WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/539
29 August 2003
(03-4530)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  French
MEMORANDUM ON THE COMMON NEGOTIATING POSITIONS OF THE
MEMBER STATES OF THE WEST AFRICAN ECONOMIC AND
MONETARY UNION (WAEMU) ON THE OCCASION OF THE
FIFTH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE IN CANCÚN
Communication from Togo
The following communication dated 21 August 2003, has been received by the Director-
General from the Permanent Mission of Togo.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Togolese Republic presents its
compliments to the Office of the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has
the honour to submit herewith a memorandum on the common negotiating positions of the member
States of the West African Economic and Mone tary Union (WAEMU) on the occasion of the Fifth
WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún.WT/L/539
Page 2
MEMORANDUM ON THE COMMON NEGOTIATING POSITIONS OF THE
MEMBER STATES OF THE WEST AFRICAN ECONOMIC AND
MONETARY UNION (WAEMU) ON THE OCCASION OF THE
FIFTH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE IN CANCÚN
The last WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Doha, laid the foundations for a new round of
trade negotiations that was to address the numerous challenges facing the organization, inter alia  with
a view to responding appropriately to the rightful expectations of the developing countries.
WTO Members decided that the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference would be held in Cancún,
Mexico, from 10 to 14 September 2003.  This Conference should give a boost to the negotiations, inthat it is expected to result in important decisions for the future of the discussions.
In connection with the preparation of this important meeting, the member States of the West
African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) - Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire,
Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, all Members of the WTO - have held consultations tocoordinate their positions and ensure their efficient participation in the discussions.
The WAEMU has thus far achieved considerable progress in terms of regional integration.
Among other things, it now has a common trade policy which enabled it to set up, as of
1 January 2000, a customs union.  This customs union operates on two fronts:
- An internal tariff reduction which has brought about a marked improvement in trade
relations between member States over the past few years;
- Common external tariff (CET), whose implementation has made it possible not only
to simplify the tariff systems in force, but above all to considerably reduce import
duties, thereby helping to open up the economies of the Union to the outside world.
WAEMU member States also have a common currency, the CFA franc, managed on the basis
of a strict multilateral macroeconomic policy surveillance mechanism.
This architecture has been supplemented by other reforms involving the harmonization,
within the Union, of domestic taxes and public finance management, the setting up of a regional
financial market and the adoption of common sectoral policies in various areas such as agriculture,
industry, transport and telecommunications, energy, mining and handicrafts.
Thanks to the tax, trade and customs reforms implemented within the WAEMU and the
efforts of member States in that respect, the WAEMU can now be described as a zone which has
opted for the opening up of trade and has bet on successful integration in the globalized economy.
Explicitly recognizing the vulnerability of the de veloping countries, and in particular the least
developed countries, with respect to the WTO multilateral trading system, the Declaration adopted atthe conclusion of the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha highlighted the issue of development,
which must henceforth be considered central among the concerns of the WTO and its Members.
For their part, the WAEMU member States, of which seven qualify as LDCs (Benin,
Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo), have placed considerable hope in theCancún Ministerial Conference.WT/L/539
Page 3
And, one of the major questions that these States are asking themselves today, on the eve of
this Conference, is:  What advantages can we derive from the conclusion of the negotiations on
various issues making up the agenda?
Prominent among these issues is agriculture.  Indeed, agriculture employs close to 65 per cent
of the active population in the WAEMU zone and contributes considerably to GDP formation
(33 per cent).  It also remains the cornerstone of the economies of member States.  Moreover, the
WAEMU zone's economic development options have given priority to strengthening agricultural
production and promoting it with a view to supporting the industrial development effort and
diversifying productive activity.
In view of the above considerations, the issue of agricultural subsidies is one of great concern
to the WAEMU member States, which stand to gain considerably from their elimination or at least
their substantial reduction. Indeed, certain developed countries continue to heavily subsidize their
farmers, in particular for products which compete heavily with important branches of production in
the WAEMU member States, namely cotton, suga r, animal production and cereal production.
In this connection, all of the WAEMU member States support and endorse the joint initiative
of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali aimed at finding a just and appropriate solution to the cotton
subsidies issue at the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference.
With respect to the other issues that will be discussed in Cancún, the stakes are also high for
the WAEMU member States.
This is why the WAEMU Council of Ministers, at its session in Dakar on 26 June 2003,
adopted Directive No. 06/2003/CM/UEMOA conc erning the common positions of WAEMU member
States for the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún.
Togo, as the State currently chairing the WAEMU Council of Ministers, has been mandated
to present these common negotiating positions to WTO Members on behalf of the eight member
States of the Union.
The different proposals and recommendations relating to these negotiating positions are
presented in the form of a table in annex to this Memorandum, of which it forms an integral part.
