WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
22 December 2005 
 (05-6248) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005  
 
  
DOHA WORK PROGRAMME 
 
Ministerial Declaration 
 
Adopted on 18 December 2005
 
  1. We reaffirm the Declarations and Decisions  we adopted at Doha, as well as the Decision 
adopted by the General Council on 1 August 2004, and our full commitme nt to give effect to them.  
We renew our resolve to complete the Doha Work Programme fully and to conclude the negotiations 
launched at Doha successfully in 2006.  2. We emphasize the central importance of the development dimension in every aspect of the 
Doha Work Programme and recommit ourselves to ma king it a meaningful reality, in terms both of 
the results of the negotiations on market access a nd rule-making and of the specific development-
related issues set out below.  3. In pursuance of these objectives, we agree as follows:  
Agriculture 
negotiations 4. We reaffirm our commitment to the mandate on agriculture as set out in 
paragraph 13 of the Doha Ministerial Decl aration and to the Framework adopted by 
the General Council on 1 August 2004.  We take note of the report by the Chairman 
of the Special Session on his own responsibility (TN/AG/21, contained in Annex A).  We welcome the progress made by the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture since 2004 and recorded therein. 
 
5. On domestic support, there will be th ree bands for reductions in Final Bound 
Total AMS and in the overall cut in trad e-distorting domestic support, with higher 
linear cuts in higher bands.  In both cases, the Member with the highest level of permitted support will be in the top band, the two Members with the second and 
third highest levels of support will be in the middle band and all other Members, 
including all developing country Members, w ill be in the bottom band.  In addition, 
developed country Members in the lower ba nds with high relative levels of Final 
Bound Total AMS will make an additional e ffort in AMS reduction.  We also note 
that there has been some convergence concerning the reductions in Final Bound 
Total AMS, the overall cut in trade-distorting domestic support and in both product-
specific and non product-specific de minimis  limits.  Disciplines will be developed to 
achieve effective cuts in trade-distor ting domestic support consistent with the 
Framework.  The overall reduction in trad e-distorting domestic support will still 
need to be made even if the sum of the reductions in Final Bound Total AMS, 
de minimis  and Blue Box payments would othe rwise be less than that overall 
reduction.  Developing country Members with no AMS commitments will be 
exempt from reductions in de minimis  and the overall cut in trade-distorting 
domestic support.  Green Box criteria will be reviewed in line with paragraph 16 of WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page 2  
 
the Framework, inter alia , to ensure that programmes of developing country 
Members that cause not more than minimal trade-distortion are effectively covered.  6. We agree to ensure the parallel elim ination of all forms of export subsidies 
and disciplines on all export measures with equi valent effect to be completed by the 
end of 2013.  This will be achieved in a progressive and parallel manner, to be 
specified in the modalities, so that a substan tial part is realized by the end of the first 
half of the implementation period.  We note emerging convergence on some 
elements of disciplines with respect to export credits, export credit guarantees or insurance programmes with repayment periods  of 180 days and below.  We agree 
that such programmes should be self-financi ng, reflecting market consistency, and 
that the period should be of a sufficiently short duration so as not to effectively circumvent real commercially-oriented discipline.  As a means of ensuring that trade-distorting practices of STEs are eliminated, disciplines relating to exporting STEs will extend to the future use of monop oly powers so that such powers cannot 
be exercised in any way that would circumvent the direct disciplines on STEs on 
export subsidies, government financing and the underwriting of losses.  On food aid, 
we reconfirm our commitment to maintain an  adequate level and to take into account 
the interests of food aid recipient countries.  To this end, a "safe box" for bona fide food aid will be provided to ensure that  there is no unintended impediment to 
dealing with emergency situations.  Beyo nd that, we will ensure elimination of 
commercial displacement.  To this end, we  will agree effective disciplines on in-kind 
food aid, monetization and re-exports so  that there can be no loop-hole for 
continuing export subsidization.  The disciplines on export credits, export credit 
guarantees or insurance programmes, exportin g state trading enterprises and food aid 
will be completed by 30 April 2006 as part  of the modalities, including appropriate 
provision in favour of least-developed and net food-importing developing countries 
as provided for in paragraph 4 of the Marra kesh Decision.  The date above for the 
elimination of all forms of export subsidies, together with the agreed progressivity and parallelism, will be confirmed only u pon the completion of the modalities.  
Developing country Members will continue to  benefit from the provisions of Article 
9.4 of the Agreement on Agriculture for five  years after the end-date for elimination 
of all forms of export subsidies. 
 7. On market access, we note the progress made on ad valorem  equivalents.  
We adopt four bands for structuring tariff cuts, recognizing that we need now to 
agree on the relevant thresholds – including those applicable for developing country 
Members.  We recognize the need to agr ee on treatment of sens itive products, taking 
into account all the elements involved.  We  also note that there have been some 
recent movements on the designation and treatment of Special Products and elements of the Special Safeguard Mechanism.  Developing country Members will have the flexibility to self-designate an appropriate number of tariff lines as Special 
Products guided by indicators based on the criteria of food security, livelihood 
security and rural development.  Devel oping country Members will also have the 
right to have recourse to a Special Sa feguard Mechanism based on import quantity 
and price triggers, with precise arrangements to be further defined.  Special Products 
and the Special Safeguard Mechanism shall be  an integral part of the modalities and 
the outcome of negotiations in agriculture.  
 8. On other elements of special and diffe rential treatment, we note in particular 
the consensus that exists in the Framewor k on several issues in all three pillars of 
domestic support, export competition and ma rket access and that some progress has 
been made on other special and differential treatment issues. 
  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
 Page 3 
 
 
9. We reaffirm that nothing we have agreed here compromises the agreement already reflected in the Framework on other issues including tropical products and products of particular importance to th e diversification of production from the 
growing of illicit narcotic crops, long-standing preferences and preference erosion. 
 
10. However, we recognize that much re mains to be done in order to establish 
modalities and to conclude the negotiations.  Therefore, we agree to intensify work 
on all outstanding issues to fulfil the Doha objectives, in particular, we are resolved to establish modalities no later than 30 Ap ril 2006 and to submit comprehensive 
draft Schedules based on these modalities no later than 31 July 2006. 
 
 
Cotton 11. We recall the mandate given by the Members in the Decision adopted by the 
General Council on 1 August 2004 to address cotton ambiti ously, expeditiously and 
specifically, within the agriculture negotia tions in relation to all trade-distorting 
policies affecting the sector in all three pillars of market access, domestic support 
and export competition, as specified in the Doha text and the July 2004 Framework 
text.  We note the work already undertak en in the Sub-Committee on Cotton and the 
proposals made with regard to this matter .  Without prejudice to Members' current 
WTO rights and obligations, including those flowing from actions taken by the Dispute Settlement Body, we reaffirm our commitment to ensure having an explicit 
decision on cotton within the agriculture negotiations and through the Sub-Committee on Cotton ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically as follows: 
– All forms of export subsidies for co tton will be eliminated by developed 
countries in 2006. 
– On market access, developed countries will give duty and quota free access 
for cotton exports from least-dev eloped countries (LDCs) from the 
commencement of the implementation period. 
– Members agree that the objective is that, as an outcome for the negotiations, 
trade distorting domestic subsidies for cotton production be reduced more ambitiously than under whatever general formula is agreed and that it should 
be implemented over a shorte r period of time than generally applicable.  We 
commit ourselves to give priority in the negotiations to reach such an 
outcome. 
 12. With regard to the development assistance aspects of cotton, we welcome 
the Consultative Framework process initiate d by the Director-General to implement 
the decisions on these aspects pursuant to paragraph 1.b of the Decision adopted by 
the General Council on 1 August 2004.  We ta ke note of his Periodic Reports and the 
positive evolution of development assistance noted therein.  We urge the Director-General to further intensify his consulta tive efforts with bilateral donors and with 
multilateral and regional institutions, w ith emphasis on improved coherence, 
coordination and enhanced implementati on and to explore the possibility of 
establishing through such institutions a mech anism to deal with income declines in 
the cotton sector until the end of subsidies.  Noting the importance of achieving 
enhanced efficiency and co mpetitiveness in the cotton producing process, we urge 
the development community to further scale up its cotton-specific assistance and to support the efforts of the Director-General.  In this context, we urge Members to 
promote and support South-South cooperation,  including transfer of technology.  We 
welcome the domestic reform efforts by African cotton producers aimed at 
enhancing productivity and efficiency, and en courage them to deepen this process. 
We reaffirm the complementarity of the trade policy and development assistance aspects of cotton.  We invite the Directo r-General to furnish a third Periodic Report WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page 4  
 
to our next Session with updates, at appropriate intervals in the meantime, to the General Council, while keeping the Sub-Committee on Cotton fully informed of progress.  Finally, as regards follow up and monitoring, we request the Director-General to set up an appropriate follow-up and monitoring mechanism.  
NAMA 
negotiations 13. We reaffirm our commitment to th e mandate for negotiations on market 
access for non-agricultural products as set out in paragraph 16 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  We also reaffirm all the elements of the NAMA Framework adopted by the General Council on 1 August 2004 .  We take note of the report by the 
Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Market Access on his own responsibility 
(TN/MA/16, contained in Annex B).  We welcome the progress made by the 
Negotiating Group on Market Access since 2004 and recorded therein. 
 14. We adopt a Swiss Formula with co efficients at levels which shall inter alia :  
− Reduce or as appropriate eliminate tariffs, including the reduction or 
elimination of tariff peaks, high tariffs and tariff escalation, in particular on 
products of export interest to  developing countries;  and 
− Take fully into account the special needs and interests of developing 
countries, including through less than full reciprocity in reduction commitments. 
We instruct the Negotiating Group to finalize its structure and details  as soon as 
possible. 
 
15. We reaffirm the importance of special and differential treatment and less than full reciprocity in reduction commitm ents, including paragraph 8 of the NAMA 
Framework, as integral parts of the modaliti es.  We instruct the Negotiating Group to 
finalize its details  as soon as possible. 
 
16. In furtherance of paragraph 7 of the NAMA Framework, we recognize that 
Members are pursuing sectoral initiatives.  To  this end, we instruct the Negotiating 
Group to review proposals with a view to identifying those which could garner sufficient participation to be realized.  Participation should be on a non-mandatory 
basis. 
 
17. For the purpose of the second indent of paragraph 5 of the NAMA Framework, we adopt a non-linear mark-up approach to establish base rates for 
commencing tariff reductions.  We instruct the Negotiating Group to finalize its details as soon as possible. 
 
18. We take note of the progress made to convert non ad valorem  duties to 
ad valorem  equivalents on the basis of an agreed methodology as contained in 
JOB(05)/166/Rev.1.  19. We take note of the level of co mmon understanding reached on the issue of 
product coverage and direct the Negotiati ng Group to resolve differences on the 
limited issues that remain as quickly as possible.  20. As a supplement to paragraph 16 of  the NAMA Framework, we recognize 
the challenges that may be faced by non-r eciprocal preference beneficiary Members 
as a consequence of the MFN liberalizati on that will result from these negotiations.  
We instruct the Negotiating Group to inte nsify work on the assessment of the scope 
of the problem with a view to finding possible solutions.  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
 Page 5 
 
 
 21. We note the concerns raised by small, vulnerable economies, and instruct the Negotiating Group to establish ways to provide flexibilities for these Members 
without creating a sub-category of WTO Members.  
22. We note that the Negotiating Group has made progress in the identification, 
categorization and examination of notified NTBs.  We also take note that Members 
are developing bilateral, vertical and hor izontal approaches to the NTB negotiations, 
and that some of the NTBs are being addressed in other fora including other 
Negotiating Groups.  We recognize the need for specific negotiating proposals and 
encourage participants to make such  submissions as quickly as possible. 
 23. However, we recognize that much re mains to be done in order to establish 
modalities and to conclude the negotiations.  Therefore, we agree to intensify work 
on all outstanding issues  to fulfil the Doha objectives, in  particular, we are resolved 
to establish modalities no later than 30 Ap ril 2006 and to submit comprehensive 
draft Schedules based on these modalities no later than 31 July 2006. 
 
Balance 
between 
Agriculture and NAMA 24. We recognize that it is important to advance the development objectives of 
this Round through enhanced market access for developing countries in both 
Agriculture and NAMA.  To that end, we inst ruct our negotiators to ensure that there 
is a comparably high level of ambition in  market access for Agriculture and NAMA.  
This ambition is to be achieved in a ba lanced and proportionate  manner consistent 
with the principle of special and differential treatment.  
Services 
negotiations  25. The negotiations on trade in services sh all proceed to their conclusion with a 
view to promoting the economic growth of all trading partners and the development 
of developing and least-developed countries,  and with due respect for the right of 
Members to regulate.  In this regard, we recall and reaffirm the objectives and principles stipulated in the GATS, the Doha  Ministerial Declaration, the Guidelines 
and Procedures for the Negotiations on Tr ade in Services adopted by the Special 
Session of the Council for Trade in Services on 28 March 2001 and the Modalities for the Special Treatment for Least-Developed Country Members in the Negotiations on Trade in Services adopted on 3 September 2003, as well as Annex C of the Decision adopted by the General Council on 1 August 2004. 
 
