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A. Introductory
comments
First of all I should emphasize that the mandate
for the TNC, as for the negotiations as a whole, is that agreed by
Ministers at Doha in November 2001 and set out in their Ministerial
Declaration – paragraphs 45 to 52 of that Declaration in particular
relate to the TNC which Ministers have established under the authority
of the General Council to supervise the overall conduct of the
negotiations. It shall establish appropriate negotiating mechanisms as
required and supervise the progress of the negotiations. Other
specific functions are set out elsewhere in the Declaration, for
example in relation to implementation issues.
That is the mandate. Our task is to give effect to
it efficiently and promptly. It is in this spirit that I have
considered the suggestions by a number of delegations concerning
possible guidance to assist the TNC's work. Clearly, any such guidance
should help the TNC to fulfil its mandate, not make it more difficult.
This said, it may assist delegations if I set out my understanding,
derived from the extensive consultations I have held, of some basic
principles and practices which I believe it is widely felt we should
keep in mind as the TNC carries out its work under its Ministerial
Mandate. This statement will, of course, be reflected in the minutes
of the TNC and also circulated as a TNC document.
I hope it will provide some assurance to
delegations that we are all committed to seeing the work of the TNC
and the negotiations it supervises conducted according to the best WTO
practices and in a transparent, inclusive and accountable manner. In
keeping with usual WTO practice, the TNC should follow the General
Council's Rules of Procedure mutatis mutandis, i.e. with only
such adjustments as may be found necessary.
I should like to note that in my consultations a
wide variety of views have been expressed, and I am grateful to
delegations for the cooperative and constructive spirit they have
shown throughout. While I have carefully considered and attempted to
reflect delegations' views in my statement, I must stress that this is
not a fully negotiated text. Delegations will of course have the
opportunity under Item 4 of the Agenda to express their views and
understandings of the sense of the points I am putting forward in
summary here. I should, however, like to note in particular the view
expressed by a number of delegations that the proposed appointment of
the Director-General ex officio as Chairman of the TNC
under Item 1 of the Agenda is an exceptional arrangement and that
appointments to WTO bodies should normally be made from among
representatives of WTO Members.
B. Principles and Practices
General Council Authority
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In line with the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the TNC has been
established by Ministers under
the authority of the General Council with the
mandate of supervising the
overall conduct of the negotiations. The TNC and its negotiating
bodies do not constitute a parallel or competing machinery to the
existing WTO bodies.
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The General Council is in charge of the WTO's work programme as
a whole, including that set out in the Doha Declaration. The TNC
should report to each regular meeting of the General Council. The
General Council retains the overall responsibility for the
preparations for Ministerial Conferences.
Transparency and Process
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The Ministerial Declaration sets out that the negotiations shall
be conducted in a transparent manner among participants, in order to
facilitate the effective participation of all.
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In its own work, and also in its supervision of the conduct of
the negotiations, the TNC should build on the best practices
established over the past two years with regard to internal
transparency and participation of all Members. These practices
were articulated by my predecessor, Ambassador Bryn, on 17 July
2000 (document WT/GC/M/57) as a reflection of the mainstream of
the extensive discussions on internal transparency.
>
search for WT/GC/M/57
in Documents Online
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Minutes of meetings of the TNC and of negotiating bodies should
be circulated expeditiously and in all three official languages at
the same time. Furthermore, the Secretariat is urged to take all
possible steps to ensure the prompt and efficient dissemination of
information relating to negotiations to non-resident and smaller
missions in particular.
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The constraints of smaller delegations should be taken into
account when scheduling meetings. The TNC will keep the calendar of
meetings under surveillance. As an overall guideline, as far as
possible only one negotiating body should meet at the same time. The
TNC should consider how this arrangement should be supervised.
Chairpersons of the TNC and Negotiating Bodies
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Chairpersons should be impartial and objective, and discharge
their duties in accordance with the mandate conferred on the TNC by
Ministers.
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Chairpersons should ensure transparency and inclusiveness in
decision-making and consultative processes taking into account the
intergovernmental and Member-driven character of the WTO.
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Chairpersons should aim to facilitate consensus among
participants and should seek to evolve consensus texts through the
negotiation process.
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In their regular reporting to overseeing bodies, Chairpersons
should reflect consensus, or where this is not possible, different
positions on issues.
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The General Council should ensure that suitable arrangements are
made to promote continuity in the work of the TNC during the
transition from the current to the next Director-General.
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The Chairperson of the TNC should work in close cooperation with
the Chairperson of the General Council and the Chairpersons of the
negotiating bodies.
C. Proposals for Action by the TNC
Agenda Item 1
Agenda Item 2
I propose that:
- the agriculture and services negotiations
will be pursued in Special Sessions of the Committee on
Agriculture and the Council for Trade in Services,
respectively;
- negotiations on market access for
non-agricultural products will take place in a Negotiating
Group on Market Access to be created;
- negotiations on the establishment of a
multilateral system of notification and registration of
geographical indications for wines and spirits under the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights will take place in Special Sessions of the TRIPS
Council, while other issues in paragraphs 18 and 19 of the
Doha Ministerial Declaration relating to TRIPS will be
addressed in regular meetings of the TRIPS Council on a
priority basis;
- negotiations on WTO rules will take place
in a Negotiating Group on Rules to be created;
- negotiations on improvements and
clarifications to the Dispute Settlement Understanding will
take place in Special Sessions of the Dispute Settlement Body;
- negotiations on trade and environment
will take place in Special Sessions of the Committee on Trade
and Environment; and
- negotiations on outstanding
implementation issues will take place in the relevant bodies
in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 12 of the Doha
Ministerial Declaration and of the Decision on
Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns of 14 November
2001.
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As reaffirmed by Ministers at Doha, provisions for special and
differential treatment are an integral part of the WTO Agreements.
The negotiations and other aspects of the work programme shall
take fully into account the principle of special and differential
treatment for developing and least-developed countries as provided
for in paragraph 50 of the Ministerial Declaration. The review of
all special and differential treatment provisions with a view to
strengthening them and making them more precise, effective and
operational provided for in paragraph 44 of the Ministerial
Declaration shall be carried out by the Committee on Trade and
Development in Special Sessions.
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The Chairman of the General Council consult on the chairmanships
of the individual negotiating bodies. Consideration should be
given to the overall balance between developed and
developing-country candidates, bearing in mind the quality and
integrity of each individual.
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The Chairpersons of individual negotiating bodies be appointed to
serve up to the Fifth Ministerial Conference, at which time all the
appointments will be reviewed. Chairpersons should be selected from
among Geneva-based representatives in the majority. Other qualified
individuals nominated by Member governments could also be
considered. This would have to be on the understanding that these
individuals would be available in Geneva as often as needed, and
that any related costs would need to be handled in a way which did
not disadvantage Members for whom there could be a problem.
Agenda Item 3
I propose that the TNC develop its own work schedule on the basis
of one meeting every 2-3 months, but with provision for more meetings
when necessary.
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TN/C/1