RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
2 March 2006 
 (06-0907) 
Sub-Committee on Cotton  
 
 
 
 
SUMMARY REPORT ON THE NINTH MEETING OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE 
ON COTTON HELD ON 31 JANUARY 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 ninth meeti ng on 31 January 2006 under the chairmanship of 
Ambassador Crawford Fa lconer of New Zealand. 
2. The agenda as contained in WTO/AIR/2742 was adopted. 
ITEM A:  ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS IN THE AGRICULTURE SPECIAL SESSION : SITUATION 
ASSESSMENT IN THE LIGHT OF TH E HONG KONG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION  
(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, in th e light of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
4. A summary of the  statement made by the Chairman is attached to this report (see Annex 1). 
(ii) Statements by Members  
5. Mali congratulated the Chairman, and thanked hi m for his efforts and the work he had done 
for cotton.  Mali also endorsed the statement made by Benin on behalf of the four co-sponsors of the 
Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, and stated  that it too applauded the flexibility shown by all 
parties in Hong Kong in order to avoid a stalemat e.  Mali hoped that, as mentioned by the Chairman, 
the same kind of flexibility would be shown over the coming three months in the run up to the April deadline for modalities.  Finally, Mali join ed in the appeal made by the representative of 
Burkina Faso with regard to the importance of maintaining development-related support measures in 
African cotton producing countries. 
6. The representative of the Europ ean Communities noted that th e European Communities also 
welcomed the results and the progress made in Hong Kong, and thanked all the parties which had 
contributed to that result.  At the same time, Members had to recognize that while Hong Kong did produce a result for cotton, much remained to be  done for a final result.  For example, the 
European Communities noted that it had wanted to  go further than the duty quota free agreement 
reached in market access  for cotton, as not all cotton producin g countries were necessarily LDCs.  
Furthermore, the European Communities noted that there was a lot of work still to be done on the 
                                                     
 
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/9 
Page 2  
 
  domestic support pillar with a number of technical details still to be discussed such as those referred 
to by the Japanese delegation in their intervention.  In that regard, the European Communities 
welcomed the Chairman's stated  readiness to work hard on all remaining issues and to hold 
continuous meetings, with respect to cotton as well. 
7. Brazil reiterated its support to the cotton prod ucing countries and noted that, although a final 
solution to the issue of cotton had not been reac hed in Hong Kong, Brazil recognized and welcomed 
the progress made at the Ministerial Conference.  Br azil did realize the amount of work still ahead of 
Members, and noted its strong commitment to conti nue contributing positively to the negotiations, not 
only itself but also all of the G-20 countries, as had been indicated at the Ag riculture Special Session 
earlier in the month.  In concluding, Brazil stated  that although time was short, it still believed that 
with the necessary political will and the engagement of  the Membership, in particular that of the 
major players, Members would be able to reach a successful result in the agriculture negotiations, in 
particular regarding the cotton issue. 
8. Statements made by the following delegations  were forwarded to the Secretariat and are 
attached to this summary report:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Japan, Nigeria and the United States 
(see Annex 2). 
I
TEM B:  COHERENCE BETWEEN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS : UPDATE ON THE 
DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS  
9. The Chairman recalled that the terms of re ference establishing the Sub-Committee on Cotton 
clearly referred to the need for coherence between trade and development aspects of the cotton issue 
(paragraph a, TN/AG/13 refers). 
(i) Statement by the Secretariat 
10. On behalf of the Secretariat, Mr. Ch iedu Osakwe updated the Sub-Committee on the 
development aspects of cotton, in the light of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
11. The statement made by the Secretariat is att ached to this report (see Annex 3) and will be 
shortly circulated as document TN/AG/SCC/W/5. 
ii) Statements by Observer Internationa l Intergovernmental Organizations 
12. There were no statements by Observer Inte rnational Intergovernmental Organizations. 
iii) Statements by Members 
13. The statement made by Benin is att ached to this report (see Annex 3). 
14. The representative of Burkina Faso supported th e statement made by Benin on behalf of the 
"Cotton-4" and reiterated the importance of establishi ng a mechanism to deal with income declines to 
compensate cotton-producing countries for the losses su ffered as a result of subsidies.  Burkina Faso 
reassured trade partners that this was not a perm anent mechanism and that following the completion 
of the negotiations and the establishment of measu res eliminating export subsidies and abolishing 
domestic price supports for cotton, the mechanism would be terminated. 
15. Burkina Faso also noted that coherence betw een the trade and development aspects of cotton 
required that development assistance for the cotton sector be granted to producing countries, as there 
was no point in struggling to obtain access to availabl e markets if one had no product to offer.  It was 
therefore also necessary to continue providing suppor t for the sector, so that discussions in the Sub-
Committee did not prove to be in vain.  Burkina Fa so asked development partners - who had already  TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
 Page 3 
 
