WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/GC/151 
11 January 2013 
 (13-0168) 
  
  
 
GENERAL COUNCIL 
 
Annual Report (2012) 
 
 
 The present report has been prepared in pursu ance of the Procedures for an Annual Overview 
of WTO Activities and for Reporting under the WTO (WT/L/105).    Since its previous annual report
1, the General Council has held seven meetings, on 14 and 
24 February, 1 May, 25-26 July, 3 October, 26 Oc tober, 10 December and 11 December 2012.  The 
minutes of these meetings, which remain the record of the General Council's work, are contained in 
documents WT/GC/M/135–WT/GC/M/141.2 
  The following subjects are included in the report:  
1.  Work under the Doha Work Programme ............................................................................... 3  
(a)  Trade Negotiations Committee – Reports ................................................................................... 3  
(b)  Work Programme on Small Economies – Reports ..................................................................... 4  
(c)  Aid for Trade – Preparations for the Fourth Global Review – Statement by the 
Director-General .............................................................................................................. ........... 5 
(d)  The Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton – Periodic Report by the Director-
General ....................................................................................................................... ................. 5  
2.  Work Programme on Electronic Co mmerce – Review of progress ..................................... 6  
3.  Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration – Reports and 
recommendations ............................................................................................................... ....... 7 
4.  TRIPS Council matters ......................................................................................................... ... 8 
(a)  Decision on an extension of the period of the acceptance by Members of the Protocol 
amending the TRIPS Agreement – Statement by the Director-General ..................................... 8  
(b)  Review under Paragraph 8 of the Decision on  the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of 
the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreem ent and Public Health – Report of the 
Council for TRIPS ............................................................................................................. ......... 8 
5.  Accession matters ............................................................................................................. ......... 8 
(a)  Afghanistan ................................................................................................................... .............. 8  
(b)  Algeria ....................................................................................................................... ................. 8  
(c)  Lao PDR ....................................................................................................................... .............. 9  
(d)  Liberia ....................................................................................................................... .................. 9  
(e)  Tajikistan .................................................................................................................... ................ 9  
(f)  Vanuatu ....................................................................................................................... .............. 10  
                                                      
1 The annual report of the General Council for 2011 was circulated in WT/GC/142. 
2 WT/GC/M/140 and WT/GC/M/141 are to be issued. WT/GC/151 
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  (g)  Accession of Least-Developed Countries ................................................................................. 10  
(i)  Recommendations of the Sub-Committee on LD Cs to further strengthen, streamline 
and operationalize the 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines .......................................................... 10  
(ii)  Accession of Lao PDR and Yemen – Reports by the Facilitators ............................................. 11  
(h)  WTO Accessions: 2012 Annual Report by the Director-General ............................................. 12  
6.  Waivers ....................................................................................................................... ............. 12  
(a)  Cuba – Article XV:6 – Extension of waiver ............................................................................. 12  
(b)  European Union – Additional autonomous tr ade preferences granted by the European 
Union to Pakistan ............................................................................................................. ......... 12 
(c)  Philippines – Request for a waiver relatin g to special treatment for rice of the 
Philippines ................................................................................................................... ............. 13  
(d)  Introduction of Harmonized System 2002, 2007 and 2012 Changes into WTO 
Schedules of Tariff Concessions ...............................................................................................  13 
(e)  Kimberly Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds - Extension of Waiver ............ 13  
(f)  Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement ...................................... 13  
7.  Improving the guidelines for granting Intergovernmental Organizations 
permanent observer status in the WT O – Statements by the Chair .................................. 15  
8.  Situation regarding the rights to the Havana Club rum trademark in the United 
States – Communication from Cuba ..................................................................................... 16  
9.  Director-General's report on trade-related developments during the period 
October 2011-May 2012 – St atement by India ..................................................................... 16  
10.  Ukraine Article XXVIII Notification .................................................................................... 16  
(a)  Statement by the European Union ............................................................................................ 16  
(b)  Communication from ASEAN, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, 
Egypt, European Union, Guatemala, Hong Kong China, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Switzerland, Turkey 
and the United States ......................................................................................................... ....... 16 
11.  Ninth Session of the Mini sterial Conference ........................................................................ 17  
(a) 
Date and Venue ................................................................................................................ ......... 17 
(b)  Statement by the Chair ........................................................................................................ ...... 17 
12.  Measures to streamline the production of documents and conduct of meetings – 
Statements by the Director-General ...................................................................................... 18  
13.  Administrative Measures fo r Members in Arrears ............................................................. 18  
14.  WTO Pension Plan .............................................................................................................. .... 19 
(a)  Election of members and alternates to the Management Board ................................................ 19  
(b)  Annual Report ................................................................................................................. .......... 19 
15.  International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO ....................................................................... 19  
16.  Appointment of the ne xt Director-General .......................................................................... 20  
(a)  Statement by the Chair ........................................................................................................ ...... 20 
(b)  Statement by  India ............................................................................................................ ........ 20 
17.  Review of WTO activities ...................................................................................................... . 20 
18.  Appointment of officers to WTO bodies ............................................................................... 21  
(a)  Appointment of officers – Statements by the Chair .................................................................. 21  
(b)  Guidelines for appointment of officers to WTO bodies ........................................................... 23  
(i)  Statement by Ecuador .......................................................................................................... ..... 23  WT/GC/151 
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  (ii)  Statement by the Chair ........................................................................................................ ...... 23 
(c)  Announcement by the Chair pursuant to paragraph 7.1(a) of the Guidelines ........................... 23  
19.  Election of Chairperson ....................................................................................................... ... 24 
 
 1. Work under the Doha Work Programme 
(a) Trade Negotiations Committee – Reports (WT/GC/M/135–WT/GC/M/138, WT/GC/M/141) 
1. Ministers at Doha established a Trade Negotiations Committee under the authority of the 
General Council to supervise th e overall conduct of the negotiati ons (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1).  In 
accordance with the Principles and Practices endor sed by the Trade Negotiations Committee at its 
first meeting in 2002 (TN/C/M/1), the TNC reports to each regular meeting of the General Council. 
2. At the General Council meetings in Februa ry, May and July, and on 3 October and 
11 December, the Director-General, as Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee, reported on 
each occasion on the TNC's activities since his previous report to the General Council.3 
3. At the February meeting, the representatives of Pakistan; Mexico; Indonesia (on behalf of the 
G-33); Australia (also on behalf of the Cairns Group) ; Brazil (also on behalf of the G-20); Argentina; 
Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); Ba ngladesh (on behalf of the LDC Group); Canada; 
Turkey; Japan; European Union; Cuba; China; Hong Kong, China; Korea; Thailand; Ecuador; Chile; 
Barbados; India; Peru; United States; Switzerland; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Colombia; Tunisia; and 
Dominican Republic (also on behalf of the Inform al Group of Developing Countries) spoke.  The 
General Council took note of the Director-G eneral's report and of the statements. 
4. At the May meeting, the representatives of Mexi co; Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); 
Cambodia (on behalf of ASEAN); Kenya; India; South Africa; Japan; European Union; Korea; 
Pakistan; Brazil; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; United Stat es; China; Argentina; Mauritius (on behalf of 
the ACP Group); Australia; Singapore; Haiti (on be half of the LDC Group); and Chinese Taipei 
spoke.  The General Council took note of the Dir ector-General's report and of the statements. 
5. At the July meeting, the representatives of Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); 
Mauritius (on behalf of the ACP Group); Australia (also on behalf of the Cairns Group); Chad (on 
behalf of the C-4); Cambodia (on behalf of ASEAN) ; Barbados (on behalf of the SVEs); Pakistan; 
Mexico; Japan; Nigeria; European Union; China; New Zealand; Kenya; Chile; Korea; South Africa; 
Costa Rica; Hong Kong, China; Uruguay; Plurinational State of Bolivia; Turkey; Canada; Switzerland; Tunisia; Chinese Taipei; Brazil; India;  Bangladesh; United States; Norway; Argentina; 
Ecuador; Paraguay; Cuba; and Peru spoke.  The Gene ral Council took note of the Director-General's 
report and of the statements. 
6. At the 3 October meeting, the representatives of Brazil (also on behalf of the G-20); Korea; 
European Union; Lesotho (on behalf of the African  Group); Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on behalf of 
the Arab Group); Japan; Pakistan; China; Haiti ( on behalf of the LDC Group); Australia; Barbados 
(also on behalf of the SVEs); Mexico; Indonesi a; Switzerland (also on behalf of the G-10); 
Zimbabwe; India; Paraguay; Bangladesh; Plurinati onal State of Bolivia; Philippines; Argentina; 
Turkey; Singapore; United States; Tunisia; H ong Kong, China; Chinese Taipei; Ghana; Kenya; 
Norway; Nepal; and Cuba spoke.  The General Council took note of the Director-General's report and 
of the statements. 
                                                      
