RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/1
28February 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-0415)
GENERAL COUNCIL
31January 1995
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on31January 1995
Chairman: Mr.K.Kesavapany
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Election ofChairman 3
2. Requests forobserver status from states orseparate customs territories 3
3. Accession ofVietNam 4
4. Report ofthePreparatory Committee totheWTO 5
I. Matters referred totheGeneral Council bythePreparatory Committee 5
(a) Rules ofProcedures fortheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral
Council 5
(b) Participation inmeetings ofWTO bodies bycertain signatories ofthe
Final Acteligible tobecome original Members oftheWTO 6
(c) Participation oftheUnited Nations, UNCTAD, IMFandtheWorld
Bank asobservers atthefirstmeeting oftheGeneral Council 6
(d) Transfer Agreement between GATT 1947, ICITO andtheWTO 6
(e) Avoidance ofprocedural andinstitutional duplication 6
(f) Finalization ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices 7
(g) Requests forWTO accession under Article XII 7
(h) Guidelines forappointment ofofficers toWTO Bodies 7
II. Adoption ofthereport 7
5. Composition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body 8
6. Negotiations onaHeadquarters Agreement 9
- Progress Report 9
7. Establishment ofcommittees andadoption ofterms ofreference 11
A. Pursuant toArticle IV.7oftheWTO Agreement 11
(1) Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Balance-of-Payments
Restrictions andBudget, Finance andAdministration 11
(2) Committee onMarket Access 11
(3) Committee onTrade andEnvironment 11
B. Terms ofreference oftheCommittee onAgriculture 12WT/GC/M/1
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8. Appointment ofOfficers oftheDispute Settlement Body, Trade Policy Review Body,
Council forTrade inGoods, Council forTrade inServices, Council forTrade-Related
Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights, theCommittee onTrade andDevelopment,
Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions, Committee onBudget, Finance and
Administration andtheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment 12
9. Adoption oftheMarrakesh Ministerial Decision onNotification Procedures 12
10. Waivers inforce asof1January 1995 13
11. Customs Valuation Agreement 13
- Draft Decision onContinued Application under theWTO Customs Valuation
Agreement ofInvocations ofProvisions forDeveloping Countries forDelayed
Application andReservations under theCustoms Valuation Agreement
1979 13
12. Enlargement oftheEuropean Union: accession ofAustria, Finland andSweden 13
- Communication from theEuropean Communities 13
13. Venue ofthefirstMinisterial Conference 17
14. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions 18
- Programme ofconsultations for1995 18
15. Working language intheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin under theauspices
oftheWorld Customs Organization 18
16. United States -Recent actions under Section 301oftheOmnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Actof1988 18
17. Turkey -Information onTurkey 'sratification oftheWorld Trade Organization 19
TheDirector-General, opening themeeting, recalled thatRules ofProcedure formeetings of
theGeneral Council hadbeen approved bythePreparatory Committee fortheWTO (PC/IPL/9).
Although agreement ontwoissues therein --namely, officers andobserver status forinternational
intergovernmental organizations --hadnotbeenreached, heproposed tousethose Rules ofProcedures
asaworking basis untiltheirconsideration under Item4(a)oftheAgenda proposed forthemeeting.
Hethennoted that,pursuant totheDecision ofthePreparatory Committee regarding participation in
meetings ofWTO Bodies bycertain signatories oftheFinal Acteligible tobecome original Members
oftheWTO (PC/10), certain governments thathadnotcompleted domestic procedures fortheapproval
oftheWTO Agreement were invited toparticipate inthedeliberations oftheGeneral Council and
other WTO bodies asnon-voting participants. Also, inaccordance withtheMinisterial Decision on
Measures inFavour ofLeast-Developed Countries, countries inthiscategory thathadnotyetsubmitted
theirschedules asrequired inArticle XIoftheWTO Agreement haduntil15April 1995 todoso.
Since thesegovernments retained theiroriginal membership status until15April, theywould beinvited
toparticipate inmeetings oftheGeneral Council andother WTO bodies asnon-voting participants
until then. Furthermore, thePreparatory Committee fortheWTO hadrecommended thatfour
international organizations, namely theUnited Nations, UNCTAD, IMFandtheWorld Bank, beinvited
asobservers tothefirstmeeting oftheGeneral Council. While these matters would beconsidered
bytheGeneral Council under therelevant items ofitsAgenda, hehadinvited, asamatter ofcourtesy,WT/GC/M/1
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therepresentatives oftherespective states, separate customs territories andinternational organizations
tobepresent inthemeeting room from thestartofthemeeting.
1. Election ofChairman
Mr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore) wasunanimously elected totheChair.
2. Requests forobserver status from states orseparate customs territories (WT/L/4, WT/L/5,
WT/L/8,WT/L/10,WT/L/12,WT/L/13,WT/L/14,WT/L/16,WT/L/17,WT/L/18,WT/L/19,
WT/L/21)
TheChairman drewattention totheabove communications, inwhich eachoftheGovernments
concerned hadrequested observer status inWTO bodies. Anumber ofthese Governments, namely,
Croatia, Ecuador, Former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sudan and
Ukraine, were currently intheprocess ofnegotiating theiraccession totheWTO. Thecustomary
practice oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES toGATT 1947inrespect ofgovernments whose accession
process hadbeenformally begun, wastoinvite them automatically, andasamatter ofcourtesy, to
attend meetings asobservers. Therefore, inthelightofArticle XVI:1 oftheWTO Agreement, he
proposed thattheseandothergovernments whose accession process hadbeenformally begun, beinvited
toattend asobservers tomeetings oftheGeneral Council anditssubsidiary bodies, aswellasthose
oftheDSB, theTPRB andtheMinisterial Conference, withtheexception ofmeetings ofthethe
Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman proposed that,onthebasisofthedecision justtaken, Cambodia andUzbekistan,
which were currently intheprocess ofnegotiating accession totheWTO, alsobeinvited toattend
meetings oftheGeneral Council andother WTO bodies asobservers. Onthesame basis, heproposed
thataction ontherequest forobserver status byVietNam (WT/L/15) betaken under Item3ofthe
Agenda, inconjunction withthatGovernment 'srequest foraccession. Hethennoted that,under the
Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations ongoods andservices schedules (PC/17), which theGeneral
Council would adopt under Item4oftheAgenda, Grenada, Papua NewGuinea, St.KittsandNevis
andtheUnited Arab Emirates, which became GATT 1947 contracting parties inthecourse of1994,
would begiven until31March 1995tofinalize andsubmit theirnegotiated schedules. Until thatdate,
therefore, thesegovernments should alsobeinvited toattend meetings oftheGeneral Council andother
WTO bodies asobservers.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman, turning totherequests forobserver status fromBulgaria, Mongolia, Panama
andtheSeparate Customs Territories ofTaiwan, Penghu, Kinmen andMatsu, noted thatthese
governments hadallexpressed anintention toaccede totheWTO. Under procedures tobeagreed
bytheGeneral Council under Item4(a)oftheAgenda, concerning requests forobserver status from
governments, suchrequests should normally beaccompanied byadescription ofthegovernments '
current economic andtradepolicies, aswellasanyintended future reforms ofthesepolicies. However,
allthegovernments whose requests were nowunder consideration, were intheprocess ofacceding
totheGATT 1947andhadprovided suchinformation inthatcontext. Theycould therefore beassumed
tohavefulfilled thatrequirement. Accordingly, heproposed thattheGeneral Council agree togrant
these governments observer status.WT/GC/M/1
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TheGeneral Council soagreed.
