RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/441
6 August 2001
(01-3882)
General Council
PREPARATIONS FOR THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Issues of Concern to Small Economies
Communication from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji Islands,
Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Maldives, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands,  and Trinidad and Tobago
The following communication, dated 25 July 2001, has been received by the Director-General
from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Fiji Islands.
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The Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum wrote to you on the 29 June 2001
submitting a proposal by WTO Member countries of the Pacific Forum Island Countries and the
Caribbean Community and members of the Indian  Ocean Commission which outlines their joint
positions on WTO issues in preparations for the Qatar Ministerial Conference.  Procedure however
requires that such proposals be submitted by a member country of the WTO.
I have the pleasure and honour therefore to resubmit to you the attached joint position1 and
request your kind facilitation in circulating the doc ument to all WTO Members for their consideration
and inclusion in the draft Qatar Ministerial text.
The salient features of the proposal as highlighted by the Secretary General, from our
standpoint, are worth repeating herein:
(a) the need to retain in the Qatar Minister ial text the same commitment to small and
vulnerable economies that was reflected in the draft Seattle Ministerial text;
(b) that a working group be established to implement a Work Programme on Small States
under the auspices of the General Council;
(c) that a successful outcome to the WTO negotiations as far as the three FIC WTO
Members are concerned, will depend on how their positions are appreciated and what
actions are taken to assist them adjust and make meaningful contribution to the WTO
process;
                                                     
1 Reproduced in the Annex.WT/GC/W/441
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(d) that, for your information, the Forum Island Countries WTO Members' support for
the multilateral trading system will be dependent on their ability to contribute
positively to the system;
(e) as you are no doubt aware, their ability to contribute must begin with the recognition
that the current imbalances against them must first be addressed.
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ANNEX
Issues of Concern to Small Economies
Proposal by Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji Islands,
Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Maldives, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.
Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Trinidad and Tobago
Introduction
1. We, the WTO Members sponsoring these proposals, strongly support the retention in the
Qatar Ministerial text of the same commitment to small vulnerable economies contained in
 paragraphs 8, 56 and 58 of the draft Seattle Ministerial text of December 1999 (annexed) and call for
the establishment of a Working Group to implement our proposals for a Work Programme under the
auspices of the General Council.
Implementation
2. We agree that implementation issues constitute an important aspect of the work of the WTO
and endorse the thematic approach adopted by the General Council in dealing with the outstanding
issues of concern to all developing countries under each agreement as reflected in paragraphs 21 and22 of the draft Seattle Declaration.
3. We support the proposal by CARICOM members for the need to ensure that the term
"substantial supplier", in Article XIII of the GATT 1994 should be defined in a manner which would
ensure security and predictability of market access for traditional small suppliers, taking into accountfactors such as the importance of the product to the exporting country as opposed to the percentage
share in the importing markets.
4. Similarly, we urge the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Committee to review
the threshold of US$1000 in Annex VII(b) with a view to taking into account the vulnerability and
special problems of small economies.  We also urge the SCM Committee to (i) examine additional
possibilities for granting flexibility to developing countries such as threshold limits relating topercentage share of exports in import markets and in global trade; and (ii) develop measures to
mitigate the high cost of freight and other transport costs resulting from small volumes and remote
and distant locations.
5. Additionally, we urge the General Council to adopt measures to secure a redistribution of
negotiation rights in favour of small and medium size exporting members in trade negotiations.
6. We wish to emphasize the need for the establishment of a permanent implementation review
mechanism to ensure that the issues of implemen tation under existing or any future agreements are
addressed in a structured manner.
7. We call for the operationalization of Special and Differential Treatment provisions for
developing countries and LDCs and call on developed WTO Members for full and speedy
implementation of these commitments to facilitate adjustments by developing countries and LDCs.WT/GC/W/441
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On-going Negotiations/Reviews
- Agriculture
8. We agree on the importance of maintaining the integrity of Article 20 of the Agreement in the
continuation of the reform process, and emphasize that the negotiations must take into account, as an
integral part of the following elements:
- the long-term objective of substantial progressive reductions in support and
protection;
- non-trade concerns, including food security and the need to protect the environment;- special and differential treatment for developing country members, including the
particular concerns/needs of small, landlocked and island developing countries, and
the possibly negative effects on the implementation of the reform process on least
developed and net-food importing developing countries and the objective of
establishing a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system.
9. We emphasize the need to preserve the flexibility of developing countries to implement any
commitments in line with their development needs, and emphasize in particular the need to take into
account the special circumstances of developing countries highly dependent on existing preferential
arrangements
- Services
10. We agree that the current architecture of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) be maintained and that the process of liberalization must take due account of national policyobjectives and level of development of individual members as enshrined in Article XIX which
stipulates that developing countries must be provided with the appropriate flexibility for opening
fewer sectors and liberalizing fewer types of transactions in line with their development situation.
11. We also recognize that the process of liberalization must be undertaken progressively through
successive rounds of negotiations and that each round must be preceded with an assessment of trade
in services with particular reference to the objectives set out in paragraph 1 of Article IV relating toincreasing participation of developing countries in wo rld trade, in terms of the strengthening of their
domestic services capacity, access to technology, access to distribution channels and information
networks, and liberalization of market access in se ctors and modes of supply of export interest to
them.
12. We also agree that credit must be given for autonomous liberalization undertaken by
developing countries and that due account must be taken of the specific needs and concerns of small
economies in the on-going negotiations, in particular with regard to the elaboration of emergency
safeguard and subsidy rules for trade in services.
