RESTRICTED  
  
WT/GC/M/170  
 
9 February 2018  
(18-0892) Page: 1/36 
General Council  
30 November 2017    
 
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETI NG 
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 30 NOVEM BER 2017 
Chairpersons: H.E.  Mr Xavier Carim (South Africa)  
At the outset , the Chairman  welcomed H.E. Abdoulaye Idrissa Maïga , Prime Minister of the 
Republic of Mali . He said that the Prime Minister's presence was a sign of the importance that Mali 
attached to the WTO and the work of the organization. Prime Minister Maïga  then addressed the 
General Council1. The Director -General welcomed the  Prime Minister 's remarks co tton and 
development  and said that  Members would be discussing those issu es further and that the  cotton 
file was a priority item in Members' work.  
 
1   REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE TRADE NEGO TIATIONS  COMMITTEE AND 
REPORT BY THE DIRECT OR-GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ..............  3 
2   IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E BALI AND NAIROBI O UTCOMES – STATEMENT BY 
THE CHAIRMAN  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  7 
3   WORK PROGRAMME ON SM ALL ECONOMIES – REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF 
THE DEDICATED SESSIO N OF THE COMMITTEE O N TRADE AND DEVELOPM ENT ...............  8 
4   THE DEVELOPMENT ASSI STANCE ASPECTS OF CO TTON – PERIODIC REPORT 
BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ..........................  10 
5   WTO ACCESSIONS: 2017  ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL  – 
STATEMENT BY THE DIR ECTOR -GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ...... 12 
6   ELEVENTH SESSION OF THE MINISTERIAL CONF ERENCE  ................................ ..........  14 
 Statement by the Chairman  ................................ ................................ ......................... 14 6.1  
 Request for Observer Status by the Republic of South Sudan  ................................ ........... 16 6.2  
7   REVIEW OF THE EXEMPT ION PROVIDED UNDER P ARAGRAPH 3 OF THE GATT 
1994  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  19 
8   TRIPS COUNCIL MATTER S ................................ ................................ .........................  21 
 Annual Review of the Special Compulsory Licensing System – Paragraph 7 of the 8.1  
Annex to the amended TRIPS Agreement and Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the 
Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health  – Report of the Council for TRIPS  ................................ ................................ ......21 
 Proposal for a Decision on an Extension of the Period for the acceptance by 8.2  
Members of the  Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement  ................................ ....................... 21 
9   DERESTRICTION OF ADD ITIONAL NEGOTIATING MATERIALS – DRAFT 
DECISION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  22 
10   WAIVERS UNDER ARTICL E IX OF THE WTO AGRE EMENT  ................................ .........  22 
                                                
1 The full statement of Prime Minister Maïga can be found in Annex 1 of this document.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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   Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.1  
Concessions – Draft Decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 22 
 Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.2  
Concessions – Draft Decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 22 
 Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.3  
Concessions – Draft Decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 22 
 Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.4  
Concessions – Draft Decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 22 
 Review of Waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement  ................................ .24 10.5  
10.5.1    Preferential Treatment in favour of Services and Service Suppliers of Least -
Developed Countries, granted on 17 December 2011 until 31 December 2030  ........................... 24 
10.5.2    Kimberly Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds, granted on 
12 December 2012 until 31 December 2018  ................................ ................................ .......... 24 
10.5.3    Cuba – Article XV:6 – Extension of waiver, granted on 7 December 2016 until 
31 December 2021  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 24 
10.5.4    European Union – Application of Autonomous Preferential Treatment to the 
Western Balkans, granted on 7 December 2016 until 31 December 2021  ................................ ..24 
10.5.5    United States – African Growth and Opportunity Act, granted on 
30 November  2015 until 30 September 2025  ................................ ................................ ........ 24 
10.5.6    United States – Former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, granted on 
7 December 2016 until 31 December 2026 ................................ ................................ ............ 24 
10.5.7    United States – Trade Preferences granted to Nepal, granted on 
7 December  2016 until 31 December 2025 ................................ ................................ ............ 24 
11   COMMITTEE ON BUDGET,  FINANCE AND ADMINIST RATION – REPORT ON 
MEETINGS OF SEPTEMBE R, OCTOBER, AND NOVE MBER 2017  ................................ ........  25 
12   INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE UNCTAD/WTO – REPORT OF THE JOINT 
ADVISORY GROUP ON IT S 51ST SESSION  ................................ ................................ ....... 26 
13   REVIEW OF WTO ACTIVI TIES  ................................ ................................ ..................  27 
 General Council, Dispute Settlement Body, and Trade Policy Review Body  ....................... 27 13.1  
 Sectoral Councils  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......27 13.2  
 Committees on Trade and Development, Trade and Environment, Balance -of- 13.3  
Payments Restrictions, Budget, Finance and Admin istration, and Regional Trade 
Agreements ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 27 
 Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Finance and Trade and Transfer of Technology  .......... 27 13.4  
 Committees under the Plurilateral Trade Agreements  ................................ .................... 27 13.5  
14   APPOINTMENT OF OFFIC ERS TO WTO BODIES – ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE 
CHAIRMAN PURSUANT TO  PARAGRAPH 7.1(A) OF THE GUIDELINES  .............................  28 
15   REPORT ON THE 'HIGH -LEVEL POLICY AND PRI VATE SECTOR TRADE AN D 
INVESTMENT FACILITAT ION PARTNERSHIP FORU M FOR DEVELOPMENT' H ELD 
IN ABUJA, NIGERIA, F ROM 2 -3 NOVEM BER 2017 – STATEMENT BY NIGERIA .................  28 
16   TRADE RESTRICTIVE ME ASURES ON THE BORDER S IMPOSED BY 
KAZAKHSTAN – STATEMENT BY THE KYR GYZ REPUBLIC  ................................ ................  29 
17   TRADE AND WOMEN'S EC ONOMIC EMPOWERMENT – STATEMENT BY 
ICELAND  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  32 
18   MIKTA AND SYRIA – STATEMENT BY TURKEY  ................................ ..........................  33 
19   CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE WORKING PARTY ON THE  ACCESSION OF BOSNIA 
AND HERZEGOVINA – STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  ................................ ...................  33 WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  20   STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN IN CONNECTION WITH ADMINISTRATIVE 
MEASURES FOR MEMBERS  IN ARREARS – STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  ....................  33 
ANNEX 1  - STATEMENT BY H.E. AB DOULAYE IDRISSA MAÏG A, PRIME MINISTER 
OF THE REPUBLIC OF M ALI, TO THE WTO GENE RAL COUNCIL ON 30 NO VEMBER 
2017  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  35 
 
1  REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE TRADE NEGO TIATIONS COMMITTEE  AND REPORT 
BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
1.1.   The Chairman  recalled that  the Director -General had convened a Formal TNC and an 
Informal Heads of Delegation meeting  on 28 November.  At that meeting, the Director -General had 
provided a report2 of his recent act ivities and consultations. O ral3 and written4 reports had also 
been received from the Negotiating Group Cha irs on the status of work in their respective are as. 
Forty-seven delegations had taken the floor and their statements would be incorporated in the 
record of the current meeting5. 
1.2.   As had been indicated on 28 November , the Dire ctor-General's report at the F ormal TNC 
meeting and  the reports of the Chair s of the Negotiating Bodies would  be placed before Ministers 
at the Ministerial Conference through the General Council's  own r eport to the Conference.  
1.3.  In addition, the report s of the regular bodies which the General Council would take up at the 
current meeting would  also be p resented to Ministers in accordance with the reporting obligations 
as adopted by the General Council and contained in document WT/L/105.  
1.4.  The Chairman said that he  would  present all of tho se reports at the Opening Sessio n of the 
Ministerial Conference , to update Ministers of thei r work in the reg ular bodies of the WTO and in 
their negotiations. As it had been  noted by  the Director -General and by some Negotiating Group 
Chairs  on 28 November, work wa s continuing in a number of areas including after that  General 
Council me eting in an effort to make as much progress as possible o n the matters that Ministers 
could take up in Buenos Aires.  
1.5.  The representative of Ghana  associate d his delegation  with the s tatements made by the ACP 
and the African Group. With barely a fortnight to the Eleventh Ministerial Conference in Buenos 
Aires, there appear ed to be significant gaps and differences in positions. L ittle progress  had been 
made due to positions taken by major  delegations. In addition to the lack of consensus on the 
Ministerial Declaration, major differences remained i n almost all the issues under negotiation.  
1.6.  A fortnight ago, the Chairman had indicated that they  could not arrive at cons ensus even at 
the drafting of the Minist erial Declaration – a hallmark of the past two succe ssive conferences. 
                                                
