RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/GC/M/112 
4 March 2008  
 (08-0976) 
General Council 
18 December 2007  
 
 
 
MINUTES OF MEETING 
 
Held in the Centre William Rappard  
on 18 December 2007  
 
Chairman:  Mr Muhamad Noor (Malaysia) 
 
 Subjects discussed
: Page  
1. Accession of Cape Verde – Repo rt of the Working Party.....................................................3  
2. Liberia – Request for Accession ..............................................................................................8  
3. China – Transitional review Under Section 18.2 of the Protocol of Accession to 
the WTO Ag reement.............................................................................................................. .10 
4. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee ........................................15  
5. Work Programme on Small Economies – Report by the Chairman of the 
Dedicated Session of the Committee on Trade and Development ......................................52  
6. Work Programme on Special and Differential Treatment .................................................52  
(a) Report by the Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Trade and 
Development.................................................................................................................... .........52  
(b) Reports by Chairpersons of other WTO bodies to whom special and differential 
treatment proposals ha ve been referred ....................................................................................52  
7. Follow-up to the 1 August 2004 General Council Decision and the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration on the Doha Work Programme – Statement by the Director-General on the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton ................................56
 
8. Non-recognition of rights under Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 – Communications from Honduras and Guatemala – Statement by the 
Chairman....................................................................................................................... ..........59
 
9. Review of the exemption provide d under Paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 .............................61  
10. Initial Review of the Transparency M echanism for Regional Trade Agreements 
– Statement by the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Rules.....................................63  
11. Transparency for Preferential Trade Arrangements – Statement by the 
Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development ...................................................64  
12. TRIPS Counc il Matters.......................................................................................................... 65 
(a) Review under Paragraph 8 of the Decision on  the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of 
the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreem ent and Public Health – Report of the 
Council for TRIPS .............................................................................................................. ......65  WT/GC/M/112 
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  (b)
 Proposal for a decision on an extension of  the period for the acceptance by Members 
of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement......................................................................65  
13. Committee on Budget, Finance and Admini stration – Report of the Committee 
on its meetings of Nove mber and December 2007 ...............................................................66  
14. Waivers under Article IX of  the WTO Agreement..............................................................68  
(a) Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of tariff 
concessions – Draft decision................................................................................................... ..68 
(b) Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of tariff 
concessions – Draft decision................................................................................................... ..68 
(c) Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement ......................................69  
(i) EC - The ACP-EC Partnership Agreem ent, granted on 14 November 2001 until 
31 December 2007 ............................................................................................................... .....69  
(ii) Kimberley Process Certification Sche me for rough diamonds, granted on 
15 December 2006 until 31 December 2012 ............................................................................69  
(iii) Canada - CARIBCAN, granted on 15 Decem ber 2006, from 1 January 2007 until 
31 December 2011 ............................................................................................................... .....69  
(iv) Cuba - Article XV:6 of GATT 1994,  granted on 15 December 2006 until 
31 December 2011 ............................................................................................................... .....69  
15. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO – Report of the Joint Advisory 
Group on its Fortieth Session.................................................................................................7 0 
16. WTO Pension Plan............................................................................................................... ...70 
(a) Election of Chairman and Members to the Management Board – Proposal by the 
Chairman of the General Council .............................................................................................70  
(b) Annual report of the Management Board for 2006...................................................................71  
17. Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodi es – Announcement by the Chairman 
pursuant to paragraph 7.1(a) of the Guidelines...................................................................71  
18. Review of WT O activities....................................................................................................... 72 
(a) General Council, Dispute Settlement Bo dy, and Trade Policy Review Body ..........................72  
(b) Sectoral Councils .............................................................................................................. ........72  
(c) Committees on Trade and Development, Trade and Environment, Balance-of-
Payments Restrictions, Budget, Finance and Administration, and Regional Trade 
Agreements ..................................................................................................................... ..........72  
(d) Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Finance and Trade and Transfer of Technology ...........72  
(e) Committees under the Plurilate ral Trade Agreements..............................................................72  
19. Administrative Measures fo r Members in arrears ..............................................................73  
 
  WT/GC/M/112 
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  1. Accession of Cape Verde – Report of the Working Party (WT/ACC/CPV/30 and Add. 1 
and 2) 
1. The Chairman  recalled that in July 2000, the General Council had established a Working 
Party to examine the request by Cape Verde for accession to the WTO Agreement.  The report of the 
Working Party was now before the General Council for consideration and adoption in 
WT/ACC/CPV/30 and Add.1 and 2. 
2. Mr Shark (United States), Chairman of the Working Party , said that this day marked another 
important event for the WTO and its evolution into a global organization.  Since 1995, the WTO had admitted 23 new Members through the accession ne gotiations pursuant to Article XII of the 
Marrakesh Agreement.  Cape Verde would be the first country from Africa and the third LDC to 
complete the Article XII process.   During its  accession process, Cape Verde's policies had been 
founded on sound macroeconomic management and economic and trade reforms.  The domestic 
reforms undertaken during the WTO accession proce ss had complemented the pro-growth and pro-
development strategies pursued by Cape Verde.  The success of these strategies was evidenced by 
Cape Verde's impending graduation from its status as an LDC.  The accession package – negotiated 
and concluded while Cape Verde was still an LDC – was fully supportive of the graduation and post-
graduation phase.  Cape Verde had requested accession to the WTO in November 1999 and a Working Party had been established by the General Council in July 2000.  The process had gained 
momentum from 2003 onwards, with the first mee ting of the Working Party in March 2004.  The 
sixth and final meeting had been held on 6 Dece mber 2007.  The documents before the General 
Council were the result of seven years of work.  Ov er this period, Cape Verde, with a small but 
efficient administration, had worked hard to m eet the challenges and complexity of the accession 
process.  He wished to pay tribute to Cape Verde' s authorities and its team of talented and committed 
negotiators.  The entire team had done an admira ble job, responding promptly to the numerous 
requests made by Members, right up to the final st ages of the negotiations.  Their success stemmed in 
no small way from Cape Verde's commitment to domestic  reform and its view that the enactment and 
implementation of WTO-consistent legislation was an integral part of this process.  Praise and 
appreciation also went to the membership, which ha d shown flexibility and goodwill to conclude this 
accession process successfully.  Technical assistance , as requested by Cape Verde, had been provided 
by bilateral donors and multilateral agencies.  He  congratulated all concerned, including the 
Secretariat and its Accessions Division, for their valuable contributions.  On a personal note, he 
wished to thank Members for having given him the oppor tunity to play a role in this process and for 
making his task as Chairman an enjoyable one.  Ha ving worked closely with Cape Verde's team, he 
had come away from this process with a firm convicti on that Cape Verde had a great deal to offer the 
WTO as a Member, and that all would benefit from its active participation. 
3. The results of the negotiations, constituting the terms of entry of Cape Verde into the WTO, 
were contained in the following documents:  the report of the Working Party (WT/ACC/CPV/30), the 
Schedule of Concessions and Commitments in Goods  (WT/ACC/CPV/30/Add.1), and the Schedule of 
Specific Commitments in Services (WT/ACC/CPV/ 30/Add.2).  This accession package had been 
adopted by the Working Party at its meeting on 6 December 2007 on an ad referendum  basis.  By this 
action, the Working Party had completed its mand ate and had forwarded the documentation to the 
General Council for decision as appropriate.  Th e Appendix to the Report reproduced the draft 
Decision for the General Council and the Protocol of Accession of Cape Verde to the Agreement 
Establishing the WTO.  In accordance with us ual WTO practice, the Protocol of Accession 
incorporated, by reference, the specific commitments undertaken by Cape Verde in the report of the 
Working Party.  He again wished to pay tribute to  the continuous efforts, positive approach and spirit 
of compromise shown all around, particularly in the critical final stages.  In his capacity as Chairman of the Working Party, he commended the report of the Working Party, as well as the draft Decision 
and Protocol of Accession, for approval by the General Council. WT/GC/M/112 
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  4. The Chairman
 thanked Mr Shark, on behalf of th e General Council, for having served as 
Chairman of the Working Party. 
5. The General Council then approved  the draft Protocol of Accession of Cape Verde1 contained 
in the report of the Working Party and, in accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under 
Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted  the draft 
Decision on the Accession of Cape Verde cont ained in the report of the Working Party.2  The General 
Council next adopted  the report of the Working Party as a whole in documents WT/ACC/CPV/30 and 
Add.1 and 2. 
6. The Chairman  said it gave him great pleasure to welcome the Decision Members had just 
taken on the Accession of Cape Verde to the WTO.  He wished to extend his congratulations to the 
Minister of Economy, Growth and Competitiveness of Cape Verde, and his te am of negotiators, and 
the people and Government of Cape Verde, on the successful completion of the WTO process.  From a systemic point of view, Cape Verde's forthcom ing entry as Member would take the WTO another 
step towards greater universality in its membership a nd add to its depth and diversity.  With regard to 
the further steps towards Cape Verde's formal en try as a WTO Member, a ceremony for the signature 
of the Protocol of Accession would be held immediately following the present meeting.  The 
Government of Cape Verde would th en submit the Protocol for ratification by its legislative assembly.  
In keeping with WTO provisions, Cape Verde would become a Member of the WTO 30 days 
following the date of its ratification of the Protocol of Accession. 
7. The Director-General
 said he wished to join the Chairman in warmly welcoming Cape 
Verde's accession to the WTO.  This accession was an other sign of confidence in the organization and 
the multilateral trading system.  This new WTO memb ership would facilitate Ca pe Verde's integration 
into the global economy and would provide a pr edictable and stable basis for growth and 
development, particularly pertinen t now as Cape Verde was about to graduate from LDC status.  For 
the WTO, Cape Verde's accession was adding another valuable member to the family and brought Members another step closer to universal membership.  The successful completion of the accession 
process was a commendable achievement for the people and Government of Cape Verde.  His 
congratulations went to the Minister of Economy,  Growth and Competitiveness, and his entire team.  
The Minister's leadership and clarity of vision had been decisive in the last stages of the accession 
process.  He wished to express appreciation also fo r the work done by the Chairman of the Working 
Party.  As Members all knew, the latter was a hard worker and when  he decided something should get 
done, it usually was done.  His legitimacy in the Ge neva family had also been a big asset in this 
accession.  He also wished to thank Members fo r having shown the necessary flexibility in the 
accession negotiations of an LDC and hoped that th is example would inspire them for other ongoing 
LDC accessions. 
8. The representative of Cape Verde
, speaking as an observer , said that it was a great honour for 
him to be participating at the present meeting.  This  day was particularly important for Cape Verde as 
his delegation would sign the Protocol to beco me a WTO Member.  WTO membership for Cape 
Verde was a critical element of its national strategy for socioeconomic development and 
transformation.  The only sustainable way for Cape  Verde to develop its economy and continue to 
improve the standards of living of its people w as to integrate competitively into the global 
marketplace.  At the time of Cape Verde's inde pendence in 1975, many had had serious doubts about 
its future.  Thirty-two years later, however, Cape Verde was recognized by many international 
institutions as an emerging nation with successes on several fronts, from building a democratic 
culture, good governance, universal basic education, increasing income and quality of life, to deepening of the market economy.  As a result, per-capita income, which had been US$190 in 1975, 
                                                     
 
1 Subsequently circulated  in document WT/L/715. 
2 The Decision was subsequently also  circulated in document WT/L/715.  WT/GC/M/112 
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  was currently US$2,300, primary school enrolment w as about 100 per cent, while life expectancy was 
over 70 years.  Cape Verde had already achieved some of the Millennium Development Goals and 
was on target to achieve the rest by 2015.  Th ese successes would lead to Cape Verde's graduation 
from the least-developed countries list to that of middle-income countries in January 2008.  Cape 
Verde was now becoming a WTO Member to continue on the path of progress.  Its belief and hope 
was that WTO membership would allow it to meet it s national goals and objectives.  In fact, in recent 
years Cape Verde had embarked on an audaci ous national agenda for transformation and 
modernization.  Its aim was to build core ec onomic sectors to anchor its transformation and 
development agenda.  At the crossroads of the c ontinents – Africa, Europe and the Americas – Cape 
Verde's aim was to integrate competitively into the global economy.  Its transformation agenda 
included building:  (i) high value-added tourism;   (ii) fisheries processing and marketing;  
(iii) services, in the form of information technolog y outsourcing and financial services;  and (iv) a 
transportation hub for both passengers and cargo.  In addition, it was modernizing its state and 
society.  This was why it had embarked on an ag enda for state reform, which aimed to modernize 
Cape Verde's institutions while continuously upgrading its democracy and public administration.  
Recent results indicated that Cape Verde was on the right path.  It was currently experiencing robust 
growth.  GDP growth had averaged 5.7 per cent over 2000-2005, while exceeding 10 per cent in 2006.  
Inflation had remained low, at below 2 per cent in 2000-2005.  Its information society project on e-
governance was progressing smoothly, and through pr ojects for public financial management it was 
able to monitor government expenditures in real time to ensure transparency.  Other projects, such as 
Citizens House, National Identity Card and Cabo Verde Digital, were expected to make dealing with 
government easy and facilitate the delivery of essential services, such as one-day online business 
registration.  The Government believed it would need the support of the international community 
while continuing to do its best as a nation. 
9. To Cape Verde, upgrading its institutions a nd private sector, and building the national 
capability were crucial.  The Government intended to  continue to:  (i) improve its governance, with a 
focus on state reform and strengthening of capaci ty and capability of the state to manage the 
economy;  (ii) build its network and strategic part nerships, through membership in key institutions 
like the WTO and regional organizations like the Af rican Union and ECOWAS, and also to focus on 
developing new relationships such as  the special partnership with the European Union;  (iii) build its 
human resources with a focus on building the human  capacity and institutional capability to compete 
in the global economy;  and (iv) build its economic and social infrastructure,  with a focus on building 
the capabilities to develop its economy and to improve  the quality of life for its citizens.  WTO 
membership would allow Cape Verde to address th ese strategic challenges.  However, as a highly 
vulnerable, insular small country with no resources,  Cape Verde would continue to need the support 
and assistance of Members and the Secretariat to fully  take advantage of its membership.  Cape Verde 
therefore hoped to continue to benefit from access to  Members' markets, to attract their investments 
and enterprises, as well as to receive their financial and technical assistance to reach its national goals 
and objectives, and in particular to implement the re forms it had agreed to undertake.  The journey to 
membership had been a challenging one.  Cape Verde had been able to reach this stage because of the 
universal support and assistance it had received from most Members.  He thanked all Members for their cooperation and support throughout th e accession process, as well as the WTO, UNCTAD, 
AITIC and other international orga nizations which had supported its efforts during the negotiations.  
He also thanked the Members of the Working Party for their hard work, support and dedication, as 
well as the Chairman of the Working Party for his guidance and contribution throughout the process.  
Cape Verde looked forward to becoming an active Me mber of the WTO and intended to do its best to 
contribute to building an effective global trading system. 
10. The representatives of Japan , Mexico , Korea , Nigeria  and Switzerland , and all other 
representatives who spoke congratulated Cape Verd e and its Minister of Economy, Growth and 
Competitiveness on the successful conclusion of its accession negotiations and looked forward to WT/GC/M/112 
Page 6  
 
  working with Cape Verde in the WTO.  They also paid tribute to the Chairman of the Working Party 
for his hard work 
11. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs , said it was particularly satisfying for 
the Group to see an LDC join the organization.  The more the LDCs were integrated into the 
multilateral trading system, the more these countries would benefit from trade.  The Group had 
listened with great interest to the statement by Ca pe Verde and welcomed the message bearing signals 
of rapid transformation, promise and hope.  Cape Ve rde was also the first African country to accede to 
the WTO under the Article XII procedures.  It had concluded its membership negotiations as an LDC, 
although it would soon be graduating from LDC status.  The Gr oup hoped the flexibilities Cape Verde 
had secured would help it integrate beneficially into the multilateral trading system.  For the first time 
since the establishment of the WTO, two LDCs  – Cambodia and Nepal – had acceded to the 
organization in 2003.  There had been a lean pe riod since then as far as LDCs accessions were 
concerned.  The Group hoped that Cape Verde' s accession would bring new enthusiasm to the 
ongoing LDC accession negotiations.  With Cape Verd e joining the WTO, there would be 17 LDCs 
outside the multilateral trading system, ten of which were at various stages of their accession process.  
This represented one-third of all ongoing accession negotiations.  Cape Verde's accession should not 
make Members complacent.  Some LDCs had starte d their accession negotiations prior to Cape Verde 
but had yet to conclude these negotiations.  Cape Verde was a small island LDC.  However, it had 
taken more than seven years for it to accede to th e WTO.  It had not been an easy task for the 
Government of Cape Verde to engage in this l ong negotiating process, given its financial, human and 
institutional capacity constraints.  Cape Verde had undergone tough negotiations with Members.  This 
underlined again the need for flexibility and coope ration from Members to facilitate LDCs' accession 
to the WTO.  The Group hoped that the Governme nt of Cape Verde would soon complete the 
ratification process and start benefiting from the multi lateral trading system.  Cape Verde was also to 
be congratulated for graduating out of the LDC Group.   Generic policies were needed to make landing 
in the new development zone not a painful jolt, and arrangements should be made for a soft landing 
that provided a decent interval for the still-fragile economy to adjust accordingly.  This would be an 
enticement to others to brave graduating out of the LDC category. 
12. The representative of Uganda , on behalf of the African Group , fully associated his Group 
with the statement by Lesotho for the LDCs. 
13. The representative of Jamaica , on behalf of the ACP Group , said the Group was particularly 
pleased with this decision, as Cape Verde was a member of the ACP Group.  It looked forward to 
working with Cape Verde in future, as Members pursued their collective interests in the WTO. 
14. The representative of Sri Lanka , on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing Countries , 
said the Group was pleased to see new Members joining the organization, as this enriched Members' work and gave the organization a truly global charac ter.  The great achievements realized in Cape 
Verde's economy as well as in its social and pol itical spheres were highly commendable.  The 
Informal Group wished to convey its best wishes for prosperity to the Government and people of 
Cape Verde. 
15. The representative of Brazil
 said Brazil had been the first country to sign a bilateral protocol 
with Cape Verde and had never doubted that Ca pe Verde was ready to become a full and active 
Member of this organization.  Brazil had followed closely the progress made by Cape Verde since its 
independence in 1975, and was well aware of its ach ievements and great potential.  Cape Verde was 
an example for all developing countries.  With bot h limited human and natura l resources, Cape Verde 
had been able to increase per capita income by 1,200 per cent in 32 years, and maintained an elevated 
life expectancy and school enrolment, which had made  the country attain the level of Medium Human 
Development on the Human Development Index.  Brazil hoped that with its WTO accession, Cape 
Verde would be in a better position to continue the economic and social reforms that had proven to be  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 7 
 
 
  so effective.  Bilateral relations between Brazil and Cape Verde were flourishing, a sign of the priority 
Brazil's President attached to Africa, in partic ular to its Portuguese-speaking countries.  While 
bilateral trade between Cape Verde and Brazil was still small, it had been growing steadily for the 
past few years, from US$3.7 million in 2000 to US$33 million in 2007.  Brazil was confident that this 
figure would continue to grow.  Improvements planne d for the development of the infrastructure, as 
well as the increase in the number of sea and air links, would help further.  He reaffirmed Brazil’s 
commitment to support Cape Verde in its initial st eps in the WTO.  Brazil and Cape Verde shared a 
long history that dated back to the 16th century.  Both countries had a common heritage, common 
cultural identity and, most of all, a common language .  Their paths had always brought them together, 
and it would be a pleasure to continue  to work together in the WTO. 
16. The representative of Angola  said his country maintained excellent relations of fraternity and 
friendship with Cape Verde at a bilateral level in the context of the community of Portuguese-speaking countries.  He wished to welcome the efforts undertaken by Cape Verde to permit its 
graduation from the list of LDCs.  This exemp lified the determination of African governments to 
break the vicious circle of poverty, famine and underdevelopment, and to embark on the path of 
sustained economic growth which would enable othe r LDCs in the coming decades to maintain their 
level of economic growth and gradually to reduce poverty.  He also wished to appeal to the 
international community and to development partne rs to support Cape Verde in its future economic 
reforms. 
17. The representative of China
 said that being a close and friendly partner of Cape Verde, China 
was pleased that the General Council had approved its terms of WTO accession.  It was generally 
recognized that negotiating WTO accession was a t ough process, and it was particularly so for an 
LDC, given its domestic constraints.  China noted that in the past seven years, Cape Verde had 
undertaken wide-ranging reforms of its economic and tr ade regime, in spite of many difficulties and 
challenges, and as a result had made remarkable achievements in terms of both economic and social 
development.  China looked forward to hearing mo re good news about Cape Verde with its accession 
to the WTO, which would deepen the country's integration into the world economy and hence 
contribute to its economic and social development.  Conclusion of Cape Verde's accession 
negotiations was certainly the one bright spot in th e WTO's work in 2007, and demonstrated that the 
multilateral trading system had not lost its attrac tiveness.  His delegation co ngratulated the Working 
Party and its Chairman for their hard work and gr eat contribution.  China would work closely with 
Cape Verde once it formally joined the WTO. 
18. The representative of the United States  said he wished to make two comments.  First, all had 
spoken a lot about the development dimension in th e WTO, but when a country such as Cape Verde 
went through the exercise of joining the WTO, this de monstrated – much more than the rhetoric – that 
the system of rules in the WTO was the starti ng place for development.  Second, Cape Verde's 
package had a very forward-looking perspective, wh ile Members often – when they negotiated trade 
agreements – paid a lot of attention to their curre nt patterns of trade.  Looking at the Cape Verde 
package, one was looking at that country's future patterns of trade and its potential for trade in the 
future.  A perfect example of this was that Cape  Verde was the first LDC, and only the second African 
country, to join the Information Technology Agreemen t.  This fact was testimony to the country's 
forward-looking perspective.  His delegation looke d forward to working with Cape Verde in the 
future as it became a Member. 
19. The representative of the European Communities  said that the EU and Cape Verde had 
privileged bilateral relations, whic h derived from close historical, cultural and linguistic links.  The 
EU was happy to receive Cape Verde as a Member of  the WTO.  This was a clear recognition of Cape 
Verde's efforts to reform its economic, judicial and institutional systems so as to successfully integrate 
into the multilateral trading system.  His delegation al so wished to thank the Chairman of the Working 
Party for his excellent work, as well as the Secretariat. WT/GC/M/112 
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  20. The representative of Colombia
, on behalf of GRULAC , said that WTO accession was a 
powerful incentive for the Government of Cape Verd e to solidify its institutions and continue its 
economic and social reforms, with a view to enablin g it in the near future to join the club of middle-
income countries.  It would be a pl easure for GRULAC to work side by side with Cape Verde in the 
WTO framework. 
21. The representative of India  said that through Cape Verde's accession, the WTO was further 
enriched and became even more re presentative of the enormous economic diversity around the world.  
His delegation had noted with interest Cape Verd e's dramatic progress on its way to development and 
looked forward to working with it in the WTO. 
22. The representative of Cuba  supported the Council's approval of  the accession of Cape Verde, 
a brother country in Africa with whom Cuba had a long history of close links, not only political and 
economic, but also blood links.  Cuba hoped that all Members, particularly the developed ones, would 
help and contribute with concrete acts to ensure th e proper integration of Cape Verde in world trade, 
in keeping with its sustainable development needs. 
23. The representative of Senegal  said his delegation wished full success to Cape Verde and 
assured it of Senegal's full cooperation. 
24. The representative of Hong Kong, China  said this was an auspicious occasion and a milestone 
achieved through more than eight years of hard wo rk.  Cape Verde's accession to the WTO would 
allow it to build on the success of the reforms it had initiated since the early 1990s and achieve further 
economic growth.  Hong Kong, China looked forward to working with Cape Verde in the months 
ahead to conclude the DDA negotiations and to fu rther the spirit and implementation of open and non-
discriminatory trade rules. 
25. In addition to these statements, the representatives of Canada  and Mauritius  wished also to be 
placed on record as welcoming and supporting the accession of Cape Verde. 
26. The General Council took note  of the statements and of the expressions of welcome and 
support. 
2. Liberia – Request for Accession (WT/ACC/LBR/1) 
27. The Chairman  drew attention to the communication from Liberia in document 
WT/ACC/LBR/1, requesting accession to the WTO Agre ement pursuant to Article XII, and said that 
if delegations were agreeable to considering this request positively, he would propose that the General 
Council agree to establish a working party to examin e the request, with the following standard terms 
of reference and composition: 
 Terms of Reference : 
 
"To examine the application of the Government  of Liberia to accede to the WTO Agreement 
under Article XII, and to submit to the Gene ral Council recommendations which may include 
a draft Protocol of Accession." 
 
 Membership : 
 
Membership would be open to all Members i ndicating their wish to serve on the Working 
Party.   
  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 9 
 
 
   Chairmanship : 
 
In keeping with customary practice, the General Council would authorize him as Chairman to designate the Chairperson of the Working Pa rty in consultation with representatives of 
Members and with the representative of Liberia. 
 
28. The General Council agreed
 to establish a working party with the terms of reference and 
composition as read out by the Chairman. 
29. The Chairman  then invited the delegation of Liberia to consult with the Accessions Division 
of the Secretariat as to the further procedures, and in particular with regard to the basic documentation 
to be considered by the Working Party.  He also invited Liberia, on behalf of the General Council, to 
attend meetings of the General Council and, as a ppropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an 
observer during the period of the accession process. 
30. The representative of Liberia , speaking as an observer , said this day marked a significant step 
in Liberia's efforts toward socio-economic and po litical development.  Liberia had had an arduous 
past. However, with a credible and determined  government and the support of the international 
community, it continued to make significant nati onal progress and strides to regain its credibility 
among the comity of nations.  In June 2007, his Go vernment had formally communicated its desire to 
accede to the WTO and had subsequently receive d overwhelming support from the WTO and other 
development partners.  The WTO had recently succe ssfully implemented a sensitization workshop in 
Liberia.  His country was cognizant of the importance of trade to its socio-economic agenda.  While 
trade was not the single most important factor, a dynamic trade and export sector was vital to 
alleviating poverty, attracting foreign direct  investment, fomenting self-sustainability, and 
maintaining political stability.  Since the current Administration had assumed office in January 2006, 
considerable accomplishments had been made in  recovering from conflict and addressing poverty.  
Liberia had, and continued to put in place, struct ural economic and socio-political reforms to improve 
the lives of its people and ensure an enabling e nvironment for sustainable peace and growth.  
US$421 million of Liberia's debt had been cleared by the World Bank, and it was hoped that the IMF 
and African Development Bank would follow suit.  This would position Liberia for complete debt 
relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Init iative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.  
Needless to say, this would allow Liberia to fo cus and expend its resources, determination and 
capacity on poverty reduction, governance, and secu rity.  Upon taking office in 2006, the current 
Administration had established a 150-day Action Pl an which had facilitated the reorganization and 
development of the national security apparatus, re orientation of economic an d budgetary priorities, 
and restoration of basic public services such as electri city and water to parts of the capital.  This had 
been followed by an Interim Poverty Reduction Stra tegy in June 2006 that had guided the country's 
recovery and would also serve as the course to  a full-scale Millennium Development Goal-based 
Poverty Reduction Strategy to be launched in Ju ly 2008.  The Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy 
rested on four broad policy frameworks, or pillars, namely:  national security, governance and the rule 
of law, infrastructure and basic services, and economic revitalization. 
31. Among the achievements under the economic revita lization pillar, Liberia had maintained a 
balanced budget and achieved a revenue in crease of 40 per cent;  had formulated sound 
macroeconomic policies and commenced sector po licy reforms as a foundation for developing its 
Poverty Reduction Strategy;  had implemente d the Government Economic Management and 
Assistance Program which provided technical expe rts for revenue generation in key Government 
institutions;  had advanced the review of the Re venue and Investment Incentive Codes;  had met 
political and economic requirements that ensure d the lifting of UN sanctions on diamonds and 
forestry, which were important trade resources;  and had engaged the private sector and fostered a 
public-private collaboration that was yielding tangible results.  In addition, Liberia had begun a 
Diagnostic Trade Integration Study with the assistance of the World Ba nk, and had established a National WT/GC/M/112 
Page 10  
 
  Implementation Unit to coordinate the implementation of an Integr ated Framework process to provide 
trade and export-related technical assistance acro ss government agencies.  Liberia was committed to 
incorporating this and mainstreaming trade into its nati onal development strategy.  In line with increasing 
its capacity and efficiently contributing to economic revitalization, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, like other agencies of government, had begun major restruct uring and institut ional assessment.  
Liberia had begun collaboration to formulate a contemporary and realistic trade policy that would ensure 
the development of its trade sector and its effect ive integration into th e global trading system. 
32. Under the other important pillars, Liberia had r estructured the army and the police to serve 
and protect the people and its partners in progress;   had begun an overall Civil Service reform;  had 
enacted into law the Governance Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission legislation;  had 
formulated and disseminated Anti-Corruption Policy and Strategy;  had beg un the rehabilitation and 
renovation of roads, bridges, ports , hospitals, schools, market places and other public infrastructure;  
and had enforced compulsory primary education by  eliminating fees in all public schools, which had 
resulted in a 44 per cent increment in enrolment.  Liberia had much to offer, including a business-friendly environment.  It was blessed with an abundan ce of natural tradable resources, including iron ore, 
gold, diamonds, agricultural products such as ru bber, coffee, cocoa and oil palm, huge forests 
approximating two-thirds of West A frica's, ideal soil and rainfall, and a vivacious determined workforce.  
Liberia was cognizant of the fact that its economic recovery faced many challenges, among which was developing an effective an d productive trading system.  It viewed  these challenges as opportunities, and 
was determined, with the strength of a dynamic l eadership, to put in place policies and procedures to 
address these challenges and circumvent others.  In order to continue to tackle these and other constraints, 
several working groups, including a Commercial, Trad e, Export, and Industrial  Policy Working Group, 
had been established with the participation of Government at the highest level alongside members of the private sector and developmental partners.  Liberia w as ready and committed to meeting all the challenges 
ahead with the support of  the international community, and was grateful for the latter's continued 
cooperation.  He assured the Council that Liberia would enthusiastically  participate in the cause of the 
WTO, and would vigorously play a constructive role to advance, integrate and improve the multilateral 
trading system.  To this end, Liberia so licited Members' support and thanked them. 
33. The representatives of Sri Lanka for the Informal Gr oup of Developing Countries
, Lesotho , 
Jamaica for the ACP Group  and Uganda for the African Group   welcomed and congratulated Liberia 
on the establishment of the Working Party on its accession, and expressed the hope that its accession process would be expeditious.  
34. The representative of Sri Lanka
, on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing Countries , 
invited the delegation of Liberia, as a developing co untry, to participate in the work of this Group. 
35. The General Council took note  of the statements and of the expressions of welcome and 
support. 
3. China – Transitional review Under Section 18.2 of the Protocol of Accession to the WTO 
Agreement (WT/GC/113, G/L/844, S/C/29, IP/C/47, WT/BOP/R/87) 
36. The Chairman  recalled that Section 18.2 of the Pr otocol of Accession of China to the WTO 
Agreement provided that "[t]he General Council sh all, within one year after accession, and in 
accordance with paragraph 4 of Section 18, re view the implementation by China of the WTO 
Agreement and the provisions of this Protocol."  Section 18.2 also provided that "[t]he General 
Council shall conduct such review in accordance with the framework set out in Annex 1B and in light 
of the results of any reviews held pursuant to para graph 1.  China can also raise issues relating to any 
reservations under Section 17 or to  any other specific commitments made by other Members in this 
Protocol.  The General Council may make recommenda tions to China and to other Members in these 
respects."  The General Council's first review had b een conducted in December 2002.  Paragraph 4 of  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Section 18 further provided that this review should ta ke place subsequently in each of the eight years 
following the first review, with a final review in the tenth year, or at an earlier date decided by the 
General Council.  The following issues were to be ad dressed by the General Council at this meeting in 
accordance with Annex 1B of China's Protocol of Accession:  First, reports of subsidiary bodies on China's implementation of the WTO Agreement and of  the related provisions of the Protocol;  second, 
development of China's trade with WTO Members and other trading partne rs;  and third, recent 
developments and cross-sectoral issues regardi ng China's trade régime.  He proposed that, in 
addressing this agenda item, China as well as other de legations address all three of these points in a 
single intervention.  In connection with this revi ew, he drew attention to a communication from China 
recently circulated in document WT/GC/113, whic h provided information re quired under Sections I 
and III of Annex 1A of the Protocol of Accession.   The reports of the subsidiary bodies on their 
respective reviews of China's implementation of th e WTO Agreement and of the related provisions of 
the Protocol of Accession were contained in the following documents:  G/L/844, S/C/29, IP/C/47 and 
WT/BOP/R/87. 
37. The representative of China
 said that since its WTO accession, China had attached great 
importance to the transitional reviews regarding the implementation of its WTO accession 
commitments.  With a proactive and cooperative attitude, his Government had devoted enormous 
resources in preparation for these reviews.  Each y ear, some 30 governmental institutions participated 
in the process.  To facilitate the reviews by th e 17 WTO bodies within their mandates, China had 
provided relevant information in advance of the review meetings as required under Section 18 of 
China’s Protocol of Accession, and had given de tailed responses to questions raised by other 
Members.  China was fully aware of its responsibiliti es in the organization, had given top priority to 
the implementation of all of its WTO accession commitments, and had faithfully fulfilled its 
obligations, resulting in substan tial improvement in the level of market access in the goods and 
services sectors and in a much more transparent and predictable trade regime and policies.  China’s 
average tariff had been reduced to 9.9 per cent fro m 15.3 per cent in 2001.  China had phased out all 
its non-tariff restrictions on imports that were inc onsistent with WTO rules, including relevant import 
quotas, designated trading and import licenses.  Control on trading rights had been removed 
completely.  Out of the total number of 160 services sub-categories specified by WTO, China had made and implemented commitments in 104 sectors.  In addition, China had revised some 3000 pieces 
of domestic laws and regulations in accordance with  WTO rules and had promulgated a series of new 
domestic laws and regulations to fulfill its WTO commi tments.  During the past six years, growth of 
the Chinese economy and trade had remained robust. The GDP growth for this year would be about 
11.4 per cent.  This would not have been possible without sticking to the policy of reform and opening.  China’s membership in the WTO, China’s growing trade worldwide and China’s continued 
attraction of foreign investment had greatly contri buted to economic growth and the improvement of 
the living standard.  In 2007 China’s total trade volume would surpass the US$2 trillion mark, and the 
accumulated amount of profit remitted overseas by fo reign investors was reaching US$60 billion.  
According to the World Bank, China’s annual cont ribution to world economic growth had averaged 
13 per cent since China’s entry into the WTO, which equalled US$75 billion added to the world 
economy. 
38. China had always been a firm supporter of th e multilateral trading system.  As all knew, 
China’s tariffs on industrial products were bound at the low level of nine per cent.  China’s tariffs on 
agricultural products were bound at 15.2 per cent,  while the world average was 62 per cent, and 
China's average agricultural tariff was lower than that of some of the major developed countries.  
China had abolished all of its  export subsidies on agricultura l products in the 1990s and had 
undertaken not to provide any export subsidies on agricultural products.  The domestic support 
provided to its agricultural production was also lim ited, since its AMS was zero.  In the area of 
services, China’s commitments to liberalization in  some sectors were even higher than some 
developed-country Members.  The performance by  China in its trade regime with regard to 
agriculture, NAMA and services was a clear demonstration of its strong commitment to the WT/GC/M/112 
Page 12  
 
