RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/C/M/22 
10 March 2006 
 (06-1061) 
Trade Negotiations Committee 
30 November 2005  
 
 
 
MINUTES OF MEETING 
 
Held in the Centre William Rappard  
on 30 November 2005  
 
Chairman: Mr. Pascal Lamy (Director-General)  
 
 Subjects discussed
: Page  
 
1. Statement by th e Chairman.....................................................................................................1  
2. Reports by the Chairpersons of th e Bodies Established by the TNC...................................5  
3. Statements by participants..................................................................................................... 12 
 
 
1. Statement by the Chairman 
1. The Chairman  said he would first take up the Draft Ministerial Text which had been issued in 
document JOB(05)/298 on 26 November.  The present meeting was an opportunity for delegations to 
hear from each of the Negotiating Group Chairs th eir report on work in each respective area before 
the draft text went to the General Council for consider ation.  It was also the first opportunity for them 
to place their views and comments on record followi ng the informal meeting of Heads of Delegation 
which had been held on 28 November, during which they  had been able to express their first reactions 
to the draft. 
2. As he had said at the previous informal H eads of Delegation meeting on 26 November, it was 
his sincere hope that Members, at the General Council, would be able to agree on the text which would go to Ministers.  He wished to once again st ress this because, as he had informed Members at 
the 26 November meeting, in his conversations wi th Ministers over the previous weeks and more 
recently at the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Mini sters' meeting in Brussels, he had received a 
clear and unambiguous message that they expected to receive a workable basis for their future 
deliberations at Hong Kong.  He was firmly convinced that delega tions had a collective responsibility 
to do their utmost to ensure that Ministers could arrive in Hong Kong with a clear idea of where they 
needed to focus their work. 
3. It was important to keep in mind that although  the specific level of ambition for the Hong 
Kong meeting might have been "recalibrated", it ha d to nonetheless provide the launching pad for 
finishing the Round in 2006. 
4. He said that the Chairman of the General Counc il and he had, over the previous few days, 
been in a listening mode.  As he had reported at th e informal meeting on 28 November, they had been 
conducting a series of intensive consu ltations with delegations in various formats.  At the informal 
meeting, a large number of delegations had comment ed on the first Draft Ministerial Text, and since TN/C/M/22 
Page 2  
 
  then, he had held discussions with the ACP Minist ers at their meeting in Brussels.  The General 
Council Chairman and he had taken note of all these observations.  They would continue to be guided 
by the principles of consensus bu ilding and adhering to the same "bottom-up" approach which had 
characterised their consultations thus far.  It woul d be in this spirit that any improvements would be 
made to the draft text. 
5. As he had mentioned at the informal meeting, the consultations had confirmed that there were 
different categories of issues in the draft text.  R oughly speaking, one could say the issues in the draft 
text could be divided into three categories:  (1 ) issues where there was a high degree of convergence 
or agreement in consultations or meetings, such as dispute settlement, trade facilitation or technical 
cooperation; (2) issues in Ministerial Declarati on language form, but not yet fully negotiated or 
agreed, for example services;  and, (3) other issu es which were more sensitive – for which, for the 
time being, there was no Declaration-type language or competing texts, for example agriculture, non 
agricultural market access (NAMA) and special a nd differential treatment (S&D), particularly the 
least-developed country (LDC) Agreement-specific proposals. 
6. From the recent consultations he had detected some sense of emerging convergence that the 
most difficult issues – agriculture, NAMA and S&D – should continue to focus the attention of the 
membership until the end of the week, since there still remained wide divergences on them.  Some 
delegations had also made the point that in the areas of agriculture and NAMA, key questions or 
issues should be identified for negotiations by Mini sters in Hong Kong.  Several other concerns had 
also been highlighted by a number of delegations on the first draft text. 
7. He wished to stress yet again that over the past  few weeks and days the Chairman and he had 
made it crystal clear that neither of them had an y intention of springing any surprises on Members.  
The overall text remained and would remain firmly grounded in the reality of the current situation. 
8. In the parts of the text which came under the TNC, as delegations had already detected from 
reading the text and from their views and comments at the informal meeting, it was clear that the 
situation differed considerably from one area to another.  The individual Chairs with whom the 
General Council Chairman and he had been worki ng very closely throughout the process, and from 
whom delegations would shortly h ear, had made him fully aware of the range of positions and of the 
fact that in some areas some delegations would ha ve liked to see more operational language.  This he 
had also discerned from his recent consultations .  Everyone would have liked to see a more 
operational text by this point in time, but if one was to be faithful to the principle of reality, the text 
was simply a mirror of the situation. 
9. This mirror was able to reflect some considerab le progress, particularly since July 2004.  He 
wished to underline that the current draft, th at would hopefully be improved on, did not seek to 
establish a final balance here and now – that w as for the end of the Round, which was not where 
Members stood. 
10. Finally, he wished to report on his work on the issue of implementation.  In line with the 
mandate given to the Director-General in the Ju ly 2004 Decision, which had been renewed by the 
General Council in July of this year, he had b een undertaking a consultative process on all outstanding 
implementation issues under paragraph 12(b) of the D oha Ministerial Declaration, including on issues 
related to the extension of the protection of geograp hical indications (GIs) provided for in Article 23 
of the TRIPS Agreement to products other than wines and spirits. 
11. This process had been carried out in his capac ity as Director-General and had been without 
prejudice to the positions of Members.  He had been assisted by a number of the Chairpersons of 
concerned WTO bodies acting as his Friends and by tw o of his Deputy Directors-General – Valentine 
Rugwabiza who had been consulting on the trade related investment measures (TRIMs) issues and  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 3 
 
 
Rufus Yerxa who had been taking up the issues of GIs and the relationship between the TRIPS 
Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).  He wished to thank them for their 
work. 
12. However, from the reports they had made to hi m, he regretted that Members did not seem to 
have made much progress since his predecessor reporte d in July to the TNC and the General Council. 
13. He would now report in detail on his consultative processes. 
TRIPS  
14. In the area of TRIPS, Deputy Director-General Rufus Yerxa had pursued on his behalf 
dedicated consultations on both the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD and on 
the GI extension issue.  These consultations had not  indicated any significant change in the positions 
that had been reported in the July meetings of the TNC and General Council.  In each area, there 
continued to be significant differences on both th e merits of what might be done and on the 
relationship of these questions to the Doha Round.  On each issue, the main proponents had presented 
language aimed at providing guidance for negotiations  on these matters to be concluded within the 
timeframe of the Round.  They had emphasised that  for them, an appropriate result on these matters 
was an essential part of a balanced outcome of th e Round.  In each of these areas, other delegations 
were of the view that no case had been made fo r negotiations; rather, technical work aimed at 
clarifying the issues should be pursued.  They had also made it clear that any language which prejudged results would be unacceptable to them. 
15. Regarding the other tirets under the TRIPS Agreem ent, once again, no delegation had availed 
itself of the opportunity provided by the Chairman of the Council for TRIPS to pursue any of these 
matters. 
Balance of Payments (BOP)
 
16. Since the TNC in October, a further consultati on had been held in the BOP area.  However, 
the positions still remained unchanged as reflected  in the Chairman's non-paper in document 
JOB(05)/60.  Consequently, and also taking into co nsideration the important systemic implications, 
the Chairman had concluded that this matte r required resolution at the political level. 
Customs Valuation  
17. On all five proposals in the Customs Valuati on area, the situation had remained unchanged 
since the reports made to the TNC and the General Council in July.  There was no visible prospect of 
moving forward on these issues. 
Market Access  
18. On the one proposal in the Market Access area,  the situation remained unchanged since the 
last report to the TNC and the General Council in Ju ly.  A paper aimed at providing precision to the 
proposal originally made by Saint Lucia on a redi stribution of negotiating rights was still awaited 
from Barbados and Antigua & Barbuda. 
Safeguards  
19. In the area of Safeguards, the situation remain ed unchanged since the last report to the TNC 
and the General Council in July.  The Committee had reported in 2002 that it had not been able to 
suggest a course of action on the issue due to a lack of convergence. TN/C/M/22 
Page 4  
 
  Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
 
20. At a TBT Committee meeting held on 2 November  2005, the Chairman had explored whether 
there was any scope for further discussions on the two TBT outstanding implementation issues.  There had been no response from the Committee.  Th is might indicate that, as the Committee had 
undertaken considerable work relevant to both issues,  there was no inclination to further debate these 
two issues in the Committee at the present. 
TRIMs
 
21. On TRIMs, it appeared that the positions of Members had not changed since the last report 
made in July to the TNC and the General Council.   Differences of view still remained both on the 
substance of the proposals themselves and on ho w to proceed with the consideration of the 
outstanding issues. 
22. Overall, the situation had clearly not evolved significantly since July.  However, there had 
been a good level of engagement by all delegations in  the work and he believed that some substantive 
results were still possible. 
23. Therefore, with the aim of ensuring that Members could fulfil the commitment they had 
undertaken at Doha on this issue, paragraph 21 of the Draft Ministerial Text which would be before 
the General Council proposed continuing this process a nd reiterated the instructions given last July to 
all relevant bodies to find appropriate solutions as a priority.  Flexibility and creativity were the two 
ingredients which were badly needed if Member s were to be able to respect their mandate. 
24. Ambassador Amina Mohamed, Chairman of the General Council , said she wished to inform 
delegations that the question of arrangements fo r the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference would be 
discussed at the meeting of the General Council th e following day, at which the Chairman of the 
Conference, Minister John Tsang of Hong Kong, Ch ina, would be present.  This would provide 
delegations with an opportunity to discuss the arra ngements for the Ministerial as fully as possible.  
She therefore requested delegations to refrain from discussing this issue at the present meeting of the 
TNC. 
25. The representative of Bulgaria , referring to the Director-General's report on outstanding 
implementation issues under paragraph 12(b), said a similar report had been made in July by the 
Director-General's predecessor and his delegation ha d made a statement on this issue on that occasion.  
Since the formulation of the Director-General's repo rt at the present meeting was very similar to the 
July report, his delegation was bound to make the sam e observations again.  His delegation was aware 
that it could react under Agenda Item 3, but if that  implied that this was not a report on a negotiating 
issue, it had to insist on making its observations under the present item of the agenda. 
26. In his report, the Director-General had said that  on those issues which were of interest to his 
delegation, there were significant differences in two aspects – the merits of them and their the 
relationship to the Doha Round.  Th e latter implied the relationship of these issues to the mandate, and 
his delegation could not leave this without a reacti on.  In the short time re maining before Hong Kong, 
Members were trying to capture the progress made, and casual language, such as saying that there 
were differences on the Doha mandate, would cause a problem.  This implied that not only since the 
July 2004 Decision, but also since Doha, progress ha d been made in only some areas, which meant 
trying to rewrite the Doha mandate.  As his dele gation had previously underlined, implementation 
issues were the first item in the Work Programme.  Paragraph 12 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration preceded all other issues, which was not the case with the corresponding paragraph 21 of the current 
Draft Ministerial Text.  At Doha, implementation issu es had clearly been designat ed as priority issues.  
This priority had been confirmed through the dead line which had been given to them which preceded  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 5 
 
 
all other deadlines in the Doha Work Programme.  No w it appeared that there were differences on the 
Doha mandate.  It was difficult for his delegation to leave this unnoticed and it requested that its 
remarks be taken note of together with the Director-General's report. 
27. This situation would not be forgotten by his delegation.  When it was called upon to agree to 
language to be submitted by the General Council to  the Ministerial Conference which stated that 
progress had been made, it would not be able to  do so.  The word negotiation appeared in 
paragraph 12 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and it now appeared that some Members had doubts 
about that mandate. 
28. The representative of the European Communities  supported the statement by Bulgaria. 
29. The Trade Negotiations Committee took note  of the Chairman's statement and the other 
statements. 
 
2. Reports by the Chairpersons of the Bodies Established by the TNC 
30. The Chairman  noted that written reports had been circulated in the following official 
documents: 
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture    TN/AG/21 
Negotiating Group on Market Access     TN/MA/16 Special Session of the Council fo r Trade in Services   TN/S/23 
Negotiating Group on Rules      TN/RL/15 Special Session of the Council for TRIPS    TN/IP/14 Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Environment  TN/TE/14 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation     TN/TF/3 
Special Session of the Dispute Settlement Body    TN/DS/14 Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Development  TN/CTD/14 
 31. He also noted that Ambassador Spencer, Chai rman of the Special Session of the Dispute 
Settlement Body , was not able to be at the present meeting. 
32. Ambassador Falconer (New Zealand), Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on 
Agriculture ,  said that what he would have said at the present meeting was contained in paragraphs 1 
through 7 of his report.  He wished to add two rema rks.  First, when he had presented his report to the 
agriculture group, he had informed the group that there were two things that he thought they needed to 
do then.  First, was that he had to discharge his obligation to prepare his report and second, the group 
had to continue its work because when Member s had recalibrated their objectives for Hong Kong, 
they had all agreed that they were still going to maintain their level of ambition for the Round as a 
whole and therefore Members should continue. 
33. The observation he had made to the group had been that as Chair, he thought that the second 
track was far more important than the report that he had put before the TNC and he still remained 
firmly of that view.  He did not think very much of this report and he would think even less if it if it in 
any way distracted Members from what was a much more important task, which was to continue to 
negotiate in order to achieve the outcome that  they were committed to achieving in 2006. 
34. The second remark was not unrelated and could be found in his report.  The last thing 
Members should be doing now was taking a cup of t ea.  Since he had made that remark, his only 
regret about it was that Members were not even taking  the cup of tea.  The cup of tea was getting cold 
on the sideboard.  This was his current impression of where Members were.  It was important to 
register this.  After he had presented his report to the Special Session on Agriculture, there had been TN/C/M/22 
Page 6  
 
  no overwhelming pressure from the membership to continue the bona fide negotiating process on 
agriculture and he had not detected it in any ot her format since.  He hoped that Members were 
drawing breath for their final push to really a dvance things in Hong Kong.  Unless Members took 
advantage of the opportunity that Hong Kong presen ted to actually promote some further material 
convergence, they would be getting another version of  his current report in three months or at any 
other date at which they convened together subse quent to Hong Kong.  But he trusted that Members 
would have the privilege of hearing something rather different at that point.  However, in order to do 
so, something rather different had to occur before and at Hong Kong. 
35. Ambassador Jóhannesson (Iceland), Chairman  of the Negotiating Group on Market Access
, 
said that he did not have a lot to add to his repor t.  For the purpose of the Hong Kong Ministerial, he 
had included in the final remarks in his report so me questions on issues on which he hoped Ministers 
would move, and which in turn w ould spurn delegations to comple te negotiations on modalities as 
early as possible in 2006.  He wished to stress that  this did not mean that other issues which the Group 
was dealing with other than the three which he had highlighted in his report were in any effect less 
important or that Ministers should not discuss them at Hong Kong.  His belief had been and continued 
to be that the results on these issues would pave  the way for an easier discussion of the other 
elements.  It remained his conviction that if Me mbers did not make progress on the issues that he had 
singled out, it would be impossible to resolve other issues that they were dealing with in the NAMA 
negotiations. 
36. Ambassador Fernando de Mateo Venturini (Mexico), Chairman of the Special Session of the 
Council for Trade in Services , said his report provided a review of progress in the services 
negotiations, and attached a text on services, under his own responsibility, which had been 
incorporated into the Draft Ministerial Text. 
37. As far as progress in the services negotiations was concerned, his report had made it clear that 
there was deep concern among Members about the ha rdly satisfactory number and quality of offers, 
with some non-LDC Members not having submitted any o ffer at all.  There was no need to repeat that 
the services negotiations relied on a resource and time -intensive request-offer process, and any delays 
in moving forward in the process would be difficult to rectify. 
38. The services text for the Draft Ministerial Text which he had attached to his report was the 
fruit of a long series of open-ended consultations he ld since September within  the Special Session of 
the Services Council.  Through numerous consultati ons, in four separate stages, a list of possible 
elements had been gradually shaped into a draft text .  For their part, the Chairs of the Working Parties 
on Domestic Regulation and on GATS Rules had contributed texts deve loped from exhaustive 
discussions and consultations in their respective groups. 
39. The resulting text had been presented to the TNC under his own responsibility and without 
prejudice to the positions of Members.  He believed that it provided solid common ground to move the negotiations forward, on the basis of a minister ial agreement in Hong Kong.  Part one of the draft 
text attached to his report had been incorporated into the main body of the Draft Ministerial Text, 
while the second had been included as Annex C. 
40. No delegation would find the draft text on services to be perfect.  The main point of 
contention by far continued to be the setting of num erical targets and indicators for commitments.  
Some Members believed that numerical targets would help to translate a high level of ambition into 
meaningful commitments.  Many other Members ha d expressed strong reservations, notably about the 
compatibility of numerical targets with the GATS an d the Negotiating Guidelines.  As he had said in 
his report, since the gap between positions remained too wide to be bridged,  he had not included a 
reference to numerical targets in the draft text.  It would therefore be up to Members to consider  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 7 
 
 
whether this issue should be pursued further, either  in the TNC, the General Council or at the highest 
level. 
41. Concerns relating to other parts of the text had also been expressed by Members.  Some 
believed that the modal and sectoral parameters in pa ragraph 1 were too prescriptive; others that they 
should be more binding; still others that certain mo dal parameters should be strengthened.  Finally, 
other Members had concluded that the present delicat e balance in the text should not be disturbed. 
42. In paragraph 2  which appeared in Annex C of the Draft Ministerial Text, some Members 
considered that the reference to the documen t on Sectoral and Modal Objectives as had been 
identified by Members, attached as Annex B to his report, was not necessary.  Others believed that it provided necessary guidance for the negotiations  while not prejudicing anybody’s position.  
43. Throughout the development of the services text in the report, his preoccupation had been to 
reflect the views expressed by Members.  As he had stated in his report, he believed that the text now appearing in the Draft Ministerial Text had bridge d gaps between positions on the different elements 
it contained in a manner which achieved an acceptable and delicate balance.  
44. Looking forward, however, it would be neces sary for Members to engage actively in 
negotiations as early as possible in 2006.  A quick start in the new year would be necessary, given the 
particular resource- and time-intensive nature of the services request-offer process as well as the substantial negotiating ag enda on rule-making. 
45. Ambassador Valles Galmés (Uruguay), Chai rman of the Negotiating Group on Rules
, said 
that anti-dumping continued to be the most active ar ea of the negotiations.  Proposals tabled in this 
area were increasingly specific, to the point that the Negotiating Group's anti-dumping and 
countervail work were being carried out almost ex clusively on the basis of specific legal texts. 
46. The Negotiating Group had been considering pr oposals to clarify and improve the rules 
regarding, inter alia , determinations of dumping, injury and causation, and the application of 
measures; procedures governing the initiati on, conduct and completion of anti-dumping 
investigations, including with a view to strengthe ning due process and enhancing transparency; and 
the level, scope and duration of measures, including duty assess ment, interim and new shipper 
reviews, sunset, and anti-circumvention proceedings. 
47. The negotiations in respect of subsidies di sciplines, as well as the calculation rules for 
countervailing measures, had accelerated since his Ju ly report.  Certain textual proposals had been 
submitted, and the process of detailed consideration,  including through plurilateral consultations, had 
begun for some of these proposals. 
48. Many participants had stressed from the outset of  the negotiations the importance to them of 
subsidy-related issues in these negotiations.  To  date, however, far fewer and far less precise 
proposals had been tabled in this area than in r espect of anti-dumping, and these negotiations were 
considerably less developed than t hose on anti-dumping.  He wished to emphasize, therefore, that the 
Group would need to rapidly deepen its analysis  of subsidy-related proposals after Hong Kong to 
ensure that this area could contribute to a ba lanced final outcome in the rules negotiations. 
49. The negotiations on fisheries subsidies continued to be quite active, and had progressed since 
the beginning of the DDA.  There appeared to be broad agreement among participants that disciplines 
on subsidies in the fisheries sector should be strengt hened, including through the prohibition of certain 
forms of fisheries subsides that contributed to ove rcapacity and over-fishing.   There also was broad 
agreement that any new disciplines should incl ude appropriate and e ffective S&D treatment 
provisions for developing and least-developed Member s, taking into account the particular importance TN/C/M/22 
Page 8  
 
  of the fisheries sector to such Members.  It was therefore very encouraging to see that the discussion 
of the developmental aspects of fisheries subs idies had started early enough in the process.  
50. He said that his goal for this intensified pro cess in all areas of the mandate was for the Group 
to develop as quickly as possible the necessary elements that would allow him, if he was so mandated, 
to table a consolidated draft legal text of  the Anti-dumping and Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures Agreements that would be the basi s for the final stage of the negotiations. 
51. The negotiations on WTO's disciplines and pro cedures on regional trade agreements (RTAs) 
continued to be very active and had progressed c onsiderably in 2005.  Acknowledging the importance 
that RTAs had come to play in the trade polici es of virtually all Members, the Group shared a 
systemic interest in enhancing the transparen cy of all types of RTAs and in ensuring the 
complementarity of RTAs' disciplines with the WT O.  Discussions on RTA transparency had moved 
to text-based negotiations while those on RT A systemic issues had gained momentum, 
notwithstanding the existence of acute differences on the scope and substance of the negotiations in 
this area. 
52. Negotiations on RTA systemic questions had focu sed on a core set of issues, on the basis of 
text proposals by participants, in particular the clar ification of the "substantially all the trade" (SAT) 
concept, the length of transition period s, and RTAs' development dimension. 
53. Following the Group's dedicated informal meetings  held since September, he had been in a 
position to revise his informal note on "RTAs transp arency", to recapitulate the progress achieved in 
those discussions and to provide participants with a new draft text.  He believed that on that basis the 
Group would be better positioned after the Ministeria l meeting to resolve the few outstanding issues, 
in particular, the questions of how to deal with  RTAs presently under examination in the Committee 
on Regional Trade Agreements and to improve tr ansparency of RTAs notified under the Enabling 
Clause.  Depending on progress, a provisional deci sion on RTA transparency might be envisaged 
before the end of the Round. 
54. On systemic issues, the proposals presently on th e table and the informal discussions held so 
far had provided him with a solid base for a revised roadmap on RTA systemic issues. 
55. Ambassador Ahmad (Pakistan), Chairman of the Special Session of the Council for TRIPS
, 
said his report on the work of the Special Session was contained in document TN/IP/14.  As had been indicated in paragraph 1, the report was on his own responsibility and was without prejudice to the 
position of any delegation and to the outcome of th e negotiations.  Paragraphs 2 to 4 recalled the 
mandate for negotiations and gave a factual description of the work done  thus far, in particular the 
enhanced level of activity this year and the deta iled and useful discussion on the three proposals that 
were on the table.  Paragraphs 5 and 6 identifie d the two key issues where important differences 
remained, namely those of legal effects and par ticipation, as well as indicating other areas which 
required further work.  Paragraph 6 reflected in a factual way the two opposing views on the question 
of political guidance.  Some delegations believed th at Ministers should be asked to give guidance on 
the two key issues.  Some other delegations were of  the view that this was not called for, believing 
that convergence should be found within the existing  mandate, which they considered to be clear.  
Paragraph 7 contained some recommendations fo r inclusion in the Draft Ministerial Text. 
56. He said it was a matter of concern that the le vel of convergence in th ese negotiations had not 
significantly expanded in the period since the last Mi nisterial Conference, as had been indicated in 
paragraph 5 of the report, and that he had not been  able to include specific points of convergence in 
the report.  Nevertheless, he believed that the wo rk done had established a good platform for further 
progress when that became possible.  He wished to thank all delegati ons for their active participation 
and cooperation in the work of the Special Session.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 9 
 
 
57. Ambassador Ali (Bangladesh), Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Trade 
and Environment , said that he wished to introduce briefly the report that he had submitted to the TNC.  
In addition, he wished to make a few remarks on the text on trade and environment that had been 
included in the Draft Ministerial Text. 
58. The report submitted in document TN/TE/14 provi ded an overview of the progress made in 
the trade and environment negotiations.  A significan t amount of work had been undertaken since the 
beginning of the negotiations on all three parts of the mandate in paragraph 31 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration.  He welcomed this progress and the pa rticipation of delegations in the discussions.  He 
wished to stress, however, that work would have to intensify in the next year on all paragraphs of the 
mandate for the environment negotiations to be completed within the overall timeframe for the 
conclusion of the Round. 
59. At this stage in the negotiations, some funda mental differences remained, especially on 
paragraphs 31(i) and 31(iii).  There was no doub t that narrowing existing gaps would require a 
substantive engagement by all Memb ers on all parts of the mandate, even in the areas in which they 
might not be demandeurs.  The Doha mandate ha d been recognized by all, and it was now the 
collective responsibility Members' to bring it to fruition. 
60. On paragraph 31(i), Members' positions were qu ite polarized.  Some delegations had seen in 
the mandate an opportunity to further improve or  clarify the relationship between WTO rules and 
multilateral environmental agreemen ts (MEAs).  Although no conflic t might have emerged, they 
believed it was necessary to outline some basic principles to avoid possible problems in future.  For 
many other delegations, however, the WTO MEA rela tionship had been working quite well, and the 
fact that no conflict had emerged te stified to this.  For them, there was no need to anticipate problems 
that did not exist.  After Hong Kong, Members would have to take stock of their discussions to date, 
and address the question of what might constitute a desirable outcome on this part of the mandate. 
61. Paragraph 31(ii), which related to procedures fo r information exchange and criteria for MEA 
observer status, had a more practical focus.  At one point in the negotiati ons, some delegations had 
suggested that there could be an early harvest on th is part of the mandate.  However, this had not 
materialized.  Members had made concrete suggesti ons, in particular with respect to procedures for 
information exchange, that would have to be expl ored in greater depth in order to achieve some 
tangible results in this area. 
62. Finally, on paragraph 31(iii) , despite the recent focus of  the Committee on Trade and 
Environment Special Session (CTESS) on this subject, Members had yet to develop a common 
understanding of how the work should proceed to the next stage in order to fulfil the mandate. 
63. Nine initial lists of environm ental goods had been tabled, which together represented some 
480 distinct products.  This was a very large numbe r, and there was no doubt that a great deal of 
analytical and technical work would be necessary to examine these lists further.  Concerns had also 
raised by some delegations with respect to the e nvironmental dimension of some of the products put 
forward, and the criteria used for identifying such  products.  He said it was his impression that 
addressing these concerns in one way or another would pave  the way to further progress in this area. 
64. Other proposals would also require further discussion among Members.  For instance, the 
concept of a "living list" had been mentioned as a way of dealing with the evolving nature of 
environmental goods, in light of technological a dvancement.  Other delegations had proposed the 
creation of two separate lists of environmenta l goods, which would involve different sets of 
commitments: for instance, a "core" and a "com plementary" lists of environmental goods, or a 
"common list" and a "development list", which wo uld provide S&D treatment to developing and 
least-developed country Members. TN/C/M/22 
Page 10  
 
  65. Some delegations had proposed an alternative a pproach to the lists.  For instance, it had been 
suggested that environmental goods and services s hould be liberalized as part of "environmental 
projects" undertaken at national level and approve d by national authorities on the basis of general 
criteria to be determined in the CTESS.  It had also been suggested that the CTESS could identify 
broad categories for these environmental projects. 
66. The divide over how the CTESS should proceed with its work after Hong Kong had been 
clearly reflected in the Draft Ministerial Text.  However, it was his view that when the CTESS 
resumed its work in 2006, it would have to move quickly beyond the issue of approach. 
67. Turning to the draft Ministerial text on trade and environment, he noted that the text that had 
been submitted to the Chairman was the result of a series of consultations held since October this 
year.  He said the text had received a broad measure of support in his group, and it was his impression 
that there had been a genuine effort on the part of a ll delegations to focus on the areas of convergence.  
However, as he had pointed out, there had been a clear divergence of views on particular aspects of 
the negotiations, which had not made it possible to  submit a consensus text for the Ministerial 
Declaration.  He wished to mention briefly some of these aspects. 
68. First, concerning paragraph 13 of the Draft Minist erial Text, relating to the negotiations under 
paragraphs 31(i) and (ii) of the D oha Declaration, he noted that in the course of the discussions, some 
delegations had indicated that they wished to have  "operational" or forward looking language to give 
further direction to the work after Hong Kong.  So me delegations had suggested, for instance, adding 
language instructing Members to "start text-based negotiations" with respect to paragraph 31(i).  
However, this proposal had met strong objections fro m many other delegations.  Other proposals for 
alternative language had also been discussed, but had not receive the necessary support to be inserted 
in the draft text.  For this reason, he had offered to put a "marker" in the draft text to be transmitted to 
the Chairman of the TNC so as to clearly indicat e that certain delegations had wanted "additional 
language with specific instructions from Ministers" to  be added in that paragraph of the text.  Given 
the nature of the Draft Ministerial Text, it had not b een possible to retain the marker in the form he 
had hoped.  However, he had wished to reiterate this point on their behalf.  
69. Second, with respect to paragraph 14 of th e Draft Ministerial Text referring to the 
negotiations under paragraph 31(iii) of  the Doha Declaration, the text contained two options, reflected 
in two sets of brackets.  The first option instruct ed Members to continue the work by "developing a 
common understanding of the different approaches to  the negotiations" under paragraph 31(iii), "in a 
manner that enhances the mutual supportiveness of trad e and environment, and that fully takes into 
account the interests of developing country Memb ers".  The second option instructed Members to 
"complete the work under Paragraph 31(iii) by identifying environmental goods" by a certain 
deadline, which would precede the dead line for the conclusion of the Round. 
70. The current language in the Draft Ministerial Te xt reflected the polarized views in the CTESS 
under paragraph 31(iii).  While delega tions had not been ready to discuss what could be done at this 
level to merge the two options, Members would now have to find common language that would give a 
clear indication of how the work would to be carried out post Hong Kong, in their common interest.  
71. In conclusion, he said that it had been his hope that delegations would use the opportunity 
offered by the TNC Chairman to make progress on th e text before the General Council meeting.  He 
strongly encouraged Members to redouble their effo rts and develop a consensus text before the Hong 
Kong Ministerial Conference. 
72. 
Ambassador Noor (Malaysia), Chairman of  the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation,  said 
that the situation in his Group was somewhat specia l in that the input had been from the Negotiating 
Group itself as opposed to a product from the Chair; and that it had been agreed upon by all Members.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 11 
 
 
73. The input from his Group consisted of two el ements: a report by the Negotiating Group in 
Annex E of the Draft Ministerial Text, corresponding to what had already been circulated as TN/TF/3 on 21 November, and Ministerial langua ge in paragraph 15 of the Draft Ministerial Text.  Both texts 
had emerged from a series of fully open-ended cons ultations amongst Members and had been adopted 
at the meeting of the Group on 18 November.  They  built on the existing mandate set out in Annex D 
– which remained intact – capturing progr ess made in the Group so far and setting out 
recommendations for future work.  
74. He said the progress made would not have been  possible without the constructive attitude 
displayed by all Members, to whom he expressed thanks. 
75. Mr. Ismail (South Africa), Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Trade and 
Development , said that his report on the work carried out  in the Committee on Trade in Development 
(CTD) Special Session since July was contained in do cument TN/CTD/14.  He wished to elaborate on 
only a few of the salient points. 
76. The Special Session had, in recent months, fo cused mainly on the five remaining LDC 
Agreement-specific proposals and Members had been  able to considerably narrow down their 
differences on some of the proposals.  However, differences on certain key aspects remained and he 
had tried to explore language with Members in which he had put certain words and phrases in 
brackets. 
77. Despite his efforts, it had been difficult for him to include all the suggestions made by 
Members, especially those suggestions which he fe lt had very little chance of being accepted.  As 
consultations continued, a number of Members had al so stated that, in their view, as much work as 
possible had been accomplished at the technical leve l and the remaining decisions could only be at the 
Ministerial level.  In this context, they had also suggested that it would be important that any language 
forwarded to Ministers be simple in order to facilitate Ministers’ consideration of the issues and reflect where the differences existed. 
78. Subsequently, and at the request of the proponents, Members had agreed that the text that was 
transmitted for inclusion as an annex to the Draft Ministerial Declaration should contain different 
options on all the five proposals; one option refl ecting the LDCs preferre d language, followed by 
another option or options, reflecting the views of other Members.  While a number of Members had 
opposed this approach because of what they felt wo uld only make the consideration of these issues by 
the Ministers more complicated, ot her Members felt that the proponents had the right to have their 
language reflected as a separate option if they so wished.  
79. He said that the language that he had forwar ded did not in any way represent an agreement 
and clearly more work would need to be done, both in Geneva and by the Ministers in Hong Kong.  
He believed some work towards merging th e different options had already started. 
80. A number of developing-country Members had cont inued to raise concerns about the lack of 
progress on the Category II proposals, which had be en referred to other WTO bodies and negotiating 
groups.  Accordingly, and as part of the monito ring of progress on these proposals, he had convened a 
meeting with the Chairpersons of these bodies on 24 October.  The purpose of that meeting had been to obtain feedback from the various Chairpersons on the current status of the work on the proposals; 
how that work could be expedited and whether it would be possible to make any recommendations on 
those proposals by the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  He had already informed Members in detail about the feedback he had received from th e different Chairpersons, many of whom had 
expressed the need for the proponents to  become more active in these bodies. 
81. During the discussions on the language for the Dr aft Ministerial Text, many Members had felt 
that while some work had been done on the Agre ement-specific proposals, especially the remaining TN/C/M/22 
Page 12  
 
  five LDC proposals, substantial work still remained  to be done.  A number of Members had stressed 
the need to resume work on the outstanding issues and report periodically on the progress made in this 
area to the General Council.  He said the issue of  reverting the consideration of the Category II 
proposals, currently being addressed in other bodies, to the Special Session had also been raised, but 
had not been included in the final language that he had transmitted because a number of Members had 
felt that it would be difficult to address the proposals in isolation of the work going on in the related 
negotiating groups. 
82. He said there seemed to be a general feeling among Members that Ministers would need to 
provide political direction to the future wo rk, including on the importance of addressing the 
developmental concerns of devel oping countries, especially the LDCs .  In addition, there were a 
number of areas where decisions would need to be ta ken, including what to do with the 28 proposals 
that had been already agreed to in principle, and the deadline for completing work on the remaining 
Agreement-specific proposals. 
83. In conclusion, he said that his group had come  a long way from where it had first began and 
he believed that Members could find solutions to  the complex challenges that the LDCs faced.  
However, evolving a meaningful package would no doubt involve some sacrifice, and might cause 
some discomfort for different groups of Members, bot h large and small.  However, if Members were 
to succeed, they would all need to move and be pr epared to make those necessary sacrifices.  He 
therefore hoped that at Hong Kong Members would be able to demonstrat e the necessary flexibility 
and political will that would enable them to reach a positive outcome. 
84. The Trade Negotiations Committee took note
 of the reports by the Chairpersons of the bodies 
established by it. 
 
