WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/606 
23 March 2005 
 (05-1224) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
G-20 NEW DELHI DECLARATION 
 
Communication from India
 
  
 The following communication, dated 21 March 2005, from the Delegation of India is being 
circulated to Members.  
_______________ 
  
G-20 NEW DELHI DECLARATION 
(Text of the G-20 Ministerial Declaration adopted on 19 March 2005 
at the conclusion of the Ministerial Meeting of G-20 held 
in New Delhi on 18 and 19
 March 2005) 
  
1. G-20
1 Ministers at their meeting in New Delhi on 18-19 March 2005 recalled that the Group's 
identity is deeply linked to the development dimensi on of the Doha Round.  Agriculture is vital for all 
developing countries and is central to the Doha De velopment Agenda.  Our common goal is to put an 
end to trade-distorting policies in agriculture mainta ined by developed countries thus, contributing to 
growth and development of devel oping countries and their positive integration into the world trading 
system.  This would be a major contribution to the development objectives of the Round.  
Road to Sixth Ministerial Conference 
 
2. Ministers recalled the crucial role played by the Group during the negotiating process in the 
lead up to the "July Framework" in 2004, and st ressed that the G-20 will continue to participate 
actively and constructively in the negotiations. 
3. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a dvance the Doha Round of trade negotiations in 
2005 with a view to arriving at an agreement on modalities during the Sixth WTO Ministerial 
Conference to be held in Hong Kong, China in Decem ber 2005.  This is a necessary step in order to 
complete the negotiations by 2006.  Such modalities must be compatible with the July framework and 
in line with the mandate contained in the Doha Declaration. 
4. Ministers stressed that agriculture negotiations have multiple dimensions and are technically 
complex.  These negotiations should be intensif ied to stimulate progress in all other areas of 
negotiations.  They highlighted that the G-20 is committed to a balanced first approximation of the 
modalities by July 2005, which should be suffici ently detailed to achieve the objective of full 
modalities by the Sixth Ministerial Conference.  
                                                     
 
1 Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, China, Cuba, Egyp t, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, 
Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. WT/L/606 
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 Negotiating process 
 
5. In view of the specific nature of issues under discussion and the need for technical support 
from experts, Ministers underlined that a "bottom-up"  approach is required so that texts will evolve 
from a participative negotiating process.  This is an essential element for securing a legitimate 
outcome to these negotiations to the benefit of th e whole membership.  Ministers acknowledged that 
the Geneva process may need to be supported by other forms of engagement provided they are 
conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner. Su ch interventions, including through Ministerial 
involvement, should be timely, well-prepared and should take up issues which are ripe enough for 
political decision. 
 
Negotiations on agriculture – Substantive issues 
 
6. It was noted that negotiations under the Speci al Session of the Committee on Agriculture are 
under way.  The Chairman’s negotiating process pr esently provides an adequate balance between 
identification of issues, scoping and drafting of doc uments while ensuring tran sparency, inclusiveness 
and efficiency in the work. Ministers stressed th at the assessment of the progress of work to be 
undertaken by July 2005 will constitute an important mile post for defining th e scope and perspectives 
of the Ministerial Meeting. 
7. Ministers reiterated that special and differen tial treatment for developing countries is an 
integral part of all elements of the negotiations. 
8. Ministers recalled the statement made by the G-20 during the December 2004 Special Session 
of the Committee on Agriculture on the need to obs erve necessary sequencing of issues identified in 
the "July Framework" so as to ensure  progress in each of the three pillars. 
 
