATC onaregular basis. Thereport correctly stated
thatdivergent views hadbeenexpressed astopossible conclusions orrecommendations despite the
exhaustive discussions which hadtaken place. Intheevent, noconclusions orrecommendations could
beagreed within thetime-frame forfinalization ofthereport. Thisdidnotmean thatitwastheend
ofthematter. Because Members hadrunoutoftimeinoneforum didnotmean thattheissue had
fallen outofsight. Members whohadresponded positively totheexhortation nottoblock reports
should notnowbetoldthat,since there were noagreed conclusions, there could benofurther
discussions. Hereminded Members thattextiles andclothing wasanareaoftrade oftheutmost
importance todeveloping countries. There were widely heldviews among suchMembers thatthe
ATC hadbeenimplemented inwaythatwasdetrimental totheirinterests. Foradeveloping country
Member likeHong Kong ,textiles andclothing played avitalbalancing roleindetermining aproductive
outcome attheMinisterial Conference. IfMembers failed tofindtherightbalance, theyhadtoface
thereality thattheresults inSingapore would belessthanoptimal. Herecalled thaton1November,
anumber oftextiles exporting countries hadtabled intheGoods Council afurther proposal for
conclusions andrecommendations inrespect ofimplementation oftheAgreement andalsoadraft
ministerial decision. Thisdocument contained alltheessential elements forcontinued urgent work
inanappropriate setting.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidhisdelegation wasextremely disappointed withtheoutcome
oftheGoods Council 'sdeliberations ontheimplementation oftheATC. Following lengthy and
substantive discussions intheCouncil, andinaccordance withtheprovisions oftheATC, hisdelegation
hadproposed adraftdecision onbehalf ofanumber ofcountries. Thiswasamodest proposal and
itwastherefore amatter ofdeepregret thatithadnotbeenpossible toreach aconsensus onthe
conclusions andrecommendations relating totheimplementation oftheATC. Indeed, anumber of
important countries hadturned down further efforts toreach agreement onsuchconclusions and
recommendations, citing interaliatheshortage oftime. Hisdelegation andothers, however, continued
tomake efforts onsuch areas asagriculture totrytoreach consensus onconclusions and
recommendations. There hadtobebalance andparity inthetreatment ofvarious sectors. Hisdelegation
wasconcerned atthemanner inwhich implementation oftheATC wasproceeding. Without afair
treatment ofthetextiles sector, which wasofgreatimportance toalargenumber ofdeveloping countries,
theoutcome oftheMinisterial Conference would befarfrom balanced. Itwould beincongruous if
atSingapore Members approved specific decisions invarious areassuchasagriculture andenvironment
butfailed toapprove anyconclusions andrecommendations ontextiles andclothing. Hisdelegation
would continue topress thecaseforthefaithful andfullimplementation oftheATC inthefurther
preparatory process forSingapore. Inthiscontext, hisdelegation would seekthereflection ofthe
following essential points inthedecisions forSingapore. First, theATC hadtobeimplemented in
letter andspirit andthemanner ofitsimplementation should notdefeat itsobjective, which wasfull
2SeeItem 3.WT/GC/M/16
Page13
integration oftextiles intoWTO rules. Second, thesecond andthirdstage integration programmes
should therefore reflect theprogressivity embodied intheATC. Third, unrelated issues suchasmarket
access inexporting countries should notbeusedasjustification toerode thefullimplementation of
theATC; similarly, theconcept ofsparing andcircumspect useofthesafeguard measures inArticle VI
oftheATCshould berespected. Fourth, changes inrulesoforigin should notbemade soastoimpair
themarket access oftextiles exporting countries. Fifth, theTMB should playanactive, impartial and
effective roleinensuring theimplementation oftheATC inletter andspirit, andtheGoods Council
hadtocontinue itsclose supervision oftheATC'simplementation.