3 The Director-General's statements were subse quently circulated as JOB/GC/17, JOB/GC/18, 
JOB/GC/21, JOB/GC/23 and JOB/GC/27, respectively. WT/GC/151 
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  7. At the 11 December meeting, the representativ es of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (also on 
behalf of the Arab Group); Burkina Faso (on behalf  of the C-4); Lesotho (on behalf of the African 
Group); Barbados (on behalf of the SVEs); Egypt; Paraguay; South Africa; Solomon Islands; Haiti 
(on behalf of the LDC Group)4; and Cuba spoke.  The General C ouncil took note of the Director-
General's report and of the statements. 
(b) Work Programme on Small Economies – Reports (WT/GC/M/135-WT/GC/M/138, 
WT/GC/M/141) 
8. In 2002, the General Council took note of a framework and procedures for the conduct of the 
Work Programme on Small Economies, which had been agreed by Ministers at Doha 
(WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1, paragraph 35), under which th is Work Programme would be a standing item 
on the General Council's agenda and which al so provided that the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) would report regularly to th e General Council on the progress of work in its 
Dedicated Sessions on this subject.  In December 2011, Ministers at MC8 adopted the Decision on the 
Work Programme on Small Economies (WT/L/844), whic h reaffirmed their commitment to the Work 
Programme and further instructed the CTD to c ontinue its work in Dedicated Sessions under the 
overall responsibility of the General Council.  Minister s instructed the General Council, inter alia, to 
report on progress and action taken, together with any further recommendations as appropriate, to the 
following Session of the Ministerial Conference. 
9. At the General Council meeting in February, th e Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the 
CTD said that the Decision taken by Ministers at MC 8 instructed the Work Programme to consider in 
further detail the proposals contained in the vari ous submissions that had been received to date, 
examine any additional proposals Members might wish to submit and, where possible and within its 
mandate, make recommendations to the General Council on any of these proposals.  Ministers had 
also agreed that the Work Programme should iden tify non-tariff measures (NTMs) and the effects 
these had on small economies.  It was this latter area  that would provide the focus for immediate work 
in 2012. 
10. The representatives of Barbados (on behalf of  the SVEs) and Cuba spoke.  The General 
Council took note of the report and of the statements. 
11. At the May meeting, the Chairman of the De dicated Session of the CTD reported that the 
proponents of small economies had been focusing mo st of their attention on Trade Facilitation.  
Progress had been made on integrating modified S&D pr ovisions into a new version of the Draft Text.  
The SVEs were also keen to move ahead on work re lated to how NTMs affected their exports, an area 
which Ministers had cited as a key priority for SVEs in their Decision at MC8.  The area of NTMs 
would provide a key focus for future SVE work in 2012. 
12. The representatives of Barbados (on behalf of  the SVEs) and Cuba spoke.  The General 
Council took note of the report and of the statements. 
13. At the July meeting, the Chairman of the Dedi cated Session of the CTD reported that at the 
CTD's Dedicated Session on 6 July 2012, Members had discussed future work related to the 2011 
Ministerial Decision on the Work Programme and the effects of NTMs on small economies.  In this regard, Members had discussed a Secretariat paper on the effects of NTMs on the exports of small 
economies (WT/COMTD/SE/W/26) and had heard presentations by the ITC and UNCTAD.  The Dedicated Session would continue its work in 20 12 and future subjects for discussion would include 
                                                      
4 Haiti, on behalf of the LDC Group, asked th at the statement made at the TNC meeting on 
7 December 2012 be put on the record of the General Counc il in relation to Items 1(a), 1(d), 4(b), 5(h) and 6(f).  WT/GC/151 
 Page 5 
 
 
  the impact of WTO rules on small economies, the institutional and administrative constraints they 
faced and the effects on them of trade liberalization. 
14. The representatives of Barbados (on behalf of the SVEs), Lesotho (on behalf of the African 
Group) and Cuba spoke.  The Gene ral Council took note of the report and of the statements. 
15. At the 3 October meeting, the Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the CTD said that the 
Dedicated Session would continue its work on NTMs , but would also begin focusing on other areas 
identified in the SVEs Work Programme, as had been mandated by Ministers at MC8. 
16. The representatives of Barbados (on behalf of  the SVEs) and Cuba spoke.  The General 
Council took note of the report and of the statements. 
17. At the 11 December meeting, th e General Council Chair read out a report on behalf of the 
Chairman of the CTD Dedicated Session.  The repor t said that at the 19 November meeting of that 
body, Barbados had expressed the view that furt her, more specialized work on NTMs should be 
conducted. The proponents were now explorin g how best to tackle this subject.  
18. The representative of Barbados (on behalf of  the SVEs) spoke.  The General Council took 
note of the report and of the statements. 
(c) Aid for Trade – Preparations for the Fourth Global Review – Statement by the Director-
General (WT/GC/M/141) 
19. At the General Council meeting on 11 Decemb er, the Director-General reported on the 
process and preparations for the Fourth Global Review  of Aid for Trade, which would take place on 
8-10 July 2013.  He said that underpinning the Re view was an extensive and ambitious monitoring 
exercise, which he had launched in a joint letter w ith the OECD Secretary-General.  The monitoring 
exercise would follow the same se lf-assessment questionnaire approach  that had been used in past 
reviews.  One significant change, however, was th at the monitoring exercise was expanded to the 
private sector.  The WTO had also extended its collabor ation to include five ot her organizations.  To 
match such an ambitious exercise, the Fourth Gl obal Review would have a format somewhere in 
between the Public Forum and the Third Global Review.   
20. The General Council took note of the Director-General's statement.   
(d) The Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton – Periodic Report by the Director-General 
(WT/GC/M/141) 
21. In Paragraph 1.b of the 1 August 2004 Decisi on on the Doha Work Programme (WT/L/579), 
the General Council, inter alia , instructed the Secretariat to con tinue to work with the development 
community and to provide the Council with periodi c reports on relevant de velopments.  The Council 
also instructed the Director-General to consult w ith relevant international organizations, including the 
Bretton Woods Institutions, the Food and Agricultu re Organization and the International Trade 
Centre, to direct effectively existing programmes and any additional resources towards development 
of the economies where cotton had vital importance.   Ministers at Hong Kong reaffirmed the 2004 
mandate, and asked the Director-General to provide  updates at appropriate intervals to the General 
Council, while keeping the Sub-Committee on Cotton fully informed of progress.  At MC8, Ministers 
confirmed their commitment to progress the Hong K ong mandate and invited the Director-General to 
continue furnishing periodic reports on the deve lopment assistance aspects of cotton to each 
Ministerial Conference.   WT/GC/151 
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  22. At the General Council meeting on 11 December , the Director-General introduced his Fifth 
Periodic Report on the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton (WT/GC/149 – WT/CFMC/DG/5).  
He said that since his last Periodic Report, progress had been made and tangibl e results were reflected 
in the Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assist ance.  In particular, positive results had been 
registered in the area of "Cotton-Specific Developm ent Assistance" as well as in the framework of the 
broader "Agriculture and Infrastruct ure-Related Development Assistance". 
23. The representatives of Brazil, China and Burk ina Faso (on behalf of the C-4) spoke5.  The 
General Council took note of the Director-Gen eral's report and of the statements.   
2. Work Programme on Electronic Commer ce – Review of progress (WT/GC/M/137, 
WT/GC/M/141) 
24. In line with the Declaration on Global Elect ronic Commerce adopted by Ministers at the 
second session of the Ministerial Conference (WT/MIN(98)/DEC/2), the General Council, in September 1998, adopted a Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (WT/L/274).  In December 2011, Ministers at MC8 adopted a Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (WT/L/843), in which they decided to  continue the reinvigoration of the Work 
Programme, and instructed the General Council to  emphasize and reinvigorate the development 
dimension in the Work Programme, particularly through the CTD.  Ministers also instructed the General Council to hold periodic reviews, starting in  July 2012, based on the reports submitted by the 
WTO bodies entrusted with the implementation of the Work Programme. 
25. At the July General Council meeting, Deputy Di rector-General Singh, who had been dealing 
with the Work Programme on behalf of the Ge neral Council Chair and her predecessors since 2005, 
said that since the beginning of the year, work ha d continued in the Council for Trade in Services, 
Council for Trade in Goods and the Committee on Tr ade and Development.  The DDG also reported 
on an informal consultation he had held, on behalf of the General Counc il Chair, on 2 July to consider 
the follow-up to Ministers' 2011 Decision on E-Commerce. 
26. The Chair drew attention to the reports of the Chairs of the Council for Trade in Services and 
of the Goods Council, contained in docum ents S/C/38 and G/C/49, respectively. 
27. The Chairman of the Committee on Trade and De velopment said that work in the CTD was 
taking place in the context of the 2011 Decision on E-Commerce.  Cuba and Ecuador had submitted a 
proposal for a "Workshop on E-Commerce, Deve lopment and SMEs" (WT/COMTD/W/189), with a 
particular focus on issues related to "access a nd facilitation of access to e-commerce by small and 
medium-sized enterprises, including small produ cers and suppliers".  The CTD was making steady 
progress on other fronts in the effort to comply with  instructions from MC8 to make the CTD a focal 
point on development issues in the WTO. 
28. The representatives of Cuba; Ecuador; Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); Chinese 
Taipei; European Union; Plurinational State of  Bolivia; Switzerland; and Australia spoke.  The 
General Council took note of the reports by the Deputy Director-General and by the Chairmen of the 
subsidiary bodies and of the statements. 
29. At the 11 December General Council, Deputy Director-General Singh, reported on work 
under the Work Programme since the Council's last re view of progress in this area.  He reported on 
activities in the Council for Trade in Services, th e Council for Trade in Goods and the Committee on 
Trade and Development.  He also reported on an informal meeting of the Dedicated Discussion on E-
Commerce Cross-Cutting Issues under the auspices of the General Council, held on 
                                                      
