RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
6 October 2006  
 (06-4836) 
Sub-Committee on Cotton  
 
 
 
 
SUMMARY REPORT ON THE TWELFTH MEETING OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE 
ON COTTON HELD ON 28 APRIL 2006 
 
Note by the Secretariat1 
 
 
1. The Sub-Committee on Cotton, which was esta blished by the Committee on Agriculture, 
Special Session at its formal meeting on 19 No vember 2004 in accordance with the instruction 
resulting from the decision on the Doha Work Pr ogramme adopted on 1 A ugust 2004 by the General 
Council (WT/L/579, refers), held its twelfth meet ing on 28 April 2006 under the chairmanship of 
Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand. Th e meeting, initially scheduled to be held on 
Monday, 24 April 2006, was postponed to Friday , 28 April 2006 (WTO/AIR/2810/Corr.1 refers). 
2. The agenda as contained in WTO/AIR/2810 was adopted. 
ITEM A:  ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS IN THE AGRICULTURE SPECIAL SESSION  
(i) Statement by the Chairman 
3. Under this agenda item the Chairman gave his assessment of progress in the agriculture 
negotiations with a particular focus on cotton.  A summary of the  statement made by the Chairman is 
attached to this report (see Annex 1). 
(ii) Statements by Members 
4. Zimbabwe thanked the Chairman for the work he had done on cotton and in getting Members 
to that stage.  Zimbabwe stated its support for statement made by Benin on behalf on the 
African Group and also by the co-sponsors of the cotton initiative ("Cotton-Four") and agreed that 
there was need to give impetus to the negotiations.  The issues at hand were of great concern to the 
African continent, as there were some 36 African  cotton-producing countries, showing the importance 
of the commodity on the African continent.  Zimbabwe  pointed out that the issues had been put across 
very clearly by previous speakers from the Africa n continent, in terms of the concerns and the 
expectations of African WTO Members.  Zimbabwe reiterated its gratitude to the Chairman for his 
continued efforts to lead Members to a solution to the cotton problem. 
5. Zambia also thanked the Chairman for all the work he had done in trying to find a solution to 
the issue of cotton.  Zambia also wished to echo the statement made by Benin on behalf of the African Group and the statements that had been ma de by Chad, Burkina Faso and others.  As was 
known by all Members, the majority of African cotton producers were actually least-developed 
countries and of course the issue of cotton was of great importance to the Group which would continue to follow it closely.  Zambia pointed out that it was therefore clear that it was in all LDCs 
interests that an urgent solution was found to deal  with the question of cotton, as per the mandates 
                                                     
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  stipulated in the July Framework and in the Hong Kong Declaration.  Zambia was encouraged by the 
positive spirit that had been demonstrated by  all Members and looked forward to Members 
operationalizing that good will and work expeditiously to find a lasting solution to a very urgent 
problem, that really was a matter of life and death for most of cotton producing countries, especially 
on the African continent. 
6. Uganda added its voice to those who had thanke d the Chairman for the good work he had 
undertaken in trying to resolve the cotton issue.  Uganda also wanted to  associate itself with the 
statement made by Benin on behalf of the African  Group, and the statements made by the other 
West African speakers and by Members who suppor ted the Initiative.  As Members were aware, 
cotton was a product which was close to the heart of  many Africans as it represented their livelihood.  
Therefore, Uganda called for the urgent resolution of the cotton issue so that the livelihood of the 
people which were at stake could be resolved.  In that regard, Uganda wished to support the 
statements made by Egypt and Kenya regarding a re ference paper as that could be one of the best 
ways for substantive issues to be discussed and resolved promptly, in the Sub-Committee. 
7. Cameroon, like some of the precedent speakers, stated its frustration on the current stalemate, 
and stated its support for the statements made by Chad and Benin respectively for the "Cotton-Four" 
and the African Group.  Cameroon did not only produce bananas, but also a lot of cotton.  Cameroon wished to congratulate the Chairman for his conti nuous efforts and stated that it relied on him for 
results.  Cameroon called on other Members to revis it their consciences, and stressed that time was 
short. 
8. Paraguay stated its full support for the propo sal submitted by the "Cotton-Four", as the 
situation confronting those African cotton produci ng countries was almost identical to that of 
Paraguay, which was a small, vul nerable, and landlocked economy.  Paraguay therefore hoped that 
Members and the Sub-Committee would be able to ach ieve results in the short term.  Like other 
delegations such as Egypt, Paraguay was also conc erned over the fact that the Sub-Committee had 
still not been able to hold a technical discussion on the "Cotton-Four" proposal.  Hence, Paraguay 
reiterated its endorsement of the proposal a nd its hope that the Sub-Committee could shortly 
begin discussing the various elements of the proposal. 
9. Senegal endorsed the statement made by Benin on behalf of the African Group.  Senegal 
believed, that the Sub-Committee had indeed to work  towards very concrete decisions, in particular 
regarding cotton, along the lines set out in the proposal of 1 March 2006 (TN/AG/SCC/GEN/4 refers) tabled by the Co-sponsors regarding the cotton initiative. 
10. Togo congratulated the Chairman both on the way in which he had been conducting the 
Sub-Committee's work and on having gained a real insight into the issues facing the cotton sector by 
actually paying a visit to Benin.  Finally, Togo endorsed the statement by Benin on behalf of the African Group and hoped that a prompt soluti on to the cotton problem could be reached. 
11. In a brief statement, Japan welcomed the proposal by the "Cotton-Four" on cotton domestic 
