RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/9
22February 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0663)
GENERAL COUNCIL
13and15December 1995
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held attheInternational Conference Centre, Geneva,
on13and15December 1995
Chairman: Mr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Current matters 2
(a) Accession ofEcuador 2
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheProtocol ofAccession 2
(b) Approval ofrules ofprocedure ofsubsidiary bodies 3
- Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions 3
(c) Procedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents 3
(d) Guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations
pursuant toArticle V:2oftheWTO Agreement 3
(e) Approval ofthedraftAgreement between WIPO andtheWTO 4
(f) Agreement onPreshipment Inspection 5
- Establishment oftheindependent review entity under Article 4ofthe
Agreement 5
(g) Establishment ofaCommittee onRegional Trading Arrangements 5
(h) Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement 5
(i) Harmonized System -Requests forextensions ofwaivers 5
- Bangladesh 5
- Bolivia 5
- Guatemala 5
- Jamaica 5
- Morocco 6
- Nicaragua 6
- SriLanka 6
- Trinidad andTobago 6
(ii) Senegal -Renegotiation ofschedule XLIX 6
- Request forextension ofwaiver 6
(iii) Zambia -Renegotiation ofschedule LXXVIII 7
- Request forextension ofwaiver 7
(iv) Introduction ofHarmonized System changes intoWTO Schedules of
tariff concessions on1January 1996 7
- Draft decision 7
(i) Approval ofgoods andservices schedules ofSolomon Islands 8WT/GC/M/9
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(j) Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations ongoods andservices 8
- Approval ofgoods andservices schedules oftheUnited Arab
Emirates 8
(k) Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions 8
- Consultation withBrazil 8
- Consultation withSriLanka 8
- Simplified consultation withthePhilippines 8
- Consultation withIndia 9
- Statement bytheCommittee Chairman 9
(l) Committee onBudget Finance andAdministration 9
- Recommendation oftheCommittee 9
2. Review ofWTO Activities 10
Reports of:
(a) TheGeneral Council, Dispute Settlement Body, Trade Policy Review Body, Sectoral
Councils, Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Balance-of-Payments Restrictions,
andBudget, Finance andAdministration 10
(b) TheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment 10
(c) Committees onPlurilateral Trade Agreements 10
3. Annual overview ofdevelopments ininternational trade andthetrading system 10
4. United States -Proposed IranForeign OilSanctions Act 19
5. Training Activities 20
6. Appointment ofofficers toWTO bodies 21
7. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations 22
1. Current matters
(a) Accession ofEcuador
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheProtocol ofAccession
(WT/GC/W/26)
TheChairman recalled thaton16August 1995, theGeneral Council hadadopted aDecision
(WT/ACC/ECU/5) authorizing Ecuador toaccede totheWTO Agreement ontheterms setoutinits
Protocol ofAccession (WT/ACC/ECU/6). Hedrew attention toacommunication from Ecuador in
document WT/GC/W/26 requesting thatthetime-limit inparagraph 7ofitsProtocol ofAccession be
extended to31March 1996. Ecuador hadalsorequested thatthetextinthepreambular section of
thedraft decision intheAnnex toWT/GC/W/26 bestreamlined toread: "Considering thatthe
Government ofEcuador hasrequested thatthetime-limit prescribed inparagraph 7oftheProtocol
fortheAccession ofEcuador totheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization beextended
to31March 1996". Henoted thatthischange would notaffect inanywaythesubstantive partof
thedraftdecision, andproposed thatthedraftdecision beadopted withthesuggested amendment.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/ACC/ECU/7).WT/GC/M/9
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(b) Approval ofrules ofprocedure ofsubsidiary bodies
- Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions (WT/BOP/10)
TheChairmandrewattentiontotherulesofprocedureformeetingsoftheCommitteeonBalance-
of-Payments Restrictions adopted bythatCommittee on6-7December (WT/BOP/10), andproposed
thattheGeneral Council approve them.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(c) Procedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents
and
(d) Guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations pursuant
toArticle V:2oftheWTO Agreement
TheChairman saidthatinspiteofseveral informal consultations heldoverthepastyear,
consensus hadstillnotbeenfound withrespect toprocedures forthecirculation andderestriction of
panel reports. Hewastherefore notyetinaposition tosubmit adraftdecision totheGeneral Council
onprocedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents asawhole. Inthisconnection,
henoted thattheproposed guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations
could notbeapproved unless there wasagreement onderestriction procedures.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States regretted thatafterseveral months ofdiscussions it
hadnotbeenpossible toreach consensus onprocedures thatwould significantly enhance thetransparency
andcredibility oftheWTO. TheUnited States continued tobelieve thatrealprogress could andshould
beachieved, andwould work withother delegations toward thatgoal. Henoted thatwhile consultations
onnewderestriction procedures hadbeenongoing, theSecretariat hadrefrained fromapplying GATT
1947procedures andpractices withrespect tothedocuments circulated during thepastyear. TheUnited
States believed thatuntilconsensus hadbeenfound withrespect tonewderestriction procedures, the
Secretariat should ensure thatWTO documents ofthetypethatwould have been proposed for
derestriction under GATT 1947procedures werelisted andcirculated forconsideration bydelegations
assoonaspossible in1996, andthereafter onaregular basis. Hesaidthatthiswasnotaproposal,
butanobservation thatGATT 1947procedures hadnotbeenfollowed bytheSecretariat inthecurrent
situation andanotation thatArticle XVIoftheWTO Agreement required thatsuchprocedures be
followed intheabsence ofnewprocedures tobeestablished bytheGeneral Council. Hesought
confirmation thattheSecretariat would follow theGATT 1947procedures untilconsultations onnew
procedures hadbeenconcluded.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saiditwasregrettable thatafterhaving
expressed theintention toprovide moretransparency, andafterseveral months ofconsultations, together
withadesire todevelop relations withnon-governmental organizations, ithadnotbeenpossible to
reach agreement onthesematters. Atthisstage, therefore, hisdelegation would agree withtheUnited
States 'position.
TherepresentativeofMexicoalsoregrettedthataconsensushadnotbeenpossibleonthismatter.
Mexico wasinfavour ofgreater transparency and,inthecourse oftheconsultations, hadindicated
areas inwhich better results thanthose possible under theGATT 1947procedures could beachieved.
LiketheUnited States, Mexico hoped foranearlysolution. Asregards relations withnon-governmental
organizations, hebelieved thiswasnotamatter which should belinked tothederestriction ofdocuments
andthatthedraftguidelines onrelations withNGOs could beapproved atthepresent meeting.WT/GC/M/9
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Therepresentative ofNewZealand saidthathisGovernment hadactively supported drawing
upnewguidelines forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents aspartofapackage to
improve transparency without jeopardizing theessential contractual nature oftheWTO Agreement.
Hebelieved greater derestriction would encourage informed public debate onimportant trade issues
andexpressed disappointment atthelackofagreement. Heurged allMembers tohelptofindasolution
early in1996. Thisquestion, together withthatofrelations withnon-governmental organizations,
wasessential tothefuture credibility oftheWTO. While hisdelegation supported theUnited States '
suggestion thatGATT 1947procedures continue tobeapplied inthemeantime, thisshould notdetract
from efforts toestablish newprocedures.
TherepresentativeofHongKongsharedNewZealand'sviews.Whilehesupportedtheproposal
thatGATT 1947procedures befollowed inthemeantime, thisshould notreplace theneedforcontinued
work onthederestriction ofpanel reports andabetter andmore permanent arrangement forthefuture.
Therepresentative ofCanada supported theUnited States 'suggestion. ForCanada, theissue
ofderestriction waslinked toitsefforts tobuildastrong domestic constituency foranopenmultilateral
trading system. Inanumber ofinstances, Canada hadfound thatsecrecy, oralleged secrecy, had
beenusedbyopponents ofopentrade toattack thegovernment. More transparency ontheoperation
oftheWTO would provide abetter environment inCanada forresisting protectionist pressures. Canada
therefore supported asmuch openness astheOrganization could accept, andhoped thatasolution would
befound early in1996.
Therepresentative ofAustralia agreed thatitwasessential tofindasatisfactory solution to
provide more transparency inWTO activities through anagreement onthederestriction ofdocuments.