5 See also footnote 4.  WT/GC/151 
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  30 November 2012.  There had been no activity under the Work Programme in the Council for 
TRIPS.  
30. Deputy Director-General Singh also read out a report on behalf of the Chairman of the CTD.  
The report focused on a proposal by Cuba and Ecuador (WT/COMTD/W/189) to organize a workshop on "E-commerce, Development and SMEs ".  At the 86th Session of the CTD held on 
19 November 2012, it had been agreed that the workshop would be held on 8 and 9 April 2013. 
31. The Chair drew attention to the reports of the Chairs of the Council for Trade in Services and 
of the Goods Council in documents S/C/40 and G/C/50, respectively.   
32. The representatives of Cuba and European Un ion spoke.  The Genera l Council took note of 
the reports by the Deputy Director-General and by th e Chairs of the subsidiary bodies, and of the 
statements. 
3. Committee on Budget, Finance and Admini stration – Reports and recommendations 
(WT/GC/M/136-WT/GC/M/138, WT/GC/M/141) 
33. At its meetings in May and July, and on 3 October and 11 December, the General Council 
considered reports by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration on its meetings of 
March (WT/BFA/129), May (WT/BFA/130), July and September (WT/BFA/131 and WT/BFA/132), 
and October and November (WT/BFA/133 and WT/GC/ 134), respectively.  At each meeting, the 
Chairman of the Committee introduced the reports. 
34. At its May meeting, the General Council took  note of the statement, approved the Budget 
Committee's specific recommendations in paragraphs 4-7 of its report in document WT/BFA/129, and 
adopted the report. 
35. At its July meeting, the General Council took note of the statement, approved the Budget 
Committee's specific recommendations in paragr aphs 23 and 25 of its report in document 
WT/BFA/130, and adopted the report. 
36. At its 3 October meeting, th e General Council took note of the statement, approved the 
Budget Committee's specific reco mmendations in paragraphs 66, 8 and 10 of its report in document 
WT/BFA/132, and adopted the reports in documents WT/BFA/131 and WT/BFA/132. 
37. At its 11 December meeting, the General Counc il took note of the statements, approved the 
Budget Committee's specific recommendations in  paragraph 12 of its  report in document 
WT/BFA/133 and in paragraph 6 of  WT/BFA/134, and adopted the tw o reports.  In relation to the 
Trust Fund to facilitate the participation of dele gates from LDCs at MC9, interested donors were 
invited to indicate to the Secretariat as soon as possible the level of financial support they were 
prepared to provide. 
38. In addition, the Director-General provided a brief update on efforts to further increase 
efficiency on documentation, schedu ling and management of meetings.7  The General Council took 
note of the statement. 
                                                      
6 The Committee recommended to th e General Council that the revi sed Administrative Measures for 
Members and Observers in arrears, contained in Annex 1 of document WT/BFA/132, be implemented as from 1 January 2013. 
7 See also Item 12. WT/GC/151 
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  4. TRIPS Council matters 
(a) Decision on an extension of the period of the acceptance by Members of the Protocol 
amending the TRIPS Agreement – Statement by the Director-General (WT/GC/M/136) 
39. At the May meeting, the Director-General recalled that on 30 November 2011 the General 
Council had unanimously adopted a decision by whic h the period for the acceptance of the Protocol 
Amending the TRIPS Agreement was extended un til 31 December 2013.  In his capacity as 
depositary of the 2005 Protocol Amending the TRIPS Ag reement, he wished to draw attention to the 
importance of accepting the Protocol to permit its entry into force. 
40. The General Council took note of the statement. 
(b) Review under Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the Implementation of Para graph 6 of the Doha 
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public  Health – Report of the Council for TRIPS 
(WT/GC/M/141) 
41. In August 2003, the General Council adopted  a Decision on the Implementation of 
Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Ag reement and Public Health.  Paragraph 8 of that 
Decision provides that the TRIPS Council shall revi ew annually the functioning of the system set out 
in the Decision with a view to ensuring its e ffective operation, and shall annually report on its 
operation to the General Council.   
42. At the 11 December meeting, the Chairman of the TRIPS Council introduced the report of 
that Council on its annual review of the Decision on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha 
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Hea lth.  The report also pr ovided an update on the 
status of acceptances of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement.  The General Council took 
note of the report of the TRIPS Council (IP/C/63).8 
5. Accession matters 
(a) Afghanistan (WT/GC/M/136) 
43. In December 2004, the General Council establishe d a Working Party to examine the request 
of Afghanistan for accession to the WTO Agreement. 
44. At the May meeting, the Chair informed Me mbers that, following consultations and in 
keeping with usual WTO practice, it had been agreed  that Mr Roderick Van Schreven (Netherlands) 
would serve as Chairman of this Working Party.  The General Council took note of the statement. 
(b) Algeria (WT/GC/M/137) 
45. In June 1987, the GATT 1947 Council established a Working Party to examine Algeria's 
request for accession to the General Agreement on Tari ffs and Trade.  Subsequently, in pursuance of a 
decision regarding requests fo r WTO accession adopted by the WTO General Council in 
January 1995 (WT/GC/M/1, Item 4(g)), the GA TT 1947 Accession Working Party was transformed 
into a WTO Accession Working Party. 
46. At the July meeting, the Chair informed Members that following  consultations and in keeping 
with usual WTO practice, it had been agreed that Mr Alberto d'Alotto (Argentina) would serve as 
Chairman of this Working Party. 
                                                      