 
  made a number of efforts, to continue to do so  on the development aspects of cotton, to prevent 
African cotton producing countries from loosing what was for some of them, the only product of value they could bring to the market.  Indeed, th e loss of cotton would mean losing a major segment 
of some of these countries' economies and w ould entail well known dramatic consequences. 
16. In concluding, Burkina Faso said that it encourag ed Members which could do so to visit, as 
the Chairman himself had done, some African co tton producing countries and see for themselves how 
cotton farmers on the field were struggling to cope .  The situation was a truly difficult one and 
justified the need for farmers to continue receiving some measures of support. 
17. 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  
Date of the Next Meeting 
18. The Chairman announced that the next m eeting of the Sub-Committee was tentatively 
scheduled for 28 February 2006. 
Chairman's Report to the Special S ession of the Committee on Agriculture 
19. 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/9 
Page 4  
 
  Annex 1
 
 
Statement by Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand 
at the Ninth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 31 January 2006 
 
 
Agenda Item 2(A):  Assessment of Progress in the Agriculture Special Session  
   I do not see that there is a great deal of purpo se in giving you my own personal reflections on 
where we are and I intend instead to open the floo r, to give as much time as possible to you as 
delegations to make any remarks that you wish to ma ke.  All I want to say are some obvious things to 
those of you who were in Honk Kong, and you were  all of course represented in one way or another 
there.  I think it is pretty clear that we have ma de some degree of progress in Hong Kong on the item.  
Obviously like other parts of the negotiation, we have some considerable way to go in order to 
discharge the terms of the Doha declaration.  I thi nk that we have a certain degree of clarity which is 
quite welcomed on the question of export competiti on, and I think we have, I would say, at least 
clarified the situation as regards what we are end eavouring to do on domestic support to some degree.  
I think we will be much plainer and clearer on what it is that we collectively understand that we are 
going to do and I think that is probably helpful to our process.  And indeed, on the market access 
aspects again, we also have clarity on that pillar. 
 
 As you all know, we have just had the first meeting of the Ag Week for the negotiations on 
agriculture more generally.  My sense of those di scussions was that there was what I would call 
probably a greater awareness on the part of delegations  of the need to have what I would call a more 
precise and focused and organized discussion in the period we have through to the completion of 
modalities at the end of April.  I took very careful  note, from those discussions, of the very clear 
reiteration and confirmation of that deadline on the part of delegations and I think it was clear from 
the discussions that we had together, both in the informal session and in various other informal 
configurations that I was involved in last week, that  there was a pretty clear sense as far as I can see 
that we needed to get those discu ssions recorded as we move forward because if we take account of 
the amount of time, we have as very little opportunity to progress both the political and the technical 
issues, and then we need to be very efficient in how  we operate to make sure that the progress that we 
need to make in an iterative way is consolidated as we go.  And I have undertaken to assist that 
process by having some focused discussions on what  I have tried to sense as key questions for 
delegations.  To begin that process was not to end it because to end it requires us to address all of the 
matters that are covered by modalities.  We do need to start somewhere, and I think there is a kind of 
an almost natural order of things which are derived of the Hong Kong Declaration and suggest 
themselves reasonably clearly, but of course not to the exclusion of other things.   That has a bearing evidently on the cotton qu estion, both in terms of how we move forward 
and I would see that process obviously encompassing co tton, and indeed doing so in the terms of the 
Doha Declaration and what we sp ecifically agreed in Hong Kong, and taking into account the very 
clear terms of the Framework of July 2004, none of  which has changed but were clarified by what we 
have done at Hong Kong.  Those references remain th e key documents for moving us forward, and for 
prioritising cotton.   So I would clearly envisage that on the cotton issue, that the process that I would chair for 
agriculture will remain faithful to that mandate and carry it forward, and I am sure you all feel the 
same way.  We have indeed some fairly explicit instructions from Ministers in Hong Kong as to what 
we are doing and that would undoubtedly make things, I would hope, I would not say easier but 
enable us to move on to a next level of decision making prior to April.   TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
 Page 5 
 
