RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/11
28May1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1982)
GENERAL COUNCIL
16April 1996
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on16April 1996
Chairman: Mr.W.Rossier (Switzerland)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Accession oftheKyrgyz Republic 2
- Communication from theKyrgyz Republic 2
2. Accession ofPapua NewGuinea 4
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheProtocol ofAccession 4
3. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration 4
(a) Report oftheCommittee dated 21February 1996 4
(b) Report oftheCommittee dated 26March 1996 4
(c) Report oftheCommittee dated 2April 1996 5
4. Statement byCuba ontheUnited States 'Helms-Burton Actof1996 5
5. Offices oftheDeputy Directors-General 10
6. Preparations forthe1996 Ministerial Conference 11
(a) Report bytheDirector General 11
(b) Schedule ofmeetings ofWTO bodies 12
7. Hungary -Invocation ofArticle 48oftheVienna Convention ontheLawofthe
Treaties 15
8. Notification requirements 15
- Statement bytheDirector-General 15
9. Accession ofKazakstan 16
- Working Party Chairmanship 16
10. Accession ofVanuatu 16
- Working Party Chairmanship 16
11. Committee onRegional Trade Agreements 16
- Presiding officers oftheCommittee 16
12. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations 16WT/GC/M/11
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PriortoadoptionoftheAgenda,representativesroseandobservedaminuteofsilenceinmemory
ofMr.Martin Huslid, former Ambassador andPermanent Representative ofNorway, whohadpassed
away on14February.
1. Accession oftheKyrgyz Republic
- Communication from theKyrgyz Republic (WT/ACC/KGZ/1)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from theKyrgyz Republic requesting
accession totheWTO Agreement (WT/ACC/KGZ/1).
Therepresentative oftheKyrgyz Republic saidthatagriculture andindustry werethetwomost
important sectors oftheKyrgyz Republic 'seconomy, accounting for65percentofGDP. Since 1991,
theKyrgyz Republic hadbeenimplementing economic reforms aimed atestablishing amarket-oriented
economy, withfinancial andconsultative assistance fromtheinternational community. Over thepast
fiveyears, thecountry hadfaced aneconomic crisis withadrastic fallintotaloutput andhigher
unemployment. Since 1995, however, thedecline ofproduction inthemain economic sectors had
beenstopped, themacroeconomic situation hadstabilized, andthecountry wassettorecord a3per
centgrowth inGDP in1996. Furthermore, inflation hadbeenreduced, thebudget deficit stabilized,
andthemostdifficult partoftheeconomic reform programme, namely, theliberalization ofprices,
wasabout tobeconcluded. Price regulation wasnowmaintained onlyonfiveitems. Roughly 76
percentofindustrial enterprises and90percentofthetrade sector hadalsobeenprivatized. The
Kyrgyz Republic hadfurthermore removed allquota restrictions onimports, andimport licensing
requirements existed ononlyafewitems, suchasdrugs, weapons, raremetals andrareanimals. A
single customs dutyof10percentwasimposed onallimports, anditwasintended tofurther reduce
tariffs onanumber ofgoods andtointroduce differential tariffratesonsome ofthem. InApril 1996,
theKyrgyz Republic hadsigned anagreement tojoinRussia, Kazakstan andBelarus inacustoms union,
andwasnowapplying forWTO membership toexpand itstradeandtraderelations andfurther develop
itseconomy. TheKyrgyz Republic stood ready toenterintonegotiations withanyMembers inpushing
forward itsaccession process.
TherepresentativesofIndia,theUnitedStates,Turkey,Switzerland,theEuropeanCommunities,
Pakistan, Poland andthePhilippines onbehalf oftheASEAN countries welcomed theKyrgyz Republic 's
request foraccession.
Therepresentative ofIndiawelcomed theKyrgyz Republic 'sdescription ofitseconomic reform
efforts, andpromised India'sfullsupport totheKyrgyz Republic initsaccession process.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatadoption ofWTO disciplines would assist the
Kyrgyz Republic initseconomic transformation andfurther integration intotheworld economy, and
thatWTO membership would enable ittodevelop traderelations withother independent nations. The
Kyrgyz Republic 'srequest signalled itsintention toundertake WTO obligations, toenforce them in
itscurrent andfuture operation ofitstraderégime, andtomake commercially significant market access
concessions andcommitments forbothgoods andservices. TheUnited States expected thattheKyrgyz
Republic would cease implementing anymeasures inconsistent withWTO provisions fromthepresent
dateandduring itsaccession process. Todootherwise would altertheparameters ofthenegotiations
andaddtotheirdifficulty andcomplexity.
Therepresentative ofTurkey saidthattheKyrgyz Republic 'sapplication wasaconfirmation
ofitsdetermination toconsolidate itseconomic reform process, andclear evidence ofitsdesire to
integrate intotheinternational economic community. Turkey hadbeendeveloping itsrelations withWT/GC/M/11
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theKyrgyz Republic bothonabilateral andregional basis. Herdelegation hoped thattheworking
party tobeestablished would conclude itswork intheshortest possible time. Turkey would beclosely
associated withtheaccession process.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthathiscountry would support theKyrgyz Republic 's
accession process, which ithoped would begin assoonaspossible. Switzerland intended totakean
active partintheworking party tobeestablished, andhadfollowed withinterest thereforms undertaken
bytheKyrgyz Republic inthecontext ofitstransition toamarket economy. TheKyrgyz Republic 's
accession would contribute tothatprocess, andenable ittoparticipate fullyinthemultilateral trading
system.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheKyrgyz Republic 'sapplication
wasanindication ofitscommitment toitsdomestic transition process anditsfurther integration into
theinternationaleconomyandtherules-basedWTOsystem.TheCommunitylookedforwardtoworking
withtheKyrgyz Republic inthecoming months andtoanearlyconclusion oftheaccession negotiations.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthathiscountry hadlong-standing historical tieswiththe
Kyrgyz Republic. Thelatter'saccession application wasanimportant steptowards theuniversalization
oftheWTO andtheconsolidation oftheKyrgyz Republic 'seconomy anditsintegration intotheworld
economy. Pakistan hoped thattheworking partytobeestablished would examine theKyrgyz Republic 's
request intheshortest timepossible.
