RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/6
20September 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-2729)
GENERAL COUNCIL
31July1995
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on31July1995
Chairman: Mr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Accession ofEcuador 2
- Report oftheWorking Party 2
2. Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices 4
(a) Approval ofgoods schedule ofGrenada 4
(b) Approval ofgoods andservices schedules ofQatar 4
3. Rules ofprocedure fortheCouncil forTrade inGoods 4
4. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement 5
(a) Harmonized System -Requests forextensions ofwaivers 5
(i) Bangladesh 5
(ii) Guatemala 5
(iii) Israel 5
(iv) Jamaica 5
(v) Morocco 5
(vi) SriLanka 5
(vii) Trinidad andTobago 5
(b) Other waivers -Request forextension 5
- Senegal -Renegotiation ofSchedule XLIX 5
5. Procedures forcirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents 6
6. Guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations pursuant
toArticle V:2oftheWTO Agreement 6
7. Preparations fortheMinisterial Conference 6
- Statement bytheChairman 6
8. Brazil -Import restrictive measures onautomobiles 7
9. Cameroon -Ratification oftheWTO Agreement 8WT/GC/M/6
Page2
10. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations 8
1. Accession ofEcuador
- Report oftheWorking Party (WT/L/77 andCorr.1, Add.1, Add.1/Corr.1 andCorr.2,
andAdd. 2)
TheChairmanrecalledthatinOctober1992,theGATT1947CouncilhadestablishedaWorking
Party toexamine Ecuador 'stherequest foraccession totheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade.
Subsequently, inpursuance ofthedecision regarding requests forWTO accession adopted bytheWTO
General Council on31January 1995,1theGATT 1947Accession Working Party hadbeentransformed
intoaWTO Accession Working Party. Thereport oftheWorking Party wasnowbefore theCouncil
indocument WT/L/77 andCorr.1, Add.1, Add.1/Corr.1 andCorr.2, andAdd.2.
Mr.Manhusen (Sweden), Chairman oftheWorking Party, saidthatinpursuance ofthe
Ministerial Decision of14April 1994onAcceptance ofandAccession totheAgreement Establishing
theWTO, andoftheDecision oftheGeneral Council of31January 1995, Ecuador 'srequest for
accession totheGeneral Agreement hadbeentransformed intoarequest foraccession totheWTO.
TheWorking Party hadheldseveral meetings in1993, 1994and1995toexamine Ecuador 'sapplication
andtopursue market access negotiations forgoods, including thepreparation ofanagriculture country
schedule, andmarket access negotiations forservices. Addendum 1oftheWorking Party'sreport
reproduced Schedule CXXXIII ongoods, andAddendum 2reproduced Schedule CXXXIII onservices.
Thisdocumentation hadbeenapproved bytheWorking Party atitsmeeting on10July1995 onan
adreferendum basis. TheAppendix tothereport reproduced adraftDecision andadraftProtocol
ofAccession ofEcuador totheAgreement Establishing theWTO. Inaccordance withthepractice
utilized inaccessions toGATT, theProtocol ofAccession incorporated thecommitments undertaken
byEcuador inrelation tocertain specific matters negotiated intheWorking Party. Ecuador would
bethefirstgovernment tobecome aWTO Member pursuant toArticle XIIoftheWTO Agreement.
Heexpressed appreciation fortheopenness, spirit ofcooperation andflexibility demonstrated by
Members andbyEcuador inthecourse ofarduous negotiations onsubjects which hadoften broken
newground.
TheChairman saidthatunder Article XIIoftheWTO Agreement, decisions onaccession were
tobetaken byatwo-thirds majority oftheMembers. Since there werenotenough Members atthe
present meeting, thedecision onthismatter would besubmitted toavotebypostal ballot. Inaccordance
withAnnex IoftheRules ofProcedure fortheGeneral Council, votes bypostal ballot should be
submitted atadatenolaterthanthirty daysafterthepostal ballots weredistributed. Hetherefore invited
delegations tosubmit theirvotes byclose-of-business on31August 1995. Representatives having
authority tovoteonbehalf oftheirgovernments wereinvited todosoatthecloseofthepresent meeting.
Ballot papers would besentbymailtoMembers notrepresented atthepresent meeting.
