08-3637  . /.    JOB(08)/94  30 July 2008  
  
TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE 
 
Wednesday, 30 July 2008 
 
Statement by the Chairman 
 
 
 
 At our informal meeting yesterday, I reported on the events of the last few days.  That report will be put on the record of this meeting, and I w ill not repeat it but just highlight a few points.  
  There is no escaping the fact that the intensiv e efforts the whole memb ership has been putting 
in over the last days with the aim of establishi ng modalities in Agriculture and NAMA have failed.  
Members have been unable to bridge their differe nces despite more than a week of hard work. 
  Much has been achieved this week.  We were very close to finalizing modalities in 
Agriculture and NAMA.  A very few issues, whic h had not been there, led us not to establish 
modalities, but a huge amount of problems which ha d remained intractable for years have found 
solutions.  Negotiators have been prepared to r each out beyond their entrenched positions and seek 
compromise, which they did.  However, as I explained in detail in my statement yesterday, we were not able to find convergence in the area of the Sp ecial Safeguard Mechanism.  And we did not even 
get around to discussing Cotton.  As a result we have  not been able to establish the Agriculture and 
NAMA modalities this week. 
 
 Yesterday, I outlined what this could cost the membership.  I am sure you have all done the 
analysis for yourselves.  I trust that Members will reso lve together not to lose these benefits, even if it 
takes longer.  
 You all know the value of what is on the table,  not only in Agriculture and NAMA, but across 
the whole range of the agenda, whether in Services, the fastest growing and most dynamic sector in most economies, or in Trade Facilitation, just to take two examples.    Over the past few weeks, the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups have circulated reports on the 
state of play in their respective areas including re flections on the way forward.  The Agriculture and 
NAMA Chairs will also shortly be circulating reports capturing the work of the last few days.  We are 
working on this.   Overall, the Chairs reports underline the br eadth and depth of the progress we have made 
right across the Single Undertaking.  The reports also  show the wide and deep range of benefits that 
this Round can provide – two to three times more than any previous multila teral negotiation, and I 
have not changed my number on that.  My own sen se is that we need to build on this, and your own 
sense of whether you believe we need to build  on this is the determining factor.   
  We can also clearly see progress in other areas,  such as the Dispute Settlement negotiations 
and S&D.  Good work has also been accomplished over the past few days in the area of TRIPS thanks 
to the very good process which Jonas Støre led and th e constructive spirit of delegations.  I would also 
like to highlight the Services Signalling Conference  which was held on 26 July.  My report on this 
Conference will be circulated later today.   I think we all now need to engage in serious  reflection on the next steps in our collective 
endeavour which is the Doha Deve lopment Agenda.  I believe we ha ve a collective responsibility to 
begin this process of reflection right now.  JOB(08)/94 
Page 2  
 
   Perhaps the dust needs to settle a bit before we can have a clear idea of those next steps.  But 
my view is that the progress we have made in Agriculture and NAMA and in all the other Groups 
should be preserved.  This represents thousands  of hours of negotiation and serious political 
investment by all the Members of the WT O.  This should not be wasted.  
 
 All Members need now to seriously reflect a bout if and when we can jump the obstacle of 
what was not possible this week.  Where there h as been deadlock, we must find new ideas and new 
solutions.   Our immediate priority is to reaffirm our commitment to the multilateral trading system 
which comes out of this week dented.  All Mi nisters present here over the last 10 days have 
underlined how vital this system is, in terms not just of trade, but also of the stability of the 
international system.  The task then, after the neces sary reflection, is to translate words into deeds.  
The comeback should begin today.  I would like to encourage you in your interventions not to dwell 
upon failure, which is a reality and which needs to be acknowledged, but to look forward to how we 
can do better next time.  And I am convinced that  there will be a next time, which is why I said 
yesterday that I was not throwing in the towel.   Finally, I thank you all for your hard work and cooperation. I would like to pay tribute to the 
many hours of work of the Chairs of the negotia ting groups, and in particular Crawford, Don and 
Bruce as well as Jonas Støre.  A final word for the staff in the Secretariat, including my office, who 
have put countless hours of work in he lping you in your negotiating endeavour. 
  The floor is open for your comments.  If any of you wish to have your statement posted on the 
WTO website, please send it electronically to the Information and Media Relations Division. 
 
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