Therepresentative ofPoland welcomed theKyrgyz Republic 'sstatement andhoped thatWTO
accession would helptheKyrgyz Republic toconsolidate itseconomic reforms andhelpittodevelop
closer trade relations withWTO Members. Poland would participate actively intheworking party
tobeestablished.
Therepresentative ofthePhilippines, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, saidthat
herdelegation hadnoted theeconomic reforms being undertaken bytheKyrgyz Republic, andlooked
forward tothelatter'saccession.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthestatements andagree to
establish aworking party withthefollowing terms ofreference andcomposition:
Terms ofreference:
"Toexamine theapplication oftheGovernment oftheKyrgyz Republic toaccede totheWTO
Agreement under Article XII,andtosubmit totheGeneral Council recommendations which mayinclude
adraftProtocol ofAccession.
Membership:
Membership would beopentoallWTO Members indicating theirwishtoserve ontheWorking
Party.
Chairmanship:
TheGeneral Council would authorize itsChairman todesignate theChairman oftheWorking
PartyinconsultationwithrepresentativesofMembersandwiththerepresentativeoftheKyrgyzRepublic.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.WT/GC/M/11
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TheChairman theninvited theKyrgyz Republic, onbehalf oftheGeneral Council, toattend
themeetings oftheGeneral Council and,asappropriate, meetings ofother WTO bodies asanobserver
during theperiod when theWorking Party wascarrying outitswork.
2. Accession ofPapua NewGuinea
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheProtocol ofAccession (WT/GC/W/33)
TheChairman recalled thaton15November 1995, theGeneral Council hadadopted aDecision
(WT/L/98) authorizing Papua NewGuinea toaccede totheWTO Agreement under theterms setout
initsProtocol ofAccession (WT/L/99). AttheGeneral Council meeting on6February 1996, the
time-limit forPapua NewGuinea 'sacceptance, assetoutinparagraph 6ofitsProtocol ofAccession,
hadbeenextended to13May1996 (WT/L/130). Hedrew attention toacommunication fromPapua
NewGuinea (WT/GC/W/33), requesting thatthetime-limit befurther extended to13August 1996,
andproposed thatthedraftdecision intheAnnex toWT/GC/W/33 beadopted.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/148).
3. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration
(a) Report oftheCommittee dated 21February 1996 (WT/BFA/20)
(b) Report oftheCommittee dated 26March 1996 (WT/BFA/21)
(c) Report oftheCommittee dated 2April 1996 (WT/BFA/22)
(a) Report oftheCommittee dated 21February 1996 (WT/BFA/20)
Mr.Yokota (Japan), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing theCommittee 'sreport in
WT/BFA/20, saidthattheCommittee hadexamined various points including theprocedure forselection
oftheexternal auditor oftheWTO, inactive members andtheaccession ofCameroon totheWTO.
With regard totheprocedure forselection oftheexternal auditor oftheWTO, theCommittee had
decided thataworking group made upofmembers oftheCommittee whose governments didnotsubmit
candidates forthejobaswellasmembers oftheSecretariat should beestablished.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement, approved theBudget Committee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 12and14ofitsreport inWT/BFA/20, andadopted thereport.
(b) Report oftheCommittee dated 26March 1996 (WT/BFA/21)
Mr.Yokota (Japan), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing theCommittee 'sreport in
WT/BFA/21, saidthatinaddition toadministrative up-dates andprogress reports, theCommittee had
examined thequestion ofoverhead costs fortrustfunds, andtheterms ofreference fortheworking
group examining thecandidatures forthepostofWTO external auditor. With regard tooverhead
costs fortrustfunds, afterfurther discussion, theCommittee hadconsidered thattheissue oftrust
funds, including themodalities concerning their useandmanagement, inthecontext oftechnical
cooperation anddevelopment aid,beexamined intheappropriate forum assoonaspossible. Asto
thequestion oftheexamination ofthecandidatures forthepostofWTO external auditor, theCommittee
hadnoted thatrepresentatives fromGermany, Malaysia, Morocco, theUnited States andVenezuela,
along withmembers oftheSecretariat would beincluded intheworking group.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement, approved theBudget Committee 'sspecific
recommendation inparagraph 8ofitsreport inWT/BFA/21, andadopted thereport.WT/GC/M/11
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(c) Report oftheCommittee dated 2April 1996 (WT/BFA/22)
Mr.Yokota (Japan), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing theCommittee 'sreport in
WT/BFA/22, saidthattheCommittee hadexamined administrative up-dates andprogress reports, an
oralreport ontheworkoftheworking group fortheexternal auditor, andtheassessment ofcontributions
andadvances totheWorking Capital Fund ofnewWTO Members. Withregard totheworking group
fortheexternal auditor, theCommittee hadbeeninformed ofprogress made aswellasthedesire of
theworking group torequest additional information withregard toconcrete examples ofvalue formoney
auditing undertaken bythevarious candidates. Itwasexpected thattheworking group would make
aproposal totheCommittee inlateMaysothattheCommittee could present arecommendation to
theGeneral Council before thesummer break.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement, approved theBudget Committee 'sspecific
recommendations inparagraphs 5,6,7,8,9,10and11ofitsreport inWT/BFA/22, andadopted
thereport.
4. Statement byCuba ontheUnited States 'Helms-Burton Actof1996
Therepresentative ofCuba recalled thatatthemeeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods on
19March, hisdelegation haddrawn attention totheUSHelms-Burton Actthathadbeenadopted some
daysearlier. Ithadplaced thisitemontheAgenda oftheGeneral Council todealwiththesubstance
ofthismatter andtoputforward Cuba'sviews onthisAct,which itconsidered tobeablatant violation
ofinternational traderulesandinternational law,aswellasoftheundertakings entered intowhen signing
theFinal ActEmbodying theResults oftheUruguay Round. Herecalled alsothathisGovernment
hadrecently circulated acommunication onthismatter (WT/L/142).