Therepresentative ofEcuador, speaking asanobserver, recalled thatin1948, Ecuador had
beenoneofthefifty-three signatories totheHavana Final Actwhich provided fortheestablishment
oftheInternational Trade Organization (ITO), butforty-six years hadgonebybefore thebirthofthis
third pillar ofBretton Woods intheform oftheWTO. Ithadtaken forty-seven years forEcuador
finally tojointheGATT family, thusending aperiod ofisolation thatwasincompatible withthecurrent
globalization oftheeconomy andmaking Ecuador thefirstnewWTO Member. Henoted thatinthe
1950s Latin America hadaccounted for12.5percentofglobal exports, whereas inthe1990s itsshare
ofglobal exports hadonlyrepresented 3.5percent. Asaresult ofthestructural adjustment initiated
1SeeWT/GC/M/1, item4(g).WT/GC/M/6
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inthe1980s duetothedebtcrisis, tariff levels intheregion hadnowbarely exceeded 10percent
ascompared withapproximately 50percentinthe1980s. Ecuador, likeneighbouring countries, had
independently decided toopenupitstradewithout negotiating compensations, andattheregional level
avirtually free-trade zonehadbeensetupthrough theconclusion ofabout thirty trade agreements.
Ithadbecome essential forEcuador tojointheWTO, anaimwhich hadbeenwellunderstood byhis
Government. During three years ofnegotiations, thispriority hadbeenevenmore important because
Ecuador'smajorexporthadbecomesubjecttoseriousdiscrimination.AlthoughEcuadorwastheworld's
leading competitor forthisproduct, itwasdiscriminated against onthegrounds thatitwasnotaGATT
member. Itwastherefore important forEcuador tojointheGATT, particularly since ithadbeen
replaced bytheWTO which ensured possibilities ofaccess tolarge international markets andits
multilateral agreements which, forthefirsttimeattheglobal level, offered acomprehensive framework
ofguarantees fortradeingoods andservices, intellectual property rights andtrade-related investment
measures. Being afullWTO Member implied anoverwhelming responsibility forthepublic andprivate
sectors inEcuador, which should endeavour tobenefit fromthisstatus. Heexpressed Ecuador 'sdeep
conviction oftheutility ofthenegotiating process forWTO membership because theWorking Party
hadfulfilled itsrôleconscientiously and,although ithadsometimes beenveryrigorous thiswasprecisely
inorder toavoid Ecuador making thesame mistake asthemajor players whose systems suffered from
structural defects thatwere prejudicial toglobal trade. Dismantling ofthese barriers should bethe
firstpriority fortheWTO, particularly intheagricultural sector. Finally, heexpressed gratitude to
theDirector-General andtheSecretariat fortheassistance given toEcuador inthenegotiating process.
Therepresentatives ofagreatmajority oftheMembers -Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil,
Canada, theEuropean Communities, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines,
Romania andUruguay, among others -wished tobeplaced onrecord aswelcoming andsupporting
theaccession ofEcuador.
Therepresentative ofVenezuela saidthathiscountry waspleased toseeEcuador acceding
totheWTO. Ecuador wasanimportant member oftheAndean Group andtogether withVenezuela
shared important trade policy instruments andtheCommon External Tariff. Ecuador 'saccession to
theWTOwasaveryimportantstepinEcuador'sprocessofforeigntradeliberalizationandre-emphasized
theimportance thatAndean countries attached tothemultilateral trading system. Venezuela was
convinced thatEcuador 'sparticipation intheWTO would bebothconstructive andessential.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities welcomed thishistoric step. TheCommunity
hadmademaximumeffortstocompleteitsinternalprocedures.Sincethisorganizationneededtobecome
atrueworld trade organization, ithadbeenabletofindawaytoaddress thismatter intherequired
time-period. TheCommunity wasgladthatEcuador wasbecoming aWTO Member andconsidered
thisaveryimportant andhistoric stepgiven Ecuador 'simportance intheLatin American region with
which theCommunity hadalarge amount oftrade. TheCommunity therefore welcomed thisstep
aswellastheexpansion oftheWTO.
TherepresentativeofMalaysia,speakingonbehalfoftheASEANcountries,welcomedEcuador's
accession andhoped thattheASEAN countries would beabletoincrease steadily theirtrade withthis
country. Inspiteofthegeographical distance, theASEAN countries hoped toactivate thisobjective.
