WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/621 
27 September 2005 
 (05-4273) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
BHURBAN G-20 MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
BHURBAN, 9-10 SEPTEMBER 2005 
 
Communication from G-20
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 26 Septem ber 2005, from the G-20, is being circulated 
to Members. 
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1. The G-20
1 Ministers at their meeting in Bhurban, Pakistan, on 9-10 September 2005, 
reaffirmed their commitment to the multilateral trad ing system and to the ongoing negotiations on 
Agriculture, which are central to the Doha Develo pment Agenda.  They reiterated their commitment 
to conclude the DDA negotiations in 2006 in a manner  that furthers their common goal of eliminating 
trade-distorting policies in agriculture mainta ined by developed countries, and providing for 
substantial improvement in market access for all pro ducts, in line with the level of ambition set out in 
the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  2. Ministers reaffirmed the G-20’s position on the th ree pillars of the agriculture negotiations as 
contained in the Declaration adopted in New Delhi, India, on 19 March 2005.  This position has been 
subsequently elaborated in a number of detaile d proposals submitted by the G-20 to the WTO. Its 
central elements are:  
• Domestic support  - Any agreed formulae for overall reduction and in AMS support 
should result in substantial and effective reduction in trade distorting support.  New 
disciplines on Blue Box and Green Box shall ensure that the Blue Box will be less 
trade distorting than the AMS and that the Green Box policies are  indeed non or 
minimally trade or production distorting.  The development dimension should be clearly reflected in the domestic support p illar.  Developing countries without AMS 
should not be subject to any cut in their de minimis  support.  Developing countries 
that allocate all or substantially all their  de minimis  support to resource-poor or 
subsistence farmers are exempt.  
 
• Export Competition  - An immediate standstill commitment on all forms of export 
subsidies should give effect to the spirit of the July framework.  Moreover, all forms 
of export subsidies should be eliminated in a period no longer than five years. 
  
• Market Access  - Agreement on the nature of the formula is the central element of the 
structure in this pillar.  G-20 Members be lieve that a linear tariff reduction formula 
within bands, preserving the overall pr oportionality between  developed and 
developing countries, is the best approach to achieving substantial market access for 
                                                     
 
1 Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, China, Cuba, Egyp t, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, 
Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe. WT/L/621 
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 all products, particularly those of export in terest to developing countries.  Other 
elements of the G-20 proposal that are im portant include:  tariff capping, the binding 
of all tariffs in ad valorem  terms, elimination of SSG by developed countries, and 
agreement on a very limited number of sensitive products, where improvements in 
market access will result from a combinati on of tariff cuts and TRQ expansion on an 
MFN basis. 
 
• Special and Differential Treatment  for developing countries constitutes an integral 
part of all elements of the negotiation.  The G-20 is also determined to make 
operational the provisions in the Framework on special and differential treatment for developing countries so as to preserve the food security, rural development and 
livelihood concerns of millions of people.  
 3. Ministers directed their officials to pursue th ese proposals in the next phase of negotiations.  
They also directed them to continue to elabor ate upon the structural aspects underlying these proposals 
within the mandate of the Group and commensurate w ith requirements of the particular stage in the 
process. 
 4. Ministers reiterated that agriculture is the engi ne of these negotiations, that it is vital to the 
economies of all developing countries and that thei r agricultural strategies support their economic 
development and poverty alleviation programs. 
 
5. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to achieving full modalities by the Sixth WTO 
Ministerial Conference, and, in this light, concluded that the lack of results last July has put the DDA 
in a critical situation.  There is no room for comp lacency or for treating the process in a business-as-
usual manner.  
6. Ministers called for the pace of the negotiations  to be intensified.  This should, when 
appropriate, include the definition of levels of ambition, through the use of concrete figures to 
facilitate agreement on key elements of the thr ee pillars.  Ministers acknowledged that the G-20 
proposals have evoked constructive responses from ma ny members.  These proposals are a reflection 
of an exercise in consensus building through the acc ommodation of the different interests within the 
Group as they strike a balance between offensive a nd defensive interests.  It has been widely 
recognized that the G-20 proposals constitute a genuine middle ground.  They are technically 
consistent.  They provide a basic structure on wh ich to make progress towards consensus and remain 
on the table.  7. Ministers called on the developed countries in gene ral and the major subsidizers in particular 
to respond to the G-20 proposals in a constructive wa y and to fully commit themselves to the reform 
of their agricultural policies.   8. While supporting an intensification of negotia tions, Ministers insisted that there is no 
alternative to a bottom-up approach as advocated by the G-20.  The format of meetings can vary, but 
transparency and involvement must be maintained .  Ministers stressed that only through a genuine 
process of dialogue and negotiation involving the whole of the WTO membership can progress be 
achieved and results obtained that will be ba lanced and will entail benefits for all.  
 9. While acknowledging that the round is conducte d on the basis of a single undertaking, 
Ministers cautioned against the insistence, specially by major subsidizers of the agriculture sector, of 
trying to condition needed changes in their trade di storting domestic policies to concessions that would 
lead to unbalanced results by imposing on devel oping countries a disproportionate and high burden.   WT/L/621 
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 Developing countries that do not apply such policies s hould not be expected to pay for the elimination 
of distortions that affect international trade in agricultural products.   10. Ministers stressed the need to give priority to strengthening alliances between the G-20 and 
other developing country groups.  Ministers welcomed the invitation to the coordinators of the G-33, 
Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the African Group, ACP countries, and CARICOM. Ministers 
emphasized that the G-20 should continue to work together with other groups, including the G-90, and 
individual Members with the aim of strengthening convergences and ensuring that the development 
dimension of the Doha work programme is achieved.   
11. Ministers reiterated that Special Products and the Special Safeguard M echanism are integral 
elements of the negotiations and we lcomed the initiative of the G-33, to which the G-20 is prepared to 
contribute, to develop a list of indicators for th e designation of Special Products based on the criteria 
of food security, livelihood security  and rural development needs.  
 