TheChairman saidhebelieved itwould bereasonable fortheSecretariat tocontinue toapply
GATT 1947 document derestriction procedures toWTO documents pending agreement onnew
procedures.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
(e) Approval ofthedraftAgreement between WIPO andtheWTO (IP/C/6)
TheChairman drew attention totheproposed agreement oncooperation between theWIPO
andtheWTO contained inIP/C/6, which hadbeen drawn upinconsultations between thetwo
organizations andapproved bytheCouncil forTRIPS on11December. Heproposed thattheGeneral
Council formally approve thistext,which would beconsidered bytheWIPO atameeting on19-21
December. Should there beneedforanyadditional action onthepartoftheWTO inresponse tothat
meeting, heproposed thatauthority forsuchaction bedelegated totheCouncil forTRIPS sothatthe
agreement could enter intoforce asscheduled on1January 1996.
TheGeneral Council approved thetextofthedraftAgreement inIP/C/6 andauthorized the
Council forTRIPS totakeanyadditional action onthepartoftheWTO asnecessary toensure that
theagreement could enter intoforce asscheduled on1January 1996.WT/GC/M/9
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(f) Agreement onPreshipment Inspection
- EstablishmentoftheindependentreviewentityunderArticle4oftheAgreement
(G/PSI/W/2/Rev.1)
TheChairman saidthatatitsmeeting on1December, theCouncil forTrade inGoods had
recommended thatfollowing further consultations regarding thismatter arevised draftdecision thereon
should besubmitted totheGeneral Council foradoption. Following theseconsultations, adraftdecision
hadrecently beenmade available todelegations inEnglish only, indocument G/PSI/W/2/Rev.1. It
washisunderstanding thattheFrench andSpanish versions ofthistextwould beavailable inafew
days. Ifdelegations were willing toproceed onthebasis oftheEnglish text,heproposed thatthe
General Council adopt thedraftdecision inG/PSI/W/2/Rev.1.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/125).
(g) Establishment ofaCommittee onRegional Trading Arrangements
TheChairman recalled thatfollowing aproposal byCanada attheGeneral Council meeting
on15November, hehadbeenauthorized toholdconsultations onthepossible establishment ofa
committee onregional trading arrangements. TheSecretariat hadcirculated anoteon22November
reportingonthepresentsituationwithrespecttotheworkloadonregionaltradingagreementsandspelling
outoptions forthecreation ofsuchacommittee andtheirimplications. Hehadheldtworounds of
consultations, on29November and12December. Atthefirstmeeting there hadbeen ageneral
recognition oftheneedtoreform theworking party process onregional trading arrangements anda
feeling thatthemost acceptable waytoproceed wastoestablish acommittee onregional trading
arrangements.DelegationshadstressedthattherightsandobligationsofMembersshouldnotbeaffected
through theestablishment ofsuchacommittee andthattheterms ofreference oftheWorking Parties
wouldnotbechanged.Followingthetworoundsofconsultations,therewasbroadagreementtoestablish
acommittee onregional trading arrangements andclearsupport hadbeenexpressed infavour ofthe
firstoption identified intheinformal notebytheSecretariat of22November.1Hetherefore proposed
thattheGeneral Council agree inprinciple toestablish acommittee onregional trading arrangements
andthattheterms ofreference ofthecommittee andrelated matters besubject tofurther consultations
early in1996, following which afinaldecision would betaken.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(h) Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement
(i) Harmonized System -Requests forextensions ofwaivers
- Bangladesh (G/L/42, G/C/W/23)
- Bolivia (G/L/43, G/C/W/24)
- Guatemala (G/L/44, G/C/W/25)
- Jamaica (G/L/45, G/C/W/26)
1"The Committee would onlycarry outthework oftheexisting working parties andcontinue theexamination ofthe
consistency oftheagreements withtherelevant provisions oftheWTO Agreements. TheCommittee would report tothe
appropriate bodies ontheagreements examined. Thus, thetasks currently assigned totheworking parties would becarried
outbytheCommittee. Future examinations ofagreements, should therelevant bodies consider itappropriate, would be
carried outbytheCommittee. Notification procedures, decisions relating tofuture examinations, andsubsequent action
would remain withtheCouncil forTrade inGoods, Council forTrade inServices andtheCommittee onTrade and
Development."WT/GC/M/9
Page6
- Morocco (G/L/56, G/C/W/35)
- Nicaragua (G/L/46, G/C/W/27)
- SriLanka (G/L/48, G/C/W/29)
- Trinidad andTobago (G/L/49, G/C/W/30)
TheChairman drewattention tothecommunications fromtheabove Governments containing
requests forextensions ofwaivers relating toimplementation oftheHarmonized System, andtothe
related draftdecisions.
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting ontheconsideration
ofthese requests bytheCouncil, saidthatatitsmeeting on1December theCouncil hadapproved
theextensionsofwaiversthathadbeenrequestedbyBangladesh,Bolivia,Guatemala,Jamaica,Morocco,
Nicaragua, SriLanka andTrinidad andTobago inconnection withthetransposition oftheirSchedules
intotheHarmonized System and,accordingly submitted thefollowing draftdecisions granting waiver
extensionsuntil30June1996foradoptionbytheGeneralCouncil:G/C/W/23-Bangladesh;G/C/W/24
-Bolivia; G/C/W/25 -Guatemala; G/C/W/26 -Jamaica; G/C/W/35 -Morocco; G/C/W/27 -
Nicaragua; G/C/W/29 -SriLanka; andG/C/W/30 -Trinidad andTobago.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport bytheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO
Agreement(WT/L/93),adoptedtheDecisions(WT/L/114-Bangladesh;WT/L/115-Bolivia;WT/L/116
-Guatemala; WT/L/117 -Jamaica; WT/L/118 -Morocco; WT/L/119 -Nicaragua; WT/L/120 -
SriLanka; andWT/L/121 -Trinidad andTobago).
Therepresentative ofNewZealand referred tohiscountry 'slong-standing request toenter
intonegotiationswithSriLankaunderArticleXXVIII.AlthoughNewZealandrecognizedthedifficulties
SriLanka hadexperienced recently, itwasdisappointed atnothaving beenabletore-engage SriLanka
since theprevious waiver extension. Ifnegotiations werenotconcluded in1996, NewZealand might
havetoreview itsposition. Ithoped thatSriLanka would undertake negotiations early in1996.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
(ii) Senegal -Renegotiation ofschedule XLIX
- Request forextension ofwaiver (G/L/52, G/C/W/32)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from Senegal (G/L/52) requesting an
extension ofitswaiver inconnection withtherenegotiation ofitsschedule, andtotherelated draft
decision (G/C/W/32).
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting ontheconsideration
ofthisrequest bytheCouncil, saidthatatitsmeeting on1December, theCouncil hadagreed toforward
thedraftdecision inG/C/W/32 totheGeneral Council foritsconsideration.
Therepresentative ofNewZealand expressed disappointment atbeing placed intheposition
again ofhaving toconsider afurther waiver request. While NewZealand recognized thatnegotiations
oftencould notbecompleted inthetimeavailable, itwasdisappointed atnothaving beenabletoengage
withSenegal inthepastsixmonths. Hisdelegation hadrecently received anassurance fromSenegal
thatNewZealand 'sconcerns would beaddressed byFebruary 1996 atthelatest. Given this,New
Zealand would notoppose consensus atthepresent meeting. However, itreserved therighttoreconsider
itsposition ifafurther request were made bySenegal insixmonths 'time.WT/GC/M/9
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TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andofthereport bytheChairman oftheCouncil
forTrade inGoods and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures Under Articles IXand
XIIoftheWTO Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted theDecision (WT/L/122).
(iii) Zambia -Renegotiation ofschedule LXXVIII
- Request forextension ofwaiver (G/L/53, G/C/W/33)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from Zambia (G/L/53) requesting an
extension ofitswaiver inconnection withtherenegotiation ofitsschedule, andtotherelated draft
decision (G/C/W/33).
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting ontheconsideration
ofthisrequest bytheCouncil, saidthattheCouncil hadapproved theextension ofthewaiver requested
byZambia, andsubmitted thedraftdecision inG/C/W/33, granting awaiver extension until30June
1996, totheGeneral Council foradoption.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport bytheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO
Agreement (WT/L/93), adopted theDecision (WT/L/123).
(iv) Introduction ofHarmonized System changes intoWTO Schedules oftariff
concessions on1January 1996
- Draft decision (G/MA/W/4/Rev.1)
TheChairman drew attention tothedraftdecision inG/MA/W/4/Rev.1.
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting ontheCouncil 's
consideration ofthismatter, saidthatatitsmeeting on1December, theCouncil hadagreed toforward
totheGeneral Council foradoption thedraftdecision inG/MA/W/4/Rev.1, granting awaiver from
theobligations ofArticle IIofGATT 1994until30June1996, tothose countries thathadsorequested
andwhich hadbeenindicated intheAnnex tothedraftdecision. Heinformed theGeneral Council
thatinacommunication dated 11December, Japan hadindicated itswishtohaveitsname withdrawn
from theAnnex ofcountries seeking thiswaiver.