Therepresentative ofColombia saidthatthe22countries members oftheITCB hadfollowed
withconsiderable concern thewaythediscussions ontextiles hadconcluded, adding thatitwasnecessary
toconvey aclear message toMinisters thatthework ontheimplementation oftheATC hadtobe
continued.
Therepresentative ofThailand, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, saidthatthereport
oftheATCcould notreflect whatwasattheheartoftheissues involved. TheASEAN countries regretted
thattheGoods Council could notagree onconclusions andrecommendations forthissector, andbelieved
thatthiswasnotasituation where there wasalackofideas butrather alackofwilltocompromise.
TheASEAN countries associated themselves withthestatements ofthethree previous speakers. The
challengenowwashowtochangeattitudesamongMemberssothatameaningful,balancedandpragmatic
package fortheMinisterial Conference could beachieved. Textiles andclothing wasoneoftheissues
thathadtobeadequately dealtwithatSingapore.
Therepresentative ofCosta Ricaagreed withtheprevious speakers 'views andsaidthathis
delegation hadparticipated actively inthereview intheGoods Council. Heagreed thatthereport
ontheATC didnotreflect themagnitude oftheproblems discussed, andtrusted thatinthetime
remaining before theMinisterial Conference abalance withrespect totextiles could befound.
Therepresentative ofIndia saiditwasnecessary fortheGeneral Council tobesensitive to
theconcerns expressed byvarious delegations andfindmeaningful waysofaddressing theseconcerns.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andofthereport oftheCouncil forTrade
inGoods (G/L/134 andAdd.1) andapproved therecommendations contained therein.
TheChairman thenturned totheCouncil 'srecommendations onNotification Obligations and
Procedures totheeffect that(a)theGeneral Council should takethenecessary steps toeliminate the
notification obligations incertain Decisions oftheGATT 1947 CONTRACTING PARTIES relating
toimport licensing procedures; and(b)thattheGeneral Council consider appropriate further action
relating tonotification obligations andprocedures. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council revert to
thismatter atafuture meeting.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Mrs.Bautista (Philippines), Chairperson oftheCouncil forTrade inServices, presenting the
Council 'sreport inS/C/3, saidthatthereport hadbeenadopted bytheCouncil on5November. It
consisted oftwoparts: thefirstwasfactual, describing thework thework oftheCouncil during 1996
aswellasthatofsubsidiary bodies during both1995 and1996. Theactivities oftheCouncil during
1995 were described intheprevious year'sreport, contained indocument S/C/2. Thesecond part
ofthereport entitled "Future Work", contained recommendations relating tofuture work tobecarried
outbytheCouncil itself aswellasbysubsidiary bodies. Members oftheCouncil hadagreed that
theserecommendations should beforwarded toMinisters inSingapore fortheirconsideration andaction
asappropriate.WT/GC/M/16
Page14
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andofthereport oftheCouncil forTrade
inServices (S/C/3), andapproved therecommendations contained therein.
Mr.Armstrong (New Zealand), Chairman oftheCouncil forTRIPS ,presenting theCouncil 's
report inIP/C/8, saidthatwhile thisrepot focused onthework oftheCouncil in1996, italsocontained
references towork donein1995. Ittherefore provided afairly complete overview oftheCouncil 's
activities thusfar.Itwasdivided intothree main sections. Thefirstsection (Part II),discussed the
work oftheCouncil inrelation toimplementation oftheobligations under theTRIPS Agreement,
addressing anumber ofspecific issues relating toimplementation, theissue oftechnical cooperation
andcooperation withWIPO. Thesecond section (PartIII)ofthereport focused onthebuilt-in agenda
under theTRIPS Agreement andtheactivities oftheCouncil inthisregard. Thefinalsection, in
paragraphs 32to34,concerned issues, problems andrecommendations tobebrought totheattention
ofMinisters.Thethreeparagraphsinquestionaddressed,inturn,theissuesofimplementation,technical
cooperation andthebuilt-in agenda.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andofthereport oftheCouncil forTRIPS
(IP/C/8), andapproved therecommendations contained therein.