8 See also footnote 4.  WT/GC/151 
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  47. The representatives of Argentina and Algeria (as an Observer) spoke.  The General Council 
took note of the statements. 
(c) Lao PDR (WT/GC/139)9  
48. In February 1998, the General Council establishe d a Working Party to examine the request of 
Lao PDR for accession to the WTO Agreement. 
49. At its meeting on 26 October, the General C ouncil considered the Report of the Working 
Party on the Accession of Lao PDR (WT/ACC/LAO/45 and WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.1 and 
WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.2). 
50. The Chairman of the Working Party spoke. 
51. The General Council approved the text of the Pr otocol of Accession of Lao PDR and, in 
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures unde r Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement 
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted the Decision on the Accession of Lao PDR (WT/L/865).  The General Council then adopted the Report of the Working Party as a whole (WT/ACC/LAO/45 and WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.1 and WT/ACC/LAO/45/Add.2). 
52. The Chair, the representative of Lao PDR (as an Observer) and the Director-General spoke, 
following which the representatives of Cambodia (on be half of ASEAN); Haiti (on behalf of the LDC 
Group); Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); Panama (on behalf of GRULAC); Mauritius (on 
behalf of the ACP Group); Viet Nam; Nepal; New Z ealand; Pakistan; Australia; Mexico; European 
Union; Japan; Indonesia; India; Switzerland; Korea;  Argentina; Turkey; China; Barbados (on behalf 
of the SVEs); Hong Kong, China; Paraguay; United States; Cuba; Chinese Taipei (on behalf of the 
Recently Acceded Members (RAMs) Group); Canada; Russian Federation; Brazil; Ukraine; and Iran 
(as an Observer) spoke. 
53. The General Council took note of the statemen ts and of the expressions of welcome and 
support. 
(d) Liberia (WT/GC/M/136) 
54. In December 2007, the General Council establishe d a Working Party to examine the request 
of Liberia for accession to the WTO Agreement. 
55. At the May General Council meeting, the Chair informed Members that following 
consultations and in keeping with usual WTO prac tice, it had been agreed that Mr Joakim Reiter 
(Sweden) would serve as Chair of this Worki ng Party.  The General Council took note of the 
statement. 
(e) Tajikistan (WT/GC/M/140) 
56. In July 2001, the General Council established a Working Party to examine the request of 
Tajikistan for accession to the WTO Agreement. 
57. At its meeting on 10 December, the General Council considered the Report of the Working 
Party on the Accession of Tajikistan (WT/ ACC/TJK/30 and WT/ACC/TJK/30/Add. 1 and 
WT/ACC/TJK/30/Add.2).   
                                                      
9 See also sub-item 5(g)(ii), below. WT/GC/151 
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  58. The Chairman of the Working Party spoke. 
59. The General Council approved the text of the Pr otocol of Accession of  Tajikistan and, in 
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures unde r Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement 
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted  the Decision on the Accession of Tajikistan 
(WT/L/872).  The General Council then adopted the Report of the Working Party as a whole 
(WT/ACC/TJK/30 and WT/ACC/TJK/30/Add.1 and WT/ACC/TJK/30/Add.2). 
60. The Chair, the representative of Tajikistan ( as an Observer) and the Director-General spoke, 
following which the representatives of China; Europ ean Union (also on behalf  of Croatia); Kyrgyz 
Republic; Dominican Republic (on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing Countries); United 
States; Panama (on behalf of GRULAC); Kingdom of  Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Arab Group); 
Ukraine; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei (on behalf of the Recently Acceded Members (RAMs) Group); 
Turkey; Japan; Paraguay (on behalf of the Landloc ked Developing Countries); Bangladesh (on behalf 
of the LDC Group Coordinator); Korea; and India spoke. 
61. In keeping with the procedural suggestion made  by the Chair at the outset, the representatives 
of Brazil, Mexico and Nepal submitted statements fo r inclusion in the records of the meeting.  The 
representatives of Israel, New Zealand, Singapore and Sri Lanka wished to be placed on record as also 
welcoming and supporting the accession of Tajikistan. 
62. The General Council took note of the statemen ts and of the expressions of welcome and 
support. 
(f) Vanuatu (WT/GC/M/137) 
63. In October 2011, the General Council adopted a Decision authorizing Vanuatu to accede to 
the WTO Agreement under the terms set out in its Protocol of Accession (WT/L/823).  As set out in 
its paragraph 7, the Protocol was open for acceptance by Vanuatu until 31 December 2011. 
64. At its July meeting, the General Counc il considered a communication from Vanuatu 
(WT/GC/146) requesting to re-open the Protocol  of Accession for acceptance by 31 December 2012, 
and a draft Decision to this effect (WT/GC/W/657). 
65. The Chair proposed, in the light of this requ est, that, in accordance with the Decision-Making 
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), 
the General Council adopt the draft decision contained in document WT/GC/W/657. 
66. The General Council so agreed (WT/L/862). 
67. The representatives of Vanuatu (as an Observer);  Australia; New Zealand; China; Haiti (on 
behalf of the LDC Group); Pakistan; Solomon Isla nds; United States; European Union; Panama (on 
behalf of GRULAC); Mauritius; Mexico; India; Barb ados (on behalf of the SVEs); Samoa; and Cuba 
spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
(g) Accession of Least-Developed Countries 
(i) Recommendations of the Sub-Committee on LDCs  to further strengthen, streamline and 
operationalize the 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines (WT/GC/M/137) 
68. In December 2011, the Eighth Ministerial Conf erence adopted a Decision on the Accession of 
LDCs (WT/L/846), which directed the Sub-Comm ittee on LDCs to develop recommendations to 
further strengthen, streamline and operationa lize the 2002 Guidelines on Accession of LDCs  WT/GC/151 
 Page 11 
 
 
  (WT/L/508).  Ministers also instructed the S ub-Committee to complete this work and make 
recommendations to the General Council not later than July 2012. 
69. At the July General Council meeting, the Ch air said that the Sub-Committee on LDCs had 
agreed to submit a set of recommendations, in lin e with the Ministers' mandate, to the General 
Council for adoption in the form of a draft decisi on.  The Sub-Committee had also agreed that the 
proposed decision would become an addendum to the 2002 General Council Decision on LDC 
Accession. 
70. The Chairman of the Sub-Committee on LDCs, reporting on his body's consideration of this 
matter, said that based on the mandate from Ministers, the Sub-Committee had begun work in January 2012.  On behalf of the Sub-Committe e on LDCs, he submitted the recommendations in 
WT/COMTD/LDC/21 for adoption by the General Council. 
71. The Chair drew attention to the draft decisi on in WT/COMTD/LDC/21. Before proposing it 
for adoption, she underlined that it was without prejudice to the rights and obligations of existing LDC Members, in line with the Decision in favour of LDCs contained in Annex F of the Hong Kong Declaration.  Based on this understanding, she pr oposed that the General Council adopt the draft 
decision in WT/COMTD/LDC/21. 
72. The General Council so agreed.
10 
73. The representatives of Haiti (on behalf of the LDC Group); Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on 
behalf of the Arab Group); Colombia; Nepal; Ma uritius (on behalf of the ACP Group); Cambodia 
(also on behalf of ASEAN); Lesotho (on behalf of  the African Group); Uganda; India; Switzerland; 
European Union; United States; Ecuador; Plurinationa l State of Bolivia; and Ethiopia (as an Observer) 
spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
(ii) Accession of Lao PDR and Yemen – Repor ts by the Facilitators (WT/GC/M/137)11 
74. At the July General Council meeting, the Chai rman of the Working Party on the Accession of 
Lao PDR reported that the outstanding bilateral ma rket access negotiations on goods between Ukraine 
and Lao PDR had been concluded on the margins of  the 2012 Beijing Roundtable.  He could confirm 
that this accession was on track for completion in 2 012, subject to finalization of the few remaining 
issues.  
75. The Chairman of the Sub-Committee on LDCs, on behalf of the Co-Facilitators, made a 
statement, which, he underlined, should be considered an integral part of the agreement reached by 
the parties involved on 24 July.  As agreed, this statement would be issued as an Addendum to document WT/ACC/YEM/40. 
76. The Chair invited the General Council to take note of these two statements, and in doing so, 
noted that, in accordance with the long-standing prac tice of accession Working Parties, agreements at 
the level of the Working Party were ad referendum until formal decisions were taken by the General 
Council or the Ministerial Conference. 
77. The General Council so agreed. 
78. The representatives of Ukraine; Haiti (on behalf  of the LDC Group); Cambodia (on behalf of 
ASEAN); Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Arab 
                                                      
10 The Decision was subsequently circ ulated in document WT/L/508/Add.1. 
11 See also sub-item 5(c), above. WT/GC/151 
Page 12  
 
