JOB/GC/78  
 
5 May 2015  
(15-2405)  Page: 1/3  
General Council    
 
  AGENDA ITEM 3: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BALI OUTCOMES 
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN 
TUESDAY, 5 MAY 2015 
1.1.  Delegations will recall that we have had this agenda item on implementation of the Bali 
outcomes since July last year, to have an opportunity to assess the work taking place in those regular bodies which are directly working on the various Bali Decisions. 
1.2.  In February, Ambassador Fried provided an overview of the areas in the implementation of 
the Bali Decisions– his report was circulated to delegations in JOB/GC/75. 
1.3.  Since I took over the chairmanship of the General Council, I continued to keep a dialogue 
with Chairs of regular bodies, including those with direct Bali mandates, and with the Chairman of 
the TNC to review our work in all areas and in particular the work taking place in direct follow-up 
to the mandates in the Bali Ministerial Decisions. 
1.4.  In particular, I had a productive meeting with the Chairs of regular bodies on 28 April. At that 
meeting, we discussed both the work taking place in their bodies, including with respect to the 
implementation of the Bali Decisions, and also – more broadly – the work to be undertaken in preparation for MC10. 
1.5.  Let me at this point provide an update of  where things stand in the implementation of the 
Bali mandates, starting with the decisions on regular work. 
1.6.  Concerning TRIPS non-violation and situat ion complaints, at MC9, Ministers directed the 
TRIPS Council to continue its examination of the scope and modalities for complaints of so-called 
non-violation and situation complaints to TRIPS Agreement and make recommendations to their 
next Session. It was agreed that, in the meanti me, Members will not initiate such complaints 
under the TRIPS Agreement. Since then, the Council for TRIPS has discussed the matter at each of 
its formal meetings, and will continue to do so at its next meeting in June, with a view to agreeing 
on its recommendations for MC10. 
1.7.  With regards to Electronic Commerce, at the February General Council meeting, my 
predecessor briefly reported on the Tenth Dedicated Discussion on cross-cutting issues held on 
16 February. This meeting was chaired by Amba ssador Suescum of Panama on behalf of the 
General Council Chair. With respect to work in the relevant bodies, in the Council for Trade in Services, Members reverted to the US submission  addressing cross-border information flows, 
localization requirements, privacy protection and cl oud computing. It is my understanding that the 
Chairman will hold consultations on possible next steps. While e-commerce is a regular item on the Agendas of the Committee on Trade and Developm ent and the Council for Trade in Goods, there 
has not been much discussion on the matter in recent meetings. As Members will recall, the Bali 
Decision on Electronic Commerce instructed th e General Council to review progress in the 
implementation of the Work Programme on E-commerce at its session in July. In that regard, a 
more comprehensive report will be provided at that meeting by Ambassador Suescum as well as 
by the Chairs of the respective bodies. JOB/GC/78 
 