  multilateral trading system.  Meanwhile, China had al so made active and constructive efforts to push 
forward the Doha Development Round for an early conclusion.  The past six years of transitional 
reviews had greatly facilitated Memb ers’ understanding of China’s trad e regime and policies.  They 
had also facilitated China’s implementation of its commitments, which had led to further reform and 
opening of the economy.  His delegation expressed its sincere thanks to the chairpersons of all 
relevant WTO bodies, as well as the Secretariat, for their work in the review process.  China was 
particularly grateful to the overwhelming major ity of Members who had shown their full confidence 
in and support for China’s reform  and opening process and its objective to build a harmonious society 
and a harmonious world. 
39. The representative of Japan
 said China's Transitional Re view Mechanism was a good 
opportunity to promote mutual understanding on th e implementation of the commitments China had 
made at  its accession, as well as on how China was addressing its current trade-related issues.  Japan expected China to continue to be engaged positivel y.  For the present year’s review, many of the 
specific issues raised in Japan’s questions had also been raised or shared by many other Members.  
Japan had found some of the responses from China to  be helpful, and appreciated these.  However, 
some others were not fully responsive.  Japan exp ected that these questions and issues would be more 
fully addressed and more clearly answered in th e upcoming relevant meetings.  Japan hoped that 
China would continue to make efforts to take th e necessary steps to establish and implement relevant 
laws and regulations and to improve transparency , and was convinced that China knew this was good 
for it. 
40. The representative of the United States
 said his delegation appreciated the opportunity at the 
present meeting to share its observations on the pres ent year's reviews under the Transitional Review 
Mechanism.  First, he wished to thank the Chinese  Ambassador and delegation and the many officials 
in Beijing who had worked so hard to provide responses to the numerous questions Members had 
raised.  The United States recognized the enormous  amount of time and e ffort the TRM required, 
particularly on the part of the Chinese Ministry  of Commerce which oversaw China's efforts in the 
WTO.  He recalled that the TRM had been created  largely because China ha d been admitted to the 
WTO before it had revised all of its trade-related laws and regulations to become WTO-compatible, 
and also because China had been allowed a variet y of transition periods be fore it had to take on 
certain WTO obligations.  Thus, the TRM remained an important and useful mechanism.  However, 
the focus of these transitional reviews had begun to  change, and this was because approximately a 
year earlier, China had reached the point where it would have completed the phased-in 
implementation of almost all its commitments, a nd as a result the TRM had begun to focus more on 
China's adherence to the range of WTO rules than on implementation of specific commitments in its 
Protocol of Accession.  Although not complete in  every respect, China's implementation of its WTO 
commitments had led to a tremendous increase in trad e, which China had documented in its statement, 
while deepening China's integration into the in ternational trading syst em and facilitating and 
strengthening the economic reforms China had begun nearly three decades earlier.  That said, his 
delegation had found in its own b ilateral relations with China th ree issues involving fundamental 
WTO obligations where, even with sustained and in tensive bilateral engageme nt, China had failed to 
address the United States' WTO concerns, and as a r esult the United States had pursued WTO dispute 
settlement to address these concerns.  First, toge ther with Mexico, the United States had challenged 
several prohibited subsidy programmes that were  benefiting a wide cross-section of China's 
manufactured trade.  He was pleased  to say that China had agreed to settle this case by committing to 
eliminate all the subsidies at issue.  The United States  had also filed in the past year a challenge to key 
deficiencies in China's IPR enforcement regime, a nd had also filed a challenge to market-access 
restrictions affecting the importation and distributio n of copyright-intensive products, such as films, 
DVDs, music and books. 
41. At the root of many of the problems currently being encountered was China's continued 
pursuit of problematic industrial policies that re lied on excessive government intervention in the  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 13 
 
 
  market through an array of trade-distorting measures, and this was a reflection of China's historic yet 
unfinished transition from a centrally-planned economy  to a free-market economy.  A few examples 
of these problematic industrial policies were the following:  China continued to apply auto-part 
regulations that imposed, in the US view, prohib ited local-content requirements;  China was making 
increasingly restrictive use of export quotas and export duties on a number of raw materials where it 
was the world's leading producer, and this raised serious WTO concerns because it enabled China to 
drive up world prices while lowering domestic prices , thereby giving artificial advantages to a wide 
range of downstream producers in China as they  competed against foreign downstream producers 
either in the Chinese market or in the world mark et.  China also continued to pursue unique, national 
standards in a number of areas of high technology wher e international standards already existed.  For 
example, even after committing to technology neutra lity for the telecommunication standards, China's 
regulatory authorities continued to promote home-gr own standards and to expand its test market.  
China had also sought to protect many domestic industries through an increasingly restrictive investment regime.  For example, recent measures imposed requirements for state control of critical 
equipment manufactures and established rules for merg ers and acquisitions that conferred broad and 
vaguely defined powers on the Government to bloc k investments in a range of industries and to 
prevent further foreign investment  in so-called pillar industries. 
42. Meanwhile, enforcement of intellectual property ri ghts in China continued to be ineffective.  
While the United States welcomed the steps China ha d taken in this regard, including its April 2007 
action plan, much more needed to be done.  In the area of agriculture, unpredictable practices by 
Chinese customs and quarantine officials delayed or halted shipments of agricultural products into 
China, while sanitary and phytosanitary standards with questionable scientific bases and a generally 
opaque regulatory regime created problems for traders in agricultural commodities.  In some services areas, Chinese regulatory authorities continued to fr ustrate efforts by foreign providers of banking, 
insurance, telecommunications, construction, engineeri ng, legal and other services to achieve their full 
market potential.  Two issues in the services area we re of particular concern.  The first involved 
Chinois, China's state news agency, which had persis ted in its refusal to withdraw rules issued in 
September 2006 imposing new restrictions on foreign providers of financial information services.  
The second issue involved important commitments sch eduled to be phased in by December 2006 
which the United States believed should allow foreign credit-card companies to provide electronic payment processing services for Chinese domestic cu rrency transactions.  Foreign companies still did 
not have that right.  Thus, in general, continuing efforts were needed to reduce market barriers, to 
increase transparency and predictabilit y and to fully institutionalize the market mechanisms in China.  
The United States recognized the important contribution Chinese economic progress was making to global growth and development, and appreciated the efforts China had made in participating in the 
present year's TRM.  His delegation looked forwar d to the following year's TRM and was committed 
to working with Chin a in the years ahead. 
43. The representative of the European Communities
 said his delegation continued to believe the 
TRM was a useful mechanism.  It therefore encourag ed China to participate actively in it.  The TRM 
was a fundamental multilateral forum for exchanging c oncerns with China's WT O compliance efforts.  
The EC, like other Members, had set out its concerns in detail in writing in the various communications circulated in advance of the meeti ngs of the various bodies.  However, it regretted 
that it had been obliged to raise again a good number of issues that had been raised in the same bodies 
in the past and to repeat questions, such as thos e related to uneven EPA enforcement, licensing 
measures, discriminatory treatment in the auto sector and unjustifiable export restrictions.  These 
questions had not yet been answered in a fully sa tisfactory fashion.  The Community also regretted 
that China had in most cases not circulated any wr itten contribution to this exercise ahead of the 
meetings, despite its obligation to do so.  This was all the more regrettable, as in many cases the EC 
had also raised the same issues bilaterally and ha d similarly not received satisfactory answers.  The 
EC regretted that there still appear ed to be a real gap in what China believed it had done and what its WT/GC/M/112 
Page 14  
 
  WTO partners expected it to do.  The Commun ity hoped China would address this situation very 
soon, fully respecting its obligations under the WTO. 
44. The representative of Mexico
 said his delegation appreciated the reports presented for the 
purposes of this sixth transitional review, which ha d enabled Mexico to gain a better insight into 
China's efforts to amend its legislation and admi nistrative measures in order to bring them into 
conformity with its WTO commitments.  The information provided by China had given Members a 
clearer picture of its various subsidy programmes,  the phasing-out of which had been agreed with 
China.  Mexico thanked China, and its Ambassador  in particular, for supplying that information.  
Nevertheless, there still remained a considerable num ber of pending questions raised by Mexico in the 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in the autumn of 2006, relating to programmes 
granted by authorities at different levels of central  government, that had not been included in China's 
notification for that year.  Mexico also had request ed information on the type of enterprises benefiting 
from tax exemptions and the sectors involved.  Chin a had provided no response whatsoever so far, 
and his delegation would be grat eful to receive the requested information so that points of 
convergence could be found and current concerns dispelled. 
45. The representative of Cuba  said his delegation was grateful for the information supplied by 
China and the reports of the various bodies concerning China's TRM.  China was an enormous country in terms of territory a nd population, which had inherited a heavy burden of underdevelopment 
and territorial inequality, and had been and continue d to be confronted with a daunting challenge, with 
which it was dealing step by step.  As some had said, too much haste could destabilize one of the world's largest economies, with harmful conseque nces for other Members.  China had gone from 
being a backward and almost feudal country to  being one of the most dynamic and vigorous 
economies in the world, with a more equitable internal  distribution of the benefits of its development.  
According to the United Nations, China, together with India, was one of the countries that had 
contributed most to reducing poverty in the world.   At the same time, although also a developing 
country, it was contributing increasingly to official development aid, including Aid for Trade, and in 
contrast to the developed countries, its aid was offered without conditionalities.  The successful first 
China-Africa Summit was worth highlighting in this respect.  His delegation wished to point out once 
again the discriminatory nature of this annual exercise to which no other Member was subjected.  
Cuba was also concerned by the s uggestions and demands of some of the developed countries, in the 
Council and in other WTO bodies, which went beyond  the general legally binding rules relating, for 
example, to the different forms of property in Ch ina.  Some of the criticisms regarding domestic 
subsidies, intellectual property and non-tariff barrier s implicitly reflected a double standard, since the 
developed countries that were making them had them selves failed to comply with what they were 
asking of China, or for years had failed to observe  certain rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body. 
46. The representative of China
 thanked Members who had made objective and encouraging 
comments on China’s implementation of its commitments.  China would, as always, continue to 
improve its work and adopt measures to further op en and reform its economy.  He also wished to 
thank those Members who had raised more questions.  He would pass these on to his capital and was sure they would be helpful for the improvement of China's work.  His delegation fully understood 
why some Members still had complaints about China’ s implementation of its commitments, in spite of 
the tremendous efforts China had made.  Some of t hose complaints were due to the diverse opinions 
and positions on certain issues for various reasons, including different interp retations of relevant 
WTO rules.  Others were due to the great expecta tions of China for further liberalization, which had 
nothing to do with its accession commitments but w as something that had to be settled during the 
Doha Round.  Nothing was perfect in this world.  He  was very reluctant to point out that even some 
major developed countries whic h were founding Members of the WTO had much room for 
improvement in performing their obligations in areas such as implementation issues, S&D treatment 
for developing countries, compliance with DSB ruli ngs and the fulfillment of commitments in textiles 
and clothing trade.  Furthermore, some Memb ers still needed to fulfil their obligations under  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Section 18 of China's Protocol of Accession.  He wished to thank the Co uncil Chairman, all the 
Chairs of the subsidiary bodies, all Members and the Secretariat for their positive efforts and inputs 
during the whole process. 
47. The General Council took note  of the statements and of the reports submitted by the 
subsidiary bodies on the conduct of their respective reviews, and agreed  that the sixth review by the 
General Council of China's implemen tation of the WTO Agreement and the provisions of its Protocol 
of Accession had been concluded. 
4. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee 
48. The Chairman  invited the Director-General, as Chairman of the TNC, to report on the TNC's 
activities since his last report to the Council. 
49. The Director-General, Chairman of the TNC  said3 that in his last report to the Council in 
October, he had highlighted that the negotiations had started again to move ahead in earnest.  At 
present he believed Members were closer to achie ving their major goal – establishing modalities in 
Agriculture and NAMA, which in turn would pave the way to the conclusion of the Round.  It was 
doable and Members were now closer to their goal, but it was not yet done.  Since his last report, the 
TNC had held one informal meeti ng on 30 November.  His opening remarks at that meeting had been 
made available to delegations in  document JOB(07)/191, and he wish ed to underline a few points he 
had made then.  He had given a brief overview of the progress made in the negotiations across the 
board.  More progress was needed of course, star ting with Agriculture and NAMA, and Members had 
to aim to step up the pace in all areas and prep are for the final phase of the negotiations.  The 
discussion at the meeting had been useful and frank .  It had reflected a widely shared understanding 
that substance was now driving the process, st arting with Agriculture and NAMA.  Securing 
agreement on the modalities continued to be Members'  primary focus, but it had also been clear from 
the discussion the importance participants attach ed to progressing on the other issues in the 
negotiations.  In this respect, the Single Undertaking remained the basic guarantee to all participants.  
The different negotiating issues were moving at thei r own rhythm and Chairmen's texts would appear 
as the substantive discussions in the negotiating groups ripened these issues.  It was therefore 
important that Members kept a sustained pace of work  in all negotiating groups .  He believed this was 
the best way to ensure that all issues received a ppropriate treatment, so they could come to full 
maturity in time to conclude the Round. 
50. While circulation of the revised draft m odalities texts in Agriculture and NAMA had 
originally been foreseen in November, it was now cl ear, particularly in Agriculture, that a bit more 
time would allow more details to be settled, which would allow the Chair to table a more 
comprehensive revised text.  Both the Agri culture and NAMA Chairs would resume their 
consultations in early January, following which th ey intended to circulate their revised texts 
somewhere around the end of January.  The establishm ent of the modalities should then be about one 
month later, which was likely to necessitate a horizontal process – that is, one covering both 
Agriculture and NAMA together.  Members would only  know at what level this horizontal process 
would need to take place once they had seen how much work remained to be done to get to 
modalities.  All seemed to agree that the modalities we re the gateway to concluding the Round.  Once 
they were in place, a new phase in the negotiations  would open with three components to run in 
parallel:  scheduling agriculture and NAMA, tabling final offers and scheduling in services, and 
finalizing the other rule-making parts of the negotiations.  Since the informal meeting on 
30 November, work had continued across the board.  The process continued to be text-driven in key 
areas, and it was substance that drove the texts.  Th e aim of circulating draft texts was to give the 
negotiators a basis from which they could work.  Th e Chairs were providing their texts to assist the 
                                                      
3 The statement was subsequently circ ulated in document JOB(07)/217.  WT/GC/M/112 
Page 16  
 
  negotiators – that was their role, and they were we ll aware that subsequent revisions of their initial 
texts would be necessary.  This was, in his view, the only way to move towards consensus. 
51. As he had foreshadowed in his remarks on 30 November, the Rules Chairman had now 
circulated his draft consolidated texts on an ti-dumping and subsidies and countervailing measures, 
including fisheries subsidies.  As expected, the reac tions to his texts had been varied.  This reflected 
the significance of these texts and the important are as they covered.  It was clear, however, that the 
Rules negotiations had now moved to a new le vel of specificity, and this was a welcome 
development.  In the area of Trade Facilitation, progress had also been registered on the bottom-up 
drafting process initiated the previous month.  Si milarly, in the S&D Work Programme, text-based 
discussions had progressed on the Agreement-specific proposals and the Monitoring Mechanism, and 
as Members would hear from the CTD Special Session Chairman later in the meeting, he intended to 
come back to these discussions early in 2008.  In other areas, some differences had become more apparent, notably in Services and in Trade and E nvironment.  Without in any way diminishing the 
importance of the positions involve d, he believed one could see th ese too as evid ence that the 
negotiations overall were moving to a more intensiv e phase.  The high-level  political commitment on 
every side to concluding the Round successfully con tinued to be reiterated constantly.  It had been 
very much a prominent feature of the contacts and meetings he had had with Governments and 
Ministers since he had last reported to the Council  in October.  The challenge remained to give 
practical effect to this commitment and to do it wi thout delay.  While Members' major focus had to 
remain on substance, they would also have to keep  an eye on the clock.  As all knew, time and tide 
waited for no man.  If Members agreed on modalities ea rly in 2008, he believed they should be able to 
conclude the Round before the end of 2008.  At the 30 November informal TNC, he had provided a 
brief update on the issues of GI extension and the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the 
CBD.  Since his last report in July, DDG Yerxa had continued to hold consulta tions on his behalf in 
various formats on these issues.  During his consu ltations, the proponents on both of these issues had 
proposed language that would provide for a comm itment to negotiate in these two areas.  These 
proposals had met opposition from other Members.  Af ter the 30 November informal TNC, Mr Yerxa 
had held open-ended consultations on these issues , which at the present stage had not revealed 
changes in delegations' positions, so he would con tinue his consultations with a view to finding 
common ground. 
52. All delegations who spoke thanked the Director-General for his report on the state of play in 
the Doha Round, and for his and the negotiating gr oup Chairs' efforts to advance the negotiations. 
53. The representative of Brazil
, on behalf of the G-20 , said that with regard to the negotiations 
on Agriculture, the G-20 remained fully committed to the Doha Round, and was ready to play its part 
in the quest for a successful outcom e. This commitment had been rest ated as recently as the previous 
month, when the G-20 Ministers had met in Geneva.  The G-20 Ministers had reaffirmed their willingness to strive for a result that lived up to th e development dimension of the mandate.  The G-20 
– and in fact the developing world – was united in  stressing that results in Agriculture would 
determine the pace and level of ambition of the ne gotiations in the Round.  In this connection, a 
substantial outcome had to be achieved in the three pillars of the negotiation. The range and 
complexity of the distorting policies applied by de veloped countries required comprehensive solutions 
in export competition, domestic support and market access.  Partial movements and in each pillar 
were not sufficient to ensure meaningful or acceptable results in the negotiations.  Developed 
countries were accountable for the main distortions and restrictions in agriculture, and they had to live 
up to their responsibilities.  The G-20 remained ready to work constructively and in a problem-solving 
mode with other Members so as to advance to fina l negotiations on full modalities. In this spirit and 
trying to offer a pragmatic and realistic approach, the G-20 had tabled the previous day a number of 
papers and proposals which were geared towards finding clarity and balanced solutions on domestic 
support, export credits, tariff capping, sensitive produc ts, tariff escalation, and tariff simplification.  
The G-20 expected that other countries and groups woul d also display similar flexibility in the interest  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 17 
 
 
  of preserving the level of ambition of the agricu ltural negotiation while movi ng them to a successful 
conclusion.  The move towards horizontal negotiati ons would require texts that were complete and 
balanced, that provided clarity concerning the actua l contribution to be made  by developed countries, 
and that emanated from a multilateral, transp arent and bottom-up approach.  The G-20 would 
continue to work closely with other developing co untries with a view to achieving a timely, balanced 
and proportionate outcome that was acceptable to a ll.  The calendar of the negotiations had once again 
been stretched, and revised drafts were now expect ed at the end of January.  The G-20 had agreed to 
this new delay because it remained  convinced that substance had to take precedence over time 
constraints.  The G-20 was ready to resume work on  3 January, under the leadership of the Chair of 
the Agriculture negotiations, and to conclude full m odalities in the shortest period of time.  Once the 
Chair's text was circulated, it was important and ap propriate to have a round of initial discussions at 
the level of the negotiating group befo re moving to the horizontal process. 
54. Speaking on behalf of Brazil , he wished to make some additional comments on other topics.  
On NAMA, South Africa would speak on behalf of the NAMA-11, and he associated his delegation with that statement.  For Brazil's part, he wished to stress that the revised NAMA draft had to reflect 
all positions and perspectives.  It was only on the basi s of such a paper that it would be possible to 
build higher levels of convergence and move to hor izontal negotiations.  On Services, Brazil noted 
with concern that some Members were trying to rewrite Annex C and change the mandate of the 
Services negotiations.  Unilateral assessments of the plurilateral negotiations presented by some 
Members were subjective and could not serve as the basis for any collective evaluation.  It was of 
paramount importance for any draft to fully resp ect the mandate.  Brazil was encouraged by the 
Chairman’s pledge to produce a text in a bottom- up, transparent and inclusive manner.  On Rules, 
Brazil favoured the presentation of a draft Chair’s text as a necessary step in the negotiations.  
However, proposals discussed in the Negotiating Gr oup had not been reflected in a balanced way 
throughout the text. The positions of few Members had been disproportionately incorporated, to the 
detriment of the interests of the majority of th e membership, particularly developing countries.  
Beyond that, the legalization of zeroing undermin ed the credibility of th e Dispute Settlement 
Mechanism and significantly reduced the level of am bition in market access negotiations by allowing 
the proliferation of new and arbitrary barriers.  On environmental goods, an outcome should bring 
about positive results for trade, for the environm ent, and for development.  A recent proposal by 
major trading powers failed to do so, as they were exclusively oriented towards creating new market 
access on the basis of a list of products unilaterally declared as environmentally friendly.  One of the 
proposal's most striking features was that it did not contemplate biofuels, thus compromising its 
credibility.  On the TRIPS Agreement and CBD, th ere had been a significant increase in support for 
an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement.  Co-s ponsorship of the “Article 29bis” proposal had 
increased from 14 to some 60 Members, including al l of the African Group and the LDC Group.  For 
the majority of developing countries, therefore, th is was considered an e ssential development outcome 
of the Doha Round.  He also wished to stress the urgent need for concrete results on all outstanding 
development issues, in particular DFQF market access, S&D treatment, implementation issues and 
cotton.  He wished to conclude with a few ob servations regarding process.  Members had been 
confronted lately with a number of position pape rs, particularly from the largest Members, which 
were maximalist and uncompromising.  This was not helpful.  Brazil was committed to a successful 
conclusion of the Round, and had been  open to dialogue on all fronts.  At the present late stage in the 
negotiations, it was of the utmost importance that all parties engaged constructively and remained 
open to prepare for real negotiations.  In the Chairs ' texts and in the consultations that had followed, 
the interests of developed countries were being acco mmodated at the expense of ambition.  At the 
same time, there was growing pressure to make de veloping countries pay a disproportionate price for 
the Round.  This would not succeed.  Brazil trusted that the revised draft texts for Agriculture and 
NAMA would not make that mistake. 
55. The representative of Uganda
, on behalf of the African Group , extended the Group's 
appreciation to the Chairs of the Agriculture a nd NAMA negotiating bodies for their tireless efforts WT/GC/M/112 
Page 18  
 
  that had helped bring Members closer to converg ence on various issues.  The African Group reiterated 
its support of the Doha Work Programme that put  development issues at the forefront of the 
negotiations, and wished to stress that developmen t had to remain an integral part of the overall 
outcome of this process. This had to be the be nch mark of assessing the progress and final overall 
outcome of the negotiations.  With regard to the process of the DDA negotiations, the African Group 
supported and commended the multilateral approach wh ere the Chairs of the negotiating bodies had 
continued to help and guide Me mbers to engage in constructive discussions. The Group therefore 
wished to stress the need for continued transparen cy, inclusiveness and a bottom-up approach, so as to 
ensure full participation and ownership of the process by all Members.  In this  regard, while Agriculture 
and NAMA had to lead the way in terms of co mpleting the modalities stage, there should be 
concomitant progress in the other areas of negotiation, since they all formed part of the Single 
Undertaking.  The African Group appealed to all Members to continue adhering to the DDA 
negotiating mandates stipulated in the Doha Decl aration, the July 2004 Framework and the Hong 
Kong Declaration.  In this regard, the Group also  appealed to all Members to regard the DDA 
negotiations and their successful out come as a public good fo r all humankind, rather  than a vehicle for 
advancing national mercantilist inte rests.  The African Group called for practical political will and 
flexibility among the major players in the DDA, so that after the Christmas br eak all Members would 
fully engage in negotiations and quick ly bring the DDA negotiations to a successful conclusion.  For its 
part, the African Group rema ined committed to working closely w ith all Members in a constructive 
spirit to move the DDA negotiations forward to achieve  a successful conclusion of the Round as soon 
possible, but without compromising the substance of the negotiations. 
56. The representative of Indonesia
, on behalf of the G-33 , recognized the seriousness and 
intensity of Members' engagement in the recent ag riculture negotiations.  Th is had been achieved only 
with the Agriculture Chair's tireless efforts a nd able chairmanship, not only in facilitating the 
agriculture process, but also to move it forward.  On  the other hand, the G-33 was also very concerned 
with the existing situation in the agriculture ne gotiations.  There had been no strong signs or 
indication by other Members that they were willing to move and to make new significant 
contributions in the crucial areas of these nego tiations, including, and especially, on Special Products 
and the Special Safeguard Mechanism.  The G-33 ha d been constructive in its engagement and had 
consistently sought balanced solu tions throughout the agriculture negotiations.  The Group so far had 
been flexible, positive and constructive in its enga gement, as had been manifested by its written 
contributions on both SPs as well as SSM.  The G- 33 intended to continue its strong commitment to 
the agriculture process through supportive and constr uctive stands.  The Group also reaffirmed its 
commitment to working with all Members to secu re a more balanced outcome that addressed the 
development dimensions of the DDA, as well as th e genuine concerns of sm all, poor and vulnerable 
farmers worldwide.  Despite the absence of new and significant movements from some Members, the 
G-33 was pleased to inform Members that it had submitted a new proposal on Special Products 
(TN/AG/GEN/27), which represented significantly ne w movements and positions by the G-33.  This 
had been done in a spirit of moving the negotiations  forward, and the Group therefore expected others 
to respond in similar fashion by showing moveme nt and flexibility.  The G-33 had continued its 
intensive internal work with a view to contributing further, in particular on SSM.  However, the G-33 
also remained of the firm view that any new c ontribution or movement from other Members in the 
near future would have to be subject to flexib ilities.  By submitting the new proposal on SPs, the G-33 
also underscored that the Group had been and conti nued to be supportive of the agriculture process 
led by the Agriculture Chair.  A much more bala nced revised draft text on agriculture modalities, 
within and among the three pillars, was needed a nd expected.  Modalities on SPs and SSM had to be 
coherent, holistic and integrated.  They also had to  respect the sensitivities of individual Members of 
the Group so as to ensure a satisfactory solution for all its Members.  It had to be acknowledged that 
SPs as well as SSM were not absolute and fixed commercial issues.  Both of their underlying 
development mandates were clear.  It was therefore valid and relevant that any solution on SPs and 
SSM should be in order to adequately address the problems in developing-country Members and 
deliver a pro-development outcome for all developing countries, regardless of their size.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 19 
 
 
  57. On the process ahead, the G-33 was aware that th e agriculture process had to start early in 
January 2008.  Although some Members of the G-33 would be in a difficult situation to participate, 
the Group stood ready to continue its involvement.  Taking into account the central nature of the 
agriculture negotiations for G-33 Members, follo wing the issuance of a revised draft text on 
agriculture, presumably at the end of January, Member s should be given adequate time to digest the 
text.  Moreover, in order to reflect substantially on  the revised draft text, another round of intensive 
discussions in the negotiating body should also be c onvened before there were horizontal discussions.  
The G-33 attached great importance to the agricultu re negotiations, and only with this kind of 
arrangement could any future and potential way fo rward of the whole Doha Round be meaningfully 
achieved.  Finally, the G-33 reaffirmed its full comm itment to engaging in the negotiations ahead in a 
constructive and encouraging manner.  It should also be clear that th e G-33 was firm as well as united, 
and would be in a very difficult position to consid er and join any consensus if its concerns and 
interests on SPs and SSM were not completely addressed.  A successful pro-development Doha 
outcome had to be balanced and had to secure , as well as incorporate, the core development 
instruments of SPs and SSM.  In the end, the main  goal was to provide eff ective and operational SPs 
and SSM for all developing countries, including LD Cs, which took on board all the fundamental 
principles and essence of SPs and SSM.  The successful completion of the Doha Round was attainable.  Once again, the G-33 called on all Member s, in particular the major developed countries, 
to show the necessary flexibility required for th e successful and meaningful outcome of the 
agriculture negotiations. 
58. Speaking on behalf of Indonesia
, he said his country appreciated the invaluable leadership 
role of the Chairs of the General Council, th e TNC and the various Negotiating Groups, and the 
enormous efforts they had put into the negotia tions throughout 2007.  He hoped that Members' 
continued endeavours in 2008 would move the negotiati ons forward and lead to the timely conclusion 
of the Doha Development Round.  He also wished to  highlight the need for substance-driven, instead 
of time-driven, negotiations.  The WTO should em phasize transparency, incl usiveness, a bottom-up 
approach and the primacy of consensus in the negotia tions in order to conclude the Round.  The focus 
of work should still be on Agriculture and NAMA.  Keeping in mind the balance with other areas of 
the negotiations, Members should continue their work  to get better clarity on these two areas, which 
was aimed at reaching texts of full modalities.  On  Agriculture, Indonesia associated itself with the 
statement by Brazil for the G-20.  As had been unde rlined in the G-33 statemen t, agriculture remained 
the central issue of the Doha Round negotiations.  On NAMA, he associated his delegation with the 
statement to be delivered by South Africa for th e NAMA-11.  A bottom-up process remained the main 
principle in this Member-driven organization, a nd therefore, any future revised NAMA text should 
reflect the position of all Members.  It was also crucial that the revised NAMA text did not prejudge the outcome of negotiations in agriculture and truly delivered on the mandate of comparability 
between Agriculture and NAMA, less-than-full reciprocity in reduction commitments, and S&D 
treatment for developing countries.  To that aim,  coefficient numbers and flexibilities needed to be 
further broadened.  On Services, Indonesia supported the process being carried out by the Chairman to 
prepare a text.  He wished to emphasize that a text  in Services should be comprehensive, balanced and 
consistent with the principle of progressive liberali zation, particularly the flexibilities provided for in 
Article XIX of the GATS.  Furthermore, his delega tion expected that the text would not only deal 
with market access, but would sufficiently address the issue of domestic regulation and the GATS 
rules, especially ESM.  In order to make the fort hcoming DDA package acceptable to all, there would 
have to be a credible outcome on the ESM and disci plines in domestic regulation.  Rules played an 
important role in complementing market access.  Wh ile having the spirit for greater market access in 
Agriculture and NAMA, Members should not create trade distortions in Rules by allowing a zeroing methodology in calculating dumping margins, as this would have a negative impact on trade flows.  
Being the biggest archipelagic country, Indonesia had taken seriously the mandate to discipline 
fisheries subsidies that contributed to both ove rfishing and overcapacity.  These trade disciplines had 
to take into account special treatment for devel oping countries in traditional subsistence and small-
scale fishing and in helping the management of the fisheries sector.  Therefore, Indonesia had WT/GC/M/112 
Page 20  
 