2 The Director -General's report at the 28 November Formal TNC and Informal HODs Meetings is 
incorporated by reference in the minutes of this meeting. It was subsequently circulated as JOB/TNC/66 and 
can also be found in the minutes of the 28 November Formal TNC Meeting in TN/C/M/38 . 
3 The oral reports of the Negotiating Group Chairs provided at the 28 November Formal TNC Meeting are 
incorporated by reference in the minutes of this meeting and can be found in the minutes of the 28 November 
Formal TNC Meeting in TN/C/M/38.  
4 The written reports of the Negotiating Group Chairs are incorporated by reference in the minutes of 
this meeting and can be found in the following documents: Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture – 
TN/AG/37; Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Deve lopment – TN/CTD/32; Special Session of the 
Dispute Settlement Body – TN/DS/30; Special Session of the Council for TRIPS – TN/IP/25; Negotiating Group 
on Market Access – TN/MA/31; Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services – TN/S/41; and, Special  
Session of the Committee on Trade and Environment – TN/TE/24.  
5 The statements delivered at the 28 November Formal TNC and Informal HODs Meetings by the 
following delegations are incorporated by reference in the minutes of this meeting and can be found in  the 
minutes of the 28 November Formal TNC meeting  in TN/C/M/38 : Nigeria; Rwanda (African Group); Guyana 
(ACP); Peru; Japan; Egypt (also on behalf of the NFIDCs); Plurinational State of Bolivia; South Africa; United 
States; Zimbabwe; Indonesia (also on beh alf of the G -33); China; Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; 
Switzerland; Uganda; Russian Federation; Cuba; Philippines (also on behalf of ASEAN); Republic of Korea; 
Benin (C -4); Bangladesh; Chinese Taipei; Solomon Islands (Pacific Group); Cambodia (LDCs); N orway; 
Uruguay; Brazil; Colombia; Chile (also on behalf of the Friends of MSMEs); Panama (also on behalf of the 
SVEs); Australia; Israel; Senegal; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; India; European Union; Paraguay; Mexico; Hong Kong, 
China; Costa Rica; Singapore; Kenya;  Cameroon; Ecuador; Oman and Argentina (also on behalf of the Friends 
of Investment Facilitation for Development).  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  Ghana wa s hopeful that by the time the  host resumed  discussions on a draft declaratio n in 
Argentina, the process would  move  forward in a manner w hich wa s transparent, open, fair and 
inclusive.  
1.7.  Notwithstanding th e challenges concernin g the negotiations, Ghana maintained  its faith in the 
resilience of the multilateral trading system in galvanizing the much needed consensus and 
support and in rising to the occasion to deliver positive outcomes in B uenos Aires.  
1.8.  Ghana reiterate d the importance it attached  to the developmental dimensions of Doha and 
wished  to see concrete outcomes o n the elimination of harmful subsidies in agriculture, an 
ambitious outco me on  cotton, a permanent solution on  public stockholding for food security 
purposes and a special safeguard mechanism  as a policy instrument to protect fragile and 
vulnerable Ghanaian  farmers from cheap imports and import surges.  
1.9.  On fisheries, Ghana suppo rted an ambitious outcome on eliminating harmful subsidies that 
contribute d to overc apacity and overfishing, while providing special treatment for artisa nal fishing.  
1.10.   Concerning S&D  treatment, Ghana wished  to have  a positive outcome that would allow it to 
have enough policy space to struc turally transform its economy and implement  its pragmatic, 
industrial transformation policies  such as through  its "one district, one factory" p roject . Despite the 
G-90's efforts in previous Ministerial Conferences to make S&D provisions  effective and 
operational, it wa s regre ttable that the status quo remained . 
1.11.   Ghana added its voice to the call for the processes in Buenos Aires to be inclusive, open and 
transparent for all Members to  have a universally accepted outcome from MC11. Ghana reaffirm ed 
its support  to the rules -based multilate ral trading system that operated  through tr ansparent, 
inclusive, consensus -based and  Member -driven processes.  
1.12.   The representative of Grenada , on behalf of the OECS , said that t he OECS remain ed 
committed to having and maintaining a fair, balanced and equitable rule s-based multilater al 
trading system that addressed  the needs and concerns of  all its Members and contributed  to 
sustainable economic growth and development including poverty reduction an d increased 
standards of living particularly for developing countries, small, vulnerable economies and LDCs.  
1.13.   The OECS looked  forward to a successful outcome at MC11 and recognized the process 
outlined and the organization of work in Buenos Aires where the  OECS would be represented at 
Ministerial level. It would be important for the process to be inclusive and transparent and for the 
outcomes to  be derived through a Member -driven and bottom up process.  
1.14.   The OECS noted with great concern that the Geneva proc ess for the drafting of an outcome 
document and a Minister ial Declaration for MC11 had been brought to an end the previous  week. A 
consensually agreed upon Ministerial Declaration would have been the preferred option. The Group 
remained committed to any pr ocess t hat could still lead to that and took note of the intention  to 
continue efforts towards a declaration in Buenos Aires. The OECS  was open to such efforts and 
remain ed hopeful that such an outcome could  be achieved before MC11 drew to a close.  
1.15.   In any outcome document that would emanate from MC11, it would  be important for 
Members to renew their  commitment to continue to address the needs of small and v ulnerable 
economies in a substantive and meaningful manner in every area of their work – particularly in the 
work under that body. T he WTO should continue  to favourably consider the ad option of measures 
that would  facilitate the SVEs' fuller integration in to the multilateral trading system.  
1.16.   Concerning  work on the remaining  Doha i ssues, the OECS continued  to attach high 
importance to the negotiations on fisherie s subsidies  rules. The OECS wished  to see an 
incremental first step on few elements at MC11 and a clear mandate to continue the work building 
on the progress that they had made to date. If Members we re unable to ac hieve a down -payment 
outcome, the OECS  still wished  to see a clear mandate to continue that work after MC11 – 
something which was critical for them .  
1.17.   On outcome on prohibiting subsidies to IUU  fishing , it would be indispensable to have the 
ability to trigger the prohibition of subsidies by subsidizing Members for determinations made by WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  coastal states of IUU  fishing  occurring in their waters. Regarding  an outcome on prohibiting 
subsidies  affecting overfished stocks, the OECS  could not accept t reating unassessed stocks or the 
lack of data to make a determination of stock status as a presumption of overfished status or as 
the basis for p rohibiting subsidies. S&D treatment should  be a key element of any outcome on 
fisheries subsidies rules at MC11  including through flexibilities, transitional periods and technical 
assistance and capacity building.  
1.18.   The OECS continued  to expect that the d evelopment promise of the DDA was delivered. 
Development wa s a fundamental goal of the WTO and the  multilateral tr ading system. The OECS  
therefore continue d to support a meaningful outcome towards strengthening and making more 
precise, effective and operatio nal the S&D  treatment provisions of the WTO Agreements.  
1.19.   On Agriculture, the OECS continued to prioritize the pr eservation of S&D treatment including 
the flexibilities and policy space available to NFIDCs and SVEs in various pillars of the agreement.  
1.20.   Finally, t he OECS associate d itself with the statement made by  the ACP, pledge d its 
commitment to a successfu l outco me in  Buenos Aires and look ed forward to the  negotiations 
there.  
1.21.   The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  hoped that Members would make 
progress in the current negotiations. Saudi Arabia highlight ed the importance of some areas that 
should be prioritized since they were  related to the business communit y, household, women and 
youth. His delegation would be happy to see  development, investment and e -commerce addressed 
at MC11  since they made up most of Saudi Arabia's GDP . Those areas were also responsible for 
poverty reduction, women and MSMEs empowerment and employment and other main objectives 
of government s to increase the prosperity of their people.  
1.22.   On e-commerce, Members should not wait for another  two years to address it since the 
subject h ad already  been rai sed since 1998.  
1.23.   Saudi Arabia was not  expecting to have decisions or  agreements on tho se three importa nt 
pillars. But Members should at least prepare  a clear r oadmap on their work on those issues post 
Buenos  Aires with the next Ministeri al Conference in mind . 
1.24.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  noted some confusion on the 
procedure  since Members still did not know which draft decisions would be taken up by their 
Ministers even if that was already the last General Coun cil meeting prio r to MC11. Until the 
previous evening, more draft decisions had been  circulated. His delegation asked if there was  a 
plan to list the documents to be  submitted to Ministers at MC11 since it had  been a useful past 
practice . Bolivia made that  clarification  to allow delegations  to properly  inform the ir officials who 
would be attending the Ministerial C onference.  
1.25.   Complementing its statement delivered at the Formal TNC Meeting, Bolivia reiterated its  
support  for initiatives a imed at undertaking work in the WTO on the  TRIPS Agreement and the 
CBD in terms of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and t he origin thereof. If there would be 
plans in that regard, Bolivia would  be interested in becomin g involved. Bolivia hoped that the 
forthco ming Min isterial Conference would  be a success . 
1.26.   The representative of Rwanda  welcome d the Prime Minister of Mali and his delegation. The 
presence of the Prime Minister at the General Council just before MC11 attested  to the importance 
attached by Mali and all the C-4 countries to the WTO negotiations in general, particularly on 
cotton. Rwanda extended its gratitude to  the Prime Mini ster for his extensive  statement. The  C-4 
had a clear -cut position calling for the elimination of trade distortive subsidies with t he view to 
creating trade that wa s free, fair and equit able. The African Group supported steadfastly the C -4 
and commend ed the tireless efforts of their respective governments in the negotiation under the 
coordination of Mali both in Geneva  and in the various capitals. They therefore  hoped to achieve 
tangible and  measurable results at MC11 on cotton.  
1.27.   The representative of the Philippines , on behalf of the ASEAN , thank ed the Chair man for his 
efforts in attempting to come up with a draft text for the first part o f a possible MC11 Ministerial WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  Declarat ion. ASEAN also  thank ed the four ambassador -facilitators who had tirelessly tried to bridge 
the well evident gap among Members and to come up with a compromise  text. 
1.28.   MC11 wa s set t o take place ten days from that day an d ASEAN regretted  that convergence 
among Members was  far from being re ached. Nevertheless, ASEAN called  on all Members to 
engage in a more cooperative dialogue and to show greater flexibility so that they could still 
collectively  achieve meaningful outcome s at Buenos Aires.  
1.29.   ASEAN  noted that a tremendous amount of work had  been undertaken in formal WTO 
Committees and negotiating groups as well as  in informal consultations and workshops. ASEAN 
reaffirmed the importance it placed  on the inclusive, rules -based, multilateral trading system 
enshrined in the WTO with development a t its core. ASEAN also reaffirmed  its commitment to 
continue to engage constructively in  all areas of WTO work to achieve c oncrete outcomes at MC11 
which would be beneficial to all partic ularly for the developing and LDC Members . 
1.30.   On behalf of the Philippines , he noted that it seemed clear especially  after the last minute 
efforts since the previous  TNC meeting  that it would be up to the Ministers to generate the 
consensus needed for any outcome at  MC11. In that regard, a ll issues critical for Members should  
be carried forward and  discussed by Ministers at MC11 . The proces s to consider those issues in 
Buenos Aires should  be open, inclusive and transparent  and t he Director -General's  handling and 
management of the pro cesses in Bali and Nairobi gave his delegation  some degree of comfort.  
1.31.   On Agriculture , particularly on SSM, the Philippines' position was well -known and t hat of  
develop ing countries was well -established. They should have  an accessible and effective trade 
remedy tool to address import surges and price depressions caused by agricultural volatilities and 
aggravated by huge sub sidies and other distortions. The Philippines ha d been fighting for the 
establis hment of SSM since the launch of the Doha Round and had  exercised maximum flexibility. 
The Philippines had made its case before the General Council, the TNC, the COA -SS and its 
consultative sm all group configurations – and lauded the COA -SS Chair for his effort in that  
regard. But its position on SSM was  nonetheless worth stressing at that meetin g and at every 
opportunity as MC11 approached . The Philippines would be placed in a very difficult position in 
coming to any imminen t consensus on any issue in the absence of a solution on SSM . The 
Philippines still believed  that in Buenos Aires, Members could  be in a position to prove that the 
rules-based multila teral trading system truly worked  for the benef it of all Members regardle ss of 
levels  of economic development. An outcome without SSM would seriously undermine  that belief.  
1.32.   The representative of Qatar  noted the  progress in the discussions taking place i n the 
negotiating groups especially on fisheries subsidies  and in the CTS -SS. A lot of work remained to 
be done i n other  negotiating groups as MC11 drew closer . Members should therefore complete as 
much work as  possible in Ge neva for Ministers to  have cl ear proposals to discuss in Buenos Aires . 
1.33.   On domestic regula tion, Qatar  express ed its interest and support ed the proposal in 
JOB/SERV/272/Rev.3 concerning disciplines on domestic regu lation. While it supported  the second 
part of that proposal concerning gender equality and recognize d that economic progress could not 
be attained without  the need for empowerment and active  participation in the economy, Qatar 
found it difficult to accept anything pertaining to commitme nts on necessity tests. Qatar supported 
the dedicated dis cussion that the proponents had  called for du ring Buenos Aires and found it 
critical to have a substantive discussion a mong Minist ers on domestic regulation if Members would 
have any deliverable in that  field. 
1.34.   While it was necessary to conclude  the outstanding issue s of the Doha Development 
Agenda, m any Members , including Qatar,  viewed  certain other issues such as MSMEs, Investment 
Facilitation and E -Commerce as also being important.  
1.35.   As a FIFD member , Qatar  welcome d the positive outcomes from the series of discussions 
held under the informal group in cluding the Abuja High -Level Meeting. FIFD had circulated a 
proposal to help seek  guidance on the way forward and would  continue to engage with Members. 
Their discussions  would proceed  with the objective s of improving regulatory transparency and 
predictabi lity, streamlining and speeding up administrative procedures , enhancing international 
cooperation and addressing the needs of developing Members.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  1.36.   Qatar believed that  MSMEs play ed a vital role in the e conomies of developing Members. 
Qatar therefore  co-sponsored  a docu ment by the Friends of MSMEs and  support ed pursuing 
discussions and seeking political guidance on the way forward  in that  area at MC11.  
1.37.   Qatar had been a proponent of e -commerce since Nairobi given the  inherent relationship 
between trade and e-commerce. As a co-sponsor of the communication in JOB/GC/149/Rev.1, 
Qatar found that the intricate world of e -commerce w as cross -cutting in nature. That  issue should 
therefore be approach ed in a horizontal manner.  
1.38.   Qatar remained committed  to have a succe ssful MC11 with concrete deliverables and a clear 
work programme. Buenos Aires presented the chance to reaffirm Members'  commitment  to the 
multilateral trading system and to preserve the cred ibility of the WTO. Qatar stood  ready to 
contribute to achieve fr uitful and meaningful outcomes that would allow them to regain traction 
towards preserving a functioning and inclusive multilateral trading system.  
1.39.   The Chairman  clarified  that what would be presented to Ministers in his report included  the 
General  Council 's Annual Report which would be taken up later in the agenda together with the 
reports of the subsidiary bodies. He would also mention and present to  the Ministers the report o f 
the TNC Chairman as had been delivered on 28 November and those of  the Negotiat ing Group  
Chairs, some of which had also been finalized on 28 November. Since  some further work wa s 
occurring  in the Negotiating Groups, there could also be reports from the ir Chairs that would be 
updated which  would also be delivered to Ministers.  
1.40.   In response  to the question that Bolivia had raised on whether or not a list  could  be 
prepare d on specific draft Ministerial  Decisions, he thought that it could be done so long as 
Members had  a shared understanding that that had  not been settled. There could be new or 
further decisions that could be  received. Any list that could be prepared would be indicative and 
non-exhaustive. Members knew that there was work that was  still evolving. The list could be 
helpful but he thought they should understand that it al so had some limits.  
1.41.   The General Council took note  of the Director -General's report including the reports of the  
Negotiating Group Chairs , of the statements as delivered at the Formal TNC and Informal HODs 
Meetings on 28 November, of the Chairman's stateme nt and of the other statements.  
2  IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E BALI AND NAIROBI O UTCOMES – STATEMENT BY THE 
CHAIRMAN  
2.1.  The Chairman6 recalled that the item remained on the agenda to allow Members  to continue 
to follow up on the decisions adopted in Bali and Nairobi – and to do so in an inclusive and 
transparent manner.  
2.2.  On 27 Nove mber, he had  held a meeting with the Ch airs of Regular Bodies, where they had  
updated each othe r on the work taking place in thei r respective bodies, including – but not only – 
with respect to  the implementation of the Bali and Nairobi mandates, as well as the preparations 
for the Ministerial Conference. As in the past, the discussion s and inputs from that meeting were 
the basis of his statement . 
2.3.  Regarding TRIPS non -violation and situation comp laints, the Nairobi Decision directed  the 
TRIPS Council to continue to examine the scope and modalities for TRIPS non -violation and 
situation complaints and to make recommendations to its next Session. Ministers  had also agreed 
that Members would not in the meantime initiate such complaints under the TRIPS Agreement.  
2.4.  The TRIPS Council had  considered the matter at each of its regular meetings but had  not 
reached a final agreement on its recommendations. At its meeting in October, the Council had 
agreed to keep that item open and to reconvene on short notice once further work had sufficiently 
mature d with a view to agreeing on its re commendation to MC11. He understoo d that the TRIPS 
Council Chair had since then continued her consul tations which regrettabl y had not yet le d to any 
breakthrough. It appeared that, unless Members could converge in the coming days , that issue 
would  have to be taken to Buenos Aires for Ministers to discuss.  
                                                
6 The Chairman's statement was circulated in JOB/GC/164.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  2.5.  On Agriculture, with respect to the Nairobi Decision on Export Competitio n, the EU had 
provided information about its  revised draft Export Subsidy EU 28 schedule to the Committee on 
Agriculture in October. The Committee  welcome d the news that Norway had circulated its revised 
draft schedule on export subsidies for agricultural products on 28 November – the third Member to 
do so. Th e next dedicated discussion would take place in June 2018 and would  include the review 
of the Nair obi Decision. The Committee would discuss preparations for that  review in an informal 
meeting before it s February 2018 meeting.  
2.6.  Members had also agreed in the Decision on Export Competition to review the provisions on 
international food aid within the Committee's monitoring of the implementation of the Marrake sh 
Decision on NFIDCs – and that would  also take  place in February 2018.  
2.7.  In light of the request at its most recent meeting with regard to  the Nairobi Decision on SSM, 
he indicated that the Decision did  indeed specif y that the General Council should  regularly review 
progress in the SSM negotiations. As Members were aware, the SSM was  part of th e broader on -
going negotiations and that had  been covered in the TNC and  in the report by the Chairperson  of 
the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session.  
2.8.  Moving to TRQ Administration, the Committee on Agricultu re had initiated its review of the 
Bali T RQ Decision in October, and would  discuss relevant next steps in February.  
2.9.  Regarding the implementation of the Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Secur ity 
Purposes, no information had  been provided by Members in the context of the monitoring foreseen 
under the relevant Bali Decision.  
2.10.   With respect to Development and LDC matters,  concerning both the Decisions on the 
Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs and t he LDCs Services Waiver, there were no new updates in 
those areas since his  previous report in October.  
2.11.   On DFQF market access for LDCs, the CTD had undertaken  its annual review of the steps 
taken to provide DFQF market access to LDCs at its meeting earlier that  month. Due to divergent 
views among some Members on the scope and coverage, the Secretari at could not issue the report 
mandated in the Bali Decision. The CTD Chair had urged Members to continue t o discuss a way 
forward on that  issue.  
2.12.   On the Monitoring Mechanism, Members had continued their discussion at a Dedicated 
Session of the CTD in November . Members had  different views on how the review should proceed 
in the absence of any experience on the functioning of the Mechanism and s ince no written 
submissions had yet been received. He understood that the  CTD Chair had urged Members to 
come to a common understanding on a way forward.  
2.13.   Concerning Aid for Trade, the CTD Chair had outlined the process he intended  to follow to 
develop the new Aid for Trade work programme after MC11. He had requested Members to 
consider the main theme for the new work programme, recalling that economic empowerment had 
emerged strongly as an issue at the Global Review in July.  
2.14.   Lastly, with regard  to Trade Facilitation, since his  last report in Oc tober, one additional 
Member had  deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, bringing 
the total number to 123 comprising  75% of the M embership.  
2.15.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement.  
3  WORK PROGRAMME ON SM ALL ECONOMIES – REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE 
DEDICATED SESSION OF  THE COMMITTEE ON TRA DE AND DEVELOPMENT 
(WT/COMTD/SE/10)  
3.1.  The Chairman  recalled that i n line with the agreement in the General Council in 2002, the 
Work Programme on Small Economies was a standing item on their  agenda and the C ommittee on 
Trade and Development reported  regularly to the Council on the progress of work in its Dedicated 
Sessions. In Nairobi, Ministers had adopted a Decision reaffirming their commitment to the Work 
Programme and instructing the CTD to continue its w ork in Dedicated Sessions under the overall WT/GC/M/170  
 
- 9 - 
 
  responsibil ity of the General Council. He was  informed that the Chairperson  of the CTD  could  not 
be at the meeting , and that Deputy Director -General  Agah would report on his behalf . 
3.2.  Deputy Director -General Agah , on behalf of the Chairperson  of the CTD , said that t he last 
report to the General Council on the Work Programme on Smal l Economies had been made on 
26 October . Since then, the Dedicate d Session on Small Economies had  held one f ormal meeting 
on 7 November . At that meeting, the SVE Group had introduced a proposal for a Ministerial 
Decision which had been  subsequently circulated in document WT/COMTD/SE/W/36/Rev.1.  
3.3.  The dra ft Ministerial Decision proposed  that the General Council recommend ed to the 
Eleventh Min isterial Conference the reaffirm ation of  their commitment to the Work Programme on 
Small Economies and the taking  note of all the work conducted to date. In particular, the proposal 
asked  Ministers to take note of the work carried out since 2015 including on the challenges and 
opportunities faced by small economies when linking into global value chains  in trade in goods and 
services , and to instruct  the CTD to continue its work in Dedicated Session under the overall 
responsibility of the General Council.  
3.4.  Furthermore, it was proposed for the Dedicated Session to consider in further detail t he 
various submissions that had  been received to date, to examine any additi onal proposals that 
Members would  wish to submit and, where possible  and within its mandate, to make 
recommendations to t he General Council on any of those proposals. I t also proposed  that the 
General Council direct ed relevant subsidiary bodies to frame responses to the trade -related issues 
identified by the CTD with a view to making recommendations  for action.  
3.5.  It was also proposed that the CTD in Dedicated Session continue d monitoring the progress of 
the small economy proposals in WTO bodies and in negotiating groups , with the aim of providing 
responses, as soon as possible, to the trade -related is sues identified for the fuller integration of 
SVEs in the multilateral trading system.  
3.6.  The proposal  contained in document WT/COMTD/SE/W/36/Rev.1 had been  agreed by 
Members. Accordingly, that document was  being forwarded to the General Council for onward 
transmissio n to the Ministerial Conference  for further action by the Ministers.  
3.7.  The representative of Guatemala  thank ed the Chairperson of the CTD -DS for his report and 
looked forward  to continue working in 2018  on small economies in the CTD -DS. 
3.8.  The represe ntative of Tonga  extended  its appreciation to the Director -General and the 
Secretariat for sche duling the Geneva Week that week – providing  an important opportunity for 
non-resident Members like Tonga to receive first -hand briefings of the state of play of  the 
negotiations  in their preparations for MC11, and  enabling  them to participate in important WTO 
meetings su ch as the meetings of the TNC and the General Council. Tonga also thank ed the 
Chairman and the TNC Chair in effectively managing the preparations  for MC11 in tho se 
challeng ing times in the history of the organization. Tonga also thank ed the Chairs of the 
negotiating groups for their reports to the TNC  and noted the overall limited progress in many 
areas . Tonga would  continue to work with the Geneva -based Pacific missions and the ACP to 
advance work in the areas of priority interest to them  including on fisheries subsidies.  
3.9.  Tonga request ed the  General Council to formally record the statement delivered by the 
delegati on of the Solomon Islands at the TNC on b ehalf of the Pacific Group7. 
3.10.   On behalf of the Pacific Group , Tonga  thank ed the CTD Chair for  the report on the Work 
Programme and express ed the Group's  appreciation to Guatem ala for the hard work in 
coordinating the  SVEs and in raising  the interest s and issues of small economies  in the dedicated 
session and in all areas of WTO work that concerne d the SVEs . Noting the unique challenges SVEs 
continue d to face in term s of high trade costs particularly on trade facilitat ion and t he attempts of 
                                                