 
   That is all I wanted to say at the commenc ement.  I do want to give the floor to you as 
Members to react to where we are.  I am acutely conscious and this applies as much for cotton as for 
anything else, that we have a very small amount of time left.  As I said in the agriculture discussions 
and I will repeat it here because I think it is better repeating, we will not achieve what we have said 
that we would achieve if we simply rely on formal  and informal meetings because they just simply 
would not be enough time.  Even if you have three m eetings of agriculture and three meetings of the 
Cotton Sub-Committee, you will not do all that needs to be done those few days each time.  We will 
have to have a virtually continuous process at least from the time that we meet in February.  This is 
just a judgment one can only make based on the number of  days left and the amount of issues we need to resolve. 
 
 So we all have to engage in serious discussi ons and I do not doubt for a minute that whatever 
we do, important as it is, it will have to always be a derivative of or secondary to the level of political 
discussions that are really needed to move these ne gotiations forward.  And that has seemed to be 
absolutely paramount, and if ever anybody had an y doubt of that, I can say based on the Hong Kong 
experience, and indeed as relates to cotton itself,  the progress that we made was only possible with 
Ministerial involvement.  Ministerial involvement do es not always have to be personal because it can 
be conveyed through officials, even sometimes th rough ambassadors here.  Ho wever, if Hong Kong is 
anything to go by, I still think that the personal invol vement is probably realistically the one in which 
things really are done and we would not have made the progress that we did make in Hong Kong on the cotton issue without Ministers being in the room, and taking those decisions among themselves, 
sometimes at the very last minute.  And I think the real key challenge is to make sure that everything 
does not happen at the last minute this time around.    TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
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  Annex 2
 
 
Statements at the Ninth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 31 January 2006 
  
Agenda Item 2(A):  Assessment of Progress in the Agriculture Special Session
 
 
 
Statement by Benin  
 
 
 I thank you on behalf of the co-sponsors of th e sectoral initiative in favour of cotton for the 
update you have just given us on th e consultations held in recent days and weeks in the context of the 
agriculture negotiations, and more spec ifically with regard to cotton. 
 
 It is clear from this assessment that we have  an individual and collective duty to work towards 
giving effect to the decisions adopted in Hong K ong within the time-frame established for us by the 
Ministers in respect of agriculture in general and cotton in particular.   This is all the more true for cotton since the mandate on the commercial aspect of this issue is 
extremely explicit. 
 
 This mandate gives us precise guidelines which will enable us to provi de a concrete response 
to the cotton issue.   I should therefore like to set out below the vision and approach shared by the co-sponsors of 
the sectoral initiative in favour of cotton on the action we  need to take in the coming days in order to 
meet the deadline of end-April 2006 for the elaboration of modalities on cotton.  
1. Cotton export subsidies 
 
 In accordance with the decision adopted by th e Ministers in Hong Kong regarding this pillar, 
"export subsidies for cotton will be elim inated by developed countries in 2006 ". 
  In this area therefore, our task will be to spur action by the organs and mechanisms responsible for supervising im plementation of this measure. 
 
 If the expected results are to be achieved, the WTO technical services will need to deploy 
appropriate technical, analytical and statistical tools.   They should do so in collaboration with othe r competent structures and institutions such as 
UNCTAD, the FAO, the International Trade Centre , the World Bank, the International Monetary 
Fund, the International Cotton Advisory Committee, etc. 
 
 The developed countries concerned should also be  invited to provide in formation on measures 
they have taken to implement this decision of the Ministerial Conference.     In this connection, a deadline should be set for verifying compliance with the above-
mentioned measure. 
 
2. Domestic support for cotton 
 
 The Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration provides that "trade-distorting domestic subsidies 
for cotton production will be more quickly and amb itiously reduced than the general formula to be  TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
 Page 7 
 
 
  agreed.  The modalities for domestic support will be im plemented over a shorter period of time than 
that generally applicable for agriculture ... ". 
 
 The work that we are to carry out in the comi ng days should enable us to elaborate precise 
and specific modalities under this pillar, on the basis of the three criteria mentioned above, namely:  
ambition, expeditiousness and specificity. 
  Work on this pillar should be accelerated as everything still remains to be done.   The co-sponsors of the sectoral initiative in favo ur of cotton will in the next few days be 
submitting specific proposals consistent with the decision adopted by the Ministers in Hong Kong 
concerning domestic support for cotton. 
 