3. Accession ofVietNam (WT/L/1)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from VietNam indocument WT/L/1
concerning itsinterest inacceding totheWTO inaccordance withArticle XIIoftheWTO Agreement.
Therepresentative ofVietNam, speaking asanobserver, recalled thatinJuly1994, his
Government hadbeengranted observer status totheGATT 1947. Having nowseenthatorganization
transformed, andhaving examined theresults oftheUruguay Round, VietNamhaddecided torequest
accession totheWTO. VietNamwished tobeintegrated intoworld trade andtheworld economy,
andwaspresently intheprocess oftransition fromacentralized toamarket economy. Itseconomic
performance inthepastyear, andtheadjustments initsforeign trade andinvestment policies, would
ensure itsintegration intotheworld economy. VietNam wasalsoatpresent preparing intensively
formembership intheASEAN regional grouping. Hewascertain thatthenegotiating process for
thiswould gohand-in-hand withthenegotiations onitsaccession totheWTO. Hehoped thattheGeneral
Council would giveafavourable response tohisGovernment 'srequest, andwould provide his
Government bothwithguidance andassistance toensure thattheprocess leading tomembership would
becarried outassmoothly aspossible.
TherepresentativesofAustralia,IndonesiafortheASEANcountriesandIndiaexpressedsupport
forVietNam'srequest. Therepresentatives ofAustralia, Japan andNewZealand expressed support
fortheestablishment ofaworking party toexamine VietNam'srequest. Therepresentatives ofJapan
andIndia hoped toseeVietNam become afullmember oftheWTO assoonaspossible.
Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthatVietNam hadembarked onasubstantial trade and
economic reform programme, andthatAustralia would support VietNaminadopting thenecessary
changes toitstrade régime thatwould allow ittofulfil itsaspirations ofearly WTO membership.
Therepresentative ofJapan noted thatVietNamhadalready applied foraccession toASEAN
andsaidthatitsrequest forWTO accession wasanother steptowards itsintegration intotheworld
economy. Japan appreciated VietNam'sintention andefforts, andwould cooperate infacilitating its
accession process.
Therepresentative ofIndonesia, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, confirmed that
theprocess ofVietNam'saccession toASEAN wasunder way, andlooked forward towelcoming
VietNam asamember ofthatregional grouping inthenearfuture.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andagreed toestablish aworking party with
thefollowing terms ofreference:
Terms ofreference:
"Toexamine theapplication oftheGovernment ofVietNamtoaccede totheWTO under Article
XII,andtosubmit totheGeneral Council recommendations which mayinclude adraftProtocol of
Accession".
Membership:
Membership would beopentoallWTO Members indicating theirwishtoserve ontheWorking
Party.WT/GC/M/1
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TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council authorize himtodesignate theChairperson
oftheWorking Party inconsultation withrepresentatives ofMembers andwiththerepresentative of
VietNam.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman theninvited therepresentative ofVietNam toconsult withtheSecretariat as
tofurther procedures, inparticular regarding thebasicdocumentation tobeconsidered bytheWorking
Party. Healsoinvited VietNam, onbehalf oftheGeneral Council, toattend themeetings oftheGeneral
Council andofother WTO bodies asanobserver during theperiod inwhich theWorking Party was
carrying outitswork.
4. Report ofthePreparatory Committee totheWTO (PC/R andCorr.1, WT/GC/W/3 andCorr.1)
TheChairman drew attention tothereport ofthePreparatory Committee oftheWTO in
document PC/R, andtodocument WT/GC/W/3, prepared bytheSecretariat onitsownresponsibility,
containing alistofpoints embodied inthePreparatory Committee 'sreport onwhich theGeneral Council
wasexpected totakeaction upon adoption ofthereport, asawhole. Anumber ofpoints forwarded
totheWTO bythePreparatory Committee werebeing taken upasspecific items ontheAgenda for
thesakeoffuture records oftheGeneral Council 'sdecisions. These were, respectively, items 4(a)
to(h),item5,item6,item7(a)1 and(a)2,item7(b)anditem11.
Heproposed thattheGeneral Council firsttakeupseparately thematters thathadbeenreferred
toitbythePreparatory Committee, andwhich wereindicated intheAgenda under thisitem, andthen
proceed totheadoption ofthereport asawhole.
I. Matters referred totheGeneral Council bythePreparatory Committee
(a) Rules ofProcedures fortheMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council (PC/IPL/9)
TheChairman recalled thatthePreparatory Committee hadapproved theRules ofProcedure
fortheMinisterial Conference, theGeneral Council, theDispute Settlement Body andtheTrade Policy
Review Body (PC/IPL/9). Heproposed thattheGeneral Council approve theRules ofProcedure for
theMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council contained inPC/IPL/9, ontheunderstanding that
theissues thatwere stillinsquare brackets, i.e.theguidelines forobserver status forinternational
intergovernmental organizations --Rule11oftheRules ofProcedure forboththeMinisterial Conference
andfortheGeneral Council --andofficers --Rule12oftheRules fortheGeneral Council --would
besubject tofurther informal consultations. Thiswould enable theGeneral Council tostartfunctioning
onadopted rules ofprocedure, withtheexception ofthetwopending issues thathehadreferred to.
TheRules ofProcedure fortheDispute Settlement Body andtheTrade Policy Review Body would
beforwarded tothose bodies foradoption.
TheGeneral Council adopted theRules ofProcedure fortheMinisterial Conference andthe
General Council indocument PC/IPL/9 withtheexception oftheprovisions thatwerestillinsquare
brackets andauthorized theChairman toholdinformal consultations onthose issues andtorevert to
them atafuture meeting (WT/L/28).WT/GC/M/1
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(b) Participation inmeetings ofWTO bodies bycertain signatories oftheFinalActeligible
tobecome original Members oftheWTO (PC/10, L/7581)
TheChairmandrewattentiontotheDecisioncontainedinPC/10,L/7581concerningparticipation
inmeetings oftheWTO Bodies ofcertain signatories oftheFinal Acteligible tobecome original
Members oftheWTO. ThisDecision hadbeenconsidered attheImplementation Conference, adopted
bythePreparatory Committee andtaken noteofbytheSixth Special Session oftheCONTRACTING
PARTIES. ThePreparatory Committee hadinvited theGeneral Council toadopt thisDecision atits
firstmeeting.
TheGeneral Council adopted theDecision (WT/L/27).
(c) Participation oftheUnited Nations, UNCTAD, IMFandtheWorld Bank asobservers
atthefirstmeeting oftheGeneral Council (PC/R, paragraph 52)
TheChairman noted thatthePreparatory Committee hadrecommended totheGeneral Council
thatpending theadoption ofdraftguidelines onobserver status forinternational intergovernmental
organizations indocument PC/IPL/W/14, which hadbeenforwarded totheWTO, representatives of
theUnited Nations, UNCTAD, IMFandtheWorld Bank beinvited asobservers tothefirstmeeting
oftheGeneral Council. ThePreparatory Committee hadalsoforwarded totheWTO therequests for
observer status intheWTO received fromanumber ofother international organizations. Heproposed
thattheGeneral Council agree withtherecommendation ofthePreparatory Committee concerning
theparticipation oftheUnited Nations, UNCTAD, IMFandtheWorld Bank asobservers atthefirst
meeting oftheGeneral Council.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(d) Transfer Agreement between GATT 1947, ICITO andtheWTO (PC/9, L/7580)
TheChairman recalled thatthePreparatory Committee andtheSixth Special Session ofthe
CONTRACTING PARTIES totheGATT 1947, meeting ontheoccasion oftheImplementation
Conference, hadapproved atransfer agreement between thePreparatory Committee, theInterim
CommissionfortheInternationalTradeOrganization(ICITO)andtheGATTCONTRACTINGPARTIES
totransfer allassets andliabilities other than staff contracts, from ICITO andtheGATT
CONTRACTINGPARTIEStotheWTO.Therelevantdecisionsthathadbeenapprovedwerecontained
inparagraphs 1,4,5and8ofdocument PC/9, L/7580. TheCommittee hadalsorecommended that
forthesakeoflegal certainty, thedecisions ithadadopted bealsoendorsed bytheWTOs General
Council, asstated inparagraph 8ofPC/9, L/7580.
