RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CTE/M/39 
2 May 2005 
 
 (05-1762) 
Committee on Trade and Environment  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 22 FEBRUARY 2005 
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
  
1. The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE Regular) met on 22 February 2005 under 
the Chairmanship of Ambassador Naéla Gabr (Egypt).  The following agenda, proposed in 
WTO/AIR/2487, dated 26 January 2005, was adopted: 
I.
 PARAGRAPH 32................................................................................................................... ...1 
A. PARAGRAPH  32(I)  (MARKET  ACCESS) ...............................................................................1  
1. Market Access .................................................................................................................. .........1  
2. Sector analysis ("win-win-win")..............................................................................................6  
B. PARAGRAPH  32(II)  (TRIPS)....................................................................................................7  
C. PARAGRAPH  32(III)  (LABELLING).......................................................................................7  
II. PARAGRAPH 33................................................................................................................... ...8 
1. Environmenta l Reviews.......................................................................................................... ..8 
2. Technical Assistance and Capacity Building..........................................................................8  
III. PARAGRAPH 51................................................................................................................... ...8 
IV. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON ..........................................................................................9  
V. OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................. .9 
 
I. PARAGRAPH 32 
A. PARAGRAPH  32(I)  (MARKET  ACCESS) 
The effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to developing 
countries, in particular the least-developed am ong them, and those situations in which the 
elimination or reduction of trade restric tions and distortions w ould benefit trade, the 
environment and development.  
1. Market Access 
2. The Chairperson  recalled that at the previous meeting, held on 14 October 2004, the 
Committee had held discussions based on the subm ission from India, entitled "the Effects of 
Environmental Measures on Market Access, Especia lly in Relation to Developing Countries, in 
Particular the Least-developed Among Them" ( document WT/CTE/W/207, dated 21 May 2002) and 
the submission from the European Communities (EC), entitled "Addressing the Concerns of 
Developing Countries on the Effects of Enviro nmental Measures on Market Access" (document WT/CTE/M/39 
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 WT/CTE/W/239, dated 12 October 2004).  There had b een general support in adopting an approach to 
move forward the discussion based on practical experi ence with concrete elements, and a number of 
delegations had expressed their interest in exch anging national experiences in the various areas of 
environmental requirements and market access issues. 
3. At the informal session of this meeting, she had taken the opportunity to seek views from 
delegations on how to move forward the discussi ons on Paragraph 32(i).  Aiming at facilitating 
discussions, she had, under her own responsibility, su mmarized briefly the elements of the discussion 
held so far.  From her observation, the following areas had emerged:  first, the area of effects of environmental measures on market access, in particular, market access problems faced by developing countries;  second, "process issues" in the area of transparency, notification and consultation 
procedures to provide concrete information to exporters from third countries to increase their 
awareness of new environmental requirements and to  improve their market access opportunities;  and 
third, technical assistance to assist developing countries in complying with new environmental requirements.  Moreover, there was a fourth area wi th respect to issues concerning the preparation of 
environmental measures, such as designing enviro nmental measures in a ma nner consistent with 
WTO rules and in the least trade restrictive manner,  to take into account the special financial and 
trade needs of developing countries, and also the issues of equivalence and impact assessment. 
4. From the discussion at the informal meeting, she believed that delega tions were generally 
supportive of structuring the discussion.  The question was how to do this.  She suggested that one starting point could be national experience sharing, since it was only through concrete cases that the 
CTE could understand the nature of the issues.  Sh e emphasized that a structured approach was not 
intended to give priority to any of the topics, a nd that the discussion should not duplicate or prejudice 
the work being done in the Committe e on Technical Barriers to Trade. 
5. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 noted that the common theme running through the 
four highlighted areas was the concern expressed by  developing countries on the adverse trade impact 
resulting from environmental requirements in deve loped countries.  She supported the Chair's 
suggestion of studying practical examples so as to assist  focussed discussion, as well as to obtain a 
better understanding of the relevant issues.   