support, in particular the base period proposed for product-specific caps. 
12. Niger expressed its support for the statement by  Chad on behalf of the Co-sponsors of the 
Sectoral Initiative in favour of Cotton and for the st atement by Benin on behalf of the African Group. 
Niger was also a cotton producer and wished for real  negotiations to commence so that an appropriate 
solution could finally be found to the cotton problem  in accordance with the Hong Kong Declaration. 
13. Statements made by the following delegations  were forwarded to the Secretariat and are 
attached to this summary report:  Benin, Burkin a Faso, Chad, China, Nigeria, Tanzania and the 
United States (see Annex 2).  In addition, th e minutes of statements made by the following  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  delegations were also attached to the summary  report:  Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, 
Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, European Communities,  India, Kenya, Pakistan (see Annex 2bis). 
ITEM B:  COHERENCE BETWEEN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS : UPDATE ON THE 
DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS  
14. The Chairman recalled that the terms of re ference establishing the Sub-Committee on Cotton 
clearly referred to the need for coherence betw een the trade and development aspects of the cotton 
issue (paragraph a, TN/AG/13 refers). 
(i) Statement by the Secretariat 
15. On behalf of the Secretariat, Mr. Ch iedu Osakwe updated the Sub-Committee on the 
development aspects of cotton (see Annex 3). 
(ii) Statements by Observer Internationa l Intergovernmental Organizations 
16. There were no statements by Observer Inte rnational Intergovernmental Organizations. 
(iii) Statements by Members 
17. The statements made by Benin and Chad are attached to this report (see Annex 3).  In 
addition, minutes of a statement made by the delega tion of Côte d'Ivoire was also attached to the 
summary report (see Annex 3bis). 
18. Burkina Faso endorsed the statement made by Chad on behalf of the Co-sponsors.  The 
representative of Burkina Faso hoped that the abse nce of speakers on the issue of the development 
aspects of cotton did not mean that there was a lack of  interest, particularly since, as had been stated 
by the Chairman, Members need ed to establish some coherence between the trade and the 
development aspects of cotton.  Burkina Faso therefor e insisted on the fact th at that aspect was also 
important, since there was no point in finding a soluti on to the trade issue if there was nothing to offer 
on the development side.  In particular, Burkina Fa so urged the development partners present at the 
meeting to continue to make every effort to ensure  that the development dimension was also treated as 
an important aspect at every stage of the negotiations. 
19. Benin, on behalf of the African Group, endor sed and echoed the statements made by Chad 
and by Burkina Faso regarding the development asp ects of cotton.  Benin hoped that the fact that 
development partners had not  taken the floor did not mean that interest in the development aspects of 
cotton was waning.  That being said, it was impor tant that Members took stock of matters between 
now and then – a mid-term review – because Beni n recalled that on 12 and 13 March 2004 at Cotonou 
there had been a meeting on the development aspects of cotton organized by the WTO.  Thereafter, on 
5 and 6 July 2004 at Paris, there had been the Africa-European Union partnership meeting on the 
development aspects of cotton.  Benin believed that those initiatives now warranted a mid-term 
review to take proper stock of progress and of shortcomings, so that together Members and donors 
could renew their efforts on a much firmer footing in  order to bring relief to the African cotton sector, 
which would collapse very shortly if nothing was done  to bring real help to the sector by addressing 
the development aspects of cotton.  Benin hoped that the contacts it would be having in the following 
few days with the European Union, the United States and the WTO, would result in a prompt 
mid-term review meeting on the various initiatives for cotton. 
20. In closing the meeting, the Chairman said that he  looked forward to targeted interventions by 
Members on their assessment of progress in the Agri culture Special Session and to contributions by 
International Intergovernmental Or ganizations to the discussion on the development-related aspects of 
cotton. TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  21. The Chairman asked that any delegation that wa nted its statement included as an attachment 
in the summary report on the formal meeting should send it to the Secretariat in electronic format as 
soon as possible. 
I
TEM C:  OTHER BUSINESS  
22. Côte d'Ivoire referring to the projection of th e film which had been viewed on 28 March 2006 
at the Hotel Ramada, thanks to the permanent representation of the African Union in Geneva, 
informed all those who had expressed interest in receiving a copy of the film that owing to the 
situation that arose at the end of the conference, the organizers had been unable to draw up a precise 
list of those concerned, so instead they had asked  the producer if it would be possible to obtain the 
film.  After several reminders by a number of Member s, Côte d'Ivoire had been able to speak to the 
person concerned and had been told that th e film could be downl oaded from the website 
www.mecanosprod.com for €5.50.  For those interested  in obtaining the DVD, it was available in both 
French and English. 
Dates of the Next Meetings 
23. The Chairman announced that the next mee tings of the Sub-Committee were tentatively 
scheduled for 8 June 2006. 
Chairman's Report to the Special S ession of the Committee on Agriculture 
24. The Chairman stated that in making his repor t on the meeting to the Special Session of the 
Committee on Agriculture, he would bear in mind the statements made by all Members, and that the 
report would be short and entirely factual.  Keeping in mind the interests of all Members, the report would be circulated to Members and if a factual error was discovered an amendment would be issued.  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Annex 1  
 