TheGeneral Council endorsed thedecisions inparagraphs 1,4,5and8ofPC/9, L/7580
(WT/L/36).
(e) Avoidance ofprocedural andinstitutional duplication (PC/11, L/7582)
TheChairman drew attention totheDecision contained inPC/11, L/7582 concerning the
avoidance ofprocedural andinstitutional duplication. This Decision hadbeen adopted atthe
Implementation Conference bythePreparatory Committee andtheCONTRACTING PARTIES attheir
Sixth Special Session. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council adopt thisDecision.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/29).WT/GC/M/1
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(f) Finalization ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices (PC/17)
TheChairman drew attention totheDecision contained inPC/17 concerning thefinalization
ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices. ThisDecision hadbeen forwarded bythe
Preparatory Committee totheGeneral Council foradoption atitsfirstmeeting.
TheGeneral Council adopted theDecision (WT/L/30).
(g) Requests forWTO accession under Article XII(PC/R, paragraph 35)
TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting on21December, thePreparatory Committee had
recommended thattheGeneral Council agree that,asandwhen requests fortheWTO accession under
Article XIIwere made bystates andseparate customs territories forwhom aGATT 1947 working
partyalreadyexisted,theexistingworkingpartiesshouldcontinuetheirworkasWTOaccessionworking
parties, withstandard terms ofreference andtheirrespective current chairpersons. Heproposed that
theGeneral Council approve thisrecommendation.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman thendrew attention toacommunication from Belarus indocument WT/L/21
inwhich thatGovernment hasrequested accession totheWTO under Article XII,andforwhich a
GATT 1947accession Working Party already existed. Onthebasisofthedecision theGeneral Council
hadjusttaken, theexisting Working Party ontheAccession ofBelarus would continue itswork as
aWTO Accession Working Party. Alsoonthebasis ofthisdecision, other GATT 1947 accession
working parties would continue theirwork asWTO working parties uponthewritten request forWTO
accession from thegovernments concerned.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman theninvited Belarus, onbehalf oftheGeneral Council, toattend meetings of
theGeneral Council andofother WTO bodies asanobserver during theperiod inwhich theWorking
Party wascarrying outitswork.
(h) GuidelinesforappointmentofofficerstoWTOBodies(PC/R,paragraph51,PC/IPL/14)
TheChairman recalled thatthePreparatory Committee hadapproved theproposed guidelines
fortheappointment ofofficers toWTO bodies submitted bytheChairman oftheGATT 1947
CONTRACTING PARTIES andcontained inPC/IPL/14, andhadagreed toforward themtotheWTO
forfurther action. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council approve theguidelines forappointment of
officers toWTO Bodies ascontained inPC/IPL/14.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/31).
II. Adoption ofthereport
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council adopt thereport ofthePreparatory Committee
totheWTO asawhole (PC/R andCorr.1), ontheunderstanding thattheadoption ofthereport would
mean that: (1)Allmatters decided upon bythePreparatory Committee which concerned theWTO,
andother Decisions adopted bythePreparatory Committee andbytheCONTRACTING PARTIES
toGATT 1947 (Section AofWT/GC/W/3) were noted andapproved; (2)Allmatters referred by
thePreparatoryCommitteetotheWTOwhichconcernedtheGeneralCouncil(SectionBofWT/GC/W/3WT/GC/M/1
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andCorr.1) werenoted andwould betheobject ofinformal consultations bytheChairman oftheGeneral
Council foraction asappropriate. With regard tothequestion ofarrangements concerning relations
withotherinternationalintergovernmentalandnon-governmentalorganizationstheinformalconsultations
would beconducted taking intoaccount theagreement already reached bythePreparatory Committee
inconnection withtheUnited Nations andUNCTAD ascontained indocument PC/R, paragraph 54;
(3)Certain matters referred bythePreparatory Committee totheWTO which concerned WTO bodies
other thantheGeneral Council (Section CofWT/GC/W/3) wereremitted tothose bodies forfurther
consideration and/or action asappropriate. Inthisconnection, heproposed thatthereport ofthe
Management Review, aswellasthechoice ofalogofortheWTO, betheobject ofinformal consultations
bytheChairmanoftheGeneralCouncilbeforetheywerereferredtotheBudgetCommittee.Notification
formats andprocedures referred toinparagraph 45ofPC/R andCorr.1 would besenttotherespective
committees indicated inthelistinWT/GC/W/3 andCorr.1. Procedures forarbitration werereferred
totheCommittee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures. Establishment oftheAppellate Body
andRules ofEthical Conduct were referred totheDispute Settlement Body. Relations between the
WTO andWIPO were referred totheCouncil onTRIPS. Thematter concerning PSIwasreferred
totheCouncil forTrade inGoods. Draft Guidelines fornotifications under theGATS werereferred
totheCouncil forTrade inServices. Thefuture work programme onTrade andEnvironment and
other related questions werereferred totheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment. Rules ofProcedure
fortheDispute Settlement Body andtheTrade Policy Review Body were referred tothese Bodies
respectively. Finally, administrative measures tobeapplied tomembers withthree years ormore of
unpaid contributions were referred totheBudget Committee.
TheGeneral Council adopted thereport ofthePreparatory Committee asawhole, onthe
understanding indicated inthestatement bytheChairman.
5. Composition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body (PC/R, paragraph 83)
TheChairman recalled thatthequestion ofthecomposition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body
(TMB) hadbeen forwarded bythepreparatory Committee totheWTO forappropriate action in
accordance withthecriteria setoutinArticle 8oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing. InJanuary
1995, thismatter wassubject tofurther discussions. Atthepresent meeting hewasinaposition to
submit aDraft Decision ontheComposition oftheTMB, contained indocument WT/GC/W/4, for
consideration andadoption bytheGeneral Council. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council adopt this
Decision.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/26).
TheChairman thensuggested thatthemembers oftheTMB beappointed. Onthebasis of
consultations heldonthismatter, heproposed thattheTMB becomposed ofmembers appointed by
thefollowing WTO Members: Brazil, Canada, European Communities, Hong Kong, India, Japan,
Indonesia, Norway, Pakistan andtheUnited States.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman invited theabove-mentioned WTO Members toproceed toappoint therespective
TMB members.
Onthequestion ofChairman oftheTMB, hesaidthatconsultations hadbeenheld, andhe
nowwasinaposition topropose Amb. Szepesi (Hungary) asChairman oftheTMB forathree-year
period.WT/GC/M/1
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TheGeneral Council soagreed.
6. Negotiations onaHeadquarters Agreement
- Progress Report (PC/R, paragraph 16)
TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting on21December 1994, thePreparatory Committee
hadagreed thatthemandate oftheteamnegotiating onbehalf oftheWTO beextended, thataprogress
report bepresented tothefirstmeeting oftheWTO 'sGeneral Council, andthattheoverall results
ofthenegotiations betransmitted forapproval toasubsequent meeting thereof.
Mr.Szepesi (Hungary), introducing theprogress report, saidthatthePreparatory Committee
hadappointed theWTO teamforthenegotiations ofaHeadquarters Agreement on22September 1994.
