RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/10
6March 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0795)
GENERAL COUNCIL
6February 1996
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on6February 1996
Chairman: Mr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Accession ofKazakstan 2
- Communication from Kazakstan 2
2. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration 3
(a) Report oftheCommittee dated 12January 1996 3
(b) Report oftheCommittee dated 22January 1996 3
3. Staff-related matters 4
- Statement bytheDirector-General 4
4. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions 5
(a) Consultation withIndia 5
(b) Note onthemeeting heldon8December 1995 6
5. Composition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body 6
- Proposed nomination totheTMB 6
6. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement 7
- Malawi -Renegotiation ofSchedule LVIII 7
- Request forextension ofwaiver 7
7. Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices 7
- Decision ontheaccession of,andapproval ofprotocol ofaccession for,the
United Arab Emirates 7
8. Accession ofPapua NewGuinea 8
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheProtocol ofAccession 8
9. Procedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents 8
10. Guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations pursuant
toArticle V:2oftheWTO Agreement 8WT/GC/M/10
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11. Committee onregional trade agreements 8
- Establishment ofthecommittee andadoption ofitsterms ofreference 8
12. Compliance with theobligations ofArticles 70.8 and70.9 oftheTRIPS
Agreement 10
13. Chairmanships ofWorking Parties ontheAccession ofSaudi Arabia andTonga 10
14. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations 11
15. Election ofChairperson 11
1. Accession ofKazakstan
- Communication from Kazakstan (WT/ACC/KAZ/1)
TheChairman drew attention tothecommunication from Kazakstan (WT/ACC/KAZ/1)
concerning itsinterest inacceding totheWTO Agreement pursuant toArticle XIIthereof.
Therepresentative ofKazakstan saidthatin1995 herGovernment hadcompleted aprogram
whose goals hadbeentoachieve macro-economic stabilization, toestablish conditions tostabilize
production andtrade, andtofacilitate investment. Inaccordance withthisprogram, theGovernment
hadpursued atighter monetary policy, theliberalization offoreign economic activities, andthereform
ofproperty ownership laws. Asaresult ofthese measures, theeconomic situation hadimproved
considerably. Monthly inflation hadbeenreduced from 24percentin1994 to4percentin1995.
InDecember 1995, Kazakstan 'sPresident hadapproved amedium-term reform program for1996-1998,
intheframework ofwhich arequest toaccede totheWTO Agreement hadbeen submitted.
Liberalization offoreign tradehadallowed Kazakstan toswitch tointernational practices inthetaxation
ofexport-import operations. Thepreliminary balance-of-payments assessment for1995 showed that
thecurrent account deficit hadgonedown considerably compared toprevious years. HerGovernment
wasaware thattheprocess ofaccession wascomplex. Forthisreason, inthepastweek, aninter-agency
workinggroup,headedbythePrimeMinisterandwithherselfasDeputyChairman,hadbeenestablished
toconduct discussions withtheWTO andtoprepare allthenecessary documentation.
Therepresentatives oftheUnited States, India, Pakistan, theEuropean Communities, Turkey
andthePhilippines onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, andtheDirector-General welcomed Kazakstan 's
application formembership.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatKazakstan 'sadoption ofWTO disciplines would
assist initseconomic transformation andfurther integration intotheworld economy. WTO membership
would beapointofdeparture forthedevelopment ofKazakstan 'straderelations withother independent
nations. With thisrequest, Kazakstan wassignalling itsreadiness toundertake WTO obligations, to
enforcetheminthecurrentandfutureoperationofitstraderegime,andtomakecommercially-significant
market access concessions andcommitments forbothgoods andservices. TheUnited States expected
thatKazakstan, likeother accession applicants, would cease implementing anymeasures inconsistent
withWTO provisions fromthepresent dateandduring theaccession negotiations, sincetodootherwise
would altertheparameters ofthenegotiations andaddtotheirdifficulty andcomplexity.