TherepresentativeofColombiawelcomedEcuador'saccession,whichthroughthecommitments
undertaken inaccession negotiations hadachieved averyimportant starting point initsparticipation
inthemultilateral trading system. Colombia wasconvinced thatEcuador would beanactive Member
andwould helpstrengthen themultilateral process ofliberalization.WT/GC/M/6
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TheChairman saidthatinthecourse oftheconsultations concerning thismatter therehadbeen
differences ofviews among Members concerning theapplicability ofArticles IXandXIIoftheWTO
Agreement. Some Members believed thatArticle XII:2 should beusedasitclearly stated thatthe
terms ofaccession should beapproved byatwo-thirds majority oftheMembers. However, therewas
alsoaprecondition contained inArticle IXtotheeffect thatdecisions should betaken byconsensus.
Inlightoftheabove, hebelieved thatthismatter should besubject toacomprehensive examination
attheappropriate time, afterthesummer break.
TheGeneral Council approved thetextofthedraftProtocol ofAccession andthetextofthe
draftDecision, agreed thatthedraftDecision should besubmitted toavotebypostal ballot, adopted
thereport oftheWorking Party (WT/L/77 andCorr.1, Add.1, Add.1/Corr.1 andCorr.2, andAdd.2),
andtooknoteofthestatements andoftheexpressions ofsupport.
Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthathiscountry welcomed theaccession ofEcuador and
wasgladtoseethefinaloutcome ofthelengthy negotiating process. With regard totheChairman 's
statement concerning various interpretations among delegations ondecision-making methods, hedid
notobject totheideaofholding consultations inorder toclarify anydoubts thatdelegations might
haveonthismatter. However, Argentina wished toindicate thattheapproach taken atthepresent
meeting onEcuador 'saccession wasinfullcompliance withArticle XII:2 oftheWTO Agreement
which wasacontinuation ofpastGATT practice thatshould befollowed infuture aswell.
Therepresentative ofMexico supported Argentina 'sstatement
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
2. Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices (WT/L/30)
(a) Approval ofgoods schedule ofGrenada
(b) Approval ofgoods andservices schedules ofQatar
TheChairman recalled thatthecountries covered bytheDecision onfinalization ofnegotiations
onschedules ongoods andservices (WT/L/30), namely Grenada, Papua NewGuinea, Qatar, St.Kitts
andNevis andtheUnited ArabEmirates, hadbeengiven additional timetofinalize theirnegotiations.
PapuaNewGuinea,St.KittsandNevisandtheUnitedArabEmirateshadnotyetcompletedthatprocess.
Asregards Grenada, itsschedule onservices hadalready beenapproved atMarrakesh. Grenada 's
schedule ongoods hadbeenverified andforwarded forapproval bytheGeneral Council. Withrespect
toQatar, itsschedule onservices hadbeenverified andtheverification process ontheschedule on
goods wasrecently completed. Hetherefore proposed thattheGeneral Council approve thegoods
schedule ofGrenada andthegoods andservices schedules ofQatar. Itwasunderstood thattheapproval
ofthese schedules ofGrenada andQatar didnotmean thattheprocess ofaccession ofthese countries
totheWTO Agreement hadbeencompleted since theissue oftherequirements forinstruments of
accession inrespect toallthecountries covered bytheDecision inWT/L/30 wasstillsubject to
consultations.
TheGeneral Council approved thegoods schedule ofGrenada andthegoods andservices
schedules ofQatar ontheunderstanding readoutbytheChairman.
3. Rules ofprocedure fortheCouncil forTrade inGoods (G/C/W/2 andAdd.1)
TheChairman recalled thattheCouncil forTrade inGoods hadapproved therulesofprocedure
contained inG/C/W/2 andhadforwarded them forapproval bytheGeneral Council atitsmeetingWT/GC/M/6
Page5
on31May. However, since some further work wasrequired inregard totheapplication ofrule33,
informal consultations were held. Itnowappeared thatwiththeprovisions contained indocument
G/C/W/2/Add.1, therulesofprocedure fortheGoods Council wereacceptable toMembers andmight
beapproved bytheGeneral Council.
