WT/MIN(17)/13  
 
5 December  2017 
(17-6686) Page: 1/3 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 201 7   
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E TRADE -RELATED COMPONENTS O F COTTON  
PROGRESS REPORT BY THE DIRECT OR-GENERAL TO THE 1 1TH MINISTERIAL CONFEREN CE 
1.  Paragraph 16 of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on cotton (WT/MIN(15)/46 and  WT/L/981), 
adopted by Members in December 2015  invites  the Director -General to report to the 
11th Ministerial Conference on the progress made in implementing the trade -related components of 
the Nairobi  Decision . This report, draft ed in response to th at mandate , is being forwar ded through 
the General Council  for Ministers ' consideration at the Eleventh  Ministerial Conference. The report  
covers: (1) the dedicated discussions of the relevant trade -related developments for cotton  
manda ted by the Bali and the Nairobi Decision s; and (2) the state of play of the negotiations on 
cotton.  This report follows my previous progress report on the implementation of the trade -related 
components of cotton (WT/ MIN(15)/12) pursuant to paragraph 11 of the Bali Ministerial Decision  
on Cotton (WT/MIN(13)/41 and  WT/L/916 ). This report is complementary to my periodic reports 
on the development assistance aspects of cotton.   
DEDICATED  DICUSSIONS OF THE RE LEVANT TRADE -RELATED DEVEL OPMENTS FOR 
COTTON  
2.  Further to the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton, four dedicated discussions of the relevant 
trade -related developments for cotton have taken place  since 20161. 
3.  These dedicated discussion s were held in the context of the Committee o n Agriculture in 
Special Session and back-to-back with the Director -General's consultative framework mechanism 
on the development aspects of cotton  as part of a WTO "cotton day" . 
4.  Members have welcomed the holding of th ese dedicated discussion s as concrete step s in the 
implementation of the Bali and Nairobi Decision s on cotton. Members recognized that t he 
dedicated discussion s, although a separate track from negotiations , provide  a useful  opportunity  to 
exchange views on  cotton trade -related polici es from a WTO perspective and to inform  the ongoing 
negotiations on cotton.  
5.  The dedicated discussion s were informed by backg round paper s by the Secretariat2 which 
compile factual information and data from Members' notifications and other submissions to the  
WTO on export subsidies, domestic support and market access, including both tariff and non -tariff 
measures. Further to Members' requests and suggestions, the  Secretariat background papers were  
revised to include additional information  on relevant recent p olicy developments through 
a questionnaire, as well as relevant information on cotton markets and policies from Trade Policy 
Review reports. In line with the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton, the background paper s also 
included a new addendum with Ma rket Access data for the cotton -related products listed in the 
Annex to th at Decision.  
6.  Members also benefit, s ince the second dedicated discussion, from presentation s by the 
International Cotton Advisory  Committee (ICAC)  on global cotton market and trade trends as well 
                                                
1 1 July 2016 , 23 November 2016, 24 July 2017 and 17 November 2017 . The Chair reports on the first 
three meetings can be found respectively in TN/AG/34 -TN/AG/SCC/6 dated 13 September 2016; 
TN/AG/ 35-TN/AG/SCC/7 dated 26 January 2017  and TN/AG/36 -TN/AG/SCC/8 dated 29 September 2017 . The 
Chair report on the dedicated discussion of 17 November 2017 will be issued shortly.  
2 TN/AG/GEN/34 -TN/AG/SCC/GEN/13 and i ts revisions and adde ndums.  WT/MIN(17)/13  
 