Therepresentative ofIndia saidthathisdelegation looked forward toparticipating actively
intheforthcoming working party process.WT/GC/M/10
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TherepresentativeofPakistansaidhisdelegationhopedandexpectedthatKazakstan'sapplication
would receive theGeneral Council 'searlyapproval without theimposition ofexcessive conditionalities.
Kazakstan 'sadmission would enhance theuniversality oftheWTO.
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheCommunity hadcooperative
relations withKazakstan andconsidered thelatter'srequest formembership favourably.
Therepresentative ofTurkey saidthatKazakstan 'sapplication should beaccepted asa
confirmation ofitsdetermination toconsolidate itsreform process, andclear evidence ofitsdesire
tointegrate intotheinternational economic community.
TheDirector-General saidhewished toassure Kazakstan thattheSecretariat would assist it
initsaccession process.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthestatements andagree to
establish aworking party withthefollowing terms ofreference andcomposition:
Terms ofreference:
"Toexamine theapplication oftheGovernment ofKazakstan toaccede totheWTO Agreement
under Article XII,andtosubmit totheGeneral Council recommendations which mayinclude adraft
Protocol ofAccession."
Membership:
Membership would beopen toallMembers indicating theirwishtoserve ontheWorking
Party.
Chairman:
TheGeneral Council would authorize itsChairman todesignate theChairman oftheWorking
Party inconsultation withrepresentatives ofMembers andwiththerepresentative ofKazakstan.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
TheChairman theninvited Kazakstan, onbehalf oftheGeneral Council, toattend themeetings
oftheGeneral Council and,asappropriate, meetings ofother WTO bodies asanobserver during the
period when theWorking Party wascarrying outitswork.
2. Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration
(a) Report oftheCommittee dated 12January 1996 (WT/BFA/16-L/7660)
(b) Report oftheCommittee dated 22January 1996 (WT/BFA/18-L/7662)
Mr.Yokota (Japan), Chairman oftheCommittee, introducing theCommittee 'sreports in
WT/BFA/16 -L/7660 andWT/BFA/18 -L/7662, saidthatinthecourse ofitsmeetings on30November
and18December 1995, theCommittee hadexamined points concerning various administrative up-dates
andprogress reports, particularly withregard tothecashsituation, thestateofoutstanding contributions,
instalment payments forcountries inarrears andcontributions fromobservers. Other items hadcovered
overhead costsontrustfunds, thetransition fromtheICITO totheWTO, andthegranting ofpermanent
contracts toICITO staff. Hewished tohighlight twomatters inparticular. First, theCommittee had
examined thequestion ofestablishing guidelines withregard tothecharging ofoverhead costsontrustWT/GC/M/10
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funds administered bytheWTO. Ithadbeendecided thatthismatter would bere-examined atafuture
meeting. Second, following discussions attheCommittee 'smeeting on30November, ithadbeen
recalled thattheDirector-General hadindicated hisintention toliftthesuspension ofthegranting of
permanent contracts toICITO staffwhich hadbeenimposed in1992duetotheuncertainty surrounding
theUruguay Round. Atthemeeting on18December, theDirector-General hadaddressed substantive
points related totheissue andhadclarified anumber ofquestions from Committee members. The
Committee hadtaken noteofthesituation andofthedeclarations oftheDirector-General aswellas
thoseoftheCommittee. Finally, herecalled thattherecommendation oftheCommittee inparagraph 14
ofWT/BFA/16 -L/7660, namely thedesignation ofMr.J.D.ReyandMr.O.Lundby asmember
andalternate member respectively ontheICITO/GATT StaffPension Committee, hadbeenpresented
andapproved atthemeeting oftheGeneral Council on13and15December 1995.
TheGeneralCounciltooknoteofthestatementandadoptedthereportsinWT/BFA/16-L/7660
andWT/BFA/18 -L/7662.
