WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/537
27 August 2003
(03-4472)
Original:  English
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ARAB MINISTERIAL MEETING IN PREPARATION
FOR THE FIFTH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
ESCWA, Beirut, 24-25 July 2003
Communication from Bahrain
The following communication, dated 8 August 2003, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Bahrain, with the request that it be circulated to Members.
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At the initiative of the Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
(ESCWA), Arab Ministers met at ESCWA headquarter s (United Nations House) in Beirut on 24 and
25 July 2003 in preparation for the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), to be held in Cancún, Mexico from 10-14 September 2003, and deliberated on the issues to
be discussed at the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in order to coordinate Arab positions.
Participants expressed:- Concern about the lack of progress achieved in the negotiations since the Fourth WTO
Ministerial Conference in Doha;
- Dissatisfaction that the developed countries had not fulfilled the commitments made in
previous rounds of negotiations;
- Emphasis on the need for trade liberalization to support development objectives of the
developing and least-developed countries; and
- Agreement that new issues should not be added to the negotiations agenda before
implementation of pending issues under negotiation is finalized.
The Ministers therefore agreed that the Arab countries would coordinate their positions in
order to enable them to present a vision that reflected their priorities and protected their interests, as
follows:
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health
1. The need to conclude negotiations on paragraph 6 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health prior to the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference.WT/L/537
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2. Article 31(f) of the TRIPS Agreement should be interpreted on the basis that the words
“domestic market” which appear in this paragraph should include customs unions and free trade areas
and should be interpreted to mean that up to 49.9% of production could be exported under compulsory
licensing.
Agriculture
3. Coordination on the three principal elements of agriculture, namely:  market access, exports
subsidies and domestic support.
4. With regard to market access, the need to elim inate tariff escalation and tariff peaks in the
developed countries and achieve balance in the programme of reform of trade in agricultural goods indeveloping countries through the exclusion of a number of strategic products, albeit within the
narrowest limits in order not to affect trade between developing countries.  In addition, support for the
application of a special safeguard mechanism for the developing and least-developed countries
according to the form proposed in Annex 2 of the Report of the Chairman of the Special Session of
the Committee on Agriculture to the Trade Negotiations Committee.  Moreover, the importance ofexpanding customs quotas, the elimination of tariff quotas, and improvement of tariff quota
administration in a manner that achieves transparency, predictability, and ensure that quotas are fully
utilized.
5. Support the elimination of all forms of export subsidies, provided that basic food products, as
classified by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), are excluded from the elimination.
Agreement that conditions related to subsidized export credits should be subject to defined regulations
according to the proposal made by the Chairman of the Negotiating Group in this regard.  The
granting of exceptions for exports to food importing developing countries and least-developed
countries from the conditions applied to basic food products without extending these exceptions to alldeveloping countries, so as not to constitute a barrier to trade, with emphasis on the provisions of
paragraph 4 of Article 9 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
6. With regard to domestic support, the importance of the elimination of all forms of trade-
distorting domestic support while maintaining special and differential treatment for the developing
and least-developed countries in all relevant texts. In addition, the need to eliminate the blue box
regarding support for limiting production, reduce support in the amber box with the aim of phasing itout for the developed but not the developing countries and, moreover, the need to set a ceiling on the
subsidies offered by the green box to the developed countries.  Support for the continued application
of paragraph 2 of Article 6 on special and differential treatment for the developing and least-
developed countries, and not to extend the application of the Peace Clause provided in the Agreement
on Agriculture as this represents an unjust form of special and differential treatment in the interest ofthe developed countries.
Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products
7. Emphasis on the need to protect the principles of special and differential treatment and less
than full reciprocity in accordance with the text of the Doha Declaration and, also, the provisions of
article XXVIII bis of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. With regard to the
reduction formula, support the formula proposed by the Chairman of the Negotiating Group, provided
that the developing countries should be permitted to use values and reduction coefficients other than
those used by developed countries.  With regard to sectoral initiatives, emphasis that these should beoptional or that the developed countries should eliminate tariffs unilaterally as some of these products
are of critical importance, particularly, with regard  to the industrial base of the developing countries.
The importance of a greater transparency by the Chairman of the Negotiating Group in raising new
ideas, and the participation of the developing and least-developed countries in such discussions.  WithWT/L/537
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regard to non-tariff barriers, there is a need to adopt a multilateral approach, with emphasis on the fact
that the general principle is to deal with all non-tariff barriers in the framework of the Negotiating
Group on Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products .  With regard to environmental goods, the
Committee on Trade and Environment should first provide a clear and specific definition of such
goods so that a specific list of environmental goods can be drawn up as a basis for negotiations,provided that definitions of environmental goods are based on the final use of the goods rather than
their uses at intermediate phases of production.