3. Statements by participants 
85. The representative of Korea  said that APEC economic leaders had met in Busan, Korea on 
18-19 November and had adopted a statement on th e DDA negotiations which had been circulated as 
document WT/L/637.  He wished to briefly highlight some of the important issues contained in that 
statement. 
86. First, APEC leaders had noted that the DDA negotiations had an unmatched potential to 
strengthen the multilateral trading system, promot e global economic growth and, in particular, 
improve economic development oppo rtunities for developing countries.  This was why they had 
stressed the imperative successful conclusion of the Round by the end of 2006 at the high level of 
ambition as had been established in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
87. Second, APEC leaders had reaffirmed their commitment to provide the strong political 
leadership necessary to produce a sound platform  in Hong Kong for successfully concluding the 
negotiations.  In this regard, the leaders had calle d on all Members to show the flexibility needed to 
move the negotiations forward by and beyond Hong Kong.  This included making significant progress 
in Hong Kong in narrowing down divergences and establishing a clear roadmap. 
88. Third, they had stressed the need to achie ve an ambitious and overall balanced outcome 
across the board at the end of the Round:  specifi cally, a comprehensive package in agriculture to 
fulfil the mandate in all three pilla rs; an agreement on NAMA through, inter alia , a Swiss formula 
with ambitious coefficients; an agreement in servi ces to create commercially meaningful and real 
market access opportunities for all WTO Members; clarification and improvement of WTO rules and 
clearer and improved trade facilitation rules; and a reflection of the development dimension in all  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 13 
 
 
negotiating areas.  In particular, the leaders had stressed the need to make considerable progress on 
LDC issues at the Hong Kong Ministerial. 
89. Fourth, the leaders had called for breaking the im passe in the agriculture negotiations in order 
to make progress in all the other negotiating areas,  including NAMA, services and rules which should 
move together. 
90. APEC economies represented about 60 per cent of global GDP and around 50 per cent of 
world trade.  Its membership comprised both deve loping and developed economies, which effectively 
meant that the political messages contained in the statement reflected the shared interests of both 
developed and developing members.  In this li ght, his delegation hoped that the APEC economic 
leaders' statement would be duly reckoned with by all of Members in their work of advancing the 
negotiations, and in particular, in  resolving remaining divergences. 
91. He wished to make some comments on the Draft Ministerial Text.  First, the annexed 
Chairpersons reports should be tran smitted to Ministers as they stood along with the main text.  The 
reports did not in any way represent an agreement and, as such, had no prejudicial effect on positions 
of Members.  Second, everyone had difficulties with the text, but efforts to improve it should be kept 
to a bare minimum, to what was absolutely necessary.   If there was an attempt to change the text to 
reflect the positions of all 149 Members, they would never be able to adopt the text within the next 
two weeks.  Third, whatever the final text contai ned, delegations could not  preclude their Ministers 
raising and discussing issues of their critical intere st and concern.  This was an understanding all 
Members had to share. 
92. Lastly, he said his delegation looked forward to the adoption of the text at the General 
Council meeting and for its submission to Ministers for their consideration, discussion and negotiation 
in Hong Kong. 
93. The representative of Mexico  said the start of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference was 
only a few days away, and the only thing which was clear was that Members had reduced their 
ambitions for this meeting.  The problem was that it seemed there we re no common objectives upon 
which to base the results of Hong Kong or the Round.  Members had hidden behind their respective 
positions.  Thus far, nobody had s hown the flexibility which would be necessary at the Conference so 
that the Round could be concluded at the end of 2006. 
94. Mexico had a clear idea of what should be set out in each area in the Ministerial Declaration.  
A paper containing his delegation' s position on each issue was available in the room, and to avoid 
prolonging the meeting, he requested that it be reflected in the records of the present meeting as he 
would not read it out.1  He would limit his remarks to Mexico's views on the fundamental issues 
which would be before Ministers from 13 December. 
95. There was consensus that it would not be po ssible to agree on modalities in agriculture and 
NAMA in Hong Kong.  This was a pity, but it was th e reality.  However, around the question of full 
modalities existed a number of issues which inter ested different countries and which depended on 
those modalities.  For example, for the present, there were only proposals on the issues of sectoral 
negotiations, preference erosion and non tariff barriers (NTBs).  In agriculture, an example was 
additional disciplines and equivale nt measures on export subsidies. 
96. Members did not have six or seven months to reach agreement on full modalities – at best 
they had the first 100 days of 2006, and Ministers woul d have to give precise instructions.  However, 
this could not be resolved by what was contained in  paragraphs 3 and 6 of the Draft Ministerial Text, 
where Ministers would agree only on certain dates.  To do only this would generate more scepticism 
                                                      
1 See Annex I. TN/C/M/22 
Page 14  
 
  in the international community at the capacity of  the WTO to meet deadlines, and the organization 
would risk losing the small amount of credibility it had left.  The only way to really achieve progress that would lead to full modalities would be for Ministers to agree in Hong Kong on the structure of both the formula in domestic support in agriculture and the reduction formulas in both agriculture and 
NAMA.  Of course, every Member had the right to raise issues of importance to it in Hong Kong, but 
the issues would have to be prioritized.  It would not  be possible to solve some issues of importance to 
some Members if the fundamental issues had not been resolved before. 
97. Some Members had signalled their difficulties with discussing numerical ranges for the 
different parameters.  However, there was no doubt th at without a clear idea of where the work was 
heading, it would be very difficult to have a c onstructive discussion.  There was a big difference 
between agreeing on numerical ranges and discussing them.  Members should do the latter in Hong 
Kong for two reasons:  without ranges, there could be  no agreement on the structure of the formula;  
and, such a discussion would lead to the possibility of agreement early in 2006. 
98. Turning to development, he said that Hong Kong offered an incomparable opportunity to 
make progress in this area.  Mexico was committed to achieving a package in this area which would 
give credibility to the Round.  However, he had to caution against two things.  First, there should be 
no attempt to multilateralize problems which were  regional or which concerned only special 
relationships between countries or groups of coun tries.  Second, the contribution of developed 
countries should go further than at present and no t depend on other countries, which were in regions 
with problems equal to or worse than those faced by LDCs, making similar contributions.  The best 
tool for development was real access to other Member s' markets.  If this could not be achieved, the 
development gains would be innoc uous or at best partial. 
99. Finally, his delegation supported Korea's view that texts presented by Chairs on their own 
responsibility should not be reopened in  Geneva and that they should be  transmitted to the Ministerial 
Conference as they were.  His delegation urged the Chairman to make very effort to ensure this. 
100. The representative of the Philippines
 said that his delegation broadly shared the view that the 
draft text contained certain elements that were n eeded if Members were to feasibly and successfully 
conclude the negotiations by the end of 2006. 
101. On substance, he wished to make comme nts on agriculture, NAMA and services.  On 
agriculture and NAMA, his delegation believed that  there was need to capture, accurately, the 
progress made in the negotiations, in order to provide Members with a factual basis, at least, for work 
after Hong Kong.  His delegation was aware of the effo rts to transform the text and the annexes into a 
form that was more ministerial.  However, it was e qually important to recognize that gaps existed and, 
on some particular issues, that they were wide.  Th erefore, the more critical issue was not whether the 
reports were annexed to the Ministerial Declara tion, but rather how Members could make formal 
references to them and how they could be made u seful to Ministers in Hong Kong and to negotiators 
in Geneva in 2006. 
102. His delegation wished to caution about attemp ting to enumerate some perceived areas of 
convergence in NAMA and agriculture.  For his dele gation, any perception of convergence on various 
issues should be tempered by a realization that mu ch of what seemed to be convergence at present 
was in reality conditional on how other equally im portant issues were eventually addressed.  In 
agriculture, for example, what might be emerging c onvergence in some areas would eventually be tied 
to the S&D related questions, which Members had not yet addressed. 
103. On services, the level of specificity and deta il of the Services Annex continued to be of 
concern since horizontally there appeared to be a lack of consistency in approaches to possible  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 15 
 
 
achievements at Hong Kong in agriculture, NAMA a nd services.  But within the services negotiation 
itself, the issue of balance and parallelism might arise. 
104. On process, his government placed maximum valu e on transparency in the negotiations and 
the bottom-up approach in consensus building.  Wh ile his delegation understo od and appreciated the 
role of small-group informal consultations, in view  of the constraints being imposed on the process 
both by lack of time and wide divergences of vi ews, he wished to emphasize the necessity for 
inclusiveness and transparency.  He therefore hoped that the Chairman would find a way to strike the 
appropriate balance between efficiency in process and inclusiveness of consultations.  He expressed 
his delegation's appreciation that the Draft Minist erial Text contained no surprises and for the bottom-
up process. 
105.  Speaking on behalf of the G33 , he said that the Group was deeply concerned by the idea of 
presenting to Ministers at Hong Kong a text that  reflected only those elements where convergence 
currently existed according to the Chair's own assessment.  He wished to stress that any opening 
shown by Members to achieve convergence in cer tain areas was conditional on other issues in the 
negotiations being solved in a satisfactory manne r.  This was particularly true for S&D and 
development issues, which were of paramount importance to the G33. 
106. As the Group had stated previously, it would be tremendously difficult for it to join any 
consensus decisions coming out of Hong Kong, if  such decisions were matched with mere 
acknowledgement of the need for flexibility that cont ributed little to advancing concrete solutions to 
the underlying concerns of developing countries.  On  this basis, the Group looked forward to defining 
the elements of a consensus decision which in its view should incorporate the following four elements 
of a minimum package on S&D:  provisions on Speci al Products related to designation and treatment, 
both of which needed to be addressed in tandem;   provisions on the Special Safeguard Mechanism 
reflecting that the mechanism would be effective a nd responsive to the needs of developing countries, 
build on existing instruments, and allow developi ng countries to address situations of increased 
imports and falling prices;  guarantees that the st ructure of the tiered formula for tariff reduction 
would have in-built the appropr iate S&D elements through, inter alia , higher thresholds for 
developing countries and adequate proportionality in  the level of reduction commitments;  and, 
exemption of developing countries from commitments to reduce de minimis  support, either on a 
standalone basis or as part of an overa ll reduction of trade-distorting support. 
107. The representative of Egypt , on behalf of the African Group , wished at the outset to reiterate a 
key fact.  He said that all Members knew that Afri can countries in particular stood to lose the most 
from any possible slowdown or deadlock towards the conclusion of this round, which had been 
launched as a "developmental round" with firm and cl ear political determination as set out in the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration.  It seemed that the lack of  political will on the part of some partners had left 
the Group in a situation where it did not see real commercial gains to be achieved, despite the 
remarkable spirit of flexibilit y and constructiveness it had cons tantly exhibited thus far. 
108. While the Group remained committed to cons tructively engaging in fulfilling the Doha 
mandate, it wished to express disappointment about the Draft Ministerial Text, as it largely disregarded in many areas the interests and c oncerns of the African Group.  These had been 
repeatedly emphasized, in the Cairo Declaration, the Arusha Declaration, the letter directed from the Group to the Chairpersons of the TNC and the General Council on the 8 November, and several 
statements made on behalf of th e Group throughout recent months. 
109. However, in a member-driven process, the Group understood that this was a reflection of the 
realities and the status of the negotiations and an  expected outcome of the recalibration process 
dictated by the collective will of the membership, in  light of the inability of some Members to move 
forward on key issues. TN/C/M/22 
Page 16  
 
  110. While the Group wished to commend the Chairman  on the transparency and predictability of 
the process leading to the production of the text, and on honouring his promise that it would be a 
surprise-free text, it believed that the structure and fo rmat of the draft contained questionable issues of 
fundamental importance. 
111. As it had stated in earlier informal consultati ons carried out through the week, the African 
Group had an overwhelming concern about the structure of the Draft Ministerial Text.  Particularly, it 
was uncomfortable with the idea of annexing texts that were not consensually agreed upon, and in 
some cases not even negotiated.  It strongly belie ved that an appropriate annex to a Ministerial 
Declaration should contain a comprehensive co mpilation of full modalities for the different 
negotiating tracks of the Round. 
112. Attaching the Annexes to the Ministerial Declaration represented de facto  binding guidelines 
for future negotiations post Hong Kong.  Since these texts were not consensual, and in some cases not 
even negotiated, the Group found it difficult to endorse their elevation to such a status.  If 
convergence was not to be reached, Members shoul d not opt for an alternative that aimed at 
artificially improving the image of the multilateral tr ading system at the expense of the fundamental 
interests and long-term developmen tal concerns of deve loping countries.  Instead, and in a truly 
development-oriented round, the Group believed that  development should be put forward rather than 
being kept hostage to progress in other tracks.  In  this context, it proposed that the developmental 
elements of document JOB(05)/298 should be brought into the draft Declaration.  This way, Members 
could make Hong Kong a first successful step toward s an early harvest for development, regardless of 
the level of progress achieved on some particular tr acks.  Developmental conc erns should be given a 
special status within the singl e undertaking so that developing countries could assess the potential 
gains and acquire the necessary guarantees as early as possible to be able to continue the negotiations 
on equal footing. 
113. On the details of the draft, he said that not only balance between negotiating tracks had been 
violated, but also the balance within them.  Every one knew that most of the issues of primary concern 
to developing Members were technically underdevelop ed as opposed to other issues.  In a Ministerial 
Declaration, when annexes were included containing  issues that were not equally developed from the 
technical point of view, it paved the way for fu rther unequal and unbalanced progress in the Round. 
114. To be more specific, he wished to present th e main elements and concerns of the African 
Group vis-à-vis  the draft text.  First, all the Annexes, a nd their related references in the main text, 
should be excluded. 
115. In the main text, the Group wished to see a nu mber of elements included.  On S&D, language 
reflecting the African proposal submitted on 23 Nove mber in document JOB(05)/305 should replace 
the existing provisions of paragraphs 17 to 20.  Th e Group believed that the issue of outstanding S&D 
proposals could only be resolved if  the proposals were brought back un der the CTD, rather than being 
scattered across working groups and negotiating bodies. 
116. On agriculture, the Declaration should undersco re and encompass the full operationalization 
of all S&D elements, as well as the v ital issues of interest to Africa at the same level of specificity.  
On export competition, the text should decide on the elimination of all forms of export subsidies on 
agricultural products by 2010.  This elimination sh ould be without prejudice to S&D treatment of net 
food importing developing countries (NFIDCs) and LD Cs.  On domestic support , some clear language 
should be provided on the tightening of the crite ria for the Green and Blue Boxes, as well as the 
development of disciplines to prevent box shifting with the elimination of de minimis  support for 
developed countries.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 17 
 
 
117. On market access, he said that the operationaliza tion of the principle of proportionality in the 
reduction of tariffs and provisions  of higher thresholds for developing countries were necessary 
conditions for any agreed text.  The text should al so provide clear guidance on the establishment of 
appropriate modalities for the designation and treatme nt of Special Products, as well as modalities for 
the Special Safeguard Mechanism that were ef fectively operational to address import surges and 
declining prices for developing countries.  In addition, a solution to the issue of longstanding 
preferences, and issues relating to NFIDCs and LD Cs should be provided.  The text should also 
exempt LDCs from any reduction commitments in ag riculture.  The Declarat ion should also ensure 
the granting of bound duty-free and quota-free mark et access for LDCs' agriculture products by 
developed countries and developing countries in a position to do so. 
118. On the issue of cotton, the Group believed that it was time to finalize a text that specifically 
referred to the elimination of export subsidies on co tton by the end of the year and the reduction of 
domestic support measures that distorted trade in cotton within a clear and reasonable timeframe.  The Arusha Declaration had provided u seful guidance in this respect. 
119. On NAMA, the Declaration should contain an ag reement on the elements of an appropriate 
formula that took into account the developmenta l, financial and trade needs and concerns of 
developing countries based on the principle of less than full reciprocity and S&D treatment.  Such an agreement should not link the provisions on fl exibilities for developing countries, for instance 
paragraph 8, to other elements, including the formula and less than full reciprocity.  Furthermore, the 
conditions stated in paragraph 6 of  Annex B of the July 2004 Decisi on should be relaxed to give the 
developing countries concerned adequate flexibiliti es to pursue their developmental and industrial 
objectives.  It should also set the stage for th e post-Hong Kong work programme on NTBs, and the 
problem of preference erosion should also be adequately addressed, together with the formula. 
120. On services, the Group acknowledged the necessity of intensifying negotiations in order to 
achieve a progressively higher level of liberalizati on.  However, the modalities contained in Annex C 
did not only go far beyond this objective, but woul d also increase the current imbalance in the 
services negotiations and direct it to a perilous pa th.  This was an approach that the Group found 
difficult to accept. 
121. In this context, the African Group, in add ition to many other developing countries, had 
repeatedly cautioned against having a draft Ministerial Declaration that would contain prescriptive language on multilateral qualitative obj ectives and plurilateral negotiations, as stated in Annex C.  
This would clearly impinge on the progressive natu re of the GATS and its Negotiating Guidelines, as 
well as the flexibilities provided for developing countri es.  Members should, therefore, work more 
constructively towards agreeing on development-frie ndly objectives and approaches to be enshrined 
in the heart of the Draft Declaration, which would strive to address the imbalances of the negotiations 
and preserve the level of ambition of the whole membership and not just a group of Members. 
122. On trade facilitation, the Group recognized that th e texts contained in both the draft text and 
Annex E were consensual.  Therefore, it sugge sted that the Hong Kong text spell out the 
recommendations contained in paragraphs  3 to 7 as reflected in Annex E. 
123. On rules, the Group believed that paragraph 10 of the draft text was too specific vis-à-vis  the 
rules negotiations elements and had set forth in a very detailed manner their outcome.  Given the 
absence of consensus on the issue of anti-dumping, the Group believed it was inappropriate to give 
the misleading impression that there was an agreemen t on the final outcome of the negotiations.  On 
RTAs, clarification and improvement of disciplines and procedures relating to such agreements, as 
mandated under paragraph 29 of the Doha Minister ial Declaration, should not reopen the Enabling 
Clause under transparency or system ic issues in the negotiations as this would not meet Africa's 
developmental needs. TN/C/M/22 
Page 18  
 
  124. On trade and environment, the African Group fully supported the first bracket of 
paragraph 14.  It believed that that formulation w as a factual reflection of the state of play in the 
negotiations, which left the door open for further ne gotiations on the desired approach to be followed 
to identify environmental goods and services. 
125. Concerning the Aid for Trade initiative, he wished  to reiterate the centrality of adequate and 
predictable development assistance for trade capaci ty building for African countries.  The Group 
emphasized the need for a text reflecting a firm  commitment to expand development assistance, in 
grant form, for trade and capacity building to all African countries. 
126. Finally on accession, he said this remained a challenge given African countries' severe 
capacity constraints vis-à-vis  the complex and costly nature of the accession process.  Therefore, the 
African Group wished to see the accession language of the Declaration strengthened in such a way 
that it called upon the Members to fully and faith fully implement the Guidelines on LDC accessions 
as adopted in December 2002.  The Group also wish ed the Hong Kong Ministerial to mandate the 
General Council to review the 2002 Decision with a view to updating it as provided for in paragraph 2 
of the Decision and the Doha Work Programme.  The Group stressed the importance of strengthening 
the provisions on technical assistance and capacity bu ilding to acceding countries at all stages of the 
accession process.  Finally, he said that the African Group expected a reciprocal level of receptiveness 
from the whole membership to seriously take its  developmental concerns and political sensitivities 
into consideration. 
127. The representative of Mauritius
, on behalf of the ACP Group , said that in the little time left, 
Members should strive to have a Ministerial text that was balanced, inclusive and acceptable to all.  
The bottom-up approach that the Chairman had adopted was conducive to achieving these objectives. 
128. In the Group's intervention at the Heads of Delegation meeting on 28 November, it had 
already mentioned that it had some concerns with  the reports made by the Chairs on their own 
responsibility, which were being annexed to the Dr aft Ministerial Text.  Whilst the Group recognized 
the effort made by the Chairs in trying to cap ture the nuances of the discussion in their respective 
negotiating groups, it firmly believed that the reports to Ministers should emanate from the 
membership as a whole.  Accordingly, the Group cons idered that it was not appropriate to annex the 
Chairman's reports on agriculture and NAMA to the Draft Ministerial Text. 
129. On agriculture, the Group believed that the no tion of balance should be incorporated in 
paragraph 3.  It was critical that any agreement r eached at or after Hong K ong was equally balanced 
in terms of issues of vital importance for the Group, in particular the issue of long-standing 
preferences.  The ACP would agree to a decision or an outcome on agriculture if the issue of erosion 
of preferences was fully and effectively addressed in the Ministerial Declaration.  In this regard the 
ACP Group wished to underscore that it was seeking inter alia  concrete trade-related solutions to the 
problem of preference erosion. 
130. For the ACP Group, the Ministerial text should also be balanced in terms of the tariff 
reduction formula, the issue of proportionality, thre sholds for the bands, selection and treatment of 
sensitive products, Special Products, the Special Safe guard Mechanism and issues relating to NFIDCs 
and LDCs. 
131. On NAMA, the Group had reservations on paragraph 34 and 35 of the Chairman's report.  
Limiting the NAMA objective for Hong Kong to the three elements – the formula, paragraph 8 
flexibilities and unbound tariffs – meant that the cruc ial issue of preference erosion was being left 
aside.  This was an issue which was of paramount  importance for the ACP Group and on which it was 
seeking a trade solution in the negotiations and s hould be given adequate consideration in the 
Ministerial Declaration.  The Group wished also  to underline the importance of having a tariff  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 19 
 
 
reduction approach and appropriate  level of flexibilities which were in line with the range of 
development realities of the ACP countries. 
132. On implementation, the Group requested that a reference to the Marrak ech Decision on LDCs 
and NFIDCs be included in paragra ph 21.  Finally, he said that any attempt to reach convergence at 
this stage should be conditional on the outcome of the negotiations of full modalities.  He wished to 
inform delegations that ACP Ministers had met th e previous day and adopted a Declaration which 
would be circulated shortly.2  The ACP Group trusted that its comments would be fully taken on 
board in the work on the Draft Ministerial Text so that the overall outcome was an acceptable one. 
133. The representative of Nepal , on behalf of the LDC Group , said the Group acknowledged that 
efforts had been made to reflect a number of its  issues.  However, a lot would depend on how the 
membership decided to treat the reports in relation to the Draft Ministerial Text.  More importantly, 
much would depend on how Members proceeded be tween the present meeting and Hong Kong and 
beyond.  The expectations of LDCs remained high an d he emphasized the need for development to be 
the core of the Round, for which the overall ambiti on should remain high despite the hurdles that had 
been experienced.  The Group hoped that the membersh ip would continue to put LDC issues as one of 
the priorities.  It also hoped that Hong Kong would be a starting point for the membership to show the 
world their commitment to this pledge, whereby the most vulnerable group among them would have 
meaningful and effective market access opportu nities leading to its economic development and 
alleviation of poverty. 
134. He wished to recall the comments the Group had made at the informal Heads of Delegation 
meeting on 28 November.  The consu ltations that the Director-General had held over the past few 
days since the Heads of Delegation meeting had b een aimed at trying to narrow the differences that 
remained in some of the critical areas of importa nce to LDCs, including development.  In taking up 
the content of the Annexes on agriculture and NAMA, the Group was confident that this would be dealt with accordingly, taking on board the concer ns and interest of all Members, in order for 
Ministers to have clear guidance on all that was at stake, consistent with the Doha Work Programme 
and the July Framework. 
135. As it had stated at the informal meeting, the Group's main concerns in agriculture were:  the 
issue of duty-free and quota-free market access;  the need to eliminate all forms of export subsidies 
without prejudice to S&D;  the tr eatment of NFIDCs;  and, the n eed for disciplines on food aid that 
took into account the legitimate interests of food ai d recipients, some of which were LDCs.  The 
Group's position on cotton was also well known – it wished to have an explicit decision by the end of 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference that would adopt full modalities on cotton.  The Group 
anticipated an early harvest that was independent from the overall results in agriculture.  It also 
emphasized the need to set up an emergency fund for the cotton sector. 
136. In NAMA, the Group had stated at the informal  meeting its concerns on paragraph 24 of the 
report where progress in market access for the LD Cs had been made conditional to what was 
happening in the CTD Special Session, despite a specific mandate in Annex B of the July 2004 
Framework..  The Group wished to see paragraph 24  replaced with paragraph 10 of Annex B of the 
July 2004 framework, word for word. 
137. On services, the Group welcomed the positive LDC elements contained in Annex C of the 
text.  However, it wished to request the inclusion of  a reference in paragraph 7 of the Draft Ministerial 
Text to the 2002 LDC Modalities on Services. 
138. On trade facilitation, Annex E was a negotiate d report, and the Group fully supported it.  
However, it wished to see the inclusion of a senten ce in paragraph 15 of the main text that would 
                                                     
 
2 Subsequently circulated in document WT/MIN(05)/7. TN/C/M/22 
Page 20  
 
  read: "nothing in the Report annexed will prejudi ce the mandate for negotiations on trade facilitation 
contained in Annex D of the Decision adopted  by the General Council on 1 August 2004". 
139. On accessions, the LDCs would request the Ministers at Hong Kong to reaffirm their 
commitment to the accession of the remaining LDCs, as stated in paragraph 42 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  The LDC Group called upo n Members to fully and faithfully implement the 
Guidelines on LDCs accession adopted by the Gene ral Council in December 2002.  The Group also 
urged Ministers to mandate the General Council to  review the Decision on the Accession of LDCs, 
with a view to updating it as provided for in paragra ph 2 of that Decision and also in the light of the 
Doha Work Programme. 
140. On the status report of the Chair of the CTD Sp ecial Session, particularly regarding the five 
LDC Agreement-specific proposals, he wished to reit erate that the LDCs wished to have an explicit 
decision on these proposals prior to or at Hong Kong th at would help reduce their marginalization in 
the global trading regime.  The LDCs remained open to further engagement at all levels and took note 
of recent efforts to keep this work alive. 
141. Finally, the LDCs wished to express their gr atitude to Members for positively considering 
their request for an extension under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.  Whilst the Group might 
not have achieved all that it had set out in its reque st, it believed that in the spirit of give and take, 
there were flexibilities exercised by all parties, for Me mbers to arrive at a solution before Hong Kong.  
The LDCs remained committed to engaging constr uctively to achieve the objective of narrowing 
differences before Hong Kong, consistent  with the spirit of the Doha Round. 
142. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 said that he had no fundamental disagreement with 
the three categories of issues which the Chairman  had mentioned and hoped that the issues the 
Chairman had, at one point, referred to as "low hanging fruit" could be plucked and placed in the 
Draft Ministerial Text before the meeting of the General Council. 
143. His delegation believed that the Annexes to the draft text, with an appropriate disclaimer, 
would provide an essential reference for Minister s in their coming negotiations in Hong Kong and 
agreed with Korea on the need to pr eserve them.  It was important to give greater focus to the specific 
issues on which delegations urgently needed guida nce and on which Ministers could negotiate and 
hopefully come to conclusions in Hong Kong, so  that Members could move forward thereafter. 
144. His delegation agreed with Mexico on the need  for decisions in agriculture, NAMA and the 
delivery of a significant development package in Ho ng Kong.  All Members knew that the real gains 
for both developed and developing countries would come from market access.  There were other 
elements which could be harvested early and Me mbers should not be held hostage to logjams 
elsewhere. 
145. The bottom-up approach had produced heterogene ity, and one example would be the variety 
of formulations used in describing the urgency of  which work should be taken forward.  In some 
cases, specific timelines had been propo sed, albeit in square brackets.  In others not.  In yet others, 
different formulations had been used even in the same broad context.  All Members knew that 
progress could not be made in lock step but time would be pressing in the next year.  If Members were to meet the end of 2006 deadline, then they need ed some more uniform sense of the work required 
post Hong Kong.  This uniform sense of progress shoul d be conveyed to Ministers so as to discourage 
the thought that one or more area or issue should somehow move to a different rhythm. 
146. Turning to rules, he said it was well known that Hong Kong, China had a high level of 
interest in this area, not least because of its firm  belief that ultimately rules were the only guarantee  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 21 
 
 
for all Members of the hard won results in market ac cess.  He wished, therefore,  to stress the need for 
a clear and urgent sense of direction on rules coming out of Hong Kong. 
147. The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  said her delegation wished to 
emphasize, in connection with the discussion and negotiation model that had been promoted and 
developed at the meetings for the production of dr aft documents, that it reflected an exclusive 
working methodology based on preconceived opinions imposing the wishes of only one group and 
that these drafts in some cases di verged from the interests and realities of those countries claimed to 
be represented by the group.  The proposed drafts  were then presented as the only alternative, 
resulting in violation of the principle of full con sensus which should be developed through democratic 
debate allowing each country or group of countries to express its views from the outset. 
148. These negotiations should focus on contributing to  the consolidation of an international 
economic order based on equity, the sovereign equa lity of states, complementarity, cooperation and 
the general interest of country Memb ers, regardless of their economic and social systems, in order to 
remedy and repair the prevailing inequalities a nd injustices between developed and developing 
countries, thereby assuring present and future genera tions a sustained enhancement of peace, justice 
and economic and social development. 
149. Consequently, her delegation di d not consider as valid or legitimate the assumption that all 
countries were satisfied with anne xes to the Ministerial Declarati on that purported to identify an 
established consensus, involving vi able cross-commitments between the parties, on issues which had 
not been thoroughly discussed. 
150. The WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong K ong should commit itself to elaborating and 
implementing concrete strategies to guarantee the observance of human rights in the area of trade, 
particularly the "ECOSOC" rights codified in th e International Covenant on Economic, Social and 
Cultural Rights (ICESC). 
151. In this connection, emphasis should be placed on the desirability of including in the text of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declarati on a paragraph which clearly est ablished the obligation on WTO 
Member States and the WTO itself, as an internationa l organization subject to international law, to 
respect the requirements of international human  rights law (IHRL) and to introduce effective 
mechanisms to guarantee that there was no c onflict between the WTO trade agreements and 
international human rights law. 
152. One of the most significant shared commitments in relation to the above-mentioned 
humanistic policy concerned the campaign to allevi ate poverty by 2015, which should lead to a 
reduction in the asymmetries between the world econom ies, as agreed in the Millennium Declaration 
which had established the following goals: 
 1. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.  2. Universal primary education.  3. Promotion of gender e quality and empowering women. 
 4. Reduction of child mortality. 
 5. Improvement of maternal health.  6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other endemic diseases.  7. Ensuring environmental sustainability.  8. Developing global part nership for development. 
 TN/C/M/22 
Page 22  
 
  153. Regarding the process of adoption of a draft Ministerial Text, her delegation wished to 
endorse document WT/GC/W/471 of 24 April 2002, entitled "Preparatory Process in Geneva and 
Negotiating Procedure at the Ministerial Conferences, Communication from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jamai ca, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Sri 
Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe".  She wished to quote from that document: 
 " Preparatory process in Geneva 
  ... The Geneva process should aim to finalize a draft ministerial declaration which reflects the priorities and interests of the entir e membership.  The following elements should 
guide the preparatory process: 
(i) All consultations should be transparent and open-ended.  The preparatory process 
should be conducted under the close supervis ion of the General Council and chaired 
by the Chairman of the General Council.  An y consultations or m eetings held outside 
this process are not part of the formal  preparatory process.  Any negotiating 
procedure to be adopted should be approved by Members by consensus at formal 
meetings. 
(ii) The draft agenda should be drawn up only after Members have been given an 
opportunity to express their views.  ( ... ) 
(iii) There should be frequent formal meetings of the General Council to take stock of the 
progress in the preparatory work and minutes should be drawn up of such meetings.  ( ... ) 
(iv) There should be sufficient time for delega tions to consider documents to facilitate 
proper consideration by and c onsultation with the capital. 
(v) Language of draft ministerial declarati on should be clear and unambiguous.  The draft 
ministerial declaration should be based on consensus.  Where this is not possible, such differences should be fully and appropriately reflected in the draft ministerial 
declaration.  This could be done either through listing various options suggested by 
Members or by the chairperson reflecti ng different positions on issues.  If the 
majority of the membership has strong oppos ition to the inclusion of any issue in the 
draft ministerial declaration then such an issue should not be included in the draft 
declaration. 
(vi) The work on the declaration should be co mpleted in Geneva to the maximum extent 
possible.  Only those issues which are re flected either as options or where the 
chairperson has reflected different positions should be left for the ministers to deliberate and decide at the ministerial conference. 
(vii) A draft ministerial declaration can only  be forwarded to the Ministerial Conference 
by the General Council upon consensus to do so. 
(viii) In the preparatory process for the Mini sterial Conference the Director-General and 
the Secretariat of the WTO should remain  impartial on the specific issues being 
considered in the ministerial declaration. 
(ix) Sectoral work by working groups is an effective way for expediting resolution of 
pending issues.  The number, structure and chairpersons/facilitators  for such working 
groups should be decided in the General Council in Geneva in advance of the 
Ministerial Conference through consultations among all Members." 
 154. Her delegation considered that th e implementation of this methodology, at the current stage of 
drafting of the ministerial document, implied the following:  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 23 
 
