RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/21
6August 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3325)
General Council
16July1997
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on16July1997
Chairman: Mr.C.Lafer (Brazil)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Holy See-Request forobserver status intheMinisterial Conference andGeneral
Council .................................................2
2. Accession ofAzerbaijan .......................................4
- Communication from Azerbaijan ............................4
3. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO ..........................5
- Report oftheJoint Advisory Group ..........................5
4. Conditions ofservice ofWTO staff................................6
- Continuation ofwork oftheWorking Group .....................6
5. Accreditation ofPermanent Representatives totheWTO ..................7
6. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement ......................8
- Harmonized System -Request forextension ofwaiver ...............8
- SriLanka ......................................8
7. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration ......................9
- Report oftheCommittee .................................9
8. Supply ofinformation totheintegrated databaseforpersonal computers ........10
- Draft decision .......................................10
9. Status ofthecollaboration between theWTO andILOSecretariats pursuant to
paragraph 4oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration .....................11
10. Brazil -Import financing restrictions ...............................16
11. 1998 Ministerial Conference andthecommemoration ofthe50thAnniversary ofthe
multilateral trading system .....................................17
12. Issuance ofaDaily Bulletin .....................................18WT/GC/M/21
Page2
1. Holy See-Request forobserver status intheMinisterial Conference andGeneral Council
(WT/L/221)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from theHoly Seerequesting observer
status intheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council (WT/L/221). Herecalled that,following
informal consultations heldonthismatter, hehadstated attheGeneral Council meeting on24April
thatnoMember hadindicated anydifficulty inconsidering sucharequest from theHoly See. He
hadalsoindicated that,given itsparticular characteristics, theHoly Seewould notenvisage acceding
totheWTO Agreement asrequired inAnnex 2oftheRules ofProcedure oftheMinisterial Conference
andtheGeneral Council (WT/L/161). IftheHoly Seeweretobegranted observer status, therefore,
therequirement inAnnex 2oftheRules ofProcedure would havetobewaived, taking intoaccount
theuniqueness oftheHoly See'ssituation. Ashehadalsostated, thecriteria inAnnex 2oftheRules
ofProcedure hadbeenestablished bytheGeneral Council, andwerenotsubject toanyother WTO
rules. TheGeneral Council could therefore choose nottoapply those criteria inthisspecific case.
Suchadecision bytheGeneral Council would nothavealegally binding effect onitsability infuture
totakeanydecisions concerning observer status. Hehadindicated alsothatadecision togrant observer
status totheHoly Seecould bemade conditional ontheunderstanding thatitwould notconstitute a
precedent forfuture decisions onrequests forobserver status.
Inthelightofthisbackground, andtheunderstanding reached intheconsultations, heproposed
thattheGeneral Council agree togrant theHoly Seeobserver status atmeetings oftheMinisterial
Conference andtheGeneral Council. Furthermore, taking intoaccount theuniqueness oftheHoly
See'ssituation, heproposed thattheGeneral Council alsoagree towaive therequirement concerning
theintention toinitiate accession negotiations setoutinAnnex 2oftheRules ofProcedure (WT/L/161),
ontheunderstanding thatthisdidnotconstitute aprecedent forfuture decisions onrequests forobserver
status.
Therepresentative ofIndia saidhisdelegation believed thatonlysuchbodies thathadastheir
principal objective thepromotion ofcommercial relations between countries inaccordance withthe
WTO Agreement should beconsidered forobserver status intheWTO. India wastherefore notin
aposition tosupport proposals fororrequests from non-trade bodies being given observer status in
theGeneral Council orinsubsidiary WTO bodies. Inthiscontext, India would urgetheChairman
tocontinue hisinformal consultations forformulating guidelines orobjective criteria fortheadmission
ofobservers toWTO bodies.
TheChairman asked ifIndia'sposition wasthatitcould notjoinintheconsensus thathebelieved
hehadfound throughout themany consultations heldonthismatter.
Therepresentative ofIndia indicated thathisdelegation wasunable tojoinintheconsensus
atthatmoment.
Therepresentative ofParaguay saidthatalthough hisdelegation respected India'sposition,
itwasunfortunate thatafterthebroad-based consultations thathadbeenheldoversome length oftime
bytheChairman, theGeneral Council hadtoenduppostponing adecision which could innoway
affect thefunctioning oftheWTO.
TheChairman proposed thatthemeeting besuspended briefly.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.WT/GC/M/21
Page3
Upon resumption ofthemeeting, theChairman announced thatconsultations aimed atreaching
aconsensus onthismatter werebeing held,andproposed thattheGeneral Council revert toitsdiscussion
onthisitemlaterduring themeeting.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Onresumption ofthediscussion onthisitem, therepresentative ofIndia saidthatinviewof
theconsensus thatwasemerging ontheHoly See'srequest, andinkeeping withitstradition of
accommodating consensus positions ofthemembership, India would bewilling tojoininaconsensus
togranttheHolySee'srequest along thelinesproposed bytheChairman, i.e.ontheclearunderstanding
thatthisdidnotconstitute aprecedent forfuture requests forobserver status.
TheChairman saiditwasclearthatadecision onthisrequest bytheGeneral Council would
notsetaprecedent, ashehadindicated inhisstatement earlier andashadbeendiscussed during the
consultations onthismatter.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed togrant theHoly Seeobserver
status atmeetings oftheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council. Taking intoaccount the
uniqueness oftheHoly See'ssituation, theGeneral Council further agreed towaive therequirement
concerning theintention toinitiate accession negotiations setoutinAnnex 2oftheRules ofProcedure
(WT/L/161), ontheunderstanding thatthisdidnotconstitute aprecedent forfuture decisions onrequests
forobserver status.
Therepresentatives ofEgypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Paraguay onbehalf ofthecountries of
theLatin American andCaribbean Group (GRULAC), andIndonesia, andtheDirector-General and
theChairman welcomed thegranting ofobserver status totheHoly See.
Therepresentative ofEgypt welcomed thespirit ofunderstanding shown byIndia, which had
facilitated thetaking ofthisdecision. Astootherrequests forobserver status pending before theGeneral
Council, heexpressed concern atthedelay inaccommodating these requests, inparticular from the
Organization oftheIslamic Conference, theIslamic Development BankandtheOrganization ofAfrican
Unity. These organizations were ofrelevance tothework oftheWTO andoftheGeneral Council
anditssubsidiary bodies, andhehoped theChairman would undertake consultations toaccommodate
theirrequests. Egypt wasinterested inseeing theseorganizations participate asobservers intheGeneral
Council because theyhadacontribution tomake attheregional level. Other requests fromotherregions,
including from theOrganization forEconomic Cooperation andDevelopment, hadalready been
accommodated.
TheChairman saidthathewould soonbeholding consultations onthematter referred toby
Egypt.
Therepresentative ofBangladesh thanked India fortheprincipled position ithadtaken inthis
discussion, andexpressed support forEgypt 'sstatement concerning thethree organizations towhich
thelatter hadreferred. TheIslamic Development Bank, inparticular, hadinthepastfewmonths
conducted technical assistance coordination withregard totheWTO inseveral areas, andhadbeen
ofgreatassistance tomany developing countries. Hejoined Egypt inurging theChairman, andothers,
totakeearly action sothatthese organizations could become observers.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidhefullyendorsed thestatements byEgypt andBangladesh,
andlooked forward totheconsultations tobeheldbytheChairman.WT/GC/M/21
Page4
Therepresentative ofParaguay congratulated India fortaking theposition thathadenabled
aconsensus onthismatter.
Therepresentative ofIndonesia saidthat,asamember oftheOrganization oftheIslamic
Conference, Indonesia strongly supported Egypt 'sstatement.
