RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/421
20 November 2000
(00-4932)
General Council
7 and 8 December 2000
GENERAL COUNCIL
Draft Annual Report (2000)1
The present report has been prepared in pursuance of the Procedures for an Annual Overview
of WTO Activities and for Reporting under the WTO (WT/L/105), and sets out the actions taken bythe General Council in the period since its previous annual report.
2
In carrying out its tasks, the General Council has held [..] meetings and [..] Special Sessions
on Implementation since the period covered by the previous report.  The minutes of these meetings
and Special Sessions, which remain the record of the General Council's work, are contained in
documents WT/GC/M/52 and Corr.1 and Add.1, 53, 54 and Add.1-2, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59 and […].
The following subjects are included in the report:
Page
1. Follow-up to the Seattle Ministerial Conference................................................................3
2. Other aspects of the WTO work programme.....................................................................4
3. Negotiations on agriculture and services ............................................................................4
(a) Negotiations on agriculture and services under Article 20 of the Agreement on
Agriculture and Article XIX of the Gene ral Agreement on Trad e in Services.......................4
(b) Reports of the Special Sessions of the Committee on Agriculture  and of the
Council for Trade in Services .................................................................................................5
4. Participation of acceding countries as observers in the mandated negotiations on
agriculture, on services and on other elements of the built-in agenda.............................6
5. Implementation and transition periods ..............................................................................7
(a) Impleme ntatio n .............................................................................................................. .........7
(b) Transiti on Periods.......................................................................................................... .........8
6. Internal transparency and eff ective participation of Members........................................8
7. External transparency........................................................................................................ 10
8. Special Sessions on implementation ..................................................................................10
(a) Programme and cal endar of work.........................................................................................10
(b) Discussion of impl ementation issues....................................................................................11
(c) Activities under way in the WTO that may be of relevance to addressing
implementatio n issues.......................................................................................................... .11
(d) Report on co nsulta tions ..................................................................................................... ...11
9. Committee on Balance-of -Payments Restrictions............................................................12
(a) Consul tations ............................................................................................................... .........12
(b) Notes on  meetings........................................................................................................... ......12
                                                     
1 The final version of the report will also reflect the General Council meeting on 7 and
8 December 2000, and the items will be renumbered as necessary.
2 The annual report of the General Council for 1999 was circulated as WT/GC/28 and Add.1.  The
minutes of the Special Session of the General Council in  preparation for the Third Ministerial Conference held
on 23 November 1999, after the adoption of the 1999 Annual Report of the General Council, was circulated as
WT/GC/M/51.WT/GC/W/421
Page 2
10. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration .......................................................12
(a) Reports..................................................................................................................... .............12
11. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement..........................................................13
(a) Harmonize d System........................................................................................................... ...13
(i) Nicaragua, Sri Lanka........................................................................................................ ....13
(b) Renegotiation of Schedule ................................................................................................... .14
(i) Zambia ...................................................................................................................... ............14
(c) Decision on the introduction of the Harmonized System changes into
WTO Schedules of tariff conc essions on 1 January 1996 ....................................................14
(d) Uruguay – Derogation on minimum values..........................................................................14
(e) EC/France – Trading arrang ements with Morocco...............................................................15
12. Accession matters........................................................................................................... .....15
(a) Albania..................................................................................................................... .............15
(b) Azerbaijan.................................................................................................................. ...........15
(c) Bhutan...................................................................................................................... .............16
(d) Cape Verde .................................................................................................................. .........16
(e) Cro atia..................................................................................................................... ..............16
(f) Georgia..................................................................................................................... .............17
(g) Jordan...................................................................................................................... ..............17
(h) Oman........................................................................................................................ .............18
(i) Russian Federa tion.......................................................................................................... ......18
(j) Ukraine..................................................................................................................... .............18
(k) Yemen....................................................................................................................... ............19
(l) Accessions to  the WTO ....................................................................................................... .19
13. Measures in favour of le ast-developed countries .............................................................19
14. Integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance to
least-developed countries (IF)............................................................................................20
15. Capacity-building throug h technical co operation ...........................................................20
16. High-Level international intergovernmental  event on financing for development.......20
17. Recent initiatives of relevance to th e work and functioning of the WTO......................21
18. Global electron ic commerce...............................................................................................21
19. Five-year review of the exemption provided under
paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994 .........................................................................................22
20. Proposal to amend certain provisions of the Understanding on Rules and
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes Pursuant to Article X of the
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. ...........................23
21. Consultations on implementation......................................................................................23
22. Request for a waiver for the new ACP/EC partnership agreement...............................24
23. Review of procedures for the circulation and derestriction of WTO documents .........2424. Revision of guidelines of th e scheduling of WTO meetings ............................................24
25. Accreditation of Permanent Representatives to the WTO..............................................25
26. Arrangements for effective cooperation with other intergovernmental
organizations .................................................................................................................. .....26
(a) International Telecommuni cations Union (ITU) ..................................................................26
(b) World Customs Organization (WCO) ..................................................................................26
27. International Trade Centre UNCT AD/WTO...................................................................26
(a) Report of the Join t Advisory Group......................................................................................26
28. Administrati ve ma tters...................................................................................................... .27
(a) Procedures for the appointment  of the Director-General......................................................27
(b) WTO Secretariat and senior  management structure .............................................................27
(c) Management Board of the WTO Pension Plan.....................................................................27
29. Observer status ............................................................................................................. ......28
(a) Gover nments.................................................................................................................
........28WT/GC/W/421
Page 3
(i) Bahamas..................................................................................................................... ...........28
(ii) Libe ria.................................................................................................................... ...............28
(b) International intergover nmental orga nizations .....................................................................28
30. Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference ..................................................................29
31. Appointment of office rs to WTO bodies...........................................................................29
32. Election of Chairperson..................................................................................................... .32
1. Follow-up to the Seattle Ministerial Conference (WT/GC/M/52, and Corr. 1 and Add. 1,
53)
At the General Council meeting on 17 December 1999, the Chairman proposed that
consideration of this item be postponed in order to allow delegations time for consultations.
The representatives of Pakistan, Panama, Mexico, European Communities, Switzerland,
Brazil, Mexico, United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Morocco, India, Egypt, Peru, Norway,
Hungary, Cuba, Ecuador, Singapore and Uganda, and the Chairman spoke.
Following the discussion, the Chairman read out the following statement:
"As I have proposed, this meeting of the General Council will be adjourned and
resumed as early as possible next year to take up item 3 of the Agenda.  It is my
understanding that the question raised by a number of delegations concerning theprovisions which lapse and deadlines, which expire on 31 December of this year will
be part of the consultations to be continued.  The General Council will therefore
revert to these matters when it resumes early next year.
"It is understood that all Members will exercise restraint on the matters under
consultation so as not to prejudice further fruitful discussion and decisions on thesematters, or the position of other Members.
"Members have made it clear that informal consultations are necessary on a wide
variety of issues, including the issue of deadlines.  Many Members urged
understanding by all Members in those consultations, and they urged due restraint on
the part of Members.  This approach would be without prejudice to the position on
rights and obligations of Members."
The General Council agreed to postpone consideration of this item to allow further
consultations thereon, took note of the statements and adjourned.
3
At the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Chairman proposed that this
item and the item on "Other aspects of the WTO work programme" be taken up together.  Theproceedings of the discussion are reflected under item 2 of this report.
                                                     