26. We urge all Members to participat e actively in these negotiations towards 
achieving a progressively higher level of lib eralization of trade in services, with 
appropriate flexibility for individual de veloping countries as provided for in 
Article XIX of the GATS.  Negotiations sh all have regard to the size of economies 
of individual Members, both overall and in individual sectors.  We recognize the 
particular economic situation of LDCs, including the difficulties they face, and 
acknowledge that they are not expect ed to undertake new commitments. 
 27. We are determined to intensify th e negotiations in accordance with the 
above principles and the Objectives, Approaches and Timelines set out in Annex C 
to this document with a view to expandi ng the sectoral and modal coverage of 
commitments and improving their quality.  In this regard, particular attention will be 
given to sectors and modes of supply of e xport interest to developing countries. 
 
Rules 
negotiations 
 28. We recall the mandates in paragra phs 28 and 29 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration and reaffirm our commitment to the negotiations on rules, as we set 
forth in Annex D to this document. 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page 6  
 
TRIPS 
negotiations  29. We take note of the report of the Chairman of the Special Session of the 
Council for TRIPS setting out the progress in  the negotiations on the establishment 
of a multilateral system of notification a nd registration of geographical indications 
for wines and spirits, as mandated in Ar ticle 23.4 of the TRIPS Agreement and 
paragraph 18 of the Doha Ministerial Decl aration, contained in document TN/IP/14, 
and agree to intensify these negotiations in or der to complete them within the overall 
time-frame for the conclusion of the negotia tions that were foreseen in the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration.  
Environment 
negotiations 
 30. We reaffirm the mandate in pa ragraph 31 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration aimed at enhancing the mutual  supportiveness of trade and environment 
and welcome the significant work undertaken in the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) in Special Session.  We instruct Members to intensify the negotiations, without prejudging their outcome , on all parts of paragraph 31 to fulfil 
the mandate. 
 
31. We recognize the progress in the wo rk under paragraph 31(i) based on 
Members' submissions on the relationship between existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations set out in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).  We 
further recognize the work undertaken under paragraph 31(ii) towards developing 
effective procedures for regular information exchange between MEA Secretariats 
and the relevant WTO committees, and criteria for the granting of observer status. 
 32. We recognize that recently more work  has been carried out under paragraph 
31(iii) through numerous submissions by Members and discussions in the CTE in 
Special Session, including technical discu ssions, which were also held in informal 
information exchange sessions without prejudice to Members' positions.  We instruct 
Members to complete the work expe ditiously under paragraph 31(iii). 
 
Trade 
Facilitation 
negotiations 33. We recall and reaffirm  the mandate and modalities for negotiations on Trade 
Facilitation contained in Annex D of the Decision adopted by the General Council 
on 1 August 2004.  We note with appreciation the report of the Negotiating Group, 
attached in Annex E to this document, and the comments made by our delegations 
on that report as reflected in docum ent TN/TF/M/11.  We endorse the 
recommendations contained in paragraphs  3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the report. 
 
DSU 
negotiations 34. We take note of the progress made in the Dispute Settlement Understanding 
negotiations as reflected in the report by th e Chairman of the Special Session of the 
Dispute Settlement Body to the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) and direct the Special Session to continue to work towa rds a rapid conclusion of the negotiations. 
 
S&D treatment 35. We reaffirm that provisions for special and differential (S&D) treatment are an integral part of the WTO Agreements.  We renew our determination to fulfil the 
mandate contained in paragr aph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and in the 
Decision adopted by the General Council on 1 August 2004, that all S&D treatment 
provisions be reviewed with a view to strengthening them and making them more 
precise, effective and operational.  
36. We take note of the work done on the Agreement-specific proposals, 
especially the five LDC proposals.  We agree to adopt the decisions contained in Annex F to this document.  However, we also recognize that substantial work still 
remains to be done.  We commit ourselves to  address the development interests and 
concerns of developing countries, especia lly the LDCs, in the multilateral trading 
system, and we recommit ourselves to complete the task we set ourselves at Doha.   WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
 Page 7 
 
 
We accordingly instruct the Committee on Trade and Development in Special 
Session to expeditiously complete the re view of all the outstanding Agreement-
specific proposals and report to the General Council, with clear recommendations for a decision, by December 2006. 
 
37. We are concerned at the lack of progress on the Category II proposals that had been referred to other WTO bodies and negotiating groups.  We instruct these 
bodies to expeditiously complete the consideration of these proposals and report periodically to the General Council, with  the objective of ensuring that clear 
recommendations for a decision are made no later than December 2006.  We also 
instruct the Special Session to continue to coordinate its efforts with these bodies, so 
as to ensure that this work is completed on time. 
 
38. We further instruct the Special Session, within the parameters of the Doha 
mandate, to resume work on all other outstanding issues, including on the cross-
cutting issues, the monitoring mechanism, and the incorporation of S&D treatment into the architecture of WTO rules, and report on a regular basis to the General 
Council.  
 
Implementation 39. We reiterate the instruction in the Decision adopted by the General Council 
on 1 August 2004 to the TNC, negotiati ng bodies and other WTO bodies concerned 
to redouble their efforts to find appropriate solutions as a priority to outstanding implementation-related issues.  We take note of the work undertaken by the Director-General in his consultative process on all outstanding implementation 
issues under paragraph 12(b) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, including on 
issues related to the extension of the prot ection of geographical indications provided 
for in Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement to products other than wines and spirits 
and those related to the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the 
Convention on Biological Diversity.  We request the Director-General, without prejudice to the positions of Members, to intensify his consultative process on all 
outstanding implementation issues under para graph 12(b), if need be by appointing 
Chairpersons of concerned WTO bodies as his Friends and/or by holding dedicated 
consultations.  The Director-General shall report to each regular meeting of the TNC 
and the General Council.  The Council shall review progress and take any 
appropriate action no later than 31 July 2006.  
TRIPS & 
Public Health 40. We reaffirm the importance we att ach to the General Council Decision of 
30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Para graph 6 of the Doha Declaration on 
the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health , and to an amendment to the TRIPS 
Agreement replacing its provisions.  In this  regard, we welcome the work that has 
taken place in the Council for TRIPS and the Decision of the General Council of 
6 December 2005 on an Amendment of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 
Small 
Economies 41. We reaffirm our commitment to the Work Programme on Small Economies 
and urge Members to adopt specific me asures that would facilitate the fuller 
integration of small, vulnerable economies into the multilateral trading system, 
without creating a sub-category of WTO Member s.  We take note of the report of the 
Committee on Trade and Development in  Dedicated Session on the Work 
Programme on Small Economies to the General Council and agree to the 
recommendations on future work.  We  instruct the Committee on Trade and 
Development, under the overall responsibilit y of the General Council, to continue 
the work in the Dedicated Session and to monitor progress of the small economies' 
proposals in the negotiating and other bodies, with the aim of providing responses to 
the trade-related issues of small economies as soon as possible but no later than WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page 8  
 
31 December 2006.  We instruct the General Council to report on progress and action taken, together with any further recommendations as appropriate, to our next 
Session. 
 
Trade, Debt & 
Finance 42. We take note of the report transm itted by the General Council on the work 
undertaken and progress made in the examin ation of the relationship between trade, 
debt and finance and on the consideration of any possible recommendations on steps 
that might be taken within the mandate and competence of the WTO as provided in paragraph 36 of the Doha Ministerial D eclaration and agree that, building on the 
work carried out to date, this  work shall continue on the basis of the Doha mandate.  
We instruct the General Council to re port further to our next Session. 
 
Trade & 
Transfer of 
Technology 43. We take note of the report transm itted by the General Council on the work 
undertaken and progress made in the examin ation of the relationship between trade 
and transfer of technology and on the consideration of any possible 
recommendations on steps that might be ta ken within the mandate of the WTO to 
increase flows of technology to developing countries.  Recognizing the relevance of the relationship between trade and transf er of technology to the development 
dimension of the Doha Work Programme and building on the work carried out to 
date, we agree that this work shall conti nue on the basis of the mandate contained in 
paragraph 37 of the Doha Ministerial Declar ation.  We instruct the General Council 
to report further to our next Session. 
 
Doha 
paragraph 19 44. We take note of the work undertaken by the Council for TRIPS pursuant to 
paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Decl aration and agree that this work shall 
continue on the basis of paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and the 
progress made in the Council for TRIPS to  date.  The General Council shall report 
on its work in this rega rd to our next Session. 
 
TRIPS non-
violation and situation 
complaints 45. We take note of the work done by the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights pursuant to pa ragraph 11.1 of the Doha Decision on 
Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns  and paragraph 1.h of the Decision 
adopted by the General Council on 1 August 2004, and direct it to continue its 
examination of the scope and modalities for complaints of the types provided for 
under subparagraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of  Article XXIII of GATT 1994 and make 
recommendations to our next Session.  It is agreed that, in the meantime, Members will not initiate such complaints under the TRIPS Agreement.  
E-commerce 46. We take note of the reports from th e General Council and subsidiary bodies 
on the Work Programme on Electronic Comme rce, and that the examination of 
issues under the Work Programme is not yet co mplete.  We agree to reinvigorate that 
work, including the development-related issues under the Work Programme and 
discussions on the trade treatment, inter alia , of electronically delivered software.  
We agree to maintain the current in stitutional arrangements for the Work 
Programme.  We declare that Members will maintain their current practice of not 
imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until our next Session. 
 
LDCs 47. We reaffirm our commitment to e ffectively and meaningfully integrate 
LDCs into the multilateral trading system and shall continue to implement the WTO Work Programme for LDCs adopted in  February 2002.  We acknowledge the 
seriousness of the concerns and interests of the LDCs in the negotiations as 
expressed in the Livingstone Declaration, a dopted by their Ministers in June 2005.  
We take note that issues of interest to LDCs are being addressed in all areas of negotiations and we welcome the progress made since the Doha Ministerial  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
 Page 9 
 
 
Declaration as reflected in the Deci sion adopted by the General Council on 
1 August 2004.  Building upon the commitment in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, developed-country Members, and de veloping-country Members declaring 
themselves in a position to do so, agree to implement duty-free and quota-free market access for products originating from  LDCs as provided for in Annex F to this 
document.  Furthermore, in accordan ce with our commitment in the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration, Members shall take  additional measures to provide effective 
market access, both at the border and othe rwise, including simplified and transparent 
rules of origin so as to facilitate exports  from LDCs.  In the services negotiations, 
Members shall implement the LDC modalities and give priority to the sectors and 
modes of supply of export interest to LDCs, particularly with regard to movement of 
service providers under Mode 4.  We agr ee to facilitate and accelerate negotiations 
with acceding LDCs based on the accession guidelines adopted by the General Council in December 2002.  We commit to c ontinue giving our attention and priority 
to concluding the ongoing accession pro ceedings as rapidly as possible.  We 
welcome the Decision by the TRIPS Counc il to extend the transition period under 
Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.  We reaffirm our commitment to enhance 
effective trade-related technical assist ance and capacity building to LDCs on a 
priority basis in helping to overcome their limited human and institutional trade-related capacity to enable LDCs to maxi mize the benefits resulting from the Doha 
Development Agenda (DDA). 
 
Integrated 
Framework 48. We continue to attach high priority  to the effective implementation of the 
Integrated Framework (IF) and reiterate our endorsement of the IF as a viable 
instrument for LDCs' trade development, building on its principles of country ownership and partnership.  We highlight the importance of contributing to reducing 
their supply side constraints.  We rea ffirm our commitment made at Doha, and 
recognize the urgent need to make the IF more effective and timely in addressing the trade-related development needs of LDCs.  49. In this regard, we are encouraged by the endorsement by the Development 
Committee of the World Bank and Internati onal Monetary Fund (IMF) at its autumn 
2005 meeting of an enhanced IF.  We welc ome the establishment of a Task Force by 
the Integrated Framework Working Group as endorsed by the IF Steering Committee (IFSC) as well as an agreement on the three elements which together constitute an 
enhanced IF.  The Task Force, composed of donor and LDC members, will provide recommendations to the IFSC by April 2006.  The enhanced IF shall enter into force 
no later than 31 December 2006. 
 50. We agree that the Task Force, in  line with its Mandate and based on the 
three elements agreed to, shall provide  recommendations on how the implementation 
of the IF can be improved, inter alia , by considering ways to: 
1. provide increased, predictable, and additional funding on a multi-year basis; 
2. strengthen the IF in-country, including through mainstreaming trade into 
national development plans and poverty re duction strategies;  more effective 
follow-up to diagnostic trade integr ation studies and implementation of 
action matrices; and achieving greater and more effective coordination 
amongst donors and IF stakeholders, including beneficiaries; 
3. improve the IF decision-making and management structure to ensure an 
effective and timely delivery of the increased financial resources and programmes. 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page 10  
 
51. We welcome the increased commitment already expressed by some Members in the run-up to, and during, this  Session.  We urge other development 
partners to significantly increase their cont ribution to the IF Trust Fund.  We also 
urge the six IF core agencies to continue to cooperate closely in the implementation of the IF, to increase their investments in this initiative and to intensify their 
assistance in trade-related infrastructure, private sector development and institution 
building to help LDCs expand a nd diversify their export base. 
 