  Group); Nepal; Pakistan; and Yemen (as an Observe r) spoke.  The General Council took note of the 
statements. 
(h) WTO Accessions: 2012 Annual Report by the Director-General (WT/GC/M/141) 
79. At the General Council meeting on 11 December, the Chair drew attention to the Director-
General's report on accessions in document WT/ACC/19.   
80. The Director-General said that, as in previous Reports, he had reviewed operational work, 
addressed some policy issues, and sought to improve  understanding of the benefit of WTO accessions 
and share some lessons with the membership.  Th ematically, he had expl ored the links between 
accession-related domestic reforms, economic growth and Foreign Direct Investment.  He recalled that in 2012, the WTO family increased by four to  a total of 157 Members, with the accessions of 
Montenegro, Samoa, the Russian Federation and Va nuatu.  In addition, the accessions of Lao PDR 
and Tajikistan had been conclude d, progress had been made in other accessions, and the Guidelines 
on the Accession of LDCs had been strengthened.  In the Report, he had also identified a set of 
priorities for 2013.  
81. The representatives of Chinese Taipei (on behalf of the Recently Acceded Members (RAMs) 
Group); United States; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Arab Group); China; Egypt; 
Cambodia (on behalf of ASEAN); Colombia; Europ ean Union; Pakistan; Jordan; Oman; Qatar; Hong 
Kong, China; Haiti (on behalf of the LDC Group); Tu rkey; Tunisia; Iran (as an Observer); Yemen (as 
an Observer); and Belarus (as an Observer) spoke.
12  The General Council took note of the report by 
the Director-General and of the statements. 
6. Waivers13 
(a) Cuba – Article XV:6 – Extension of waiver (WT/GC/M/135) 
82. At its meeting in February, the General Council considered a draft decision on the request by 
Cuba regarding the extension of the existing waiver concerning Article XV:6 of GATT 1994, in 
document G/C/W/662.  The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the 
consideration of the draft decision by that Council. 
83. The General Council took note of the report a nd, in accordance with the Decision-Making 
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), 
adopted the Decision (WT/L/850). 
(b) European Union – Additional autonomous trade preferences granted by the European Union 
to Pakistan (WT/GC/M/135) 
84. At its meeting in February, the General Counc il considered a draft decision on the request 
from the EU for a waiver for the application of ad ditional autonomous trade preferences granted by 
the EU to Pakistan, in document G/C/W/640/Rev.2.  The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods 
reported on the consideration of the draft decision by that Council. 
85. The General Council took note of the report a nd, in accordance with the Decision-Making 
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), 
adopted the Decision (WT/L/851). 
                                                      
12 See also footnote 4. 
13 A list of waivers granted by the General Council in  2012, as well as waivers previously granted and 
still in force in 2012, is contained in document WT/GC/W/665.  WT/GC/151 
 Page 13 
 
 
  86. The representative of Pakistan spoke.  The Ge neral Council took note of the statement. 
(c) Philippines – Request for a waiver relating to special treatment for rice of the Philippines 
(WT/GC/M/137) 
87. At its meeting in July, the Chair referred to  a request for a waiver by the Philippines on 
special treatment for its rice (G/C/W/665).  In accordance with Article IX:3 of the Marrakesh 
Agreement, the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods made a statement on the consideration of 
this matter by that Council. 
88. In light of the Goods Council Chair's statement and the request by the Goods Council 
reflected therein, the Chair propo sed that the General Council agree to allow the Goods Council to 
continue consideration of this request and to re port back to the General Council once it had completed 
this work. 
89. The General Council so agreed. 
90. The representatives of Philippines and Australia sp oke.  The General Council took note of the 
statements. 
(d) Introduction of Harmonized System 2002, 2007 and 2012 Changes into WTO Schedules of 
Tariff Concessions (WT/GC/M/141) 
91. At its 11 December meeting, the General Counc il considered three draft waiver decisions 
contained in G/C/W/672/Rev.1, G/C/W/673 and G/ C/W/674, which concerned the Introduction of 
Harmonized System 2002, 2007 and 2012 Changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff Concessions, respectively.  The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on consideration of this 
matter by that Council.   
92. The General Council took note of the report a nd, in accordance with the Decision-Making 
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), 
adopted the three draft Decisions (WT/L/873-WT/L/875). 
(e) Kimberly Process Certification Scheme fo r Rough Diamonds - Extension of Waiver 
(WT/GC/M/141) 
93. At its 11 December meeting, the General Counc il drew attention to the draft decision in 
document G/C/W/675/Rev.2.  The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on 
consideration of this matter by that Council. 
94. The General Council took note of the report a nd, in accordance with the Decision-Making 
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), 
adopted the draft Decision (WT/L/876). 
95. The representatives of Zimbabwe and United States spoke.  The General Council took note of 
the statements. 
(f) Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX :4 of the WTO Agreement (WT/GC/M/137, 
WT/GC/M/141) 
96. Under Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement "[a]ny  waiver granted for a period of more than 
one year shall be reviewed by the Ministerial Conf erence not later than one year after it is granted, 
and thereafter annually until the waiver terminates." WT/GC/151 
Page 14  
 
  97. At its July meeting, the General Council cons idered the following waivers for review under 
Article IX:4: 
(i) LDCs – Article 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement with respect to pharmaceutical 
products, granted on 8 July 2002 until 1 January 2016 (WT/L/478) 
 
(ii) Preferential tariff treatment for least-developed countries, granted on 27 May 2009 
until 30 June 2019 (WT/L/759) 
 (iii) European Union – Application of au tonomous preferential treatment to Moldova, 
granted on 7 May 2008 until 31 Dece mber 2013 (WT/L/722, WT/L/861) 
 
(iv) United States – Former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, granted on 27 July 2007 
until 31 December 2016 (WT/L/694, WT/L/857) 
 (v) United States – Caribbean Basin Econom ic Recovery Act, granted on 27 May 2009 
until 31 December 2014 (WT/L/753, WT/L/858) 
 (vi) United States – African Growth and O pportunity Act, granted on 27 May 2009 until 
30 September 2015 (WT/L/754, WT/L/859) 
 (vii) United States – ANDEAN Trade Preference Act, granted on 27 May 2009 until 
31 December 2014 (WT/L/755, WT/L/860) 
 
98. In doing so, the General Council considered reports on implementation of the respective 
waivers in documents WT/L/857-WT/L/861. 
99. The General Council took note of the above-menti oned reports and agreed it would revert to 
the review of multi-year waivers under Article IX :4 of the WTO Agreement at its meeting in 
December 2012. 
100. At its 11 December meeting, the General Council considered the following waivers for 
review under Article IX:4:  
(i) Preferential treatment to services and service Suppliers of Least-Developed 
Countries, granted on 17 December 2011 until 17 December 2026 (WT/L/847) 
 
(ii) Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for rough diamonds, granted on 
15 December 2006 until 31 December 2012 (WT/L/676) 
 (iii) Canada - CARIBCAN, granted on 30  November 2011 until 31 December 2013 
(WT/L/835, WT/L/868) 
 (iv) European Union - Application of aut onomous preferential treatment to the West 
Balkans, granted on 30 November 2011 until 31 December 2016 (WT/L/836, 
WT/L/870 and Corr.1) 
 
(v) Cuba - Article XV:6 of GATT 1994 , Extension of waiver, granted on 
14 February 2012 until 31 December 2016 (WT/L/850, WT/L/867) 
 
101. In doing so, the General Council considered reports on implementation of the respective 
waivers submitted by Canada (WT/L/868), European Union (WT/L/870 and WT/L/870/Corr. 1) and 
Cuba (WT/L/867).  WT/GC/151 
 Page 15 
 
