WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/RL/16 
28 March 2006 
 
 (06-1408) 
Negotiating Group on Rules  
  
 
NEGOTIATING GROUP ON RULES 
 
Report by the Chairman to the 
 
Trade Negotiations Committee  
 I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This report updates my November 2005 report to  the Trade Negotiations Committee.  Since 
this is my first written report to the Committee si nce the Sixth Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, 
I will provide an overview of the steps that we ha ve undertaken since that meeting to implement the 
directives of Ministers and of the negotiating process that we have before us from now to the summer 
break and to scheduled conclusion of the negotiations at the end of this year. 
II. ANTI-DUMPING & SUBSIDIES & COUNTERVAILING MEASURES, INCLUDING 
FISHERIES SUBSIDIES     
2. As you are aware, Ministers in Hong Kong gave the Group clear guidance as to how to 
proceed in this area in 2006.  Ministers ca lled upon the Group to intensify and accelerate the 
negotiating process, and to complete the pro cess of analysing proposals on the AD and SCM 
Agreements as soon as possible.  Ministers further mandated me to prepare, early enough to ensure a 
timely outcome within the context of the 2006 end da te for the Doha Development Agenda and taking 
account of progress in other areas of the negotia tions, consolidated texts of the AD and SCM 
Agreements that shall be the basis
 for the final stage of the negotiations.      
3. Since Hong Kong, further guidelines have been developed that give the Group a framework 
on how to proceed.  First, taking into considerati on the 2006 end date for the DDA, I have set summer 
break as a target  date for the circulation of my consolidated texts.  It is clear that we will have to 
complete our analysis of proposals by June if I am to be in a position to meet that target.  Although I 
have not imposed any formal deadlines or cut-off da tes on the Group, I informed Participants that, as 
a practical matter, any remaining proposals will have  to be submitted preferably by March, or by 
April at the latest, in the form of draft legal texts, in  order for me to consider them if I were to prepare 
consolidated Chairman's texts by July.   
4. In the areas of anti-dumping and subsidies a nd countervailing measures, the Group has been 
working hard in an effort to achieve this progr amme, with Participants submitting numerous textual 
proposals to the Group.  It is my sense that Particip ants have now put before the Group most of their 
proposals and that remaining proposals will be forthcoming in April.  That said, I note that the 
overwhelming share of the proposals received have focused on anti-dumping, and that there remain a 
number of anticipated proposals in the area of subsidi es.  I urge Participants to redouble their efforts 
to submit any additional proposals on subsidies by 20 April, the deadline for the submission of proposals for consideration at the Group's next meeting.      
5. The Group has been working intensively to analy se the proposals before it.  Already this year, 
the Group has held two intensive multi-week clusters, in February and March.  Further clusters are 
scheduled in May, June and July.  While the Group c ontinues to meet in informal plenary meetings to TN/RL/16 
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  analyse the proposals placed before it, I have co ntinued and intensified a process of plurilateral 
consultations to probe in greater depth certain proposals in respect of which I need further clarifications from Participants.  My consultations  in 2006 have related to such issues as product 
under consideration, calculation of normal value, the identification of parties, public access to non-
confidential information, mandatory preliminary determinations, the lesser duty rule, new shipper 
reviews, sunset, and circumvention.  Th ese consultations are not negotiating sessions per se , but they 
allow me to obtain clarifications regarding delegati ons' positions.  Such clarifications are essential if I 
am to be in a position to submit consolidated text s by the summer break.  I am taking all possible 
steps to ensure transparency with respect to these consultations.    
6. In the area of fisheries subsidies, both the number and specificity of the proposals by 
Participants, and the engagement of Participants, have increased since my last report.  The Group is 
currently considering textual proposals covering th e structure and specific content of possible new 
disciplines, including the nature and scope of a possible prohibition, the treatment of non-prohibited subsidies, special and differential treatment provisions , and other elements.  Certain participants have 
indicated that they intend to submit further text ual proposals in the near future.  This increased 
specificity is absolutely essential for the Group to progr ess in its work on this topic, and is thus an 
encouraging sign. 
7. That said, the Group's substantive work toward elaborating new disciplines on fisheries 
subsidies remains relativel y underdeveloped.  It is clear that there are profound differences of view 
among delegations in respect of fundamental aspects of this negotiation, and the time to resolve the 
very complex outstanding issues is short.  Furthe r, many of the specific issues have been addressed 
only in a general manner in the texts submitted to da te. I therefore call on the Participants to renew 
their commitment to and engagement on this issu e, so that an acceptable compromise can be found 
which will contribute positively to the final outcome of the Round.   
III. REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS  
8. The Ministers in Hong Kong acknowledged the importance that RTAs have come to play in 
the trade policies of virtually all Members;  th ey recognized that both RTA transparency and WTO 
disciplines on RTAs are of systemic interest to Members and reiterated their commitment to these negotiations as mandated under Para graph 29 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  Annex D – 
Section II of the Ministerial Declaration instru cts the Group to intensify its efforts in these 
negotiations with a view to a provisional decision on RTA transparency by 30 April 2006 and appropriate outcomes on RTA systemic questions by  end 2006.  Since the resumption of negotiations 
in early 2006 progress has been made on RTA tran sparency; however, there remain differences on 
some of its pending elements.  RTA systemic ques tions have also been further explored, though 
additional input by Members is now n eeded to achieve substantive progress. 
9. With respect to RTAs transpar ency, the Group shares a systemic interest in enhancing the 
transparency of RTAs.  Text-based negotiations  on the "Elements for an RTAs' Transparency 
Mechanism" were resumed on the basis of a 2005 informal note of the Chair.
1  Areas where a few 
refinements are still needed include the procedures for subsequent notifica tion and reporting and how 
to deal with unfinished examination work in th e Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA).  
Discussions on the application of the transparency  mechanism to RTAs notified under the Enabling 
Clause are ongoing; a recent informal note by the Chair2 aims at finding some common ground by 
retaining a single transparency mechanism co mmon to all RTAs under WTO provisions while 
addressing concerns expressed by some of  the developing countries Members. 
                                                      
1 JOB(06)2 
2 JOB(06)59  TN/RL/16 
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  10. Negotiations on RTA systemic questions were resumed on the basis of a revised informal 
roadmap by the Chair, which attracted considerable in terest.  However, due to the lack of further input 
by Participants in the form of text proposals, the Group has been unable to advance negotiations beyond the technical consideration of the various i ssues tabled (the "substantially all the trade" 
concept, the length of transition periods, and the inclusion of special and differential treatment 
provisions in Article XXIV of the GATT 1994).  As  a result, since late January 2006, no further 
meetings of the Group have been held on these questions and none is planned until guidance is 
received from Participants as to the direction that this area of negotiations should take. 
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