6. The representative of Canada  recalled that his delegation ha d submitted a paper on the Work 
Programme of the CTE (document WT/CTE/W/23 4, dated 19 March 2004), which put forward a 
proposal aimed at focussing and structuring the C TE discussions, i.e. to seek agreement informally 
among delegations, for the foreseeable future, to sp end a certain amount of time in a particular 
meeting on a specific sub-item of the CTE agenda.  The objective had been to assist delegations to 
obtain a certain sense of what would be the likely t opics for discussion so as to be better prepared for 
meetings.  He regretted that no consensus had been  reached on Canada's proposal.  He noted that the 
present Chair's proposal had suggested a similar approach to the discussion of Paragraph 32(i).  His delegation would support this approach.  Moreover, he believed that it should be applied broadly to 
cover other items of the CTE Work Programme, so that  other items could also be taken up at specific 
future meetings.  This would provide similar treatme nt to the various parts of the CTE mandate, such 
as Paragraphs 32(i), 32(ii), 32(iii), 33 or 51, without pr ioritizing any of them.  He believed that when 
it came to the focussed discussion of Paragraph 32( i), delegations could use the Chair's summary as a 
guide to frame the discussion or to make submissions .  He invited other delegations to agree on this 
type of structured discussion not only for Paragraph 32(i), but also for the other items of the CTE 
agenda.  
7. The representative of the European Communities
 recalled that efforts had been made by his 
delegation to facilitate the discussion in the CTE on the effect of environmental measures on market 
access, and a submission had been made in 2004.  He could not understand why there was a lack of 
engagement in the Committee for such discussion, wh ile there was no lack of bilateral contact seeking  WT/CTE/M/39 
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 ad hoc solutions in this regard.  In his view, Members should use the CTE as the forum to discuss 
these issues, and to develop a common understanding on how best to address some of the environmental requirements which could, but should not, create market access problems.  He believed that it could be useful to focu s, at each meeting, on one of the four areas identified by the 
Chairperson.  However, he emphasized the need fo r the tools which would bring forth the relevant 
information for the discussion.   
8. In the area on market access problems faced by developing countries, he highlighted the need 
to obtain a systematic picture of the problems.  He suggested that Members who had problems could 
come forward with substantial information, and th at the Secretariat could prepare an inventory of 
these.  In terms of input, he also made reference to the relevant work undertaken in UNCTAD.  He 
noted that environmental requirements in the fl ower and seed sectors, as well as in the area of 
chemicals, had been brought up, and suggested that  waste management could be another sector of 
interest.     
9. Referring to the areas of "process issues", he recalled the EC submission, and believed that 
the debate would move forward only if others Members studied the paper, commented on the EC 
process, or provided information on their own practi ce.  The Committee could then try to find out 
what could be the optimal practice, or what could be the guidance to give to regu lators in this respect.  
Other ways of obtaining the material needed for the discussion would be for Members to bring forward papers, or the Secretariat to send out quest ionnaires with a view to extracting the relevant 
information.  Another way would be to look in to the work being done in other international 
organizations, such as the UNCTAD Consultative Task Force.  
10. In the area of technical assistance, he noted the existing relevant inventories.  In order to add 
value to the debate in the Committee, the informati on needed to be brought back to the CTE.  This 
included information on who was doing what to assist developing countries in capacity building to meet the environmental requirements, or to provide  them with information, such as on how to obtain 
eco-labels in export markets.  The Committee could then look into what could be the best way to 
deliver assistance in terms of the information needed , specific capacity building needs, or in terms of 
export promotion.   
11. In the area of preparation of environmental me asures in the legislative processes, he believed 
that information was needed regard ing how legislation was prepared, if there existed opportunities for 
consultations, or if the early warning procedures in the context of the TBT Agreement were being 
followed.  The Secretariat could assist in finding out what Members' practices were in place, and this 
could include information on how many draft regulati ons of Members had been notified at an early 
appropriate stage to the TBT Committee in the last y ears, or how many of them had been made public 
in other fora.   
12. He concluded that even if the Committee could agree on a more structured agenda, it needed 
the necessary inputs and substantive material on whic h to base its discussion, and this had to come 
from Members or some other sources.  Instead of ad hoc bilateral consultations, Members should seek 
ways in the CTE to find possible horizontal solutions  to improve the situation, since the amount of 
environmental requirements would not diminish. 
13. The representative of Qatar
 welcomed the Chair's summary, since it reflected the complexity 
of the issues under the Paragraph 32(i) discussion.  He believed that the CTE should try to resolve 
these issues, although it would take time.  The C TE could focus on developing countries' market 
access difficulties, and developing country Members could inform the Committee of the trade impact 
and problems they faced or foresaw regarding en vironmental requirements in specific sectors.  A 
possible way forward would be to adopt a sectoral  approach and focus on three or four relevant 
aspects, such as possible techni cal assistance for developing countries to meet environmental WT/CTE/M/39 
Page 4  
 
 requirements.  This approach would be more effective and efficient than dealing with the issues in an 
ad hoc manner. 
