JOB/GC/231  
 
29 May 2020  
(20-3878) Page: 1/3 
General Council  
   
 
 AGENDA ITEM 1: REPORT BY THE CHA IRMAN OF THE TRADE N EGOTIATIONS  
COMMITTEE AND REPORT  BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2020  
1.1.  You will have noticed as the Chair just made explicit that we did not hold our customary 
informal TNC/HoDs  meeting ahead of this General Council. Instead, I thought it would be more 
efficient for me to report to the General Council under this item directly on the date of this meeting.  
1.2.  I reached this conclusion, at least for this General Council session, based  on views Members 
have expressed about continuing WTO negotiations during the current pandemic – notably at the 
informal HoDs on 17 April . Now, in that meeting it was clear to me that while there is support for 
resuming certain types of work in a pragmatic  and flexible manner, there was no shared view about 
conducting negotiations via virtual means or written procedures, at least for the time being.  
1.3.  To prepare my report, I convened a virtual meeting of Chairs of Negotiating Bodies yesterday. 
Some of the Cha irs have been exploring options with Members to allow dialogue to continue.  They 
provided me with feedback to share with you.  
1.4.  I will start with the fisheries subsidies negotiations . The Chair informed me that, 
immediately following his last report to the TNC in early March, delegations engaged actively in 
meetings and consultations throughout the March cluster. These included a plenary session that the 
Chair and I held on 6  March, where Members expressed strong commitment to reach an agreement 
by MC12, whi ch at the time was still scheduled for June.  
1.5.  In light of what we heard, the Chair and I jointly convened another HoDs session to discuss 
overcapacity and overfishing. But we were unable to hold this meeting due to the COVID -19 
restrictions.  
1.6.  The Chair has  subsequently undertaken a written exchange of views on two new proposals and 
consulted bilaterally with interested delegations and groups on options to continue making progress 
in the current situation.  
1.7.  Based on what he heard during these consultations a nd on statements made at the 17 April 
HoDs, the Chair issued a communication on 7  May to the Negotiating Group on Rules. That 
communication said that, as a whole, the Group is not ready to fully engage while still facing the 
difficulties arising from the p andemic, and that the best course at the moment is to wait a short 
while longer to see how the situation develops.  
1.8.  The Chair is continuing to monitor the situation. He informed me that he remains mindful of 
the urgency of the negotiations, and of the mand ate to agree to new disciplines on fisheries subsidies 
by the end of the year. To this end, he is available for consultations and ready to resume work as 
soon as possible.  
1.9.  On agriculture , the CoA -SS held a first virtual meeting on Monday, for a preliminary  exchange 
of views on how work should proceed in the current environment.  
1.10.  Members discussed the impact of COVID -19 and recent measures put in place by some.   Many 
felt that the pandemic was likely to influence their negotiating priorities and positions.   Several noted 
that the current situation highlighted the importance of reforming existing agricultural rules and JOB/GC/231  
 
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  keeping trade in agricultural products open and secure, to guarantee food and livelihood security for 
people around the world.  
1.11.  Among negotiati ng topics considered to be directly related to food security, export 
restrictions, public stockholding, and domestic support got the most attention. References were also 
made to the special safeguard mechanism, Market Access and Cotton.   
1.12.  Several Members h ighlighted the particular importance of transparency right now, calling for 
all COVID -19 related trade measures to be targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary.    
1.13.  On process, Members were open to having virtual meetings to exchange views, though many 
felt substantive negotiating meetings would be difficult in the current situation.  Some Members said 
that the options paper the Chair circulated on 16 March would be useful as a reference in the 
negotiations going forward.  
1.14.  As noted earlier, Ambassad or Deep Ford has informed Members that he will step 
down  as Chair of the agriculture negotiations on 30 June.  Let me take this opportunity to once again 
thank him for his determination and perseverance in pushing the committee 's work forward since 
his app ointment two years ago.  I am confident that he has provided a platform that is sound for 
Members to build on.  
1.15.  On special and differential treatment , the Chair of the  CTD SS has initiated a written 
process to allow a preliminary exchange of views on the G9 0 submission.  As a first step, Members 
were invited to submit questions or comments. These comments have been forwarded to all 
Members. I understand that the G90 has asked for some more time to provide its responses.  Once 
they are received, the Chair will  be in touch with Members to determine the way forward.  
1.16.  Finally, the Council for TRIPS in Special Session . Here, the chairmanship of the TRIPS SS 
is in transition following the appointment of Ambassador Castillo to the DSB.  
1.17.  Regarding work amongst groups of  Members, I will leave it to the coordinators to provide 
transparency reports, if they so wish.  
1.18.  Let me take this opportunity to inform delegations that I intend to convene a formal meeting 
of the TNC in July. And this will be the last meeting I chair in my capacity as Chairman of the TNC. 
I will communicate the exact date to Members in due course.  
1.19.  Turning now to my own activities. I have now provided two reports to Members on trade and 
the COVID -19 pandemic, which were subsequently circulated as JOB/TNC/8 0 and JOB/GC/229.  
1.20.  Since the special virtual General Council meeting on Trade and the COVID -19 pandemic two 
weeks ago, I participated in a virtual meeting of the UN Chief Executives Board. I also took part, 
along with the heads of four other international o rganizations, in a discussion hosted by German 
Chancellor Angela Merkel. The economic and social impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic featured 
prominently in both instances. I emphasized the importance of international cooperation, including 
on trade, to foste r a strong, sustained, and inclusive economic recovery. Closing off trade would 
mean unnecessary supply shocks, slower growth, weaker productivity, higher real debt burdens, 
and lower living standards.  
1.21.  In addition, last week – together with you, Chair – I participated in a Trade Dialogues event 
at the request of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and B20 Saudi Arabia.  
1.22.  Business leaders from around the world, representing companies large and small from a wide 
range of sectors, discussed how  trade policy and the WTO, could help counter the economic effects 
of the COVID -19 crisis. They particularly emphasized the importance of:  
• maintaining an uninterrupted supply of essential goods and services at times of 
crisis ;  
• transparency on COVID -19 rela ted measures ;  JOB/GC/231  
 
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  • ensuring that COVID -19 related measures are targeted, proportionate, 
transparent, and temporary; and,  
• an effective and rapid implementation of the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
1.23.  It was heartening to hear their strong support for the pr edictability and certainty fostered by 
the multilateral trading system — and their interest in ongoing efforts to update the WTO rulebook.  
1.24.  Ensuring that businesses and households have the confidence to invest and consume will be 
a very important part of o ur economic recovery. And it is why the multilateral trading system has 
an important role to play in all of these efforts. Last week's reading from our goods trade barometer 
suggests that trade has not yet bottomed out. This is in line with the WTO's April  forecast predicting 
sharp falls in trade across all sectors and regions due to the pandemic.  
1.25.  All Members must intensify efforts to do what they can – at home, and collectively – to foster 
a strong rebound. In our activities here at the WTO – on monitoring  and transparency, 
implementation of commitments, negotiations and broader reform efforts, we must work to ensure 
that our organization emerges out of this crisis more resilient than ever, and even more responsive 
to Members ' changing needs.  
1.26.  This concludes  my report . 
 
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