  submitted a comprehensive proposal on fisheries subs idies as a middle-ground proposal.  As Members 
made progress across the board, they should not lose sight of the development dimension of the Doha 
Round.  They should uphold the principles of flexibilities and policy space for all developing 
countries.  In 2008, Members had to devote their be st endeavours to concluding a Round that truly 
contained development outcomes that guided the deve loping countries towards the path of prosperity.  
He assured all of Indonesia's continued commitmen t to engage constructively in consensus-based 
negotiations that would arrive at a time ly conclusion of this development Round. 
59. The representative of Lesotho
, on behalf of the LDCs , thanked the Agriculture and NAMA 
Chairs for their tireless efforts in  the quest for widely accepted revised modalities texts.  The LDCs 
also wished to thank the Chairs of various othe r negotiating groups and committees for participating 
in steering and navigating the process through stor my waters.  Although progress might seem very 
slow, the strides made in the past six months far exceeded those in the preceding two years.  
Relatively speaking, there had been reasonable pr ogress.  Deep down Members all had to be asking 
themselves why they had not followed this path right  from the start.  As the LDCs had consistently 
indicated, substance rather than arbitrary or artific ial timelines should drive the negotiating process.  It 
was encouraging to note that this view was ev idently now being shared by a large and growing 
number, including those in key places.  Substance should set the pace, while Members should not lose track of time.  The Group vehemently urged that its concerns be reflected in the affirmative in the 
expected revised texts.  The Doha Declaration stated  categorically that this was to be a development 
Round.  That placed the focus on the needs of devel oping countries, particularly the LDCs.  The LDC 
Group wished to resolutely underscore the point  that the Doha Round had to remain a true 
Development Round.  In addition, it was expected that  various future texts would respect and strictly 
adhere to the various negotiating mandates, to en sure that the development dimension of the DDA, 
including operationalization of DFQF market access and manageable rules of origin, was not in any 
way diluted or compromised. 
60. The LDCs wished to stress that other parts of  the Single Undertaking that included Services, 
Trade Facilitation, TRIPS and Rules were of vital im portance to them.  It was comforting to note that 
there had been intensified activity in these areas as we ll.  A rising tempo had been in evidence.  It was 
the Group's expectation that LDC issues falling in these areas would continue to receive positive and 
expeditious attention.  In Services, however, relu ctance to respond to LDC submissions lingered on.  
This had led to slow progress, although the way had already been paved through Article IV:3 of 
GATS and Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration.   Members should be reminded that LDCs, for 
their part, had long autonomously liberalized and opened their services markets.  This had been done 
in the days of structural adjustment.  It was now  for others to respond.  Having said this, the Group 
wished to commend the Chair of the Negotiatin g Group on Trade Facilitation on the format for 
conducting meetings which he had in troduced.  This format had been instrumental in providing an 
opportunity for Members to have constructive discussions  on various proposals and also to engage in 
focused textual negotiations.  However, the i ssues of S&D treatment, technical assistance and 
capacity building remained unresolved, as it was yet to be seen clearly how this was going to be 
shaped as a horizontal mechanism before the LD Cs engaged further w ith discussions on other 
proposals under relevant GATT Articles.  The LDCs wished to reiterate that in all cases, technical 
assistance and capacity building should be demand-l ed, needs-based and user-driven, and should 
amount to more than mere workshops.  The LDCs wi shed to thank the Chair of the Negotiating Group 
on Rules for the draft consolidated texts on anti- dumping and subsidies and countervailing measures, 
including fisheries subsidies.  The LDCs hoped th at these would meet the objective for which they 
were intended, which was to stimulate deep reflec tion by participants on th e broad parameters of 
possible outcomes to the negotiations with respect  to the mandate in paragraph 28 of the Doha 
Declaration.  The LDC Group wished to thank th e Chair for providing the LDCs with exemptions 
from the prohibited list of subsidies to the fishing sector, as contained in Article 1.1 of the fisheries 
subsidies text.  As for cotton, this was of para mount importance and great concern to the LDC Group 
as it affected many of its members. It therefore deserved appropriate, timely and effective concrete  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 21 
 
 
  action.  One could only agree with the view that  entering horizontal negotia tions had to have, as a 
prerequisite, modalities texts that were complete, well balanced and the result of a transparent, 
inclusive and bottom-up multilateral process.  To this  end, the LDCs pledged full cooperation.  The 
LDCs wished to reiterate their commitment to the achievement of the objectives of the Doha 
Development Round and to firmly accentuate the cent rality of its developmental dimension.  They 
eagerly looked forward to the resumption of the negotiations early in 2008 and hoped that at the very 
least, the current momentum could be maintained .  The LDCs associated themselves with the 
statement by Uganda for the African Group. 
61. The representative of South Africa , on behalf of the NAMA-11 , thanked the NAMA Chair for 
his intensive efforts to consult Members in an e ffort to build a revised NAMA text in a bottom-up 
manner as promised.  Since then the NAMA-11 had b een perturbed at the hardening of positions by 
Canada and several develo ped countries and the presentation of maximalist proposals by the US and 
EC on flexibilities for developing countries.  The NA MA-11 had very clear positions on all elements 
of the modalities, in particular the issue of the coe fficient.  This had been expressed in several written 
submissions, e.g. TN/MA/W/86.  The NAMA Chair’s July text had completely excluded the views 
and positions of the NAMA-11 as expressed in these subm issions.  The revised text had to redress this 
anomaly and expand the range of the coefficients  to include the NAMA-11's positions.  Excluding 
their views again would prejudice the negotiati ng positions of the NAMA-11 developing countries 
and skew the negotiations in the horizontal process in  favour of developed countries once again.  This 
would not result in a fair process, nor would it fac ilitate a balanced outcome in the negotiations.  It 
was clear that one could not prejudge the ambiti on in NAMA while the ambition in Agriculture had 
not been settled.  As the NAMA-11 had stated befo re, it was only fair that those developed-country 
Members who wanted a high level of ambition in NAMA should earn it by, among other things, 
making real cuts in their agricultural tariffs and tr ade-distorting subsidies, and agreeing to a tariff cap 
and the elimination of the SSG, before demanding on erous commitments by developing countries in 
NAMA.  An approach that placed NAMA before Agri culture was a clear violation of the mandate in 
paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Declar ation, which called for a compar able level of ambition between 
Agriculture and NAMA.  The submission by Ca nada and several developed countries in 
TN/MA/W/95 argued that developing countries shoul d provide new trade flows.  The NAMA-11 
countries had demonstrated that major reforms undert aken in their economies and unilateral tariff 
liberalization, spurring high growth in the last decade, had already contributed significant new trade 
flows, particularly for the manufactured exports of developed countries.  The revised NAMA text 
should ensure there was sufficient internal balance within the NAMA text be tween the efforts that 
were to be made by developed a nd developing countries.  The principle of less-than-full reciprocity in 
reduction commitments had to be respected.  It could not simply be left to each Member's judgement, 
but had to be measured in percentage reducti ons from bound rates.  The submission by Canada et al.  
asserted that "very few or no cuts will be made into a pplied rates" with the coefficients in the Chair's 
proposed range.  However, the assertion was patently  incorrect, as the simulations undertaken by the 
Secretariat showed.  First, the cuts from bound rat es, with a Swiss formula, for developing countries 
in the NAMA-11 would be the most onerous and d eepest cuts ever undertaken by developed or 
developing countries in all previous rounds of GA TT negotiations.  Second, using the Secretariat 
simulations with any of the coefficients on the ta ble, one could verify that all NAMA-11 countries 
would need to make very significant cuts in thei r applied rates as well.  Members should remember 
that the mandate required them to make cuts fro m bound rates, which was the only legal basis for the 
tariff reduction exercise.  The proposal by Canada et al.  also argued that developing countries should 
harmonize their tariffs with developed countries.  The NAMA-11 had stated in various proposals that 
harmonization of tariffs was not a mandated objec tive of the NAMA negotiations and could not be 
introduced into any assessment of contri butions made by deve loping countries. 
62. On the issue of flexibilities, the NAMA-11 had ma de a number of proposals that set out their 
views, beginning as early as November 2005.  In the past few weeks the NAMA-11 countries had elaborated on these proposals in an effort to expl ain their particular situation and development needs WT/GC/M/112 
Page 22  
 
  (Job (07)/177).  These development needs should be  accommodated by the flexibilities to be provided 
for in the NAMA modalities text.  The NAMA-11 was thus perplexed by the recent EC and US proposal to further restrict paragraph 8 flexibilities,  and could not see how this  could be brought into 
the discussion at the present stage, when th e NAMA-11 countries were calling for additional 
flexibilities, as the current flexibilities provided in  paragraph 8 did not adequately address their 
development needs.  The Agriculture Chair had ex tended flexibilities to a large number of developed 
countries in Agriculture, in order to accommodate th eir particular needs.  The NAMA-11 urged that 
flexibilities in NAMA being requested by developing countries be dealt with in a comparable manner 
to that in Agriculture.  Additional flexibility for developing countries in NAMA should be provided to meet the development objectives and mandate of the Round.  The NAMA-11 had expressed to the 
NAMA Chair that he should ensure that , as he prepared to draft his revised text, he take care to reflect 
the views of all Members.  The views expressed by Canada et al.  in their most recent submissions and 
the positions taken by a group of de veloping countries were largely similar, as they supported the 
present NAMA text.  This position represented one extreme of Members' positions.  However, a 
significant group of developing countries had a very different view.  For balance, the views of both 
these groups had to be included by the NAMA Chair in  his revised text.  The NAMA-11 also insisted 
that the position of SVEs be fully reflected in the revised text.  The NAMA-11 had agreed to an 
hierarchy of contributions and had supported the view that SVEs and Pa ragraph 6 countries should 
make lesser percentage reductions than the devel oping and developed countries that would undertake 
formula cuts.  The NAMA-11 thus had no hesitation in supporting SVEs' proposal in Job (07)/154 in 
this regard.  On the process as from the tabling of the revised NAMA text at the end of January 2008, 
the NAMA-11 proposed that a first reading of the NAMA revised text should take place in the 
negotiating group in order to allow Members the opport unity to have some discussion and hear each 
others' views before moving to a horizontal process.  The NAMA-11 assured the Chairman and all Members that it was committed to a successful outco me that was fair, balanced and development-
oriented.  They also urged all Members to ensure that the process of the negotiations was fair and 
balanced.  To seek unfair advantage in the process would put a blot on the legitimacy of the process 
and undo years of work to build the legitimacy of the multilateral trading system.  The right to 
participate in the process and to demand a fair  exchange for concessions made by developing 
countries had to be respected.  In this regard, the right of all developing countries to participate – 
including the small, vulnerable economies and the least-developed – had to be respected. 
63. Speaking on behalf of South Africa
, his delegation thanked the Chairs of the TNC and the 
negotiating groups for facilitating a transparent multil ateral process in the DDA negotiations since the 
collapse of the G-4 Potsdam meeting.  Since then , however, South Africa had been concerned about 
the tabling of deeply imbalanced texts by th e Chairs of the NAMA and Rules Groups.  These 
concerns had been largely amplified by grow ing collusion between the United States and the 
European Communities that sought to lower the am bition of the Doha Round in Agriculture while 
raising the ambition for developing countries by  presenting new maximalist proposals in NAMA and 
Services.  On Agriculture, South Africa fully su pported the statements by Brazil for the G-20, 
Australia for the Cairns Group, and Uganda for th e African Group.  Agriculture was the main area 
where the gains for many developing countries, especially  in Africa, could be the greatest.  It was in 
this sector where the greatest trade distortions re mained, undermining the development prospects of 
developing countries.  These distortions were caused largely by the policies of developed countries.  It 
was for this reason that Agriculture should rema in the engine of the Doha Round.  While his 
delegation had welcomed the first draft of the Chair' s text circulated in July , it remained concerned 
about the large gaps that remained, such as the fo llowing:  On domestic support, the major developed 
countries had yet to make commitments on real and effective cuts in their overall trade-distorting 
support and product-specific disciplines.  In addition, the mandate on Cotton that affected the 
livelihoods of West African farmers and the majority  of African countries still had to be fulfilled. On 
market access, the lack of clarity on the moda lities on sensitive products made it impossible to 
ascertain whether new and substantial trade flows in to developed-country markets would ensue. On 
export competition, the monetization of food aid th at had a detrimental effect on the recipient’s  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 23 
 
 
  domestic market as well as on regional markets still had to be fully addressed.  The revised text on 
Agriculture had to address all issues in a ma nner that was true to the Doha mandate. 
64. On NAMA, his delegation fully subscribed to the statement by the NAMA-11.  In the 
Services negotiations, South Africa had been making a consistent contribution that sought to maintain 
a high level of ambition to further open services mark ets, particularly for those sectors and modes of 
interest to developing countries.  While South Afri ca had been responding positively to the requests of 
the demandeurs in a range of sectors, it was pert urbed that a substantial number of demandeur 
countries had expressed reluctance or an inability to make commitments in sectors and modes of 
supply of interest to developing countries.  Fu rthermore, his delegation's analysis based on the 
intensive discussion of these sectors in the 11 m eetings called by the Chair of the Services 
negotiations had revealed that most major deve loped-country demandeurs had made no significant 
improvements to their Uruguay R ound commitments, nor signalled a commitment to open their 
markets to services that were of export interest to  a significant number of developing countries.  The 
principle of progressive liberalization had to apply to both developed and deve loping countries, with 
due respect for the principle of proportionality th at developing countries were entitled to.  Market-
access commitments in Services and strengthened dom estic regulation disciplines were intrinsically 
linked.  Unlike Agriculture and NAMA, the Serv ices negotiations were already guided by agreed 
modalities that had been re-affirmed and elaborated  in Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration.  The 
recent proposals on elements for a Services text by de veloped countries, led by the United States and 
the European Communities, would undermine the manda te of Annex C by requiring a change in the 
agreed modalities from a positive list approach to a negative list.  Binding national treatment before 
developing countries had had an opportunity to regulat e appropriate frameworks to facilitate increased 
liberalization would be unwise, especially while developed countries retained their current large 
number of restrictions.  South Africa therefore called upon all Members to display the pragmatism necessary to ensure a fair and balanced outcome to  the Services negotiations.  On Rules, South Africa 
had welcomed the Chair's recent text.  The Doha mandate to "clarify and improve" the disciplines 
under the Anti-Dumping Agreement had to achieve an  outcome that would tighten the disciplines to 
avoid any Member using the rules in an arbitrary manner that would impose unfair barriers to trade on other Members.  In particular, the disciplines in anti-dumping should not negate the improvements in market access, in either agricultu re or NAMA, that Members sought to achieve in the Doha Round.  
Developed-country Members that demanded amb itious market-access commitments from developing 
countries in NAMA could not then seek to increase protection in their own markets.  South Africa had 
therefore joined as a co-sponsor with Japan, Brazil,  China, India, Norway, Switzerland and others in 
the statement on zeroing in the negotiations on anti-dumping (TN/RL/W/214/Rev.1), which strongly supported a general ban on the use of zeroing, in line  with previous Appellate Body decisions.  The 
high levels of growth and relative prosperity in the developed world should not be taken for granted, 
as the world economy went into another period of uncertainty with a slowdown of the US economy 
and the changing economic geography propelled by th e new emerging markets.  Rising protectionism 
in developed countries could create conditions for increasing instability of the rules-based system. 
65. While South Africa agreed that negotiations in  February and March 2008 had to concentrate 
on the achievement of modalities in Agriculture and NAM A, it was mindful of the need to ensure that 
issues of importance to all Members were given adequate attention, particularly in areas of interest to developing countries.  These included market acces s in Services, domestic regulation, and modalities 
for LDCs.  Also, responding positively to the propo sal of a large number of developing countries on 
TRIPS and CBD (IP/C/W/474/Add.5) would be an im portant component of a development-oriented 
outcome in the DDA.  Duty-free quota-free market access for LDCs had to be prioritized and not 
undermined by the recent recipro cal access some LDCs had made to the EU under the Economic 
Partnership Agreements.  While S outh Africa applauded the Director-General for his efforts to 
highlight the importance of Aid for Trade for ma ny smaller developing co untries and LDCs, it urged 
that commitments for the additionality of Aid for Trade needed to be fulfilled, to facilitate the 
negotiations in some areas of the Single Undert aking such as Trade Facilitation.  Finally, his WT/GC/M/112 
Page 24  
 
  delegation urged develope d countries, particularly the two largest members – the United States and 
the European Communities – to provide the lead ership required to conclude the Doha Round 
successfully and as expeditiously as possible.  While th ey were required to cooperate with each other, 
South Africa urged them not to collude to lower the ambition of the Round in agriculture.  They needed to make significant commitments as they ha d promised, to reduce distortions in world trade 
and enable developing countries, particularly the po orest, to export their way out of poverty.  Pursuing 
maximalist demands of developing countries in Agriculture, NAMA and Services would undermine 
the development content of the Doha Round an d reduce the chances of a successful outcome.  
Leadership required taking a small step back from mercantilist demands a nd making a genuine search 
for solutions to secure a strengthened and stable multilateral trading system.  In this regard, his 
delegation saluted all the G-20 Members that had ne gotiated hard with each other and had produced a 
draft text of new submissions that reached out to  the developed countries in a spirit of compromise 
and an attempt to accommodate the concerns of deve loped countries, including on increasing the tariff 
caps for developed countries to as high as 150 and 200 pe r cent in some cases.  South Africa urged the 
United States and the European Communities and all developed countries to display similar flexibility 
and leadership and to moderate their maximalis t demands of developing countries and contribute 
positively to a successful conclusion of the negotia tions on modalities early in 2008.  South Africa 
remained committed to the achievement of a fair, ba lanced and development-oriented outcome in the 
Doha Round and would con tinue to work tirelessly towards this objective. 
66. The representative of Australia
, on behalf of the Cairns Group , said the Group was 
encouraged by the intensity of engagement Members had displayed over recent months in the 
Agriculture negotiations.  Members had to act decisi vely in the new year to complete Agriculture 
modalities and secure important reforms to the global agricultural trading system.  The Cairns Group 
reiterated its commitment to this  task.  The contours of export competition had taken shape, with 
growing consensus around disciplines that would add to existing WTO rules.  That said, the Cairns 
Group would remain vigilant in ensuring that importa nt areas of the mandate were clearly fulfilled.  
These included elimination of commercial displaceme nt in food aid, which South Africa had just 
mentioned, and the elimination of export subsidies.  In domestic support, percentage cuts at the higher 
end of the ranges and strong disciplines on product-specific support would  be central to effective 
reductions, and greater clarity was required in relation to disciplines on Blue and Green Box 
payments, and the mandate on cotton.  In market access, however, serious gaps remained.  This 
included areas where Cairns Group Members had articulated reforms – such as, but not limited to, 
Sensitive Products, the Article 5 Special Safeguard , and tropical and alternative products – where 
much greater progress was required to address important development goals.  Similar progress was required across other elements of the pillar, includi ng developing-country market access.  Agreement 
on modalities could only be reached if Members had certainty of outcomes in all markets.  Sensitive 
Products was an area of particular concern.  Ca irns Group Members had set out an approach that 
would provide for clarity of market access in t onnage terms.  While th e Group had engaged in 
discussion of alternative approaches, its serious conc erns with partial designation remained.  It could 
not agree to modalities that would leave uncertain the final level of MFN TRQ expansion, or allow 
the commercial value of outcomes to be diminished  by the way access was scheduled, in particular 
through anything other than single-quota approaches. 
67. Speaking on behalf of Australia
, he said that in reviewing the past several years it seemed that 
Members had begun to get some things right.  First and foremost, they had now established a 
negotiating process characterized by transparency and inclusiveness.  The importance of this should 
not be underestimated.  This was essential to ensu re the consensual and comprehensive approach to 
decision-making that Members required.  Second, th is negotiating process was firmly bedded in text 
that was available in Agriculture and NAMA and now in Rules.  No one would argue that any of these 
texts was in any way near perfect, but the fact that Members had such texts now – and hopefully 
would have more in the next few months – was a si gnificant step forward in the long journey of these 
negotiations.  As the Chairman had said, subs tance drove the texts and the texts drove the  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 25 
 
 
  negotiations.  If Members had difficulties with the te xts on the table, their development, refinement 
and improvement was in Members' hands.  Third, more than just established process and some new texts, Members also had a sense of movement and progress, if not yet strong and clear prospects.  However, all had agreed to step up the pace, and this was an essential ingredient for these 
negotiations.  Regarding the year ahead, Australia re mained of the view that the Round could reach a 
conclusive phase in 2008, but only with hard work and goodwill on the part  of all.  The essential 
ingredient remained leadership from all, but in par ticular from the richest and the more powerful.  It 
would require the good sense of all to recognize each  other's interests, as well as the sensitivity to 
minimise or avoid tactical positioning, to give each other the requisite confidence in the Single 
Undertaking, and to manifest th e political will necessary to ensure  that for each Member and in 
aggregate, this Round enhanced economic developm ent and growth.  This was an outcome worth a 
certain amount of patience and perseverance.  Memb ers should now move ahead step by step.  Their 
first step should be engagement early in January that would allow them to move to new texts for 
Agriculture and NAMA.  Then one would see if Me mbers could make the appropriate contributions, 
each consistent with its own capacity, to ensure  modalities and the necessary strong outcome they 
should reflect.  Australia would do its part in this. 
68. The representative of Costa Rica
, also on behalf of Chile, Colombia, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan,  
Peru, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China , recalled that these countries, all of them 
developing, had circulated a communication on Formula and Flexibilities for the NAMA Negotiations 
(TN/MA/W/98) on 14 December.  The communication stated that the NAMA Chair's draft modalities text reflected the mandates for the NAMA negotia tions and was in line with the 1996 Singapore 
Declaration in which Members "reaffirm the primacy of the multilateral trading system …."  The 
communication also stated that the Chair's text pr esented the appropriate architecture for finalizing the 
modalities in NAMA, as a fundamental requireme nt for an ambitious, balanced and successful 
outcome across all areas of the DDA, in line with Paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Declaration and in 
the context of the Single Undertaking.  Under th e Chair's draft modalities, about 40 Members would 
be required to apply the Swiss formula.  Only 30 of them were developing countries, and this group 
represented an important part of the developing coun tries as well as a very significant part of world 
exports of non-agricultural products.  In this context, the co-sponsors of this communication 
considered that for developed-country Members, a co efficient lower than the range of 8 to 9 proposed 
by the Chair would be appropriate to ensure a high level of ambition.  For developing-country 
Members, these countries supported the formula coeffi cient range of 19 to 23 and the numbers and 
architecture of the flexibilities in paragraph 7( a) of the Chair's draft modalities text, while 
paragraph 7(b) was currently under consideration by them.  For unbound tariff lines, these countries 
supported a constant non-linear mark- up of 20 percentage points.  They were therefore not prepared to 
consider any additional flexibility beyond what was cu rrently envisaged by the Chair in his text.  On 
the treatment of SVEs, they supported the proposal in the Chair's draft text, but would be prepared to 
negotiate the numbers within the architecture presented, as long as the hierarchy of contributions 
among the Members not applying the formula moda lity was maintained.  For developing-country 
Members with low binding coverage, they supported the Chair's proposal but noted the latest proposal 
by the proponents, and expressed their willingness to  work with Members to resolve this issue 
expeditiously.  For LDCs, these countries supported their exemption from the formula.  Members should carry out their commitments relating to LDCs  expeditiously.  They also recognized the great 
importance LDCs attached to the simplification of  rules of origin for duty-free quota-free market 
access, and Members should address their interests and concerns.  On the erosion of non-reciprocal preferences, these countries appreciated the Chair's proposal for defining the scope of the problem.  
However, they noted with concern that the Chair' s proposal for treatment was incomplete, as it would 
negatively affect the export interests of other de veloping-country Members.  Any acceptable solution 
would require adequate adjustment for Members be ing negatively affected by the proposed solution. 
69. Speaking on behalf of Costa Rica
, he said his country supported the plan the Director-General 
had outlined to conclude the Round in 2008.  In the Agriculture negotiations, Costa Rica supported WT/GC/M/112 
Page 26  
 
  the statement by Australia for the Cairns Group,  as well as the positions and proposals presented 
earlier by that Group.  Costa Rica thanked the G- 20 for submitting proposals on different topics and 
for the important contribution this represented for th e negotiations.  There had been a great deal of 
very intense work at technical le vel in the Agriculture negotiations  and some progress had been made, 
including in the export credit pillar, but his delega tion was preoccupied by the dearth of progress on 
disciplines concerning important issues.  In the ar ea of domestic support, there had to be recognition 
of the need for cuts in the top band, if meaningful  reform was to be achieved in agricultural trade, 
with more effective disciplines.  On market access, progress towards ambitious outcomes was also 
vital if the Round was genuinely to contribute to development.  For Costa Rica and many other 
developing countries that exported agricultural pro ducts, an ambitious outcome was key to trade 
liberalization, including in respect of tropical and alternative products – with particular emphasis on 
those that were processed – as a way of contributin g to sustainable development by taking advantage 
of comparative advantages in produc ts with greater trading benefits. 
70. On the Rules negotiations, Costa Rica was pleased  that a new phase had now been opened.  It 
valued the serious work carried out by the Chai r of the Rules Group who had very recently presented 
a text.  His delegation shouldered the responsibility that all Members now had, which was to strive 
towards the necessary balance so as to  reach an ambitious and satisfactory agreement.  Costa Rica, as 
part of the group that had made the statement on zeroing, had expressed its concern over the fact that this issue had been included and the need for this pr actice to be abolished.  Costa Rica welcomed the 
introduction of elements that would limit the abusiv e use of these measures, but  considered that the 
text was not balanced, and wished to work with the Chair and other Members to try to reach the 
balance it felt was still  missing.  The work plan or timetable Members had before them, if they 
decided to respect it, would still allow them to use the window of opportunity to successfully 
conclude the Round in 2008.  However, the window was very small, which was why it was absolutely 
essential that Members should seek – together with th e technical work promoted by the Chairs and 
different groups such as the G-12 – to add political will that should recognize the advantages of the 
Round over and above the differences Members someti mes had.  This political will was absolutely 
essential if Members were to make progress, and it had to be expressed not only in meetings of 
Ministers, but also by representatives in Geneva and se nior officials in the next stage.  It was essential 
that these individuals be given flexibility from capit als so they could move towards convergences.  
The common systemic interests among Members were  numerous.  It was normal that sometimes one 
saw the tree constructed by various constituencies ra ther than the forest, but it was essential that 
Members together get a global picture of this fo rest, which was the Round that offered enormous 
advantages.  This was the type of  political will required from each Member in the next stage of the 
negotiations, to be able to move towards a successful conclusion of the Round in 2008. 
71. The representative of Uruguay
 associated his delegation fully with the statement by Australia 
for the Cairns Group. 
72. The representative of Chad , on behalf of the co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour 
of Cotton , said the C-4 associated themselves with the st atements by Lesotho for the LDCs, Uganda 
for the African Group, Jamaica for the ACP Group, South Africa for the NAMA-11, and Indonesia for the G-33.  They also supported the views and recommendations of Brazil for the G-20 and fully endorsed them.  The C-4 wished to reiterate the urge nt need for Members to press on with their efforts 
to find appropriate, concrete and lasting solutions to the vital issue of cotton.  These solutions should 
be sought simultaneously under the trade and devel opment aspects of cotton.  Under the trade aspect, 
the C-4 supported the proposed modalities for co tton submitted by the Chairman of Agriculture 
negotiations in July.  They hoped that with the r esumption of the negotiations in January 2008, real 
progress would be made on the cotton issue.  This would only be possible if all Members participated effectively in the discussions and made constructiv e proposals.  Regarding the development aspects, 
he wished to address this matter under Agenda Item 7, when he would also make some comments and 
recommendations concerning the mechanism to ma nage cotton export revenue losses.  The C-4  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 27 
 
 
  wished to stress that they were speaking of an in strument that would relieve the misery of the poor 
and vulnerable cotton-producing communities in Afri ca, and that Members therefore had to devote 
themselves without further delay to  setting up such a mechanism. 
73. The representative of Jamaica , on behalf of the ACP Group , thanked the Director-General for 
his continuing efforts to bring the negotiations to a conclusion.  Since September, the membership had 
been engaged in negotiations on the basis of the draft modalities texts issued in July 2007 by the 
Chairs of the negotiating groups on Agriculture a nd NAMA.  The membership had made great efforts 
to demonstrate its commitment to a truly multilateral process with emphasis on the substance of the negotiations.  The ACP Group's level of comfort had increased as its call for a tr ansparent, inclusive, 
bottom-up approach to the process ha d been heeded, and it envisaged a continuation of this.  The ACP 
Group had therefore been able to welcome the commitm ent to continuing the text-driven process with 
a view to concluding the Round successfully in 2008.  ACP Trade Ministers had met in Brussels in November and had issued a very comprehensive Communiqué on the DDA, in which they underscored that a development outcome in the D oha Round had to be achieved through placing the 
specific needs and interests of developing countries at  its core.  In that regard, the ACP Group could 
not participate in discussions at the horizontal  level before full moda lities were developed in 
Agriculture and NAMA.  For this reason, the Group urged caution in moving directly to a horizontal 
process following the issuing of the revised Agricu lture and NAMA texts early in 2008, should these 
texts not encompass full modalities.  There might be need to continue working on certain issues in the 
negotiating groups, especially in Agriculture.  To u se a favourite analogy of the TNC Chair, Members 
had to ensure that all issues within the modalities were evenly “cooked”, before  engaging in intensive, 
horizontal negotiations.  To do otherwise could endanger the whole negotiating process and disturb 
the current level of confidence. 
74. In Agriculture, the Group continued to support the approach by the Chairman to place 
emphasis in the discussions on what had been term ed the "less textually developed" areas.  These 
included key issues of importance to the Group such as Special Products, the Special Safeguard 
Mechanism, preference erosion, cotton, duty-free quota-free market access for LDCs, export credits, 
STEs and food aid.  On Special Products, the Group wi shed to reiterate its support for the flexibilities 
contained in paragraphs 52-53 of the draft moda lities text, which had been extended to SVEs and 
other developing countries, including the ACP Group, under Footnote 3.  The Group once again wished to state that it understood this to mean th at the beneficiaries of these flexibilities would only 
be obliged to reduce their tariffs by a maximu m overall average of 24 per cent with no minimum 
reductions on tariff lines. The Group looked forward to confirmation of this understanding in the 
revised modalities text.  It was also the Group's understanding that countries under Footnote 3 would be able to designate their SPs within the overa ll maximum 24 per cent average reduction.  The Group 
looked forward to confirmation of this understanding through the placi ng of the appropriate relevant 
provisions in the draft modalities concerning SPs .  The Group wished to place on record its 
appreciation for other Members' support for these provisions.  It also wished to reiterate its support for 
the approach outlined in the latest communication from the G-33 for the designation and treatment of 
SPs by other Members of the G-33 which were not  beneficiaries of Footnote 3.  The ACP Group 
supported, in particular, the call for inclusion in  the modalities of provisions which allowed for a 
substantial number of Special Pr oducts designated by these Members to receive a zero-cut treatment. 
75. Regarding the SSM, the ACP Group fully supported the call by the G-33 for a simple, 
effective and easy-to-operate SSM in order to gua rd against market instability resulting from import 
surges or price depressions.  The SSM had to be available to all developing countries and LDCs as 
long as there was distortion in the world trading system, and could not be more cumbersome or stringent than the existing SSG, in terms of prod uct coverage, triggers or remedies.  The ACP 
countries had long drawn the attention of the Council to the importance of trade preferences to the 
development of their agricultural sectors and to thei r overall development needs.  The need to balance 
the interests of all Members was paramount to th e continued relevance of the multilateral trading WT/GC/M/112 
Page 28  
 
  system.  This was why the July 2004 Framework a nd the Hong Kong Declaration fully recognized the 
importance of long-standing preferences and called for the issue of preference erosion to be addressed.  It was against this background that  the Group had submitted a proposal for addressing 
longstanding preferences and preference erosion thr ough appropriate trade and non-trade solutions. 
The Group also hoped to issue some revised proposals on preferences at the beginning of 2008.  On 
cotton, the Group supported the position of the C-4 which sought ambitious, expeditious, and specific 
treatment for cotton, a major agricultural crop for sm all-scale farmers in Africa.  The Group wished to 
stress the need for both the trade and development as pects of cotton to be addressed.  The Group also 
continued to emphasize the importance of duty-free quota-free market access for LDCs by 2008.  This 
was vital for addressing the socio-economic objectives  of these countries, including poverty reduction 
and food security.  The Group also envisaged a soluti on in respect of the concerns raised regarding 
commodities and tariff escalation.  In the domes tic support pillar, a commitment to a substantial 
reduction in domestic support would be an important confidence-buildin g measure in the negotiations.  
In the export competition pillar, while the Group recognized that there were provisions for the 
disciplines on export credits that took appropriate account of S&D treatment for LDCs and NFIDCs, 
the export interests of small developing countries wh ich needed to make use of export credits should 
not be unreasonably prejudiced by new disciplines.  Furthermore, flexibility for LDCs and NFIDCs 
should be accommodated by the terms of the agreem ent to be reached on this issue, especially 
regarding the repayment terms fo r export financing support.  On STEs, the Group was encouraged by 
the recognition that small developing countries should be exempt from new disciplines, as their 
exports under these entities – whose main role was to ensure food security and domestic price stability 
and to promote their agricultural exports – were too small to create market distortions.  The ACP 
Group wished to see modalities on food aid that would not restrict the delivery of such aid, particularly to those countries and communities that needed it. 
76. Since September, Members had been engaged in  an intensive process of negotiations on the 
draft NAMA modalities text.  As January neared, when  it was anticipated that revised draft texts on 
Agriculture and NAMA would be issued, it was impo rtant to recall some of the key principles and 
guidelines that had to be borne in mind when re vising the draft text on NAMA.  These included the 
following:  the revised modalities should be compre hensive and balanced, reflecting the views and 
interests of all Members, including the ACP;  th ere had to be a reflection of the development 
dimension, including full recognition of the less-than -full reciprocity principle, which should result in 
proportionality of contributions, fairness and equity ;  the revised draft should facilitate further 
negotiations through the inclusion of ranges, opti ons and brackets, until agreement was reached on the 
elements concerned.  There should be no attemp t to foreclose options available to Members, 
especially developing-country Members.  Ther e should be an overall balance in the NAMA 
negotiations as well as a balance between the negotia tions in Agriculture and NAMA, in accordance 
with paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Declaration.  Du e consideration had to be given to the interests 
and concerns of developing countries as expressed in the consultations held since September.  In this 
regard, the Group wished to re-cap some of the main  concerns and issues it had articulated and which 
it wished to see reflected in a revised modalities text .  These were:  (i) inclusion of the 70-80 per cent 
range of binding coverage at a ra te of 28.5 per cent for the "paragraph 6" countries – the flexibility 
shown by these countries had resulted in a real c oncession on their part and as such should be given 
favourable consideration by Members;  (ii) the need for a trade-based so lution to the issue of 
preference erosion for the products identified by the ACP and LDC Groups, including a longer 
implementation period of at least 10 years – othe r solutions should serve only to complement the 
trade-based solution that was being sought; (iii) im provement in the numbers for the SVEs in line 
with the proposal tabled by these countries in October;  (iv) addressing the concerns of the LDCs, 
including through the full implementation of the Decision on LDCs for duty-free quota-free market 
access for their products, the simplification of rul es of origin, and enhanced provisions on technical 
assistance and capacity building;  (v) ensuring that the sectoral negotiations, though non-mandatory in 
terms of participation, were sensitive to the signi ficant adverse impact that these negotiations could 
have on some non-signatory preference-dependent countries.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 29 
 
