RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/RTA/M/1 
13 November 2008 
 
 (08-5545) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
First Dedicated Session on Regional Trade Agreements  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 16 OCTOBER 2008 
 
Chairman:  H.E. Mr. Shree B.C. Servansing (Mauritius) 
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. EGYPT -TURKEY FREE TRADE AGREEMENT , GOODS .....................................................................1  
C. OTHER BUSINESS .........................................................................................................................5  
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that the 14 December 2006 General Council Decision on a Transparency 
Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) – contained in document WT/L/671 – instructed 
the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) to  implement the Mechanism for RTAs falling 
under paragraph 2(c) of the Enabling Clause.  Fo r purposes of performing the functions established 
under the Mechanism, the CTD was to  convene in Dedicated Session.  He also recalled that he had 
informed Members at the 71st Regular Session of the CTD that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 
Customs Union would not be considered at the CTD's 1st Dedicated Session on RTAs.  He explained 
that the GCC Parties had yet to provide the Secretar iat with the data required to allow the agreement 
to be considered by Members as per the provision s of the RTAs Transparency Mechanism.  The 
Secretariat was in touch with the Parties, and was attempting to sort out the data issue.  He also 
indicated that there were other aspects of the GCC Customs Union notification that were presently 
being considered by Members in the CTD's Regular Session.  
2. The draft agenda as contained in Ai rgram WTO/AIR/3245 of 29 September 2008 was 
adopted .  
B. EGYPT -TURKEY FREE TRADE AGREEMENT , GOODS  
3. The Chairman  said that the Egypt-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which entered into 
force on 1 March 2007, had been notified to the WT O on 5 October 2007.  The notification, contained 
in document WT/COMTD/N/23, had been made under paragraph 4(a) of the Enabling Clause.  The 
text of the agreement, together with its Annexes, was available on the official website of the Trade 
Agreements Sector of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Egypt.   
4. He said that the Factual Presentation on the ag reement, originally circulated as document 
WT/COMTD/67 on 5 August 2008, had been re-circu lated as document  WT/COMTD/RTA/1/1 on 
26 September 2008 under the new line of document symbols created for the CTD's Dedicated Sessions on RTAs.  The Factual Presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full consultation with the Partie s, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the 
Transparency Mechanism.  He added that, in vi ew of the comments that had been made by the 
delegation of Egypt after the circulation of the Factual Presentation, a technical revision of the 
document would be issued.  The revision concerne d minor modifications relating to conversions from WT/COMTD/RTA/M/1 
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  the 2007 Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature to the 2002 HS nomenclature.  He informed 
Members that written questions and replies on th e agreement had been distributed in document 
WT/COMTD/RTA/1/2 on 7 October 2008.   
5. He proposed that Members' consideration of th e agreement follow the pr ocedures used by the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) in its  consideration of RTAs.  He would begin by 
providing the Parties, then Members, with the opportunity to provide any general comments.  
Members could then consider the specifics of the ag reement on the basis of the Factual Presentation, 
after which they could consider the questions and replies document.  The Parties would subsequently 
have the opportunity to make any final comments an d, if necessary, be provi ded with additional time 
to respond to any questions raised during the discussions.   
6. Once the meeting was adjourned, the CTD would have concluded its oral discussion of the 
Egypt-Turkey FTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechanism.  Paragraph 11 
of the Transparency Mechanism also indicated th at any additional exchange of information would 
take place in written form.  Therefore, further qu estions by delegations on the RTA – as well as the 
responses by the Parties – would need to be submitted in writing.  He drew Members' attention to the 
practice being followed by the CRTA in this regard , where delegations had up to one week after the 
meeting to submit any additional que stions in writing to the Secretariat.  The Parties were then 
provided a further two weeks to submit their replies in writing.  Since the CTD had already agreed to 
follow CRTA procedures when considering newly- notified RTAs, he proposed that the CTD follow 
the same time-line for additional questions as the CRTA.  He added that, in accordance with 
paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism, a ll written submissions, as well as the minutes of the 
meeting, would be circulated pr omptly in all WTO official languages and made available on the WTO 
website.   
