RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/2
FOR THE 23November 1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-2519)
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
MANAGEMENT OFACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS
Statement bytheChairman oftheCouncil ofRepresentatives oftheGATT 1947
Thefollowing communication, dated 11November 1994, addressed totheChairman ofthe
Preparatory Committee bytheChairman oftheCouncil ofRepresentatives oftheGATT 1947isbeing
circulated fortheinformation oftheCommittee.
____________
AttheNovember 1994 Council meeting, theChairman oftheCouncil made thefollowing
statement:
"Inrecent meetings oftheCouncil, anumber ofdelegations havesuggested thattheunusual
increase inthenumber ofrequests foraccession totheGATT andeventually theWTO callsforan
effort torationalize themanagement ofwork onaccession negotiations inorder toensure thatsuch
negotiations canbesuccessfully concluded inthemost effective possible manner.
Such negotiations arecarried outaccording toestablished procedures bothinGATT andin
thePreparatory Committee totheWTO. After consultations withdelegations, ithasnevertheless been
possible toidentify acertain number ofpoints which mayhelptoguide boththeSecretariat and
governments inhandling thenegotiations onaccession. These points, which Iwillnowreadoutto
you,areofanindicative nature; theiraimistorationalize themanner ofworkonaccession negotiations
when anunusually large number ofrequests foraccession mustbedealtwith. They arenotintended
inanywaytosubstitute fortheestablished procedures which aremaintained.
Thepoints areasfollows:
1. themanagement ofaccession negotiations intheGATT should ensure thewider
acceptance andeffective application ofrules anddisciplines under theGATT, thus
contributing towards thereform processes intheapplicant countries orterritories, and
towards theobjective offurther strengthening themultilateral trading system;
2. there shallbenolowering ofpresent standards forterms ofaccession toGATT;
3. accessionnegotiationsshouldbelimitedtoissuesrelatedtoGATTrightsandobligations
including market access totheapplicant country orterritory;
./.PC/2
Page2
4. accession negotiations should beapproached onacase-by-case basis, while respecting
theestablished procedures fornegotiations withallapplicants;
5. adequate lead-time should beallowed inthepreparatory stageofaccession negotiations
before meetings oftherespective working parties areconvened, inorder toallow both
theapplicant government andmembers oftheworking party tobetter prepare
themselves;
6. inlinewith5above, more thanoneround ofquestions andanswers maybeorganized
ifnecessary; subsequent rounds willbedesigned toselect andclarify issues before
aninitial meeting oftheworking party;
7. adequate lead-time should beallowed forgovernments toexamine documentation;1
theconformity ofsuchdocumentation withestablished procedures should bechecked
inadvance bytheSecretariat, which would inform contracting parties andtheapplicant
government ofitsviews;
8. theSecretariat maybeinvited toexamine thetechnical assistance requirements ofthe
applicant government soastoelaborate itsownplans forassistance andfurther
coordinate them withthose ofindividual governments;
9. theapplicant government should beencouraged toundertake thenecessary in-depth
preparation fortheaccession negotiations before theworking party meetings, inter
alia,through informal consultations withcontracting parties andtheSecretariat;
10. applicantgovernmentsshouldalsoavailthemselves,totheextentpossible,ofthetraining
activities ofGATT aspartoftheirpreparation fornegotiations andtofullyusetheir
GATT observer status, inparticular, toattend meetings ofother accession working
parties andofvarious committees."
Atitsmeeting, theCouncil tooknoteofthisstatement.
1i.e.three tofourweeks.