TheDirector-GeneralsaidthattheHolySeehadalwaysplayedanexceptionalroleininternational
relations, andmade invaluable contributions tothemultilateral system through theUnited Nations and
itsspecialized agencies, aswellasother organizations. TheHoly See'squest forpeace, development
andwell-being intheworld wasauniversal enterprise, inwhich alltriedtoparticipate. Hewastherefore
pleased toseetheHoly Seeasanobserver intheGeneral Council.
TheChairman saidthatgovernments intheWTO believed thatpeace could beobtained through
international tradeandthrough thepositive interaction among States andsocieties. Governments were
clearly aware thatoneofthemain issues ofconcern totheHoly Seewastheideaofpeace, apeace
thatenhanced thepossibility ofaconstructive humanity. Hewascertain thatinthismatter ofmutual
interest, theHoly See'scollaboration would besignificant.
Therepresentative oftheHoly See,speaking asanobserver, expressed appreciation toallfor
having agreed togrant theHoly Seeobserver status. Initsinternational activities, theHoly Seehad
always followed closely thedevelopment oftrade relations andthework oforganizations inthisarea
because itwasconvinced oftheimportance ofafairinternational economic order asafactor promoting
peace anddevelopment. With itspresence asanobserver intheWTO andother relevant bodies, the
Holy Seewished toofferitscooperation totheinternational community withaviewtoassisting the
latter tosetupanequitable legalsystem inthisvitalarea. AsthePope hadstated recently, aworld
market organized withbalance, andproperly regulated, could bring about well-being, thedevelopment
ofculture, ofdemocracy, solidarity andpeace.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
2. Accession ofAzerbaijan
- Communication from Azerbaijan (WT/ACC/AZE/1)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication fromAzerbaijan requesting accession to
theWTO Agreement (WT/ACC/AZE/1), andproposed thattheGeneral Council agree toestablish
aworking party withthefollowing terms ofreference andcomposition:
Terms ofreference:
"Toexamine theapplication oftheGovernment ofAzerbaijan toaccede totheWTO Agreement
under Article XII,andtosubmit totheGeneral Council recommendations which mayinclude adraft
Protocol ofAccession."
Membership:
Membership would beopentoallWTO Members indicating theirwishtoserve ontheWorking
Party.WT/GC/M/21
Page5
Chairmanship:
TheGeneral Council would authorize itsChairman todesignate theChairman oftheWorking
Party inconsultation withrepresentatives ofMembers andwiththerepresentative ofAzerbaijan.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman invited theSecretariat tocontact therepresentative ofAzerbaijan inorder to
consult astofurther procedures, inparticular regarding thebasic documentation tobeconsidered by
theWorking Party. Healsoinvited Azerbaijan, onbehalf oftheGeneral Council, toattend meetings
oftheGeneral Council and,asappropriate, meetings ofother WTO bodies asanobserver during the
period inwhich theWorking Party wascarrying outitswork.
3. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
- Report oftheJoint Advisory Group (ITC/AG(XXX)/164)
Mr.Benjelloun-Touimi (Morocco), Chairman oftheJointAdvisory Group (JAG), introducing
thereportoftheGrouponitsthirtiethsession(ITC/AG(XXX)/164),saidthatduringtheopeningsession,
theUNCTAD Secretary-General andtherepresentative oftheWTO Director-General hadannounced
theextension ofthetermofappointment oftheITC'sExecutive Director, Mr.J.-Denis Bélisle, for
afurther three-year period, asconfirmed bytheUNSecretary-General. TheGroup hadexamined
thefollowing matters during itsthirtieth session: (i)review oftheITC'stechnical cooperation activities
in1996 based onitsannual report; (ii)report ontheevaluation oftheITCsubprogramme "Human
Resource Development"; (iii)thefocus andstrategy fortheITC'shuman resource development core
service; (iv)report oftheITCtechnical meeting heldin1996; and(v)thereport oftheConsultative
Committee ontheGlobal Trust Fund.
Inhisopening statement totheGroup, theExecutive Director hadreviewed developments in
theITC'swork since theprevious JAGsession, andhadoutlined prospects forthefuture. Hehad
reported thattheITC'srefocusing exercise hadentered itsfinalstages. Theorganization wasmore
streamlined andhadaclearer vision ofitsfuture orientation thaninthepast,andwasnowmore capable
ofmeeting theneeds ofclient countries andregions forbetter focused andmore efficient technical
assistance. Itscoreprogramme ofwork wasmore targeted andbetter planned, andbetter toolsand
delivery modes hadbeendeveloped. TheITC'sGlobal Trust Fund anditsconsultative committee
werehighlyefficientmechanismsforfundingtheITC'sprogrammeactivities,andvoluntarycontributions
hadincreased.
TheGroup hadexpressed itsappreciation totheExecutive Director fortheITC'scurrent reform
process andrefocusing. Ithadalsoreaffirmed theimportance oftheITC'smandate, andexpressed
appreciation fortheITC'svaluable, practical andhighly operational work. TheGroup haddiscussed
theITC'stechnical cooperation activities in1996, andmade recommendations onitsfuture work
programme. Ithadreviewed theITC'sactivities inhuman resource development following the
independent evaluation ofthesubprogramme in1996 andatechnical meeting convened toconsider
theevaluation report inNovember 1996. TheGroup hadalsoexpressed itssatisfaction attheeffective
functioning oftheConsultative Committee oftheGlobal Trust Fund.
Some representatives hadsuggested thatstepsshould betaken tosetupasupervisory committee
tooversee theITC'swork programme andpriorities, while others hadconsidered thatthiswasneither
needed norappropriate. Following areview ofthesituation withdelegations, hehadagreed toconvene
open-ended consultations asneeded, andappropriate, before thenextJAGmeeting in1998. Inthis
regard, hehadhelddiscussions withmany interested delegations, andopen-ended consultations wouldWT/GC/M/21
Page6
definitely beheldonthissubject. Finally, onbehalf oftheJAG, heexpressed gratitude tothe
Governments ofCanada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway,
Spain, Sweden andSwitzerland, which hadannounced confirmed orpossible voluntary contributions
totheITCforitstechnical cooperation programme.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthatalthough hisdelegation hadjoined intheconsensus
toadopt theJAGreport, ithad,through theChairman oftheAsian Group, expressed concern oncertain
issues. Briefly, these concerns related tothefollowing: (i)thesignificant decline overthepastfive
years intheresources devoted tothethreedeveloping country regions ofAfrica, AsiaandLatin America,
atrend which needed tobereversed; (ii)excessive emphasis onabetter dialogue withdonors, with
nomention ofadialogue withdeveloping countries, raising apprehensions thatthebeneficiaries of
development cooperation were being ignored intheformulation ofprogrammes, andthatsuch
programmes could thereby become donor driven; and(iii)thedisturbingly lowrepresentation of
developing countries inthesenior staffoftheITC. These concerns, which were shared byother
developing countries, hadbeennoted, andPakistan hadbeenassured thatthere would befollow-up
action toaddress them. Hisdelegation looked forward tocontinuing adiscussion onsome ofthese
issues during theinformal consultations tobeheldbytheJAGChairman.
TheChairman oftheJAGsaidthattheconcerns raised byPakistan hadindeed beennoted,
andthatthese concerns, together withthose raised byothers, would betaken upintheopen-ended
consultations towhich hehadreferred inhisstatement.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thereport inITC/AG(XXX)/164.
