WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/354
11 October 1999
(99-4261)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Implementation Issues to be Addressed Before/At Seattle
Communication from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Uganda
The following communication, dated 1 October 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of India.
_______________
Anti-Dumping
1. In order to restrict the initiation of back-to-back investigations, no investigation shall be
initiated for a period of 365 days from the date of finalization of a previous investigation for the same
product resulting in non-imposition of duties.
2. The lesser duty rule shall be mandatory while imposing an anti-dumping duty against a
developing-country Member by any developed-count ry Member.  There shall be an undertaking to
this effect under Article 9.1.
3. Article 2.2 shall be clarified so that where sales on the domestic market do not permit a
proper comparison, the margin of dumping is determined by comparison with the export price to a
third country, and only where this is not representative should the export price be determined on the
basis of the constructed value of the cost of the product in the country of origin.
Subsidies Agreement4. Subsidies used by developing countries for development, diversification and up-gradation of
their industry and agriculture are actionable under the Agreement. Article 8:1 of the Subsidies
Agreement dealing with non-actionable subsidies shall be expanded to include subsidies referred to in
Article 3:1 of the Agreement when such subsidies are provided by developing-country Members, so
that action cannot be taken against them either through the dispute settlement route or through thecountervailing duty route.
5. Export credits given by developing countries shall not be considered as subsidies so long as
the rates at which they are extended are above LIBOR.
6. Any countervailing duties shall be restricted only to that amount by which the subsidy
exceeds the de minis level, when action is being contemplated in case of products from developingcountries.WT/GC/W/354
Page 2
7. Annex VII of the Agreement shall be modified to read as follows:
- The developing-country Members not subject to the provisions of paragraph 1(a) of
Article 3 under the terms of paragraph 2(a) of Article 27 are:
(i) The developing countries, including the least-developed countries, Members
of the WTO that are included in the Low and Middle Income Category of the
World Bank.
(ii) Countries indicated in paragraph (a) above will be excluded from this Annex
if their GNP per capita has exceeded the top level of the Middle Income
Category of the World Bank. They will be automatically included in this
Annex, if their GNP per capita falls at or under the top level of the MiddleIncome Category of the World Bank.
8. The prohibition of using export subsidies under Article 27:6 shall be applicable to a
developing country only after its export levels in a product have remained over 3.25 per cent of world
trade continuously for a period of five years.  Furt hermore, an automatic inclusion provision shall be
added in Article 27:6 to enable developing countries to reintroduce export subsidies if the share of
their export of a product decreases to a level below 3.25 per cent of world trade.
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
9. Though Article 10:1 of the SPS Agreement provides that in the preparation and application of
SPS measures Members shall take account of the special needs of the developing-countries, this has
rarely been done.  The provisions in Article 10 shall be made mandatory, including that if an SPS
measure creates a problem for more than one developing country, then the country which has adopted
it shall withdraw it.
10. Similarly Article 10:2 which provides for longer time-frames for compliance on products of
interest to developing-country Members has only been followed in the breach.  This provision shall be
made mandatory for developed countries to provide a time period of at least 12 month from the date
of notification for compliance of new SPS measures for products from developing countries.
11. International standard-setting organizations shall ensure the presence of countries at different
levels of development and from all geographical regions, throughout  all phases of standard-setting.
In the formulation of such standards, the specific conditions prevailing in developing countries shall
be taken into account.  Only standards formulated in such a manner shall be recognized as“international standards”.  International standard-setting organizations with observer status in the SPS
Committee shall periodically report on the participation of developing countries in standardizing
activities.
12. Paragraph 2 of Annex B of the Agreement stipulates that Members shall allow a reasonable
interval between publication of a sanitary or phytosanitary regulation and its entry into force in orderto allow producers, particularly in developing countries, to adapt their products and methods of
production to the new requirements.  This has rarely been done.  The provisions of paragraph 2 of
Annex B shall be made mandatory, and a "reasonable interval" shall mean not less than 12 months.
13. Though Article 4 of the SPS Agreement encourages equivalency, this principle is invariably
interpreted as meaning "sameness".  Article 4 shall be clarified so that developing countries can enterinto equivalency agreements.WT/GC/W/354
Page 3
Technical Barriers to Trade
14. International standard-setting organizations shall ensure the presence of countries at different
levels of development and from all geographical regions, throughout at all phases of standard-setting.
In the formulation of such standards, the specific conditions prevailing in developing countries shallbe taken into account.  Only standards formulated in such a manner shall be recognized as
“international standards”.  International standard setting organizations with observer status in the TBT
Committee shall periodically report on the participation of developing countries in standardizing
activities.
15. A specific mandate shall be given to the TBT Committee as part of its triennial work
programme to address the problems faced by developing countries in both international standards and
conformity assessment and strengthen the provisions of Article 12 of the TBT Agreement.
Textiles
16. Since Articles 2:10 and 2:15 of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing allow a Member for
advancing the integration of products, importing countries shall, on the first day of the 85th month
that the WTO Agreement is in effect, integrate products which accounted for not less than 50 per centof the total volume of the Member’s 1990 imports of the products in the Annex to the ATC.
17. The importing countries to apply growth-o n-growth for stage 3 with effect from
1 January 2000 instead of 1 January 2002.
18.  A moratorium shall be applied by importing countries on anti-dumping actions until two
years after the entire textiles and clothing sector is integrated into GATT.