14. The representative of Venezuela
 appreciated the Chair's summary and her attempts to try to 
structure the debate in paragraph 32(i).  He said th at the problem faced by developing countries with 
respect to environmental measures, in particular t hose in developed countries, was a lack of trust and 
confidence.  In this respect, it was not only devel oping countries which required technical assistance, 
but also developed countries, in the preparation of  environmental measures.  His country had been 
affected by environmental measures which he consider ed inconsistent with WTO rules.  He gave the 
example of the tuna, reformulated gasoline and sh rimp cases, and the problems resulting from energy 
measures put in place in developed countries.  He had doubts on the actual rational behind those 
measures, which adversely affected the trade of developing countries.   
15. The representative of Egypt  found that the Chair's summary c ould serve as a basis for starting 
a structured discussion in the coming meetings.  He  suggested starting with the area concerning the 
effects of environmental measures on market access.  He referred to the outcome of the UNCTAD workshops on flowers and horticultural products, a nd believed that delegati ons could identify other 
sectors, such as the energy sector highlighted by Qata r.  He invited other delegations to share their 
national experience in this respect.  Regarding the area of technical assistance, he noted that the 
transfer of technology was an important element. 
16. The representative of Korea
 appreciated the Chair's summary, and believed that it could assist 
delegations in framing their thoughts under Paragra ph 32(i).  He shared the EC's view on the 
importance of substantive inputs, and that the four areas identified could facilitate the flow of inputs 
in this regard.  However, he found the four areas cl osely interlinked, and did not find it practical to 
discuss them in isolation.  For example, market  access problems faced by developing countries might 
derive from process issues as well as the preparati on of  regulations, and the solution could be found 
in either providing more transpar ency, technical assistance, or opportunities for participation in the 
preparation of the environmental regulations con cerned.  He invited further thought on the best 
practical way to move the discussion forward, and shared Canada's view on holding focussed 
discussions on each sub-item of the CTE agenda. 
17. The representative of Ecuador  found the Chair's summary well structured, since it summed up 
the various suggestions made by Members.  She be lieved that the four areas identified were important, 
and, particularly, the issue of market access, since environmental requirements often adversely affected Ecuador's major exports.  Regarding the sectoral approach to study environmental 
requirements and their impact, she noted that flowers and seeds were the sectors in which developing 
countries had difficulties with regard to market access.   On technical assistance, she believed that an 
exchange of experience from beneficiaries and dono rs would be useful.  Concerning the preparation 
of environmental measures, she shared the vi ew expressed by Venezuela on their legitimate 
objectives, and found that these measures were of ten used to discriminate against products from 
certain areas and into certain markets. 
18. The representative of the United States
 found the Chair's summary helpful.  She shared the 
view expressed by Korea that many of these issu es appeared to be inter-linked, and it was not 
necessary to discuss them in isolation.  She did not  see the need for the Comm ittee to agree formally 
on a certain structure, although she found that the elements identified coul d facilitate delegations' 
thoughts for future meetings, such as in putting forward thoughts or papers based on a sectoral 
approach. 
19. The representative of Argentina  recalled that the CTE had had Paragraph 32(i) on its agenda 
since 2001, and regretted that there had been few subs tantive contributions.  At the last meeting, there 
had been a positive discussion.  However, it had be en unstructured.  For this, he found the Chair's  WT/CTE/M/39 
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 ideas to move the discussion forward helpful and rele vant.  He was concerned that if the Committee 
were to continue its discussion in an unstructu red way, there would not be much progress.  He 
believed that Paragraph 32(i) issues deserved consider ation, in particular, fo r developing countries, 
since there were situations when developing coun tries' exports were affected by environmental 
measures.  He shared the view that any progress to be made would depend on substantive inputs from 
delegations.   
20. The representative of Brazil  supported the Chair's efforts aimed at moving the discussion 
forward.  He shared the concerns expressed by Arge ntina, Egypt and Venezuela.  He noted that the 
Chair's proposal on a structured debate referred only to the first part of paragraph 32(i), and 
specifically to the issue of market access.  Paragr aph 32(i) also covered situations in which the 
elimination or reduction of trade restrictions and di stortions would benefit trade, the environment and 
development.   