Statement by Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand 
at the Twelfth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 28 April 2006 
 
 
Agenda Item 2(A):  Assessment of Progress in the Agriculture Special Session  
   I give you a few of my own thoughts on what, wh ich most of you have probably heard, if not 
all of you have heard in various other configurati ons in the last few days, but I will try and be 
relatively brief.   I think as you all know, that we are not in a position to conclude modalities by the end of 
April and that is unfortunate and re grettable.  It is not something that we want to treat as business as 
usual and indeed precisely because of that, we will at  least make an effort to considerably intensify 
our process in order to get to those full modalities as  quickly as possible.  An d I have outlined to the 
Committee on Agriculture in Special session and the Committee has agreed to a process which has 
been reported to the TNC, whereby we will have a very intensive period of consultations in the 
Special Session format.  They are all alternate very informal consultations commencing next week but the second week being a week in which you will ha ve an informal open-ended Committee in Special 
Session.  And in that second week, there will also be  informal consultations but the idea would be that 
we would alternate week by week that way.  I would want, I would imagine that it would take 
probably 3 cycles of those two weekly meetings to have a reasonable chance to work through all the 
material that we need to work through and then to take stock of where we are and I certainly intend to 
offer at the end of every week an opportunity to dele gations to take stock of where we are in a week-
by-week basis, sort of a continuous review of th e progress we are making so that we have a pretty 
clear sense week-by-week as to whether we are tr acking well or not.  As the case may be, hopefully 
well.  And I have detected myself a sense of delega tions wanting to engage more intensively to do 
what we need to do.  And we have all agreed that  we are not going to restart imposing new deadlines 
on ourselves because that is a pretty artificial process.  And ironically sometimes that actually makes things take longer than they otherwise need to so the operative word is to move forward as quickly as 
possible and get the job done. 
  And that is what pretty sure everybody says th at they want to do and that they will now try 
and do.  This week, as you are aware because of the TN C, we have had to shift this meeting to Friday.  
We have been having further transitional discussions in the course of this week, particularly on the 
more Market Access-oriented questions and we will continue that this afternoon and then we'll take 
stock of where we are this afternoon, although I do not think there will be a lot to say beyond what 
has already been said at the end of last week.  And I hope this afternoon to outline my sort of schedule 
for the forthcoming fortnight of consultations on agriculture.   I think it is probably worth mentioning that sin ce we all last met, we have had in substance a 
fair degree of consultation on a range of issues.  I ha ve used the room F format for a number of issues 
for intensive discussion and we have had a se ssion on issues like tropical products, tariff 
simplification, tariff escalation, preference erosion,  commodities and I have also had the opportunity 
of pretty intensive consultations  on smaller and vulnerable economies with the effected Members and 
we have been this week intensively engaged on i ssues such as special products and special safeguard 
mechanisms.  As I think all of you are aware, I ha ve distributed reference papers.  There are now 
I think 6 of them out there and certainly in terms of future work, the plan is that we will work through 
for all of the issues that are covered by the modalitie s via the device of reference papers hopefully to 
initial draft texts which will be a basis for us to nego tiate eventually final texts.  That of course is 
something that is in your hands.  As I have made clear, I have put forward that process as a vehicle to 
get us to where we want to get to but Members do n't need reference papers to know what the issues TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  are.  The reference papers are there as hopefully a help to the process but ultimately they can only 
reflect what your substantive positions are and none of  you need me to suggest to you what the issues 
are or to do your thinking for you, let alone to do your negotiating for you.  That's something which can only be done by you yourselves but I will try and use those papers as a kind of device to help 
move things forward but they themselves are not somehow going to be a fetish commodity that people 
have to deal with.  You have to deal with each other and they will only reflect where you get to. 
  As I have said, I will try this afternoon to give you my sense of what we should probably do 
over the next couple of weeks.  My sense is that w ithin the agricultural process I would want to focus 
probably initially on special products and SSM over the ne xt period.  I certainly feel that the time is 
imminent for me to produce something on sensitive products as well and I will probably try to use the 
process for that and I'm quite keen to press forwar d on the export competition pillar where we already 
have 3 reference papers and to try to build on the di scussion that we have had on those, and take that 
forward.  That's my initial sense of where I'll be, but  as I say, by this afternoon I hope to specify more 
precisely what I have in mind for the next couple of weeks.  But again given the reality of the 
negotiations, it is really important just in case pe ople become a little bit lazy in their thinking that 
whatever I schedule is kind of irrelevant in one wa y and that within a very short period, a matter of 
weeks, we are going to cover everything and if we  are going to cover everything effectively then 
people need to be working on all the subjects pretty  well simultaneously both in terms of their own 
position and vis-à-vis each other because if I suddenly say that we're going to deal with such and such 
an issue in the third week, then you have to have done the preparation that w ould ensure that that is 
dealt with effectively.  So not much difference betw een the third week and the fifth week, frankly it is 
intensive which means that everything should be advancing very quickly among yourselves as well as 
in our process.   Now obviously as far as I am concerned, and as fa r as the mandate is concerned, cotton is part 
and parcel of that process.  Indeed it has a very significant and priority role within that process and 
when we deal with the substantive issues through issues such as reference pa pers, we will be dealing 
with cotton in that context, compre hensively because that's part and parcel of our modalities.  And for 
instance one of the reference papers which has al ready had some discussion is the reference paper on 
the Blue Box and as is always the case when we talk about Blue B ox or when we talk about AMS, 
we're also talking about cotton and its particular ro le in relation to the disciplines in those Amber and 
Blue boxes and so that will be part of my working procedures in the period ahead that we will need to 
be engaged on cotton in that context as well.  We'r e certainly not going to somehow keep cotton away 
in the Sub-Committee and imagine that we're doing everything else but cotton.  Cotton will be there 
well and truly in accordance with the terms of the ma ndate when we're dealing with the more generic 
titles of the issues. 
 
 That's about as much as I would want to say su mmarizing as best I can where we are.  And as 
I said, it's probably pretty repetitive for most of you but just in case some of you have not been present in other fora, that's the best I can do to summarize for you where I think we are.  The only 
other thing to emphasize which is in the same area of  saying what is in many ways the obvious or is 
known, is to remind you that within this particular  Sub-Committee and indeed  as it effects all of the 
cotton issue, in terms of specific documents, we have TN/AG/SCC/GEN/4 which is put forward as 
you know by the co-sponsors of the sectoral initiativ e with proposed modalities for cotton under the 
mandate of the Hong Kong Ministerial Decision and th at is at the moment the only concrete proposal 
that we've received in a detailed and expressed mann er.  It has been open for discussion but it is and 
remains in addition to what are of course appro aches to agricultural disciplines which would effect 
cotton, it is I think the sole kind of cotton specifi c proposal we have in this post-Hong Kong period. 
  I have an open mind about a reference paper on cotton.  My working assumption, and I wanted to make it clear in the reference paper on the Blue Box, is that we will deal with cotton as part 
and parcel of all of the negotiation elements, pillars, where cotton is relevant and that is and cannot be 
changed.  That will have to happen and I do not thin k there is any question on cotton being left behind  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 7 
 
 
  on that sense.  The line that I have  been very clear with I think is that my understanding is on 
everything that has to do with the modalities, there will be no orphans and it is certainly clear that 
cotton will not fall into that category.  Whether at some point it would prove useful to have also a 
parallel paper on cotton, I have an  open mind about that for now and I have said that as far as I am 
concerned, there will be reference pa pers on all the subjects that we have to deal with in agriculture 
that are needed to get to modalities.  I just simp ly think that at the moment it's a bit of an open 
question if it is comprehensively dealt with in each of the issues that we work through then you would 
not need to have a separate reference paper but if it is felt at some point that it is necessary to draw some loose ends together in one place, why not but let's keep that as they say under advisement.  Not 
because it is something you want to put to one side bu t rather you want to make sure and I do want to 
make sure that we don't accidentally put cotton into some kind of separate box which actually would 
paradoxically make it more likely that it would be left out rather than if it were well and truly part and 
parcel of the rest.  But as I say, we don't have to d ecide that now, that is something I will want to talk 
to you about and keep under review.  
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  Annex 2
 
 
Statements at the Twelfth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 28 April 2006 
  
Agenda Item 2(A):  Assessment of Progress in the Agriculture Special Session
 
 
 
Statement by Benin on behalf of the African Group  
 
 
 On behalf of the African Group I would like to  associate myself with th e speakers that took 
the floor before me to thank you for your tireless effo rts to find concrete solutions to the cotton issue. 
  The African Group fully supports the statement ma de by Chad on behalf of the co-sponsors of 
the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, in particular as regards the proposed elements of 
modalities submitted to the WTO with a view to reduc ing domestic support for cotton that distorts the 
international cotton market.   I would like to note that this proposal was approved by the African Trade Ministers following the fourth session of their conference held in Nairobi from 12 to 14 April 2006. 
 
 In their Declaration on the Doha Work Progr amme adopted at the Nairobi Conference, the 
Ministers stressed the importance of cotton to the economies of many African countries and the need 
to achieve, at the WTO, full modalities on cotton, including the substantial reduction of domestic 
support and the establishment of a mechanism th at would enable the African cotton producing 
countries to deal with cotton price fluctuations on the international market. 
  The African Group believes that the proposed modalities for cotton of 1 March 2006 is in 
keeping with the mandate of the Framework Agre ement of July 2004 and the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration to address the cotton issue am bitiously, expeditiously, and specifically. 
 