3 This meeting was subsequently closed.  The item was taken up again at the General Council meeting
of 7 and 8 February 2000.WT/GC/W/421
Page 4
2. Other aspects of the WTO work programme (WT/GC/M/534)
At the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Director-General reported, on
his own responsibility, on consultations he had been holding in regard to other aspects of the WTO
work programme.  He indicated, inter alia , that in his contacts with Members, undertaken in close co-
operation with the Chairman and with the assistance of his deputies, he had sought to get a sense ofthe immediate priorities for attention beyond the mandated negotiations, and that the consultations
had shown considerable convergence on several points which were widely seen as immediate
priorities.  These of course did not exclude any further action that Members might decide to take in
due course on other areas of interest and concern.  He went on to provide further details on the four
issues that delegations had stressed in his consultations as being matters of immediate priority:
measures in favour of LDCs;  technical co-opera tion;  transition periods and other implementation
issues;  and internal transparency and effective participation of all Members.
In addressing both this item and that on "Follow-up to the Seattle Ministerial Conference", the
representatives of Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Bolivia, India, Morocco (on behalf of the
African Group), Egypt, Singapore, European Co mmunities, Indonesia, Pakistan, Korea, Uganda,
Mexico, Jamaica, Ecuador, Poland (on behalf of  the CEFTA Members and Turkey), Madagascar,
Malaysia, United States, Chile, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Cuba, Panama, Thailand, Trinidad and
Tobago, Costa Rica, Burundi, Barbados, Israel, Mauritius, Venezuela, Argentina, Saint Lucia,
Honduras, Côte d'Ivoire and Hungary spoke.
The Chairman noted that the issues identified by the Director-General in his report had been
widely considered to be priorities for further consultation.  He also noted the high importance
Members had placed on addressing the range of implementation issues in an effective way, and
suggested that implementation should be an item on the agenda of the next meeting of the General
Council.  In this light, and bearing in mind the points made by delegations, he proposed that further
consultations be held by the Chairman of the General Council and the Director-General.
The General Council took note of the Director-G eneral's statement and of other statements,
and agreed to the Chairman's proposal.
3. Negotiations on agriculture and services
(a) Negotiations on agriculture and services under Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture
and Article XIX of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (WT/GC/M/53)
At the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Chairman said that in
conformity with the time-frame set out in Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture and in
Article XIX of the GATS, namely 1 January 2000, the mandated negotiations in these two areas were
now on.  However, a number of procedural matters remained to be settled before the work could start
in practice.  In this regard, and in the light of wide and intensive consultations, he proposed that as
regards Agriculture the negotiations on agriculture be conducted in the Committee on Agriculture
meeting in Special Sessions.  Progress in the negotiations would be reported directly to the GeneralCouncil on a regular basis.  The first Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture would be
scheduled back-to-back with the next regular meeting of the Committee on 23-24 March 2000.  The
                                                     
4 As indicated under item 1 above, at the Chairman's suggestion, the matters under items 1 and 2 were
taken up together at the meeting on 7 and 8 February, an d the discussion is reflected accordingly in the minutes
of the meeting and in this report.WT/GC/W/421
Page 5
Chair of the Agriculture Committee would chair the Special Sessions, and exceptionally a Vice-Chair
of the Committee would be appointed to conduct the regular work of the Committee.
As to services, negotiations on services would be conducted in Special Sessions of the
Council for Trade in Services.  The Services Coun cil would report on a regular basis to the General
Council.  The first Special Session of the Services Council would be held in the week beginning
21 February, back-to-back with the regular meeting of the Services Council.  The Chair of the
Services Council would chair the Special Sessions, and the Services Council would consider whether
any further procedural questions needed to be addressed including the possible appointment of a Vice-
Chairman.
In his consultations, the Chairman also noted the importance Members attached to other
elements of the built-in agenda, including the mandated reviews and the negotiations foreseen under
the TRIPS Council in respect of geographical indications.  To some Members the mandated reviews
should address the impact of the agreements concerned on the trade and development prospects of
developing countries.  He said that while these reviews and negotiations might not pose the same
immediate practical questions as the services and agriculture negotiations, insofar as they were subjectto existing procedures, this did not in any way detract from the need to make serious progress on
them.
The representatives of Argentina (on behalf of the MERCOSUR Members), Australia,
Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius,Mexico, Morocco (on behalf of the African Group) , Pakistan, Panama, Poland (on behalf of the
CEFTA Members and Turkey), Philippines (also on behalf of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand), Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda
and United States, and the Chairman spoke.
The Chairman expressed satisfaction at consensus on his proposals on the organizational
aspects of the agriculture and services negotiations.  Action at the present meeting should also reflect
the collective recognition and commitment that th e mandated reviews should address the impact of
the agreements concerned on the trade and development prospects of developing countries.  He
understood that Members also wished to keep in mind the possibility of appointing vice-chairs where
appropriate for these mandated reviews.
The General Council took note of the Chairman's statements and of other statements, and
agreed to the proposals by the Chairman.  The General Council also agreed that the mandated reviews
should address the impact of the agreements concerned on the trade and development prospects of
developing countries.
(b) Reports of the Special Sessions of the Committee on Agriculture  and of the Council for Trade
in Services (WT/GC/M/55, 57, 58)
At its meeting in February 2000, the General Council had agreed that Committee on
Agriculture and the Council for Trade in Services would report to the General Council on a regularbasis on the negotiations on agriculture and services respectively.
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman drew attention to the
reports on the first Special Sessions of the Committee on Agriculture (G/AG/NG/1, G/AG/NG/R/1)
and of the Council for Trade in Services (S/CSS/M/1).
The representatives of Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and Brazil, and the Chairman of the first
Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services and the Chairman of the first Special Session of
the Committee on Agriculture spoke.WT/GC/W/421
Page 6
The Chairman proposed that the reports of the first Special Sessions of the Committee on
Agriculture and the Council for Trade in Services be taken up at the July meeting of the General
Council.  Subsequently, and for the duration of the mandated negotiations in question, the reports on
them would be a standing item on the General Council's agenda.
The General Council agreed to the Chairman's proposal and took note of the statements.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman of the Committee on
Agriculture and the Chairman of the General Counc il (on behalf of the Chairman of the Council for
Trade in Services) introduced the reports on th e Special Sessions of the respective bodies.
The representatives of Brazil (on behalf of MERCOSUR Members) and Bulgaria spoke.
The General Council took note of the reports of the Special Sessions of the Committee on
Agriculture and of the Council for Trade in Services, and of the statements.
At the General Council meeting on 10 October 2000, the Chairman of the General Council
(on behalf of the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Services and of the Chairman of the
Committee on Agriculture) introduced the reports on the Special Sessions of the respective bodies.
The representatives of Uruguay, Argentina,  Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Turkey, India, Bolivia, European Communities, Mauritius, Argentina, United States,Democratic Republic of Congo, New Zealand and Chil e, and the Secretary of the General Council and
the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the reports and of the statements and agreed to revert to this
item at its next meeting.
4. Participation of acceding countries as observers in the mandated negotiations on
agriculture, on services and on other elements of the built-in agenda (WT/GC/M/54 and
Add. 2, 55)
At the General Council meeting on 13 March 2000, the Chairman recalled that a number of
acceding countries had expressed interest in participating as observers in the informal process related
to the mandated negotiations on agriculture, on services and on other elements of the built-in-agenda,
as well as in negotiations in these areas.  He also recalled that in 1999 the General Council had
agreed to the participation of acceding countries in the informal General Council preparatory process
for the 1999 Ministerial Conference.5  He finally recalled that in the final stage of the preparatory
process for Seattle there had been a general understanding that future negotiations should be openedto acceding countries.
The representatives of Panama, United States, Mexico and European Communities, and the
Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and adjourned.
6
                                                     
5 See WT/GC/M/45, item 10.
6 This meeting was subsequently closed.  The item was taken up again at the General Council meeting
of 3 and 8 May 2000.WT/GC/W/421
Page 7
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman proposed for adoption a
text (Job No.2814/Rev.1) concerning participation of acceding countries in the mandated negotiations
on agriculture, on services and on other relevant elements of the built-in agenda.
The Chairman noted for the record that the reference in the third paragraph of the draft text to
"any rights" included the notion of negotiating rights.
The General Council took note of the Chairman's statement and agreed to the text.7
5. Implementation and transition periods8
(a) Implementation (WT/GC/M/55)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Director-General reported on the
results of his consultations on the overall implementation issues.  On this basis a draft text had been
circulated to Members setting out the elements of a possible decision to establish a review mechanismon implementation.
The Chairman, in proposing to Members a draft text for decision on the overall
implementation issues, made the following points:  First, it was understood that this decision was
without prejudice to Members' rights and obligations under the WTO.  Second, it was also understoodthat the General Council would carry out its work in this area in full respect of its normal practice of
consensus.  Third, a number of implementation-related issues and concerns had been raised by a
number of delegations as needing urgent action.  He  suggested that these proposals be discussed by
the General Council at its first Special Session.  He  further suggested that the first Special Session
also draw up a programme and calendar for its work in the coming months.  Fourth, it should beunderstood that this decision was without prejudice to Members' positions on any possible further
multilateral trade negotiations.  Fifth, and finally, he emphasized that the purpose of the exercise that
Members would be embarking on following this de cision was to resolve the implementation issues
and concerns.  This was reflected in the last sentence of the second bullet point which stated:  "In
addressing these issues, the General Council will assess the existing difficulties, identify ways needed
to resolve them, and take decisions for appropriate action".
The representatives of Bangladesh (on behalf of the Informal Group of Developing
Countries), Brazil, Morocco (also on behalf of the African Group), Malaysia, United States, Poland
(on behalf of the CEFTA Members and Estonia and Latvia), Pakistan, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Honduras,
Singapore, Jamaica, Colombia, India, Cuba, Ba rbados, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Zimbabwe,
European Communities, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, China, and the Director-General and the Chairman spoke.
The Chairman said that, having noted the statements made, he wished to re-emphasize that
this decision would in no way prejudice the positions of Members on any possible further multilateral
trade negotiations.  He then proposed that the General Council take note of the statements, and takethe decision to establish the implementation review mechanism as described in the proposed text. 
9
                                                     