4. Conditions ofservice ofWTO staff
- Continuation ofwork oftheWorking Group
TheChairman recalled thatinNovember 1996, theGeneral Council hadadopted aDecision
regarding conditions ofservice ofWTO staffunder which itwould in1997continue itsconsideration
ofthedraftdecision of18September 1996, withaviewtoreaching afinalconclusion by30June1997
(WT/L/197). Atitsmeeting inFebruary 1997, theGeneral Council hadestablished aWorking Group
onconditions ofservice applicable tothestaffoftheWTO Secretariat, together withitsterms of
reference, andhadasked theWorking Group tosubmit itsfinalreport bytheendofMay1997
(WT/GC/M/18, item3).Asdelegations wereaware, theDecision onconditions ofservice adopted
bytheGeneral Council on1July(WT/L/223) hadimplicitly extended the30Junedeadline established
intheNovember 1996Decision byagreeing thattheGeneral Council would consider thismatter further
notlaterthanOctober 1997.
Since much technical work wasstillrequired inconnection withthequestion ofconditions
ofservice, hewished toconfirm thattheoriginal mandate oftheWorking Group wasalsoextended
sothatitmight pursue itswork asappropriate inthelightofthe1JulyDecision.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
TheChairmaninformedtheGeneralCouncilthat,pursuanttoparagraph2ofthe1JulyDecision
onconditions ofservice (WT/L/223), hehaddecided, inconsultation withtheChairman oftheWorking
Group, todesignate Mr.Christopher Daykin, theGovernment Actuary oftheUnited Kingdom, to
prepare thesecond opinion onthecalculations oftheWTO consulting actuary withrespect tothe
proposed WTO pension plan.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.WT/GC/M/21
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5. Accreditation ofPermanent Representatives totheWTO (WT/GC/W/61/Rev.1)
TheChairmanrecalledthatthismatterhadbeendiscussedinitiallyataninformalGeneralCouncil
meeting on23Juneonthebasis ofatextcirculated bytheSecretariat athisrequest. Inlightofthe
views expressed onthatoccasion, thetexthadappeared torequire some further adjustments. Atthe
same time, some delegations hadrequested more timeforreflection, although theideaofhaving a
clear procedure fortheaccreditation ofpermanent representatives totheWTO wasbroadly shared.
Arevised textbytheSecretariat (WT/GC/W/61/Rev.1), which tookintoaccount theviews expressed
on23June,hadbeenconsideredatanotherinformalmeetingon10July,whereitappearedthatadditional
timewasneeded tosettle certain aspects oftheissue andtoallow forfurther reflection bysome
delegations. Hewould therefore notpropose thattheGeneral Council agree totheprocedure for
accreditation outlined inthetextatthepresent meeting.
Hewished tonote, however, thattheideaofhaving aclear procedure fortheaccreditation
ofPermanent Representatives totheWTO wasanimportant onesince theWTO hadbeenestablished
bytheMarrakesh Agreement asanindependent Organization (notthecaseofGATT), which wasnot
partoftheUNsystem andhadtherefore anindependent Headquarters Agreement withthehostcountry,
Switzerland, according towhich Members hadcertain rights andobligations. Furthermore, theWTO
wasarules-based organization which dealtwithsensitive legalmatters. Itwastherefore onlyappropriate
thatrepresentativesofMemberStatesandSeparateCustomsTerritoriesbeaccordedproperaccreditation.
Suchaprocedure would beintheinterest ofMembers andwould facilitate theinitial contacts between
newPermanent Representatives andtheDirector-General oftheWTO, which wasuseful bothfor
Members andtheDirector-General. Theprocedure outlined inWT/GC/W/61/Rev.1 wasofa
business-like nature, would notdelay theentry intofunction ofPermanent Representatives norentail
additional formalities orburdens ofprotocol forMembers, theDirector-General ortheSecretariat.
Astandard procedure foraccreditation would eliminate thehaphazard practice currently followed.
Themain purpose wastohaveasimple butclear standard procedure foraccreditation thatensured
transparency andclarity, andrespected thelegalnature oftheOrganization asanindependent entity
ininternational relations. Hetherefore hoped that,following some further work ontheprocedure,
itwould bepossible totakeadecision thereon afterthesummer break. Hewished toclarify thatthe
appropriate authorities which would issuetheaccreditation remained tobedetermined byeachMember
State orSeparate Customs Territory, according toitslegalandconstitutional nature.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidhewassurprised tohearthatfurther work would be
required onthismatter. Hisauthorities hadnotseenanyelement intheproposed procedure which
theybelieved could cause aproblem, andhadnoobjection toit.Theproposed procedure responded
toalegal need, inaddition tobeing practical. While Switzerland would participate inanyfurther
consultations ontheprocedure, ithoped thatthesewould bebrief. Headded thatinhisownexperience,
thepresentation ofletters ofaccreditation totheheads ofvarious international organizations inGeneva
hadnotproved tobeaburden. Theletters ofaccreditation were issued bytheappropriate national
authority, beittheMinistry ofPublic Economy orForeign Affairs, depending upon thecompetence
oftheorganization inquestion. Switzerland hadfound thepresentation ofcredentials tobefairly
straightforward, inaddition tobeing necessary foranumber ofreasons. Thepresent informal procedure
intheWTO wasnotnormal andhadtobecorrected. Anyburden represented byanadditional letter
ofaccreditation forarepresentative responsible foralltheinternational organizations inGeneva could
certainly beborne bytherelevant national authorities.
Therepresentative ofTunisia expressed hisdelegation 'ssupport fortheadoption ofaclear
accreditation procedure fortheWTO. Hisdelegation believed thatthiswasbothpossible and
straightforward, andwould haveuseful consequences. Tunisia would continue tocooperate withthe
Chairman withaviewtofinding agood procedure thatwould benefit all.WT/GC/M/21
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Therepresentative ofParaguay saidthatthismatter wasofinterest toallMembers, given that
theWTO didnothaveaclearaccreditation procedure. TheWTO hadnolegallinktotheUnited Nations
and,asanindependentOrganization,haditsownlegalpersonality.ThisplacedanobligationonMembers
toadopt suchaprocedure, which hisdelegation believed wasimperative andshould beamatter of
priority.
Therepresentative ofJapan saidthatmany delegations, including hisown, appeared tohave
aninterest inaddressing thismatter. Since theChairman hadalready suggested thatthematter would
betaken upagain atalaterdate, hisdelegation wished toraiseapoint oforder andpropose thatthe
General Council conclude itsdiscussion onthisitematthistime, andmove ontotheother items on
itsagenda.
Therepresentative ofUruguay supported Japan'sproposal onthepoint oforder ithadraised.
TheChairman asked ifother delegations stillwishing tospeak agreed totheproposal onthe
point oforder made byJapan.
Therepresentative ofSingapore, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, saidthatsince
thelistofspeakers appeared tobeshort, hewould propose thattheChairman closethelistandconclude
thedebate onthisitemafterthose onthelisthadspoken.
TheChairman saidhewould proceed assuggested bySingapore onbehalf oftheASEAN
Members.
Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatthequestion ofaccreditation procedures wasimportant,
andhoped thatconsultations thereon could quickly bebrought toasuccessful conclusion.
TherepresentativeofChileindicatedherdelegation'sinterestinparticipatinginanyconsultations
onthismatter, andexpressed support forthestatements bySwitzerland, Tunisia andParaguay. In
viewoftheWTO 'sindependent legalstatus anditsheadquarters agreement withtheSwiss Government,
itneeded tohaveaseparate accreditation procedure.
Therepresentative ofSingapore, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, saidthatthe
procedure proposed inWT/GC/W/61/Rev.1 waspractical andaccorded duerecognition tothe
Organization, considering thenature oftheWTO anditsindependent status.
Therepresentative ofHungary expressed support fortheChairman 'sefforts tofindaconsensus
onthisissue. Anyfurther delay ondeciding onanaccreditation procedure would shedabadlight
ontheability totakedecisions inthissuigeneris organization.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed torevert tothismatter atitsnext
meeting.
6. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement
- Harmonized System -Request forextension ofwaiver
- SriLanka (G/L/164, G/C/W/73/Rev.1)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from SriLanka requesting anextension
ofitswaiver (G/L/164), andtotherelated draftdecision (G/C/W/73/Rev.1).WT/GC/M/21
Page9
Mr.Johannessen (Norway), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting onthe
Council 'sconsideration ofthisrequest, saidthataconsensus tofavourably consider thewaiver request
hadnotbeenpossible atthemeetings oftheCouncil heldon14April and11June. Ateachmeeting,
theCouncil hadtherefore agreed torevert tothematter atitsfollowing meeting. TheCouncil had
finally beeninaposition toapprove SriLanka 'srequest atitsmeeting on14July,andhadrecommended
thenthatthedraftdecision inG/C/W/73/Rev.1 beforwarded totheGeneral Council foradoption.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport bytheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO
Agreement agreed inNovember 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted thedraftdecision inG/C/W/73/Rev.1.1
7. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration
- Report oftheCommittee (WT/BFA/31)
Mr.Morjane (Tunisia), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing thereport onitsmeeting
of27May(WT/BFA/31), saidthattheCommittee hadinvited therepresentatives oftheInternational
Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO topresent thefinancial statements forthebiennium ended
31December 1995 andthereport oftheBoard ofAuditors. TheITCrepresentatives hadindicated
thatthepositive balance ofUS$346,000 attheendofthebiennium 1994-1995 hadbeenreflected as
miscellaneous income inthe1996 Performance Report oftheRegular Programme Budget. The
representatives hadthenprovided aninitial outline oftheITC'sbudget estimates for1998, which showed
zerogrowth overtheapproved 1997 budget. Some Members hadexpressed thehopethatin1998,
when theinitial outline ofthe1999 budget would bepresented, greater budgetary details would be
provided.
TheCommittee hadalsoexamined thefinalposition ofthe1996 budget oftheWTO, which
showed anaccumulated surplus ofSwF10,127,456. Obligations incurred in1996 under thebudget
amounted toSwF112,058,635, leaving apositive balance ofSwF3.6million. Thispositive balance
wasthenetresult ofsavings ofSwF5.7million onpersonnel-related costs, reduced bythenetexcess
expenditureofSwF2.1millionagainsttheapprovedappropriationoftheregularbudgetinadministrative
andothercosts.PursuanttotheWTOFinancialRegulations,theDirector-Generalwouldmakeproposals
fortheutilization ofthecredit balance ontheSurplus Account when the1998budget proposals were
presented. TheCommittee hadrecommended theapproval oftransfers between budgetary sections
ofSwF4,628,194, which werenecessary tocover excess expenditure overapproved appropriations
(paragraph 17ofWT/BFA/31).
Asregards thereview oftheapplication oftheHeadquarters Agreement, theCommittee had
examinedalistofcommentssubmittedbypermanentmissionsandtheSecretariat.Apreliminarymeeting
hadbeenheldon17JunebetweentheSwissauthoritiesandaWTOdelegationcomprisingrepresentatives
ofMember governments andtheSecretariat. Other meetings would beheldinSeptember, andareport
onthesediscussions would bepresented totheCommittee atitsmeeting scheduled forend-September.
Finally, hedrew attention toparagraphs 12,13and20oftheCommittee 'sreport, which
contained theCommittee 'srecommendations regarding additional contributions tobemade tothe1997
budget andtotheWorking Capital Fund bytheCongo andtheDemocratic Republic oftheCongo
upontheiraccession totheWTO, andfinancial consequences ofthecancellation ofmeetings ofWTO
bodies atshort notice. Inconcluding, hesaidthatsuggestions andideas concerning thesituation of
least-developed Members thatfound themselves inthecategory ofInactive Members would bepresented
1TheDecision wassubsequently circulated asWT/L/224.WT/GC/M/21
Page10
totheCommittee following consultations withtheChairpersons oftheWTO bodies concerned, in
particular theCommittee onTrade andDevelopment andtheSub-Committee onLeast-Developed
Countries. Hehoped thatconsensus would bepossible onthisissue, andthattheCommittee would
beabletosubmit aproposal totheGeneral Council priortotheHigh-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed
Countries scheduled forOctober.
Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthatMorocco hadbeenamember oftheGATT/WTO team
thathadnegotiated theHeadquarters Agreement withtheSwiss authorities, andwassurprised thatit
hadnotbeeninformed ofthesteps thatwere being taken regarding thereview oftheapplication of
theHeadquarters Agreement. Hehoped thathisdelegation would beconsulted inthefuture, given
thatithadbeenamember oftheoriginal negotiating team.
TheChairman oftheCommittee saidthatinorder tohaveamanageable WTO delegation to
review theHeadquarters Agreement withtheSwiss authorities, various informal country groupings
intheWTO hadbeenasked todesignate arepresentative forthispurpose, andaWTO delegation
consisting ofsome tenmembers hadbeenformed. Inorder tofacilitate hiswork, hehadconsulted
ontheissues withrepresentatives oftheinformal country groupings, andwished toassure Morocco
thattheAfrican Group hadbeenwellrepresented inthediscussions withtheSwiss authorities.
Therepresentative ofBangladesh saidhewished tounderscore theproblems mentioned by
theBudget Committee Chairman concerning some oftheleast-developed countries 'inability tomeet
theirfinancial obligations. Bangladesh welcomed hisassurances thatanacceptable solution would
soonbefound.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements, approved theBudget Committee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 12,13,17and20ofitsreport inWT/BFA/31, andadopted thereport.
8. Supply ofinformation totheintegrated databaseforpersonal computers
- Draft decision (G/C/W/82)
TheChairman drewattention tothedraftdecision onthesupply ofinformation totheintegrated
databaseforpersonal computers (G/C/W/82).
Mr.Johannessen (Norway), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, introducing this
item, recalled thattheintegrated database(IDB) hadbeenestablished bytheGATT 1947 Council
on10November 1987 (BISD 34S/66). Since some time, formal andinformal discussions hadtaken
place intheMarket Access Committee concerning thetransfer oftheIDB, which wascurrently on
mainframe computer, toaPCenvironment. Thiswasconsidered necessary inorder toimprove the
functioning oftheIDB. Moreover, independently fromtheadaptation oftheIDBtomodern technology,
animportant element ofthisreform wasthatitwould introduce some flexibility withregard tothe
submission ofdata, which inturnwould reduce costs forMembers. While themodalities andthe
operation ofthePCIntegrated DataBasehadbeensetoutindocument G/MA/IDB/1/Rev.1, andthe
1987Decision enabled themodification ofthemodalities andtheoperation ofthePCIntegrated Data
Base, itwasnevertheless judged important toestablish asolid baseforthecommunication ofthe
necessary information forthefunctioning ofthatdatabase. Inthisconnection, thedraftdecision in
G/C/W/82 contained thefollowing important points: (i)Members should supply totheSecretariat,
onanannual basis, theinformation referred toindocument G/MA/IDB/1/Rev.1; (ii)theSecretariat
should, uponrequest, provide technical assistance toMembers inrelation tothesubmission ofthedata
required fortheIDBforPCs; and(iii)thesubmission ofthedatarequired fortheIDBforPCsshould
notprejudice therights andobligations ofMembers under theWTO Agreements. Atitsmeeting onWT/GC/M/21
Page11
14July,theCouncil forTrade inGoods hadapproved thedraftdecision inG/C/W/82 andforwarded
ittotheGeneral Council foradoption.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andadopted thedraftdecision inG/C/W/82.2
9. Status ofthecollaboration between theWTO andILOSecretariats pursuant toparagraph 4
oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(96)/DEC)
Therepresentative ofNorway, speaking under "Other Business", recalled thattheSingapore
Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(96)/DEC), initsparagraph 4,hadconfirmed thecommitment of
Ministers totheobservance ofinternationally recognized corelabour standards. InthatDeclaration,
Ministers hadalsoagreed thattheInternational Labour Organization (ILO) wasthecompetent body
tosetanddealwiththese standards, andhadaffirmed theirsupport forthework carried outbythe
ILO. Apart fromclarifying thedivision oflabour between thetwoorganizations, theDeclaration also
established animportant linkbetween, ontheonehand, economic growth anddevelopment fostered
byincreased trade and,ontheother, thepromotion ofthesaidstandards. TheDeclaration wenton
toreject theuseoflabour standards forprotection purposes. After having made these important
statements, Ministers hadconcluded bynoting thattheWTO andILOSecretariats would continue their
existing collaboration. Inthelightofthisbackground, hisdelegation wished tobeinformed bythe
Director-General astothestatus ofthatcollaboration andwhether theWTO Secretariat hadreceived
anyinformation ontheissue oftheILO'swork oncorelabour standards thatcould beshared with
Members.