 
  77. The ACP Group welcomed the draft consolidated text on Rules circulated by the Chairman of 
the Negotiating Group, and wished to thank him for his efforts in preparing the draft text, which had not been an easy task given the divergent views a nd positions of Members.  The draft text was being 
examined in capitals and she assured the membership  of the ACP’s continued participation in the 
discussions in January and February.  Regarding the yardsticks being used by the ACP Group in 
reviewing the draft consolidated text, they would be looking at:  the overall balance in the areas 
covered in the draft consolidated text, particularly in  the area of fisheries subsidies which was an area 
of interest to the ACP Group;  the extent to which the development di mension was reflected, 
including the impact of the proposed amendments  on policy space;  and the practicality of the 
proposed amendments, bearing in mind the capac ity and resource/institutional constraints of 
developing countries, including the ACP countries.  At an informal meeting on 14 December, the 
ACP Group had provided a preliminary indication of how  it felt the draft text on fisheries subsidies 
met the criteria mentioned above, particularly regard ing (i) ensuring a balance between environmental 
and developmental concerns;  (ii) S&D treatmen t for artisanal and small-scale fisheries;  
(iii) inclusion of in- or near-port processing ac tivities and subsidies provided for operating costs 
which the ACP Group felt should not be included in the disciplines;  and some of the institutional 
provisions, such as those relating to the FAO p eer review mechanism on fisheries management 
systems.  The ACP Group would continue its review of  the draft text on fisheries subsidies and would 
come back with more specifics in January.  However,  it wished to request that ample time be afforded 
for a thorough examination and discussion of the draft consolidated text, so that developing countries had the opportunity to air their interests and concer ns, which should be taken into account in a future 
revision.  The Group wished to emphasize the importa nce to it of the negotiations on RTAs.  The draft 
consolidated text did not address this aspect of  the Negotiating Group’s mandate, and the ACP Group 
looked forward to the resumption of discussions on this issue as soon as possible. 
78. The ACP Group took note of the current discussions on a possible text on Services.  The 
Group was not a demandeur for a services text a nd questioned the need for such a document, 
particularly as the negotiating mandate and sp ecific modalities for the services negotiations had 
already been agreed in the Doha Declaration,  the March 2001 Guidelines and Procedures, and 
Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration.  If a text were produced, it should be within the context of 
the following parameters.  Procedurally, a possibl e text on services might be developed once there had 
been progress in other areas of the negotiations, including the establishment of full modalities in 
Agriculture and NAMA.  Such a text should r ecognize and respect the principle of progressive 
liberalization and the flexibilities afforded to deve loping countries to liberalise their services sectors 
in accordance with national policy objectives and the level of development of  individual Members.  
This was enshrined in Article 19 of the GATS Agre ement.  The ACP Group wished to underscore the 
centrality of Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration as the basis for the services negotiations.  Annex C was a carefully negotiated text representi ng a delicate balance on the framework that would 
govern the level of ambition in the services negotiations  that would shape an ev entual package in this 
area.  Any attempt to go beyond the confines of Annex C would not be accepted by the ACP countries.  In this regard, the Group did not suppor t attempts at introducing benchmarking for further 
liberalization, which had been among the features of  some of the proposals tabled by some Members 
relating to elements for a possible services text.  The development dimension should be reflected by 
dealing with key, longstanding issues, such as the establishment of the LDC modalities, addressing 
the S&D treatment proposals tabled by developing c ountries, and the implementation of Article IV of 
the GATS, including by responding to the requests fro m the developing and le ast-developed countries 
for greater liberalization in sectors and modes of suppl y of interest to them.  Domestic regulation and 
GATS rules should also be addressed.  The ACP Group c ontinued to participate in the negotiations on 
domestic regulation with a view to ensuring that future disciplines in this regard had a strong 
developmental component. 
79. Development was a key objective of trade and was at the heart of the Doha mandate.  Any 
evaluation of the development content of the Doha  Agenda therefore had to take into account S&D WT/GC/M/112 
Page 30  
 
  treatment, which was important in terms of both its  crosscutting nature and the mandate to make S&D 
treatment provisions "more precise, effective and operational".  The ACP Group remained concerned 
at the lack of progress so far and could only expr ess the hope that work would advance at a more 
rapid pace beginning early in 2008.  On Trade Fac ilitation, the Group welcomed the intensification of 
work in the negotiating group in terms of trying to  build consensus throu gh more focused drafting 
of texts.  The Group wished to emphasize the impor tance of text-based discussion continuing to take 
place within a transparent process and at a pace and in a manner that allowed for the concerns of all 
Members to be taken into account.  Further, th e mandate on technical assistance, capacity building 
and S&D treatment was particularly  important, and it was critical that discussions on these elements 
proceeded on a parallel level with that on the pr oposed trade facilitation measures.  Equally important 
was that the existence of implementation cap acity be a precondition for the assumption of 
commitments by developing and least-developed count ries.  This was an important element of the 
development content of the Doha Round.  In th is connection, the Group wished to thank the 
Secretariat for the assistance it was providing to ACP countries to undertake their needs assessment 
with a view to determining their technical assi stance and capacity building needs.  As Members 
prepared for another intensive phase in the negot iations in 2008, she wished to signal the ACP 
Group’s commitment to engage constructively as Me mbers sought to realize the promise of Doha. 
80. The representative of Switzerland
 said his country shared the appreciation that the process 
was now well on track and would allow Members, sl owly but surely, to move forward.  The TNC 
Chair had mentioned that Members should not forg et about the clock, but one could sometimes stop 
the clock if this helped improve the substance.  His delegation wished to make several comments on 
Agriculture.  There were three pillars in market  access – Agriculture, NAMA and Services.  For the 
time being, Members had to address the philosophical  question of whether a toothpick in NAMA and 
a toothpick in Services could be considered as p illars.  Switzerland was of the view that Members 
were very far from any potential balance within th ese three sectors.  On NAMA, his delegation first 
wished to congratulate the group led by Costa Rica which had gone to the pains of opening a dialogue 
which he was certain would help Members move forw ard.  He wished to underscore that the higher 
that ambitions were in Agriculture, the higher th e price would be in NAMA.  There was no political 
possibility of the conclusion of a Round that was unbalanced .  He also wished to stress that in the area 
of Services, alongside market access, which wa s very important, his delegation supported the 
statements by Indonesia and South Africa on domes tic regulation, an aspect of the Services 
negotiations that was of great interest to Switzerla nd.  In Rules, the Chair had presented quite an all-
encompassing text, but from the reactions to this  text one might conclude that it was not fully 
satisfactory.  Indeed, it did contribute to levelling do wn the level of ambition in this area as well.  His 
delegation wished to stress its satisfaction over th e very important work done on Trade Facilitation, 
but there were many points of detail that still had to be looked into with in this group if there was to be 
any progress.  Lastly, he wished to comment on geographical indications.  Progress on GIs extension 
needed to be made now, as was th e case for the CBD-TRIPS issue.  A decision in favour of working 
out a solution for these two issues as part of the Si ngle Undertaking had to be taken at the same time 
as the Agriculture and NAMA modalities decision.  However, for this purpose, a text-based 
negotiation would have to take place.  Switzerland was therefore satisfied that the TNC Chair 
intended to have DDG Mr. Yerxa pursue these consulta tions and hoped they wo uld finally lead to a 
certain number of results.  Members were in a de velopment dimension, and in this dimension they 
were working within a vast project of the world ag enda, i.e. efforts to eradicate poverty.  The WTO 
also had to be sensitive to another item on the world agenda, i.e. environmental concerns, and 
Members had the good fortune with the Doha mandate of  progressing, even if modestly, in this area.  
It was hoped there would be a con sensus here of all participants. 
81. Speaking on behalf of the G-10 , he said that while these countries congratulated the G-20 for 
their hard work, the text on capping led to a hiccup,  and when one had a hiccup, one was certainly not 
ready for a dialogue.  The G-10 flatly rejected this  text, which it considered more a provocation than  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 31 
 
 
  something helpful.  With regard to the other ar eas addressed by the G-20, the G-10 would revert to 
them after careful study, as there were some aspects that might be of some help.   
82. The representative of Singapore , on behalf of the ASEAN Members , said he wished to 
highlight the statement on the Doha Round from the recent ASEAN Summit in Singapore.  At their annual meeting on 20 November, the ASEAN lead ers had reiterated their commitment to an 
expeditious and successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round. Noting that concluding the 
Round was essential to promote growth, opportunity and prosperity, they had also highlighted the 
primacy of the rules-based multilateral trading system.  In this regard, they had reaffirmed their belief 
that a successful outcome was within Members' coll ective grasp if all made the necessary sacrifices.  
The ASEAN leaders had also noted that ASEAN was prepared to make its contribution, and called 
upon all Members to do the same at this critical junc ture. They had also reiterated their strong support 
for the early accession to the WTO of Laos. 
83. Speaking on behalf of Singapore
, her delegation shared the TNC Chair's assessment of  the 
state of the Round.  Members could not delay making an effort to finalize modalities for very long after the revised NAMA and Agriculture texts were released.  They could not sustain that negotiating 
momentum indefinitely.  In this connection, she wish ed to make five points.  First, taking stock of 
where Members were, it was clear how much ground had been covered, especially over the past six 
months.  There were texts on draft modalities for Agriculture and NAMA, and the first draft of a 
Rules text.  These texts were far from perfect, bu t a serious multilateral negotiations process was 
underway.  While there might be movement, what was needed was greater convergence.  In this 
regard, Singapore looked forward to the revised Chairs' texts in late January to show the way forward.  
Second, on the way forward, Singapore was encouraged by the report of the Chairman of the 
Agriculture negotiations.  On NAMA, her delega tion shared the TNC Chair's view that the 
architecture for modalities was more or less stable.  Singapore, together with a group of developing 
countries, all of whom would be subject to fo rmula cuts, had tabled document TN/MA/W/98 which 
captured their views on the broad parameters of a NAMA outcome that could deliver both ambition 
and development.  In Rules and Services, further work was clearly needed.  In Rules, Singapore, 
together with a representative number of Members,  had expressed its strong concern in the joint 
communication in TN/RL/W/214 on the proposals concerning zeroing.  In Services, if Members were to make progress on a services text, they needed to focus on the elements where convergence was 
possible.  Services rules was an integral part of  the services package, and LDC modalities was another 
important issue that needed to be addressed. 
84. Third, it was important, from a process and substance point of view, that Members further 
intensify their work in the other areas of the ne gotiations, such as trade facilitation, S&D treatment 
and the overall question of development.  These i ssue should already be adequately developed when 
Members finalized modalities.  The desired balance c ould not be determined in or by negotiations on 
one issue, but rather across the board on all the majo r issues.  Fourth, for the negotiations to enter the 
end-game, it was essential that Members quickly move  into a horizontal process to calibrate the trade-
offs required to clarify what the final package c ould look like.  There were clearly differences – many 
serious, some even fundamental – yet these differe nces were not irreconcilable if all showed the 
requisite flexibility.  Fifth, Members were reachi ng the tipping point where they had either to deal 
squarely with the task of pushing the Round fo rward or face up to manage the consequences of 
failure.  All knew what was at stake and how importa nt it was for economic growth and development.  
At a time when the global economy was reverberating from turbulence in the financial markets, real 
and credible movement in concluding the Doha Round would serve as a bulwark against uncertainty 
and rising protectionist sentiments.  Members had come a long way in the negotiations and had built 
convergence on many issues.  A lot of hard work would have to be done over the coming months.  
However, while it would be difficult, it was also doa ble, if all pulled together and built on the progress 
made.  She expressed her delegation's deep appreciation for the hard work put in  by the Chairs of the 
negotiating groups.  In the weeks ahead, these Chairs  should be given the space and support for them WT/GC/M/112 
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  to fulfill the responsibility Members had invested in them.  Their efforts represented the single thread 
that held the Round together. 
85. The representative of Sri Lanka
, on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing Countries , 
said these countries continued to follow closely all aspects of the negotiations, and wished to commend the efforts made by the Chairmen of the Agriculture and NAMA negotiations who had 
continued with a bottom-up approach in reviewi ng the draft modalities texts they had presented.  
Developing countries were of the view that any pr ocess to be undertaken early in 2008 needed to 
maintain the current levels of transparency an d inclusiveness.  Regarding the horizontal process 
Members were to embark on at the beginning of 2008,  the Group wished to make three brief remarks.  
It was important that the revised draft modalities texts from the Chairmen of the Agriculture and 
NAMA negotiations be internally balanced, as this would greatly facilitate the horizontal process.  
The adequacy of any draft modalities texts should be  evaluated against meeting the primary objective 
of the DDA, which was to address the needs of the de veloping countries.  Regarding the process to be 
followed early in 2008, the revised draft modalities te xts should first be reviewed in their respective 
negotiating groups before being considered in an y type of small-group process.  The Group was 
committed to continuing its work to strengthen and expand the multilateral trading system and the 
WTO. 
86. The representative of Barbados
, on behalf of the SVEs , welcomed the TNC Chair's report and 
the timeframes proposed.  Like others, the SVEs we re committed to working with the Agriculture and 
NAMA Chairs to help with the task of getting ove r the first hurdle, which was full Agriculture and 
NAMA modalities by the end of February.  For this task to be accomplished, however, the SVEs 
asked that at the present stage, Me mbers collaborate to narrow difference s rather than to widen them.  
He recalled the triangle of issues that had led to the suspension of the negotiations in 2006.  If the 
horizontal process was to succeed in 2008, especia lly in the very narrow window of opportunity 
envisaged, and if the problems of imbalance between  the original texts were to be avoided, the 
Agriculture and NAMA Chairs had to collaborate more  closely in the development of their revised 
texts.  Regarding the SVEs' priorities in the negotia tions, they wished to thank those delegations who 
had spoken earlier, including the NAMA-11 and the ACP, and those delegations who would speak 
later in support of the SVEs' efforts.  They not ed Members' willingness to support the SVEs and to 
work with them to negotiate numbers within the architecture presented by the NAMA Chair.  They 
welcomed this, as they believed that the impact on th e world trading system of solutions for the SVEs 
was insignificant enough to be resolved ahead of the horizontal process.  In the recent past, one 
delegation had expressed its dislike for what it described as solutions resembling a Christmas tree.  
All knew that it was not the tree that mattered but wh at was placed under it.  One could not make the 
big traders happy and leave the smaller ones unhappy.  Nor did the SVEs accept the opinion that when all were unhappy the balance was probably right.  Some Members had been happy for a long time, 
while most had been very unhappy for a very long time.  This was why Members had launched this 
Development Round.  The SVEs were concerned that  the complexity of the Rules issues and the 
structure of the Services negotiations had the potenti al to make overall convergence difficult.  They 
were therefore pleased that the Rules Chair had take n the initiative to move early to present his text.  
While Barbados considered that something could be presented on Services, the SVEs advised caution. 
87. The representative of Japan
 said this might truly be the last chance for the Development 
Round.  Thus, inter alia , Members had to keep in mind three thi ngs.  First, in order to arrive at 
agreement on Agriculture and NAMA modalities early in 2008, Members had to make major efforts 
in these two fields.  It had to be admitted that there were still wide gaps, as evidenced from various 
statements made at the present meeting.  Howeve r, these should not be unbridgeable.  This depended 
on Members' collective will.  As the Director-Gener al had said, Members had to step up their work.  
Second, Members should of course not overburden th e vessel, but this did not mean they should not 
seek progress in other areas, such as development issues, services and rules.  On the contrary, 
Members had to make progress in these areas as well.  Progress there could have positive effects on  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 33 
 
 
  Agriculture and NAMA.  Members had to make coll ective efforts so that these other areas would not 
be left behind.  The Director-General had again be en right on this point.  Third, in discussing these 
other areas, Members had to avoid any moves that  would have major negative effects on progress in 
the Agriculture and NAMA modalities negotiations or the DDA as a whole – for example, moves that 
could be a setback from the present trade regime and that were not supported by a majority of 
Members.  Lastly, on the G-20 papers on Agriculture  recently presented, Japan would carefully study 
them.  His delegation was always grateful for th e G-20's positive contribution, but regarding the 
separate paper on tariff capping, he had to say th at Japan could not accept capping, as Switzerland for 
the G-10 had said, because in a tiered formula, highe r tariffs would already be cut more deeply than 
others.  
88. The representative of Korea  said the review of the present year's negotiations had certainly 
led Korea to recognize the value of a Chair-dri ven, bottom-up and multilateral process, and the 
practical impact it had on the negotiations.  Alt hough Members had not been able to achieve their 
initial objective to reach an agreement on modalities in Agriculture and NAMA by the end of 2007, 
this should not prevent them from continuing  the multilateral process until they reached the 
conclusion of the DDA negotiations.  At the last informal TNC meeting on 30 November, Korea had 
agreed to the work schedule the Director-General had proposed.  In  order for that schedule to be 
realized, certain points would be essential and deserved to be addressed at the present meeting.  First, 
on Agriculture, while acknowledging the progress gene rated from the Room E process, his delegation 
believed that in order to reach agreement on modaliti es, a more concrete and balanced text should be 
produced.  In this respect, it was crucial to addr ess properly the concerns of the importing Members 
such as the G-10 and the G-33 in a balanced manner.  In this regard Korea associated itself with the 
statement by Indonesia for the G-33.  On tariff cap ping, it had been Korea's consistent position that 
capping was not acceptable, as it represented double payment in the case of high tariffs under the tiered reduction formula.  This position remained unchanged, and Korea therefore strongly rejected 
the G-20 proposal on tariff capping.  Regarding NAMA, the slow pace of progress due to Members' 
divergent views on coefficients and additional flex ibility issues remained of great concern.  The 
coefficients should be agreed at a level that allowed real market-a ccess improvement in developed as 
well as developing-country Members.  The sensitivit ies of certain Members sh ould be addressed in a 
specific manner rather than in a generic way through the modalities.  Considerin g that the majority of 
Members who would be applying a form ula supported the Chair's July te xt, Korea wished to stress the 
importance of reflecting this wide support in the Chair's revised text. 
89. Regarding the Services negotiation, the recen t progress reports submitted by the co-sponsors 
served a useful role in helping Members to get a better  picture of the current status of the negotiations.  
However, Korea was concerned that most of the areas, including the ones in which Korea had shown specific interest, were currently lacking progress in  the negotiations.  It was crucial to align the 
services text with the modalities for Agriculture and NAM A, so that it could fulfill its expected role to 
provide guidance for the future services negotiations.  On Rules, the majority of Members had pointed 
out that the recently submitted Chair's text on anti- dumping lacked balance, as shown, among other 
things, by the reinstatement of zeroing that had been  repeatedly outlawed by Appellate Body rulings.  
If Members were to envision any progress in the fu ture, they should move in the direction of the 
majority, and therefore the Chair's text should be revised in a significant way.  Regarding fisheries 
subsidies, the diverse interests of relevant Member s were not reflected in a balanced manner.  There 
was also a lack of balance regard ing other general subsidies.  His delegation firmly believed that, in 
line with the Hong Kong mandate, the future regime on fisheries subsidies should focus only on those 
subsidies that really led to over-fishing and ove r-capacity.  Regarding the future process, it was 
essential that Members made the Chairs' texts suffici ently mature and balanced before moving into a 
horizontal discussion.  In this respect, the process af ter the texts were circulated should be designed, 
prepared and carried out in a well thought-out mann er.  In addition, to secure a balance across all 
areas of the negotiations, Members had to include Services and Rules in the horizontal process along 
with Agriculture and NAMA. WT/GC/M/112 
Page 34  
 
  90. The representative of Peru
 said he hoped the TNC Chair's proposals would make it possible to 
overcome points of deadlock and to fashion agre ements that would lead Members to a genuine 
development Round.  For the countries that we re truly committed to the objectives of this 
organization, the current situation in the multilatera l trading system was unfavourable.  Such was the 
case for Peru, and for this reason it supported the im plementation of an ambitious Round in all areas 
of negotiation.  Peru was aware, however, that Agri culture was the keystone that would determine the 
overall level of ambition in these negotiations.  Hi s delegation therefore advocated modalities that 
would facilitate genuine reforms in market acce ss, as well as the reduction of trade-distorting 
domestic support that served only to maintain long -standing inequities which, in terms of trading 
opportunities, continued to constitute  serious obstacles to development.  Peru endorsed the statement 
by Brazil for the G-20 as well as the points made by Australia for the Cairns Group.  Similarly, his 
delegation supported the statement by Indonesia fo r the G-33 concerning special products and the 
special safeguard mechanism.  Peru hoped this pr oposal would encourage other Members to soften 
their positions, so that Members could move forward in the negotiating process.  He wished to stress 
once again the importance of a commitment to achie ve the fullest possible liberalization of tropical 
and alternative products.  This was a pending task th at should not be delayed any further if Members 
wished to contribute to the development of imp overished rural areas by including them in the 
efficiencies and benefits of globalization.  With  regard to NAMA, Peru supported the statement by 
Costa Rica for the ten Members, including Peru, comprising the moderate group on NAMA.  The ambitious and constructive spirit that motivated Peru  was reflected in the proposal it had circulated 
with the aim of achieving balance between extreme positions. 
91. Regarding Rules, he wished to stress the arduous  and difficult work done by the Chairman of 
the Negotiating Group who, with the support of th e Secretariat, had s ubmitted valuable texts 
regarding antidumping measures, subsidies in general,  and fisheries subsidies, which were crucial for 
the preservation of the environment.  These efforts had enabled Members to move to a new stage in 
the negotiations, especially with regard to disciplines on fisheries subsidies.  Peru trusted that this 
momentum would extend to other areas of negotiati on.  Effectively and efficiently defining Aid for 
Trade was an imperative.  The November 2007 gl obal review of Aid for Trade and the regional 
workshops held in Lima, Manila and Dar es Sal aam in September and Oc tober had made a positive 
contribution to the task of turning a diffuse and ge neral concept into one with greater precision and, 
hence, greater operational capacity.  Much remained to  be done if Members were to give effect to Aid 
for Trade.  To that end, the contributions of th e donor countries – which should take the form of new 
and additional funds – would play an essential role, as would the monitoring and supervisory 
mechanisms that would enable Members to en sure optimum allocation of those resources. 
92. In the time that had elapsed since the Doha Ministerial Conference, the phenomenon of 
climate change had become dramatically obvi ous from the scientific diagnoses of catastrophic 
changes.  One had seen an impera tive need for the international co mmunity to tackle this problem 
with the greatest urgency possible.  As had been elucidated by the Director-General at the recent UN 
Conference in Bali and on previous occasions, the WT O and the international trading system could 
not turn its back on this imperative which was vital for the world community.  This feeling of urgency 
had been echoed in the recent deliberations of the Committee on Trade and Environment in Special 
Session, at which a series of working documents on environmental goods and services – including one by Peru (JOB(07)/154) – had been submitted.  Ther e was an important critical mass that would make 
it worthwhile to attempt an exercise in conso lidation and supplementation, which Members could 
entrust to the Chairman of that committee so as to facilitate progress in the implementation of the 
Doha mandate and ensure that the organization's own instruments were also placed in the service of 
the environment and sustainable development.  Fi ghting climate change was an area where the WTO 
could not remain indifferent.  Give n the close relationship of this t opic to intellectual property, he 
wished to reiterate the priority Peru attached to the mandate of bringing the TRIPS Agreement into 
line with the Convention on Biological Diversity, unde r which action was taken to combat bio-piracy 
and to enforce the obligation to disclose the origin  of biological resources and/or related traditional  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 35 
 
 
  knowledge in the patent system.  An agreement on th is matter would serve as a signal that the results 
of these negotiations could pave the way for a genui ne development Round.  Pe ru would continue to 
work vigorously to achieve full modalities in all areas of negotiation by 2008, so as to fulfil the 
expectations placed on Members. 
93. The representative of Mexico  said his delegation agreed with the Director-General's statement 
regarding the state of play of the negotiations.  Me xico supported the African Group in its appeal that 
these negotiations be considered as a public good  for the whole of humanity.  The dates of 
31 March 2003, 14 September 2003, 30 April 2006,  31 July 2006 and end-December 2004, 2005 and 
2007 had something in common – on all of those da tes Members had sought to achieve negotiating 
modalities and on all of them had failed.  At the present time, Members had a new opportunity, but 
paradoxically they had greater hope than in the r ecent past of concluding the Round successfully in 
the near future, given the spirit of compromise that had become apparent.  At the same time, however, 
there were mixed signals which obliged Members to reflect on the type of negotiation they wished to 
see in the coming months.  He asked if Members we re seeking to build bridges with a view to 
reaching agreements, or to reconcile their extreme positions given the expectation of an indefinite 
suspension of the Round. 
94. Mexico was confident that it had been consiste nt on all fronts, as it had sought the middle 
path in the different areas of negotiation.  Like  Aristotle, St Thomas and Descartes, his delegation 
considered that the middle ground was the only way to  reconcile the various elements, including in 
trade negotiations.  The middle ground implied balance and justice.  It was sometimes not easy to find.  In seeking it, one was sometimes confronted with incomprehension or even calumny.  In this 
spirit, Mexico welcomed and supported the statem ent by Brazil for the G-20, a group whose proposals 
were recognized as constituting the middle ground in relation to the three pillars of agriculture.  
Mexico also welcomed and supported the submis sions by Costa Rica for a number of developing 
countries, including Mexico.  In this case also, Mexico was seeking a middle ground in the NAMA 
negotiations.  This Round w ould be possible only if all demonstrated flexibility and readiness to move 
away from their original positions.  Members could reach agreement only if they made concessions in 
favour of their negotiating partners and sought poi nts of convergence.  Members had less than one 
year to conclude this negotiation.  In those months , they would first have to achieve full modalities as 
quickly as possible in Agriculture and NAMA, and adopt the necessary elemen ts for the presentation 
of final offers in services.  A second phase would be concerned with the preparation of schedules in 
Agriculture and NAMA, and final offers and the elaboration of schedules in services, as well as the 
finalization of texts in the other areas of negotiatio n.  However, for this purpose, it was essential to 
have the necessary political support so the negotiations  could be accelerated and the results thereof 
could be approved in due course.  It depended on each and ever y Member to make this possible. 
95. The representative of the European Communities
 said what was clear from the Director-
General's report was that Members were indeed en tering a critical phase, since they were on the verge 
now of the final phase of negotiations.  For those who wished to see the shape of the Round, it was 
not too hard to identify it.  Thus, with political goodwill on all sides and the right process in place, it should be possible to get there.  The Communities remained committed to working constructively to 
achieve a successful Round.  Contrary to some othe r Members, his delegation had said it was ready to 
work on the basis of the papers submitted by the Agriculture, NAMA and Rules Chairs, although 
these texts did not always reflect the EC's positions and levels of ambition.  His delegation welcomed, 
in this context, the statement by Costa Rica fo r a number of countries, which clearly showed that 
many developing countries retained ambition in  the Round and that this Round was not about a 
confrontation between developed and developing countries, as had been alleged at the present 
meeting.  As he had said at the informal TNC meeting in November, for the negotiations to be 
successful a number of things were needed.  First,  Members needed to move ahead very urgently – 
time was not on their side.  It was essential that the revised texts on Agriculture and NAMA were 
issued at the end of January, and that Members th en worked tirelessly to negotiate full modalities in WT/GC/M/112 
Page 36  
 
  February.  The texts on Agriculture and NAMA had to  be comprehensive, so that there was no need 
for any further iteration of them.  This meant that for Agriculture, in particular, the process in January 
needed to be intensified, so the Chair could pr oduce a comprehensive and balanced text covering 
every issue.  Members could not continue afte r January with more working papers and more 
incremental production of texts.  The NAMA text,  among other things, had to contain language on 
NTBs reflecting the range of proposals made by  Members, who should then negotiate on these 
proposals.  It would not be acceptable to let the NTB aspect of the negotiations lag behind.  The texts 
on Agriculture and NAMA had to enable Ministers to take the requisite political decisions. 
96. Second, Members needed an across-the-board negotiating process in February.  Specifically, 
they needed a horizontal process that ensured that  in parallel to negotiating Agriculture and NAMA, 
they could negotiate and make comparable progress on the other key elements of the Single 
Undertaking, including Services, Rules, Trade Fa cilitation, Development, Environment and GIs.  
Ministers had to be able to weigh up the overa ll balance of the deal before they concluded on 
modalities for Agriculture and NAMA.  To take one important example, Ministerial commitments on 
what Members would offer in services would be, for the EC, a key element for signing off on 
Agriculture and NAMA.  Members would have to indi cate clearly what they were offering in services 
in terms of binding and new market access.  This  should be done through a signalling at Ministerial 
level in the framework of the Green Room and the negotiations on modalities.  Put another way, the 
EC would not agree modalities on Agriculture, or NA MA for that matter, unless Members were ready 
to take equivalent commitments in the other areas of  the Round.  Nor would the EC be able to agree 
on postponing consideration of the other subjects of  the Round until after the adoption of Agriculture 
and NAMA modalities.  His delegation therefore looked to the Director General to put in place a 
horizontal negotiating process from early February.  Th e EC would also ask the Director-General to 
indicate soon when Members could foresee Ministerial-level involvement in the negotiations in Geneva.  Otherwise, Members risk ed running out of time and lead ing themselves to a self-fulfilling 
prophecy that the Round could not be finished .  Members needed to collectively impose upon 
themselves a timeframe for Ministerial negotiations  – his delegation suggested the second half of 
February or early March.  Members needed a time frame that would force them to take decisions, 
make concessions and reach deals.  The Communitie s believed firmly that Members should all agree 
to a final Ministerial negotiation before Easter to conclude the Round.  To this end, Members needed 
to use the time available between the present and th e end of January to catch up on Services, Rules, 
Trade Facilitation, S&D treatment, GIs and Environmen t.  What Members would need in every one of 
these areas was a text that was fairly complete and that  reflected specific levels of ambition, so that in 
all of these areas all Members would be able to judge the overall balance and ambition of the Round 
and compare it with what was being proposed in Agri culture and NAMA.  All had to work hard in the 
coming weeks and months to avoid a situation where they had to say "Yesterday we were at the edge 
of the cliff, today we are one step further".  He wished all Members the will and wisdom to avoid such 
a scenario materializing in 2008. 
97. The representative of Argentina
 associated his delegation with the statements by Brazil for the 
G-20, Australia for the Cairns Group on Agricultu re, South Africa for the NAMA-11 on industrial 
tariffs, and developing countries on issues of pr ocedure highlighted in their statements.  The 
Agriculture negotiations had reached a point where,  if there were no clear replies on 2 January 2008 
from the main developed countries, the horizontal  negotiating process for the entire Round would 
have been jeopardized.  This was particularly seri ous in the area of sensitive products.  In the absence 
of a methodology for determining domestic consumption by product, the horizontal process could not 
begin, as there would be nothing to negotiate.  It had already become clear that the modalities had to 
include the basis of domestic consumption of potentially sensitive products.  This did not mean 
identifying sensitive products at th e time of agreeing on the modalities but, where necessary, listing as 
part of the modalities potentially sensitive products with  their numbers.  The corollary of this was that 
a product for which there were no domestic consumpti on data could not be declared sensitive.  His 
delegation noted that the discussion on the met hodology for calculating domestic consumption was  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 37 
 