7 Subsequently circulated as WT/L/355.
8 Some discussion relating to this matter is carried under items 1 and 2 – "Follow-up to the Seattle
Ministerial Conference" and "Other aspects of the WTO work programme".
9 Reproduced as Annex I of WT/GC/M/55.WT/GC/W/421
Page 8
The General Council so agreed.10
The representative of the Dominican Republic spoke.
The General Council took note of the statement.
(b) Transition Periods (WT/GC/M/55)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Director-General reported on the
results of his consultations on the transition period issue.  Among other things, he noted that a lot of
time and effort had been devoted over the past months both to identify areas of concern and to seek
viable multilateral solutions, and that issues in the TRIMs area had been the main focus of work on
transition periods in recent weeks.  In the customs valuation area the process of examination and
approval of requests for extensions of the transition period by developing countries had, in general,
been proceeding well in the Committee on Customs Valuation.  He added that the TRIMs and
Customs Valuation Agreements were not the only areas where developing countries might be facing
difficulties with transition periods, and that Members should remain committed to helping thesecountries overcome their difficulties in other areas through further consultations.  There was also
scope for the WTO to work in closer cooperation with other relevant international organizations to
establish programmes to help meet developing countries' needs in specific areas.
The Chairman said that he was prepared to consult further on transition period issues as
necessary.  The issue that related to the TRIMs Ag reement, however, was ripe for consideration and
action by the General Council at the present meeting as the result of intensive consultations thereon
conducted by the Chairman of the Goods Council.  Before submitting the text resulting from these
discussions for decision,
11 he emphasized, in regard to the Article 9 review of the TRIMs Agreement
referred to in bullet 5 of the text, that this mandated review would take into account thedevelopmental impact of the TRIMs Agreement.  It was understood that this decision was also
without prejudice to Members' rights and obligations under the WTO.
The representatives of Brazil and Morocco (on behalf of the African Group) spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the text proposed by the
Chairman.
6. Internal transparency and effective participation of Members
12 (WT/GC/M/55, 57, 5813)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman recalled that at the
General Council meeting on 7-8 February the issue of internal transparency and effective participation
of Members had been identified as one of the priorities for further consultations.  At that meeting, the
Director-General had suggested that such consultations could be initiated on the basis of delegation's
contributions.  He went on to report on the outcome of the process that had been undertaken thus far
on the basis of contributions received from delegations as well as inputs from the Chairman and the
Secretariat based on those contributions.
                                                     
10 The proceedings of the special sessions of the General Council on implementation, held in pursuance
of the decision on the overall implementation issues, are reflected below in item 8 – "Special Sessions onimplementation".
11 Reproduced as Annex II of WT/GC/M/55.
12 Some discussion relating to this matter is carried under item 2 – "Other aspects of the WTO work
programme".
13 Carried in General Council minutes as "Discussion paper on the functioning of the WTO system".WT/GC/W/421
Page 9
The representatives of Pakistan, Mexico, Honduras (also on behalf of the Dominican
Republic), Costa Rica, Morocco (on behalf of the African Group), Canada, Panama, Turkey,
Paraguay, Bulgaria, United States, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Philippines, Singapore, Czech Republic, the
Slovak Republic, Brazil, New Zealand, Barbados, Me xico and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman
spoke.
The Chairman said that he would pursue cons ultations on internal transparency with the
objective of finding common ground that would allow Members to eventually draw some conclusions.
He also said that several delegations had expressed an interest in addressing the issue of external
transparency at some stage, and in this respect the best way to proceed on this matter would be to
engage initially in a discussion on the modalities and procedures for such a debate.  Such a gradual
approach, which had enabled Members to make progress on the issue of internal transparency, wouldensure that all delegations felt comfortable addressing the issue of external transparency.  It was
therefore his intention to engage Members in a discussion on these modalities in coming weeks.
The representative of Mexico spoke.
The Chairman said it was clear that Members needed to reflect further on this subject and that
a substantive discussion at the present stage remained premature;  he expressed his intention to
conduct consultations to see if it would be possible to establish a procedure for a possible future
debate on external transparency.
The General Council took note of the statements.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman recalled that, at the
discussion on internal transparency at informal meetings of the General Council in July he had
suggested that the various issues be grouped in three clusters:  (i) overriding questions;  (ii) the day-to-day consultation process;  and (iii) the preparation and organization of Ministerial Conferences.
Discussions had thus far focused on the first two clusters, as well as on practices Members had tried to
follow for consultations during the past few months.  With regard to the third cluster, Members had
agreed to have a substantive discussion thereon well in advance of the next Ministerial Conference.
In that respect, he informed the General Council th at these consultations would start in the autumn.
The representatives of Brazil, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, El Salvador (on
behalf of the Paradisus Group
14 and Venezuela and Cuba), Saint Lucia, Panama, Mexico, Singapore
(on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Mauritius (on behalf of the African Group), Colombia, Jamaica,
Korea, Hungary, Bolivia, Uganda, Egypt, Unite d States, Barbados, India, Pakistan, European
Communities, Turkey, Canada and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to revert to the issue of internal
transparency in the autumn.
At the General Council meeting on 10 October 2000, the representative of the European
Communities introduced the Community's discussion paper on improving the functioning of the WTO
system (WT/GC/W/412).
The General Council took note of the statement.
                                                     
14 The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.WT/GC/W/421
Page 10
7. External transparency (WT/GC/M/57, 5815)
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman recalled that a number
of delegations had expressed the wish to discuss the issue of external transparency, and that at the
General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May he had indicated his intention to consult informally on the
procedures to be followed for such a discussion.  In the light of these consultations, he proposed thatMembers draw on some of the procedures used for the discussions on internal transparency.  In
particular, written contributions on external transparency could be useful so as to familiarize
delegations with this issue.  Some Members had already included proposals on external transparency
in their contributions on internal transparency.  He proposed that Members engage in a series of
informal consultations in the autumn to discuss such contributions, as well as any other issue they
wished to raise in the context of external transparency.
The representatives of Mexico, India, United States, Cuba, Canada, Uruguay, Philippines,
European Communities and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
At the General Council meeting on 10 October 2000, the representative of the United States
introduced her delegation's discussion paper on external transparency (WT/GC/W/413).
The General Council took note of the statement.
8. Special Sessions on implementation
At the General Council meeting in May 2000,16 Members had agreed that the General
Council, meeting in special sessions, would addres s outstanding implementation issues and concerns,
particularly those raised during the preparations for the Third Session of the Ministerial Conference.The first special session should be held no later than June 2000, and the process should be completed
not later than the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference.  In addressing these issues, the
General Council would assess the existing difficulties, identify ways needed to resolve them, and take
decisions for appropriate action.
(a) Programme and calendar of work (WT/GC/M/56)
At its Special Session on 22 June and 3 July 2000, the General Council agreed to a
programme and calendar of work as proposed by the Chairman.17  In proposing this text, the
Chairman emphasized that this was definitely an action and result-oriented process.  He recalled that
the General Council decision of 3 May, which was quoted in the preamble to the draft schedule of
work, committed Members to assess the existing difficulties, identify ways needed to resolve them,
and take decisions for appropriate action.  These objectives governed the whole programme of work,and delegations should read the draft text in this light.
The representatives of Morocco (on behalf of the African Group), European Communities,
Japan, Brazil, Poland (also on behalf of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovak Republic), United
States, Dominican Republic (also on behalf of Bo livia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Panama), Canada, Pakistan, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Korea, Cuba, Egypt, Djibouti, Costa Rica,
                                                     