3. Staff-related matters
- Statement bytheDirector-General
TheDirector-General recalled thatatitsmeeting on30October 1995, theGeneral Council
haddecided "that itshallin1996 pursue itsreview ofthequestion ofsalaries, pensions andother
conditions ofservice onthebasisofthetechnical workcarried outintheCommittee onBudget, Finance
andAdministration, withaviewtoreaching adecision onthatquestion atthelatest inthecontext of
theexamination ofthebudget proposals for1997" (WT/L/91). Hebelieved itwasurgent toresume
consideration ofthese questions inorder toreach thenecessary decisions assoonaspossible andthus
remove theuncertainty overthefateofthepersonnel oftheSecretariat. Since allwereabout toengage
inaveryimportant phase ofthepreparations fortheSingapore Conference, itwasinthecommon
interest tousethefollowing fewweeks togivepractical effect totheMarrakesh Decision onstaff
problems andtoMembers 'recognition ofthestaffcontribution totheeffectiveness oftheOrganization.
Thisrecognition hadbeenexpressed onseveral occasions, including through undertakings toreview
itseconomic andlegalconditions ofservice. Itwasbothtimely andappropriate tocleartheatmosphere
ofthepreparations bytaking thenecessary decisions concerning thepersonnel oftheOrganization.
Allwereaware ofthefourissues onthetable. Thecentre-piece wastheneedforadecision
tocease applying theUNcommon system totheWTO andtoestablish asystem ofconditions ofservice
specific totheWTO. This wasthelogical extension ofthedecision byMembers tocreate aWTO
legally andinstitutionally distinct fromtheUnited Nations. Itwasamatter ofconsistency. Members
could notclaim ontheonehand tohavesetupacompletely distinct Organization from theUnited
Nations from thelegalandinstitutional view-points, andontheother tomake theWTO completely
dependent onthesameUnited Nations fortheconditions ofservice ofitsstaff. Theproblem, however,
wasnotonlyoneofinconsistency; ittranscended thelegal level. What wasatstake toowasthe
recognition thattheissues --substantive andbudgetary --facing theWTO werecompletely different
fromthose oftheUNsystem. TheWTO could notbeheldhostage totheUnited Nations 'budgetary
crisis. WTO Members hadtherareadvantage ofbenefitting from themosttransparent examination
ofandcontrol overthebudget oftheirOrganization, which hedidnothavetodemonstrate. Members
hadalready agreed onthenecessary funds andonthereforms theywished tobring totheWTO. There
wasnoneedtodemonstrate thattheWTO wasadifferent Organization. Itflowed from thisthata
different organization needed different conditions ofservice foritsstaff. Thiswastherefore thefirst
decision thatwascalled for.
Thefirstconsequence ofthisdecision wasestablishing aWTO pension planseparate from
thatoftheUnited Nations. Members hadcome veryclose toanagreement onthistowards theendWT/GC/M/10
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of1995. Most ifnotallthetechnical work hadalready beendoneinthisarea. Inthiscontext, any
reservations thatsome might havehadinthepastyearwithaseparate WTO pension scheme could
notbeattributed tobudgetary implications, because theproposed scheme would nothaveinvolved
additional contributions in1996, andcontributions forfuture years werequite reasonable interms of
theoverall WTO budget andespecially interms ofindividual Members 'contributions toit.Thethird
issue wasthatofStaffRegulations andRules, onwhich work wasveryclose tocompletion. What
wasmissing wasthesalary andpension provisions. Finally, thefourth element concerned themodest
increase thathehadbeenadvocating forprofessional salaries.