(iii) Committee onTrade andEnvironment (WT/CTE/W/40)3
Mr.Sanchez Arnau (Argentina), Chairman oftheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment,
presenting thereport oftheCommittee inWT/CTE/W/40, saidthatconsiderable flexibility hadhad
tobeshown byallMembers inorder toreach agreement andadopt thereport. Hesaidthatthereport
wasofaCommittee established byaMinisterial Decision and,assuch, didnotmodify therights and
obligations ofanyMember under theWTO Agreement. Thisstatement hadmade itpossible fora
number ofdelegations tojointheconsensus andapprove thereport.
Therepresentative ofNigeria saidthattheworkoftheCommittee overthepasteighteen months
hadbeencomplexanddifficult,andwasreflectedinthedraftingoftheCommittee'sreport.Consistently,
Nigeria hadexpressed theviewthatthedebate hadnotbeensufficiently broadened toinclude more
countries toensure diversity ofperspectives andanalysis. Nigeria 'spolicy development inthecontext
oftheCTE discussions hadbeen guided byfourfactors: first, theglobal objective toprotect the
environment; second, thegoaloftradeliberalization; third, theneedtomake bothtradeandenvironment
policies mutually supportive, and,finally, thenecessity ofestablishing aconstructive relationship with
other CTEMembers onthebasisofconsensus. Hisdelegation hadjoined intheconsensus intheCTE
fortheadoption ofthereport, andsaidthattheitemondomestically prohibited goods remained of
particularimportance.Nigeriahadpresentedaproposalbasedonthreeelements:increasedtransparency,
technical assistance andtheconcept ofjointresponsibility ofexporters andimporters ofDPGs. The
concept ofjointresponsibility hadbeenproposed toensure forimporters, interalia,theavoidance
ofextraterritorial actions byexporters. Allcountries hadtoretain adegree ofresponsibility forwhat
theydecided toimport ornottoimport. Nigeria regretted theopposition bythree Members ofthe
CTEtothisconceptandregrettedthatotherkeyMembersoftheCommitteehadnotshownenvironmental
sensitivity ordemonstrated thezealtheyhadshown onother items. Intheabsence ofconsensus on
theconcept ofjointresponsibility, ithadnotbeenincluded inthereport oftheCTE. Inthepost-
SingaporeworkprogrammeoftheCommittee,Nigeriawouldcontinuetoseekagreementonthiselement.
3Thereport wassubsequently reissued asWT/CTE/1.WT/GC/M/16
Page15
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementsandofthereportoftheCommittee(WT/CTE/1).
TheGeneral Council thenapproved therecommendations contained inthereport, andagreed toforward
ittotheMinisterial Conference forconsideration.
(iv) Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Regional Trade Agreements, Balance-
of-Payments Restrictions, and Budget, Finance and Administration
(WT/COMTD/9, WT/REG/2, WT/BOP/R/19, WT/BFA/29)
Mr.Benjelloun-Touimi (Morocco), Chairman oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment,
introducing thereport oftheCommittee inWT/COMTD/9, saidthatthereview oftheimplementation
ofUruguay Round provisions infavour ofdeveloping countries hadbeensingled outbytheCommittee
asoneofitspriority tasks foritsfuture work. Inthiscontext, oneoftheelements proposed for
integrationintotheSingaporeMinisterialprocessdrewparticularattentiontotheimportanceofincreasing
theawareness ofdeveloping country Members ofthespecial provisions relating tothem, especially
those designed toenhance tradeopportunities. TheCTDhadalsoadopted asetofguidelines forWTO 's
technical cooperation andagreed toaddress in1997 theissues ofthemonitoring, managing andthe
evaluation ofWTO technical cooperation activities. Initsdiscussions onways toincrease the
participation ofdeveloping countries inthemultilateral trading system, theCommittee hadnoted that
bothitsownterms ofreference aswellasthose oftheSub-Committee onLeast-Developed Countries
