WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/MA/W/50 
24 February 2005 
 (05-0776) 
Negotiating Group on Market Access Original:   English 
  
 
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
 
Squaring the circle of ambition plus flexibility:  
providing options for developing countries  
 
Communication from Chile, Colombia and Mexico 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 23 February 2005, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Chile, Colombia and Mexico. 
 
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 1. Annex B of the July Decision provides the key elem ents that have to be negotiated in order to 
fulfil the Doha mandate in NAMA.  At this stage,  and having completed a first round of technical 
consultations on all issues, Members need to engage  in more focused discussions of specific proposals 
to move the process forward.  2. In this new phase of the negotiations, it is im portant to concentrate the work of the NAMA 
negotiating group on the level of ambition to be achie ved, and to establish different ways to achieve 
this objective.  3. It is widely recognised that a non-linear formula is the core element of the negotiation.  At the 
same time, it is acknowledged th at developing Members need some room for flexibility.  
 
4. The result of the negotiations should provide de veloping countries with the alternatives to 
address their differences in sensitivities, without unde rmining the overall level of ambition.  In our 
view, providing options to accommodate specific concer ns of developing count ries would allow us to 
avoid a least common denominator outcome.  
 
5. Within this context, the present document intends  to articulate the key negotiating elements in 
the framework agreement, with a view to reconcile ambition and flexibility. 
 6. In line with paragraphs 6 and 9 of Annex B of  the July Decision, some developing Members 
would be exempted from this approach. 
 
7. The aim is to reach ambitious results through th is approach, so any sectorial discussion would 
be addressed at a later stage, if necessary.  8. The elements of the framework agreement w hose values will determine the outcome of the 
exercise include:  
 
• Percentage of tariff lines to be bound at the end of the exercise, in accordance with 
paragraph 8 of Annex B of the July Decision. TN/MA/W/50 
Page 2  
 
  
• Coefficient of the non-linear formula, which will determine the depth of tariff cuts.  
 
• Possibility to exclude totally or partially a number of products (with bound tariffs) from 
the application of the non-linear formula, in  accordance with paragraph 8 of Annex B of 
the July Decision. 
 
• Implementation period for tariff cuts. 
 9. The approach proposed here requires first defining, for a given level of ambition
, a menu of 
options.  Each option would contain different co mbinations of values for each of the elements 
outlined above.  Each developing Member would th en choose a particular option.  The options are 
self-contained, so they cannot be combined.  
 
10. For this exercise to be meaningful, it has to ensure that the different options entail real 
tradeoffs .  In other words, greater flexibility in one of the elements would have to be offset by an 
equivalent tightening of one or more of the other elements.  All options shoul d attain the same overall 
level of ambition. 
 
11. The following conceptual example mi ght better illustrate this approach: 
  
Elements Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 
 Final binding coverage (%)1 Lower [95%] Medium Full binding Full binding 
 β coefficient in the non-linear 
formula β1 β2 β2 β4 
 Exceptions / deviations from the 
formula2 No No   Yes         No 
 Implementation period Shor ter Medium Longer Medium 
  = = = = 
  Equivalent overall level of ambition 
  
β1 < β2 < β4 
 
 12. The proposed approach has the following advantages: 
 
• It is based on the existing framework,  without introducing new elements. 
 
• It provides developing countries with appropr iate flexibility in choosing the conditions 
for liberalization, while ensuring that the bur den of commitments is evenly distributed 
among them. 
 
• By providing different alternatives to deal with specific sensitivities of Members, the 
probability to reach an agreement is increased. 
                                                     
 
1 In accordance with paragraph 8 of Annex B of the July framework.  
2 In accordance with paragraph 8 of Annex B of the July framework.  TN/MA/W/50 
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• This approach is consistent with less than  full reciprocity and special and differential 
treatment. 
 
• By accommodating developing Members’ specific concerns, it opens the door for a 
higher overall level of ambition th an would otherwise be the case.  Of course, the level of 
ambition in NAMA will also be determined by the shape of the overall package.  
 
• The number of options would be limited, so as to allow the necessary comparisons 
between them. 
  
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