Cotton 
 
9. Ministers underlined the importance of cotton for many WTO Members, particularly the 
African countries that are cotton producers.  In this  regard, Ministers reiterated the urgent need to 
address this issue in accordance with the "July Fram ework".  Ministers requested that work in the 
Sub-Committee on Cotton be expedited so that effect ive measures are included in the July 2005 first 
approximation.  They stressed the need to provide ur gent development assistance in view of the recent 
aggravation of the decline in the international cotton prices. 
10. Ministers expressed satisfaction with the re cent Appellate Body decision on cotton which 
substantiates the need for urgent reform of trade distorting measures in agricultural trade which have 
such a negative impact on developing countries.   Domestic support 
 
11. Ministers stressed that, in order to fulfil th e mandate of "substantial reductions in trade-
distorting domestic support" negotia tions should determine base peri ods and initial and final numbers 
for the overall trade-distorting domestic support in a technically consistent and politically credible 
manner.  It was noted that significant reductions w ill be required to address inflated baselines and to 
arrive at effective reductions that address the need for removing distortions in agriculture trade.  
Moreover, such reductions should be necessarily comp lemented by further disciplines in the Blue Box 
and the Green Box in order to avoid mere box shifting. 
12. Ministers reiterated that any change in th e Blue Box (Article 6.5 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture) is contingent upon agreement on additiona l criteria in order to make it substantially less 
trade-distorting than it is now.  They also stressed  the Group's active participation in the review and  WT/L/606 
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 clarification process of the Green Box in order to ensu re that no, or at most minimal, trade-distorting 
effects or effects on production will be  generated by any direct paymen ts claimed to be exempt from 
reduction commitments.  It was highlighted that such policies in developed countries must fully 
comply with the criteria set out in paragraph 1 of Annex 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture. 
13. Ministers stressed that Green Box should be reviewed and clarified to include specific 
provisions designed to accommodate genuine agri culture and rural development programmes of 
developing countries aimed at allevi ating poverty, promoting agrarian  reform and settlement policies, 
and ensuring food security and addressing liveli hood security needs. Further, for facilitating 
implementation of Green Box measures in developi ng countries, their special circumstances would 
also need to be taken into account. 
14. Given that de minimis  support is the only form of support available to farmers in most 
developing countries, Ministers cautioned against any attempt to reduce de minimis  support in 
developing countries as this would negatively aff ect the programmes benefiting subsistence and 
resource poor farmers.  Ministers noted that the amounts of support in developing countries are insignificant when compared to those in developed countries and, therefore, should not be subject to 
reductions. 
 
Export competition 
 
15. Ministers noted with concern the recent reintr oduction of export subsidies by some Members, 
which goes against the spirit of the Doha mandate.  They therefore called for an immediate standstill 
commitment on all forms of export subsidies. 
16. Ministers expressed that in the export competition p illar, a key decision to be taken is the date 
of elimination of all forms of export subsidies.  Th ey urged countries that apply such instruments to 
eliminate them in a period no longer than five years and with a front-loading of commitments. An early agreement would inject new momentum to th e agriculture negotiations and make progress easier 
in other fronts.  They stressed the need to de velop new disciplines on export credits, export credit 
guarantees and insurance programmes and food aid so that these instruments ar e not used in a way as 
to displace exports or to promote surplus disposal. 
17. Ministers also recalled the need for making operative the "July Framework" provisions for 
special and differential treatment including State Tr ading Enterprises and the concerns of Net Food 
Importing Developing Countries (NFIDCs) as provided in the Marrakesh Decision.  
 
Market access 
 
18. Ministers noted the crucial importance of conversion into ad valorem  equivalents (AVEs) for 
the completion of the core modality – tariff reducti on formula. Ministers stressed that treatment of 
non-ad valorem  (NAVs) duties should clearly spell out the methodologies used for conversion so that 
the verification process does not become cumbersome.  While cautioning against attempts at hiding 
the true level of protection in this exercise and stressing the non-negotiable nature of this issue, 
Ministers stressed the need to finally bind all NAV duties into  ad valorem  terms. 
19. Ministers reaffirmed the long held view of th e G-20 that the tariff reduction formula is the 
main component of the market access pillar and shou ld be negotiated before addressing the issue of 
flexibilities. In this regard, they underlined th at the tariff reduction formula must contain:  
(i) progressivity – deeper cuts to higher bound tari ffs;  (ii) proportionality – developing countries 
making lesser reduction commitments than develope d countries and neutrality in respect of tariff 
structures;  and (iii) flexibility – to take account of the sensitive nature of some products without WT/L/606 
Page 4  
 
