WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/458
6 November 2001
(01-5455)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Request for a Revised Version of Document G/SCM/W/471 dated 27 October 2001
Communication from the Dominican Republic
The following communication, dated 29 October 2001, has been received by the Chairman of
the General Council from the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic.
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On behalf of my delegation and at the request of Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Cuba,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,
Sri Lanka, St. Lucia and Zimbabwe, I write to  you concerning document G/SCM/W/471, entitled
"Proposed Procedures for Extensions Under Article 27.4 for Certain Developing Country Members,"
which you have issued on 27 October 2001.
Our delegations appreciate the efforts you have made to improve the text reported to you by
Mr. Remo Moretta, Chairman of the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, containedin his report of our last meeting of the Committee, distributed under the signature G/SCM/38 dated
26 October 2001.  The proposed procedure, as contained in your document, is more straightforward
and in that sense it is acceptable to us.  Notwithstanding this, our delegations have grave difficulty in
accepting a proposed procedure that leaves our Ministers in Doha with no other option but the year
2005 as the end date for the extension under Article 27.4.  As indicated by Mr. Moretta in his reportour delegations insisted strongly that two alternative dates be included within brackets in the text.
Our delegations want to continue to support the preparatory process for the 4
th Ministerial
Conference.  Our delegations appreciate how skilfu lly you have handled the drafting process of all
documents to be presented to the consideration of Ministers.  In particular, we value greatly yourpractice of presenting alternative options around controversial issues.  That was the case of the work
programme on investment and competition in the first draft of the Ministerial Declaration.  It is now
the case of the draft Ministerial Declaration on Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines/Health
Policy, in which not only there are options in the title but also in the crucial paragraph 4.
We firmly request, therefore, that a revised version of document G/SCM/W/471 be issued
with the two altern ative dates in square brackets, as done by Mr. Moretta in his report.  It is our belief
that it should be the Ministers to so direct Members concerning the choice of the end date for the
additional transition period we have been requesting since March 1999, as one of our major concerns
on implementation.  None of us should make that choice for them.
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