On behalf of all of the member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union,
Togo has the pleasure to circulate these proposals and recommendations to the different WTO
Members, and counts on their backing and support in ensuring that they are taken into account in final
decisions adopted by the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancún.WT/L/539
Page 4 ANNEX TO DIRECTIVE NO. 06/2003/CN/UEMOA OF 26 JUNE 2003
CONCERNING THE COMMON NEGOTIATING POSITIONS OF
WAEMU MEMBER STATES FOR THE FIFTH
WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
IN CANCÚN
Summary Table of WAEMU Negotiating Positions for the
Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún
from 10 to 14 September 2003
Main negotiating subjects Objectives pursued in the light of the Doha Agenda Negotiating positions for the Member States of the U nion
Agriculture - Reduce import duties and simplify customs
regimes;
- reduce, with a view to phasing out, all forms of
export subsidies;
- substantially reduce production- and trade-
distorting domestic support measures;
- maintain and improve the application of
special and differential treatment for the
developing countries and the LDCs.• On the cotton issue
- Support for the joint initiative of Benin, Burkina
Faso, Chad and Mali aimed at including the cotton
issue on the agenda of the Fifth Ministerial
Conference in Cancún;
- setting up of a system to reduce support for cotton
production with a view to its total elimination;
- transitional measures in favour of the cotton-
producing developing countries, including financial
compensation for losses in revenue relating to thesubsidy practices of certain developing countries.
• On market access
- Substantial reduction in the level of duties applied to
agricultural products by the developed countries and
the newly industrialized countries;
- major reduction in tariff escalation according to the
level of processing of the goods;
- free access for all tropical products from the least
developed countries to the markets of the developed
countries;
- preservation of the Special Safeguard Clause in a
renegotiated Agreement on Agriculture, andextension of the Clause, irrespective of the
tariffication process, to the developing countries that
are currently excluded;WT/L/539
Page 5Main negotiating subjects Objectives pursued in the light of the Doha Agenda Negotiating positions for the Member States of the U nion
- greater flexibility in the conditions for use of the
Special Safeguard by developing countries.
• Domestic support
- Substantial reduction in potential market-distorting
domestic support measures aimed at supporting
agricultural production;
- critical review of the use by the developed countries
of Green Box and Blue Box measures with a view to
limiting their abusive utilization by those countries to
circumvent the prohibitions provided for under the
Amber Box;
- increase in the de minimus  level of at least 10% for
the developing countries.
• Export subsidies
- Elimination of export subsidies and establishment of
a discipline on export credits;
- greater flexibility in the use of export subsidies by
the least developed countries.
• Strengthening of waivers in favour of the
developing and least-developed countries
- Preservation and improvement of the principle of
special and differential treatment for the developing
countries in the next Agreement;
- definition of criteria for commitments and
timeframes based on objective and verifiable
economic indicators;
- greater flexibility for the developing countries, in
particular the LDCs, in implementing emergencymeasures to protect small-scale farmers against
imports and unfair trade practices;
- creation of a "development box" for the developing
countries incorporating, inter alia , food security
concerns;
- strengthening of technical assistance to developing
countries to help them acquire a better grasp of the
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).WT/L/539
Page 6Main negotiating subjects Objectives pursued in the light of the Doha Agenda Negotiating positions for the Member States of the U nion
Services - Increase the level of liberalization of trade and
services;
- ensure fair and effective access to the markets
of all participants for trade in services;
- enhance the participation of the developing
countries in trade in services.- Maintenance of a certain flexibility for the
developing countries by implementing special and
differential treatment;
- need to transform the developed countries'
commitments concerning capacity upgrading for the
LDCs into binding commitments to be implemented
according to a fixed timetable;
- recognition, with respect to the commitments to be
made by the developing countries, of theliberalization already agreed to in the framework of
the implementation of adjustment programmes with
the Bretton-Woods institutions;
- guarantee of free movement of persons.
Market access for non-agricultural products- Eliminate customs duties for tariff lines in the
industrial sector and substantially reduce duties
applicable to the other tariff lines;
- eliminate or substantially reduce tariff peaks,
tariff escalation and the gap between bound
and applied rates.- Recognition of the tariff reductions introduced by the
developing countries in connection with the external
liberalization measures resulting from theimplementation of a regional trade agreement
(WAEMU/CET in the case of Côte d'Ivoire, the only
non-LDC Member of WAEMU);
- improved market access for products from the
developing countries;
- full duty free access, on a consolidated basis, for all
products from the least-developed countries.
Special and differentialtreatment- Maintain the principle of special and
differential treatment and include it in theschedules of concessions and commitments;
- strengthen the related provisions and make
them more precise, effective and operational;
- clearly spell out the modalities for
implementing commitments.- Maintenance of the principle of special and
differential treatment for the developing countriesand the LDCs;
- adoption of a protocol that would ensure that the
commitments to be taken were binding;
- consideration of the particular situation of the
landlocked countries.