 This is why the African Group suggests that this proposal, which was supported by several 
WTO Members, should be taken into account wh en developing the modalities for agriculture. 
  I would also like to support Chad's recommendation on behalf of the co-sponsors of the Cotton Initiative concerning the strengthening of the assistance provided by partners and its extension 
to all of the African cotton producing countries. 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  Statement by Burkina Faso  
  
 I would like to reiterate my delegation's congrat ulations to you on the way in which you have 
been conducting our proceedings.  I endorse the statements made by the Ambassador of Benin on 
behalf of the African Group, and by the Ambassador  of Chad on behalf of the C-4.  We all know how 
hard you have worked to meet the 30 April 2006 deadline for the completion of the modalities for 
agriculture and for cotton in particular.  You have  held numerous bilateral consultations with the 
various groups and delegations, and we  are most grateful for this.  If despite your considerable efforts 
the deadline cannot be met, you will not be to bl ame.  Indeed, responsibility will lie with those 
Members who have lacked the political will to concl ude the negotiations and th is round before the end 
of the year in accordance with the timetable initially announced. 
  Despite everything, we do not believe that this  is a time for recrimination or discouragement.  
Indeed, we share your view that we should in fact  be intensifying the negotiations by holding more 
numerous consultations at all levels, on a permanent basis. 
  Specifically as regards the cotton issue, we submitted a proposal on 1 March (TN/AG/SCC/GEN/4), which had been outlined on 17 February (TN/AG/GEN/12) and was reiterated 
in our statement of 21 April 2006, on behalf of th e four countries that co-sponsored the Sectoral 
Initiative on Cotton.  It contains elements of moda lities and a formula, pursuant to paragraph 11 of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
  We now await the reaction of the Member States to our proposal, to see how we can fulfil the mandate to give priority to an agreement on cotton.  
 Let me however express my disappointment at seeing these negotiations drag on and on while 
millions of African cotton growers watch their incomes dwindle day by day, and their cotton industry increasingly threatened.  I appeal to the developed co untries to wake up to the magnitude of the crisis 
into which millions of farmers have been plunged.  I hope that, in a sp irit of solidarity and generosity, 
the community of development partners will interven e without delay, in order to safeguard the cotton 
sector until a solution can be found under the trade component through the modalities that will soon 
be concluded. 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  Statement by Chad
 
on behalf of the Co-Sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton  
  
 I should like to thank you for your introducto ry presentation and for the assessment you have 
just given us of progress in the agricultu ral negotiations and the work on cotton. 
  Pursuant to the Hong Kong Ministerial Decision, we must now speed up our discussions on cotton and arrive at comprehensive modalities on this vital issue as quickly as possible. 
 
 The co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton fully endorse the proposed 
process for the continuation of negotiations on agricu lture in general and on cotton in particular.  
WTO Members will have to redouble their effort s and make a real commitment to breaking the 
deadlock in discussions of the cotton issue.  Th e poorest countries in general and the African cotton 
producers in particular have been plunged further into  penury by the deadlock.  This is contrary to the 
spirit of the Doha Round which purports to place trade at the service of development. 
  We would like to point out that the elemen ts of modalities for a substantial reduction of 
domestic support proposed by the co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton (TN/AG/SCC/GEN/4 of 1 March 2006) were s ubmitted to Members on 1 March 2006.  The 
co-sponsors of the proposal have thus been waiting for a concrete response fo r almost three months, 
while the other Members most concerned by this issu e have remained silent after a cursory indication 
that the proposal goes beyond the Hong Kong mandate.   However, the Hong Kong Declaration is more than  clear as to the priority to be given to the 
search for a solution to the cotton issue.  The mandate  on this specific issue set out in paragraph 11 of 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration:  "Members ag ree that the objective is that, as an outcome for 
the negotiations, trade distorting domestic subs idies for cotton production be reduced more 
ambitiously than under whatever general formula is  agreed and that it should be implemented over a 
shorter period of time than generally applicable.  We commit ourselves to give priority in the 
negotiations to reach such an outcome ." 
 
 It was precisely in strict observance of the decision made by the WTO Members in 
Hong Kong that the co-sponsors of the Sectoral In itiative in Favour of Cotton drew up a proposal for 
the operationalization of decisions concerning cotton.   The co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in 
Favour of Cotton took care to avert all risk of a decision on cotton prejudging the outcome of the negotiations on agriculture, which of course include cotton.  Thus, all the elements of our proposal 
were established  with a view to a final outcome  of the negotiations on agriculture.  The proposals 
establish a principle that will allow the mandate to address cotton "ambitiously, expeditiously and 
specifically" to be fulfilled, what ever the outcome in agriculture. 
  As you suggested on Friday 21 April, during the informal special session of the Committee on 
Agriculture, the negotiation process requires that we  now move the negotiations forward on the basis 
of text.  We therefore call on all trading partners in volved in the cotton issue to follow this route, as 
we have done, with a view to obtaining a compromise.   This message was reiterated by African Trade 
Ministers at the fourth session of the African Union Trade Ministers' Conference, held this month in 
Nairobi, during which the African Members again gave full support to the Sectoral Initiative in 
Favour of Cotton and called for an expeditious solution to be found. 
 
 All the elements are on the table:  there is no time like the present for meeting and making progress on what is a vital issue for our countries.  It is time to show the world that the WTO is capable of taking the necessary decisions and to give fresh momentum to the negotiations as a whole.  
"Just do it" as our trading partners say. 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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   While thanking all the delegati ons here present who follow our efforts with interest and give 
their support, we hope that everyone will act w ith the necessary urgency to find effective and 
appropriate solutions to the cotton issue.  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  Statement by China
 
   Like others, we would also like to thank you for your efforts to try to get solution on the issue 
of cotton.  On cotton, we hold that substantial re duction of trade-distorting domestic support is the 
core element in this regard and we share a lot of the views of India. 
  On specific issues, China supports that the b ase period for the reduction of distorting domestic 
supports to cotton should be 1995-2000.  We should also strengthen the disciplines on Blue Box measure for cotton both in terms of price gap a nd product specific cap in order to avoid product 
concentration. 
  Meanwhile, we believe that S&D for devel oping members should be duly taken into account, 
as there is huge low income population depending on cotton production.  Take China for instance, there are 40 million cotton farmers directly engage d in cotton production, and 120 million people are 
involved in this sector.  Cotton is of fundamental importance to the livelihood of them.  Therefore, 
discussion of cotton should take fully into account of the fact as afore-mentioned.    TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  Statement by the Nigeria  
  
I cannot cry more than the bereaved.  However, I join the proponents in their cry for comfort 
for a decisive action and urgency in this period of distress.  Cotton h as become a flagship issue in the 
current discussions and is a strong example of how the developing countries are being treated.  I hope 
the milk of kindness will flow from the heart of th e big players to guarantee hope for the hopeless and 
disadvantaged African Cotton Farmers. 
 We are confident that there will be light at th e end of the tunnel.  We do believe, like Moses 
in the Bible, you would certainly take us to the pr omised land, in spite of the difficult and tortuous 
long journey. 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
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  Statement by the Tanzania
 
   We have already taken note of the short time re maining for this meeting.  I will therefore be 
very brief. 
 