Theneeded decisions were evenmore urgent today because ofother decisions taken bythe
UNGeneral Assembly inDecember 1995 concerning anumber ofconditions ofservice forthestaff
ofthecommon system organizations, andinparticular onthesystem ofpostadjustment tobeapplied
forstaffinpostatGeneva. These developments made itevenmore imperative fortheGeneral Council
torevert tothestaff-related questions asamatter ofurgency inorder fortheMembers totakeapolitical
stance onthequestion oftheapplication ofthecommon system totheWTO. Herecalled thatthe
WTO onlyapplied thissystem onadefactobasis. Asallwereaware, decisions taken bytheGeneral
Assembly, ifapplied totheWTO Secretariat, would constitute afurther deterioration ofitsconditions
ofservice. Hebelieved Members would agree thathecould notbeexpected toapply automatically
totheWTO Secretariat decisions thatwereinevident contradiction totheobjectives contained inthe
declarations which governments hadmade atMarrakesh. Heenjoined alltoriseabove short-term
financial orbudgetary considerations andtoreflect onthelonger-term interest oftheWTO, andin
particular ontheneedtopreserve theeffectiveness andculture ofitsSecretariat. Heasked Members
toconsider seriously thebenefits theywould derive frommanaging afullyindependent Organization.
There wasnoneedtofearaso-called precedent, since Members hadalready clearly decided thatthe
WTO wasadistinct Organization, andwhathappened inthesematters inanyorganization wasentirely
within theircontrol. Hebelieved itwould beopportune fortheGeneral Council togiveimmediate
consideration tothematters hehaddescribed, inorder firstandforemost tocreate assoonaspossible
thebestpossible atmosphere forthesmooth preparation oftheSingapore Conference, butalsotoensure
thelong-term efficiency oftheSecretariat. Heproposed thatinformal consultations bytheChairman
would beappropriate forthispurpose.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteoftheDirector-General 'sstatement
andagree that,asproposed bytheDirector-General, theChairman oftheGeneral Council holdinformal
consultations onthese matters.
TheGeneral Council soagreed.
4. Committee onBalance-of-Payments Restrictions
(a) Consultation withIndia (WT/BOP/R/11-BOP/R/234)
(b) Note onthemeeting heldon8December 1995 (WT/BOP/R/12-BOP/R/235)
(a) Consultation withIndia (WT/BOP/R/11-BOP/R/234)
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee, saidthaton6and8December 1995, the
Committee hadheldaconsultation withIndia, andrecalled thathehadinformed theGeneral Council
atitsmeeting on13and15December 1995 oftheconclusions reached atthisconsultation.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States expressed hisdelegation 'scontinuing concern atIndia's
useofbalance-of-payments provisions tojustify quantitative restrictions covering thousands ofHSline
items primarily forconsumer goods. TheUnited States hadserious doubts about theconformity of
those measures withIndia'sWTO obligations. India hadbeenrequired under WTO rulestoprovideWT/GC/M/10
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before theDecember 1995 BOPconsultation aformal notification ofalistofHSlineitems covered
byquantitative restrictions forwhich ithadclaimed BOPcoverage. Twomonths afterthatconsultation,
India hadyettoprovide theWTO withsuchaformal list.Hisdelegation wasencouraged, however,
byIndia'spromise toprovide itwithin tendayswithacomputer generated andreadable listing and
description byHSnumber ofthequantitative restrictions forwhich BOPcoverage wasclaimed. The
United States looked forward toreceiving thisinformation andwould examine carefully themeasures
described therein. Italsostrongly encouraged Indiatocomply withitsWTO obligations tonotify these
measures formally totheWTO.
Therepresentative ofIndia saidthathisdelegation hadtaken careful noteoftheUnited States '
statement, anddidnotwishtorepeat thearguments given byIndia during theBOPconsultation. As
theSecretariat 'sbackground paper fortheconsultation haditself pointed out,thefulllistofIndia's
BOPandother restrictions hadbeennotified totheSecretariat inNovember 1995, andwereavailable
forreference. Henoted thattheBOPCommittee hadonevery occasion overthepastyears approved
ofIndia'sinvoking theBOPprovisions forrestrictions oncertain items whenever consultations had
beenheldwithIndia onthisissue. India hadfulfilled itsobligations under theBOPprovisions and,
asnoted inthelastparagraph ofthereport ontheconsultation, hadagreed tonotify totheWTO all
remaining restrictions maintained forBOPpurposes soonaftertheannouncement ofitsExport-Import
Policy for1996/1997, which would bedueinApril 1996.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thereport inWT/BOP/R/11-
BOP/R/234.