TherepresentativeofZimbabwesaidthatfollowingadvicefromtheSecretariatontheappropriate
waytoaddress thismatter, hisdelegation hadrecently submitted acommunication totheSecretariat
indicating thatZimbabwe 'ssituation withregard totheintroduction ofHarmonized System changes
intoWTO Schedules on1January 1996 fellwithin theframework ofthedraftdecision nowbefore
theGeneral Council. Hisdelegation therefore requested thatZimbabwe should beincluded inthelist
ofcountries seeking awaiver, since itwould beunable tocomplete thenecessary procedures bythe
endof1995. Hisdelegation regretted thatithadbeenunable toparticipate inthediscussions asthis
matter andthatitsviews could notbetaken intoaccount.
TheChairman suggested thatunless representatives hadanobjection, Zimbabwe beadded to
thelistofcountries intheAnnex tothedraftdecision. Hethenproposed thattheGeneral Council
takenoteofthestatement andofthereport bytheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, and
inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement
(WT/L/93), adopt thedraftdecision, asamended.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/124).WT/GC/M/9
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(i) Approval ofgoods andservices schedules ofSolomon Islands
TheChairman recalled thatunder theMarrakesh Decision inFavour ofLeast-Developed
Countries, these countries hadbeengiven until15April 1995 tosubmit theirschedules asrequired
under Article XIoftheWTO Agreement. Although thistime-period hasexpired, hedrew attention
tothefactthatthegoods andservices schedules oftheSolomon Islands hadrecently bothbeenfinalized
andsuggested thattheGeneral Council might therefore exceptionally wishtoconsider approval of
these schedules atthepresent stage. Hethenproposed thattheGeneral Council formally approve the
goods andservices schedule oftheSolomon Islands ascontained inSchedule CXXXV andindocument
S/P/2.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman noted that,asaresult ofthedecision justtaken, theSolomon Islands hadnow
fulfilledtherequirementsofmembershippursuanttoArticleXIoftheWTOAgreement.Itsmembership
would takeeffect onthe30thdayfollowing itsdateofacceptance oftheWTO Agreement, provided
thatitaccepted theAgreement within thetwo-year period provided forinArticle XIV:1. Aswith
theother least-developed countries falling under theMarrakesh Decision thathadnotyetaccepted the
WTO Agreement, heproposed thattheSolomon Islands begranted observer status until31December
1996, when thetwo-year period referred inArticle XIV:1 oftheWTO Agreement expired.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andsoagreed.
(j) Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations ongoods andservices (WT/L/30)
- Approval ofgoods andservices schedules oftheUnited Arab Emirates
TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting on15November, theGeneral Council, inconsidering
thegoods andservices schedules ofanumber ofcountries under theDecision inWT/L/30, hadtaken
notethattheUnited Arab Emirates hadnotasyetfinalized thenegotiation process inregard toits
schedule ongoods. Itwashisunderstanding thatthishadnowbeendone. Hetherefore proposed
thattheGeneral Council approve thegoods andservices schedules oftheUnited Arab Emirates.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman noted thatalthough theGeneral Council hadapproved theschedules oftheUnited
Arab Emirates, thelatter'sprocess ofaccession wasnotyetcomplete. TheGeneral Council hadyet
toapprove adraftProtocol ofAccession forthatGovernment andtoadopt aDecision authorizing it
toaccede ontheterms setoutintheProtocol. Consultations onthiswerecontinuing, andtheGeneral
Council would revert tothismatter oncetheyhadbeencompleted.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
(k) Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions
- Consultation withBrazil (WT/BOP/R/7-BOP/R/231)
- Consultation withSriLanka (WT/BOP/R/8-BOP/R/232)
- Simplified consultation withthePhilippines (WT/BOP/R/9-BOP/R/233)WT/GC/M/9
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- Consultation withIndia
- Statement bytheCommittee Chairman
Mr.Witt(Germany),ChairmanoftheCommitteeonBalance-of-PaymentsRestrictions,recalled
thathehadreported orally ontheconclusions oftheCommittee 'sconsultations withBrazil andSri
Lanka attheGeneral Council meeting on15November. Theformal reports ontheconsultations with
these countries were nowbefore theGeneral Council indocuments WT/BOP/R/7-BOP/R/231 and
WT/BOP/R/8-BOP/R/232 respectively. Astothesimplified consultation with thePhilippines
(WT/BOP/R/9-BOP/R/233), hewished tostatethattheCommittee hadagreed thatifthetime-frames
envisaged forthedisinvocation ofArticle XVIII:B werefulfilled, therewould benoneedforafurther
fullconsultation withthePhilippines. Finally, on6-8December, theCommittee hadheldaconsultation
withIndia. Inthelightofitsconsiderations, theCommittee hadwelcomed India'sreadiness toresume
theconsultations inOctober 1996. Afullreport onthisconsultation would besubmitted totheGeneral
Council forconsideration andadoption atitsnextmeeting.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States expressed concern thatmany Members invoking the
balance-of-paymentsexceptionssetforthintheWTOMultilateralTradeAgreementswerenotcomplying
withtherelated notification procedures oftheWTO. Paragraph 9oftheUnderstanding onBalance-of-
Payments Provisions oftheGATT 1994obliged Members thatmaintained measures forBOPpurposes
toprovide alistannually atthe8digitHSlevelofthose measures maintained forBOPreasons along
withcertain otherinformation suchastradeflows affected andcriteria foradministering therestrictions.
There hadbeenavariety ofinstances overthepastyearinwhich Members hadbeenunable totell
theBOPCommittee precisely which restrictive import measures theyjustified forBOPreasons. The
notification requirement wasnotonerous particularly considering thatBOPprovisions wereexceptions
fromWTO principles. Heurged Members using theBOPexception tofulfilthenotification requirement
promptly.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements, andadopted thereports ontheconsultations
withBrazil (WT/BOP/R/7-BOP/R/231), SriLanka (WT/BOP/R/8-BOP/R/232) andthePhilippines
(WT/BOP/R/9-BOP/R/233).
(l) Committee onBudget Finance andAdministration
- Recommendation oftheCommittee (WT/BFA/15-L/7656)
TheChairman drewattention todocument WT/BFA/15 containing arecommendation adopted
bytheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration atitsmeeting on30November, andwhich
hadbeenforwarded totheGeneral Council forapproval. Afullreport bytheCommittee onthatmeeting
would becirculated shortly andconsidered bytheGeneral Council atitsnextmeeting.
Mr.Metzger (France), Chairman oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration,
saidthatatitsmeeting on30November, theCommittee haddecided torecommend thattheGeneral
Council approve thedesignation ofMr.Jean-Daniel Rey(Switzerland) andMr.OleLundby (Norway)
asmember andalternate member respectively oftheICITO/GATT StaffPension Committee forathree-
yeartermasfrom 1January 1996.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andapproved theCommittee 'srecommendation
inparagraph 2ofWT/BFA/15-L/7656.WT/GC/M/9
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2. Review ofWTO Activities
Reports of:
(a) TheGeneral Council, Dispute Settlement Body, Trade Policy Review Body, Sectoral
Councils, Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Balance-of-Payments Restrictions,
andBudget, Finance andAdministration (WT/GC/W/25)
(b) TheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment (WT/CTE/W/17)
(c) CommitteesonPlurilateralTradeAgreements(WT/L/107-L/7655,WT/L/90,WT/L/92)
and
3. Annualoverviewofdevelopmentsininternationaltradeandthetradingsystem(WT/TPR/OV/1)
TheChairman noted thatunder theseitems theGeneral Council would beconducting areview
ofWTO activities inpursuance oftheDecision concerning procedures foranannual overview ofWTO
activities andforreporting under theWTO (WT/L/105) aswellasanoverview ofdevelopments in
international trade andthetrading system asrequired under Section GoftheTrade Policy Review
Mechanism. Theoverview ofWTO activities attheyear-end wasinkeeping withthepractice ofthe
GATT 1947, under which theCONTRACTING PARTIES undertook suchareview attheirregular
session eachyear. Inorder torationalize discussion onthese twoitems, heproposed thatdelegations
address bothitems together intheirstatements. However, before thereviews under Items 2and3
wereconducted, hesuggested thattheGeneral Council taketheaction asnecessary onthereports before
itunder Item2.