 My delegation wishes to express its appreciati on for your tireless efforts to move forward the 
agriculture agenda, including cotton.   Before I proceed, we wish to associate ourselv es with the statement of Benin (for the African 
Group), and that of the West Africa cotton producing countries. 
  As we have been stating time and again, co tton constitutes a central position in our country – 
Tanzania.  It is among the very little anchor for the survival of millions of our poor peasants. 
 
 For every measure of protracted delay in making progress towards successful conclusion of 
the negotiations in the area, it is a painful expe rience that Tanzania  and other cotton producing 
developing countries have to endure, but with the hope that the process might finally comet to a 
positive finality.   We therefore in this regard wish to thank all the delegations who ha ve spoken in support of 
the cotton producing countries, and call upon the rest of the Members to do the same. 
   TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Statement by the United States  
  
We all need a WTO Doha Development Agenda deal.  We appreciate the enthusiasm and 
efforts shown here to advance the cotton initiative, bu t we need to translate that enthusiasm to other 
areas of the general agricultural negotiations to ha ve a chance of an overall deal and a chance to 
determine the outcome for cotton as part of the agriculture negotiations.  
Cotton, and other sectors, are part of the overa ll agricultural negotiations, and are relational:  
the final cotton modalities are to be decided throu gh specific negotiations af ter the general modalities 
are set. 
 
Consequently, we are pushing for as strong as possible core modalities and look for 
constructive engagement in the weeks ahead to achieve the goals of the Doha Declaration. 
 TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 16  
 
  Annex 2bis
 
 
Minutes of statements made by the delegations 
at the Twelfth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 28 April 2006 
 
 
Agenda Item 2(A):  Assessment of Progress in the Agriculture Special Session  
 
 
Statement by Argentina  
 
 
 I believe that broadly speaking we can endor se the ideas expressed by the proponents and by 
our colleague from the G-20, as well as other delega tions that have expressed similar sentiments. 
 
 Kenya is right in stating that we do need to make some headway on this topic.  And when we 
consider together the call for urge nt action made by several delegati ons on the one hand, and what has 
been said by the delegation of the United States on the other concerning the role of the agricultural 
negotiations in general in relation to  this topic, I believe that there is an initial point of the greatest 
urgency that must be resolved before we can make  progress in both areas.  It seems to me that that 
point is the matter of the base period mentioned in paragraph 2 of the proposal pertaining to the 
sectoral initiative set out in document TN/AG/SCC/GEN/4. 
  I believe that until this issue is resolved, we  can obviously make no headway either in the 
general agricultural negotiations or on this topic.  I should like to recall here our statement that the 
proposed base period of 1995-2000 is quite a reaso nable one as it falls midway between extreme 
positions, and it has also been proposed by the G-20 in respect of the general negotiations. 
  I believe that over and above the urgency of th e entire cotton proposal, there is one aspect that 
is even more urgent, and it is this one, for it would at least give us a number on which basis to make 
the reduction.  This is why I think that in the ge neral negotiations, this matter would have to be 
resolved as it constitutes virtually the firs t stumbling block in the way of progress.  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 17 
 
 
  Statement by Australia  
  
 We wanted to make a comment both about some  of the specifics of the co-sponsors proposal 
and take an opportunity to do that.  We haven't done that in detail yet.  But also to make a point about 
the relationship between the work that we are doi ng here and the broader negotiations.  Obviously 
cotton is an issue of some importance to Cairns Gr oup countries.  With respect to the proposal itself 
from the co-sponsors, we welcome it.  We value th e on-going contribution from the co-sponsors in an 
effort to move the negotiations forward and reali ze an ambitious outcome for cotton in this Round.  
We support the attempt to operationalize the term  "more ambitious" by developing a reduction 
formula that applies an additional level of ambition on  cuts to cotton support.  Australia also supports 
the Uruguay Round implementation period 1995-2000 as the base period across the domestic support pillar.  Australia also views as constructive th e ideas put forward in the co-sponsors proposal on 
limiting Blue Box payments and for additional discip lines on the Blue Box.  A nd we have been taking 
up some of these themes ourselves in the broader agriculture negotiations. 
 
 We have previously made a point about th e relationship between our work here and the 
broader agriculture negotiations and in our view ther e is an undeniable link and reality that the best 
way to achieve an ambitious outcome in the co tton Sub-Committee is through securing an ambitious 
result in the agriculture negotiations as a whole.   In our view progress across the negotiations, 
especially on domestic support, continues to be held  up by lack of movement on agriculture market 
access.  Movement on these broader issues in th e agriculture negotiations will be essential to 
unlocking the potential for an ambitious sectoral outcome  here.  In that regard we would reaffirm our 
request for leadership on these broader issues because  only through leadership on the broader issues 
will it be able to ensure the best possible gains for developing and least-developed countries and to 
ensure that the West African cott on producers are able to take full advantage of the opportunities that 
will flow from reform from this Round. TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 18  
 
  Statement by Brazil
 
  
 Brazil would once again like to express its suppor t, as it has done at all the meetings of the 
Sub-Committee on Cotton, to the African cotton-produc ing countries because, as has been said here 
before on a number of occasions, we share the sentim ents of these African countries given that Brazil 
has also been particularly aff ected by heavy cotton subsidies. 
  We too welcome the specific proposal by the "Co tton-Four" with regard to specific treatment 
in the context of product-specific disciplines and ag ree that the cotton problem is clearly set to be 
resolved in the framework of agricultural nego tiations. Efforts must, however, be made by all 
Members and all parties concerned, in particular  developed countries, so that a solution can be 
reached as quickly as possible.   As you are aware, Brazil and the G-20 wholeh eartedly support all discussions with a view to 
achieving disciplines on trade-distorting domestic support and export subsidies. 
  As has already been stated, disciplines are required not only on trade-distorting domestic 
support but also on the Blue Box.  Although we ar e well aware of the difficulties involved, we are 
sure that this is feasible, and that is the reason wh y we are currently refining our proposals.  Even the 
G-20 is in the process of refining its proposals.  We  know that time is of the essence and are of the 
opinion that, with political will and your endeavour s, which we fully support, a positive result can 
surely be achieved, not only for African countries but for all developing countries, in line with the WTO rules on trade-distorting subsidies and support.  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 19 
 