TheDirector-General,addressingthequestionofthecontinuationoftheexistingWTOSecretariat
collaborationwiththeILO,saidthat,asinthepast,thisrelationshipinvolvedfirst,theWTOSecretariat's
participation inmeetings ofILObodies; second, theexchange ofdocumentation; andthird, informal
cooperation between theILOandWTO Secretariats. Asregards theparticipation oftheWTO Secretariat
inmeetings ofILObodies, theWTO wasregularly invited toattend meetings oftheILOGoverning
Body anditscommittees, sub-committees andworking parties, inanobserver capacity. Representatives
oftheWTO Secretariat regularly attended, forexample, theWorking Party ontheSocial Dimensions
oftheLiberalization ofInternational Trade, themostrecent meeting ofwhich hadbeeninMarch this
year. TheWTO Secretariat hadalsobeenpresent fortheentire session oftherecent Annual ILO
Conference inJune. Asregards theexchange ofdocumentation, following arequest from theILO,
theWTO Secretariat hadprovided theILOWorking Party ontheSocial Dimensions oftheLiberalization
ofInternational Trade withthestatements made byWTO Members attheSingapore Ministerial
Conference. Finally, informal cooperation between thetwoSecretariats continued asithadinthepast.
Hemaintained friendly andcooperative relations withtheILODirector-General, ashedidwiththe
Heads ofother international organizations, andtheDirector oftherelevant WTO division andhisstaff
keptinregular contact withILOstaff.
Inresponse tothesecond partofthequestion, henoted --asMembers werenodoubt aware
--thatagooddealoftheILO'sworkdealtinonewayoranother withvarious aspects oflabour standards
ingeneral andofcorelabour standards inparticular. Much ofthedocumentation involved wasin
thepublic domain, andwasreadily available inhardcopyorontheInternet. Themostrecent specific
information theWTO hadwasfound intheReport oftheILODirector-General tohisOrganization 's
AnnualConference,whichcoveredcorelabourstandardsamongotherissues.TheILODirector-General
hadbeenkindenough tosendhimacopyofthereport personally, andheunderstood thatitwasalso
freely available ontheInternet. Inconclusion, heassured Members thatincontinuing theexisting
2TheDecision wassubsequently circulated asWT/L/225.WT/GC/M/21
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collaboration withtheILO,asmandated byMinisters, heandhiscolleagues keptfirmly inmind, and
were guided by,thepoints onwhich Ministers hadagreed inSingapore concerning thisissue.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatNorway 'srequest wasnotinappropriate at
thisstage, some seven months aftertheSingapore Ministerial Conference. Hisdelegation believed
thatoneareaparticularly wellsuited forcollaboration between thetwoSecretariats would beinthe
preparation ofcountry trade policy review documents where theWTO Secretariat might askforILO
input onthedegree towhich corelabour standards wererespected byWTO Members, forexample
inexport processing zones.
Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthatwhile hisdelegation hadbeenagainst reference tocore
labour standards intheSingapore Ministerial Declaration, thereference hadbeenincluded onthe
understanding thatthetwoorganizations wereindependent ofeachother andthatcorelabour standards
werewithin thecompetence oftheILO. With regard tothe"existing collaboration" between thetwo
Secretariats, ithadbeenexplained during thenegotiation onthistextthattheWTO Secretariat attended,
asanobserver, meetings oftheILO'sWorking Party ontheSocial Dimensions oftheLiberalization
ofInternational Trade, andthattheILOhadanimportant contribution tomake when theWTO discussed
thequestions ofmovement ofnatural persons andprofessional services. Herecalled thathisdelegation,
fearful ofanyinvisible intentions which might beinjected intheWTO work inthefuture, hadinsisted
thattheChairman oftheMinisterial Conference make aclarification regarding thetextoncorelabour
standards inhisconcluding remarks totheConference. TheChairman 'sstatement (WT/MIN(96)/9,
paragraph 8)hadmade clearthatcorelabour standards hadnothing todowiththework oftheWTO.
Among other things, theChairman hadunderlined thatthetextoncorelabour standards "...rejects
theuseoflabour standards forprotectionist purposes. Thisisaveryimportant safeguard forthe
multilateral trading system, andinparticular fordeveloping countries. Third, itagrees thatthe
comparative advantage ofcountries, particularly low-wage developing countries, mustinnowaybe
putintoquestion. Fourth, itdoesnotinscribe therelationship between tradeandcorelabour standards
ontheWTO agenda. Fifth, thereisnoauthorization inthetextforanynewwork onthisissue. Sixth,
wenotethattheWTO andtheILOSecretariats willcontinue theirexisting collaboration ....The
collaboration respects fullytherespective andseparate mandates ofthetwoOrganizations. Some
delegations hadexpressed theconcern thatthistextmayleadtheWTO toacquire acompetence to
undertake further work intherelationship between trade andcorelabour standards. Iwanttoassure
these delegations thatthistextwillnotpermit suchadevelopment." With regard tothesuggestion
justmade bytheUnited States, hewished tounderline thattheMinisterial Conference Chairman had
made clearthattherewasnoauthorization inthetextoftheDeclaration foranynewwork onthisissue.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthatitwasnotappropriate toraisetheissueofcorelabour
standards intheWTO, since theMinisterial Declaration clearly indicated thatresponsibility forthis
issue rested withtheILO. Norway hadreferred toalink,andhewished tounderline thatthere was
norecognition ofsuchalinkeither intheWTO ortheILO,andthathisdelegation could nottherefore
remain silent when reference tosuchalinkwasmade asthebasis fortheinformation thathadbeen
sought fromtheDirector-General. Itwasalsoclearfromthelanguage ofparagraph 4oftheDeclaration,
andfrom thestatement oftheMinisterial Conference Chairman, that(i)thecollaboration towhich
reference hadbeenmade inparagraph 4wasofaroutine nature which would respect thedifferent
mandates oftheILOandtheWTO; (ii)thismatter wasnotontheWTO agenda; and(iii)nonew
work wastobeundertaken bytheWTO. Hisdelegation noted thattheDirector-General, inhis
statement,hadverycarefullycircumscribedtheinterchangewithintheparametersofboththeDeclaration
andtheinterpretative statement oftheMinisterial Conference Chairman. Hisdelegation wished to
haveaclearandcategorical assurance thatnoWTO budgetary resources would beexpended onthe
issueofcorelabour standards sinceitwasnotontheWTO agenda. Hisdelegation alsoopposed strongly
theUSsuggestion foraninput bytheILOinthetrade policy review process onthequestion oflabour
standards. Pakistan wasconcerned attheraising ofthisissueintheGeneral Council. When paragraph 4WT/GC/M/21
Page13
hadbeenfinalized inSingapore, Pakistan hadreceived assurances bothofapublic andprivate nature,
andhoped thatthose withwhom ithadnegotiated ingood faithinagreeing totheinclusion ofthis
paragraph intheDeclaration would respect thetrustandconfidence thathadbeenthebasis forthe
consensus.