Mr.Metzger (France), Chairman oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration,
introducing thereport oftheCommittee (WT/GC/W/25, Section IX),saidthatinaddition toitsregular
work ofdrawing upthebudget anditsregular administrative follow-up, theCommittee hadexamined
different aspects related totheoperationalization oftheWTO. Thefirst, dealtwithwithin aspecial
working party chaired byMr.Yokota (Japan), consisted ofestablishing anewscale ofcontributions
reflecting thenewcoverage oftheWTO Agreements. Thesecond taskwastheestablishment ofa
budgetary envelope which should make itpossible tocarry outthesupplementary recruitment necessary
toensure thesmooth functioning oftheOrganization. Thethird taskwastheestablishment ofthe
conditions ofwork oftheWTO staffwiththedrafting ofmore effective andup-to-date staffregulations
andrules. Ithad,unfortunately, notbeenpossible toreach agreement onthequestion ofpensions,
while thequestion ofsalaries appeared evenmore difficult. Aside fromthese twomatters, inrespect
ofwhich thecurrent practice based ontheUNcommon system would continue tobefollowed forsome
time, thestaffrules hadbeenmore orlessagreed upon. Most Members hadbeenprepared toadopt
these rulesandregulations, including theimprovements theyrepresented forthestaff. Hewished to
highlight thatevenifithadbeendecided toadopt these rulesfromtheendof1995andoperationalize
theWTO onthatbasis, theGeneral Council 'sDecision of30October tocontinue thework in1996
constituted asufficient guarantee thatpensions andsalaries would notbesetinanintangible manner.
Inanyevent, thestaffrulesandregulations could atalltimes beamended andapproved while respecting
thelegalrights ofallconcerned. Itseemed thatsince theMarrakesh Ministerial meeting, atradition
hadbeenestablished intheWTO tohaveafileentitled "unfinished business". Hehadmade his
contribution tothatfileintheknowledge thathissuccessor would devote allhisenergy andcompetence
toit.
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions,
introducing thereport oftheCommittee (WT/GC/W/25, Section VIII), saidthatdespite thebrevity
ofthereport, 1995 hadbeen abusy yearfortheCommittee. TheWTO Committee hadheld
consultations withnineMembers. Itwasworth noting thattwoMembers hadnewly invoked BOP
provisions while anumber ofcountries hadceased tousetherelevant provisions. TheCommittee
hadrecommended oneMember nottohaverecourse toArticle XVIII:B forrestrictions which could
bejustified under other GATT provisions. Inthecaseofanother Member, theCommittee hadagreedWT/GC/M/9
Page11
thatifthetime-frames envisaged forthedisinvocation ofArticle XVIII:B werefulfilled, there would
benoneedforafurther fullconsultation. In1996, theCommittee would consult withIndia, Hungary,
Pakistan, Poland, Slovakia, Tunisia andTurkey, andtheconsultations withNigeria, originally scheduled
forNovember 1995, would alsobeheldinthefollowing year.
Mr.Haron (Malaysia), Chairman oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment, introducing
theCommittee 'sreport (WT/GC/W/25, Section VII),saidthattheCommittee hadheldfourmeetings
in1995, andatitslastmeeting hadagreed onaprogramme for1996. With regard tothelatter, he
saidthatthereview oftechnical cooperation, which wasscheduled under thework program forJune
1996, would bebrought forward toMarch 1996. Theunderstanding wasthatinJune, Members would
beable, iftheysowished, torevisit thequestion ofreview oftechnical cooperation activities. He
hoped thatwiththerenewed interest intechnical cooperation, Members would beabletousetheMarch
meeting todiscuss thissubject indepth andtocome upwithsome constructive ideas andproposals
inorder tomake technical cooperation morecost-effective andbeneficial, andtoensure thatthebenefits
were spread outtoasmany Members aspossible, inparticular theleast-developed ones.
Mr.Sanchez Arnau (Argentina), Chairman oftheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment,
introducingtheCommittee'sreport(WT/CTE/W/17),saidthattheCommitteehadbeforeitanextremely
broad-ranging andcomplex agenda andthatalthough itsterms ofreference werelinked tothemultilateral
trading system, many oftheitems included ontheagenda required ananalysis from several points
ofview which could takeitbeyond thestrictly economic circle. Particular attention needed tobe
given todealing witheachoneoftheagenda items. TheCommittee wascompleting asecond reading
ofeachofthese items insuchthatasfromthenextmeeting, following therecently adopted program
ofwork, itwould bedealing withaseries ofspecific items which would come under eachofthemore
broader headings. TheCommittee would thusbeabletomake progress infulfilling itsmandate with
aviewtosubmitting areport totheMinisterial Conference inSingapore identifying therelationships
between trade measures andtheenvironment andwhich, ifnecessary, would make recommendations
foradjustmenttobeintroducedintheWTOinaccordancewiththeDecisionestablishingtheCommittee.
Mr.Kenyon (Australia), Chairman oftheDispute Settlement Body, introducing thereport of
theDSB(WT/GC/W/25, Section II),saidthatthework oftheDSBin1995 hadfocused mainly on
ensuring thatthenewdispute settlement system became rapidly operational given itsoutstanding
importance fortheproper functioning oftheWTO asawhole. Thiswork hadinvolved, first, the
handling ofthedisputes brought before theDSBbyMembers. During 1995, twenty-two requests for
consultations hadbeennotified. Ofthese, threecases hadbeensettled before reaching thepanel stage.
Three panels werecurrently considering disputes. These involved multiple complaints which accounted
forafurther eight ofthetotalnumber ofdisputes thathadbeenbrought totheDSB. Inthisregard,
itwasworth noting thattheDSU provisions encouraged countries tojointogether inthesame panel
when theirdisputes concerned thesame matter. Usewasclearly being made ofthisprovision and
wasalready helping tostreamline work andreduce resource strains ontheoperation ofthedispute
settlement system. Astotheremainder, some tenoreleven disputes, consultations werecontinuing
which would alsohopefully settle more ofthese issues before theycame tothepanel stage. TheDSB
hadtaken anumber oforganizational andprocedural decisions during 1995. Clearly themostimportant
taskhadbeentheestablishment oftheStanding Appellate Body required under Article 17:1oftheDSU.
Thetaskofputting together arecommendation totheDSBhadbeeninthehands ofthe"Committee
ofSix"comprising theDirector-General, theChairman oftheDSBandtheChairmen oftheGeneral
Council andCouncils forGoods, Services andTRIPS. Extensive consultations overmany months
hadbeencarried outbytheselection committee onboththecomposition oftheAppellate Body aswell
astherelative merits ofthecandidates. Asallwere aware, arecommendation onappointments to
theAppellate Body hadbeenaccepted bytheDSBon29November. TheDSBhadalsoestablished
anindicative listofgovernmental andnon-governmental panelists, inaccordance withtheprovisionsWT/GC/M/9
Page12
ofArticle 8:4oftheDSU, which contained names ofpersons withexpertise inallthree sectors of
goods, TRIPS, andservices.
Onatrialbasis, through aprocess ofconsultations, theDSBhadalsoestablished some working
practices inorder tostreamline itsfunctioning. These working practices included, inter alia:(i)
definition ofthedateofcirculation ofdocuments; (ii)agreement onhowtocalculate time-periods
when theyterminated onanon-working day;and(iii)establishment ofaprocess through which WTO
bodies were informed about disputes being brought totheDSB. Even though there hadbeenonly
twelve months 'experience withthenewDSU, much hadalready beenachieved inensuring thatit
wasworking effectively andinthewayintended bytheUruguay Round negotiators. There werealready
encouraging signs thatmore disputes werebeing brought totheWTO dispute settlement system for
resolution rather thanbeing handled unilaterally orbilaterally. There weresigns alsothatthegreater
automaticity andpredictability ofthesystem wasencouraging parties todisputes toseeksolutions
consistentwiththeruleswithoutnecessarilyneedingtopursueallstagesofthedisputesettlementprocess.
Inaddition, withtheAppellate Body nowappointed, thetotalframework forthenewdispute settlement
system wasinplace. There had,ofcourse, beenelements oftheDSUthathadrequired some elaboration
andinterpretation, andthere would nodoubt beothers. Thispointed tothewisdom oftheMarrakesh
outcome, providing forareview oftheDSU nolaterthaninthefourth yearofitsoperation. In
conclusion, hesaidithadbeenanhonour andprivilege toserve asthefirstChairman oftheDSB.
There hadbeensome difficult problems todealwith, andindealing withthem hehadtriedtofind
solutions thatwould ensure thecredible functioning oftheDSU asareliable multilateral dispute
settlement system which hadtherespect andconfidence ofall.