 
  Statement by Canada  
  
 We have not yet spoken on this proposal and I would like to start by thanking the West 
African cotton producers for this proposal that they  have put forward in this Sub-Committee and for 
the negotiations as a whole.  I think our task is really , at this stage, as we m ove to a more intensified 
process over the next 6 weeks in particular, to thi nk of how as we deal with modalities as a whole, 
how we give effect to the mandate from Minist ers for cotton to be dealt with, ambitiously, 
expeditiously and specifically and I think, like you, we  very much see this as part and parcel of the 
modalities as a whole.  Looking in particular as we  develop the disciplines, how they would apply to 
cotton and what more and what else might be needed.  Turning specifically to domestic support, it is 
clear that while the reductions as a whole in the total AMS and the overall reduction will be critical 
here, there is also the very specific issue of pr oduct-specific caps and how effective they will be in 
constraining support and Canada fo r its part, supports the base peri od of 1995-2000 that has been 
suggested.  There is also the question of the Blue  Box which a number of Me mbers have spoken about 
and here again there is the question of the effectiv eness of the overall limit, the disciplines that we 
may develop on the Blue Box and especially thinki ng about, as we think about measures, to avoid 
undue concentration of support in particular products.  I think we are all thinking of the products of 
interest to us in particular but I think all of us  have a responsibility to think about how this would 
apply to cotton in particular. TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 20  
 
  Statement by Côte d'Ivoire
 
  
 I begin my statement with a smile because I am pleased with the work that you are 
conducting, and like the speakers that preceded me, I would like to thank you most sincerely.  To 
thank you sincerely because you replaced a predecessor that had already done a fair amount in this 
area, and you have successfully taken up the torch.  We congratulate you.   You even went as far as travelling to the countries concerned, including Benin, to see the realities for yourself, and I am certain that you were often horrified to see the sad reality of our 
existence. 
  Let me revert to the evaluation of the progress made since our return from Hong Kong.  I must acknowledge that this is a development round,  and Africa has hardly been inactive since our 
return.  We have gone from proposal to proposal in all possible areas of the negotiations because we 
are the ones that are most concerned.  The more ti me goes by, the more considerable our losses.  In 
the specific case of cotton, we made a first proposal, and were asked to trim it down.  On 1 March, we 
did just that.  The Ambassador of Chad read it and re-read it.  A number of preliminary questions were asked, and it was favourably received with a special mention that the English version would be needed.  The English version was supplied.  The firs t reactions we received left us perplexed:  we 
were told, as indeed we already knew, that the negotiations on cotton were inexorably linked to the 
negotiations on agriculture.  Yes, we knew this ve ry well, but we had proposed a calculation formula 
which did not require, for the time being, any results in  agriculture.  All we are asking at this stage is 
whether the proposed method could be discussed, because  we also wanted to enrich the discussions.  
The fact that this question received no response bew ilders us somewhat.  One thing I was going to say 
today, is that although it may be true that we must  know the results for agricu lture before determining 
the results for cotton, why do we have a Sub-Committee on Cotton?  What is the point, if not to take 
preliminary steps such as those which you have take n in giving us reference papers on which we are 
tirelessly working in order to have one or more texts when the time comes.   Let me be concrete, and say that those of our partners who feel free to voice their opinion on 
the proposed formula should do so now in order to re assure us, because there is no point in our going 
out of our way to make a propo sal only to be faced with a wall of silence that can only cause us 
concern.  In short, I think that my concern this morning is that we have submitted a proposal on the 
understanding that "if we were to achieve a given resu lt in agriculture, this is what we would want".  
Do we agree with this principle?  Do we not agree with this principle?  We have to know, so that we 
can review or improve our position, but if we are told that we first have to complete all discussions on 
agriculture, then I wonder why we are called upon to attend the Sub-Committee on Cotton each 
month.   TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 21 
 
 
  Statement by Egypt  
  
 First I would start by expressing our sympathy for the "Cotton-Four" and their call for a positive response to the proposals they have tabled. We join them in their call.  And I would like also 
to support the statement made by the coordinator of  the African Group, Benin, today.  And expressing 
specifically our support to the basic elements whic h is to agree on modalities as soon as possible and 
that they should be clear and they should resp ect the Hong Kong Ministerial decision.  Turning to 
specifics, with regards to the proposals, we agr ee with the base period proposed.  We agree with the 
proposal on AMS, we also agree with the suggestion of  a third of the cap of the Blue Box and also the 
disciplines.  I would like to note that we are concerned at the lack of technical, precise discussions 
about cotton.  Cotton cannot be differentiated from the whole procedure that you have undertaken in 
the agriculture negotiations.  So I am just wonderi ng about the idea of a reference paper on cotton, I 
was thinking if we ask this of you, what are we goi ng to see there?  But I am putting forward here the 
suggestion in order to have a kind of collective t hought about how to structure a technical discussion 
about that.  Because we are concerned that even w ith the conclusion of agriculture, we will not have 
time for cotton and this is what I feel was the b asic and underlying principle from the calls from the 
"Cotton-Four".  Lastly, I would like to point out th at we are now dealing with the current situation of 
cotton, the hardship of this current situation, but I guess that we also need to have in mind that new 
disciplines that we are trying to craft in the agricu ltural negotiations might have a negative effect on 
the future of cotton and I wonder whether we will ha ve another round to solve them or not.  So we 
have to keep in mind that some of the disciplines th at we are going to devise on all of the pillars might 
have negative effects on cotton and I am here ca lling on my colleagues from the "Cotton-Four"  to 
have a thorough look at this point.  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 22  
 
  Statement by the European Communities
 
  
 This was already stated at the Sub-Committee mee ting.  First of all, thanks once again to the 
African countries for this proposal, which we support.  We have already been able to take detailed 
positions on some of its aspects.   
  We can accept the Amber Box proposal;  we can accept the reference period as proposed in 
the paper;  we can also accept front loading, in other words, more rapid implementation than in the 
general agricultural context.  Now as regards th e Blue Box, things become somewhat more 
complicated as there are highly complex discussions under way in the general context and it is 
difficult to take a detailed position here and now on those aspects.  I regret to have to say that. 
  Besides, what I just said concerns domestic support as indicated in the African proposal.  As I 
also stated at our last meeting, cotton, as noted  in the Framework, goes beyond domestic support.  
This must cover all three aspects, that is to say the three agricultural pillars.  The Hong Kong 
Declaration does make reference to market access, an d to the export competition pillar, but yet again 
we the Community offer free market access not just to LDCs, as stated in the Hong Kong Declaration, 
but to the whole world, and we take this opportuni ty to call once again on all developed countries not 
to restrict themselves to LDCs alone.  
 As we heard just a while ago, there are 36 cotton-producing countries in Africa, some of 
which are not LDCs.  They too should also benefit fro m this.  I also believe that developing countries 
that are able to offer similar ma rket access possib ilities should also be called upon to grant free access 
to cotton.  
 As regards the third pillar, namely export co mpetition, I think it would be a good thing for it 
also to be mentioned here in the proposal, for as I have said before, the Framework clearly states that 
all three agricultural pillars should be covered.    Thank you Mr Chairman, and once again I inv ite all the other Members to make detailed 
comments on this proposal from the "Cotton-Four". 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 23 
 