 
(1) Following discussion in the TNC framework, the reports included in the Annexes to 
the Draft Ministerial Text, or those ba sed on documents introduced under their own 
responsibility by the chairpersons of the negotiating groups, should be removed from 
the Ministerial text. 
(2) In accordance with the above-mentioned prin ciples, only those elements agreed in the 
different areas of negotiation should be included in the Draft Ministerial Text. 
155. Turning to agriculture, she said her delegation continued to regard Annex A as a situation 
paper prepared under the responsibility of the Ch airman of the Committee on Agriculture, which 
neither prejudged nor prejudiced the positions of Me mbers, nor constituted a negotiating document.  
In any event, this document should provide for the inclusion and satisfactory resolution of the 
elements of S&D treatment for developing countries, as affirmed in the statement by the Philippines 
on behalf of the G33, wh ich her delegation endorsed. 
156. For developing countries, S&D treatment would be an integral part of all elements of the 
negotiations, cutting across the three pillars to form  an interconnected whole to be addressed in a 
balanced and equitable manner, as reflecte d in paragraph 3 of the July Package. 
157. As far as Venezuela was concerned, consider ation needed to be given to its specific 
development needs, in terms of food security, livelihood security and rural development, when 
promoting and framing agricultural trade policies.   Negotiations on the three pillars should be 
conducted simultaneously and with binding effect in the sense that no commitment  in respect of tariff 
reductions or enlarged quotas should be accepted un til reductions in trade distorting domestic support 
and subsidies had been defined. 
158. The autonomy of the agricultural sector and sel f-sufficiency in basic food production were 
essential conditions for a new development dime nsion which enabled developing countries to 
confront the challenges of food security, poverty er adication and the viability of rural employment. 
159. As a consequence of S&D treatment, Venezuela considered that Special Products should be 
exempt from all tariff reduction commitments a nd should conform to the three above-mentioned 
criteria, namely, food security, livelihood security and rural development, but that such criteria should 
not be considered as concurrent requireme nts for a product to qualify as "special". 
160. With regard to domestic support, developing countries would be exempted from reducing 
their de minimis  levels and should be grante d S&D treatment in respect of the reductions that were 
negotiated. 
161. The establishment of a Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries was a key 
aspect of the S&D treatment process.  In this rega rd, her delegation reiterated the need to agree upon 
and implement a special agricultural safeguard fo r developing countries with volume-based and price-
based triggers. 
162. Turning to industrial goods, she said that Venezuela had been rather critical of some of the 
formula proposals put forward in the NAMA Group, particularly those based on the simple Swiss 
formula (SSF), which sought to achieve levels of reduction in the tariff universe that were out of all 
proportion and went beyond what was tolerable for the economies of developing countries. 
163. Venezuela and most of the developing countries had rejected the adoption of a simple Swiss 
formula because it took no account of the sensitivities of their industrial structures.  Other proposals 
were on the table which appeared to reflect develo ping countries' interests as regards safeguarding 
policy space for the protection of strategic and/or sensitive sectors in their economies, which were not 
properly covered or not mentioned at all in th e report by the Negotiating Group Chairman.  Her 
delegation was firmly of the opinion that ther e had not been enough study of a formula modality TN/C/M/22 
Page 24  
 
  making it possible to achieve a balance for developing  countries that was more beneficial than under 
the simple Swiss formula.  To that end, the emergence of new proposals should not be excluded a priori, especially if there was no certainty as to the recognition of the flexibilities agreed. 
164. Regarding flexibilities, it should be recalled th at, in document TN/MA/W/65 of 3 November 
2005, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, toge ther with a group of developing countries 
(Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia,  Namibia, Pakistan, Philippines and South Africa), 
had taken a position on this subject.  That document had emphasized that paragraph 8 of the July 2004 
Framework was adopted to operationalize S&D tr eatment in the NAMA negotiations, taking into 
account the needs and interests of developing coun try participants in accordance with Article XXVIII 
bis of the GATT 1994.  Her delegation therefore oppo sed the attempts that were being made to 
reinterpret that Agreement by establishing other cond itions for the application of paragraph 8 and thus 
altering the balance of the agreement reached by all WTO Members in the basic agreement of July 
2004.  Her delegation would further emphasize that paragraph 8 was a stand-alone provision within 
the agreed NAMA framework and its position as such had to be recognized. 
165. Her delegation noted with concern the way in which paragraph 12 of the July Package on 
"supplementary modalities" was being applied, which provided for negotiations under a sectoral 
approach, since the paragraph suggested that supplementary modalities s hould be negotiated only 
after agreement had been reached on basic modalities (tariff reduction formula, unbound tariff treatment, etc.).  This was incons istent with the interpretation that appeared to be favoured by the 
countries conducting negotiations unde r a sectoral approach, which was not in line with the mandate.  
Moreover, the meetings on the subject were being held in a less than transparent manner, without 
being openly convened, and an a ttempt was made to legitimize th em on the pretext of developing 
country participation.  Her delega tion reiterated its concern that cons ideration should be given to the 
opinion of countries which considered that negotia tions on sectoral liberalization were secondary to 
formula negotiations, with voluntary participation by developing countries, which had hitherto been 
irregular from the standpoint of the procedures adopted. 
166. Finally, it was important to emphasize that the high level of disagreement was largely due to 
the attempt to give Annex B of the July 2004 Framew ork a definitive status, whereas in reality it was 
only a benchmark, inasmuch as paragraph 1 itself st ated that "additional negotiations are required to 
reach agreement on the specifics", a point which assumed greater significance in the light of what was 
said above. 
167. On services, her delegation did not agree that the future negotiations should take account of 
the modal and sectoral objectives described in Annex B to document TN/S/23.  That annex was based 
on an earlier annex which her delega tion had already questioned because it reflected the interests of 
only a section of the membership.  Her delegation th erefore called for the deletion of paragraph 2. 
168. Regarding paragraph 4(b), her delegation wish ed to see no mention of a possible working 
framework for government procurement.  Moreov er, it still believed that the language used in 
paragraphs 6 was of a binding nature.  It was not convinced that this language was compatible with 
the flexibilities provided for in the GATS and the Gu idelines and Procedures for the Negotiations in 
Trade in Services.  It therefore requested that this paragraph be deleted. 
169. Her delegation persisted in the hope that the expected assessment  of trade in services would 
be implemented and that progress would be made in priority sectors such as rules and domestic regulation, as a prelude to progress on market access. 
170. Turning to rules, she said that  before expressing her delegation' s opinion on Annex D, it was 
worth recalling that the Doha mandate provided fo r negotiations on rules aimed at clarifying and 
improving disciplines under the Agreements on Impl ementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 and  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 25 
 
 
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, while preserving the basic concepts, principles and effectiveness of these Agreements and their inst ruments and objectives, and taking into account the 
needs of developing and least-developed participants. 
171. In this regard, and in the run-up to Hong K ong, Venezuela stood by its proposal for the 
reintroduction of the categories of non-actionable s ubsidies referred to in Article 8 of the SCM 
Agreement, as contained in documents TN /RL/W/41 and TN/RL/W/131 of 17 December 2002 and 
11 July 2003 respectively, with the aim of making the subsidies provided for in that Agreement more flexible and extending them to include production diversification,  so as to meet the legitimate 
development objectives of the developi ng and least-developed countries. 
172. Annex D introduced the development dimension,  without specifying in what way it might 
benefit developing and least-developed countries, and no mention was made of S&D treatment, a 
priority of the DDA.  The exclusive focus on the development dimension left  S&D treatment in the 
shadows.  Any improvement or clarification of the disciplines provided for in the agreements under 
consideration had to pay special attention to the ch aracteristics, needs and capacities of the developing 
and least-developed countries, through provisions that served to reformulate the principle of special 
treatment and development. 
173. In the area of trade facilitation, in the interests of the coherence and uniformity of the 
structure her delegation proposed, before enteri ng into consideration of the improvement and 
clarification of Articles V, VIII and X of the GAT T 1994, attention should be paid to the operational 
and/or implementation-related aspects of the ideal  of S&D treatment, which should go far beyond 
transition periods so that the developing and least-developed countries could implement and fulfil 
their obligations, given that in many cases there had proved to be a lack of time, technical assistance 
and financing. 
174. Before initiating the process of clarification and improvement of Articles V, VIII and X of the 
GATT 1994, efforts should in her delegation's vi ew be geared to the following objectives: 
1. The need to link together each of the elem ents of the Annex D mandate;  this is vital 
to ensuring that the final outcome of this negotiation is of real benefit to the 
developing and least deve loped countries, since even though trade facilitation 
provides international trade benefits in ge neral terms, the implementation of this 
mandate under the Doha guidelines should not  result in unachievable commitments, 
given the different levels of developm ent of country Members, nor should the 
outcomes be allowed to be at variance with genuine improvement in customs 
activities. 
2. Initiation of the process of identification of  the domestic needs and priorities of each 
country Member so as to ensure that the ci rcumstances of each Member are taken into 
consideration for the effective implementa tion of decisions on technical assistance, 
capacity building and S&D treatment. 
3. Implementation of S&D treatment in respect of each of the disciplines, as provided in 
Annex D of the July Package, lowering the cost of commitments for developing 
countries. 
175. Lastly, it should be borne in mind that the measures listed were only indicative proposals, 
which did not prejudge the position of Members or  prevent new proposals from being submitted. 
176. Turning to trade and environment, she said that  at the present time there were a number of 
different approaches or modalities which had not yet been defined as criteria for the possible 
identification of environmental goods, much less for th e establishment of a deadlin e for the work to be TN/C/M/22 
Page 26  
 
  carried out by the Committee.  Accordingly, Ven ezuela believed it premature and impossible to speak 
of "identifying environmental goods", and this made option B unacceptable. 
177. The representative of Switzerland
 said that as the Draft Ministerial Text was the result of a 
bottom-up approach, it served several useful purposes.  It reflected the level of progress achieved so far.  It partially redressed some blatant imbalanc es of the July 2004 Fram ework through the Annexes 
on services, trade facilitation and rules.  These i ssues had clearly been lagging behind NAMA and 
agriculture in the Framework.  Rebalancing at th is stage was indispensable if Members wished to 
reach a successful overall outcome in a not too distan t future.  The text was also a safety net for the 
Ministerial Conference.  Lastly, if complemented with a strong political commitment, it might provide 
a new impetus to negotiations.  The objective should be  to finalize modalities in the first half of 2006. 
178. This being said, Switzerland was ready to go beyo nd that.  It was ready to capture progress in 
agriculture and NAMA in a more operational way to  facilitate the forthcoming negotiations.  This 
meant that progress had to be registered in a bala nced, neutral and objective way in both areas, being 
understood that an agreement on figures was out of reach.  Therefore, Members should focus on structure and concepts.  Discussions were al ready under way and ideas had been submitted. 
179. Turning to the specific issues, and speaking on behalf of the G10
, he said that the progress 
that should be captured on agriculture should includ e in domestic support, the number of bands for the 
reduction formula; in market access, the number of bands for the tariff reduction formula; in export 
subsidies, the necessity to ensure parallelism of  commitments on all form  of export subsidies; 
finalizing the conversion of non- ad valorem  tariffs into AVEs; and on LDCs, it had to be 
acknowledged that they were not requi red to undertake any commitments. 
180. On NAMA, speaking on behalf of Switzerland , he said the progress to be captured included 
that Members appeared to conve rge on the use of a Swiss form ula, that there was growing 
convergence on the use of a mark-up approach for unbound tariffs and that Members should recognize 
the work on the sectors examined so far in order to fulfill the mandate of the Doha Declaration.  There 
was an agreement to convert non- ad valorem  into ad valorem  duties according to the methodology 
discussed in the Negotiating Group, progress had also  been made on the identification, examination 
and categorization of NTBs and Members should r eaffirm that LDCs were exempted from making 
tariff reductions, but were expected to subs tantially increase their level of binding. 
181. On services, Switzerland welcomed the overall di rection provided by the Annex on Services.  
This made up the lack of progress in services si nce the July 2004 Decision and represented the 
indispensable basis for future work  in this area.  The balanced and detailed approach proposed was 
crucial given the specific nature of the services ne gotiations compared to the two other market access 
areas.  The services Annex struck a delicate balance between the interests of all Members that should 
be preserved.   
182. On rules, the Annex provided a road map fo r text-based negotiations which should commence 
at the very beginning of 2006.  It enumerated the main elements Members should focus on without 
closing the door to other issues.  Unfortunately, it did not contain a precise deadline for the 
submission of consolidated texts on anti-dumping and subsidies.   
183. On trade facilitation, Annex E would allow ne gotiations to focus on the real issues in a 
structured fashion.  It enum erated all the components of a fully fledged Agreement on Trade 
Facilitation. 
184. On development, he wished to recall at the outset that the development dimension was 
already part and parcel of all areas under negotiation.   This would confer a more operational status on 
S&D treatment.  Memb ers should also endeavour to achieve s ubstantive results to respond to the  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 27 
 
 
cotton initiative.  On the issue of quota and duty fr ee treatment for products originating in LDCs, he 
said that Switzerland was ready to take a strong commitment to fully implement this initiative on a 
stable and predictable basis.  However, it had rea lized that some Members might have difficulties to 
commit themselves in Hong Kong.  This was the reason why Switzerland had submitted a two-staged 
approach by which the commitment would apply to 99 per cent of such products.  For the remaining 
one per cent, Members would progressively implemen t the initiative over a tr ansition period to be 
agreed.  His delegation expected that all devel oping countries in a position to do so should also 
implement the initiative.  Finally, his delegation wa s confident that Members would find a solution to 
the TRIPS and Public Health issue before Hong Kong.   
185. The representative of the United States  requested that his delegation's statement at the 
informal meeting of Heads of Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the 
present meeting.3 
186. He said that, generally speaking, the draft text reflected the current state of negotiations.  His 
delegation was naturally disappointed that collectiv ely Members had not been able to make more 
progress in advancing the negotiations.  The United St ates' reaction to this disappointment was not to 
reduce or to divert its sights, but rather to grea tly intensify its efforts and to focus on solving the 
fundamental issues that s till separated Members. 
187. Members had a fleeting opportunity at Hong Kong to break out of the negotiation's current 
state of near stagnation by using the Ministerial to inject new energy into the negotiations, as well as 
to give meaningful substantive direction to the ne gotiators.  But Members could not solve every single 
problem that they faced at a five day ministerial me eting, they needed to focus.  He wondered what 
should be at the forefront of Members efforts as th ey approached the Ministerial Conference in Hong 
Kong.  Clearly, agriculture and NAMA were the key ar eas in the short term that needed advancement.  
While the reports of the Chairmen in these two groups had identified some modest areas of new 
agreement, Members needed to move rapidly to r each agreement in agriculture on as many of the 
specifics as possible.  First, the parameters govern ing the reduction of tariffs.  Market access was the 
agricultural pillar most urgent for further construc tion.  Substantial progress in Hong Kong, would be 
the single greatest contribution that Ministers could make to the negotiations at this stage.  Second, Members needed specifics on the parameters govern ing reductions and, in the United States' view, 
ultimately the elimination of trade-distorting subsid ies.  Third, further specifics on the treatment of 
export competition practices that had a similar trad e distorting effect to those inherent in export 
subsidies.  Furthermore, Members should make ever y effort to reach agreement on a target date for 
the elimination of export subsidies. 
188. In NAMA, delegations' focus and that of Mini sters should be on defining more precisely the 
application of the general tariff cutting formula a nd the various elements defining the manner in 
which developing countries would contribute to and participate in the NAMA liberalization.  In this 
regard, Members had already agreed that LDCs w ould not have to make tariff cutting commitments. 
189. In services, Members needed to intensify gr eatly the negotiations and bring the services 
package more to the kind of results that corres ponded to the level of ambition sought by the most 
ardent advocates of ambition in agriculture.  His de legation believed that the Chairman's draft services 
text provided an effective framework for pursui ng those aims at the Hong Kong Ministerial.  
Members should use it as a platform for their work. 
190. He wished to turn to additional development subjects – and he had said additional, because all 
Members knew that the most enduring development benefits could be achieved by accomplishing the 
objectives that he had enumerated in agricultu re, NAMA and services.  Beyond those three areas, 
Members needed to consolidate and advance further progress in a number of development issues.  
                                                     
 
3  See Annex II. TN/C/M/22 
Page 28  
 
  These included the five LDC proposals, the extensio n of TRIPS implementation for LDCs which had 
been already accomplished by the TRIPS Council, sh aping of an effective Aid for Trade programme 
that would be supportive of the outcomes of the negotiations, and implemen tation of LDC modalities 
in services.  In addition, his delegation was co mmitted to finding a solution to transforming the 
Decision on access to medicines into an amendmen t prior to the Hong Kong Ministerial.  At the 
informal Heads of Delegation meeting on 28 November , he had identified a number of concerns that 
his delegation had with various elem ents of the other reports, especially issues of balance in the rules 
area and inconsistency of treatment among the mode s of supply in services.  There were many other 
topics of importance and interest to Members that Ministers would wish to address in Hong Kong, and 
his delegation urged others to join it in concentr ating efforts on issues most likely to catalyze the 
negotiations.  Members could not afford to return to Geneva in January facing essentially the same 
negotiating field that currently confronted them. 
191. The representative of Brazil
 said the Draft Ministerial Text genuinely reflected the state of 
play in the negotiations, rather than a vision from th e top.  This was a welc ome development, and his 
delegation urged the Chairman to continue to work  towards a consensus on th e basis of inclusive and 
transparent consultations and negotiations. 
192. In substantive terms, the result was disappointing.   The draft text was an insufficient basis for 
progress towards the completion of the Round the following year.  The shortcomings in the draft were not, however, caused by the process.  Before Cancún,  a different process had led to a draft Ministerial 
text that had been imbalanced and could not even  serve as a basis for negotiations.  In the present 
draft there were gaps, which could not have been filled or arbitrated by Chairs.  What Members 
needed to do now was to make the best possible u se of their time in the circumstances, in order to 
create the conditions for productive negotiations in  Hong Kong and for generating the momentum for 
completing modalities in agriculture and NAMA in 2006.   
193. Members had to be aware, however, that ultimately no process could make up for a lack of 
political will to fulfill the Doha mandate.  The D oha mandate covered many areas, but two of them 
had pride of place: agriculture and development.   A successful outcome depended on unblocking the 
negotiations in those areas. 
194. Brazil had co-sponsored, with eight other developing countries, a submission recently 
presented to the CTD entitled "Reclaiming Devel opment in the WTO Doha Development Round".
4  
The document stressed that a development round required the removal of trade distortions in 
international trade that inhibited the export growth of developing countries.  It also required an 
understanding of the defensive c oncerns of developing countries in areas like TRIMs, TRIPS and 
NAMA.  There was a need for increased policy space to promote development.  There was also need 
to reduce the policy space for subsidies that disp laced exports from, and domestic production, in 
developing countries.  Contributions in agricultu re, NAMA and services had to be commensurate with 
the level of development.  These ideas were not new and had been agreed to in the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration.  In the course of the negotiations, however, they seemed to have gone astray.  The 
proposals made by some developed countries had turned the logic of this Round upside down. 
195. He said some developed countries had offered "wat er" cuts in domestic support, minimal cuts 
in agricultural and industrial tariffs, few or no ne w commitments in services and very little in S&D.  
In exchange, they had asked for disproportionate reductions in developing- country tariffs, and new 
commitments in services that were completely at  odds with the mandate and the structure of the 
GATS.  As a result the prospects for Hong Kong were what they were now. 
                                                      
4 Subsequently circulated in  document WT/COMTD/W/145.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 29 
 
 
196. He wished to make a few comments with regard  to specific topics in the Draft Ministerial 
Text.  Agriculture was the engine of the negotiations .  It was the keystone that Members needed in 
order to build the final deal.  The agriculture ne gotiations were complex, but this stemmed from the 
fact that this was the most distorted area in interna tional trade, which in turn made it urgent to achieve 
substantial, balanced results in all the three pillars. 
197. On export competition, Members had an agreemen t, but were still lacking a date and some 
clarity on equivalence.  The GATT Contracting Par ties had agreed to eliminate export subsidies for 
industrial products in three years.  It would surely  not be too hasty to agr ee on a similar timeframe in 
Hong Kong. 
198. Agricultural domestic support was the most egregious case of operationally effective S&D in 
the WTO.  Not by coincidence, it was S&D for deve loped countries.  The G20 had proposed that the 
countries with the highest levels of trade-distor ting domestic support cut up to 80 per cent their 
overall levels of support.  This would still allow sever al billion dollars of subsidies that distorted trade 
and production and displaced the agricultural products  of developing countries in international and 
domestic markets. 
199. In agricultural market access, the G20 had propo sed that developed countries cut their tariffs 
by a little more than 50 cent on average.  Given th e need for proportionality between tariff cuts in 
agriculture and in NAMA and the need for converg ence between the two areas in this Round, this 
proposal could be considered as modest.  The very high level of protection in agriculture, as compared 
to NAMA, could be said to warrant much greater reductions.  But the G20 did not wish to press for the maximum; it aimed for what was feasible. 
200. As he had stated in the informal Heads of Delegations meeting on 28 November, the G20 was 
ready to work with a view to improving the Minister ial draft.  Brazil believed it was useful to identify 
issues for negotiations, such as the formula for ta riff reductions, flexibilities, S&D, export competition 
and cotton.  Framing these issues in the form of qu estions to be addressed by Ministers in Hong Kong 
was an idea that the G20 could support.  Members would also need a work-plan for the process after 
Hong Kong, to enable them achieve full modalities in the shortest possible time. 
201. On cotton, Brazil and the G20 had indicated at  the highest level their support for the position 
of cotton-producing African countries.  The G20 view ed with great concern the deterioration of the 
economic and social conditions of producers in tho se countries due to the export subsidies and trade-
distorting domestic support in the major subsidisi ng countries.  Forward movement in the agriculture 
negotiations would undoubtedly help in finding a co mprehensive and permanent solution to the cotton 
issue.  Regardless of the results achieved in agri culture in Hong Kong, there was a need for urgent 
action to redress what had become an emergency situation. 
202. On NAMA, he said the lack of convergence was in part a reflection of the situation in 
agriculture.  But there were also some obstacles within the NAMA negotiations.  The Chair’s report 
had provided a useful overview of attempts by so me Members to deviate from the Doha mandate and 
the July 2004 Framework.  The debate on flexibili ties was illustrative.  Instead of building on what 
had been agreed to in paragraph 8, allowing Memb ers to concentrate on the formula for tariff cuts, 
attempts had been made to turn that paragraph in to the sole repository of the provisions aimed at 
developing countries in the Doha Declaration.  This  S&D provision was likely to have a much smaller 
impact than even the least generous proposals on sensitive products in agriculture.  However, some 
Members had insisted that this provision neutrali zed the unambiguous mandate  for less than full 
reciprocity in reduction commitments and yet develo ped countries had offered to make only minimal 
cuts to their own tariffs.  Illustrating his point by way of example, he said that if developed countries 
applied a Swiss cut of ten per cent and Brazil applied a Swiss cut of 30 per cent, the average cut for all 
tariff lines in the EC and in the US would be smal ler than the average cut for the ten per cent of 
Brazilian tariff lines “protected” under paragraph 8( a) of the July 2004 Framework.  For the TN/C/M/22 
Page 30  
 
  remaining 90 per cent of Brazil’s tariff lines, the av erage cut would be roughly twice as large as that 
of the EC and the US. 
203. He said the first condition for progress was that Members respected the mandate.  In terms of 
what could be done in the short term to make progress on the three main issues in the NAMA negotiations, his delegation believed that it would be best to se ttle first paragraph 8 by removing the 
brackets.  Members could further advance towards an  agreement on the final structure of the formula 
by reiterating the principle of less than full recipr ocity in reduction commitments.  The key issue was 
proportionality.  This was a principle that applied to the contributions of developed and developing 
countries in NAMA, as well as to the relationshi p between results in agriculture and NAMA. 
204. The draft text on services – paragraphs 7 to 9 and Annex C – was a basis for negotiations.  It 
represented a delicate balance between preserving the fundamental architecture of GATS and 
providing specificity for the services negotiations to  proceed.  Putting aside the reference to numerical 
targets and indicators had been a wise decision.  Th ey had proved to be the most contentious issues, 
with firm opposition from a large number of developing countries, due to the incompatibility of these 
proposals with the principles of GATS and of the Services Negotiating Guidelines. 
205. It had also became clear during the discussi on in the Committee on Trade in Services in 
Special Session (CTSS) that the implementation of th e proposed benchmarks would have resulted in 
developing countries being the main contributor s in the GATS negotiations, altering the entire 
rationale of the services negotiations, which called for priorities being given to sectors and modes of 
supply of export interest to devel oping countries.  His delegation shared  some of the concerns of other 
developing countries on the current version of Annex C and was prepared to improve it.  But it was 
prepared to work with this text provided no atte mpt was made to reintroduce ideas that had been 
widely rejected such as numerical targets and indicators. 
206. On rules, he said Annex D provided a reasonable basis for discussion.  However, his 
delegation would have wished for a more ambitious draft, to have an effective "launching pad" for 
rules negotiations in 2006.  He wished to reiterate th at for Brazil, results in the rules negotiations were 
an indispensable complement to the market access  negotiations.  Specifically, his delegation believed 
that paragraph 10 should be improved.  There had to  be a more precise indication with regard to the 
timing for the Chair to come forward with the co nsolidated texts for antidumping, subsidies and 
fisheries subsidies.  It had to be made clear that  the content of those nego tiated texts should reflect 
Members contributions and positions.  Therefore, hi s delegation suggested including an instruction to 
the Rules Chair to hold consultations be fore presenting any consolidated draft. 
207. Finally, his delegation would wish to adjust the language in paragraph 4 of Annex D, so as to 
provide for a more precise reference to paragraph 28 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, and a more 
appropriate evaluation of the objectives of the current anti-dumping negotiations. 
208. With regard to the environment negotiations, Br azil believed that Ministers should instruct the 
CTE Special Session to continue its work on envi ronmental goods on the basis of the first option 
presented in paragraph 14.  This option did not prejudge the results of the negotiations and allowed 
for the development of a common understanding of the different approaches that had been discussed in the negotiating group.  The first option was al so more faithful to the mandate, insofar as it 
reaffirmed the mutual supportiveness of trade and e nvironment.  He said the second option should be 
eliminated, as it prejudged the results of the ne gotiations of the basis of a single approach. 
209. On S&D treatment, his delegati on supported the LDC demands fo r provisions that effectively 
addressed their main objectives regarding market acc ess and flexibilities.  As Minister Celso Amorim 
had stated in Arusha at the African Union meeting,  Brazil was also prepared to contribute to the 
objective of duty-free, quota-free market access fo r products from LDCs.  However, it would be  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 31 
 
 
difficult to approve an ambitious S&D package in Hong Kong without any results in other areas, 
which were also an essential part of the development outcome of the Round. 
210. On implementation, his delegation wished to re iterate its interest in resolving outstanding 
implementation issues as an integral element of the Doha negotiations.  In th is regard, his delegation 
wished to stress the importance that  it attached to the proposals that  it had set forth, together with 
other developing countries, on TRIMs and on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the 
CBD.  Resolution of these issues in as timely a manner as possible was necessary to materialize the "development dimension" of the Doha Round.  His delegation was disappointed with the lack of a 
reference in the draft Hong Kong Declaration to pa ragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, 
which had instructed the TRIPS Council to undert ake work on TRIPS and CDB and the protection of 
traditional knowledge pursuant to its work programme under three different mandates.  In this regard, 
his delegation believed it would be im portant for the draft Hong Kong Declaration to also refer to this 
important element of the Doha Work Programme. 
211. On process, he said this was the last session of  the TNC before Hong Kong and the TNC had 
the task of supervising the overall conduct of the ne gotiations.  This should not be taken lightly.  This 
was why his delegation felt that a debate in the TNC was a central opportunity for each Member to 
express its views on the conduct of the Doha Round. 
212. The Draft Ministerial Text had two distinct pa rts:  the main text, and its Annexes.  The 
Annexes had differing characteristics.  There were reports to the TNC by the Chairs in the case of 
agriculture and NAMA, whilst some other annexes we nt beyond that and actually tried to provide 
guidance for future negotiations.  The body of the dr aft Declaration was the first part and should be 
referred to Ministers by the TNC and the General Council.  The agriculture and NAMA reports were 
also important and should be forw arded as background documents for the discussions in Hong Kong.  
The other annexes had arisen from consultations, but,  with the exception of trade facilitation, did not 
constitute consensus texts and remained under the r esponsibility of the Chairs.  He suggested that if 
there were no objections to the whole or parts of th ese documents, they should be retained as annexes 
to the Ministerial Declaration or, alternatively, thei r content be incorporated in the main body of the 
Declaration.  If the text of any annex was objected to , in whole or in part, it could be retained in 
brackets and give rise to negotiations in Hong Kong. 
213. On the organization of the Conference, he sai d that if Hong Kong was to be a successful 
negotiating conference, Members needed to have clar ity about its organization.  The procedures that 
would be followed in Hong Kong should be anno unced in advance and discussed by Members.  
Thought needed also to be given, in advance, to the nature of the process after Hong Kong.  This had 
become increasingly important in light of the inco mpleteness of the results to be achieved in Hong 
Kong. 
214. The representative of China
 expressed his delegation's appreciation for the approach used in 
trying to capture as much progress as possible in agriculture and NAMA, because progress was 
needed on some key issues in these and in other areas. 
215. On agriculture, his delegation endorsed the stat ements by Brazil and by the Philippines for the 
G33.  He said that as export competition had the most trade-distorting effect, Members should 
maintain a much higher level of ambition in this p illar than the other two p illars of these negotiations.  
Members needed an end date for elimination of all export subsidies by de veloped Members.  All 
trade-distorting domestic support, particularly those in the Amber and the Blue Boxes, by all 
developed-country Members had to  be substantially reduced.  Ta riff peaks of developed Members 
needed to be reduced greatly and effectively.  Tariff structures needed to be simplified and all non- ad 
valorem  duties converted into AVEs and bound in ad valorem  terms after reductions.  He said the 
level of ambition for market access had to be  matched with that for domestic support. TN/C/M/22 
Page 32  
 
  216. S&D treatment for all developing Members was an integral part of all aspects of the 
negotiations.  Therefore, proportionally less commitm ents as well as more flexibility for developing 
countries should be reflected in all aspects. 
217. Regarding NAMA, he said that the formula approach should be the core modality of tariff 
reductions.  To fully respect and implement the mandate of less than full reciprocity and S&D 
treatment for developing-county Members, Member s should be encouraged to bind their tariffs 
subject to the availability of flexibilities as set in paragraph 8 of Annex B of the July 2004 Decision. 
218. On development, China supported finding a so lution on duty-free, quota-free market access 
for LDCs, and addressing the issues of cotton, TR IPS and Public Health, TRIPS and CBD, and Aid 
for Trade. 
219. China shared the concerns expressed by Egypt , on behalf of the African Group, on the 
structure of the Draft Ministerial Text.  Members ne eded to find a solution in the following few days 
on the treatment of the Annexes. 
220. He wished to reiterate China’s concern on the issue of the recently-acceded Members.  Taking 
into account the extensive and high level of commi tments made by these Members at accession, the 
Doha Ministerial Declaration and the July 2004 D ecision had reflected the concern of these Members 
over special difficulties for further substantial comm itments in this Round.  His delegation requested 
that this concern should be properly reflected as a st and-alone paragraph in the Draft Ministerial Text.  
To this effect, China had submitted a proposal  which had been circulated to Members.
5  China looked 
forward to the full understanding and support of all Members on this issue. 
221. The representative of Australia , on behalf of the Cairns Group , said that, more than four years 
into the Doha agriculture negotiations, Members had made some gains, but they had much further to 
travel.  The Cairns Group regarded the Sixth Minister ial Conference as a vital opportunity to build on 
what Members had, and to take some significant steps forward.  Put plainly, the less Members 
achieved in Hong Kong, the greater the risks to the outlook for the negotiations in 2006. 
222. The Group appreciated the effort that had gone into compiling the Draft Ministerial Text in 
recent days and weeks and continued to be comm itted to a bottom-up approach, building convergence 
from the membership.  For this reason, it also welc omed the fair and balanced assessment of progress 
contained in the report of the Agriculture Chair.  That assessment had painted a sobering picture of 
the distance left to travel to fulfill the Doha  mandate on agriculture, and the divergences facing 
Members, particularly in the area of market access. 
223. It was therefore important that this assessme nt was available to Ministers in Hong Kong to 
inform their deliberations.  It was crucially impor tant that Members used Hong Kong to capture the 
progress they had made to date. 
224. But more had to be done.  Hong Kong should take significant steps forward in all three pillars 
of agriculture, including in the key area of blockage , market access.  Members should face up to the 
challenge of narrowing divergences on some of the central issues facing the negotiations, including 
how to structure the commitments on market access and domestic suppor t and achieve further 
convergence on export competition. 
225. Members should also be able to agree how much more remained to be done to reach their goal 
of concluding the negotiations in 2006 and how th ey would get there.  Above all, Members should 
remember that Hong Kong was not just a meeting to review progress.  Rather, it was an opportunity to 
                                                      
5 Circulated in document JOB(05)/312.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 33 
 
 
build the basis to improve the long term outlook for global agricultural trade and to improve the lives 
of hundreds of millions of farmers and their communiti es, particularly in developing countries.  The 
Cairns Group was committed to doing everything possible to make the most of that opportunity. 
226. The representative of India  said that a number of delegations  had spoken of th e imbalances in 
the text.  Such an outcome was inevitable in a botto m-up process.  Rather than dwelling on this issue, 
Members should determine how they could work  forward on this basis towards Hong Kong and 
thereafter towards a conclusion which adequately  achieved the development objectives which had 
been set out with such expectations at Doha. 
227. India continued to attach great importance to these negotiations and their successful 
conclusion within 2006.  The results of Memb ers' collective endeavours would have great 
implications for the lives of hundreds of millions of  the poor in developing countries.  It was, 
therefore, with a sense of disappointment that his delegation had noted a serious and growing 
development deficit in the Round.  Members needed to  correct this if the overall balance of the Round 
was to be maintained.  Paragraphs 17-20 of the draft text on S&D treatment were clear evidence of 
this fact.  This was not only true in the case of S& D.  Even the five prioritized S&D proposals of the 
LDCs had not been agreed to.  There was a simila r lack of emphasis on development-related issues in 
agriculture, NAMA and TRIPS.  Urgent action was re quired to rectify this if the outcome of the 
Round was to have any credibility and relevance for developing countries. 
228. The lack of convergence was most evident in the agriculture and NAMA negotiations.  
Members had engaged constructively in intensive discussions in the previous few days to identify 
issues which could be posed to Ministers and to tr y to capture the progress made in the negotiations 
since the finalization of the July Framework.  In these efforts, however, Members should guard 
against conveying a false sense of c onvergence in these critical areas. 
229. The most important issues in both areas of the ne gotiations continued to be marked by serious 
differences among Members and they would do themselves no credit by glossing over such differences.  At the same time, they had a collec tive responsibility to focus their energies in Hong 
Kong on these differences so that they could reso lve them to the maximum extent possible, thus, 
paving the way for finalization of full modalities early in 2006. 
230. He wished to highlight some of the importa nt issues that had caused discomfort to his 
delegation and on which it expected substantial progress in Hong Kong. 
231. On agriculture, it would be extremely diffi cult for his delegation return home without 
convergence on issues such as specificity in proporti onality of cuts or thresholds of tariff reduction 
formula for developing countries.  Other issues that remained of concern to developing countries 
were:  agreement on designation and treatment of  Special Products;  product coverage, price and 
volume triggers and remedies in the Special Safeguard  Mechanism;  and, exemption from any form of 
cuts to the de minimis  in the domestic support pillar. 
232. On NAMA, his delegation was concerned about atte mpts to dilute less than full reciprocity in 
reduction commitments which required that develo ped countries should undertake greater percentage 
reductions as compared to developing countries.  This was the mandate and his delegation could not 
accept interpretations which measured less than full r eciprocity against S&D provisions.  In addition, 
flexibilities in paragraph 8 were essential for deve loping countries and the language in paragraph 8 
was explicit.  Paragraph 8 was a stand-alone provision and only num bers that were currently in 
brackets needed to be finalized.  As the mandate w as not for harmonizing the tariffs of Members, the 
application of a non-linear formula based on averag es of Members' schedules would best deliver the 
mandate of cutting high tariffs and tariff peaks wh ile taking account of the development priorities of 
developing countries.  Members needed to re-doub le their efforts to resolve NTBs which were 
increasingly becoming barriers to trade. TN/C/M/22 
Page 34  
 