InApril 1994, attheMarrakesh Ministerial meeting, hiscountry 'sMinister forForeign Trade
haddenounced thehostile policy ofsuccessive USAdministrations thathadimposed, andmaintained
foroverthirty years, aharsh economic, tradeandfinancial blockade against Cuba, which hadrecently
thenbeentightened withtheadoption oftheTorricelli Act. Cuba hadstated onthatoccasion that
"trading withCuba according totheprinciples ofthemultilateral trading system doesnotappear to
beontheagenda oftheUSGovernment, andwedonotknow howlongitwillmaintain thisoutdated
coldwarpolicy, inblatant violation oftheagreements weareadopting today, aswellastothedetriment
ofmany contracting parties". Cuba hadalsostated: "LetustrustthatthisOrganization canestablish
amultilateral trading system which prevents theapplication oftheselective andunilateral measures
thathavesobadly damaged international trade andthecredibility oftheGeneral Agreement". Barely
fifteen months aftertheestablishment oftheWTO, another USAdministration hadjustsigned into
lawtheHelms-Burton Actwiththepurpose ofstrangling theCuban economy andimposing conditions
onWTO Members under which theywere totrade withCuba, thuscontinuing theuninterrupted
escalation ofharassing Cuba andimpinging onthetrade interests ofthirdcountries.
TheHelms-Burton Actsought, among other things, toimpede thenormal development of
economic andtrade relations between Cuba andtheinternational community. Itsought togoeven
further intrying todictate thepolicy other WTO Members should adopt intheirrelations withCuba.
Itwasobvious thattheActsought tointernationalize theeconomic, trade andfinancial blockade that
theUnited States imposed unilaterally onCuba, byobliging therestoftheworld tofallintolinewith
itthrough various pressure andthreats. Cuba wondered whether theUnited States wassomehow exempt
fromcomplying withitsundertakings under theWTO, andhowsuchlegislation could bereconciled
withtheprinciples andobjectives oftheWTO. Hisdelegation would notdwell atthepresent meeting
ontherepercussions ofUSpolicy onCuba'sforeign trade andeconomy, andwould refer other
delegations todocument L/7525 ofAugust 1994, which summarized thesalient aspects untilthatdate.WT/GC/M/11
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Hisdelegation alsodidnotwishtorefertothemany violations ofinternational traderulesarising from
theHelms-Burton Act.Since thetextofthislegislation wassocomplex, asacknowledged bytheUnited
States itself, Cuba would prefer toawait themechanism forimplementing andapplying thisActthat
theUSAdministration wasworking on,before analyzing andexamining itsconsistency withthe
international trading system. Itstillremained tobeseenhowthislawwould beapplied inpractice,
since apart from itscomplexity, incoherence andinapplicability perse,itsimplementation presented
practically insuperable difficulties, fromthestandpoint bothoftheUnited States 'ownjurisprudence
andofinternational law.Hisdelegation could notrefrain fromnoting theinconsistency oftheHelms-
Burton Actwiththepromotion ofanincreasingly liberalized market; itsadverse impact onforeign
investment inCuba, which would alsoaffect Cuba'sexternal economic relations because ofthetrade
generated bysuchinvestment andthepsychological impact onpotential investors inCuba, bycreating
aclimate ofuncertainty forforeign investment. Forthese reasons, aswellasbecause ofitsblatantly
extra-territorial reach, ithadrightly beenrejected bytheinternational community, andinparticular
byWTO Members.
ItwasCuba'shope, justasitwastheobjective oftheDirector-General andofother Members,
thattheagenda oftheSingapore Ministerial Meeting inDecember, forwhich preparations hadalready
begun, would benon-confrontational. Thiswould enable alltocarry outareview andensure theproper
implementation oftheresults oftheUruguay Round, aswellasenable thestrengthening oftheWTO 's
political dimension asthekeystone ofinternational economic andtrade relations. TheHelms-Burton
Actdidnot,however, leadinthisdirection. Cuba would therefore continue studying itandpinpointing
theadverse effects thatwould stemfromitsapplication. Itwould alsoexamine withitstrading partners
thealternative options thatmight beneeded toprovide thenormal security andreliability forCuba's
trade, withrespect toexisting commitments aswellasanyfuture commitments thatmight beentered
into. Inaccordance withtheestablished procedures, Cuba reserved itsrights under therelevant WTO
Agreements toraiseatanappropriate timethiscaseofviolation ofWTO rulesthatnullified andimpaired
itsrights asaMember.
TherepresentativeofBoliviasaidthatWTOMembershadgiventheOrganizationcharacteristics
distinct fromtheGATT, putting under itscompetence thepromotion ofmultilateral discipline inworld
trade onthebasis ofmore strengthened andglobal rules. TheHelms-Burton Actrisked creating an
imbalance ininternational tradethrough hegemony, extra-territoriality andpresumptions ofillegal and
fraudulent actions. Bolivia rejected allunilateral actions thatrancounter tothebasic principles of
non-discrimination andfreetrade which governed theWTO. WTO rules, which werebinding onall,
should promote theexpansion andprogressive liberalization oftrade andfacilitate investment soas
topromote theeconomic development ofallcountries. Ascoordinator oftheRioGroup ofcountries1,
Bolivia wished topresent thefollowing Declaration totheGeneral Council: "The States members
ofthePermanentMechanismforPoliticalConsultationandCooperation-RioGroup-makethefollowing
statement withrespect totheso-called Cuban Liberty andDemocratic Solidarity Act,or"Helms-Burton
Act": Recalling theirDeclaration of23May1995andtheQuito Declaration of1995, which condemn
anyattempt toestablish economic sanctions orrestrictions suchasthose provided forinthe"Cuban
Liberty andDemocratic Solidarity Act1996"; theyreject withtheutmost firmness theadoption of
thislegislation thatviolates therulesandprinciples ofinternational law,oftheCharter oftheUnited
Nations andoftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization, andiscontrary tothespirit
offriendship andcooperation thatshould prevail inrelations among countries ofthehemisphere. The
member countries oftheRioGroup areconcerned atthescope oftheAct,which disregards the
fundamentalprincipleofrespectforthesovereigntyofStates,andtheimplementationofwhichrepresents
theextraterritorial application ofdomestic law,asopposed topublic international law. Themembers
1Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and
Venezuela.WT/GC/M/11
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oftheRioGroup urge theGovernment oftheUnited States toconsider theadverse effects of
implementation oftheCuban Liberty andDemocratic Solidarity Act,which violates theprinciples
governing regional coexistence andtheobjective ofintegration ofthehemisphere."