 
  Statement by India  
  
 India fully supports the initiative of the cotton producing countries to address cotton ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically.  We believe that at Hong Kong we reached a very 
important agreement to eliminate export subsidies on cotton by the developed countries in 2006.  And 
further to reduce the trade distorting domestic subsid ies more ambitiously than for the other areas in 
agriculture and over a shorter period of time.  We do believe that the proposal of the cotton-producing 
countries, which has been with us for some time  now, is broadly consistent with the Hong Kong 
Mandate that we have from Ministers.  As far as the specific aspects of it are concerned, we also 
support their initiative or proposal to have a form ula for the rate of reduction for AMS on cotton 
which would generate an outcome that is more ambi tious than for the rate of general reduction in the 
AMS.  The proposal for the base period for calcula ting the AMS proposed by the "Cotton-Four" we 
believe is broadly consistent with the base peri od that has been proposed by the G-20 for the AMS 
product-specific caps and the reductions  to be effected thereto.  A third element of the proposal is to 
deal with income declines until the end of the s ubsidies, we believe that some aspects of it are 
particularly important, noting the low per capita in comes of the "Cotton-Four" which have been spelt 
out.  We fully support the cause of the "Cotton-Four" and the need to provide a level playing field in 
cotton trade.  I do recall that there are highly valuable and poor cotton producers in developing countries like India also.  I think the statistics of th e decimation of our cotton farmers are well known.  
In India for instance over 1,000 cotton farmers committed suicide in 2004/2005 in one state and 
another 667 in another state and I think this year also we already have reports of 251 cotton farmers 
having committed suicide in one particul ar region of India, so this is merely to indicate that India can 
fully understand and sympathize with the very dism al situation of the cotton-producing countries in 
the "Cotton-Four".  We also fully support the noti on of shorter implementati on period of one-third as 
proposed by the "Cotton-Four" or if we can better that, for sure.  As far as the Blue Box measures 
proposed by the "Cotton-Four" are concerned, I sh are the views presented by Brazil just before us, 
that we are in the G-20 working further to see how we can achieve an outcome which meets the 
aspirations of not only all Members across all agricu ltural products, but in particular for the cotton 
sector.   TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 24  
 
  Statement by Kenya
 
  
 First of all I would like to thank you for the work that you are carrying out on this issue and also to support the statement by Benin on behalf of the African Group.  We would also like to join the 
call by the cotton proponents on the need to urgen tly and ambitiously address the issue of cotton in 
accordance with the July framework  and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and of course we 
fully support the proposal that has been put forward by the "Cotton-Four".  Secondly we feel that, as 
much as we agree that this issue has to be looked at from the broader agricu lture negotiations, we feel 
that there is a need to have some value added in  this Sub-Committee because the idea of just coming 
to this Sub-Committee to listen to what is happening  in the agriculture negotiations is very frustrating 
for the African countries who would like to see so me results coming out of this Sub-Committee and 
we would like to urge that probably we need to get more engaged on this issue and we would also 
support the idea that has been put forward by Egypt.   Probably we need to see some reference paper 
coming out on cotton as we produce reference papers on the Blue Box.  I think you have decided that 
we address this in parallel.  I think we need to see results as we see results on those issues that have 
been highlighted in our proposal.  Because it's  becoming very frustrating to attend for a whole 
morning a Sub-Committee meeting and just listen to what has been going on in the broader agriculture meetings.  We really urge that we need  to see some positive and value added results in this 
Sub-Committee.  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 25 
 
 
  Statement by Pakistan  
  
 Like other colleagues of mine from the G-20 a nd other Members, we would also like to put 
our voice along with that of the "Cotton-Four" African countries.  This issue is now at a point where 
we have a comprehensive proposal by the proponents of the cotton issue and as far as my delegation 
is concerned, we have very little to disagree with , with the proposal.  We can accept almost all the 
components therein, e.g. the formula for the rates of reduction, for AMS, for the general formula and especially the base period.  We have already have, from the forum of the G-20, proposed this base 
period on a broader agriculture negotiation basis and we totally agree with what has been proposed by 
the "Cotton-Four".  We also take the point raised  by the EU that developing countries also should, 
those countries that are in a position to do so, shou ld also contribute for bettering the market access 
opportunities for these countries.  I might state here that Pakistan is one of those countries who already have a zero applied tariff rate on cotton.  It  is a matter of irony that there has to be production 
boosting measures in these countries through the first st ep, that would be the elimination of domestic 
support given by subsidizing and support-giving countries.  Unless that happens, sadly these countries 
plight will remain the same. 
 TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 26  
 
  Annex 3
 
 
Statements at the Twelfth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 28 April 2006 
 
 
Agenda Item 2(B):  Coherence Between Trade and Development Aspects:  
Update on the Development Aspects of Cotton   
 
 
Statement by the Secretariat  
 
 
 -  As reported at the last meeting of th e Sub-Committee on Cotton, the Secretariat is 
intensively engaged, within the Director-General 's Consultative Framework Process, with bilateral 
donors and multilateral institutions in  monitoring and verifying the actual implementation of cotton 
programmes and projects underway.    
 -  There is considerable yield from several of these programmes and projects of which the 
implementation has been assisted by domestic co tton sector reforms in the concerned African 
countries. The international financial institutions , with the support of other relevant multilateral 
institutions, continued to provide vital support and are working with the WTO Secretariat to further 
explore what could be done in moving the manda te forward on cotton development assistance.   
 
 -  At the recently conclude d fourth ordinary session of African Union Trade Ministers in 
Nairobi, Kenya, the Director-General, at various levels of interaction, explained his continuing 
intensive engagement, and that of the developmen t community, pursuant to the agreed mandate. There 
continues to be positive evolution in operational implementation and a substantive report will shortly 
be made in a mid term review of progress.  
 
 
 
 
 
   
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 27 
 
 
  Statement by Benin on behalf of the African Group  
  
 On behalf of the co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton I would like to 
thank the different speakers for th e information they have just provided on the recent activities of the 
bilateral and multilateral partners  and the initiatives undertaken by them in connection with the 
development aspect of the cotton issue.   I would like to express my gratitude, on behalf  of all of the co-sponsors of the Sectoral 
Initiative in Favour of Cotton, to the bilateral and multilateral partners and to the regional and 
subregional organizations for the activities they ha ve already implemented and the initiatives that are 
currently being taken to help develop the cotton sector in Africa.   Several projects and programmes have already been identified and submitted to the partners 
by the co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favo ur of Cotton.  Other projects will be submitted to 
them over the next few days. 
  I therefore wish to reiterate our appeal to the partners to continue working on these projects 
and programmes with a view to implementing them as rapidly as possible.     I would also like to stress the need to strengt hen the actions and initia tives of the partners and 
to extend them to all of the African cotton producing countries. 
  At the domestic level, our countries are continui ng the reform efforts that they had begun in 
the cotton sector.  
 These reforms aim to ensure the sustainable improvement, in our countries, of the sector's 
production and productivity.     They involve, among other things, the institu tional organization of the industry and the 
withdrawal of the State from the production and marketing of cotton.  
 In spite of the difficulties encountered in im plementing these reforms, we are determined to 
pursue our efforts.   To that end, some of the countries concerned have adopted action plans which, if diligently 
implemented, will enable them to attain their objectives. 
 
