WT/MIN(13)/19  
 
4 December 2013  
(13-6631)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: English  
 
 MINISTERS/HEADS OF DELEGATIONS MEETING OF THE GROUP 
OF RECENTLY ACCEDED MEMBERS (RAMS GROUP) 
BALI, INDONESIA, 3 DECEMBER 2013 
The following communication, dated 3 December 2013,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on behalf of the Group of Recently Acceded Members (RAMs Group).  
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COMMUNIQUÉ 
Paragraph 9 of the Doha Ministerial Declarat ion acknowledges the extensive market-access 
commitments already made by the newly acceded Members on accession, and their great 
contributions to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system.  
Paragraph 47 of Annex A to the Doha Work Programme provides explicitly that the particular 
concerns of recently acceded Members will be e ffectively addressed through specific flexibility 
provisions.  
Paragraph 11 of Annex B to the Doha Work Programme states that the newly acceded Members 
shall have recourse to special provisions for tariff reductions in order to take into account their extensive market access commitments undertaken as part of their accession, and that staged tariff 
reductions are still being implemented in many cases. The Negotiating Group on NAMA was 
instructed to further elaborate on such provisions.  
Paragraph 58 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration recognizes "the special situation of recently-
acceded Members who have undertaken extensive market access commitments at the time of accession”, and states that “[t]his situation will be taken into account in the negotiations".  
In Communications from the RAMs Group (WT/MIN(09)/6) on 27 November 2009, the Group 
urged WTO Members to reaffirm these commitments at the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conference. 
 
The Communiqué (WT/MIN(11)/22) following the Mi nisters/Heads of Delegations Meeting of the 
RAMs Group , issued on 16 December 2011, drew attention to the extensive commitments to the 
WTO already made by all of the RAMs during thei r accessions in the belief that such commitments 
are essential to our aim of achieving a truly multilateral trading system and would further promote global trade. The high level of commitments to  trade liberalization already made by the RAMs 
should be an encouragement to other Members to  make due and ambitious contributions to the 
DDA negotiations. The Group also urged all Members, at this most critical juncture, to look at all 
available options to promote the Round in an integrated and balanced manner.   
In the Chairman’s Concluding Statement at the MC8, one of the key instructions on the DDA from 
our Ministers was that “Members had to more fully explore different negotiating approaches while respecting the principles of transparency an d inclusiveness”. Ministers also committed to 
advancing the negotiations, where progress can be achieved, including focusing on the elements of 
the Doha Declaration that allow Members to reach provisional or definitive agreements based on consensus earlier than the full conclusion of the single undertaking. In short, the instruction from WT/MIN(13)/19 
 
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  Ministers was that Members, while taking different approaches, should aim for a comprehensive 
final package under the mandate of a single undertaking.  The RAMs Group is concerned about the current im passe in the Doha Round of negotiations. The 
Group notes that Members have been engaged in “Bali-package” negotiations since January 2012, 
with the goal of harvesting the fruits of their e fforts at the MC9 in Bali. The Group also notes that 
at the informal WTO Ministerial Gathering held in Davos on 26 January 2013, Ministers declared 
that “all of us stressed that a success in Bali should not be seen as the end of the DDA road. It 
should be considered as a stepping stone on the way to address the remaining issues under the WTO agenda including the conclusion of the Doha Round.”  
The RAMs Group would also like the work on the “B ali-package” to be seen as a stepping stone to 
reaching the final and comprehensive conclusion of the entire DDA package. Indeed, if Members 
should fail to deliver the DDA final package as envisaged in the DDA Ministerial Declaration, the 
RAMs would undoubtedly be among the worst affected members of the whole WTO family.  
 In welcoming the prospect of continuing the DDA negotiations after Bali, the RAMs Group adds 
that future negotiations must take into consideration ambitious and balanced outcomes while 
adequately responding to the special flexibility needs of developing countries and newly acceded 
Members.  
And, last but not the least, the RAMs Group would like to make it clear that the term “Recently 
Acceded Members” does not relate solely to the timings of our accessions, but refers also to the exceptionally significant and extensive commitments made by all of us on our accessions as 
compared to those made by Members that joined the world trading system during previous rounds 
of negotiations.  
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