7 Following the statement of the Chairman under Item 1, the statement delivered by t he Solomon 
Islands on behalf of the Pacific Group at the 28 November Formal TNC Meeting together with the statements of 
all of the other delegations who intervened at that meeting are incorporated by reference to the minutes of this 
meeting and can be foun d in the minutes of that Formal TNC Meeting in TN/C/M/38. See also paragraph 1.1 
and footnote 5.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  the SVEs to fully integrate into the multilateral trading system, the Pacific Group consider ed the 
issues of small economies as an important consideratio n for Ministers at Buenos Aires . 
3.11.   The Chairman  stressed that the statements that  had been  delivered at the 28 November 
TNC Meeting we re part of the formal record.  As indicated in the Chair' s repo rt, the CTD -DS had 
agreed to forward the draft decision contained in document WT/COMTD/SE/W/36/Rev.1 to the 
General Council for transmission to the  Ministerial Conference. That was  reflected in the report 
before the General Counci l contained in WT/COMTD/SE/10. He  therefore propose d that the 
General Council agreed to forward the draft decision he had  just mentioned to MC11.  
3.12.   The General Council so agreed8 and took note  of the report in WT/COMTD/SE/10 and of all 
statements made.  
4  THE DEVELOPMENT ASSI STANCE ASPECTS OF CO TTON – PERIODIC REPORT BY T HE 
DIRECTOR -GENERAL (WT/GC/187 – WT/CFMC/DG/8 – WT/MIN(17)/5)  
4.1.  The Chairman  recall ed that in 2004 the General Council had taken  note of various efforts to 
make progress on the development assistance aspects of the Cotton Initiat ive and  had instructed 
the Secretariat to work with the development community and to provide the periodic r eports on 
relevant deve lopments. It had also instructed the Director -General to consult with the relevant 
international organizations to direct existing programmes and any additional resources towards 
development o f the economies where cotton had  vital importance. The Nairobi De cision had invited 
the Director -General to continue to provide periodic reports on that  matter.  
4.2.  The Director -General  introduce d the Eighth Periodic Report on the Developme nt Assistance 
aspects of Cotton which had been circulated on 22 November in document WT/GC/187. He  
attach ed a special priority to the  cotton dossier. He was therefore particularly pleased to see that 
progress had continued to be made on that important aspect of their work since his  last Periodic 
Report i n November 2015 .  
4.3.  That progress was  reflected in the latest version of the Evolving Table on Cotton 
Development Assistance , circulated on 7 Novembe r in document WT/CFMC/6/Rev.23.  The figures 
in the Evolving Table we re po inting in the right direction. In particular, they showed  an 
improvement  in the ratio of disbursements to commitmen ts for Cotton Specific projects  while the 
number of projects in their implem entation phase  remained  stable.  
4.4.  As regards Agriculture and Infrastruc ture-Related projects, there had  been an increase in 
both the overa ll number of beneficiaries and the ratio of  disbursements to commitments. He  hoped 
that that positive trend would  continue.  
4.5.  He also report ed that the Consultative Framework Mechanism on Co tton Development 
Assistance already included  a dedicated standing  agenda item on "projects"  following a request by 
key beneficiaries of cotton development assistance – Benin , Burkin a Faso, Chad and Mali.  That 
made  the Mechanism a de facto platform for discussing new development assistance project 
proposals on the o ne ha nd, and a forum wh ere donors and beneficiaries could  analyse impacts and 
lessons learned from co mpleted projects on the other.  
4.6.  A new pro ject entitled "Cotton Roadmap" had been  presented by beneficiaries for the first 
time at the November 2017 Round  of the  Mechanism. And there had been  substantive feedback 
from potential development assi stance partners. More details could be found in  WT/CFMC/W/72.  
4.7.  He encourage d those kinds  of pragmatic approaches. They we re important to further enhance 
coordination and info rmation exchange between both providers and recipi ents of development 
assistance.  
4.8.  He paid  tribute to the Members of th e development community who had  provided updates for 
the revisions of the Evolvi ng Table since his last report:  Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European  
Union and some of its member States, Japan, Switzerland and the United States .  
                                                
8 The draft Ministerial Decision contained in document WT/COMTD/SE/W/36/Rev.1 was subsequently 
circulated in document WT/MIN(17)/W/2.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  4.9.  He also  commend ed Brazil, China and India for their significant contributions on the platform 
of South -South Co -operation for Cotton Dev elopment Assistance. Sustained support from sev eral 
multilateral institutions wa s also g reatly appreciated – including the Common Fund for 
Commodities, the Food  and Agriculture Organization, the Internatio nal Cotton Advisory 
Committee, the IMF, the ITC, UN CTAD and the World Bank.  
4.10.   The sustained  engagement of both the providers of development assistance for cotton  and 
its beneficiaries was very encouraging. He  hoped that it would  continue in  the months and years to 
come. It wa s also a positive example of the  broader efforts to enhance the development work of 
the multilateral trading system.  
4.11.   The representative of Brazil  thank ed the Director -General for the references made to Brazil  
which was  actually only continui ng the work he had initiated in his time as a V ice Minister in Brazil. 
Brazil  reaffirm ed the commitments to provide technical assistance to cotton -producing coun tries in 
the developing world  and trusted that its cooperation projects had  a positive impact. T he Brazilian 
Cooperation Agency was  currently working with partners in Brazil to approve the extension of the 
so-called umbrella project which  would allow for the continuation of the ongoing activities and 
would also create the possibility to cover new projects of in terest to the C -4. Brazil also than ked 
the Prime Minister of Mali for his presence and his important statement.  
4.12.   The representative of the European Union  thanked  the Secretariat for the reports  and urged 
those Members that provide d aid to report on it in full transparency and without delay. The EU also  
recall ed what it had explained to its  African partners (including the C -4 in the framework of the 
ACP EU cotton partnership) that any furth er development assistance needed to be aligned within 
comprehensive national polici es. In other words, on ly if agriculture , including cotton , had been 
identified as a sector of cooperation concentration by recipients could the EU make further aid  
available . 
4.13.   The representative of Pakistan  thanked the Prime Ministe r of Mali for his address and for his 
thought -provoking remarks. Pakistan value d the contribution of the C-4 to the cotton  debate and 
negotiations in the house. Pakistan  thank ed the Director -General for his report on development 
assist ance aspects of cotto n as it valued that  work a lot and consider ed it to b e helpful for the 
development of the cotton  sector in developing and least -developed countries.  
4.14.   As a mainstay of Pakistan's economy, cotton contributed to about 1% of its GDP. Pakistan 
was the third lar gest cotton consumer and the fourth largest cotton producer after India, China 
and the United States with an 8%  share of world cotton pr oduction in 2016 -2017. Cotton provided  
livelihood to 1.5 million far ming families and jobs helping  48% of its industrial  labour force. 
Pakistan thus appreciated the stable commitments from donors over the years for cotton sector 
specific projects and looked forward to more quality development assistance for LDCs on cotton.  
4.15.   As the Director -General's report had stated, world cotton recorded positive developments in 
2016-2017 in terms of overall production volumes, productivity, consumption and overa ll 
international prices. Even though the current trends in cot ton production and consumption were 
encouraging,  70% of the world's cotton production remained  under direct assistance with a 39% 
reduction of exports in 2016 . Farmers growing without such assistance continue d to face economic 
losses. In addition to domestic support, some border restrictions mainly in the f orm of import 
tariffs we re also detrimental to cotton exports of developing countries and LDCs.  
4.16.   Pakistan commend ed the tireless work conducted by the C -4 in the WTO particularly in 
voicing their concerns over the past years. Their issues unfortunately had not yet been  address ed. 
The recent p roposal on cotton by the C -4 had  rightly identi fied all of the elements which we re 
causing dist ortions in the cotton market. Pakistan  consider ed it to be a  basic document on which 
Members should base their  future discussions on cotton.  
4.17.   Farmers in developing and least -developed countries could not compete with the highly 
subsidized cotton of big subsidiz ing Members. For cotton growers to fairly compete in the world 
market, c oncrete steps should be taken in addition to any development ass istance to address 
distortions to trade caused by government support program mes to cotton producers . WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  4.18.   The representative of India reaffirm ed his country's  commitment to support  various 
countries engaged in the production and export of cotton. As part of its  development assistance 
programme, India had  a five -year technical assistance programme for cotton covering seven 
countries of Afri ca including the C -4. The programme sought  to provide technical assistance to 
enhance productivity in  both the agriculture an d the textile part s of the cotton value chain.   
4.19.   The General Council took note  of the Director -General's report and of the statements.  
5  WTO ACCESSIONS: 2017  ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL (WT/ACC/31 
– WT/GC/189 – WT/MIN(17)/6) – STATEMENT BY THE DIREC TOR-GENERAL  
5.1.  The Chairman  drew the Council's attention to the Director Genera l's annual report on 
accessions which had been  circula ted in a triple symbol document in  WT/ACC/31 – WT/GC/189 – 
WT/MIN(17)/6.  
5.2.  Deputy Director -General Wolff, on behalf of the Direc tor-General , thanked those who had  
participated actively in the Cotton Development Forum which he  had chaired on behalf of the 
Director -General particularly on the development al assistance aspects of  Cotton.  Moving to the 
report, he noted that 2017 had  witnessed a huge surge in accession activities.  The number of 
Working Party meetings had increased four -fold from  those  held in 2016 as  reflected in over 3,000 
pages of  accession documents issued by active accedin g governments during the past eleven  
months.   
5.3.  Three Acceding  Governments – Belarus, Comoros and Sudan – had been  the subject of 
Working Party meetings at which significant forward prog ress had been reviewed. The LDC status 
of Comoros and Sudan made  their achievements all the more impressive. Sudan had restarte d its 
accession process after thirteen years of dormancy and was  making very substantial pro gress in a 
short span of time. Comoros' process had already reached an advanced stage, readying it for 
conclus ion in the foreseeable future. Both Timor -Leste and Somalia had also circulated their 
Memoranda on the ir Foreign Trade Regime by the end of 2017  – representing  a remarkable 
achievement a s both Working Parties had  only been establish ed less than twelve months ago . 
5.4.  A number of the other 21 acceding countries'  governments had created and had maintained 
solid momentum in their own processes. The accession of Bosn ia and Herzegovina was in the 
home stretch  largel y requiring the conclusion of a few bilateral market access neg otiations. Belarus 
and Iraq had resumed their Working Party processes  in 2017  after long periods of dormancy – a 
neces sary prelude to what could  be multiple accessi ons occurring in the near term. S everal other 
acceding governments  such as Equator ial Guinea, Ethiopia and Serbia were exp ected to  reactivate 
their accession activities as well.  
5.5.  The Annual Accessions Report of 2017 explored  the relationship between accessi on and 
business. It demonstrated that the accession process was  generally accompanied by 
improvements in Acceding Governm ents' regula tory business environments. That was an 
important point since  Acceding Governments enter ed the accession process  in the hope that 
accession would  entail benefits for their economies – raising the standar ds of living for their 
citizens  and affor ding new and diverse economic opportunities.  
5.6.  In order to realize those benefits, Acceding Governments needed help. In that  regard, the 
Secretariat had  benefitted from support and  partnerships with several Members and from sister 
institutions including : the Government of Ch ina for the China Round Table held in Siem Reap, 
Cambodia and the one to be held in Buenos Aires a day before MC11; Kenya for the first  Regional 
Dialogue on WTO Accessions for the Gr eater Horn of Africa held in N airobi on 28 -30 August ; and 
the WTO Arab Group for a Public Forum session entitled "Accessions Behind the Headlines: 
Integration of Arab Countries int o the Global Economy" held in Geneva on 27 September .    
5.7.  The work of Acceding Governments,  Members and the Secretariat had placed them in a 
position to be optimistic about subst antive results in 2018. For that to be a chieved , accessions 
should be pursued in a dedicated manner tailored to the requirements with re spect to each 
acceding country. The process would  require Members to cont inue with their generous support, 
particularly in the form of technical assistance and capacity building.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  5.8.  He invite d Members to review the report. Their comments and advice would be  welcome d as 
they prepare d for the challenges a nd opportunities of 2018 . 
5.9.  The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  thank ed the Director -General and the 
Deputy Director -General  for the informative report and the A ccession s Division for its  outstanding 
efforts in producing the 2017 Annual Report on  Accession. The Arab Grou p gave  significant 
importance on accession s because the highest percentage of countries  outside the global trading 
system could be found in  the Middle East. Out of the 21 accessions in the pipeline, six of them 
were Arab States . Efforts for the inclusion o f the Arab region in  the global trading system were 
critical and the Arab Group  thank ed the Director -General for prioritizing that. Such was not only 
important for trade and economic growth and for the prosperity of the ir people but also for  the 
major role  that it played in providing a  more stable region for the benefit of everyone.  
5.10.   With the reality of globalization  and the integration to the global economy being  a main 
driver for further r eforms and economic development,  the enlargement of the WTO Membersh ip 
would boost the credibility and universality of the WTO . Accession s of new Members would reaffirm 
the WTO's capability to achieve the objectives of globalization and sustainable develop ment. Saudi 
Arabia  therefore welcome d the ne w acceding Members particularly those in the pipeline and called 
on all Members to re -double  their efforts to accelerate those processes . 
5.11.   The representative of the Russian Federation  welcomed  the Annual Report on accessions 
and appreciate d the personal gui dance of the Director -General and the tremendous efforts o f the 
Secretariat in  facilitating the accession of those States that remain ed outside the WTO framework. 
Russia  commend ed the p rogress that had  been a chieved in the negotiations of several candidate s 
and encourage d the acceding governments that we re app roaching the final stage of that  process 
to maintain their  calm pace and to finalize the technical work on all tracks in a timely manner.  
5.12.   Russia shared  the Director -General 's assessment on the considerable progress made in 
certain negotiations in 2017 particularly the substantive and constructive e ngagement of Belarus 
in its bilateral a nd multilateral negotiations. Russia  called up on the Members of the Working Party 
on Belarus'  accession to sustain the momentum and to support that process in 2018. Russia  hoped 
that 2018 would be a good year for WTO Accessions as that would serve as a reminder  that the 
organization wa s indeed a universal institutional framework for conducting tra de relations.  
5.13.   The representative of Yemen  welcome d the report  which highlighted the importance of the 
accessions  process to many countries that remained outside the house  in particular the LDCs and 
the Arab Countries which  as Saudi Arabia had indicated we re the largest groups of countri es that 
were waiting to bec ome WTO Members. Yemen also welcomed  Part Six of the report on post -
accession support and the five pillars indicated in the report to support recently -acceded countries. 
Due to the current situation  in its country, Yemen was unfortunately  not yet benefitting from that 
support  but it looked  forward to participate in that exercise  in the very ne ar future. Yemen also  
welcome d the req uest made by South Sudan for Observer S tatus at MC11.  
5.14.   The representative of Egypt  associate d with the statement made by Saudi Arabia, called for 
the acceleration of  the process es of  the rem aining acceding Arab countries and support ed the 
request made by South Sudan for Observer S tatus at MC11 . 
5.15.   The representat ive of Oman  noted that the Kenya Dialogue and the China Roundtable in 
Cambodia in 2018 were both well organized and well attended.  The quality of discussions had been 
very good because of the host Governments, t he Government of China and the Accessions 
Division. Oman  hoped that those  types of activities would  continue with more countries attending 
them – those who were observers and those who were not yet observers – for them to take part in 
the technical assistance activities to assist them in preparing th eir MFTR and to build capacity for 
their access ions process. Oman also support ed the re quest made by South Sudan and  looked 
forward to welcome Comoros and Sudan as  new Members hopefully in 2018 . 
5.16.   The representative of Cambodia , on behalf of the LDCs , reiter ated the importance for LDC 
acceding countries to benefit from a simple and rapid accessions process and  called on Members to 
fully implement the 2002 LDC  Accession Guidelines and  the 2012 General Council Decision as the 
accession instrument for LDC s. WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  5.17.   The representative of the Republic of Moldova  welcome d the report and commend ed the  
progress which had been achieved by the Accession s Division with certain countries. In particular, 
Moldova  reiterate d the importance of the processes and noted the level of  engagement of certain 
acceding Governments – Belarus, Iran, Ira q and Bosnia and Herzegovina – and the importan ce to 
build capacity for all tho se acceding Governments.  
5.18.   The General Council took note  of the Director -General's report and of the statements.  
6  ELEVENTH SESSION OF TH E MINISTERIAL CONFER ENCE  
Statement by the Chairman  6.1  
6.1.  The Chairman  said that on organizational matters  as a matter of course  and in line with its 
Rules of Procedure, MC11 should take up two issues related to the organization of the Tw elfth 
Ministerial Conference. Those issues we re the date and venue of MC12 and the election of officers 
for that Conference. They appear ed as items 3 and 4 on the MC11 Provisional Agenda in document 
WT/MIN(17)/W/1. He noted that past practice had  been that Mini sters refer red tho se issues to the 
General Council to hold consultat ions on them when appropriate. He  trusted that that practice was  
acceptable to delegations.  
6.2.  Regarding the programme of the Conference which had  been circulated to all delegations in 
an Inf ormat ion Note (WT/MIN(17)/INF/20), he noted that the Conference would open at 5 p.m. on 
10 December. During that Session, the MC11 Chairperson would  propose the  adoption of the 
Agenda. He would then make a statement in his  capacity as Chairman of the General Council. 
There would thereafter  be addresses by the President of the Republic of Argentina, H.E. Mauricio 
Macri, and the Director -General. Heads of State  of countries of the region would  also be present at 
the Opening Session.  
6.3.   The first plenary se ssion would be held on 11 Decem ber starting at 10 a.m. and would  
continue over the following days.  As in the past, th e Plenary Session would  provide Ministers with 
the opportunity to make prepared statements in accordance w ith the List of Speakers. He  
reminded delegations that statem ents in the Plenary Session would  be limited to three minutes.  
6.4.  Running in parallel to the Plenary Session, discussions among Ministers would  take place i n 
different formats.  He referred to the statement made by  the Director -General on 28 November 
with respect to the idea to appoint a few " Minister Facilitators" in order to facilitate discussions in 
certain areas. As the Director -General had outlined, it was expected that facilitators would  hold 
open meetings in which all Member s who wish ed to participate would have a chance to do so.  A s 
had also been noted on 28 November, there wa s an intention to hold Informal HODs meetings at 
the end of each afternoon.  
6.5.  Concerning the substance, he  noted that the Conference would  undertake an Overview of 
WTO activi ties under item 1 of its Agenda  on the basis of Annual Reports from the General Council 
and its subsidiary  bodies.  The annual reports , which the General Council would take up under 
item 13 of its agenda , constitute d the main vehicle t hrough which all WTO bodies would report to 
Ministers on progress of wo rk in their respective areas. As had been mentioned under  item 1 and 
in line  with past practice, he would present those reports to Ministers in his  statement at the 
Opening Session  of the Ministerial Conference. He  had also indicated that the report by the 
Chairman of the TNC and the C hairs of Negotiating Groups would  be before the Mi nisters  through 
the General Council Annual Report.   
6.6.  On e-commerce9, he had reported at the October Gener al Council meeting that he  had begun 
a process of consultations with a view to preparing a recommendation for a Ministerial Decision on 
e-commerce. At that meeting, he had also reported on his  bilateral consultations with delegations 
and on the two inf ormal open -ended meetings that he had convened in October. Members would 
recall  that at the 16 October open -ended meeting on e -commerce, four textual pr oposals had been 
presented. Those had been  on proposals from the Russian Federation; Japan and co -sponsors; 
Costa Rica; and the EU and co -sponsors.   
                                                
