JOB/GC/91  
 
18 March 2016  
(16-1604)  Page: 1/3  
General Council    
 
 AGENDA ITEM 1 - REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE  
TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE 
WEDNESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2016 
 
1.1.  In Nairobi Ministers gave us some clear guidance on our forward work. Paragraph 33 of the Ministerial Declaration says that officials should work to find ways to advance negotiations. And 
they requested me, as Director-General, to report regularly to the General Council on these 
efforts. So now let me mo ve on to my report.  
1.2.  I have had a number of useful exchanges with Members in recent weeks. I visited Barbados 
and Jamaica in January. And last week I visited Nige ria, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. In each case 
I held a series of meetings with government representatives and, whenever possible, also 
interacted with both the private sector and civil society. I also took part in the ministerial meeting convened by the Swiss authorities in Davos on 23 January. And I attended a meeting of EU trade 
Ministers in Amsterdam on 2 February.  
1.3.  In each of these exchanges I was struck by  the sense of optimism about the WTO. There is a 
clear desire to build on our recent successes. A lot of ideas were floated during these meetings 
regarding process and substance. However, I will leave it to Members to raise any such ideas 
themselves when they are ready to do so.  
1.4.  Over recent weeks I have also been in touch with the private sector — and with civil society 
more broadly. Again, these exchanges have been positive. Several parties expressed their interest 
in having a deeper, more interactive dialogue about WTO work with other stakeholders. I have 
been approached by some — in particular the ICC and B20 — to facilitate such a dialogue amongst 
them and others here in Geneva.  
1.5.  This interest from these constituencies is very important, but I have been encouraging them 
to be as inclusive as possible. I think such dial ogue should bring in large and small players from 
around the world — from both developing and developed economies. We are working to see 
whether a first conversation of that kind could ta ke place here at the end of May — perhaps on 30. 
I hope that other discussions will take place, bringing a wide range of voices across civil society, representing different perspectives — including through the Public Forum in September.  
1.6.  As to meetings held here in Geneva over recent weeks, I met with the Negotiating Chairs on 
the 4 February to listen to their views on our po st-Nairobi work. And, on 10 February, I convened 
an informal Heads of Delegation meeting. That meeting was an opportunity to reflect collectively on the outcomes of the 10
th Ministerial Conference and to discuss the way forward. I will briefly 
reiterate some of the key points from my presentation at the meeting.  
1.7.  I think Nairobi showed that we need to improve the way we work in Geneva. Despite the fact 
that we succeeded in delivering some important outcomes at the 10th Ministerial Conference, there 
is no doubt that there are lessons to be learned. Too much was left to negotiate in Nairobi itself. In 
future, by the time we make the transition from the Geneva process to the Ministerial Conference, we should aim to be in a mu ch more advanced position.  JOB/GC/91 
 
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  1.8.  To deliver that I have suggested two elements which I think are important: 
 First, we need to be in closer contact with capitals, to obtain more regular, substantive 
and updated political instructions.  
 Second, we need to engage Ministers more throughout the process — not just at the 
end.  
1.9.  Those were the suggestions that I made. We would need to look at precisely how this could 
be achieved, if you think this is something we should do.  
1.10.  Now, regarding the substantive outcomes of the Ministerial Conference, I think it is 
important to recall that some of the decisions taken under the DDA specify a number of follow-up actions — including:  
 to "pursue negotiations" on an SSM,  
 to negotiate, "in an accelerated time-frame", to find a permanent solution on Public 
Stockholding,  
 and to continue holding dedicated discussions on Cotton.  
1.11.  All of these follow-up actions now demand our attention.  
1.12.  Part 3 of the declaration, which is focused on our future work, also specified a number of 
follow-up actions.  
1.13.  Again, I want to stress that each and ever y word of the declaration is important. I am not 
attributing more prominence to one thing over another. But there are two areas which we will need to look into, and which are particularly no table precisely because there is no common view 
on them. One is the remaining DDA issues. Another is non-DDA issues.  
1.14.  There is no consensus about how to address the DDA. Nonetheless, in Nairobi, all Members 
gave a "strong commitment" to advancing negotiations on the remaining Doha issues. It is important to underline this point, even though Me mbers do not currently have a shared view on 
how it should be achieved. I requested that the Negotiating Group Chairs begin discussions within 
their respective groups.  
1.15.  Turning to non-DDA issues, again Members were not of a common view. But it was clear 
that some want to discuss issues outside the DDA. It is not clear yet how that conversation would 
take place, but there is a clear understanding that if there is a desire to launch multilateral negotiations that would have to happen with the agreement of all Members. Progress in these areas must be member-driven. I urge Members to talk to each other. That is the only way we can 
begin to advance.  
1.16.  Those were the key points which I made during the meeting. A number of delegations then 
took the floor.  
1.17.  Many shared my concerns with the process in Nairobi. They agreed that the process at 
Ministerial Conferences needs to be more predicta ble and transparent. The responsibility lay with 
each Member. Members also agreed that the pr eparatory process in Geneva needed to bring 
agreed or close-to-finished outcomes to Ministers for decision, with very few issues left open, if 
any.  
1.18.  Different perspectives and views were expressed on the way forward. Some called for us to 
sustain the momentum from Nairobi and resume work in negotiating groups as soon as possible. 
Others called for a frank discussion on the key elements of the declaration to attain clarity, or even 
a period of reflection to build a sh ared view on how to move ahead.  
1.19.  Some delegations also reiterated their well-known positions on the DDA mandate and non-
DDA issues.  JOB/GC/91 
 
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  1.20.  Several references were made to the centrality of the development dimension and that 
special and differential treatment should remain an integral part of future negotiations. A number of groups also reiterated the need to preserve their envisaged flexibilities.  
1.21.  What was clear by the end of the meeting is that there is still a lack of clarity among 
Members with regard to how the process should evolve. Therefore, I think Members will need to 
deepen their dialogue with each other about how to advance their work.  
1.22.  Of course, the Chairs are available to facilitate any conversations — as am I — but any 
ideas on the way forward should be coming from Members themselves.  
1.23.  It is important that we have a rich conversation over the coming months — and that we 
hear the views of all. I encourage you to talk to each other and to share your views about our next steps in light of the outcomes from Nairobi.  
1.24.  It is my view that we cannot allow multilat eral cooperation to suffer, especially at a time 
when the world needs our contribution to help improve people’s lives and prospects around the world — particularly for the poorest.  
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