hadmandated thesebodies toconsider measures andinitiatives toassist developing andleast-developed
country Members intheexpansion oftheirtrade andinvestment opportunities from adevelopment
perspective, andthatthiswasofrelevance fortheCTD'swork. TheCommittee 'swork withrespect
toleast-developed countries hadprovided twodistinct results. First, theCommittee hadconsidered
adraftWTO PlanofAction forLeast-Developed Countries, which reaffirmed commitments already
undertaken byMembers withrespect toleast-developed countries, proposed acoordinated strategy
toassist them, andidentified areas where practical measures could beadopted. TheCommittee had
agreed, atistwelfth session, toforward it,assuch, forconsideration totheGeneral Council atthe
present meeting andforsubsequent submission toMinisters foradoption inSingapore. ThedraftPlan
ofAction hadbeencirculated indocument WT/COMTD/W/20. Furthermore, withaviewtoincreasing
thecoordination ininternational actions infavour ofleast-developed countries andtheefficiency with
regard totheassistance offered tothem, theCommittee hadalsoproposed thatMinisters inSingapore
callforahigh-level meeting inGeneva assoonaspossible in1997, inprinciple tobeorganized jointly
byWTO, UNCTAD andITC, withtheparticipation ofrelevant institutions, tofoster anintegrated
approach tothetrade-related aspects ofleast-developed countries 'economic development, which would
needtobeobserved intheimplementation oftheWTO PlanofAction thatwould beadopted bythe
Ministers.
Therepresentative ofTunisia, speaking ascoordinator oftheAfrican Group, requested a
postponement ofthediscussion ofthereport soastoallow allmembers ofthegroup tofinalize their
consideration ofthereport.
Therepresentative ofCameroon, representing thepresidency oftheOAU, supported therequest
byTunisia.
Therepresentative ofMadagascar expressed support fortheviews ofTunisia andCameroon.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities welcomed thereport oftheCommittee but
expressed disappointment withitssubstance, inparticular withthedraftcomprehensive action plan.
Itwasthehopeandintention ofhisdelegation togivegreater substance tothecomprehensive action
plan, andhehoped thatother delegations would regard theplanasaminimum starting point tobuild
on.WT/GC/M/16
Page16
TheChairman proposed thatconsideration ofthereport oftheCTD bepostponed, following
therequest byTunisia.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Upon resumption ofthediscussion onthisitem, therepresentative ofTunisia saidthathis
delegation supported adoption ofthereport oftheCTDandwelcomed thefactthattherewereguidelines
fortechnical assistance andaplanofaction fortheLDCs.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thereport oftheCommittee on
Trade andDevelopment (WT/COMTD/9). TheGeneral Council thenapproved thedraftPlanofAction
fortheLeast-Developed Countries inCOMTD/W/20,4andagreed tosubmit ittotheMinisterial
Conference foradoption.
Mr.Weekes (Canada), Chairman oftheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements, introducing
thereport oftheCommittee inWT/REG/2, recalled thattheCommittee hadbeenestablished bythe
General Council on6February 1996, andhadhaditsfirstsubstantive meeting inJuly. Thereport
showed thattheCommittee hadhadaveryconstructive beginning andalsoshowed considerable scope
forMinisters tobeabletoendorse andencourage thework oftheCommittee. Hedrew theattention
ofdelegations tothefinalsection ofthereport which dealtwiththefuture work programme, andsaid
thatthefinalsentence andmeaning ofparagraph 23ofthereport should bereadinconjunction with
thestatement which hadbeenmade byhimself astheChairman oftheCommittee atthetimethereport
hadbeenadopted bytheCommittee.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementandofthereportoftheCommittee(WT/REG/2).