(b) Note onthemeeting heldon8December 1995 (WT/BOP/R/12-BOP/R/235)
Mr.Witt(Germany), Chairman oftheCommittee, drewattention totheCommittee 'sdiscussion
ofitsongoing business atitsmeeting on8December 1995, ascontained inWT/BOP/R/12 -BOP/R/235.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andoftheinformation inWT/BOP/R/12-
BOP/R/235.
5. Composition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body
- Proposed nomination totheTMB (WT/GC/W/28)
TheChairmanrecalledthatatthemeetingoftheGeneralCouncilon31January1995,aDecision
hadbeentaken onthecomposition oftheTextiles Monitoring Body forathree-year period, i.e.until
theendof1997(WT/L/26). Oneoftheconstituencies agreed hadconsisted oftwocountries, namely
China andPakistan. Afootnote totheDecision stipulated thatintheevent thatChina didnotbecome
aWTO Member by31December 1995, “aWTO Member, tobeproposed bytheWTO Members
thataremembers oftheInternational Textiles andClothing Bureau, shallbeincluded inthisconstituency
untilsuchdateasChina becomes aWTO Member ”.Hedrew attention tothecommunication from
theITCB inWT/GC/W/28 proposing thatMacau beincluded intheChina/Pakistan constituency until
suchtimeasChina became aMember oftheWTO, oruntil31December 1997, whichever came first.
Mr.Osorio Londoño (Colombia), Chairman oftheITCB, saidthatthe24developing exporting
country members oftheITCB hadheldanumber ofconsultations onthematter described bythe
Chairman, andinparticular withtherepresentatives oftheChina/Pakistan constituency, andhad
unanimously designated Macau tobeincluded inthisconstituency. Although Macau hadnopermanent
representation inGeneva, ithadgiven assurances thattheTMB member/alternate itwould appoint
would carry outalltheresponsibilities incumbent upon it.WT/GC/M/10
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TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andoftheproposed nomination totheTMB
inWT/GC/W/28.
6. Waivers under Article IXoftheWTO Agreement
- Malawi -Renegotiation ofSchedule LVIII
- Request forextension ofwaiver (G/L/51, G/C/W/31)
TheChairmandrewattentiontotherequestfromMalawiforanextensionofitswaiver(G/L/51),
andtotherelated draftdecision (G/C/W/31).
Mr.Endo (Japan), Chairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods, reporting ontheresults of
theCouncil 'sconsideration ofthisrequest atitsmeeting on29January, saidthattheCouncil hadagreed
toforward thedraftdecision inG/C/W/31 granting theextension until30June1996 totheGeneral
Council foradoption.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthereport bytheChairman oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods
and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO
Agreement agreed inNovember 1995 (WT/L/93), adopted thedecision (WT/L/131).
7. Decision onfinalization ofnegotiations onschedules ongoods andservices (WT/L/30)
- Decision ontheaccession of,andapproval ofprotocol ofaccession for,theUnited
Arab Emirates (WT/GC/W/29)
TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting on13and15December 1995, theGeneral Council
hadapproved thegoods andservices schedules oftheUnited Arab Emirates andhadtaken notethat
consultations onadraftProtocol ofAccession aswellasonadraftdecision authorizing thatGovernment
toaccede ontheterms setoutinitsProtocol werecontinuing. Following these consultations, adraft
Protocol ofAccession andadraftdecision ontheaccession oftheUnited Arab Emirates hadbeen
circulated inWT/GC/W/29.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatparagraph 4ofthedraftProtocol ofAccession
fortheUAE contained aformulation notfound intheProtocols forother countries thathadrecently
become Members, andasked ifanexplanation forthiscould beprovided fortherecord.