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  as recent developments relating to government measures in favour of cotton . ICAC also briefed 
Members o n its involvement in current work on electronic certifications such as ePhyto t o facilitate 
transactions an d shipment of cotton.  
7.  At the 24 July and 17 November 2017 dedicated discussions, t he WTO S ecretariat and the 
International Trade Centre (ITC) presented  a joint project to develop a dedicated cotton portal , 
which  would provide a single entry point containin g all the cotton specific information available in 
the various WTO and ITC databases on market access, trade statistics, coun try-specific business 
contacts and so on. This project  was developed in response to (i) a suggestion by the 
Cotton -4 (C4)3 at the Q uad Plus meeting of 16 June  2017, and (ii) the C4 call for a reflection on 
ways to improve the quality and accessibility of  cotton market access  information . The C4 and 
other Members welcomed the proposed "cotton portal" as a useful new online platform to provide 
user-friendly information to cotton traders. The official launch of the Cotton Portal will take place in 
Buenos Aires during the 11 th Ministerial Conference .  
8.  At the 17 November 2017 dedicated discussion, the Chair took  note of the absence of request 
by any Member  to amend the list  of cotton -related products  annexed to th e Nairobi Ministerial  
Decision , pursuant to paragraph 5  of that Decision .  
NEGOTIATIONS  
9.  Members  and the C4 in particular,  welcomed the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton  as an 
encouraging step forward in the area s of Market Access and Export Competition, as  well as with 
regards to development -related aspects . They  noted that the follow -up to the implementation of 
the Decision would remain a priority.  However, the lack of results in the Domestic Support pillar 
was regretted.   
10.  In his report to the informal meeting of the Trade Negotiation Committee on 25 July 2017 , the 
Chair noted that " most Members reiterated their support for a meaningful and specific outcome on 
Cotton Domestic Support  at MC11 , but a couple of participants recorded their lack of optimism, 
taking into account the overall negotiation prospects. Severa l participants also noted the link with 
the overall Domestic Support negotiation. " 
11.  Since Nairobi , the negotiations on cotton have taken place in the classical cotton quadrilateral 
plus - "quad plus "4 - formats,  within the context of the Committee on Agriculture in special 
session.   
12.  The C-4 tabled on 1 1 October 201 7, a proposal for a Ministerial d ecision on cotton .5 Several 
other submissions on Domestic Support also include specific suggestions on Cotton Domestic 
Support .6 Participants had the opportunity to discuss the various proposals on the table . Cotton 
Domestic Support is the central and most controversial issue and views remain far apart on what 
could constitute a possible outcome in this area.  
13.  While all Members recognize the Ministerial  mandate to treat cotton ambitiously, expeditiously 
and specifically, many considered that further disciplines on Green Box direct payments granted to 
cotton producers as suggested by the C4 could not be achieved at MC11. Some Members 
considered that it wa s not a realistic perspective for the time being while some others opposed this 
proposal for more fundamental reasons.  
14.  As regards trade distorting support for cotton, several Members favour a limit of cotton trade 
distorting support expressed as a percenta ge of cotton value of production. Other Members insist 
on the need to address first the AMS granted to cotton beyond the de minimis  level. 
The C4 proposal raised various questions from some Members, while other Members also 
considered that the C4 proposal was too ambitious in the current overall negotiation context.  
                                                
3 Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali  
4 C4, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, India , European Union,  Pakistan  and United States.  
5 TN/AG/GEN/ 46-TN/AG/SCC/GEN/1 8. 
6 These proposals include Proposal by Brazil, European Union, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay 
(JOB/AG/99 ); Communication from the delegation of Benin on behal f of the LDC Group (JOB/AG/90); 
Submission by Guyana on Behalf of the ACP Group  (JOB/AG/112); and Proposal by Argentina (JOB/AG/120).  WT/MIN(17)/13  
 
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  15.  The C4 recalled the hardship of cotton producers in various parts of the world and noted that 
its proposal was fully reflective of the WTO mandate on cotton and of the need to address all the 
long standing trade distorting subsidies affecting cotton. The C4 also called for a figures -based 
negotiation in order to compare the various levels of support and cuts in cotton subsidies in the 
different boxes that would result from the different proposals  currently on the table.  The Chair and 
several Members reiterated their call for  recent and up -to-date data on Members' policies and 
support levels, especially in terms of Domestic Support.  
16.  At least one delegation expressed its strong scepticism about any possible substantive 
outcome on Cotton Domestic Support taking into account the overall negotiating environment and 
invited participants to acknowledge this stalemate and turn their attention to a possible post - 
MC11 work programme in which cotton could be  included.  
17.  With regards to the other components of Cotton - Market Access, Export Competition, 
implementation and follow up, as well as development assistance ,  Members reaffirmed the 
continued relevance of the Nairobi Decision  in that regard . Most delega tions agreed that this fact 
could be recognized in a cotton outcome at MC11 as suggested by the C4 in paragraphs 10 to 13 
of document TN/AG/GEN/46 , subject to possible minor edits aimed at updating references to 
various timelines contained in the Nairobi D ecision , as well as a reference  to the upcoming launch 
of a joint WTO/ITC Cotton Portal .  
18.  This latest state of play in the cotton negotiations is reflected in the Chair's report to the 
Trade Negotiations  Committee contained in document  TN/AG/37/Rev.1 . 
CONC LUSION  
19.  Members continue to recognize the vital importance of cotton, in particular to LDCs as well as 
to a number of developing economies, especially in Africa. As a result, the cotton dossier remains 
at the core of our work at the WTO. The dedicated discu ssions in relation to the trade -related 
aspects of cotton have continued to provide added value to the work on cotton. I am glad to see 
positive developments in this regard, particularly the development of a joint WTO/ITC  Cotton 
Portal. I look forward to i ts launch at Buenos Aires.  
20.  As regards negotiations on cotton, a ll Members recognize the mandate agreed more than 
13 years ago that cotton be addressed "ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically within the 
agriculture negotiations ". Cotton Domestic Suppo rt remains the central and most controversial 
issue in the negotiations on cotton. I regret the lack of progress in this area so far and hope that 
Members will be able to make progress on cotton, particularly on cotton domestic support  at the 
11th Minister ial Conference and beyond.   
 
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