JOB/GC/84  
 
9 October 2015  
(15-5276)  Page: 1/3  
General Council    
 
 AGENDA ITEM 2: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BALI OUTCOMES 
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN 
THURSDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2015 
1.1.  Delegations will recall that we have had this agenda item on implementation of the Bali 
outcomes since July 2014.  
1.2.  This was done to provide an opportunity to be up-to-date with the work taking place in those 
regular bodies which are directly involved in the implementation of the various Bali Decisions. 
Since our July meeting, not all the regular bodies have met and a number of meetings are scheduled this month. My statement will therefore focus on relevant updates where these are available. 
1.3.  Let me start with the decisions on regular work.  Regarding TRIPS non-violation and situation 
complaints, the Council for TRIPS has discussed the matter at each of its formal meetings. The TRIPS Council Chair is currently continuing his informal consultations with Members with a view to 
enabling the Council to agree, at its next meeting in mid-October, on its recommendations to 
MC10. 
1.4.  On e-commerce, you will recall that at the July General Council meeting, 
Ambassador Suescum (friend of the GC Chair) re ported on the Work Programme on Electronic 
Commerce and his report was circulated in document WT/GC/W/701. The Chairs of the Council for Services and the Council for Goods had also submitted reports on their respective areas (S/C/47 and G/C/56). The Friend of the Chair has continued his contacts and encouragement with 
delegations, and different groups of delegations have been discussing the way forward. However, 
at this point I do not have much to add but to ur ge Members to engage further in this area as per 
the Bali mandate. As you will recall, Ministers did instruct us to consider any recommendations on 
possible measures related to electronic commerce in  the next session of the Ministerial Conference 
(Nairobi). I would like to remind you that the current moratorium on electronic transmissions will expire at the Nairobi Ministerial Conference. As Chairman, it is my hope that Members will be able 
t o  c o m e  u p  w i t h  s o m e  c o n s e n s u a l  l a n g u a g e  o n  t h i s  m a t t e r  u n d e r  t h e  a b l e  l e a d e r s h i p  o f  
Ambassador Suescum. 
1.5.  Concerning Aid-for-Trade, the Fifth Global Review held in the summer provided an 
opportunity for participants from the trade an d development community to discuss the economic 
and development impact of high trade costs – no tably on the poorest countries and citizens, and 
on achievement of the Sustainable Development Go als. Discussions during the three days focused 
on how to address high trade costs. An important conclusion that emerged was that the 
expeditious implementation of the TFA would certai nly help in lowering trade costs. The Review 
also provided a platform for the launch of Ph ase 2 of the EIF for LDCs — an event that has 
prepared the ground for the pledging conference  t o  b e  h e l d  i n  a d v a n c e  o f  M C 1 0 .  A  S u m m a r y  
Report of the Fifth Global Review will be circulated in the coming days. The CTD's next formal 
session on Aid for Trade is expected to take place at the end of October — this will be preceded by a Workshop on Aid for Trade and the Sustainable Development Goals. A new biennial Aid-for-Trade 
work programme will be developed after MC10. JOB/GC/84 
 
- 2 - 
 
  1.6.  Regarding Trade and Transfer of Technolo gy, the next meeting of the Working Group will 
take place later this month. Discussion will also continue on possible recommendations on the basis of a non-paper titled "Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing — Steps to Increase Flows of Technology to Developing Countries", tabled by a group of 
developing countries. 
1.7.  Moving now to Agriculture, as you know, the Committee on Agriculture is responsible for 
implementation of Bali outcomes in two areas: th e dedicated discussion on export competition and 
the Decision on TRQ administration.  There are no updates with respect to the report I provided in 
July on these two issues. 
1.8.  Regarding Development and LDCs matters, on Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs, you will 
recall that the Bali Ministerial Decision requires the Committee on Rules of Origin to "annually 
review the developments in preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from LDCs, in 
accordance with these guidelines"; "report to  the General Council", and "provide the Sub-
Committee on LDCs with a report on the outcome of such review." 
1.9.  The Committee has been taking note and discussing new preferential rules of origin 
applicable to LDCs or modifications to existing ru les. The first report was prepared and sent to the 
General Council in 2014 and a second report will be prepared after the CRO meeting of 
15 October. At that meeting, the Committee will ex amine new or modified rules of origin notified 
by China, Japan and Thailand. 
1.10.  Regarding the Operationalization of the LDC Services Waiver, the Council for Trade in 
Services has received a total of 15 notification s of preferences for LDC services and service 
suppliers. These were submitted by: Canada; Australia; Norway; China; Korea; Hong Kong, China; 
Chinese Taipei; Singapore; New Zealand; Switzerl and; Japan; Mexico; Turkey; the United States; 
and India. In addition, two Members, the Europe an Union and Chile, communicated to the Council 
their intention to notify preferences as soon as their domestic procedures are completed.  
1.11.  The LDC Group has recently circulated a communication requesting that a Dedicated 
Session be convened to assess the state of play with regard to the notifications of preferences and 
to consider next steps. It is my understanding that this Dedicated Session is tentatively scheduled 
for later this month.   
1.12.  On Duty-Free Quota-Free (DFQF), a de dicated meeting of the Committee on Trade and 
Development was held in September to discuss duty-free and quota-free market access for LDCs. 
This followed from the request for such a meet ing made by Bangladesh, the LDC Coordinator and 
the subsequent informal consultations held by the CTD Chairman. The dedicated meeting allowed 
a frank and open exchange of views on the DFQF issue. With regard to a way forward, several 
Members expressed support for the idea of a "clini cal examination", to allow a better appreciation 
of the issues involved and possible impact arising from implementation of DFQF. It was proposed that the Secretariat prepare a study to help in this examination. Some Members also suggested 
possible elements that could be included in this  study. While most Members indicated that they 
were open to the idea of a Secretariat study, it was also suggested that the "parameters" or "scope" of such a study needed to be defined befo re the Secretariat could begin work. Accordingly, 
the CTD Chairman invited the proponents to submit  a proposed outline of the study as soon as 
possible, after which he intends to hold informal consultations. As for the CTD's annual DFQF 
review, this will take place at the Committee's November meeting, for which a Secretariat's report on Members' DFQF market access for LDCs will be prepared in accordance with the Bali Decision. 
1.13.  Regarding the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential Treatment, as you know 
the Bali Decision stipulates that the Mechanism, which operates in a Dedicated Session of the CTD, is to serve as a focal point within the WTO to analyse and review the implementation of S&D 
provisions. Although three meetings of the Dedicate d Session have been held since Bali, no written 
submissions from Members have yet been received. The next meeting of the Monitoring Mechanism is scheduled for November. 
1.14.  Work on Trade Facilitation continued to progress since my last report. Members submitted 
additional category A notifications, bringing their current overall number to 72. These notifications 
will be formally received by the Preparator y Committee when it meets on 13 October.  JOB/GC/84 
 
- 3 - 
 
  1.15.  Delegations also deposited a series of ratification instruments — and the increase was 
especially noticeable during the current period. I understand that since July we have received 
instruments of acceptance from a number of Member s, each bringing us one step closer to what 
would be necessary to allow the Agreement to enter into force. This is a very encouraging 
development that I hope to see followed by additi onal ratifications so that the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement can take effect in the near future. 
__________