TheChairman saidhehadbeeninformed bytheSecretariat thatthere were tworeasons for
theinclusion ofparagraph 4intheProtocol ofAccession fortheUnited Arab Emirates. First, the
listcontaining theUAE'sGATS Article IIExemptions wasaseparate document thatwasnotpartof
theUAE'sschedules. Assuch, aspecific reference wasneeded intheProtocol sothatitcould be
attached totheProtocol. Second, paragraph 4wasalsoneeded tomake itclear thattheUAE's
exemptions mustmeettheconditions oftheAnnex toGATS onArticle IIExemptions andbesubject
tothesame review procedures.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements and,inaccordance withtheDecision-Making
Procedures Under Articles IXandXIIoftheWTO Agreement agreed inNovember 1995(WT/L/93),
approved thetextoftheProtocol ofAccession (WT/L/129) andadopted theDecision ontheAccession
oftheUAE (WT/L/128).WT/GC/M/10
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8. Accession ofPapua NewGuinea
- Extension oftime-limit foracceptance oftheProtocol ofAccession (WT/GC/W/30)
TheChairman recalled thaton15November 1995, theGeneral Council hadadopted aDecision
authorizing Papua NewGuinea toaccede totheWTO Agreement under terms setoutinitsProtocol
ofAccession (WT/L/99). Hedrew attention toacommunication from Papua New Guinea in
WT/GC/W/30 requesting thatthetime-limit inparagraph 6oftheProtocol ofAccession bechanged
to13May1996, andtothedraftdecision intheAnnex tothatdocument.
Therepresentative ofJapan saidthatwhile hisdelegation hadnoobjection totheadoption of
thedraftdecision inWT/GC/W/30, ithoped thatJapan'sconcerns withregard toPapua NewGuinea 's
applied tariffoncanned mackerel inexcess ofthebound level, which hisdelegation hadraised atearlier
meetings oftheGeneral Council1,would beresolved assoonaspossible.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement andadopted thedecision (WT/L/130).
9. Procedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents
and
10. Guidelines forarrangements onrelations withnon-governmental organizations pursuant to
Article V:2oftheWTO Agreement
TheChairman saidthatthestalemate onthesetwoissues continued toexist, andthatnofurther
progress hadbeenachieved since theGeneral Council hadlastconsidered them atitsmeeting on13
and15December 1995. Heintended torefer tothese issues subsequently inastatement hewould
make under Item15oftheAgenda.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.
11. Committee onregional trade agreements
- Establishment ofthecommittee andadoption ofitsterms ofreference
TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting on13and15December, theGeneral Council had
agreed inprinciple toestablish acommittee onregional tradeagreements andthattheChairman would
holdinformalconsultationsonthetermsofreferenceandotherrelatedmattersconcerningthecommittee.
Asallwereaware, hehadrequested Mr.Weekes (Canada) toconduct theconsultations onhisbehalf.
Mr.Weekes, reporting ontheresults ofhisconsultations, saidmany delegations hadparticipated
intheopen-ended consultation andthattherehadbeenanactive contribution frommany sides. Following
theconsultations, adraftdecision hadbeencirculated todelegations which tookaccount ofsuggestions
made attheconsultations, bothbyhimself andothers. Delegations hadtoaskthemselves whether
theproposed terms ofreference were adequate toallow them tocarry outthetypeofwork inthe
committeethattheyenvisaged.Itwasclearthatdelegationsenvisagedtwomajortasksforthecommittee.