3. Market access 
  The third pillar that we have decided to addr ess in respect of the commercial aspects of cotton 
is market access.   Indeed, the Ministers decided that "developed countries will give duty and quota free access 
for cotton exports from least developed count ries (LDCs) from the commencement of the 
implementation period". 
  The LDC cotton producers expect their devel oped country partners to operationalize this 
decision at the earliest.   The views and suggestions I have put forward reflect the wishes of the co-sponsors of the 
sectoral initiative in favour of cotton with rega rd to how they envisage ongoing work in the post-
Hong Kong phase.   We must move forward on this major issue in the ongoing negotiations.   We count on the cooperation of all concerned. 
 
 TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
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  Statement by Burkina Faso
 
   It is a pleasure for me to take the floor at this first meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton in 
2006.  I take this opportunity to wi sh you and your families every happiness for the new year.  I thank 
you once again for the willingness and personal commitmen t you have shown in addressing this issue.  
We remain convinced that you will succeed in pus hing forward the negotiations on agriculture, and 
particularly, on cotton.  Above all, I would like to endorse the statements by the representative of the 
African Group, by Benin on behalf of the sponsors of the Initiative, and by the representative of the 
LDCs.  Mr. Chairman, as you know, the results of the Hong Kong meeting fall short of our 
expectations and cannot, therefore, be  said to represent substantial progress. 
  Indeed, as regards the trade aspect , the following decisions were taken in Hong Kong: 
  - All forms of export subsidies for cotton will be eliminated in 2006; 
 
 - cotton exports from the least developed count ries will be given duty- and quota-free access 
from the commencement of the implementation period; 
 
 - trade-distorting domestic subsidies will be reduced more ambitiously than under whatever 
general formula is agreed, and this should be implemented over a shorter period of time 
than generally applicable. 
  What does this mean?  That without a result in agriculture, there is no hope for the cotton 
issue that is supposed to be addressed ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically.  
 Regarding the development aspect , I welcome the WTO's decision to step up its efforts to 
help the cotton producing countries.  However, I w ould like to see concrete measures taken to reform 
the cotton market in order to ensure the survival of this sector of activity so vital to our economies and 
to the millions of farmers that depend on it for a liv ing.  I hope that Members will move very quickly 
to set up the mechanism provided for under the H ong Kong Ministerial Declaration to enable our 
countries to deal with income  declines in the cotton sector. 
 
 We accepted these results as proof of our determination to see the negotiations move forward.  We trust, therefore, that we will not be disappoint ed, and that our concerns will be taken into account 
in the modalities to be developed by 30 April of th is year.  In any case, you can rely on our very 
active participation in the discussions that w ill soon be taking place on all of these matters. 
  TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
 Page 9 
 
 
  Statement by Cuba  
   The delegation of Cuba reiterates its suppor t for the proposals of the cotton producing 
countries - most of them African under-developed a nd least developed countries - and for their well-
founded demand that the mandate contained in the Ge neral Council Decision of July 2004 (the July 
Package) to address the cotton issue ambitiously , expeditiously and specifically be fulfilled. 
  As has been said repeatedly in this and other forums, it is a matter of life or death for the 
producing countries. 
 
 In eight sessions of this body and slightly more  than a year and a half, very little has been 
accomplished towards compliance with that General Council Decision of July 2004. 
  At the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, it w as decided that cotton export subsidies would 
be eliminated.  However, these barely represent 10 per cent of the subsidies granted by the leading 
world economic power.   Moreover, this is not a concession, but an ob ligation under a ruling of the Dispute Settlement 
Body that was not complied with.  
 In Hong Kong, we also obtained a certain level of commitment from the developed countries 
to reduce their trade distorting domestic subsidies fo r cotton more rapidly and more ambitiously than 
under whatever general formula is agre ed in the agriculture modalities. 
  However, rather than negotiating progress on cotton separately, the issue was linked to the 
results of the agriculture negotiati ons, which could well be uncertain. 
  At the same time, the call by the cotton-gr owing countries for the establishment of an 
emergency compensation fund has gone unheeded.   My delegation hopes that we will be able to fi nd a rapid solution to the serious trade problems 
facing the cotton-producing countries and that the Sub-Committee will gradually produce results so 
that this Round of negotiations can end on a satis factory note and give concrete form to the 
commitments assumed by our governments at different international summits and conferences to reduce poverty and pay special attention to the prob lems of Africa and the least developed countries. 
 
 TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
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  Statement by Japan
 
   We welcome the decisions taken in Hong Kong,  namely the elimination of export subsidies 
during 2006, the offer of duty and quota free access for the least developed countries, and the more 
ambitious reduction of dom estic subsidies than under the general formula. 
  It seems to us that the focus of our future wo rk should now be how to work out the details for 
reducing the domestic subsidies.  
 We support the decision that was made in Hong Kong, given the importance of cotton for the 
economies of the developing countries, and in particular  the LDCs of West Africa.  More specifically, 
we are convinced that in reality, certain domestic subs idies have the same effect  as export subsidies.  
Since export subsidies are to be eliminated, domestic  subsidies will have to be reduced more sharply 
to limit the distortion affecting trade in cotton, thereby contributing to the development of the 
developing countries that are highly dependent on cotton.   In this connection, we must address, in our 
future work, the details of domes tic subsidy reduction while closely monitoring the discussions taking 
place in the general negotiations on agriculture.    TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Statement by Nigeria  
  
"Ambition is good only if it is about development, but ambition must not be used as a 
smokescreen". 
 
The most severe and intractable poverty in the worl d is in Africa, south of the Sahara.  Nearly 
half of all the people there live in absolute povert y with income less than $1 per day.  If the present 
trends continues, two of the most fundamental de velopment goals set by the United Nations will not 
be met by the target year of 2015. 
 
To avert this disaster, we must demonstrate gr eater flexibilities to address the concerns of the 
Cotton proponents.  The way to kick start and s upport self sustaining growth and employment in our 
view, is to respond positively and decisively to the clarion call. 
 
Finally, for obvious reasons, we are in solidarit y with the previous speakers, particularly, 
those who wear the shoes and know where the shoes pinches. 
 TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
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  Statement by the United States
 
   First, we want to thank all of the countri es that worked tirelessly in Hong Kong to reach a 
successful accord on the core cotton issues. 
 
 We put a great deal of time and effort into this issue in Hong Kong, and were pleased to do so 
given the importance that the affect ed countries attach to this issue,  and we were able to achieve 
concrete results.  
 The United States is pleased that we were ab le to make progress on all aspects of the cotton 
issue in Hong Kong.   We have an early end-date for cotton export subsidies of 2006 - instead of the 2013 end date 
for other export subsidies. 
 
 In Hong Kong we also achieved duty free quot a free market access for cotton originating in 
least-developed countries (LDCs).   On domestic support issues, we reached a political  commitment to do more and faster cuts for 
the cotton sector.  However, th e specifics for cotton will depend on what we negotiate for all 
agricultural modalities in April. 
  As agreed in the July 2004 Framework, this i ssue is part of the agricultural negotiations and 
the negotiations as a whole are a single "undertaking" .  This should not be cause for concern as we are 
strongly committed to concluding the negotiations by  the end of this year, and a recent high-level 
meeting, with other members, provided assura nce that this commitment is widely shared. 
  If we can apply the good spirit we found in Hong Kong to the more difficult issues that remain, in this issue as well as others, we can achieve good results.    TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Annex 3  
 
Statements at the Ninth Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cotton held on 31 January 2006 
 
 
Agenda Item 2(B):  Coherence Between Trade and Development Aspects:  
Update on the Development Aspects of Cotton   
 
 
Statement by the Secretariat  
 
 
At this meeting, the Secretariat statement on  the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton 
will be brief.  I wish to highlight a few main points.  
The Mandate for action on the Development As sistance Aspects of Cotton continues to be 
based on paragraph 1.b of the 2004 July Framework Decision by the General Council.  This Mandate 
was reaffirmed, elaborated and extended, in some r espects, in paragraph 12 of the Declaration adopted 
by Ministers at Hong Kong.    
Broadly, Ministers in Hong Kong noted the Periodic Reports by the Director-General and the 
positive evolution of combined efforts on the develo pment assistance aspects of cotton. The Director-
General was urged to intensify his efforts in sev eral areas with bilateral donors, multilateral and 
regional institutions.  The development community  was urged to scale up his efforts on cotton 
development assistance and to support the efforts of the Director-General.  Ministers acknowledged 
the importance of promoting South-South cooperation for transfer of technology in support of the 
cotton proponents.  Ministers invited the Director-G eneral to furnish a Third Periodic Report to the 
next Ministerial Session, with updates at appropr iate intervals to the General Council and with 
progress reports to the Sub-Committee on Cotton, in  accordance with current reporting practices.  
Although there is scope for further action, in all, the results have been welcomed and have deepened 
confidence.  
The Director-General is already seized with all asp ects of this mandate and is keen to step up 
efforts in continued implementation of the Mandate  in the 2004 July Framework Package and in the 
Decisions by Ministers in paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.   
 