 
  important for the purpose of ensuring that the numbers  were representative.  If the numbers were not 
correct, the subsequent horizontal process would al so be flawed.  However, methodology alone was 
not enough.  A technically complex methodology ser ved no purpose without results.  Argentina would 
not agree on a methodology and then have developed- country Members inform it of the expansion of 
tariff quotas after the modalities had been agreed.  His delegation requested that certain developed-
country Members not use the methodology as a means of concealing the numbers.  Moreover, there 
continued to be no agreement on the elimination of  the Article 5 special safeguard for developed 
countries from the first day of the implementation pe riod.  Without a definite decision on this, the 
negotiating process would be hampered.  There was another corollary – without domestic consumption numbers by product for potentially sen sitive products, no discussion could begin on 
S&D treatment, since the interested developing countri es could hardly be prepared to negotiate if they 
did not know what level of market access the deve loped countries were willing to grant.  The same 
was true of trade-distorting domestic support, partic ularly regarding the lack of clarity concerning 
limits by product.  Finally, another unresolved i ssue which had emerged as a serious obstacle, given 
the resistance of certain developed countries to a substantial outcome, concerned direct Green Box 
payments by developed countries and the monitori ng mechanism, with the additional aggravating 
circumstance that both questions had a direct impact on the effective outcome for cotton.  If 
discussions on the Green Box ended badly, so would cotton.  In addition, Argentina saw no clarity on 
the topic of subsidies for bio-diesel and its position in the boxes. 
98. On NAMA, his delegation hoped this time to have the opportunity, on the basis of the 
forthcoming text by the NAMA Chair, to open negotia tions that served to establish the necessary links 
between the different areas under discussion.  Anot her error of assessment in this negotiation would 
seriously damage the process and prevent healthy horizontal negotiations.  The new text on NAMA 
had to fulfill the mandate of less-than-full reciproc ity in reduction commitments.  In other words, the 
average percentage reduction for de veloped countries should be greater  than for developing countries, 
and in the case of the latter, it should be greater than for developing countries characterized as small 
and vulnerable economies.  Similarl y, the text should permit a rationa l interpretation to be made of 
paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Decl aration, which meant that the percentage tariff reduction for each 
category of Members in agriculture should be sim ilar to the reduction in NAMA.  Only if such 
outcomes were envisaged could the NAMA text prove useful for the future stage of negotiation.  The 
only multilateral comparison of the level of ambiti on in the Round was established in the areas of 
Agriculture and NAMA.  On Services, although Arge ntina saw no need for a text, in view of the 
different elements available to Members in that  area of negotiation – including the modalities, two 
rounds of offers and Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration – Argentina understood that some 
Members, for different reasons, considered it impor tant to have a new document.  However, his 
delegation could not countenance such a text bei ng used in an attempt to deviate from the GATS 
structure and from what had been agreed under the negotiating guidelines, or to tilt the negotiation in 
favour of the interests of a few participants.  The idea of determining multilateral market-access 
objectives horizontally for the different sectors and modes of supply in services would substantially 
complicate the process and had little likelihood of success. 
99. On Rules, Argentina cautiously welcomed  the text of the Negotiating Group Chair, 
particularly with regard to fisheries subsidies.  His delegation's initial assessment was that the draft 
text went in the right direction, combining the elem ents needed to generate an ambitious outcome in 
trade and environment, as mandated in paragraphs 28 and 31 of the D oha Declaration.  The draft did 
not, however, follow the top-down approach that his delegation would have preferred, inasmuch as it 
contributed to the integrity of the discipline and was the only possible way of addressing the lack of 
transparency in this area.  Argentina was neverthele ss prepared to work on the Chairman's text in the 
expectation of maintaining the level of ambiti on and the balance betwee n prohibited subsidies, 
exceptions and S&D treatment.  On the negotiating pr ocess, Argentina had observed that the interests 
of the developed countries were served by reducing the level of am bition of the Round at the expense 
of developing countries and their development.  When the revised Agriculture and NAMA texts were WT/GC/M/112 
Page 38  
 
  circulated, they should be examined in the negotia ting groups before being taken up in a horizontal 
process.  In this connection, his delegation took note  of the TNC Chairman's statement to the effect 
that the horizontal process would be limited to Agri culture and NAMA, consistent with paragraph 24 
of the Hong Kong Declaration.  Regarding the char acterizing of proposals that were circulating and 
possible provocations by some groups of which Arge ntina was part, he did not know what could be 
more provocative than the developed countries s uggesting a binding for themselves of 150 per cent 
while asking the developing countries to bind their ta riffs below 20 per cent.  This position seemed to 
indicate a certain degree of schizophrenia. 
100. The representative of the United States
 said that several of the interventions at the present 
meeting had repeated long lists of so-called essentia l outcomes, made invidious comparisons with the 
positions other Members had advocated, or sought to  cast the negotiations in terms of group versus 
group, or even to allege collusion among certain Me mbers against the interest of other Members.  
These interventions begged for strong rebuttals and restatements of opposing or different positions, 
and he had been sorely tempted to engage in that ki nd of a debate.  However, he did not feel that that 
sort of response would be a positive contribution to Members' mutual objective – at least he hoped it 
was still a mutual objective – of concluding an ambi tious Round in 2008.  Thus, he would spare the 
membership repetition of the United States' objectives and redlines, or of what it thought it needed for 
a Trade Promotion Authority package, or of its views on a balance across issues.  If there was any 
confusion on any of these points, he would be glad to  meet with any delegation that was so confused, 
even delegations that might be schizophrenic.  Ho wever, what was needed now was not repeated 
harangues of other Members, but serious reflection in the coming weeks of what Members had heard 
from each other, and consideration of where each  one might adjust its positions to bridge the 
substantial remaining differences among Members.   If Members did not do that, they would not 
succeed.  The United States remained committed to  complete this Round successfully and would 
return to Geneva in 2008 prepared to work with other delegations to find solutions.  However, finding 
solutions required Members to set aside their favou rite rhetorical points and to engage in genuine, 
mutual, pragmatic problem-solving.  The United Stated was prepared to do its part in that regard.  
Regarding the preliminary texts before Members, all had acknowledged at one point that the purpose 
of these texts was to move Members away from thei r comfortable positions or their most extravagant 
aspirations.  He wished to be very clear that impor tant US positions were not reflected in those texts – 
for example, in the Agriculture text, the range fo r overall trade-distorting supports;  in the NAMA 
text, the range for coefficients, both for developed a nd developing countries;  or in several aspects of 
the Rules text.  However, his delegation was not insisting that the Chairs go backwards and produce 
revised papers that simply reinserted the full range of every Member's positions.  Members had followed that approach once before – at Seattle.  No one should want to return to that path.  It had not 
been the path to success then, and was not the pa th to success now.  Members had made important 
progress collectively in the past several months.  Th ey needed to build on that progress now, rather 
than tear it down. 
101. The representative of India
 associated his delegation with the statements by Brazil for the 
G-20, Indonesia for the G-33, and South Africa for the NAMA-11.  India also supported the statements made on behalf of othe r developing-country groups.  The submission of fresh proposals by 
developing-country groups at the present time – the G-33's proposal on SPs the previous week and the 
set of six papers submitted by the G-20 the previous day – was a clear indication of the constructive 
engagement and continuing flexibility of developi ng countries in the negotiations.  India hoped this 
spirit would be amply reciprocated by others.  The first few weeks and months of 2008 would be a 
defining period for the WTO and for the Doha Rou nd.  It was essential that Members not lose the 
opportunity this period offered to successfully conc lude the negotiations.  The completion of the 
Agriculture and NAMA modalities was Members' firs t and foremost challenge.  The two respective 
Chairs had a huge responsibility to produce texts that  would take Members in that direction.  The 
obvious requirements for the texts were that they sh ould be complete, balanced – both internally in 
terms of proportionality of commitments, and externally in parity of ambition of other areas – and  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 39 
 
 
  should provide the basis for an outcome that was equitable and did justice to the Development Round.  
In order to meet these requirements, it was essen tial that the Chairs take on board the views and 
interests of all Members.  Texts that did not meet these requirements obviously could not lead to 
convergence.  In this connection, on Agriculture his delegation wished to emphasize the importance 
for a large number of developing countries, including India, of flexibilities for developing countries to 
enable them to protect the interests of their subs istence farmers.  A satisfactory outcome on SPs and 
SSM would be an essential requirement for Members to  proceed towards full modalities.  In the end, 
in order for the texts to be converted to m odalities, it would be necessary that Members assume 
ownership of the proposals.  Therefore, it was all th e more important that after the texts were tabled, 
Members had an opportunity to debate the proposals in the negotiating groups with the objective of 
filling in the gaps wherever they existed, before launching into a process of horizontal negotiations.  It 
was also important to recall that other issues n eeded to be addressed with equal commitment, to 
ensure there was greater clarity about the likely ambition in these areas when Members got to the 
stage of finalizing the modalities in Agriculture and NAMA.  It was no secret that the first iteration of 
the Rules text had severely disappointed India.  Wi thout repeating the reasons for its disappointment, 
his delegation hoped that future efforts would take into account the views expressed by an 
overwhelming majority of Members on a number of the proposals in the text.  On Services, India 
continued to be discouraged by the contentiousn ess that had enveloped the debate on ambition.  
Ministers in Hong Kong had defined the modalities a nd ambition on Services.  What was needed now 
was a roadmap to operationalize this ambition.  Propo sals aimed at re-defining or altering the agreed 
ambition could only lead to divisiveness.  India hoped the new year would bring greater convergence 
on this issue which was of vital interest to it.  Hi s delegation also wished to underline the importance 
to India of disciplines on domestic regulations.  I ndia understood that the Chair of the Working Party 
on Domestic Regulation had been working hard on a text, which was to have been tabled some time 
earlier.  India urged him, through the Council Chair,  to expedite his efforts so Members could begin 
negotiations on the basis of this text. 
102. In his statement, the Director-General had referred to the consultations DDG Mr. Yerxa had 
been holding on his behalf on GI extension and the TRIPS-CBD relationship.  It was essential that 
these consultations were intensified.  On the i ssue of the TRIPS-CBD relationship, while Members 
were some distance from consensus on the proposal  to amend the TRIPS Agreement, significant 
ground had been covered in that direction.  W ith the African and the LDC Groups co-sponsoring the 
proposal for text-based negotiations and some devel oped countries also extending their support, there 
was an increasing critical mass of Members at va rious stages of development in favour of the 
proposal.  This was clearly an idea whose time had come, and his delegation asked all Members who had engaged with India in serious text-based negotiati ons to continue to do so, so that Members could 
move towards consensus.  In this connection, he wished to support the statement by Peru.  Recent 
developments around the world had impressed on hi s country the urgent need to protect its 
biodiversity.  The WTO needed to make an impor tant contribution towards this objective, and the 
disclosure issue would help Members do that.  Re garding the discussions on Trade and Environment, 
India favoured an ambitious outcome that signi ficantly promoted environmental interests.  
Unfortunately, what his delegation had witnessed in the negotiations were proposals from some 
developed-country Members that sought to selec tively enhance market access for their products.  
India wished to caution that these negotiations c ould only progress if Members put the cause of the 
environment in the driver's seat and did not push narrow trading interests.  The issue of climate 
change was too important to be viewed through th e prism of mercantilism.  Lastly, the issues of S&D 
treatment needed to be front-loaded to ensure th at all Members had a stake when they engaged in 
negotiations on full modalities in Agriculture and NAMA.   Specifically, the issue of DFQF needed to 
be tackled urgently.  India would be happy to play a part in this.  While his delegation was aware of 
the huge challenges facing Members, it remained fu lly committed to a successful conclusion in 2008. 
103. The representative of Kenya  said her delegation noted from the TNC Chair's report that there 
had been an increased level of engagement among Members in the negotiations.  The developing WT/GC/M/112 
Page 40  
 
  countries in particular had been ac tively engaged, in terms of tabling new proposals on specific issues.  
Kenya urged the major players to show leadership  and to put forward new proposals on key areas 
aimed at moving the negotiations forward when th ey were resumed.  Her delegation wished to 
reiterate that in order to maintain the current mo mentum in the negotiations, Members had to continue 
to negotiate within a genuine multilateral process in  a transparent and inclusive manner, and under the 
guidance of the Chairs of the various negotiati ng groups.  On Agriculture, Kenya noted that the 
negotiations would resume in early January in prep aration for the revised text in Agriculture.  Her 
delegation wished to underscore that in order to ma ke further progress in this area, the revised text 
should be balanced and should have the same level of specificity on all issues under the negotiations.  
In addition, effective S&D treatment had to be an  integral part of the revised text, given the 
importance of the agriculture sector to many developing countries, including Kenya.  Members 
needed to be cautious not to derail the current pr ocess of the negotiations in agriculture, which seemed 
to provide some level of comfort, particularly to smaller delegations.  In th is regard, it would be of 
paramount importance to provide Members with an opportunity to exchange views on the revised text 
within the negotiating group on agriculture before  they engaged in any other process.  The same 
process should apply to the NAMA negotiations.  On Services, while Kenya ap preciated the increased 
momentum in the negotiations in this area, it had to emphasize that any further progress was directly linked with progress in Agriculture and NAMA.  In th is connection, the submission of revised offers 
was very much dependent upon agreement on moda lities in Agriculture and NAMA.  Regarding a 
possible future Services text, as had been proposed  by some Members, Kenya was concerned that the 
views expressed by certain Members during cons ultations went beyond the Hong Kong mandate on 
Services, and in particular Annex C of the Hong Ko ng Declaration.  Kenya was not yet convinced of 
the need for a Services text, since Annex C provided sufficient guidan ce.  In the area of rule-making 
in Services, her delegation was looking forward to an outcome on domestic regulation with a strong 
development component.  Kenya had taken note of th e constructive discussions held on the draft text 
and looked forward to a revised version of the te xt as soon as possible, to allow sufficient time for 
consultation with the relevant stak eholders at the domestic level. 
104. Regarding Trade Facilitation, Kenya appreciated  the constructive discussions on the textual 
proposals presented by various Members on trade facilita tion measures.  It also appreciated the work 
being undertaken by the Secretariat in assisting individual Members to undertake needs assessments 
in trade facilitation.  However, Kenya was concerned about the slow progress on a possible 
implementation mechanism that would ensure effective S&D treatment provisions, including 
modalities on provision of technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries to 
implement trade facilitation measures.  Kenya theref ore urged Members to engage constructively on 
these issues and looked forward to substantial pr ogress, particularly on a possible implementation 
mechanism for developing countries.  On Rules, Ke nya welcomed the draft text circulated by the 
Chairman of the Negotiating Group.  It noted with concern, however, that the S&D treatment aspects 
of the text were below many developing countries ' expectations, including Kenya's.  This was 
particularly evident in the fisheries subsidies text .  Her delegation looked forward to further work 
within that negotiating group, with specific focus on strengthening the S&D treatment component of 
the rules text.  She assured the membership of Kenya's readiness to continue engaging in the 
negotiations with the aim of ensuring that Memb ers delivered on the development promise all had 
made at Doha.  Kenya fully supported the statemen ts by Uganda for the African Group, Indonesia for 
the G-33 and Jamaica for the ACP Group. 
105. The representative of China
 said China fully shared the Di rector-General's view on the 
situation of the negotiations and agreed with th e timeline he had outlined.  China supported the 
statements by Brazil for the G-20, Indonesia for the G-33 and South Africa for the NAMA-11, as well 
as the statements by Uganda for the African Group,  Jamaica for the ACP, L esotho for the LDCs and 
Barbados for the SVEs.  All Members were fully aware of the time constraints and the need to 
expedite work.  China appreciated the efforts of the Chairs of the various negotiating bodies in getting 
down to a text-driven process for the negotiations.  Hi s delegation was glad to note that both the G-20  WT/GC/M/112 
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  and G-33 had put forward some new proposals and had demonstrated flexibilities, and it hoped other 
Members – particularly the major developed countri es – would show flexibilities as well, so as to 
pave the way to an early conclusion of the Round.  To fulfil the mission of the Development Round, a 
lot of work needed to be done in an earnest and consistent manner to reflect the interests of Members 
in a balanced way and address the particular concer ns of developing countri es.  Development issues 
such as Implementation, S&D treatment, SP and SSM,  Cotton, Trips and CBD, specific concerns of 
LDCs, SVEs and recently-acceded Members should be d ealt with earnestly and effectively.  Members 
should work by all means to achieve full modalities for Agriculture and NAMA by the end of February or early March 2008, and to complete the w hole Round before the end of 2008.  To this end, 
China hoped that after the Chairs of Agriculture a nd NAMA produced their revised texts at the end of 
January, there would be further discussions on the texts in the respective negotiating groups before 
Members began a horizontal process.  The inclusiven ess and transparency of the process was also of 
crucial importance.  China would, as always, play a constructive role together with all other Members 
to ensure a successful conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations. 
106. The representative of Nigeria
 said his delegation generally agreed with the Director-General's 
assessment which showed the tremendous efforts and progress being made by the Chairpersons of the 
various negotiating groups in galvanizing con sensus among Members.  Nigeria commended the 
various Chairpersons for their tireless efforts an d resilient spirit in ensuring that the current 
momentum was sustained.  Although Nigeria we lcomed the progress made so far, it remained 
concerned about the challenges ahead.  First, on process, his delegation reiterated the need for a 
multilateral, all-inclusive, transparent and bottom- up approach.  Second, on outcome, there was need 
to ensure that Members conformed to the mandate.  In this regard, Nigeria continued to believe that 
Agriculture held the key in the negotiations, and th at a breakthrough in Agriculture would impact on 
other areas of the negotiations.  Nigeria wished to see a high level of ambition on both the market 
access and domestic support pillars.  It shared the view that without a substantial package on 
Agriculture, the Round was not likely to deliver its  development objectives.  Nigeria therefore urged 
that the anticipated revised text on Agriculture give effect to far-reaching agricultural reforms as 
mandated by Ministers, including S&D treatment for developing countries in all the pillars of the 
negotiations.  Third, Nigeria wished to reiterate  that this Round was not a market access Round but a 
development Round.  Poor countries, such as Nige ria, should not be pushed into exposing their 
volatile and fragile manufacturing sectors to foreig n competition in a manner that undermined their 
capacity to develop local industries.  To this end,  Nigeria expected that the revised NAMA text would 
address concerns about job losses and the de-ind ustrialization of the economies of developing 
countries.  Balance should be maintained in the vari ous areas of the negotiations in general, and the 
balance between Agriculture and NAMA in particular. 
107. On the outstanding implementation issues and conc erns, in particular the importance of the 
TRIPS-CBD relationship to developing countries an d LDCs, his delegation called on all Members to 
ensure the early resolution of this issue, all th e more so as it had continued to enjoy growing support 
from a significant majority of Members.  In additio n, Nigeria welcomed the draft text by the Rules 
Chairman in respect of antidumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, including fisheries 
subsidies.  However, the concerns expressed by  developing countries should be fully addressed, 
especially the need to avoid the introduction of more  complex rules and disciplines, and in particular, 
the need for flexibilities for subsid ies to fisheries infrastructure development for developing countries 
to be made non-actionable, as well as the provision of  adequate technical assistance to developing 
countries.  Nigeria fully supported the view that the revised draft modalities texts on Agriculture and 
NAMA should first be reviewed in the respective negotiating groups before further examination in 
any small-group process, in order to test Members' resolve to exercise the n eeded flexibilities, as well 
as to ensure confidence-building and ownership of the process.  Although time remained of the 
essence, Nigeria wished to emphasize that this sh ould not be at the expense of a balanced and 
ambitious development-focused outcome.  Moreover, as an acclaimed marathon runner, the Chairman 
of the TNC possessed the astute qualities and capacity to ensure that Member s reached the finishing WT/GC/M/112 
Page 42  
 
  line and achieved a successful conclusion of the Do ha Round negotiations.  Nigeria remained fully 
committed to the Round and was ready to contribu te positively to its successful conclusion.  His 
delegation also supported the statements by Uganda for the African Group, Jamaica for the ACP, Brazil for the G-20, Indonesia for the G-33, and Sri Lanka for the Informal Group of Developing 
Countries. 
108. The representative of Israel
 said his delegation fully concurred with the Director-General that 
an agreement that was balanced a nd took into account the needs of the whole membership was within 
reach in 2008.  As all were well aware, Israel sought a timely and successful conclusion of this 
exercise and stood ready to make its modest contri bution to that end.  Regarding Agriculture, like 
others, Israel was awaiting the revised draft modalities.  Israel maintained that the level of ambition in 
the first draft modalities text was unduly high, especially regarding market access.  His delegation 
expected to see this level of ambition moderate d, in particular through the establishment of an 
appropriate number and treatment of Sensitive Products and the total elimination of the concept of tariff 
capping.  In this regard, Israel fully supported the statement by Switzerland for the G-10.  Regarding 
NAMA, Israel fully supported the stat ement by Costa Rica.  As a co-spon sor of the recently circulated 
communication in TN/MA/W/98 , Israel was convinced that the fo rmula and flexibili ty parameters 
outlined by the NAMA Chair in his July draft moda lities text represented the appropriate level of 
ambition and equilibrium in the NAMA negotiations.  Israel would prefer not to see any significant 
deviations from those parameters in a future versio n of the modalities text.  On Rules, his delegation 
wished to thank the Chair of the Rules Group for his text.  While Israel was still in the process of 
studying the text, it was initially disappointed with th e lack of balance that was strikingly evident in the 
section on antidumping.  In particular, Israel rema ined concerned with the manner in which the paper 
apparently endorsed and legalized the practice of " zeroing" in dumping investigations.  His delegation 
reserved the right to comment at a later stage on the issues mentioned, as well as other subjects of the 
negotiations, such as Services and the DSU review.  Israel was hopeful that Members' efforts were 
now on the right path and that their goal was within reasonable reach. 
109. The representative of Thailand  said his delegation welcomed the announcement by the TNC 
Chair on the roadmap set out for the successful outcome of the negotiations.  While fully understanding the existence of the hurdles and ch allenges ahead, Thailand fully endorsed the ongoing 
negotiation process and expected timeline, and stood r eady to step forward with its support to realize 
Members' shared goal.  As all were aware, Members were running out of time.  Thus, it was imperative to come to mutually acceptable agreements on all outstanding issues as soon as possible.  
Therefore, all major players in global trade had to sh ow leadership in moving towards that goal.  They 
had to show in deeds as well as wo rds their readiness to strive for a mutually beneficial outcome.  
Regarding the specific issues in Agriculture, his dele gation appreciated the Chair's efforts to push the 
negotiations forward by issuing several working documents, advancing new ideas and maintaining the 
momentum of Members' active engagement a nd collaboration during the past few months.  
Nevertheless, there were substantia l differences of opinion on the main issues that needed to be 
reconciled.  His delegation remained confident,  however, that the Chair of the Agriculture 
negotiations would find suitable ways to reach accep table outcomes.  It went without saying that 
Thailand supported the earlier interventi ons on Agriculture by Brazil for the G -20 and Australia for 
the Cairns Group.  For Thailand, Agriculture was the main engine of the Round.  Trade in agricultural 
produce was the driving force for rural development in developing countries, as a vast majority of the 
population of developing countries still toiled on farms.  It was important, therefore, that the outcome 
from the Agriculture negotiations met the developm ent objectives that rendered benefits for all 
developing countries, be they impor ting or exporting Members.  Tha iland urged Members to strive for 
high ambition that enhanced agricultural trade, rather  than focusing on defensive interests that could 
lead to a roll-back of the Uruguay Round commitmen ts.  Hence, his delegation insisted on improving 
market access for all agricultural products, taking in to account the developmental aspects of trade for 
a large number of developing countries.  Although there remained many outstanding issues with wide differences among Members in the Agriculture nego tiations, his delegation believed Members would  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 43 
 
 
  be able to strike a balanced agreement by early 2008, if we all were strongly committed to working 
for freer and fairer trade. 
110. On NAMA, his delegation also commended th e NAMA Chair for his tireless efforts and 
dedication in searching for convergences among Member s and, more importantly, in seeking inputs in 
order to reach closure on the revised modalities on NAMA.  Thailand, together with many other 
developing countries, continued to believe that th e overall structure and content of the July 2007 
Chair's text should be preserved in any revised  text, as a good basis for finalizing the NAMA 
modalities in the months to come.  Thailand's spec ific and preferred figures regarding formulae and 
different forms of flexibilities for developing c ountries were stipulated clearly in the joint 
communication in document TN/MA/W/98 circulated on 14 December, as referred to by Costa Rica.  
On Services, his delegation was not a demandeur in th is area.  It firmly believed in the principle of 
progressive liberalization.  Its next offer woul d be guided by Annex C to the maximum extent 
possible.  Thailand also wished to underscore the longstanding political and economic importance it 
attached to rule-making, domestic  regulation and, in particular, em ergency safeguard measures.  The 
prospect of having credible outcomes in rule-mak ing would decisively influence Thailand's final 
position in market access.  On a possible Services text, his delegation had made its position clear from 
the outset – it could not go along either with co mparability of outcomes in Agriculture, NAMA and 
Services, or binding existing levels of market openness, which was in contradiction with the letter and 
spirit of the GATS.  His delegation urged Members to exercise extra caution in the drafting process so that the adoption of such a text would not lead to  unintended consequences at this important juncture 
of the Round.  Thailand continued to count on the Chair's wise and objective guidance and 
impartiality. 
111. On Rules, his delegation understood the benefits of the early release of the Chair's draft text.  
This would permit more time for Members not only to analyze and consult on this important policy 
document, but also to negotiate a balanced outcome on Rules.  Even though Thailand saw some slight 
improvements with regard to transparency and due process, there were several  drawbacks that needed 
to be addressed, the most important being the recognition of zeroing as a means of calculating 
antidumping duties, which his delegation consider ed a trade-distorting method that should be 
prohibited.  Thailand also sought the right bala nce between trade and sustainable development in 
negotiating revised subsidies disciplines, includi ng the ground-breaking disciplines on fisheries 
subsidies.  In this connection, his delegation st ood ready to work constructively with other Members 
to find an appropriate and balan ced resolution on Rules.  On TRI PS, Thailand had co-sponsored the 
proposed amendment of Article 29 of the TRIPS Ag reement, concerning a mandatory requirement for 
the disclosure of origin of biological resources and/or associated traditional knowledge used in inventions for which intellectual property rights were  applied.  Bio-piracy was of great concern to 
Thailand.  Without adequate and effective protec tion of genetic resources and traditional knowledge 
at the international level, the problems of mi sappropriation of genetic resources and traditional 
knowledge would continue.  Accordingly, his de legation's proposed Article 29bis of the TRIPS 
Agreement, on a mandatory disclosure requirement, w as both logical and timely.  Thailand wanted the 
resolution of the problem of misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge to be 
part of the outcome of the Doha Round.  This was particularly important gi ven the substantial support 
for this now extended by the African Group and the LDCs, and the positive indications from some 
developed-country Members.  This  Round had been aptly named the Development Round, to level the 
playing field for developing countries and LDCs, and it was Thailand's understanding that Members' 
discussions and ongoing negotiations were predicated on the premise that they would strive to realize 
the development goals of all developing countries,  in particular LDCs.  To this end, and in 
recognizing the developmental benef its of opening up markets, his delegation strongly supported all 
forms of trade liberalization, incl uding rules strengthening, with th e caveat that they contribute to 
greater economic growth and de velopment for all developing -country Members alike under the 
multilateral trading system.  His de legation reiterated its commitment to  supporting all efforts to reach 
a broad-based and equitable outcome.  Thailand remain ed confident that, through true leadership, hard WT/GC/M/112 
Page 44  
 
  work, and expeditious political engagement, Member s would be able to make further progress and 
achieve in the upcoming period the desired breakth rough that would secure strong ambition as well as 
the altruistic development-orie nted goal of the Doha Round. 
112. The representative of Cuba
 said his delegation supported th e statements and concerns 
expressed by Brazil for the G -20, Indonesia for the G -33, Jamaica for the ACP, Sri Lanka for the 
Informal Group of Developing Countries, Uganda for the African Group, South Africa for the 
NAMA -11, Chad for the Cotton-4, Lesotho for the LDCs , and Barbados for the SVEs.  For Cuba, the 
key issue was not to conclude the Doha Round, but to  finalize it with clear benefits for the destitute 
and always forgotten – the small, poor and vulner able developing countries that, comprising four-
fifths of the world population, accounted for only one-third of world trade, despite the growth in the 
past few years.  It was better to have no agreem ent than to end the Round with a bad agreement that 
benefited only a few.  If the Round was finalized with  a bad agreement, there would be nothing else to 
do.  Unfair trade rules would prevail for several y ears or even decades.  If Members did not conclude 
the Round, the door would remain open to continue working for a balanced and successful conclusion.  
The truth was that current multilateral negotiations  in the various WTO bodies had progressed slowly, 
and basically at the expense of the flexibilities s hown by developing-country groups.  After almost a 
year of the resumption of the negotiations, ther e were no clear signals of full convergence on the 
central questions of modalities, or on the flexibilities and mandated S&D treatment for developing countries in general and the LDCs in particular .  Developed countries remained opposed, silent, 
inflexible or uncommitted on sever al mandated issues of interest fo r developing countries that still 
remained unresolved in many areas.  The recent jo int papers by the United States and the European 
Communities with other developed countries and th eir statements at the present meeting on the 
negotiations on Services, NAMA, and environmen tal goods, seeking advantages for themselves, was 
a cause for serious concern.  These Members were trying to reinterpret and reverse mandates and to restrict flexibilities for developing countries.  Th e modalities in Services were already established in 
Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration.  There was neither room nor mandate for any new paper, or 
for the return to benchmarking in this area. 
113. Also worrying was the recent submission of a paper by the Warwick Commission, comprised 
of experts from a majority of developed countri es, calling for an end to the traditional consensus 
decision-making practice and its replacement with an undefined and subjective so-called "critical 
mass".  This proposal tried to qualify the legitimacy  of the objections of some Members or groups of 
Members and the nature of their interest in a given i ssue.  It should be clear that any attempt to change 
the WTO decision-making practices for the benefit of some Members was unacceptable.  Developed 
countries talked about real and effective tariff cu ts for developing countries in Agriculture and 
NAMA, but they refused to apply the same approach to their multimillion-dollar domestic subsidies that distorted international trade, or to their agri cultural tariff peaks that could be up to hundreds and 
even more than a thousand percent in some agricultural products of interest to developing countries.  
He asked what kind of equality and development th is represented.  Developed countries showed an 
unrealistic ambition, asking impossible conces sions from developing countries in NAMA and 
Services in return for cosmetic cuts in their trad e-distorting domestic subsidies.  This was not an 
option.  Agriculture was at the cen ter of the Doha Development Agenda to correct the imbalances of 
the Uruguay Round.  Developed countries had a re sponsibility and a moral obligation to reach a 
compromise on a real and effective reduction of agricultural subsidies, where the real trade distortions 
were, and on removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to  ensure market access for developing countries' 
products.  This was not a market-access Round fo r developed countries, but a development Round 
and, in any case, meant to give developing count ries access to the markets of the industrialized 
countries. 
114. World oil, transportation and basic foodstu ffs prices had increased dramatically since 
Members had made a political commitment in th e July 2004 Framework and in the Hong Kong 
Declaration to eliminate agricultural export cred its with repayment peri ods beyond 180 days, and the  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 45 
 
 
  predictions were that world prices for these would c ontinue to increase in the next 10 years.  This 
unprecedented situation put additional pressure on count ries' ability to cover their food import bills.  
The annual food import basket for LDCs in 2007 was e xpected to cost roughly 90 per cent more than 
it had in 2000.  Higher commodity prices, including foodstuffs, meant extra import costs for developing-country importers, in particular for LD Cs and NFIDCs that would not benefit initially 
from liberalisation and might in fact suffer, and most  of which were also oil importers whose exports 
were concentrated in a few primary commodities.   Obviously, the provision of S&D treatment for 
LDCs and NFIDCs in Annex D of the draft m odalities on Agriculture contravened the Marrakesh 
Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negativ e Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-
Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countri es, and would render it useless.  Furthermore, 
a study by the OECD showed that the subsidy el ement in agricultural export credits provided by 
OECD countries was generally small – about US$ 300 million in 1998 out of US$7.9 billion.  
Therefore, an exemption or further S&D treatme nt for LDCs and NFIDCs on the export credit 
disciplines proposed would have no, or a very sm all, impact on the subsidies issue.  Further 
flexibilities for LDCs and NFIDCs would have no impact on market access either, because export 
credits were used by developing countries facing liq uidity constraints and, if the credits were not 
available or were severely restricted, as proposed  in the draft modalities, the countries concerned 
would not be able to import the necessary food. 
115. Thus, this question became an issue of WT O disciplines for trade purposes versus food 
insecurity or hunger in vulnerable deve loping countries.  In addition, the proposed provisions in the 
draft modalities on Agriculture would effectively cut a pplied levels of export credits available to the 
most vulnerable developing countries, while the proposed cuts in domestic support of developed 
countries would leave huge room to increase the a pplied levels of domestic  support by developed 
countries, which was the real cause of distortions in  world trade.  This was not consistent with the 
development mandate of the Doha Round.  A ccording to the mandate on S&D treatment for 
developing countries, there should be different treat ment in the repayment periods for developed and 
developing countries as credit providers, and devel oping countries as recipients, in particular for 
LDCs and NFIDCs, of more than 360 days for the la tter, with no terms or conditions attached.  Many 
developing-country groups shared this view and exp ected that any contributions or movement in the 
future would only be possible subject to flexibilities and new and significant contributions from developed-country Members.  A successful outcome  in NAMA and Agriculture had to include the 
resolution of implementation issues, S&D treatme nt and flexibilities for developing countries, 
including treatment for SVEs and RAMs, the real ization of the mandate on export restrictions, 
flexibilities in NAMA, the elimination of non-trad e barriers in NAMA, including non-tariff barriers 
related to non-trade issues, cotton, SPs and SSM fo r all developing countries, NFIDCs, preference 
erosion, and so on.  Considerably more balan ced revised draft texts on Agriculture and NAMA 
modalities were needed.  Such texts would lead to consensus only if they were based on the existing 
work programmes and mandates of the July 2004 Framework and the Doha and Hong Kong 
Declarations, if they were impartial and reflected the views of Members, if they duly respected the 
sequencing agreed by Ministers in the Hong Ko ng Declaration which established clearly that 
modalities on Agriculture and NAMA should be agreed fi rst, and if they met in full with the mandate 
that development was at the center of this Round and with the agreed principles of full modalities, 
less-than-full reciprocity, the Single Undertaki ng and balance between Agriculture and NAMA, 
according to paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Declaration.  After the issuance of revised drafts texts by 
the negotiating group Chairs, Members should first be given sufficient time to study them carefully.  
Afterwards, further intensive discussions on the revised texts in open-ended meetings of the 
negotiating bodies under the leadership of the respect ive Chairs should also be convened, and not only 
in small-group formats or any other form of hand-picked representative democracy.  Cuba also hoped 
that later, once most of the issues were ripe and ha d been settled, any horizontal process at Ministerial 
level would be convened for all Me mbers, and not just some.  The entire future process had to fulfil 
the mandates of paragraphs 48 and 49 of the Doha De claration, which stated that negotiations shall be 
open to all Members and should be  conducted in a transparent manner in order to facilitate the WT/GC/M/112 
Page 46  
 