7. Members agreed
 to the procedures proposed.  
8. The representative of Turkey  reaffirmed her delegation's s upport for a rules-based multilateral 
trading system.  She also reiterated her delegati on's support for strengthened WTO rules, disciplines 
and mechanisms for RTAs.  She remarked that Tu rkey had acceded to the GATT in 1951, and was a 
founding Member of the WTO.  Within this framewo rk, Turkey continued to participate in regional 
and international trade agreements in  its pursuit of trade liberalization. 
9. She said that the past half century had seen fr eer and rapidly expanding global trade.  Her 
delegation hoped that the ongoing D oha negotiations would result in further trade liberalization, while 
taking into account the interests of developing coun tries.  She believed that regional liberalization 
initiatives such as FTAs, which were being pursued in parallel to multilateral trade liberalization, 
contributed to the strengthening of the multilateral tr ading system.  There were many advantages that 
FTAs provided to the parties involved.  Such agreements did not only provide market access 
opportunities, but also encouraged the Parties to  benefit from comparative advantage and economies 
of scale.  The level of economic integration achieved by regional initiatives stimulated the 
diversification of exports at the sectoral and regional level, contributed to competitiveness and 
increased foreign investment.   
10. Recognizing these benefits, Turkey had historical ly developed deeper trade links with the 
European Union (EU) and had eventually establishe d a Customs Union in 1996.  In line with the 
Customs Union decision between Tu rkey and the EU, Turkey had a ligned its commercial policy with 
that of the EU.  This also covered the preferential tr ade agreements of the EU.  In this respect, Turkey 
had so far concluded 22 FTAs with certain nei ghbouring and peripheral countries, although ten of 
these were abrogated due to the accession of the partne r countries to the EU when it enlarged in 2004 
and 2007.  The bulk of the existing FTAs had been agreed within the framework of the 
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.  Turkey also wished to complete  FTAs with the remaining countries  WT/COMTD/RTA/M/1 
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  in the region and to further extend its preferential agreements to Gulf, African and Latin American 
countries, in line with the common commercial policy of  the EU.  Trade figures revealed that the rate 
of the increase in trade volume with Turkey's FT A partners had outpaced the rate of increase in 
general trade.  
11. In this context, she said that the FTA betw een Turkey and Egypt was signed in Cairo on 
27 December 2005 and, following the completion of internal and diplomatic procedures by the 
Parties, entered into force on 1 March 2007.  Th e FTA aimed at the gradual establishment of a 
free-trade area between Turkey and Egypt by 2020 .  The liberalization of industrial products was 
provided for in Protocol I of the FTA.  Turkey had abolished all customs duties applicable to imports 
of industrial goods originating in Egypt upon entry in to force of the agreement.  Egypt, in parallel 
with the EU-Egypt Association Agreement, would gradually abolish customs duties applicable on 
imports of industrial products or iginating in Turkey over a transitional period of up to 12 years from 
the entry into force of the agreement.  Tariff el imination for Turkey would be completed one year 
later than for the EU.  Protocol II of the agreemen t covered preferential trade in agricultural products.  
The exchange of concessions took place on a limited number of products in the form of tariff quotas, 
or on an unlimited basis with customs duty reduc tions or elimination.  By taking into account 
developments in bilateral agricultural trade and the consequences of multilateral trade negotiations, 
the Parties would examine the possibilities within  the Joint Committee of granting to one another 
further concessions on agri cultural products.   
