. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/388
15 November 1999
(99-4915)
General Council Original:  Spanish
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Implementation of Existing Agreements and Decisions
GATT 1994
Communication from Cuba
The following communication, dated 9 November 1999, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Cuba.
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Introduction
1. The GATT provisions designed to favour developing countries were extended to the WTO in
Part IV of GATT 1994, which contains three arti cles introduced in 1965, in which the industrialized
countries are called upon to make a systematic endeavour to help developing Members in their trade
conditions and not to expect reciprocity for concessions made to these countries.
2. A second measure, agreed on at the end of the Tokyo Round in 1979 and which is normally
called the Enabling Clause, serves as the permanent legal basis for market access concessions made
by the developed countries to developing countries in the context of the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP).
3. Under special provisions contained in the various Uruguay Round agreements and decisions,
these countries, especially the least-developed countries, are granted longer transitional periods to
adapt to the WTO provisions and greater flexibi lity in applying the agreements signed, and the
developed countries are urged to speed up the application of market access concessions affecting
goods of export interest to the developing countries, as well as to provide technical assistance.
4. In the Singapore Ministerial Declaration, the Ministers attached great priority to full and
effective implementation of the WTO Agreement consistently with the objective of trade
liberalization.  Furthermore, at the Geneva Ministerial Conference, in May 1998, countries recognized
that full integration in the multilateral trading system could be achieved only by improved market
access, particularly for those products of interest to developing countries, and that putting an end to
the marginalization of these economies in the world economy meant eliminating trade barriers inagriculture and textiles.
5. Despite the recognition by WTO Members of the problems posed by the process of trade
liberalization for developing countries, the multilateral trading system has not measured the true
dimension of the difficulties that developing countries face in applying the liberalization
commitments undertaken, which are much greater and more complicated for them despite the specialand differential treatment provisions contained in some agreements.WT/GC/W/388
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6. The Third Ministerial Conference must take account of the fact that the developing countries
have been called to a second round of trade negotiations, which will entail further greater obligations
in the traditional sectors and in new ones being regulated, without the Uruguay Round agreements
having been effectively implemented in sensitive sectors for developing countries, such as reduction
of subsidies and domestic support and administration of quotas in the agricultural sector, as well asthe establishment of time-frames for bringing trade in textiles into line with the WTO rules.
7. These limitations of the system in regard to the implementation of the agreements reveal an
imbalance in the benefits derived from participation in the multilateral trading system, for the
guarantees of greater advantages to the stronger economies are such that the poor countries see their
hopes disappear of becoming integrated into an international market that is increasingly competitive
and requires compliance with technical, environmental and other rules that are erected into new forms
of trade barriers.
8. Consequently, in particular the least-developed countries and the smaller, vulnerable
economies run a serious risk of marginalization which can be averted only if the system is based on
the criterion of the sustainable development of th ose economies, responds to the need for preferential
conditions for market access and acknowledges in its rules the historical imbalance in the levels of
development between developed and developing countries.
Proposals
9. In view of the enormous need to accelerate the process of integration of the developing
countries in the international economy, Members must recognize the need to establish an institutional
body to follow up and guarantee effective implementation of the special and differential treatmentcommitments in favour of developing countries contained in the WTO Agreements, pursuant to the
provisions of paragraphs 8 and 9(a)(i) of the Geneva Ministerial Declaration.
10. In this respect, Members must confirm the need for fulfilment of the support programme for
developing countries that are net food-importers, the integration of textiles in the WTO, tariff
reduction on products of interest to developing countries and the extension, for some agreements, ofthe transitional periods allowed for these countries in fulfilling their obligations.
11. For the purposes of the forthcoming trade negotiations, arrangements must be made to extend
special treatment to new commitments or agreements adopted by Members.  The new agreements
must include provisions which take account of special and differential treatment for developing
countries, by inter alia , granting deferred periods to enable them to fulfill their obligations, without
this constituting a brake on development and a further burden for these countries.
12. Among other actions to strengthen the application of special and differential treatment, the
Committee on Trade and Development should conduct studies on extending special and differential
treatment provisions to the services sector.
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