15 Carried in the General Council minutes as "Submission on external transparency".
16 See under sub-item (5) (a)  –  "Implementation".
17 Circulated as Job No. 3859, dated 22 June 2000.WT/GC/W/421
Page 11
New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Malaysia, Ph ilippines, Indonesia, Argentina, Singapore,
Thailand, Mauritius and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
(b) Discussion of implementa tion issues (WT/GC/M/56, 59)
At its Special Session on 22 June and 3 July 2000, the General Council held an agreement-by-
agreement discussion of implementation-related issues, focusing in particular on the issues reflected
in paragraph 21 of the draft Ministerial text of 19 October 1999 (Job(99)/5868/Rev.1).
The representatives of India, Malaysia, Saint Lucia, Hungary, Philippines (also on behalf of
the ASEAN Members), European Communities, United States, Japan, Pakistan, Mauritius, Cuba,
Honduras, Bolivia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Argentina, Côte d'Ivoire, Norway, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand,
Jamaica, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Kenya, Mexico, Colombia,
Chile, Singapore, Morocco, Switzerland, El Salvador, Venezuela, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Peru,
Turkey and Hong Kong, China (also on behalf of members of the ITCB that were also Members and
Observers of the WTO), and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, and invited the Chairman and the Director-
General to hold consultations, in a transparent ma nner, with a view to identifying ways needed to
resolve these issues in accordance with the decision of 3 May on implementation-related issues, and
to report to Members sufficiently in advance of the next Special Session.
At its Special Session on 18 October 2000, the General Council addressed other
implementation-related issues, especially those reflected in paragraph 22 of the draft Ministerial text
of 19 October 1999 (Job(99)/5868/Rev.1) as well as others in the compilation of proposals in
document Job(99)/4797/Rev.3 of 18 November 1999.
The representatives of India, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, United States, Bolivia, Paraguay,
Venezuela and European Communities, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and invited the Chairman and the Director-
General to hold consultations on these issues, in a transparent manner, with a view to identifying ways
needed to resolve them in accordance with the decision of 3 May, and to report to Members in
advance of the next Special Session in December.
(c) Activities under way in the WTO that may be of relevance to addressing implementation
issues (WT/GC/M/56)
At the Special Session of the General Council on 22 June and 3 July 2000, the Chairman
introduced a report on "Activities under way in the WTO that may be of relevance to addressing
implementation issues" (Job (00)/4217).
The General Council took note of the statement and of the report.
(d) Report on consultations (WT/GC/M/56)
At its Special Session on 18 October 2000, the General Council considered a report by the
Chairman and Director-General on their consultations on implementation-related issues and concerns,
especially those reflected in paragraph 21 of the draft Ministerial text of 19 October 1999(Job(99)/5868/Rev.1).
The representatives of Canada, Mauritius (on behalf of the African Group), European
Communities, Paraguay, Indonesia, Zambia, Israel, Thailand, Kenya, Japan, Korea, Argentina,WT/GC/W/421
Page 12
Switzerland, Hong Kong, China, New Zealand, Venezu ela, Brazil, Chile, Bulgaria, India, Turkey,
Pakistan, Cuba, United States, Singapore, Hungary,  Panama, Slovak Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia,
Uganda, Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Czech Republ ic, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia,
Ghana, Sri Lanka, Australia and Philippines, and the Chairman spoke.
The Chairman, noting that the delegation that had expressed a reservation on referring the
proposal in Tiret 1 of the Customs Valuation proposals to the Committee on Customs Valuation for
consideration of the technical aspects could now support this course of action, proposed that the report
by himself and the Director-General be adjusted accordi ngly, and that this item also be referred to the
Committee and the Chairman of the Committee be requested to report on the outcome of that
consideration to the General Council before its Special Session in December.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the report by the Chairman and the
Director-General, and referred to the relevant WTO bodies the issues identified in that report, as
adjusted, as being appropriate for their action, with the mandates and time-frames suggested therein.
The General Council then invited the Chairman and the Director-General to continue their
consultations on the issues reflected in paragraph 21 of the draft Ministerial text of 19 October 1999,in a transparent manner, with a view to identify ing ways needed to resolve them in accordance with
the decision of 3 May, and to report to Members in advance of the next Special Session in December.
9. Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultations (WT/GC/M/57)
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman of the Committee on
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions introduced the Committee's reports on its consultations with
Bangladesh (WT/BOP/R/50) a nd Pakistan (WT/BOP/R/51).
The representatives of the United States and Pakistan spoke.
The General Council took note of the statemen ts and adopted the reports in WT/BOP/R/50
and WT/BOP/R/51.
(b) Notes on meetings (WT/GC/M/57)
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman of the Committee on
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions drew attention to the Committee's discussion of its ongoing
business reported in WT/BOP/R/49.
The General Council took note of the statemen t and of the information in WT/BOP/R/49.
10. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
(a) Reports (WT/GC/M/52 and Corr.1, 53, 55, 57, 58)
At the General Council meeting on 17 December 1999, the Chairperson of the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration introduced the Committee's recommendations in WT/BFA/44.
The representatives of the United States and Pakistan spoke.WT/GC/W/421
Page 13
The General Council took note of the statements, approved the Committee's specific
recommendations in paragraphs 2 through 7 of its report in WT/BFA/44, and also approved the draft
Resolution referred to in the recommendation of paragraph 6.  The General Council then adopted the
Budget Committee's recommendations in WT/BFA/44, including the Resolution on the revised
expenditure of the WTO in 2000 and the ways and means to meet that expenditure.
At the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Chairperson of the Committee
on Budget, Finance and Administration introd uced the Committee's report in WT/BFA/45.
The General Council took note of the statement and adopted the report of the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration in WT/BFA/45.
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman of the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration introduced the Committee's report in WT/BFA/46.
The General Council took note of the statement, approved the Budget Committee's specific
recommendation in paragraph 9 of its report in WT/BFA/46 and adopted the report.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman of the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration introduced the Committee's reports in WT/BFA/47 and 48.
The representatives of Bulgaria and Egypt spoke.The General Council took note of the statements, approved the Budget Committee's specific
recommendations in paragraphs 8, 19 and 23 of its report in WT/BFA/47 and in paragraph 4 of its
report in WT/BFA/48, and adopted the reports.
At the General Council meeting on 10 October 2000, the Chairman of the Committee on
Budget, Finance and Administration drew Members' attention to the worrisome cash situation of the
WTO.  He said that unless contributions in arrears were paid in the near future, the Secretariat would
have to seek authorization to resort to a bank loan in order to meet obligations that could not be
postponed.  He then introduced the Committee's report in WT/BFA/49.
The representative of Jamaica spoke.The General Council took note of the statements, approved the Budget Committee's specific
recommendation in paragraph 9 of its report in WT/BFA/49 and adopted the report.
11. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement
(a) Harmonized System
(i) Nicaragua, Sri Lanka (WT/GC/M/55)
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council considered requests by Nicaragua
(G/L/351) and Sri Lanka (G/L/350) for extensions of waivers previously granted in connection with
their implementation of the Harmonized System, and draft decisions to this effect (Nicaragua -
G/C/W/189;  Sri La nka - G/C/W/188).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of these
requests by that Council.WT/GC/W/421
Page 14
The General Council took note of the report and, in accordance with the Decision-Making
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decisions (Nicaragua – WT/L/353;  Sri Lanka – WT/L/352).
(b) Renegotiation of Schedule
(i) Zambia (WT/GC/M/55)
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council considered a request by Zambia
(G/L/352) for an extension of a waiver previously granted in connection with the renegotiation of its
schedule, and a draft decision to this effect (G/C/W/190).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this request
by that Council.
The General Council took note of the report, and in accordance with the Decision-Making
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decision (WT/L/350).
(c) Decision on the introduction of the Harmonized System changes into WTO Schedules of
tariff concessions on 1 January 1996 (WT/GC/M/55)
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council considered a draft decision
extending the time-limit of the Decision on the introduction of the Harmonized System changes into
WTO Schedules of tariff concessions on 1 January 1996 (G/C/W/200).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this matter
by that Council.
The General Council took note of the report and, in accordance with the Decision-Making
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decision (WT/L/351).
(d) Uruguay – Derogation on minimum values18 (WT/GC/M/55)
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council considered a request by Uruguay
(G/VAL/W/55) for a waiver regarding a derogation on minimum values under the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, and a draft decision to this effect(G/VAL/W/55/Add.1/Rev.1).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this matter
by that Council.
The representatives of India and Brazil spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the report and, in accordance with the
Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in
November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decision (WT/L/354).
The representative of Jamaica spoke.
                                                     
18 Carried in General Council minutes as "Customs Valuation Agreement:  Request by Uruguay for a
waiver under Article IX of the WTO Agreement for minimum values".WT/GC/W/421
Page 15
The General Council took note of the statement.
(e) EC/France – Trading arrangements with Morocco (WT/GC/M/57)
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council considered a request by
EC/France (G/L/357) for an extension of a waiv er previously granted for France's trading
arrangements with Morocco, and a draft decision to this effect (G/C/W/194).
The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods reported on the consideration of this request
by that Council.
The General Council took note of the report and, in accordance with the Decision-Making
Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93),
adopted the draft decision (WT/L/361).
12. Accession matters
(a) Albania (WT/GC/M/57)
In December 1992, the GATT 1947 CONTRACTI NG PARTIES had established a working
party to examine Albania's request for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Subsequently, in pursuance of the decision regarding requests for WTO accession adopted by the
WTO General Council on 31 January 199519, the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been
transformed into a WTO Accession Working Party.
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council approved the text of the Protocol
of Accession (WT/ACC/ALB/53) and the text of th e draft Decision on the Accession of Albania and,
in accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO
Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), a dopted the Decision on the Accession of Albania
(WT/ACC/ALB/52).  The General Council also adopted the Report of the Working Party
(WT/ACC/ALB/51 and Corr.1 and Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1).
The representatives of Albania (as an observer), Turkey, United States, European
Communities, Poland (on behalf of the CEFTA Members and Estonia and Latvia), Ecuador (on behalf
of GRULAC), India, Canada, Pakistan, Singapor e (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Egypt and
Malta, and the Chairman of the Working Party and the Chairman (on behalf of the General Council)spoke.  The representatives of Israel and Switzerland wished to be placed on record as welcoming and
supporting the accession of Albania.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support.
(b) Azerbaijan (WT/GC/M/55)
In July 1997, the General Council had established a working party to examine Azerbaijan's
request for accession to the WTO Agreement, and had authorized its Chairman to designate the
Chairperson of the Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members and with the
representative of Azerbaijan.
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman informed the General Council that
Mr. Lewalter (Germany) had agreed to chair the Working Party.
                                                     