  effective participation of all and ensuring benefits to all, and that  decisions should be taken only by 
Members. 
116. The representative of Senegal
 said his delegation endorsed the statements by Uganda for the 
African Group, Jamaica for the ACP, Lesotho for the LDCs, and Indonesia for the G-33.  The year 
2007, and particularly the second half of the year, ha d been one of the high points in the multilateral 
negotiating process in Geneva.  His delegation wa s pleased to note renewed commitment on the part 
of the membership.  This was what had enabled Me mbers to record advances in several areas and to 
gain a deeper understanding of the respective positio ns.  Senegal also welcomed the progress made in 
the work done on the Enhanced Integrated Framework and on Aid for Trade, in the hope that 2008 would see the implementation of the new Enhanced  Integrated Framework mechanism, which the 
LDCs were eagerly awaiting.  The entire member ship recognized the central role played by 
Agriculture and NAMA in the current negotiating Round.  Therefore, his delegation urged all 
Members to invest even greater e fforts, so they could achieve the adoption of full modalities in both 
areas in the first quarter of 2008, at the latest .  On Services, Trade Facilitation and Rules, his 
delegation commended the work be ing accomplished in these areas, as well as on all other negotiating 
issues.  The work programme in 2008 would be no easy task, but Senegal considered that this was the 
price to pay if it wanted this development Round, wh ich was of such critical importance to it, to reach 
a favourable conclusion by the end of 2008.  This would be a genuine challenge, but his delegation 
was convinced that Members could meet it, and inv ited all involved to show the necessary leadership 
to do so.  He reaffirmed the dedicated and constr uctive approach his delega tion intended to adopt in 
order to contribute to progress in the multilateral trade negotiations and a successful outcome of the 
Round by the end of 2008. 
117. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 said his delegation supported the process outlined by 
the Director-General that would address Agricultu re and NAMA as matters of priority and, in 
accordance with the Hong Kong Declaration, with co mparable levels of ambition.  His delegation 
hoped that when the revised texts on Agriculture and NAMA emerged early in 2008, they would 
provide a sound basis for further progress.  In this  regard, Hong Kong, China – together with some 
other developing countries – had made a subm ission on NAMA, as referred to by Costa Rica, 
suggesting a middle-ground solution on the Swiss form ula and flexibilities.  It hoped the ideas set out 
in the submission could be adopted by the NAMA Chair in his revised text as a pragmatic way 
forward, consistent with Member s' mandate, and which took some a ccount of the concerns of all 
Members.  Apart from Agriculture and NAMA, it was equally important to register progress in other 
significant areas of the Round, such as Services and Ru les, in order to observe the discipline of the 
Single Undertaking.  On Services, his delegation was looking for a good final outcome, including on domestic regulation, to achieve the objective of progressive liberalization under Article 19 of the 
GATS and in accordance with Annex C of the Ho ng Kong Declaration.  Hong Kong, China also 
supported the preparation of a Services text to si gnify the importance of Services as a component in 
the Doha Development Agenda.  On Rules, his dele gation appreciated the Chair's effort in producing 
draft texts, but was also very disappointed that  they were insufficiently  balanced and did not 
adequately reflect the spirit of the DDA, particul arly on antidumping with, for example, the proposal 
to give legitimacy to the practice of zeroing, against the wishes of the vast majo rity of Members.  His 
delegation would therefore respectfully urge the Ru les Chair to take into account the views expressed 
by Members the previous week and revise his text s accordingly.  Lastly, the TNC Chair's report on 
progress in various negotiating areas laid down a so lid basis for future work.  Hong Kong, China 
hoped that the goodwill expressed by Members regarding the process could provide a suitable incentive for progressing the Round to a successful conclusion in 2008. 
118. The representative of Turkey
 associated his delegation with th e statement by Indonesia for the 
G-33.  As the DDA negotiations moved into a more advanced phase with progress on the draft 
modalities in Agriculture and NAMA, a successful outco me in 2008 was within Members' reach.  In 
2007, the membership had worked constructively an d the negotiations had gained momentum in the  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 47 
 
 
  second half of the year.  This successful result had been due to the cooperative spirit shown by all 
Members.  Turkey commended this result, which could only be achieved by the inclusion of all 
Members in the negotiations.  Although it was necessary to make progress within a certain timeframe, negotiations should not be taken hos tage by deadlines and a focus on c onsensus building.  Despite the 
positive achievements, there remained some area s where more progress was needed.  Therefore, 
Turkey shared the concerns, particularly on NAM A, raised by the EC.  The second half of 2007 
should be depicted as successful, since through in clusive negotiations Members had identified the 
important differences, and the time had now come to collectively narrow those differences and eliminate them altogether.  Each Member s hould assume responsibility and show the necessary 
flexibility for a balanced outcome, with special emphasis on the development aspects of the Round.  
Turkey was generally satisfied with the inte nsive work done by the Agriculture and NAMA 
negotiating bodies since September, which had brought Members very close to a possible convergence on modalities.  In addition, the revised  draft text on NAMA should contain all of the 
sectoral proposals made.  Regarding Rules, Turkey was pleased that the negotiating group had moved 
to a new text-based stage.  Although Turkey felt th at some amelioration was needed with respect to 
certain parts of that text, the text would provid e a solid base for further discussions.  On Services, 
Turkey looked forward to the issuance of a Chai r's text that would guide the negotiations to a 
successful conclusion.  On Trade Facilitation, Turk ey appreciated the hard work done by Members 
submitting proposals with a view to facilitating a common understanding on th is subject, and urged 
them to continue their work in order to prep are the ground for text-based negotiations.  Turkey 
welcomed the progress achieved by the wider me mbership, and supported the continuation of a 
Geneva-based horizontal process.  Moreover, the un ique characteristic of the upcoming horizontal 
process and intensified negotiations necessitated fu rther inclusiveness that would ensure wider 
participation.  At this critical stage of the nego tiations, all Members who were dedicated and prepared 
to contribute to the discussions in a cooperative mann er should be involved in this process.  Turkey 
remained committed to a successful conclusion of the Doha Round. 
119. The representative of Ecuador
 said Ecuador attached high priority to the negotiations and to 
the conclusion of the Doha Round, and was promoti ng ambitious outcomes in Agriculture as a way to 
find common ground in other areas relating to the Single Undertaking.  The challenge Members faced 
was precisely that the outcomes in Agriculture should indicate that level of ambition.  Accordingly, 
Ecuador associated itself with Brazil's statement for the G-20 and the position taken by the G-20 on 
the three pillars of the agriculture negotiations.  The G-20's new proposals reflected an adequate 
balance of interests in these complex negotiations and additional flexibilities on its part, which should 
be reciprocated.  It was in the interests of Ecuador  and, in his view, of numerous delegations, that the 
Doha Round maintain the balance between the Ag riculture and NAMA negotiations in the market 
access pillar, for which purpose it was necessary to insist on full compliance with paragraph 24 of the 
Hong Kong Declaration.  Accord ingly, Ecuador supported the proposal submitted by Costa Rica on 
behalf of a large number of developing countries, that would apply the formula in NAMA, inasmuch 
as it constituted a middle-ground position serving to narro w differences and, at the same time, did not 
limit the level of ambition on Agriculture through excessive accumulation of flexibilities in NAMA.  The negotiating process was at a decisive stage, a nd inclusion and transparency therefore had to 
prevail more than ever, so that the consensus rule  could apply in decision-making.  Once the revised 
Agriculture and NAMA texts had been distribute d, the participation of Members should be 
strengthened so that those with a special interest  in different aspects of the negotiation were not 
excluded from any of the meetings.  Up to th e present, the open discussions promoted by the 
Agriculture negotiations Chair had made it possible to  move forward in the negotiations in the search 
for common ground.  Ecuador supported this process and hoped it would be maintained with the new 
revised texts.  His delegation's main offensive in terest centered on the genuine opening up of 
developed countries' markets to Ecuador's agricultu ral, semi-processed and processed export products.  
Fulfilment of the mandates for full liberalization of trade in tropical and alternative products, without 
any exceptions, as a component of S&D treatment, w as a matter of particular importance to Ecuador, 
which saw the development Round materializing only via market access for it s tropical products on WT/GC/M/112 
Page 48  
 
  the basis of the list submitted by the tropical pr oducts countries and the Cairns Group, without this 
ambition being reduced by any solution adopted in r espect of erosion of non-r eciprocal preferences.  
Solidarity between developing countries on this issue ha d to prevail if appropriate solutions were to be 
found. 
120. As part of the development dimension of the Doha Round and in the context of its 
implementation aspects, Ecuador favoured initia ting the negotiation of text for the effective 
amendment of the TRIPS Agreement and its linkage  with the Convention on Biological Diversity, a 
position supported by most developing countries.  In  the negotiations on Trade and Environment, it 
was necessary to include organic ag ricultural products as environmen tal goods, with due attention to 
non-tariff barriers, as well as adequate technology transfer to comply with the objectives of the 
mandate and effective WTO input on the global probl em of climate change.  As a member of the 
group of Recently Acceded Members, Ecuador had co-sponsored proposals on Agriculture and 
NAMA that would make up for the extensive commi tments undertaken in its accession process, in 
relation to the Members which had negotiated in the Uruguay Round.  In this connection, Ecuador had 
also undertaken commitments in respect of Services that were even more extensive than those made 
by many developed-country Members.  Annex C of  the Hong Kong Declaration was therefore a clear 
guiding text for these negotiations and no new text was needed to spur progress in this process.  
Although Ecuador had specific observations on the te xt submitted by the Rules Chair, it considered 
that the text constituted a basis for initiating ne gotiations that would lead to new disciplines on 
dumping, general subsidies and fisher ies subsidies, with the latter text having a distinct environmental 
emphasis.  Similarly, Ecuador suggested that the commitments to be adopted in the negotiations on 
Trade Facilitation should be made general in sc ope and not subject to exceptions, through proper 
implementation of the provisions on S&D treatment.  His delegation wished to reiterate that, with or 
without this Round, 2008 should be the year which saw the final, fair and immediate ending of the 
considerable discrimination suffered by his country over  a period of more than a decade as a result of 
the discriminatory and illegal banana import regime of the European Union.  The Director-General 
had initiated a process of good offices which Ecuador supported, and it encouraged him to seek the 
desired final solution to this issue with the partic ipation of Ecuador as a prin cipal supplier of bananas 
to the European and world markets. 
121. The representative of Bolivia
 said her delegation joined in the statements by Brazil for the 
G-20, Indonesia for the G-33, Australia for the Ca irns Group, Barbados for the SVEs, and Sri Lanka 
for the Informal Group of Developing Countries.  Her delegation also agreed with elements 
mentioned by South Africa for the NAMA-11, as well as by other groups of developing countries with 
which Bolivia had shared positions.  While there wa s a relative and extremely limited optimism in the 
negotiations, one had to remain cautious.  The guide  for Bolivia in these discussions had to be the 
rolling back of obstacles and distortions to trade which had been set up by the larger and more powerful countries of the world, together with impr ovement in the situation of developing countries.  
In this respect, the developed countries had a hist orical debt, which to the present day represented a 
millstone for developing-country economies.  It was in the hands of the developed countries, and in 
their hands only, to change this situation by undert aking reforms and making real cuts in their market 
distortions in Agriculture.  This was the topic Bolivia would be following and assessing constantly, 
because it was one of the only areas where it could obta in something from this Round.  In this respect, 
her delegation did not see the need for any developing country to be obliged to pay a higher price than 
its possible gains in these negotiations – particularly a country in which more than 60 per cent of its 
population lived below the poverty line set by the Unite d Nations.  Bolivia was pleased to hear in the 
TNC Chair's report that Agriculture and NAMA were  the focus of discussions, without which it was 
not possible to make progress in other areas.  As to NAMA, her delegation was hopeful that the revised draft modalities would not repeat the same erro rs as seen six months earlier.  On Services, and 
this was well known, Bolivia and other Member s had repeatedly opposed the initiation of any 
discussions around a Services text, if a clear result was not obtained in Agriculture.  According to 
initial estimates from her Government and based on the status of negotiations at present, the only  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 49 
 
 
  gain, if it could be called such, for Bolivia in the Round would be two per cent of the tariff lines 
submitted by her country under the heading of tropical  and alternative products .  This was 0.2 per cent 
of its trade in this area, which would result in 0.0 001 per cent of its total trade.  This was the result 
Bolivia would obtain in what was in principle a development Round.  Her delegation imagined that 
this irony was repeated in  the case of several developing countries.  In this context, Bolivia felt it was 
totally premature that there be any negotiation in Services or any reference to a text in this area, where 
countries such as hers stood to gain nothing and coul d lose quite a bit.  This should not happen before 
an overall stocktaking of a new text in Agricultu re, which Bolivia hoped w ould be more favourable, 
in the first half of 2008.  If this happened on top of a NAMA text that was already unbalanced with the suggestions made a few months earlier, Boliv ia would end up with negative results in this 
negotiation.  Without including Services, Bolivia wo uld be paying without gaining anything from this 
Round, which was intended to be a development Round.  The repeated failure to take into account the 
views of all Members – overlooking the rules of the WTO in Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement referring to the decision-making process – showed a clear will to push through a result without observing the rules of the organization or the interests of its Members.  Bolivia had repeatedly 
invoked WTO rules regarding decision-making by con sensus, and now wished to reiterate that any 
decision or document coming out of processes her delegation had opposed in formal and informal meetings in the area of Services and in the TNC would be considered by Bolivia as illegitimate and 
would not apply to her Government.  Her delegation wished to undersco re this point.  While it did not 
wish to create additional difficulties, it also did not wish Members to end up with unexpected and 
undesired surprises in the negotiations.  Bolivia was particularly concerned at the maximalist and 
unconstructive positions taken by the wealthiest c ountries, who did not seem to want a satisfactory 
solution for all in this Round. 
122. Turning to process, once the revised draft modalities texts for Agriculture and NAMA had 
been circulated, Members would have to have a mini mum amount of time, at least three weeks, to be 
able to react – for example, one week to assess the texts in the context of informal groups, one week 
for consultations with capitals, and yet another week for consu ltation with informal groups of 
countries.  Her delegation wished to repeat that this was a minimum timeframe.  Following that, open-
ended sessions should be scheduled for both negotiating gr oups in order for delega tions to be able to 
react and hold a transparent and inclusive discussion of these texts.  This would take Members to an effective evaluation of the balance between and within the texts.  Once discussions had been 
completed on both subjects, in whatever time was re quired to reach agreement, Members would then, 
and only then, be able to enter into negotiations in  other areas, as long as this was done in an open-
ended, transparent and inclusive format that was tr uly inclusive for all Members.  It was with great 
difficulty that Members had achieved a negotiating methodology that was bottom-up and Member-driven, and Bolivia hoped this would continue a nd would improve.  Members would thus avoid any 
Green Room or small-group negotiatio ns that would not take them to a consensus-based decision that 
enjoyed the support of all.  Her delegation wished to support the strong statement by Uganda for the 
African Group that the outcome of these negotiations should be something for the public good.  In this 
respect, Bolivia firmly believed that trade was not  an end in itself but a means to achieve other 
objectives, such as development, economic, social and cultural rights and a better distribution of 
wealth.  In this respect, Bolivia's guide, which ha d been taken up as a national policy in her country, 
was to live well.  Living well did not mean living better, because one could live better while violating 
human rights, exploiting other human beings and dest roying nature.  What Bolivia sought was to live 
in balance with all.  All knew that the current development model was not sustainable.  Members 
should set as an objective for 2008 to live well in balance with all. 
123. The representative of Chinese Taipei
 said his delegation welcomed the Director-General’s 
work plan for concluding the Doha Round negotia tions by the end of 2008.  His delegation had 
expressed its support for this earlier, and would ther efore try not to repeat points already made.  
Chinese Taipei wished to emphasize the importance of providing the appropriate treatment for the 
Recently Acceded Members (RAMS) in line with the mandates.  The current texts were not sufficient WT/GC/M/112 
Page 50  
 
  enough to meet the mandate regarding RAMs.  These countries had already taken positive steps and 
had shown their flexibility for the purpose of movi ng the discussions forward.  Chinese Taipei, as 
well as the other RAMs, would nevertheless continue to work constructively with other Members to 
try to find some common ground as soon as possibl e.  On the Agriculture and NAMA negotiations, 
his delegation fully supported the Chair-led bottom-up and text-based process.  His delegation 
reiterated the importance, during the horizontal pr ocess, of ensuring that all Members felt confident 
that their interests were being taken on board, and that the process was inclusiv e and transparent.  On 
Agriculture, as a member of the G-10, Chinese Ta ipei fully subscribed to the statement by 
Switzerland for the G-10, particularly on capping.   Regarding NAMA, it was important that the 
modalities produced substantial and real market a ccess opportunities for all Members.  The proposed 
architecture of flexibility in the Chair’s text was a ppropriate to reflect the mandate of the DDA.  His 
delegation urged Members not to lower the ambition of negotiations in this Round.  On Rules, his 
delegation appreciated the Chair's efforts at starti ng text-based negotiations the past week, but was not 
totally satisfied with the text and would continue to  make its points in the Negotiating Group.  It also 
hoped that the intensive negotiations starting in Janua ry would help to identify where the central point 
of Members' views really lay, and would allow them  to work on a more balanc ed and practical revised 
text.  On Services, while this was of equal importanc e to the other two pillars of market access in this 
Round, the progress made so far had been far from sa tisfactory.  For the entire Round to be able to 
achieve an ambitious and balanced result, there had to be a meaningful outcome on Services.  Chinese 
Taipei was therefore in favour of having a Servi ces text at about the same time, or at least 
immediately after, the Agriculture and NAMA modaliti es were agreed upon.  The text should reflect 
where Members stood at present and should serve as a guide for future work.  His delegation 
encouraged Members to intensify their negotiations on Services in the coming weeks in parallel with 
Agriculture and NAMA, and looked forward to worki ng closely with the Chairs of all the negotiating 
groups and with fellow Members. 
124. The representative of Pakistan
 said his delegation fully shared the Director-General's  views 
and would support his efforts to conclude modaliti es early in 2008 and the whole Round the same 
year.  Overall, Pakistan was fully satisfied with the way the process of negotiations was proceeding.  
It was slow but making steady progress.  Having draft texts in three crucial but very difficult areas was a major achievement of 2007.  Members were not there yet, but having texts covering almost 
90 per cent of issues in these area s was a very positive step.  His delegation realized there were many 
difficulties and many gaps which had to be closed, but it was very encouraging that the membership 
was committed to concluding an ambitious Doha Ro und in 2008.  Coordinators of various groups and 
other individual delegations who had spoken had affirmed their strong support for the process.  In 
particular, statements by Uganda for the Afri can Group and Lesotho for the LDCs were very 
encouraging.  At the present stage of the nego tiations all had to find a middle ground.  Members 
would have to show flexibility and adopt positions where it was possible to achieve consensus.  In the 
case of Agriculture, it was generally agreed that th e positions adopted by the G-20 were the middle of 
the road and had so far been helpful in moving the process forward.  Pakistan fully associated with the 
statement by Brazil for the G-20 and Australia for the Cairns Group.  There was a similar group of 
middle-position countries for NAMA, and the document they had circulated earlier that day (TN/MA/W/98) took full account of sensitivities, in particular of developing countries, and should be 
a good basis for forging consensus on the difficult is sues of formula and flexibility.  His delegation 
also wished to acknowledge the efforts being made  by the NAMA Chair to find an acceptable solution 
for the very complicated issue of preference erosion, in particular for those countries which might be 
adversely affected.  On Rules, Pakistan welcomed  the Chair's text.  On fisheries and horizontal 
subsidies, the Chair's proposal would give the work  a major push.  On antidumping, Members needed 
to revisit two issues, i.e. zeroing and the lesser-duty ru le.  In other areas, the text fairly represented the 
progress made. 
125. On Services, his delegation agreed with t hose who had reaffirmed that Members should 
proceed in line with their agreement at Hong K ong.  Annex C was a very comprehensive and well- WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 51 
 
 
  considered document and should be Members' guide.  All realized that the period after completion of 
the Agriculture and NAMA modalities would be cr ucial to making meaningful advances in the 
Services area.  Members should not spend too much  time and resources on procedural issues at this 
stage.  They should be working in capitals to be able to present ambitious revised Services offers.  
Hopefully, Members would be able to do so in good time before any deadline that might be agreed for 
this purpose.  Pakistan hoped that developed coun tries would also show some flexibility in their 
positions on areas of commercial interest for devel oping countries, such as Mode 4.  On the recent 
proposals by major economies submitted in th e Negotiating Group on Trade and Environment, 
Pakistan fully shared the views expressed by Brazil at the present meeting.  There should not be any double standards.  If Members wanted to cut barrier s for environmental goods, they could not justify 
exclusion of bio-fuels, which faced huge barriers in  developed economies.  By having a list that was 
genuinely intended to promote the environment and not to promote market access for industrial products produced by some economies, Members coul d make progress in that area.  He assured the 
Chairman of Pakistan's full support and hoped Me mbers could complete the Agriculture and NAMA 
modalities in early 2008. 
126. The representative of Panama
 said Members were entering a decisive phase in the 
negotiations, and although his delega tion recognized the efforts that had been made to advance the 
process, greater progress was nonetheless certainly n eeded in order to achieve a balance in the 
negotiations and facilitate their satis factory conclusion.  In this connection, Panama wished to see a 
transparent and inclusive process geared to achieving balanced and mutually beneficial results for all 
Members, and thus eliminating policies that sought to perpetuate distortions in world trade.  It was 
Members' collective responsibility to generate new trading opportunities, particularly for the 
developing countries.  The next objective had to be  to agree on modalities in NAMA and Agriculture 
which incorporated the elements of the mandate, particularly S&D treatment, and specific solutions 
that took account of the level of contribution of the RAMs such as Panama, which had a lower level 
of participation in world trade.  Similarly, tho se solutions should provide opportunities of access for 
these countries' export products, as in the case of tr opical products, which accounted for 80 per cent of 
Panama's agricultural exports.  In this connection,  Panama urged the main trading powers to show the 
necessary flexibility and political will to conclude  the Round in order to meet the development 
objectives for which it had been established.  He associated his delegation with the statement by 
Indonesia for the G-33.  Panama was prepared to  resume work in a constructive manner at the 
beginning of 2008, and considered that once the re vised Agriculture and NAMA  texts were submitted, 
discussions should be organized at negotiating group level before moving to a horizontal process, in 
order to achieve meaningful results.  One should not  forget the importance of achieving balance in all 
areas of the mandate.  In this regard, Panama wi shed to emphasize the importance of positive progress 
and results in areas of major significance to ec onomies like its own, such as Services and Trade 
Facilitation. 
127. The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  said his delegation simply wished 
to join in supporting the statements by Brazil fo r the G-20, Indonesia for the G-33, and South Africa 
for the NAMA-11.  It also supported the statem ents by Cuba and others who had opposed the 
presentation of a new text on Services.  In this re gard, he reiterated Venezuela's statements in the 
Council and in other WTO fora regarding Services.   He also reiterated his delegation's comments 
regarding NAMA.  With regard to Agriculture, his c ountry was not yet able to fully outline the impact 
these negotiations could have for it, particularly because it had not yet seen any proper development 
of the areas of considerable interest to it, such as special products, particularly taking into account that 
the cuts in the reduction formula for developing  countries such as his continued to be fairly 
burdensome.  On process, his delegation simply wish ed to refer to what other delegations had said 
regarding the need for the revised texts in NAM A and Agriculture to be fully discussed at the 
negotiating group level before moving to a horizontal process. 
128. The General Council took note  of the Director-General's report and of the statements. WT/GC/M/112 
Page 52  
 
  5. Work Programme on Small Economies – Report by the Chairman of the Dedicated 
Session of the Committee on Trade and Development 
129. The Chairman
 recalled that at its meeting in Febr uary and March 2002, the General Council 
had taken note of a framework and procedures fo r the conduct of the Work Programme on Small 
Economies, under which this Work Programme w ould be a standing item on the General Council's 
agenda.  The framework and procedures also pr ovided that the Committee on Trade and Development 
shall report regularly to the General Council on the pr ogress of work in its Dedicated Sessions on this 
subject.  Furthermore, Ministers at Hong Kong had instructed the CTD, under the overall responsibility of the General Council,  to continue the work in the Dedicated Session and to monitor 
progress of the small economies' proposals in th e negotiating and other bodies with the aim of 
providing responses to the trade-related issues of  small economies as soon as possible, but not later 
than 31 December 2006.  In December 2006, on the basis of a report by the Chair of the CTD in 
Dedicated Session, the General Council had taken note that Members in that body would be pursuing 
the substantive work under the Small Economies Work Programme. 
130. Mr Servansing (Mauritius), Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the CTD
, said this body 
had met on 3 December and had considered an update d version of a Secretariat paper which compiled 
all the proposals made by SVEs in the various negotiating groups and other WTO bodies (WT/COMTD/SE/W/22/Rev.1).  At that meeting, many delegations had welcomed the revised 
compilation and had requested the Secretariat to  keep updating it so as to reflect the latest 
developments in the negotiations and in th e WTO committees.  The SVEs, like many other 
delegations, had also been ensuring their positions we re adequately reflected in the draft texts being 
circulated by the Chairmen of the different D DA negotiating groups.  In this context, recent 
submissions had been made by the small econom ies to the NAMA Negotiating Group and to the 
Negotiating Group on Rules regarding fisheries subsidi es.  As to what lay ahead in 2008, he had 
already started to explore what more the Dedicated Session could do to move the Work Programme on Small Economies forward.  At the December mee ting, participants had had some interesting 
exchanges as to what other issues and subjects th eir work could address in 2008.  He would continue 
to consult with delegations to seek their views and would keep the General Council informed of 
progress in the Dedicated Session. 
131. The representative of Barbados,
 on behalf of the SVEs , thanked the Chairman of the CTD in 
Dedicated Session for his report.  The SVEs continued to value the mandate that had given birth to the 
CTD Dedicated Session as a vehicle for advancing examination of the concerns of SVEs.  This 
examination had not been exhausted, but the proponents'  efforts had been diverted to the work in the 
negotiating and other bodies of the WTO where they had a number of specific proposals under consideration.  As the Chairman of the CTD Dedicated Session had stated, that body had embarked on a preliminary discussion of possible additional areas for discussion, and it was anticipated that these 
ideas would mature into specific proposals in 2008. 
132. The General Council took note
 of the report by the Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the 
Committee on Trade and Development and of the statement. 
6. Work Programme on Special and Differential Treatment 
(a) Report by the Chairman of the Special Sessi on of the Committee on Trade and Development 
(b) Reports by Chairpersons of other WTO bodies to whom special and differential treatment 
proposals have been referred 
133. The Chairman  proposed that the Council take up th ese two sub-items together.  He recalled 
that Ministers at Hong Kong had instructed the CT D in Special Session to expeditiously complete the  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 53 
 
 
  review of all the outstanding Agreement-specific proposals and to report to the General Council – 
with clear recommendations for a decision – by D ecember 2006.  Regarding the Category II proposals 
that had been referred to other WTO bodies a nd negotiating groups, Ministers at Hong Kong had 
instructed that these bodies also expeditiously co mplete the consideration of these proposals and 
report periodically to the General Council, with th e objective of ensuring that clear recommendations 
for a decision were made no later than December 2006.   Ministers had further instructed the Special 
Session to coordinate its efforts with these bodies, so  as to ensure that this work was completed on 
time.  Furthermore, the Special Session had been mandated to resume work on all other outstanding 
issues – including on the cross-cutting issues, the m onitoring mechanism, and the incorporation of 
S&D treatment into the architecture of WTO rules – and to report on a regular basis to the General 
Council.  In December 2006, it had been agreed that  Members would continue their consideration of 
the outstanding Agreement-specific proposals in th e Special Session of the CTD as well as in the 
other WTO bodies to which the Category II proposals had been referred. 
134. Mr Sophastienphong (Thailand), Chairman of the CTD in Special Session , drawing attention 
to a written report to the General Council he had ci rculated in document TN/CTD/21, said the Special 
Session had continued to focus its work on both th e Agreement-specific proposals and the Monitoring 
Mechanism.  On the Agreement-specific propo sals, Members had been continuing text-based 
discussions on seven of the 16 remaining Agreement- specific proposals.  Based on his consultations, 
Members had been exploring possible alternative language on the two proposals relating to Article 
10.3 of the SPS Agreement.  This language represented work in progress, and the text was yet to be 
agreed.  On the proposal relating to Article 10.2 of the SPS Agreement, Members' positions remained 
divergent, and it was clear a lot of work remained  to be done before reaching an agreement on this 
proposal.  With respect to the proposal relating to  Article XVIII of GATT, the proponents were in the 
process of coming up with revised language.  As a result, he had temporarily suspended discussions 
on this proposal.  However, discussions would r esume once this revised language was tabled.  
Similarly, Members had not engaged in discussions on the three proposals relating to Article 3.5 of 
the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, as there appeared to be a greater degree of 
convergence with only one outstanding issue remaini ng in brackets.  However, having said this, it was 
clear that on all the proposals there was still some wo rk that needed to be done before coming up with 
any recommendations.  On the nine remaining Agr eement-specific proposals, no Member had yet put 
forward new ideas or alternative language.  Therefor e, these proposals continued to be set aside until 
such time as new ideas or new language was tabled. 
135. As to the Category II Agreement-specific proposal s, he had been in touch with the respective 
Chairpersons of the bodies to which these proposals had been referred.  While discussions on the proposals had taken  place in a number of these bodies, the reports seemed to indicate that there had not been any significant developments on the proposals.  He would leave it to the various Chairpersons, who would report shortly, to provide mo re details on the status of these proposals.  On 
the Duty-Free-Quota-Free market access issue, the LDCs had been pursuing the issue in the 
Committee on Agriculture and the Negotiating Group on Market Access.  In addition, they had been 
meeting bilaterally with the other stakeholders on the issue of rules of origin.  On the outstanding 
issues, Members had been continuing their consid eration of possible elements of the Monitoring 
Mechanism.  While it had been po ssible to fine-tune a few of these elements, there still remained a 
number of elements on which further work was requ ired before reaching agreement.  While progress 
had been slow, some headway had been made.  It went without saying that to reach convergence on 
the various aspects of the mandate, Members would need to continue approaching the work in a 
constructive manner and demonstrate the necessary flex ibility that would enable them to finalise their 
work.  He intended to continue text-based discu ssions on both the Agreement-specific proposals and 
the Monitoring Mechanism in 2008, building on the pr ogress made so far, with the hope of tabling a 
package on S&D when the time came. WT/GC/M/112 
Page 54  
 
  136. The Chairman
 said that before inviting the Chairs of the other WTO bodies to update 
Members on the work carried out in their respective areas, he wished to recall the statement by the 
TRIPS Council Chair at the May 2006 meeting of  the General Council, in which the latter had 
indicated that the TRIPS Council had authorized him to  report (i) that the situation in regard to the 
Category II proposals referred to that Council remain ed as reported in July 2005 in document IP/C/36;  
(ii) that the TRIPS Council reiterated its earlier recommendation as reproduced in that document;  and 
(iii) that no further action was otherwise needed on th e proposals referred to that Council.  In the light 
of this report, he would not inv ite the TRIPS Council Chair to report further at the present meeting. 
137. Mr Falconer (New Zealand), Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on 
Agriculture , referred to the report of 30 July (TN/AG/24) circulated subsequent to the tabling of 
revised draft modalities, which indicated in some de tail the way in which in that draft revision, the 
Category II proposals that related to the on-going nego tiations were being acti vely pursued.  Since 
that time, these proposals had been addressed with at  least as much as – and probably more – intensity 
than had been the case previously.  Regarding the proposal on Article 6.2, the revised draft modalities 
text confirmed that all developing-country Member s would continue to have unlimited access to the 
provisions of Article 6.2 to respond to the needs of vulnerable resource-poor and low-income farmers.  
A number of other flexibilities were specified in other parts of that text that had a bearing on the same 
issue and on the process underway.  While Members were  not at the point of finalizing this text, this 
pointed the way in which the options being cons idered – among others, for NFIDCs and SVEs – 
might be a concrete response to those proposals.  Si milarly, on the proposal on Article 15.1 in relation 
to the LDCs and their commitments, Members were  currently elaborating modalities in some detail 
which had a bearing on issues such as DFQF market  access, notably for cotto n originating in LDCs, 
as well as in the areas of tariff escalation, tariff si mplification, commodities, tropical and alternative 
products, and preference-erosion.  Members had tabl ed some rather concrete and specific drafting 
which responded to those issues.  Similarly, transitio n periods were clearly going to be provided in the 
future revision of the text on all the areas referred to in that proposal where there were adjustment 
difficulties.  Members already had some fairly concrete proposals on the table, in the first draft, in all 
parts of the pillars, on issues that related to food security and rural poverty alleviation. 
138. Mr de Mateo (Mexico), Chairman of the Special  Session of the Council for Trade in Services , 
said that since his last report to the General C ouncil in July, the CTS Special Session had addressed 
the issue of S&D treatment at formal meetings in September and December, at which Members had underlined the importance of this issue and the need for its early resolution.  However, they had not 
made much headway in bridging the considerable ga ps between their positions.  In order to stimulate 
further progress on the S&D proposals, the informal meeting of the Special Session on 17 December 
had been devoted in large part to this topic.  He  was pleased to report that there had been signs of 
increasing convergence on some key elements of the proposals, and hoped this progress would be 
maintained and consolidated at the Special Session's next formal meeting in 20 08.  He would continue 
his informal consultations on this important matter. 
139. Mr Valles Galmés (Uruguay), Chairman  of the Negotiation Group on Rules
, said that as he 
had reported to the General Council in July, while  the proposals on S&D treatment had been placed 
on the agenda of this body at a number of meetings, there had been little discussion.  He had repeatedly indicated that the Negotiating Group wo uld be prepared to resume discussion of any of 
these issues upon request by the proponents.  Howe ver, no delegation had requested that he place 
these proposals on the agenda.  He wished to menti on that while these specific proposals had not been 
the subject of significant discussion, this did not mean that the interests of developing-country 
Members had not been receiving attention.  These Members had been very active in the Negotiating 
Group and had sponsored numerous proposals in all areas of its work, notably in the fisheries 
subsidies area, and three full sessions of the discuss ions in this area had been dedicated to S&D 
treatment.  These proposals would continue to receive the full attention of the Negotiating Group.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 55 
 
