WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/AG/SCC/GEN/9 
26 March 2007 
 (07-1265) 
Sub-Committee on Cotton Original:   English 
  
 
 
HIGH-LEVEL SESSION ON COTTON 
15-16 MARCH 2007 
 
Communication from the G-20
 
 
  The following communication, dated 15 March 2007, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Brazil on behalf of the G-20.  
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 1. On the occasion of the WTO High-Level Session on Cotton (Geneva, 15-16 March 2007) and 
recognizing the links between the elimination of trade-distorting cotton subsidies in developed 
countries and the promotion of economic and social potential in the developing world, the G-20 
reaffirms its full commitment to address cotton amb itiously, expeditiously, and specifically, in the 
context of the Doha Round. 
2. The G-20 firmly believes that cotton is a crucia l element of the overall agriculture agreement 
in the Doha Development Agenda.  Four years ha ve elapsed since President Blaise Compaore of 
Burkina Faso clearly articulated the central elem ents on cotton: (i) to reduce, with a view to 
eliminating, support to cotton;  and (ii) to adopt, as a transitory measure, a mechanism for the revenue 
losses in favour of least develope d countries (TNC, 10 June 2003). 
3. Taking into consideration that cotton comprises high percentages of total exports and GDP for 
the Cotton-4 nations and accounts for a significant pa rt of rural incomes of  poor farmers in the 
Western and Central Africa region, as well as in ot her parts of the developing world, the G-20 is 
concerned about the influence of subsidies on worl d prices and subsequent influence on the potential 
of agriculture trade to reduce poverty. 
4. The G-20 wants to highlight that trade-distorting subsidies from developed countries are at 
the root of the critical situation of cotton for developing countries, which is one of the major inequalities in agriculture international trade.  C onsequently a definitive solution that corrects unfair 
competition in world markets will have a significant influence on agriculture negotiations in the Doha 
Development Agenda. 
I. MANDATE 
5. The G-20 reaffirms its commitment to the ma ndate of paragraph 4 of Annex A of the 
July 2004 Framework Agreement to address cotton ambitiously, expeditiously, and specifically in 
relation to all trade-distorting policies affecting the sector. 
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  6. The Group recalls paragraphs 11 and 12 of th e Hong Kong Declaration, which stresses " the 
complementarity of the trade policy and development assistance aspects of cotton ".  The G-20 also 
notes the necessity of searching for a " mechanism to deal with income declines in the cotton sector 
until the end of subsidies " and establishing cotton-specific as sistance and cooperation programmes 
geared towards enhancing productivity and effici ency in African cotton-producing countries. 
7. The G-20 also recalls its Proposal on Domestic  Support (12 October 2005).  The work in the 
Sub-Committee on Cotton needs to be expedited so th at early agreement can be reached on effective 
measures consistent with all aspects related to cott on, in particular regarding domestic support and 
assistance mechanism, of the Framework Agr eement (2004) and the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration (2005). 
II. DOMESTIC SUPPPORT 
8. The G-20 fully supports paragraph 11 of the Hong Kong Declaration addressing the overall 
objectives in domestic support:  "(…) as an outcome for the negotiations, trade distorting domestic 
subsidies for cotton production be reduced more am bitiously than under whatever general formula is 
agreed and that it should be implemented over a shorter period of time than generally applicable ." 
9. The Group supports the Cotton-4 proposal regardi ng the reduction in the specific measure of 
support applicable to cotton (TN/AG/GEN/22). 
10. In order to avoid trade-distorting subsidy concentration on cotton, the G-20 shares the 
Cotton-4 objective that product-specific AMS cap app licable for cotton shall amount to one third of 
the final capping resulting from the hist orical average for that product. 
11. The base period for product-specific AMS caps shall be 1995-2000. 
12. Similarly, disciplines on blue box support will en sure that such payments are less trade-
distorting than AMS measures and include product-specific provisions. 
13. The G-20 and the Cotton-4 will work together w ith a view to address effectively the problem 
of concentration of subsidies in cotton. 
14. Special and differential treatment for deve loping-country Members shall be properly 
addressed. 
III. EXPORT SUBSIDIES 
15. The G-20 recalls the decision taken in Hong Kong regarding the elimination of all forms of 
export subsidies granted to cotton by developed countries. 
IV. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
16. On the development assistance aspects of cott on, the G-20 supports the Cotton-4 position 
(TN/AG/GEN/22), under paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Declaration, in particular with regard to: 
(i) the principle of the creation of a safety net for cotton producing LDCs in Africa; 
(ii) the decision that Members shall instruct th eir representatives at the World Bank to seek 
the organization of a Bank's meeting, within the shortest period of time, and to adopt a 
program along with the necessary financing in tim e for inclusion in the single undertaking 
at the end of the Doha Round negotiations;  and 
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  (iii) the supporting mechanism program shall be li nked to strengthening the productivity and 
efficiency of the cotton sector in Africa. 
17. In this context, the G-20 recalls that several of its Members have been extending assistance to 
the G-4 and other cotton-producing countries in Africa.  Those countries and other G-20 Members wish to indicate their willingness to explore with beneficiary countries other forms of cooperation, 
either bilaterally or through the African Union. 
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