Trade in Services
8. Call on countries that have still not put forward their initial offers to do so as soon as possible
and appeal to the developed countries to increase their offers regarding the service sectors of exportpriority for developing countries and, in particular, the fourth mode of supply regarding the movement
of natural persons.  The Arab countries are urged to present a proposal on the classification of energy
services that would reflect their interests, importers and exporters alike, based on criteria related to
both energy sources and phases of energy processing , in a way that does not affect ownership of
energy sources and national sovereignty over them.
Implementation Issues
9.  Emphasis on the need for the package of implementation issues to contain clear commercial
value and include market access component, as well as the need for commitment to achieving thisprior to the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference as it will have a positive impact on other issues to be
raised at the Conference.
Special and Differential Treatment
10. Emphasis on the importance of resolving special and differential treatment issues prior to the
Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference as this will have a positive impact on other issues to be raised at
the Conference, in addition to emphasis on non-discrimination between the developing countries with
regard to special and differential treatment.
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
11. Appreciation for the efforts expended by the Council of TRIPS in order to establish a
multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications provided for in Article
23 of the TRIPS Agreement, in addition to emphasis on the need to expand the level of protection
mentioned in the said article to include other produ cts of importance to the Arab countries.  Support
for the proposal concerning non-violation complaints of the Agreement, which recommends that thisissue should not be subject to the provisions of Article XXIII of the GATT.  Emphasis on the need to
protect traditional knowledge and establish a mechanism for such protection within the framework of
specialized organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the
United Nations Educational, Scientific  and Cultural Orga nization (UNESCO).
WTO Rules
12. Emphasis on commitment to the Doha Ministerial Declaration with regard to the
improvement and clarification of the current provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures and the Anti-dumping Agr eement without introducing substantial alterations
or changes to the essence of these agreements, and ensure that the new proposals do not impose any
additional financial, administrative or technical bur den on the investigating authorities, so that the
application of both agreements continues to be efficient and effective.WT/L/537
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Trade and Environment
13. The need for a classification of environmental se rvices in view of their impact on the services
sector and, in particular, energy services. The need to study the issue of eco-labelling and its
economic impact on industry in general and the oil industry in particular. The importance of linkingthe concern of the oil-producing countries with environmental considerations and their access to
necessary technology.  The annulations of discriminatory measures adopted against fossil fuels in
general and oil in particular, and revision of the taxation structure in the developed countries on fuel
types. Support for the proposals submitted by Qatar and Saudi Arabia with regard to tariff and non-
tariff barriers on goods and environmental services related to energy.
Singapore Issues
14. The need to address each of the four Singapore issues separately, in view of the fact that
discussion of each one of these issues is at a different stage and of importance to the development
process in the developing and least-developed countries. Negotiations should start on each of the
Singapore issues, in conformity with the Doha Declaration, on the basis of clear and objectivemodalities of negotiations, in the same manner as all other negotiations within the Doha programme
are conducted. These issues should not be included in the current round of multilateral trade
negotiations, which are weighed down by numerous issues, unless through clear and explicit
consensus on the modalities of negotiation. The importance of providing special flexibility for the
developing countries in order to safeguard their capacity to deal with their own development needs(policy space).
15. The importance of not subjecting Singapore issues to WTO dispute settlement procedures and
the need to insert clear and binding provisions on special and differential treatment for the developing
and least-developed countries and provide them with technical and financial support throughinternational and regional organizations and donors, as well as the importance of coordination
between the international and regional organizations concerned.
Accession to WTO
16. With regard to the Arab countries negotiating accession to WTO, the process of accession
should be expeditiously completed without being subject to additional commitments beyond theprovisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements, and ta king into consideration Article XX of the GATT
on the protection of public morals.  The draft Ministerial text for Cancún should have the binding
character of the decision issued by the WTO General Council dated 10 December 2002 regarding the
accession of the least-developed countries.  The support for the Dhaka Declaration on the least-
developed countries.
17. Emphasis on the provisions of paragraph 9 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration with regard to
the need to take into consideration, firstly,  the commitments made by some recently acceded
countries, upon their accession and, secondly, the offers that countries in the process of accession will
submit during negotiations.
18. Reaffirm the importance of the accession of the League of Arab States and the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to WTO as observers prior to the Fifth WTO Ministerial
Conference. Support by the Arab WTO Members for the rapid inclusion of the requests of the Arab
countries seeking WTO membership, swift formation of working groups on the accession of thesecountries and encouragement of non-Arab WTO members to cooperate in this regard and expend
similar efforts.WT/L/537
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Cooperation and Capacity-Building
19. The need to coordinate the technical assistance provided by international and regional
organizations and donor countries and, in particular, ESCWA, the United Nations Committee on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and WTO, in a manner that will serve capacity-building in theArab countries, consistent with their actual needs.
20. Appreciation for the establishment of the Arab Group in WTO pursuant to the outcome of the
second consultative meeting of the Arab Ministers of Trade, Finance and Economy, held in Kuwait in
March 2001.  Emphasis on the need for this Group to continue its work and intensify its efforts to
serve the interests of the Arab countries, and the importance the Secretariat of the WTO to provide
required technical assistance and information to the Arab Group.
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