WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/613 
22 June 2005 
 (05-2666) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
G-33 MINISTERIAL COMMUNIQUÉ 
JAKARTA, 12 JUNE 2005 
 
Communication from Indonesia
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 20 June 2005, has been received from the Delegation of 
Indonesia with the request that it be circulated to all Members.  
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  With regard to the G33 Ministerial Meeting he ld in Jakarta from 11-12 June 2005, I have the 
pleasure to inform you that the Ministers have adopted the G33 Ministerial Communique.  The said 
Communique reaffirms the common objective of the G33 to ensuring that the WTO Doha Work Programme contributes meaningfully to the devel opment endeavours of deve loping countries.  It 
particularly emphasizes on the need to guarantee th at the provisions on Special Products (SP) and 
Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) constitute as an  integral part of the agriculture modalities. 
  
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G-33
1 MINISTERIAL COMMUNIQUÉ 
 
 1. G-33 Ministers met in Jakarta on 11 and 12 Ju ne 2005 to asses the progress of the agriculture 
negotiations and, in particular, emphasized thei r common objective of ensuring that the WTO Doha 
Work Programme meaningfully contributes to th e development endeavours of developing countries. 
In that context, Ministers stressed the importance th ey attach to achieving a balanced outcome in the 
negotiations on agriculture.  They reiterated that  guaranteeing food security and livelihood security, 
and rural development constitute the core fou ndation of the development agenda of the G-33 
countries, an alliance of a large number of developi ng countries including LDCs across the continents.  
 2. Ministers recalled that the Doha Declaration sets out the development agenda that must be 
achieved in each area of the negotiations, and the flexibilities that must be extended to developing 
countries.  They stressed that more meaningful a nd operational Special and Differential Treatment for 
developing countries should be an integral part of all elements of the negotiations. Ministers, 
reaffirming their commitment to a successful comp letion of the negotiations  under the Doha Work 
                                                     
 
1 G-33 Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, China, Côte d’Ivoire, 
Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Ha iti, Honduras, India, Ind onesia, Jamaica, Kenya, 
Korea, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Ni caragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, The Philippines, 
Peru, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, 
Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda , Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. WT/L/613 
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 Programme, further stressed that modalities to be agr eed upon, must faithfully reflect the integrity of 
the developmental mandate of the Doha Declara tion.  To this end, Ministers underlined the 
importance of arriving at a balanced first  approximation of the modalities by July 2005 and in the full 
modalities by the Sixth Ministerial Conference, an im portant aspect of which is that all issues of 
importance to developing countries are addressed in an equitable manner.  
 
3. Ministers expressed their concern at the lack of adequate forward movement in the agricultural negotiations and stressed that progress in these negotiations must be pursued through an 
open and inclusive process with the full involvement of  the G-33.  This is esse ntial to ensure equity 
and the legitimacy of the r esults of these negotiations.  
4. Ministers underlined that addressing the probl em of food and livelihood security as well as 
rural development constitute a c oncrete expression of developing c ountries right to development and 
therefore require a comprehensive solution in a ll three pillars of the agriculture negotiations. 
5. Ministers reiterated that the concepts of Special Products (SP) and Special Safeguard 
Mechanism (SSM) as provided for in the July 2004  framework are fundamental to any meaningful 
operationalization of Special and Differential Treatment, and crucial for addressing food and 
livelihood security as well as rural development ne eds of developing countries.  They emphasized that 
SP and SSM are key policy instruments for securing the survival of the vast number of small farmers 
and the rural poor.  Therefore modalities on this matter shall be finalized by the Hong Kong 
Ministerial.  
6. Ministers recalled that the July 2004 Fr amework states that developing countries will 
designate an appropriate number of SPs on the basi s of food security, livelihood security and rural 
development needs.  Ministers emphasized that th e complex nature of these concepts does not render 
feasible the establishment of a universal criteria for SPs.  They strongly stressed that the selection and 
designation of an appropriate number of SPs must be made with a full appreciation of the domestic 
policy context and circumstances of indivi dual developing countries concerned.  
7. Ministers agreed that agriculture products th at meet the criteria of food security, livelihood 
security and rural development shall be designate d as special products.  They stressed that the 
designation of SPs should reflect the assessment of individual countries regarding the importance of 
specific products for food and livelihood security and rural development.  Ministers emphasized that 
the selection of SPs should be informed by the do mestic circumstances of the developing Member 
concerned as well as be supportive of the overall development policy established by the said Member, 
including measures addressed to enhance the produc tion and export potential of agricultural sectors 
currently at an incipient stage of development. 
8. Ministers directed their negotiators to inte nsify the technical work on special products and 
come up with indicators based on food security, livelihood security, and rural development needs, which would assist developing countries to designate their own special products. 
 