Trade and competition - Initiate negotiations, following the conclusion
of the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancún,to introduce a set of international rules in the
area of competition control.- Support for the principle of initiating negotiations on
competition with a view to establishing multilateralrules;
- promotion of consumer interests and social welfare
among populations in general;
- flexibility for the developing countries and the least-
developed countries;WT/L/539
Page 7Main negotiating subjects Objectives pursued in the light of the Doha Agenda Negotiating positions for the Member States of the U nion
- need to set up appropriate technical assistance for the
developing countries in order to enhance their
capacity with respect to the preparation of
competition rules and the control of competition.
Trade and investment - Initiate negotiations following the conclusion
of the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancúnto develop a multilateral framework to secure
transparent, stable and predictable conditions
for long-term cross-border investment,
particularly foreign direct investment.- Support for the idea of developing a multilateral
regulatory framework in the area of investment whileensuring that the new rules enable the developing
countries to pursue their development policies;
- right for the developing countries to give priority to
investments in certain strategic sectors of their
economies;
- introduction of safeguard clauses to enable the
developing countries, where appropriate, to take such
measures as they deem necessary to protect their
national security.
Trade and environment - Strengthen the link between trade concerns and
constraints linked to environment protection;
- clarify the relationship between the multilateral
trading system and the multilateral
environmental agreements by establishing
appropriate principles, rules or procedures;
- develop instruments to help take better account
of the fundamental principles in the area of
environmental protection and of topical issues
resulting from the interdependencies betweentrade and environment.- Support for the efforts of international
standardization organizations to ensure the presence
of all countries during the different phases in thedevelopment of environmental standards;
- rejection of the use of measures taken in response to
environmental concerns for protectionist purposes;
- differentiation between international standards that
are mandatory for all and international directives/
recommendation that are voluntary;
- capacity-building for the developing countries in the
area of trade and environment.
Trade-related aspects ofintellectual property rights- Take better account of public health concerns;
- consider extending the protection for
geographical indications in Article 23 of the
Agreement to products other than wine and
spirits, such as traditional knowledge and
folklore.- Flexibility with respect to the public health concerns
of developing countries, particularly as regards all
matters relating to the possibility of local
manufacturing of drugs listed as essential by the
World Health Organization;
- identical treatment for traditional knowledge and
folklore as for wine and spirits as regards
geographical indications;
- recognition of the rights of local population to
traditional knowledge a nd know-how, traditional
natural genetic resources, and the products oftraditional genetic selection from their land for whichWT/L/539
Page 8Main negotiating subjects Objectives pursued in the light of the Doha Agenda Negotiating positions for the Member States of the U nion
a non-originating third party has applied for a patent.
Regional trade agreements Clarify and improve the disciplines and procedures
provided for in the existing WTO provisions on
regional trade agreements, taking account of
development-related aspects.- Consideration of the concerns of the developing
countries in interpreting certain provisions of Article
XXIV of the GATT 1994 on regional trade
agreements by proposing an 80% coverage rate
rather than the current 90% for the trade volumeconcerned and an extension of the transition period to
20 years instead of the current 10 years;
- rejection of proposals aimed at making the rules
applicable to regional trade agreements more
restrictive.
Issues and concerns relatingto the implementation of theUruguay Round Agreements- Initiate new negotiations on certain provisions
of the Agreements (Anti-Dumping, TRIPS,Special and Differential Treatment) to clarify
them with a view to facilitating their
implementation;
- examine, in a positive spirit, requests by the
LDCs for an extension of the transition periodfor implementing the Customs Valuation
Agreement.- Consideration by WAEMU me mber States with LDC
status of the possibility of an open-ended waiver thatwould enable them to submit to the Council for
Trade in Goods the necessary reservations for the use
of minimum values;
- support for all initiatives aimed at supporting the
efforts of developing countries to acquire a betterunderstanding of the Uruguay Round Agreements;
- seeking, in conjunction with the Bretton Woods
Institutions, to ensure full coherence between the
measures authorized by the WTO and the
conditionalities relating to economic reform
programmes.
Technical cooperation and
capacity-buildingProvide the developing countries and the LDCs, as
well as the low-income transition countries, with the
technical assistance they need to adapt to the WTO
rules and disciplines, to meet their obligations and to
exercise their rights as Members.- Better coordination and rationalization of the
different ongoing technical assistance programmes;
- reliable and predictable financing for WTO technical
assistance programmes;
- better reflection, in the technical assistance
programmes, of the objectives of upgrading the
economies of the developing countries;
- institutional and human capacity- building in the
developing countries through long-term training.
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