- Reviews
13. We emphasize that the on-going reviews of the operation of Uruguay Round Agreements are
as important as the mandated negotiations.  We wish to highlight for example reviews mandated in
Articles 24.2, 27.3(b) and 71 of the TRIPS Agreem ent, Article 23 of the Agreement on Customs
Valuation, Article 12.7 of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, Article 15.4 of the
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and Article 9 of the Agreement on TRIMS.WT/GC/W/441
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14. We call for the establishment of a standing implementation review mechanism to address and
resolve the on-going concerns of WTO Members in this area.
Other Elements of the Work Programme
- "Singapore subjects"
Trade and Investment
15. We emphasize that investment rules should not be incorporated in the WTO except for trade-
related  investment measures as presently defined, and that these rules should be implemented in ways
which will not impede the efforts of small economies in attracting investment flows, for which theyare already greatly disadvantaged.
Trade and Competition Policy
16. We recall that the Singapore Ministerial Meeting established a Working Group to consider the
interaction between trade and competition policy.  We recognize that such policy is important in
promoting efficiency and competitiveness.  We emphasize however, that the need for competition
policy depends on national circumstances and priorities and must remain a matter for national policy,
which should be facilitated by technical support.
Transparency in Government Procurement
17. We recall the plurilateral agreement which provides for transparency, competition and non-
discrimination.  While appreciating the importance of increasing transparency, and technical support
to achieve this, we do not believe that public procurement is a priority matter for international policyat this time.
Trade Facilitation
18. We emphasize the continuing importance of trade facilitation in the promotion of trade
liberalization but recognize the particular burdens improved measures place on the administrative
capacities of small economies.  We call for increasing technical support to aid trade facilitationmeasures.
- Other Possible subjects
Trade and the Environment
19. We emphasize the special significance of sustainable development for small environmentally
vulnerable island and low-lying countries.  Many of these countries, as tourism-dependent economies,
have a high economic reliance on a pristine environment.
20. We recognize that while trade liberalization could promote sustainable development, steps
should be taken to ensure that trade-related  environmental measures are not used as a disguised
restriction on trade.  We emphasize the multilateral environment agreements must continue to be the
main source of international measures to protect the environment but recognize that strengthened
disciplines in the WTO are needed to prevent domestically prohibited products from enteringinternational trade.WT/GC/W/441
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Protection of Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights
21. We recognize the considerable effort made by WTO Members to develop appropriate legal
regimes at a national and regional level to protect the intellectual property right of indigenous people.
Mindful of the incidence of piracy and uncompensated use of indigenous intellectual property rights,we call on WTO members to develop new multilateral disciplines which will grant protection to
indigenous property rights holders no less favourable than those available to other intellectual
property rights holders.
Trade and Labour
22. We support the exclusion of labour issues from the WTO.  We consider that labour standards
have an important role to play in international co -operation but that such standards must continue to
be developed within the ILO.
Systematic Issues
23. We emphasize the need for increased transparency in the negotiating process and in this
context support reform of the current "Green Room " process and propose that there should be small
economies representation in such a process.
24. We hope that the rules for ensuring democratic decision-making by consensus in the WTO
should be improved but oppose moves to introduce decision-making based on trade weighted voting.
Accession
25. We call for separate, affordable and consistent accelerated accession rules for small
vulnerable economies and LDCs through an improved process to facilitate their integration into the
multilateral trading system.
Technical Co-operation and Capacity Building
26. We call on the international community to create a modality that will allow small and
vulnerable economies which are non-resident WTO Members and Observers to be represented inGeneva at costs they can afford.
27. We urge that members with small administrations should not be required to accept obligations
which they do not have the administrative capacity to implement.
28. We emphasize the importance of providing technical assistance and co-operation in order to
build capacity to ensure their effective participation into the multilateral trading system.WT/GC/W/441
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Annex to the Proposal
Extracts from the Draft Ministerial Text of 3 December 1999 on
Small Economies
Paragraph 8
"We undertake to take positive and concrete measures to ensure that developing countries, particularly
the least-developed countries and small, vulnerable economies, and transition economies, secure a
share in the growth of interna tional trade commensurate with their economic development needs.
Reduction and elimination of protection on products and sector of export interest to developing
countries would contribute to this goal.  Recognizing that developing countries may need flexibility inthe implementation of multilateral trade agreements and commitments, we are committed to making
all areas of special and differential treatment effective and operational.  We also recognize the
problems and concerns facing economies in transition and instruct that these be given continuing
importance in the WTO work programme".
Paragraph 56
Small Economies
"We initiate a work programme, involving all releva nt WTO bodies, to identify concrete trade-related
measures for the fuller integration of small, vuln erable economies into the multilateral trading system.
This work programme shall take into account and draw on relevant work being undertaken in other
international fora.  The General Council shall review the work programme and make
recommendations for action before the end of the year 2000".
Paragraph 58
Technical Cooperation
"We instruct the WTO Secretariat, in close collaboration with other relevant international
intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and its UNCTAD agencies, and
regional institutions and bilateral donors as appropriate, to reinforce technical cooperation to
developing countries, particularly least-developed countries, as well as small, vulnerable economies
and transition economies in overcoming obstacles to their participation in the work of WTO  bodiesand the process of implementation of existing WTO commitments.  This reinforced technical
cooperation shall address the specific needs of national implementation authorities, and shall aim at
facilitating the integration of these economies into the multilateral trading system, taking into account
their special circumstances.  It shall include steps, as stipulated under Articles 27.2 and 27.3 of the
Dispute Settlement Understanding, to ensure that al l Members are able to participate effectively in the
dispute settlement system.  We also endeavour to ensure that specific needs of recipient countries are
fully reflected in developing technical assistance programmes at the national level.  We undertake to
make available the necessary resources for these efforts as appropriate, both directly and through
programmes in cooperation with other international institutions."
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