 
  140. Mr Saborío Soto (Costa Rica), Chairman of the Special Session of the DSB , said that since 
his last report to the General Council in July, the work of the DSB Special Session had continued to 
be based primarily on efforts by Members to work  cooperatively on the basis of previous work in 
order to conclude the dispute settlement negotiations as quickly as possible.  In the first half of 2007, 
he had held a number of substantive consultations, as a result of which a number of revised texts had 
been submitted recently.  These had included cons ideration of a revised joint drafting proposal by 
Cuba, Egypt, India, Malaysia and Pakistan on S& D treatment, which had been introduced and first 
discussed at the meeting of the DSB Special S ession in July 2006.  The co-sponsors of this 
contribution had indicated that some of their revised joint drafting proposal was based on the ongoing consideration by the DSB Special Session of the Category II S&D proposals.  Following the summer 
break, he had initiated further subs tantive consultations aimed at bridging the gap between Members' 
positions concerning revised drafting proposals addressed  in the consultations held earlier in 2007, 
including the joint proposal by Cuba, Egypt, Indi a, Malaysia and Pakistan on S&D treatment.  This 
joint proposal continued to be an integral part of the DSB Special Session's work, and it was expected 
that it would be considered in greater detail in ear ly 2008.  In addition, the African Group had recently 
reiterated that it was working on a revised text of its earlier proposal which would include aspects 
relating to Category II proposals, and that this revi sed text would be submitted in the near future for 
consideration during the upcoming consultations in early 2008. 
141. Mrs Csukasi (Uruguay), Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture
, said the status of the 
African Group's proposal remained exactly as descr ibed by her predecessor in his report to the 
General Council on 15 May 2006 (G/ AG/22).  This proposal had been under consideration in the 
Committee since June 2003 within th e context of the Marrakesh D ecision monitoring mechanism and 
the Doha Ministerial Decision on Implementation- Related Issues and Concerns.  Since May 2006, 
neither the African Group Members nor any other Member had taken the floor or had exchanged 
views under either of these agenda items. 
142. Mr Bogaert (Belgium), Chairman of the Committee on TRIMs,  said this body had considered 
two S&D proposals submitted by the African Group rela ting to Article 4 and Article 5.3 of the TRIMs 
Agreement.  In July he had reporte d to the General Council that he ha d held informal consultations in 
June on a revised version of the proposals.  These revised proposals had been further discussed at an 
informal meeting of the Committee on 26 October.   At that meeting, the proponents had again 
stressed the importance they attached to S&D prop osals and therefore the need to find an urgent 
solution to the issue in order to conclude the Doha  Round.  Several Members had reiterated that they 
were prepared to consider additional flexibilities in  the TRIMs area on a case-by-case basis.  They had 
insisted that the proponents indicate the specific diffi culties they experienced, in  order to find suitable 
solutions, one of which might be the invocation of the WTO Article IX waiver provisions, and that 
changes to existing provisions of the TRIMs Agr eement could be considered only if the proponents 
demonstrated that a systemic issue existed.  Th e S&D issue had been on the agenda of the TRIMs 
Committee's regular meeting of 1 November.  At th at meeting, Kenya had said the African Group felt 
it had gone as far as it could on this issue, and that  it was open to hearing any new ideas concerning its 
latest proposals, particularly with respect to the drafting.  The latest revised version of the African Group's proposals was reproduced in Annex 4 to the TRIMs Committee's Annual Report for 2007 
(G/L/837).  He would hold further informal cons ultations on this issue should Members so wish. 
143. Mr Huige (Netherlands), Chairman of the Committee on SPS Measures
, said he had 
circulated a written report on the S&D discussions in the SPS Committee (G/SPS/46) and would 
therefore only highlight a few points.  S&D re mained a standing item on the agenda of the SPS 
Committee and was normally discussed in both informal and formal meetings.  In 2007, as in previous 
years, these discussions had been substantive onl y when Members had submitted new or revised 
proposals sufficiently in advance of the Committee's me etings as the basis for consideration.  At an 
informal meeting in June, Egypt had informally tabl ed two proposals.  Substantive discussion of these 
two proposals had occurred at an informal meeting in October, once Members had had time to reflect WT/GC/M/112 
Page 56  
 
  on them.  The first of the proposals contained a revision of earlier proposals on SPS Article 10.1.  
Egypt's proposals had been to ensure an obligation of result of taking into account the needs of developing countries.  However, several Members had highlighted the difficulty of identifying these needs in specific terms and had suggested that fu rther attention be given to understanding the needs 
and how they might be taken into account.  Th e other proposal submitted by Egypt had suggested 
revisions to the procedures for transparency of S& D treatment adopted previously by the Committee, 
which was contained in G/SPS/33.  While propo sed revisions to the Committee's recommended 
notification procedures included many of Egypt's proposals, Egypt had also proposed using compulsory terminology to increase predictability and to underline the importance of following the 
recommended procedures.  Other Members had been concerned that the use of more compulsory 
terminology would limit the range of solutions that might be found when an exporting Member 
identified significant difficulties with a measure.  The Committee had decided to review the operation 
of the procedure to enhance transparency of S&D tr eatment at its first meeting in 2008, in particular 
in light of its non-use by developing-country Members, and Egypt's proposals to modify the procedure would again be examined in that contex t.  Egypt and New Zealand had also informed the 
Committee of proposals under consideration in the Sp ecial Session of the CTD relating to Article 10.3 
of the SPS Agreement.  Members had highlighted th e importance of sharing information on matters 
which might impact on the SPS Committee's future work.  He had reported to the Chairman of the CTD Special Session in more detail regarding th ese discussions.  The SPS Committee had agreed to 
keep all issues relating to S&D treatment, includi ng the Category II proposals, on the agenda of its 
future meetings.  The next meeting of the SPS Committee was scheduled for the beginning of 
April 2008, and an informal meeting on S&D trea tment would be held immediately prior to the 
regular meeting. 
144. Mrs McKeagg (New Zealand), Chairp erson of the Committee on Safeguards
, said the 
Committee had submitted a detailed report to the Gene ral Council in July 2003 in document G/SG/64.  
Since then, all of the chairpersons of the Committe e, including herself, had made efforts regarding 
these issues – for example, by directly contacting th e relevant Members to see whether there had been 
any changes in their positions.  De spite these continuous efforts ther e was, to date, no consensus in 
the Committee on these proposals, nor did she sense any sign of new developments.  In short, the situation remained as it had been when she had re ported on this subject to the Council in May and 
July 2007.  She remained ava ilable for any assistance the  Counc il Chair might need from her. 
145. The Chairman
 thanked all of the Chairs for their re ports and for their commitment to pursuing 
this work in keeping with the mandate given by Ministers at Hong Kong. 
146. The General Council took note  of the reports by the Chairpersons. 
7. Follow-up to the 1 August 2004 General Council Decision and the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration on the Doha Work  Programme – Statement by the Director-
General on the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton 
147. The Chairman  recalled that the mandates for the treatment of this item were contained in 
Paragraph 1(b), paragraph 5 of  Annex A of the Decision adopted by the General Council on 
1 August 2004, and in Paragraph 12 of the Hong Ko ng Declaration.  At Hong Kong, Ministers had 
reaffirmed the 2004 mandate and had welcomed the efforts of the Dir ector-General in the 
implementation of that mandate, pursuant to the 1 August 2004 Decision of the General Council.  
They had welcomed in particular the Consulta tive Framework process initiated by the Director-
General, and had taken note of the Director-Gen eral's Second Periodic Report and the assessment of 
the positive evolution of development assistance g eared to the cotton sector.  Ministers had also 
extended the mandate on cotton development assistance in some respects.  In inviting the Director-
General to furnish them with a Third Periodic Report at their next Session, Ministers had asked the Director-General to "keep the Sub-Committee on Co tton fully informed of progress", and to provide  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 57 
 
 
  "updates, at appropriate intervals ... to the Gene ral Council".  In carrying out this mandate, the 
Director-General had last reported on this ma tter to the General Council at its meeting in 
December 2006. 
148. The Director-General  said that since his last report to the General Council in December 2006, 
there had been several developments.  He had convened a High-Leve l Session on Cotton from 
15-16 March 2007, the outcome of which had been circulated in TN/AG/SCC/W/7.  The 8th and 9th 
Rounds of the Consultative Framework Mechan ism on Cotton had taken place in June and 
November 2007, respectively.  In November he ha d circulated an updated version of the "Evolving 
Table on Cotton Development Assistance".  The figures showed that progress was being made, 
although there was still much work to be done.  This  was a work in progress.  The Secretariat had 
organized a Seminar on South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector Development on 22 November, 
from which there was an "Emergent Framework" fo r South-South cooperation in the cotton sector.  
Overall, his report to Members was that they ha d advanced in implementing the mandate on cotton 
development assistance.  Progress had been made possi ble by the continuing constructive engagement 
between the development community and the African-c ountry cotton proponents.  With regard to the 
Evolving Table, this was now firmly established as the basic working document for implementing the 
mandate on cotton development assistance.  It  was Members' common tool for tracking and 
monitoring of development assistance for cotton and had enhanced the transparency of this exercise.  
Three versions of the Table had been previously submitted to the General Council, and since then the 
table was updated regularly.  With respect to the latest version (WT/L/702), he wished to draw attention to the following points:  First, the total num ber of activities had risen.  In Part I of the table 
on cotton-specific development assistance, the numb er of commitments had risen from 82 to 93.  In 
Part II, on the assistance provided within the broa der framework of agriculture and infrastructure 
projects, commitments had also risen from 60 to 64.   Second, the level of disbursements for these 
various activities had also risen.  In this new ve rsion of the Evolving Table, disbursements under 
Part I now stood at US$38 million, and under Part II at US$65 million.  However, the operational 
implementation and completion rates of projects needed  to rise further.  Project completion rates had 
been either at a standstill or had only slightly risen, in  relation to the previous version of the table, and 
fell in the range of 30 to 45 per cent for Parts I and II  of the table respectively.  Finally, as agreed by 
all participants at the High Level Session on Cott on held in March 2007, Part III of the Evolving 
Table now reflected "available" resources that were  not specifically allocated to the cotton sector.  
These had been registered only to indicate the re sources that were accessible and that could be 
allocated to the cotton sector, should beneficiary co untries designate their cotton sectors as a national 
developmental priority.  This demonstrated the need for continued engagement and interaction 
between the donor community and recipients at a ll the different stages of project formulation, 
management and completion. 
149. With regard to domestic cotton sector reforms,  since 2004 these had been part of the agenda 
of the Consultative Framework Mechanism.  These  sectoral reforms identified priority areas where 
cotton development assistance would best be directed a nd efficiently used.  He wished to thank Benin, 
Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali for the re ports they had already submitted on their domestic 
reform process, and encouraged others to submit sim ilar reports.  At the last round of consultations, 
the Secretariat had been requested to prepare a table on domestic cotton sector reforms for enhanced 
development assistance.  The Secretariat would begi n work on this new table, which would also 
enable Members to monitor this vital aspect of the cotton assistance dossier.  In relation to the 
exploration of a mechanism for income decline in the cotton sector, Ministers in Hong Kong had 
requested that he explore the possibility of est ablishing through multilateral and regional institutions 
and the wider development community, a mechanism to deal with income declines in the cotton 
sector, until the end of subsidies.  While there had b een consultations on this issue, this was an area 
where consensus remained elusive.  He had reporte d on his efforts in this regard at the High-Level 
Session on Cotton in March.  He had nevertheless received some positive feedback on the price risk management potential of a "Fond de lissage" – or "smoothing fund" – in dealing with short-term WT/GC/M/112 
Page 58  
 
  price-instability and long-term price decline.  A p ilot project was underway in Burkina Faso, funded 
by the French Development Agency, with others expressing interest.  He was encouraged by the 
report from the last round of consultations, where several participants had acknowledged the value of 
such a smoothing fund.  However, this was ba sed on the understanding that its feasibility would 
depend on national authorities autonomously initiati ng such an instrument, with the development 
community and international financial institutio ns being invited to support.  He urged the 
development community and potential users of such  a smoothing fund to continue their dialogue on 
this issue.  As to South-South cooperation for co tton sector development, at the initiative of Brazil, 
China and India, the Secretariat had organized  a Seminar on South-South Cooperation for Cotton 
Sector Development.  Following the seminar, partic ipants had requested the Secretariat to prepare 
table on the "Emergent Framework for South-Sout h Cooperation in Cotton Sector Development".  
This table would initially be based on the presentations  made at the seminar by Brazil, China, Egypt, 
India and the International Trade Centre.  The delega tion of Brazil had also volunteered to circulate a 
"General Framework Concept Paper for South-So uth Cooperation in the Cotton Sector".  He 
encouraged other developing countries in a positio n to do so to also join in this effort. 
150. The representative of Benin
, on behalf of the co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton , 
thanked the Director-General for his detailed re port, and him and his team for their assiduous and 
smooth follow-up to the activities implementing th e Decisions of 1 August 2004 and the Hong Kong 
Declaration to strengthen Africa's cotton sector.  Th e co-sponsors were also grateful to the bilateral 
and multilateral donors who had announ ced financial contributions a nd had pledged technical support 
for cotton-sector development and increased produc tivity and competitiveness of the African cotton 
sector.  The African cotton-producing countries had already submitted cotton-related sectoral projects 
and capacity-building programmes to the development pa rtners.  They urged all partners that had not 
yet announced contributions to indicate without delay what forms of assistance they intended to 
provide for this sector in difficulty.  The African cotton-producing countries were pursuing their reforms in the cotton sector with a view to incr easing their competitiveness.  They wished to thank 
Brazil, China, India and Egypt,
 whose experts had come to Geneva to share their experiences with the 
African cotton-producing countries and to inform them  of their own potential in this sector at a 
seminar on cotton aspects linked to development aid – in the framework of South-South cooperation – 
which had been jointly organized on 22 November by th e Secretariat, the above four countries and the 
co-sponsors of the Cotton Initiative.  The co-spons ors hoped that the appropriate recommendations 
that had emerged from this seminar would be implemented in a harmonious fashion. 
151. These countries wished to make a further urgent appeal to other emerging countries with 
sufficient capacity to provide technical and financ ial support, and to urge them to promote joint 
investments in the sector.  They wished to emphasi ze that cotton was the best example of a production 
activity to which Aid for Trade could make a ge nuine contribution in terms of strengthening 
production capacity and increasing productivity and competitiveness.  The co-sponsors had initiated 
projects and programmes in this and in neighbourin g sectors and were awaiting mobilization of their 
partners' technical and financial support under the Ai d-for-Trade initiative.  They also congratulated 
the Director-General for his commitment to finding appropriate and sustainable solutions to the cotton 
issue.  The team he had assigned to following up on this matter was to be commended for its 
dedication and availability.  The synoptic table of  contributions for cotton-specific assistance was 
being updated.  The co-sponsors recommended that  this follow-up and monitoring exercise be 
pursued with all the parties involved.  They furthe r emphasized the need to step up the pace of work 
that was to lead to a transitional mechanism to  address cotton export income declines as a result of 
fluctuations in international cotton prices until such time as domestic support for cotton and cotton 
subsidies was fully eliminated, as recommended in paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Declaration, in a 
spirit of coherence between the trade and development aspects of the cotton issue. 
152. The representative of the European Communities  said the Community recognized the useful 
role the Secretariat was playing in compiling an ov erview of cotton-related development assistance.   WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 59 
 
 
  Over the past year, the quality of the informa tion had much improved through interactive processes 
with donors and recipients.  The Secretariat would ne ed to continue its efforts in updating and cross-
checking the information to make sure it reflected reality in terms of development assistance directly 
related to cotton.  In that way, the table could be a meaningful tool in discussions on development 
assistance related to cotton.  For th e EC, the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton agreed in Paris in 2004 
remained the relevant framework for the EC member  States' development cooperation in cotton.  This 
partnership addressed a range of relevant issues in revitalising African cotton sectors, including 
institutional reforms, sectoral strategies, technological improvements, risk management, etc.  Within this Partnership the EC had mobilized an important  amount of development assistance – more than 
€140 million, or about US$210 million.  Overall assist ance to Africa in cotton-related projects by both 
the EC and the member States was well above €260 million.  EC assistance to cotton was currently 
operational, or nearly operational, in 10 African countries.  Out of the total EC allocation of 
€140 million, an amount of €48.2 million had been di sbursed to date.  This represented more than 
one-third of the allocation, or 34.4 per cent.  As projects and programmes became operational, 
disbursement levels would conti nue to rise in 2009.  The Community also recognized that additional 
assistance was indirectly related to cotton, such as infrastructure (e.g. roads), trade facilitation (e.g. 
port handling), private-sector development and general macro-economic assistance.  The Community itself was a main provider of support to infrastructure and of budget support in many of the cotton-producing countries in Africa.  It had not included such support in the WTO table on cotton assistance, as it believed the table to be most useful in its focus on projects and programmes directly related to cotton.  For the EC to remain financia lly engaged in the longer-term, it required a strong 
expression of prioritization for cotton assistance by A frican Governments in their development plans, 
in PRSPs and in discussions with the EC on areas of future cooperation. 
153. The representative of Brazil
 thanked the Secretariat for its work over the past few months to 
organize the seminar on South-South cooperation in cotton sector development.  All the experts who 
had participated in the missions to African cott on-producing countries had been very satisfied, not 
only with what they had been able to contribute, but with what they had learned following up from the 
trips.  This was an excellent undertaking, and Me mbers also benefited from the experience of their 
African brothers.  Brazil was pleased with these effo rts and would willingly continue them in future. 
154. The General Council took note  of the statements. 
8. Non-recognition of rights under Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 – 
Communications from Honduras and Guatem ala (WT/GC/85, WT/GC/90 and Corr.1, 
WT/GC/100, WT/MIN(05)/9) – Statement by the Chairman 
155. The Chairman  recalled that this matter had first been  raised by the delegations of Honduras 
and Guatemala at the Council meeting in December 2004 .  It had subsequently been considered by the 
General Council at each of its regular meetings sin ce then, without resolution.  In the light of the 
views expressed at these meetings, and the re quests for consultations made by Honduras and 
Guatemala, both his predecessors and he had been hold ing consultations in order to assist in finding a 
way forward.  He recalled that the matter referre d to the General Council in 2004 concerned the non-
recognition of claims of substantial interest in the very specific context of the EC's modification of its 
concessions as a result of enlargement from 15 to 25  members, and the modification of its concession 
on bananas in its move to a new tariff-only regime  as from 1 January 2006.  This matter had been 
brought to the General Council in keeping with Paragraph 4 of the 1980 Procedures for Negotiations 
under Article XXVIII, under which, when a Member  renegotiating its Schedule did not recognize a 
claim of principal or substantial supplying inter est, the Member making the claim "may refer the 
matter to the Council."  At the October Council meeti ng, in the light of the statements made at the 
meeting, he had proposed that the General Council re vert to this matter at the present meeting.  On 
14 December, he had held further consultations to allow delegations to be updated on contacts that 
might have taken place among the parties directly c oncerned since October, and on any developments WT/GC/M/112 
Page 60  
 
  that could provide a possible solution to the non-re cognition issue raised in the Council.  He had 
invited to the consultations all th e delegations who had spoken on this  issue at previous meetings of 
the Council, and had made clear that the consultatio ns were without prejudice to any Member's rights 
under the WTO.  The consultations had been ve ry positive and useful, and had showed that 
encouraging contacts continued on the overall banana issue, as well as on the systemic concern 
regarding rights of small and medium-sized expor ting countries under Article XXVIII, and that there 
was a willingness among the interested parties to co ntinue their discussions in a constructive manner 
and to work towards a resolution in the month of  January.  For his part, he remained willing to 
facilitate a resolution in every way possible, and would continue to offer his good offices in this 
process to the parties directly concerned and to explore with them further the possibilities of a 
resolution soon. 
156. The representative of Guatemala
 thanked the Chairman for the steps he had taken to resolve 
this issue of vital importance to it.  This month woul d mark the end of the third year of this item being 
placed on the agenda of the General Council, and despite the time that ha d elapsed since then, 
Guatemala still trusted that constructive dialogue wo uld enable Members to find a solution to this 
problem. No progress had been recorded in discussi ons on the matter since the last General Council 
meeting.  In spite of its considerable limitati ons as a small and vulnerable economy and the impending 
intensification of negotiations in all areas over the first four months of 2008, Guatemala nevertheless 
hoped to be able to initiate very shortly a series of informal consultations with Members concerned 
with this particular issue, with a view to asses sing substantive and procedural points that might 
possibly be incorporated in a working document.  In  view of the foregoing, he wished only to strongly 
emphasize the fact that Guatemala had both a trade in terest and a systemic interest in this matter.  
Both were of critical importance for Guatemala and neither was limited to the banana issue alone. 
157. The representative of Honduras  said he wished to again place on record that recognition of 
Honduras' interest as a substantial supplier in the banana sector remained a priority issue for his 
country.  Honduras had been raising this matter in th e General Council for three years in an attempt to 
secure recognition of its rights.  His delegation wished  to re-emphasize, once again, the validity of the 
legal arguments it had put before the Council, and demanded that they be taken into account with a 
view to obtaining a satisfactory response.  Hondu ras trusted and hoped, along with many other 
Members, that a fair solution would be promptly r eached so that this long-standing and tedious claim 
could be settled.  His delegation wished to thank those Members who had supported its claim and who 
were aware of the need to address and clarify th ese systemic issues, which would undoubtedly benefit 
the entire membership. 
158. The representative of the European Communities  said that regarding the specific issue of 
recognition of negotiating rights for Honduras and Guat emala, he had nothing to add to the positions 
he had stated on earlier occasions.  Regarding the systemic issue Guatemala and Honduras had raised 
with respect to the provisions of Article XXVIII, he  had already indicated on earlier occasions that the 
Community was willing to look constructively at a solu tion for this specific systemic issue.  Also, on 
the overall issue of the bananas negotiations, the Co mmunity had been in close contact with all the 
MFN suppliers and had provided detailed informati on on the way it wished to solve this problem.  
The Community would soon table a more specific proposal in light of the views expressed by the MFN suppliers participating in the negotiations.  Th e EC hoped that this would soon lead to an 
agreement on a comprehensive, once-and-for-all soluti on on bananas.  He wished to encourage all 
MFN exporters to work seriously towards such an  agreement and to leave litigation behind.  This 
would be the only way to reach a mutual ly satisfactory solution on bananas. 
159. The representative of Mexico
 said his delegation was pleased that consultations were 
advancing and that there had been some progress, which perhaps meant there was a solution on the 
horizon.  Mexico supported Guatemala and Honduras on this issue and would continue to participate 
actively in these consultations.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 61 
 
 
  160. The General Council took note  of the statements and agreed  to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
9. Review of the exemption provided under Paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 (WT/L/680, 
WT/GC/W/580) 
161. The Chairman  recalled that Paragraph 3(a) of GATT 1994 provided an exemption from 
Part II of GATT 1994 for measures under specific mandatory legislation – enacted by a Member 
before it became a contracting party to GATT 1947 – which prohibited the use, sale or lease of 
foreign-built or foreign-reconstructed vessels in commercial applications between points in national 
waters or waters of an exclusive economic zone.  On 20 December 1994, the United States had 
invoked the provisions of Paragraph 3(a) with respec t to specific legislation that met the requirements 
of that paragraph.  Paragraph 3( b) of GATT 1994 called for a review of  this exemption five years after 
the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreemen t – and thereafter every two years for as long as the 
exemption was in force – in order to examine whet her the conditions which cr eated the need for the 
exemption still prevailed. 
162. The General Council had last considered this ma tter at its meeting in February 2007, where it 
had been agreed that for the purposes of the conduc t of the review in 2007, Members would proceed 
in a manner similar to that in 2005,  when the most recent review unde r the two-yearly cycle had been 
taken up.  Accordingly, at the February Council,  his predecessor as Chair had invited all interested 
delegations to speak for the record with regard to  the review under the current cycle.  He had also 
invited interested delegations to submit comments and questions to the United States regarding the 
operation of the legislation under the exemption, to wh ich the US had been invited to respond.  It had 
been agreed that these statements, questions and responses, together with the annual report provided 
by the US under Paragraph 3 (c) of GATT 1994 (WT/L/680), would form the basis for the present year's review.  It had further been agreed that for the purposes of the review, this matter would be on 
the Agenda of subsequent Gene ral Council meetings in the course of 2007 as the Chairman deemed 
appropriate, or at the request of any Member.  The General Council had also agreed that it would 
consider this matter again at its last meeting of the year, at which it would take note of the discussions 
held in the course of the review until then, take an y other action it might agree on, and also take note 
that the subsequent review woul d normally be held in 2009.  He invited Members to note that, as 
provided in paragraph 3(e) of GATT 1994, the exemption was without prejudice to solutions 
concerning specific aspects of the legislation cove red by this exemption negotiated in sectoral 
agreements or in other fora.  He also drew atten tion to a questionnaire submitted to the United States 
by Japan with regard to US legislation under this  exemption, in document WT/GC/W/580, and a US 
response circulated recently in document WT/GC/W/584. 
163. The representative of th e European Communities
 said it would come as no surprise that the 
Community had strong objections to the exempti on for the Jones Act in GATT 1994.  The prevailing 
situation had negative economic consequences for th e EU shipbuilding industry by closing the US 
market for ships, certain segments of which, such  as passenger ferries, we re of interest to EU 
shipbuilders. 
164. The representative of Japan  said his country attached great importance to the conduct of this 
review.  Since 1999, Japan had submitted a series of questions to the United States, including those in 
document WT/GC/W/580 for the current review.  Japa n appreciated the United States' response to its 
recent questions in WT/GC/W/584.  While Japan tha nked the United States for its replies, it believed 
they remained short of clarifying the need for the exemption.  The exemption stipulated in paragraph 
3 was a serious deviation from the fundamental pr inciples of the GATT.  The exemption had been 
established for one Member and had been maintain ed for years.  Japan was concerned that the 
continuation of this exemption undermined the cr edibility of the WTO rules as a whole.  In the WT/GC/M/112 
Page 62  
 
  direction of rectifying the situation, Japan hoped that  a more substantial and effective examination of 
this issue would be undertaken. 
165. The representative of Australia
 said his country had previously  recorded its concerns about 
the continuation of this exemption.  However, Au stralia appreciated the US participation in the 
informal briefing held some time earlier and the in formation provided by that delegation.  Australia 
considered that this should be a substantive revi ew that helped Members to understand better the 
continuing need for the exemption and the arguments being put forward. 
166. The representative of Norway  said this was an important issue for Norway, as the waiver in 
essence made it impossible to sell ships to the United States.  Thus, Norway had been participating in 
the current review of this waiver, as it had partic ipated in previous reviews.  His delegation had 
reviewed the statistical information submitted by th e United States in WT/L/680 and had participated 
in the informal consultations that had been organi zed in the autumn.  The review should focus on the 
salient point of paragraph 3(b), which was the ex amination of whether the conditions which created 
the need for the exemption still prevailed.  Memb ers thus needed to move beyond the point of 
discussing only statistical information submitted unde r paragraph 3(c), and address also the conditions 
for the exemption.  The answers provided by the United States in the current review regarding the 
continued need for this waiver had in Norway's vi ew not been satisfactory.  Depending on the content 
of the next submission by the United States, Norway  reserved its right to present further questions to 
the United States and to consult as appropri ate in the General Council or elsewhere. 
167. The representative of Hong Kong, China  said his delegation's interest in this  matter was 
systemic and stemmed from its recognition of this exemption as a major derogation from fundamental 
WTO principles.  The continuation of the exemption more than ten years after the establishment of the 
WTO remained a systemic concern to Hong Kong, China.  As in the past, his delegation had 
participated actively in the current year's review .  Overall, however, it felt the review should have 
moved considerably more substantially into a ddressing whether the legislation covered by the 
exemption still served the objectives originally intend ed, and whether the conditions for the retention 
of the measures still prevailed.  As in the past, H ong Kong, China would contin ue to look forward to a 
meaningful and substantive review of this matter. 
168. The representative of the United States  thanked those who had commented on the review.  As 
all knew, the United States had continued to prov ide Members with its annual statistical reports 
pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 3(c) of the exemption, most recently those reports before 
Members at the present meeting.  These reports pr ovided detailed annual reporting of vessel orders 
and deliveries from US shipyards, as required by paragraph 3(c) of GATT 1994.  As a number of 
delegations had mentioned, the United States had ag ain organized informal consultations to discuss 
this matter with interested parties and to respond to their questions.  It had also responded to the 
questions put to it more formally by Japan (c irculated in WT/GC/W/584).  The provisions of 
paragraph 3 of GATT 1994 were an integral part of GATT 1994, and under paragraph 3(a), as long as 
the legislation the United States had notified remained  in force and had not been modified to reduce 
its conformity with Part II of GATT 1994, the legi slation remained exempt.  That was the situation 
with respect to the US legislation at the present tim e – it remained in force and its conformity with 
Part II of the GATT had not decreased.  This was a provision that had been agreed by all Members, and it was a central part of the Uruguay Round resu lts.  The purpose of the review provided for in 
paragraph 3(b) was to examine whether the condition s which created the need for the exemption still 
prevail, and it was the United States' strong position th at those conditions still existed.  The legislation 
had not been modified and the United States was prep ared to participate fully in further reviews of 
this provision. 
169. The representative of Korea
 said his delegation wished to state for the record that Korea 
shared the same concern expressed by  previous speakers regarding th is long-standing exemption.  It  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 63 
 
 
  was also concerned about procedure, in that the cu rrent year's review process had not provided it with 
enough opportunity to thoroughly examine the need for continuing this exemption. 
170. The General Council took note  of the statements made in the course of the review in 2007, 
and also took note  that the subsequent review under the two- yearly cycle provided in paragraph 3(b) 
of GATT 1994 would normally be held in 2009. 
10. Initial Review of the Transparency M echanism for Regional Trade Agreements – 
Statement by the Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Rules  
171. The Chairman  recalled that in December 2006, the General Council adopted a Decision 
establishing a Transparency Mechanism for RTAs to be implemented on a provisional basis in 
accordance with paragraph 47 of the Doha Minister ial Declaration.  The Decision had been adopted 
on the basis of certain observations and understandi ngs, including that notwithstanding the current 
stage of the DDA negotiations and the timing of th eir conclusion, Members intended to conduct an 
initial review of the Mechanism pursuant to pa ragraph 23 of the Decision within one year. 
172. Mr Valles Galmés (Uruguay), Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Rules , said that as the 
Chairman had noted in his introductory remarks,  when the General Council in December 2006 had 
adopted the Decision establishing the Transparency  Mechanism on Regional Trade Agreements on a 
provisional basis, this had been done on the unde rstanding that Members intended to conduct an 
initial review of the Mechanism within one year of its adoption.  Reporting on the state of that initial 
review, he said that the Transpar ency Mechanism, although negotiated in  the Negotiating Group on 
Rules, was implemented by the Committee on Re gional Trade Agreements and the Committee on 
Trade and Development, with the latter meeting in  dedicated session to consider RTAs notified under 
the Enabling Clause.  Thus far, 11 RTAs had been  considered by the CRTA.  The CTD had not yet 
considered any RTAs, because no new RTAs under the Enabling Clause had been notified until 
recently.  It had therefore been decided, in consu ltations between himself and the Chair of the CRTA, 
and with the full knowledge of the Chair of the CTD,  that they should try to explore Members' views 
concerning this initial review.  After meeting with interested Members, it had been considered that 
due to a lack of sufficient experience with the Mech anism, such a review could not be completed at 
the present time.  As he had mentioned, the CRTA was thus far already meeting regularly to consider RTAs under the Mechanism.  The CTD would also have considered its first RTA under the Mechanism by this time in 2008, as a notification ha d recently been made under the Enabling Clause.  
Thus, the experience that Members felt was insu fficient at present would be built up gradually, and 
they should be in a better  position to initially assess the functioni ng of the Transparency Mechanism 
in a year's time.  He added that during the course of the year, the Mechanism had continued to evolve, 
with minor adjustments being made to ensure its sm ooth functioning.  It was obviously difficult at the 
present time to determine an exact timeframe fo r conducting the review.  In consultation with 
Members, he would keep this very much in mind,  and in any case proposed to report back to the 
Council on this matter at the latest within one year .  In any event, Members were bound by the scope 
and timing indicated in  Paragraph 23 of the Transparency Deci sion to review the Mechanism as part 
of the overall results of the Round. 
173. The representative of Brazil
 welcomed the statement by the Chairman of the Rules 
Negotiating Group.  Brazil agreed in general term s that the level of experience achieved in the 
application of the Transparency Mechanism was still low and that a more fruitful review exercise 
would be possible within a longer timeframe than  originally foreseen.  Brazil looked forward to 
sustaining its active participation in the implemen tation of the Mechanism both in the CRTA and in 
the CTD with a view to participating, hopefully in the near future, in a review process that would 
allow for the improvement and clarification of the disciplines of the Mechanism to the benefit of all 
Members. WT/GC/M/112 
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  174. The General Council took note
 of the statements. 
11. Transparency for Preferential Trade Arrangem ents – Statement by the Chairman of the 
Committee on Trade and Development  
175. The Chairman  recalled that in December 2006, the Council had adopted a Decision with 
regard to Transparency for Preferential Trad e Arrangements, under which the Committee on Trade 
and Development was asked to consider transparen cy for preferential arrangements under paragraph 2 
of the Enabling Clause – other than RTAs – and to  report back within six months for appropriate 
action by the General Council.  The Decision had been  adopted without prejudice to the results of the 
deliberations the CTD would be called upon to undertake.  In July 2007, on the basis of a report from the Chairman of the CTD, the General Council had ag reed that the deadline fo r the CTD to consider 
this matter and report back for appropria te action be extended to December 2007. 
176. Mr Servansing (Mauritius), Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development
, recalled 
that in reporting on this matter to the General Counc il in July, he had informed the Council that the 
proponents – Brazil and India – were working on a draft paper containing elements of what they 
believed should be contained in Members' notifica tions of preferential trade arrangements.  He had 
indicated that he would continue to work informa lly with Members on the basis of the draft text, and 
to have the matter discussed eventually in an open- ended format.  He was pleased to report that in 
October, the proponents had submitted a non-pa per on this matter, circulated as document 
JOB(07)/142.  He had consulted informally with so me Members on the basis of this non-paper, which 
had then been formally considered by the CTD on 8 October.  He had encouraged the proponents to 
reflect on the questions and comments on the non-pape r that had been raised by Members at that 
meeting, and to start thinking of revising and updating its content.  In November, he had also held an 
informal consultation in this regard with some Members to consider a more complete draft text 
prepared by Brazil and India.  This informal meeting had been extremely useful in moving the discussion forward.  He believed that important progress had been made, but it was also clear that more time and work, in both formal and informal  settings, would be required before the CTD could 
come to a decision.  As he had informed the CTD at its meeting on 4 December, he intended to 
continue his informal consultations early in 2008, and would open the matter up for discussion again at the next formal meeting of the CTD.  The Committee had agreed at its 4 December meeting that a request for more time to deal with this matter shoul d be made to the General Council.  Therefore, he 
wished to request that the General Council allow th e CTD until July 2008 to consider the matter and 
report back for appropriate action. 
177. The representative of Brazil
 thanked the CTD Chairman for his statement on the negotiation 
of a transparency mechanism for preferential tr ade arrangements and commended him for his efforts 
in driving this process forward.  Brazil attached the utmost importance to the new mechanism, as it 
would allow Members to have a clearer and more accurate picture of the systemic and practical effects that preferential trade arrangements had on th e trade and interactions of both beneficiary and 
non-beneficiary Members, leading to greater tran sparency and common understanding.  Accordingly, 
Brazil looked forward to continuing to work with India as a co-sponsor as well as with all interested 
Members and the Chair in 2008 with a view to concluding the negotiations as soon as possible. 
178. The representative of India
 associated his delegation fully with the statement by Brazil. 
179. The Council took note  of the statements and agreed  that the deadline for the CTD to consider 
this matter and to report back for approp riate action be extended to July 2008.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 65 
 