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions,
introducing thereport oftheCommittee inWT/BOP/R/19, saidthattheCommittee hadmeton
21October and1November todraftandfinally adopt theannual report. Since thefirstannual report
in1995, theCommittee hadconsulted withfiveMembers: India, Nigeria, Tunisia, Slovakia, and
Hungary. TheCommittee hadrefrained fromdrawing upinitsreport anevaluative chapter ofissues,
problems andrecommendations. Thisdidnotofcourse imply thattheCommittee hadnotdiscussed
issues,northattheCommitteehadnotmaderecommendations.However,theCommitteealwaysworked
byconsensus. Inaddition tothisconsensus report, heexpressed, onhisownresponsibility, avery
personal appreciation. Overthepasttwoyears, Members oftheCommittee hadworked veryseriously
tobreathe reallifeintotheBOPrules anddisciplines asdeveloped intheUruguay Round. Hewas
convinced thattheCommittee hadmade concrete progress. Hecommended those members ofthe
WTOwhichhadconsultedwiththeCommitteeandwhichwere"atthereceivingend"oftheCommittee's
recommendations, forthesometimes verydifficult decisions theytooktophase outorabolish trade
restrictions.
TheGeneral Council took note ofthestatement andofthereport oftheCommittee
(WT/BOP/R/19).
Mr.Yokota (Japan), Chairman oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration,
introducing thereport oftheCommittee inWT/BFA/29, saidthattheCommittee hadmetonanumber
ofoccasions tomonitor onaregular basis thefinancial andbudgetary situation oftheOrganization,
thereceipt ofcontributions including theimplementation oftherelated schemes andmeasures pertaining
toreceipt ofcontributions, andtoexamine thefinalposition ofthe1995 Budget andtheDirector-
4Subsequently reissued asWT/MIN(96)/W/2.WT/GC/M/16
Page17
General 'sfinancial report onthe1995accounts aswellasthereport oftheexternal auditor. Reports
onthese activities hadbeensubmitted totheGeneral Council inthecourse oftheyear. Inaddition,
theCommittee wasalsodealing withtheDirector-General 'sbudget proposals for1997. Hehighlighted
some ofthemain activities thattheCommittee haddealtwith, inparticular, in1996. First, onthe
basisofareport presented byaworking group established toexamine thecandidatures ofninenational
courts ofaudit, theCommittee hadrecommended totheGeneral Council toextend theon-going contract
withtheAustrian Court ofAudit foroneyeartoinclude theauditofthe1996accounts andtonominate
theNetherlands Court ofAudit forauditing theWTO accounts effective asfromtheauditofthe1997
accounts forathree-year term; second, theCommittee had,onseveral occasions, examined thequestion
ofthegeneral management andoverhead costsofTrust Funds, andhadformulated recommendations
totheGeneral Council indocuments WT/BFA/21 and26;finally, theCommittee hadformulated
recommendations totheGeneral Council onassessments tothebudget andadvances totheWorking
Capital Fund of14newMembers: Angola, Benin, Chad, Ecuador, Fiji,Gambia, Grenada, Haiti,
Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts andNevis, Solomon Islands andtheUnited Arab
Emirates. Inresponse toaquestion, hesaidthattheCommittee hoped toadopt the1997Budget later
inthemonth, andthatthereason forthedelay wasrelated tothediscussion ofthedecision under Item6.
Therepresentative ofSingapore saidthatthefactthattheSecretariat wasnotthetarget of
governmentstocutdownstaffandtolookintobudgetaryandotherquestions,andindeedhadareputation
thatwassecond tononeamong international organizations, wasremarkable andwasduetothevery
careful work donebytheBudget Committee andSecretariat staff.
TheGeneral Council took noteofthestatements andofthereport oftheCommittee
(WT/BFA/29).
