WT/MIN(15)/46  
WT/L/981  
 
21 December 2015  
(15-6850)  Page: 1/4  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015    
 
COTTON 
MINISTERIAL DECISION OF 19 DECEMBER 2015 
The Ministerial Conference, 
 
Having regard to paragraph  1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the 
World Trade Organization;  
Stressing  the vital importance of cotton to a number of developing economies and 
particularly the least-developed amongst them, and noting that over the past few years cotton has been one of the most contentious issues at the Wo rld Trade Organization (WTO), both in the trade 
negotiations and in the framework of the dispute settlement process; 
 
Recalling  that export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect and trade 
distorting domestic support for cotton by WTO Members distort prices and disrupt international 
cotton markets, with severe consequences for the economy and social lives in African cotton-producing countries, especially Least Developed Countries (LDCs);  
Recalling  that on several occasions, the Cotton Four (C-4)
1 has stressed the need for 
progress as regards the commitment of WTO Trad e Ministers and has shown its good will in 
seeking to build a credible consensus through negotiation; 
 
Expressing  their concern at the lack of progress in the cotton negotiations and the absence 
of clearly-stated political determination in the trade component of this vital issue since 2003, 
when the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton was submitted to the WTO; 
 
Taking into account  the context that has prevailed in recent years and of the trend in world 
cotton prices, which has been highly unfavourable for cotton producers and exporters, and in 
particular African ones, over the past two years; 
  Considering  the 1979 Decision on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity 
and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (L/4903), the 1994 Ministerial Decision on 
Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries and the 2009 Decision on Preferential Tariff Treatment for Least Developed Countries (WT/L/759), and without prejudice to the right of 
Members to continue to act pursuant to the provisions contained in those Decisions; and 
 
Taking into account  the 2010 Decision on the Transpar ency Mechanism for Preferential 
Trade Arrangements (WT/L/806) .  
 
Decides  as follows: 
 
                                               
1 Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. WT/MIN(15)/46 • WT/L/981 
 
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  1.  TRADE COMPONENT 
1.1  MARKET ACCESS 1.  We welcome the progress made voluntarily by some Members towards providing duty-free and 
quota-free market access for cotton and cotton-related products originating from LDCs. 
2.  Developed country Members, and developing  country Members declaring themselves in a 
position to do so, shall grant, to the extent pr ovided for in their respective preferential trade 
arrangements
2 in favour of LDCs, as from 1 January 2016, duty-free and quota-free market access 
for cotton produced and exported by LDCs. 
3.  Developing country Members declaring themse lves not in a position to grant duty-free and 
quota-free market access for cotton produced and exported by LDCs shall undertake, as from 1 January 2016, to consider the possibilities for increased import opportunities for cotton from 
LDCs. 
4.  Developed country Members, and developing  country Members declaring themselves in a 
position to do so, shall grant, to the extent provided for in  their respective preferential trade 
arrangements
2 in favour of LDCs, as from 1 January 2016, duty-free and quota-free market access 
for exports by LDCs of relevant cotton-related products included in the list annexed to this Decision and covered by Annex 1 of the Agreement on Agriculture. 
5.  We agree to review the list annexed to this Decision in the Dedicated Discussions on cotton 
referred to in paragraph 14 of this Decision wi thin two years, on the basis of updated trade 
statistics provided by Members on their imports from LDCs. 
6.  The Dedicated Discussions on cotton referred to in paragraph 14 of this Decision shall continue 
to address the following specific elements, based on factual information and data compiled by the 
WTO Secretariat from Members' notifications, complemented, as appropriate, by relevant information provided by Members to the WTO Secretariat: 
(a) identification and examination of market access barriers, including tariff and 
non-tariff barriers for the entry of cotton produced and exported by cotton-producing LDCs; 
(b) reviews of market access improvements and of any market access measures 
undertaken by Members, including the identification of access barriers to cotton produced and exported by cotton-producing LDCs in markets of interest to them; and 
(c) examination of possible additional meas ures for progressive and predictable 
improvements in market access, in particular the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to cotton produced and exported by cotton-producing LDCs. 
1.2  DOMESTIC SUPPORT 
7.  We acknowledge the efforts made by some Members to reform their domestic cotton policies 
and which may contribute to the objective of reduction of the trade distorting domestic subsidies 
for cotton production. 
8.  We emphasize however that some more efforts remain to be made and that these positive 
steps are not a substitute for the attainment of our objective. In doing so, Members shall ensure that necessary transparency is provided through regular notifications and the subsequent review 
process in the Committee on Agriculture. 
                                               