 
  12. TRIPS Council Matters 
(a) Review under Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the Implementation of Para graph 6 of the Doha 
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public  Health (WT/L/540 and Corr.1) – Report of 
the Council for TRIPS (IP/C/46) 
(b) Proposal for a decision on an extension of the period for the acceptance by Members of the 
Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement (IP/C/45) 
180. The Chairman  proposed that the General Council take  up these two sub-items together.  He 
recalled that in August 2003, the General Council had adopted a Decision on the Implementation of 
Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Ag reement and Public Health.  Paragraph 8 of that 
Decision provided that the TRIPS Council shall review  annually the functioning of the system set out 
in the Decision with a view to ensuring its e ffective operation, and shall annually report on its 
operation to the General Council.  Furthermore,  in keeping with the August 2003 Decision, the 
General Council had adopted, in December 2005, a Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement, which 
had been submitted to Members fo r acceptance and which, in acco rdance with Article X:3 of the 
WTO Agreement, would enter into force upon acceptance by two-thirds of the Members.  In view of 
the status of acceptances, however, the TRIPS Counc il at its meeting in October 2007 had agreed to 
submit to the General Council a proposal for a deci sion to extend the initial period for the acceptance 
of this Protocol by Members. 
181. Mr Agah (Nigeria), Chairman of the TRIPS Council , said that at its meeting in October, the 
TRIPS Council had taken up the annual review pursuant to Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the 
Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.  
The TRIPS Council's report to the General Council on this review had been circulated in document 
IP/C/46.  The cover note to this document set out  factual information regarding the implementation 
and use of the Decision, as well as the status of acceptances of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement.  The TRIPS Council's report also contained,  in an annex, the record of the discussion that 
had taken place during the Council's review of the waiv er decision.  In addition, another annex to the 
report contained a recommendation for a General C ouncil decision on an extension of the period for 
the acceptance by Members of the Protocol, which he wished to address now.  As Members were aware, the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreem ent adopted in December 2005 provided that the 
"Protocol shall be open for acceptance by Members un til 1 December 2007 or such later date as may 
be decided by the Ministerial Conference".  As of the present, the following Members had notified their acceptance of the Protocol:  the United States, Switzerland, El Salvador, Korea, Norway, India, 
the Philippines, Israel, Japan, Australia, Singapor e, China, the European  Communities, and Hong 
Kong, China.  In accordance with paragraph 3 of Ar ticle X of the WTO Agreement, the Protocol shall 
enter into force upon acceptance of the Protocol by two-thirds of the Members.  Given the present 
status of acceptances, the Council for TRIPS, at its m eeting in October, had agreed to forward to the 
General Council a proposal for a decision to extend the period for the acceptance by Members of the 
Protocol by a further two years until 31 December 2009.  This proposal was before Members in 
document IP/C/45 for consideration and adoption.  He wished to call once more on those Members 
who had not yet accepted the Protocol to carry out pr omptly the necessary internal procedures so that 
they could deposit their instruments of acceptance as soon as possible. 
182. The representative of Uganda
, on behalf of the African Group , welcomed the report of the 
TRIPS Council Chair.  Regarding the Decision on the Amendment of the TRIPS Agreement as called 
for in paragraph 11 of the 2003 Decision, and given the status of acceptances of the Protocol as 
reported by the TRIPS Council Chair, coupled with the importance of this issue, the African Group 
fully supported the proposal to extend the period fo r the acceptance of the Protocol for a further 
period of two years to allow Members complete the process of ratification and to give effect to the WT/GC/M/112 
Page 66  
 
  amendment.  The African Group called on all Member s to support the proposal and to work towards 
completing the process of ratification. 
183. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 said his delegation took note of the report of the 
TRIPS Council on the implementation of the Decisi on on TRIPS and Public H ealth and supported the 
proposal to extend the period for the acceptance by Members of the Protocol amending the TRIPS 
Agreement.  The Protocol adopted by the Gene ral Council in December 2005 aimed to address public 
health problems afflicting many developing and l east-developed countries, and Members' acceptance 
of it would confirm once again their determination to ensure that the trading system under the WTO 
contributed to humanitarian and de velopment goals.  Hong Kong, China fully subscribed to the object 
and purpose of the Protocol and ha d already notified its acceptance of it.  However, his delegation 
noted that as of end-November, less than one-thi rd of Members had done so.  Since the Amendment 
to the TRIPS Agreement would take effect only af ter two-thirds of the Members had accepted the 
Protocol, his delegation urged other Members to expedite and give priority to the acceptance of the 
Protocol so that the Amendment could take effect as soon as possible. 
184. The representative of Mexico  said that regarding the number of countries which had accepted 
the Amendment, he wished to point out that Me xico, like other countries, had made considerable 
efforts to implement the amendment to the TRIPS Ag reement within the established period.  He was 
pleased to announce that on 11 December 2006, the Mexican Senate had adopted the Protocol 
amending the TRIPS Agreement, and the only ma tter still pending was its promulgation in the 
Official Journal of the Federation and the subsequent  notification of acceptance to the WTO.  It was 
hoped that the decision to extend to 31 December  2009 the deadline for adoption of the Amendment 
to the TRIPS Agreement would be a pproved, and Mexico would thus be  able to meet its commitments 
within the established period. 
185. The General Council took note  of the statements and of the report of the TRIPS Council in 
IP/C/46, and adopted  the draft decision in IP/C/45 extending the time period for acceptance by 
Members of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement to 31 December 2009. 4 
13. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration – Report of the Committee on its 
meetings of November and December 2007 (WT/BFA/101) 
186. The Chairman  drew attention to the report of the Budget Committee on its meetings 
of November and December 2007. 
187. Mr Lynch (New Zealand), Chairman of  the Committee on Budget, Finance and 
Administration , said the report in WT/BFA/101 contained a set of recommendations reflecting the 
outcome of the Committee's work over the past two months, which had been an intense period, as was 
customary at the present time of the year.  The recommendations covered the following topics:  the 
Director General's Budgetary a nd Financial Report for 2006 and Report of the External Auditor 
thereon and Report on Extra-Budgetary Funds for 2006;  use of the surplus from 2006;  accession of 
the Kingdom of Tonga;  Director-General's propo sal for the biennium 2008-2009;  future building 
needs of the WTO;  conditions of service for Appellate Body members;  recommendation/target 
amount for the DDA Global Trust Fund in 2008- 2009;  and International Trade Centre budget 
proposals for the biennium 2008-2009.  The texts of  these recommendations were before Members in 
the Committee's report, and he wished to highlight a few points.   Obviously, the primary focus of the 
Committee's work over these meetings had been  the preparation and examination of the WTO's 
budget for the biennium 2008-2009.  Many were familiar with the work of so-called budget "razor 
gangs" that had to go through budget requests to whittle  them back to acceptable levels.  He could not 
speak for the past, but could say categorically that this had certainly not been the Committee's task or 
                                                      
4 The Decision was subsequently ci rculated as document WT/L/711.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 67 
 
 
  function in 2007.  In fact, on behalf of the memb ers of the Committee, he wished to acknowledge and 
congratulate the Director-General and the Secretariat for their efforts in preparing a very responsible, 
measured, modest and well thought -out budget proposal.  Over the course of the Committee's formal 
and informal meetings, the Secretariat had also b een extremely responsive to the range of requests 
from Members for further information or clarifi cation on which to better judge and understand the 
budget bids presented.  Thus, credit was due to th e Secretariat in areas such as human resources, 
information technology, security and, of course, pa rticularly to the Committee Secretary and his team, 
as well as to the Division Director.  As a result, w ith only a few adjustments to the original proposal – 
focused on training and the remuneration for Appella te Body members – the Committee had come out 
of this process with confidence that what it w as now presenting to the General Council was a budget 
with the appropriate level of resources to enab le the WTO to continue the work expected and 
demanded of the organization.  The precise figur es were for an increase of 1.6 per cent for 2008 and 
3.18 per cent for 2009.  Overall that was a very good result. 
188. He wished to highlight one other point in this  regard.  The Committee's consideration of the 
budget proposals had been greatly facilitated by a decision that was, frankly, unprecedented for an 
international institution.  This was the return of  a significant proportion of the 2006 surplus to the 
Members – roughly Sw F 5.5 million in total.  Th e practical effect of this was to reduce the 
contributions for 2008 for all Members below the le vels paid in 2007.  He wished to express 
Members' appreciation and recognition for this d ecision by the Director-General.  It was very 
significant – as he had said, even unprecedented, an d a model for other international organizations – 
and Members could take pride in the WTO as a sta ndard-bearer in this respect.  The second area he 
wished to touch on was the question of the long-term building needs of the organization.  This issue 
had been under active consideration for quite some  time, and Members would recall that the General 
Council had provided mandates on this question a year earlier, while previous to that there had been 
agreement to a fiscal envelope on the part of Members involving a Sw F 60 million loan for the Avenue de France project.  He had also presented de tailed reports to the Council at both its July and 
October meetings.  There was now a recommenda tion on a new mandate for the General Council's 
consideration.  This recognized that Members we re moving into a new phase – effectively, from 
information gathering to problem solving.  The focus was on what was possible and necessary, in the 
present site, to enable the organization to function now and into the future effectively for the next 
generation of trade negotiators and Secretariat staff.  Key elements included the construction of a new 
building on the south car park, to be funded from the Sw F 60 million loan just mentioned, and a 
further Sw F 70 million grant from the Swiss Governme nt to cover the cost of the renovation of the 
Centre William Rappard, the rental of the former Se rono building and other related works.  All parties 
agreed on the necessity for a master plan for the overall project.  Further detail was provided in the 
Committee's report.  This had not been an easy pro cess, and he wished to express appreciation for the 
positive and constructive way this had been approached by Switzerland as host country and also by 
the Secretariat staff acting on behalf of the Members.   The Director-General had also been personally 
involved, and his able and committed staff had devoted a vast amount of creative energy and effort to 
this exercise.  He believed that Members now had the shape of a "win-win-win" result – for Switzerland as hosts, for the Members and for the Secretariat.  He wished to thank the hard-working members of the Committee, who had made hi s task so much simpler and enjoyable. 
189. The General Council took note
 of the statements and approved  the Budget Committee's 
specific recommendations in paragraphs  6, 7, 9, 40, 45, 47, 53 and 54 of the report, including the draft 
Resolutions referred to in paragraphs  19 and 20.  The Council then adopted  the draft Resolutions on 
the Expenditure of the WTO in 2008 and 2009 and the Ways and Means to Meet Such Expenditure in paragraphs 19 and 20 of the report, as well as th e Committee's report in document WT/BFA/101 as a 
whole. WT/GC/M/112 
Page 68  
 
  14. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement 
190. The Chairman
 noted that the draft waiver decisions for the matters listed in sub-items 14(a) 
and (b) below had been taken up for consideration by  the Council for Trade in Goods at its meeting on 
23 November, and were matters on which the Chairm an of the Goods Council had to report to the 
General Council.  In order to facilitate the smooth an d efficient consideration of the draft decisions by 
the General Council, he would invite the Chairman  of the Goods Council to report on the Council's 
consideration of these matters in a single interven tion.  The General Council would then take up each 
draft decision for action separately. 
191. Mr Nielsen (Denmark), Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods , said that at its meeting 
on 23 November, the Goods Council had approved the dr aft waiver decisions for the matters in sub-
items 14(a) and (b).  The Goods Council had furt her recommended that these draft decisions be 
forwarded to the General Council for adoption.  With respect to sub-item 14(b), he wished to add that 
since the Goods Council's approval of the draft deci sion in G/C/W/584, he had been informed that 
Singapore had requested to be included in the An nex to the draft decision which listed the Members 
covered by the waiver.  He therefore suggested that the General Council consider for adoption the 
draft decision in G/C/W/584 with the addition of Singapore to its Annex. 
192. The General Council took note  of the statements. 
(a) Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 chang es into WTO Schedules of tariff concessions 
– Draft decision (G/C/W/585/Rev.1) 
193. The Chairman  drew attention to the draft decision in document G/C/W/585/Rev.1 which 
provided for a waiver from the provisions of Article II of GATT 1994 until 31 December 2008 for a 
number of Members to enable them to implemen t the HS 2002 changes into their Schedules of 
concessions, subject to certain conditions. 
194. He proposed that, in the light of the report made above by the Chairman of the Goods 
Council, and in accordance with the Decision-Ma king Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the 
WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93) , the General Council adopt the draft decision 
in G/C/W/585/Rev.1. 
195. The General Council so agreed .5 
(b) Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of tariff concessions 
– Draft decision (G/C/W/584) 
196. The Chairman  drew attention to the draft decision in document G/C/W/584 which provided 
for a waiver from the provisions of Article II of  GATT 1994 until 31 December 2008 for a number of 
Members to enable them to implement the HS 2007 changes into their Schedules of concessions, 
subject to certain conditions.  He proposed that, in the light of the report made above by the Chairman 
of the Goods Council, and in accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and 
XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995, the General Council adopt the draft decision 
in G/C/W/584 with the addition of Singapore to the Annex. 
197. The General Council so agreed .6 
                                                      
5 The Decision was subsequen tly circulated as WT/L/712. 
6 The Decision was subsequen tly circulated as WT/L/713.  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 69 
 
 
  (c) Review of waivers pursuant to Ar ticle IX:4 of the WTO Agreement 
(i) EC - The ACP-EC Partnership Agreemen t, granted on 14 November 2001 until 
31 December 2007 (WT/L/436, WT/L/707) 
(ii) Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for rough diamonds, granted on 15 December 2006 
until 31 December 2012 (WT/L/676) 
(iii) Canada - CARIBCAN, granted on 15 Dece mber 2006, from 1 January 2007 until 
31 December 2011 (WT/L/677, WT/L/705) 
(iv) Cuba - Article XV:6 of G ATT 1994, granted on 15 December 2006 until 31 December 2011 
(WT/L/678, WT/L/708) 
198. The Chairman  recalled that, in accordance with para graph 4 of Article IX of the WTO 
Agreement, "any waiver granted for a period of mo re than one year shall be reviewed by the 
Ministerial Conference not later than one year af ter it is granted, and thereafter annually until the 
waiver terminates."  In keeping with this provisi on, there were four waiv ers before the General 
Council for review.  Three of the waiver Decisi ons under review provided that an annual report 
should be submitted by the Members concerned on the operation or implementation of those waivers, 
with a view to facilitating their annual review by the General Council under para graph 4 of Article IX.  
The reports from these Members on the relevant waiv ers had been circulated in documents WT/L/705, 
707, and 708. 
199. The representative of Ecuador , referring to sub-item (c)(i) wh ere Ecuador was concerned in 
the case of bananas, said it considered the wa iver from Article I:1 had ceased to exist on 
25 October 2005 when the second WTO arbitration had determined that the tariff proposed by the EU 
had not resolved the issue and that minimum access  of the MFN banana suppliers to the European 
market had not been maintained. 
200. The representative of Thailand , also on behalf of the Philippines , thanked the European 
Communities for its status report on the waiver unde r sub-item c(i).  In November 2001, they had 
agreed to join the consensus in  granting a waiver for the Cotonou Agreement on the condition that the 
EC promptly redressed the undue impairment of thei r legitimate trade interests, which it had done.  At 
the present meeting, Members were informed that  the parties to the Agreement had agreed to 
conclude new WTO-compatible regional trade agreem ents, which were scheduled to enter into force 
on 1 January 2008.  In this connec tion, Thailand and the Philippines wi shed to request the signatories 
to these RTAs to notify the new agreements to the WTO in accordance with  the RTA Transparency 
Mechanism for their early review. 
201. The representative of Barbados , on behalf of CARICOM , welcomed the successful review of 
the CARIBCAN arrangement and thanked the Governme nt of Canada for continuing to recognize the 
importance of this waiver to the economic, trade and development priorities of the SVEs of the 
Caribbean region.  The arrangement was founded on two important principles:  assisting their economies in the promotion of their economic develo pment, and enhancing in tegration in the region 
while ensuring that the treatment offered did not adversely affect the trade of other Members.  
CARICOM was pleased to note that CARIBCAN a ppropriately delivered on both principles, and 
again welcomed the continuation of this important economic arrangement. 
202. The representative of the European Communities
 said the Community did not agree with 
Ecuador's interpretation that the waiver for banan as in document WT/L/436 had already expired.  The 
Community believed that it would expire at the e nd of 2007, when the agreements thereunder would 
be replaced with WTO-consistent arrangements. WT/GC/M/112 
Page 70  
 
  203. The General Council took note
 of the statements and of the reports in documents WT/L/705, 
707 and 708. 
15. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO – Report of the Joint Advisory Group on 
its Fortieth Session (ITC/AG(XL)/214) 
204. The Chairman  recalled that the Joint Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre 
UNCTAD/WTO had held its Fortieth Session from 25-27 April 2007.  The report of the Joint 
Advisory Group had been distributed in documen t ITC/AG(XL)/214.  In keeping with customary 
practice, this report had been considered initiall y by the Committee on Trade and Development at its 
meeting on 8 October. 
205. Mr Servansing (Mauritius), Chairman of  the Committee on Trade and Development , said that 
in presenting the JAG report to the CTD at its Octobe r meeting, the Executive Director of the ITC, Ms 
Francis, had informed the CTD that the April mee ting of the JAG had had a new interactive format, 
with panel sessions to discuss issues of importance to each region.  In her opening remarks to the 
JAG, she had outlined the elements of the intern al reform process the ITC had embarked on.  The 
organization would first move from having strong pr oducts to delivering strategic solutions for its 
clients.  It would also work towards more holistic  delivery, based on its comparative and competitive 
advantage.  Finally, it would work with a range  of partners, including UNCTAD, UNIDO, the WTO, 
the World Bank and others, to develop an architectur e for export development.  The Secretary General 
of UNCTAD and the Director-General of the WTO, in their opening remarks, had indicated that the 
ITC enjoyed their full support.  The JAG had had before it the ITC's Annual Report, the ITC Programme Document and a Draft Strategic Framework for 2008 and 2009.  The Group had 
encouraged the ITC to proceed with its refo rm process and had expressed wide support for the 
organization's efforts to have a more consolidated and strategic approach to its programme of work.  
The ITC Programme document had been considered  a good basis for the development of further 
strategic priorities for the organization.  Efforts to build strategic partnerships  with other trade-related 
technical assistance providers had been appreciated , and the ITC's key role in implementing projects 
under the Enhanced Integrated Framework and Aid fo r Trade had been recognized.  On strengthening 
governance and accountability, the Group had endorsed th e suggestion to have a single trust fund for 
greater transparency.  Finally, at the CTD meetin g, Ms Francis had thanked the Governments of 
Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, German y, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, 
and Switzerland for their announcements of voluntary contributions to the ITC.  The CTD had taken 
note of the report of the Joint Advisory Group and had forwarded it to the General Council for 
adoption.  
206. The General Council took note
 of the statement and adopted  the report of the Joint Advisory 
Group in document ITC/AG(XL)/214. 
16. WTO Pension Plan  
(a) Election of Chairman and Members to the Management Board – Proposal by the Chairman of 
the General Council (WT/GC/W/581) 
207. The Chairman  recalled that Article 4(a) of the Regulations of the WTO Pension Plan 
provided, inter alia , for the election by the General Council of a Chairman, four members and four 
alternates to the Management Board of the Pens ion Plan, each for a three-year term.  In a 
communication circulated to delegations in doc ument WT/GC/W/581, he had made a number of 
proposals for the Council's consideration to fill vacanci es on this Board.  First, as the current Chair of 
the Management Board, Mrs Demir (Turkey), was no longer available to serve as Chair, the Council 
had to take a decision on her replacement;  second, Mr Niggli (Switzerland) – currently a member of 
the Management Board – had kindly agreed to have hi s name put forward for election as Chair;  third,  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 71 
 
 
  if Mr Niggli were elected as Chair, the Council woul d have to take a decision on his replacement as a 
member, and Mr Trindade (Austra lia) had kindly agreed to have his name put forward for election as 
a member;  and finally, Ms Shub (United States) wa s no longer available to serve as a member of the 
Board, and Mr Tagliani (United States) had kindly ag reed to have his name put forward for election as 
a member in her place.  He had also invited Members to submit any comments they might have 
regarding the proposed nominations by 7 December .  He informed delegations that he had not 
received any comments regarding the proposed nomin ations.  Accordingly, he proposed that the 
General Council elect Mr Niggli to serve as Chairman , and Messrs. Trindade and Tagliani to serve as 
members on the Management Board of the WTO Pensi on Plan for the remainder of the current three-
year term, i.e. until May 2008. 
208. The General Council so agreed .7 
(b) Annual report of the Management Board for 2006 (WT/L/706) 209. The Chairman
 drew attention to the annual report of the Management Board for 2006 in 
document WT/L/706.  The annual report of the Management Board was s ubmitted to the General 
Council in accordance with Article 5(d) of the Regu lations of the WTO Pension Plan.  This was the 
seventh report of the Management Board since the establishment of the Pension Plan on 
1 January 1999. 
210. Mr Niggli (Switzerland), Chairman of the Management Board , thanked Members for their 
trust and confidence in having elected him as Chair of  the Management Board.  It was a pleasure and 
an honour after three years as a member of the Board to continue serving it in a slightly different capacity.  Referring to the Board's annual report, he sa id that from the point of view of its investment 
strategy, 2006 had been another good year for the Plan , with a nominal rate of return of 9.7 per cent.  
The annualized rate of nominal return over the past four years had been 10.5 per cent.  The value of 
the Plan's assets had stood at approximately Sw F 339 million at 31 December 2006, as compared to 
Sw F 296 million on the same date in 2005.  The Pl an population also cont inued to grow and had 
reached 684 active participants and 101 beneficiaries at the end of 2006.  In the course of its six 
meetings in 2006, the Management Board had dealt with a wide range of subjects.  Among the most 
important had been the ongoing work of the Group set up by the Board to review the actuarial 
assumptions underpinning the actuarial valuation of th e Plan, notably with respect to the continuing 
improvement in mortality or life expectancy.  Th e Group had continued its work throughout 2007.  
The Board had also devoted its attention to the possible actuarial implications for the Plan of 
management decisions concerning, for instance, staff severance programmes which might result in 
higher than normal early retirement rates.  The Board was of the view that the organization should 
offset any additional costs incurred by the Plan as a result of such decisions.  The annual report 
covered a number of other issues considered by th e Board in 2006, but in the interest of brevity he 
would not go into those issues. 
211. The General Council took note
 of the statement and of the Annual Report of the Management 
Board for 2006 in WT/L/706. 
17. Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies – A nnouncement by the Chairman pursuant to 
paragraph 7.1(a) of the Guidelines (WT/L/510) 
212. The Chairman  recalled that the Guidelines for the Appointment of Officers to WTO bodies 
(WT/L/510) provided that the outgoing Chairman of  the General Council woul d conduct consultations 
on the appointment of chairpersons to the WTO bodi es outlined in Groups 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Annex 
to the Guidelines.  The Guidelin es also provided, in paragraph 7.1(a), that in order to promote 
                                                      
7 WT/L/714. WT/GC/M/112 
Page 72  
 
  transparency, the selection process should be starte d with an announcement by the Chairman at the 
General Council meeting held in December each year.  Accordingly, he wished to inform the General 
Council that he would be starting the selection pr ocess for the appointment of chairpersons to the 
WTO bodies outlined in Groups 1, 2, 4 and 5 of th e Annex to the Guidelines.  In accordance with 
Paragraph 7.1(b) of the Guidelines, he would be assisted in the selection process by the serving 
Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, Mr Gosper (Australia), and the former Chairman of the 
General Council, Mr Glenne (Norway).  In keep ing with paragraph 7.1(d), his colleagues and he 
would communicate, as early as possible, a specified time-period in which they would be available to 
hear the views and suggestions, if any, of Members,  individually and/or in groups.  Furthermore, as 
provided for in Paragraph 7.1(c) of the Guidelines, he would request the Secretariat to distribute to 
delegations in the meeting room a list of past Chairs of major bodies in order to provide some 
structure for Members' subsequent deliberations on the possible distribution of chairs based on past 
practice and the need for balance.  He noted that, in accordance with paragra ph 2.1 of the Guidelines, 
representatives of Members in financial arrears for over one full year could not be considered for 
appointment. 
213. The General Council took note
 of the statement. 
18. Review of WTO activities 
 Reports of: 
 
(a) General Council (WT/GC/W/582), Disput e Settlement Body (WT/DSB/43 and 
Add.1), and Trade Policy Review Body (WT/TPR/213) 
(b) Sectoral Councils (G/L/845, S/C/28 and IP/C/48) 
(c) Committees on Trade and Development (WT/COMTD/64), Trade and Environment 
(WT/CTE/14), Balance-of-Payments Restri ctions (WT/BOP/R/88), Budget, Finance 
and Administration (WT/BFA/100), and Re gional Trade Agreements (WT/REG/18) 
(d) Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Fi nance (WT/WGTDF/6) and Trade and 
Transfer of Technology (WT/WGTTT/9) 
(e) Committees under the Plurilateral Trade Agreements (GPA/92, WT/L/701) 
214. The Chairman  drew attention to the annual reports of the various Councils and Committees in 
the documents referred to under th is Agenda item, which had been drawn up in pursuance of the 
Decision concerning procedures for an annual overvi ew of WTO activities and for reporting under the 
WTO (WT/L/105).  In the interests of moving the meeting along in a smooth and efficient way, he 
proposed that the Chairpersons of the various bo dies not introduce their respective reports at the 
present meeting.  He would, of course, invite a ny Chairpersons who wished to draw particular 
attention to some aspect of the wo rk carried out in their bodies, or to add anything to their reports, to 
take the floor. 
215. Mr Niggli (Switzerland), Chairman of the Committee on Government Procurement , referring 
to the report of the Committee in document GPA/ 92, said he wished to share some related 
developments with delegations as a follow up to th e statement made by his predecessor at the General 
Council meeting in December 2006 regarding the pr ovisional adoption of the revised text of the 
Agreement on Government Procurement.  In 2007, th e Parties to the Agreement had carried forward 
this work in important ways.  A legal check – re ctification – of the revised GPA text had been 
completed.  Work had continued on matters such as the development of arbitration procedures and 
indicative criteria regarding the removal of governme ntal control over scheduled entities.  Work had  WT/GC/M/112 
 Page 73 
 
 
  also continued on the parallel negotiations on the co verage of the Agreement, though progress on this 
aspect had been slow.  He also wished to call Members' attention to important developments 
regarding accession to the Agreement.  Much work  had been done during the year regarding the 
accession of Jordan, and he was hopeful that its acce ssion process would be completed in early 2008.  
China, at the formal meeting of the Committee on Government Procurement the past week, had 
confirmed that it hoped to initiate its own accession pr ocess by tabling its initial coverage offer by the 
end of 2007.  The Parties had welcomed this statemen t.  Also at the formal meeting, Saudi Arabia had 
been granted observer status under the Agreemen t, a necessary step towards fulfilling its own 
accession commitment. 
216. The General Council took note  of the statements, adopted  the report of the Committee on 
Trade and Development in document WT/COMTD/64, and took note  of the reports of the other WTO 
bodies, including the reports of the Committees under the Plurilateral Trade Agreements, in 
documents WT/DSB/43 and Add.1, WT/TPR/213,  G/L/845, S/C/28, IP/C/48, WT/CTE/14, 
WT/BOP/R/88, WT/BFA/100, WT/REG/18, WT/WGTDF/6, WT/WGTTT/9, GPA/92 and WT/L/701. 
217. The General Council then adopted
 the draft report of the General Council contained in 
document WT/GC/W/582, on the understanding that  the Secretariat would make the necessary 
adjustments to that draft report to include matters  that had been considered at the present meeting.8 
19. Administrative Measures for Members in arrears 
218. The Chairman , speaking under "Other Business ", recalled that at its meeting in May 2006, the 
General Council had approved a recommendati on from the Committee on Budget, Finance and 
Administration regarding revised Administrative Measures for Members in arrears (WT/BFA/86).  
Among these Administrative Measures was a requirement that, at each meeting of the General Council, the Chairman of the Committee on Budg et, Finance and Administration should provide 
information with regard to which Members were  under Administrative Meas ures in Categories II 
through IV. 
219. Mr Lynch (New Zealand), Chairman of  the Committee on Budget, Finance and
 
Administration , said that in pursuance of the revised Admi nistrative Measures, he wished to inform 
the General Council that the Members under Categori es II through IV of the Administrative Measures 
as at 11 December – a list which he noted with regret  was unchanged from that he had read out at the 
October Council – were as follows:  Burkina Faso and Senegal in Category II, and the following 
Members in Category IV:  Burundi, Central A frican Republic, Chad, Commonwealth of Dominica, 
Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, 
Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Paraguay, Repub lic of Congo, Sierra Leona and Togo. 
220. The Chairman  then recalled that under the revised Administrative Measures he was also 
required at each Council meeting to request those Members in Categories III and IV of the Measures 
to inform him, before the next meeting of the Ge neral Council, as to when their payment of arrears 
might be expected.  In keeping with the Admi nistrative Measures, he would report on Members' 
replies to the next meeting of the General Council.   Since the October General Council meeting, he 
had not received any replies from the Members concerned. 
221. The General Council took note  of the statements. 
 
__________ 
                                                      
8 The Annual Report of the General Council was subsequently circulated in document WT/GC/114.