  233. Recognizing the different nature of the services negotiations with primacy being given to the 
request-offer process, it was imperative for achieving a balanced outcome in the Round that Members 
did not miss the opportunity at Hong Kong for providing the much-needed specificity and direction in services.  The current services text prepared by the Ch air, while not perfect, had struck an appropriate 
balance between specificity and flexibility, pr eserving the GATS architecture.  While all Members 
had made compromises to arrive at this text, it still remained a sound basis for continuing work post 
Hong Kong.  His delegation believed it was important  to preserve this current text without making 
any changes which would upset the fine balance for the Hong Kong Ministerial. 
234. Finally, on the relationship between TRIPS and CBD, his delegation had found a glaring 
omission in the Draft Ministerial Text relating to pa ragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  
That paragraph had instructed the TRIPS Council to examine, inter alia , the TRIPS-CBD relationship.  
It also required the Council to take into account the development dimension and the principles and 
objectives of the TRIPS Agreement.  Therefore, in his delegation's view , all matters on which 
Ministers had instructed Members to address devel opment issues should find a reference in the text 
that Members proposed for their adoption at Hong Ko ng.  Given the importance Members attached to 
paragraph 19 issues, a similar paragraph needed to be inserted in the draft Hong Kong text.  His 
delegation suggested the following wording: "We take note of the work undertaken by the Council for TRIPS, pursuant to paragraph 19 of the Doha Minister ial Declaration, and agr ee that this work shall 
continue on the basis of paragraph 19 of the Doha  Ministerial Declaration and the progress made in 
the Council for TRIPS to date.  The General Council sha ll report on its work in this regard to our next 
Session". 
235. In earlier discussions, his delegation had expressed  reservations about some other portions of 
the text, and it hoped these concerns would be taken on board while fi nalizing the text for the General 
Council.  Such reservations had included its subm ission regarding the text on RTAs.  India would 
continue to play a constructive role to ensure th at Hong Kong was a meaningful staging post for the 
successful completion of this Development Round. 
236. The representative of Thailand
 said that her delegation welcomed the Draft Ministerial Text 
and saw the possibility of adding value to it, both in terms of substance and structure, to make it more operational and practical for Ministers to work w ith and achieve substantial progress during the six 
days in Hong Kong.  On the overall structure of the draft, the existing text merely consolidated work 
done by the Chairs and therefore the nature and stru cture of each issue varied.  Some reflected a high 
level of convergence, while others reflected lack  of convergence and had only been produced by the 
Chairs on their own responsibility and attached to th e draft text as annexes.  Her delegation therefore 
saw a need to ensure clarity of th e text when being transmitted to Ministers in Hong Kong, so that the 
covering letter reflected clearly that some of the annexes were on the Chairs' own responsibility and 
were in no way agreed text. 
237. It was the urgent responsibility of delegations in Geneva to strengthen the draft so that their 
Ministers could engage in substantive discussion and deliver balanced, meaningful and productive 
outcomes in Hong Kong, where a concrete platfo rm was needed to move the DDA towards a 
successful conclusion by the end of 2006. 
238. She said her delegation wished to highlight some  core issues of importance to Thailand.  On 
the specific areas of the text, in her delegation's view agriculture was highly important and Members 
needed guidance from Ministers to move the negotia tions forward.  Thailand believed that the core 
issues which required guidance from Ministers incl uded the tariff reduction formula, the reduction 
formula and disciplines in domestic support and the end date for all forms of export subsidies. 
239. Her delegation believed that alt hough a limit could not be put on the scope of the deliberation 
by Ministers, the time factor should be taken into account.  Ministers had to focus, and face up to the  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 35 
 
 
challenge of converging on differences as much as po ssible to arrive at a firm launching pad in Hong 
Kong.  This would enable Members to achieve fu ll modalities in the shortest time after Hong Kong. 
240. On NAMA, like agriculture, the draft lacked a clear indication of what Ministers should focus 
on in Hong Kong, except the dates for establishing modalities and for submitting comprehensive draft 
schedules.  In this regard, the core issues which required guidance from Ministers included 
flexibilities, tariff reduction formula and unbound tariffs , and their related elements.  Members needed 
a concrete work plan and timelines for finalizing the work in this area on issues such as a list of non-
agricultural products, AVE calculations and sectoral tariff components. 
241. On services, without prejudging any possible collective achievements in Hong Kong, her 
delegation believed that certain issues which remained  unsettled, for example the level of specificity 
and prescriptiveness of what was contained in the current Annex C, would be addressed with due 
process and hopefully resolved naturally once a deve lopment commensurate with what Members had 
now in services was achieved in other key areas of the negotiations. 
242. On rules, the main part of the Draft Minister ial Text still lacked the elements that needed 
political guidance and decisions by Ministers in Hong Kong.  It should be improved so that its 
structure reflected the progress since July 2004, co vering the elements on which Ministers needed to 
focus in order to make it comparable with other nego tiating areas, in particular market access.  In this 
regard, paragraph 10 should be stre ngthened to include the key elements, such as the objectives of the 
rules negotiations, the timelines and work plan of this Group post Hong Kong. 
243. On development, since this was the Devel opment Round and development was such a wide-
ranging and complex issue, her delegation believed that all development-related issues should be 
presented in one concrete package, by consolidatin g all development paragraphs in the Ministerial 
Declaration, such as S&D, LDCs, and technical assist ance, hence bringing to the forefront a complete 
picture of what Members had achieved in terms of development so far during this Round of 
negotiations. 
244. Her delegation noted that work was still ongo ing regarding reaching agreement on the LDC 
Agreement-specific proposals, and recognized that if Members were able to agree on the substance of 
this annex, it would be a substantial contribu tion to the development dimension of the Round. 
245. On TRIPS, her delegation shared the concerns of  others on the absence of any reference to the 
paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration in  the draft Hong Kong text.  Those elements of the 
Work Programme in paragraph 52 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration which did not involve 
negotiations should be accorded high priority. 
246. The representative of Benin , on behalf of the co-sponsors of the sectoral initiative6 on cotton 
and the other African countries which were cotton producers or net exporters , said that, in July 2004, 
the General Council had given participants a clear mandate to address the issue of cotton ambitiously, 
expeditiously, and specifically.  In the light of the worrying economic and social situation in the 
African cotton-producing countries, it would be impor tant to take an explicit decision on cotton with 
full modalities, between the present and Hong Kong, and in line with the principle of "early harvest", 
independent of the results that might be obtained in agriculture. 
247. This had been requested by the co-spons ors of the sectoral initiative on cotton at 
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and at N'Djamena, Chad on 10 and 16 November respectively, and 
African Trade Ministers had confirmed this request  on 24 November at Arusha, Tanzania.  The ACP 
had recently also supported this position in Brussels. 
                                                      
6 Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. TN/C/M/22 
Page 36  
 
  248. These modalities were: 
- total elimination by 31 December 2005 of cotton export subsidies; 
- substantial reduction in domestic support measure s that distorted trade on cotton, according to 
the following calendar: 
• 80 per cent by 31 December 2006 
• following 10 per cent by 1 January 2008 
• following 10 per cent by 1 January 2009 
- elaboration of disciplines that forbade and a llowed control of conversion of non-authorized 
support into authorized support; 
- setting up of an Emergency Fund to address co tton revenue deficits resulting from cotton 
price depressions in the international market.  Such a fund was intended to exist in only the 
very short term.  When the market had stabili zed and cotton had reached its normal price, the 
fund would no longer be needed;  and, 
- mobilization of technical and financial assistance  for the development of the cotton sector in 
Africa. 
249. The countries for which he spoke strongly ur ged that these proposed modalities be reflected 
in the revised Draft Ministerial Text for Hong Kong. 
250. The representative of Jamaica
 said the draft text provided a basis for continuing the work and 
identifying issues to be presented to Ministers at  Hong Kong.  Jamaica wished to make comments on 
the draft text, including on its structure and the substantive issues covered in the draft. 
251. He wished to recall his delegation's concerns about the structure of the draft text as it had 
indicated at the informal Heads of Delegation me eting on 28 November, and requested that his 
delegation's statement at that meeting be re flected in the record of the present meeting.7  The draft text 
was clearly not an agreed text.  Given the divergences which existed and which were reflected 
particularly in some of the annexes, his delega tion had doubt about whether it would be possible to 
adopt it for forwarding to Ministers in Hong Kong.  Therefore his delegation thought it was important 
that consideration should to be given to the basi s on which the Draft Ministerial Text would be 
transmitted to Hong Kong. 
252. Regarding the status of the annexes, he wished  to draw attention to Annex C which contained 
the draft text on services.  Paragraph 9 of the Draft Ministerial Text on services gave the impression 
that the text had been agreed.  Th ere had also been no indication of the status of this annex and the 
absence of a qualifier to indicate the text had b een submitted on the Chair's own responsibility or on 
some other basis, reinforced the likelihood of th e services annex being perceived as agreed.  He said 
consideration had to be given to how the annexes would be treated and how the Ministerial text as a 
whole would be transmitted to Hong Kong.  Given th e situation, his delegati on believed that the text 
could be transmitted as a basis for Ministers work  in Hong Kong with the n ecessary caveats to ensure 
that the positions of Members were not prejudiced.  However, Jamaica was prepared to work with 
other Members to improve the text, including seeking to ensure that it gave a clearer focus for discussion by Ministers and for decisions to be taken at Hong Kong. 
253. On agriculture, Jamaica placed great importa nce on the issue of preference erosion and 
believed that the necessary decisions should be take n on this issue among others at Hong Kong.  On 
NAMA, he wished to reiterate that his delega tion had strong reservations about the range of 
coefficients mentioned in the draft.  His delega tion's view was that the range was too narrow and 
                                                     
 
7 See Annex II.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 37 
 
 
would not address its specific concerns.  The range of issues identified in paragraphs 34 and 35 as 
priority issues for Ministers to consider in Hong Kong was too narrow.  In his delegation's view,  
there were other issues which also deserved priority  attention from Ministers.  Jamaica was also of the 
view that critical issues relating to the devel opment dimension of the NAMA negotiations such as 
S&D treatment, less than full reciprocity and paragraph 8 flexibilities should be addressed 
expeditiously as these were issues of criti cal importance to developing countries. 
254. With respect to services, his delegation wished to see an explicit clarification of the link 
between paragraph 9 and Annex C indicating that the annex was not an agreed text and that 
divergences existed among Members on some of the elem ents contained in the annex.  His delegation 
had also noted from the Services Chair's report that some areas of concern to some Members included 
paragraphs 1, 2 and 7 of the anne x where differences still existed.  His delegation had noted that the 
contentious issues of numerical targets and indica tors had been deleted as they had not gained 
consensus from the membership. 
255. With regard to development, his delegation's vi ew was that sufficient attention had not been 
paid to the development component of the negotia tions, both in terms of the cross-cutting sectoral 
responses on S&D and in the context of the work of the CTD Special Session on S&D.  The mandate 
in paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration was to make S&D provisions more precise, effective and 
operational.  It was regrettable that despite the be st efforts of the Chairman, there had yet to be 
agreement on the 28 Agreement-specific proposal s that had gone to Cancún, much less on the 
contentious remaining proposals.  The LDC proposal s remained outstanding and had to be resolved 
without delay.  The development components of th e Round could not be satis fied without concrete 
progress in these and other areas.  If no progress was made before Hong Kong, then Ministers in 
Hong Kong should put in place corrective measures to fulfil the mandate on S&D. 
256. On trade facilitation, his delegation welcomed  the report adopted by the Negotiating Group 
on Trade Facilitation.  Further work to be pursued  by the Negotiating Group had to adhere to the 
relationship established in Annex B between capacity building and assuming of commitments. 
257. His delegation suggested that improvements that could be agreed on should be made to the 
draft text.  His delegation was open to the annex es that had not been agreed by Members being 
transmitted to the General Council a nd to Hong Kong, but that this s hould leave no doubt in the mind 
of Ministers as to the status of the text and of each of the annexes forwarded to them. 
258. Finally, he said Members should not forget that  development was at the centre of their work 
and they had to seek to give due attention to the development priorities of developing countries in all 
work leading to the conclusion of the Round. 
259. The representative of Singapore  said the Draft Ministerial Text was a good starting point for 
the negotiations and the Chairs' reports should be recommended as reference material for the 
Ministers.  The reports were useful because they gave a description of the convergences and 
divergences in the key issues.  It was his delegation's view that all the reports of the Chairs should be 
linked to and acknowledged in th e Declaration in some way. 
260. Members had recalibrated their expectations fo r Hong Kong because of the realities of where 
they were in the negotiating process, especially in agriculture.  Members had failed to reach full 
modalities not because they had ran out of time.  The r eality was that they were at a political impasse.  
An impasse of this kind required strong political will and vision, especially on the part of the major 
players, to move the process forward.  This w as what Members had to do in Hong Kong – move the 
process forward. 
261. It was therefore crucial for the Ministerial C onference to provide substantive guidance on the 
issues that continued to divide Members.  Members n eeded to keep up the momentum if they were to TN/C/M/22 
Page 38  
 
  secure their goal to complete the Round by end 2006 .  This meant that at Hong Kong, they needed 
decisions and directions, not debate and discussion.   All Members knew the questions but needed to 
work on the answers. 
262. Turning to the different negotiating areas and st arting with agriculture, which was the engine 
of the negotiations, he said that the reality was that  the level of ambition in agriculture was going to 
determine the level of ambition in the other areas.  In  that sense, his delegation had a strong interest in 
seeing a good outcome in agriculture.  His delegati on therefore urged develo ped countries to show 
leadership in these negotiations.  At the same time , his delegation believed that reaching an outcome 
in agriculture could be facilitated by pressing ahead  in other negotiating areas so that Members could 
have a balanced overall package. 
263. A key area where Members should push ahead in Hong Kong was services, where the 
detailed text had provided the much needed guida nce to the negotiations in 2006.  Unlike the 
modalities-based negotiations such as agriculture  and NAMA, services was a time-consuming and 
complex process.  Though not perfect, the services text and Annex broadly reflected the interests and concerns of Members.  It struck a fine and delicate balance.  Members had to be careful not to 
undermine the balance in the services package.  Th e text did not prejudice anyone’s position in the 
services negotiations.  Using the example of the qualitative/modal parameters, he said these were 
couched in best endeavour language .  The plurilateral approach only offered a procedural framework 
for the negotiations.  In short, Member s should work to preserve this text. 
264. On NAMA, his delegation commended the Chair's e fforts in tabling a comprehensive report.  
The three issues that the Chair had raised in hi s final remarks were the immediate roadblocks 
Members faced.  The three elements of formul a, flexibilities and treatment of unbound tariffs, 
together with the sectoral component, collectively determined the ambition for NAMA in the Round.  
His delegation could not help but express disappointme nt about the lack of purpose and direction in 
the Draft Ministerial Text on NAMA.  It was not necessary to gather 148 Ministers in one location to decide on a deadline for establishment of modalitie s and submission of draft schedules.  Members 
needed to make some progress sin ce the July 2004 Framework.  For his delegation, it was imperative 
that Members decided on the structure of the formula at Hong Kong.  Members needed such a 
decision to move ahead post-Hong Kong. 
265. On rules, the Negotiating Group Chair had put t ogether a rather delicately balanced package 
in the form of Annex D.  There was, however, an optical imbalance in the Draft Ministerial Text.  As 
a drafting suggestion, his delegation proposed that some paragraphs, such as the importance of the 
rules negotiations and the deadlines for the Group's work , should be shifted to the main text to give 
the rules negotiations more focus. 
266. Development was the raison d'être  of the Doha Round.  His delegation supported a credible 
package that would provide meaningful benefits  for LDCs.  At Hong Kong, Members needed an 
interim outcome ahead of the completion of the Round.  They needed to signal to the LDCs that they 
were serious about helping them integrate into th e multilateral trading system.  The real development 
benefits for developing countries would come  from a meaningful increase in market access 
opportunities, in both developed a nd developing countries markets. 
267. The work done on trade facilitation would signifi cantly complement and contribute to the 
development gains that would arise from liberali zation in the three market access issues.  The 
Negotiating Group Chairman had done an outstandi ng job in delivering a negotiated text, with 
recommendations that were balanced with respect to  all aspects of the mandate on trade facilitation.  
They provided a clear direction to the work of the Negotiating Group in 2006.  His delegation supported the adoption of these r ecommendations at Hong Kong.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 39 
 
 
268. Members had agreed to recalibrate the ambiti on for Hong Kong but they had not agreed to 
recalibrate ambition for the Round.  Delegations n eeded Ministers to provide sufficient guidance for 
their work in 2006.  Tempting as it might be, Members should not opt for the easy way out at Hong Kong and backload all the tough decisions to 2006. 
269. The representative of South Africa
 requested that his delegation's statement, made also on 
behalf of Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Pakistan, the Philippines and the Bolivarian 
Republic of Venezuela , at the 55th Session of the Committee on Trade and Development held on 23 
November on the development content of the Doha Round be reflected in the records of the present 
meeting.8 
270. Speaking on behalf of South Africa , he said there was an explicit clarification in the chapeau 
of the Draft Ministerial Text that Annex C w as not agreed and was on the Services Chair's own 
responsibility as he had clearly explained earlier in the meeting. 
271. The representative of Uruguay  said the present meeting of the TNC represented a moment of 
great responsibility with respect to the Ministerial C onference.  It would allow Members to establish a 
platform to make Hong Kong a true negotiating occasion.  Although Hong Kong would not lead to 
full modalities in agriculture and NAMA, delegations should come b ack with a work plan which 
would allow them to say that ambitions for the end of the Round had not been recalibrated.  In this 
respect, he wished to underline the importance of ma intaining the Chairs' reports, each one of which 
was useful work that had been requested by the TNC Chairman.  These reports contributed to a clear 
overview of the state of play. 
272. In agriculture, it was clear that the results obtai ned in the latest phase of the negotiations had 
been disappointing, in particular on the market acce ss pillar.  The lack of flexibility that had been 
demonstrated by some Members showed that much work remained before barriers that allowed the 
use of trade-distorting support could be eliminated.  The small amount of progress made had been adequately reflected in the Chair's report, including issues on which convergence was small or 
nonexistent.  In the light of its realism and balan ce, this report should not be reopened, but rather 
transmitted as it was in an annex to the Minister ial text, because it represented a true account of the 
state of play in the negotiations.  It would contribute to the most important task at Hong Kong – the clear and precise definition of the basis on which th e agriculture negotiations would continue after 
Hong Kong.  This was essential if the ne gotiations were to conclude in 2006. 
273. In NAMA, his delegation supported with the Chair's report because it was factual, balanced, 
pragmatic and complete.  It reflected the state of pl ay in the work of the Negotiating Group, as well as 
the convergence and divergences.  It was thus a usef ul basis for future work, and should similarly be 
part of the Ministerial text without being reopened.   His delegation shared the Chair's evaluation in 
paragraph 35, where the priorities for Ministers in Hong Kong had been identified.  If these three key 
issues were not resolved, it would not be possi ble to take up the other outstanding issues. 
274. Turning to development, he said that for deve loping countries such as his, development meant 
improved market access, which had to include both their offensive and defensive interests in a non-
discriminatory way.  Any early harvest in deve lopment should benefit all developing countries. 
275. On services, his delegation wished to reiterate its  view that the agreed work programme was a 
good basis for continuing the negotiations.  The wo rk programme should ensure an appropriately 
balanced approach between the rule-making and market access aspects of the negotiations, which 
should be preserved by avoiding the introduction of new elements, in pa rticular those which were not 
compatible with the provisions of the GATS and the agreed modalities for the negotiations. 
                                                     
 
8 See Annex III. TN/C/M/22 
Page 40  
 
  276. The representative of Moldova
, also on behalf of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic , said that 
the countries for which he spoke, which he termed small low-income economies in transition recently 
acceded to the WTO, would not reiterate their very  substantive and pressing concerns in the Round 
and in the context of the Draft Ministerial Text.  Th ese had been clearly described  in their statement at 
the informal Heads of Delegation meeting on 28 No vember, which he requested be reflected in the 
record of the present meeting.9 
277. Nevertheless, he wished to emphasize their high expectations that the concerns of small low-
income countries in transition would be eventually  considered in a positive and unbiased spirit in and 
be properly reflected in the Ministerial te xt like the positions of other Members. 
278. Finally, he said that their group of countries supported the proposal by China regarding the 
introduction into the Ministerial text of a conc rete paragraph in recognition of the extensive 
commitments made by recently-acceded Members during their accessions and to reaffirm the commitment to effectively address their particular concerns through specific flexibility provisions. 
279. The representative of Paraguay
 said that the Chairman and negotiating groups Chairs had 
made their best efforts, but progress depended on Members.  It was the major players who were 
responsible for the lack of progress.  Other sma ller economies, such as his country and those which 
were land-locked developing countries, whose delega tions were not invited to small group meetings, 
would be the most affected by the decisions which would be taken. 
280. At present, only the Conference itself remained, and it was essential to maintain the texts 
which had been put forward, in particular on the key issues.  The discussions at the Conference should 
be prioritized.  The large majority of Members agreed  that agriculture should come first, and that only 
a solution in this area would make it possible to r esolve the other issues and achieve the balance set 
out under the Doha mandate, and to bring the strand s together under the Single Undertaking.  For 
these reasons, his delegation believed that seeking an appropriate balance from the start was just a pretext for not respecting the Doha mandate on ag riculture.  His delegation wondered if the major 
economies, who were the most prosperous, were be ing pressured by their industries to obtain tariff 
reductions by developing countries.  Not at all.  On the contrary, they were being pressured to 
maintain an unjust situation which was favourable to  a handful of prosperous agricultural producers.  
There existed no distortions in the markets for industrial products caused by developing countries, but immoral measures which damaged mi llions of farmers in the poorest countries did exist.  His 
delegation urged a solution to be found to this tragic  situation.  If the Members that were responsible 
for this situation cooperated with the Chairman, a ll the other problems would be solved – this was the 
reality. 
281. The representative of Trinidad and Tobago
 said that the informal Heads of Delegation 
meeting on 28 November had provided a useful forum in which all Members could express their 
views on the draft text.  Her delegation hoped that th e present meeting, as well  as that of the General 
Council, would provide the requisite direction to ensure that Ministers would be presented with a 
substantial document in Hong Kong as a basis for their discussions. 
282. Her delegation believed that Ministers would need  to be provided with sufficient information 
on the state of play in the negotiations, including a clear indication of the areas of convergence and 
divergence for the purpose of informing their deliber ations.  This, in her delegation's view, would 
ensure that Ministers were in a position to pr ovide the detailed guidance which was required from 
them in order to achieve the development objectiv es Members had agreed to in Doha and a successful 
conclusion of the Doha Development Round. 
                                                      
9 See Annex II.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 41 
 
 
283. However, her delegation had noted that the curre nt draft text contained no clear format on the 
status of the annexes.  It was also concerned that the reports which had been submitted by the 
Chairpersons on their own responsibility in some areas were clearly deficient in addressing the concerns of a significant portion of the membership. 
284. In this regard, Trinidad and Tobago wished to place on record its view with respect to the 
following key areas.  On agriculture, her delegati on's view was that any formula adopted should 
recognize that there was need to permit a suffici ent amount of tariff overhang for small developing 
countries in order to provide contingent protection in the event of import surges or depressed import 
prices.  Therefore, the issues of Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism were of critical 
importance in ensuring that countries such as Trinidad  and Tobago continued to engage in agricultural 
production.  Her delegation therefore endorsed the work undertaken by the G33 in ensuring the 
maintenance of the July 2004 Framework’s commi tment on Special Products and Special Safeguard 
Mechanism and the development of provisions that would ensure their incorporation into any final 
modalities to be agreed upon, as distinct instrume nts for developing countries.  Her delegation also 
commended the Agriculture Chairman for incorporating these issues into the text and it expected that 
they would be afforded the requisite level of pr ominence in any text that was to be submitted to 
Ministers in Hong Kong. 
285. In NAMA, her delegation commended the Chai r on his report and noted his attempt to 
identify areas of convergence and divergence.  Howe ver, in some key areas of the report, greater 
weight had been given to the views of some while  the concerns of a considerable segment of the 
membership had been omitted.  Trinidad and Toba go regretted the inclusion of precise figures for 
what was termed the limited range of coefficien ts as no similar figures had been provided for the 
higher coefficients that some Members had clearly i ndicated they required.  This in her delegation's 
view provided an unbalanced scenario and would not permit Ministers to negotiate from truly 
informed positions. 
286.  With respect to paragraph 8 flexibilities, her delegation maintained that these had been 
negotiated in good faith and remained sacrosanct.  A re-interpretation of the July 2004 Framework to 
trade off these flexibilities for higher coefficients w as a non-starter in his delegation’s view.  While 
her delegation agreed that the formula, flex ibilities and unbound tariffs were key areas in the 
negotiations, they were not the only areas on which Ministers should be requested to provide guidance 
since there were other elements that were of im portance to critical segments of the membership.  
Unless issues such as less than full reciprocity, small and vulnerable economies and non-reciprocal 
preferences were given just attention, Trinidad and Tobago remained skeptical that Ministers would 
be able to provide meaningful guidance in H ong Kong or reach outcomes acceptable to all. 
287. On long standing preferences which was a critic al issue in both agriculture and NAMA, 
Trinidad and Tobago had always acknowledged that  erosion would occur as a result of increasing 
multilateral liberalization and, on the other hand, had noted the importance that preferential schemes 
had played in contributing to the viability and development of the recipients’ economies.  Her 
delegation maintained that this matter was a trad e issue, and a solution which would provide for the 
necessary trade-related adjustments had to be found in the WTO. 
288. Trinidad and Tobago attached great importance to the services negotiations and believed that 
the finalization of the negotiations in market access should advance in tandem with the rules 
negotiations in the area of domestic regulation and emergency safeguard mechanisms.  Annex C 
should not be presented as a consensus text.  Her de legation believed that it was necessary to establish 
new guidelines for the submission of outstanding offe rs by Members namely, first quarter of 2006 for 
initial offers and June 2006 for revised offers. 
289. Trinidad and Tobago continued to be concer ned that the general level of ambition for 
domestic regulation continued to la g behind those of market access.  The application of principles TN/C/M/22 
Page 42  
 
  related to domestic regulation was considered to be necessary to ensure that access could be realized 
from the market openings that had been committed.   Trinidad and Tobago urged that work should 
continue in this area.  Her delegation viewed  the development of an Emergency Safeguard 
Mechanism as an incentive for developing and sm all countries to make additional market access 
commitments and urged progress in this area. 
290. In the area of TRIPS, Trinidad and Tobago s upported an extension of the moratorium and the 
continuation of the work in the TRIPS Counc il on the scope and modalities for the use of non-
violation and situation complaints under the TRIPS Agreement. 
291. Finally, she said that for Trinidad and Tobago,  development lay at the heart of the DDA.  
Therefore, S&D treatment was the thread that had to link all the negotiating areas.  Her delegation 
urged its partners to adopt S&D proposals that we re meaningful, targeted, operational and binding.  
The failure thus far to reach any agreement on th e significant number of proposals tabled to date, 
including those from LDCs gave a hollow ring to the notion that the Doha Round was development-
oriented. 
292. As Members sought to lock in concessions on issues that were on the table, his delegation 
wished to recall that there was a range of issues that were important to small developing economies 
and that these had to be addressed in keeping with  the paragraph 35 mandate of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration.  Her delegation theref ore urged all Members to ensure th at Ministers were provided with 
the requisite impetus in this area for developing operational guidelines for the implementation of S&D 
provisions. 
293. The representative of Kenya
 associated his delegation with th e statements by the Philippines 
on behalf of the G33 and Egypt on behalf of the African Group.  He  said the Doha mandate had called 
for the pursuit of multilateral negotiations to signifi cantly reduce the use of trade distorting policies 
and to bolster development.  The Round had been  labelled the DDA and the challenge confronting 
Members was to agree to a deal that delivered on development.  The choice that Members had made 
in Doha to promote development through the WTO meant that they had agreed to go beyond the 
traditional market access approach to development.  Therefore, relying on reciprocal bargaining that 
characterized the negotiations was not sufficient.  Instead, efforts were need ed to ensure that the 
disciplines of the WTO would assist in reducing poverty around the world and more so in Africa.  The African Trade Ministers had given a clear political di rection in the negotiations in manner sensitive to 
the development needs of Africa and which promoted  the agricultural and industrial development of 
their economies. 
294. Kenya had raised a number of issues at th e Heads of Delegations meeting on 28 November 
and he requested that his delegation's statement on that occasion be reflected in the records of the 
present meeting.
10 
295. Turning to the reports by the Chairs, he said that on agriculture his delegation agreed that 
Hong Kong should be used to advance the negotiations, but all issues needed to be given equal 
attention to enable Ministers make political decisi ons and provide guidance.  Therefore, more focus 
should be given to development issues so that the outcome reflected the objectives set in Doha. 
296. On NAMA, his delegation had noted the Chair's oral report including the recommendation 
that Ministers in Hong Kong should focus on three elements.  His delegation was surprised that some 
issues inextricably related to the formula had been  left out, and that what was not related to the 
formula had been included, which it hoped was just an omission. 
                                                      
10  See Annex II.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 43 
 
 
297. On S&D, his delegation was also surprised th at the Chair had again omitted any mention of 
the Category III proposals and how they should be dealt with post Hong Kong.  The technicalities of 
the issues raised in th e proposals on Category II and Category III should not be used as reasons to 
recommend that work on these proposals remained in the relevant WTO bodies.  He said that 
delegations needed to reflect on why the CTD Speci al Session had been established.  His delegation 
supported the view expressed by Egypt that the wo rk on S&D should all be in the CTD Special 
Session so that Members could have a focu sed discussion and guarantee positive results. 
298. Regarding the issue of reopening the reports by the Chairs, he recalled that, when establishing 
the TNC in 2002, Members had agreed that "In their regular reporting to overseeing bodies, 
Chairpersons should reflect consensus,  or where this is not possible, different positions on the issues."  
Most of the present reports had not meet that conditi on and therefore his delegation did not agree that 
the reports should not be reopened. 
299. The representative of Argentina  said that with Hong Kong only a few days away, efforts 
should be made to achieve the highest possible leve l of convergence because Ministers could not take 
up and make decisions on all the questions that delega tions in Geneva had not been able to resolve. 
300. His delegation saw as positive the progress that w as reflected in some of the annexes to the 
Draft Ministerial Text, such as in trade facilitation and services.  His delegation hoped that the level of 
ambition in those two areas would be matched in agriculture at Hong Kong.  In this respect, his 
delegation was ready to continue showing its w illingness to negotiate in a context which was 
constructive, balanced and global.  It wished to reiterate its commitment to trying to achieve an 
ambitious result which was compatible with the priority which had been  accorded in the Doha 
Declaration to the pre-eminence of the development dimension, as recalled in the document 
distributed by a number of delegations, including his, at the most recent meeting of the CTD. 
301. His delegation wished to comment on the Chairs reports and the Draft Ministerial Text.  With 
regard to paragraphs 3 to 38 of th e draft text, he said that while so me paragraphs c ould be improved, 
his delegation could see no problems in general.  However, certain outstanding questions on 
paragraph 28 and linked to Annex F were the subject of ongoing co nsultations, which should lead to a 
higher level of convergence. 
302. On agriculture, he said the Chair's report describ ed the situation correctly, without reflecting 
all the different positions on each issue, which would have required many more pages.  Without 
prejudice to this, his delegation understood that  some issues should be given prominence.  
Consequently, the following remarks were not in  any sense a criticism of the report, which was 
factual and which his delegation valued. 
303. The figures on domestic support appeared in the body of the report, while those on market 
access were in a footnote, which showed the scant pr ogress in this pillar.  On domestic support, the 
report had no reference at all to limits by product, such as on additional disciplines in the Blue Box, given that such limits on the Amber Box would otherw ise lose their relevancy.  If there was no limit 
by product, it would not be possible to begin an alysing the reductions for some products, such as 
cotton. 
304. On export subsidies, specifically in relation to export credits, export credit guarantees and 
insurance programmes, while the list of differen ces was not exhaustive, it seemed to suggest the 
rejection of proposals which tended to create a pres umption in favour of these operations when they 
met the conditions.  At the same level were extran eous ideas on the creation of new bindings of export 
subsidies for export credits. 
305. With respect to market access, there was uncerta inty on the formalization of the process of 
conversion to and verification of ad valorem  equivalents.  The report only set out a methodology.  His TN/C/M/22 
Page 44  
 
  delegation believed that although this was a start,  it was not enough, and this issue deserved more 
attention. 
306. On the Special Safeguard Mechanism, it would be advisable to take into account that some 
divergences existed, such as whether Special Products  and the Mechanism were mutually exclusive, 
whether the Mechanism, and not its application, woul d be permanent or temporary, and tradekeeping.  
With regard to the special safeguard under Artic le 5 of the Agreement, it was not a question of 
knowing if it would be eliminated because this was already resolved in paragraph 9 of that Article, 
only the date on which this would occur was missing. 
307. On NAMA, his delegation appreciated the conver gence noted by the Chairman in his report 
on issues such as product coverage, ad valorem  equivalents, the participation of LDCs and the 
possibilities for further progress on the issue of unbo und tariffs and NTBs.  Ho wever, it believed that 
certain of the Chairman's affirmations did not corr espond to the real situation in the discussions on 
some issues in the Negotiating Group.  First, his delegation did not agree with the Chairman's evaluation on what was ultimately most important -–  the level of the coefficient, which his delegation 
noted was in the singular in paragraph 7 of the report.  The structure of the formula, in particular in a 
formula such as that presented by Argentina, Braz il and India in document TN/MA/W/54, could have 
an important role in ensuring compliance with the mandate that reduction commitments should not 
involve full reciprocity.  In addition, this persona l evaluation by the Chairman could not mean that 
one of the proposals on the formula which were on the table had been rejected.  Nonetheless, 
paragraph 9 spoke about only one type of formula. 
308. Furthermore, drawing conclusions of such im portance for all Members, such as on ranges of 
coefficients, on the basis of closed consultations was not his delegation's idea of an inclusive and 
transparent process.  Not only did his delegation belie ve that the ranges of numbers were wider than 
those set out in the report, but it also considered that the mention of a level of ambition for this 
negotiation isolated from what was happening in the ot hers was incompatible with the concept of the 
single undertaking and with the idea, which had b een reiterated on numerous occasions, that the tariff 
reduction for non-agricultural products had to be equivalent to that for agricultural products. 
309. His delegation took note of the progress recorded in the report on sectoral agreements.  It 
noted with interest that the voluntary character of  these initiatives had not affected their development 
– on the contrary, the reaffirmation of such a ch aracter seemed, according to the report, to have 
allowed an important proliferation of initiatives in a wide number of sectors. 
310. With regard to the Chairman's  Final Remarks, his delegation agreed that Members were far 
away from achieving full modalities for NAMA, a nd it reiterated its commitment to continuing to 
work towards this objective.  However, it believed that  for Ministers to perform decisively in this area 
would first require movement in other areas more relevant to achieving the development objective of 
this Round.  In this connection, his delegation wi shed to draw attention to a communication presented 
by a group of developing countries, including Argentina, in the CTD.
11 
311. Finally, his delegation believed that paragr aph 35 exceeded the mandate given to the 
Negotiating Group Chairman with respect to the scope of his report.  In addition, as he had already 
stated, it did not appear possible, at the present and independently from the other areas of negotiations, to narrow the supposed range of numbers.  On the flexibilities, the only issue to resolve 
was the numbers in brackets, which were considered  to be the indispensable minimum to fulfil the 
Doha mandate for S&D treatment and, in particular, the development objective of the Round. 
                                                     
