JOB/GC/249  
 
21 December 2020  
(20-9229) Page: 1/2 
General Council    
 
 AGENDA ITEM 2 : IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BALI, NAIROBI AND BUENOS AIRES 
OUTCOMES – STATEMENT BY THE CHAIR  
WEDNESDAY, 16 DECEMBER  2020 
1.1.  This item remains on the agenda so that the General Council can continue to follow up, in a 
horizontal and transparent manner, on the Ministerial decisions adopted in Bali, Nairobi and Buenos 
Aires.  
1.2.  As always, my statement today is based on the information provided by the Chairs of the 
regular bodies on the implementation work taking place furthe r to Ministerial mandates in their 
respective areas. Let me also point out that matters related to the Work Programme on Small 
Economies, and the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce will be taken up in the separate 
agenda items.  
1.3.  In the area of Agricultur e, the Committee on Agriculture continued its follow -up on the Bali 
TRQ Decision at its recent November meeting, in light of the recommendations of the review 
approved by the General Council last year. The Committee also considered the proposed TRQ 
underfi ll Tracking Register. I understand that, given some concerns expressed on the existing scope 
of the underfill mechanism, the approval of the draft tracking register was deferred to a future 
meeting of the Committee – when the mechanism is actually invoked.  
1.4.  As regards the Bali Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes, the notification 
presented by a Member subsequent to its invocation of the Decision continued to be reviewed by 
the Committee at its November meeting, based on Members' writte n questions.  
1.5.  Turning to the LDC Services Waiver, in October, the LDC Group proposed that the Council for 
Trade in Services organize a webinar to bring together LDC service suppliers and consumers of LDC 
services in Members having granted preferences under  the LDC Services Waiver. Just before the 
CTS meeting of 4 December, the LDC Group circulated a suggested outline for the webinar. Members 
generally found that it provided greater clarity about the objective and scope of the webinar and 
expressed broad sup port for an event that would enable an exchange of information and 
experiences. The Council agreed that the Secretariat would prepare a draft programme for the 
webinar to be submitted to Members for consideration and further views.  
1.6.  On Preferential Rules of  Origin for LDCs, at the November meeting of the Committee on Rules 
of Origin , several aspects of the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Decisions were discussed. Members 
considered a Secretariat note on the utilization rates and two submissions by the LDC Group . The 
first reiterated the LDC preference for rules of origin based on the value "of non -originating 
materials", as noted in the Nairobi Ministerial Decision. In the second submission, the LDC Group 
called for an intensification of the examination work of the Committee on Rules of Origin, the 
identification of best practices and the preparation of a report to be submitted at MC12. In line with 
the Decision, Members conducted an "annual review" of developments in this area and adopted an 
annual report for th e General Council to take note of – this is contained in document G/RO/91, to 
which I draw your attention.  
1.7.  Regarding Duty -Free Quota -Free market access for LDCs, at its November meeting, the CTD 
undertook its annual review of the steps taken to provide DFQ F market access to LDCs – as 
mandated by the Bali Decision. It was once again not possible for the Secretariat to prepare the 
mandated report, as divergent views persist on its scope and coverage. Nevertheless, the annual JOB/GC/249  
 
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  review provided the opportunity fo r some Members to share information on their DFQF schemes for 
LDCs.  
1.8.  Concerning the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential Treatment, despite the 
meeting of the CTD's Dedicated Session which was held in November, the situation persists as no 
written submissions have been made and, as a result, the Mechanism is yet to be operationalized. 
Additionally, there is still no common understanding on how to proceed with the long overdue review 
of the Mechanism. The CTD Chair urged Members to come to a commo n understanding on the way 
forward.  
1.9.  With respect to the Bali Decision on Trade and Transfer of Technology, at a recent meeting of 
the Working Group, the Chair, on the basis of the consultations he held, noted that, while delegations 
were willing to engage with a view to achieving an outcome on transfer of technology, advancing 
the mandate would require leadership on the side of the proponents. The African and the LDC Groups 
stated their interest in exploring ways to revisit discussions and revive the Workin g Group's 
activities.  
1.10.  Regarding Aid for Trade, earlier this month, an online briefing session was organized to 
provide Members with further information on the Aid -for-Trade Stocktaking Event which will be held 
on 23 - 25 March 2021. The purpose of the Stoc ktaking Event is to collect, discuss and disseminate 
information concerning Members' Aid -for-Trade needs and responses to the trade related challenges 
triggered by the COVID -19 pandemic. Members have been invited to communicate, by 31 December, 
details on the sessions they would like to organize.  
1.11.  And lastly, a brief update concerning the Trade Facilitation Agreement, where the current rate 
of ratification stands at 93% of the membership.  
1.12.  This concludes my report.  
 
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