- 2 - 
 
  1.8.  On Aid for Trade, good progress is being ma de in the implementation of the Decision which 
mandated the development of a new AfT work prog ramme. Preparations are at an advanced stage 
for the Fifth Global Review of Aid for Trade which will be he ld here on 30 June to 2 July. A draft 
programme is available for Members' information on the WTO's website. The theme of 
the 5th Global Review is "Reducing Trade Costs for In clusive, Sustainable Growth". The event will 
comprise high-level plenary sessions, as well as side events organized by various Members and AfT partners. 
1.9.  Regarding Trade and Transfer of Techno logy, Members have been following up on the 
Ministerial Decision and continue to discuss th e relationship between Trade and Transfer of 
Technology on the basis of themes identified in th e workshop held on this subject in June 2014. At 
the meeting of the Working Group in March this  year, Members discussed the importance of 
technology and technical know-how in improving pr oductivity, promoting export growth in general 
and also in attaining broader development aspi rations of developing countries and the LDCs. 
Members continue to discuss possible recommendations on the basis of a non-paper titled 
"Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing – Steps to Increase Flows 
of Technology to Developing Countries", ta bled by a group of developing countries. 
1.10.  Let us now move to the "Bali Package" – starting with Agriculture. 
1.11.  The agenda of the 76
th regular meeting the Committee on Agriculture held on 4 March 
included an item on "Implementation of Bali Outcomes". Under this item Members considered follow-up on Bali outcomes on TRQ Administration and Export Competition.   
1.12.  The Decision on TRQ Administration requires  the notification of TRQ fill rates. Based on 
discussions in the Committee on Agriculture in 2014 the Secretariat circulated at the request of the 
Chairperson a modified notification format, and some Members have started to report TRQ fill rates. The Annex of the Bali Decision on TRQ administration also described a TRQ underfill 
mechanism which has not yet been initiated by Members.  
1.13.  According to the Bali Declaration on  Export Competition , dedicated discussions should take 
place on an annual basis. In the November 2014 CoA meeting, the Chair announced the launch of 
preparations for the second dedicated discussion on export competition which will take place 
during the 2015 June meeting of the CoA. On 26 November 2014 the Chairperson circulated the export competition questionnaire along with a summary of suggestions she had received on how to increase the number and improve the overall quality of replies to this questionnaire. The original 
deadline for responses to the questionnaire was extended to 24 April. Members' replies to the 
questionnaire and relevant notifications will be  compiled in a revised Secretariat background 
document which will form the basis of the 2015 discussions. 
1.14.  Moving now to Development and LDCs issues, and starting with the Decision on DFQF 
market access for LDCs: the Decision instructs the CTD to continue to annually review the steps taken to provide DFQF market access to the LDCs, and report to the General Council for 
appropriate action. The first Secretariat report after the Bali Conference was prepared for the 
CTD's annual DFQF review and was discussed in No vember last year, and the next annual DFQF 
review will take place at the CTD's final meeting of 2015. Meanwhile, it is encouraging to see that 
several developing countries have not only adopted DFQF schemes for LDCs but have also 
gradually expanded such access for LDC products. It is hoped that further progress will be made 
prior to the Nairobi Ministerial Conference. 
1.15.  On Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs , in 2014, the Committee conducted the first annual 
review in accordance with the requirements of the Bali Ministerial Decision. At its first meeting in 
2015, the CRO continued the examination of existing preferential rules of origin for LDCs. The LDC 
Group introduced a new paper (G/RO/W/154) which contained specific questions for preference-
granting countries regarding their preferential rules of origin. This topic will remain in the agenda 
of the CRO in 2015. The Committee will report to the General Council on its discussions in this area later in the year, after its meeting in October. JOB/GC/78 
 
- 3 - 
 
  1.16.  Regarding the LDC Services Waiver, at its meeting of 18 March 2015, the Council for Trade 
in Services carried out an assessment of the results of the High-Level Meeting held on 5 February 2015. The LDC Group shared a very de tailed analysis of the indications provided by 
Members at the meeting, noting that they were very constructive and promising. Their overall 
positive assessment was shared by the Membership at large.  
1.17.  On 9 March, Canada had submitted the first notification in relation to the waiver, in 
document S/C/N/792. At the Council meeting, a nu mber of delegations expressed appreciation for 
Canada's notification, although further clarifications on the nature of its content were sought from 
the Canadian delegation.  
1.18.  Many Members confirmed their commitment to notifying preferences in line with the 
indications provided at the High-Level Meeting. Several delegations stated that they were still in 
the process of completing the domestic processes necessary to submit their notification, with a 
number noting that they were aiming to meet the indicative deadline of the end of July 2015 to notify their preferences.  
1.19.  Concerning the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential Treatment, the Decision 
stipulates that the Monitoring Mechanism serves as a focal point within the WTO to analyse and review the implementation of S&D provisions. Tw o meetings of the Dedicated Session have been 
held since Bali. However, no written submission s from Members have yet been received. Another 
meeting will be held on 16 June. 
1.20.  And finally, on Trade Facilitation, work continued to progress since the Council's last 
meeting. Members presented additional category A no tifications, bringing their current total to 58. 
Delegations also tabled new acceptance instruments, thereby increasing the number of 
ratifications to four. 
1.21.  At a meeting of the Preparatory Committee on 24 March, several Members informed the 
Committee of the state of their respective ratification processes and expressed the intention of 
completing them in the near future. Many capitals are already working on the matter and I hope to welcome additional acceptance instruments shortly. 
__________