9 The Chairman's report o n e-commerce was subsequently circulated in WT/GC/W/739 .   WT/GC/M/170  
 
- 15 - 
 
  6.7.  Since then, six a dditional textual proposals had been submitted:  Singapore and co -sponsors; 
China; Bangladesh; India; the African Group;  and Japan with co -sponsors. Those proposals had 
been introduced and discussed at an informa l open -ended meeting on 21 November . At that 
meeting, Japan and Costa Rica had informed Members that they had merged their e arlier 
proposals bringing  the total number of textual proposals currently on the table to eig ht.   
6.8.  At the 21 November open-ended meeting, he had  urged delegations to consider not only the 
substantive issues raised in the recent proposals but also those re lated to previous proposals. He 
had also sought Members ' views on how they had envisaged their  Ministers addressing that  matter 
at MC11. In  the ensuing discussions, it had been evident that while there had been  commonalities 
in some of the proposals, the distance between the proposals furthest apart had not narrowed.  
6.9.  The proposals cover ed a range of positions. In broad terms, the positions varied  from 
maintaining the current work program me as it wa s; to formalising the dedicated discussion under 
the current work program me; to establishing a new working group to consolidate all discussions on 
e-comm erce; to establishing a working group with a mandate for future negotiations. The 
proposals also express ed varying positions on the moratorium on cus toms duties for e -commerce.  
6.10.   He had  met several times with the delegations that had submitted textual pro posals to see 
whether there had been  any new developments in their efforts to consolidate their proposals or in 
their attempt s to bridge differences. From his  most recent consu ltations that week, it was clear to 
him that Members' positions had  not changed in any substantial manner.  
6.11.   Based on what he had  heard, it therefore seemed that the General Council had  no option 
but to fo rward all eight proposals that were on the table to thei r Ministers at MC11. It also seemed  
clear that the discussion amongst their Min isters on the matter would likely be struct ured in large 
measure around tho se eight proposals.  
6.12.   He recalled that the Director -General had  indicated in hi s Report to the TNC on 
28 November that Members should expect to have "Minister Facilitators"  appointed  at MC11 to 
facilitate discussions on various subjects  including on e -commerce. It seemed  clear that the 
discussion on e -commerce at MC11 would  need to address issues raised in the proposals including 
the question of moratorium on customs duties for e-comm erce. That discussion would  also need to 
take into account the linkage to the moratorium on TRIPS non -violation complaints – a link that 
was made explicit in one pro posal. He  also recall ed that he  had mentioned the matter of TRIPS 
non-violation and situati on complaints under Item 2 of the  agenda.  
6.13.   He then drew Members'  attention to a compilation of the main points of the textual 
proposals tha t had been prepared by Japan circulated as a room document for information.  
6.14.   On the consultations on the  proposed MC11 outcome document, he referred to  the written 
reports  that he had  made on that matter at the Info rmal Open Ended meetings on 10 November, 
17 November and 22 November. Those had been  circulated to all Members in JOB/GC/151, 
JOB/GC/ 154 and JOB/GC/157 respectively and we re in the General Council's record.  
6.15.   He recall ed that at the Informal Open  Ended meeting on 22 November, he had shared his  
assessme nt that  given the most rece nt developments and information at that time there had  no 
longer been a basis  to continue the exercise of drafting the op ening paragraphs of a  possible 
Ministerial Declarat ion to a conclusion in Geneva. He had  then suspended further work on the draft 
text. He thank ed all the colleagues for the hard work on trying to work out t hose op ening 
paragraphs and  the Drafting Committee for the very constru ctive and positive way they had  
engaged on that – in particular the facilitators for their efforts in that work.  
6.16.   Towards the end of their discussion on 22 November, he noted that Argentina as host of the 
Conference had expressed its intention to continue to work towards a Ministerial D eclaration – 
which he had also mentioned in his  concluding remarks  at that meeting . 
6.17.   Since then, he had circulated a draft text in Room Document  RD/GC/6 in the interest o f 
transparency and inclusivity and following some requests that he had received  from delegations . 
That room document contained  the text  that r epresented  the extent of work in the representative 
drafting group as of 21 November – the day before the suspension of thei r work.  He wished to  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  make it clear to all that the text had  not been agreed. He had circulated it for the information of a ll 
Members  particular ly for  those that had not been involved in the d rafting process directly and 
could  not have seen the final  versions of the text so that they could all kn ow the extent and 
contents of the work  when it had been  suspended.  
Request for Observer Status by the Republic of South Sudan (WT/L/1022)  6.2  
6.18.   The Chairman  drew attention  to the request  for Observer status at MC11 by the Republic of 
South Sudan circulated on 16 November in document W T/L/1022. In accordance with  customary  
practice, consultations on that  request had been undertaken and he understood that the request 
could  be given positive  consideration. He therefore propose d that the General Council agreed  to 
grant the Republic of South Sudan Observer Status at MC11 on an ad hoc basis.  
6.19.   The General Council so agreed . 
6.20.   The representative of Afghanistan  inform ed Members that a group of post -conflict LDCs 
would be  gathering in Buenos Aires to launch  an informal support group to be called the "g7+ WTO 
Accessions Group" . The Group would be comprised of  three WTO Article XII LDC Members – 
Afghanist an, Liberia and Yemen; and  the following WTO Acced ing Governments – Comoros, São 
Tomé and Príncipe , Somalia, Timor -Leste and South Sudan. The Group would be  a sub -group of 
the broader g7+ gr oup of 20 Members established in 2010 which included fifteen WTO Members . 
6.21.   The representatives of t he g7+ WTO Accessi ons Group had  been meeti ng in Geneva and 
elsewhere as they  realize d that they  had one common objective while facing  a similar set of 
challenges. Suffering from  many years of co nflict resulting to the destruction of their economies, 
they had all  decided to use WTO Membership to overcome thei r challenges and to build thei r future 
based on economic prosperity and development which could be driven by integration into the 
rules-based multilateral trading system with development at its heart.  
6.22.   The provision of bet ter economic opportunities e specially for the youth who had been 
trapped in conflict had been one of the main reasons for his  government to decide to pursue WTO  
accession. Similar reasons had  resonated among other post -confli ct LDCs including Liberia – 
Afghanistan's accession -mate from MC10 in Nairobi. Two of thei r Ministers – H.E. Mr Hum ayoon 
Rasaw (Afghanistan) and H.E. Mr Axel Addy (Li beria) – had decided to come together to help the 
next set of acceding post-conflict LDCs by sharing thei r own accessio n experiences.  
6.23.   The g7+  WTO Accessions Group , which would  be officia lly launched in Buenos Aires , had 
two broad objectives. The first would be to facilitate the integration of post -conflict and fragile 
economies into the multilateral trading system through  WTO Accession -related reforms including 
the establishment of credible economic trade policy framework and institution, and the promotion 
of transparency and good governance based on international best practi ces. The second main 
objective would be  to suppo rt the efforts of the WTO acceding governments in the group including 
through information and experience sharing.  
6.24.   There would  be an event of the g7+  WTO Accessions Group whi ch would be open to all 
Members,  the details of which  would be provided shortly. A fghanistan hoped to see many Members 
there .  
6.25.   Afghanistan stressed that t he purpose of establishin g the g7+ WTO Accessions Group was 
not to launch new negotiation s as it would not be for rule -making. The Group had  no intention to 
replace existing g roups and  committees. It rather  aimed at better structuring and strengthening 
their work to facilitate the integration of post -conflict and fragile economies into the multilateral 
trading system through WTO Accession and to support the efforts of the WTO Acceding 
Governments in the group including through information and experience sharing.  
6.26.   Afghanistan  thank ed the g7+ WTO Accessions Group members, ambassadors and delegates 
for their tireless efforts and support and extended its  highest appreciation on behalf of the  group 
to the Secretariat in particular to the Accessions Division for their excellent management and  their 
hard work to make all of tho se happen.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  6.27.   The representative of Grenada , on behalf of the OECS , said that the OECS had reported i n 
the previous meeting  of the  General Council in October that three members of the OECS had been  
grappling with recovery and reconstruction in the aftermath of the devastations wrought by two 
hurricanes which  had swept through the Caribbean region in the space of t wo weeks in S eptember. 
The OECS had also reported t he near total destruction to property, infrastructure and the loss of 
lives reported particularly in the islands of Barbuda and Dominica and had highlighted the 
catastrophic impact that severe storms and hurricanes cou ld wreak on small island States.  
6.28.   Since the last report to the General Council, the hurricane damage assessments conducted 
by the World Bank and  other development agencies had  estimated damage to Dominica of 
approximately 200% of GDP and nearly total wipe -out of GDP in Barbuda – one of the two sister 
islands comprising Antigua and Barbuda. At the October General Council meeting, the OECS had 
also stated that there could  be no doubt that the OECS Members would  need to engage the 
flexibilities in the multilateral system as they  undertook  the long, arduous and painstaking work of 
economic reconstruction.  
6.29.   The multilateral trading system had a role to play – more specifically the WTO – in 
contributing to enabling the required reconstruction and rebuildin g within the context of the right s 
and obligations and the  rules and disciplines contained in the WTO Agreements. Specific attent ion 
and appropriate treatment were required and should  be given to countries confront ing the 
significant devastations and treme ndous challenge of rebuilding an entire economy and restoring 
livelihoods. The attainment of the SDGs had clearly become  far more challenging if not an 
impossibility within the pre -devastation timeframes in which they had agreed upon tho se targets 
and obje ctives.  
6.30.   There was perpe tual restlessness in many OECS Members that it wa s the smallest and most  
vulnerable island States that we re the most affected by the catastrophic natural d isasters. Tho se 
catastrophic natural disasters represent ed formidable challeng es towards sustainable economic  
growth and development. In that  regard, one of the key obj ectives of the OECS at MC11 would  be 
to have language  in the outcome document that they would be  able to achieve for the Conference 
in which Ministers would take note  of the destr uction caused during the  unprecedented hurricane 
season in 2017 particularly to the small island developing States  (SIDS)  and the SVEs of the 
Caribbean. They would  be seeking acknowledgment that the recovery and re -development would 
take many years during which they would  be requesting that th e WTO rules and disciplines should  
not stand in the way of reconstruction. They would  be calling for a political statement that the full 
flexibility of the multilateral trading system should be deployed so  that reconstruction measures 
taken by the affected Members would  be considered compatible with the WTO Agreements.  
6.31.   There wa s an undeniable just ification for the pursuit of such  objectives. As a citiz en of 
Grenada, he could fully recall  the destruction cau sed by hurricane Ivan in 2004 when mor e than 
200% of Grenada's GDP had  also been wiped out. T he ro ad to recovery in Grenada had  been long 
and hard. As SIDS with limited resources, the range of options available to them  to undertake 
such a massiv e economic recovery endeavour was  extremely difficult and limited. They would  need 
the support of  all WTO Members in affording them  the necessary room for manoeuvre and the 
policy space that  would allow them to get back on their feet. That wa s a critical issue  for th e OECS 
WTO Members and they we re ready to fully engage in all processes before and at MC11 to advance 
and secure such a political statement  in the outcome document from their participation. That wa s 
what making trade the handmaiden of devel opment should me an for all. That wa s what the pe ople 
of the OECS and of the Caribbean expect ed of them at that time. The WTO should not fail them.  
6.32.   The representative of the European Union  thanked the Chair man for his eff orts in the 
preparation  of a Ministerial Declaration. The European Union regretted that the process had been  
halted and express ed interest in continuing the discussion in Buenos Aires on the basis of the draft  
of the  four elements as had been discussed in Geneva . The European Union r eiterated its  support 
to have a meaningful declaration that would reaffirm  the importance of trade and the multilateral 
trading sy stem with the WTO at its centre.  
6.33.   Apart from the five thematic sessions that would be organized on 11 December, the 
European Un ion asked the Chairman to share the plans on other issues of interest.   WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  6.34.   E-commerce should  be part of WTO MC11 deliverables. The European Union was  pleased to 
have a ministerial discussion on that issue in Buenos Aires as it would  allow Ministers to take st ock 
of the increasing interest and readiness of Members  to advance the WTO work in that area and to 
discuss existing concerns. The European Union would prepare for the  discussion on the basis of 
eight proposals for a Ministerial Decision that had been  subm itted to date. In addition to extending 
the moratorium on custom s duties on electronic transmissions, all of those proposals concur red 
that e-commerce discussions need ed to advance in the WTO.  
6.35.   Some d ivergence on how to achieve that objective existed. T wo proposals (by the African 
Group and India) sought  to advance e -commerce discussions in the existing fora and propose d an 
extensive list of development related issues. Three proposals (by Singapore, China and 
Bangladesh) wished  to formalize certain aspects of the existing wo rk programme. Two proposals 
(by the Russian Federation and Japan and co -sponsors) sought  to establish a new cross -cutting 
group to discuss and evaluate relevant  issues. T he EU  proposal co -sponsored by eleven other 
Members  sought  to establ ish a Working Party on E-commerce that would engage in discussion and 
evaluation  but could also negotiat e if and when the Membership would be  ready to move into 
negotiating mode.  
6.36.   There was  clearly wide support for a deliverable on  e-commerce at MC11. The underlying  
ideas of all eight proposals could  be brought together which was something the EU would  pursue in 
Buenos Aires. Members  could have a Decision to establish a Worki ng Party on e -commerce that 
would  serve as a forum for discussion based on s ubmissions by Members; that would  engage in 
the evaluation of gaps in the WTO rules and assess development related needs; and that finally 
could move to the state of preparing and carrying out n egotiations on the issues that we re ripe f or 
negotiations. Tha t was a prag matic and constructive approach as i t would provide all th e flexibility 
that Members could  need in terms of content and timing.  
6.37.   The European Union therefore invited  proponents of the currently tabled proposals and 
other Members t o engage in th eir constructive work in the  run up to and during MC11 with the 
view to achieving an outcome that would work for all Members . 
6.38.   The representative of Japan  said that although there we re eight proposals on e -commerce 
on the table, the points t o be discussed b y Ministers we re rather clear and not so technical. In 
relation to its own proposal , Japan had prepared a paper as the Chair man had  just referre d to 
which objectively described  the main points of the eight textual proposals in order to facilitate 
Ministeri al deliberation on that important issue. The paper wa s already made av ailable as a room 
document and was recommend ed especially to those interested in e -commerce discussions . 
6.39.   The representative of Barbados , on behalf of the CARICOM , underscored CARICOM's full 
support for the statement made by Grenada. CARICOM  assure d Grenada that having been in that 
forum for some time, there wa s one thing that all Members could  agree on  – Members  should give 
as favourable a consideration as they could  to the unfortunate ci rcumstances which those 
countries  had encountered in October. Th e sentiment of support, empathy and understanding had 
reverberated across the  house. CARICOM hoped that all Members would  give a practical 
expression to those sentiments of solidarity in Buenos Aires where  Ministers would recognize the 
need for the consideration not only of the material assistance but also th e type of flexibility which 
would  allow for the speedy recovery of the economic circumstances of thos e countries. That wa s a 
matter th at should not be the  subject of any div ision. CARICOM anticipated that Members would  
rally behind those unfortunate micro States recognizing that wha t had happened there 
underscored  the uncomfortable bu t incontestable fact that they we re always on the razo r's edge o f 
vulnerability and they  therefore needed to do something special for them. Barbados made that  
