WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/L/640
TN/RL/7
23 July 2003
(03-3955)
Negotiating Group on Rules Original: English
PROPOSALS ON SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT REFERRED
TO THE GROUP BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL
Report to the General Council by the Chairman
of the Negotiating Group on Rules
The present report to the General Council on the Negotiating Group on Rules' ("the Group")
consideration of the proposals on Special and Differential Treatment that have been referred to the
Group by the Chairman of the General Council is submitted on the responsibility of the Chairman,
Ambassador Tim Groser, as agreed by the Group at its meeting on 21-22 July 2003.
___________________
1. Special and Differential Treatment proposals in  the areas of  Regional Trade Agreements,
Anti-Dumping, and Subsidies and Countervailing Measures were referred to the Negotiating Group
on Rules by the Chairman of the General Council, on the understanding that the Group shall report to
the last meeting of the General Council before the Cancún Ministerial Conference on the status of the
proposals and the progress made in this regard.
2. Since referral to the Group, these proposals have been considered at formal meetings on
11 June (RTAs), 18-19 June (AD/SCM) and 21-22 July (all subjects), with the latter meeting being
convened primarily in order to consider the proposals.  The specifics of these discussions are reflectedin the summary records of the Group found in TN/RL/M/9, 10 and 11.
1
3. As reflected in the above summary records, the Group's discussion was very preliminary.
Except in respect of a proposal on Article 27.1 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures2, the sponsors either were unable to attend the meetings in question or were not in a
position to introduce their proposals.
4. I fully appreciate the difficulties that small delegations encounter in attending multiple and
sometimes conflicting WTO meetings, and I would like to assure the sponsors that they will have
further ample opportunity to pursue their proposals.  Thus, although the Group has not to date made
significant progress in its consideration of these proposals, it is my understanding that they are now
squarely before the Group and represent an integral part of its negotiating agenda.  I look forward toactive engagement on these and other proposals of interest to developing participants as the
negotiations proceed.
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1 Forthcoming.
2 Proposal by Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania and Zimbabwe (TN/CTD/W/1).  See discussion in TN/RL/M/10.