WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/GC/108 
6 September 2006 
 (06-4277) 
General Council 
27-28 July 2006 Item 9  
 
 
 
WORK PROGRAMME ON SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT 
 
Statements by Chairpersons under Item 9 of th e Agenda:  "Work Programme on Special and 
Differential Treatment:  (a) Report by the Chairman  of the Special Session of the Committee on Trade  
and Development (b) Reports by Chairpersons of other WTO bodies to whom Special and Differential 
Treatment proposals have been referred " 
 
_______________ 
 
 The statements by Chairpersons under Item 9 of the Agenda of the General Council meeting 
on 27-28 July are being circulated for the information of Members.1 
 
_______________ 
 
 
1. Chairman of the Special Session of th e Committee on Trade and Development 
"I have submitted two reports on the work of th e Special Session:  one to the TNC contained 
in document TN/CTD/17 and the other to the Gene ral Council contained in document TN/CTD/18.  
As the two reports have already been circulated to Members, I wish simply to highlight a few points.  
 
"Firstly, I wish to underline that the Special  Session has made some progress since Hong 
Kong.  For example, on the Agreement-specific proposal s,  Members have been able to make progress 
on six out of the sixteen remaining proposals.  On the outstanding issues, Members have agreed to focus work on the Monitoring Mechanism.  While  there has been some progress, there remain 
fundamental differences on many issues.  The work is therefore far from complete.  Nevertheless, I 
have been encouraged by the fact that Members ha ve been working in an atmosphere of constructive 
engagement in the Special Session.  With regard to the category II proposals, I should also add that 
                                                     
 
1 At the beginning of the Council's consideration of this Item, the Chairman r ecalled a statement by the 
TRIPS Council Chair at the May meeting of the General Council (WT/GC/M/102, Item 3(b)), in which the latter 
had indicated that the TRIPS Council had authorized him to report, first , that the situation in regard to the 
Category II proposals referred to that Council remained as reported in July 2005 in document IP/C/36;  second , 
that the TRIPS Council reiterated its earlier recomme ndation as reproduced in that document;  and third , that no 
further action was otherwise needed on the proposals referred to that Council.  In the light of this report to the 
May General Council meeting, the Chairman indicated that he would not be inviting the TRIPS Council Chair to report further at the present meeting.   
 
The Chairman then indicated that  the Chair of the Special Sessi on of the Committee on Agriculture 
was absent and would be unable to present his report which had been circulated in document TN/AG/22.   
 
He further indicated that in the absence of the Chai rs of the Special Sessions of the Services Council 
and the DSB, their reports would be circulated following  the meeting.  These reports have subsequently been 
circulated in documents TN/S/3 0 and TN/DS/18 respectively. WT/GC/108 
Page 2  
 
  the Special Session has been coordinating its effort s with the Chairpersons of those bodies to whom 
these proposals have been referred.  I shall leave it to the Chairpersons of these bodies to provide 
updates later. 
 
 "Secondly, I wish to inform Members that th e LDCs have tabled two submissions in the 
Special Session on the duty-free quot a-free market access issue.  One submission relates to the Rules 
of Origin and the other to Market Access.  In th e preliminary discussion that took place at the last 
meeting of the Special Session on 7 July 2006, Members reiterated their commitment towards implementing the DFQF decision.  Some Members sought certain clarifications on the two papers 
tabled by the LDCs.  I have urged Members, part icularly the key stakeholders, to continue their 
bilateral consultations with each other as this is crucial in bridging the differences in views and 
differences in expectations on this particular issue.   
 
 "Like all the other Negotiating Groups, the Sp ecial Session will be undoubtedly affected by 
the suspension of negotiations across the board.   It is however my hope that we can preserve 
whatever progress we have made so far in the Sp ecial Session, so that when we resume our 
negotiations we will be able to build on the progress made and bring closure to this very long-standing 
issue."  
2. Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture 
 A report by the Chair of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture was circulated 
in document TN/AG/22. 
 
3. Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture 
"My progress report to the General Council relates to the consideration of a proposal by the 
African Group as part of the Committee's follow-up to  the NFIDC Decision, as well as in the context 
of the Doha Ministerial Decision on Impl ementation-Related Issues and Concerns.
 2 
  "The African Group calls for developed-country Members to embody in their schedules of commitments undertakings on, and contributions to , a revolving fund for normal levels of food 
imports, providing food aid in fully grant form, a nd maintaining food aid levels consistently with 
recommendations and rules under the Food Aid Convention. 
 
 "The situation remains unchanged since I last  reported on this matter to the General Council 
at its meeting on 15 May 2006, and as reflec ted in document G/AG/22.  The Committee on 
Agriculture will meet again in September and stands  ready to consider any proposal that might be 
presented to it."
 
 
4. Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Rules 
"I appreciate having this opportunity to provide  an update on the status of the Category II 
proposals on special and differential treatment that the Chairman of the General Council referred to 
the Negotiating Group on Rules.   
 "The situation with respect to these proposals remains unchanged from my last report.  As I 
reported at that time, while these proposals were on the agenda at a number of meetings, there was 
little discussion.  Recognizing the resource constraint s of small delegations, I will place any of these 
proposals on the agenda of a future meeting of the Group upon receiving affirmative confirmation from any of the proponents indicating that they wish to further discuss them. 
                                                     
 
2 See paragraph 52 of TN/CTD/W/3/Rev.2.  WT/GC/108 
 Page 3 
 
 
   "I should mention that while these specific proposals have not been the subject of significant 
discussion, that does not mean that the interests of developing Members have not been receiving 
attention.  Developing Members are very activ e in the Group and have sponsored numerous 
proposals, including, in the last few months, special and differential treatment proposals from Kenya and India." 
5. Chairman of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services  
 A report by the Chair of the Special Sessi on of the Council for Trade in Services was 
circulated in document TN/S/30.  
6. Chairman of the Committee on Safeguards 
 "As you may recall, my predecessors as chairs  of the Safeguards Committee have reported to 
the General Council on many occasions on the S&D pr oposal referred to the Safeguards Committee.  I 
myself, as the new chair, reported to the Ge neral Council on 15 May 2006. Notwithstanding 
numerous efforts, the situation has not developed at all since the Safeguards Committee reported in 
detail to the General Council in July 2003.  In orde r to contribute to the process as the new chair, after 
my previous report to the General Council, I trie d to contact the proponents over the past months 
informing them that the S&D proposal would contin ue to be dormant unless the proponents raised it 
again with a certain level of support from other Members.  However, so far, I have not heard 
anything, either from the proponents or from any other Member.  That said, I fully recognize the resource constraints of small delegations.   
 "Under these circumstances, I have to say th at the proposal referred to the Safeguards 
Committee has been effectively set aside, and will c ontinue to be so, until the proponents decide to 
revive the matter."  
7. Chairman of the Committee on TRIMs 
"The Committee on Trade-Related Investment  Measures has considered two S&D proposals 
submitted by the African Group relating to Article  4 and Article 5.3 of the TRIMs Agreement. 
 
 "Since my last report to the General Council,  the TRIMs Committee held a formal meeting on 
9 June to further discuss a revised text of the proposals submitted by Kenya on behalf of the African Group.  In addition, I have pursued a number of info rmal contacts with interest ed delegations in order 
to explore possible ways to move further on this issue. 
  "The formal Committee meeting provided for a substantive discussion a nd a very constructive 
exchange of views.  Some interesting ideas emerged that could be explored and perhaps help us find 
an acceptable solution. 
 
 "For example, it was suggested  that we consider the proposals not as a single block but in different parts, so as to allow us to address firs t those areas in which reaching an agreement seems 
more likely.  This has been supported by the prop onents.  Another idea that emerged was to work 
more specifically on the country-coverage of the proposals.  In this respect, the proponents have shown their readiness to consider alternative language  formulations.  This, I believe, is an important 
step forward. 
  "In general, my feeling is that the proponent s, as well as other delegations, are willing to look 
together for solutions. I therefore encourage Memb ers to continue to show as much flexibility and 
creativity as possible, including, as appropriate, through the submission of new language.  I would WT/GC/108 
Page 4  
 
  also suggest that Members continue consulting w ith each other taking into account the comments and 
ideas that have been offered at the last meeting.   "On my part, I intend to continue the discussion of the S&D proposals in the TRIMs Committee and through informal contacts." 
 
