JOB/GC/210  
 
13 December 2018  
(18-7876) Page: 1/2 
General Council    
 
AGENDA ITEM 2 : IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E BALI, NAIROBI AND BUENOS AIRES 
OUTCOMES – STATEMENT  BY THE CHAIRMAN  
WEDNESDAY, 12 DECEMB ER 2018  
1.1.  This item remains on the agenda so that the General Council can continue to follow up on the 
decisions adopted in Bali, Nairobi and Buenos Aires – and do so in a horizontal and transparent 
manner.  
1.2.  On 4 December, in preparation for this General Council meeting, I held a meeting with the 
Chairs of Regular Bodies. We had a very useful and productive discussion, and their updat es on the 
implementation of the Ministerial mandates are the basis of my statement today.  
1.3.  Let me also point out that matters related to the Work Programmes on Small Economies and 
on Electronic Commerce will be taken up in the next two items of our agenda.  
1.4.  Regarding the Buenos Aires Decision on TRIPS Non -Violation and Situation Complaints,  the 
TRIPS Council has continued the examination of scope and modalities for such complaints at its 
recent meeting in November. There were some encouraging signs indicating  delegations' readiness 
to engage in a substantive examination of scope and modalities for non -violation and situation 
complaints. Possible conditions for such complaints were also mentioned. A number of Members also 
emphasized the need for a thorough disc ussion in the TRIPS Council before taking any decision. The 
Chair indicated his availability for informal consultations ahead of the Council's next meeting in 
February.  
1.5.  Moving now to some of the Ministerial outcomes on Agriculture,  the Committee on Agricul ture 
continued the review of the Bali Decision on TRQ Administration at its meeting in November.  The 
review benefited from a thematic session on TRQ administration and underfill mechanism, involving 
the participation of industry representatives. The review  discussion is expected to intensify next 
year, for the finalization of recommendations to be submitted to the General Council at the end of 
the 2019, in line with the Decision.  
1.6.  Regarding the Nairobi Decision on Export Competition,  you will recall that the  Committee on 
Agriculture conducted the first triennial review of the Decision and adopted the report of the Review 
in September.  
1.7.  With respect to the implementation of this Decision by Members with scheduled export 
subsidies reduction commitments,  the situ ation has improved significantly in the last months, with 
seven Members with their revised export subsidies schedules certified; one Member with partial 
certification,  and its full certification currently under way; two Members with draft revised schedule s 
circulated, although not yet certified; and one additional Member, namely Iceland, who just 
submitted to the Secretariat its draft revised export subsidies schedule for circulation. Other 
Members with scheduled export subsidies commitments provided an up date on the steps taken to 
implement the Decision at the November meeting of the Committee on Agriculture.  
1.8.  On a separate matter, let me take this opportunity to note that, in the meeting with the Chairs 
of Regular Bodies I referred to, the Chair of the Com mittee on Agriculture stressed that efforts are 
under way in the Committee to improve the timeliness and completeness of notifications.  
1.9.  Moving to the Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs,  the Committee on Rules of 
Origin conducted the annual r eview of recent developments related to preferential rules of origin for JOB/GC/210  
 
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  LDCs. A report summarizing the main developments was adopted, and is before the General Council 
in G/RO/87. Amongst these, the Committee noted that almost all preference -granting Memb ers have 
now submitted their preferential rules of origin using the template agreed to by the Committee – 
with 6 Members still to submit their origin requirements using the agreed template. The Committee 
also discussed rules of origin based on the tariff c lassification criterion; access to information; the 
status of implementation of the self -certification system for registered exporters; and a report by 
the Secretariat on utilization rates.  
1.10.   The LDC group noted that the implementation of the Decision was an  ongoing process and 
that there was still scope to simplify and reform the preferential rules of origin of all preference -
granting Members.  
1.11.   Turning to the LDC Services Waiver,  at last week's meeting of the Council for Trade in 
Services, Members reverted to  the suggestions by the LDC Group in its communication entitled 
"Possible Elements for a Review of the Operation of Notified Preferences".  It was agreed that the 
Services Council would hold a dedicated meeting, at a date to be determined, at which Members  
would exchange information as part of the mandate in the Nairobi Decision that the Council "initiate 
a process to review the operation of notified preferences, on the basis of information provided by 
Members".  The Chairman will be holding informal consul tations on the agenda, date and 
organizational aspects of the dedicated meeting.   
1.12.   Moving now to the Bali Decision on the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential 
Treatment,  at the recent meeting of the CTD's Dedicated Session on the Monitoring Mec hanism, the 
CTD Chairman noted that no written submissions had yet been made to operationalize the 
Mechanism, and that divergent views persisted on how to proceed with the review of the Mechanism, 
which was mandated to take place three years after the firs t formal meeting. The Chairman urged 
Members to come to a common understanding on the way forward and indicated that he would 
continue his informal discussions with delegations in this regard.  
1.13.   With respect to DFQF market access for LDCs,  the Bali Decision instructed the CTD to annually 
review the steps taken to provide DFQF market access to LDCs. This review was to be based, inter 
alia, on a background report to be prepared by the Secretariat, in close coordination with Members. 
The review took place at the  November meeting of the CTD. However, and as it was already the 
case in 2017, this review was carried out without the report by the Secretariat, due to the persistent 
divergent views expressed by some Members on the scope and coverage of the report. The C hairman 
intends to continue consulting with Members on issues relating to DFQF and the Secretariat report.  
1.14.   Regarding Aid for Trade, in  November Members agreed to the 2019 Aid -for-Trade Monitoring 
and Evaluation exercise on: "Supporting Economic Diversifica tion and Empowerment for Inclusive, 
Sustainable Development". This exercise invites Members to submit an electronic self -assessment 
questionnaire and communicate their national situation with regard to Aid for Trade, and the deadline 
for submitting respons es is 31 December 2018. Next year's Aid for Trade Global Review, will be held 
on 3-5 July 2019.  
1.15.   And lastly, a brief update on the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement,  where 
we now stand at 140 ratifications,  covering more than 85% of the tot al – and I understand  that 
more are in the pipeline.  
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