19. Any change in rules or origin shall be examin ed in the CTG for its possible impact on market
access of exporting countries, before it is applied.
Trade Related Investment Measures
20. The provisions in the Agreement relating to local-content requirements shall be revised to
allow for accelerating the industrialization process in developing countries and enable these countries
to maintain balance-of-payments stability. With a view to ensuring that these instruments can be
maintained by developing countries, the transition period mentioned in Article 5 paragraph 2 shall be
extended until such time that their development needs demand.
21. Developing countries shall have another opportunity to notify existing TRIMs measures
which they would be then allowed to maintain till the end of the new transition period.
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
22. In the light of provisions contained in Article 23 and 24 of the TRIPS Agreement, additional
protection for geographical indications shall be extended for products other than wines and spirits.
23. It is widely agreed that the TRIPS Agreement is incompatible with the Convention on Bio-
Diversity. Pending a thorough examination of this issue, a clear understanding in the interim  thatpatents inconsistent with Article 15 of the CBD shall not be granted.
24. Article 64, paragraph 2 shall be modified so as to make it clear that subparagraphs (b) and (c)
of Article XXIII of GATT 1994 shall not apply to the TRIPS Agreement.WT/GC/W/354
Page 4
25. The provisions of Article 66.2 shall be made  obligatory and shall be subject to periodical
notification, in order to monitor their effective implementation.  Guidelines on categories of
incentives shall also be established.  The application of this Article shall be extended to all developing
countries.
26. The period given for implementation of the provisions of Article 27.3(b) shall be five years
from the date the review is completed.
27. The list of exceptions to patentability in Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement shall include
the list of essential drugs of the World Health Organization.
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994
28. A multilateral solution, that enables customs administrations of importing countries to seek
and obtain information on export values contained in the export declaration to the customsadministrations of exporting countries, in a time-bound manner, in doubtful cases, shall be included in
the Agreement.
29. The addition of cost of services such as engineering, development, and design work, which
are supplied directly or indirectly by the buyer free of charge or at reduced cost for the production of
goods under import, shall be included in Article 8:1(b)(iv), in the valuation of imported goodsirrespective of whether the services were undertaken in the country of importation.
30. In order to ensure that due cognisance is taken of the domestic price and export price in a
third country as is done in the Agreement on Anti-Dumping, the residual method of determining
customs value under Article 7 shall be inclusive of all residual eventualities, thus allowing valuation
based on domestic market price or export price in a third country with appropriate adjustments.
Agreement on Rules of Origin
31. Noting that the Committee on Rules of Origin, which was mandated to complete the work
programme on harmonizing non-preferential rules of origin by 20 July 1998, has not completed it
work despite periodic extensions of the deadline, and that the interim arrangements are creatingrestrictive, distortive and disruptive effects on the trade, in particular, of developing country
Members, the CRO shall complete its remaining work on harmonizing non-preferential rules of origin
by 31 July 2000.  In the meanwhile, no new interim arrangements shall be introduced.  Further, any
interim arrangements introduced by any Member with effect from 1 January 1995 or any subsequent
date shall be suspended with effect from 4 December 1999.
Balance of Payments Provisions of the GATT 199432. Article XVIII shall be clarified  to the effect that only the Committee on Balance of Payments
shall have the authority to examine the overall justification of BOP measures.  While examining the
overall justification the Committee shall keep in view that Article XV III is a special provision for
developing countries and shall ensure that Article XVIII  does not become more onerous than
Article XII.
Agriculture
33. Developing countries with predominantly rural agrarian economies shall have sufficient
flexibility in the green box to adequately address their non-trade concerns, such as food security and
rural employment. Support provided by developing countries for non-trade concerns, even if outsidethe ambit of the green box,  shall be exempt from the AMS.WT/GC/W/354
Page 5
34. If in the calculation of the AMS, domestic support prices are lower than the external reference
price (so as to ensure access of poor households to basic foodstuffs), thereby resulting in negative
product specific support, then Members shall be allowed to increase their non-product specific
support by an equivalent amount. A suitable methodology shall be adopted for taking into account the
high levels of inflation while making the domestic support notification.
35. TRQ administration shall be made transparent, equitable and non-discriminatory, in order to
allow new/small-scale developing country exporters to obtain market access. Imports by developed
countries under TRQs shall not be made conditional to absorption of domestic production.  To this
end, notifications submitted to the Committee on Agriculture shall include also details on guidelines
and procedures of allotment of TRQ.
36. The Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects
of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries
(NFIDCs) shall be revised, before 1 January 2001, in order to ensure its effective implementation
through the incorporation of concrete, operational and contractual measures, including provisions for
technical and financial assistance, that are both effective and responsive to the special needs of LDCs
and NFIDCs.
Services
37. Developed countries shall fully implement commitments  undertaken by them in Mode 4.  In
regard to mode 4 commitments:  (a) there shall be no application of the economic needs test;  (b) there
shall be automatic issuance of visas and exemption from work permit/residency requirements for short
periods of presence, for the sectors where commitments have been undertaken by developed countryMembers.
38. A monitoring and notification mechanism shall be established to ensure effective
implementation of Article IV.
Special and Differential Treatment39. In many areas of the WTO provisions, special and differential provisions are phrased only as
best endeavour clauses, the implementation of which has remained ineffectual and has therefore been
difficult to assess.  All S&D provisions shall be converted into concrete commitments, specially to
address the constraints on the supply side of developing countries.
__________