Technical 
Cooperation 52. We note with appreciation the substa ntial increase in trade-related technical 
assistance since our Fourth Session, whic h reflects the enhanced commitment of 
Members to address the increased demand for technical assistance, through both 
bilateral and multilateral programmes.  We note the progress made in the current approach to planning and implementation of WTO's programmes, as embodied in 
the Technical Assistance and Training Pl ans adopted by Members, as well as the 
improved quality of those programmes.  We  note that a strategic review of WTO's 
technical assistance is to be carried out by Members, and expect that in future 
planning and implementation of training a nd technical assistance, the conclusions 
and recommendations of the review will be taken into account, as appropriate. 
 
53. We reaffirm the priorities estab lished in paragraph 38 of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration for the delivery of technical assistance and urge the Director-
General to ensure that programmes focus accordingly on the needs of beneficiary 
countries and reflect the priorities and ma ndates adopted by Members.  We endorse 
the application of appropriate needs ass essment mechanisms and support the efforts 
to enhance ownership by beneficiaries, in order to ensure the sustainability of trade-
related capacity building.  We invite the Director-General to reinforce the 
partnerships and coordinati on with other agencies and regional bodies in the design 
and implementation of technical assistance programmes, so that all dimensions of trade-related capacity building are addressed, in a manner coherent with the programmes of other providers.  In par ticular, we encourage all Members to 
cooperate with the International Trade Centre, which complements WTO work by 
providing a platform for business to interact  with trade negotiators, and practical 
advice for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from the multilateral trading system.  In this conn ection, we note the role of the Joint 
Integrated Technical Assistance Programme  (JITAP) in building the capacity of 
participating countries. 
 
54. In order to continue progress in the effective and timely delivery of trade-
related capacity building, in line with the pr iority Members attach to it, the relevant 
structures of the Secretariat should be stre ngthened and its resources enhanced.  We 
reaffirm our commitment  to ensure secure and adequate levels of funding for trade-
related capacity building, including in th e Doha Development Agenda Global Trust 
Fund, to conclude the Doha Work Programme  and implement its results. 
 
 
Commodity 
Issues 55. We recognize the dependence of several developing and least-developed 
countries on the export of commodities and the problems they face because of the 
adverse impact of the long-term decline and sharp fluctuation in the prices of these 
commodities.  We take note of the work  undertaken in the Committee on Trade and 
Development on commodity issues, and inst ruct the Committee, within its mandate, 
to intensify its work in cooperation with other relevant intern ational organizations 
and report regularly to the General C ouncil with possible recommendations.  We 
agree that the particular trade-related c oncerns of developing and least-developed 
countries related to commodities shall al so be addressed in the course of the 
agriculture and NAMA negotiations.  We further acknowledge that these countries  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
 Page 11 
 
 
may need support and technical assistance to  overcome the particular problems they 
face, and urge Members and relevant in ternational organizations to consider 
favourably requests by these countries for support and assistance.  
Coherence 56. We welcome the Director-General's actions to strengthen the WTO's 
cooperation with the IMF and the World Bank in the context of the WTO's 
Marrakesh mandate on Coherence, and invite him to continue to work closely with 
the General Council in this area.  We va lue the General Council meetings that are 
held with the participation of the heads of the IMF and the World Bank to advance 
our Coherence mandate.  We agree to c ontinue building on that experience and 
expand the debate on international trade and development policymaking and inter-
agency cooperation with the participation of  relevant UN agencies.  In that regard, 
we note the discussions taking place in the Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance on, inter alia , the issue of Coherence, and look forward to any possible 
recommendations it may make on steps that might be taken within the mandate and 
competence of the WTO on this issue. 
 
Aid for Trade 57. We welcome the discussions of Finance and Development Ministers in various fora, including the Developmen t Committee of the World Bank and IMF, 
that have taken place this year on expanding Aid for Trade.  Aid for Trade should aim to help developing countries, particularly LDCs, to build the supply-side 
capacity and trade-related infrastructure that  they need to assist them to implement 
and benefit from WTO Agreemen ts and more broadly to expand their trade.  Aid for 
Trade cannot be a substitute for the devel opment benefits that will result from a 
successful conclusion to the DDA, particularly on market access.  However, it can be a valuable complement to the DDA.  We  invite the Director-General to create a 
task force that shall provide recommendations on how to operationalize Aid for 
Trade.  The Task Force will provide recommendations to the General Council by July 2006 on how Aid for Trade might contribute most effectively to the development dimension of the DDA.  We also invite the Director-General to consult with Members as well as with the IMF a nd World Bank, relevant international 
organisations and the regional development banks with a view to reporting to the 
General Council on appropriate mechanisms to secure additional financial resources 
for Aid for Trade, where appropriate through grants and concessional loans.  
Recently-
acceded 
Members 58. We recognize the special situation of recently-acceded Members who have 
undertaken extensive market access commitmen ts at the time of accession.  This 
situation will be taken into  account in the negotiations. 
 
Accessions 59. We reaffirm our strong commitmen t to making the WTO truly global in 
scope and membership.  We welcome those new Members who have completed their accession processes since our last Session, namely Nepal, Cambodia and Saudi 
Arabia.  We note with satisfaction th at Tonga has completed its accession 
negotiations to the WTO.  These accessions further strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system.  We continue to attach priority to the 29 ongoing accessions with a view to concluding them as rapidly and smoothly as possible.  We stress the importance of facilitating and accelerating the accession negotiations of least-developed countries, taking due acc ount of the guidelines on LDC accession 
adopted by the General Council in December 2002. 
 
 
_______________ 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-1 
 
 
Annex A 
 
Agriculture 
 
Report by the Chairman of the Special Sessi on of the Committee on Agriculture to the TNC  
 
 1. The present report has been prepared on my ow n responsibility. I have done so in response to 
the direction of Members as expressed at the informal Special Session of the Committee on 
Agriculture on 11 November 2005.  At that mee ting, following the informal Heads of Delegation 
meeting the preceding day, Members made it crystal clear  that they sought from me at this point an 
objective factual summary of where the negotiations have  reached at this time. It was clear from that 
meeting that Members did not expect or desire an ything that purported to be more than that. In 
particular, it was clear that, following the decision  at the Heads of Delegation meeting that full 
modalities will not be achieved at Hong Kong, Members did not want anything that suggested implicit 
or explicit agreement where it did not exist. 
 2. This is not, of course, the kind of paper th at I would have chosen or preferred to have 
prepared at this point.  Ideally, my task should have  been to work with Members to generate a draft 
text of modalities. But this text reflects the rea lity of the present situation. There will be – because 
there must be if we are to conclude these negotiations – such a draft text in the future.  I look at this 
now as a task postponed, but the precise timing of this is in the hands of Members. 
 3. As for this paper, it is precisely what it is described to be.  No more, no less. It is the Chairman's report and, as such, it goes from me to the TNC.  It is not anything more than my personal 
report – in particular, it is not in any sense an agreed  text of Members.  It does not, therefore, in any 
way prejudge or prejudice the positions of Members on any matter within it or outside of it.  And, it 
certainly does not bind Members in any way.  It s hould go without saying that the agreed basis of our 
work is, and shall remain, the Doha Mandate itself and the Framework in the Decision adopted by the 
General Council on 1 August 2004.  4. As to the character of the paper, I have e ndeavoured to reflect what I discerned as the wishes 
of Members when they directed me to prepare this paper.  I have tried to capture as clearly as I can 
such conditional progress and convergence as has deve loped in the post-July 2004 period.  In doing 
so, I have not tried to brush under the carpet divergen ces that remain, and the paper tries to be just as 
clear on those points.  Of course, it is a summary report.  As such, it cannot – and does not – recapitulate each and every detail on each and every issue.  But I took from Members' comments that 
they would prefer a paper which could 'orient' further discussion. 
 5. In that regard, I hope that anyone reading this paper would be able to get a pretty clear idea of 
what it is that remains to be done.  Members made it clear that it was not my task as Chair to prescribe 
what is to be done next in a programmatic way.  My task was to register where we are now, but I 
confess to having done so with an eye to genuinely  clarifying where key convergences exist or key 
divergences remain, rather than obscu ring or overcomplicating matters. 
 6. My own sense, when I review this myself, is the compelling urgency of seizing the moment 
and driving the process to a conclusion as rapidly as possible. We have made – particularly since 
August of this year – genuine and material progress.  Indeed, it has come at a relatively rapid pace.  It 
is also clear to me that it has been the product of a genuinely negotiating process.  In other words, it 
has been a case of making proposals and counterproposal s.  That is why the matters covered in this 
report have an essentially conditional character.  As I see it, the reality is that we have yet to find that 
last bridge to agreement that we need to secure m odalities.  But it would be a grave error, in my view, 
to imagine that we can take much time to find that  bridge.  As Chair, I am convinced that we must 
maintain momentum.  You don't close divergences by ta king time off to have a cup of tea.  If you do WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-2  
so, you will find that everyone has moved backwards in the meantime. That, it seems to me, is a 
profound risk to our process. I would like to believe that this report at least underlines to us that there 
is indeed something real and important still within our grasp and we ought not to risk losing it.  Our 
over-riding challenge and responsibility is to m eet the development objective of the Doha 
Development Agenda.  To meet this  challenge and achieve this goal, we must act decisively and with 
real urgency. 
 
7. The future life of this paper, if any, is a matter entirely in the hands of TNC Members to 
decide. This, as I see it, is the proper safeguard of th e integrity of what has come to be described as a 
"bottom-up" process. 
 
 
DOMESTIC SUPPORT 
 
8. There has been very considerable potentia l convergence, albeit on a manifestly conditional 
basis. 
 
Overall Cut 
 
- There is a working hypothesis of three bands  for overall cuts by developed countries.  
There is a strongly convergent working hypothesi s that the thresholds for the three bands 
be US$ billion 0-10; 10-60; >60.  On this basis, the European Communities would be in 
the top band, the United States and Japan in  the second band, and all other developed 
countries at least in the third band.  For developing countries, there is a view that either developing countries are assigned to the relevant  integrated band (the bottom) or that 
there is a separate band for them.
1 
- Based on post-July 2005 proposals, there has been an undeniably significant convergence 
on the range of cuts.  Of course, this has been conditional.  But subject to that feature, a 
great deal of progress has been made since the bare bones of the July 2004 Framework.  The following matrix provides a snapshot: 
 
Bands Thresholds (US$ billion) Cuts 
1 0-10 31%-70% 
2 10-60 53%-75% 
3 > 60 70%-80% 
 
De Minimis 
 
- On product-specific de minimis  and non-product-specific de minimis , there is a zone of 
engagement for cuts between 50% and 80% for developed countries. 
- As regards developing countries, there are s till divergences to be bridged.  In addition to 
the exemption specifically provided for in the Framework, there is a view that, for all 
developing countries, there should be no cut in de minimis  at all.  Alternatively, at least 
for those with no AMS, there should be no cut and, in any case, any cut for those with an 
AMS should be less than 2/3 of the cut for developed countries. 
  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-3 
 
 
Blue Box 
 
9. There is important and significant converge nce on moving beyond (i.e. further constraining) 
Blue Box programme payments envisaged in the July  2004 Framework.  However, the technique for 
achieving this remains to be determined.  One prop osal is to shrink the current 5% ceiling to 2.5%.2  
Another proposal rejects this in favour of additional criteria disciplin ing the so-called "new" Blue Box 
only.  Others favour a combination of both, incl uding additional disciplines on the "old" Blue Box. 
 
AMS 
 
- There is a working hypothesis of three bands for developed countries. 
- There is close (but not full) convergence on the thresholds for those bands.  There 
appears to be convergence that the top tier should be US$25 billion and above.  There is 
some remaining divergence over the ceiling for the bottom band:  between US$12 billion 
and 15 billion. 
- There has been an undeniably significant c onvergence on the range of cuts.  Of course, 
this has been conditional.  But, that unders tood, a great deal of progress has been made 
since the bare bones of the July 2004 Framework.  The following matrix3 provides a 
snapshot: 
Bands  Thresholds  (US$ billion) Cuts 
1 0-12/15 37-60% 
2 12/15-25 60-70% 
3 >25 70-83% 
 
- There is therefore working hypothesis agre ement that the European Communities should 
be in the top tier, and the United States in  the second tier. However, while the basis for 
Japan's placement as between these two tiers has been narrowed, it remains to be finally 
resolved. 
- For developed countries in the bottom band, w ith a relatively high level of AMS relative 
to total value of agriculture production, th ere is emerging consensus that their band-
related reduction should be compleme nted with an additional effort. 
- What is needed now is a further step to bridge the remaining gap in positions – 
particularly as regards the United States and the European Communities, it being 
understood that this is not a matter to be reso lved in isolation from the other elements in 
this pillar and beyond. 
- On the base period for product-specific caps, certain proposals (such as for 1995-2000 
and 1999-2001) are on the table.  This needs to be resolved appropriately, including the 
manner in which special and differen tial treatment should be applied. 
 