 
  102. The representatives of the European Union; Trin idad and Tobago (on behalf of CARICOM); 
Jamaica; Canada; Barba dos; and Zambia spoke.14  
103. The General Council took note of the above-m entioned reports and of the statements. 
7. Improving the guidelines for granting In tergovernmental Organizations permanent 
observer status in the WTO – Statements by the Chair (WT/GC/M/135-WT/GC/M/138, 
WT/GC/M/141) 
104. In November 2011, the General Council agreed th at the Chair of the General Council start a 
process of consultations on improving the guidelines fo r granting observer status to Intergovernmental 
Organizations in the WTO, following a communication by the Arab Group circulated in document (WT/GC/W/643). 
105. At the General Council meeting in February, th e Chairman reported on progress in his initial 
consultations on improving the guidelines for gr anting observer status to Intergovernmental 
Organizations in the WTO.  He urged continued engagement to address this issue and suggested 
focusing the process of consultations on clear, opera tional criteria, taking into account the existing 
Guidelines, without prejudging their outcome in any way. 
106. The representatives of Qatar (on behalf of th e Arab Group), India and United States spoke.  
The General Council took note of the statements. 
107. At the May meeting, the Chair drew attention to a communication by the Arab Group 
(WT/GC/W/654), in light of which she had continued the process of consultations on this issue.  She 
intended to continue her consulta tions with interested delegations  and would report to the General 
Council on progress as appropriate. 
108. The representatives of Qatar (on behalf of th e Arab Group); Egypt; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
(on behalf of the Members of the Gulf Co-opera tion Council); Plurinational State of Bolivia; and 
Turkey spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
109. At the July meeting, the Chair said that she had continued her consu ltations and intended to 
take up this process again after the summer break and report back to the General Council as 
appropriate.  
110. The representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Arab Group) and 
Turkey spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
111. At the 3 October meeting, the Chair said that  she had continued her consultations on this 
matter.  However, at the present time, she was not able to report any change in the positions 
previously expressed.  She would continue this process and report back to the General Council as 
appropriate. 
112. The representative of Dominican Republic (on be half of the Informal Group of Developing 
Countries) spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
113. At the 11 December meeting, the Chair said she had continued her consultations on this 
matter.  However, she was not able to report any change in the positions previously expressed.  She 
would continue this process and report b ack to the General Council as appropriate. 
                                                      
14 See also footnote 4. WT/GC/151 
Page 16  
 
  114. The representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Arab Group); Egypt; 
India; Turkey; and China spoke.  The Ge neral Council took note of the statements. 
8. Situation regarding the rights to the Havana Club rum trademark in the United States – 
Communication from Cuba (WT/GC/M/137, WT/GC/M/138) 
115. At the General Council meetings in July a nd on 3 October (WT/GC/147), the delegation of 
Cuba made a statement concerning the situati on regarding the rights to the Havana Club rum 
trademark in the United States. 
116. At the July meeting, the representatives of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Ecuador; 
Angola; Viet Nam; Zimbabwe; Dominican Republic; Nicaragua; China; Brazil; Argentina; European 
Union; Uruguay; and Mexico spoke.  The Ge neral Council took note of the statements. 
117. At the 3 October meeting, the representatives of Ecuador, Brazil; Argentina; Plurinational 
State of Bolivia; Nicaragua; Mexico; Zimbabwe ; China; Chile; Dominican Republic; Uruguay; 
European Union; and United States spoke.  The General Council took note  of the statements. 
9. Director-General's report on trade-related developments during the period 
October 2011-May 2012 – Statement by India (WT/GC/M/137) 
118. At the July General Council meeting, the delega tion of India made a statement concerning the 
Director-General's report on trade-related deve lopments during the period October 2011-May 2012 
(WT/TPR/OV/W/6).  This issue had already been raised  by India at the informal meeting of the Trade 
Policy Review Body on 18 July 2012. 
119. The Chair spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
10. Ukraine Article XXVIII Notification 
(a) Statement by the European Union (WT/GC/M/138)  
120. At the 3 October meeting of the General Council,  the delegation of the European Union, also 
on behalf of Croatia, made a statement concerning Uk raine's recent announcement of its intentions to 
renegotiate a significant part of its WTO commitments. 
121. The representatives of Mexico; Brazil; New Zeal and; Turkey; Australia; Switzerland, United 
States; Nigeria; Cambodia (on behalf of ASEAN) ; Japan; Malaysia; Colombia; Hong Kong, China; 
Chile; Canada; Norway; Guatemala; China; and Ukra ine spoke.  The General Council took note of the 
statements. 
(b) Communication from ASEAN, Australia, Brazil,  Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, 
European Union, Guatemala, Hong Kong Chin a, Iceland, Japan, Ko rea, Liechtenstein, 
Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States 
(WT/GC/M/141) 
122. At the 11 December meeting, the Chair drew  attention to the communication submitted by 
Australia on behalf of a number of Members re questing that this item be put on the agenda 
(WT/GC/150).  The delegation of Australia introdu ced the item regarding Ukraine's notification under 
GATT Article XXVIII.   
123. The representatives of Brazil; United States; Eur opean Union (also on behalf of Croatia); 
Mexico; Japan; Cambodia (on behalf of ASEAN); Tu rkey; Canada; Uruguay; Norway; China; Korea;  WT/GC/151 
 Page 17 
 
 
  Guatemala; Colombia; Iceland; Argentina; Hong K ong, China; Chile; Switzerland (also on behalf of 
Lichtenstein); Egypt; New Zealand; El Salvador; Peru; Lesotho (on behalf of the African Group); 
Mauritius (on behalf of the ACP Group); Costa Rica; Paraguay; Oman; and Ukraine spoke.  The 
General Council took note of the statements.   
11. Ninth Session of the Ministerial Conference 
(a) Date and Venue (WT/GC/M/137) 
124. At the July meeting of the General Council, the Chair recalled that in April 2012 she had 
received a communication (WT/GC/143) from the Minister of Trade of Indonesia offering to host 
MC9 in Indonesia in December 2013.  Since then, in line with what Ministers had agreed at MC8, namely "to request the General Council to hold cons ultations with a view to deciding the date and 
venue of the Ninth Ministerial Conference", she ha d consulted widely with Members on Indonesia's 
offer, and Members had taken up this matter at th e informal HODs meetings on 7 June and 17 July, 
where she had reported on developments in the cons ultation process.  As a result of this process, she 
proposed that the General Council agree that the Nint h Session of the Ministerial Conference be held 
in Bali, Indonesia, in the first w eek of December 2013 and that Memb ers come back to the matter of 
the precise dates. 
125. The General Council so agreed. 
126. The representatives of Indonesia; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (on behalf of the Arab Group); 
Haiti (on behalf of the LDC Group); Lesotho (on be half of the African Group); China; Panama (on 
behalf of GRULAC); and Turkey spoke.  The Ge neral Council took note of the statements.   
(b) Statement by the Chair (WT/GC/M/141) 
127. At the 11 December meeting, the Chair said that  she had been holding extensive consultations 
with Members on the matter of the precise dates for MC9, including a meeting at the level of Heads of 
Delegation held on 10 December.  On the basis of her consultations, she be lieved that the General 
Council was in a position to agree on the precise dat es for MC9.  She proposed the following: the 
Opening Ceremony would be held on the afternoon of  the first day, Tuesday 3 December, followed by 
two working days, 4 and 5 December, with the Cl osing Ceremony on the last day, 6 December.  
Therefore, MC9 should start on Tuesday 3 December and end on Friday 6 December 2013.   
128. The General Council so agreed. 
129. On the basis of her consultations, the Chair al so suggested that the following principles could 
apply to both the preparatory process and the Ministerial Conference itself: 
- First, the "FIT" principle – Full partic ipation, Inclusiveness, and Transparency; 
 
- Second, any issue for action or decision by Ministers proposed by Members should 
be developed by them in line with th e normal consensus principle; and  
 
- Third, issues for action or decision by Ministers should be agreed well before MC9. 
 
130. The second principle was a natural consequence of  the first one, and they were both widely 
acceptable to Members as they stood.   On the third principle, ever yone agreed that issues for the 
Ministers should be largely agreed before Bali, but  from what she had heard in her consultations, in 
the early part of 2013 Members might have to c onsider the question of whether a more precise 
timeframe would be needed. WT/GC/151 
Page 18  
 