19 See WT/GC/M/1, item 4(g).WT/GC/W/421
Page 16
The General Council took note of this information.
(c) Bhutan (WT/GC/M/58)
In October 1999, the General Council had established a working party to examine Bhutan's
request for accession to the WTO Agreement, and had authorized its Chairman to designate theChairperson of the Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members and with the
representative of Bhutan.
At its meeting on 10 October 2000, the Chairman informed the General Council that
Mr. Kreid (Austria) had agreed to chair the Working Party.
The General Council took note of this information.
(d) Cape Verde (WT/GC/M/57)
It its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council considered a communication from
Cape Verde (WT/ACC/CPV/1) concerning its interest in acceding to the WTO Agreement pursuant to
Article XII.
The representatives of Cape Verde (as an observer), European Communities, Mozambique,
Mauritius (on behalf of the African Group) and Angola spoke.  The representatives of Bangladesh (on
behalf of the LDCs), Barbados, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt,
El Salvador, Gabon, Ghana, Honduras, Hungary, I celand, India, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malta,
Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Singapore (on behalf of the ASEAN
Members), Slovak Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United States
and Uruguay wished to be place on record as welcoming and supporting Cape Verde's request.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support and agreed
to establish a working party to examine the applicat ion of Cape Verde, and authorized its Chairman to
designate the Chairperson of the Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members and
with the representative of Cape Verde.
The Chairman invited Cape Verde, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of
the General Council and, as appropriate, meetings of the other WTO bodies as an observer during the
period in which the Working Party was carrying out its work.
(e) Croatia (WT/GC/M/57)
In October 1993, the GATT 1947 Council had established a working party to examine
Croatia's request for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.  Subsequently, in
pursuance of the decision regarding requests for WTO accession adopted by the WTO GeneralCouncil on 31 January 1995
20, the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a
WTO Accession Working Party.
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council approved the text of the Protocol
of Accession (WT/ACC/HRV/ 61) and the text of the draft Decision on the Accession of Croatia and,
in accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO
Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), a dopted the Decision on the Accession of Croatia
(WT/ACC/HRV/60).  The General Council also adopted the Report of the Working Party
(WT/ACC/HRV/59 and Add.1, 2 and Add.2/Corr.1 and 2).
                                                     
20 See WT/GC/M/1, item 4(g).WT/GC/W/421
Page 17
The representatives of Croatia (as an observer), Turkey, European Communities, United
States, Slovenia, Japan, Ecuador (on behalf of GRUL AC), Canada, India, Singapore (on behalf of the
ASEAN Members), Pakistan, Hungary and Poland (o n behalf of the CEFTA Members and Estonia
and Latvia), and the Chairman of the Working Party and the Chairman (on behalf of the General
Council) spoke.  The representatives of Australia, Bolivia, Egypt, Iceland, Israel, Malta, andSwitzerland wished to be placed on record as welcoming and supporting the accession of Croatia.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support.
(f) Georgia (WT/GC/M/54)
In October 1999, the General Council had adopted a Decision (WT/ACC/GEO/32)
authorizing Georgia to accede to the WTO Agreement under terms set out in its Protocol of Accession(WT/ACC/GEO/33).  As set out in its paragraph 7, the Protocol was open for acceptance by Georgia
until 1 March 2000.
At its meeting on 13 March 2000, the General Council considered a communication from
Georgia requesting that the time-limit for acceptance in paragraph 7 of its Protocol of Accession be
changed to 15 May 2000 (WT/L/345), and a draft decision to this effect (WT/GC/W/398), and in
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted the draft decision extending the time-limit
(WT/L/346).
(g) Jordan (WT/GC/M/52)
In January 1994, the GATT 1947 CONTRACTING PARTIES had established a working
party to examine Jordan's request for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Subsequently, in pursuance of the decision regarding requests for WTO accession adopted by the
WTO General Council on 31 January 199521, the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been
transformed into a WTO Accession Working Party.
At its meeting on 17 December 1999, the General Council approved the text of the Protocol
of Accession (WT/ACC/JOR/35) and the text of th e draft decision on the Accession of Jordan and, in
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopte d the Decision on the Accession of Jordan
(WT/ACC/JOR/34).  The General Council also adopted the report of the Working Party(WT/ACC/JOR/33 and Corr.1 and Add.1 and 2).
The representatives of Jordan (as an observer), United States, Bolivia (on behalf of
GRULAC), European Communities, Turkey, Israel, Malaysia (on behalf of the ASEAN Members),
Egypt (on behalf of the Group of Arab countries Members of the WTO), and the Chairman of theWorking Party spoke.  The representatives of Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti,
Hungary (on behalf of the CEFTA Members and Es tonia and Latvia), Iceland, India, Japan, Korea,
Kuwait, Madagascar, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia,
Uganda, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe wished to be placed on record as welcoming and
supporting the accession of Jordan.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support.
                                                     
21 See WT/GC/M/1, item 4(g).WT/GC/W/421
Page 18
(h) Oman (WT/GC/M/58)
In June 1996, the General Council had established a working party to examine Oman's request
for accession to the WTO Agreement.
At its meeting on 10 October 2000, the General Council approved the text of the Protocol of
Accession (WT/ACC/OMN/28) and the text of the draft decision on the Accession of Oman and, in
accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement
agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), adopte d the Decision on the Accession of Oman
(WT/ACC/OMN/27).  The General Council also adopted the report of the Working Party
(WT/ACC/OMN/26 and Add.1 and 2).
The representatives of Pakistan, Oman (as an observer), Tunisia, European Communities,
Morocco, United States, India, Ecuador (on behalf  of GRULAC), Tanzania, Egypt, Singapore (on
behalf of the ASEAN Members), Bangladesh, Kuwait (also on behalf of Bahrain, Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates), Poland (on behalf of the CEFTA Members and Estonia and Latvia) and
Turkey, and the Chairman of the Working Party and the Chairman (on behalf of the General Council)
spoke.  The representatives of Bangladesh, Cyprus, Japan, Jordan, Kenya and Nigeria wished to beplaced on record as welcoming and supporting the accession of Oman.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support.
(i) Russian Federation (WT/GC/M/57)
In June 1993, the GATT 1947 Council had established a working party to examine the request
of the Russian Federation for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.  In
October 1993, the GATT 1947 Council had taken note that Mr. Rossier (Switzerland) had agreed to
serve as Chairman of the Working Party. Subsequently, in pursuance of the decision regarding
requests for WTO accession adopted by the WTO General Council on 31 January 1995
22, the GATT
1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a WTO Accession Working Party.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman said that on the basis
of consultations that had been held he had accepted, subject to Members' approval, the invitation to
chair the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation following the departure of the
former Chairman Mr. Rossier (Switzerland).
The General Council took note of this information and so agreed.
(j) Ukraine (WT/GC/M/55)
In December 1993, the GATT 1947 Council had established a working party to examine
Ukraine's request for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Subsequently, inpursuance of the decision regarding requests for WTO accession adopted by the WTO General
Council on 31 January 1995
23, the GATT 1947 Accession Working Party had been transformed into a
WTO Accession Working Party.
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman informed the General Council that
Mr. Marchi (Canada) had agreed to chair the Working Party on the Accession of Ukraine.
The General Council took note of this information.
                                                     