TheGeneral Council approved therules ofprocedure fortheCouncil forTrade inGoods
contained inG/C/W/2 andAdd.1, andagreed thatsince thesame issuerelated torule33wasrelevant
totherulesofprocedure fortheCouncils forTRIPS andServices, thesolution adopted withrespect
totheGoods Council bereferred totheother twosectoral Councils fortheirconsideration.
4. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement
(a) Harmonized System -Requests forextensions ofwaivers
(i) Bangladesh (G/L/8, G/C/W/9/Rev.1)
(ii) Guatemala (G/L/12, G/C/W/13/Rev.1)
(iii) Israel (G/L/14, G/C/W/15/Rev.1)
(iv) Jamaica (G/L/9, G/C/W/10/Rev.1)
(v) Morocco (G/L/11, G/C/W/12/Rev.1)
(vi) SriLanka (G/L/10, G/C/W/11/Rev.1)
(vii) Trinidad andTobago (G/L/13, G/C/W/14/Rev.1)
(b) Other waivers -Request forextension
- Senegal -Renegotiation ofSchedule XLIX (G/L/7, G/C/W/8/Rev.1)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunications from Bangladesh, Guatemala, Israel,
Jamaica, Morocco, SriLanka, Trinidad andTobago andSenegal concerning therequests ofeachof
these governments forextensions ofwaivers.
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reported thatatitsmeeting
on3JulytheCouncil forTrade inGoods hadapproved thesix-month waiver extensions requested
byBangladesh, Israel, Morocco, Senegal andSriLanka, andhadforwarded thedraftdecisions granting
eachofthese governments asix-month extension ofwaivers totheGeneral Council foradoption. At
itsmeeting ofthatmorning theCouncil forTrade inGoods approved thesix-month waiver extensions
requested byGuatemala, Jamaica andTrinidad andTobago, andhadforwarded thedraftdecisions
grantingeachofthesegovernmentsasix-monthextensionofwaiverstotheGeneralCouncilforadoption.
With respect totherequest byPakistan, noconsensus hadbeenreached ontheperiod ofextension
tobegranted, andithadbeenagreed thathewould continue consultations onthismatter andreport
tothenextmeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport, approved thetexts ofthedraft decisions in
G/C/W/9/Rev.1, G/C/W/13/Rev.1, G/C/W/15/Rev.1, G/C/W/10/Rev.1, G/C/W/12/Rev.1,
G/C/W/11/Rev.1, G/C/W/14/Rev.1 andG/C/W/8/Rev.1 andagreed tosubmit themtoavotebypostal
ballot.
Therepresentative ofArgentina, speaking onbehalf oftheInformal Group ofDeveloping
Countries, expressed concern atthewayinwhich Pakistan 'srequest forextension ofitswaiver had
beendealt with. Although Argentina wasconvinced thattheprovisions oftheGeneral Agreement
should bestrictly applied, itbelieved thatthiscase, which pertained togranting awaiver thatwas
permitted bytheGeneral Agreement, deserved treatment which would enable Pakistan tofullyabide
byitsobligations under theGeneral Agreement.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.WT/GC/M/6
Page6
5. Procedures forcirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents
and
6. Guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations pursuant to
Article V:2oftheWTO Agreement
TheChairman recalled thatthesematters hadbeensubject toextensive informal consultations.
These consultations hadindicated thatsome delegations needed further timetoreflect onthequestion
ofderestriction ofWTO documents. Other delegations considered thattheissueofnon-governmental
organizations could notberesolved untiladecision wastaken onmore prompt derestriction ofWTO
documents. Hetherefore proposed thatthose delegations begiven more timeinorder tofinalize their
positions ontheabove-mentioned issues. Healsoproposed thatfurther informal consultations be
conducted onbothissues andthattheGeneral Council revert tothese matters atitsnextmeeting.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
7. Preparations fortheMinisterial Conference
- Statement bytheChairman
TheChairman saidthatafterthesummer break, theSingapore Ministerial Conference would
belessthanfifteen months away. Moreover, sincethiswould bethefirstWTO Ministerial Conference,
itwould havetobesignificant andpattern-setting. Therefore, additional careshould bedevoted to
organizational aspects.