  131. The representative of Indonesia spoke.  The Gene ral Council took note of the statements.   
12. Measures to streamline the production of documents and conduct of meetings – 
Statements by the Director-General (WT/GC/M/135, WT/GC/M/137, WT/GC/M/138) 
132. At the General Council meeting in February, the Director-General recalled that the WTO's 
2012-13 budget, approved by the General Council in  November 2011, provided for zero nominal 
growth in 2012.  In December 2011, the Genera l Council had approved a number of recommendations 
by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administ ration for savings and more efficient use of 
resources.  At the present meeting, he reported on implementation of the specific recommendations contained in paragraphs 29-31 of the Budget Committee's report in document WT/BFA/128. 
133. The General Council took note of th e Director-General's statement. 
134. At the July Council meeting, the Director-General  said that the Secretariat had continued its 
review of possible improvements in the areas covered by the decision.  He drew attention to the WTO 
Budget and Finance Report submitted to the Budget Committee on 17 July 2012 which provided a 
comprehensive update on the streamlining of the orga nization's operations, and briefly highlighted the 
principal achievements and remaining problems in th e areas of translation, printing and distribution, 
and scheduling and management of meetings. 
135. The General Council took note of th e Director-General's statement. 
136. At the 3 October meeting, the Director-General  reported on further activities in this area. A 
number of committees had systematically begun to e xplore how, within their mandate and rules of 
procedure, they could contribute to cost-saving in the three areas of tr anslation, printing and 
distribution of documents, and sche duling and management of meetings .  He would continue to press 
for further measures in this respect and would re port more fully to delegations on progress at the 
December General Council.15 
137. The General Council took note of th e Director-General's statement. 
13. Administrative Measures for Members in Arrears (WT/GC/M/135-WT/GC/M/138, 
WT/GC/M/141) 
138. At its meeting in May 2006, the Genera l Council approved a recommendation from the 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration w ith regard to revised Administrative Measures 
for Members in Arrears (WT/BFA/86) under which, inter alia , at each meeting of the General Council 
the Chairman of the Budget Committee would provide information with regard to which Members were under Administrative Measures in Categor ies II through IV, and the General Council 
Chairperson would request Members in Categories III and IV to inform the Chair before the next 
Council meeting as to when the payment of arrears might be expected. 
139. At the General Council meetings in Februa ry, May and July, and on 3 October and 
11 December, the Chairman of the Committee on  Budget, Finance and Administration provided 
information with regard to which Members were  under Administrative Measures in Categories II 
through IV.  The General Council took note of the statements.  
140. In addition, at the July meeting, the repr esentative of the Democratic Republic of Congo 
spoke.  The General Council took note of the statement.  
                                                      
15 See Item 3, paragraph 38.  WT/GC/151 
 Page 19 
 
 
  14. WTO Pension Plan 
(a) Election of members and alternates to the Management Board (WT/GC/M/136, 
WT/GC/M/138) 
141. Article 4(a) of the Regulations of the WTO Pension Plan provides, inter alia , for the election 
by the General Council of a Chairperson, four memb ers and four alternates to the Management Board 
of the Pension Plan, each for a three-year term. 
142. At the May General Council meeting, the Chair, in a communication circulated in document 
WT/GC/W/655, indicated that a member of the Management Board was no longer available to serve 
on the Board, and that it was necessary for the Council to  decide on her replacement.  In addition, she 
indicated that the positions of two alternates were v acant.  Accordingly, she proposed that the General 
Council elect Mr Michael Stone (Hong Kong, Chin a) to serve as a member on the Management 
Board, and Mr James Baxter (Australia) and Ms Micong Klimes (Germany) to serve as alternates on 
the Board for the remainder of its term, i.e. until May 2014. 
143. The General Council took note of the statement and so agreed (WT/L/854). 
144. At the 3 October meeting, the Chair, in  a communication circulated in document 
WT/GC/W/659, indicated that an alternate, Mr Jean-Marc Mignon (France), was no longer available 
to serve on the Board.  Accordingly, she proposed that the General Council elect Mr Ken Chang-Keng 
Chen (Chinese Taipei) to serve as alternate on the Management Board of the Pension Plan for the 
remainder of the Board's term, i.e. until May 2014. 
145. The General Council took note of the statement and so agreed (WT/L/866).  
(b) Annual Report (WT/GC/M/138) 
146. At the 3 October meeting, the Chairman of th e Management Board of the WTO Pension Plan 
introduced the Annual Report of the Management Board for 2011 (WT/L/863). 
147. The General Council took note of the Annual Report and of the statement. 
15. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/ WTO (WT/GC/M/136, WT/GC/M/141) 
148. At its May meeting, the General Council consid ered a report of the Joint Advisory Group of 
the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO on its Forty-fifth Session (ITC/AG(XLV)/242).  The 
Chair recalled that, in keeping with customary practi ce, this report had been considered initially by the 
Committee on Trade and Development at its meeting on  11 April, where it ha d been presented by the 
Chairman of the JAG, Mr Badr (Egypt).  The Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development 
reported on the Committee's consideration of the report. 
149. The representatives of United Kingdom; European Union; Turkey; and Canada spoke.  The 
General Council took note of the statements and a dopted the report of the Joint Advisory Group. 
150. At its 11 December meeting, the General Counc il considered a report of the Joint Advisory 
Group on the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO on its Forty-sixth Session 
(ITC/AG(XLVI)/248).  The Chair recalled that, in k eeping with customary practice, this report had 
been considered initially by the Committee on Tr ade and Development at its meeting on 16 July 
where it had been presented by the Chairman of th e JAG, Amb. Pirez Gordillo (Uruguay).  The Chair 
read out a report on behalf of the Chairman of  the Committee on Trade and Development on the 
Committee's consideration of the report.   WT/GC/151 
Page 20  
 
  151. The General Council took note of the statement and adopted the report of the Joint Advisory 
Group.   
16. Appointment of the next Director-General 
(a) Statement by the Chair (WT/GC/M/138) 
152. At the 3 October meeting, the Chair recalled
16 that under the Procedures for the Appointment 
of Directors-General adopted by the General Council in December 2002 (WT/L/509), the process for 
the appointment of Directors-General had to start nine  months prior to the expiry of the term of the 
incumbent Director-General with a notification from the Chair of the General Council.  In the present 
case, since the term of office of the current Direct or-General, Mr Lamy, would come to an end on 
31 August 2013, the appointment pr ocess would begin on 1 December 2012.  In line with the agreed 
procedures, she would formally notify the opening of the process in a communication to all Members 
at the beginning of November.17 
153. The General Council took note of the statement. 
(b) Statement by India (WT/GC/M/139) 
154. At the 26 October meeting of the General Counc il, the delegation of India made a statement 
concerning the process of Appointment of the next Director-General due to start on 1 December. 
155. The representatives of South Africa; Argentina;  El Salvador; China; Jamaica; Brazil; and 
Cuba spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
17. Review of WTO activities (WT/GC/M/141) 
156. At its 11 December meeting, the General C ouncil considered annual reports for 2012 from 
WTO bodies that had been drawn up in pursuance of the Decision concerning procedures for an 
annual overview of WTO activities and for reporting under the WTO in document WT/L/105.  She 
noted that the Committee on Technical Barriers to  Trade had met after the Council for Trade in 
Goods.  For this reason, the Annual Report of th e Committee had been forwarded directly to the 
General Council.   
157. The General Council adopted the report of the Committee on Trade and Development in 
document WT/COMTD/79, and took note of the reports of the other WTO bodies, including the 
reports of the Committees under the Plurilateral Tr ade Agreements, in documents WT/DSB/58 and 
WT/DSB/58/Add.1, WT/TPR/306, G/L/1018, S/C/39, IP/C/62, G/L/1017, WT/CTE/19, WT/BOP/R/105, WT/BFA/135, WT/REG/22, WT/WGTDF/11, WT/WGTTT/14, GPA/116 and WT/L/869. 
158. The General Council then adopted the draft Annual Report for 2012 of the General Council 
contained in document WT/GC/W/662, on the unders tanding that the Secretariat would make the 
necessary adjustments to it as to include matters considered at the 10 December meeting on the 
accession of Tajikistan and at that meeting.   
                                                      