Green Box 
 
10. The review and clarification commitment h as not resulted in any discernible convergence on 
operational outcomes.  There is, on the one side, a firm  rejection of anything that is seen as departing 
from the existing disciplines while there is, on the ot her, an enduring sense that  more could be done to 
review the Green Box without undermining ongoi ng reform.  Beyond that there is, however, some 
tangible openness to finding appropriate ways to en sure that the Green Box is more "development WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-4  
friendly" i.e. better tailored to meet the realities of  developing country agriculture but in a way that 
respects the fundamental requirement of at most minimal trade distortion. 
 
 EXPORT COMPETITION  
 
End Date 
 
11. While concrete proposals
4 have been made on the issue of an end date for elimination of all 
forms of export subsidies, there is at this st age no convergence.  There are suggestions for the 
principle of front-loading or accelerated elimination for specific products, including particularly 
cotton. 
 
Export Credits 
 
12. Convergence has been achieved on a number of elements of disciplines with respect to export 
credits, export credit guarantee or insurance progra mmes with repayment periods of 180 days and 
below.  However, a number of critical issues remain.5  
 
Exporting State Trading Enterprises 
 
13. There has been material convergence on rul es to address trade-distorting practices identified 
in the July 2004 Framework text, although there ar e still major differences regarding the scope of 
practices to be covered by the new disciplines.  Fundamentally opposing positions remain, however, 
on the issue of the future use of monopoly powers.   There have been concrete drafting proposals on 
such matters as definition of entities and practices to be addressed as well as transparency.  But there 
has been no genuine convergence in such areas.  Food Aid 
 
14. There is consensus among Members that the WT O shall not stand in the way of the provision 
of genuine food aid. There is also consensus that wh at is to be eliminated is commercial displacement. 
There have been detailed and intensive discussions, so me of which have even been text-based, but not 
to a point where a consolidated draft text could be  developed.  This has been precluded by Members 
clinging to fundamentally disparate conceptual prem ises.  There are proposals that in the disciplines a 
distinction should be made between at least two types of food aid: em ergency food aid and food aid to 
address other situations. However, there is not  yet a common understanding where emergency food 
aid ends and other food aid begins, reflecting con cerns that this distinction should not become a 
means to create a loophole in disciplines. A fund amental sticking point is whether, except in 
exceptional, genuine emergency situations, Members should (albeit gradually) move towards untied,  
in-cash food aid only, as some Members propose but other Members strongly oppose.
6  
 
Special and Differential Treatment 
 
15. Framework provisions for special and differe ntial treatment, including with respect to the 
monopoly status of state trading enterprises in developing countries and an extended lifetime for Article 9.4, have been uncontroversial, but details remain to be established. 
 
Special Circumstances 
 16. Work on the criteria and consultation proce dures to govern any ad hoc temporary financing 
arrangements relating to exports to developing coun tries in exceptional circumstances is not much 
developed.  
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-5 
 
 
MARKET ACCESS 
 
Tiered Formula 
 
- We have progressed on ad valorem  equivalents.7  This has successful ly created a basis for 
allocating items into bands for the tiered formula. 
- We have a working hypothesis of four bands for structuring tariff cuts. 
- There has been very considerable converg ence on adopting a linear-based approach for 
cuts within those bands.  Members have, of course, by no means formally abandoned 
positions that are even more divergent.8  We need now to narrow the extent of divergence 
that remains.  This will include whether or  not to include any "pivot" in any band. 
- Members have made strong efforts to promot e convergence on the size of actual cuts to 
be undertaken within those bands.  But, even though genuine efforts have been made to 
move from formal positions (which of course rema in), major gaps are yet to be bridged.  
Somewhat greater convergence has been achieved as regards the thresholds for the bands.  
Substantial movement is clearly essential to progress. 9 
- Some Members continue to reject completely the concept of a tariff cap.  Others have 
proposed10 a cap between 75-100%. 
Sensitive Products  
- Members have been prepared to make conc rete - albeit conditional - proposals on the 
number of sensitive products.  But, in a situation where proposals extend from as little as 
1% to as much as 15% of tariff lines, furthe r bridging this difference is essential to 
progress. 
- The fundamental divergence over the basic a pproach to treatment of sensitive products 
needs to be resolved.11  Beyond that, there needs to be convergence on the consequential 
extent of liberalisation for such products. 
Special and Differential Treatment 
 
- Just as for developed countries, there is  a working hypothesis of four bands for 
developing countries.  There is no disagree ment on lesser cuts within the bands.  A 
certain body of opinion is open to considering cuts of two-thirds of the amount of the cuts for developed countries as a plausible z one in which to search more intensively for 
convergence.
12  But significant disagreement on that remains, and divergence is, if 
anything, somewhat more marked on the c onnected issue of higher thresholds for 
developing countries.13  
- Some Members continue to reject completely  the concept of a tariff cap for developing 
countries.  Others have proposed14 a cap at 150%. 
- For sensitive products, there is no disagreement that there should be greater flexibility for 
developing countries, but the extent of this needs to be further defined.15 
  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-6  Special Products 
 
- Regarding designation  of special products, there has been a clear divergence between 
those Members which consider that, prior to establishment of schedules, a list of non-
exhaustive and illustrative criteria-based i ndicators should be established and those 
Members which are looking for a list which would act as a filter or screen for the 
selection of such products. Latterly, it h as been proposed (but not yet discussed with 
Members as a whole) that a developing c ountry Member should have the right to 
designate at least 20 per cent of its agricu ltural tariff lines as Special Products, and be 
further entitled to designate an SP where, for that product, an AMS has been notified and 
exports have taken place.  This issue needs to  be resolved as part of modalities so that 
there is assurance of the basis upon which Members may designate special products. 
- Some moves toward convergence on treatment of Special Products have been made 
recently. Some Members had considered that  special products should be fully exempt 
from any new market access commitments what soever and have automatic access to the 
SSM.  Others had argued there should be some degree of market opening for these 
products, albeit reflecting more flexible tr eatment than for other products.  In the 
presence of this fundamental divergence, it had clearly been impossible to undertake any definition of what such flexibility would be . Genuine convergence is obviously urgently 
needed. There is now a new proposal for a tr ipartite categorization of Special Products 
involving limited tariff cuts for at least a pr oportion of such products which remains to 
be fully discussed. It remains to be seen whether this discussion can help move us 
forward. 
 
Special Safeguard Mechanism 
 
- There is agreement that there would be a sp ecial safeguard mechan ism and that it should 
be tailored to the particular circumstances a nd needs of developing countries.  There is 
no material disagreement with the view that it should have a quantity trigger.  Nor is there disagreement with the view that it should at least be capable of addressing effectively what might be described as import "surges".  Divergence remains over whether, or if so how, situations that are less er than "surge" are to be dealt with.  There 
is, however, agreement that any remedy should be of a temporary nature.  There remains 
strong divergence however on whether, or if  so how, a special safeguard should be 
"price-based" to deal specifi cally with price effects. 
- There is some discernible openness, albeit at vary ing levels, to at least consider coverage 
of products that are likely to undergo signifi cant liberalisation effects, and/or are already 
bound at low levels and/or are special produc ts.  Beyond that, however, there remains a 
fundamental divergence between those consid ering all products should be eligible for 
such a mechanism and those opposing such a blanket approach. 
  
Other Elements 
 17. There has been no further material convergen ce on the matters covered by paragraphs 35 and 
37 of the July 2004 Framework text.  The same ma y be said for paragraph 36 on tariff escalation, 
albeit that there is full agreement on the need for this to be done, and a genuine recognition of the 
particular importance of this for commodities exporte rs.  Certain concrete proposals have been made 
on paragraph 38 (SSG) and met with  opposition from some Members. 
 
18. Concrete proposals have been made and di scussed on how to implement paragraph 43 of the 
July 2004 Framework on tropical and diversificati on products.  But there remains divergence over the WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-7 
 
 
precise interpretation of this section of the July Framework16 and no common approach has been 
established.  19. The importance of long-standing preferences pursuant to paragraph 44 of the July 2004 Framework is fully recognised a nd concrete proposals regarding pref erence erosion have been made 
and discussed.
17  There seems not to be inherent difficulty with a role for capacity building.  However, 
while there is some degree of support for e.g. lo nger implementation periods for at least certain 
products in order to facilitate adjustment, there is far from convergence on even this.  Some argue it is 
not sufficient or certainly not in all cases, while  others that it is not warranted at all. 
 
 
LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
 
20. There is no questioning of the terms of paragr aph 45 of the July Framework agreement, which 
exempts least-developed countries from any reduction requirement.  The stipulation that "developed 
Members, and developing country Members in a position to do so, should provide duty-free and 
quota-free market access for products originating from least-developed countries" is not at this point 
concretely operational for all Members.  At this  stage, several Members have made undertakings.  
Proposals for this to be bound remain on the table.18 
  COTTON  
21. While there is genuine recognition of the pr oblem to be addressed and concrete proposals 
have been made, Members remain at this point shor t of concrete and specific achievement that would 
be needed to meet the July Framework direction to address this matter ambitiously, expeditiously and 
specifically. There is no disagreement with the view  that all forms of export subsidies are to be 
eliminated for cotton although the timing and speed remains to be specified.  Proposals to eliminate 
them immediately or from day one of the implementa tion period are not at this point shared by all 
Members.  In the case of trade distorting support, proponents seek full elimination with "front-loaded" 
implementation.
19  There is a view that the extent to whic h this can occur, and its timing, can only be 
determined in the context of an overall agreement.  Another view is that there could be at least 
substantial and front-loaded reduction on cotton speci fically from day one of implementation, with the 
major implementation achieved within twelve mont hs, and the remainder to be completed within a 
period shorter than the overall im plementation period for agriculture.20   
  RECENTLY-ACCEDED MEMBERS   
22. Concrete proposals have been made and di scussed, but no specific flexibility provisions have 
commanded consensus.   MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE 
 
23. A proposal has been made but there is no material advance at this point.   OTHER ISSUES 
 
24. On paragraph 49 (sectoral initiatives, differe ntial export taxes, GIs) certain positions and 
proposals have been tabled and/or referred to.  They are issues that remain of interest but not agreed. 
 
25. At this point, proposals on paragra ph 50 have not advanced materially. WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-8  
 
26. In the case of small and vulnerable economies, a concrete proposal has been made recently.  It has not yet been subject to consultation.  27. There is openness to the particular concerns  of commodity-dependent  developing and least-
developed countries facing long-term decline and/or sh arp fluctuations in prices.  There is, at this 
point (where, overall, precise modalities are still pe nding), support for the view that such modalities 
should eventually be capable of addressing effectively key areas for them.
21 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-9 
 
 
Notes 
 
 
1 On the proposed basis that cut remains to be determ ined for those developing countries with an AMS.  
In any case, there is a view (not shared by all) that cuts for developing countries should be less than 2/3 of the 
cut for developed countries. 
2 The exact extent of the flexibility to be provided pursuant to paragraph 15 of the July 2004 
Framework remains to be agreed. 
3 Of course, this needs to be viewed as illustrative rather than overly literally, if for no other reason 
than that these are conditional figures.  For instance, while the European Communities has indicated it could be 
prepared to go as far as 70% in the to p tier, they make it clear that this is acceptable only if the United States 
will go to 60% in the second tier.  The United States for its part, however, has only indicated preparedness to go 
to that 60% if the European Communities is prepared to go as high as 83% - which it has not indicated it is 
prepared to do. 
4 One Member has proposed the year 2010 for "e xport subsidies", with accel erated elimination for 
"specific" products.  Another group of Members have proposed a period "no longer than five years" for all 
forms of export subsidies, with "direct" export subsidies subject to front-loading within that period. 
5 This includes, but is not limited to: exemptions, if any, to the 180 day rule; whether the disciplines 
should allow for pure cover only or also permit direct financing;  the appropriate period for programmes to fully 
recover their costs and losses through the premia levied from the exporters (principle of self-financing - there needs to be convergence between position which range from one year to fifteen years);  the disciplines regarding 
special circumstances;  and the ques tion of special and differential treatment, including whether, as some 
Members argue, developing countries should be allowed longer repayment terms for export credits extended by 
them to other developing countries and the specifics of differential treatment in favour of least-developed and 
net food-importing developing countries. 
6 This fundamental divergence ha s effectively precluded converge nce on such matters as what 
disciplines, if any, should be esta blished with respect to monetization of food aid or the question of the 
provision of food aid in fully grant form only. The importance of operationally effective transparency 
requirements is generally acknowledged, but details have still to be developed, particularly those relating to the 
role of the WTO in this context.  Further work is requir ed to clarify the role of recipient countries and relevant 
international organizations or other entities in triggering or providing food aid. 
7 The method for calculating the AVEs for the sugar lines is still to be established. 
8 At one end of the spectrum, as it were, a "harmoni sation" formula within the bands; at the other end 
"flexibility" within the formula. 
9 The matrix below is an illustrative table that portrays the extent of divergences that remain, even on 
the basis of post-August 2005 proposals.  This does not entirely cover all the subtleties of those proposals to 
utilize a "pivot" (although most are in fact within the ranges  tabulated), but is intended to convey a snapshot of 
the status of average cu ts proposed post-August. 
 Thresholds Range of cuts (%) 
Band 1 0% - 20/30% 20-65 
Band 2 20/30% - 40/60% 30-75 
Band 3 40/60% - 60/90% 35-85 
Band 4 >60/90% 42-90 
 