(v) CommitteesandCouncilsunderthePlurilateralTradeAgreements(WT/L/190,
WT/L/193, WT/L/178, WT/L/179)
TheChairman drew attention tothereports ofthefourCommittees andCouncils under the
Plurilateral Trade Agreements (Committee onGovernment Procurement (WT/L/190); Committee on
Trade inCivil Aircraft (WT/L/193); International Dairy Council (WT/L/178); International Meat
Council (WT/L/179)), andproposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthese reports.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(d) Adoption oftheGeneral Council report (WT/GC/W/38)
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council adopt itsannual report contained indocument
WT/GC/W/38 ontheunderstanding thatthedraftreport would beupdated bytheSecretariat toreflect
thedebates andproceedings ofthepresent meeting. Thereport oftheGeneral Council would be
forwardedtotheMinisterialConferencewhichwouldconductanoverviewofWTOactivitiesandendorse
therecommendations inthereport asappropriate.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(e) Election oftheChairperson andVice-Chairpersons fortheMinisterial Conference
TheChairman recalled that,ashehadinformed theGeneral Council on2October, theRules
ofProcedure forsessions oftheMinisterial Conference (WT/L/161) provided fortheelection ofa
Chairperson andthree Vice-Chairpersons toholdoffice from theendofonesession untiltheendof
thenextregular session. Since thiswasthefirstMinisterial Conference, andthere were noelectedWT/GC/M/16
Page18
officers, hehadproposed atthemeeting on2October thattheGeneral Council actonbehalf ofthe
Ministerial Conference andelecttheChairperson andthreeVice-Chairpersons atthepresent meeting.
Onthebasis ofconsultations hehadheld, heproposed thattheGeneral Council, acting on
behalf oftheMinisterial Conference, electthefollowing asofficers ofthe1996Ministerial Conference:
Chairperson: H.E. Mr.YeoCheow Tong
Minister forTrade andIndustry ofSingapore
Vice-Chairpersons: H.E. Mr.Enda Kenny,
Minister forTourism andTrade ofIreland
H.E. Mr.Alvaro Ramos,
Minister ofForeign Affairs ofUruguay
H.E. Mr.Mondher Zenaïdi,
Minister ofTrade ofTunisia
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(f) Structure andorganization oftheMinisterial Conference
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled thatattheGeneral Council meeting
on16April, theDirector-General hadmade areport which hadincluded thefirstinformal consultations
onthestructure andorganization oftheMinisterial Conference. Ithadgenerally beenagreed thatthe
conference should beorganized inamanner toallow Ministers thatsowished, tomake general
statements, andatthesame timetoprovide fortheconsideration byMinisters ofspecific issues. He
hadsince beenapproached byanumber ofdelegations wishing toknow further details about theorder
ofbusiness fortheConference soastofullybrieftheirMinisters. Following consultations withthe
Secretariat andtheauthorities ofthehostgovernment, heinformed delegations thatthebusiness of
theConference wasbeing planned onthefollowing basis:
(a) Opening ceremony
Theopening ceremony would beheldonMonday, 9December aspreviously
indicated byhimatthe2October General Council meeting.
(b) Plenary sessions
Plenary sessions would beheldonMonday morning andafternoon, and
thereafter onTuesday, Wednesday, Thursday andFriday mornings.
(c) Special meetings among Ministers
Theafternoons ofTuesday andWednesday, 10and11December, would be
leftopenforspecialmeetingsamongMinisterstodiscussspecificissuesoftheirinterest.
Thursday afternoon, 12December, would bereserved foranymeetings thatmight
benecessary inaccordance withtheadvancement oftheConference.WT/GC/M/16
Page19
(d) Closure ofConference
Theclosing ceremony would takeplaceonFriday, 13December. Immediately
before theclosing ceremony attheplenary oftheConference, Ministers would adopt
theMinisterial Declaration andtakeanyotheractions which theydeemed relevant under
item2oftheProposed Agenda oftheConference. Onthatoccasion, theywould also
takenoteoftheGeneral Council report andendorse allrecommendations therein.
