JOB/GC/301  
 
10 May 2022 
(22-3639) Page: 1/2 
General Council    
 
  
AGENDA ITEM 2: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BALI, NAIROBI AND BUENOS AIRES 
OUTCOMES – STATEMENT BY THE CHAIR  
MONDAY, 9 MAY 2022  
1.1.  Item 2 'Implementation of the Bali, Nairobi and Buenos Aires Outcomes' remains on the agenda 
so that the General Council can continue to follow -up, in a horizontal and transparent manner, on 
the implementation of the relevant Ministerial decisions.  
1.2.   As always, the statement made under this item is based on the information and updates 
provided by the Chairs of  Regular Bodies on the work carried out with regards to the Ministerial 
mandates in their respective areas. I held a first meeting, in my capacity as Chair of the General 
Council, with the Chairs last week. My report will only focus on areas where there ha ve been 
developments since the last General Council meeting in February. For those areas that I do not 
mention today, I would refer you to previous reports under this item.  
1.3.  Let us begin with the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and the moratorium on 
customs duties on electronic transmissions. Discussions on the Work Programme and the 
moratorium are continuing under the General Council and in the relevant bodies – for example, the 
General Council will take up the work programme and the moratorium in a separate agenda item 
today. The Committee on Trade and Development recently considered a submission on global 
electronic commerce for inclusive development. In the Council for Trade in Services, Members 
continue to share national experiences and initiative s. At its March meeting, one delegation 
suggested that the CTS consider how to enhance the participation of women from developing 
countries in e -commerce.  
1.4.  With regards to preparations for MC12, as reported by my predecessor, despite the many 
consultations and exchanges held in different configurations, delegations could not reach consensus 
on a draft decision for Ministers' consideration ahead of the postponed MC12 in November last 
year.  As a result, two draft Ministerial Decisions, submitted by Members, w ere to be forwarded to 
Ministers for their consideration. These two drafts are contained respectively in documents 
WT/GC/W/831 and WT/GC/W/838 and their revisions. As I reported at the TNC meeting and as I 
will also note later, I intend to consult on the e -commerce Work Programme and moratorium closer 
to MC12 - and my door remains open for any delegation, group coordinator or group wishing to 
discuss this matter further in the meantime.  
1.5.  As regards the follow -up to the Bali Decision on TRQ Administration, as  you will recall, at its 
special meeting on 31 March, the General Council, based on the recommendations of the Committee 
on Agriculture, adopted the decision on future operation of paragraph 4 of the Underfill Mechanism 
- which was then circulated in WT/L/ 1132.  With the adoption of this decision within the exceptionally 
extended deadline of 31 March 2022, the review of the operation of the Bali TRQ Decision mandated 
under paragraphs 13 -15 of the Decision has been concluded.   
1.6.  With respect to the implementa tion of the Nairobi Decision on Export Competition, the 
Committee on Agriculture concluded the second triennial review of the Nairobi Decision on export 
competition at its March 2022 meeting and adopted the report of the review, contained in document 
G/AG/ 33. 
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  1.7.  On the implementation of the Bali Ministerial Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security 
purposes, a developing Member who had invoked the Decision for the first time for 2018 -19 upon 
exceeding its de minimis  level for rice has recently notifie d the invocation of the Bali PSH Decision 
for the third consecutive year for the breach of the de minimis  limit in respect of the same product.  
The notification will be subject to review at the next meeting of the Committee on Agriculture.  
1.8.  On Preferential  Rules of Origin for LDCs, at its meeting on 7 April the Committee on Rules of 
Origin continued its discussions about how Members are implementing the Bali and Nairobi 
Ministerial Decisions.  
1.9.  The LDC Group made a presentation on certificates of origin and s elf-certification. This is one 
of the areas covered by the Nairobi Decision, but Members had not yet zoomed into this topic. 
Discussions will certainly continue in the coming committee meetings.  
1.10.   I also understand that the LDC Group confirmed its interest i n the Committee adopting 
language confirming Members' commitments to the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial mandates, and that 
language to this effect has now been agreed by Members, and has been circulated as a Committee 
decision1. 
1.11.   On the Services Waiver for LDCs, at the March meeting of the Council for Trade in Services, 
the LDC Group called on Members to explore how to complement the Waiver preferences and help 
LDC suppliers increase their participation in global services trade. Th e LDC Group also recalled the 
services -related recommendations put forward in the LDC Trade Ministers Declaration for MC12, as 
well as the elements contained in the General Council draft outcome document for the Ministerial. A 
number of delegations interve ned to underscore the importance of the Waiver.  
1.12.   Regarding Duty -Free Quota -Free Market Access for LDCs, I understand that the matter was 
on the agenda of the CTD meeting in March, and some Members used the opportunity to provide 
updates on their DFQF scheme s for LDCs.  
1.13.   Concerning the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential Treatment, as the situation 
remains unchanged, I refer you to earlier statements made under this item.  
1.14.   On Aid for Trade, the Committee on Trade and Development met last week to di scuss Aid for 
Trade implementation issues, in line with the work programme for 2020 -22. The CTD was also 
updated on the status of preparations for the forthcoming Global Review (from 27 -29 July). The 
focus will be on: "Empowering Connected, Sustainable Tra de". The interest expressed by Members 
and observer Organizations to organize sessions is a testament to their commitment to engage in 
the forthcoming review. I have been informed that a workshop on the results of the 2022 monitoring 
and evaluation exercis e is scheduled to take place at the end of the month, which should further 
assist delegations in preparing for the Global Review.  
1.15.   And finally, on Trade Facilitation, the Committee is currently working on implementing the 
decisions and recommendations conta ined in the four -year review of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement, which was concluded in November. I was also informed that, at its recent April meeting, 
the Committee adopted a Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility Framework, outlining the relationship 
between the Committee and the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility.   
1.16.   Regarding the implementation of the agreement, the rate of implementation commitments 
currently stands at just under 75% for the entire Membership and just over 67% for developing 
countri es and LDCs. The rate of ratification remains at 94% with 9 Members still to ratify.  
1.17.   This concludes  my report.  
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1 G/RO/95 .