WORLD TRADE WT/L/179
11October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4173)
INTERNATIONAL MEAT COUNCIL
Report totheSingapore Ministerial Conference
TheInternational Bovine Meat Agreement entered intoforce on1January 1995. Asof
11June1996 thefollowing were Parties totheAgreement: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Canada,Colombia,theEuropeanCommunities(15),Japan,NewZealand,Norway,Paraguay,Romania,
South Africa, Switzerland, theUnited States andUruguay. Other governments andintergovernmental
organizations arerepresented atmeetings byobservers.
TheInternational Meat Council heldmeetings on21-22 June1995 and11June1996. Atits
firstmeeting, theCouncil: (i)adopted theRules ofProcedure (IMA/1) andagreed toholdoneregular
meeting inJuneofeachyear; (ii)adopted theformats forthequestionnaires ondomestic policies
(IMA/2) andstatistical information (IMA/3); (iii)agreed thatobserver governments would berequested
toreply tothestatistical andpolicy questionnaires onavoluntary basis; and(iv)issued astanding
invitation totheUnited Nation 'sEconomic Commission forEurope (ECE), FAO, theInternational
Trade Centre (ITC), OECD andUNCTAD toparticipate initsmeetings inanobserver capacity.
Inaccordance withArticle IV:1oftheInternational Bovine Meat Agreement, theCouncil
reviewed atitsmeetings theworld supply anddemand situation andoutlook inthebovine meatsector
onthebasis ofnotes prepared bytheSecretariat (IMA/W/1 andIMA/W/7, refer) aswellasthe
questionnaires submitted byParties. Parties alsohadageneral exchange ofviews onthefunctioning
oftheAgreement inthelightofpastexperience under theArrangement Regarding Bovine Meat and
theUruguayRoundoutcome.AtitsmeetinginJune1996,theCouncilinvitedtheChairmantoundertake
informal consultations onvarious issues, including thefuture oftheAgreement.