12. As determined in Protocol III of the agreem ent, Turkey and Egypt would apply in their 
mutual trade harmonized preferential rules of origin in the context of the system of "Pan Euro Med" 
cumulation of origin.  For effective functioning of the free-trade area, the agreement also contained 
provisions on, inter alia , cooperation between customs administrations, public aid, state monopolies, 
internal taxation, competition, public procurement,  and protection of intellectual, industrial and 
commercial property rights.  Among the regulatory provi sions of the agreement, standards, subsidies, 
safeguards, anti-dumping and countervailing measures were  laid down in conform ity with the relevant 
WTO agreements.  Her delegati on believed that the agreement had not only contributed to 
diversifying and expanding bilatera l trade, but had also helped in dustrial and economic development 
in both countries.  Even before the FTA had ente red into force, the positiv e atmosphere created had 
seen increased investment from Turkey into Egypt.   
13. She went on to provide some figures on bilatera l trade between Turkey and Egypt.  Turkey's 
exports to Egypt were recorded at US$710 milli on in 2006 and US$903 million in 2007, an increase 
of 27 per cent in the year the FTA had entered into  force.  Turkey's imports from Egypt amounted to 
US$393 million in 2006, and increased by 73 per cent in 2007 to reach US$680 million.  During the first eight months of 2008, Turkey's exports to  Egypt amounted to a value of US$925 million and 
imports, US$730 million.  These figures demonstrated that Turkey's trade with Egypt had increased by 65 per cent compared to the same period in the pr evious year.  It was evident that bilateral trade 
between the two countries was showing an ever-incre asing trend, though export growth was more in 
favour of Egypt.  She added that the FTA between  Turkey and Egypt was an important milestone 
within the framework of the Barcelona Process fo r the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade 
area, and was also a breakthrough in bilateral trade relations between Turkey and Egypt.   
14. Finally, she brought Members' attention to the need for a correction in Table III.3 on page 9 
of the Factual Presentation.  All the products listed in HS Sections V to XXI had been liberalized by 
Turkey at the time of entry into force of the agreement.  Only some products covered in Annex I of 
the agreement were treated as agricultural products.  They remained under Sections VI, VIII and XI.  
These products were also compatible with Article  I of the Agreement on Agriculture.  Among the 
Annex I products, only some tariff lines under Section VI remained dutiable for Turkey.  Therefore, 
the dutiable lines contained in Table III.3 would need to be corrected.   WT/COMTD/RTA/M/1 
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  15. The representative of Egypt
 said that his delegation considered the promotion of trade 
liberalization at a preferential level important in  helping developing ec onomies implement domestic 
reforms, open up to competitive market pressures at a sustainable pace, and integrate into the world 
economy.  It could also benefit the multilatera l process by exerting leverage for openness and 
competitive liberalization in international trade relations.   
16. He said that the FTA between Egypt and Tu rkey was an agreement between regional 
neighbours with long-standing and strong commercial, political and cultural ties.  It was also a vehicle 
for promoting deeper integration of their economies,  particularly on issues such as investment and 
competition which were not being fully dealt with at  the multilateral level.  Additionally, it was an 
agreement between two developing countries that be lieved that the openness of  their markets was an 
important contributor to the growth of their econom ies.  He observed that preferential bilateral or 
regional trade agreements between developing country Members often contained aspects that were not 
included in agreements between developed Member s or between developed and developing country 
Members.  In this regard, preferential trading agreements among developing countries were evidence 
of a strengthening in South-South trading patterns.  The relative instability of markets in recent 
months had reinforced the importance of RTAs between developing country Members, since such 
agreements facilitated and encouraged stable tr ade relations and investments.  RTAs between 
developing country Members created more tradi ng opportunities and forced domestic industries to 
remain competitive.   
17. He informed the Committee that the devel opment dimension of the Egypt-Turkey FTA had 
led the Parties to notify the agreement under the Enab ling Clause.  He noted that it was the first time 
that the CTD was considering an RTA notified unde r the Enabling Clause in the context of the 
Transparency Mechanism.  In this regard, he welc omed the CTD's review of the Egypt-Turkey FTA.  