With regard tothespecial meetings among Ministers planned totakeplace onTuesday and
Wednesday afternoons, itwasproposed thattheybeorganized inthefollowing manner: (a)These
meetings would beopentoparticipation byallMinisters andtheiradvisers; (b)Although themeetings
would beinformal innature andwould takenodecisions oractions, records ofthediscussions could
bekeptbytheSecretariat ifsodesired; (c)Inorder toensure anorderly discussion, Ministers would
beinvited toaddress thefollowing general topics: (i)implementation (onTuesday afternoon); (ii)
further work oftheWTO; and(iii)anyother matters which Ministers maywishtoraise(Wednesday,
afternoon). Thepurpose ofthesespecial meetings among Ministers would betoprovide theopportunity
foranexchange ofviews among Ministers onmatters relating totheWTO andthemultilateral trading
system, inanopenandinformal atmosphere.
Therepresentative ofArgentina asked ifthestatement justreadoutbytheChairman could
becirculated todelegations, andalsoforaclarification regarding theclosing ceremony.
TheChairman saidthathisstatement would indeed becirculated todelegations, andrequested
theSecretariat toprovide theclarification regarding theclosing ceremony.
Mr.Barthel-Rosa, Secretary oftheGeneral Council, saidthatonthemorning ofFriday,
13December, attheendofthestatements byMinisters, theConference would turntoitem2ofthe
proposed agenda entitled "Action byMinisters". Under thatitem, Ministers would presumably adopt
theMinisterial Declaration, andwould alsotakeanyother action thattheymight deem necessary
regarding thefuture work oftheWTO. Ministers would also,under thatitem, takenoteofthereport
oftheGeneral Council andendorse therecommendations contained therein.
Therepresentative ofJapan asked iftheChairman could giveamore precise picture ofhow
heenvisaged thespecial meetings ofMinisters onTuesday andWednesday afternoons. Forexample,
withregard toimplementation questions onTuesday afternoon, wasthereanintention togroup issues,
suchas,say,notifications, andthentomove ontoother implementation issues? Or,wasitintended
thatMinisters would address alltheimplementation issues successively?
TheChairman saidthattheissues thatdifferent Ministers would wish toraise onthe
implementationquestionwouflddiffer,andtheywouldnotallconcentrateonthesameissues.Therefore,
theywould begiven theopportunity toraiseanyspecific issueofconcern tothem, butunder thegeneral
heading ofimplementation. Onecould notbemore precise atthisstage astothedetails ofthe
proceedings ofthesespecial meetings. Furthermore, oneshould notlimitroom formanoeuvre either.
Therepresentative ofSingapore saidthatheagreed withtheChairman thatthediscussion should
bekeptasbroad aspossible sothatMinisters could address thebasic theme ofimplementation in
whichever waytheywished todoso.Itwould bepresumptuous onthepartoftheGeneral Council
totrytofocus thethinking orattention ofMinisters ononeorother subject.
Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthatwhile Ministers should indeed begiven afreehand
todiscuss issues ofinterest tothem, there wasaverybroad range ofissues tobeaddressed under
implementation. Thedetails outlined bytheChairman could perhaps bemade evenmore precise whenWT/GC/M/16
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thesecond phase forthepreparations fortheMinisterial Conference werecompleted, andhehadin
mind theinformal process under theChairmanship oftheDirector-General. Hebelieved thatthe
Chairman could fleshouttheagenda somewhat inthelightoftheresults reached intheconsultations
currently being heldbytheDirector-General.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
9. World Bank study onMERCOSUR
Therepresentative ofBrazil, speaking under "Other Business", saidthatindealing withthe
question ofcoherence inglobal economic policy-making, Article III:5oftheWTO Agreement provided
forWTO 'scooperation withtheInternational Monetary Fund andtheWorld Bank. Brazil understood
thatsuchcooperation hadbeendesigned topermit WTO toinform theIMFandtheWorld Bank about
trade aspects thattheWTO deemed important tocoherence inglobal economic policy. Inturn, the
IMFandtheWorld Bank were expected toprovide theWTO withinformation regarding financial
matters, such asinrelation tothework performed bytheCommittee onBalance-of-Payments