Therepresentative ofCanada saidthathisGovernment aimed topromote democratic reform
andrespectforhumanrightsinCuba.WhileCanadacondemnedCuba'sactioninshootingdowncivilian
aircraft, itdidnotconsider theHelms-Burton Acttheappropriate response tothisevent. Canada was
concerned about theimpact thattheextra-territorial effect ofthisActwould haveonCanadian business
andinvestment, andonglobal trade andinvestment flows. Canada hadalonghistory ofoverseas
investment, including intheUnited States andCuba. Investors nowfound, however, thatactions that
were legitimate andlegalunder thelawsofthecountries inwhich theywere investing, atthetime
theinvestments weremade, werethetarget ofpunitive measures under USlaw. Realandsignificant
Canadian interests inCuba andtheUSwereatstake. TheHelms-Burton Actsettroublesome precedents
thatcould seriously harm theinternational trade andinvestment climate. Itunilaterally undermined
well-established andaccepted legalpractices forthesettlement ofinternational investment disputes.
Thesituation would bemade evenworse ifother countries chose tofollow thisunfortunate precedent.
International investments could beatrisk,wherever anyexpropriation hadtaken place. Thiscould
destroy therelatively predictable andsecure environment inwhich international investments weremade.
Canada wasalsoconcerned about theprecedent ofusing denial oftemporary entry totheUSunder
TitleIVoftheActasaretaliatory measure inwhatwasessentially apolitical dispute. Itwasunclear
howtheUSAdministration would administer TitleIVconcerning thetemporary entry provisions or
TitleIIIregarding theclaims provisions, when theycame intoeffect. Canada hoped theUnited States
would consult withitstrading partners before suchimplementation, andhadrequested consultations
withtheUnited States under theNAFTA. Canada wished totakethisopportunity tocallontheUnited
States tofullyrespect itsobligations under international agreements, including theWTO Agreements.
Hisdelegation wished tonotealsothattheprovisions ofgreatest concern intheHelms-Burton Act
werethose dealing essentially withinvestment, which suggested thatinvestment wasamatter thatwas
already ofsome concern toWTO Members. Hisdelegation therefore hoped thatothers would keep
inmindthediscussion atthepresent meeting when considering Canada 'sproposal, made intheinformal
consultations onpreparations fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference, forconsideration ofinvestment
intheWTO.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled thatatthemeeting oftheCouncil
forTrade inGoods on19March, theCommunity, likeothers, haddeplored andexpressed serious
concern andreservation attheimplications oftheHelms-Burton Actastheyrelated totheopen
multilateral trading system based ontherules oftheWTO. TheCommunity wished toreiterate its
concern, particularly withregard totheextra-territorial nature oftheAct. Itwasnotacceptable that
oneWTO Member should feelthatitcould curtail thedevelopment ofinvestment andtrade relations
between thirdcountries. Nothing intheWTO Agreement authorized orcondoned extra-territoriality.
TheCommunity wasexamining seriously andasamatter ofurgency allpossible options todefend
itsrights inboththeWTO andother international organizations.
Therepresentative ofMexico recalled thatatthe19March meeting oftheCouncil forTrade
inGoods, hisdelegation hadexpressed itsserious concern atthepossible negative impact ofthe
application oftheHelms-Burton Actanditsrelation totheUnited States 'obligations under theWTO
andNAFTA. These concerns hadledMexico, together withCanada, torequest consultations with
theUnited States inthecontext oftheNAFTA, which werelikely tobeheldlaterthatmonth. Inthose
consultations, Mexico would insist onstrict respect forthebasic principles ofinternational lawand
oftherights andobligations ofallparties inconformity withinternational trade rules entered into
contractually.WT/GC/M/11
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Therepresentative ofIndiasaidthathisdelegation shared theconcerns oftheprevious speakers,
andbelieved thattheHelms-Burton Actwasinconsistent withtheobjectives oftheWTO. India had
always opposed unilateralism, extra-territoriality andtheuseoftrademeasures forachieving non-trade
objectives. TheUnited States 'action would adversely affect therights ofother WTO Members under
various WTO Agreements. Indiatherefore urged theUnited States toreconsider itsposition andrescind
thisAct.Headded thatifCanada believed thatinvestment wasamatter forconsideration intheWTO
becausetheprovisionsoftheHelms-BurtonActthatraisedgreatestconcernwerethosedealingessentially
withinvestment, hewould notethatCanada hadalsoexpressed concern about thedenial oftemporary
entry permits intotheUnited States, andtherefore thatmigration wasalsoanissue forconsideration
intheWTO.
Therepresentative ofNicaragua saidthathisdelegation wished toreiterate theconcerns ithad
raised atthe19March meeting oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods regarding thescope andpurpose
oftheHelms-Burton Act.Nicaragua firmly believed thatdisputes among countries should beresolved
instrict observance ofinternational lawandintheforaestablished bytheinternational community
forsuchpurposes. Nicaragua rejected recourse tounilateral initiatives andextra-territoriality asameans
ofresolving suchdisputes.
Therepresentative ofMadagascar saidhisdelegation endorsed Cuba'sstatement anddenounced
anyviolations ofmultilateralism.
Therepresentative ofJamaica saidherdelegation joined others inexpressing concern atthe
extra-territorial provisions oftheHelms-Burton Act. Inextending USdomestic legislation tothird
countries, especially withregard totrade andinvestment, theActwasinconsistent withtheprinciples
ofinternational trade law. Jamaica 'sconcern onthismatter wasconsistent withitsposition inthe
UNGeneral Assembly onother similar USlegislation andinstatements inwhich Jamaica hadjoined
inother fora.
Therepresentative ofthePhilippines, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, saidthat
theASEAN countries were concerned, asamatter ofprinciple, atanylegislation thatimpinged on
anyMember'sWTOobligations,andparticularlynationallegislationthathadextra-territorialapplication.
TheWTO 'sobjectives ofreducing obstacles totradeandtheelimination ofdiscriminatory tradepractices
should remain thegoalofallMembers. TheASEAN countries shared Canada 'sviewonthesystemic
implications ofthisaction taken byoneMember.
Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthathisdelegation shared others 'concerns atthisinstance
ofextra-territorial application ofUSlegislation. Australia wasopposed inprinciple tolegislation that
hadextra-territorial application andwasconcerned about thepossible effect suchprovisions could have
onAustralia 'scommercial interests. Australia would continue tomonitor thesituation closely forthe
implications oftheUSlegislation forAustralia, andwould beexamining options forfuture action to
safeguard itsinterests. Australia alsowished atthesame timetoencourage Cuba tointroduce the
necessary economic reforms toenable ittoshare fullyintheglobal process ofeconomic integration
which would generate sustainable benefits foritspeople.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland expressed hisGovernment 'sconcern attheextension ofUS
jurisdiction totheterritory ofother sovereign States which could conflict withtheUnited States '
international obligations. TheHelms-Burton Actcreated insecurity forforeign investors andhampered
theinvestment climate ingeneral. Itcould, furthermore, create restrictions totrade. Switzerland
therefore urged theUnited States toexercise restraint inthismatter withaview torespecting its
obligations under theWTO.WT/GC/M/11
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Therepresentative ofNorway saidthat,likeothers, hisdelegation alsohadconcerns ofprinciple
ontheextra-territorial aspects oftheHelms-Burton Act.
Therepresentative ofColombia saidthatCuba'sstatement onthescope andcontent ofthe
Helms-Burton Actclearly demonstrated asituation which could notgowithout comment orattention
intheWTO. Theimposition ofunilateral measures departed from theunderlying principles ofthe
WTO andthecommitments entered intobyallMembers. Bolivia hadclearly stated thesentiments
oftheRioGroup, ofwhich Colombia wasamember, andinsupport ofthatstatement, hisdelegation
wished toreiterate thatitwasessential toavoid thepractice ofimposing punitive trade measures
unilaterally against other countries.
Therepresentative ofTrinidad andTobago saidthathiscountry wasCuba'strading partner
andhadbeenattheforefront ofpromoting tradeexpansion within theCaribbean Basin. Trinidad and
Tobago andCuba, along withothercountries intheCaribbean region, weremembers oftheAssociation
ofCaribbean States which, while notaregional tradearrangement, hadasoneofitsaimstheexpansion
oftrade within thatregion. Hisdelegation therefore wished toexpress itsconcern overthepurported
extra-territoriality oftheHelms-Burton Act,which itconsidered tobeinconsistent withtheprovisions
andprinciples oftheWTO. Hisdelegation joined others inrequesting theUnited States toreconsider
theprovisions ofthisActwithaviewtoallowing tradeexpansion respecting themultilateralism inherent
intheWTO.
Therepresentative ofJapan shared theconcerns andreservations ofprevious speakers. Japan
wasparticularly concerned about theextra-territorial application ofdomestic law,which wasinconsistent
withtheprovisions oftheWTO andinternational law.Japan wasalsoconcerned thattheHelms-Burton
Actcould insomeinstances beinconflict withtheprovisions oftheUS-Japan Commerce andNavigation
Treaty. Japan would payclose attention totheimplementation andadministration ofthisAct,and
reserved therighttohaverecourse toWTO provisions iftheneedarose.
Therepresentative ofSriLanka saidthathisdelegation shared others 'concerns attheHelms-
Burton Actanditsextra-territorial implications. TheActviolated thespirit oftheWTO 'sobjectives
anditscardinal principle ofm.f.n. treatment, andwasathreat tothemultilateral trading system. Sri
Lanka hoped theUnited States would consider thenegative impact oftheActandtakesuitable action
towithdraw itearly.
Therepresentative ofIceland echoed theconcerns raised byprevious speakers, notably Canada
andtheEuropean Community, regarding theextra-territorial aspects oftheHelms-Burton Act.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidhisdelegation realized thatmany governments
hadconcerns about thislegislation buthoped thatothers would recognize thatCuba'saction indowning
unarmed UScivilian aircraft ininternational waters called foraforceful USresponse. TheUnited
States believed thatpersons whodidbusiness inCuba using confiscated property without thepayment
ofcompensation werefurthering wrongs committed against theformer owners ofsuchproperty and
wereundermining theinterests oftheUnited States. Itwasintheinterest ofallWTO Members not
tosupport thetrafficking inconfiscated Cuban property. Ashisdelegation hadindicated previously,
theUnited States wascurrently working onguidelines andmechanisms forimplementing keyprovisions
oftheAct,andcould notyetprovide definitive information onnewprocedures. TheUnited States
planned onmaking these guidelines andmechanisms public when theywere completed, andwould
continue toconsult withitstrading partners asitworked through implementation ofthelaw.
Therepresentative ofCuba expressed gratitude forthesupport andconcern thathadbeenvoiced
regarding theHelms-Burton Act. Referring toCanada 'sconcerns regarding respect forhuman rights
inCuba, hebelieved thatthatconcern wasoneofthereasons thathadledCanada tostrongly rejectWT/GC/M/11
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theHelms-Burton Act,since theActrepresented aflagrant violation oftherights oftheCuban people.
Cuba hadmade every attempt nottobring political elements intothediscussion intheWTO. However,
since theUnited States hadmade reference tothedowning oftwocivilian aircraft, hewished tonote
thatthese aircraft hadnotmerely strayed from theirpathduetoinstrument failure, butbelonged to
Cuban counter-revolutionary agents based inFlorida andhadbeenusedmany times inthepasttocommit
crimes against theCuban people. Oneachoccasion, andparticularly overthepasttwenty months,
hisGovernment hadofficially informed theUnited States oftherepeated violations bythese planes,
buttonoavail. HisGovernment hadresponsibilities towards itsownpeople, andhadtoprotect its
sovereignty. IftheUnited States hadtaken appropriate measures toprevent flights overCuban territory
bytheseplanes, theincident inquestion could havebeenavoided. Asregards theconfiscation ofprivate
property, hesaidthatinJuly1960, hisGovernment hadadopted legislation tonationalize suchproperty
which hadincluded provisions forcompensation, andmany claims hadbeensettled overtheyears
withseveral countries. TheUnited States hadnotresponded andhadinstead imposed ablockade on
Cuba, because ofwhich ithadnotbeenpossible forhisGovernment tooffercompensation totheUnited
States. Hisdelegation hadnoted theUSstatement thatitwasworking onguidelines andmechanisms
forimplementing keyprovisions oftheHelms-Burton Act,which onlypointed toitscomplexity.
Nonetheless, hisGovernment looked forward totheinformation thattheUnited States intended tomake
public oncetheguidelines andmechanisms hadbeenworked out.