His delegation believed that the CTD was the body mo st suited to consider the concerns and special 
needs of developing country Members.  The presen t meeting would give Members the opportunity to 
examine and discuss in detail the provisions of the Egypt-Turkey FTA, and would also provide the 
Parties the opportunity to provide clarifications on an y elements that required further elaboration.   
18. The representative of the European Communities  said that her delegation was confident that 
the consideration of RTAs in the CTD would c ontribute positively to the functioning of the 
Transparency Mechanism, and would enable Member s to learn more about the agreements notified 
under the Enabling Clause.  Her delegation believed that the Egypt-Turkey FTA would provide for the strengthening of ties between two close partners  of the EC.  The EC had strongly supported the 
conclusion of the FTA, as it believed the agreem ent to be an essential building block of 
Euro-Mediterranean economic and trade integration, particularly in view of a Euro-Mediterranean 
free-trade area.  She noted that the agreement al so provided for the inclusion of provisions on 
cumulation of rules of origin within the "Pan Euro Med" system of origin.   
19. No comments were made on the Factual Presentation. 
20. In further elaboration of a question s ubmitted earlier, the representative of the 
European Communities
 noted that, on several accounts, the FTA provided coverage beyond simple 
tariff reduction for goods.  She noted in particular th at the coverage extended to non-tariff barriers.  In 
her delegation's view, this warranted a notifica tion under Article XXIV of the GATT rather than 
under the Enabling Clause.  
21. The representative of the United States  sought further clarification on the response given by 
the Parties to Question 13 in the Questions and Replies document, concerning Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary (SPS) measures in Article II of the FTA.  The response noted that "the relevant WTO 
agreements under Article 11 of the Free Trade Ag reement between Egypt and Turkey are the WTO 
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures, the Agreement on  WT/COMTD/RTA/M/1 
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  Agriculture, and the Agreement on Technical Barriers  to Trade".  Given that Article 1.5 of the 
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement specifically excluded from the scope of the 
Agreement's provisions any SPS measure as defined in Annex A of the SPS Agreement, she asked 
how, under Article 11 of the FTA, the Parties were e xpected to ensure that their SPS measures were 
consistent with the rules and procedures of the TBT Ag reement.  With respect to the Parties' reply to 
Question 16, her delegation sought further elabor ation on how the FTA covered "substantially all 
trade" when coverage of the agri cultural sector was very limited.  A dditionally, she asked how the use 
of diagonal cumulation met GATT Article XXIV requirements.   
22. In response to the question raised by  the EC, the representative of Egypt  said that the 
development dimension of the Egypt-Turkey FTA ha d led the Parties to notify the agreement under 
the Enabling Clause.  He explained that the Enabling Clause provided for the establishment of 
agreements between developing count ries, and the Parties had felt that it was the right provision under 
which to notify the Egypt-Turkey FTA.   
23. In response to the question posed by the US  on SPS measures, the representative of Turkey  
said that the scope of coverage provided by the SPS Agreement was sometimes not sufficient.  This 
was why reference had also been made to the TBT Agreement.  She said that the Parties had already 
provided a response to the question on "substantially a ll trade".  However, she did wish to add that 
there was no threshold for "substantially all trad e", and her delegation di d not believe that  
liberalization in the agricultural sector was too low.  In addition, further liber alization in agriculture 
was foreseen under Article 10.3 of the FTA in the fra mework of the Joint Committee meetings.  With 
respect to diagonal cumulation, she said that it was compatible with the EU's model, since the 
protocol of origin attached to the FTA was fully compatible with EU standards. 
24. The Chairman  said that the Committee's consideration of the Egypt-Turkey FTA had enabled 
Members to clarify a number of questions.  Oral discussion of the agreement could be concluded in 
accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency M echanism.  Further questions by delegations on 
the agreement were to be submitted in writing to the Secretariat within one week, by 23 October 2008.  
The Parties would then be given two weeks to submit their written replies, by no later than 
6 November 2008. 
25. The Committee took note  of all interventions.   
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
26. No matter was raised under "Other Business". 
27. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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