10 As an element in certain cond itional proposals on overall market  access, tabled post-July 2005. 
11 Some see this as being tariff quota based and expressed as a percentage of domestic consumption, 
with proposals of up to 10%.  Others propose pro rata  expansion on an existing trade basis, including taking WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page A-10  
 
account of current imports.  Some also  propose no new TRQs, with sensitivity  in such cases to be provided 
through other means, e.g. differen tial phasing. There is also a propo sal for a "sliding scale" approach. 
12 In this pillar, as well as in the other two, there is general convergence on the point that developing 
countries will have entitlement to longer implementation periods, albeit that concrete precision remains to be 
determined. 
13 The matrix below is an illustrative table that portrays the extent of divergences that remain, just on 
the basis of post-August 2005 proposals. 
 Thresholds Range of cuts (%) 
Band 1 0% - 20/50% 15-25* 
Band 2 20/50% - 40/100% 20-30* 
Band 3 40/100% - 60/150% 25-35* 
Band 4 >60-150% 30-40* 
*There is also a proposal that cuts for developing countries should be "slightly lesser" than the upper tariff cuts 
for developed countries shown in th e preceding table (i.e.: "slightly le sser" than 65, 75, 85 and 90%). 
14 As an element in certain cond itional proposals on overall market  access, tabled post-July 2005. 
15 While the eventual zone of convergence for developed countries undoubtedly has a bearing in this 
area, it has been proposed by a group of Members that the principles of sensitive products generally and for 
TRQs specifically should be different for developing countries. Another group of Members has proposed, in the 
post-August period, an entitlement for developing countries of at least 50% more than the maximum number of lines used by any developed Member.  This would (based on developed country proposals) amount to a potential 
variation between 1.5% and 22.5% of tariff lines. This latter group has also proposed that products relating to 
long-standing preferences shall be designated as sensitive and that any TRQ expansion should not be "at the detriment of existing ACP quotas". This particular view has been, however, strongly opposed by other Members 
which take the firm position that tropical and diversifica tion products should not at all be designated as sensitive 
products. 
16 It is argued by some Members that this is to be interpreted as meaning full duty- and tariff quota-free 
access, but by others as less than that. 
17 Note 15 above refers. 
18 It is also proposed that this should be accompa nied by simple and transp arent rules of origin and 
other measures to address non-tariff barriers.  
19 Concrete proposals have been made, with a three- step approach:  80% on day one, an additional 10% 
after 12 months and the last 10% a year later. 
20 A Member has indicated that it is prepared to im plement all its commitments from day one and, in 
any case, to autonomously ensure that its commitmen ts on eliminating the most trade-distorting domestic 
support, eliminating all forms of expo rt subsidies and providing mfn duty-  and quota-free access for cotton will 
take place from 2006. 
 
21 This would appear to include in particular such a matter as tariff escalation, where it discourages the 
development of processing industries in the commodity producing countries.  The idea of a review and 
clarification of what the current status  is of GATT 1994 provisions relating to the stabilisation of prices through 
the adoption of supply management systems by producing countries, and the use of export taxes and restrictions under such systems is also on the table.  Proponents would seek something more than this such as more concrete 
undertakings in the area of non-tariff measures and actual re vision of existing provisions.  There is, at this point, 
no consensus in these latter areas, but an apprecia tion at least of the underlying issues at stake. WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-1 
 
 
Annex B 
 
Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products 
 
Report by the Chairman of the Negotiati ng Group on Market Access to the TNC  
 
 
A. INTRODUCTION  
1. A Chairman's commentary of the state of pl ay of the NAMA negotiations was prepared in 
July 2005 and circulated in document JOB(05)/ 147 and Add.1 (hereinafter referred to as the 
"Chairman's commentary").  The current report, made on my responsibility, reflects the state of play 
of the NAMA negotiations at this juncture of th e Doha Development Agenda , and supplements that 
commentary.  2. With an eye on the forthcoming Ministerial, Section B of this report attempts to highlight 
those areas of convergence and divergence on the el ements of Annex B of Decision adopted by the 
General Council on 1 August 2004, (hereinafter referred to as the “NAMA framework”), and to 
provide some guidance as to what may be a possible future course of action with respect to some of 
the elements. Section C of the report provides some final remarks about possible action by Ministers at Hong Kong.  
3. In preparing this report, use has been made  of documents provided by  Members (as listed in 
TN/MA/S/16/Rev.2) as well as the discussions in th e open-ended sessions of the Group, plurilateral 
meetings and bilateral contacts, as long as they  were not in the nature of confessionals. 
 
B. 
SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF PLAY  
4. Full modalities must have detailed language and, where required, final numbers on all 
elements of the NAMA framework.  Such an agre ement should also contain a detailed work plan 
concerning the process after the establishment of full modalities for the purpose of the submission, verification and annexation of Doha Schedules to  a legal instrument.  While acknowledging that 
progress has been made since the adoption of the NAMA framework, the establishment of full 
modalities is, at present, a difficult prospect given th e lack of agreement on a number of elements in 
the NAMA framework including the formula, paragraph 8 flexibilities and unbound tariffs. 
 5. Regarding the structure of this section, gene rally Members recognize that the issues identified 
in the preceding paragraph are the three elements  of the NAMA framework on which solutions are 
required as a matter of priority, and that there is a ne ed to address them in an interlinked fashion. So, 
this report will commence with these three subjects be fore moving on to the other elements of the 
NAMA framework in the order in which they are presented therein.  
Formula (paragraph 4 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
6. On the non-linear formula, there has been  movement since the adoption of the NAMA 
framework. There is a more common understanding of  the shape of the form ula that Members are 
willing to adopt in these negotiations. In fact, Me mbers have been focusing on a Swiss formula. 
During the past few months, much time and effort has been spent examining the impact of such a 
formula from both a defensive and offensive angle. In terms of the specifics of that formula, there are 
basically two variations on the table: a formula with  a limited number of negotiated coefficients and a 
formula where the value of each country's coeffici ent would be based essentially on the tariff average 
of bound rates of that Member, resulting in multiple coefficients.  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-2  
 
7. In order to move beyond a deba te on the merits of the two options (and in recognition of the 
fact that what matters in the final analysis is the level of the coefficient) more recently Members have 
engaged in a discussion of numbers. Such a debate has been particularly helpful, especially as it 
demonstrated in a quantifiable manner to what exte nt the benchmarks establis hed in paragraph 16 of 
the Doha Ministerial Declaration would be achieved.  While it is evident that one of the characteristics 
of such a formula is to address tariff peaks, tariff escalation and high tariffs (as it brings down high 
tariffs more than low tariffs), one  benchmark which has been the subj ect of differences of opinion has 
been that of "less than full reciprocity in reducti on commitments" and how it should be measured.  
Some developing Members are of the view that this means less than average percentage cuts i.e. as 
translated through a higher coefficient in the form ula, than those undertaken by developed country 
Members. However, the latter have indicated that there are other measurements of less than full 
reciprocity in reduction commitments including the final rates after the formula cut which in their 
markets would be less than in developing country ma rkets. Also, in their view, such a measurement of 
less than full reciprocity in reduction commitments has to take into account not only the additional 
effort made by them in all areas but also of paragraph 8 flexibilities and the fact that several 
developing Members and the LDCs w ould be exempt from formula cuts. 
 8. Other objectives put forward by developed Members and some developing Members as being 
part of the Doha NAMA mandate are: harmonization of tariffs between Members; cuts into applied 
rates; and improvement of South-South trade. However, these objectives have been challenged by other developing Members who believe that, on the contrary, they are not part of that mandate. 
 
9. During the informal discussions, many Member s engaged in an exchange on the basis of an 
approach with two coefficients.  In the context of such debates, the coefficients which were mentioned 
for developed Members fell generally within the range  of 5 to 10, and for developing Members within 
the range of 15 to 30, although some developing  Members did propose lower coefficients for 
developed Members and higher coefficients for de veloping Members.  In addition, a developing 
country coefficient of 10 was also put forward by  some developed Members. However, while this 
discussion of numbers is a positive development, the inescapable reality is that the range of 
coefficients is wide and reflects the divergence that exists as to Members’ expectations regarding the 
contributions that their tradi ng partners should be making. 
 Flexibilities for developing Members subject to a formula (paragraph 8 of the NAMA 
framework ) 
 
10. A central issue concerning the paragraph 8 fl exibilities has been the question of linkage or 
non-linkage between these flexibilities and the coefficient in the form ula. A view was expressed that 
the flexibilities currently provided for in paragraph 8 are equivalent to 4-5 additional points to the 
coefficient in the formula, and as  a result there was need to take this aspect into account in the 
developing country coefficient. In response, th e argument has been made by many developing 
Members that those flexibilities are a stand alone provision as reflected in the language of that 
provision, and should not be linked to the coefficient.   Otherwise, this would amount to re-opening the 
NAMA framework.  Some of those Members have also  expressed the view that the numbers currently 
within square brackets are the minimum required for their sensitive tariff lines, and have expressed 
concern about the conditions attached to the use of  such flexibilities, such as the capping of the import 
value. In response, the point has been made by developed Members that they are not seeking to remove the flexibilities under paragraph 8,  and therefore are not re-opening the NAMA framework. 
They further point out that the numbers in paragra ph 8 are within square brackets precisely to reflect 
the fact that they are not fixed and may need to be adjusted downwards depending on the level of the 
coefficient.  In addition, the need for more transp arency and predictability with regard to the tariff 
lines which would be covered by para graph 8 flexibilities has been raised by some of these Members.  
Some developing Members have also advanced th e idea that there should be the option for those 
developing Members not wanting to use paragra ph 8 flexibilities to have recourse to a higher 
coefficient in the formula in the inte rest of having a balanced outcome. WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-3 
 
 
 
Unbound Tariff Lines (paragraph 5,  indent two of the NAMA framework ) 
 
11. There has been progress on the discussion of u nbound tariff lines. There is an understanding 
that full bindings would be a desirable objective of  the NAMA negotiations, and a growing sense that 
unbound tariff lines should be subject to formula cuts  provided there is a pragmatic solution for those 
lines with low applied rates. However, some Me mbers have stressed that their unbound tariff lines 
with high applied rates are also sen sitive and due consider ation should be given to those lines. There 
now appears to be a willingness among several Member s to move forward on the basis of a non-linear 
mark-up approach to establish base rates, and in th e case of some of these Members, provided that 
such an approach yields an equitable result.  A non-linear mark-up approach envisages the addition of 
a certain number of percentage points to the applied rate of the unbound tariff line in order to establish 
the base rate on which the formula is to be applied. There are two variations of such an approach. In 
one case, a constant number of percentage points are a dded to the applied rate in order to establish the 
base rate.  The other variation consists of having  a different number of pe rcentage points depending 
on the level of the applied rate. In other words, th e lower the applied rate the higher the mark-up and 
the higher the applied rate, the lower the mark-up.  Th ere is also one proposal on the table of a target 
average approach where an average is established through the use of a formula, with the unbound 
tariff lines expected to have final bindings around that average.  12. On a practical level, in their discussions on unbound tariff lines, Members have been referring 
mostly to the constant mark- up methodology to establish base rates. In the context of such 
discussions, the number for the mark-up has ranged fro m 5 to 30 percentage points.  Once again the 
gap between the two figures is wide, but Memb ers have displayed willingness to be flexible. 
  
Other elements of the formula (paragraph 5 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
13. Concerning product coverage (indent 1) , Members have made good progress to establish a list 
of non-agricultural products as reflected in documen t JOB(05)/226/Rev.2.  The main issue is whether 
the outcome of this exercise should be an agreed li st or guidelines.  It would appear that several 
Members are in favour of the former outcome, however, some have expressed their preference for the latter.  In any event, there are only a limited nu mber of items (17) on which differences exist and 
Members should try and resolve these differences as quickly as possible. 
 14. On ad valorem  equivalents (indent 5)
, agreement was reached to convert non ad valorem  
duties to ad valorem  equivalents on the basis of the methodol ogy contained in JOB(05)/166/Rev.1 and 
to bind them in ad valorem  terms.  To date, four Members have submitted their preliminary AVE 
calculations, but there are many more due. Those Me mbers would need to submit this information as 
quickly as possible so as to allow sufficient time for the multilateral verification process. 
 15. The subject of how credit is to be gi ven for autonomous liberalization (indent 4)
 by 
developing countries provided that the tariff lin es are bound on an MFN basis in the WTO since the 
conclusion of the Uruguay Round has not been discu ssed in detail since the adoption of the NAMA 
framework.  However,  this issue may be more usefully taken up once there is a clearer picture of the 
formula.  16. All the other elements of the formula
 such as tariff cuts commencing from bound rates after 
full implementation of current commitments (indent  2), the base year (indent 3), the nomenclature 
(indent 6) and reference period fo r import data (indent 7) have not been discussed any further since 
July 2004, as they were acceptable to Member s as currently reflected in the NAMA framework. 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-4  
 
Other flexibilities for developing Members
 
 
Members with low binding coverage (paragraph 6 of the NAMA framework ) 
 17. A submission by a group of developing Me mbers, covered under para graph 6 provisions, was 
made in June 2005. The paper proposed that Members falling under this paragraph should be 
encouraged to substantially increase their binding c overage, and bind tariff lines at a level consistent 
with their individual development, trade, fiscal and strategic needs.  A preliminary discussion of this 
proposal revealed that there were concerns about this proposal re-opening this paragraph by seeking 
to enhance the flexibilities contained therein.  Fu rther discussion of this proposal is required.  
However, it appears that the issue of concern to so me of the paragraph 6 Members is not related so 
much to the full binding coverage, but rather to th e average level at which these Members would be 
required to bind their tariffs. 
 