 
11 See Annex III.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 45 
 
 
312. On services, his delegation noted with interest that the text proposed for adoption by 
Ministers had taken into account on ly those elements which, due to  their compatibility with the GATS 
and the guidelines for the negotiations, had a real possibility of being approved at the Ministerial 
Conference.  It also noted that paragraphs 8 a nd 9 of the Chairman's report described the discussion 
about numerical targets, and wished to reiterate its opposition to any provision which could reduce the 
space for the flexibility which developing countries ha d in the services agreement.  In the same 
manner, his delegation believed that it was not possible to increase the prescriptiveness of the 
qualitative objectives in Annex A of the report.  Any attempt in this direction would badly affect the 
present balance in the text, and seriously put into doubt its compatibility with the Agreement and the 
guidelines for the negotiations. 
313. With regards to Annex B on sectoral and modal objectives as identified by Members, his 
delegation remained unconvinced of the suitability of re ferring to them in the Ministerial Declaration.  
It believed that the usefulness of them as a guide for the negotiations was not increased by such a 
reference, but nor would it be reduced if it we re taken out.  This document was non-exhaustive and 
not of a legal nature, and his delegation wished to  avoid unnecessary confusion about its nature when 
it was quoted in a decision by Ministers. 
314. As was suggested in the Annex, his delegation would continue to participate actively in the 
negotiations on GATS rules.  With respect to domes tic regulation, it would continue to participate 
with a view to obtaining a resu lt in accordance with the mandate of Article VI and taking special 
account of the defence of the right of Members, in particular developing countries, to regulate the 
delivery of services in their territories and to est ablish new legislation in order to meet domestic 
policy objectives. 
315. His delegation trusted that the provisions of paragraph 7 of the Annex would lead to a 
prioritization of Members' interests which would allow rational participation in the request-offer 
process.  It hoped that the intensification of t echnical cooperation activities would facilitate the active 
participation of Members with less resources.  It also hoped that progress in the agriculture 
negotiations would allow it to go along with the leve l of detail in the Annex and, consequently, the 
level of ambition that the revised offers would have. 
316. Turning to rules, he said that his delegation be lieved that paragraph 10 of the draft text and 
the text presented by the Negotiating Group Chairman  in Annex D were adequate and that the latter 
reflected a delicate balance between the different pos itions in this negotiation.  In particular, his 
delegation believed that para graph 8 on fisheries subsidies had a particular relevance, since this issue 
required more attention after Hong Kong with the need  to resolve the scope and structure of the future 
discipline, which should be effective and exacting. 
317. On trade facilitation, he said th at in relation to paragraph 15 of  the draft text, his delegation 
agreed with the recommendations which would be a dopted by Ministers in Hong Kong.  However, he 
wished to point out that his delegation accorded particular importance to the recommendation in 
paragraph 7 of the Chairman's re port in Annex E that after the Ministerial Conference the Negotiating 
Group should focus with more intensity and depth on delineating S&D provisions, in accordance with 
what had been set out in Annex D of the July 2004 Decision.  This would have particular importance 
in defining the scope and duration of future commitments. 
318. On trade and environment, he wished to take up some aspects related to the text on this issue 
in the Draft Ministerial Text, in accordance with the mandate in paragraph 31 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration and in the context of the report s ubmitted to the TNC in document TN/TE/14.  His 
delegation appreciated and supported the efforts of the Chairman of the Special Session, and believed 
that paragraphs 12 and 13 of the report were an  adequate reflection of the work thus far. TN/C/M/22 
Page 46  
 
  319. It was clear from the report that substantiv e discussions had taken place on paragraph 31(i) – 
the relationship between specific trade obligations  and the WTO Agreements.  In his delegation's 
opinion, this examination had not completely demonstrated that it was necessary to modify the existing WTO rules in order to achieve mutual support between trade and environment.  On the 
contrary, his delegation believed that the existi ng disciplines gave guarantees that protectionist 
intentions could not hide behind the argument of envi ronmental protection.  It was for this reason that 
it believed that the environmental legal system a nd the WTO constituted two regimes with the same 
hierarchy whose balance should be preserved.  In th is context, what the Chairman had stated in 
paragraph 8 of his report – "Members will have to ta ke stock of their discussions to date and engage 
in substantive work, with the objective of reachi ng a desirable outcome and fulfilling the mandate" – 
should be inscribed in the mandate of paragraph 31(i) of the Doha Declaration, which clearly 
indicated that the negotiations should not prejudge their outcome. 
320.  With respect to paragraph 14 of the Draft Ministerial text, concerning the negotiations on 
environmental goods and services, there existed two formulations in brackets:  the first required 
continuing the work by developing a common understanding of the different approaches to the 
negotiations; and the second involved completing the id entification work by a date in 2006 to be 
determined.  His delegation firmly supported the fi rst option, especially as achieving an agreement on 
the approach to use for the identification of envi ronmental goods had been converted into an essential 
condition for progress. 
321. It was clear from the Chairman's report, in pa ragraphs 16 and 17, that there existed different 
approaches to the identification of environmental g oods, such as lists or approaches by project.  The 
aptitude of each one should be assessed in relation to the final objective of the negotiations, which 
was to produce tangible results for trade, environmen t and development.  His delegation believed that 
the "lists" approach had not proved to be sufficient in this regard per se .  From most of the discussions 
held, serious doubts had emerged about whether this a pproach took fully into account the interests of 
developing countries.  For this reason, his delega tion had proposed an integrated approach which 
combined elements of the lists approach and the ap proach by projects, which, if adopted, could help 
overcome the remaining differe nces in this negotiation. 
322. Turning to the Agreement-specific S&D proposals,  in particular the five proposals by the 
LDCs contained in Annex F, he said his delegati on believed that delegati ons should continue to 
examine them with a view to trying to reach a significant level of convergence before Hong Kong.  
With regard to the Category II proposals whic h had been sent to other WTO bodies who had to 
formulate recommendations with a view to the ad option of a decision no later than July 2005, his 
delegation regretted that no progress had been made.  One might wonder whether it would be better to 
take them back to the CTD Speci al Session or leave them in the other bodies.  This was a question 
which could be decided in Hong K ong.  His delegation was flexible on the solution chosen.  However, 
it believed that the resolution of the Category II propo sals was more linked to their nature than to the 
form.  If political will existed to reach agreement, th is would appear just as much in the CTD Special 
Session as in the other bodies. 
323. From his statement, it could be seen that a clear procedure should be established to ensure that 
the Annexes went to the Ministers, and his delega tion was looking to the Chairman for clarification on 
this point. 
324. The representative of Norway
 associated his delegation with the statement by Switzerland on 
behalf of the G10.  He thanked the Chairman, the Chair of the General Council and the Chairs of the 
Negotiating Groups for their efforts in a genuinely bottom up process.  As they had promised, they 
had not sprung any surprises on Members.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 47 
 
 
325. The Draft Ministerial Text was not the docum ent his delegation woul d have preferred for 
Hong Kong, but it represented a safety net.  His delegation would have pr eferred an ambitious 
document with more substantive deci sions being taken at the Ministerial Conference.  But, it reflected 
the situation as it was – the recalibration of expecta tions that Members had all agreed to.  It was 
important to his delegation that in areas such as services, rules and trade facilitation there were now 
texts that made it possible for these areas to catc h up with where Members were in substance on 
agriculture and NAMA. 
326. His delegation was ready to participate in order for Hong Kong to move the process forward 
across all areas of the negotiations in a balanced manner.  Hong Kong should serve as a stepping stone 
for the next phase of the negotiations, which would have to be adoption of full modalities as soon as 
realistically possible in 2006.  Members had to ma ke use of this present window of opportunity to 
finalize the DDA and to make clear plans for the post Hong Kong phase. 
327. Development was at the core of the DDA and all Members had agreed to this.  His delegation 
realized that the major development gains would be in the form of incr eased market access through 
the results in agriculture, NAMA and services.  It w as the hope of his delegation that Members would 
be able to capitalize on the very good progress so far,  and make an early harvest of at least the LDC 
Agreement-specific proposals at the Hong Kong Minist erial Conference.  His delegation was pleased 
to note the agreement on the extension of the tran sition period for LDCs under the TRIPS Agreement.  
It also envisaged adding the 28 other proposals tenta tively agreed in Cancún to make the harvest in 
Hong Kong even greater.  His delegation also hoped th at a decision could finally be made on TRIPS 
and Public Health. 
328. As to the individual elements, the reports from the Chairs of agriculture and NAMA described 
the situation as it was.  His delegation was willi ng to capture those elements where there was 
consensus or sufficient convergence to reach agreement.  However, Members had to remember that 
what they were aiming for was not full modalities. 
329. On agriculture, he wished to reiterate his c ountry's need for flexibility in the formula for 
market access, a sufficient number of sensitive products and its opposition to the tariff cap.  The 
different situations and tariff structures of indi vidual countries would have to be taken into account. 
330. On NAMA, his delegation believed it was very important that the quantitative aspects of the 
formula, the flexibilities in paragraph 8 and the tr eatment of unbound tariff s were treated in an 
integrated way. 
331. Regarding services, Members needed to determin e how to intensify the negotiations with the 
aim of bringing them to substantive conclusions within the limited time remaining.  The text in Annex 
C would serve as a good basis for Ministers' discussions in Hong Kong from which they could draw the necessary guidance for further negotiations. 
332. His delegation saw a clear need to highlight the rules negotiations at the political level in 
Hong Kong and would have wished to see a more amb itious text both in the draft Declaration as well 
as in Annex D.  At this stage, his delegation woul d refrain from insisting on such a demand and rather 
concentrate its efforts on achieving clear guidance fro m Ministers at Hong Kong for further intensive 
negotiations in rules. 
333. On trade facilitation, his delegation noted with sat isfaction that Annex E was an agreed text.  
This augured well for the future process of negotiations. 
334. As to the post Hong Kong process, Members had to seriously consider how to advance the 
negotiations across the board.  The stage might have  now been reached when Members had to look at 
all the core areas in an integrated manner. TN/C/M/22 
Page 48  
 
  335. The representative of Bangladesh
 requested that his delegation's statement at the informal 
meeting of Heads of Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present 
meeting.12 
336. The representative of Ecuador  requested that her delegation' s statement at the informal 
meeting of Heads of Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present 
meeting.13  Without prejudice to any further observations her delegation might make later, she wished 
to make a few points on the Draft Ministerial Text .  First, her delegation believed that the text on 
S&D treatment was unbalanced and it urged that a bala nce be found that incorporated all developing 
countries.  Second, for Ecuador development cam e about through better market access.  Other 
development issues which were important for her count ry were the need to find a way to incorporate 
into the TRIPS Agreement the provisions of the CBD on disclosure of origin in the granting of 
patents, and the immediate implem entation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration on 
TRIPS and Public Health. 
337. Third, the recognition of the special situati on of recently-acceded Members which had made 
extensive market access commitments on accession should be taken into account in all areas of the 
negotiations.  The word "all" should be included in th e last line of paragraph 8.  Fourth, on paragraph 
28, her delegation believed that descriptions of spec ific international meeti ngs should be removed, 
and if this was not the case, it would request the incorporation of pronouncem ents made by Presidents 
or Ministers on points of interest to her country  or regional group in other fora on the multilateral 
negotiations. 
338. Fifth, on the issue of coherence, her delega tion had much doubt about the affirmation in the 
first sentence of paragraph 36, in particular the reference that a successful conclusion to the Doha 
Round in areas of interest to her country wo uld promote stronger growth and sustainable 
development.  Many rounds of negotiation had take n place and the promised benefits for developing 
countries had yet to be seen.  Nonetheless, her delegation supported the second sentence, since it was 
necessary that multilateral trade libera lization be based on rules, and sh e wished to underline rules, as 
a complement to the international financial initia tives on Official Development Assistance and debt 
relief. 
339. Sixth, Annexes A and B should remain part of the Draft Ministerial Text since, while they did 
not prejudge Members' positions, they presented in an objective manner the situation in the 
negotiations on agriculture and NAMA.  In this respect, her delegation supported the statement by 
Brazil.  Finally, on NAMA, and as requested by a large number of delegations  and reflected in the 
Negotiating Group Chairman's report, it was a priority to take up the issues of formula, flexibilities 
and binding so that other elements of the modalities could then be taken up.  Otherwise, there would 
be a risk of totally reopening the negotiation. 
340. She wished to reiterate her delegation's stat ement at the informal Heads of Delegations 
meeting that it was concerned that the principle of most favoured nation and the objective of trade 
liberalization could be weakened by proposals which limited the process in order to protect preference 
margins for products that were of export interest to  other developing countries, such as in the case of 
her country, tropical products and alternatives, among other products and sectors.  Her delegation 
hoped that solutions to the problem of preference erosion would be approached through non-trade 
avenues, which was why it was prepared to suppor t innovatory proposals through programmes such as 
Aid for Trade, as well as the work the Secretariat was undertaking. 
                                                      
12  See Annex II. 
13  See Annex II.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 49 
 
 
341. The representative of Chile  recalled that Hong Kong was a negotiating meeting and his 
delegation supported the statements on agriculture  and NAMA by Mexico, on services by Singapore, 
and on rules by Hong Kong, China and Norway.  With regard to the idea that the Annexes to the Draft 
Ministerial Text should not be ta ken to Hong Kong, his delegation looked to the Chairmen of the 
TNC and the General Council to ensure that the substance which was on the table would go to the 
Conference so that Ministers could see it. 
342. Chile supported paragraphs 7 to 9 of the servi ces text as they were and believed that this 
section should be linked to Annex C.  If the Annex we re to disappear, all elements therein should be 
incorporated into the Draft Ministerial Text.  Ministers should focus on the outstanding issues, as 
outlined by Chair in his report, including numer ical targets, the sectoral and modal objectives 
identified in the Annex, level of prescriptiven ess and specificity in paragraph 1 on objectives and 
paragraph 7 on plur ilateral negotiations. 
343. Regarding the Services Annex, Chile supported the language in pa ragraph 1 as it was.  It was 
best-endeavour language and strived to ensure a nd provide the needed guidance for capitals in 
preparation of revised offers.  This paragraph cap tured the correct balance among the modes of supply 
and the need to pay special attention to the modes of  export interest to developing countries – mode 4.  
Chile also supported paragraph 2 and the mention of th e Attachment in a footnote.  On paragraph 7, it 
was his delegation's view that this paragraph, wh ich provided for an intensified request-offer process, 
was in accordance with the GATS and the Negotiating Guidelines.  The langua ge utilized was best-
endeavour language and there was no need for modi fications.  His delegati on would have problems 
with the introduction of terms such as critical mass or with the watering down of the text through use 
of the words "may" or "should". 
344. Chile also supported paragraph 10 as it was, but believed it could be improved upon by 
including the phrase "to enhance their ability to" before  the words "fully engage".  In paragraph 11, 
timelines should be set for presentation of outsta nding initial and revised offers, as well as flexible 
ones for plurilateral requests.  In paragraph 12 it was very important to reaffirm the role of the Special 
Session as the monitoring body of overall negotiating process. 
345. Regarding Annex F on S&D, Chile  supported paragraphs 17 to 18.  In paragraph 19, it wished 
to reinforce the monitoring role of the Committe e on Trade and Development in Special Session in 
overseeing the work done on Category II proposals by inserting in the last sentence the words "to 
work in close coordination with these bodies in their efforts and to ensure th at that this work is 
completed on time".  In paragraph 20, the priori ty should be LDC and African Group proposals. 
346. Chile could also support either version of prop osals 23, 38 and 88.  On proposal 36, Chile 
supported the mention of "developing countries in  position to do so" and deletion of the words 
"bound", "all" (products), "all" (LDCs).  It wished  to see the last sentence of the fourth paragraph 
maintained, but modified so as to only be a trans ition period for developing Members who would take 
on commitments to provide duty free and quota free market access for LDCs.  It also suggested a 
modification of the first part to read "Developing Country Members providing market access 
according to (a) shall take steps to...". 
347. On proposal 88, Chile suggested the inclusion of bracketed language in the first paragraph.  In 
the second paragraph, it had a strong preference fo r "prior to" and "and possible effects on other 
Members". 
348. Regarding LDCs, in paragraph 28 of the text , Chile noted that the sentence on duty free and 
quota free market access duplicated and contradict ed work being done under proposal 36 in the 
Special Session.  It suggested th at this sentence be bracketed until the issue was resolved under 
proposal 36. TN/C/M/22 
Page 50  
 
  349. The sentence regarding the services negotiations  was unnecessary, as this had been covered 
and expanded on in paragraphs 3 and 9 of Annex C on services, as well as paragraph 8 of the 
Ministerial text on services. 
350. The representative of Uganda
 expressed his delegation's a ppreciation to the Council for 
TRIPS for adopting the Decision for extension of the LDC transition period to seven and a half years 
at it's meeting of 29 November.  However, his delegation would have pr eferred a longer period. 
351. On process, while his delegation understood the n eed to restrict the Chairman's consultation 
meetings to smaller numbers, it w as concerned about the issue of ade quate representation, particularly 
for LDCs, in these meetings.  A request had been ma de to have the presence of focal points from the 
LDC Group accompanying the LDC coordinator to these meetings, and his delegation hoped this 
request would be taken on board. 
352. He requested that his delegation's statement at  the informal meeting of Heads of Delegation 
held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present meeting.14  He associated his 
delegation with the statements by Egypt for the African Group, Nepal for the LDC Group and 
Philippines for the G33.  He wished to make add itional comments about the first draft text for Hong 
Kong. 
353. On NAMA, his delegation wished to reaffirm that the LDCs should be the judges of the 
extent, level and timing of the bindings that they made.  The issue had been highlighted in paragraph 
18 of the Chair's report but not quite clearly.  It was his delegation's understanding, as had been agreed by LDC Ministers in Livingstone, that th ese bindings would be voluntary and at the discretion 
of the LDCs, who would base their determination on individual trade and devel opment needs.  It was 
also important that the NAMA negotiations addr essed the mandate in the July 2004 Decision 
regarding duty and quota free market access – it would not suffice merely to relegate this function to 
deliberations of the CTD. 
354. In the services negotiations, his delegation welcomed the proposals in Annex C for the 
methods proposed for the full and effective implem entation of the LDC modalities.  He said they 
should be incorporated into the services text. 
355. On S&D treatment, concerning the remain ing LDC Agreement-specific proposals, his 
delegation was aware of the new document that had been circulated by the Secretariat aimed at representing the various positions through the insertion of brackets as opposed to the previous format.  
His delegation was analyzing this document, including in  capital, to make sure that its interests, as had 
been reflected in JOB(05)/298, were properly reflected. 
356. He said paragraph 11 on the TRIPS negotiations  should explicitly mention the question of 
TRIPS and Public Health.  Members were aware of the urgent need for a permanent and meaningful 
solution to the problem of TRIPS and Public He alth, preferably before Hong Kong, as African 
Ministers had agreed in Arusha.  This would contribute to solving the HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis pandemics in the resource poor countri es, particularly those with weak manufacturing 
capacities.  The African Group had made a proposal in the TRIPS Council to this effect, which his 
delegation supported. 
357. Finally, Uganda wished to request the inclusi on of the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance 
Programme (JITAP), preferably in a separate paragraph after the Integrated Framework.  Having been a beneficiary of the Programme, Uganda could attest  to the fact that it had proven to be a viable 
delivery mechanism for building technical capacity and assisting in efforts aimed at integrating 
                                                     
 
14  See Annex II.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 51 
 
 
developing countries into the multilateral trading sy stem.  As a country exiting this Programme, it was 
willing to share experiences with others so as to  capitalize on lessons learnt.  It was important, 
therefore, for his delegation that Ministers in Hong Kong pronounced themselves on this in accordance with the Declarations of the African Union and LDC Trade Ministers. 
358. The representative of Guatemala
 said his delegation saw the draft as a basis for decisions by 
Ministers at Hong Kong.  It noted that, in the main  negotiating areas, the extent to which the text had 
been elaborated varied in terms of level of deve lopment and ambition, and it was concerned that for 
agriculture, there might not be a substantive basis on which to pursue the negotiations. 
359. In his delegation's view, the reports by the Chairs of the negotiating groups were very 
important and these texts should be  made available to Ministers at Hong Kong.  The report on 
agriculture was factual, and his delegation was concerned that it failed to identify areas where 
Ministers should use their good offices in order to secure significant progress, unlike the reports on 
NAMA, services and trade facilitation which all did so to some extent.  His delegation believed that 
dates should be set for the establishment of modaliti es and for the submission of schedules.  This 
would allow headway to be made in the agriculture  and NAMA negotiations.  It also believed that the 
two dates should coincide. 
360. As to the "Green Room" consultations, his dele gation had been informed that delegations had 
made an effort to achieve parallelism between the th ree elements identified in NAMA, so as to have a 
similar approach in the agriculture negotiations.  His delegation wished to avoid reaching Hong Kong 
without a sound basis for the Ministers' discussions, since there were only questions that neither set 
out clearly nor developed the areas of importance to developing countries. 
361. As Guatemala had said before, the principle of  the Single Undertaking continued to be the 
basis on which Members worked, and a text that c ontained no clear ideas about the evolution in 
agriculture, one of the most important pillars of these negotiations, would be incomplete and 
ineffectual.  His delegation therefore wished to repeat that if progress was to be made in these 
negotiations, a balance between the negotiating areas was vital, and Members had to make a collective 
effort to ensure that it was ach ieved.  His delegation wished to endorse the statements on the 
agriculture negotiations by Brazil, Australia on behalf of the Cairns Group and the Philippines on 
behalf of the G33.  Another pillar within this negotiation to which his delegation attached great 
importance and which it hoped would be addressed adequately was development. 
362. As to the procedure for the work until the end of the Ministerial Conference, Guatemala was 
of the view that it should be marked by values such  as transparency, inclusiveness and foresight.  His 
delegation hoped that certainty would continue to gu ide the work and that Ministers would be spared 
any last minute surprises. 
363. Having referred to a number of general aspects,  he wished to make some specific comments 
on some of the paragraphs of the Draft Ministerial Text.  First, his delegation considered the content 
of paragraph 23 of the draft declaration to be very  important, as it believed that the WTO should take 
specific measures to facilitate the integration of small and vulnerable economies into the multilateral 
trading system.  In its view, recommendations s hould be adopted on future work so that Members 
could pursue their objective of finding answers to the issues of the trade of small economies.  His delegation therefore considered it vital to discuss the proposals put forward in the various negotiating 
bodies.  It wished to stress in particular that for the agriculture and NAMA negotiations any decision 
regarding a tariff reduction formula had to include  the corresponding treatment for small economies. 
364. With regard to services and the language to be used for the negotiations, as paragraph 7 of the 
draft Ministerial text set out, it was essential that th e negotiations proceeded to their conclusion in full 
observance of the objectives and principles stipulated  in the GATS, the Doha Ministerial Declaration TN/C/M/22 
Page 52  
 
  and the Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiations  on Trade in Services, all of which took into 
account the manner in which developing countri es participated in the current negotiations. 
365. His delegation noted that the Services Annex reflect ed a delicate balance.  In terms of content, 
it was an ambitious text and for Guatemala, the am bition would be examined against the balance of 
the negotiations as a whole.  His delegation noted that the Annex c ontained important elements such 
as guide modal objectives for the market access nego tiations, and political guidance to further the 
negotiations on rules and domestic regulation.  It also  noted that the Annex reiterated and elaborated 
on the possibility of plurilateral requests with in the request-offer negotiating mechanism. 
366. His delegation noted with great satisfaction th at the text also stat ed the need for due 
consideration to be given to proposals concerni ng small economies, such c onsideration being essential 
if they were to participate in th ese negotiations and in international trade in services.  As for the time-
lines for the services negotiations, it noted that the da tes remained to be discussed and that they would 
have to be linked to other areas of the negotiations.  It trusted that any dates set would allow sufficient 
time for proper preparation and for pursuing the negotiations. 
367. With regard to the Work Programme on Elect ronic Commerce, Guatemala could be in a 
position to support the current practice of not im posing customs duties on electronic transmissions, 
and to continue discussion of e-commerce issues unde r the Work Programme, particularly in areas 
related to development.  With regard to trade facilitation, his delegation considered it was most 
important that Ministers took note of the repor t of the Chair of the Negotiating Group on Trade 
Facilitation, and adopted and impl emented the recommendations in pa ragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 
respecting and reaffirming the link be tween the elements of Annex D. 
368. With regard to the negotiations on TRIPS, in the framework of the negotiations to establish a 
multilateral system for the notification and regist ration of geographical indications for wines and 
spirits, Guatemala had worked with a large number of delegations that supported the proposal in 
document TN/IP/W/10.  The joint proposal reflected a serious and constructive effort on the part of 
many delegations that were seeking tangible resu lts in these negotiations.  Such results had to 
necessarily be in conformity with the mandate of  the Council for TRIPS.  The negotiating group's 
mandate was clear and unambiguous as regards the di rection and scope of the negotiations.  It was 
therefore important that in recognizing the progress made in the TRIPS Council, Ministers should also 
endorse the negotiating mandate set out in Article 23.4 of the Agreement and paragraph 18 of the 
Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
369. With regard to TRIPS and Public Health, he wish ed to point out again that this was an issue 
of great interest to his delegation, and to stress the need for consultations to be conducted in a 
transparent and inclusive manner.  As regards TR IPS and non-violation complaints, like the majority 
of Members, Guatemala believed that violations of th e kind identified in paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of 
Article XXIII of GATT 1994 were not applicable to the TRIPS Agreement.  Nevertheless, for as long 
as consideration of this matter continued, it was es sential that the moratorium should remain in force. 
370. Turning to trade and environment, he said hi s delegation wished to acknowledge first the 
important work accomplished by the CTESS, and par ticularly the recent efforts of that Committee's 
Chairman to secure a consensus among Members as to  the drafting of the proposed text for the Hong 
Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
371. In paragraph 14 of that text, the square brack ets reflected substantial differences between 
Members about the direction the Committee's work might take.  As a developing country and in 
particular as a small economy, Guatemala was concerned that Members might dismiss a priori the 
possibility of analysing and discussing in greater detail the different approaches to the negotiations that had been or might be proposed.  Guatemala would be unable to accept this.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 53 
 
 
372. Guatemala believed that the objective of the negotiations had to be to reduce or, as 
appropriate, remove tariff and non-tariff barriers to  environmental goods and services in a manner that 
enhanced the mutual supportiveness of trade and envi ronment and took fully into account the interests 
of developing-country Members.  For Guatemala,  mere identification of environmental goods and 
services did not, at present, accommodate its inter est in S&D treatment which secured a balanced 
outcome to the negotiations, and it would be unable to  accept the inclusion of the second set of square 
brackets as it precluded the possibility of analysing and discussing other approaches. 
373. On rules, his delegation also acknowledged the Ch airman's efforts to produce a document that 
reflected a high degree of convergence among Members.  As a developing country, Guatemala noted with particular interest that the development di mension was being addressed in the rules negotiations 
as an integral part of any outcome. 
374. As his delegation had said before, its wish wa s that the negotiations should foreshadow a 
balanced outcome that benefited everyone.  In the area of the Anti-Dumping Agreement, his 
delegation believed that it was impor tant to improve the disciplines which prevented the unwarranted 
use of anti-dumping measures, while preserving the b asic concepts, principles and effectiveness of the 
Agreement and its objectives where such measures we re warranted.  Guatemala was particularly 
interested in the objective of limiting the costs and complexity of proceedings for interested parties 
and investigating authorities alike, while stre ngthening the due process, transparency and 
predictability of such proceedings and measures. 
375. In the area of subsidies, his delegation agreed  with the text proposed for the Declaration, 
particularly as regards the need to  deepen the analysis on the basis of specific textual proposals.  As 
regards subsidies in the fisheries sector, his de legation was particularly in favour of including 
appropriate and effective S&D trea tment for developing-country Members, in view of the importance 
of this sector to development priorities, poverty re duction, and livelihood and food security concerns. 
376. Finally, he wished to point out that a small economy such as Guatemala had high expectations 
of the benefits that could accrue from these ne gotiations.  It therefore considered that the 
Development Round should include and give effect to measures that enhance its participation in 
international trade.  His delegation was open to any fo rm of consultations or meetings that might take 
place in the days to come with a view to achievi ng consensus in the various areas of negotiation and 
work. 
377. The representative of Chinese Taipei
 said that, as a member of APEC, his country supported 
the statement by Korea on the APEC economic leaders'  statement.  On the draft text, his delegation 
shared the view that the extensive market a ccess commitments undertaken by newly-acceded 
Members as part of their accession process should be taken into account in the negotiations and that 
their proposal should be duly reflected in a separate paragraph of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
378. On agriculture and NAMA, his delegation's view  was that Annexes A and B were fair and 
factual reports on progress so far, summarizing clearly  where Members had got to in the negotiations.  
However, on agriculture, he wished to reiterate his delegation's concern about the numerical ranges 
referred to in Annex A, which were simply there to reflect the scale of either divergence or convergence among Members.  It would be inapprop riate for these ranges to become the basis for 
future negotiations on the relevant issues. 
379. On services, from the Chair's report, his delegation sensed a substantial amount of 
convergence amongst Members on the elements contained in the current text.  It therefore recognized 
that the services text had struck a delicate balance between defensive and offensive interests.  Most 
importantly, there had been a high degree of tr ansparency and inclus iveness in the process. TN/C/M/22 
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  380. His delegation fully supported the Services Chair in paragraph 14 of his report that a quick 
start in the new year was necessary, given the particular resource and time-intensive nature of the services negotiation, as well as the substantial negotia ting agenda on rule-making.  It was clear that 
the request-offer approach used in  the services negotiations was totally  different from the approaches 
used in the negotiations on agriculture and NAMA .  This was why Members needed to have a 
roadmap of the direction of the services negotiations  after Hong Kong.  His delegation firmly believed 
that the draft text as it stood provided a very go od, general foundation and structure for the services 
package overall.  Members should therefore preserve the convergence that had been built so far, and 
leave outstanding issues such as numerical ta rgets for consideration by Ministers. 
381. On the liberalization of environmental goods , his delegation noted that divergences still 
existed among Members.  However, it wished to se e the fulfilment of the mandate to complete work 
under the DDA, through the identification of a co mmon list of environmental goods for the reduction 
and/or elimination of tariffs and NTBs. 
382. He wished to also touch on expectations fro m the Hong Kong Conference and to what extent 
they could be answered.  His delegation's view wa s that trade liberalization and development were 
mutually supportive.  It hoped that the Minister ial could provide Members with guidelines that 
allowed them to agree on full modalities on outstanding issu es in the first half of the year, if they were 
to have any chance of achieving a successf ul outcome to the Round in 2006. 
383. In his delegation's view, Ministers in Hong Kong should concentrate on narrowing the gaps 
between Members on key issues as much as possible.  In doing so, they should maintain equivalent 
levels of ambition across the main issues, and m ove the key negotiating areas forward in a parallel 
manner, in order to ensure that all Members'  interests were duly reflected in the process. 
384. On the subject of deciding what issues and questions delegations should ask Ministers to 
address in Hong Kong, his delegation suggested the fo llowing criteria could be applied:  firstly, the 
issue had to be critical to coming to an agreemen t on full modalities, and to moving the negotiations 
forward;  secondly, the issue shoul d be appropriate to being addressed  at Ministerial level, and not 
involve technical details;  and thirdly, the way the issues were presented to Ministers in Hong Kong 
should reflect the current levels of convergence among Members. 
385. With this in mind, the key issues that his dele gation wished to see addressed and resolved in 
Hong Kong were:  on NAMA, the type of formula, th e flexibilities in paragraph 8, and the base rate 
for unbound tariffs;  and on agriculture, the main st ructural elements of the three pillars, such as the 
number of bands in overall support and the AMS re duction formula, the placement of Members in 
those bands, the criteria for a new Blue Box, para llelism in the elimination of all forms of export 
subsidies, the structure of the tariff reduction formula and its flexibilities and the treatment of 
sensitive products. 
386. In conclusion, he said that ideally his delegati on wished Hong Kong to be the launching pad 
for reaching agreement on full modalities in the first ha lf of next year, leading to a successful outcome 
to the Doha Round in 2006. 
387. The representative of Indonesia
 said that he wished to comment on the main issues of 
agriculture, NAMA and development.  On agriculture  and NAMA, his delegation shared the view that 
the Chairs reports constituted a fair and balance refl ection of the current and factual situation in the 
negotiations.  The reports had also highlighted th e areas of emerging convergence and the differences 
at various degrees which needed to be solved.  As  these two issues were of crucial importance to the 
development of Indonesia, he wished to reiterate, as  had been stated by Philippines on behalf of the 
G33 and by other developing Members, that the de velopment dimension should be fully reflected in  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 55 
 