21. The representative of China  generally agreed with the listing of the four areas in the Chair's 
summary.  While Members were encouraged to shar e experiences in these areas, he found it important 
to mobilize resources from other inter-governmental  organizations, such as UNCTAD, UNEP and the 
OECD with respect to their relevant research and findings. 
22. The representative of Canada  observed that there seemed to be  an interest among delegations 
in holding a focussed discussion on Paragraph 32(i) , although there was a wish not to isolate or 
categorize the issues within that sub-paragraph.  The solution would be for delegations to agree 
amongst themselves informally that, at the forthcomi ng July meeting, they might focus their thoughts 
on issues related to Paragraph 32(i), whether it concer ned preparing submissions or statements.  If this 
kind of informal arrangement for Paragraph 32(i) discussion proved useful, upon agreement by 
Members, a similar approach could be  applied to subsequent sub-items in future meetings.  He agreed 
with the Chairperson that the CTE needed to st art somewhere for a focussed discussion, and starting 
with Paragraph 32(i) made sense both numerically and s ubstantively, given the interest in this subject 
in the Committee.   
23. The Chairperson  concluded that starting a structured discussion and an exchange of national 
experience within the context of Paragraph 32(i) coul d be a pragmatic way to arrive at a more fruitful 
discussion.  As stated by a number of delegations , there was no need for a formal agreement.  
Delegations could prepare the next meeting with the idea of focussing on Paragraph 32(i).  The WTO 
was a member-driven organization, and it was up  to Members to revitalize the work and the 
discussions in the Committee.     
24. The representative of UNCTAD  updated the CTE on recent UNCTAD activities on the 
interface of environmental requirements and ma rket access, which included information on the 
Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requ irements and Market Access for Developing 
Countries (CTF);  the UNCTAD Trade and Environment Review 2005 with a focus on findings of the recent country and sectoral studies on environmental re quirements and market access;  the stakeholder 
discussion on the draft REACH regulation organized by UNCTAD and the Foundation for 
International Environmental Law and Develo pment (FIELD);  and the UNCTAD/FAO/IFOAM 
International Task Force on Harmonization and Equi valence in Organic Agriculture.  (The statement 
is contained in document WT/CTE/GEN/18). 
25. The  representative of Egypt
 highlighted that Paragraph 32(i) was of particular interest to 
developing countries.  However, in the last thr ee years there had been only two submissions from 
Members, namely India and the EC.  He was concer ned about the lack of progress in the discussion.  
In order to ensure substantive discussion at the fo rthcoming meeting, he invited other Members to 
study the recent UNCTAD findings and outcomes of  workshops on environmental requirements and 
market access with a view to holding a focussed  discussion based on those reports.  He noted that WT/CTE/M/39 
Page 6  
 
 those reports could be downloaded from the Trad e, Environment and Development web site of 
UNCTAD. 
26. The representative of the European Communities
, referring to the stakeholder discussion on 
the draft REACH regulation, said that the event ha d been organized and funded by the EC and its 
member States with a view to setting an example of  transparency.  It provided an opportunity for 
stakeholders, including representatives from NGOs, the private sector and main exporting companies 
from developing countries, to discuss the practical imp lications of the draft regulation.  Explanations 
had also been provided by the Commission on that occasion.  He believed this could be a type of 
benchmarking activity that other Members might wish to discuss on it's usefulness.   
27. Referring to the extended impact assessment on the draft REACH regulation, he noted that it 
had been seen as not having paid the necessary attention to the impacts on developing countries.  He 
explained that the assessment was an internal policy tool for EC decision makers to study all elements 
of the chemical legislation, including human health  and life issues involved.  Trade impact was only 
one of the elements studied, and the study covered both the exporting and importing countries in the EU.  Part of the exercise involved consultations w ith, and gathering views from developing countries 
on the draft.   
28. He shared the sentiment expressed by Egypt on th e way forward.  He noted that the on-going 
Doha negotiations were the priority  of delegations, and it could be difficult to obtain extra resources 
to prepare for work outside the negotiation items.  However, one should not stop the discussion on non-negotiated items where there was a lot of interest.  He agreed with the proposal made by Egypt on 
studying the recent UNCTAD findings.  However, he did not wish the draft REACH regulation to be 
included, since the legislation was not yet in place, and much work had been done on it.  Instead, he 
referred to the UNCTAD findings on the seed and flower sectors.   