22 See WT/GC/M/1, item 4(g).
23 See WT/GC/M/1, item 4(g).WT/GC/W/421
Page 19
(k) Yemen (WT/GC/M/57)
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council considered a communication
form Yemen (WT/ACC/YEM/1) concerning its interest in acceding to the WTO Agreement pursuant
to Article XII.
The representatives of Yemen (as an observer), Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Kuwait and Morocco
spoke.  The representatives of Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh (on behalf of the LDCs), Barbados,
Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
European Communities, Ghana, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Japan, Kenya, Korea,
Madagascar, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines,
Qatar, Senegal, Singapore (on behalf of the ASEAN Members), Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda, United States and Macau, China wished tobe placed on record as welcoming and supporting Yemen's request.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the expressions of support, agreed to
establish a working party to examine the application of Yemen, and authorized its Chairman to
designate the Chairperson of the Working Party in consultation with representatives of Members andwith the representative of Yemen.
The Chairman invited Yemen, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of the
General Council and, as appropriate, meetings of the other WTO bodies as an observer during the
period in which the Working Party was carrying out its work.
(l) Accessions to the WTO (WT/GC/M/55)
In June 1999, Members had in general supported the idea that the process of accession should
be accelerated as much as possible, in particular in the course of 1999 prior to the launching of a new
round of trade negotiations.
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the representative of Poland (on behalf
of the CEFTA Members and Estonia and Latvia) pointed out some of the difficulties acceding
countries had to deal with in their accession process.
The representatives of the European Communities, United States, Brazil, Croatia (as an
observer), Lithuania (as an observer), Moldova (as an observer) and the Russian Federation (as anobserver) spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
13. Measures in favour of least-developed countries (WT/GC/M/55)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman recalled that the issue of
measures in favour of least-developed countries wa s one of four elements identified at the February
General Council meeting as a priority for immediate attention.24
The Director-General reported on the results of his consultations thus far on this issue.
The representatives of Bangladesh (on behalf of the least-developed country Members),
Zambia, European Communities, Japan, Korea, Morocco (on behalf of the African Group), Haiti,
                                                     
24 See item 2 – "Other aspects of the WTO work programme".WT/GC/W/421
Page 20
Switzerland, Mauritius, Slovak Republic, Iceland, Czech Republic, Norway, Hungary, Poland, New
Zealand, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Cuba, Canada, Zimbabwe, United States, Argentina (on behalf
of the MERCOSUR Members), Chile, Guinea, India, Egypt, Venezuela, Australia, Turkey, Burundi,
Uganda and Bolivia, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the report by the Director-General.
14. Integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance to least-developed countries
(IF) (WT/GC/M/57)
Pursuant to the mandate contained in WT/LDC/HL/1/Rev.1 endorsed by Members at the
High-Level Meeting for Least-Developed Countries in 1997, heads and representatives of the six coreinternational agencies
25 for the IF, had met on 6 July 2000 to consider the results of the IF review.26
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Director-General made a report
on progress made on the IF review.
The representatives of Bangladesh (on behalf of the LDCs), Uganda, Haiti, Guinea, Egypt,
European Communities, Japan, Lesotho, Switzerland, Mauritius (on behalf of the African Group),
Canada, Norway, Mauritania, Madagascar, Tanzania, United States and Zambia spoke.
The General Council took note of the report of the Director-General and of the statements.
15. Capacity-building through tech nical cooperation (WT/GC/M/55)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman recalled that the issue of
capacity-building through technical cooperation was one of four elements identified at the February
General Council meeting as a priority for immediate attention.27
The Director-General reported on the results of his consultations thus far on this issue.
The representatives of Morocco (on behalf of the African Group), Bangladesh, Japan, United
States, Cuba, European Communities, Turkey, Haiti, Egypt, Switzerland, Jamaica, Norway, Kenya,
Venezuela, Canada, New Zealand, Lesotho, Australia, Djibouti and Hong Kong, China, and theChairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and of the report by the Director-General.
16. High-Level international intergovernmental  event on financing for development
(WT/GC/M/55, 57
28)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman referred to a
communication from the Co-Chairmen of the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee for the High-
                                                     
25 IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank and the WTO.
26 The review was conducted in accordance with the decision by the Inter-Agency Working Group on
24 November 1999 (WT/COMTD/LDC/6).
27 See item 2 – "Other aspects of the WTO work programme".
28 Carried in General Council minutes as "Possible WTO contribution to the High-Level Event on
Financing for Development".WT/GC/W/421
Page 21
Level International Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development.  As indicated in the
response which he had circulated to Members on 12 April 2000, he had invited members of the
Bureau to an informal meeting to discuss with WTO permanent representatives in Geneva and senior
officials of the WTO Secretariat the possible contribution of the WTO to this event.  This meeting
was scheduled for 19 May and delegations interested  in participating in this informal meeting were
invited to inform him accordingly.
The General Council took note of this information.The representative of Bolivia and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman said that at the 19 May
meeting, the Bureau of the UN Preparatory Committee had presented proposals for a closer dialogue
and cooperation with the WTO for the preparation of the High-Level Event scheduled for 2001, and
had expressed a strong wish to receive a political input from the WTO membership.  He thereforeproposed that the contact point for such input be the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD)
and that its Chairman be in contact with the Preparatory Committee.  Issues that might be raised in the
context of the preparations for the High-Level Event would be discussed in the CTD.
The representative of the United States and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the Chairman's proposal.
17. Recent initiatives of relevance to th e work and functioning of the WTO
29 (WT/GC/M/57)
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Director-General reported on a
number of recent initiatives of relevance to the work and functioning of the WTO.
The General Council took note of the statement.
18. Global electronic commerce30 (WT/GC/M/55, 57, 58)
In September 1998, the General Council had established a Work Programme on Electronic
Commerce (WT/L/274).  In October 1999, the General Council had considered the reports of the
relevant WTO bodies charged with implementing the Work Programme and had agreed to forward
those reports to Ministers at the Third Ministerial Conference and to revert to the matter of
e-commerce as early as possible in the year 2000.
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman reported that this matter
had been discussed at an informal meeting of the General Council as well as in consultations, and had
suggested that he hold further consultations and that the substantive discussion in the formal General
Council be taken up in at the July meeting.
The representatives of Pakistan, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Venezuela, United States, Singapore,
Switzerland, Canada, Ecuador, Panama, India, New Zealand, European Communities, Czech
                                                     
29 Carried in General Council minutes as " Statement by the Director-General on recent initiatives".
30 In the relevant minutes the item is called "Work programme on electronic commerce".WT/GC/W/421
Page 22
Republic, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia, Hungary, Turkey, Israel, Saint Lucia and Hong Kong, China
spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed that the Chairman would conduct
consultations on the way to proceed with this issue and agreed to revert to this matter at its nextmeeting.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman said that on the basis
of consultations and informal discussions in the General Council, he proposed that the approach to the
work on e-commerce comprised the following three elements:  (i) to agree to reinvigorate the work in
the WTO on e-commerce on a practical basis, which was understood to be without prejudice to any
delegation's position on the status of the 1998 Declaration;  (ii) to invite the four subsidiary bodies,i.e. the Goods, Services and TRIPS Councils and the Committee on Trade and Development, to pick
up where they had left off in their work on e-commerce within their respective spheres of competence,
identify cross-sectoral issues, and report back to the General Council at its regular meeting in
December 2000;  and (iii) to agree to consider how best to organize the General Council's work on
e-commerce in light of the reinvigorated work of the subsidiary bodies, including the question of anad hoc task force to assist in consideration of subsidiary body reports and cross-sectoral issues.
The representatives of Pakistan, Australia, Ja pan, New Zealand, India, Cuba, Singapore (on
behalf of the ASEAN Members), Mauritius (on behalf of the African Group), Brazil, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Korea, Canada, European Communities, Uganda, Chile, Israel, Czech Republic, Mexico,Switzerland, Norway, Guatemala, Uruguay, Unite d States, Turkey, Panama, Dominican Republic,
Jamaica, Costa Rica, Colombia, Slovak Republic, H ungary, Honduras and Hong Kong, China, and the
Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to proceed with the work on
e-commerce in line with the three points contained in the Chairman's proposal.
At its meeting on 10 October 2000, the General Council considered this matter.
The representatives of Venezuela, Singapore, United States, Japan, Korea, Switzerland,
European Communities, Chile, Norway, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Australia, Nigeria,
Hungary, New Zealand, Panama, Jamaica, Philippines, Mauritius, Pakistan, Malaysia, Argentina,Jordan, Uganda, Dominican Republic, Barbados and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
19. Five-year review of the exemption provided under paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994
(WT/GC/M/53, 55, 57)
In July 1999, the General Council had considered a communication from the United States
(WT/GC/W/228) concerning the five-year review of the exemption provided under paragraph 3 of the
GATT 1994.  The General Council had also considered this matter at its October and November 1999meetings.
At its meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the General Council considered this matter.
The representatives of Japan, European Communities, Australia, United States, Panama and
Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.WT/GC/W/421
Page 23
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to revert to this matter at its next
meeting.
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the General Council again considered this matter.
The representatives of Japan, European Communities, Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
Panama, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, United St ates and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman
spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to authorize the Chairman to
conduct consultations and to revert to this matter at a future meeting.
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council again considered this matter.
The representatives of Japan, the European Communities, Panama, the United States and the
Dominican Republic, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to revert to it at a future meeting.
20. Proposal to amend certain provisions of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes Pu rsuant to Article X of the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WT/GC/M/58)
At its meeting on 10 October 2000, the General Council examined the proposal submitted by
Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Japan, Ko rea, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Switzerland and
Venezuela (WTGC/W/410)31.
The representatives of Japan (on behalf of the co-sponsors of the proposal), European
Communities, Thailand, Korea, Brazil, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, Switzerland, Norway, Czech
Republic, Argentina, United States, Uruguay, Panama, Chile, Kenya, Ecuador, Turkey, Venezuela,
Guatemala, Australia, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Cuba, Pakistan, Saint Lucia, Mexico,
Bulgaria, Philippines, Egypt and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the proposal in WT/GC/W/410 and of the statements,
agreed that the Chairman would conduct informal  consultations on how best to forward on this
proposal and agreed to revert to this matter at its next meeting in December.
21. Consultations on implementation (WTGC/M/57)
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the representative of Panama
expressed concern about the fact that there seemed to be consultations on implementation with limited
participation.
The representatives of Honduras and Bolivia, and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
                                                     