Therepresentative ofCanada saidhewished toclarify thathisGovernment shared theconcerns
ofmany others, including theUnited States, about theneedfordemocratic reform andgreater respect
forhuman rights inCuba. Thatbeing said,Canada believed thattheHelms-Burton Actwasnotan
appropriate response totrytoinfluence reform andappropriate policy developments inanother country.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
5. Offices oftheDeputy Directors-General
TheChairman recalled thattheprocedures forthefuture appointments oftheDeputy Directors-
General,approvedbytheGATT1947Councilon15April1987(BISD34S/173),calledontheDirector-
General tomake suchappointments following consultations tobeannounced ataCouncil meeting,
andthatthese consultations should begin atleastthree months before theexpiration ofthetermof
office oftheDeputy Directors-General concerned.
TheDirector-General saidthat,having given dueconsideration tothefactthatthere would
beaMinisterial Conference inDecember 1996, thatthepreparations foritwould require alltheattention
oftheMembers, andthatconsultations nowonthequestion ofDeputy Directors-General would detract
from these preparations, hewished topropose thatthecontracts ofthree Deputy Directors-General,
namely Messrs. Hoda, Lavorel andSeade, which expired on31July1996, beextended foraperiod
ofoneyear. Ifthiswere agreed, hewould theninitiate consultations onfurther renewals ornew
appointments early in1997, wellinadvance ofthedateofexpiration oftheirterms ofoffice.
Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthatalthough hisdelegation agreed inprinciple withthe
Director-General 'sproposal, itwished toconsult itsauthorities onthisissue.
TheChairmanproposedthattheGeneralCounciltakenoteofthestatementsandagreetoproceed
assuggested bytheDirector-General ifthismatter were notraised again atitsnextmeeting.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.WT/GC/M/11
Page11
6. Preparations forthe1996 Ministerial Conference
(a) Report bytheDirector General
(b) Schedule ofmeetings ofWTO bodies (WT/GC/W/32/Rev.1, WT/GC/4/Rev.1)
(a) Report bytheDirector General
TheChairman recalled thatataninformal meeting oftheGeneral Council on5March, ithad
beenagreed thatpreparations fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference would beundertaken inthe
following manner:
"1. TheGeneral Council, meeting informally today, willinvite theDirector-General,
Mr.Renato Ruggiero, inhispersonal capacity, tochair informal meetings open to
participation ofallMembers, inprinciple attheHead ofDelegation level. Thepurpose
ofthese meetings willbetoenable Members toexchange views onthepreparation
oftheSingapore Ministerial Conference, with regard toboth substantive and
organizational matters.
2. Insodoing, theDirector-General willactinclose cooperation andcoordination with
theChairman oftheGeneral Council.
3. Inallmatters relating totheorganization oftheMinisterial Conference, theDirector-
General willwork closely withtheHead oftheDelegation ofthehostcountry ofthe
Ministerial Conference.
4. TheDirector-General willsubmit progress reports onthiswork atthemeetings ofthe
General Council.
5. TheGeneral Council willactuponthesereports oftheDirector-General asnecessary.
Inparticular, itwillconsider anyproposals addressed toitandtakeanydecisions it
deems appropriate forthefurther preparation oftheSingapore Ministerial Conference.
Itisunderstood thatthedifferent WTO bodies willcarry outthetasksassigned tothemunder
thetextsagreed intheUruguay Round forthepurposes ofthefirstMinisterial Conference."
Hetheninvited theDirector-General toreport ontheprocess thathadbeenundertaken thus
far.
TheDirector-General saidthattwouseful informal meetings hadbeenheldthusfar,respectively
on18March and15April. Their overriding purpose hadbeentoensure thetransparency essential
toaprocess inwhich everyone could haveconfidence. Themeetings hadaddressed boththeorganization
andthesubstance oftheMinisterial Conference, andinparticular issues ofsubstance notcovered by
theestablished bodies oftheWTO.
Attheinformal meeting on15April, aconsensus hadbeenreached onanapproach tothe
structure oftheConference, along thelinesdescribed inaSecretariat non-paper of29March. He
wished toemphasize thattheagreement wasonlyonthestructure, since there wasnoneedtodecide
atpresent onspecific agenda items forthebusiness partoftheagenda. Details ofthebusiness agenda
would evolve from thework intheGeneral Council andfrom theinformal consultation process. In
agreeing withthisapproach, anumber ofdelegations hadpointed totheneedtomake provision for
timeandconference room facilities forpossible workalsoonaministerial conclusion totheConference.
Theproposed structure, which divided theavailable timebetween general statements andspecific agenda
items, wasillustrative. Theexact division would needtobemade atalaterdatedepending ontheWT/GC/M/11
Page12
likely number ofgeneral statements andthespecific agenda items, forwhich several useful suggestions
hadalready beenmade. Hehoped thatthisconsensus could beaccepted bytheGeneral Council.
With regard toimplementation questions, heemphasized thatthiswasfirstandforemost the
taskoftheofficialWTObodiesundertheGeneralCouncil.IntheHeads-of-Delegationinformalprocess,
delegations would havethepossibility toaddress problems ornewideasconcerning theimplementation
programme which could emerge incertain areas andwhich were notprovided forintheWTO
Agreements themselves ortheprogrammes theyenvisaged. These werethetypes ofimplementation
issues thatshould bebrought totheattention oftheinformal group.