Thefirstrelated toconducting theexamination already required under various WTO provisions, and
thetextofthedraftdecision reflected thisunder sub-headings 1(a),(b)and(c).Second, delegations
hadwanted tousethecommittee asaforum forconsidering thesystemic implications ofthevarious
regional trade agreements onthemultilateral trading system. Thedrafting ofparagraph 1(d),which
attempted toreflect thiswish, hadbeenthemostdifficult. Heunderstood fromconsultations heldjust
1SeeWT/GC/M/4, item9andWT/GC/M/8, sub-item 9(b).WT/GC/M/10
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priortothepresent meeting, thatanumber ofdelegations feltthattheuseofthewords "global effects"
inparagraph 1(d)didnotsufficiently differentiate thetaskofconsidering thebroader implications from
thatofconducting theexamination offreetrade andother regional agreements required bytheWTO
provisions. Onreflection, hebelieved thatthewords "systemic implications" would better capture
thenotion ofwhatwasintended. Onthebasis ofthediscussions thathadtaken place justprior to
thepresent meeting, hebelieved thattheproposed decision would beacceptable toalldelegations if
thischange were tobemade inparagraph 1(d). Heproposed thattheGeneral Council consider for
adoption thedraftdecision hehadcirculated, withtheamendment justsuggested.
TheChairman saidthatitwould beunfortunate tolosethemomentum infavour ofseeing this
committee established andoperationalized assoonaspossible, andasked forviews onthedraftdecision
withtheamendment asproposed byMr.Weekes.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthathisdelegation wasprepared toaccept thetextwith
theamendment asproposed. Hewished tounderline, however, thatPakistan 'sinterpretation ofthis
textwasthatitwould notexclude theconsideration inthiscommittee oftheeffects ofregional
arrangements onvarious countries orgroups, apartfromtheireffects onthemultilateral trading system.
TheChairman proposed thattheGeneral Council takenoteofthestatements andadopt the
draftdecision establishing theCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements withtheterms ofreference
setouttherein asamended atthepresent meeting.
TheGeneral Council soagreed (WT/L/127).
Therepresentative ofArgentina, speaking onbehalf ofthecountries members ofMERCOSUR,
saidheregretted thattherehadnotbeensufficient timetodiscuss, andtobetter understand thereasons
for,theamendment thathadbeenproposed totheoriginal text. However, hesupported thedecision
thathadbeentaken, which would helpbring amore systematic approach totheexamination ofthe
overall aspect ofregional integration infullrespect ofthemandates ofthepreviously established working
parties.
Therepresentative ofJapan hoped thattheCommittee would begin itswork assoonaspossible,
andsaidthatitwastheintention totakeupinthatCommittee, awiderange ofissues including ways
toencourage prompt notification withaviewtoensuring transparency oftheregional tradeagreements
andtheirconsistency withtheWTO Agreement.
Therepresentative ofMexico welcomed theopen-ended format oftheconsultations onthis
matter, which hesaidonceagain demonstrated theusefulness ofensuring thatallparticipated inand
contributed tothedrawing-up ofdecisions asimportant astheonejusttaken. Astothechange
introduced totheoriginal text,hesaidthiswould better reflect thedifference between theexercise
carried outunder paragraph 1(b)andthatunder paragraph 1(d).
Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthatasoneoftheproponents oftheidea
toestablish suchaCommittee, theCommunity waspleased thatadecision thereon hadnowbeentaken.
Hehoped thattheCommittee would make itpossible torationalize thework ofthevarious working
parties already established, andthatonecould thenholdadebate onthesystemic implications ofregional
arrangements onthemultilateral trading system.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthattheoriginal andprimary taskoftheCommittee
related tothefirstparagraph ofthepreamble andparagraph 1(d)oftheterms ofreference. Hehoped that
onewould notlosesight ofthisasthework oftheCommittee proceeded. Hewished torecord his
delegation 'sunderstanding thatthewords "andtherelationship between them" inparagraph 1(d)referredWT/GC/M/10
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totherelationship between "such agreements andregional initiatives" mentioned inthefirstlineof
thatparagraph, ontheonehand, andthemultilateral trading system ontheother.