Flexibilities for LDCs (paragra ph 9 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
18. There appears to be a common understanding that  LDCs will be the judge of the extent and 
level of the bindings that they make. At the same time, Members have indicated that this substantial 
increase of the binding commitments which LDCs ar e expected to undertake should be done with a 
good faith effort.  In this regard, some yardstic ks for this effort were mentioned including the 
coverage and level of bindings  made in the Uruguay Round by other LDCs as well as the more 
recently acceded LDCs. 
 
Small, vulnerable economies  
 
19. A paper was submitted recently by a group of Members which proposes inter alia  lesser and 
linear cuts to Members identified by a criterion using trade share. While some developing and 
developed Members were sympathetic to the situa tion of such Members, concerns were expressed 
with respect to the threshold used to establish e ligibility, and also the treatment envisaged. Other 
developing Members expressed serious reservations about this proposal which in their view appeared 
to be creating a new category of developing Members,  and to be further diluting the ambition of the 
NAMA negotiations.  The sponsors of this proposal stressed that the small, vulnerable economies had 
characteristics which warranted special treatment. 
 20. This is an issue on which there is a serious divergence of opinion among developing Members. This subject will need to be debated further. Discussions may be facilitated through 
additional statistical analysis.  Sectorals (paragraph 7 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
21. It appears that good progress is being made  on the sectoral tariff component of the NAMA 
negotiations.  Work which is taking place in an  informal Member-driven process has focused on inter 
alia identification of sectors, product coverage, particip ation, end rates and ad equate provisions of 
flexibilities for developing countries.  Besides the sectorals based on a critical mass approach 
identified in the Chairman's commentary – bicycles, chemicals, electronics/electrical equipment, fish, 
footwear, forest products, gems and jewellery, phar maceuticals and medical equipment, raw materials 
and sporting goods – I unde rstand that work is ongoing on other sectors namely apparel, auto/auto 
parts and textiles. 
 
22. While this component of the NAMA negotiations is recognized in the NAMA framework to be a key element to delivering on the objectives of  paragraph 16 of the Doha NAMA mandate, some 
developing Members have questioned the rationale of engaging in sect oral negotiations before having 
the formula finalized. Many have also re-iterated th eir view that sectorals are voluntary in nature.  The 
point has also been made by other developing Me mbers that sectorals harm smaller developing WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-5 
 
 
Members due to an erosion of their preferences.  However, the proponents of such initiatives have 
argued that sectorals are another key element of the NAMA negotiations and an important modality 
for delivering on the elimination of duties as manda ted in paragraph 16 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration. In addition, they have pointed out that  some of the sectorals we re initiated by developing 
Members. Moreover, such initiatives require substan tive work and were time-consuming to prepare. 
Concerning preference erosion, this was a cross-cutting issue. 
 23. Members will need to begin considering time- lines for the finalization of such work, and the 
submission of the outcomes which will be applied on an MFN basis. 
 
Market Access for LDCs (paragraph 10 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
24. In the discussions on this subject, it was not ed that the Committee on Trade and Development 
in Special Session is examining the question of duty-free and quota-free access for non-agricultural 
products originating from LDCs.  Consequently, ther e is recognition by Members that the discussions 
in that Committee would most probably have an impact on this element of the NAMA framework, 
and would need to be factored in at the appropriate time. 
 
Newly Acceded Members (paragraph 11 of the NAMA framework ) 
 
25. Members recognize the extensive market access commitments made by th e NAMs at the time 
of their accession.  From the discussions held on this subject, it was clarified that those NAMs which 
are developing Members have access to paragraph 8 flexibilities.  As special provisions for tariff 
reductions for the NAMs, some Members are willing to consider longer implementation periods than 
those to be provided to developing Members. Othe r proposals such as a higher coefficient and "grace 
periods" for the NAMs were also put forward, but a number of Members have objected to these ideas.  
There has also been a submission by four low-inco me economies in transition who have requested to 
be exempt from formula cuts in light of their s ubstantive contributions at the time of their WTO 
accession and the current difficult state of their eco nomies.  While some Members showed sympathy 
for the situation of these Members, they expressed the view that other solutions may be more appropriate. Some developing Members also e xpressed concern about this proposal creating a 
differentiation between Members.  Further discussion is required on these issues. 
  
NTBs (paragraph 14 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
26. Since adoption of the July 2004 framework, Me mbers have been focusing their attention on 
non-tariff barriers in recognition of the fact that they are an integral and equally important part of the 
NAMA negotiations. Some Members clai m that they constitute a greater barrier to their exports than 
tariffs.  The Group has spent a considerable amount  of time identifying, categorizing and examining 
the notified NTBs.  Members are using bilateral,  vertical and horizontal approaches to the NTB 
negotiations.  For example, many Members are raisi ng issues bilaterally with their trading partners. 
Vertical initiatives are ongoing on automobiles, el ectronic products and wood products.  There have 
been some proposals of a horizontal nature concerning export taxes, export restrictions and 
remanufactured products.  On export taxes, some Members have expressed the view that such 
measures fall outside the mandate of the NAMA ne gotiations. Some Members have also raised in 
other Negotiating Groups some of the NTBs they had notified initially in the context of the NAMA 
negotiations. For example, a number of trade fac ilitation measures are now being examined in the 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation. Some other Me mbers have also indicated their intention to 
bring issues to the regular WTO Committees.  NTBs  currently proposed for negotiation in the NAMA 
Group are contained in document JOB(05)/85/Rev.3.  27. Some proposals have been made of a procedur al nature in order to expedite the NTB work, 
including a suggestion to hold dedicated NTB sessions.  Further consideration will need to be given to WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-6  
 
this and other proposals.  Members will also need  to begin considering some time-lines for the 
submission of specific negotiating proposals and NTB outcomes. 
 
Appropriate Studies and Capacity Building Me asures (paragraph 15 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
28. There has been no discussion as such on this element as it is an ongoing and integral part of 
the negotiating process. Several papers  have been prepared by the Secretariat during the course of the 
negotiations and capacity building activities by the S ecretariat have increased considerably since the 
launch of the Doha Development Agenda.  Such ac tivities will need to continue taking into account 
the evolution of the negotiations.  
 Non-reciprocal preferences (paragraph 16 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
29. In response to calls by some Members for a better idea of the scope of the problem, the ACP Group circulated an indicative list of products (170  HS 6-digit tariff lines) vulnerable to preference 
erosion in the EC and US markets as identified th rough a vulnerability index. Simulations were also 
submitted by the African Group. Some developing Me mbers expressed concern that the tariff lines 
listed covered the majority of their exports, or cove red critical exports to those markets and were also 
precisely the lines on which they sought MFN cuts.  As a result, for these Members, it was impossible 
to entertain any solution which relate d to less than full formula cuts or  longer staging. In this regard, 
concern was expressed by them that non-trade solutio ns were not being examined. For the proponents 
of the issue, a trade solution was necessary as th is was a trade problem. According to them, their 
proposal would not undermine trade liberalizati on because they were seeking to manage such 
liberalization on a limited number of products.  30. This subject is highly divisive precisely becau se the interests of the two groups of developing 
Members are in direct conflict.  Additionally, it is a cross-cutting issue which makes it even more 
sensitive. While, the aforementioned list of products  has been helpful in providing a sense of the 
scope of the problem and may help Members to engage  in a more focused discussion, it is clear that 
pragmatism will need to be shown by all concerned. 
 
Environmental Goods (paragraph 17 of the NAMA framework
) 
 
31. Since the adoption of the July framework in 20 04, limited discussions have been held on this 
subject in the Group. However, it is noted that much work under paragraph 31(iii) of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration has been undertaken by the Committee on Trade and Environment in Special 
Session.    There would need to be close coordi nation between the two nego tiating groups and a stock 
taking of the work undertaken in that Committee would be required at the appropriate time by the 
NAMA Negotiating Group. 
 
Other elements of the NAMA framework   
 
32. On the other elements of the NAMA framework, such as supplementary modalities 
(paragraph 12), elimination of low duties (paragra ph 13) and tariff revenue  dependency (paragraph 
16) the Group has not had a substantiv e debate. This has in part to do with the nature of the issue or 
because more information is required from the propon ents. Regarding supplementary modalities, such 
modalities will become more relevant once the form ula has been finalized. On elimination of low 
duties, this issue may be more suitable to consider once there is a better sense of the likely outcome of 
the NAMA negotiations. On tariff revenue dependenc y, more clarity is required from the proponents 
on the nature and scope of the problem.  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page B-7 
 
 
C. FINAL REMARKS  
33. As may be observed from the above report, Members are far away from achieving full 
modalities.  This is highly troubling.  It will take a major effort by all if the objective of concluding 
the NAMA negotiations by the end of 2006 is to be realized.  
34. To this end, I would highlight as a critic al objective for Hong Kong a common understanding 
on the formula, paragraph 8 flexibilities and unbound tariffs.  It is crucial that Ministers move 
decisively on these elements so that the overall out come is acceptable to all.  This will give the 
necessary impetus to try and fulfil at a date soon thereafter the objective of full modalities for the 
NAMA negotiations. 
 
35. Specifically, Ministers should:  
• Obtain agreement on the final structure of th e formula and narrow the range of numbers. 
 
• Resolve their basic differences over paragraph 8 flexibilities. 
 
• Clarify whether the constant mark-up approach  is the way forward, and if so, narrow the 
range of numbers. 
  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page C-1 
 
 
Annex C 
 
Services 
 
  Objectives
 
1. In order to achieve a progressively higher leve l of liberalization of trade in services, with 
appropriate flexibility for individual developing c ountry Members, we agree that Members should be 
guided, to the maximum extent possible, by the following objectives in making their new and improved commitments: 
(a) Mode 1 
(i) commitments at existing levels of market access on a non-discriminatory 
basis across sectors of interest to Members  
(ii) removal of existing requirements of commercial presence  
(b) Mode 2 
(i) commitments at existing levels of market access on a non-discriminatory 
basis across sectors of interest to Members 
(ii) commitments on mode 2 where commitments on mode 1 exist 
(c) Mode 3 
(i) commitments on enhanced levels of  foreign equity participation 
(ii) removal or substantial reduction of economic needs tests 
(iii) commitments allowing greater flexibility on the types of legal entity 
permitted 
(d) Mode 4 
(i) new or improved commitments on the cat egories of Contractual Services 
Suppliers, Independent Professionals a nd Others, de-linked from commercial 
presence, to reflect inter alia : 
- removal or substantial reduction of economic needs tests 
- indication of prescribed duration of stay  and possibility of renewal, if any 
(ii) new or improved commitments on the categories of Intra-corporate 
Transferees and Business Visitors, to reflect inter alia :     
- removal or substantial reduction of economic needs tests 
- indication of prescribed duration of stay  and possibility of renewal, if any WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page C-2  
 
(e) MFN Exemptions 
(i) removal or substantial reduction of exemptions from most-favoured-nation 
(MFN) treatment  
(ii) clarification of remaining MFN exempti ons in terms of scope of application 
and duration  
(f) Scheduling of Commitments 
(i) ensuring clarity, certainty, comparability and coherence in the scheduling and 
classification of commitments through adherence to, inter alia , the 
Scheduling Guidelines pursuant to the Decision of the Council for Trade in Services adopted on 23 March 2001 
(ii) ensuring that scheduling of any remaining economic needs tests adheres to 
the Scheduling Guidelines pursuant to the Decision of the Council for Trade 
in Services adopted on 23 March 2001. 
2. As a reference for the request-offer negotiations, the sectoral and modal objectives as 
identified by Members may be considered.
1 
3. Members shall pursue full and effective im plementation of the Modalities for the Special 
Treatment for Least-Developed Country Members in the Negotiations on Trade in Services 
(LDC Modalities) adopted by the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services on 3 September 2003, with a view to the beneficial and meaningful integration of LDCs into the 
multilateral trading system. 
4. Members must intensify their efforts to conclude the negotiati ons on rule-making under 
GATS Articles X, XIII, and XV in accordance w ith their respective mandates and timelines: 
(a) Members should engage in more focused di scussions in connection with the technical 
and procedural questions relating to the operation and application of any possible 
emergency safeguard measures in services.   
(b) On government procurement, Members should engage in more focused discussions and 
in this context put greater emphasis on proposals by Members, in accordance with 
Article XIII of the GATS. 
(c) On subsidies, Members should intensify their efforts to expedite and fulfil the 
information exchange required for the pur pose of such negotiations, and should engage 
in more focused discussions on proposals by Members, including the development of a possible working definition of subsidies in services. 
5. Members shall develop disciplines on domes tic regulation pursuant to the mandate under 
Article VI:4 of the GATS before the end of the current round of negotiations.  We call upon Members 
to develop text for adoption.  In so doing, Member s shall consider proposals and the illustrative list of 
possible elements for Article VI:4 disciplines.
2 
                                                      