plea as it was  well within the hurricane belt.  
6.40.   The representative of Guyana , on behalf of the ACP , supported  the statements by Grenada 
and Barbados. On  the 24 October HODs meeting , the ACP had made a statement strongly 
supporting the s mall, vulnerable States that had  been decimated by  the 2017 hurricanes and that 
Members should move in the direction as had been  put forward by Grenada. Guyana referred to 
the outcome document of the ACP Ministerial in Bruss els on 19 October that had also made 
reference to that  matter and made a similar call.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  6.41.   The representative of the Dominican Republic  support ed the statements by  Grenada and 
Barbados and  urged Members to  see to it that their concerns be duly and appropriately considered 
at MC11 in Buenos Aires.  
6.42.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement and of the other statements.  
7  REVIEW OF THE EXEMPT ION PROVIDED UNDER P ARAGRAPH 3 OF THE GATT 1994 
(WT/L/10 05, WT/L/1020)  
7.1.  The Chairman  recalled that p aragraph 3(a) of GATT 1994 provided  an exemption from Part II 
of the GATT 1994 for measures under specific mandatory legislation – enacted by a Member before 
it became a contracting part y to GATT 1947 – which prohibited  the use, sale or lease of foreign -
built or foreign -reconstructed vessels in commercial applications between points in national waters 
or waters o f an exclusive economic zone.  
7.2.  In 1994, the United States had invoked that  provision with respect to  specific legislation that 
had met the requirements of that paragraph. Paragraph 3(b) of the GATT 1994 called for a review 
of that  exemption five years after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement – and 
thereafter every two year s for as long as the exemption wa s in force – to examine whether the 
conditions for the exemption still prevail ed. 
7.3.   The General Council had last considered that  matter at i ts meeting in February . Statements, 
questions and responses from i nterested delegations and the Unite d States  together with the 
annual reports provided by the United States  circul ated in WT/L/1005 and WT/L/1020 would form 
the basis for that  year's review. The General Council had also ag reed that it would consider that 
matter again at that  meeting includin g taking note that the subsequen t review would be held in 
2019. That exemption wa s without prejudice to solutions concerning specific aspects of the 
legislation covered by that  exemption negotiated in sectoral agreements or in other fora.  
7.4.  The representativ e of the United States  welcomed  the opportunity to parti cipate in the 
conclusion of the  review of the exemption under Paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994 and had 
appreciated the opportunity to engage in informal consultations recently with those Members who 
had t aken the floor to express q uestions and concerns during the discussion of that item in 
February. That exemption had been  agreed to by all Members to deal with non -conforming 
provisions of domestic legislation of a non -discretionary character in a specific area add ressed by 
the exemption , and it wa s therefore an integral part of the GATT 1994. In paragraph 3(a), 
Members had agreed that as long as the legislation that the United States had notified prior to the 
date of entry of force of the WTO Agreement had remained enforced and had  not been modified to 
reduce its conformity with Part II of the GATT 1994, Part II would not apply to that legislation. 
Paragraph 3 (b) specified that Members should  review the exemption every two years to examine 
whether the condit ions which had created the need for the exemption still prevail ed. The United 
States had  confirmed that the conditions that  had created the need for that exemption continue d 
to exist , including the US Navy's reliance on commercial shipyards for day to day maintenance of 
naval and surg e fleet vessels. It also remained  critical for US shipbuilders to build commercial 
ships for trade in order to ensure the maintenance of a viable, industrial base to meet future US 
Naval requirements.  In short, the United State s had the same need as it had in 1994 to maintain 
its shipyard's readiness to build and maintain nava l vessels. The United States had  also continued 
to provide WTO Members with annual statistical reports under paragraph 3(c) of the GATT 1994 
including the most recent report submitted on 9 November. Tho se reports provide d detailed annual 
reporting of vessel orders and deliveries from US shipyards. The United States  thank ed other 
Members for thei r interest in that  issue and for their participat ion in the consultations that they 
had held. The United States stood  ready to answer Members' questions on the topic as needed in 
advance of the next review in 2019.  
7.5.  The representative of Norway  thank ed the United States  for the statistical documentation it 
had circu lated in 2017 and  for organizing consultations in  autumn concerning the continued 
application of the GATT paragraph 3 exemption for the purposes of the Jones Act , which prohibited  
the import of vessels to the United States and the rep air of vessels abroad and which restricted  
the cabotage regime. Norway had participated actively in the 2017 consultations and  in previous 
consultations and reviews on that exemption , which Norway  regard ed as an important issue s ince 
the waiver , in essence , made  it impossible t o sell vessels to the United States. Durin g the years, WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  Members had  posed a number of questions to the United States concerning both previous 
notifications and the effects of the legislation. The answers had  not been satisfactory , in particular 
as regard s the continued need the US saw for that  somewhat peculiar exemption in the WTO 
context . Norway continued  to believe that the review should focus on the salient point of 
paragraph 3(b) – the examination of whether the condition which had created the need for the 
exemption still prevailed. There was then  a real need to move beyond the point of discussing all 
the information submitted and to address the conditions for t he exemption on whether there was 
still a need for that  exemption.  
7.6.  The representative of Japan  said that the exemption was a deviation from the fundamental 
principles of the WTO. Its continuation without proper reasoning could undermine the credibility of 
the W TO rules as a whole. Japan therefore attached  great importance to the review process. The 
explanat ion by the United States in the biannual review so far did  not constitute a sufficient 
explanation of th e substantial need for the exemption. Japan hoped  that more substantia l and 
effective examination would be conducted to address its  systemic co ncerns.  
7.7.  The representative of Canada  welcomed  the oppor tunity to once again review the ex emption 
and thank ed the United States for the information provided to date. Canada  continue d to closely 
monitor developments related to the Jones Act. As it had  said in past revie ws, Canada once again 
encouraged the United States to find less trade distorting methods to pursuing its security 
interests particularly with respect to the shipbuilding aspect of the Jones Act.  
7.8.  The representative of Hong Kong, China  was disappointed that the  tenth review of the Jones 
Act had  not made a difference. Hong Kong, China nonetheless thank ed the United States for  
inviting it  to its consultation meet ing for a frank exchange on the  issue and for submitting the 
relevant notificatio n. As it had explained in  that consultation and in previous reviews, Hong Ko ng, 
China wa s concerned mainly for systemic reasons. T he exemption under paragraph 3(a) of the 
GATT 1994 was a major derogation from a fundamenta l principle of the WTO – national t reatment. 
The exemption had  been invoked by on e Member and had  continued for more than twenty years. 
As a proponent for the liberalization of  maritime transport services, Hong Kong, China was 
concern ed that the exemption represented  a major impediment to t he Member concerned in 
making any market access commitme nt in that sector. Hong Kong, China  therefore encourage d the 
United States to take a more open -minded approach and to substantively review whether  the 
legislation covered by the exemption wa s still se rving the objectives originally intended and 
whether the conditions for the retention of the measures still prevail ed and urged the authorities 
to refrain from making the Jones Act any mo re restrictive than it already wa s. In the  meantime, 
Hong Kong, China  would  continue to be  constructive in discussing that  important subject.  
7.9.  The representative of China  noted the notification submitted recently by the United States 
pursuant to paragraph 3(c) of the GATT 1994. The review of the  longstanding exemption should  
focus on examining whether the conditions creating the need for such exemption still prevail ed 
rather than a purely d ata-sharing process. China joined other Members to express its  commercial 
and systemic concern regarding the  exemption.  
7.10.   The representative  of Panama  thanked  the United States for the r eport that it had  submitted 
and for the consultations undertaken with various delegations.  Some ongoing concerns were 
apparent. Many people still regarded the topic important. Panama had been involved in the  
process in cluding in  the consultations since the outset and had continued interest in it. Panama 
therefore request ed for it to continue  to be involved in all processes and consultations that would 
take place on that  topic moving forward.  
7.11.   The representativ e of the Republic of Korea  thank ed the United States for its notification 
and stat istics. Korea's  systemic and commercial concerns regarding the United States' exemption 
under paragraph 3(a) of the GATT 1994  remained. The exemption wa s a deviation from the  
fundamental principle of the WTO restricting fair competition in shipbuilding and shipping markets. 
The exemption no longer served  a legitimate purpose . The review of that  longstanding exemption 
in accordance with paragraph 3(b) of the GATT 1994 should therefore focus on examining whether 
the conditions f or such exemption still prevailed  rather than having a data -sharing process. Korea 
urged the United States  to provide a persuasive explanation o n the necessity to continue that  
exemp tion and was willing to  participate in  any further discussions on that  issue.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  7.12.   The representative of Australia  appreciate d the information provided by the United States as 
part of its review and welcome d the recent  opportunity to informally consult again with US 
experts. Australi a had a particular interest in the issue given its  interest in maritime transp ort and 
related services and its  expertise in building a range of maritime vessels including li ghtweight fast 
ferries. While recognizing  the particular sens itivities of the Unite d States  in relation to c abotage 
and coastal shipping, Australia  encourage d it as part of the  ongoing review to consider whether the 
liberalization of aspects of the Jones Act could occur in whole or part.  
7.13.   The representative of the European Union  took note  of the US notification and asked  about  
the extent and duration the United States intended to maintain those exemptions and the views of 
the United States on the exemption  in light of ongoing efforts to propose policies that would 
contribute to sustainable  fishing.  
7.14.   The representative of Brazil  thanked  the United States for engaging in the transparency 
exercise mandated in paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994. Brazil joined  previous speakers in expressing 
its systemic conc ern with the persistence of the ex emption to  the rules and principles of the 
multilateral trading system.  
7.15.   The General Council took note  of the statements made in the course of the review in 2017 
and also that the subsequent review under the two -yearly cycle provided in paragraph 3(b) of 
GATT 1994 wo uld be held in 2019.    
8  TRIPS COUNCIL MATTER S 
Annual Review of the Special Compulsory Licensing System – Paragraph 7 of the 8.1  
Annex to the amended TRIPS Agreement and Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the 
Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health (WT/L/540 and WT/L/540/Corr.1) – Report of the Council for TRIPS 
(IP/C/79)  
Proposal for a Decision on an Extension of the Period for the acceptance by 8.2  
Members of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement (IP/C/78)  
8.1.  The Chairman  recalled that the General Council adopted in August 2003 a Decision on the 
Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS  Agreement and Public 
Health. In addition, the General Council had adopted in December 2005  a Protoc ol Ame nding the 
TRIPS Agreement which had been  submitted to Members for acceptance. In accordance with 
Article  X.3 of the WTO Agreement, the Protocol had entere d into force on 23 January 2017  upon 
acceptance by two -thirds of the WTO Members who had acce pted it o n or before that date.  
8.2.  Both the amended TRIPS Agreement and the 2003 Decision provide d that the TRIPS Counc il 
should  annually review the fun ctioning of the system and should  also report on its op eration to the 
General Council. For Members who we re yet to accept the Protocol Amending the TRIP S 
Agreement, they currently had until 31 December 2017  to do so. Since not all Members could  be 
expected to complete their domestic procedures to accept the Protocol by that deadline, the TRIPS 
Council had  agreed to sub mit to the General Council a proposal for a decision to extend the period 
of accepta nce for another two years.  He therefore invited Ms Irene Young  (Hong Kong, China) , 
Chairperson of the TRIPS Council, to report on those two matters.  
8.3.  Ms Irene Young (Hong Kong, China), Chairperson of the TRIPS Council , said that  the 
amendment to the TRIPS Agreement had entered in to force on 23 January 2017. The amendment 
provided  a special compulsory licensing system for the  benefit of countries which r elied on imports 
of medical technologies because of insufficient or no domestic pharmaceutical man ufacturing 
capacities and made  permanent the related rules already contained in the earlier waiver decision.  
8.4.  At its October meeting , the TRIPS Council had completed its annual review o f the functioning 
of the System  pursuant to paragraph 7 of the amended TRIPS Agreement and paragraph 8 of the 
Decision of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Publi c Health. Th e TRIPS Council's report on that  review to the General 
Council had  already been circulat ed in document IP/C/79.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  8.5.  She highlighted  the fact  that since the circulation of the rep ort, three more Members – 
Madagascar, Congo and Gabon – had accepted t he Protoc ol Amending the TRIPS Agreement  
thereby increasing the number of acceptances to 121.  
8.6.  Pursuant to the General Council’s decision in 2015, the Protocol wa s open for acceptance by 
the remaining Members until 31 Decembe r 2017 or such later date as co uld be decided by the 
Ministerial Conference (WT/L/965). Despite indica tions that a number of Members we re taking 
domestic procedures to accept the Protocol, the TRIPS Co uncil's assessment had been  that not all 
the 43 Members concerned could do so  by Decem ber. The TRIPS Council  had therefore  agreed to 
propose to the General Council a decision to extend the period for acceptance by two more years, 
i.e. until 31 December 2019. The proposal wa s set out in document IP/C/78. On behalf of the 
TRIPS Council, she w as submitting the proposal  to the G eneral Council for decision . 
8.7.  She called upon those Members who had not yet a ccept ed the Protocol to expedite action.  A 
practical guide on how to do so had been attached to her letter to them in July and wa s also 
available  on the WTO's webpag e on TRIPS and public health. As always, she and her Secretariat 
team would  be happy to provide further assistance if necessary.  
8.8.  The Chairman  said that in light of the report  and unless delegations wish ed to comment, he 
propose d that t he General Council took  note of the report of the TR IPS Council in document 
IP/C/79 and adopted  the draft decision in document IP/C/78 extending the time period for 
acceptance by Members of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement until 31 December 2019.  
8.9.   The General Council so agreed10. 
9  DERESTRICTION OF ADD ITIONAL NEGOTIATING MATERIALS – DRAFT DECISION 
(G/MA/W/131)  
9.1.  The Chairman  drew the Council's  attention to the Draft Decision on the Derestriction of 
Additional Negotiating Materials contai ned in document G/MA/W/131. The decision had been  
forwarded to the General Council by the Committee on Market Access through the Council for 
Trade in Goods following i ts meeting in November. Unless any delegation wished to comment, he  
propose d that the General Council ado pted the draft decision he had just mentioned.  
9.2.  The General Council so agreed11. 
10  WAIVERS UNDER ARTICL E IX OF THE WTO AGRE EMENT  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.1  
Concessions – Draft D ecision (G/C/W/741)  
Introduction  of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.2  
Concessions – Draft D ecision (G/C/W/742)  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.3  
Concessions – Draft D ecision (G/C/W/743)  
Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 10.4  
Concessions – Draft D ecision (G/C/W/744; G/C/W/744/Corr.1; and 
G/C/W/744/Corr.2)  
10.1.   The Chairman  noted that the draft waiver decisions for the first four sub -items had been 
taken up for consideration by the Council fo r Trade in Goods at its meeting on 10 November. For 
those items, the Chairperson of the Goods Council was required to report to the General Council. 
Upon the Goods Council Chair's request, the Chairman read his statement on his behalf.  
10.2.   The Chairman , on be half of the Chairperson of the Goods Council , reported that the Council 
for Trade in Goods at its meeting on 10 November had considered and approved four collective 
                                                