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, introducing thereport ofthe
Council (WT/GC/W/25, Section IV),saidthattheCouncil, pursuant toArticle IV:5oftheWTO
Agreement hadapproved itsRules ofProcedure, which hadlargely beenbased onthose oftheGeneral
Council. Astotheprocess started under theUruguay Round, ofsubmission, verification andapproval
ofschedules ofconcessions ongoods, thishadnowbeenfinally concluded withtheapproval ofthe
schedule ofconcessions ongoods oftheUnited Arab Emirates bytheGeneral Council. Herecalled
thathehaddrawnattentiontothepracticalproblemlinkedtothecurrentsystemregardingthedesignation
ofchairpersons forworking parties onregional trading arrangements notified under Article XXIV of
GATT 1994. Inthisconnection, hewished torecall hisproposal attheGeneral Council meeting on
15November concerning thesetting-up, asaninterim measure, ofacommittee within theCouncil
forTrade inGoods which would havethesame orsimilar terms ofreference astheexisting working
parties, butcovering allregional arrangements. TheCouncil hadagreed toreview thisquestion early
in1996 when abetter assessment ofthesituation could bemade inlightoftheconsultations being
conducted bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council ontheproposal byCanada inthisconnection.
Hehadalsomentioned thatunder these circumstances thequestion ofappointment ofchairpersons
forthese working parties appeared lessurgent, andthatthere would beadelay inthestart-up ofthe
work concerning theexamination ofregional agreements. Furthermore, asdelegations would have
noted fromthevarious reports before them, therehadbeenlessthanfullcompliance byMembers with
notification requirements under Agreements within thecompetence oftheCouncil. Although theextent
oftheproblem varied depending ontheAgreement, thegeneral pattern wasdisturbing. Ofparticular
concern wasthestatus ofnotifications ofsubsidies andofstate-trading enterprises. Although these
notifications were dueon30June1995, theoverwhelming majority ofMembers hadyettosubmit
notifications. While itcould beargued thatnotification obligations were only"procedural" andnot
substantive innature, notifications wereanessential element oftheWTO system. TheWTO system
relied primarily onmutual surveillance asameans toensure implementation. Ifnotification obligations
werenotcompliedwith,therewasnobasisonwhichtherelevantWTObodiescouldreviewthemeasures
ofMembers, andthesystem would break down. Thissituation could already beobserved inthe
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures, which hadbeenforced intheabsence ofa
sufficient number ofnotifications todelay itsmeeting toreview subsidies notifications untilthefollowingWT/GC/M/9
Page13
year. Hewasconcerned thatpatterns inthiscritical firstyearoftheWTO would bedifficult tobreak,
andcalled onallMembers tomake maximum efforts tofulfiltheirnotification obligations promptly.
Hewished also, inthiscontext, totaketheopportunity tosaythatthework oftheWorking Group
onNotification Obligations andProcedures which hadbeenestablished bytheCouncil on20February
wasgoing tobeofimportance intheareaofnotifications.
Mr.Harbinson (Hong Kong), Chairman oftheCouncil forTRIPS, introducing thereport of
theCouncil (WT/GC/W/25, Section VI),saidthat,asallwere aware, thetransition periods inthe
TRIPS Agreement were suchthatthebulkoftheobligations under theAgreement would onlystart
applying from 1January 1996 andonlytosome Members. Thishadmeant thattheTRIPS Council
hadhadabreathing space within which toprepare foritsfuture work. Much ofthework hadbeen
directed towards establishing arrangements formonitoring theoperation oftheAgreement and,in
particular, compliance withitsobligations, asrequired bytheCouncil 'smandate. Hewished todraw
attention inparticular tothefourdecisions, referred toinparagraph 5ofthereport, which weretaken
attheCouncil 'smeeting on21November concerning arrangements forthenotification andconsideration
ofnational implementing legislation. Another important feature oftheTRIPS Council 'swork had
beenaimed attheestablishment ofappropriate arrangements forcooperation withWIPO. Article 68
oftheTRIPS Agreement required theCouncil todothiswithin oneyearofitsfirstmeeting. Further
totheinformation inparagraph 16ofthereport, theCouncil forTRIPS hadapproved atitsmeeting
on11December thetextofaproposed agreement between thetwoorganizations, which hadbeen
approved bytheGeneral Council atthepresent meeting (Item 1(c)). ThedraftAgreement would be
considered bythecompetent bodies oftheWIPO atmeetings on19-21 December andwasintended
toenter intoforce from1January 1996. Itprovided forcooperation inthreemainareas: notification
of,access toandtranslation of,national lawsandregulations; implementation ofprocedures forthe
protection ofnational emblems; andtechnical cooperation. Given thescaleandnature ofthechanges
thatwould havetobemade tocomply withTRIPS obligations, theCouncil hadattached particular
importancetothegeneralissueoftechnicalcooperationtodevelopingcountries,asprovidedbydeveloped
country Members, bytheSecretariat andbyother intergovernmental organizations. TheCouncil had
initiated aprogramme ofwork inthisareawhich itwould pursue in1996. Other features ofthe
Council 'sworkhadbeentheconsideration ofimplementation oftwosubstantive provisions oftheTRIPS
Agreement thathadentered intoforceon1January 1995, namely Articles 70.8and65.5. Inconclusion,
hesaidthattheCouncil haduseditstimeprofitably toputinplace thebasic machinery foritsfuture
operation.
Mr.Osorio Londoño (Colombia), Chairman oftheTrade Policy Review Body, introducing
theTPRB 'sreport (WT/GC/W/25, Section III),saidthatduring 1995, theTPRB hadconducted seven
reviews under theprovisions oftheTrade Policy Review Mechanism. These reviews comprised the
thirdreview oftheEuropean Communities andsixinitial reviews ofdeveloping countries orcountries
intransition. Thereview oftheEuropean Communities hadbeenthefirstofamajor trading entity
torefer notonlytotrade ingoods, butalsototrade inservices andTRIPS, under thenewWTO
provisions. Thisreview hadcovered anumber oftraditional themes, suchaspolicies inagriculture,
sensitive sectors andtheuseoftrade defence instruments, andalsoincluded reforms resulting from
theUruguay Round aswellasanimportant discussion ofissues relating toArticle XXIV. Thepace
ofongoing changes intheCommunities 'trade policies highlighted theimportance ofregular,
comprehensive trade policy reviews ofmajor trading entities. Reviews ofCosta Rica, Côted'Ivoire,
Uganda, Mauritius andSriLanka hadrevealed thedegree towhich these relatively small participants
intheWTO hadbeenabletofollow, ormove closer tofollowing, WTO rules. Thereviews revealed
theimportance ofparticipation inthemultilateral trading system fordeveloping countries, andhow
thereview process could contribute topolicy formulation andeconomic adjustment. Itwashisoverall
impression thatthedeveloping countries thathadcome before theTPRB during theyearhadmade
significant progress inliberalizing theireconomies andtrading systems. These countries attached great
importance totrade liberalization, combined withbetter macro-economic management, asabasis forWT/GC/M/9
Page14
increased investment, employment andgrowth. However, anumber ofconstraints remained, including
insome cases lowlevels ofbinding commitments intariffs andservices. Therecent review ofSlovakia
hadfocused largely ontheimportance oftrade policy inthetransition process; trade liberalization
plans going beyond Slovakia 'sUruguay Round commitments; thebalance between multilateral and
regional trading links, including thecustoms union withtheCzech Republic andthereorientation of
trade towards theEuropean Communities; Slovakia 'scommitment tophase outitsimport surcharge;
andstructural questions suchasprogress inprivatization.
During hischairmanship, hehadlearned thatareview bytheWTO served firstasavaluable
"external audit" ofMembers 'tradepolicies andperformance; second, asaninputtotheirpolicy-making
process inthefieldoftrade; andthird, formany Members, asachannel fortechnical cooperation
andeducation about WTO commitments andrules, aswellasanenhanced linkbetween theGovernments
concerned andtheSecretariat. Hebelieved thatthetechnical assistance aspect ofthereview process
$should notbeunderestimated. Thereports bytheSecretariat wereaninvaluable input intothereview
process. During theyear, Members hadconducted anumber ofconsultations ontheprocess -
consultations which hadgiven aclearpicture ofMembers 'views. While Members hadencouraged
streamlining ofcertain aspects, there wasnodoubt ofthevalue attached tothework theSecretariat
carried outinplanning andwriting itsreports. Allshould trytobuild onandimprove whatexisted.