12. Ministers expressed their full support for pr ovisions exempting LD Cs from any reduction 
commitments and highlighted the need for steps to be taken to promote their export capacities, 
including addressing supply constraints.  Ministers st ressed that it should be ensured that LDCs make 
meaningful gains from reform of each of th e three pillars in the current negotiations. 
 13. Ministers noted that work in the Sub-Committee on Cotton needs to be expedited so that early 
agreement can be reached on effective measures consistent with all aspects of the Framework 
Agreement.  They stressed the urgency to address th is question not later than the Sixth Ministerial 
Conference in the light of the current crisis affecting African cotton producers.  14. Ministers stressed that tariff escalation should be  eliminated to allow developing countries to 
diversify and increase their export revenues by a dding value to their agricultural production.  
 15. Ministers emphasized that modalities for the full est liberalization of tropical products and 
products of particular importance to the diversif ication of production from the growing of illicit 
narcotic crops by developed countries must also be arrived at by the Sixth Ministerial Conference. 
 
16. Ministers emphasized that market access for products of export interest to developing 
countries should not be impeded by the use of non tariff barriers by developed countries. 
 17. Ministers recognized that preferences, which are of importance to many developing countries, 
are being eroded by both regional and multilateral liber alisation processes.  Ministers also agreed that, 
in accordance with the provisions of the ‘July Fr amework’, preference erosion should be addressed in 
the negotiations. In order to accomplish that, the development dimension in the multilateral trading 
system should be mainstreamed through (i) expanded  market access for products which are of vital 
export importance to the preference beneficiaries; (ii) effective utilisation of existing preferences and 
(iii) additional financial assistance and capacity building to address supply constraints, promote 
diversification and assist in adjustment and restructuring. 
 
18. Ministers stressed that concerns of Recently Acceded Members must be effectively addressed 
through specific flexibility provisions in all pillars as  part of the full modalities to be achieved by the 
Sixth Ministerial Conference.  
19. Ministers also stressed the importance of stre ngthening disciplines on ex port prohibitions and 
restrictions provided under Article 12.1 of the Ag reement on Agriculture.  Ministers directed their 
officials to pursue this subject promptly. 
 WT/L/621 
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 20. Ministers agreed that the concerns of small,  vulnerable economies must also be effectively 
addressed as part of the Work Programme manda ted in paragraph 35 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration without creating any new categories of developing countries.  21. Ministers expressed appreciation for the contri bution made by Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi to 
the DDA negotiations as the Director General of the WTO.  They also welcomed the appointment of 
Mr. Pascal Lamy as Director General.  22. Ministers acknowledged the contribution of the former Chairman of the Committee on 
Agriculture – Special Session, Ambassador Ti m Groser, and welcomed the new Chairman, 
Ambassador Crawford Falconer. 
 23. Ministers resolved to stay in close contact with each other to take stock of important 
developments and to constantly assess the situa tion of the negotiations as the Hong Kong, China 
Ministerial approaches.  They maintained that to achieve substantial progress in Hong Kong, the 
negotiating texts should be largely finalized well befo re the Sixth Ministerial to allow for adequate 
consideration by all WTO Members.  24. At the invitation of Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce, Ministers held a retreat on 10 
September.  They held fruitful discussions on all aspects of the Doha Round.   
25. Ministers thanked the Government and the peopl e of Pakistan for their warm hospitality and 
generosity in hosting and organizing this Ministerial Meeting.  
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