10 The decision was subsequently circulated in WT/L/1024.  
11 The decision was subsequently circulated in  WT/L/1025.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  waiver requests relating to the introduction of Harmonized System changes into WTO Schedule s of 
Concessions. Those four collective waiver requests had been discussed at the Market Access 
Committee meeting on 22 September and had been forwarded to the CTG for its consideration. 
The four collective waiver requests were extensions to the current wa ivers on the introduction of 
Harmonized System 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017 changes into WTO Schedules of Concessions and 
were contained in the documents listed in the Airgram of that day's meeting. The CTG had 
recommended that the draft waiver decisions con tained in the above -mentioned waiver requests 
be forwarded to the Council for adoption.  
10.3.   The representative of Honduras  took the floor to record its request to be included in the 
draft waiver contained in document G/C/W/744.  
10.4.   The representative of the Domini can Republic  also wished to be included in the draft 
decision in document G/C/W/744.  
10.5.   The representative of the United States  thought that Members had gotten a bit confused in 
terms of where they were on the agenda and what exactly they were considering. Hi s instructions 
had been to join the consensus on the draft decisions for those four waivers as they had been 
delivered to the General Council. He just wanted to make sure that they were in fact agreeing to 
those documents as had been provided to the Genera l Council from the Council on Trade in Goods. 
He had earlier thought that there had been an intervention indicating a desire to perhaps change 
one of those decisions. He could have had misunderstood it. He just would like to confirm that 
Members were agree ing to adopt the decisions as they had been forwarded to the General Council.  
10.6.   The representative of Honduras  clarified that it had taken the floor at the time that the 
Chairman had asked the Goods Council Chair to report. The waiver applied to Members who were 
not yet prepared for 2017 HS Changes. If one would look at document G/C/W/743, Honduras was 
included therein since they were talking about the 2012 HS Changes. Honduras could 
unfortunately not be found in the Annex of G/C/W/744 and it was for that rea son that it requested 
to be included in that waiver – bearing in mind that all Members that had yet been able to fulfil 
obligations under that system could have sought that waiver.  
10.7.   The representative of the Dominican Republic  repeated its request to be inc luded in the 
draft decision in G/C/W/744.  
10.8.   The Chairman  clarified the two types of actions that were being required of the General 
Council under that item.  
10.9.   First, under the first four sub -items, the General Council was being requested to adopt four 
draft de cisions – already agreed by the Council for Trade in Goods – and which were related to the 
Introduction of the Harmonized System 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 changes into schedules of 
tariff concessions. He wished to clarify that the General Council was being  requested to adopt 
those draft waiver decisions as they had been forwarded to it by the Goods Council. He understood 
that the Dominican Republic and Honduras would be submitting a request to be covered by the HS 
2017 waiver in line with its provisions12.  
10.10.   Second, under the last sub -item, the General Council was being requested to take note of 
five waiver reports that had been submitted by the Members concerned in the context of the 
review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement.  
10.11.   To sum up,  the General Council should agree to the adoption of the four waiver decisions 
listed in the first four sub -items and take note of five reports under the last sub -item. 
10.12.   He therefore proposed that in accordance with the Decision -Making Procedures under 
Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93) the General 
Council adopted those four draft Decisions in the report of the Chairperson of the Goo ds Council 
                                                
12 In accordance with the provisions of the waiver subsequently circulated in WT/L/1029, Honduras and 
the Dominican Republic submitted their requests to be covered by the HS 2017 waiver subsequently circulated 
in WT/L/1029/Add.1 and WT/L/1029/Add.2, respecti vely. WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  relating to the Introduction of Harmonized System 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 changes into WTO 
Schedules of Tariff Concessions.  
10.13.   The General Council so agreed13 and took note  of the Chairman's statement and of the 
other statements.  
Review of Waivers  pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement  10.5  
10.5.1   Preferential Treatment in favour of Services  and Service Suppliers of Least -
Developed Countries, granted on 17 December 2011 until 31 December 2030 
(WT/L/847, WT/L/982)  
10.5.2   Kimberly Process Certification Scheme fo r Rough Diamonds, granted on 
12 December 2012 until 31 December 2018 (WT/L/876)  
10.5.3   Cuba – Article XV:6 – Extension of waiver, gran ted on 7 December 2016 until 
31 December 2021 (WT/L/1003, WT/L/1023)  
10.5.4   European Union – Application of Autonomous Preferential Trea tment to the 
Western Balkans, granted on 7 December 2016 until 31 December 2021 (WT/L/1002, 
WT/L/1019)  
10.5.5   United States – African Growth and Opportun ity Act, granted on 
30 November  2015 until 30 September 2025 (WT/L/970, WT/L/1017)  
10.5.6   United States – Former Trus t Territory of th e Pacific Islands, granted on 
7 December 2016 until 31 December 2026 (WT/L/1000, WT/L/1018)  
10.5.7   United States – Trade Preferences granted to Nepal, granted on 
7 December  2016 until 31 December 2025 (WT/L/1001, WT/L/1021)  
10.14.   The Chairman  recalled that in accordance with Article IX.4 of the WTO Agreement, "any 
waiver granted for a period of more than one year shall be reviewed by the Ministerial Conference 
not later than one year after it is granted, and thereafter annually until the waiver terminat es." 
There were seven waivers before the General Council for review as  had been listed under 
sub-item (e). Five of the waivers under review provided that an annual report should be submitted 
by the Members concerned regarding the operation or implementatio n of those waivers with a view 
to facilitating their annual review by the General Council. The reports from those Members had 
been circulated in documents WT/L/1017, WT/L/1018 and WT/L/1021 from the United States, 
WT/L/1019 from the European Union and WT/L /1023 from Cuba.  
10.15.   The representative of Vanuatu , on behalf of the Pacific Group , thanked Members for the 
waiver pursuant to Article IX entitled "United States – Former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, 
granted on 7 December 2016 until 31 December 2026 " and the United States Government for that 
scheme which applied to a small group of small pacific islands who were not WTO Members but 
members of the compact of free association and asymmetric trade agreement with the United 
States. The compact extending preferential treatment until 2026 in the Customs Territory of the 
USA would benefit the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the 
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and the Republic of Palau. The Pacific Group 
commended th e schemes and the attempt to integrate some of the remote islands in the global 
trading system – complementing the Group's other regional integration efforts pursued amongst 
the Pacific Island Nations.  
10.16.   The representative of Montenegro  thanked the European Union and its Member States for 
providing the report and the duty -free access to the markets for specific products originating from 
the Western Balkans beyond the Stabilization and Association Agreements for the individual 
countries. That approach had prov en to offer an important support to the economic development 
efforts and to foster deep trade integration within the region.  
                                                
13 The Waiver Decisions were subsequently circulated in WT/L/1026, WT/L/1027, WT/L/1028 and 
WT/L/1029.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  10.17.   The General Council took note  of the reports contained in documents WT/L/1017, 
WT/L/1018, WT/L/1019, WT/L/1021 and WT/L/1023 and of  the statements.  
11  COMMITTEE ON BUDGET,  FINANCE AND ADMINIST RATION – REPORT ON MEETINGS 
OF SEPTEMBER, OCTOBE R, AND NOVEMBER 2017  (WT/BFA/166, WT/BFA/ 167, 
WT/BFA/168, WT/BFA/1 69) 
11.1.   The Chairman  drew the General Council's attention to the reports of the CBFA in documents 
WT/BFA/166, WT/BFA/167, WT/BFA/168 and WT/BFA/169  and invited Ambassador  Peter Brňo 
(Slovak Republic) , Chairperson of the Committee, to introduce the reports.  
11.2.   Ambassador  Peter Brňo (Slovak Republic) , Chairperson  of the CBFA , reported that the 
Committee had dealt with a number of items at its meetings in September, October and November 
and would make five recommendations to the General Council . 
11.3.   The Committee had  reviewed the Actuarial Position of the Pension Plan based on 
31 December 2016 data – an exercise done every three years.  
11.4.   The Committee had also reviewed the 2016 and 2017 Repor t on Staff Learning 
Development  which  had focused on coaching skills for Managers and enhancement in interview 
skills for members of recruitment panels.  
11.5.   The Staff Council had requested the Committee to be represented at CBFA meetings. The 
CBFA had informed  the Staff Council that the Committee could consider the Council's request to 
present its views to the CBFA . The CBFA had expressed th e view that the res ponsibility wa s on the 
WTO administration to communicate effectively with th e Staff Council and the staff at  large on 
relevant subjects discussed by the CBFA.  
11.6.   The Committee had reviewed the budget proposal for the ITC for the biennium 2018 -2019. 
The ITC b udget had decreased by CHF 532,000 per annum compared to th e 2017 budget. The 
Committee had been  informed that 94% of the 47 recommendations made by the Office of 
Internal Oversight Services had been implemented. The Executive Director of ITC had indicated  
that while ITC had  managed to cope with the situation of decreas ing regular budgets  through 
efficiencies in processes  it would be difficult to absorb any future decreases without impacting on 
the ability to deliver on the requests fr om clients. The CBFA r ecommended  that the General 
Council approve d the ITC budget as proposed in paragraph 1.12 of the report in WT/BFA/168.  
11.7.   The Committee had examined the WTO Consolidated Budget Proposal for the biennium 
2018-2019. The Director -General had presented a zero no minal growth budget for the 7th and the 
8th consecutive years. The Committee had welcomed the efforts of the Secre tariat to remain at a 
zero nominal growth level  and had encouraged the Secretariat to continue with its efforts to seek 
more opportunities for  savings. The CBFA recommended that the General Council approve the 
WTO budget of CHF 197.2 million annually as proposed in paragraphs 3.1 and in Tables 1 to 5 of 
the Annex containe d in WT/BFA/169. The report also included  the scale of contribution assesse d to 
WTO Members for 2018.  
11.8.   The Committee had also examined the Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan for 
2018-2019. The plan incorporated  enlarged and enhanced activities  in order to respond to the 
needs and p riorities identified by Members  while maintaining the same budget level as in the 
previous  biennium. In that  regard, the Committee recomme nded that the General Council approve 
the proposal  in paragraph 1.2 of the report in WT/BFA/169.  
11.9.   The Committee had reviewed the report on the recommendati on of the Working Group on 
an ASHI Fund. The CBFA had decided that a Special Reserve Account be established. Regarding 
the funding model, the Committee had agreed to deliberate on that  further in 2018.  
11.10.   The Committee had been  updated on the budgetary and financi al situation of the WTO  
based on the Regular Budget and the ext ra-budgetary funds as of the third  quarter of 2017.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  11.11.   During several CBFA meetings, the Committee had deliberated on the subject of 
dependency allowances and recommended that the General Council approve the 2018 amounts for 
Dependency Allowances as set out in paragraph 2.11 of the  report  in WT/BFA/169.  
11.12.   The Committee had also considered a proposal sponsored by twenty  Members regardin g 
measures to reduce documentation and post al costs within the WTO. The CBFA had  decided that 
the default method of distri bution of all WTO documents would be in electronic form  effective 
31 January 2018 and had manda ted the Secretariat to contact d elegati ons to confirm their 
preferred method of rece ipt of documents. The CBFA had further  instructed the Secretariat to 
conduct more information sessions and outreach on the E -subscription system.  
11.13.   The General Council  took note  of the statement, approved  the Budg et Committee's specific 
recommendations in paragraphs 1.12 of WT/BFA/168 and paragraphs 1.2, 2.11, and 3.1 and 
tables  1 to 5 of WT/BFA/169 and adopted  the reports in WT/BFA/166 , WT/BFA/167,  WT/BFA/168 
and WT/BFA/169 . 
12  INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE UNCTAD/WTO – REPORT OF THE JOINT ADVISORY 
GROUP ON ITS 51ST SESSION (ITC/AG(LI)/ 268)  
12.1.   The Chairman  invited Deputy Director -General Agah, in the absence of the Chairperson of 
the CTD, to read out the report on the CTD's consideration of the report of the Joint Advisory 
Group on the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO . 
12.2.   Deputy Director -General Agah, on behalf of the Chairperson of the CTD , reported that t he 
ITC's Joint Advisory Group had held its 51st Session on 10 July. The report on that meeting was 
contained in document ITC/AG(LI)/268. The report had been  presented to the CTD at its 
104th Session  on 15 November by the Chairperson of the JAG, Ambassador Frances Lisson 
(Australia) . 
12.3.   The JAG Chairperson had noted that JAG Members had expressed at its 51st Session the ir 
appreciation for the ITC's focus on its priority countries . Delegations had been  informed that 
85 per cent of cou ntry-specific interventions had been  channelled to LDCs, sub -Saharan Africa, 
LLDCs, SIDS, SVEs , and post -conflict and fragile S tates.  
12.4.   The ke y areas of  ITC's thematic focus had  also been highlighted with appreciation : value -
chain development, South -South trade and regional integration, export promotion and 
diversification, reduction of non -tariff measures, and trade facilitation – notably for t he 
implementation of the WTO Trade Fac ilitation Agreement. Support had been  expressed for th e 
"She Trades" initiative and ITC's work on Trade for Sustainable Development had been  welcomed.   
12.5.   With regard to areas for further improvement, at the JAG's 51st Session , delegations had 
called for the strengthening of efforts to ensure that ITC deliverables remain ed tailored to the 
context of its clients. A call had  also been made for ITC to continue its efforts to diversify its 
funding mechanisms.  
12.6.   The JAG had pres ented its  2017 Ann ual Evaluation Synthesis Report  and an outline of the 
new Strategic Plan for the 2018 -2021 period. The discussion on the evaluation had showcased the 
findings of the past year, had synthesized lessons learned, and had provided recommendations to 
ITC management for future opera tions. Overall, the results had been positive. The ITC had been  
found to be on track in terms of its core bu siness and management approach. With regard to the 
Strategic Plan, the discussion had focused on e nsuring that the new strategy linked ITC's 
interventions to th e Sustainable Development Goals  while customizing approaches to the specific 
trade and development needs of clients, and prior itizing results and impact. The CTD had taken 
note of the JAG report  and had subsequently forwarded it to the General Council for adoption.  
12.7.   The representative of Canada  commend ed the  ITC for its good work in 2017 . The ITC's work 
to increase the participation of SMEs in trade espe cially women -owned businesses was  valuable 
and appreci ated. Canada also noted  the active role played by the ITC as part of the International 
Gender Champions Trade -Impact Working Groups which would  lead to the release in Buenos Aires 
of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade and Women's Economic Empow erment on the margins of WT/GC/M/170  
 