The Director-General has already initiated wide-ranging contacts with several of the involved 
parties, including with the cotton proponents.  In  recent consultations with the African Group, the 
ACP and the Least-Developed Countries Consulta tive Group, the Director-General has clearly 
conveyed the priority he attaches to this item and the intensified follow-up action that he intends to 
undertake, such as in direct Head s of Agency level contacts with the World Bank and the IMF, the 
relevant regional institutions, and the entire deve lopment community, on all aspects of the Mandate. 
 
The Director-General has also requested Mr. Stuart Harbinson, his DDA Special Adviser, to 
reconvene the Director-General's Consultative Framework (CF) on Cotton Development Assistance.  
In this regard, the next round of consultations  on the development aspects of cotton has been 
convened for 16 February, at 9 a.m.     
The objective of these consultations will essentially be  to verify the status of current declared 
and pledged contributions , determine the actual operational state of programmes and projects, and 
seek additionality, pursuant to the Mandate.  The propone nts, as in the past, will be invited to continue 
to report on domestic action to ensure effectivenes s of the cotton development assistance that is 
provided. TN/AG/SCC/R/9 
Page 14  
 
  Statement by Benin 
 
   The co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton thank you for your opening remarks. 
 
 We also thank the WTO Secretariat, the bila teral, multilateral and regional partners for the 
information they have just given us on what they have done with a view to mobilizing technical and 
financial assistance in order to strengthen the African cotton sector.   It will be recalled that in support of the r ecommendations of the WTO Regional Workshop in 
Cotonou on 23 and 24 March 2004 and the WTO Gene ral Council decisions of late July 2004 on the 
development aspect of the cotton issue, the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005, also adopted decisions on the development aspect of cotton.  It is 
important to bear these decisions in mind, so that  we can jointly consider how to begin working on 
this other dimension of the cotton issue. 
 
 In one of their decisions, the Ministers urge the Director-General "...to further intensify his 
consultative efforts with bilatera l donors and with multilateral and regi onal institutions, with emphasis 
on improved coherence, coordinatio n and enhanced implementation and to explore the possibility of 
establishing through such institutions a mechanism to deal with income declines in the cotton 
sector...". 
 
 We would like to re-emphasize yet again how im portant and necessary it is to establish such a 
mechanism, in view of the devastating effects of th e dramatic and structural decline in cotton prices in 
the international market on the economies and popul ations of African cotton-producing countries. 
 
 In the face of this situation, we should work together to make rapid provision in institutional 
and methodological terms for the organization of a safety network beneficial for the African cotton 
sector.   Contributions from all sides are necessary if we are to achieve this objective.  
 The discussions that took place at the seminar organized in Cotonou in June 2005 by the 
International Monetary Fund on the macroeconomic im pact of the decline in global market prices on 
cotton, the decisions taken last autumn by th e Development Committee of the IMF and the World 
Bank at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings to set up a facility for dealing with exogenous 
shocks, the proposals put forward for the management of risks associated with cotton price 
fluctuations, and other relevant contributions from cotton-produci ng countries, developed countries 
and international and regional orga nizations will be useful for our jo int reflection and the prospective 
proposals for the establishment of the cotton mechanism recommended by the Ministers. 
 
We encourage the WTO Director-General to pur sue his consultations on the subject with the 
bilateral and multilateral partners and the regional and sub-regional organizations and meanwhile to 
keep us informed of the results of steps taken. 
 
Lastly, we would make the same recommendations regarding the establishment of the 
committee to follow up and monitor implementation of the decisions of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference on the cotton issue.  Such a body will he lp us evaluate progress made in our proceedings 
on the cotton issue. 
 
__________