JOB/GC/103  
 
28 July 2016  
(16-4011)  Page: 1/2  
General Council    
 
 AGENDA ITEM 2: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BALI AND NAIROBI OUTCOMES –  
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN 
WEDNESDAY, 27 JULY 2016 
1.1.  To continue to follow up the decisions made in Bali and Nairobi, and to do that in an inclusive 
and transparent manner, at the May meeting, I sugge sted that we keep this item on the agenda 
and that I continue to provide a report on impl ementation matters at our meetings, where updates 
are available. 
1.2.  On 21 July, I also met with the Chairperso ns of Regular Bodies to discuss implementation 
issues and progress on regular work in furtherance of  our collective agenda this year. I am grateful 
to all of them for their earnest efforts in making tangible progress in our work in their respective 
bodies – their updates from that meeting form the basis of my statement today. 
1.3.  Regarding the so-called Decisions on "regular work", we have separate agenda items for two 
of them: the Work Programmes on Small Economies and E-commerce, and we will hear relevant 
updates under those items. 
1.4.  Concerning TRIPS non-violation and situatio n complaints, further to the MC10 Decision, the 
Council for TRIPS has discussed the matter at its March and June meetings when delegations 
mostly reiterated their well-known positions. Wh ile they recognized the Ministerial mandate given 
to the Council to examine scope and modalities that would be applicable to non-violation and situation complaints, Members remained divided on whether such complaints should apply to TRIPS, whether there was a need to establish scope  and modalities and whose task it would be to 
propose possible elements for scope and modalities. The Chair will continue his consultations with 
delegations on the matter before the TRIPS Council's next meeting in November. 
1.5.  Regarding Aid-for-Trade, Members will recall that the General Council had taken note of the 
Aid-for-Trade biennial work programme at our Fe bruary meeting. An integral element of this 
biennial work programme is the Sixth Global Review of Aid-for-Trade, with the theme of 
"Promoting Connectivity". The Global Review will take place in mid-2017. Like in the past, an 
extensive monitoring and evaluation exercise will underpin this Global Review. I am happy to 
report that the CTD Chairman has finalized work on the monitoring and evaluation questionnaire. The background note, the case story format, and th e different questionnaires are being circulated 
to Members. I understand that the Director-General will also be writing to you to invite you to 
respond before the 31 October deadline. Let me  add my own encouragement and ask you to 
provide the completed questionnaires by that date. 
1.6.  Moving now to Agriculture, in the June meeting of the Committee on Agriculture, Members 
held the third – and first post-Nairobi – annual dedicated discussion on Export Competition. For 
the first time some Members submitted questions in writing to other Members and many responded to these questions in the meeting. The Secretariat will circulate a compilation of these 
questions and responses. The revised version of  the background document prepared by the 
Secretariat to inform this discussion was circulated last week. The next dedicated discussion on export competition will be held next year. At the June CoA meeting, Members also intervened on the implementation of the Nairobi Decision on export competition, including in relation to the next 
steps to be undertaken by Members with scheduled export subsidy entitlements. JOB/GC/103 
 
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  1.7.  I also note that, regarding the Decisions on  Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes, 
on the Special Safeguard Mechanism for Developi ng Country Members and on Cotton, the CoA-SS 
Chair provided a very detailed report on work in  those areas at the HODs meeting on Monday, and 
I would refer you to that report.1 
1.8.  Let me move now to LDC issues. On the operationalization of the LDC Services Waiver, at the 
June meeting of the Services Council, the LDC Group offered its assessment of the preferences 
notified last year by some Members. The LDCs will continue to share its examination of the 
notifications received at each CTS meeting this year. Following the Nairobi mandate, a number of 
Members shared information on various technical assistance measures to promote the increasing participation of LDCs in services trade, and a representative from the World Bank also made a presentation in this regard. Another Member introd uced its revised notification of preferences. The 
tally of notifications of preferences for LDC serv ices and service suppliers received by the CTS 
remains at 23. The CTS will take up this standi ng item on its agenda at its next meeting. 
1.9.  On Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs, discussions at the Committee on Rules of Origin are 
ongoing on enhancing access to information on preferential rules of origin (i.e. through a new 
notification template), the calculation of utilization rates in preferences for LDCs and the notification by preference-granting Members of measures being taken to implement the Decision, 
among others. These will also be taken up at the next CRO meeting in September, where Members 
will adopt a more detailed report on "recent deve lopments" to be forwarded to the General Council 
as required in the Bali and Nairobi Decisions. 
1.10.  Regarding DFQF Market Access for LDCs, at its July meeting, the CTD considered a new 
proposal from the LDC Group containing the draf t terms of reference for a Secretariat study on 
DFQF implementation. However, Members could not agree to the proposal because of concerns expressed with some of the proposed elements. I understand that the delegation of Benin – the 
LDC Coordinator – will consult with those Members that had expressed concerns and the CTD Chair 
will keep in touch with Members to see how to make progress. 
1.11.  Let us now move on to the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential Treatment. 
Following the Bali Decision, although no written submissions have yet been made, five meetings of 
the CTD's Dedicated Session on the Monitoring Mechanism have been held. The most recent meeting took place in July. At that meeting, a number of Members took the floor and shared their thoughts and perspectives on why the Monitoring Mechanism was not being tested and also what 
they saw as the possible way forward. The next meeting of the Monitoring Mechanism is scheduled 
for November. 
1.12.  Turning to Trade Facilitation, I am pleased to inform you that several Members were able to 
complete their domestic ratification process since my last report. The overall number of 
instruments of acceptance is now 87 bringing us closer and closer to what is required for the Trade Facilitation Agreement to enter into force. We have also received a total of 87 category A 
notifications, which is a very positive development. However, notifications on the two other 
categories continue to lag behind. I therefore urge all eligible delegations which have not yet handed in their category notifications, especially the ones on B and C, to present them as soon as 
possible. I equally urge Members to intensify their efforts to complete their ratification processes 
so that the TFA can enter into force quickly. 
1.13.  Lastly, regarding paragraphs 28 and 29 of the Nairobi Declaration, discussions have been 
ongoing in various WTO regular bodies and I will co ntinue to provide a report on these issues, as 
appropriate. 
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1 JOB/AG/81.