Asregards theparticipation intheTPRprocess bydelegations ofMembers under review, thepresence
ofMinisters, oradministrative heads ofgovernment agencies, asleaders ofdelegations totheTPRB
from most oftheMembers under review in1995, reflected theimportance thecountries concerned
attached totheprocess andenhanced theparticipation ofreviewed Members byensuring thatthe
delegations concerned could answer questions onthespot. Hehadalsobeenimpressed bytheefforts
andability ofdelegations togivewritten answers toquestions during meetings. Hewished tounderline
theimportance offullparticipation byotherMembers intheTPRprocess through attendance atmeetings
andactive questioning oftheMembers under review. Notallreview meetings hadbeenaswellattended
asmighthavebeenwished,particularlythoseconcerningsmallertradingpartners.Thiswasunfortunate,
butprobably inevitable; delegations would tendtobepresent atreviews ofMembers inrespect of
which theyhadatrading interest. Nevertheless, thequality ofquestioning anddiscussion thathad
taken place inthereviews in1995, hadbeenofahighlevel; Members hadtaken theopportunity to
question senior officials orMinisters onmany aspects ofpolicy, bothinbroad conceptual terms and
indetail. Thishadcreated apositive atmosphere which hadhelped toaccomplish thepurposes ofthe
TPRM. Heexpressed gratitude tothedelegates thathadacted asdiscussants inthereview meetings.
Thiswasnotaneasytask,especially when ithadtobefitted withother pressing WTO work. The
willingness andskillshown bydiscussants wasatribute totheir ability andtheir interest inthe
mechanism. TheTPRM wasasubstantial, butsometimes burdensome, process. Recently, a
comprehensive exercise ofconsultations aiming torefine andenhance therôleoftheTPRM inthe
WTO system hadbeenundertaken, andadocument onthissubject hadbeencirculated (WT/TPR/13).
Some proposals hadbeenmade formodifications inthereview process -inparticular, tothecycle
ofreviews -which implied fundamental changes intheWTO Agreement ontheTPRM. Many Members
hadfeltthatitwasearly toundertake aformal discussion onthismatter, butnodoubt thequestion
could formpartofthefuture agenda. Ingeneral, however, theconsultation process hadbeenavaluable
exercise which hadsought tomake theprocedures more dynamic andtoimprove thelinks between
themechanism andother WTO fora.
TheChairman, introducing thereport oftheGeneral Council (WT/GC/W/25, Section I),said
thatthefirstyearofWTO 'sexistence hadbeen particularly busy. TheGeneral Council --theWTO
bodyentrustedtooverseetheoperationofthemultilateraltradingsystembetweenMinisterialConferences
--hadtogivepriority toadopting anumber ofdecisions oninstitutional, organizational andprocedural
matters inorder toensure thatthenewinstitutional mechanism wasputintomotion. TheGeneral
Council hadadopted itsrulesofprocedure andthose fortheMinisterial Conference andhadapproved
therulesofprocedure foritssubsidiary bodies. Ithadalsoapproved theWTO Headquarters AgreementWT/GC/M/9
Page15
withtheSwiss authorities which wassigned inBerne on2June. TheGeneral Council hadalsodecided
thatthefirstMinisterial Conference would beheldinSingapore ontheproposed datesof9-13December
1996. Amajor decision taken bytheGeneral Council early intheyearhadbeentheappointment of
Mr.RenatoRuggieroassuccessortoMr.PeterSutherlandtothepostofDirector-General.Furthermore,
asafollow-up totheMarrakesh Decision infavour ofleast-developed countries, theGeneral Council
hadapproved theschedules ofconcessions ongoods andservices fortwenty-one least-developed
countries. Ithadalsoagreed onprocedures tofacilitate decision-making under Articles IXandXII
oftheWTO Agreement, andhadtaken decisions ontheaccession ofanumber ofcountries andon
waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement. More recently, theGeneral Council hadagreed
inprinciple ontheestablishment ofaCommittee onRegional Trading Arrangements. Hehoped that
thisinitiative would provide anopportunity todiscuss howbesttoorganize work inrelation toone
ofthemostimportant tradepolicy issues ofrelevance tothemultilateral trading system. TheGeneral
Council hadalsoapproved guidelines forthescheduling ofWTO meetings withaviewtoensuring
theefficient conduct ofmeetings ofWTO bodies. Asafollow-up tothese guidelines atentative
programme ofmeetings forthefollowing yearhadbeenprepared andwould becirculated shortly.
Hethenrecalled theGeneral Council 'sdecision thattheInternational Trade Centre should beoperated
jointly bytheWTO andUNCTAD, andthearrangements foreffective cooperation thathadbeen
establishedbetweentheWTOandsomeotherintergovernmentalorganizationssuchastheUnitedNations
andUNCTAD. Discussions were under wayconcerning arrangements tobemade with other
intergovernmental organizations.
Onanumber ofissues thathadbeenbefore theGeneral Council forconsideration andaction,
ithadnotyetbeenpossible toreach fullagreement despite thebroadly recognized importance ofthese
issuesandthecontinuingeffortsbyMemberstoresolvethem.Amongthesewereguidelinesforobserver
status forinternational intergovernmental organizations, procedures forcirculation andderestriction
ofWTO documents, aswellasthequestion ofsalaries andpensions ofWTO staff. Hehoped that
theseandotherpending issues would besettled assoonaspossible in1996. Finally, theGeneral Council
hadagreed onprocedures foranannual overview ofWTO activities andforreporting under theWTO
inorder toensure theefficient operation ofthesystem andtoensure thattheWTO Agreement functioned
asasingle undertaking, thefirstoverview being oneofthetasksofthepresent meeting. Inconcluding,
hesaidthatoneofthemain reasons fortheGATT 'sachievements wasthepractice ofapproaching
tradepolicy issues inapragmatic andflexible way. Hehadmentioned earlier thattheGeneral Council
hadalreadyproceededalongthesamelineswhenithadagreedonprocedurestofacilitatedecision-making
withregard towaivers andaccessions. Avoidance ofexcessive bureaucracy hadalsobeenapermanent
concern intheGATT 1947. Hebelieved itimportant thatthistradition becontinued intheWTO,
whose machinery wasmore complex andwhose scope wasmuch broader thantheGATT.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteoftheintroductory statements bythechairmen oftherespective
WTO bodies. TheGeneral Council thentook noteofthereports ascontained indocuments
WT/GC/W/25andWT/CTE/W/17,andofthereportsfromthebodiesunderthePlurilateralAgreements
inWT/L/107, WT/L/90 andWT/L/92.
Mr.Osorio Londoño (Colombia), Chairman oftheTrade Policy Review Body, introducing
Item3,recalled thatAnnex 3oftheWTO Agreement required Members toundertake, aspartofthe
Trade Policy Review Mechanism, anannual overview ofdevelopments intheinternational trading
environment which hadanimpact onthemultilateral trading system. Anannual report bytheDirector-
GeneralsettingoutthemajoractivitiesoftheWTOandhighlightingthesignificantpolicyissuesaffecting
thetrading system hadbeenprepared toassist theGeneral Council inthistask(WT/TPR/OV/1). He
believed thisreport provided considerable material fordiscussion, butinvited delegations tointroduce
anyother issue which intheirviewhadabearing onthecurrent orfuture work oftheWTO.WT/GC/M/9
Page16
Inpresentinghisannualreport,theDirector-GeneralsaidthattheannualoverviewbytheGeneral
Council wasintended toserve asacomplement totheWTO Annual Report onInternational Trade
andtheindividual country reviews under theTPRM. Inreviewing theactivities oftheWTO, he
highlighted tworelated conclusions. Inthefirstplace theinitial yearoftheWTO hadbeenvery
encouraging ascould beseenfrom PartIIofthereport, withentries formore thanthirty separate
activities. Thisreflected theexpanded range ofactivities relative totheGATT andtheadministration
ofamuch more comprehensive andcomplex setofrules andprocedures. TheSecretariat hadmade
enhanced efforts towards cooperation withother international organizations, leading totheconclusion
ofsatisfactory cooperative arrangements withtheUnited Nations. Hebelieved thepersonal relationship
withtheSecretary-General would beverypromising forthefuture. Within theUnited Nations
framework, theWTO hadestablished averygoodworking relationship withUNCTAD. Anagreement
hadbeenreached toholdsix-monthly meetings, chaired jointly bytheSecretary-General ofUNCTAD
andhimself, toimprove theworking relationship between thetwoorganizations atalllevels, andto
work foragreater complementarity intechnical cooperation across abroad group ofagencies. An
important earlyfocus ofthiscooperation would betheprogramme ofactivities forAfrica, which would
alsoinvolve theInternational Trade Centre. Inaccordance withthemandate received fromtheGeneral
Council, draftagreements hadbeenpresented totheIMFandtheWorld Bank. Hesaidthatcooperation
between theWTO andthese institutions wasofthegreatest importance, beginning withtheneedto
ensure thatconsistent policy advise wasgiven tocountries within theirrespective policy competencies.