TheChairman saidthattheagreement reached atthepresent meeting ontheterms ofreference
oftheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements showed thatpragmatism hadonceagain prevailed
intheOrganization.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
12. Compliance withtheobligations ofArticles 70.8and70.9oftheTRIPS Agreement
TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStates,speakingunder"OtherBusiness",saidthatArticles70.8
and70.9oftheTRIPS Agreement, informally known asthe"mailbox" provisions, wereoneofonly
afewobligations thathadtobemetbyallMembers asoftheentry intoforce oftheTRIPS Agreement.
Theobligations themselves werestraightforward. First, obligated countries should make provisions
toaccept thefiling ofpatent applications forthesetypes ofinventions. Second, countries should ensure
thatanapplicant thathadfiledanapplication under themailbox rulehadthelegalrighttoclaim the
benefit oftheactual filing dateofsuchanapplication, regardless ofwhen theapplication wasexamined.
Third, obligated countries should extend protection fortheremainder ofthetermthatanapplicant
would haveenjoyed, hadthesubject matter oftheapplication beeneligible tobepatented atthetime
ofitsfiling. Finally, obligated countries should extend marketing exclusivity topharmaceutical and
agricultural chemical products thatwere thesubject ofanapplication thathadbeenfiledunder the
mailbox provisions. Itwashisunderstanding thatanumber ofcountries, including Pakistan andKuwait,
hadnotmettheseobligations oftheTRIPS Agreement. Some ofthesecountries hadassured theUnited
States thatthenecessary administrative andlegalprovisions wereforthcoming. These assurances did
notaddress theproblem thatexisted, which, simply put,wasafailure tocomply withobligations that
arose more than13months earlier. Hisdelegation looked forward totheresolution oftheseproblems,
andreserved itsrights forfuture action inthisregard.
Therepresentative ofPakistan saidthathisdelegation hadnoted theUnited States 'statement.
Ashisdelegation hadalready assured theUnited States, arrangements foramending Pakistan 'sPatents
Actwereunder way,andadraftbillforsubmission toParliament hadbeenprepared. Administrative
arrangements forthemailbox system were alsounder consideration. Hewould transmit theUnited
States 'statement tohisauthorities, andhoped thatthismatter would beresolved soontothesatisfaction
ofall.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements.
13. Chairmanships ofWorking Parties ontheAccession ofSaudi Arabia andTonga
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", saidthatfollowing therequest forWTO
Accession bySaudi Arabia, circulated indocument WT/ACC/SAU/1, theGATT 1947 Accession
Working Party onSaudi Arabia hadbeentransformed intoaWTO Working Party. Consultations had
beenheldonthechairmanship inviewoftheannouncement ofthenon-availability ofMr.Shannon
(Canada) forthepost, because ofhisdeparture from Geneva. Onthebasis ofhisconsultations, he
informed theGeneral Council thatMr.Weekes (Canada) hadagreed tochair thisWorking Party.
Alsoonthebasis ofhisconsultations, heinformed theGeneral Council thatMr.Harbinson
(Hong Kong) hadagreed tochair theWorking Party ontheAccession ofTonga.WT/GC/M/10
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TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
14. Observer status forinternational intergovernmental organizations
TheChairman, speaking under "Other Business", recalled that,inaccordance withtheadhoc
arrangementsforobserverstatusforinternationalintergovernmentalorganizationsapprovedataninformal
meeting ofHeads ofDelegations on16March 1995, andasagreed attheGeneral Council meeting
on13and15December 1995, thefollowing organizations hadbeeninvited asobservers tothepresent
meeting :United Nations, UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, FAO, WIPO andOECD. Itwashis
understanding that,pending agreement onguidelines forobserver status forinternational organizations,
theabove organizations would alsobeinvited tothenextmeeting.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthisinformation.
15. Election ofChairperson
Astheoutgoing presiding officer oftheGeneral Council, theChairman made astatement on
thework oftheGeneral Council in1995 (WT/GC/(96)/ST/1).
TheGeneral Council thenunanimously elected Mr.Rossier (Switzerland) totheChair.