9. Ministers recalled that the July 2004 Framewor k provides that SPs will be eligible for more 
flexible treatment, and that the Framework implies that SPs are neither bound by the formula for tariff 
reductions nor by provisions related to tariff rate quotas (TRQs).  Ministers reiterated that for SPs to 
be an effective instrument, these products must be  exempt from tariff reductions and any commitment 
on TRQs.  Moreover, SPs must have guaranteed acce ss to the SSM.  Finally, Ministers stressed that 
no concessions should be demanded of developing countries in exchange for these flexibilities. 
10. Ministers recognized the fact that the SSM is  equally important for attaining the development 
objectives of developing countries.  They also highlighted the need for SSM to provide more operationally effective remedy fo r developing countries against import surges and price depressions.  WT/L/613 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Ministers recalled that in accordance with the Ju ly framework, the SSM shall be available to all 
developing countries.  
11. As a safeguard mechanism for developing count ries, the SSM must be able to respond to the 
needs and the particular circumstances of i ndividual developing countries and LDCs.  This 
mechanism must take into account their institutional capacities and resources and thus must be simple, 
effective and easy to implement.  
12. Ministers emphasized that the SSM shall be available to all agriculture products.  They 
stressed that in order for the SSM to be operati onally effective, recourse to both volume and price 
triggers for the SSM is extremely important for developing countries.  Ministers stated that linking access to the SSM to the level of tariffs or to commi tments on tariff reductions  on particular product is 
inappropriate because it will undermine the nature and objectives of the SSM.   
13. Ministers view the tariff reduction formula as core to the market access pillar, which can 
greatly influence developing countries effort to safeguard food and livelihood security and rural 
development.  They underlined the need to ensu re that the formula eventually agreed does not 
undermine the concept of special and differential trea tment.  Thus, Ministers recalled that the July 
framework clearly specifies that the tiered appro ach should take into account the different tariff 
structures of Members.  In this regard, the threshol ds for the tiered formula must be carefully designed 
to avoid tariff lines of developing countries being subjected to excessive tariff cuts. 
14. In addition, Ministers recalled that the con cept of harmonization has not been agreed to by 
Members as applied to tariff reductions.  Progressivity  will be achieved by the very structure of the 
tiered formula.  Further, they emphasized the importance of the principle of proportionality and 
reiterated that they will work together towards th e adoption of an appropriate formula which would 
guarantee that the overall tariff reduction by deve loping countries is less than that required for 
developed country members.  
15. Ministers recalled that the July Framework foresees that commitments on TRQs may be 
established for certain categories of products.  Mi nisters, however, noted that most developing 
countries do not have TRQ commitments in their Ur uguay Round schedules.  Ministers, therefore, 
stressed that this situation must be taken into c onsideration in determining the appropriate flexibility 
to be accorded to de veloping countries.  
16. Ministers expressed concerns with the call to reduce developing countries de minimis support 
which constitutes a fundamental policy instrument in  supporting small and resource poor farmers, and 
in addressing food security, livelihood security, and rura l development.  In this context, Ministers 
stressed that it is inappropriate to  ask developing countries to reduce de minimis support as it is one of 
the few avenues they currently have to provide  support to their agricultural sectors in a WTO-
compatible manner.  
17. Ministers agreed to continue fostering close cooperation within the Group and with other 
developing country groupings, including the ACP,  the African Group, the LDCs and the G-20.  
Ministers believe that it is only through the coll ective spirit and close cooperation among developing 
countries that the Development dimension of the Do ha Declaration can be effectively achieved.  
18. Ministers also expressed their readiness to engage constructively with other negotiating 
groups and players for a successful outcome of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. 
19. Ministers agreed to continue close dialogue and enhance the channels of direct 
communication among them, including through regular meetings, in preparation for the Sixth 
Ministerial Conference.  WT/L/613 
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 20. Ministers welcomed the election of the next Director-General of the WTO.  They also 
welcomed the participation of the Chairpers ons of the General Council and the Committee of 
Agriculture in Special Session as special guests.  The involvement of the special guests provided an 
opportunity for Ministers to have an open discu ssion on important developments and issues in the 
negotiations that are of importance to the G-33 .  
21. Ministers thanked the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for organizing this meeting 
and for the warm hospitality of the people of Indonesia.  
 
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