Apreliminary response hadbeenreceived fromtheWorld Bank andonewasexpected fromtheIMF.
Thesecond mainconclusion oftheDirector-General concerned theimplementation oftheWTO
Agreements. Asnoted intheinitial section ofhisreport, implementation ofcommitments could be
divided into:first,thefulfilment ofnotification requirements; second, theimplementation ofsubstantive
commitments tobring domestic legislation intoconformity withWTO obligations, andtoimplement
scheduled increases inmarket access; andthird, thefulfilment ofvarious tasks aslaiddown inthe
WTO Agreements. Inhisjudgement, while progress could havebeenbetter insome instances, itwas
broadly satisfactory inmostareas. Considering thescope andcomplexity oftheWTO Agreements,
anencouraging starthadbeenmade, though clearly much remained forthenextyear. Itwasevident
thatthesmaller countries hadfaced particular problems withtheexpanded notification obligations in
numerous areas oftheAgreements, buthehadalsonoted instances where theabsence ofnotifications
hadnotbeenlimited tothesesmaller traders. Looking to1996, hesaidthattherewould beacontinuation
ofactivities related totheimplementation oftheresults oftheUruguay Round begun in1995, including
extended negotiations inservices, where itwascritically important tomaintain astrong momentum.
Negotiations onbasictelecommunications andmaritime transport werescheduled toconclude inApril
andJunerespectively, andtheprotocols embodying theresults oftherecent negotiations onfinancial
services andmovement ofnatural persons would come intoeffect during thesame period. These
services, eachtraded initsownright, were alsoinputs intothetrade ofother goods andservices.
Providing themwithmultilateral traderulesandimproved market access would giveanimportant boost
tointernational integration through trade, andtoglobal efficiency. Theywerethepassport toyetfurther
benefits from theglobalization oftheworld economy. Inaddition tothework onimplementation,
there remained other critical issues, suchaswork on28accession requests, further development of
closer linkswithother organizations andthespecial activities oftheWTO relating toAfrica andthe
least-developed countries. Inthiscontext, hereaffirmed theSecretariat 'scommitment togivework
related toAfrica andtheleast-developed countries ahighpriority in1996, aspartoftheeffort torespond
toMinisterial decisions taken atMarrakesh, inparticular theDecision onmeasures infavour ofleast-
developed countries, which wasanimportant partoftheimplementation programme and,therefore,
oftheSingapore agenda. Asnoted inhisreport, therewasakeenawareness thatpractical suggestions
andpragmatic actions foraccelerating theintegration ofthese countries intotheworld market were
urgently needed.WT/GC/M/9
Page17
Inthefinalsection ofthereport, newtopics hadbeensuggested forpossible consideration
atthemultilateral level, inparticular "regionalism andthemultilateral trading system" and"investment
andcompetition policies." Inthecaseofregionalism, anambitious WTO agenda wasvitaltoensure
thatregional agreements andthemultilateral system progressed inparallel andcontinued tobemutually
reinforcing. Withrespect toinvestment andcompetition policies, hebelieved itmight beworthwhile
toconsider whether multilateral negotiations intheWTO would bepreferable, andinthelongrun
more valuable, toanumber ofsimultaneous separate negotiations among several regional groups.
Thenextyearwould alsoinclude preparations fortheMinisterial Conference inSingapore inDecember.
TheConference would nodoubt takestock ofthework oftheWTO during itsfirsttwoyears of
existence, butitwould alsobetheoccasion toshape andinvigorate thenextphase ofwork intheWTO,
taking intoaccount theneedtoprepare anddesign theglobal trading system ofthe21stcentury. As
such, theConference would beanimportant stepinacontinuing process ofpreparation fortheyear
2000, when anumber ofimportant negotiations -some already mandated, others under consideration -
would converge toprovide themomentum tocarry thetrading system intothenextcentury. Singapore
would alsobeanoccasion todemonstrate totheworld community thattheWTO system functioned
effectively andcould move forward, without confrontation, onthebasis ofconsensus.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
TheGeneral Council thenheard thefollowing general statements:
H.E. Mr.Jeffrey Lang WT/GC(95)/ST/1
Ambassador, Deputy Trade Representative
oftheUnited States
Mr.J.F.Beseler WT/GC(95)/ST/2
Deputy Director-General, External Relations
European Communities
H.E. Mr.P.-L. Girard WT/GC(95)/ST/3
Ambassador, Office ofExternal Economic Affairs
Switzerland
Mr.B.Carin WT/GC(95)/ST/4
Assistant Deputy Minister
Canada
Mr.S.Harbinson WT/GC(95)/ST/5
Permanent Representative
ofHong Kong
H.E. Mr.M.Endo WT/GC(95)/ST/6
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofJapan
H.E. Mr.M.Akram, WT/GC(95)/ST/7
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofPakistan
H.E. Mr.J.Lema Patiño WT/GC(95)/ST/8
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofBoliviaWT/GC/M/9
Page18
Mr.P.Grey WT/GC(95)/ST/9
Deputy Secretary, Department ofForeign Affairs andTrade
Australia
H.E. Mr.S.Rego Barros WT/GC(95)/ST/10
Ambassador, Secretary-General,
Ministry ofExternal Relations
Brazil
H.E. Mr.S.Narayanan WT/GC(95)/ST/11
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofIndia
H.E. Mr.Seung Ho WT/GC(95)/ST/12
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofKorea
H.E. Mr.IbraDéguène KA WT/GC(95)/ST/13
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofSenegal
H.E. Mr.M.Zahran WT/GC(95)/ST/14
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofEgypt
Mr.J.Kaczurba WT/GC(95)/ST/15
Minister Counsellor, Permanent Representative
ofPoland
H.E. Mr.Haron Siraj WT/GC(95)/ST/16
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofMalaysia
Mr.P.Palecka WT/GC(95)/ST/17
Minister Counsellor, Permanent Representative ofthe
Czech Republic
H.E. Mr.AliS.Mchumo WT/GC(95)/ST/18
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofTanzania
H.E. Mr.T.Johannessen WT/GC(95)/ST/19
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
ofNorway
Mrs. A.Ivanka WT/GC(95)/ST/20
FirstSecretary, Permanent Mission
ofHungary
Mr.E.Haran Tobeissued
IsraelWT/GC/M/9
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Inhisconcluding remarks, theChairman saidthattheexercise ofreviewing theyear'sactivities
oftheWTO hadproved tobeuseful. Ithadenabled delegations, onthebasisontheDirector-General 's
annual report andthereports ofthevarious councils andcommittees, topronounce onthehealth of
theOrganization. Thepronouncement wasthattheWTO wasaliveandwellandkicking. Delegations
hadconsidered thatalothadbeen achieved overthepasttwelve months. Thevarious councils,
committees andother subsidiary bodies hadbeensetup,office-bearers appointed andterms ofreference
drawn up.More importantly, members oftheAppellate Body hadbeenappointed andhadbegun their
work asscheduled. Several delegations hadexpressed regret thatnotallthework hadbeencompleted.
Inparticular, thequestion oftheWTO 'srelations withotherinternational organizations, theNGO issue
andthederestriction ofdocuments remained unresolved. This, however, hadnotbeenforwantof
trying. Comments hadalsobeenmade thatsome WTO bodies established during theyearwerenot
functioning astheyweremeant tobe.Ifthiswerethecase, thenitwasonlyappropriate thataction
should betaken toaddress this. Astothefuture work oftheWTO, several speakers hadpointed to
theissue oftheimplementation oftheUruguay Round Agreements asthesingle mostimportant task
intheyearahead. Inthisregard, theneed forMembers tofulfil their obligations wasstressed.
However, apleahadalsobeenmade foradegree offlexibility. Several delegations hadspoken of
theneedforincreased technical assistance, andtraining inparticular, tobeprovided todeveloping
countries ingeneral andtheleast-developed inparticular. Inthisregard, theDirector-General 'sinitiative
forAfrica hadbeennoted, andalllooked forward tobeing informed regarding itsimplementation.
Almost allthespeakers hadreferred tothefirstWTO Ministerial Conference scheduled totakeplace
inSingapore from 9-13December 1996. Recognizing theneed togetthearrangements forthis
Conference right--asitwould serve asaprecedent forfuture Ministerial Conferences --delegations
hadoffered valuable comments onissues suchastheagenda. Astherepresentative ofthehostcountry
fortheConference, hehadbeengratified bytheamount ofgoodwill andinterest shown intheMinisterial
Conference. Heandhiscountrymen would trytoliveuptotheexpectations andensure asuccessful
Conference. However, while Singapore could provide asuitable tablesetting, itwould betheWTO
Members thatwould collectively havetodraw upthemenu. Inconclusion, hesaidthatwhen hehad
firstproposed thattheWTO should continue withtheGATT practice ofholding annual review meetings,
there hadbeensome concern thattheexercise could degenerate intoapublic squabble. Fortunately,
thisconcern hadturned outtobeunfounded. Ofcourse, some trenchant criticisms hadbeenmade.