- 27 - 
 
  MC11. Canada looked forward to continuing working together with the ITC to make trade more 
inclusive and to strive for growth that worked  for everyone.  
12.8.   The representative of Pakistan  commended ITC's  work delivered around the world to 
achieve  inclusive growth by building the capacity of small and medium enterprises – enabling them 
to conne ct to international markets. Pakistan appreciate d the ITC in providing technical assistance 
and capacity building globally  and delivering innovativ e tools for improving competitiveness of 
goods from developing co untries especially LDCs. The ITC had  been supporting trade and private 
sector develo pment in Pakistan since 2004. Pakistan had  greatly benefitted from the ITC in terms 
of strengthening its in stitutional capacity on  trade promotion , organization in policy formulation 
and capacity building to promote the efficient implementation of the TFA and the launching of the 
ITC's "She Trade" initiative in Pakistan, among many other technical assistance pr ojects. Pakistan 
wished ITC all the best and look ed forward to many more partnerships.  
12.9.   The representative of Montenegro  appreciated the statement on the importance of the ITC 
and its  activities in 2017 and joined other speakers in commending the ITC. Monte negro 
highlighted the ITC's valuable leadership on  economic empowerment of women and particularly 
support ed and call ed other delegations to endorse the Declaration on the Economic Empowerment 
of Women tha t would  be presented and advocated by many delegatio ns during MC11.  
12.10.   The Chairman  said that in light of the CTD's consideration and action on the matter, and 
the reports M embers had just heard, he invite d the General Council to adopt the report of the Joint 
Advisory Group in document ITC/AG( LI)/286 and to take note of the statements.  
12.11.   The General Council so agreed . 
13  REVIEW OF WTO ACTIVI TIES  
General Council (WT/GC/W/736), Dispute Settlement Body (WT/DSB/74), and 13.1  
Trade Policy Review Body (WT/TPR/407)  
Sectoral Councils (G/L/1204, S/C/53, and IP/C/80)  13.2  
Committees on Trade and Development (WT/COMTD/96 and 13.3  
WT/COMTD/96/Corr.1), Trade and Environment (WT/CTE/24), Balance -of-Payments 
Restrictions (WT/BOP/R/115), Budget, Finance and Administration (WT/BFA/170), and 
Regional Trade Agreements (WT/REG/27)  
Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Finance (WT/WGTDF/16) and Trade and 13.4  
Transfer of Technology (WT/WGTTT/19)  
Committees under the Plurilateral Trade Agreements (GPA/145, WT/L/1016)  13.5  
13.1.   The Chairman  said that the reports under that agenda item had been prepared in line with 
the De cision concerning procedures for an annual overview of WTO activities and for reporting 
under t he WTO in document WT/L/105. He also noted that delegations had  already had  a 
substantive discussion on tho se reports in the r espective bodies where they had bee n adopted. In 
line with the  reporting o bligations, all reports  from the respective bodies would  be forwarded to 
the Ministerial Conference for the consideration of Ministers.  
13.2.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement.  
13.3.   The Chairman  propose d to take action on tho se reports  in accordance with the  General 
Council's  practice. He invite d the General Council to adopt the report of the Commit tee on Trade 
and Development in WT/COMTD/96  and WT/COMTD/96/Corr.1  and to take note of the reports of 
the ot her WTO bodies  including the reports of the Committees under th e Plurilateral Trade 
Agreements  listed in the Proposed Agenda.  
13.4.   The General Council so agreed . WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  13.5.   The Chairman  propose d that the General Council adopt the draft Report of the General 
Council co ntained in document WT/GC/W/736  on the underst anding that the Secretariat would  
make the necessary adjustments to that Rep ort to include matters that had been considered at the  
meeting. T he General Council's Report would  then be circulated and also forwarded to the 
Ministerial Conference.  
13.6.   The General Council so agreed14. 
14  APPOINTMENT OF OFFIC ERS TO WTO BODIES – ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN 
PURSUANT TO PARAGRAP H 7.1(A) OF THE GUID ELINES (WT/L/510)  
14.1.   The Chairman  recall ed that the relevant Guidelines provide d that the outgoing General 
Council Chair would conduct consu ltations on the appointment of C hairpersons to the WTO bodies 
in Groups 1, 2, 4 and 5 of its Annex. The guidelines also stipulate d that the selection process 
should  start with the Chair's announcement at the last regular General C ouncil meeting of the 
year. As he had stated at the October meeting, he would  be assisted in the selection process by 
the serving DSB Chair, Ambassador Ihara and Ambassador Neple, former Gen eral Council Chair.  
14.2.   A list o f past Chairs of major bodies was  available to delegations at that  meeting. He 
stressed  again that in accordance with the Guidelines  representatives of Members in financial 
arrears for over one full year could not be considered  for appointment.  
14.3.   As he had also stated at the October meeting, while the consultations  on that process would 
begin early in January it wa s not too early for delegations – and in particular the four group 
coordinators : (i) Africa, (ii) Asia and the Pacific ; (iii) Latin Amer ica and the Caribbean, and 
(iv) developed countries  – to begin thinking abou t that matter.  
14.4.   In 2016, his  predecessor had conducted extensive consultations on the Guidelines  and one 
of the key points that had emerged prominently had been  the importanc e of starting the process 
early to allow sufficient time for group coordinators to conduct consultations with th eir respective 
constituencies. Early in January, he and his colleagues would  indicate a s pecified time -period in 
which they would  be available to hear the views of all interested delegations.  
14.5.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement.  
15  REPORT ON THE 'HIGH -LEVEL POLICY AND PRI VATE SECTOR TRADE AN D 
INVESTMENT FACILITAT ION PARTNERSHIP FORU M FOR DEVELOPMENT' H ELD IN ABUJA, 
NIGERIA, FROM 2 -3 NOVEMBER 2017 – STATEMENT BY NIGERIA  
15.1.   The representative of Nigeria , speaking under "Other Business" , inform ed Members of  the 
successful high -level forum on Facilitating Trade and In vestment for Development on 
2-3 November co -hosted by Nigeria and the ECOWAS Commission in partnership with the WTO 
Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development. The high -level forum had brought together 
some 90 senior trade and investment decision -makers and  key representatives fr om the private 
sector from over thirty African countries.  
15.2.   He wished to  share  with Members some key messages that had emerged from the forum. 
Trade and investment was increasingly inter -connected , providing an indispensable engine for 
economic growth and d evelopment particularly in Africa – a view widely shared among 
participants.  
15.3.   The forum had also noted the similarity between the approach in trade facilitation and in 
investment facilitation such as cutting red -tape, reducing procedural delays and lowering  
transaction costs for businesses.  
15.4.   It had been widely not ed that many African countries we re already implementing 
investment facilitation reforms domestically and regionally including in the 2015 Pan -Africa 
Investment Code and the current negotiations of a continental free trade area.  
                                                
14 The 2017 Annual Report of the General Council  was subsequently circulated in WT/GC/191.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
- 29 - 
 
  15.5.   It had also been  noted that African countries could benefit even more from improving the 
ease of doing business by undertaking certain reforms cooperatively at a global level. In particular, 
a multilateral approach to invest ment facilitation would have to anchor domestic reforms and show 
closer international cooperation and have to mobilize resources for technical assistance and 
capacity building.  
15.6.   Drawing from the experience under the TFA, many participants  had underscored t he 
potential for win -win outcomes in investment facilitation.  
15.7.   The Abuja Statement on deepening African integration in the global economy through trade 
and investment facilitation for development adopted by the participants at the forum , and 
circulated to all Members as a General Council document in WT/GC/186 , urged Members to 
undertake more focused discussions aimed at developing a multilateral framework to facilitate 
investment for  development. It also highlighted  the importance o f enabling developing and  least-
developed countries to participate  in global investment flows including by mobilizing the resources 
needed to address tech nical and capacity constraint s.  
15.8.   Nigeria  thank ed all the delegations that had participated in the Abuja High -Level Forum. The 
forum could not have been such a success without their contributions.  
15.9.   The representative of Pakistan  thanked Nigeria for organizing the  fruitful workshop in Abuja 
to which Pakistan had the honour of participating . The Friends of Investment Fa cilitation for 
Development we re keen on identifying common objectives that focus ed on ensuring the 
partic ipation of developing and least -developed countries in global investment flows. The Abuja 
gathering had further strengthened Pakistan's  belief that trade and investme nt were inseparable. 
As mentioned in the FIFD d ialogue organized early that month, it wa s only by scaling up 
investment and infrastructu re that developing countries could  particip ate in and benefit from the 
current integrated global economy. The proposal f or MC11 tabled by the FIFD in JOB/GC/159 
deserved  Members ' empathetic consideration.  
15.10.   The General Council took note  of the statements.  
16  TRADE RESTRICTIVE ME ASURES ON THE BORDER S IMPOSED BY KAZAKHS TAN – 
STATEMENT BY THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC  
16.1.   The representative of t he Kyrgyz Republic , speaking under "Other Business" , said that at 
the 10 November meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods, the Kyrgyz Republic had provided 
broad information about Kazakhstan's actions that infringed the fundamental principles of the WTO 
by violating a series of norms and regulations of the GATT 1994, the SPS Agreement, the TRIPS 
Agreement and the GATS. That violation discriminated the rights and nullified  all the benefits 
guaranteed by the Membership of the Kyrgyz Republic in the WTO.  
16.2.   He said that, s tarting from 10 October , the Republic of Kazakhstan had unilaterally 
introduced massive trade restrictions for movement of goods through the border without any 
preliminary notification and explanation of suc h actions. As a result, the daily av erage cargo flow 
of Kyrgyz goods had  decrease d by more than  five times. Around 700 trucks were stuck that day 
creating more  than 10km of queue and taking  an average of more than seven days to wait in order 
to cross the border. More than 20% of cargos consi sted of perishable goods. The inability to cross 
the border had resulted in m ore than 50 railroad ca rs getting stuck in the territory of Kazakhstan.  
Around USD 200 million was  the amount of its economic loss according  to the IMF which had 
revised its GDP growth forecast – a number that continued  to grow.  
16.3.   The Kyrgyz Republic wished to inform  Members about the reasons which had led to such 
difficulties at the border. Inspection bodies of Kazakhstan require d excessive documents like a 
sanitary pas sport certificate of FRC , which we re not relevant to the transported goods. For 
instance, the Transport Committee of the Ministry of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan 
had recently detained Kyrgyz Refrigerator Trucks carrying apples, pears and grapes alle gedly for 
violating the regulations of the UNECE ATP Agreement. According to the given agreement, a 
certificat e of compliance of the vehicle was not required for that kind of goods. This happened 
daily. WT/GC/M/170  
 