2 In this regard, China declares itself in a position to  do so to the extent provided for in its preferential 
trade arrangements and political commitments. WT/MIN(15)/46 • WT/L/981 
 
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  1.3  EXPORT COMPETITION 
9.  The disciplines and commitments contained in the Ministerial Decision on Export Competition 
(WT/MIN(15)/45-WT/L/980 adopted on 19 December 2015) shall be immediately implemented with regard to cotton by developed country Members as of the date of adoption of that Decision, 
and by developing country Members not later than 1 January 2017. 
2.  DEVELOPMENT COMPONENT 10.  We reaffirm the importance of the developm ent assistance aspects of cotton, and commit to 
continued engagement in the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton. 
We take note of the Director-General's sevent h periodic report to the Membership on the 
development assistance aspects of cotton. We invite the Director-General to submit the next periodic report prior to the 11
th Ministerial Conference. 
11.  We underline the importance of effective assist ance to support the cotton sector in developing 
country Members, especially the LDCs amongst th em. We recognize that the Aid-for-Trade (AfT) 
initiative, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), should play a key role in 
strengthening the cotton sector in LDCs. The link age between this initiative and the development 
aspects of cotton should be reinforc ed to help formulate, on the basis of priorities identified by LDC 
cotton producers, multidimensional and integrated programmes and projects at the regional and 
sub-regional level, to be submitted to development partners.  
12.  We urge WTO Members and development partners to continue their efforts and contributions 
to enhance the production, productivity and competitiveness of the cotton sector in developing country Member producers, especially the LDCs. Likewise, the beneficiaries of cotton development 
assistance are encouraged to continue carrying forward their domestic cotton sector reforms. 
13.  We recognize the importance of the role of Cotton Focal Points and encourage Members to 
enhance the experiences and information sharing amongst all interested parties in the cotton 
dossier. 
3.  IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP 14.  We undertake to continue holding Dedicated Discussions on cotton on a bi-annual basis, as 
indicated in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of the Bali Ministerial Decision on Cotton (WT/MIN(13)/41 and 
WT/L/916), including in particular to examine relevant trade-related developments across the three pillars of Market Access, Domestic Support, and Export Competition in relation to cotton. 
15.  We undertake to regularly monitor the impl ementation by Members of paragraphs 2 to 4 
during these Dedicated Discussions on cotton, based on relevant Members' notifications to the 
WTO, complemented as necessary by Members' replies to specific requests for information from the WTO Secretariat. 
16.  We agree to review the situation regarding cotton at the 11
th Ministerial Conference, which we 
have agreed to hold in 2017, and we invite the Director-General to report at that Conference on the progress that has been made in implementing the trade-related components of this Decision. WT/MIN(15)/46 • WT/L/981 
 
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ANNEX : LIST3 
Harmonized System 2012 
(In grey: rows correspondin g to HS6 tariff lines) 
Cotton 520100 Cotton, not carded or combed 
5202 Cotton waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stocks) 
520210 - Yarn waste (including thread waste) 
  - Other 
520291 -- Garnetted stock 
520299 -- Other 
520300 Cotton, carded or combed 
Cotton 
shells, 
husks, 
oil and 
other 
food 
products 1207 Other oil seeds and oleaginous fru its, whether or not broken  
  - Cotton seeds 
120721 -- Seed 
120729 -- Other 
1404 Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included 
140420 - Cotton linters 
1512  Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions 
thereof, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified 
  - Cotton-seed oil and its fractions 
151221 -- Crude oil, whether or not gossypol has been removed  
151229 -- Other  
1521  Vegetable waxes (other than triglyceri des), beeswax, other insect waxes and 
spermaceti, whether or not refined or coloured 
152110 - Vegetable waxes 
2306  Oil-cake and other solid re sidues, whether or not ground or in the form of 
pellets, resulting from the ex traction of vegetable fats or oils, other than those 
of heading 23.04 or 23.05 
230610 - Of cotton seeds 
2936 Provitamins and vitamins, natural or reproduced by synthesis (including 
natural concentrates), derivatives ther eof used primarily as vitamins, and 
intermixtures of the foregoing, whether or not in any solvent 
  - Vitamins and their derivatives, unmixed  
293624 -- D- or DL-Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B3 or Vitamin B5) and its derivatives 
293628 -- Vitamin E and its derivatives 
 
 
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3 This list does not alter Members' existing WTO obligations and requirements.