31 Subsequently Chile became a co-sponsor of the proposal (WT/GC/W/410/Add.1).WT/GC/W/421
Page 24
22. Request for a waiver for the new ACP/EC partnership agreement (WT/GC/M/57)
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman of the Council for
Trade in Goods made a statement on his own respons ibility on the state-of-play regarding the waiver
requested for the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
The General Council took note of the statement.
23. Review of procedures for the circulation and derestriction of WTO documents
(WT/GC/M/55, 5732)
Pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO
documents adopted by the General Council in July 1996 (WT/L/160/Rev.1), the General Council hadinitiated the review of the procedures in February 1998.  The General Council had also considered this
matter in 1998 and 1999.
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman informed the General Council that due to
the intensive consultations on issues identified at the February General Council meeting33,
Mr. Rodriguez, Deputy-Director-Gener al had not been able to resume consultations on the circulation
and derestriction of WTO documents as requested at the informal meeting of the General Council on
29 February 2000.
The General Council agreed to revert to this matter at its next meeting.The representatives of the United States and Mexico, and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, Mr. Rodriguez, Deputy Director-
General, reported on his consultations on this matter.
The representatives of Mexico, United States, New Zealand, Singapore (on behalf of the
ASEAN Members), Japan, India, Ca nada, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Czech Republic, Barbados,
Bolivia and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed that the Deputy Director-General
continues his consultations on this matter.
24. Revision of guidelines of the scheduling of WTO meetings (WT/GC/M/55, 5734)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman drew attention to a
document prepared by the Secretariat on Frequency of Meetings (Job No.2005 dated 30 March 2000).
He recalled that this matter was among those included in the discussion paper on Internal
Transparency and the Effective Participation of all Members (Job(00)/2551 dated 26 April 2000).
                                                     
32 This item and item 24 - "Revision of guidelines for the scheduling of WTO meetings" were taken up
together at this meeting.
33 See item 2 – "Other aspects of the WTO work programme".
34 This item and item 23 - "Review of the procedures on circulation and derestriction of WTO
documents" were taken up together at this meeting.WT/GC/W/421
Page 25
The representatives of Mexico, Slovenia, Panama, India and Pakistan, and the Chairman
spoke.
The Chairman proposed that Mr. Rodriguez hold consultations on this issue while he was
consulting on the derestriction issue, since both related to Secretariat practices in implementingguidelines.  He also proposed that the General Council revert to this issue at its next meeting.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the Chairman's proposals.At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, Mr. Rodriguez, Deputy Director-
General, reported on his consultations on this matter.
The representatives of Mexico, United States, New Zealand, Singapore (on behalf of the
ASEAN Members), Japan, India, Ca nada, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Czech Republic, Barbados,
Bolivia and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed that the Deputy Director-General
continues his consultations on this matter and also agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
25. Accreditation of Permanent Representatives to the WTO (WT/GC/M/55, 57)
In 1997, the General Council had considered the issue of accreditation of permanent
representatives to the WTO.  The General Council had also considered this matter in 1998 and 1999.
At its meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman informed the General Council that a few
delegations needed more time to consider this matter and proposed that the General Council revert to
it at its next meeting.
The General Council took note of the statement and so agreed.At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman read out the following
statement:
"As Members will recall, Ambassador Lafer in 1997 in his capacity as the then
Chairman of the General Council raised the issue of accreditation of permanent
representatives to the WTO.  Since the WTO was no longer legally associated with
the United Nations system, Ambassador Lafer proposed that Members agree to send
separate notes of accreditation of their permanent representatives in Geneva to the
WTO, and no longer continue the practice of sending to the WTO a copy of the letterof accreditation addressed to the United Nations in Geneva.
"Following informal consultations with a number of delegations I am pleased to
inform you that most missions now appear to be following the practice of addressing
a separate note of accreditation of their permanent representatives to the Director-
General of the WTO.  I therefore propose that Members agree to continue theapplication of such procedures in future."
The representative of Pakistan spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.WT/GC/W/421
Page 26
26. Arrangements for effective cooperation wi th other intergovernmental organizations
(a) International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (WT/GC/M/58)
At the General Council meeting on 10 October 2000, the Chairman recalled that the text of
the Agreement between the ITU and the WTO (S/C/11) had been adopted by the Council for Trade in
Services on 26 May.  Subsequently, the ITU Council had approved the Agreement at its annualsession in July.  The Agreement was now submitted to the General Council for approval.
The representatives of Pakistan, Egypt, Bulgaria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil and
the United States, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statemen ts, approved the Agreement between the ITU
and the WTO (S/C/11) and consequently authorized the WTO Director-General to sign thisAgreement.  The General Council invited the Director-General to inform Members and consult with
them regularly as to matters relating to the implementation of this Agreement.
(b) World Customs Organization (WCO) (WT/GC/M/57
35)
At an informal meeting of the General Council in February 2000, a first draft text of a
Memorandum of Understanding between the WTO and the WCO had been circulated to Members.
At the Chairman's request, the Secretariat carried out consultations on this text both with Members
and the WCO.
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman said that following his
consultations on this matter, it had appeared that the best way to proceed would be to continue
cooperating with the WCO under the present informal  arrangements.  He therefore proposed that the
idea of a formal Memorandum of Understanding not be pursued at this stage.
The representative of Japan spoke.The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the Chairman's proposal.
27. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
(a) Report of the Joint Advisory Group (WT/GC/M/57)
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council considered the report of the Joint
Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO on its Thirty-Third Session
(ITC/AG/XXXIII)/181.
The Chairman said that the Committee on Trade and Development had examined the report at
its meeting in June 2000 and had forwarded it to the General Council for adoption.
The General Council took note of the statement and adopted the report.
                                                     
35 Carried in General Council minutes as "Proposed memorandum of understanding between the WTO
and the WCO".WT/GC/W/421
Page 27
28. Administrative matters
(a) Procedures for the appointment of the Director-General (WT/GC/M/57)
In July 1999, the General Council adopted a decision on the appointment of the next Director-
General (WT/L/308) which provided that "in order to improve and strengthen the current rules and
procedures [for appointments of Directors-General], a complete set of rules and procedures for suchappointments shall be elaborated and adopted by the end of September 2000".
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman proposed to start the
process of consultations in the autumn and in this regard read out the following questions for
Members' consideration:
"(i) should there be established qualification criteria for the Director-General?;
(ii) how long should the terms of office be and what should be specified with respect
to renewals of appointment?;  (iii) should governments be invited to make
nominations, or should candidates be identified through a selection process?;
(iv) should a selection committee be established and, if so, how should it be
composed?;  (v) should the selection committee have established guidelines(geographical or other), or a high degree of flexibility?;  (vi) how long should the
selection process take?  should there be fixed deadlines?;  (vii) should there be a
special decision mechanism for forcing matters if consensus proves impossible?;
(viii) is it desirable to have specific rules for the role of Deputy Directors-General in
the transition period?"
The General Council took note of the statemen t, agreed that the Chairman would conduct
consultations on this matter and agreed to revert to it at its next meeting in October.
(b) WTO Secretariat and senior management structure (WT/GC/M/57)
In October 1999, the General Council had agreed that the review of the WTO Secretariat and
senior management structure would be carried out in conjunction with the review of the current rules
and procedures for appointment of Directors-General
36. It was understood that this review would be
carried out in the light of the earlier discussions held in the General Council on this matter in 1997
and 1998 and on the basis of the Decision on WTO Secretariat and Senior Management Structure
(WT/L/207).
At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman announced his
intention to hold consultations thereon in due time.
The General Council took note of the statemen t, agreed that the Chairman would conduct
consultations on this matter and agreed to revert to it at a future meeting.
(c) Management Board of the WTO Pension Plan37 (WT/GC/M/54)
Pursuant to Article 4 of the regulations of  the WTO Pension Plan which provided for a
Management Board comprising, inter alia , a Chairman, four members and four alternates, the General
Council had elected in March 1999 nine individuals to the Management Board, each for a term of
office of three years (WT/L/297).
                                                     