Thelogisticalaspectsoftheconference,i.e.conferencefacilities,hotelaccommodation,transport
andcommunication,werebeingdealtwithbyaSteeringCommittee,comprisingalltherelevantagencies,
which hadbeenestablished inSingapore. AWTO teamwhich hadvisited Singapore lastmonth had
metwiththeSteering Committee and,according totheDirector-General, theteamhad,onitsreturn,
reported tohimthatitwassatisfied withtheprogress being made.
Asfarasthework inGeneva wasconcerned, hebelieved thatpreparations byMembers and
theSecretariat should alsostart. Inthiscontext, hewished toshare withdelegations some thoughts
onthesubject sothatintheautumn thesubject could beaddressed indepth. Inhisviewtwobasic
issues were involved. Oneconcerned thekindofpreparatory mechanism thatwould havetobeset
up.Thesecond wastheperson whowould chair suchamechanism. With regard tothefirstissue
hebelieved thatthemechanism tobesetupshould beofanadhocnature andthatitsmandate should
onlybetodealwiththepreparations fortheconference. Itsexistence should beterminated attheend
oftheConference. Theimplementation oftheoutcome oftheConference should belefttotheregular
machinery oftheWTO. Thepreparatory mechanism should beresponsible totheGeneral Council
andreport toitontheprogress ofitswork. Insodoing, itshould baseitswork onthereports and
recommendations ofthevarious WTO Councils andCommittees andtheirbodies. Itshould notseek
toduplicate thefunctions ofthese permanent WTO bodies. Thisproposed adhocmechanism could
bespecifically designated as"ThePreparatory Committee fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference."
With regard totheChairperson ofthisCommittee, itshould beaperson whocould beeven-handed
andtakeintoaccount theinterests ofallMembers. Hewould alsohavetoensure thatparticipation
inthepreparatory process beopen-ended andtransparent. Inhisviewthere wasonlyonecandidate
whocould fulfilallthese requirements. Hehadhispreferred choice andhewassurethatdelegations '
preferences coincided withhis.Heintended todiscuss theseandrelated issues afterthesummer break.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.WT/GC/M/6
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8. Brazil -Import restrictive measures onautomobiles
Therepresentative oftheUnited States, speaking under "Other Business", saidthathiscountry
noted Brazil 'sdecision contained inWT/BOP/N/4, dated 17July, toinvoke Article XVIII:B ofthe
GATT 1994withrespect tothequantitative restrictions onimports ofautomobiles imposed on13June
1995. HisGovernment continued tobeconcerned about theeconomic implications oftheserestrictions,
aswellasoftheirimplications fortheintegrity oftheWTO system asaresult ofthemanner inwhich
balance-of-payments provisions wereused. TheUnited States reviewed theinformation provided by
Brazil about these measures inlightofalloftherelevant provisions oftheWTO Agreement andwas
disappointed thatBrazil hadnotbeeninaposition prior tothesummer break toclarify certain aspects
ofitsnotification. HisGovernment looked forward toBrazil 'sconsultations onthese measures with
theCommittee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions pursuant toparagraph 6oftheUnderstanding on
theBalance-of-Payments Provisions oftheGATT 1994. Fullconsultations withtheCommittee should
takeplace nolaterthanfourmonths afterthemeasures wereintroduced -inthiscase-nolaterthan
13October 1995. TheUnited States looked forward toreceiving acommunication fromtheSecretariat
scheduling, within thistime-frame, those consultations inwhich itintended toparticipate actively.
Therepresentative ofKorea saidthathiscountry hadalsosubstantial interests inthismatter
andclosely observed Brazil 'snewly introduced restrictions onautomobile imports toensure thatKorea 's
legitimate interests under theWTO were notinfringed upon. Since Brazil hadinvoked balance-of-
payments reasons asthejustification forthesemeasures, Korea urged theChairman oftheBalance-of-
Payments Committee toholdconsultations under paragraph 12(a)ofArticle XVIII, attheearliest feasible
date, sothatthemeasures taken byBrazil might befullyexamined. Herecalled thatinaccordance
withtheUnderstanding ontheBalance-of-Payments Provisions oftheGATT 1994, theseconsultations
mustbeheld,atthelatest, within fourmonths oftheadoption ofthemeasures. Korea wished toreserve
itsrights under theWTO including Article XXII procedures.