Asregards thefuture agenda oftheWTO, herecalled thatoneofthemain purposes ofthe
informalconsultationprocesswastodiscussissuesthatdelegationswishedtoseeaddressedatSingapore,
butwhich werenotbeing dealtwithinthenormal WTO machinery. Fourproposals hadthusfarbeen
received intheform ofnon-papers andconcerned government procurement, possible elements ofa
WTO work programme oninvestment, WTO rules inaglobalizing economy, andthereview of
implementation ofUruguay Round Agreements. Without prejudging onhowthese proposals would
bedealtwith, itappeared that,withtheexception ofoneortwoaspects, theproposal concerning the
review ofimplementation oftheWTO Agreements clearly belonged totheofficial bodies oftheWTO
andnottotheinformal process. Anumber ofdelegations hadalsoreferred orally toissues theywished
toseediscussed, andsome hadannounced theirintention tosubmit written proposals shortly. Among
therecurrent themes mentioned, hewished tosingle outtheneedtoaddress thespecific problems of
thedeveloping andleast-developed countries inthepreparations forSingapore. Heexpressed gratitude
tothedelegations thathadmade proposals andsuggestions, andfound itencouraging thatsubstantive
contributions wereforthcoming. Hehoped thatthesubstantive discussion thathadbeeninitiated on
some issues would beintensified insubsequent informal meetings.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteoftheDirector-General 'sstatement
andagree thattheSingapore Ministerial Conference takeplace from 9-13December 1996, thatthe
agenda fortheConference bedivided between general discussion andspecific business items, andthat
adecision onthespecific agenda items andtheexact timetobeallocated tothegeneral discussion
andthespecific items betaken atalaterdate.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
(b) Schedule ofmeetings ofWTO bodies (WT/GC/W/32/Rev.1, WT/GC/4/Rev.1)
TheChairman drewattention totheschedule ofend-of-year meetings forvarious WTO bodies
forthepurpose ofadoption oftheir respective reports totheMinisterial Conference
(WT/GC/W/32/Rev.1), andtotherevised Programme ofMeetings ofWTO bodies for1996
(WT/GC/4/Rev.1). With regard toreporting procedures fortheMinisterial Conference, hesaidhis
informal consultations hadresulted inagreement onatext,which hereadout.2
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidhewondered whether thesecond sentence ofparagraph 2
oftheChairman 'sstatement wasabsolutely necessary, given thatsub-paragraph 3(c)already provided
thatthereports ofthevarious bodies could include anindication "asappropriate" ofanyissues and
problems thathadbeenidentified.
2ThetextoftheChairman 'sstatement wassubsequently circulated asWT/L/145.WT/GC/M/11
Page13
TheChairman noted thatthetextofhisstatement hadbeencirculated toalldelegations following
hisinformal consultations thereon, andthatnodelegation hadindicated anyconcerns withitprior to
thepresent meeting. Ithadbeenhisintention precisely toavoid turning theGeneral Council intoa
negotiating forum. While hecould, forhisownpart,goalong withPakistan 'ssuggestion todelete
thesecond sentence ofparagraph 2,hewished toheartheviews ofdelegations onthis.Ifnoconsensus
were possible onthetextatpresent, hewould suggest reverting toitatthenextmeeting.
Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthathisdelegation preferred toretain theChairman 'stext
asitwas,andnoted thatthetextwasintended toserve onlyasageneral guideline anddidnothave
tobeapplied strictly byeachcommittee orcouncil.
Therepresentative ofAustralia shared Argentina 'sview. ThetextreadoutbytheChairman
wassimply meant tobeastatement bytheChair, andwasnotadocument thatshould benegotiated,
particularly intheGeneral Council itself.
Therepresentative ofPakistan asked thathisdelegation begiven some timetoassess more
fullytheimplications ofthesecond sentence ofparagraph 2.Inhisdelegation 'sview, thissentence
wasneither necessary noressential.
Therepresentative ofMexico suggested that,given thecircumstances, theChairman clarify
thesituation withthedelegations concerned andrevert tothismatter atasubsequent meeting, as
necessary.
TheChairman saidthatthesentence inquestion wasuseful andexplanatory, butperhaps also
notessential. Histexthadbeenintended toprovide asmuch information aspossible tothechairmen
ofthevarious WTO bodies. Hecould noweither withdraw hisstatement because itwascontested,
orconsult further withthedelegations concerned andcirculate itsubsequently asastatement bythe
Chairman which hadtheagreement ofallconcerned.
Therepresentative ofMorocco suggested thattheChairman 'sstatement beretained initspresent
form, andthat,inview ofPakistan 'sreservations, theChairman consult withtherepresentative of
Pakistan totrytodispel thelatter'sconcerns regarding thesentence inquestion.
Therepresentative ofPakistan underlined thathisdelegation hadnoreservations about the
Chairman 'sstatement assuch, butrather anunease withthesentence concerned. Hereiterated his
delegation 'srequest formore timetoassess theimplications ofthesentence.
TheChairman saidhebelieved itwasimportant tobegin toprovide guidelines tothevarious
WTO bodies thatweregoing tomeetinthecoming weeks. Todelay thismatter tothenextscheduled
meeting oftheGeneral Council inJunewould create anumber ofproblems. Henoted thatPakistan
agreed withtheChairman 'sstatement assuch, andthatitwished merely tohavemore timetoreflect
ontheonesentence thatitdiffered with. Inviewofthis,heproposed thattheChairman 'sstatement
bemaintained assuch, thatheconsult withthedelegation ofPakistan, andthatthelatter begiven the
possibility torevert tothesentence inquestion atthenextmeeting oftheGeneral Council.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatements,includingtheChairman'sstatementonreporting
procedures fortheMinisterial Conference (WT/L/145), alsotooknotethattheChairman would consult
withPakistan onitsconcerns regarding thesecond sentence ofparagraph 2ofthestatement, andfurther
tooknotethatPakistan would havethepossibility torevert tothismatter atthenextmeeting.
TheChairman theninvited thechairpersons ofsubsidiary bodies toundertake thenecessary
arrangements forthepreparation oftheirrespective reports along thelinesofhisstatement.WT/GC/M/11
Page14
Therepresentative ofPerurequested thatallinformal documents thatwereofimportance for
theMinisterial Conference bemade available inthethree official languages.
Therepresentative ofPakistan, referring totheschedule ofmeetings indocument
WT/GC/W/32/Rev.1, saidthatthere appeared tobenomechanism forareport tobesubmitted on
textiles byanyparticular WTO body, although there wasaprovision forareport bytheTextiles
Monitoring Body. Henoted, inthiscontext, therewasnospecific WTO bodydedicated toexamining
theimplementation oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing, andofgeneral problems relating to
thissector. TheTMB consisted ofaChairman andtenmembers whoworked intheirindividual and
personal capacities, anditdidnotassuchreflect theconcerns andviews ofallWTO Members. Some
mechanism wastherefore needed forareport ontextiles andclothing tobemade totheMinisterial
Conference through theGeneral Council. Hisdelegation would beagreeable tohaving theGeneral
CouncilitselfadoptareportonthebasisofdiscussionintheinformalprocessundertheDirector-General,
orhaving theCouncil forTrade inGoods takeupthistask. TheDirector-General hadindicated in
hisstatement thatimplementation issues weretobedealtwithbytherespective bodies under theWTO
Agreement, andPakistan wished toreiterate thatthere wasnodedicated separate body totakeupthe
textiles issue. Hisdelegation therefore sought clarification astothemanner inwhich areport ontextiles
andclothing could beforwarded totheMinisterial Conference.