 
the draft text.  His delegation also believed that the inclusion of these aspects in a meaningful, operational and effective manner, would lead Me mbers to a balanced outcome in Hong Kong. 
388. On services, regarding the Chairman's report a nd Annex C, his delegation wished to reiterate 
its reservation on some paragraphs, in particular paragr aphs 1, 2, 7, 11 and 12.  It was his delegation's 
view that the level of ambition in the draft Minist erial text on services was much higher than the level 
of ambition in agriculture and NAMA.  This level of ambition had gone beyond the capacity of 
developing countries to undertake progressive libera lization, as embodied in the first paragraph of 
Article XIX of the GATS, which stipulated "achievi ng a progressively higher level of liberalization."  
In this regard, he said the process should take place with a view to promoting the interests of all participants on a mutually advantageous basis and to securing an overall balance of rights and 
obligations. 
389. His delegation strongly denied allegations that some Members, in particular some developing 
countries, did not share an appropriate ambition in the services negotiations.  His delegation was fully 
committed to the current round of services negotiations .  Therefore, it wished to underline that the 
Doha Round was a development round, meaning that  the services negotiations should take fully into 
account the concerns of Members on the developmen tal aspects of market access and rule-making.  
His delegation also wished to reiterate its positi on on the importance of maintaining GATS provisions 
for the right of Members to regulate their services sector and to open-up fewer sectors and liberalize fewer types of transactions in line with their level of development. 
390. His delegation welcomed the report of the Ch airman of the Negotiating Group on Rules.  
Indonesia wished to emphasis the importance of the improvement and clarification of rules, in 
particular the Anti-dumping and Subsidies Agreements, in order to secure market access.  His 
delegation agreed with the Rules Chairman with re spect to the work post Hong Kong – intensify the 
negotiations with a view to deepening all partic ipants' understanding of the proposals and identifying 
possible areas of convergence.  Most importantly, his delegation wished to emphasize the importance 
of the development dimension being fully refl ected in various elements of anti-dumping and 
subsidies. 
391. Last but not least, since all Members had ac knowledged that this s hould be a development 
round, his delegation wished to emphasis clearly that  the reflection of development was not just about 
opening substantial market access, but much more .  The right to development for developing 
countries, including LDCs, should be maintained and addressed adequately.  One of the several 
development issues that was of great concern to Indonesia was that of Agreement-specific proposals 
on S&D.  It was important to solve this soon as possible. 
392. His delegation supported the statement by Chin a on the need to address the concerns of 
recently-acceded Members.  In conclusion, he wish ed to emphasize his delegation's commitment to 
engaging and cooperating constructivel y in the negotiations, with a view to achieving a meaningful, 
fair and balanced outcome at Hong Kong, including  on other critical issues, such as environment, 
TRIPS and other non-TNC issues. 
393. The representative of El Salvador
 said that the present session of the TNC was particularly 
important in that the Hong Kong Ministerial C onference was only a few days away, added to which 
delegations were faced with the da unting challenge of improving, in the space of a few days, the Draft 
Ministerial Text that had been circulated only a co uple of days before.  El Salvador had repeatedly 
reaffirmed its commitment to the Doha Round, which placed the development dimension at the 
forefront of its objectives, and in that context it saw the Ministerial Conference as providing a new 
impetus towards achieving that objective. 
394. When the Chairman had submitted the Draft Minist erial Text to delegati ons, he had informed 
them that it was only a first draft and urged them to work in a constructive spirit.  In this respect, his TN/C/M/22 
Page 56  
 
  delegation wished to make the following remarks.  Regarding the draft text in general, it noted that 
while the Annexes on agriculture and NAMA, fo r example, were a factual summary of the 
negotiations, some of the other Annexes had b een negotiated among Members.  His delegation 
therefore believed that Members should continue wo rking during the Ministerial Conference to ensure 
that they had a balanced and operative text that could serve as a true and effective basis for achieving 
the political orientation needed to carry th is process forward to a timely conclusion. 
395. His delegation recognized that the exercise of producing a balanced draft text was far from 
easy – it was not simply a question of adopting parts of the reports submitted by the Chairs of the agriculture and NAMA negotiations.  At this stage of  the negotiations, it could be very dangerous for 
the process to extract only certain elements of the reports while leaving out other elements that were 
extremely important to certain Members.  Thus, it was essential that any document which set out to 
reflect the progress achieved to date should duly re flect issues relating to S&D treatment, which 
formed an integral part of the negotiations a nd therefore warranted the immediate attention of 
Ministers.  Moreover, his delegation wished to r ecall that any progress achieved in the different areas 
was contingent on a balanced overall result, and on  the general balance which had to be achieved 
under the Single Undertaking. 
396. On the specifics of the negotiations, his delegati on wished to make the following comments.  
On agriculture, his delegation fully supported the st atement by the Philippines on behalf of the G33.  
It wished to reiterate the fundamental role of agri culture in Members' develo pment, a role which made 
it the driving force of this Round.  It therefore believed that Ministers should establish dates for finalizing modalities and submitting schedules, so that the negotiations could be  concluded in 2006.  
Those dates should in any case be realistic, and c onsistent with the progress achieved thus far. 
397. As a member of the G33, El Salvador suppor ted the various components of S&D treatment 
for developing countries, in particular Special Pr oducts and the Special Safeguard Mechanism.  His 
delegation thanked the Agriculture Chairman fo r including the Group's latest proposal on Special 
Products in his progress report, and stressed that th is proposal represented an important concession by 
the Group, particularly as regards the treatment of such products. 
398. Regarding the tariff reduction formula, El Salv ador believed that developing countries should 
bear proportionally less of the burden than deve loped countries, through less deep cuts and 
differentiated thresholds for the two categories of Members. 
399. Turning to NAMA, he said that, as stated in  paragraph 16 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration, these negotiations had to take fully in to account the needs and interests of developing 
and least-developed countries, including less than full reciprocity in reduction commitments.  This 
aim would be achieved through propor tionally smaller reductions for developing-country Members.  
As regards sectoral approaches, his delegation believ ed that participation in this type of initiative 
should be voluntary, as discussed in the meetings of the Negotiating Group. 
400. El Salvador considered the flexibilities containe d in paragraph 8 of Annex B of the July 2004 
Decision to be a fundamental component of S&D treatment.  For countries like El Salvador, these 
flexibilities constituted the minimu m space necessary to address th eir sensitivities and development 
objectives. 
401. Noting what had been said by the Chairman of the services negotiations in his report to the 
TNC,  to the effect that he had presented his text  under his own responsibility, he wished to make the 
following comments.  El Salvador welcomed the men tion in the draft Ministerial text on services of 
the emphasis on the objectives of the negotiations  on services, namely to promote the economic 
growth of Members and development in developing countries.  It also welcomed the reference to 
flexibility for the different developing-country  Members in schedulin g commitments in the  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 57 
 
 
progressive liberalization process and the due consid eration that was to be given to the size of 
economies and to sectors and modes of supply of inter est to developing countries.  In addition, it was 
important to stress that, as stipulated in the GA TS, progressively higher leve ls of liberalization of 
trade in services should be achieved with due respect for national policy objectives. 
402. With respect to Annex C, although El Salvador  did not wish to repeat its position which was 
in the records of the Services Special Session, it di d wish to express its satisfaction that the Draft 
Ministerial Text and its Annexes contained no reference to the issu e of numerical approaches.  El 
Salvador believed that the adoption of such a pproaches would undermine the flexibilities and rights 
provided under the GATS and the Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in 
Services as regards the scheduling of commitments. 
403. TRIPS and Public Health was an extremely im portant issue for this Organization, and his 
delegation wished to urge the need to continue working intensively among the entire membership to 
find a consensus on the amendment of the TRIPS Agreement. 
404. Regarding trade and environment, El Salvador considered it was important to agree on a text 
that guaranteed sufficient space to reach a common understanding in the future on the different 
approaches that could be adopted to reduce or, wher e appropriate, eliminate all tariff and non-tariff 
barriers to environmental goods and services.  It wish ed also to stress the importance of giving due 
consideration to the mutual supportiveness of trade a nd the environment, as well as the interests of the 
developing countries. 
405. In addition, the Work Programme on Small Economies was one of the components of the 
Doha mandate that led El Salva dor to believe that the current Round would seek to promote the 
development of Members.  As a small economy, El Salvador had worked tirelessly and constructively, 
not only in the Dedicated Session of the Committe e on Trade and Development, but also in the 
negotiating groups on agriculture and NAMA, in  which it had submitted concrete proposals. 
406. Generally speaking, his delegation considered the paragraph on small ec onomies that had met 
with consensus among Members in the Dedicated Se ssion would provide an impetus to the post-Hong 
Kong work by ensuring that it continued along two lines:  first, the submission of specific proposals in 
the negotiating groups, and second, mo nitoring by the Dedicated Session.  Similarly, his delegation 
had strong expectations that the results achieve d in agriculture and NAMA would incorporate the 
concerns of small and vulnerable economies.  Indeed, as the TNC Chairman had pointed out on 
several occasions, the development dimension shoul d permeate all areas of the negotiations.  At the 
same time, his delegation wished to note its inte ntion to submit proposals on other subjects in the 
future, such as services. 
407. The task of improving the draft text in the fe w days remaining was a challenge that required 
broad participation among Members.  This was essen tial as a way of ensuring transparency, and above 
all, the feeling of ownership of the results of H ong Kong.  His delegation recognized the considerable 
work that the Chairman and the Chairs of the negotiating groups had done thus far, and it sincerely 
hoped that the work over the coming days would be conducted in an inclusive manner. 
408. The representative of Cuba  requested that her delegation's statement at the informal meeting 
of Heads of Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present meeting.15  In 
Cuba's opinion, the text reflected an imbalance whic h was detrimental to the interests and positions of 
developing countries.  This would need to be set right when the text was revised. 
409. While in agriculture not much had been achie ved in favour of developing countries in terms 
of significant reduction in subsidies and guara ntees for poor farmers, the NAMA and services 
                                                      
15  See Annex II. TN/C/M/22 
Page 58  
 
  negotiations, in which the developed countries we re the demandeurs, were moving towards major 
obligations that favoured trade liberalization objectiv es at all costs.  In trade facilitation, Members 
were on the way to a new agreement that would be a source of further obligations for the developing 
world, in exchange for promises of some financ ing and technical assistance which the developed 
countries were to provide, but this was not as ye t binding.  On development issues, no progress had 
been reported despite years of meetings a nd consultations in the various WTO bodies. 
410. The text also made no provision for the important and much needed defence of 
multilateralism against unilateralism, nor did it contai n any elements designed to eliminate the extra-
territoriality to be found in much of the trade la w that existed.  Neither did it make provision for 
offsetting the shortcomings of the current multila teral trading system in terms of promoting 
sustainable development in developing countries.  To  note at this juncture that the objective of this 
Round was development would simply add to the irony. 
411. Turning to specific aspects of the text, Cuba, like other Members, had serious difficulty in 
accepting the Annexes and their references in the text , as her delegation had stated at the informal 
Heads of Delegations meeting. 
412. Nonetheless, her delegation wished to note th at the Services Annex was still too specific and 
prescriptive regarding the objectives for modes of supply and the approaches to negotiation, 
particularly the modality for plurilateral negotiations.  This was not in keeping with the pace and low 
level of specificity and commitment reached in ot her areas of interest to developing countries. 
413. Any decision adopted at Hong Kong should retain  the architecture of the GATS and, above 
all, the appropriate flexibility for developing countri es to participate in the liberalization process by 
undertaking commitments that were in keeping with  their interests and their national development 
objectives.  It was important to note that an alte rnative Ministerial text on services had been submitted 
by a large group of developing countries, which Cuba had recently endorsed. 
414. As regards S&D treatment, Cuba fully s upported the proposed wording submitted by the 
African Group, circulated on 23 November as JOB(05) /305.  On implementati on, her delegation noted 
again the omission of a critical assessment of the stalemate affecting this important subject in this 
Organization, and there was still a need in the text to set an early date for reporting concrete results, 
although her delegation welcomed the articulation of the idea. 
415. As to the paragraph on e-commerce, her dele gation reiterated the reservation it had made in 
the consultation about the text currently in square brackets.  Cuba was against the idea of establishing 
a permanent and mandatory moratorium regardi ng the non-imposition of customs duties on electronic 
transmissions.  With regard to technical cooperation, her delegation was in favour of including text to 
the effect that there should be greater particip ation and enhanced complementarity in technical 
assistance activities on the part of UNCTAD and other international organizations such as the ITC and 
UNIDO. 
416. With respect to coherence and Aid for Trade,  her delegation had doubts about the procedures 
followed in preparing these paragraphs and includi ng them in the Draft Ministerial Text.  It was 
concerned at the text's lack of clarity, particularly  in regard to the concept of Aid for Trade, its 
implications and implementation, and its relationship with the other areas of the negotiations, which 
would have to be defined in the text of the Minist erial Declaration.  The text mentioned joint action 
with relevant institutions, but failed to mention so me of the most important ones, such as UNCTAD. 
417. Similarly, her delegation did not agree with th e assertion in paragraph 36 of the draft that 
Official Development Assistance and debt relief in itiatives on the part of developed countries and the  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 59 
 
 
IMF had advanced this year.  In fact the measur es taken had been limited and inadequate given the 
serious crisis affecting most  of developing countries. 
418. In conclusion, her delegation wished to reitera te its commitment to working constructively 
with a view to producing a more balanced Minist erial text that responded to the interests of 
developing and least-developed coun tries, in order to make this Round a genuine development round. 
419. The representative of the Dominican Republic  said that the annexes of the Draft Ministerial 
Text on agriculture and NAMA did not contain su rprises, as the Chairman has said, since they 
reproduced the Chairs' reports.  However, her de legation had taken note that the Chairman was 
undertaking a process of consultations with the aim of substituting these reports with more operational 
texts.  Her delegation wished to underline that th e basic elements and principles of S&D should be 
contained in any such texts, whic h her delegation hoped to be able to examine before Hong Kong.  In 
this respect, her delegation supported the statements  by the Philippines for the G33 and Mauritius for 
the ACP. 
420. On agriculture, her delegation believed that the convergence to be reflected in any new text 
should identify the following elements of S&D inter alia :  provisions for the designation and 
treatment of Special Products;  provisions on th e Special Safeguard Mechanism;  proportionality 
within the tariff reduction formula; and hi gher thresholds for developing countries. 
421. On NAMA, her delegation believed that an appr opriate level of flexibility for developing 
countries should also be reflected, including less th an full reciprocity, as well as tariff reduction based 
on bound and not applied rates.  In addition, she wish ed to draw attention to the proposal submitted by 
the small, vulnerable economies. 
422. On services, taking into account that the proposed Annex was still being discussed on the 
premise that it was a text under the Special Se ssion Chairman's own responsibility because it 
contained some points in which there was no consen sus, her delegation wished to suggest that the 
words "Proposal by the Chairman" be included under the title of the Annex. 
423. Finally, her delegation supported the proposal by  India to insert a paragraph in the Draft 
Ministerial Text relating to paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration on the relationship 
between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD, and pr otection of traditional knowledge and folklore. 
424. The representative of Malaysia  said that, at the informal Heads of Delegations meeting, his 
delegation had registered its concer ns on particular parts of the Draft Ministerial Text, including the 
annexes.  Given the assurances from the Chairman in submitting the text to Ministers, he wished on 
this occasion only to briefly reitera te his delegation's views on a numbe r of paragraphs in the main 
part of the text.   
425. Paragraph 8 of the main text quoted para graph 4 of the Guidelines and Procedures for 
Negotiations on Services, but only in part.  He suggested that the phrase "...both overall and in 
individual sectors" should be included so that it fully reflected the content of the guidelines.  The paragraphs in the main text on S&D, those numbere d 17 to 20, taken together, were at variance with 
what had been agreed by the General Council on 1 August 2004.  Whereas the General Council had 
agreed to give priority to Agreement-specific issues , that sense had been lost in the current text and 
should be reinstated. 
426. The representative of the Solomon Islands
 said that it was his delegation's view that the Draft 
Ministerial Text reflected a failure by developed c ountries to show leadership  and commitment to the 
development Round launched four years ago.  Th e text lacked specific direction on development 
issues which had to remain at the core of the R ound.  The immediate task of Members now was to 
make S&D treatment more precise, meaningful and operational.  Members could kick-start this TN/C/M/22 
Page 60  
 
  process by giving an early harvest for the LDC Ag reement-specific proposals in Annex F, in Hong 
Kong.  The same should apply to the cotton issue. 
427. On agriculture, his delegation welcomed the Ch air's report and wished to restate that on 
Special Products its view was that these should be fully exempted from any new market access 
commitments.  It was also his delegation's view th at the issue of long-standing preferences should be 
given some prominence in the report.  Accordi ng to the report, agreement could be built around the 
fact that capacity building should be part of any solution to the problem of preference erosion.  Unfortunately, there had been no agreement on whether a trade-related solution needed to be found to 
this issue as part of the agriculture modalities.  This indicated that Members' positions had moved further apart rather than closer t ogether on the issue of preferences. 
428. On NAMA, paragraphs 34 and 35 of the Chairman 's report were limited only to the formula, 
paragraph 8 flexibilities and unbound tariffs.  The re port should also include the crucial issues of 
preference erosion, less than full reciprocity and other flexibilities besides paragraph 8, which were 
very important issues for a number of Members.  The text had also suggested that S&D provisions 
should be a negotiating item for Hong Kong, even though the mandate called for both S&D and less 
than full reciprocity to be part of any agreement. 
429. On services, while the text allowed for incr eased movement of skilled workers, it offered 
nothing in relation to less and semi-skilled workers.  There might be some benefits for countries which had a surplus of tertiary-qualified professionals  and highly skilled workers, but the draft offered 
nothing for other developing countries in that respect. 
430. He said an Aid for Trade package should be  recipient-driven, additional, adequate, 
predictable, free of economic cond itions, complementary to and not serve as a substitute for better and 
fairer trade rules.  Aid for Trade should aim to help developing countries, particularly LDCs, to build their supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastru cture needed to assist them in implementing and 
benefiting from WTO Agreements and more broadly to expand their trade.  He suggested a meeting 
should be convened before July 2006 dedicated to  considering how Aid for Trade might contribute 
most effectively to a successful and ambitious conclusion to the DDA. 
431. The representative of Israel
 associated his delegation with the statement by Switzerland on 
behalf of the G10.  He requested that his delegati on's statement at the informal meeting of Heads of 
Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present meeting.16 
432. The representative of Barbados  made a statement on behalf of the small economy proponents , 
namely Antigua and Barbuda , Barbados , Bolivia , Cuba , Dominica , Dominican Republic , El Salvador , 
Fiji, Grenada , Guatemala , Honduras , Jamaica , Mauritius , Mongolia , Nicaragua , Papua New Guinea , 
Paraguay , Solomon Islands , St Kitts and Nevis , St.  Lucia , St.  Vincent and the Grenadines , and 
Trinidad and Tobago .17  She said that Members would recall that the July 2004 Decision had given a 
directive that in the course of the negotiations speci al attention should be given to the specific trade 
and development related needs and c oncerns of developing countries.  It was in the context of this 
directive and in line with requests from their tradi ng partners that small ec onomy proponents had been 
elaborating their interests in the negotiating groups .  To date, negotiating pr oposals outlining specific 
treatment for small economies in the NAMA and agri culture negotiations had been tabled in the 
related negotiating bodies; in the area of services, language on small, vulne rable economies had been 
proposed for inclusion into the Chair's report to the TNC; and in the area of rules, a number of small 
economy delegations had tabled a proposal on fisher ies subsidies.  Small economy delegations would 
continue to actively pursue their interests in  these and other negotiating and other bodies. 
                                                      
16  See Annex II. 
17  The statement was subsequently ci rculated in document TN/C/W/36.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 61 
 
 
433. The reports by the Chairs of the agricultu re, NAMA and services negotiations had reflected 
small economy issues to some extent:  less or mo re depending on the report.  From a small economy 
perspective they were not satisfied with the results  of the negotiating groups, but had recognized that 
the Chairs' factual reports had sought a balance with regard to the state of play of the negotiations. 
434. The small economy proponents were very concer ned that as Members engaged in the process 
of identifying issues on which they wished Mini sters to take decisions at Hong Kong, Members 
should also ensure that any eventual decisions di d not foreclose on related proposals which were of 
key developmental interest to small economies.  To take a specific example, from the report of the 
Chair of the NAMA negotiations, it made a clear recommendation of three issues on which Ministers 
should "move decisively".  Small economy delegations wished to em phasize that any progress which 
might emerge on the issues of formula, flexibiliti es and unbound tariffs should take full account of the 
circumstances of small economies. 
435. In addition, it was the expectation of the small economy proponents that the road map 
formulated by Ministers to direct deliberations on all negotiations in the post-Hong Kong phase would 
include clear instruction from Ministers that Me mbers addressed the specific needs of small, 
vulnerable developing economies in the negotiating bodies. 
436. The final outcome of the Round had to include the delivery of meaningful, concrete and 
operational responses to the trade-related problems of  small economies in all areas of the DDA if their 
integration into the multilateral trading system was to be facilitated. 
437. Speaking on behalf of Barbados , she associated her delegation with the statements by 
Mauritius for the ACP Group and the Philippines for th e G33.  On NAMA, she said that Barbados 
was not persuaded that there had been sufficient c onvergence on the constant mark-up approach to the 
treatment of unbound tariffs to warrant it being deem ed as "the way forward".  It was her delegation's 
view that Ministers should also deliberate on the full range of options regarding flexibilities and the 
tariff reduction approach.  On services, her delega tion was concerned about the status on Annex C of 
the Draft Ministerial Text.  It was also concerned about the prescriptive nature of the text on 
objectives.  She said that the inclusion of a list of  sectoral and modal objectives identified by some 
Members was prejudicial because the list had not reflected the interests of all Members.  On approaches, her delegation was concerned that th e recommendation to pursue plurilateral negotiations 
on a mandatory basis was prejudicial to the flex ibilities contained in the GATS and the Negotiating 
Guidelines. 
438. The representative of Nicaragua
 said she would only address the development dimension, 
since the need for an early harvest in Hong Kong had been made clear and everyone was working 
hard to achieve this goal.  Having examined the Dr aft Ministerial Text, she had to confess that her 
delegation could unfortunately not see any concrete results for Nicaragua, which led it to conclude 
that the development package lacked the necessary ba lance and had to be improved if consensus was 
to be reached on the issue in Hong Kong. 
439. There were many ways of measuring the level of development in rela tion to poverty, and it 
was unfortunate to see Nicaragua appear on every lis t as one of the least advantaged countries.  The 
World Bank classification listed Nicaragua as one of the 59 low-income economies, together with 35 
LDCs (while six LDCs were on the lower-middle eco nomies list).  Her country also appeared on the 
45 severely indebted countries list, along with 16 of the 41 LDCs (11 of which were listed as moderately indebted countries and 14 were on the less indebted countries list).  On the basis of trade 
parameters, Nicaragua was also among those countries w ith the lowest share of world trade, with less 
than 0.01 per cent of global exports.  Statistics fo r 2004 showed that at least six LDCs had secured a 
share exceeding that of Nicaragua. TN/C/M/22 
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  440. Her delegation was aware that it was not a matt er of creating new categories of developing 
countries in the WTO, but it wished to recall that Nicaragua was listed in Annex VII to the Agreement 
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures which gran ted an exemption based on these countries' low 
level of per capita income.  In other words, ther e were precedents for differentiating the needs of 
developing countries in this Organization. 
441. Nicaragua had repeatedly stated that what  it needed was market access, because its 
Government strongly believed that trade was the e ngine for development.  In all of the negotiating 
groups – especially agriculture and NAMA – her delegation had supported the most ambitious 
proposals and in none of them had it requested grea ter flexibilities in respect of special products or 
those required to consolidate the process for the creation of a Central American Customs Union, 
which was one of her Govern ment's priority objectives. 
442. Nicaragua had unilaterally embarked on the road  to liberalization.  It had bound its entire 
tariff and its average applied tariff was comparable to  that of countries at a much more advanced stage 
of development.  The commitment of the Doha Round was to promote integration of developing 
countries in the multilateral trading system.  Alt hough there were concrete proposals for immediate 
implementation aimed at providing effective market  access for some developing countries, the Draft 
Text unfortunately contained no specific measure  for small and vulnerable economies, such as 
Nicaragua. 
443. Her delegation welcomed the existing initiatives and wished to inform the delegations 
concerned that Nicaragua endorsed most of these in itiatives and would cooperate with them in Hong 
Kong so that they could secure an early harvest.  It  trusted that they in turn would support Nicaragua 
in ensuring that the Ministerial Conference rec ognized its development interests and concerns. 
444. Her delegation urged the six core Integrated Framework agencies to review the list of IF 
beneficiary countries.  It considered that the enhan ced Integrated Framework, due to come into effect 
on 31 December 2006, should include countries such  as Nicaragua, which had supply-side constraints 
and needed to improve their trade-related infrastructure. 
445. The representative of Costa Rica
 said that, in general, hi s delegation believed the Draft 
Ministerial Text reflected the state of play in each area of the negotiations.  His delegation was confident that the following few days and the Hong Kong Conference would allow additional progress to be made, for which a greater level of po litical will would be needed from all Members. 
446. On the agriculture negotiations, Costa Rica supported the statement by Australia on behalf of 
the Cairns Group.  It was fundamental to look for more  convergence in all three pillars in this area, in 
particular in the market access pillar.  For both agriculture and NAMA, it was necessary for Ministers 
to have a guide to the areas in which they should  look for convergence.  This would allow Ministers 
to give the needed push to these two areas so that  agreement on full modalities could be reached early 
in 2006. 
447. Costa Rica believed that development was at th e heart of the negotiations and hoped that the 
results from this Round would contribute to promo ting growth and developm ent in all developing 
countries.  A substantial increase of market acc ess on a most favoured nation basis, as well as the 
elimination of trade-distorting policies, were ke y to promoting trade and driving development. 
448. For Costa Rica, the best result that developi ng countries could achieve from this Round would 
be to receive a positive response from developed count ries with respect to their export interests, or 
their offensive interests.  For this, it was ne cessary to implement the commitment to maximum 
liberalization of tropical products and alternative products, as had been said by the Cairns Group.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 63 
 
 
449. He said that, probably, the only development i ssues which could differ were those related to 
the LDCs, whose needs were greater which required rapid decisions.  The LDC proposal on duty and 
quota free market access had been considered to be  one of the desirable results from Hong Kong.  
This was recognition of the fundamental importa nce of market access as a tool to promote 
development.  Costa Rica was willing to work towa rds this objective, however it believed that this 
recognition for LDCs should help them understand that market access was also beneficial for other 
developing countries, and that they should allow other developing countries to benefit also, even 
when this brings preference erosion. 
450. In this respect, if the LDCs obtained the commitment to duty and quota free market access 
and the flexibility of not implementing other obliga tions which other developi ng countries would have 
to respect, it was crucial to know whether the LD Cs would accept that other developing countries 
benefit from market opening. 
451. He wished to refer to paragraphs 28 and 37 of the Draft Ministerial Text.  In the second 
sentence of paragraph 28 on LDCs, there was a referen ce to the Livingstone Declaration, which, in its 
paragraph 5, stated that:  "I ncorporation of special provisions in the modalities to maintain 
preferences until such time as all domestic and ex port subsidies are removed that affect LDCs’ 
commodities, complemented by compensatory and transitional measures to allow LDCs to fully 
prepare their commodity industries for open and fair competition".  Costa Rica could not agree to this, 
and therefore could not support the inclusion of a reference to the Livingstone Declaration in 
paragraph 28. 
452. Finally, with respect to paragraph 37 on Aid for Trade, Costa Rica believed that this issue was 
very important for developing countries, and in pa rticular LDCs.  However, one element which was 
absent and should be included was the contribution of  aid to the trade of developing countries and 
LDCs following the market opening results of the Uruguay Round. 
453. The representative of Nigeria  associated his delegation with the statement by Egypt on behalf 
of the African Group and requested that his delegation' s statement at the informal meeting of Heads of 
Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present meeting.18 
454. The representative of Bolivia  said that the present meeting formally closed the negotiations 
for 2005, at least in Geneva, and allowed delegations to undertake a self-evaluation of their work, 
contributions and progress since the adoption of th e Decision on 1 August 2004.  However, above all, 
the present meeting presented the challenge of verify ing whether their efforts throughout the year had 
allowed them to go to Hong Kong with a pack age which contained clarity, balance and an 
identification of the priorities which would allow a sequence of tasks appropriate to the accelerated 
agenda which they would have the following year in order to conclude the negotiations on time. 
455. These negotiations had been named the Devel opment Round;  this name, which had been 
used on many occasions by all Members, some with more interest than others, unfortunately had 
innumerable interpretations and senses.  A developing  country such as Bolivia, which had staked a lot 
on trade liberalization since more than two decad es and which had complied with the principles and 
commitments it had assumed, which participated in world merchandise trade with just 0.20 per cent 
crossing trade obstacles to adapt its reduced exports  to an also reduced number of markets, wondered 
what early harvest it would derive from the multilat eral arena and what type of response it would 
receive in relation to the efforts it had made thus far. 
456. In response to these questions, and taking into account the issues in the negotiations, she said 
that Bolivia's priority need within the developmen t dimension was found in a substantial improvement 
in agricultural market access, which was why it had at  times made contributions as part of the G20, to 
                                                      
18  See Annex II. TN/C/M/22 
Page 64  
 
  which it hoped to see positive responses which adjusted to the agreed level of ambition.  With the 
same objective, Bolivia's offensive participati on in the Cairns Group was aimed at strengthening 
ambitions and disciplines for more balanced agricu ltural trade, and her delegation therefore supported 
the statement by Australia on behalf of the Group. 
457. Her delegation believed that Annex A of the firs t draft text reflected all the elements and 
contributions that had resulted from the endless and,  at times, tense meetings.  Although the Annex 
did not reflect all the progress that he r delegation would have wished be ma de thus far, it believed that 
there was progress that Ministers should register in order to guide the work in 2006. 
458. However, market access was not limited only to agriculture for Bolivia, it also needed clear 
signals that it could count on be tter market openings for its industr ial products.  In services, her 
delegation believed Anne x C constituted a very good basis for continuing the negotiations on 
progressive liberalization, and provid ed options to address the concerns  of all developing Members.  
These were also fundamental components of the promo tion of development and of the participation of 
developing countries in world trade.  In addition, the biodiversity of her country's natural resources 
and the richness of its folklore n eeded the discussions to be deepen ed on the relationship between the 
TRIPS Agreement and the CBD, as well as the prot ection of traditional knowledge and folklore under 
WTO rules. 
459. The high degree of convergence achieved in trade facilitation, for a land-locked country such 
as hers, represented a positive and clear message fr om the WTO in order to improve and adapt the 
multilateral structure of rules to the real needs of developing countries.  However, support for 
development needed not only the efforts of the Memb ers of WTO, but also that of the Bretton Woods 
institutions, and this support shoul d be strengthened through eff ective coherence which helped 
international financial initiatives.  Coherence should be complemented  by Aid for Trade, which in 
turn should produce possible soluti ons to preference erosion, as a result of the market opening process 
to which everyone was committed, but not prevent taking care of developing countries' interest in 
increasing their supply capacity and their participa tion in trade.  Bolivia hoped it would be an 
instrument which would be more a tool for improvi ng its situation as a small and vulnerable economy 
within this organization. 
460. The representative of Colombia
 said her delegation did not wish to take up all the issues in the 
Draft Ministerial Text, because it was aware that the text would be revised taking account of the 
remarks made also in the previous meeting.  Co lumbia agreed with the Chairman, who had said the 
issues in the draft text could be divided into three categories, in particular on the last category, the 
more sensitive issues, which were agriculture, NAMA and development.  However, Colombia's view 
differed from the Chairman's, and from that of some other delegations at the present meeting and, in 
particular, what had been said at the meeting of  the CTD two days previously.  For Colombia, 
development was the engine of the negotiations.  This was not simply rhetoric, it was rather the 
genuine view of a developing country which was committed to multilateralism and to the objectives 
of trade liberalization and poverty reduction.  For this reason, Colombia believed that the true 
manifestation of the development dimension of th is Round in which it was participating would be a 
real negotiation on agriculture which, as Brazil had stated, would allow trade liberalization to be 
balanced with poverty reduction.  It believed th is would happen when there was certainty that 
domestic support would be reduced, as well as prog ress on the other pillars, which would allow 
international prices to better reflect reality.  For th is reason, her delegation supported the statement by 
Australia on behalf of the Cairns Group. 
461. Colombia understood that both offensive and defe nsive interests existed in the negotiations.  
But what was difficult to understand was the situatio n, which implicated an increasingly small group 
of developing countries, where a number of count ries had such highly offensive interests in opening 
markets, in particular in agriculture, while also  holding defensive interests in keeping their own  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 65 
 
 
markets closed.  This was very hard to understa nd, and Colombia believed it was leading to the 
"sensitivities Round", which was a round of defensive interests where everyone else had to move, but 
not oneself.  In the end , nothing would come out of this. 
462. Colombia was very preoccupied by this, because  some extreme positions existed, with strong 
offensive and defensive interests, which meant that many players in these negotiations would no 
longer accept that they were the only ones who would ha ve to contribute.  The mistake was that this 
was not a round only on agriculture, but the opportu nity was now gone and everyone had to live with 
it.  Colombia was not aiming to maximize, nor mini mize, the problems and it did not claim to be in 
control of the solutions in any area.  It woul d continue to make proposals and look for special 
solutions to special problems, even if they had no lin k to development.  Special situations were part of 
the discussion, and some issues, such as Colombia's claim that the mandate in the preamble to the 
Agriculture Agreement be fulfilled so that mark et access was granted to tropical products and 
substitutes to illicit crops, did not appear to be compa tible with the issue of preferences.  For this 
reason, her delegation wished to propose again th at the issue be examined on a product-by-product 
basis, which would allow the dimension of the problem to be examined, which had already been 
quantified in other organizations, such as the Wo rld Bank and IMF, who had a non-trade approach.  
Analyzing the issue as her delegation had proposed could allow a trade dimension and let the true 
value of preferences be revealed. 
463. Colombia's vision of the meaning of developm ent differed from that of others.  It was 
concerned that only some particular situations w ould be resolved at Hong Kong.  It believed that 
development was more than just resolving the a nxiety of the LDCs, TRIPS extension and a mention 
of Aid for Trade.  As her delegation had stated be fore, Aid for Trade had to be for trade, and not 
something else. 
464. The representative of the European Communities  requested that his delegation's statement at 
the informal meeting of Heads of Delegation held on  28 November be reflected in the records of the 
present meeting.19  He said that if Members read between the lines, more progress had been made than 
they were ready to acknowledge. 
465. The reports of the Chairs contained valuable material which, over and above the content of 
the Draft Ministerial Text, could be helpful for fu rther work by Ministers in Hong Kong.  This was 
true not only for agriculture and NAMA, but also for services and rules.  His delegation would therefore appreciate a reference to these latter two repor ts in the draft text itself.  Like others, his 
delegation saw the Chairs' reports as reference docum ents, which should be part of the dossier for 
Ministers but should not be annexed to the draft te xt, with the exception of Annex E on which there 
was consensus.  On Annexes C and D which contai ned draft Declaration la nguage, his delegation had 
some considerable concerns.  Nonetheless, it was pr epared to accept them in annexes as tools to build 
upon in Hong Kong. 
466. His delegation accepted that agriculture and NAMA n eeded particular attention by Ministers.  
However, the same was true for services, rules and all development-related is sues.  Progress should be 
across the board.  This was the very concept of th e Single Undertaking, and a single-issue Ministerial 
Conference was doomed to fail. 
467. Some delegations had elaborated at length on issu es of particular interest to them, and his 
delegation fully understood that.  China, for example, had an interest in the paragraphs on recently-
acceded Members, and his delegation had a particular interest in GIs, a subject which had been 
completely neglected in the negotiations so far. 
                                                     