Since then, onthebasisoftheguidelines determined bytheCommittee, alarge number ofmeetings -
certainly wellovertwenty -withtheSwiss Authorities hadtaken place. These meetings hadbeeneither
plenary, tomonitor theprogress made andtonotethedifficulties met,orhadtaken place inthree
specialized negotiating groups dealing respectively withthephysical facilities fortheWTO, thefacilities
infavour ofleast-developed country Members andthebroad subject ofprivileges andimmunities.
Hehadreported totheCommittee several times onthestateofthesenegotiations. Before theyear-end
break progress hadobviously beenslowandtheoverall stateofaffairs somewhat disappointing. At
thepresent meeting, hewaspleased toindicate thatsince thebeginning of1995 substantial progress
hadbeenachieved inthedifferent fields ofthenegotiations.
Withregard tothephysical facilities fortheWTO, theCentre William Rappard (CWR) would
bedonated, aspromised, totheWTO. Inaddition, theSwiss Authorities wereprepared totakealong-
termpolitical commitment toprovide theWTO withadequate accommodation if,andwhen, theCWR
became insufficient. Thesouth wing ofCWR would bevacated bytheUNHCR inApril 1995,and
afterathree-month refurbishment bytheSwiss Authorities itwould beputattheWTO disposal in
August 1995. Apreliminary agreement hadbeenreached onwhatthisrefurbishment would encompass.
Some modifications ofthebuilding tocreate meeting rooms -amounting toSwF300,000 -would
befinanced through aloanfromthe"Fondation desImmeubles pourlesOrganizations Internationales "
(FIPOI) tobereimbursed inthree years. Theheavy maintenance would beentirely covered bythe
Swiss Authorities while theday-to-day maintenance isenvisaged tobecovered bytheWTO andensured
byFIPOI atacostofSwF480,000 peryear. Thelibrary ofthe"Institut Universitaire deHautes
Etudes Internationales "which occupied thebasement ofthesouth wingwould move by31December
1999 when newaccommodations would bemade available bytheSwiss Authorities. With regard to
thecarparks, inthree years theWTO would enjoy arent-free underground carparkwith400places
which would belocated atthecorner ofChemin desMines andAvenue Blanc. Pending thecompletion
ofthisconstruction there would alsobearent-free provisional carparkfor400vehicles nexttothe
present oneatChemin desMines. Thenewconference room would haveacapacity ofsome 725seats
withthepossibility ofdividing itintotwosmaller rooms ofsome 350seatseach, which could operate
inparallel. Thesimultaneous interpretation would befullycompatible withthatoftheCWR sothat
theycould beinterlinked if,andwhen, needed. Thenewconference room would beavailable inAugust
1997 andwould beanextension oftheInternational Conference Centre (ICC). Consequently itsuse
would befree-of-charge. TheWTO would haveabsolute priority onthisroom butifitdidnotuse
itduring certain periods, FIPOI would beauthorized torentittoother organizations. During the
construction period which should startinApril 1995, theWTO would haveaccess toconference rooms,
ifrequired, intheICC.
Withregard tothehousing fortheleast-developed countries 'missions, aso-called "Universal
House" ofsome 6,200 square metres would bebuiltnexttothePlace desNations. Inthisbuilding
complex theleast-developed countries 'missions would getacertain areafree-of-charge and,accordingWT/GC/M/1
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toavailability, would beabletorentadditional space atasubsidized rate.Theleast-developed countries
hadexpressed theirstrong preference foramulti-block solution rather thanasingle large building.
Theheavy maintenance oftheHouse, theday-to-day maintenance, andthefurnishing ofthecommon
areas would bepaidbytheCanton ofGeneva. Pending theopening ofthe"Universal House" the
Canton would make apartial contribution totherentscurrently paidbytheleast-developed countries '
missions. Thecriteria ofapportionment ofthiscontribution hadbeenagreed upon. Another important
element oftheSwiss offer concerned theaccess tosubsidized housing forthediplomats from least-
developed countries. Foratest-period, during which onlytheleast-developed country diplomats
accredited totheWTO would beeligible, some fiftyapartments would bemade available. While
complyingwiththecantonalrules,theprocedurewouldbesimplifiedandwouldpreservetheconfidential
nature ofcertain needed information. Onthephysical facilities altogether, verysubstantial progress
hadbeenrecorded and,asamatter offact,provisional agreements hadvirtually beenreached.
Thesituationwassomewhatdifferentfortheprivilegesandimmunities.Non-negligibleprogress
hadalsobeenmade butthere wasstillalotofground tobecovered. Privileges andimmunities had
beenthesubject ofveryintensive negotiations withtheSwiss Authorities since thebeginning ofthe
year. Taking asabasisthedrafts prepared bybothsides, afirstreading oftheHeadquarters Agreement
hadnowbeencompleted. Detailed legaldrafting ofthenon-controversial elements oftheagreement
hadtaken place. Inaddition, anumber ofpreviously controversial issues werealsosolved. Forinstance,
atentative agreement hadbeenreached onadraftwording fortheinclusion intheagreement onthe
needtoensure respect forthedignity ofpermanent missions. However, there stillremained some
important issues where agreement continued toelude theparties. First, although important progress
hadbeenmade towards thedevelopment ofasatisfactory arrangement concerning work permits for
spouses andchildren, theSwiss offerincertain respects stillfellshortoftheexpectations ofdelegations
negotiating onbehalf oftheWTO. Discussions onthesubject werecontinuing, anditwashoped that
thedistance separating thetwoparties could beclosed. Second, efforts tofindawaytoexempt WTO
pensions fromtaxation hadthusfarnotmetwithsuccess. Asub-group hadbeenestablished inorder
todiscuss thisverycomplex issue andhopefully toidentify aviable solution. Third, withregard to
exemption from VAT, theSwiss Authorities hadproposed asolution which would offer exemption
atsource fortheWTO andmissions, andreimbursement once(ortwice) peryearforWTO staffand
members ofmissions. Inbothcases afloorofSwF200perbillwould apply. TheWTO delegation
wasmaintaining itsposition thatexemption atsource should bepossible inwellspecified cases, while
inallother cases thefrequency ofreimbursement should besufficiently higher. Fourth, theSwiss
Authorities hadmade itquiteclearthattheywould notbeinaposition togrant exemption fromAVS
contributions toretired staffoftheWTO. TheWTO Negotiating Team intended tokeeppressing
thispoint. Inhisconclusion hestressed thattheparties were onagood track. They hadplanned a
series ofmeetings between nowandtheendofFebruary. With allthegoodwill necessary onboth
sides, itseemed thattheNegotiating Team might beabletoprovide afullreport forthenextmeeting
oftheGeneral Council which hopefully would include aformal recommendation withregard toall
aspects thattheHeadquarters Agreement anditsannexes should cover. However, theprovisional and
partial agreements already reached oncertain important issues were conditional tothesatisfactory
conclusion ofaglobal package.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteoftheprogress report andagreed thattheoverall results be
submitted forapproval atitsfuture meeting.WT/GC/M/1
Page11
7. Establishment ofcommittees andadoption ofterms ofreference
A. Pursuant toArticle IV.7oftheWTO Agreement:
(1) Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Balance-of-Payments Restrictions and
Budget, Finance andAdministration (PC/IPL/2, 3and4)
TheChairman recalled thatpursuant toArticle IV.7oftheWTO Agreement theMinisterial
ConferenceshallestablishaCommitteeonTradeandDevelopment,aCommitteeonBalance-of-Payments
Restrictions,andaCommitteeonBudget,FinanceandAdministrationwhichshallcarryoutthefunctions
assigned tothembythisAgreement andbytheMultilateral Trade Agreements. Heproposed thatthe
General Council establish theabove-mentioned Committees.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Hethendrew attention tothefollowing documents: PC/IPL/2 containing terms ofreference
andmembership oftheWTO Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration; PC/IPL/3 containing
termsofreferencefortheWTOCommitteeonBalance-of-PaymentsRestrictionsandPC/IPL/4containing
terms ofreference fortheWTO Committee onTrade andDevelopment. Heproposed thattheGeneral
Council adopt theabove-mentioned terms ofreference while alsotaking noteoftheaccompanying
statements orunderstandings tothetextsreferred toinparagraph 40ofthereport ofthePreparatory
Committee (PC/R).
