The draft decision, if adopted by the General Council, enables the SCM Committee to continue to grant extensions of the transition period until the end of 2013, with a final phase out period of two years, which shall end no later than 31 December 2015.

The countries benefiting from the draft decision are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Jordan, Mauritius, Panama, Papua New Guinea, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Uruguay.

The Committee Chairman, Mr. Pablo Klein (Mexico), commended the “spirit of cooperation” among Members that led to agreement.

Ambassador C. Trevor Clarke of Barbados said “the hallmark of this decision” were the help and understanding of other developing countries.

The Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures provides for an eight-year transition period (until end 2002) for most developing countries to eliminate export subsidies.

Under procedures adopted in November 2001 at the Doha Ministerial Conference, the SCM Committee may grant annual extensions of this transition period to these countries until end 2007, subject to annual review of transparency and standstill obligations.

Consultations on another extension began in April 2006 in response to a proposal from Barbados and other developing countries that have received extensions of the transition period. Barbados said they needed the policy space to maintain these programmes, which are important components of their development programmes.

The Committee Chairman conducted intensive consultations on a draft decision in May and June of this year.

Under the draft decision, the continuation of extensions shall be subject to annual reviews by the SCM Committee based on updating notifications from the Members in question. These members shall provide an action plan for eliminating export subsidies for the annual review to be conducted in 2010.

In the meantime, Bolivia, Honduras, Kenya and Sri Lanka — four countries listed in the Annex VII(b) of the Subsidies Agreement (countries with a GNP per capita of less than $1000 per year are exempted from the prohibition on export subsidies) — reserved their rights to benefit from the extension decision in case they graduate from the list before 2015.