 
19  See Annex II. TN/C/M/22 
Page 66  
 
  468. He agreed with the United States that Minister s in Hong Kong should seek more clarity on the 
level of ambition.  However, this should apply to all market access ar eas and beyond.  He also agreed 
that Ministers should focus in each of these sectors, and also in rules, on a few political points, which 
could promote overall and comparable ambition acro ss the board.  He trusted that the facilitators 
would ensure that the focus should be on  the most important political questions. 
469. For his delegation, it was of paramount importa nce that development issues be dealt with 
upfront and with priority at the Conference.  His delegation's statem ents both at the meeting of the 
CTD and at the informal Heads of Delegations meeting on 28 November showed the importance his 
delegation attached to this. 
470. The representative of Pakistan
 requested that his delegation's statement at the informal 
meeting of Heads of Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present 
meeting.20 
471. The representative of Croatia  requested that his delegation's st atement at the informal meeting 
of Heads of Delegation held on 28 November be reflected in the records of the present meeting.21 
472. The Chairman  said he wished to respond to some of the questions raised by delegations on 
how the General Council Chairman and he saw the process for the following few days.  There had 
been a high degree of convergence that Members were collectively trying to improve, as much as was possible, what was on the table in order to increase th e quality of the Ministers' work in Hong Kong.  
Following everything which had been said in variou s meetings and consultations over recent days, it 
should be possible to issue a revised version of the draft text as soon as possible the following day.  This would not contain surprises, it would c ontinue to be based on the bottom-up process. 
473. Many comments had been made, and the Genera l Council Chairman and he would take them 
into account, although the modifications would be li mited given the time available and the need to 
reflect non-controversial issues, capturing in a better way the current situation, without trying in any 
way to push the envelope.  They would try to fi nd solutions that addressed the various concerns 
expressed about the Annexes – their utility, or their status.  They would try to find a solution that 
encapsulated what had been said, although this would not be easy because views went in very 
different directions, but they would try to be creative. 
474. Delegations should recall that they were trying to prepare the work of their Ministers, and that 
the time they spent on this was not  being used for negotiations, but they had to do it.  He hoped the 
statements at the General Council the following day would be geared to preparing Hong Kong 
correctly and professionally. 
475. The Trade Negotiations Committee took note
 of the statements22. 
_________________ 
                                                      
20  See Annex II. 
21  See Annex II. 
22  Including the statements reflect ed in Annexes I, II and III.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 67 
 
 
ANNEX I  
 
Statement distributed by Mexico  
 
General Comments  
  
 The text faithfully reflects the status of the negotiations, in particular the clear divergences 
between Members.  We were glad to receive a text  "with no surprises".  We agree with the Director-
General that the text is not balanced but we believe that this is due more to the fact that it reflects a 
structural imbalance in the negotiations, which s hould not be attributable to the text itself. 
 
 Below are some specific comments on each issue: 
 
AGRICULTURE 
 
 Through the G-20 Mexico has made clear its position in the agriculture negotiations.  We 
repeat that these constitute an intermediate point be tween the different positions of Members.  As we 
see it, the fact that we are not thinking of agreeing full modalities for Hong Kong does not prevent us 
from promoting certain decisions that would fac ilitate agreements in the first part of 2006. 
  For example, as regards domestic support , there is a consensus that the three Members with 
the highest overall levels of trade-distorting su pport and aggregate measure of support (AMS) should 
make deeper cuts than the others.  In other word s, Ministers should agree on the number of bands and 
the levels thereof, in order to reflect this situa tion, in addition to applyi ng special and differential 
treatment in this case (two thirds of  cuts).  For this reason, the ba nds and the levels included in the 
G-20 proposal should be reflected in the Ministerial Declaration, leaving for later consideration the 
size of the reductions in those bands.  That is to  say that the top band for overall cuts would be 
between 0 and 10 billion dollars , the second between 10 and 60 b illion dollars and the third over 
60 billion dollars.  In the case of AMS, the threshol ds should be between 0 and 15 billion dollars for 
the first band, between 15 and 25 billion dollars for the second, and over 25 billion dollars for the 
third.   The decision on the base period for product-specific caps and on special treatment for 
developing countries is to be expected in th e post-Hong Kong phase.  However, this should not 
prevent countries from discussing these matters, t ogether with the Blue Box and Green Box 
disciplines and de minimis  cuts.  We note that the Chairman's  report to the TNC, though prepared 
under his own responsibility, is not sufficiently preci se since special and differential treatment is not 
adequately reflected for each element in this pillar. 
 
 Concerning the tariff reduction formula , there is a consensus on the need for four bands.  
Moreover, Hong Kong may be a good  opportunity to move the process forward and to agree on the 
levels of the bands and the type of formula within  each band.  Cuts in the bands and the number and 
treatment of sensitive products, in addition to the re maining issues under this pillar, would remain to 
be tackled at the stage wh en full modalities are agreed. 
 
 The Ministers should take the necessary decisions to specify the date for the elimination of all 
export subsidies , which should be no later than 2010. 
 
NAMA 
 
 Our delegation favours agreement on a simple Swiss formula  for tariff reduction, with 
differentiated coefficients between developed and developing countries,  to be defined early next year. TN/C/M/22 
Page 68  
 
   
 In the section on flexibilities , we consider that the square brackets around the numbers 
contained in paragraph 8 should be removed.  Mexico has made a series of proposals on the 
flexibilities issue, in order to provide developing co untries with more options.  Accordingly, a higher 
coefficient should be established than that agreed  for developing countries, in the case of those 
countries which opt not to exercise their right to exclude products from the a pplication of the general 
formula.   On the question of the treatment of unbound tariffs , Mexico has made proposals such as the 
rational approach of a non-linear mark-up, which giv es precedence to the lowest applied tariffs rather 
than the highest, as compared with the constant ma rk-up approach.  For the sake of simplicity, and in 
order to join the Hong Kong consensus, Mexico c ould accept the constant mark-up approach, leaving 
the size of the mark-up to be decided in the post-Hong Kong period.   On the remaining issues, such as sectorals, non-tariff barriers, preference erosion, small 
economies etc., it will be difficult to settle on language that goes beyond taking note, since in some 
cases more horizontal decisions are required, while in  others there are still conceptual disagreements.  
Work should therefore continue in Geneva on the deci sions that are required to be taken in the coming 
months.  
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 
Special and Differential Treatment
 
LDC Proposals  
  Development stands at the "heart of the roun d".  However, the development agenda is not 
limited to the treatment of special situations, whet her in respect of least developed countries (LDCs), 
"small economies", etc.  The "development" dimens ion must provide for an ambitious outcome in 
respect of effective market access in favour of all de veloping countries.  We repeat that such effective 
market access, supplemented by technical assistance  and capacity building pr ogrammes, is the best 
tool for development.   We have heard the appeal by some Members (and by the WTO Director-General) in favour of 
an "early harvest" in Hong Kong on "development" i ssues.  We note that the draft Ministerial Text 
contains proposals that one of the elements of that harvest should be a commitment on quota-free and 
duty-free market access for goods originati ng from least developed countries (LDCs). 
  The proposal on market access for LDCs appears in two sections of the draft Ministerial 
Declaration:  paragraph 28 and A nnex F.  Mexico considers it essential to restore coherence between 
these two proposals so that paragraph 28 reflects th e discussion under way on Annex F, and ideally to 
discuss this matter in a single section so as to prevent discrepancies in the text. 
  The text to be adopted should use language that reflects the different level of commitments to 
be undertaken by the developed countries, on the one hand, and the developing countries declaring 
themselves in a position to do so, on the other, including an element of progressivity (time) and 
flexibility  (coverage) that would be required by the la tter, unlike those Members that have already 
entered into such commitments.  It would, of cour se, be important for the developed Members not to 
confine themselves to maintaining the status quo, but to improve it.  
 Regarding proposal 84 (trade-related investme nt measures), we reiterate our systemic 
concern.  The adoption of a decision on TRIMs in the proposed terms would imply a substantial amendment to the TRIMs Agreement without followi ng the procedure specified for that purpose.  
However, for the sake of achieving a compromise and as a concession on our part, we could accept the proposal, if the requesting Members were made subject to a requirement of prior notification of  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 69 
 
 
the new measures they seek to introduce, as well as to an analysis of the effect that both existing and 
new measures could have on other Members (both elem ents already appear within square brackets in 
the text).  
TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT 
 
 Like many delegations, Mexico considers that  the section on trade and environment should be 
brief, concise and factual .  Accordingly, we support the cont ent of paragraphs 12 and 13 and we 
would accept no changes.  In particular, we would be opposed to any new attempt to insert proposals 
to "initiate negotiations on the text";  such proposals would imply a new mandate which lacks the 
support of a large number of Members of this Organization. 
  Regarding paragraph 14 (nego tiations on environmental goods and services), our delegation is 
in favour of the definitive insertion of the first passage in square brackets, since its content, unlike that 
of the second passage in square brackets (identifica tion of goods), does not prejudge the result of our 
work.  We suggest, therefore, that the second vari ant between square brackets should be deleted. 
 
SERVICES 
 
 Mexico considers that the draft Ministerial Text prepared by the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Services in Special Session and contained in  Annex A, Parts I and II, of his report to this 
body (TN/S/23), provides a good starting point for reaching an agreement in Hong Kong, since it 
contains the necessary elements for achieving a ba lance between the positions and interests of the 
various Members.   Accordingly, Mexico appeals for no amendments to be made to the draft Ministerial Text, 
since they might upset the delicate balance achieved in that document. 
  The foregoing does not imply that Mexico cons iders that the text addresses or meets all its 
interests and proposals in the negotiation, although it is prepared to work towards their realization on 
the basis of the text.  In this regard, any insisten ce on introducing or amending elements of the draft 
Ministerial Text would necessarily entail the need fo r Mexico to reconsider the expedience of also 
insisting on the submission of proposals in its own interest. 
  It is essential to recognize that the draft Mini sterial Text on services needs to be more detailed 
and specific than the draft on other areas of negotiati on, especially in view of the procedure followed 
in these negotiations.  Thus, we require detailed guidelines if we are to achieve a successful and 
substantial outcome from the services negotiations. 
  Finally, we repeat that we should not spend our time discussing elements or proposals on which agreement is clearly impossible, especially in  the light of possible results in other areas of 
negotiation.  We therefore appeal for avoidance of debate on so-called "numerical indicators or 
parameters", bearing in mind the arguments con cerning GATS-inconsistency and lack of balance 
already put forward by Mexico in other WTO bodies. 
 
RULES 
Dumping/Subsidies
 
 
 We support the aims of Annex D of the draft Ministerial Declaration, as regards clarifying the 
text of the Anti-Dumping Agreement.   In Mexico's view, the work of the Negotiating Group on Rules should continue at the same pace in 2006, even at times when the other areas of negotiation appear to be moving forward more TN/C/M/22 
Page 70  
 
  slowly.  We are not satisfied with the language of the last paragraph of the Annex concerning the need 
to take account of progress in other areas of the negotiations.   We favour preparation of a text under the Chairman's responsibility as early as possible in 2006.  We would like Annex D to include a date for the submission of that text. 
 
 We fully support the list of issues in paragraph 6 of the Annex, which reflects the diverse interests of Members.  The proposals concerning issu es on the list that have been discussed in the 
Negotiating Group on Rules should be a starting point for a balanced text under the responsibility of 
the Chairman.  It would be worthwhile to consider  the desirability of leaving open the possibility of 
including additional issues and/or proposals in the text  in the course of the negotiations, issues such as 
new exporter reviews and price unde rtakings, which appear on the agenda for the NGR meeting of 
28 November 2005.   Clarification of the Anti-Dumping Agreement s hould be our first priority.  However, we are 
also in favour of the negotiation of new anti-dumping disciplines, under the provisions of the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, in  relation to the application of countervailing 
duties, provided that these new disciplines are relevant  in the new context and that a careful analysis 
is conducted of the way in which we wish to see actionable subsidies treated in the WTO.  
REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS (RTAs) 
 
 The substantial progress in defining the elemen ts of the transparency mechanism for RTAs 
should find concrete expression in a provisional decision on RTA transparency early in 2006.   We are in favour of applying the new transp arency disciplines to the agreements that 
Members notify in the future. 
  With a view to realizing the potential benefits of future agreements, we think it necessary to 
support the ongoing discussion on systemic issues in the Negotiating Group on Rules.    TN/C/M/22 
  Page 71 
 
 
ANNEX II 
 
Statements made by participants at the informal meeting of Heads of Delegation 
held on 28 November 2005 
  
 As noted above, at their request, the statemen ts made by a number of delegations at the 
informal meeting of Heads of Delegation, held on  28 November, are reproduced below as part of the 
minutes of the formal meeting of the TNC held on 30 November.  
_______________ 
 
 
Statement by the United States
 
 
 
 I would like to thank you and the Director-General for the draft text and also the Chairs for their reports.  Everyone agrees, I think, that the focu s of our efforts must be in making this draft text 
the most useful possible for advancing the process very significantly at Hong Kong so that we can 
achieve our objective of meeting th e Doha mandate by the end of 2006. 
 
 To us, the first priority on that is agriculture  and NAMA and specifically to frame those issues 
in agriculture and NAMA for Ministers so that they can  provide us with the directions that we need to 
conduct and to complete the final st age of negotiations next year.  To  do that, we must be able to 
present our tariff reductions schedules, subsidy reduction schedules and phase-out schedules very 
early in the new year.  So, that should be upper most in our mind as we try to frame the discussions at 
the Ministerial in Hong Kong. 
  In agriculture and NAMA, we also should cap ture the progress that has been identified in 
those reports and include that in the Ministerial Te xt and most importantly build upon it prior to and 
at Hong Kong.  
 On development, a number of delegations have pointed out, we think correctly, that the main 
contribution to development from these negotiati ons will be obtained from market access in 
agriculture, manufactured goods and services.  So we should here also try to capture and report more 
clearly on the progress that we have made on deve lopment in these various negotiations especially for 
the least developed countries. 
 
 On the other development pieces, we do have a concern that in a number of cases what is ostensibly the same issue is scattered throughout the te xts in the reports and in inconsistent ways.  We 
cannot negotiate the same subject matter in two or  more places.  For example, duty-free, quota-free 
appears at least in five different places in the texts and in the reports.  Now, we all have been 
negotiating that in the process of the CTD in Special  Session and that is embodied in Annex F.  We 
are not prepared to have parallel negotiations in othe r areas of the texts, for example in paragraph 28.  
So let us concentrate on negotiating the substance an d the form of that issue where it belongs.  That 
said, I want to reaffirm our readiness to work w ith countries even in the remaining days before the 
General Council and Hong Kong on these LDC proposal s including duty-free, quota-free.  Also, we 
should make the final push now to complete the work  on the LDCs TRIPS extension.  That certainly 
is within our grasp. 
  A few comments on other elements.  On NAMA, the sectorals in NAMA are an essential part of the structure for tariff reduction.  It was clearly identified as such in the July Framework.  It was 
not included in the Chairman's report in paragraph 35 on the areas for consideration by the Ministers.  
We think that sectorals do need to be a part of the Ministerial work on NAMA. TN/C/M/22 
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 On services, there Ministers must ensure that  a level of ambition for services is commensurate 
with the level of ambition in agriculture and in  NAMA.  Also in services, we once again find a 
problem of a disconnect between the work that was done in the body actually negotiating the material 
and in paragraph 28 in the text specifically having  to do with the treatment of services for the least 
developed.  This was a part of the services re port that was carefully negotiated among the Members 
and this has to do with implementing the agreed mo dalities for least-developed countries.  That is an 
important outcome and we should stick to the formul ation in any treatment of the subject within the 
draft Ministerial Text.  
 Overall, we do think the services text in Annex C does provide a good way forward at Hong 
Kong.  However there is one issue where we think th ere is an imbalance and that has to do with the 
treatment of the different modes of supply and if you look at that, you will see in Mode 3, the report 
talks about commitments on enhanced levels of foreign equity particip ation rather than talking about 
removal or substantial reduction of such limitations.  Whereas in other modes, in Modes 1 and Modes 
4, that stronger formulation appears.  So we think that as the work goes forward on services we do 
have to have a same level of ambition, the same  sort of balance as we look across the modes of 
delivery.   On rules, we think the Chair's text represents  a basis for work.  We think however that it still 
needs further improvement, and particularly, to reflect  more accurately the very careful balance that 
was struck in the Doha mandate.  
  Finally, access to medicines, we have been working closely with other Members to try to 
complete the work there and I just want to say  that we are still committed to completing that 
amendment. 
 
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Statement by Jamaica  
 
 
Jamaica wishes to thank you as Chairperson of the General Council and the Director-General 
for producing this first draft of the Ministerial text  for Hong Kong for the consideration of Members.  
We note that this is a first draft of the text and it provides a basis for intensifying the discussions on 
what should be presented to Ministers at Hong Kong.  
Jamaica wishes to make brief comments on the structure and nature of the draft text as well as 
on a couple of substantive issues which we feel should be addressed between now and the Ministerial 
conference. 
 
With respect to the cover note for the draft text , Jamaica notes that it correctly reflects that the 
text does not purport to represent agreement overa ll and that convergences and divergences still exist 
among the membership.  It is stated in the last sen tence of the second paragraph of the cover note that 
"in some areas where important, substantive differe nces persist" the draft attaches a report by the 
relevant Chair, prepared on his own responsibility, se tting out the present situation as he sees it".  It is 
not clear to us which of the reports this sentence relates to.  In this context we are particularly 
concerned regarding the case of the services text.  As paragraph 9 of the draft Ministerial Declaration makes a cross-reference to Annex C which is a services text.  Paragraph 9 serves to give the 
impression that this text is agreed.  This in ou r view is not the case as divergences still exist among 
the membership on some of the elements contained in Annex C. 
 
It is on this basis that Jamaica wishes to emph asize the need for greater clarity in establishing 
the nature of the attached reports.  We are of the view that a distinction needs to be made between 
those reports made by Chairpersons on their ow n responsibility and those reports which are being 
submitted by the respective negotiating groups such as a report by the Negotiating Group on Trade 
Facilitation where there is genera l acceptance by the membership. 
 
We feel that a substantive part of the draft Mi nisterial text represents a good effort in general 
but we have concerns regarding the content in certain areas.  We think the text is weak in a number of 
areas as it does not provide a basis for Ministers to  consider specific issues and recommendations with 
a view to making clear decisions and providing direction for the negotiations that must take place 
after Hong Kong.  While we do recognize that in some  instances this may be a natural consequence of 
the state of play in some areas, we think more need s to be done to provide Ministers with a clear idea 
of the issues which they are being requested to  address and on which their guidance needs to be 
provided.  We believe this is necessary, if shor t of full modalities, we are to narrow differences and 
importantly also at the political level, create be tter understanding of Members' positions and the 
potential for movement or otherwise.  It is vital th at such efforts to assist Ministers focus in Hong 
Kong and provide guidance, be characterized by balan ce and that issues with respect to which they are 
being asked to provide guidance, are comprehensive and inclusive.  We know that there is a view that 
some issues will fall into place after Hong Kong, but we think this is risky and believe that all issues 
of importance to a significant or to a large number of Members, deserve Ministerial attention so as to 
ensure that they do in fact fall into place.  We  hope it will be possible to arrive at a balanced and 
inclusive list of issues for Ministers.  This will be  particularly important for those Ministers who do 
not participate in meetings such as those which take  place in London and Zuri ch and such other places 
and for whom Hong Kong might be the only opportunity to let their Ministerial colleagues know their views on issues of importance to them and their countries before the end of the Doha Round. 
 
 Turning to another issue, Jamaica is of the view  that sufficient attention has not being paid to 
development components of the negotiations.  We ar e of the view that the text lacks sufficient 
direction in the areas of Special and Differential Treatment and implementation-related issues.  There is urgent need to make more progress on implem entation and on the Agreement-specific proposals on 
S&D.  With regard to S&D it is regrettable th at since the Doha Round was launched in 2001, no TN/C/M/22 
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  meaningful progress has been reached on making S&D more precise, effective and operational.  We 
therefore believe that the development component of  the Round cannot be satisfied without concrete 
progress at Hong Kong on S&D, including the LDC and other Agreement-specific proposals.   We welcome the section on Aid for Trade contai ned in paragraph 37.  However, we think it 
should be made as operational as possible in the circum stances.  We also believe that the paragraph 
can be improved in certain ways.  In this para graph, we have two references to an ambitious 
conclusion of the Round and a furt her reference to a successful and ambitious conclusion.  Jamaica 
supports a successful conclusion of the Doha Round and a conclusion that is in keeping with the Doha 
Mandate.  We are not sure however that all Members are agreed on precisely what an ambitious 
conclusion is and we think that therefore it is  safe to refer only to a successful conclusion. 
  We would wish to see the paragraph very clear ly indicate that Aid for Trade can help some 
Members take advantage of the potential opportunities resulting from the DDA and specifically among the purposes of Aid for Trade is facilitating adju stment to trade liberalization including the fact 
of preference erosion. 
  We fully support the points made by the dele gation of Bangladesh in regard to the first two 
sentences of the section on coherence.  We think that there is an approach to coherence and to 
conditionality in these two paragra phs which we cannot support. 
 
 Turning to Services, we have concerns with the draft text on Services.  As indicated earlier 
the relationship between paragraph 9 and the Annex C, would suggest that that the services text is an 
agreed document.  But we continue to have str ong reservations about certain elements contained in 
Annex C.  We have already raised those concerns  in an informal session of the Council for Trade in 
Services in Special Session.  I will not repeat ourselves this afternoon, except to indicate our 
reservations about inter alia  paragraphs 1 and 7 of Annex C.  We note with satisfaction that the 
reference to numerical targets and indicators, has be en deleted.  However, in the section on Services 
in the draft Ministerial text itself, that is, paragraph 7, we see that there is a reference in the first end 
sentence to due respect for the right of Members to regulate.  We will recall that the Services 
Agreement, specifically also draws attention to the importance of due respect for national policy 
objectives.  We believe that this concept should be  included as well in paragraph 7 of the Ministerial 
text itself.  That we think will serve to protect the interests of many Members. 
  On NAMA, we have a concern re garding the range of coefficients specifically referred to in 
the text submitted by the Chairman on his own r esponsibility.  When linked to the suggestion that 
Ministers seek to narrow the range of coefficients at Hong Kong, our concern is greatly heightened.  
In regard to the direction in pa ragraph 34 and 35, we believe that there are other important issues 
relating for example to Special and Differential Trea tment, including the question of less than full 
reciprocity and also relating to aspects of flexibility,  other than those identified in paragraph 8 of the 
NAMA Framework which require ministerial attention if  there is to be balance in the discussions and 
negotiations and if there is to be comfort to a large number of Members.  Furthermore, if there is to be 
adherence to the letter and spirit of the Doha mandate  and the July Framework text.  This returns my 
delegation to the question of balance and inclusiven ess in the provision of any guidelines to Ministers 
in regard to the issues on which they should fo cus so as to move our process forward, ultimately 
towards full modalities.   Lastly, on an editorial point, which we are su re you will address, we note from the draft texts 
that there are different references, some to the General Council Decision of 1 August 2004, others to 
the July 2004 Framework Text.  We think that th ese should be streamlined so there should be one 
consistent reference to help those outside this orga nization in understanding the text that is before us. 
  TN/C/M/22 
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 Finally, these are some of the preliminary co mments that Jamaica has.  The draft is being 
reviewed in our Capital and we have further comment s to make within the course of this week.  We 
conclude by thanking the Chairs of the differe nt negotiating groups and Committees for their hard 
work and effort in providing their inputs for the draft text.  Jamaica underscores it's willingness to work with all Members in an effort to achieve fu rther convergence on the text  in the time remaining 
before the Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong and particularly towards providing all Ministers with 
more clear cut guidance in so far as that is possibl e to focus the discussions and negotiations to take 
place in Hong Kong.    
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  Statement by Moldova, also on behalf of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic
 
     Madam Chair, as other delegations, we w ould like to thank you for the Hong Kong Draft 
Ministerial Text. 
  In this overall context,    First, we have noted that in the main part of  the draft (pages 1-8), the special situation of the 
Recently Acceded Members (RAMs) h as been recognized only with regard to Services.  That is not 
acceptable to us and, moreover, that is also not in line with the paragraph 9 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration, where extensive market-access commitme nts in all areas already made by these countries 
on accession were fully recognized, as the fact th at these accessions had greatly strengthen the 
multilateral trading system. 
 
 Second, therefore, we would like to draw your 'attention once more to the very substantive concerns of small low-income countries in trans ition, which are also the Recently Acceded Members, 
as highlighted in their three formal proposals su bmitted to the Special Session of the Committee on 
Agriculture and the Negotiating Group on NAMA, as well as more recently to the Negotiating Group on 'Trade Facilitation.  Those proposals are based on these countries' real, factual' and objective 
situations both with regard to their already substantial and largely unmatched input into the 
multilateral trading system and their level of deve lopment, which remains quite low comparable to 
that of many Least Developed Countries.   These three proposals are based on the provisions  of paragraph 38 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration, paragraph l.d and other relevant sec tions of the General Council's Decision of 1 August 
2004, which underline the difficulties faced by small low-income economies in transition in their efforts to implement economic and trade policy reforms.   Thus, we firmly consider that small low-in come countries in transition, whose tariffs are 
bound at very low rates across the board, should remain  exempt from any kind of further reductions in 
the medium-term, in view of the still high tariff le vels of other Members, as well as international 
market distortions caused by agricultural export subsidies and domestic support measures exercised 
mostly by developed country Members.  The same, if not even more, applies to services liberalization.  
On Trade Facilitation, we have requested that sm all low-income economies in transition be also 
granted special flexibilities with regard to trade fa cilitation and be provided with technical assistance 
and capacity building in accordance with paragra phs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Annex D of the General 
Council's Decision of 1 August 2004.   Third, I would also underscore that, for known historical reasons, small low-income countries 
in transition had joined the multilateral trading system very recently by accepting an unprecedently 
high level of obligations  and commitments as a result of their accession to the WTO.  Equally 
important is to understand that these countries, fo r the same historical reasons, had entered the 
international scene also quite recently and thus had very limited opportunities for obtaining international recognition of their actual developm ent levels in accordance with the established 
political realities, which had been formed without participation of these countries.  
 In particular, in the WTO, the Multilateral Tr ade Agreements as well as the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration did not stipulate any specific flexibilities for these countries, although their level of development would warrant that kind of approach.  We had a rather positive initial response to our 
proposals from other Members.  However, this has no t materialized yet in any specific provisions or 
counter proposals.  Moreover, in their reports to the TNC, the Chairpersons of respective negotiating  TN/C/M/22 
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bodies have scarcely mentioned our positions, in partic ular in agriculture, which is a crucial area for 
our countries and also for the Round as a whole.   Finally, with regard to any "Aid for Tr ade" package as a possible Hong Kong outcome, we 
consider that such package is vital to strengthe n the development oriented component of the Doha 
Round as the Development Round.  Small low income countries in transition should also be viewed as 
a major and direct beneficiary of such supplementary measures.   We would like to convey to you our high exp ectations that our proposals will be eventually 
considered in a positive and unbiased spirit, but, for Hong Kong, we urge that, at least, their content 
will be fully and properly reflected in the Ministerial Text, like positions of other Members. 
   TN/C/M/22 
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  Statement by Kenya
 
   Madam Chair, I want to thank you, the Direct or-General and the Chairs of various bodies for 
the efforts you have put in producing this text.  I think in some areas it reflects the wishes of the 
Members but in others it leaves much to be desired. 
  We will only comment on some areas but would be willing make additional comments at some time in the future.  
 First, regarding the reports which have been a nnexed to the draft Ministerial text, we share the 
frustrations with other Members who have said that the reports appear not to be balanced and need 
surgery.  We support Egypt that the reports and the D eclaration take different tracks.  I am saying this 
because we agree with Mauritius and Indonesia that on some issues our Ministers may have very little 
to do for example, in NAMA, if the focus would be  on three issues and one of the issues that is of 
importance to Kenya is left out.   
  Many people have talked a bout development and we keep on saying that Doha is a 
development agenda, yet we do not have a subparagraph on developmen t.  We do have sub headings 
on issues relating to development but we do not have  a sub heading on development.  This should 
have been the first paragraph before getting to agri culture, cotton and other issu es.  This is where we 
can borrow heavily from the recent Declaration of  the African Trade Ministers, where they 
pronounced themselves on what they thought developm ent should be and what should be locked in 
development as we head to Hong Kong.  We can bo rrow from paragraph 7 of that declaration which 
clearly specifies or defines what development is.  I hope this will be take n into consideration. 
 
 On the Rules Negotiations, we think the issue th at was raised by India is crucial for Africa 
and the African Trade Ministers have pronounced  themselves on it and it is available in their 
Declaration in subparagraphs (g) and (h).  The me ssage is quite clear and is something that this 
Declaration could borrow just to improve on it, to make sure that what we take to Hong Kong is 
clearer and understandable to all Ministers.  
 On Special and Differential Treatment, the three paragraphs could be co mpressed but we will 
suggest wording that carries the same meaning and al so takes into consideration some of the proposals 
that have been tabled.  We do have proposals under Category III whic h have been omitted and there is 
no mention of them.  We therefore believe the pa ragraph can be improved.  The African Group had 
earlier submitted a proposal to the Chair of the CT D in Special Session, which we could borrow and 
have one paragraph on S&D but carry the same message and make sure that the wishes of the African 
Group of bringing all the issues back to the CTD ar e taken into consideration so that we have a 
focused discussion after the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting.   On Implementation, we need to change gear and see what other alternative approach we could 
use because we have used this same approach sinc e Doha and have not seen much progress.  The 
question is, should we move on with same approach th at has not yielded results or should we think of 
an alternative.  Perhaps we need to look at an alternative way of  handling the implementation issues. 
  On technical assistance, we agree with Djibouti that we should have a mention of JITAP, which has been successful.  Kenya has been a beneficiary of JITAP.  It is unfortunate that we will be 
exiting the programme in Hong Kong.  We believe it is a programme that has been beneficial and a 
mention of it would add some value to the Declaration.   We could also improve the firs t sentence of paragraph 33, a lthough we do not doubt that there 
are some people who may note with satisfaction th e substantial increase in trade-related technical  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 79 
 
 
assistance.  The word "satisfaction" to some of us when limited to two or three activities in a year and 
would have liked more, may convey a different mes sage to some other Members.  We could use the 
word "appreciation" rather than "satisfaction".  We  are not disputing that the technical assistance has 
increased, it has.  But, noting with satisfaction while  we are still calling for Aid for Trade, would put 
to question why we still want other forms of techni cal assistance if we are satisfied with what we 
already have.  We could consider changing th at language to address the all our concerns. 
  Regarding paragraph 36 on Coherence, we ag ree with Bangladesh because the first two 
sentences are misplaced.  The paragraph could start with welcoming the Director-General's action to 
strengthen WTO co-operation with the IMF and th e World Bank as this would convey a much better 
and clearer report to our Ministers.  Those two sen tences do not add value to the issue of Coherence. 
  On Aid for Trade, we need clarification b ecause our understanding is that it is financial or 
material help given to a country or area in need, or  help or support in achieving something.  When we 
see phrases like "where appropriate on concessional terms" we need clarification on what these terms 
are and hope that it is not the Trade-Integrated Mech anism coming in a different way.  Otherwise, we 
would prefer the language that was used by the Afri can Trade Ministers in Arusha where they clearly 
pinpointed that Aid for Trade should help to in crease capacity to negotiate, capacity to adjust, 
capacity to produce and capacity to trade.  The langu age in the African Trade Ministers' Declaration 
provides a clearer understanding of what Aid for Trade is.  Aid as another form of a credit line would not be acceptable to African Trade Ministers as they recognized that they all are customers to the IMF 
and World Bank and may not need to go through th e WTO to access the credit in those institutions. 
  I hope these issues can be taken into considera tion when you are consulting in those different 
configurations that you are talking about.  
  