29. He further suggested that the Secretariat coul d prepare a questionnaire to delegations with 
questions such as the following:  Wh at are the three most difficult issues faced in the last five years 
regarding environmental requirements?  What are th e transparency procedures regarded as the most 
important?  Is there a need for a central Web site or  standardized information?  Is there a need to 
increase the visibility of the environment-related not ifications under the TBT Agreement?   Would it 
be useful to obtain a best-practice manual on th e preparation of environmental regulations for 
regulators?  He believed these types of questions to  delegations could genera te thinking and could 
assist in constructing an agenda.  The Secretariat could also carry out certain research on the TBT 
environmental requirement notifications.    
30. The Committee took note
 of the statements made.  
2. Sector analysis ("win-win-win") 
31. The representative of Japan  believed that the discussion under this agenda item was to 
promote mutual supportiveness between trade and th e environment.  His delegation had presented 
several papers addressing the issue of illegal logging, a global environmental and trading issue.  As a 
major consumer and importer of wood products, Jap an had been tackling this issue by using several 
international fora, such as the Asia Forest Part nership (AFP).  It was a framework consisting of 
various stakeholders, including wood importing an d exporting country governments, environmental 
non-governmental organizations a nd timber industry associations.  All these stakeholders met and 
discussed how to define a "minimum standard of legality" and how to formulate guidelines for 
validating the legality of wood products.  Such cooperative efforts were effective in facilitating 
sustainable forest management, promoting environm ental conservation, and encouraging sustainable 
development.  He recalled that several weeks ago,  Japan had launched a Project Team for Combating 
Illegal Logging in the Forest Agency, focussing on finding solutions to the illegal logging issue which  WT/CTE/M/39 
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 were compatible with GATT and WTO agreements.  His delegation would re port on the progress of 
these activities in future CTE meetings. 
32. The representative of Indonesia  welcomed Japan's effort to tackle the problem of illegal 
logging and trade in illegally harvested logs at th e national level.  In his view, illegal logging should 
not be an issue of concern just for those countri es which were losing millions of hectares of natural 
forests each year, but should be seen as a global i ssue which affected the global environment.  In 
combating the relevant problems, his country had est ablished various bilateral and regional efforts as 
well as contributing at the multilateral level, such as in the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF).  In  this context, he welcomed the efforts being 
made at the international level to tackle the issu e of illegal logging.  At the domestic level, his 
government had taken stringent policies to preven t illegal logging and trade in illegally harvested 
logs, such as banning exports of certain logs and timber.  He encouraged other Members to do the 
same in this respect. 
33. The Committee took note
 of the statements made. 
B. PARAGRAPH  32(II)  (TRIPS) 
 The relevant provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 
 Rights (TRIPS)   
34. No statements were made under this sub-item.  
C. PARAGRAPH  32(III)  (LABELLING) 
 Labelling for Environmental Purposes 
35. The representative of Qatar  noted that the issue of environmental goods was being dealt with 
in the CTE Special Session (CTESS) and the Negotia tion Group on Market Access.  He believed that 
at some point, the CTE Regular should give consider ation to this issue, which was important to his 
delegation.  He suggested establishing a direct li nk between the discussion on labelling requirements 
and environmental goods.   
36. The representative of Australia  did not consider it appropriate  to draw a linkage between 
labelling for environmental purposes and the ma ndate under paragraph 31( iii) on environmental 
goods. 
37. The representative of the European Communities , referring to Qatar's comment, noted that 
there would be much focused discussion on environm ental goods in the CTESS meetings.  In the CTE 
Regular, his delegation had been advocating th at labelling for environmental purposes was an 
important issue, and that progress could be made in the discussion.  He believed that the discussion in 
the Committee should not be focussing on the question of the legal compatibility of voluntary 
environmental labels with WTO rules, such as tho se of the TBT and SPS Agreements, since this kind 
of labels were widely used, and complaints on thei r use were no longer heard.  Instead, the focus of 
the present discussion should be on how to ensure that these labels were opportunities for market access.    
38. The Committee took note
 of the statements made.  WT/CTE/M/39 
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 II. PARAGRAPH 33 
We recognize the importance of technical assistance and capacity building in the 
field of trade and environment to d eveloping countries, in particular the 
least-developed among them.  We also en courage that expertise and experience be 
shared with Members wishing to perform envi ronmental reviews at the national level.   
1. Environmental Reviews 
39. The representative of the United States
 updated the CTE on recent outreach effort in terms of 
the US environmental review of the DDA negotiati ons.  She said that a public call had been made 
through the US Federal Register for comments befo re 31 March 2005.  This marked the third such 
request over the course of the negotiations, seeking s upplement to further refine the US consideration 
of potential significant environmental effects which mi ght be brought about through the negotiations.   