Therepresentative ofBrazil saidthattheissue ofcorelabour standards wasclearly settled by
paragraph 4oftheMinisterial Declaration andparagraph 8oftheMinisterial Conference Chairman 's
concluding remarks. Brazil shared theconcerns raised byEgypt andPakistan. AsMembers approached
preparations forthe1998 Ministerial Conference, hehoped theywould alldraw thelesson ofthe
negotiation onthistextandtrytoavoid repeating suchanexperience withanissuethatwasnotwithin
theWTO 'scompetence.
TherepresentativeofMoroccosaidthatthetextsoftheMinisterialDeclarationandtheMinisterial
Conference Chairman 'sstatement were veryclear, andthatthepresent debate wasanunwelcome
repetition ofthenegotiations thathadledtotheSingapore Declaration. TheDirector-General had
made averyclear statement, andthelanguage hehadusedandtheareas hehadcovered expressed
clearly thatthismatter wasnotwithin thepurview oftheGeneral Council 'swork. Hehoped that
delegations whohadthekinds ofquestions thatNorway hadraised would, infuture, raisethemdirectly
withtheSecretariat astheydidonmany other subjects. Thiswould allow theGeneral Council toget
onwithitsbusiness. Members hadmany veryimportant negotiations ahead ofthem, andthiswas
definitely notthewaytostartpreparing forthe1998 Ministerial Conference orfortheseries ofthe
negotiations foreseen for1999 inthebuilt-in agenda.
Therepresentative ofIndiasaidthathisdelegation fullyendorsed thestatements byEgypt and
Pakistan. Paragraph 4oftheMinisterial Declaration, together withtheMinisterial Conference
Chairman 'sclosing remarks, hadconclusively settled thisissue, andthere wasnoplace intheWTO
forcorelabour standards. Hisdelegation appreciated theDirector-General 'sstatement, which had
circumscribed thescope ofthelastsentence ofparagraph 4oftheDeclaration. LikeMorocco, his
delegation would suggest tointerested Members thattheyaddress theirqueries totheSecretariat, or
thattheyaccess theILO'sInternet sitetoseewhat washappening oncorelabour standards. With
regard totheUSsuggestion, hisdelegation wished toreiterate itsposition thatthere wasnoscope in
theTrade Policy Review Body andintheWTO todealwithcorelabour standards.
TherepresentativeofHongKong,ChinarecalledthatintheirDeclarationatSingapore,Ministers
hadsaidtheybelieved thateconomic growth anddevelopment fostered byincreased trade"andfurther
trade liberalization" contributed tothepromotion oflabour standards, areference thatNorway had
leftoutinitsstatement. Itwassurely intheareaoftradeliberalization thattheWTO should bemaking
acontribution toimproved standards ofliving andlabour standards, particularly inleast-developed
countries. Inthisconnection, Members hadagolden opportunity toliberalize trade andtoimprove
market access forleast-developed countries attheforthcoming HighLevel Meeting onLeast-Developed
Countries3,which hadbeenplanned byMinisters atSingapore. Heurged Members tomake meaningful
improvements interms ofmarket access forleast-developed countries inareasofinterest orofpotential
interest tothem, tomatch therecent achievements intheWTO inareas ofinterest primarily tothe
developed countries. Hebelieved thatthisshould bethefocus ofefforts intheWTO, andthatMembers
could make acontribution iftheyconcentrated onpractical improvements intheareaoftheWTO 's
expertise, namely, trade liberalization.
Therepresentative ofPerujoined hisdelegation withEgypt andPakistan, among others, in
expressing concern thattheissue ofcorelabour standards wasbeing reviewed inabody thathadno
3TobeheldinGeneva on27-28 October 1997.WT/GC/M/21
Page14
competenceonit.HisdelegationappreciatedtheDirector-General'sstatement,whichhadbeenrestricted
strictly towhatwasagreed intheMinisterial Declaration. Peruwasalsooftheviewthattheissue
oflabour standards didnotfallunder themandate ofthetrade policy reviews, andhadstated thisat
certain reviews where questions onthisissue hadbeenraised.
Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthatsince Ministers atSingapore hadnoted thattheWTO
andILOSecretariats would continue theirexisting collaboration, therecould benodispute thatNorway
wasperfectly entitled toraiseaquestion inthisforum about developments inthecontinuation ofthat
existing collaboration. Hisdelegation hadcertainly found itinteresting toheartheDirector-General 's
helpful response. However, Australia would beconcerned atanyproposals toexpand thescope of
thatexisting collaboration, including those thathadbeenheard atthepresent meeting.
Therepresentative ofSingapore, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN Members, associated their
delegations withtheviews expressed byprevious speakers withregard tocorelabour standards. The
Singapore Ministerial Declaration hadclearly delinked labour issues from theWTO. Intheirview,
theefforts suggested byNorway andtheUnited States torelink thisissuewiththeWTO wereuncalled
for.
Therepresentative ofCanada saidthathisdelegation wasuncomfortable withsubstantive
discussions atmeetings under "Other Business", particularly when theytouched onmatters asdelicate
asthisone. Anumber ofveryspecific comments hadbeenmade inthepresent discussion, andhis
delegation would bereporting thereon toitsauthorities. Canada might therefore wishtorevert tothis
matter atasubsequent occasion.
Therepresentative ofJapan saidthathisdelegation 'sposition wassimilar tothatofAustralia
andMorocco. Inthepreparations fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference, andatSingapore itself,
Japan hadbeenstrongly opposed totaking upthisissue atameeting oftheWTO. Atthesame time,
ithadworked tobridge thegapbetween twostrongly opposed groups ofcountries, andbelieved that
thefinaltextoftheDeclaration hadbeenagood result. Thatsaid,hisdelegation believed thatthis
question should notbereopened, andthatifitweretobetaken upunder "Other Business", thediscussion
should betechnical innature. Inthatregard, thequestion posed byNorway totheDirector-General
waswithinthemandateoftheMinisterialDeclaration.Atthesametime,theDirector-General'sresponse
hadbeenveryreasonable, andonethathisdelegation welcomed.
Therepresentative ofCuba associated hisdelegation withthestatements byEgypt andPakistan,
among others. Ininternational conferences there were attimes wide-ranging discussions ofissues,
andagreements werefinally adopted which clearly stated concepts andissues. Then, positions were
subsequently expressed which gavetheimpression thatonewastrying tomove away from agreed
positions. Thispractice should notbefollowed intheWTO. Confidence ineachother wasthebasis
forconsensus-based decisions, andinparticular theconsensus decision reflected intheSingapore
Ministerial Declaration onthissubject, andshould berespected. Thesphere andthescope ofaction
oftheWTO andtheILOwere welldefined, andMembers should respect this.
Therepresentative ofColombia saidthatsome Members were attempting togiveacertain
interpretation totheSingapore Ministerial Declaration andtheMinisterial Conference Chairman 's
statement onlabour standards thatdidnotcorrespond withreality. These delegations seemed tofeel
thatthequestion ofconsidering labour standards intheWTO remained open, when infacttheletter,
spirit andintent oftheDeclaration andtheChairman 'sstatement hadbeentotransfer toanother
organization thehandling ofthese issues. Ithadtobemade clearthattheissue oflabour standards
wasnotopen now, norhaditbeen leftopen afterSingapore, foranyconsideration intheWTO.