Butthemanner inwhich theyhadbeenmade andtherationale therefor could notbefaulted. TheWTO
should takesuchcriticisms initsstride andredress matters, ifnecessary. However, thebouquets had
beenmore thanthefewbrickbats, andthefactthatatleasttwenty other countries wanted toaccede
totheWTO Agreement underscored thatMembers hadgotitright inthefirstyearoftheWTO 's
operation.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andagreed thattheoverview ofWTO activities
andofdevelopments ininternational trade andthetrading system hadbeenconducted.
4. United States -Proposed IranForeign OilSanctions Act
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities, speaking under "Other Business", expressed
concern atadraftlegislation before theUSCongress which proposed imposing sanctions onforeign
companies exporting either petroleum products orproducts destined forexport toIranian oilfields.
TheCommunity hadbeenfollowing closely theongoing discussions onthisissue intheCongress,
andrecent developments seemed tobeencouraging. TheCommunity would beconcerned ifthe
legislation included provisions ofanextra-territorial nature which would havearestrictive impact on
itstrade. Nointernational lawcould beinvoked bytheUnited States toimpose suchsanctions on
foreign companies. Hehoped thatintheoverall evolution ofthisdraftlegislation, theCommunity 's
fears would prove tobeunfounded.WT/GC/M/9
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TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
5. Training Activities
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", drewattention toareport ontraining activities
circulated indocument WT/L/108. Although under theGATT 1947 suchreports were considered
bytheCouncil, thismatter hadnotbeenincluded ontheGeneral Council 'sagenda because training,
aspartofthegeneral technical cooperation activities oftheWTO, hadbeenfullydiscussed inthe
Committee onTrade andDevelopment onthebasis ofgeneral information ontheWTO trade policy
courses contained indocument WT/COMTD/W/12. Hesaidthatinfuture thisitemcould beconsidered
inthatCommittee within thereview ofgeneral technical cooperation activities, asthatwastherelevant
body fordeliberations onissues ofinterest todeveloping countries.
TheDirector-Generalsaidthatreportingontrainingactivities,consideredasacentralcomponent
ofthetechnical cooperation work oftheWTO, hadbeenconsolidated inthework oftheCommittee
onTrade andDevelopment. Hethanked Switzerland forfinancing thespecial courses forEastern and
Central Europe andCentral Asia; theUnited States forfunding, forthesecond time, thespecial course
fortheRussian Federation, Ukraine andBelarus; andBelgium, France, theUnited Kingdom andthe
European Commission, forhosting thestudy tours forthedifferent courses during 1995.
Therepresentative ofZimbabwe saidthatofficials fromhiscountry hadparticipated inseveral
courses organized bytheGATT, andhoped thisparticipation would continue infuture courses tobe
organized bytheWTO. With theincreased demand forparticipation, heforesaw amore stringent
criteria fortheselection ofparticipants. Initscommerce ministry, Zimbabwe haddramatically increased
thenumber oftrade officials thathadparticipated intheGeneva courses, withasubstantive positive
effect. HesaidthattheWTO should continue tofocus onthisarea, because thetraining ofhuman
resources, though notlargeinphysical numbers, gavesignificant results interms ofoutput. Hethanked
theSecretariat andthose Members thathadbeenresponsible fortheresources thathadenabled anumber
ofcountries toparticipate inthese courses.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland confirmed theimportance attached bySwitzerland totechnical
cooperation activities, because itbelieved thatinvestment inhuman resources wasoneofthebestforms
ofinvestment toensure along-lasting quality ofworkintheOrganization. Hisdelegation wasconcerned
atthelackofinterest onthepartoftheGeneral Council tocontrol andmonitor technical cooperation
activities. Hebelieved thattheseactivities would become veryimportant andthatitwould notbenormal
fortheGeneral Council nottoshow sufficient interest inthisareaoftheWTO 'sactivities.
Therepresentative ofArgentina, speaking onbehalf oftheInformal Group ofdeveloping
countries, saidthatthismatter wasofparticular interest totheGroup, andthanked those countries
thathadcontributed tothefinancing ofthedifferent technical cooperation programmes. Heappealed
forcontinued financial support tomaintain theexisting level ofactivities and,ifpossible, tobetter
them inlightoftheincreasing number ofdeveloping countries andcountries intransition seeking
accession totheWTO. Heappreciated theefforts being made tostrengthen cooperation inthisarea
withother organizations suchastheWorld Bank andUNCTAD, butbelieved thatalotstillremained
tobedoneinorder tomake better useoftheavailable resources intheseother organizations thatworked
inareas similar tothose within theWTO 'scompetence.
Therepresentative ofEgypt expressed appreciation fortheSecretariat 'sefforts inthisarea.
Henoted thespecial contributions thathadbeenmade toprovide technical assistance tocertain countries
inCentral andEastern Europe, andbelieved thatattention should alsobedevoted tocountries inAfrica,
which hadbeenmarginalized. Hecalled foradditional finance tosupport training courses andtechnicalWT/GC/M/9
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assistance toAfrica within theframework oftheefforts being deployed bytheDirector-General in
theimplementation ofthedecisions taken atMarrakesh. TheWTO 'sefforts should becoordinated
withthose ofother international organizations, inparticular UNCTAD andITC,soastorationalize
theprovision oftechnical cooperation tocountries inneedofsuchassistance, particularly thoseinAfrica.
While heagreed thattheGeneral Council should haveanoverview ofthese activities, theCommittee
onTrade andDevelopment hadaparticular interest, scope andmandate tocover them.
TheChairman saidthattraining activities hadbecome animportant matter fortheWTO, largely
because ofthebroad andcomplex Agreements resulting fromtheUruguay Round. Developing countries
often lacked thenecessary resources tobetter understand andimplement thevarious Agreements and
therefore tobenefit fromthem. Heexpressed appreciation totheDirector-General forthelatter'sdirect
involvement inthismatter andcontinued emphasis ontheneedfortraining andtechnical assistance.
However, developing countries should nolonger consider thistobeaNorth-South matter. Hebelieved
there could becooperation andtechnical assistance between, andamong, developing countries and
requestedtheDirector-Generaltopursuethispossibility.AsfortheWTO'stechnicalassistanceactivities,
heagreed thatthese should alsobediscussed intheGeneral Council. Hesuggested thatinfuture the
initial discussion befocused intheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment which would thenreport
totheGeneral Council, thusensuring thebenefit ofatwo-level consideration.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
6. Appointment ofofficers toWTO bodies
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", saidthatinaccordance withtheguidelines
forappointmentofofficerstoWTObodiesapprovedbytheGeneralCouncilinJanuary1995(WT/L/31),
hehadbeenholding consultations onthismatter. Onthebasisoftheseconsultations, hewasinaposition
topropose thefollowing slateofnames forconsideration andapproval:
Chairperson oftheGeneral Council Mr.W.Rossier (Switzerland)
Chairperson oftheDispute Settlement Body Mr.C.Lafer (Brazil)
Chairperson oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods Mr.S.Narayanan (India)
Chairperson oftheCouncil forTRIPs Mr.W.Armstrong (New Zealand)
Chairperson oftheCouncil forTrade inServices Ms.L.R.Bautista (Philippines)
Chairperson oftheTrade Policy Review Body Mrs. A.Anderson (Ireland)
Chairperson oftheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment Mr.J.C.Sanchez Arnau (Argentina)
Chairperson oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment Mr.N.Benjelloun-Touimi(Morocco)
Chairperson oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance Mr.J.Yokota (Japan)
andAdministration
Chairperson oftheCommittee onBalance-of-Payments Mr.P.Witt(Germany)
Restrictions
TheGeneral Council approved theappointments.WT/GC/M/9
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7. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that,inaccordance withtheadhoc
arrangementsforobserverstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizationsapprovedataninformal
meeting ofHeads ofDelegations on16March, andasagreed attheGeneral Council meeting on31May,
thefollowing organizations hadbeeninvited asobservers tothepresent meeting: United Nations,
UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, FAO, WIPO andOECD. Itwashisunderstanding that,pending
agreement onguidelines forobserver status forinternational organizations, theabove organizations
would alsobeinvited tothenextmeeting.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.