TheGeneral Council adopted theabove-mentioned terms ofreference andtooknoteofthe
accompanying statements orunderstandings tothetextsreferred toindocument PC/R, paragraph 40.
(2) Committee onMarket Access (PC/IPL/5)
TheChairman recalled thatpursuant toArticle IV.7oftheWTO Agreement theMinisterial
Conference mayestablish anyadditional Committees withfunctions asitmaydeem appropriate. Since
there hadbeenagreement toestablish aCommittee onMarket Access heproposed thattheGeneral
Council establish aCommittee onMarket Access.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
Hethendrew attention tothedocument PC/IPL/5 containing terms ofreference fortheWTO
Committee onMarket Access, andproposed thattheGeneral Council adopt theterms ofreference,
while alsotaking noteoftheaccompanying statement orunderstanding tothistextcontained indocument
PC/IPL/M/9, paragraphs 6,7and8.
TheGeneral Council adopted theabove-mentioned terms ofreference andtooknoteofthe
accompanying statement orunderstanding tothistextcontained indocument PC/IPL/M/9, paragraphs
6,7and8.
(3) Committee onTrade andEnvironment (MTN.TNC/45(MIN), Annex II)
TheChairman recalled thatpursuant totheMarrakesh Ministerial Decision onTrade and
Environment, aCommittee onTrade andEnvironment should beestablished atthefirstmeeting of
theGeneral Council. TheCommittee would beopentoallMembers oftheWTO anditwould report
tothefirstbiennial meeting oftheMinisterial Conference aftertheentry intoforce oftheWTO when
thework andterms ofreference oftheCommittee would bereviewed, inthelightofrecommendations
bytheCommittee. Healsorecalled thatinadopting thereport ofthePreparatory Committee, contained
indocument PC/R, under item4oftheAgenda ofthepresent meeting, theGeneral Council hadreferredWT/GC/M/1
Page12
totheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment thework doneintheareaoftrade andenvironment, the
future work programme, aswellasthequestion ofcontinuation ofconsultations withregard to
appropriate arrangements forrelations withnon-governmental organizations inthisarea. Heproposed
thattheGeneral Council establish theCommittee onTrade andEnvironment.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
B. Terms ofreference oftheCommittee onAgriculture (PC/IPL/1)
TheChairman drew attention tothedocument PC/IPL/1 containing terms ofreference ofthe
WTO Committee onAgriculture andproposed thattheGeneral Council adopt theterms ofreference,
while alsotaking noteoftheaccompanying statement orunderstanding referred toinparagraph 40
ofthereport ofthePreparatory Committee contained indocument PC/R.
TheGeneral Council adopted theabove-mentioned terms ofreference andtooknoteofthe
accompanying statement orunderstanding referred toinPC/R, paragraph 40.
8. Appointment ofOfficers oftheDispute Settlement Body, Trade Policy Review Body, Council
forTrade inGoods, Council forTrade inServices, Council forTrade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights, theCommittee onTrade andDevelopment, Committee on
Balance-of-Payments Restrictions, Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration andthe
Committee onTrade andEnvironment.
TheChairmansaidthatfollowinginformalconsultations,Amb.Szepesi(Hungary),theoutgoing
Chairman oftheGATT 1947CONTRACTING PARTIES, wasinaposition topropose nominations
fortheappointmentofofficerstotheabove-mentionedWTObodieswiththeexceptionoftheChairperson
oftheTrade Policy Review Body (TPRB) onwhich further consultations werenecessary. Mr.Szepesi
(Hungary) proposed thefollowing nominations:
Chairpersons
- Dispute Settlement Body: Amb. D.Kenyon (Australia)
- Trade Policy Review Body: Chairperson -pending. Vice-Chairman: Mr.Lecheheb (Morocco)
- Council forTrade inGoods: Amb. M.Endo (Japan)
- Council forTrade inServices: Amb. C.Manhusen (Sweden)
- Trade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property: Mr.S.Harbinson (Hong Kong)
- Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions: Mr.P.Witt(Germany)
- Committee onBudget, Finance, andAdministration: Mr.J-MMetzger (France)
- Committee onTrade andDevelopment: Amb. S.Haron (Malaysia)
- Committee onTrade andEnvironment: Amb. J.Sanchez Arnau (Argentina)
TheGeneral Council agreed withthenominations proposed.
9. Adoption oftheMarrakesh Ministerial Decision onNotification Procedures.
TheChairman drewattention totheMarrakesh Ministerial Decision onNotification Procedures
which formed anintegral partoftheFinalActandproposed thattheGeneral Council adopt thisDecision.
TheGeneral Council adopted theabove-mentioned Decision.WT/GC/M/1
Page13
10. Waivers inforce asof1January 1995 (WT/L/3)
TheChairman recalled thatintheGATT 1994 Annex 1Athere wasarequirement thatthe
MinisterialConferenceestablishatitsfirstsessionarevisedlistofwaiverscoveredbyparagraph1(b)(iii)
ofGATT 1994. Inconnection withthis,hedrewattention todocument WT/L/3 containing anupdated
listofwaivers inforce on1January 1995 andproposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthe
information inthisdocument.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteoftheinformation contained inWT/L/3.
11. Customs Valuation Agreement
- DraftDecisiononContinuedApplicationundertheWTOCustomsValuationAgreement
ofInvocations ofProvisions forDeveloping Countries forDelayed Application and
Reservations under theCustoms Valuation Agreement 1979 (WT/GC/W/1)
TheChairman recalled thattheCustoms Valuation Agreement 1979contained provisions for
special anddifferential treatment concerning theinvocation ofdelayed application oftheAgreement
andreservations bydeveloping countries. Inorder toprovide forthecontinued application under the
WTO Customs Valuation Agreement ofinvocations ofprovisions fordeveloping countries fordelayed
applicationandreservationsundertheCustomsValuationAgreement1979,thedraftDecision,contained
indocument WT/GC/W/1, wasbeing submitted foradoption. Heproposed thattheGeneral Council
adopt thisDecision.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/38).
12. Enlargement oftheEuropean Union: accession ofAustria, Finland andSweden (L/7614 and
Add.1).