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  Statement by Bangladesh
 
   May I associate myself fully with the remarks made by Zambia, as coordinator of the LDC Group in the WTO.  I would like to make some additional points. 
 
 First, some general remarks on the documents gi ven to us on Saturday for consideration of the 
Ministers.  The process through which this docum ent emerged is unusual, as compared to past 
practices of developing texts for Ministerials.  It is the first attempt at a Ministerial text, using a 
bottom-up approach, involving the membership.  We  give you tributes for organizing this process. 
 
 We must, however, raise a systemic issue.  The TNC has negotiating bodies under it, and each 
Chair has been reporting to the TNC under his ow n responsibility.  If a Member has views on that 
text, that Member express concerns or views in the TNC.  
 It has been the general understanding of the Memb ers that the reports of the Chairs would be 
made to the TNC and that a separate text would be  negotiated and agreed upon for inclusion in the 
draft Ministerial text.  We are deeply concerned abou t the legal status of the reports of the Chairs if 
they are annexed to the draft Hong Kong Ministerial declaration.  We would like an assurance that 
these reports will not alter the Doha mandate, or the Decision adopted by the General Council on 1 
August 2004.  This assurance should be  in paragraph 2 of the draft Declaration, in the chapeau part. 
 
 I will now refer to specific areas of the text a nd the annexes that are of direct relevance to 
Bangladesh.   In paragraph 36 of the draft text, the first tw o sentences should be deleted.  The first sentence 
seems to indicate that a successful conclusion of  the Doha Round will allow the multilateral trading 
system to contribute to greater coherence in intern ational economic policy making.  The last part of 
this sentence creates further confusion; in fact, we do not understand the need for the sentence.  The 
second sentence has a critical flaw.  ODA and debt  relief has been made conditional to trade 
liberalization.  We cannot allow such statement to  emanate from the WTO.  Trade liberalization has 
its place in our economic policy making, as does aid and debt relief, but the second is not conditional 
to the first.  We support the rest of the para graph from the section: "We welcome the Director-
General's actions …".   In paragraph 37, we are devoting a great deal of space to Aid for Trade, a concept which has 
not been defined by anyone.  However, I will not object to inclusion of this paragraph, if other 
members want it. 
  NAMA is one of the most critical areas for the least developed countries.  The report of the Chair is not negotiated nor an agreed report.  Furthe rmore, it states clearly that its report by the Chair 
to the TNC.  To place this report before the Minist ers, and to get them to note it, would effectively 
change the Doha mandate.  We ha ve particular concerns with pa ragraph 24 of the report where the 
progress in the market access fo r the LDCs has been made conditional to what is happening 
elsewhere.  The NAMA Negotiating Group has its ma ndate given from Doha, and as amended by the 
Decision adopted by the General Council on 1 August 200 4.  Paragraph 24 brings issues that are not 
relevant to the single-undertaking negotiations, and has no place in the NAMA document.  I would 
strongly suggest that paragraph 24 be deleted, and paragraph 10 of Annex B of the July 2004 
framework be inserted as it is, word for word, with an explanation that this is still to be negotiated. 
  I must make a few remarks about the document in Annex "F".  I appreciate the efforts of the 
membership to move ahead on resolving the S& D issues from the Uruguay Round.  However, we 
have taken up just five of the many proposals that were under discussion, even from among those of  TN/C/M/22 
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the LDC Group.  Prior to the Cancùn Ministerial,  we had negotiated many S&D provisions which had 
been annexed to the Draft Cancùn text.  That text  was not adopted, but the S&D provisions remain on 
the table.  I want to make it clear that we rema in committed to them.  The acceptance of any of the 
proposals at Hong Kong does not relieve the membership  of the responsibility of negotiating those, or 
of the others that remain on the table. 
 
 In this regard, I would like to  make clear that in specific areas of the negotiations currently 
underway, we have special needs that have to be co nsidered in the context of those negotiations.  If 
there are general provisions, they can be useful gui ding principles, under which the details have to be 
negotiated in each area of the negotiations. 
 
  TN/C/M/22 
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  Statement by Ecuador
 
   Madam Chair, the delegation of Ecuador is grateful for the efforts that you and the Director-General have made to prepare this important working document, which incorporates inputs from 
Members concerning aspects of the negotiations which are of singular importance for all of us, 
together with the various topics of the Work Progr amme that were established pursuant to the Doha 
Declaration.  We are committed to working on all these topics, which are under negotiation with a 
view to the conclusion of the Round.  
 We agree with speakers who have said that the development dimension is at the core of the 
multilateral negotiations now under way, and must be gi ven effect in particular through market access 
and by strengthening the principles and objectives that guide this Organization.   We note with concern that the most-favoured -nation principle and the objective of trade 
liberalization could be weakened by proposals that  place limits on the process in order to protect 
preference margins for products of export interest  to other developing countries - in our case tropical 
and alternative products among other goods and sectors.  In this connection, we endorse Peru's view 
about the inclusion of paragraph 43 of the July Package by Chairman Falconer. 
  We support special and differential treatment in  both its offensive and defensive dimensions 
as a cross-cutting issue in these negotiations, and it is  our hope that preference erosion problems will 
be approached by means of non-trade solutions .  We are therefore ready to support innovative 
proposals through programmes such as "Aid for Tr ade", as well as the work being done by the 
director in charge.  
 In our view, substantial liberalization in agri culture is to a large extent the answer to 
furthering the development dimension.  The "recalibra tion" of the agriculture negotiations – the focal 
point of this Round – is therefore a disappointment  and will bring down the ge neral level of ambition 
of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  We trust that the main players will show leadership and the political will really to give the development di mension pride of place by securing concrete results 
and agreements in key negotiating areas. 
 
 Ecuador accordingly supports the initiatives in  the so-called "development package" on the 
understanding that they benef it all developing countries. 
  It must be remembered that in Latin Americ a vast sectors of the population live below the 
poverty threshold and that the region's percentage shar e in world trade has declin ed in recent years.  
Consequently, development initiatives must focus on this region as well.   This is why in agriculture we have leg itimate expectations that Hong Kong will produce 
agreement on an approach, perhaps similar to that pr oposed by the Chairman of NAMA, that will give 
momentum and balance to the negotiations as a whole.  We cannot agree to progress in so 
fundamental a negotiating area as agriculture bein g contingent on progress in other areas of the 
negotiations where many developing countri es have little to gain and much to lose. 
  I should also remind you that on acceding to the WTO, Ecuador had to assume steep 
commitments in all the areas under negotiation.  Consequently, it is well on the way to compliance 
with the objectives being sought as a conclusion of the Doha Round, particularly as regards the low 
level of its tariff bindings, both for applied rates and for bound rates, and the broad liberalization of its 
services.  Ecuador will accordingly seek specific diffe rential treatment for recently acceded countries 
as a cross-cutting issue in the negotiations under way.  We fully support the recent G-20 proposal in this connection.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 83 
 
 
  Ecuador considers that the report prepared by the Chairman of NAMA on his own responsibility addresses the state of play of the negotiations in a pragmatic and balanced manner 
without prejudging the outcome.  It is a useful reference for pursuing our work towards the actual adoption of negotiating modalities after Hong Kong. 
 
 Priority should be given to consideration of the Chairman's proposal for Ministers at 
Hong Kong to the effect that the formula, flexibilities and unbound tariffs should be addressed 
together;  other elements in Annex B would then be addressed in the context of paragraph 16 of the 
Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
 
 Ecuador endorses the results achieved in trade fa cilitation, reflected in Annex E of the draft 
Ministerial Declaration.  The measures proposed to improve and clarify GATT Articles V, VIII and X, together with any other proposals presented, will guide the outcome of these negotiations.  Actual 
implementation of the principle of special and diffe rential treatment in the context of the negotiating 
modalities referred to in Annex D of the July 2004 Decision is of singular importance if developing 
countries are to adopt the rules that are agreed on in this area.   In our view the text on trade and environment proposed by the Chair of the negotiating group contained in the draft Ministerial Declaration re flects the state of play of the negotiations and 
reaffirms the mandate set in para graph 31 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, namely enhancement 
of the mutual supportiveness of trade and envir onment within the framework of sustainable 
development.   With regard to services, while acknowledging th at progress has thus far been limited, we 
consider that the content of Annex C of the draft Declaration is, in contrast, excessively ambitious. 
 
 Ecuador considers the GATS to be the legal document that all Members agreed on as the basis for these negotiations.  It is therefore th e basic negotiating framewo rk.  The Guidelines and 
Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in Servi ces of 28 March 2001, and Annex C of the Decision 
adopted on 1 August 2004, are instruments to guide this process.  
 Any further approaches must be consiste nt with the GATS, including flexibilities for 
developing countries.  We are not prepared to accept proposals that depart from the Agreement 
governing negotiations on services or any approaches th at limit the exercise of our rights in this area. 
  We shall continue to work for consensus with  other delegations on issues we deem to be of 
development significance for this Round such as thos e pertaining to TRIPS and Public Health, and the 
relationship between the latter and the Convention on  Biological Diversity as it concerns disclosure of 
the origin of patents.   In conclusion, we would appreciate being ke pt informed of the results of green room 
meetings.  Inclusion and transparency, practices that  you and the Director-General encourage, will 
help to speed up our work so that concrete propo sals can be tabled for the Ministerial Meeting. 
     TN/C/M/22 
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  Statement by Uganda
 
   Madam Chair, this is to thank you and the Director-General for this first draft and to 
commend all the delegations for their contribution to this.  I also wish to associate my delegation with 
statements that have been made on behalf of Africa, ACP, LDC and the Group of 33.  
  The delegation of Uganda gets a lot of consola tion in knowing that the structure of this draft 
Declaration will change by and at both the TNC and the General Council so that there will be a clear 
guidance to our Ministers for their decisions at Hong Kong.  Such will enable us to preserve and lock 
in the progress that has been made so fa r.  Let me make very specific comments: 
  We do agree with Kenya and others that the l ack of a paragraph on development is of concern 
and this is a very serious omission, even if we ha ve recalibrated our ambition.  One of the elements 
that we think should feature in this development paragraph in addition to what has already been 
mentioned is to associate it with, or to associat e the DDA with the Millennium Development Goals, 
especially MDG 8.     In respect to paragraph 5, we would like to  suggest that the phrase "cotton proponents" be 
replaced with "cotton producing countries" in  order to make it much more inclusive. 
 
 Paragraph 28, we would like to suggest an inclusion, a phrase in respect of NTBs which 
would come under line 12 with a sentence beginning with "furthermore" and if you can allow me to 
read it "Furthermore, in accordance with our commi tment in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, 
Members shall take additional measures to provide effective market access, both at the border and otherwise, including undertaking to  eliminate burdensome NTBs..." 
 
 In paragraph 29, we think that the last senten ce here is hanging unless it is recast to give the 
meaning that IF should contribute towards reducti on of supply constraints,  it could be deleted 
altogether.  In terms of sequenc ing it is our view that paragra ph 32 should immediately follow 29 and 
therefore becomes paragraph 30.  
 In respect of paragraph 35, there are instru ction to the Committee on Trade and Development 
to intensify work.  We think that similar instruc tions within the same paragraph should be given to 
Agriculture and NAMA negotiations in respect of commodities.   On paragraph 36, I agree with the delegations of Kenya and that of Bangladesh that the first 
two sentences are not relevant to global c oherence and could be deleted altogether. 
  The conclusion of the DDA and the reference to  interests of developing countries and LDCs 
tend to erroneously link substantia l contribution to greater coheren ce in international economic policy 
making, we do not see the connection herein.  The second sentence tends to insinuate that 
implementing the rules per se is good for developing count ries.  We are fearful that this could be used 
as a platform for demanding our full implementati on of the rules and this could work towards 
watering down the Special and Differential Treatment that we enjoy at present.   These are only our preliminary comments, our capital is reviewing the draft and we may take time again to make other comments at a later time. 
 
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Statement by Cuba  
   We thank the Chairperson of the General Council, the Director-General and the WTO 
Secretariat for presenting this Draft Ministerial Text. 
 
 At this advanced stage of the discussions, ther e is little new that we could add to what has 
already been said.  We consider it important, howe ver, to underline some of the points that have 
already been made by other delegations.  
 We fully endorse the statements made by Br azil on behalf of the G-20, and by Indonesia as 
coordinator of the G-33.  In the latter case, we associate ourselves with that group's call for the 
provisions on Special Products and on the Special Sa feguard Mechanism to be incorporated into the 
section on agriculture in the Ministerial Declaration.   We also support China's statement, in essence 
regarding the inclusion of a specific paragraph set ting out the concerns and interests of recently 
acceded Members.  We further support the statemen t by the Ambassador of Benin, underlining the 
need to incorporate full modalities that will addre ss the cotton initiative tabled by several African 
countries, in an expeditious, specific and ambitious manner.   We echo the sentiment already expressed by other delegations to the effect that we have some difficulty with the inclusion of the annexes and thei r respective references in the Ministerial text, for 
in the cases of NAMA and agriculture for example,  which are of particul ar importance to most 
developing countries, they are reports submitted on the Chair's own responsibility, and are not texts 
agreed by Members.   Like others, we underline the absence of any reference to paragraph 19 of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration, on which our colleagues from India and Peru have already elaborated. 
  As other delegations have pointed out, it is necessary to guarantee due fulfilment of the 
development objectives set at Doha, which are not duly reflected in the proposed text.   As pertains to coherence and Aid for Trad e, we endorse the comments made by Bangladesh 
and Nigeria, and with specific reference to the la tter, we confirm the need for a clear description of 
the implications and the concept of Aid for Trade in the Ministerial text.  Like Peru, we consider it 
necessary to include UNCTAD in th e paragraphs under reference. 
  With respect to services, we share the c oncerns voiced by other developing countries 
regarding the excessive restrictiveness built into the text, as well as the failure to mention that it is not 
a text that was agreed on as part of the Ministerial Declaration.  In that connection, we attach the 
greatest importance to Ecuador's statement that the framework for this topic derives from the General 
Agreement on Trade in Services, paragraph 15 of the Doha Declaration and Annex C of the July 
Package.  
 Like the Ambassador of Jamaica, we believe that it would be a meaningful step to harmonize 
the various aspects of the Ministerial text.  Accordi ngly, my delegation would be grateful if the texts 
on agriculture and NAMA could include fulfilment of the objectives set in the July Package, as has 
already been done for those laid out in the Doha Declaration.  
 I should like to repeat that these comments ar e preliminary, and our delegation reserves the 
right to take up these matters again in forthcoming consultations or meetings. 
    TN/C/M/22 
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  Statement by Israel
 
  Israel would like to join my colleagues who pr eceded me in thanking the Director-General in 
his efforts in producing this draft Ministerial text.  
 As we are still in the process of thoroughly stud ying the text, we have asked for the floor at 
this stage in order to make some preliminary remark s.  We reserve the right to come back with more 
detailed comments in the future.   On agriculture, the Chair's report attached to the Ministerial draft text, conveys a good picture 
regarding the state of play of the negotiations.  However, at this stage we reserve our position 
regarding some of the notes in that report.  As in the past, we maintain that a reasonable balance 
between all three pillars of the negotiations must be struck, before we could shape a final agreement.  
In this regard, it may be difficult for us to support a result that does not provide sufficient flexibility in 
the market access pillar. 
 
 On NAMA, Israel seeks an ambitious outcome of  the negotiations.  We agree that substantial 
progress has been made on elements such as the formula for further reduction of tariffs, product coverage and mark-up for unbound tariff lines, altho ugh much remains to be done.  With respect to 
unbound tariffs, we consider that sufficient comfor t has to be given to Members with low applied 
rates. 
 
 On services, we are satisfied with the fact that  the request and offer approach remains the core 
method for the conduct of negotiations, while allo wing for other approaches such as plurilateral 
initiatives to supplement this core approach.  
 Israel considers the Rules negotiations as a key component of the Doha mandate.  We 
therefore support moving to text-based negotiations in a short period of time, in particular with 
respect to Anti-dumping.   Israel also attaches importance to a successful outcome on environmental issues in general, 
and in particular the fulfillment of the mandate unde r paragraph 31(iii) of the Doha Declaration.  We 
support the continuation of the work towards the identification of environmental goods for the 
reduction or as appropriate  elimination of tariffs and NTBs in this area. 
  Israel is committed to a positive outcome of the Doha Development Round.  While at this 
stage it is evident that not enough convergence has emerged among us, so as to allow the Director-
General to produce a more operational text for H ong Kong, we remain ready to work towards a 
successful result in Hong Kong, with a view  to a satisfactory conclusion of the Round. 
  We urge the Director-General to conti nue conducting the process in a transparent and 
inclusive manner, as to enable delegations with li mited resources, such as Israel, to effectively 
participate and contribute to the process. 
 
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Statement by Nigeria  
   Thank you Madam Chairperson for convening th is meeting to enable Members make initial 
comments on the draft Ministerial Text in JOB (05)/ 298 and on the way forward.  Let me also use this 
opportunity to thank you and the Director-General for introducing the text last Saturday. 
  My delegation join others in thanking you and the Director-General as well as other Chairpersons for working assiduously in preparing the draft Ministerial Text, in spite of all odds and 
complexity associated with the task.  For this f eat, you deserve our commendation.  Since we have 
sent the text to Capita1 and we are awaiting dir ectives, our intervention will be preliminary and 
general in nature and we reserve the right to come  back with more substa ntive and detailed comments 
on the draft text after receiving instructions from Capital.   On the process, my delegation would like to underscore the need for continued transparency 
and all-inclusiveness so that the entire membersh ip can be part of the process and can claim 
ownership.  It is also important that any text  to Ministers should have the blessing and command the 
consensus of all Members.  We are therefore of th e view that the process should remain transparent 
and all-inclusive and the bottom- up approach should be maintained. 
  Madam Chair, permit me to briefly highlights some points of general nature on the text.  
Firstly, my delegation is of the view that the dr aft Ministerial text should be based on the Doha 
mandate, the July package and the progress that has b een made so far in the negotiations.  This should 
be the parameter on which the text should be based.   Secondly, it is also the view of my delegati on that recalibration of our expectations for the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Conference should not in any way lower the level of ambition of the Doha 
Round of negotiations and Hong K ong should serve as launching pad for making further progress in 
the negotiations.   Thirdly, my delegation is of the view that  since the Doha Round is  a development Round, 
issues related to development should receive more at tention so as to deliver and achieve a real pro-
development outcome in the negotiations.  We are disappointed with the development package in the 
text and are of the view that more should be do ne between now and Hong Kong to achieve a more 
substantial and meaningful harvest on development.  In order to achieve this, my delegation wishes to 
call on the Chairperson of the General Council to am icably resolve the issue of TRIPS and Public 
Health before the Hong Kong Ministerial Conferen ce.  We would generally be supportive of any 
proposal that is consistent with paragraph 11 of the August 2003 Deci sion particularly maintaining the 
balance therein.  It is also important to make further efforts to achieving more progress and results on 
all development components of the negotiations.  De velopment should be at the heart of the DDA and 
we should therefore, reclaim or focus on de velopment aspects of the entire negotiations. 
  On agriculture, my delegation is of the view  that it remains the engine of the entire 
negotiations.  Although, we are mindful of the fact  that it might not be possible to achieve full 
modalities in this area before Hong Kong, we hasten to  add that flexibility and display of political will 
is required to advance the negotiations.  It is therefore, our expectation that after Hong Kong, 
Members should fully commit themselves to devel oping and adopting modalities in agriculture that 
would lead to achieving the long- term objectiv e of establishing a fairer and equitable global 
agricultural market free from distortions leading to  establishing a system that provides a level-playing 
field for all Members.  There is urgent need for additional work in this area, so as to achieve the 
objectives of the negotiations.  We note the lack of sp ecificity in the text as well as in the report of the 
Chairperson.  This is an aspect that can be improved upon before the Ministerial Conference.  TN/C/M/22 
Page 88  
 
   On NAMA, it is the view of my delegation th at the negotiations and its outcome should fully 
take into account the principles of less-than full re ciprocity and provide for Special and Differential 
Treatment for developing countries.  We have take n note of the text on NAMA and the factual report 
made by the Chairman in Annex B of the text reflec ting the current state of play in the negotiations.  
My delegation is of the view that the negotiations should take fully into account issues of concern to 
developing countries and development should underpin the negotiations and its outcome. 
  On services, my delegation notes the relevant paragraphs of the text  on services and Annex C 
regarding the Chairman's report accompanying the te xt.  We are concerned about the inclusion of 
certain issues which were not agreed to in the negotiations but are included in the report by the 
Chairman such as sectoral and modal coverage and pl urilateral approach as indicated in paragraphs 2 
and 7 of Annex C.  We are of the view that the negotiations should be guided by the GATS architecture, the Negotiating Guidelines and procedures and other agreed parameters or instrument of 
the negotiations.  We would therefore like to see only issues which command consensus reflected in 
the text. 
 
 Similarly, my delegation would like to see a ba lanced approach in terms of format between 
agriculture and NAMA and definite qualifiers on th e status of reports presented by Chairpersons on 
their own responsibility.  The relationship between te xts and Chairpersons factual reports has to be 
agreed to so as not to create problems later.  We  seek further clarification on the relationship and 
status of the accompanying reports by Chairpersons on their own responsibilities. 
 
 Finally, I wish to reassure you of our tota l support and commitment to work with you and 
other Members in ensuring the su ccess of both the preparatory process and Hong Kong Ministerial.  
My delegation would be positive a nd constructive in our approach so that we can collectively meet 
the challenges ahead. 
 
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Statement by the European Communities  
   Members have a demanded bottom up approach w ithout surprises.  That is exactly what we 
got.  Par definition, the result of  this bottom up process is uneven in  quality, unbalanced and lacking 
overall ambition.  It is now our collective task to try to turn this document between now and Friday 
into a workable basis for Ministers in Hong Kong.   First and foremost we should re-establish a hom ogeneity of the draft Declaration.  The Chairs' 
reports to the TNC on agriculture and NAMA have certainly their value as preparatory documents but 
will be no more than reference docum ents after Wednesday's TNC.   
  We will need to extract from it progress made si nce July 2004 in draft Declaration language.  
Both in agriculture and NAMA substantive progress has been made which should be locked in to 
ensure that we have a consolidated basis from wh ich Ministers can move things further in Hong Kong 
and we want things to move further in all areas.  On this point we are on the same line as Ambassador 
Clodoaldo who spoke on behalf of the G20 on agriculture.   We have to ensure that the Hong Kong outcome is balanced both within agriculture – between 
the 3 pillars and other issues – and between the vari ous components of the single undertaking.  In our 
view this balance is presently lacking.  Balance is in the eye of the beholder. 
 
 The level of ambition and commitment reflected in the services and rules texts is way below what we would consider appropriate.  While we fu lly accept that Ministers should push the envelope 
on agriculture and NAMA, the same applies as fa r as we are concerned to services and rules. 
 
 Development-related issues should have in our  view the highest priority in Hong Kong.  A 
strong signal is needed here in the same form of "early harvest" decisions.  Quota and duty free should 
top the list, but also the other five Agreem ent-specific proposals should be decided upon. 
  We should give a strong signal on Aid for Tr ade and live up to our commitment of ambitious, 
specific and expeditious decisions on cotton as pa rt of the overall agriculture negotiations.   
 
 There is much good material in the more cro ss-cutting development-rela ted paragraphs of the 
Text.  The message resulting from this is, however, not sufficiently intelligible.  We should seek to 
make it more consumer friendly.  
 Our duty to Ministers is not only to provide a good working basis for Hong Kong but also to 
steer them on how to get most out of it in the Mi nisterial negotiations in Hong Kong.  We will do our 
part in making sure that we get a significant outco me in Hong Kong and a solid platform to conclude 
a "full modalities package" shortly afterwards without lowering our overall ambition for the Round 
and with a view of concluding it no later than 2006.  TN/C/M/22 
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  Statement by Pakistan
 
   Madam Chair, we share your and the Directo r-General's comments that the draft Ministerial 
Declaration is a negotiated document and a result of a bottom-up approach with no surprises.  Our 
coordinator of the G20, the Ambassador of Brazil has already conveyed the Group's satisfaction.  But 
this Ministerial Declaration is obviously a first step.  This text needs to evolve quickly and 
substantially so as to serve as a useful working document for Ministers.  We agree with Ambassador 
Clodoaldo that one important change needed is to harmonize or bring at par important or key 
negotiating areas.  For a very vast majority of this house this means that just like in some areas where 
we have specifics like in NAMA where we have sp ecific questions, and specific language in Services 
which seeks Ministerial guidance, we should have si milar language in other areas.  I can be more 
factual that.  In Agriculture and Rules we need a similar kind of refinement as we have in NAMA and 
Services.  
 Another thing we agree with Ambassador Cl odoaldo is that development should be given 
maximum importance.  But unfortunately again, we  have a slightly different perception of what 
development means.  For a very vast majority of  delegates here, development means more market 
access and removal of discriminatory and trade distor ting policies.  Development is not just to take 
away some market access from other low income de veloping countries and to give it to other equally 
poor countries who may not have the full capacity or because of complex rules of origin, they may not 
be in a position to utilize it.  If some countries are really sincere about development, they should 
contribute it themselves and not ask other poor developing countries to contribute towards that.  As I already said, development is to eliminate discrimin ation against all developing countries, whether it is 
LDCs or other developing countries.  This m eans opening up of markets on an MFN basis and 
reducing distortions created by subsidies.  In or der to get there and for maximum development we 
therefore need to tackle difficult areas of market access and prepare ourselves to be able to achieve 
full modalities in the market access area and this ha s to be done within the next three months after 
Hong Kong.  I know some delegates are afraid of th e risk involved in this approach, but unless we 
take risks, we would not be making any progress.  In  any event since we have already recalibrated our 
expectations for the Hong Kong Conference, there is no fear of really losing out and the only way we 
can go is up.  I think the only way to make progress,  is to discuss numbers and in fact what we have 
been doing in the last few months, is that.  It is now to further refine it and narrow those gaps.  What 
is the objective for Hong Kong?  If it is just a conf erence, then the current texts are perfect.  But I 
think we all agree that is not a stock-taking conferen ce.  It is more than that.  It is a negotiating 
conference and unless we really tackle and address those difficult issues, we are not going to make 
any progress and then we will have to be fully aware of the consequences. 
 
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Statement by Croatia  
   Madam Chair, I would like to express my thanks  to you and the Director-General for the first 
draft and your introductory remarks.  We understand that you are doing your best at this juncture to 
help us arrive in Hong Kong in the best possible shape, and we appreciate your common efforts.  
Furthermore, we would like to extend our gratitude to  the chairmen of all negotiating bodies that have 
contributed their inputs to this draft Ministerial text .  We regard this first draft as a good basis for the 
continuation of negotiation in Hong Kong and beyond.  We realize that a more substantive text that 
we all subscribed to was not achievable at this point .  In such a situation the notion of progress reports 
in the most disputed areas of the negotiations seemed to be the most appropriate solution.  
  Having said this, I must admit that we believe that the present text needs to be improved in certain areas in order to appropriately reflect the present status of the negotiations.  
 We commend the chairman of NAMA negotiations for his brave approach in attempting to 
outline all the aspects of the issues  that have been raised during the formal and informal discussions 
we have had in the period since the framework Ag reement.  However, this brave and ambitious 
approach needs to be consequently and carefully im plemented so as to ensure that all interests and 
positions presented are adequately represented in the text.   
 Unfortunately, in paragraph 25 on recently acceded Members (RAMs), the report does not 
take into account the specific position of Croatia and Albania, two countries that are in the WTO classified as developed countries, and not as developing ones, like the rest of the RAMs.  I would like to draw to Members attention that Croatia asked fo r the same treatment as all other RAMs on number 
of occasions, because we believe that we should a void creating further subcategories of Members and 
deepen already existing discrepancies among Members.  
  Even though we realize that the NAMA text is not a negotiated document, and that it is being 
produced on behalf of the Chairman, we would str ongly urge to insert the reference to the specific 
situation that these two countries are facing in these negotiations.  Otherwise, we would be creating 
unbalanced text that excludes certain issues from furt her negotiations.  I am positive that this is not 
the goal we should be aiming at in this exercise. 
  We were very disappointed to see that a separate paragraph was not set aside for the RAMs in the main body of the draft Ministerial text.  Theref ore, Croatia could subscribe fully to the proposal 
that China just made for the language on RAMs that  should be inserted in the chapeau of the draft 
Ministerial text.  
  In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that we will remain proactive and ready to continue 
negotiating both in the Hong Kong and beyond with an aim to conclude th e Round in the envisaged 
timeframe.  
  
 TN/C/M/22 
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  ANNEX III  
 
Statement by South Africa, 
also on behalf of Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Pakistan, 
the Philippines and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 
at the 55th Session of the Committee on Trade and Development held on 28 November 2005 
 
 
Reclaiming the Development Content of the Doha Development Round
23 
 
 
 Recent proposals by some industrial countries in the WTO threaten the developmental content of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).  It is t hus timely to reclaim the developmental content of 
the Round.  
 The Ministerial Declaration that launched  the DDA proclaimed that the interests of 
developing countries would be placed at the center of the negotiations.  This was not an act of charity 
but based on the recognition that promoting deve lopment in developing countries is an essential 
impetus to sustained global economic growth from whic h all can benefit.  A key to global growth lies 
in unlocking the potential of developing countries, and to achieve this, developing countries must 
pursue development and industrialization in sectors where they possess comparative advantage.  The 
strategic objective for the negotiations is for industri al countries to reduce the protection they grant to 
inefficient sectors that frustrate the growth potentia l of developing countries.  An early conclusion of 
the current round of negotiations, consistent with the mandate agreed in Doha in 2001 would deliver 
the best overall context for such an outcome.  
 More open and undistorted trade would creat e an environment in which developing 
economies could diversify their exports by destin ation and in higher value production, and deepen 
their integration into the global trading system.  In reclaiming the development content of the 
negotiations, the principles of proportionality, less that full reciprocity and special and differential 
treatment in favour of developing countries should be considered along three dimensions. 
 
 First, the removal of anti-development distortions  in international agricultural trade is central 
to the DDA.  Through a combination of high tariffs , massive domestic support and export subsidies, 
industrial countries retain inefficient agricultural production in their economies at the cost of agricultural development in developing countries.  However, developing countries cannot be expected 
to pay for this needed reform in agriculture by  acceding to overly ambitious  demands in industrial 
tariffs and services that do not take into account the r ealities of their levels of economic development.  
Larger economies, responsible for th e greatest distortions need to make  the largest adjustments.  In 
making these reforms we must ensure that the f ood security, livelihood and rural development needs 
of developing countries, that  depend largely on subsistence based agriculture, are addressed. 
  Second, the DDA must provide enhanced access to  industrial country markets for the exports 
of goods and services of developing countries.  On i ndustrial tariffs, development requires that tariff 
peaks and escalation on products of export inter est to developing countries are eliminated.  
Developing countries would reduce their tariffs pr oportionately on the basis of less than full 
reciprocity so that their concessions are commensur ate with their level of industrial development. 
 
 Third, not all developing countries stand to gain from the DDA in the short term.  Least 
developed countries (LDCs), and other weak and vul nerable economies often do not have the supply 
                                                     
 
23 The paper on which this statement was based was subsequently circulated in document 
WT/COMTD/W/145.  TN/C/M/22 
  Page 93 
 
 
capacity to compete for the new export opportunities_ that will arise.  Others will face significant 
adjustment costs including from the erosion of pref erences: To address these particular concerns of 
developing countries we call for the following actions to be taken: 
 
• developed countries should make a firm commitment to work for the provision of 
duty free and quota free market access for all LDCs, and developing countries in a 
position to do so are also encourag ed to make such commitments. 
• the launch of an ambitious "aid for trade" package in Hong Kong to address the trade 
related capacity building needs of devel oping countries.  WTO members should also 
agree to create a grant aid fund to assist developing countries to manage the impact of 
preference erosion that would arise from the Doha round. 
• developed countries should seize the opportunity to increase the gains from the Doha 
round for all members by making serious efforts to liberalize the temporary movement of 
natural persons (mode 4), from developi ng to developed member.  countries. 
• WTO members in Hong Kong should agree to re-view a number of WTO rules which 
are now imbalanced in favour of developed countries, for example, the TRIPS agreement, 
has only strengthened the rights of private ownership and should provide equivalent 
protection for the intellectual property rights of communities. 
 
 Developed countries, have made  demands on developing countries in their recent proposals to 
make commitments 'in the NAMA negotiations that  are totally disproportionate.  The enormous 
burdens of adjustment that developing countries would ha ve to bear in their industrial sectors bear no 
resemblance to the relatively insigni ficant adjustments that developed countries will need to make in 
this sector.  Developing countries are being called u pon to reduce their tariffs from their applied rates 
with limited space to manage the adjustments in thei r sensitive labour intensive sectors.  In addition, 
developed countries are not offering to make any signi ficant cuts in their industrial sectors with their 
offer to reduce their tariffs by a co-effi cient of 10, using the Swiss formula. 
  In sharp contrast the EU has made insignifican t offers to open its markets in the agriculture 
negotiations, with its call for additional flexibility for the bulk of its sensitive products, allowing it to 
close off the possibility of any significant new market opening for agricultural products from 
developing countries.  The EU and other devel oped countries are thus seeking a round for free! 
Developing countries are being called upon to bear the burden of any new market opening in this 
round.  This threatens to create an imbalanced and anti-developmental outcome in the Doha round. 
 
 We for our part are committed to work for a genuine development outcome of the round that 
is fair and balanced and that will create new opportu nities for all members, developed and developing, 
to grow their economies and foster their development.  
__________