1 As attached to the Report  by the Chairman to the Tr ade Negotiations Committee on 
28 November 2005, contained in document TN/S/23.  This attachment has no legal standing. 
2 As attached to the Report of the Chairman of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation to the 
Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services on 15 November 2005, contained in document 
JOB(05)/280. WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page C-3 
 
 
 Approaches  
6. Pursuant to the principles and objectives a bove, we agree to intensify and expedite the 
request-offer negotiations, which shall remain the main method of negotiation, with a view to 
securing substantial commitments. 
7. In addition to bilateral negotiations, we agr ee that the request-offer negotiations should also 
be pursued on a plurilateral basi s in accordance with th e principles of the GATS and the Guidelines 
and Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in Serv ices.  The results of such negotiations shall be 
extended on an MFN basis.  These negotiations w ould be organized in the following manner: 
(a) Any Member or group of Members may present requests or collective requests to other 
Members in any specific sector or mode of supply, identifying their objectives for the 
negotiations in that sector or mode of supply. 
(b) Members to whom such requests have been  made shall consider such requests in 
accordance with paragraphs 2 and 4 of Artic le XIX of the GATS and paragraph 11 of 
the Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in Services. 
(c) Plurilateral negotiations should be organised w ith a view to facilitating the participation 
of all Members, taking into account the limited capacity of developing countries and 
smaller delegations to partic ipate in such negotiations. 
8. Due consideration shall be given to proposal s on trade-related concer ns of small economies. 
9. Members, in the course of negotiations, sh all develop methods for the full and effective 
implementation of the LDC Modalities, including expeditiously: 
(a) Developing appropriate mechanisms for accord ing special priority including to sectors 
and modes of supply of interest to LDCs in accordance with Article IV:3 of the GATS 
and paragraph 7 of the LDC Modalities. 
(b) Undertaking commitments, to the extent possi ble, in such sectors and modes of supply 
identified, or to be identified, by LDCs th at represent priority in their development 
policies in accordance with paragraphs 6 and 9 of the LDC Modalities. 
(c) Assisting LDCs to enable them to identi fy sectors and modes of supply that represent 
development priorities. 
(d) Providing targeted and effective technical as sistance and capacity building for LDCs in 
accordance with the LDC Modalities, particularly paragraphs 8 and 12. 
(e) Developing a reporting mechanism to facilitate the review requirement in paragraph 13 
of the LDC Modalities. 
10. Targeted technical assistance should be provided through, inter alia , the WTO Secretariat, 
with a view to enabling developing and least-devel oped countries to participate effectively in the 
negotiations.  In particular and in accordance w ith paragraph 51 on Technical Cooperation of this 
Declaration, targeted technical assi stance should be given to all deve loping countries allowing them to 
fully engage in the negotiation.  In additio n, such assistance should be provided on, inter alia , 
compiling and analyzing statistical data on trade in services, assessing interests in and gains from 
services trade, building regulatory capacity, particularly on those se rvices sectors where liberalization 
is being undertaken by developing countries. WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page C-4  
 
 Timelines
 
11. Recognizing that an effective timeline is necess ary in order to achieve a successful conclusion 
of the negotiations, we agree that the negotia tions shall adhere to the following dates: 
(a) Any outstanding initial offers shall be submitted as soon as possible. 
(b) Groups of Members presenting plurilateral requests to other Members should submit 
such requests by 28 February 2006 or as soon as possible thereafter. 
(c) A second round of revised offers shall be submitted by 31 July 2006. 
(d) Final draft schedules of commitments sha ll be submitted by 31 October 2006. 
(e) Members shall strive to complete the require ments in 9(a) before the date in 11(c). 
 Review of Progress  
12. The Special Session of the Council for Trad e in Services shall review progress in the 
negotiations and monitor the implementation of th e Objectives, Approaches and Timelines set out in 
this Annex. 
  
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page D-1 
 
 
Annex D 
 
Rules 
 
I.  Anti-Dumping and Subsidies and Counterva iling Measures including Fisheries Subsidies  
 
 We:  
1. acknowledge  that the achievement of substantial results on all aspects of the Rules mandate, 
in the form of amendments to the Anti-Du mping (AD) and Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures (SCM) Agreements, is important to th e development of the rules-based multilateral 
trading system and to the overall balance of results in the DDA; 
 2. aim to achieve in the negotiations on Rules further improvements, in particular, to the 
transparency, predictability and clarity of the relevant disciplines, to the benefit of all 
Members, including in particular developing and least-developed Members.  In this respect, the development dimension of the negotiations mu st be addressed as an integral part of any 
outcome; 
 3. call on  Participants, in considering possible clar ifications and improvements in the area of 
anti-dumping, to take into account, inter alia , (a) the need to avoid the unwarranted use of 
anti-dumping measures, while preserving the basic concepts, principles and effectiveness of the instrument and its objectives where such me asures are warranted; and (b) the desirability 
of limiting the costs and complexity of proceedings  for interested parties and the investigating 
authorities alike, while strengthening the due pr ocess, transparency and predictability of such 
proceedings and measures; 
 4. consider that negotiations on anti-dumping should, as appropriate, clarify and improve the 
rules regarding, inter alia , (a) determinations of dumping,  injury and causation, and the 
application of measures; (b) procedures govern ing the initiation, conduct and completion of 
antidumping investigations, including with a view to strengthening due process and 
enhancing transparency; and (c) the level, sc ope and duration of measures, including duty 
assessment, interim and new shipper reviews, sunset, and anti-circumvention proceedings; 
 5. recognize  that negotiations on anti-dumping have inte nsified and deepened, that Participants 
are showing a high level of constructive e ngagement, and that the process of rigorous 
discussion of the issues based on specific text ual proposals for amendment to the AD 
Agreement has been productive and is a necessary step in achieving the substantial results to 
which Ministers are committed; 
 6. note that, in the negotiations on anti-dumping, the Negotiating Group on Rules has been 
discussing in detail proposals on such issues as dete rminations of injury/causation, the lesser 
duty rule, public interest, transparency a nd due process, interim reviews, sunset, duty 
assessment, circumvention, the use of facts available, limited examination and all others rates, dispute settlement, the definition of dumped imports, affiliated parties, product under 
consideration, and the initiati on and completion of investigations, and that this process of 
discussing proposals before the Group or yet to be submitted will conti nue after Hong Kong; 
 
7. note, in respect of subsidies and counterva iling measures, that while proposals for 
amendments to the SCM Agreement have b een submitted on a number of issues, including 
the definition of a subsidy, specificity, prohib ited subsidies, serious prejudice, export credits 
and guarantees, and the allocation of benefit, th ere is a need to deepen the analysis on the WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page D-2  
 
basis of specific textual proposals in order to ensure a balanced outcome in all areas of the 
Group's mandate; 
 8. note the desirability of applying to both  anti-dumping and countervailing measures any 
clarifications and improvements which are rele vant and appropriate to both instruments; 
 
9. recall  our commitment at Doha to enhancing the mutual supportiveness of trade and 
environment, note that there is broad agreement that the Group should strengthen disciplines 
on subsidies in the fisheries sector, including through the prohibition  of certain forms of 
fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and over-fishing, and call on Participants 
promptly to undertake further detailed work to, inter alia , establish the nature and extent of 
those disciplines, including transparency a nd enforceability.  Appropriate and effective 
special and differential treatment for developi ng and least-developed Members should be an 
integral part of the fisheries subsidies negotia tions, taking into account the importance of this 
sector to development priorities, poverty  reduction, and livelihood and food security 
concerns; 
 10. direct  the Group to intensify and accelerate the nego tiating process in all areas of its mandate, 
on the basis of detailed textual proposals befo re the Group or yet to be submitted, and 
complete the process of analysing proposals by  Participants on the AD and SCM Agreements 
as soon as possible; 
 
11. mandate  the Chairman to prepare, early enough to assure a timely outcome within the context 
of the 2006 end date for the Doha Developm ent Agenda and taking account of progress in 
other areas of the negotiations, consolidated te xts of the AD and SCM Agreements that shall 
be the basis
 for the final stage of the negotiations. 
 
  
II.  Regional Trade Agreements
 
 
 
1. We welcome the progress in negotiations to clarify and improve the WTO's disciplines and 
procedures on regional trade agreements (RTAs).  Such agreements, which can foster trade 
liberalization and promote developm ent, have become an important element in the trade policies of 
virtually all Members.  Transparency of RTAs is thus of systemic interest as are disciplines that 
ensure the complementarity of RTAs with the WTO.  
2. We commend the progress in defining the elem ents of a transparency mechanism for RTAs, 
aimed, in particular, at improving existing WTO procedures for gathering factual information on 
RTAs, without prejudice to the rights and obligations of Members.  We instruct the Negotiating Group on Rules to intensify its efforts to resolve outstanding issues, with a view to a provisional decision on RTA transparency by 30 April 2006. 
 
3. We also note with appreciation the wo rk of the Negotiating Group on Rules on WTO's 
disciplines governing RTAs, including inter alia  on the "substantially all the trade" requirement, the 
length of RTA transition periods and RTA developmen tal aspects.  We instruct the Group to intensify 
negotiations, based on text proposals as soon as possibl e after the Sixth Ministerial Conference, so as 
to arrive at appropriate outcomes by end 2006.  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page E-1 
 
 
Annex E 
 
Trade Facilitation 
 
Report by the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation to the TNC  
 
 1. Since its establishment on 12 October 2004, the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation met 
eleven times to carry out work under the mandate contained in Annex D of the Decision adopted by 
the General Council on 1 August 2004.   The negotiations are benefiting from the fact that the mandate 
allows for the central development dimension of the Doha negotiations to be addressed directly 
through the widely acknowledged benefits of trade facilitation reforms for all WTO Members, the 
enhancement of trade facilitation capacity in deve loping countries and LDCs , and provisions on 
special and differential treatment (S&DT) that pr ovide flexibility.  Based on the Group's Work Plan 
(TN/TF/1), Members contributed to the agreed ag enda of the Group, tabling 60 written submissions 
sponsored by more than 100 delegations.  Members appreciate the transparent and inclusive manner in 
which the negotiations are being conducted.  2. Good progress has been made in all areas c overed by the mandate, thr ough both verbal and 
written contributions by Members.  A considerable part of the Negotiating Group's meetings has been 
spent on addressing the negotiating objective of improving and clarifying relevant aspects of GATT 
Articles V, VIII and X, on which about 40 written submissions
1 have been tabled by Members 
representing the full spectrum of the WTO's Member ship.  Through discussions on these submissions 
and related questions and answer s (JOB(05)/222), Members have a dvanced their understanding of the 
measures in question and are working towards common ground on many aspects of this part of the negotiating mandate.  Many of these submissions also  covered the negotiating objective of enhancing 
technical assistance and support for capacity buildi ng on trade facilitation, as well as the practical 
application of the principle of S&DT.  The Group al so discussed other valuable submissions dedicated 
to these issues.
2 Advances have also been made on the objec tive of arriving at provisions for effective 
cooperation between customs or any other appropr iate authorities on trade facilitation and customs 
compliance issues, where two writte n proposals have been discussed.3 Members have also made 
valuable contributions on the identification of tr ade facilitation needs and priorities, development 
aspects, cost implications and inter-agency cooperation.4  
 3. Valuable input has been provided by a number of Members in the form of national experience 
papers
5 describing national trade facilitation reform processes.  In appreciation of the value to 
developing countries and LDCs of this aspect of  the negotiations, the Negotiating Group recommends 
that Members be encouraged to continue this information sharing exercise. 
 4. Building on the progress made in the negotiations so far, and with a view to developing a set 
of multilateral commitments on all elements of the mandate, the Negotiating Group recommends that 
it continue to intensify its negotiations on the basis of Members' proposals, as reflected currently in 
document TN/TF/W/43/Rev.4, and any new proposals to be presented.  Without prejudice to 
individual Member's positions on in dividual proposals, a list of (I) proposed measures to improve and 
clarify GATT Articles V, VIII and X; (II) proposed  provisions for effective cooperation between 
customs and other authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance; and, (III) cross-cutting submissions; is provided below to facilitate furthe r negotiations.  In carrying out this work and in 
                                                     
 
1 TN/TF/W/6-W/15, W/17-W/26, W/28, W/30-W32, W/34-36, W/38-W/40, W/42, W/44-W/49, W/53, 
W/55, W/58, W/60-W/62, W/64-W/67, W/69, W/70. 
2 TN/TF/W/33, W/41, W/56, W/63, W/73 and W/74. 
3 TN/TF/W/57 and W/68. 
4 TN/TF/W/29, W/33, W/41, W/62 and W/63. 
5 TN/TF/W/48, W/50 , W/53, W/55, W/58, W/60, W/61, W/65, W/69 and W/75. WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page E-2  
 
tabling further proposals, Members should be mi ndful of the overall deadline for finishing the 
negotiations and the resulting need to move into focussed drafting mode early enough after the Sixth 
Ministerial Conference so as to allow for a timely  conclusion of text-based negotiations on all aspects 
of the mandate.  
5. Work needs to continue and broaden on the process of identifying individual Member's trade 
facilitation needs and priorities, and the cost impl ications of possible measures.  The Negotiating 
Group recommends that relevant international organiza tions be invited to continue to assist Members 
in this process, recognizing the important contri butions being made by them already, and be 
encouraged to continue and intensify their work mo re generally in support of the negotiations.     
 