Therepresentative ofJapan expressed hisGovernment 'sconcern attheintroduction ofimport
restrictive measures byBrazil. LiketheUnited States andKorea, Japan considered thatconsultations
under paragraph 6oftheUnderstanding oftheBalance-of-Payments Provisions oftheGATT 1994
should beheldassoonaspossible andatleastwithin theperiod offourmonths stipulated therein.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheCommunity wasalsoconcerned
withtheintroduction ofimport restrictive measures byBrazil anditsrecent notification contained in
WT/BOP/N/4. TheCommunity, likeprevious speakers, alsolooked forward toconsultations tobe
heldbytheCommittee assoonaspossible.
Therepresentative ofMexico saidthathiscountry would beinterested inparticipating inthe
consultations toexamine theimport restrictive measures adopted byBrazil onautomobiles. Thiswas,
however, without prejudice toMexico 'sother rights under theWTO.
Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatliketheprevious speakers Canada wasalsoconcerned
overtheimport restrictive measures introduced byBrazil anditlooked forward toconsultations with
Brazil onthismatter.
Therepresentative ofBrazil saidthathiscountry wasfirmly committed tothetransparency
principles embodied inthe1979Decision andtheUruguay Round Decision onNotification Procedures.
Brazil hadmade efforts tocomply withthose transparency principles sincethepublication ofProvisional
Measure N1024 on14June1995. Thus on27JuneBrazil hadnotified theWTO oftheadoption
ofthisProvisional Measure.2On3Julyatthemeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, Brazil had
2WT/L/73.WT/GC/M/6
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hadtheopportunity toexplain theeconomic reasons foradopting themeasure. Onthatoccasion some
delegations hadrequested Brazil topresent thelegaljustification fortheadoption ofthemeasure. On
13JulyBrazil hadnotified WTO Members inWT/BOP/N/4, thatithadadopted Provisional Measure
N1024 forbalance-of-payments reasons asprovided forintheArticle XVIII BoftheGATT 1994.
On21JulyBrazil hadbeeninformed thattheUnited States andKorea hadbeenseeking clarifications
oncertain aspects ofthenotifications. On24JulyBrazil hadattended aninformal meeting about dates
fortheBalance-of-Payments Committee toreview theaspects tobeclarified. Brazil expressed then
itsdesire toknow thepoints tobeclarified inareview meeting inSeptember. Onmany ofthese
occasions Brazil hadstressed thenature oftheProvisional Measure N1024. Itdepended on
Congressional approval. TheCongress could approve ornotoritcould modify themeasure when
itwould examine itinAugust. Ifapproved, mostofthearticles oftheProvisional Measure N1024
would havetoberegulated byaDecree inorder toenterintoforce. Brazil hadalsohadtheopportunity
toprovide: (i)justification astowhyprice-based measures werenotadequate instruments todealwith
itsbalance-of-payments situation; (ii)information onhowitwilladminister therestrictions ina
transparent manner; (iii)justification astothecriteria usedtodetermine which products aresubject
torestrictions; (iv)information onhowtherestrictions willbeapplied toavoid unnecessary damage
tothecommercial oreconomic interest ofanyother WTO Member. Notwithstanding allthe
conditionality involved intheCongressional review ofthemeasure, Brazil waspreparing thenecessary
documentation forpossible consultations bytheCommittee within thetime-frame provided forinthe
UnderstandingonBalance-of-PaymentsProvisions.Thispreparationprocessrequiredaninter-ministerial
meeting initscapital andadecision onthecomposition ofthedelegation toparticipate inconsultations.
Brazil wasaware ofitscommitments asaWTO Member andwould fulfil itsobligations according
totherules.
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions said
thathewasintouch withtheSecretariat andalldelegations concerned inorder toestablish adatefor
theconsultations referred tobymany delegations atthepresent meeting.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
9. Cameroon -Ratification oftheWTO Agreement
TherepresentativeofCameroon,speakingunder"OtherBusiness",informedtheGeneralCouncil
thatCameroon hadrecently completed itsdomestic procedures forratification oftheWTO Agreement,
andthattheinstrument ofratification would bedeposited withtheSecretariat shortly.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
10. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that,inaccordance withtheadhoc
arrangementsforobserverstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizationsapprovedataninformal
meeting ofHeads ofDelegations on16March, andasagreed attheGeneral Council meeting on31
May, 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.