Summary of General Council meeting of 14 February 2012

1. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee¹

The Director-General reported on his recent activities as TNC Chair, including the informal ministerial meeting in Davos, where a number of messages had emerged, in line with what was discussed at MC8.  First, there was a strong shared sense of pragmatism, and to use 2012 to move in small steps on issues where consensus existed; second, there was a strong sense against prescriptiveness and setting unattainable targets; third, LDC issues and Trade Facilitation were considered to be candidates for deliverables; and fourth, concerns were expressed by business circles about the proliferation of bilateral and plurilateral arrangements and their possible effects on the multilateral system.  He also gave an overview of recent activities in the various negotiating bodies and offered his own assessment about how to move forward.  He stressed that the most realistic and practical way forward was to move ahead the parts of the Round which were mature, and re-think those where greater differences remained keeping a non-prescriptive and pragmatic approach. In concluding, he said that 2012 should not be a wasted year and that, even if major breakthroughs were not possible, the multilateral trading system should be preserved and improved where possible.

Twenty-nine delegations intervened. During the discussion, most delegations agreed that pragmatism was the best attitude to move things forward and several said that the first step should be to operationalize the Decisions and outcomes reached at MC8, in particular the Decision on LDC Accession and the LDC Services waiver.  Several also agreed that progress should be made in areas which were more mature and where an early harvest was doable, such as on LDC issues and Trade Facilitation.  However, some cautioned that it was essential to maintain a sense of balance across the board.  Agriculture was also pinpointed as the engine of the Round by some of the groups in the negotiations.  Other delegations pointed to other areas of interest to them where progress could be achieved, such as DSU negotiations, Fishery Subsidies, NTBs and Export Competition.  The importance of keeping development at the centre of any negotiating activity was also stressed by many, in line with what had been agreed by Ministers at MC8 in the Elements for Political Guidance.  The importance of protecting the multilateral trading system and further strengthening it was also reaffirmed.  Also, a number of delegations stressed that work in WTO regular Committees needed to be reinvigorated and strengthened and that the WTO should remain vigilant against all forms of protectionism.

 

2. Work Programme on Small Economies

The Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the CTD recalled the Decision on the Work Programme on Small Economies² adopted at MC8 and the various points for action contained therein.  Among those, he recalled that in the Decision Ministers had agreed that the Work Programme should identify non-tariff measures (NTMs) and their effect on small economies, and stressed that this would be the focus for the work in 2012.  The representative of Barbados (for SVEs) added that NTMs were an important area for further examination in the WTO, and particularly critical for small and vulnerable economies whose exports could be permanently impaired by non-tariff measures. 

3. Improving the Guidelines for Granting Observer Status to Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO – Communication from the Arab Group (WT/GC/W/643) – Statement by the Chairman

The Chairman of the General Council reported on consultations he had undertaken on the proposal by the Arab Group on Improving the Guidelines for Granting Observer Status to Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO.  He urged continued engagement to address this issue, and said that it would be good to focus the process of consultations on clear, operational criteria, taking into account the existing Guidelines (WT/L/161, Annex 3), without prejudging its outcome.  Three delegations intervened.

 

4. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement

The General Council adopted two waiver decisions: (i) Cuba – Article XV:6 – Extension of the waiver and (ii) European Union – Additional autonomous trade preferences granted by the European Union to Pakistan.³  Pakistan expressed gratitude to Members and the EU in particular for the decision.

 

5. Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies

The Chairman of the General Council reported that the consultations he had undertaken on a slate of names for the Appointment of Officers to WTO bodies, in line with the Guidelines in WT/L/510, had not produced consensus.  In light of this situation and the discussion at the informal Heads-of-Delegation meeting held the previous day, the General Council agreed on the proposed course of action by the GC Chairman: (i) the General Council should elect its new Chairperson, Amb. Elin Johansen (Norway), under Item 6 of the Agenda;  (ii) the new Chair of the General Council should continue the consultations on the appointment of officers to WTO bodies for 2012 and the General Council should reconvene at an appropriate time to take up the slate of names; and, (iii) the incoming Chair should initiate a process of consultations to review the Guidelines for Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies adopted by the General Council in 2002 (WT/L/510). 

 

6. Election of Chairperson

The General Council elected by acclamation Amb. Elin Johansen (Norway) as Chairperson for 2012.

Under “Other Business”

7. Improvements in the documentation, scheduling and management of meetings — Statement by the Director-General

The Director-General reported on the implementation of the specific recommendations for savings and more efficient use of resources made by the Budget Committee and adopted by the General Council at its November 2011 meeting. He referred to measures taken on documentation and to save on translation costs, including moving from detailed minutes of meetings to summary records.  He sought Members’ co-operation in devising better notification formats and in developing more efficient notification processes.  Another important element in this cost-saving exercise was to improve the scheduling and management of meetings: Chairs of WTO bodies and Members themselves had a crucial role to play in this regard.

 

8. Administrative Measures for Members in arrears

The Chair of the Budget Committee informed the Council that there were currently ten Members in various categories of arrears (two in Category II, four in Category III, four in Category IV). 

The meeting was adjourned.  The General Council will reconvene to continue its consideration of Agenda Item 5 (Appointment of Officers to WTO bodies).

Notes :

1. The statement by the Director-General is contained in JOB/GC/17.back to text
2. WT/L/844.back to text
3. In G/C/W/662 and G/C/W/640/Rev.2, respectively. back to text