40. The representative of th e European Communities  updated the CTE on the EC comprehensive 
sustainability impact assessment programme which covered, inter alia , the WTO negotiations.  He 
said that a web site had been restructured where relevant information, including reports and summaries of studies could be obtained, and certain information had been reorganized in order to 
facilitate the process.  For the first time, position pa pers containing official responses to the impact 
assessment studies had been posted on the site.  Th is had been done on market access issues in a 
number of sectors, such as on non-ferrous metals, textiles and chemicals.  The information included 
not only studies reflecting negative impacts and po ssible positive gains, but also policy responses 
from the Commission.  These reflect ed the Commission's positions on the outcome of the analytical 
work, the necessary consequences to be drawn and what could be done.  The purpose of the 
sustainability impact assessment was not only to id entify problems, but also to use it as a good policy 
tool for making changes.  Referring to the sectoral studies on distribution, forestry and agriculture, he 
informed delegations that they were at the final st age.  The reports would be  posted on the web site in 
the coming days.  He believed that these reports mi ght generate interest, since some of the sectors 
were important.   
2. Technical Assistance and Capacity Building  
41. The representative of UNCTAD
, speaking on behalf of the UNEP/UNCTAD Joint Capacity 
Building Task Force on Trade, Environment and De velopment (CBTF), informed the CTE of recent 
CBTF activities.  (The statement is cont ained in document WT/CTE/GEN/19).   
42. The representative of UNEP  informed the CTE of recent developments with respect to 
UNEP's national level and integrated assessment wo rk.  (The statement is contained in document 
WT/CTE/GEN/17).  
43. The representative of Venezuela  thanked the representatives of UNEP and UNCTAD for the 
information, and welcomed the capacity building efforts being made for the Andean countries on 
environment. 
44. The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
III. PARAGRAPH 51 
The Committee on Trade and Development and the Committee on Trade and 
Environment shall, within their respective mandates, each act as a forum to identify 
and debate developmental and environmental aspects of the negotiations, in order to  help achieve the objective of having sustai nable development appropriately reflected.  WT/CTE/M/39 
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 45. The representative of Qatar  believed  that energy and sustainable development were inter-
related, and that this consider ation was relevant under Paragra ph 51 of the Doha Declaration. 
46. The representative of Venezuela  supported the statement made by Qatar on the linkage 
between energy and sustainable development.   
47. The Chairperson  recalled that at the last meeting and at the informal meeting held prior to the 
present meeting, the CTE had held discussions on a proposal from the EC on holding an event on 
sustainable development in the context of Paragra ph 51.  There was general agreement to hold a WTO 
Workshop on Sustainable Development within the Framework of Paragraph 51 of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration in October 2005.  The work shop would be educational and informative, with 
no formal outcome or conclusion.  It would be open to all WTO Members and Observers.               
48. The representative of Venezuela  recalled that the Committee had had a fruitful discussion on 
the preparation of the event, and sought clarification on the next step. 
49. The representative of the European Communities  found the discussion on the event fruitful 
and thanked other delegati ons who had been supportive of the EC 's proposal.  The Secretariat could 
start the necessary preparation work for the event.   He looked forward to a successful workshop. 
50. The representative of Japan  appreciated the consultations on the event and the Secretariat's 
efforts to prepare the tentative programme.  His dele gation could agree with the basic structure of the 
programme.  He believed that in th e consideration of the programme of the workshop, note should be 
taken of the fact that the negotiations on agricultu re and fisheries subsidies were on-going, and that 
Members had taken various positions on these issues.  For this, he emphasized the need to have a 
balanced selection of speakers and panellists, in particular in Part II of the programme on the selected 
items of the Doha Negotiations.  
51. The representative of New Zealand  said that the speakers' presentations should be focused, 
and that a good discussion could be  generated around the presentations. 
52. The Chairperson  said that in light of the remarks made at the informal meeting, the Secretariat 
would begin to make the necessary arrangements for the Workshop.   
53. The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
IV. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON  
54. The Committee elected  Ambassador Servansing of Mauritius as the 2005 Chairperson.  
V. OTHER BUSINESS 
55. The Chairperson  informed delegations that the next mee ting would be held in July 2005.  The 
exact date would be announced nearer the time.   
 
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