TheChairman saidthattheGeneral Council could onlyestablish aschedule ofmeetings for
existing WTO bodies andthat,asPakistan hadindicated, intheareaoftextiles theTMB wastheonly
organ provided for.Ifonewished toestablish another body, aproposal would needtobemade. As
forareport ontextiles totheSingapore Ministerial Conference, hebelieved thatsuchareport should
beforwarded through theCouncil forTrade inGoods totheGeneral Council intimeforitsmeeting
on7November. However, hewasready toholdconsultations onthemost appropriate waytodeal
withthismatter.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidheshared Pakistan 'sconcerns. Areport "through" the
Council forTrade inGoods would seem toindicate thatitwould beareport from theTMB. This
would beinappropriate, however, because WTO Members were notrepresented ontheTMB. His
delegation believed thatareport should bebased onareview ofimplementation carried outbythe
Council forTrade inGoods andnotonesubmitted through itbytheTMB.
Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatHong Kong'ssuggestion wassensible. Article IVof
theWTO Agreement provided thattheCouncil forTrade inGoods should oversee thefunctioning
oftheMultilateral Trade Agreements inAnnex IA,which included theAgreement onTextiles and
Clothing.
TheChairman suggested thatthismatter belooked atsubsequently. Hebelieved thatasolution
would notbedifficult tofindbecause theCouncil forTrade inGoods hadaresponsibility inthearea
oftrade intextiles, andthatitwould therefore havetotakeadecision onthismatter. Hesuggested
thatheundertake consultations informally onthismatter toseeifthere wereanymisunderstandings.
Otherwise, itwould beunderstood thatitwould betheresponsibility oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
todraw upareport ontextiles, whether byitself orthrough some other means thatitdecided on.
Hethenproposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthestatements andoftheschedule ofmeetings
indocument WT/GC/W/32/Rev.1.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.WT/GC/M/11
Page15
7. Hungary -Invocation ofArticle 48oftheVienna Convention ontheLawoftheTreaties
Therepresentative ofHungary, speaking under "Other Business", informed theGeneral Council
ofHungary 'sinvocation, on9April 1996, ofArticle 48oftheVienna Convention ontheLawof
theTreaties withrespect toSection IIofPartIVofSchedule LXXI, andexpressed hisGovernment 's
readiness toholdconsultations withanyMembers onthismatter.
Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthathenoted withinterest Hungary 'sstatement andthat
hisauthorities wereconscious ofHungary 'spolitical andeconomic sensitivity withregard toitsUruguay
Round commitments onexport subsidies onagriculture. Australia wasoneofanumber ofcountries
thathadrecently requested jointArticle XXII consultations withHungary onthisissue, andhoped
thatthese would leadtoamutually satisfactory solution.
Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthathisGovernment wasamong those thathadrequested
Article XXII consultations withHungary onthismatter, andwould carefully examine theimplications
ofHungary 'sstatement. Argentina reserved itsrights onthismatter, which itwould exercise first
andforemost through consultations under Article XXII before proceeding toanyother procedures that
were available toitunder theWTO.
Therepresentative ofNewZealand saidthatNewZealand wasoneofthegroup ofcountries
thathadrequested consultations onthismatter withHungary, andhadrecently beeninformed that
Hungary intended toenterintoconsultations assoonaspossible. Hisdelegation wassurprised atbeing
informed nowofHungary 'sinvocation ofArticle 48oftheVienna Convention. While hisdelegation
wasnotfullyaware oftheimplications ofsuchinvocation andwould examine thematter closely, it
hoped thatHungary would enter intotheWTO consultations inthespirit ithadsaiditwould andthat
invocation ofArticle 48oftheVienna Convention didnotrepresent anyimplied threat hanging over
theconsultations.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
8. Notification requirements
- Statement bytheDirector-General
TheDirector-General,speakingunder"OtherBusiness",saidthat,followingtheinformalmeeting
ofHeads-of-Delegations onpreparations fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference, andtheunanimous
callforthehighest priority tobegiven inthese preparations totheimplementation ofUruguay Round
Agreements, hewould notethatunder theMinisterial Decision onNotification Procedures, Members
hadbeenreminded on22March 1996 regarding theirunfulfilled notification requirements for1995
andtheirnotification requirements for1996. On27March, theAdministrator oftheCentral Registry
ofNotifications hadissued letters toMembers reminding them ofthese notification requirements and
hadprovideddetailstoeachMemberoftheunfulfillednotificationrequirementsfor1995andnotification
requirements for1996. Notification obligations wereextremely important because mutual surveillance
wasthekeytotheoperation oftheWTO system, which could notoperate effectively unless Members
complied withtheirnotification requirements. Hewould therefore draw theattention ofMembers
tothereminders formeeting theunfulfilled notification requirements for1995 andnotification
requirements for1996. Theimportance offulfilling these obligations could notbeover-emphasized,
andtheSecretariat wasready toprovide technical assistance tothose Members thatmight request it.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.WT/GC/M/11
Page16
9. Accession ofKazakstan
- Working Party Chairmanship
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", informed theGeneral Council that,following
hisconsultations, Mr.Ekblom (Finland) hadagreed toserve asChairman oftheWorking Party on
theAccession ofKazakstan.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
10. Accession ofVanuatu
- Working Party Chairmanship
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", informed theGeneral Council that,following
hisconsultations, Mrs. Syahruddin (Indonesia) hadagreed toserve asChairperson oftheWorking
Party ontheAccession ofVanuatu.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
11. Committee onRegional Trade Agreements
- Presiding officers oftheCommittee
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", informed theGeneral Council that,following
hisconsultations, Mr.Weekes (Canada) hadagreed toserve asChairman oftheCommittee, and
Mr.Berthet (Uruguay), Mr.Harbinson (Hong Kong), Mr.Ravaloson (Madagascar) andMr.Willems
(Belgium) hadagreed toserve asVice-Chairmen.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
12. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that,inaccordance withtheadhoc
arrangementsforobserverstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizationsapprovedataninformal
meeting ofHeads ofDelegations on16March 19953,andasagreed attheGeneral Council meeting
on6February 1996, 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.
3SeeWT/GC/M/3, item3.