 undermining the overall objective of the reduction fo rmula and ensuring substantial improvement in 
market access for all products. 
20. Ministers strongly stressed that special and di fferential treatment for developing countries 
must constitute an integral part of all elements with a view to preserving food security, rural development and livelihood concerns of millions of  people that depend on the agriculture sector. 
21. Ministers emphasized that the concepts of  Special Products and Special Safeguard 
Mechanism are integral elements of special and differential treatment for developing countries.  
Ministers reiterated their commitment to work togeth er with the G-33 and other interested Groups to 
render effective and operationalize these instruments. 
22. Ministers stressed that the elimination of tariff escalation is im portant for developing 
countries, as it would allow them to diversify and increase their export revenues by adding value to 
their agricultural production. 
23. Ministers reiterated that SSG (Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture) was conceived as a 
transitory exception and therefore should be eliminated. 
24. Ministers recalled that modalities for fullest lib eralization of tropical products by developed 
countries are long overdue commitments, which remain to be addressed and honoured. 
25. Ministers noted with concern the increasing use of non-tariff barriers by developed countries, 
which are acting as impediments to exports of pr oducts of interest to developing countries. 
26. Ministers recognized that preferences, which ar e of importance to many developing countries, 
are being eroded by both regional and multilateral lib eralization.  Ministers agreed that preference 
erosion should be addressed in the negotiations, in accordance with the provisions of the "July 
Framework", and requires mainst reaming the development dimens ion in the multilateral trading 
system through (i) expanded market access for produc ts which are of vital export importance to the 
preference beneficiaries;  (ii) effective utilization of  existing preferences;  and (iii) additional financial 
assistance and capacity building to address supply cons traints, promote diversification and assist in 
adjustment and restructuring. 
 
Related issues 
 
27. Recognizing the special needs of least-developed countries, Ministers highlighted their 
support for provisions exempting them from any reduc tion commitments and for steps to be taken to 
promote the export capacities, including the need to address the supply constraints of LDCs.  
Ministers stressed that it should be ensured that LD Cs make meaningful gains in each of the three 
pillars. 
28. Without creating any new categories of developing countries, Ministers agreed that the 
concerns of small, vulnerable economies must also be effectively addressed as part of the Work Programme mandated in para graph 35 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
29. Ministers stressed that concerns of recently acceded Members must be effectively addressed 
through specific flexibilities provisions in all pillars. 
30. Ministers noted that disciplines on export prohibitions and restrictions in Article 12:1 of the 
Agreement on Agriculture will be strengthened.  Th ese negotiations must ensure that these rules are 
not circumvented, nor applied to developi ng countries in a discriminatory manner.  WT/L/606 
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 31. With regard to each of the three issues men tioned in paragraph 49 of  the "July Framework", 
Ministers reaffirmed that there was no agre ement to include them in the negotiations. 
32. Ministers reaffirmed the importance of e nhancing the monitoring and surveillance 
mechanisms as a fundamental improvement to be introduced in these negotiations.  
 Strengthening dialogue 
 
33. Ministers emphasized that the G-20 is actively engaged in an intense dialogue with other 
Groups and individual Members.  In this regard , G-20 Ministers welcomed the invitation to the 
Coordinators of the Africa Group, ACP Countries,  CARICOM, G-33 and LDCs to the meeting.  
Ministers strongly believe that such coordination will contribute significantly towards realizing the 
development dimension of the Doha Work Programme .  In this regard, Ministers cautioned against 
any move that would create divisions among de veloping countries, including through further 
categorization. 
34. Ministers resolved to stay in close contact with each other to take stock of important 
developments with a view to taking coordinated and timely action in the negotiations.  They further 
agreed that G-20 Ministers participating in othe r events would take these opportunities to meet among 
themselves at the margins of such meetings and k eep their colleagues informed of the deliberations. 
35. Ministers exchanged views on other negotiating i ssues in the Doha Work Programme in light 
of the inter-linkages inherent in the single undertaking. 
36. Ministers thanked the Government of India for the efforts deployed to organize this meeting 
and for the warm hospitality of the Indian people. 
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