Summary of General Council meeting of 10 December 2014

1. Accession of the Republic of Seychelles – Report of the Working Party

The General Council approved the Protocol of Accession of the Republic of Seychelles, and adopted the draft Decision on the Accession of Seychelles and the report of the Working Party contained in WT/ACC/SYC/64 and Addenda 1 and 2. H.E. Pierre Laporte, Minister of Finance, Trade and Investment of the Republic of Seychelles, recalled the institutional and legal reforms undertaken stressing that Seychelles' laws and policies were now at par with best international standards and its private sector had already began to reap the benefits of a more predictable and transparent trading system. Several delegations welcomed the accession of Seychelles and commended its dedication and efforts in its accession process.

2. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee

The Director-General reported that consultations had restarted through the Negotiating Bodies after the three decisions had been adopted on the Special General Council meeting on 27 November. He provided an overview of the progress in the negotiating areas: Agriculture, NAMA, Services, Rules, TRIPS, Trade and Environment, Development, and DSU. He said that Members were beginning to reengage and put their work back on track. He planned to hold informal horizontal meetings in Room W at the Heads of Delegations level starting on 21 January, complementing the regular TNC meetings and meetings of the negotiating groups. The full statement can be found in JOB/GC/71. Twenty-nine delegations intervened in the discussion that followed.

3. Implementation of the Bali Outcomes – Statement by the Chairman

The Chairman provided a detailed update of the state-of-play in the implementation of each of the Bali Decisions in regular bodies: TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints, Work Programme on E-Commerce, Aid for Trade, and Trade and Transfer of Technology. He also reported on the implementation of the Decisions in the DDA Bali Package: Agriculture – specifically on TRQ administration, export competition, and Development and LDCs issues – particularly on the Monitoring Mechanism, the Duty-free Quota-free Market Access for LDCs, Preferential Rules of Origin for LDCs and the Operationalization of LDCs services waiver. The full statement can be found in JOB/GC/72.

4. Work Programme on Small Economies – Report by the Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the Committee on Trade and Development

The CTD Chair reported that the outline for the study on the challenges and opportunities experienced by small economies when linking into Global Value Chains in trade in goods and services, mandated at MC9, had been agreed. The outline is contained in document WT/COMTD/SE/W/30/Rev.1. Guatemala (SVEs), Swaziland, Solomon Islands (Pacific WTO Group), St. Lucia (OECS), Barbados, Jamaica, United States and European Union intervened.

5. Work Programme on E-Commerce – Review of Progress

Amb. Suescum (Panama), as the Friend of the Chair, provided an overview of the work taking place on the work programme on e-commerce. His report can be found in document WT/GC/W/692. The Chairman also drew attention to the reports on the work programme on e-commerce submitted by the Chairs of the Council for Trade in Services (S/C/45) and the Goods Council (G/C/55). Brazil, European Union, Cuba, India and China intervened.

6. The Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton – Statement by the Director-General

The Director-General highlighted that – as indicated in the Evolving Table - the value of development assistance committed specifically to cotton was around 327 million US dollars and that the value of completed development assistance projects benefiting cotton, directly or through broader agricultural or infrastructure assistance, had also increased. The last round of the Consultative Mechanism had shown that Members were satisfied with the progress but also that a number of challenges remained. He said that he was fully aware of the Cotton proponents' concerns about the falling prices of cotton and that it was necessary to help them compete effectively in world markets, especially since recent trends show their yields remaining static. Burkina Faso (C-4), Nigeria, and United States intervened.

7. WTO Accessions: 2014 Annual Report by the Director-General – Statement by the Director-General

The Director-General noted that the focus of this year's report was on Post-Accession, in response to the demand of some new Members, including LDCs, for support focused on the implementation of accession-specific obligations and stressed that work on accessions continued to represent a priority for the organization. Minister Laporte (Seychelles); Dominican Republic (IGDC), Yemen, Russian Federation, Jamaica, European Union and Algeria (Observer) intervened.

8. WT/DS285: United States – Measures Affecting the Cross-border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services – Communication from Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda requested the inclusion of this item on the agenda and made a statement regarding the implementation of the Recommendations and Rulings on the decision on WT/DS285: “United States – Measures Affecting the Cross-border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services”. Thirteen other Members intervened. The United States also made a statement under this item.

9. Tenth Session of the Ministerial Conference – Date and Venue

The General Council formally agreed that MC10 will be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 15 to 18 December 2015. H.E. Amina Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Kenya, conveyed Kenya's sincere and heartfelt appreciation to the WTO General Council. She stressed that Kenya would be hosting MC10 on behalf of all of Africa and reaffirmed Kenya's commitment towards the multilateral trading system and the DDA.

10. WTO Twentieth Anniversary – Statement by the Deputy Director-General

Deputy Director-General Yi reported on the preparations for the Twentieth Anniversary of the WTO next year, noting that it was an opportunity to reflect on the events of the past, which could provide guidance on how future challenges could be best addressed. Work had begun on a video series entitled "Trade Starts Here" and a range of publications were being planned. Many activities were also being planned outside of Geneva, some of which involving WTO Members. China intervened.

11. Review under Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health – Report of the Council for TRIPS (IP/C/69)

The Chairman of the TRIPS Council reported on its annual review on the functioning of the system set out in the Decision on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. Rwanda, European Union and United States intervened.

12. Waivers under Article IX of the WTO Agreement

The General Council adopted three waivers: (i) Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff Concessions; (ii) Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff Concessions; (iii) Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff Concessions. The Council also conducted the review of five waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement.

13. Improving the Guidelines for Granting Intergovernmental Organizations Permanent Observer Status in the WTO – Statement by the Chairman

The Chairman said that he said he would continue consultations and report to the General Council as appropriate. Jordan (Arab Group), Dominican Republic (IGDC), Egypt, the Russian Federation, and the United States spoke.

14. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration – Reports on Meetings of November 2014

The General Council adopted the Report of the Budget Committee in WT/BFA/146 and approved the specific recommendations contained therein.

15. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO – Report of the Joint Advisory Group on its 48th Session

Following a report on the CTD's consideration and action on this matter, the Council adopted the JAG report.

16. Agreement on the Transfer of Pension Rights of Participants in the WTO Pension Plan (WTOPP) and in the Coordinated Agencies Plans: NATO Update

The General Council agreed to concur with the Management Board's decision that the new transfer agreement with the NATO replaced and superseded the existing transfer agreement with effect from 1 January 1995.

17. Review of WTO Activities

The General Council conducted its annual review of WTO activities, in line with the Decision concerning procedures for an annual overview of WTO activities and for reporting under the WTO (WT/L/105).

18. Appointment of Officers to WTO bodies – Announcement by the Chairman pursuant to paragraph 7.1(A) of the Guidelines (WT/L/510)

In line with the Guidelines for the Appointment of Officers to WTO bodies (WT/L/510), the Chair announced that he would be starting the selection process assisted by the serving Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body.

Under “Other Business”, the Chairman made an announcement regarding Members and Observers in arrears. Statements were made by the European Union on ITA expansion and by Paraguay on the Second United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (WT/L/942).