8. Chairman of the Special Session of the Dispute Settlement Body 
 A report by the Chair of the Special Session of  the Dispute Settlement Body was circulated in 
document TN/DS/18.  9. Chairman of the Committee on SPS Measures 
"To ensure the greatest transparency on this im portant matter, on 13 July 2006 I circulated a 
written report, on my own responsibility as Chai rperson of the SPS Committee, as document 
G/SPS/41.  I would therefore draw the General C ouncil's attention to a few of the main points 
contained in my written report. 
 
 "The SPS Committee has considered the issue of  special and differential treatment at every 
available opportunity, and has kept this as a st anding item on its agenda.  Hence, when the 
SPS Committee was required to shorten the time allotted for its regular meeting in October last year 
due to preparations for the Hong Kong Ministeria l Conference, S&D was one of the few issues that 
was kept on the agenda.  It was included yet ag ain when the regular meeting was resumed at the 
beginning of February this year.  Informal meeti ngs on this issue were also held in January, March 
and May of this year, but an informal meeting sch eduled for 26 June had to be cancelled because of 
the impossibility of holding meetings at the WTO du ring that week.  Nonetheless, the Secretariat was 
able to arrange for the regular meeting of th e SPS Committee to proceed, and S&D was discussed on 
that occasion. 
 
 "With regard to the five specific proposals referred to the SPS Committee, substantive 
progress has been possible only when  revisions of these proposals have been tabled.  Hence, the 
revised African Group proposal on Article 9.2 of th e SPS Agreement, first tabled informally on 
28 March, with a second revision tabled on 24 May,  stimulated positive and constructive discussion.  
These revised proposals were, however, presented at info rmal meetings, on a likewise informal basis;  
hence, they have not been translated, and this h as worked to the disadvantage of many developing 
country Members.   "There are many similarities between the revised proposal by the African Group and the 
procedure formally adopted by the SPS Committee in October 2004 (G/SPS/33) for requesting special 
and differential treatment whenever a new SPS m easure has been introduced.  Discussions have 
therefore focused on what additional elements have been proposed by the African Group, the extent to 
which these might be acceptable and how best they could be addressed.  There has also been some 
discussion as to why no Member has yet used the existing procedure to requ est S&D in response to 
new SPS measures.  
 "Other discussions within the SPS Committee relating to Category II S&D proposals and to 
documents submitted by other Members have focused on improving technical assistance to ensure that 
it addresses, in the most effective way possible, the needs identified by developing country Members.  
This is an area in which the Comm ittee has agreed to continue furthe r, practical work.  The African 
Group has signalled its intention to table a revised pr oposal in this regard, which would be a valuable 
input for the Committee's deliberations. 
  WT/GC/108 
 Page 5 
 
 
   "It should also be noted that a special workshop on the problems faced by developing-country 
Members in implementing the SPS Agreement was held  on 31 March, parallel to the formal meeting 
of the SPS Committee.  The Global Trust Fund sponsore d the participation of 40 officials, most of 
whom were from least-developed countries.  Many of these officials submitted documents describing 
their experience and problems with implementation of the SPS Agreement.  The workshop focused on 
identifying the most concrete and practical ways for Members to make better use of the 
SPS Agreement and thus improve market access for their products.   "The SPS Committee will continue to consid er the S&D proposals and will seek to address 
the problems faced by developing country Members in a practical manner, with the objective of 
finding the most precise, effective and operational so lutions.  An informal meeting on S&D has been 
scheduled for 9 October, and the issue will once ag ain be on the agenda of the formal SPS Committee 
meeting later that same week."   
__________