Furthermore, theideathattheTrade Policy Review Body should begiven ascope fortheanalysis
ofsuchissues wasnotappropriate. Thetrade policy review mechanism existed toevaluate theWT/GC/M/21
Page15
compatibility andcompliance ofacountry 'stradepolicies withtheWTO Agreement. Labour standards
were notcovered aspartofthedisciplines ofthetrade agreements under theWTO, andshould not
bereviewed inthatOrganization.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities expressed support forAustralia 'sviewthat
thequestion posed byNorway seeking information wasperfectly legitimate inview ofparagraph 4
oftheMinisterial Declaration. TheDirector-General 'sresponse, foritspart,hadbeenuseful, helpful
andinformative. However, likeCanada, theCommunity wasveryuncomfortable atthelengthy and
substantive discussion thathaddeveloped. Delegations might, asaresult, feeltempted tosuggest
reverting tothisissue insubstance atafuture meeting when allhadreceived instructions, asituation
thatmight notactually betheobjective ofmany whohadspoken. TheCommunity believed that
delegationsshouldavoidsubstantivediscussionswhentheyhadnotreceivedpriorwarningorinstructions.
Hisdelegation would therefore nottakeaposition onsome oftheideas thathadbeenputforward.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthat,contrary towhatusually happened onitems under
"Other Business", delegations appeared tohavecome ready andprepared toengage inasubstantive
discussion onthismatter. Hisdelegation, foritspart,wasnotinaposition, andwasunwilling, to
enter intoasubstantive discussion onthisitembecause itbelieved thatsuchdiscussions should not
beheldunder "Other Business". Toholdasubstantive discussion, allshould beonthesame footing
andbeprepared forthediscussion, which wasnotpossible onitems raised under "Other Business".
There were twoother points ofconcern tohisdelegation inthisdiscussion. First, itseemed tobe
thewishofsome thatdelegations should adopt akindofself-restraint onthequestions theywereentitled
toraiseintheGeneral Council. However, eachdelegation wassovereign, andwasentitled toraise
anyissue itfeltnecessary. Norestrictions should beplaced onthissovereign right, anditwasup
toeachdelegation todecide onanypossible effects ontheworkoftheGeneral Council oronnegotiations
inthefuture. Second, hisunderstanding ofNorway 'sintervention wasthatitwaspurely arequest
forinformation. Therequested information hadbeensupplied bytheDirector-General, andthatshould
betheendofthematter. Hedidnotseeanyreason togetinvolved inadebate onsubstance.
TheChairman saidheagreed withSwitzerland thattheright torequest information wasa
sovereign right ofanydelegation, andthatitwasforeachdelegation tojudge theconsequences of
suchrequests. TheWTO operated onthebasis oftransparency, andthebasis ofthetransparency
principle wasthepossibility torequest pertinent information.
Therepresentative ofNorway saidthathisdelegation hadsimply putaquestion tothe
Director-General, andhadnotmade anyproposal. TheDirector-General had,inNorway 'sview,
provided acompletely satisfactory answer. Hisdelegation hadnothadanyother purpose inraising
thisquestion under "Other Business".
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthathevalued theremarks bymany delegations regarding
themisuse ofthe"Other Business" partoftheagenda, andregretted thatthere hadbeenasubstantive
discussion ontheissue athand. However, anyone whohadanunderstanding ofthisissue would
understand thatitwasbound toprovoke asubstantive discussion. Itwasdisingenuous ofanyone to
thenassert thatitwaswrong toenter intoasubstantive discussion when theitembyitsnature was
substantive andhighly political. ForNorway, ithadbeenmerely asimple question. Clearly, every
delegation hadtherighttoaskquestions, andnoonewould dispute thatright. However, onthisissue,
thequestion raised byNorway wasbound toprovoke thediscussion thathadensued, andnooneshould
besurprised.
Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthatalthough delegations hadthesovereign righttoraise
questions, itwasequally thesovereign rightofother delegations tocomment onthose questions. He
believed itwasadvisable, particularly when delegations weresoontoembark onapreparatory processWT/GC/M/21
Page16
leading tothenextMinisterial Conference andthe50thAnniversary commemoration meeting, toreflect
onraising suchcontroversial issues, which weresometimes presented inanaive andinnocent manner,
infullawareness ofthebackground andtheseveral months ofdiscussion which hadledtothissituation.
Hehimself could question whyNorway hadwaited untilnowtoraisethismatter, whyconsultations
hadnotbeenheldonthisearlier, andwhythematter wasbeing raised under "Other Business" atthe
present meeting.
TheChairman saiditwasclearthatdelegations could raisequestions forconsideration, and
thatotherdelegations could sovereignly respond tothem. ItwasalsoclearthattheWTO hadcompetence
incertain spheres, andthattheILOhadcompetence inother spheres, andthatthishadbeenthepoint
oftheagreement reached inSingapore.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
10. Brazil -Import financing restrictions
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities, speaking under "Other Business", saidthat
atthe11Junemeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, several delegations, including hisown, had
expressed concern atmeasures recently imposed byBrazil onimport financing which hadtheeffect
ofreducing theavailability ofshort-term credit. Incaseswhere supplier credit terms werefornolonger
than180days, importers hadtopaythefullpurchase price oftheimported goods upon customs
clearance; iftheywereforlonger than180days, importers hadtomake aforeign currency deposit
180daysinadvance ofcustoms clearance. There wasnodoubt thatthemeasures hadaclearimpact
ontrade, andoncurrent trade transactions, asevidenced byincreasing complaints from traders. At
theGoods Council meeting, theCommunity hadasked thatthese measures benotified totheWTO
sothatthematter could bediscussed further infulltransparency. TheCommunity wished torenew
thatrequest. Brazil hadindicated atthatmeeting thatitwould havenotified themeasures hadthey
beenofatradenature. However, thequestion ofwhatwasameasure ofatradenature could bedefined
invarious ways.
TherepresentativeofBrazilsaidthatthemeasuresinquestiondidnotconstituteimportfinancing
restrictions. They dealt withexchange contracts andtheterms andconditions thereof, anddidnot
inanywayplace restrictions onthefreedom ofimporters toseekoutfinancing andnegotiate itsterms
andconditions withfinancial institutions. Importers would continue tobefreetoseekfinancing of
anytype,andnegotiate itsterms andconditions. Thedifference introduced bythenewmeasures related
towhen theexchange contract wastobehonoured. Forcredit ofupto180days, theexchange contract
hadtobehonoured before theshipment ofthegoods being imported. Inthecaseoffinancing oflonger
than180days, theexchange contract hadtobehonoured sixmonths ahead ofthedeadline forpayment.
Thefinancial character ofthemeasures related tothefactthattheyaimed toaddress twodifferent types
ofshort-term capital movements: (i)leads, orthemovements thatoccurred when exporters anticipated
export revenues; and(ii)lags,orthemovements ofcapital which occurred between thetimewhen
theimporter infactimported thegoods, andthetimewhen heactually contracted fortheexchange
necessary topayforrelated loans orfinancial commitments. Theinternational accounting treatment
devoted tothesemovements wasinaccordance withIMFdirectives. Theywereinternationally accepted
astrade-related short termcapital movements. Brazil hadheldinformal consultations withinterested
parties onthese measures, including withtheCommunity. Although hisauthorities didnotconsider
themeasures tobetrade restrictive, hewould convey theCommunity 'sconcerns tothem.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidhehoped thatanyinformation provided byBrazil to
theCommunity would alsobemade available toother delegations, including hisown.WT/GC/M/21
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TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
11. 1998Ministerial Conference andthecommemoration ofthe50thAnniversary ofthemultilateral
trading system
TheDirector-General, speaking under "Other Business", saidhewished tounderline afew
points thathadbeenraised inmany multilateral andbilateral meetings thathehadheldinthepastthree
months, mainly outofGeneva --withmore than40governments --butalsoinGeneva, concerning
theorganization ofthe50thAnniversary commemoration meeting andthe1998Ministerial Conference.