- Communication from theEuropean Communities (WT/L/7)
TheChairman drewattention tothecommunication fromtheEuropean Communities inL/7614
inwhich theCommunity hadinformed contracting parties ofitsintention toratify, on1January 1995,
the"Treaty concerning theaccession ofAustria, Finland, Sweden andNorway totheEuropean Union"
(L/7614/Add.1). Inthiscontext, acommunication concerning theincorporation intheschedule of
specific commitments onservices oftheEuropean Communities andtheirmember States andthelist
ofMFN exemptions oftheschedules andlistsofAustria, Finland andSweden hadbeenforwarded
totheGATT on22December 1994 andhadbeencirculated indocument PC/SCS/W/13. Healso
drew attention toanother communication from theEuropean Communities indocument WT/L/7
containing theformal notification oftheratification oftheaccession ofAustria, Finland andSweden
totheEuropean Union. Healsosaidthatheunderstood thatafterinformal consultations heldbythe
Secretariat, there wasbroad agreement toestablish aworking party under Article XXIV oftheGATT
1994, without awaiting thefirstmeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods which wasnotyetoperational
andhadjustelected itsChairman. Inthisrespect henoted thattheGeneral Council hadtheprerogative
toestablish anysubsidiary bodies. Itwasunderstood thatsuchadecision would betaken bytheGeneral
Council given theexceptional circumstances related tothetransition fromGATT toWTO. Theworking
party would submit itsreport totheCouncil forTrade inGoods. Thematter would bereferred at
thesame timetotheCouncil forTrade inServices forconsideration andaction asappropriate. The
Chairman proposed thattheworking party, under Article XXIV oftheGATT 1994, havethefollowing
terms ofreference: "Toexamine, inthelightoftherelevant provisions oftheGATT 1994, theaccession
ofAustria, Finland andSweden totheEuropean Communities andtosubmit areport totheCouncil
forTrade inGoods."WT/GC/M/1
Page14
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled thatattheJuly1994GATT Council
meeting andtheFiftieth Session oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES inDecember 1994, theCommunity
hadinformed ofitswillingness tonotify attheappropriate timetherelevant provisions concerning
itsenlargement. Since 1January 1995, theenlargement entered intoeffect. TheCommunity understood
thatitstrading partners wereawaiting somewhat impatiently theopening ofnegotiations pursuant to
Article XXIV:6 ofGATT 1994anditwould agree tobegin thesenegotiations without delay. Therefore
theCommunity wasready toagree withthisexceptional procedure ofestablishing ,atthepresent
meeting, aworking party under Article XXIV ofGATT 1994 intheunderstanding thattheworking
party would report totheCouncil forTrade inGoods.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthathiscountry hadbeen, andremained, astrong
supporter ofEuropean integration andwelcomed theaccession ofAustria, Finland andSweden tothe
European Communities. Helooked forward tothereview oftheenlargement under therelevant
provisions ofGATT 1994 andtheGATS. With respect totheWorking Party onGoods, theUnited
States wished thattheprocess begin quickly. Withtheaddition ofservices tothereview process, the
United States looked forward toworking withtheCommunity, other Members andtheSecretariat to
establish theappropriate machinery toundertake suchafullreview. TheUnited States would expect
thattheCommunitymoveexpeditiouslyinprovidingthenecessarydocumentation,includingtheSchedule
ofServices Commitments forthenewEuropean Communities offifteen Members andthattheprocess
would commence assoonaspossible.
Therepresentative ofJapan welcomed andsupported theestablishment oftheworking party
ontheaccession ofAustria, Finland andSweden totheEuropean Communities atthepresent meeting
oftheGeneral Council. However, Japan wished toreserve therighttorevert totheterms ofreference
oftheworking party, which warranted further consultation. Intheservices area,Japan believed that
there wasaneedtoestablish aworking party toexamine theagreements concerned inthelightofthe
GATS, andinparticular itsArticle Vandhoped thattheCommunity would provide therelevant
information asquickly aspossible. Japan regretted thattheworkrelating toArticle XXIV:6 negotiations
hadnotcommenced before theentry intoforce oftheenlargement. Itwasalsoregrettable thateven
relevant information hadnotbeenprovided bytheCommunity todate. Furthermore, Japan hadserious
concerns about theautomatic extension oftheapplication ofanti-dumping actions without any
investigations totheimports ofthethree newmembers oftheCommunity. Thiswasaserious
infringement oftherelevant WTO Agreement andJapan requested theCommunity toimmediately bring
these measures intoconformity withthatAgreement.
Therepresentative ofCanada welcomed thenotification oftheenlargement andtheproposal
foranearly establishment ofaworking party inwhich itwished toparticipate. Canada would have
preferred tohaveaworking party toexamine trade bothingoods andservices, butitunderstood that
since theCouncil onTrade inServices wasnotyetoperational, some more timewasneeded inorder
toinitiate theprocess inrelation totradeinservices. Canada looked forward toreceiving thenotification
onservices, asrequired byGATS, including thenewSchedule ofCommitments onServices ofthe
Community. AtthattimeCanada would beseeking theestablishment ofaworking party. Itwas
somewhat regrettable thatitwasnotpossible tosetupaunified examination procedure, sinceessentially
thesame agreement would beexamined. TheNAFTA Working Party forexample, would belooking
atbothgoods andservices andtheCommunity hadalready submitted anumber ofquestions inrespect
toServices. Canada would seekanopportunity todothesame.
Therepresentative ofNewZealand welcomed theinitiative ofproposing prompt consideration
oftheeffect oftheCommunity 'senlargement andagreed thattheGeneral Council establish aworking
party toexamine thegoods-related aspects oftheenlargement. NewZealand shared Japan'sview
regarding thedesirability ofconsultations toclarify theterms ofreference oftheworking party. With
respect totheservices aspects oftheenlargement, theCommunity 'snotification confirmed itsreadinessWT/GC/M/1
Page15
toparticipate inanyfurther work pursuant totherelevant provisions oftheGATS. Therefore, New
Zealand expected thattheCommunity would beabletoagree totheestablishment ofaworking party
toexamine theservices aspect oftheenlargement should thisberequested under Article V:7ofthe
GATS.
Therepresentative ofIndonesia, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN Members oftheWTO,
noted withkeeninterest theenlargement oftheCommunity andhoped thiswould contribute togreater
opening ofmarket access intheenlarged Community. ASEAN hadaparticular interest inthatmarket,
andtheaccession ofthethree newmembers would certainly haveimplications, hopefully positive,
onthemarket access forASEAN products. Healsoagreed withtheestablishment ofaworking party
ontrade ingoods, inwhich ASEAN intended toparticipate actively.
Therepresentative ofAustralia supported theestablishment ofaworking party ongoods to
begin theimportant work ofexamining theconsistency ofthenewenlargement oftheCommunity with
thegoods provisions oftheWTO. Australia looked forward toquickly starting theexamination process
inwhich itwould support theremarks byJapan andNewZealand concerning theneedthattheterms
ofreference oftheworking party allow forexamining theconsistency ofthenewenlargement ofthe
Community withallthegoods provisions oftheWTO Agreement.
Therepresentative ofChile welcomed theenlargement oftheCommunity andsupported the
remarks made byother delegations, inparticular byJapan withregard totheterms ofreference of
theworking party andtheneedforfurther consultations onthismatter.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland recalled thathisauthorities hadalready officially expressed
their satisfaction attheenlargement oftheCommunity. Switzerland considered aspositive this
enlargement oftherôleoftheCommunity inEurope, andintheworld, arôlewhich wentfarbeyond
thetrade area. Asfarastrade wasconcerned, therôleofanenlarged Community, aware ofits
responsibilities inthecontext ofthenewWorld Trade Organization, could onlybebeneficial forthe
world trade system based onstrengthened rulesandwithabroader scope. Switzerland wassatisfied
withthisenlargement, because italsoinvolved theaccession ofthree friendly countries withwhom
ithadcooperated veryclosely overdecades inEFTA. Forthese three countries theenlargement
represented theachievement ofamajor objective oftheirforeign policy. Switzerland, which hadvery
closelinkswiththeeconomies ofthemember States oftheCommunity --botholdandnewmembers -
-approved thecreation ofaworking party pursuant toArticle XXIV ofGATT 1994 andintended to
participate actively initswork.