 We hope to receive support in implementing these reforms.   Allow me to recall that the proposed modaliti es submitted by the co-sponsors of the Sectoral 
Initiative in Favour of Cotton to the WTO on 1 Marc h 2006 provide that the mandate established in 
the Framework Agreement of July 2 004 should also be fulfilled with respect to coherence between the 
trade-related and the development assistance aspects of cotton. 
  In this connection, the co-sponsors asked Members to decide, in April 2006, to create a task force that would prepare a proposal for the intr oduction of a mechanism en abling the African cotton 
producing countries to deal with income declines in the cotton sector. 
 
 In addition to the representatives of the countries concerned, this task force would include the 
multilateral institutions, the donor countries, and a representative of the WTO Director-General.   This proposal aims to operationalize the decision in paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration to urge the Director-Gener al to explore the possibility of establishing through TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 28  
 
  the multilateral and regional institutions a mechanis m to deal with income declines in the cotton 
sector until the end of subsidies.   In view of the importance of this issue and its urgency for the African cotton producers, we 
reiterate our appeal to the WTO Director-General to hold the necessary consultations in order to set 
up this task force as rapidly as possible. 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 29 
 
 
  Statement by Chad  
on behalf of the Co-Sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton  
 
  On behalf of the co-sponsors of the Sectoral  Initiative in Favour of Cotton I should like to 
thank speakers for the information they have just given us on the recent activities of bilateral and 
multilateral partners and the initiatives the partners have taken in connecti on with the development 
aspect of the cotton issue.   On behalf of all the countries that co-sponsored  the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, I 
should like to express my thanks to the bilateral and multilateral partners and to the regional and 
subregional organizations for the measures already taken and the initiatives under way to develop the 
cotton sector in Africa.   Several projects and programmes have already been identified and submitted to the partners 
by the co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favo ur of Cotton.  Other projects will be submitted to 
them in the days to come.   It is in this context, Chairman, that I should lik e to reiterate our appeal to partners to continue 
to work on these projects and pr ogrammes with a view to implementing them as soon as possible. 
 
 I should like also to stress the need for part ners' actions and initiatives to be strengthened and 
extended to all cotton producing African countries.   At domestic level, our countries are pursuing their endeavours in the reforms they have undertaken in the cotton sector. 
 
 The aim of the reforms is sustainable impr ovement in cotton production and productivity in 
our countries.   The reforms concern the institutional organizati on of the sector and the withdrawal of the 
State from the production and marketing of cotton. 
 
 Despite the difficulties encountered along the way, our countries are determined to pursue implementation of the reforms.   To this end, some of them have adopted ac tion plans which, if promptly implemented, will 
enable the objectives set to be attained. 
  Furthermore, our countries would like to be s upported in their implementation of the reforms. 
  Allow me to remind delegates that in the pr oposal for modalities that they submitted to the 
WTO on 1 March 2006, the co-sponsors of the Sector al Initiative in Favour of Cotton made provision 
for the mandate set out in the agreed framework of  July 2004 to be fulfille d as regards coherence 
between the trade and development aspects of cotton.   They asked Members to decide in April 2006 to  set up a task force to prepare a proposal in 
the context of setting up a mechanism enabling co tton producing African countries to deal with the 
drop in cotton sector revenue. 
  As well as representatives of the countries concerne d, the task force is to include multilateral 
institutions, donor countries and a repres entative of the WTO Director-General. 
 TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
Page 30  
 
   The purpose of the proposal is to give effect to the decision set forth in paragraph 12 of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration urging the Director-General of the WTO to explore the 
possibility of establishing through multilateral a nd regional institutions a mechanism to deal 
with income declines in the cotton sector until the end of subsidies . 
 
 In view of the importance of this matter and its urgency for African cotton producers, we 
reiterate our request that the Director-General of the WTO embark on the necessary consultations for 
such a task force to be set up at the earliest possible date.   TN/AG/SCC/R/12 
 Page 31 
 
 
  Annex 3bis  
 
Minutes of the statement made by the delegation of Côte d'Ivoire 
at the Twelfth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 28 April 2006 
  
Agenda Item 2(B):  Coherence Between Trade and Development Aspects:
 
Update on the Development Aspects of Cotton   
 
 
Statement by Côte d'Ivoire  
 
 
 I would like at this stage to add my voice to th at of the co-sponsors and say that there is a lot 
happening at the moment.   
 First, during one of the Sub-Committee mee tings we received the list of donors that had 
announced themselves, and we sent this document to our capitals for comment.  It is currently being 
examined.  I know that this is not easy, because  the assistance provided sometimes targets different 
sectors, so there is some adding up to do.    
 The second thing is that a number of African countries have submitted projects, and I think 
that rather than approaching the ITC, as concerns Côte d'Ivoire the donors came to us, and they asked 
us to submit our projects, as Benin had done.  I thin k that for the moment, these are the only countries 
to have submitted projects, and I encourage the other cotton producing countries – God knows how 
many there are in Africa – to do the same.    
 Thirdly, there is the project that we had orig inally put forward for the creation of the support 
fund which, for the time being, does not appear to have attracted much interest.  And yet we are 
getting bogged down – if you will pardon the term – in agricultural negotiations on which the 
negotiations on the trade aspects of cotton depend.    
 I therefore appeal to donors once again to cons ider the sufferings of our countries.  I think 
India gave an example a while ago of populations that were committing suicide:  in Africa they do not 
commit suicide, but they die peacefully because they have nothing to eat.  There are examples 
everywhere of the misery in which cotton producers are living throughout the world.  Some countries have seen the cotton sector disappear, while others k eep it alive through "State subsidies", and I think 
we need to draw the attention of donors to this aspect which we have already brought up in the past. 
 
 For my part, I wish to inform the Community  that as regards the well-known crisis in Côte 
d'Ivoire, we are gradually emerging from our troubles and treading very carefully in order to confirm 
the impression to those who would come to this region, particularly the north, which is the cotton 
growing area, that things are evolving in such a way as to ensure sustained peace in this country in the 
near future. 
 
 
__________