Generally speaking, delegations andMinisters hadshown awishtokeepbothevents shortandsimple.
What wasmeant byshort andsimple wasnotabsolutely uniform, butsome delegations hadenvisaged
bothevents taking lessthanthethree dayscurrently allotted. There wasatendency tosee"simple"
asmeaning, forexample, thatthere would benoformal declaration coming outoftheMinisterial
Conference, butrather conclusions presented intheformofaChairman 'ssumming-up orstatement.
Thesecond question relevant tobothevents wastheorder inwhich theywould occur; inother words,
would onebegin bycelebrating the50thAnniversary andthenmove totheMinisterial Conference,
orviceversa?SomedelegationshadexpressedtheviewthatifonebeganwiththeMinisterialConference
andended withthe50thAnniversary, onewould endonaveryhighnote, whereas thecontrary could
occur ifoneconcluded withtheMinisterial Conference.
Turning tothe50thAnniversary, hesaidthatthefirstquestion concerned whatthestructure
oftheevent would be.Inother words, howdidMembers intend tocelebrate the50thAnniversary?
Thiswasverydifficult tojudge before therewasclarity onwhatthelevelofnational delegations would
beforthe50thAnniversary. Thiswasofcourse something thatwould depend onnational governments,
anditwasnotpossible totellgovernments atwhatleveltheyshould berepresented. There wasalso
thefeeling thatitwould beverydifficult --evenifthere wasadebate ondifferent possibilities --to
limitthenumbers taking part. Thiswasanopenquestion. Clearly, thestructure ofthecelebration
--i.e.whether itwould consist ofaround tablediscussion, orspeeches, andsoon--would depend
onthenumber andtheleveloftheparticipants. Theagenda oftheevent wasalsoanopenquestion.
However, apoint which hadappeared toattract widesupport wasthatthisshould beaWTO meeting,
inthesense thatMembers andobservers totheOrganization would participate init;andother
international organizations andNGOs would participate astheydidattheSingapore Ministerial
Conference. Another question concerning the50thAnniversary waswhether oneenvisaged ashort
factual report bytheSecretariat torecall themajor events ofthepast50years, perhaps including a
fewparagraphs about thefuture oftheOrganization, orwhether thattaskbegiven, assome Ministers
anddelegations hadsuggested, toanexternal group ofpeople, suchasan"eminent persons" group.
Thistoowasanopen question. There were some whowere absolutely against aneminent persons
group making areport thatcould beidentified asareport oftheOrganization. Everyone wasin
agreement, however, thatthere would besome other external events relating tothe50thAnniversary
celebration butthat,generally speaking, these events would notdirectly belinked withtheofficial
lifeofthisOrganization.
Asregards theMinisterial Conference, hesaidthatthere were ideas thattheMinisterial
Conference could lastadayandahalf,withonehalfdaydedicated toasubject suchasimplementation,
another halfdaydedicated toanother subject suchasfuture work, andthenaconcluding session. The
latter could beaformal session, since onewould havetotakesome formal decisions concerning the
dateandthevenue ofthenextMinisterial Conference, theappointment ofofficers, and,ofcourse,
anagreement ontheconclusions thattheMinisterial Conference would adopt. Whether theconclusions
would beintheform ofasumming-up orsome other form, there should beanendorsement by
delegations since theconclusions would bepassed ontothemedia andshould therefore represent a
common judgement. Asregards thepractical possibility ofrestricting theMinisterial Conference toWT/GC/M/21
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adayandahalf,oneideawasthatMinisters would make some written contributions, forexample
statements thatwould becirculated andmade public iftheMinisters sowished, sothattheChairman,
withtheagreement oftheConference, could simply putsome questions withtheaimofavoiding general
statements, buttrying toclarify some oftheissues relating toimplementation orfuture work. This
wasmore orlesswhere onestood atthemoment withregard totheorganization ofthese twoevents.
Hestressed thathisstatement hadbeenmade onhisownresponsibility. However, hebelieved that
itrepresented themainpoints thathadbeenraised, particularly byMinisters, inanumber ofdifferent
meetings thathehadheldoverrecent months.
TheChairman thanked theDirector-General forsharing hisperceptions about what avery
significant number ofMembers hadmentioned tohimregarding thetwoevents. Heurged delegations
toreflect onallthepoints thathadbeenraised, andsaidthattheGeneral Council would revert tothis
matter inconsultations following thesummer break.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
12. Issuance ofaDaily Bulletin
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", saidthatfollowing asuggestion made by
some delegations, theSecretariat hadexamined thefeasibility ofissuing adaily bulletin asawayof
assisting delegations tofollow meetings attheWTO. Ataninformal meeting oftheGeneral Council
on10July,theSecretariat hadpresented itsviews onthefeasibility ofissuing suchabulletin. Anumber
ofdelegations hadsupported theideaandmade suggestions onhowthebulletin could beproduced.
Inthelightofthediscussion held, hewished toinform Members ofthefollowing: (i)thebulletin
would beissued inEnglish onlyandplaced inthepigeon holes assigned todelegations attheWTO
before theclose-of-business oneachworking day.Thebulletin would indicate themeetings tobeheld
thefollowing day,andcontain abrieffactual description oftheresults offormal meetings heldthe
previous day; (ii)thebulletin would notbemade available tothepublic andthepress; and(iii)the
bulletin would becirculated onatrialbasis forthree months starting inSeptember 1997, andwould
bereviewed inthelightofexperience andfinancial implications, ifany.
Therepresentative ofCôted'Ivoire saidthatherdelegation hadbeenamong those thathad
supported theideaofadaily bulletin when ithadfirstbeenraised some months earlier. Following
consultations, adecision appeared tohavebeentaken tocirculate suchabulletin. However, ifthe
intention wastohelpalldelegations, thenitwasessential thatthebulletin bemade available inallthree
working languages. Sheurged therefore thataneffort bemade toensure thatthebulletin wastranslated
intotheother twoworking languages.
TheChairman saidthatthequestion ofhaving thebulletin circulated inallthree languages
hadbeendiscussed during theinformal consultations. However, inbeing asked toconsider theissuance
ofadaily bulletin, theSecretariat hadbeenasked alsotoconsider thefinancial implications. Ithad
beenagreed thatthebulletin would becirculated inEnglish tobegin with, solely onanexperimental
basis. Hehadalready asked theSecretariat toassess theextracoststhatmight beinvolved intranslating
thebulletin intotheother twolanguages. TheGeneral Council would needtorevert tothismatter
toassess anybudgetary implications. Heunderlined thattheintention ofthebulletin wastohelpall
delegations, andtodosoinanefficient manner.
Therepresentative ofVenezuela saidthatthiswasasensitive issue fortheSpanish-speaking
delegations. There appeared tobeanoverall trend intheWTO andother international organizations
toresolve budgetary problems bycutting backonwork intheSpanish language. Hesuggested that
thequestion ofissuing thebulletin inother languages should besubjected tofurther consultations.WT/GC/M/21
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Inthemeantime, thebulletin could bemade available onanexperimental basisforthreemonths, during
which timetheSecretariat would beinaposition toassess exactly whatthework involved interms
ofcosts. Thiswould thenenable delegations toreview theissuance ofthebulletin afterthethree-month
trialperiod withalltheinformation athand.
TheChairman saidthatwhen theSecretariat hadhadsome experience withtheissuance of
thebulletin during thetrialperiod, andwasinaposition toassess theadditional work andcosts that
might beinvolved, theissuance ofthebulletin would bereviewed.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.