Therepresentative ofUruguay supported theestablishment ofaworking party tostudy the
enlargement oftheCommunity andwassatisfied toseethelatter'swillingness togoalong withthis
ideathrough arather exceptional procedure. Furthermore, Uruguay hadanobvious trade interest in
itsrelations withtheCommunity, andwasinterested inparticipating intheworking party. Itswork
should beaimed atensuring thatthenewcommitments undertaken bytheCommunity anditsnew
members would preserve theobjective thatallintegration processes shallnotprejudice market access
ofthirdparties.
Therepresentative ofMexico welcomed theenlargement oftheCommunity. Thiswould benefit
themultilateral trading system. Mexico wasalsooftheviewthatitmight beuseful toreflect onthe
ideathatallagreements oncustoms unions orfree-trade areas bereviewed inmore orlessthesame
waywithin theWTO. TothisendtheChairman could holdsome consultations sothattheexamination
oftheCommunity 'senlargement could becarried outunder anintegrated approach inasingle body
andinthelightoftherelevant provisions oftheWTO Agreement asawhole. Mexico would prefer
thatsuchreviews cover allissues, andthatthehighest possible transparency beguaranteed withregard
totheexamination ofallregional agreements.WT/GC/M/1
Page16
Therepresentative ofArgentina welcomed theenlargement oftheCommunity andsupported
theestablishment ofaworking party toconsider theeffects ofthisenlargement onthetrade ingoods.
Argentina intended toparticipate actively intheworking party. Italsoshared theviewconcerning
theneedtoholdconsultations toensure thattheterms ofreference ofthisworking party would reflect
thetotality oftherules governing thetrade ingoods intheframework oftheWTO.
Therepresentative ofTurkey welcomed theaccession ofAustria, Finland andSweden tothe
Communities andsupported theestablishment ofaworking party toexamine thismatter. Healso
expressed hiscountry 'sgreat interest inparticipating intheworking party.
Therepresentative ofNorway welcomed theaccession ofAustria, Finland andSweden tothe
Community. Hisauthorities hoped thattheclose cooperation withthese countries would continue.
Sweden andFinland hadbeenandwould beveryimportant trading partners forNorway which was
therefore interested intaking anactive partintheworking party.
Therepresentative ofIceland welcomed theaccession ofAustria, Finland andSweden tothe
Community. These three countries hadbeenclose andvalued partners ofIceland foralongtimein
EFTA. They would ofcourse continue tobeIceland 'sclose partners, butunder different premises.
While Iceland didnotexpect thatthisenlargement oftheCommunity would affect itstrade relations,
itwould work tomake surethatthese relations would beasgood asever, andlooked forward to
participating intheworking party.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong expressed appreciation forthecommunication received from
theCommunity indicating itsreadiness toparticipate asappropriate infuture work onthematters at
hand. Hesupported theestablishment ofaworking party, andexpressed hisinterest inconsidering
theterms ofreference ofsuchaworking party. Hong Kong wished tobeinvolved inthesediscussions
andintheworking party.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities noted withsatisfaction theinterest expressed
byWTO Members initsenlargement, andthesupport given tothisprocess. Healsonoted thatprevious
enlargements oftheCommunity hadamply proved thattheyhadhadpositive effects oninternational
trade andontheopening ofmarkets. Regarding theestablishment oftheworking party atthepresent
meeting, theCommunity made thisproposal which wasnotcustomary inorder tomeettheconcerns
ofother delegations tobegin theexamination soonwithout awaiting theCouncil onTrade inGoods
tobecome operational. However, iftheexisting terms ofreference weretobechanged, theworking
party'swork would notbegin untilanagreement could bereached onthismatter, namely intheCouncil
forTrade inGoods. Therefore adecision tosetupaworking party atthepresent meeting would
obviously mean thattheproposed terms ofreference would beaccepted.
Therepresentative ofIsrael tooknoteoftheproposal fortheestablishment ofaworking party.
Hiscountry hadaparticular inerest inthematter athandgiven theveryclose economic relations it
hadwiththeCommunity andwished toparticipate intheworking party.
TheChairman saidthatinthelightofthediscussion itappeared thattherewasgeneral agreement
toestablish aworking party toconsider thematter athand. Onthequestion ofterms ofreference,
hedetectedsomenuancesregardingtheirscope.Thetermsofreferenceproposedfollowthepastpractice
inthisregard butthiswasthefirsttimeaftertheentryintoforceoftheWTO thatsuchterms ofreference
were considered. Hefeltthatthese terms ofreference could beadopted, andifatalaterstage the
working party weretoconsider thattheyshould beexpanded, thentheCouncil onGoods could address
thismatter.WT/GC/M/1
Page17
TherepresentativesofAustralia,Mexico,Canada,andArgentinaexpressedconcernwithrespect
totheproposed terms ofreference. Inparticular, theyfeltthattheterminology usedintheterms of
reference, namely "inaccordance withtheprovision ofGATT 1994", didnotclarify whether the
examination oftheenlargement oftheCommunity could becarried outagainst thebackground ofall
agreements relating totrade ingoods andnotonlytheGATT 1994. While theywere infavour of
aprompt establishment oftheworking party proposed, itsscope wasnotclear enough. The
representatives ofMexico andCanada saidthattheywould havepreferred thattheexamination ofthe
enlargement takeplace simultaneously inregard tobothgoods andservices. Therepresentatives of
Mexico andArgentina wereoftheviewthatfurther consultations wereneeded ontheterms ofreference
oftheproposed working party ongoods. Therepresentative ofMexico added thatitwould beuseful
toreflect further onhowtheexamination ofcustoms unions andfree-trade areas ingeneral should
becarried outinorder tomake itmore effective.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland drewattention tothefactthattheproposed terms ofreference
fortheWorking Party onGoods wereinaccordance withparagraph 7oftheUnderstanding ofArticle
XXIV which provided forautomaticity inestablishing suchworking parties while theGATS didnot
require suchautomaticity. Hecautioned against theriskofreinterpreting thetextsadopted atMarrakesh.
TherepresentativeoftheEuropeanCommunitiessaidthatitwouldbedifficultfortheCommunity
toaccept theestablishment ofaworking party without knowing itsterms ofreference. Heregretted
thatthere wasnoagreement ontheterms ofreference since suchasituation would postpone the
establishment oftheworking party forthefirstmeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods.
TheChairman proposed thatfurther consultations beheldontheterms ofreference andthe
matter bereverted toatalaterstage. Healsosuggested thathebeauthorized toconsult onthismatter
withtheChairman oftheCouncil onTrade inGoods andtheChairmen ofother WTO Councils, if
necessary.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
13. Venue ofthefirstMinisterial Conference
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from Singapore indocument WT/L/6.
Therepresentative ofSingapore recalled theoffermade byherGovernment attheMarrakesh
Ministerial meeting tohostthefirstMinisterial Conference oftheWTO. Thehosting oftheConference
bySingapore would mean thatforthefirsttimesince thelaunching oftheUruguay Round in1986
amajor global trade meeting would beheldinAsia. Itwould alsocomplete thecircle ofUruguay
Round major meetings which hadbegun inLatin America, andhadcontinued inNorth America, Europe
andAfrica. Thechoice ofanAsian venue forthefirstMinisterial Conference would alsorepresent
arecognition oftheimportant andgrowing contribution toglobal tradebytheAsian region. Following
theMarrakesh Ministerial meeting herGovernment hadactively beenconsulting withmembers of
GATT andWTO toseektheirsupport fortheoffer made bySingapore. Theconsultations hadled
toanoverwhelming support forSingapore 'sofferproviding sufficient basis foraconsensus decision
onthismatter. Asstipulated intheWTO Agreement thefirstMinisterial Conference should takeplace
nolaterthan31December 1996. Singapore wasnowseeking adecision bytheGeneral Council that
thefirstMinisterial Conference oftheWTO beheldinSingapore. Thedates fortheMinisterial
Conference would beproposed lateroninthelightofconsultations tobeheldwithdelegations and
theSecretariat. Singapore wished toassure WTO Members thatitsGovernment wasfullycommitted
toensuring thesuccess ofthefirstMinisterial Conference.WT/GC/M/1
Page18
Therepresentatives ofIndonesia, speaking alsoonbehalf ofBrunei Darussalam, Malaysia,
Philippines, andThailand, Malaysia, onbehalf oftheInformal Group ofDeveloping Countries, Hong
Kong, European Communities, Mexico, Morocco, onbehalf oftheAfrican Group, Argentina, on
behalf ofLatin American andCaribbean countries, Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, India, Hungary,
Pakistan andTurkey fullysupported theholding ofthefirstMinisterial Conference oftheWTO in
Singapore.