36 See WT/GC/28, item 23(b).
37 Carried in the General Council minutes as "Election of a Chairman, member and alternate to the
Management Board of the WTO Pension Plan".WT/GC/W/421
Page 28
At its meeting on 13 March 2000, the Chairman informed the General Council that the
Chairman, a member and an alternate were no longer able to serve the Board.  Following
consultations, he had circulated a proposal to elect replacements for these individuals to hold office
during the remainder of the three-year term (WT/GC/W/399).
The representative of France (also on behalf of Germany) spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements and agreed on the election of the individuals
proposed (WT/L/347).
29. Observer status
(a) Governments
(i) Bahamas (WT/GC/M/57)
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council considered a request from the
Bahamas (WT/L/349) for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies, and agreed
to grant the request.
The representatives of Barbados, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, India, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and the
Bahamas (as an observer), and the Chairman (on behalf of the General Council) spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
(ii) Liberia (WT/GC/M/57)
At its meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the General Council considered a request from Liberia
(WT/L/357) for observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies.
The representative of the United States spoke.The Chairman proposed that the General Council agree to defer consideration of this item.The General Council took note of the statements and agreed to the Chairman's proposal.
(b) International intergovernmental organizations (WT/GC/M/55, 57)
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman recalled that the issue of
requests for observer status by several international organizations was one of the important pending
issues before the General Council and that there seemed to be a general wish among Members to
resolve this matter.  Therefore, he would resume consultations on it as soon as possible.  He also
recalled that this matter had been discussed at the July 1999 General Council meeting, at which time a
solution was quite close, and he hoped that Members could move quickly on it.
The General Council took note of the statement.At the General Council meeting on 17 and 19 July 2000, the Chairman reported on his
consultations on this matter.
The representatives of the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Mauritius (on behalf of the African
Group), Hungary, Pakistan, Israel and Cuba spoke.WT/GC/W/421
Page 29
The Chairman said that he would continue consultations on this matter in the autumn.
The General Council took note of the statements.
30. Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference (WT/GC/M/5838)
At the General Council meeting on 10 October 2000, the Chairman said that in accordance
with the provisions of Article IV of the WTO Agreement, a Ministerial Conference should be
convened in 2001.  In order for the General Council to take a decision on the date and venue of the
Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference he proposed the following:39
"(a) the General Council agree to take a decision on the date and venue of the next
Ministerial Conference at its end-of-year meeting on 7 and 8 December 2000;
(b) the General Council take note with appreciation of the invitation of the
Government of Qatar to host the Conference40, and invite any other Member
Government wishing to host the Conference to so inform the General Council in
time for a final decision in December;  and
(c) the General Council invite the Secretariat to prepare a factual report to the
General Council on the conference facilities which are available in each proposed
venue.  These reports, which should provide a detailed factual description of the
facilities and logistics available for the organization of the event, would serve as
a basis for a final decision on the venue."
The representatives of Qatar, Pakistan, European Communities, Brazil, Venezuela, United
States and Uruguay, and the Director-General and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed to the Chairman's proposal and also
agreed to revert to this item at its meeting in December.
31. Appointment of officers to WTO bodies (WT/GC/M/53, 5441 and Add.142 and 243, 5544)
At the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Chairman said that in
accordance with the guidelines for appointment of officers to WTO bodies approved by the General
Council in January 1995 (WT/L/31), he had held informal consultations on this matter, on the basis of
which he considered that there was a consensus on the following slate of names.
General Council Mr. Kåre Bryn (Norway)
Dispute Settlement Body Mr. Stuart Harbinson (Hong Kong, China)
                                                     
38 Carried in the General Council minutes as "Date and venue of the Fourth Session of the Ministerial
Conference".
39 Subsequently issued as document WT/GC/34.
40 See document WT/GC/33.
41 At this meeting the item was called "Appointment of the Chairperson of the Council for Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and of the Chairpersons of the subsidiary bodies of the Councilfor Trade in Goods".
42 See footnote 40.
43 See footnote 40.
44 See footnote 40.WT/GC/W/421
Page 30
Trade Policy Review Body Mr. Ifte khar Ahmed Chowdhury (Bangladesh)
Council for Trade in Goods Mr. Carl os Pérez del Castillo (Uruguay)
Council for Trade in Services Mr. Sergio Marchi (Canada)
Committee on Trade and Environment Mrs. Yolande Biké (Gabon)Committee on Trade and Development Mr. Ransford Smith (Jamaica)
Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions Mr. Milan Hovorka (Czech Republic)
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Mr. Edsel T. Custodio (Philippines)Committee on Budget, Finance and
  AdministrationMr. Hakki Akil (Turkey)
Working Group on the Relationship between
  Trade and InvestmentMr. Man Soon Chang (Korea)
Working Group on the Interaction between Trade
  and Competition PolicyMr. Frederic Jenny (France)
Working Group on Transparency in Government
  ProcurementMr. Ronald Saborío Soto (Costa Rica)
The Chairman said that he would conduct further consultations on the appointment of the
Chairperson for the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights taking into
account the overall balance of the remaining chairpersons to be appointed by the Council for Trade inGoods for its subsidiary bodies.
The General Council took note of the statement and of the consensus on the above slate of
names.
Prior to adoption of the agenda on 13 March 2000, the General Council agreed that given the
fact that the Council for Trade in Goods would meet only later in April, it would exceptionally agree
to the Chairmanship appointments proposed in the slate of names for subsidiary bodies of the Council
for Trade in Goods at the same time that it agreed  to the proposed name for the Chairmanship of the
Council for TRIPS.
The representatives Mexico and the European Communities, and the Chairman spoke.The General Council took note of the statements.
At its meeting on 13 March 2000, the General Council agreed to defer consideration of this
item until resumption of the present meeting, pending the results of consultations being carried out by
the outgoing Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods and the consensus-building on the proposed
slate of names.
At the resumed meeting of the General Council on 23 March 2000, the Chairman said that
given the need for a chairman for the Special Se ssion of the Committee on Agriculture that was to
take place later that day and after extensive consultations, he proposed that, as an interim
arrangement, the Chairman of the CTG chair the first Special Session.45  That arrangement would be
without prejudice to the decision on the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee.
                                                     
45  This proposal was based on Rule 14 of the rules of procedure of the Committee on Agriculture.WT/GC/W/421
Page 31
The representatives of Mexico, India, Egypt, Chile, European Communities, Australia, United
States, Uruguay, Canada, Bolivia, Switzerland, Po land (on behalf of the EFTA Members and Estonia
and Latvia), Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Hong Kong, China, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements, agreed to the Chairman's proposal and
adjourned.46
At the General Council meeting on 3 and 8 May 2000, the Chairman proposed that Mr. Chak
Mun See (Singapore) be appointed as the Chairman of the Council for TRIPS.
The General Council so agreed.
The former Chairman of the Council for Trad e in Goods proposed the following slate of
names for the chairmanships of the subsidiary bodies of that Council:
Committee on Agriculture
Chair: Mr. Jorge Voto-Bernales (Peru)Vice-Chair: Mr. Yoichi Suzuki (Japan)
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices Mr. Yair Shiran (Israel)
Committee on Customs Valuation Mr. Remo Moretta (Australia)
Committee on Import Licensing Mr. Albert Wright (Denmark)
Committee on Market Access Mr. Christophe Kiener (Switzerland)Committee on Rules of Origin Mr. Sándor Simon (Hungary)
Committee on Safeguards Mr. Joshua Phoho Setipa (Lesotho)
Committee on Sanitary and Mr. Shishir Priyadarshi (India)
  Phytosanitary Measures
Committee on Subsidies and Mrs. Usha Dwarka-Canabady
  Countervailing Measures (Mauritius)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Mr. John Adank (New Zealand)
Committee on Trade-Related Mr. Oscar Hernández (Venezuela)
  Investment Measures
Working Party on State Trading Enterprises Mr. Breffini Carpenter (Ireland)
The General Council agreed to the above slate of names.
The representatives of Brazil and Mexico, and the Chairman spoke.
The General Council took note of the statements.
                                                     
46 This meeting was subsequently closed.   The item was taken up at the General Council meeting of
3 May 2000.WT/GC/W/421
Page 32
32. Election of Chairperson (WT/GC/M/53)
At the General Council meeting on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Chairman, as the outgoing
presiding officer of the General Council, made a statement (WT/GC(00)/ST/1).
The General Council then unanimously elected Mr. Kåre Bryn (Norway) to the Chair.
__________