16 The Chair’s statement was subseque ntly circulated in JOB/GC/24. 
17 The communication was subsequently issued as JOB/GC/25.  WT/GC/151 
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  18. Appointment of officers to WTO bodies  
(a) Appointment of officers – Statements by the Chair (WT/GC/M/135, WT/GC/M/137, 
WT/GC/M/138, WT/GC/M/139) 
159. At the 14 February meeting, the Chairman recal led that, in accordance w ith the Guidelines for 
Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies (WT/ L/510), he and his colleagues – Mrs Johansen 
(Norway), the Chair of the Dispute Settlement B ody and Messrs Gero (Canada) and Matus (Chile), 
former Chairmen of the General Council – had conducted c onsultations with dele gations on a slate of 
names for the appointment of Chairs to the bodies lis ted in Groups 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the Annex to the 
Guidelines.  In addition, since Mr Darlington Mwape (Zambia), Chairman of the TRIPS Council 
Special Session, had been recalled to capital, th is appointment had also been included in the 
consultations.  Unfortunately, he was not able at the present time to report consensus on a slate of 
names following these consultations.  In the light of this situation and the discussion at the informal 
meeting of the General Council the previous day, he proposed the following course of action:  (i) in the light of the consultations, the General Council wo uld elect its new Chairperson, Mrs Elin Johansen 
(Norway);
18  (ii) the new Chair of the General Counc il would continue the consultations on the 
appointment of officers to WTO bodies for 2012, and the General Council would reconvene at an 
appropriate time to take up the slate of names; and (iii) in addition, in light of the suggestions from 
several delegations at the informal meeting of the General Council the previous day, he proposed that 
the incoming Chair initiate a process of consultati ons to review the Guidelines for Appointment of 
Officers to WTO Bodies adopted by the General Council in 2002 (WT/L/510).19 
160. The General Council took note of the statement and so agreed. 
161. At its re-convened meeting on 24 February, th e General Council conti nued its consideration 
of this agenda Item. 
162. On the basis of consultations, there was a consensus on the following slate of names: 
Dispute Settlement Body   H.E. Mr. Shahid BASHIR (Pakistan) 
 
Trade Policy Review Body   H.E. Mr. Eduardo MUÑOZ GÓMEZ (Colombia) 
 Council for Trade in Goods   H.E. Dr. Tom MBOYA OKEYO (Kenya)  Council for Trade in Services   H.E. Mr. Joakim REITER (Sweden)  
Council for TRIPS    H.E. Mr. Dacio CASTILLO (Honduras) 
 Committee on Trade and    H.E. Dr. Anthony Mothae MARUPING   Development     (Lesotho)  
Committee on Balance-of-    H.E. Mr. Md. Abdul HANNAN (Bangladesh) 
  Payments Restrictions  Committee on Budget, Finance    H.E. Mr. Albinas ZANANAVI ČIUS (Lithuania) 
  and Administration  
                                                      
18 See item 19, below. 
19 See sub-item 18(b), below. WT/GC/151 
Page 22  
 
  Committee on Trade and    H.E. Mr. Krisda PIAMPONGSANT (Thailand) 
  Environment  Committee on Regional Trade    Mr. François RIEGERT (France)   Agreements 
 
Working Group on Trade, Debt    H.E. Mr. Hisham BADR (Egypt)   and Finance  Working Group on Trade and    Mr. Carlos ROSSI COVARRUBIAS (Peru) 
  Transfer of Technology 
  163. Appointments for these bodies would be for one year , in keeping with the general rule in the 
Guidelines.  These appointments would be made fo rmally by the WTO bodies concerned at their 
subsequent meetings in 2012. 
164. Regarding the bodies established by the TNC, the General Council Chair noted that the 
appointment of Mr Bashir as Chairman of the DSB would leave a vacancy with regard to the 
chairmanship of the Special Session of the Committ ee on Trade and Development.  The consultations 
had shown a consensus among Members on the a ppointment of Mr Kwok Fook Seng (Singapore), 
who would be elected as Chair of the CTD Special Sessi on at its next formal meeting.  With regard to 
the TRIPS Council in Special Session, the consu ltations had shown a consensus among Members on 
the appointment of Mr Agah (Nigeria), who woul d be elected as Chair of the TRIPS Council in 
Special Session at its next formal meeting. 
165. The General Council took note of the Chair's st atement, of the consensus on the slate of 
names for the appointment of officers, and of th e appointment of the Chairs of the CTD Special 
Session and the TRIPS Council Special Session. 
166. The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods  and the Chairman of the Council for Trade 
in Services spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
167. At the July meeting, the Chair reported th at she had been holding consultations on the 
chairmanship of the Working Group on Trade, Debt a nd Finance.  In addition, she had been informed 
that Mr Wasecha (Switzerland) would soon relinquish his post, and it would therefore be necessary to 
hold consultations to appoint a new Chair for the Negotiating Group on Market Access.  She intended 
to take up both appointments after the summer break. 
168. The General Council took note of the statement. 
169. At the 3 October meeting, the Chair said that, as indicated in her faxes of 12 and 
19 September, she had been conduc ting consultations on the Chairmanships of the Working Group on 
Trade, Debt and Finance and the Negotiating Group on Market Access.  The consultations had shown 
a consensus among Members on the appointment of Mr Faizel Ismail (South Africa) as Chair of the Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance, who would be elected as Chair at the next formal meeting of the Working Group.  Concerning the Negotiating Group on Market Access, the 
consultations were proceeding, but more time was n eeded to achieve consensu s on this appointment.  
She therefore intended to continue this process.  In  addition, she had been informed that Ms Hiswani 
Harun (Malaysia) would be relinquishing her post as Chair of the Committee on Trade and 
Environment in Special Session as of 1 November.  It was therefore necessary to include the appointment of a new Chair for this b ody in this process of consultations.  WT/GC/151 
 Page 23 
 
 
  170. The General Council took note of the statement. 
171. At the 26 October meeting, the Chair announced that her consultations on the Chairmanships 
of the Negotiating Group on Market Access and the Committee on Trade and Environment in Special 
Session had shown a consensus among Members on the appointment of Amb. Winzap (Switzerland) 
as Chair of the Negotiating Group on Market Access, and Amb. Kuneralp (Turkey) as Chair of the 
Committee on Trade and Environment in Special Session.  These appointments would be made 
formally at the next formal meetings of the respective bodies. 
172. The General Council took note of the statement. 
(b) Guidelines for appointment of officers to WTO bodies20 
173. On 14 February 2012, the General Council agr eed that the incoming General Council Chair 
would initiate a process of consultations to revi ew the Guidelines for Appoi ntment of Officers to 
WTO Bodies adopted by the General Council in December 2002 (WT/L/510). 
(i) Statement by Ecuador (WT/GC/M/136) 
174. At the May meeting of the General Council, the representative of Ecuador raised concern with 
regard to the process and guidelines for the appointment of officers to WTO bodies. 
175. The representatives of Cuba and El Salvador  spoke.  The General Council took note of the 
statements.  
(ii) Statement by the Chair (WT/GC/M/137) 
176. At the July meeting, the Chair recalled th e mandate for reviewing the Guidelines for 
Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies and set out the points of convergence which had emerged 
from her consultations.21 
177. The representatives of Ecuador; El Salvador; Ha iti (on behalf of the LDC Group); Cuba; and 
Plurinational State of Bolivia spoke.  The General Council took note of the Chair's statement and of 
the other statements. 
(c) Announcement by the Chair pursuant to paragraph 7.1(a) of the Guidelines (WT/GC/M/141) 
178. At the 11 December meeting, the Chair said th at in accordance with the Guidelines for the 
Appointment of Officers to WTO bodies in document WT/L/510 and the practical steps to improve 
the implementation of the Guidelines (JOB/GC/22) agreed to by the General Council in July, she 
would be starting the selection process for the appoi ntment of chairpersons to the WTO bodies in 
Groups 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Anne x to the Guidelines.  In accordan ce with Paragraph 7.1(b) of the 
Guidelines, she would be assisted in the selecti on process by the serving Chairman of the Dispute 
Settlement Body, Amb. Bashir (Pakistan), and Ambs . Agah (Nigeria), and Matus (Chile), former 
Chairmen of the General Council.   
179. The General Council took note of the statemen t, which had been made pursuant to the 
Guidelines for the Appointment of Officers. 
                                                      
20 See item 18(a), above. 
21 The Chair's statement was subseque ntly circulated in JOB/GC/22. WT/GC/151 
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  19. Election of Chairperson (WT/GC/M/135) 
180. At the February Council meeting, the Chairman, as the outgoing presiding officer of the 
General Council, made a statement. 
181. The General Council then unanimously elected  Mrs Johansen (Norway) to the Chair. 
182. The Director-General, the newly-elected Chair,  and the representatives of  Lesotho (on behalf 
of the African Group); Nicaragua (on behalf of GRULAC); European Union; United States; El 
Salvador; Cambodia (on behalf of ASEAN); Pakist an; Indonesia (on behalf of the G-33); Bangladesh 
(on behalf of the LDC Group); Ca nada; Hong Kong, China; Korea; Thailand; Chile; Barbados (on 
behalf of the SVEs); India; Peru; Switzerland;  Singapore; Colombia; Tunisia; and Iran (as an 
Observer) spoke.  The General Council took note of the statements. 
__________