TheGeneral Council welcomed theinvitation oftheGovernment ofSingapore andagreed by
consensus thatthefirstMinisterial Conference would beheldinSingapore, andauthorized theChairman
oftheGeneral Council toholdconsultations ontheprecise dates fortheConference.
Therepresentative ofSingapore expressed hisGovernment 'sgratitude forthedecision taken
andthanked delegations fortheircooperation toadopt thedecision onaconsensus basis.
14. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions
- Programme ofconsultations for1995 (WT/BOP/W/1)
TheChairman drew attention totheproposed programme ofconsultations intheCommittee
onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions for1995 contained indocument WT/BOP/W/1.
Therepresentative ofTurkey saidthat,ashadalready beenindicated totheSecretariat, his
country 'spreference forthedates ofconsultations in1995 waseither forSeptember orOctober.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andoftheinformation inWT/BOP/W/1.
15. Working language intheTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin under theauspices ofthe
World Customs Organization
Therepresentative ofChile, speaking under "Other Business", expressed concern overthe
lackofinterpretation inSpanish atthefirstmeeting oftheTechnical Committee ontheRules ofOrigin
oftheWorld Customs Organization tobeheldinBrussels between 6and10February 1995. Chile
attached importance tothismatter since theabove-mentioned Technical Committee wasestablished
bytheAgreement onRules ofOrigin under theWTO where Spanish wasaworking language. Chile
requestedtheChairmanoftheGeneralCounciltoinformtheDirectoroftheWorldCustomsOrganization
ofthisconcern andurgehimtouseallworking languages oftheWTO atfuture meetings oftheTechnical
Committee.
Therepresentative ofArgentina, alsoonbehalf oftheLatin American andCaribbean countries,
supported Chile'sstatement.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andauthorized itsChairman toconvey the
concerns expressed byChile andArgentina totheSecretariat oftheWorld Customs Organization.
16. United States -Recent actions under Section 301oftheOmnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Actof1988
Therepresentative ofColombia, speaking under "Other Business", expressed concern atan
investigation initiated on9January bytheUnited States under Section 301ofitsOmnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Actof1988concerning theexport régime forbananas fromColombia totheEuropeanWT/GC/M/1
Page19
Community.1Nine daysaftertheWTO 'sentry intoforce, theUnited States wasdismissing and
disdaining theWTO 'sdispute settlement mechanisms andopting instead touseitsdomestic lawand
thepathofunilateral retaliation. While Colombia acknowledged therightofanyWTO member to
defend itstrade interests, itcould notaccept thatthisshould bedoneoutside ofthemechanisms that
allhadagreed upon toresolve trade conflicts impartially andobjectively. Colombia therefore urged
theUnited States toendtheSection 301procedure ithadinitiated, andtousetheWTO 'sdispute
settlement procedures ifitdoubted thevalidity oftheframework agreement forbananas signed between
theCommunity andfourLatin American banana-producing countries.
Therepresentative ofCosta Ricasaidthat,likeColombia, hisGovernment hadbeennotified
on9January oftheinitiation ofaSection 301investigation bytheUnited States onthebanana export
régime ofCosta Rica. Costa Ricawasconcerned thattheUnited States hadonceagain opted forthe
threat ofunilateral trade sanctions. Increating theWTO, governments hadprovided itwitha
strengthened dispute settlement system thatoffered broad alternatives totradeunilateralism. Itwould
therefore beunfortunate ifrecourse tounilateral traderetaliation continued tobehaddespite themany
efforts made toprevent it.Itwould alsobefrustrating tonotethatanimprovement inlegaltextswould
notachieve this,butrather aparallel improvement inthebehaviour ofthose covered bythese texts.
Costa Ricaurged theUnited States tocarry outitsinvestigation anddefend itstradeinterests withstrict
respect fortheobligations resulting fromtheWTO andbymeans ofthemultilateral channels established
thereunder.
TherepresentativeofGuatemalanotedthatattheMarrakeshMinisterialmeeting,hisGovernment
hadindicated thattheCommunity 'sbanana import régime wasinviolation ofanumber ofprovisions
oftheGATT 1947andoftheprospective WTO. Hisdelegation wished toreiterate totheCommunity
theneedtoopenadialogue without preconditions through which asolution satisfactory toallcould
befound.
TheChairman saidthathisattention hadbeendrawn toRule25oftheRules ofProcedure
formeetings oftheGeneral Council,2which stipulated thatunder "other business" theGeneral Council
would limititself totaking noteoftheannouncement bythesponsoring delegation, aswellasany
reactions tosuchanannouncement by"other delegations directly concerned". Heurged delegations
toobserve theRules ofProcedure and,alsoinlightofthelateness ofthehour, toreserve theircomments
onthisitemunless theywere directly concerned.
Therepresentative ofMexico saidthatalthough hisdelegation wasdirectly concerned bythis
matter, itwould reserve itscomments inviewofthelateness ofthehour.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthattherewasdefinitely agreyareawithregard towhat
wasmeant by"directly concerned". Onecould bedirectly concerned, asHong Kong wasinthiscase,
about theprinciple without being directly involved inthedispute.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
17. Turkey -Information onTurkey 'sratification oftheWorld Trade Organization
Therepresentative ofTurkey ,speaking under "Other Business", informed WTO members
thatTurkey 'sNational Assembly hadadopted alawproviding forratification oftheWTO Agreement
1ThetextofColombia 'sstatement wassubsequently circulated asWT/GC/COM/1.
2SeeWT/L/28.WT/GC/M/1
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effective on1January 1995. Formal instruments ofratification would shortly besubmitted tothe
Secretariat.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community, speaking under "Other Business", observed,
astheDirector-General hadindicated initsopening statement, thatevenifthelargepartofthepresent
meeting wasdevoted to"housekeeping matters" allparticipants wereaware ofthehistoric nature of
thismeeting. TheWTO hadbeenratified bymany countries andonehoped thatthose whohadnot
yetdonesowould ratify soon. Delegations justheard a"good news" inthisrespect andallhoped
thattheWTO would soonapply tonewmembers willing toaccept itsrules. TheWTO would have
tomanage further liberalization ofinternational trade which wasessential forthegrowth ofthe
economies ofitsMembers. However, thisprocess would notbewithout difficulties orconflicts. In
thiscontext, hewished toreiterate thatallMembers hadaccepted precise rulesandstrict procedures,
andthattheCommunity would watch overtheobservance ofthemultilateral rulesandprocedures by
allMembers.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
Dates ofthenextmeeting oftheGeneral Council
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council meetinprinciple onaquarterly basis. More
frequent meetings would beheldifasufficient number ofmatters forconsideration sorequired. He
saidthathewould holdinformal consultations onthismatter.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.