Restrictions. Inhisdelegation 'sview, Article III:5oftheWTO Agreement didnotforesee thereverse
situation, namely theIMFandtheWorld Bank replacing WTO 'scompetence overtrade issues, nor
theWTO acting beyond itsmandate tostudy financial matters under theIMFandtheWorld Bank's
areas ofexpertise. PartoftheWTO 'smandate wastoreview therelationship between regional trade
agreements andthemultilateral trading system. Sucharolehadbeenreinforced bytheUruguay Round
Understanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XXIV oftheGATT 1994. More recently, theGeneral
Council hadestablished acommittee toexamine regional agreements, whose terms ofreference included
theexamination ofregional instruments andananalysis oftheirimplications tothemultilateral system.5
Inthiscontext, ithadbeensurprising andperplexing toseepublished inanimportant paper asummary
ofaWorld Bank study on"MERCOSUR 'sTrade Performance" andthe"Effects ofRegional Trade
Arrangements" signed byits"Principal Economist." TheWorld Bank'slaterassertions regarding the
publication didnotalteritsinadequate andinappropriate content. Itwasparticularly regrettable that,
acting without experience onthereview ofregional tradeagreements, theBankhadselected oneamong
many existing regional agreements toarrive atpremature conclusions. Furthermore, intaking such
aselective approach, theWorld Bank hadchosen toanalyze aregional agreement whose examination
bytheWTO hadnotbeencompleted. Brazil 'sMinister ofExternal Relations, andother authorities
from MERCOSUR countries, hadexpressed strong reservations about theconclusions ofthestudy.
Herecalled thatatarecent examination ofMERCOSUR bytheCommittee onRegional Trade
Agreements, hisdelegation hadstated that"...between 1990, theyearthatpreceded theentry into
force oftheTreaty ofAsuncion, and1995, theyearthecustoms union wasformed, totalimports by
theMERCOSUR members increased by176.4 percentinUSdollars ...animportant achievement
ifonetakes intoconsideration thatworld imports ingeneral increased onlyby38percent". Asthe
current coordinator forMERCOSUR, hewished tostatefortherecord hisdelegations 'sdisagreement
withtheaction taken bytheWorld Bank onamatter clearly under theWTO 'scompetence andnot
foreseen under thecooperation established byArticle III:5oftheWTO Agreement.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
5SeeWT/L/127.WT/GC/M/16
Page21
10. Status ofratification oftheWTO Agreement bycertain governments
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled thatpursuant toprovisions of
Article XIV:1 oftheWTO Agreement, contracting parties totheGATT 1947 thathadotherwise
completed therequirements tobeoriginal Members oftheWTO haduntiltheendof1996tocomplete
theirratification oftheAgreement. Atthebeginning of1996, ninedeveloping countries hadhad
ratifications stillpending, andtheSecretariat hadmade great efforts toexplain tothese countries the
consequences ofnon-ratification priortotheendof1996, andthatthiswould entail renegotiating their
accession totheWTO Agreement. Unfortunately, three ofthese countries hadnotyetratified the
Agreement asofthepresent date. Thiswasaserious situation fortheWTO andforthecountries
concerned. TheSecretariat would continue itsefforts toensure thatthese three countries ratified the
Agreement bytheendof1996. Hehadwished tobring thismatter totheattention oftheGeneral
Council andtoinform Members thathewould holdconsultations onthisquestion inthenearfuture.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
11. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that,inaccordance withtheadhoc
arrangementsforobserverstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizationsapprovedataninformal
meeting ofHeads ofDelegations on16March 19956,andasagreed attheGeneral Council meeting
on14October 1996, thefollowing organizations hadbeeninvited asobservers tothepresent meeting:
United Nations, UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, FAO, WIPO andOECD. Itwashisunderstanding
that,pending agreement ontheorganizations tobeaccorded observer status intheGeneral Council
inaccordance withtheguidelines forsuchstatus agreed on18July7,theabove organizations would
alsobeinvited tothenextmeeting.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
6SeeWT/GC/M/3, item3.
7SeeWT/L/161, Annex 3.