6. In light of the vital importance of tec hnical assistance and capacity building to allow 
developing countries and LDCs to fully particip ate in and benefit from the negotiations, the 
Negotiating Group recommends that the commitment s in Annex D's mandate in this area be 
reaffirmed, reinforced and made operational in a timely manner.  To bring the negotiations to a 
successful conclusion, special attention needs to be paid to support for technical assistance and 
capacity building that will allow developing coun ties and LDCs to participate effectively in the 
negotiations, and to technical assistance and capac ity building to implement the results of the 
negotiations that is precise, effe ctive and operational, and reflects  the trade facilitation needs and 
priorities of developing countries and LDCs.  Rec ognizing the valuable assistance already being 
provided in this area, the Negotiating Group recommends  that Members, in particular developed ones, 
continue to intensify their support in a comprehe nsive manner and on a long-term and sustainable 
basis, backed by secure funding.  7. The Negotiating Group also recommends that it deepen and intensify its negotiations on the 
issue of S&DT,  with a view to arriving at S&DT provisions that are precise, effective and operational 
and that allow for necessary flexibility in implemen ting the results of the negotiations.  Reaffirming 
the linkages among the elements of Annex D, the Negotiating Group recommends that further 
negotiations on S&DT build on input presented by Memb ers in the context of measures related to 
GATT Articles V, VIII and X and in their pr oposals of a cross-cutting nature on S&DT. 
  I. PROPOSED MEASURES TO IMPROVE AND CLARIFY GATT ARTICLES V, VIII 
AND X  
A. P
UBLICATION AND AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION  
• Publication of Trade Regulations 
• Publication of Penalty Provisions 
• Internet Publication 
(a) of elements set out in Article X of GATT 1994 
(b) of specified information setting forth procedural sequence and other requirements for 
importing goods  
• Notification of Trade Regulations 
• Establishment of Enquiry Points/SNFP/Information Centres 
• Other Measures to Enhance the Availability of Information 
 
B. TIME PERIODS BETWEEN PUBLICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION  
• Interval between Publication and Entry into Force 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page E-3 
 
 
C. CONSULTATION AND COMMENTS ON NEW AND AMENDED RULES  
• Prior Consultation and Commenting on New and Amended Rules 
• Information on Policy Objectives Sought 
  
D. ADVANCE RULINGS  
• Provision of Advance Rulings 
 
E. APPEAL PROCEDURES  
• Right of Appeal 
• Release of Goods in Event of Appeal 
 
F. OTHER MEASURES TO ENHANCE IMPARTIALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION  
• Uniform Administration of Trade Regulations 
• Maintenance and Reinforcement of Inte grity and Ethical Conduct Among Officials 
(a) Establishment of a Code of Conduct 
(b) Computerized System to Reduce/Eliminate Discretion 
(c) System of Penalties 
(d) Technical Assistance to Create/Build up Ca pacities to Prevent and Control Customs 
Offences 
(e) Appointment of Staff for Education and Training 
(f) Coordination and Control Mechanisms 
 
G. FEES AND CHARGES CONNECTED WITH IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION  
• General Disciplines on Fees and Charges Imposed on or in Connection with Importation 
and Exportation 
(a) Specific Parameters for Fees/Charges 
(b) Publication/Notification of Fees/Charges 
(c) Prohibition of Collection of Unpublished Fees and Charges 
(d) Periodic Review of Fees/Charges 
(e) Automated Payment 
• Reduction/Minimization of the Number and Diversity of Fees/Charges   
 H. F
ORMALITIES CONNECTED WITH IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION  
• Disciplines on Formalities/P rocedures and Data/Documentation Requirements Connected 
with Importation and Exportation 
(a) Non-discrimination 
(b) Periodic Review of Formalities and Requirements 
(c) Reduction/Limitation of Formalities and Documentation Requirements 
(d) Use of International Standards 
(e) Uniform Customs Code 
(f) Acceptance of Commercially Available Information and of Copies 
(g) Automation 
(h) Single Window/One-time Submission 
(i) Elimination of Pre-Shipment Inspection WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page E-4  
 
(j) Phasing out Mandatory Use of Customs Brokers  
 
I. C
ONSULARIZATION  
• Prohibition of Consular Transaction Requirement 
 
J. BORDER AGENCY COOPERATION  
• Coordination of Activities and Requirement of all Border Agencies 
 
K. RELEASE AND CLEARANCE OF GOODS  
• Expedited/Simplified Release and Clearance of Goods 
(a) Pre-arrival Clearance 
(b) Expedited Procedures for Express Shipments 
(c) Risk Management /Analysis, Authorized Traders 
(d) Post-Clearance Audit 
(e) Separating Release from Clearance Procedures 
(f) Other Measures to Simplify Customs Release and Clearance 
• Establishment and Publication of Average Release and Clearance Times 
 L. T
ARIFF CLASSIFICATION  
• Objective Criteria for Tariff Classification  
 
M. MATTERS RELATED TO GOODS TRANSIT  
• Strengthened Non-discrimination 
• Disciplines on Fees and Charges 
(a) Publication of Fees and Charges and Prohibition of Unpublished ones 
(b) Periodic Review of Fees and Charges 
(c) More effective Disciplines on Charges for Transit 
(d) Periodic Exchange Between Neighbouring Authorities 
• Disciplines on Transit Formalities and Documentation Requirements 
  (a) Periodic Review 
  (b) Reduction/Simplification   (c) Harmonization/Standardization   (d) Promotion of Regional Transit Arrangements   (e) Simplified and Preferential Clearance for Certain Goods 
  (f) Limitation of Inspections and Controls 
  (g) Sealing   (h) Cooperation and Coordination on Document Requirements   (i) Monitoring   (j) Bonded Transport Regime/Guarantees  
• Improved Coordination and Cooperation 
(a) Amongst Authorities 
  (b) Between Authorities and the Private Sector 
• Operationalization and Clarification of Terms 
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page E-5 
 
 
II. PROPOSED PROVISIONS FOR EFFECTIVE COOPERATION BETWEEN 
CUSTOMS AND OTHER AUTHORITIES ON TRADE FACILITATION AND CUSTOMS COMPLIANCE 
• Multilateral Mechanism for the Exchan ge and Handling of Information 
 III. CROSS-CUTTING SUBMISSIONS 
1. Needs and Priorities Identification 
• General tool to assess needs and priorities and current levels of trade facilitation  
• Take result of assessment as one basis for est ablishing trade facilitation rules, arranging 
S&D treatment and providing technical assistance and capacity building support   
 
2. Technical Assistance and Capacity Building 
- Technical Assistance and Capacity Buil ding in the Course of the Negotiations 
 
• Identification of Needs and Priorities 
• Compilation of Needs and Priorities of Individual Members 
• Support for Clarification and Educative Process Including Training  
 
- Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Beyond the Negotiations Phase 
 
• Implementation of the Outcome 
• Coordination Mechanisms for Implementing Needs and Priorities as well as Commitments  
  
3. Multiple-Areas 
• Identification of Trade Facilitation Needs and Priorities of Members 
• Cost Assessment  
• Inter-Agency Cooperation 
• Links and Inter-relationship between  the Elements of Annex D  
• Inventory of Trade Facilitation Measures 
• Assessment of the Current Situation 
• Timing and Sequencing of Measures 
  WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page F-1 
 
 
Annex F 
 
Special and Differential Treatment 
 
LDC Agreement-specific Proposals  
 
 
23)  Understanding in Respect of Waivers of Obligations under the GATT 1994  
 
(i) We agree that requests for waivers by least -developed country Members under Article IX of 
the WTO Agreement and the Understanding in resp ect of Waivers of Obligations under the GATT 
1994 shall be given positive considerati on and a decision taken within 60 days. 
 (ii) When considering requests for waivers by other Members exclusively in favour of least-developed country Members, we agree that a decision  shall be taken within 60 days, or in exceptional 
circumstances as expeditiously as possible thereaf ter, without prejudice to the rights of other 
Members.  
36)  Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries
 
 
We agree that developed-country Members shal l, and developing-country Members declaring 
themselves in a position to do so should:  
 (a) (i) Provide duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis, for all products originating 
from all LDCs by 2008 or no later than the start of the implementation period in a manner that 
ensures stability, security and predictability. 
 
 (ii) Members facing difficulties at this time to provide market access as set out above shall 
provide duty-free and quota-free market access for at  least 97 per cent of products originating 
from LDCs, defined at the tariff line level, by 2008 or no later than the start of the 
implementation period.  In addition, these Members shall take steps to progressively achieve compliance with the obligations set out a bove, taking into account the impact on other 
developing countries at similar le vels of development, and, as appropriate, by incrementally 
building on the initial list of covered products. 
  (iii) Developing-country Members shall be permitted to phase in their commitments and shall 
enjoy appropriate flexibility in coverage. 
 
(b) Ensure that preferential rules of origin app licable to imports from LDCs are transparent and 
simple, and contribute to facilitating market access. 
 Members shall notify the implementation of the schem es adopted under this decision every year to the 
Committee on Trade and Development.  The Comm ittee on Trade and Development shall annually 
review the steps taken to provide duty-free and quota-free market access to the LDCs and report to the 
General Council for appropriate action.  We urge all donors and relevant in ternational institutions to incr ease financial and technical support 
aimed at the diversification of LDC economies, wh ile providing additional financial and technical 
assistance through appropriate delivery mechanisms  to meet their implementation obligations, 
including fulfilling SPS and TBT requirements, and to assist them in managing their adjustment processes, including those necessary to face the results of MFN multilateral trade liberalisation.   
 WT/MIN(05)/DEC 
Page F-2  
 
38)  Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries
 
 
It is reaffirmed that least-developed country  Members will only be required to undertake 
commitments and concessions to the extent consistent  with their individual development, financial or 
trade needs, or their administra tive and institutional capacities. 
 
Within the context of coherence arrangements with  other international institutions, we urge donors, 
multilateral agencies and international financial institu tions to coordinate their work to ensure that 
LDCs are not subjected to conditionalities on loans, grants and official development assistance that 
are inconsistent with their rights and obligations under the WTO Agreements.     
 84)  Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures 
 
 
LDCs shall be allowed to maintain on a temporar y basis existing measures that deviate from their 
obligations under the TRIMs Agreement.  For this  purpose, LDCs shall notify the Council for Trade 
in Goods (CTG) of such measures within two years, st arting 30 days after the date of this declaration.  
LDCs will be allowed to maintain these existing measures until the end of a new transition period, 
lasting seven years.  This transition period may be extended by the CTG under the existing procedures 
set out in the TRIMs Agreement, taking into account the individual financial, trade, and development 
needs of the Member in question. 
 
LDCs shall also be allowed to introduce new measu res that deviate from their obligations under the 
TRIMs Agreement.  These new TRIMs shall be notif ied to the CTG no later than six months after 
their adoption.  The CTG shall give positive consid eration to such notifications, taking into account 
the individual financial, trade, and development n eeds of the Member in question.  The duration of 
these measures will not exceed five years, renewabl e subject to review and decision by the CTG. 
 Any measures incompatible with the TRIMs Agr eement and adopted under this decision shall be 
phased out by year 2020. 
 
88)  Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries–Paragraph 1
 
 Least-developed country Members, whilst reaffirmi ng their commitment to the fundamental principles 
of the WTO and relevant provisions of GATT 1994, and while complying with the general rules set 
out in the aforesaid instruments, will only be requir ed to undertake commitments and concessions to 
the extent consistent with their individual deve lopment, financial and trade needs, and their 
administrative and institutional capabilities.  Should a least-developed country Member find that it is 
not in a position to comply with a specific oblig ation or commitment on these grounds, it shall bring 
the matter to the attention of the General C ouncil for examination and appropriate action. 
 We agree that the implementation by LDCs of thei r obligations or commitments will require further 
technical and financial support dir ectly related to the nature and scope of such obligations or 
commitments, and direct the WTO to coordinate  its efforts with donors and relevant agencies  to 
significantly increase aid for trade-related technical assistance and capacity building. 
 
__________