- 30 - 
 
  16.4.   Inspections of vehicles we re carried out without prov iding any inspection certificates. In 
particular, there were five controlling bodies of Kazakhstan stopping and inspecting all the cars 
coming from Kyrgyzstan right after the border. They did not  show any IDs while  inspect ing. They 
did not provide any rele vant documentation which authorized them to appl y tho se ins pection 
measures nor did they provide any reporting documents.  
16.5.   He said that t he Kazakh border controllers experience d the practice where  no more than 
three to four trucks we re released in a single hour. Starting from 10 October, the average number 
of trucks crossing one checkpoint had decreased from 350 to 70 trucks. As proven by the current 
truck flow statistics, that practice had brought Kyrgyz Republic to the conclusion that there was  a 
limit of seventy cars allowed to pass through the border each day.  The Kazakh border had forced 
the Kyrgyz cargo carriers to change routes different  from the traditional ones. That requirement 
resulted in an additional 1,000 to 1,500 kilometres to the truck drivers ' journey .  
16.6.   He further noted that, o n top of the border issues, Kazakhstan had started to apply market 
restricti on measures – some of which took  an abrupt and primitive character. For instance, 
retailers and  sellers in Kazakh markets we re penalized merely because they sold Kyrgyz goods. 
Another example wa s the resolution of the Committee for Public Health Protection of Kazakhstan 
dated 21 November which had introduced the temporary ban on the import of products of 
Kulikovsky – one of the leading exporters o f confectionery goods f rom Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan. 
The Kyrgyz Republic  consider ed tho se actions as hidden measures to exclude Kyr gyz business 
from the Kazakh  market.  
16.7.   The situation at the border was  quite difficult as WTO principles we re being violated. 
Contrary to the fundamental principle of transparency , the Republic of Kazakhstan had  not 
informed the Kyrgyz Republic about the unprecedented trade distorting measures neither through 
bilateral channels nor through mass media nor through the WTO Secretari at before 10 October. On 
11 October, Kazakhstan had officiall y released information about its border restriction. Producers 
and carriers of the Kyrgyz Republic found it in sufficient for them to prepare properly for such trade 
restrict ive measures and to ma nage the difficulties that they were faced with . 
16.8.   Along with neglecting the principle of non -discrimination, Kazakhstan as the only 
geographically convenient country for trade between the Kyrgyz Republic and the other WTO 
Members also roughly neglec ted another fundamental pillar – the freedom of transit. During that  
period of time, only the trucks and railway cars coming from an d going to the Kyrgyz Republic 
were subject for scrutinized cargo inspection and control at quite an extensive and trade distorting 
manner even though they operate d in full accordance with the TIR Carnet System.  
16.9.   He said that t he restrictions introduced by Kazakhstan also undermine d the efficiency of the 
Trade Facilita tion Agreement. Kazakhstan fell short of  the following: to promptly i nform the 
carriers when detaining the goods; to provide the shortest possible time for release of perishable 
goods and accordingly give appropriate priority to perishable goods; and the Kazakhstan Border 
Agency did not cooperate with its  Kyrgyz counterpart s to coordinate procedures at the border 
crossing to facili tate cross -border trade. All those we re happe ning even though Kazakhstan notified 
the above -mentioned TFA obligations  under Category A.  
16.10.   As a result , the Kyrgyz Republic noted  the violation of the following rules and regulations 
of the WT O by the Republic of Kazakhstan: Article s I (Most  Favoured Nations Treatment), 
V (Freedom of Transit ), X ( Obligation and Admi nistration of Trade Regulations) and XI ( General 
Elimination of Quantitative Restrictions ) of the GATT 1994; an d Articles 5.2 (Detention), 
7.9 (Perishable Goods), 8 ( Border Agency Cooperation ) and 11 (Freedom of Transit) of the 
Agreement on Trade Facilitation.   
16.11.   All tho se concerns had been raised during the last Council for Trade in Goods meetin g on 
10 November. In response to its grounded arguments, the Kyrgyz Republic  had t he honour to get 
the response of  the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the WTO who had  
expressed her confidence that the given situati on would  be reso lved in the nearest f uture. After 
the CTG meeting, the Kyrgyz Republic had  expected  a reaction from Kazakhstan but had not 
gotten any. And u nfortunately , the situation had become even worse during the last few weeks as 
had been explained earlier.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  16.12.   In that  regard, the Kyrgyz Republic addressed an offi cial letter to Kazakhstan on 
22 November asking it to give an explanation to the submitted questions with reference to the 
WTO document G/C/W/745 dated  18 October and the proposed  bilateral consultations on the  
situation. At the same time, the Kyrgyz Republic  sent questions to Kazakhstan  on 23 November 
through the WTO system which covered both general issues and more detailed ones with respect 
to the violations of the norms and provis ions of certain WTO Agreements.  
16.13.   An hour before its current intervention, the Kyrgyz Republic had received positive news 
from Minsk where the Presidents of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan had 
bilateral discussions on various topics , including the situation a t the border. In that regard, the 
Kyrgyz Republic  express ed its  sincere hope that the issue would be resolved in the nearest future.  
16.14.   The representative of Kazakhstan  said that Kyrgyzstan was its  neighbouring State and a 
strategic political and economic par tner within the  Central Asian Region and the Eurasian Economic 
Union. In that  regard, the measures appli ed by Kazakhstan at the border we re mainly aimed at 
ensuring safety of products imported into the common market of the Eurasian Economic Union in 
accord ance with the national le gislation of Kazakhstan which was  fully bas ed on the WTO norms as 
a recently acceded Member and on  the Eurasian Economic Union Agreement.  
16.15.   The transport control measures that require d compliance with the weight parameters for 
freight transport and requirements to possess certificates for tran sportation of perishable goods 
were not discriminatory and applied equally to both Kazakhstani and foreign carriers of goods. 
Therefore , measures taken by Kazakhstan we re based on the fundamenta l WTO principle providing 
national treatment in respect of imported goods.  
16.16.   According to the national l egislation of Kazakhstan,  which wa s fully reflected in the 
Services Schedule of Comm itments of Kazakhstan undertaken upon its accession to the WTO, 
cabot age shipping services could only be provided by those vehicles which had  been registered 
within the territory of Kazakhstan and in accordance with the legislation of Kazakhstan,  while t he 
vehicles with Kyrgyz plates made  cabotage shipping on a commercial b asis between diff erent 
locations of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan also found  violations of rules for carriage of goods in the 
absence of Kazakhstan's transportation authorization forms.  
16.17.   The temporary restrictions for imports of  certain types of fruits which were applied by 
Kazakhstan had  been notified to the relevant committee of the WTO in November 2016. Due to 
repeat ed detection of products that did  not meet the mandatory veterinary and quarantine 
phytosanitary requirements, it had been decided to strengthen the  veterinary and phytosanitary 
control at the border. The current time phytosanitary control on the Kyrgyz -Kazakh section of the 
State border wa s carried out on the basis of the International Plant Protection Convention. Despite 
the fact that the system of quarantine phytosanitary control  had been  approved by the decision of 
the Eurasian Economic Commission No. 56 of 21 August 2015, it had  not guarantee d quarantine 
purity of the exported products which wa s confirmed by systematic detection of quarantine obje cts 
in products imported from the Kyrgyz Republic.  
16.18.   The veterinary measures  applied at the border we re fully based on the relevant Eurasian 
Economic Union Agreement. They we re carried out in accordance with the Decision of the Customs 
Union Commission No. 317 of 18 June 2010 on the single procedure for  the implementation of 
veterinary control at the customs border of the Eurasian Economic Union. In accordance with the 
Decision of the Eurasian Economic Council No. 6 of 8 May 2015, veterinary control on the K yrgyz -
Kazakh Section of the State border would  be maintained until the decision of the Council of the 
Eurasian Economic Commission on the approval of the results of the evaluation of the system of 
veterinary and quarantine phytosanitary control of the Kyrgyz Republic was  adopted by all five  
Eurasian Economic Union Member States.  
16.19.   In 2016, the Republic of Kazakhstan had raised the issue of insufficient customs 
administration in terms of a proper identifica tion of Customs Value and  Rules of Origin in the 
Kyrgyz Republic. For example, the c ustom s value of goods in Kyrgyzstan wa s signific antly 
undervalued and foreclosed  from five to ten times. We ak customs a dministration maintained by 
the relevant authoritie s of the Kyrgyz Republic created  pre-requisites for ci rcumvention of goods 
for customs clearance from other EEU Member States to the Kyrgyz Republic. That in turn caused  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  loss in revenues from customs duties and VAT payments to the  budget of Kazakhstan and  of other 
EEU M ember States.  
16.20.   All th ose issues had  been repeatedly discussed bilaterally and  within the joint collegium of 
customs services of the Eurasian Economic Union Members States.  
16.21.   All measures which we re being appli ed by Kazakhstan at the border we re in full conformity 
with Artic le I on MFN Treatment, Article III on National Treatment and Article V on Freedom of  
Transit of the GATT 1994. Measures which we re being applied on technical regulation and sanit ary 
and phytosanitary measures we re als o in full conformity with the SPS and TBT Agreements.  
16.22.   Kazakhstan  urged Kyrgyzstan to respect and comply with the national legislation of the 
Republic of Kazakhstan and the norms of  the Eurasian Economic Union. They had bilateral 
mechanisms which we re not f ully utiliz ed to date for resolving all tho se outstanding issues  between 
Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In partic ular, the roadmap had  been prepared by the high -level 
delegations led by the Prime Ministe rs of both countries. Kazakhstan called on its  Kyrgyz partners 
to implement that  roadmap jointly with the Kazakh side in order to resolve all the outstanding 
issues in a bilate ral format. The roadmap included  systemic, long -term and operational measures 
aimed at improving fiscal administration, veterinary and phytosanitary control, technical 
regulations and sanitary and epid emiological control at the border.  
16.23.   Kazakhstan believed that those issues would  be resolv ed in the near future. As it had been 
mentioned by the Kyrgyz Republic, there wa s positive  news coming from Minsk where the  Heads of 
State  of the two countries  had a bilateral meeting. Kazakhstan was only asking for respect and for 
the implement ation of the commitments undertaken by Kyrgyzstan upon joining the Eu rasian 
Economic Union and  the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreements.  
16.24.   The Chairman  remind ed Members that Rule 25 of the Working Procedures of the General 
Council had established that representative s should avoid unduly long debates under "Other 
Business". Discussions on substantive iss ues under "Other Business" should  be avoided.  
16.25.   The General Council took note of the statements.  
17  TRADE AND WOMEN'S EC ONOMIC EMPOWERMENT – STATEMENT BY ICELAND  
17.1.   The representative of Iceland , also on behalf of Sierra Leone , speaking under "Other  
Business" , said that Iceland and Sierra Leone  were co-chairs of an initiative on tra de and w omen's 
economic empowerment. That issue wa s becoming an increasingly important part for the trade 
agenda as many trade negotiators endeavour ed to promote the participation of women and trade 
for the benefit of all.  With a number of other delegation s and in cooperation with the ITC, they had  
prepared a joint declaration on Trade and Women's Econo mic Empowerment. The objective wa s to 
share experiences through information exchange relating to policies and programmes aiming at 
encouraging women's partic ipation in the economy, to share best practices for conducting gender -
based analysi s, collection of data and  to ensure that Aid for Trade provided  tools and know -how for 
more gender -responsive trade policies. All Heads of Delegat ion supporting the declarat ion we re 
invited to participate in a family photo in Buenos Aires in the afternoon of 12 December. They  
looked forward to see majority of them there. They had  received broad support for the declaration. 
Over ei ghty Members had  alread y expressed their suppo rt and they  encourage d others  to do so as 
well. The joint declaration would be circulated to all Members for the sake of transparency.  
17.2.   The representative of Canada  thank ed Iceland and Sierra Le one for their leadership on that  
initiative and for bringing i t to the attention of Members that day. Canada wholeheartedly 
endorsed the joint declaration on Trade and Women's Economic E mpowerment as one way to 
promote a dialogue at the WTO on how to e nsure that trade benefited everyone. Canada's Minister 
had written  to each of his WTO counterparts encouraging them to endorse the Declaration and he  
had forwar ded those letters to all WTO A mbassadors. The Declaration would  be a good news story 
in Buenos Ai res and he  looked forward t o celebrating it with all of them  on 12 December.  
17.3.   The General Council took note  of the statements.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  18  MIKTA AND SYRIA – STATEMEN T BY TURKEY  
18.1.   The representative of Turkey , speaking under "Other Business ", inform ed Members about  a 
MIKTA activity on the side lines of MC11. MIKTA was a partnership that  brought  together Mexico, 
Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia. MIKTA Countries strive d to better understand the global 
challenges and how to re spond to them and we re all important economic players in their 
respective regions. Furthermore, their diversit y enabled them  to build consensus to advance the 
common interests of the international community. Similarly, the WTO constituted  yet another 
platform where they could  work collectively as various MIKTA ac tivities at the WTO to date had 
shown. Turkey was th e current MIKTA Coordinator. Through its  coordination  and taking advantage 
of MC11, T rade Ministers of MIKTA C ountries would convene on 11 December. MIKTA would 
continue its  endeavours to reach constructive and p ositive outcomes at MC11 .  
18.2.   In addition,  H.E. Mr Nihat Zeybekçi, Minister of Economy of Tur key, would most  likely raise  
another issue  with his  counterparts during MC11 which related  to the consequences o f the conflict 
in Syria. There wa s absolutely no questio n that the conflict in Syria had  created one of the worst 
humanitarian crises of modern times. The death toll had surpassed the half million mark long time 
ago. More than half the population or over 11 million people had to leave their homes. Millions had 
sought refuge in other countries  – some of them WTO Members. Others had been  forced to go to 
different regions in Syria itself . Turkey alone hosted  over three mi llion Syrians. Other countries 
were grappling with huge numbers of displaced Syrians in millions  as well. Minister Zeybekçi wou ld 
therefore r each out to his counterparts to explore their options on how the WTO could  contribute 
to international effor ts to address the impact of that catastrophe and how trade could  be utilised t o 
help the displaced Syrians. Turkey  briefly mention ed that so that delegations could prepare thei r 
Ministers for a po ssible exchange of views on that issue. Turkey  would be happy to share more 
informatio n with all Members as it became available before depart ing for Buenos Aires.  
18.3.   The General Council took note  of the statement.  
19  CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE WORKING PARTY ON THE  ACCESSION OF BOSNIA AND 
HERZEGOVINA – STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  
19.1.   The Chairman , speaking under "Other Busines s", recall ed that at the last Gener al Council 
meeting in October, he had announced that he  had asked Deputy Director -General Alan Wolf f to 
conduct consultations on his  behalf wi th regard  to the Ch airmanship of the Working Party  on the 
Acces sion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was  pleased to report that, following those consultations, 
there appeare d to be consensus on the appointment of Ambassador Atanas Atanassov P aparizov 
(Bulgaria) as Chairperson  of that Working Party. He  congratulate d Ambassador Paparizov and 
wished him all the best with his new responsibility.  
19.2.   The General Council took note  of the statement.  
20  STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN IN CONNECTION WITH ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES 
FOR MEMBERS IN ARREA RS – STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  
20.1.   The Chairman , speaking under "Other Business ", recalled that t he revised Administrative 
Measures for Members in arrears, c ontained in WT/BFA/132 Annex I  had entered  into force on 
1 January 2013. Tho se measures include d a requirement that  at the end of each  meeting of the 
General Council the Chairperson  of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration should 
provide info rmation with regard to which Members and Observers we re under Administrative 
Measures. He invite d the Chair of the Budget Committee, Ambassador  Peter Brňo (Slovak 
Republic), to provide the Council with that  information.  
20.2.   Ambassador  Peter Brňo (Slovak Repub lic), Chairperson  of the CBFA , reported that as at 
30 November 2017, there were 6 Members in Category I: Antigua and Barbuda, Cameroon, 
Dominica, Guinea, Rwanda and Uganda. There were no Members in Cate gory II. There were 
7 Members in Category III: Burundi , Central African Republic, Djibouti, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra 
Leone and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. There were no Observers in Ca tegories I and II. 
There were 2  Observers in Category III: Libya and Sao Tome and Principe.  WT/GC/M/170  
 
- 34 - 
 
  20.3.   The Chairman  said that he was also  required at each Council meeting to request Members 
and Observers in Categories II and III of the Measures to inform the Secretariat as to when their 
payme nt of arrears could be expected.  
20.4.   The General Council took note  of the statement.  
 
_______ ________  WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
STATEMENT BY H.E. ABDOULAYE IDRIS SA MAÏGA , PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF MALI, TO THE WTO GENERAL COUNCIL ON 3 0 NOVEM BER 2017  
The President of the Republic of Mali, H.E. Mr Ibrahim Boubacar K eita – who, had his schedule 
permitted, would have been here today, 30 November 2017, to take part in your work – has 
honoured me with the task of transmitting his regards and thanking you, Mr Chairman, on behalf 
of his counterparts in Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad, co -sponsors of the 2003 Sectoral Initiative in 
Favour of Cotton (C -4), and on behalf of all of the African countries and LDCs that produce and 
export cotton and cotton related products, for the particular interest and attention that Members 
have give n to this emblematic cotton issue at the WTO for over a decade.  
 
He also asked me once again to bring to the attention of General Council members the importance 
that the C -4 attaches to the inclusive and transparent multilateral trading system based on rules 
that work for everyone.  
 
The C -4 highly appreciates the WTO's commitment to supporting our countries' efforts to further 
the integration of their economies in the multilateral trading system. This integration is necessary 
to the creation of condition s that are conducive to the development of trade and investment and to 
ensuring sustainable development.  
 
The C -4 is committed to working towards strengthening the multilateral trading system through 
concrete and measurable outcomes which will, over time, have a significant impact on the living 
conditions of millions of people who have so far been unable to enjoy the advantages and 
opportunities offered by international trade. We need to work towards overcoming our differences 
and finding realistic, but rel evant solutions that take account of the difficult living conditions of 
millions of Africans who cannot derive a decent living from their daily labours, including the rural 
populations, and in particular women, young people and the elderly.  
 
The C -4 is con vinced that at the 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires, WTO 
Members will be in a position to send a strong and positive message to the international public 
opinion by achieving concrete, fair and balanced outcomes that are acceptable to ever yone.  
 
Since 2003, an urgent and vital issue has been placed on the WTO's negotiating agenda with a 
view to finding appropriate and correspondingly urgent solutions as rapidly as possible. We refer in 
particular to the 2005 Hong Kong mandate, which calls f or the cotton issue to be addressed 
"ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically".  
 
The fact is, however, that so far Members have been struggling to respond positively to what is a 
clear and precise mandate. You have been far too hesitant in reacting to t his heartfelt appeal from 
the cotton producing communities in the least developed countries, particularly the African 
countries, for which cotton accounts for close to 12% of GDP, 40% of total export revenue, and 
70% of agricultural income; on top of which , in most of our countries, the production, processing 
and marketing of cotton employs more than 80% of the active population.  
 
A total of 36 African countries produce and export cotton, as well as several other developing and 
least developed countries in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The livelihood of many of 
these populations depends on cotton, which remains a strategic sector.  
 
The time has come for WTO Members to seize the opportunity offered by the 11th Ministerial 
Conference in Buenos Aires i n December 2017 – the last phase of the trade negotiations – to come 
up with a proper response to the mandate of 1 August 2004 and to the Hong Kong mandate of 
December 2005 on cotton, and specifically on the third pillar of the negotiations: domestic 
suppo rt. 
 
Regarding the three agriculture pillars under negotiation, you,  the WTO Members, decided on 
19 December 2015 in Nairobi to provide "duty free and quota free market access for cotton and 
cotton related products originating from LDCs" as from 1 January 2016.  
 WT/GC/M/170  
 
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  You also made the laudable commitment to formulate "multidimensional and integrated 
programmes and projects" at the regional and sub -regional level, participating in the promotion of 
the cotton sector in the LDCs.  
 
Why is it that although you, devel oped country Members and developing country Members, leading 
partners of the LDCs, seem to have no trouble devoting enormous efforts in terms of cooperation 
and partnership to help us in our efforts to attain the 17 sustainable development goals by 2030, 
some of you have been unable, since 2005 – i.e. 12 years ago – to show a bit more flexibility in 
finding a fair and equitable solution to the domestic support issue in spite of all the WTO 
ministerial decisions on cotton?  
 
Notwithstanding all of the C -4's efforts, still today more than 70% of cotton production receives 
domestic support, granted mainly by the developed countries and the developing countries of the 
WTO. This practice results in cotton price distortions every bit as much as export subsidies or any 
other such trade practices.  
 
And yet, you are aware of the serious economic and social consequences for the cotton producing 
LDCs. You are aware of the irrefutable statistics that argue overwhelmingly in our favour. You 
know that an immediate significa nt reduction in domestic support, and its elimination in the longer 
term, is vital to the cotton sector which is slowly dying in the LDCs. So what are you waiting for? 
Do it now!  
 
The C -4 is not asking, on behalf of all of the African and LDC cotton produc ers and exporters, for 
charity or for any particular favour. All the C -4 is asking for is compliance and strict application of 
the rules and principles that lie at the heart of our Organization which is the foundation of the 
world trading system: the WTO.  
 
No, we are not reaching out for help. All we are asking from you in the way of development 
assistance is that you respect, in a fully transparent manner, these rules and principles which have 
already been defined so that our extremely hard working populations can derive a decent and 
dignified living from their labours as anyone should be entitled to do.  
 
At the same time, this would help to considerably reduce the rural urban migration which you so 
deplore and are seeking to regulate at such great e xpense, and to curtail the extremist 
movements of all sorts that we are all combating and whose consequences are so disastrous for 
the entire international community.  
 
A significant outcome in the current negotiations on domestic support for cotton would b e an 
important signal in this respect, and a great satisfaction for the MC11, which will be able to say 
that it has accomplished its duty. Solutions and answers to the cotton issue will enable the LDC 
producers and exporters to turn trade into a proper too l in the fight against poverty and in favour 
of sustainable development.  
 
This is one of the best ways of translating paragraph 24 of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration into 
action in order to facilitate the integration of the LDCs into the multilateral t rading system.  
 
With this in mind, we repeat our urgent appeal to all WTO Members to make a special effort to 
adopt concrete solutions in the course of the ongoing negotiations so that we can preserve and 
promote our cotton industries on which the lives of  millions of people depend.  
 
The C -4 remains open to any initiative that contributes to finding an acceptable solution to the 
cotton issue.  
 
Let us show resolve. Let us face our responsibilities to the world. Let us show greater political 
courage and great er solidarity in the interest of all, so that MC11 can become a benchmark.  
 
Let us do this together, for the sake of each and every one of us!  
 
In any case, under the mandate given to our negotiators in Geneva and to the C -4 trade ministers, 
only a concret e and measurable outcome on cotton can determine the success of the Buenos Aires 
Ministerial Conference.  
__________