Resumen de la reunión del Consejo General, 25 de febrero de 2013

1. Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee

1. The Director-General outlined the elements that would make up the package of deliverables at the Ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9), including elements in the Doha Development Agenda and those stemming from mandates at the Eighth Ministerial Conference. He also gave an overview of the preparations for the Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade, which he expected would set the foundations for a work programme which MC9 could take forward. Other areas could bring positive outcomes as well, such as the Information Technology Agreement and government procurement. Eleven delegations intervened in the discussion.

2. Work Programme on Small Economies — Report by the Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD)

The Chair of the General Council read a report on behalf of the Chair of the CTD, which focused on the ongoing work on the effects of non-tariff measures on small, vulnerable economies (SVE) exports. Barbados (on behalf of SVE proponents) spoke.

3. Review of the exemption provided under Paragraph 3 of the GATT 1994

In line with the procedure agreed by the Council in 2002, statements made at General Council meetings in 2013, questions posed to the United States and related replies would form the basis of this year’s review, together with the annual report provided by the US (WT/L/880). The General Council would take up the matter again at its December meeting. The US indicated its willingness to organize informal consultations in which interested delegations would be free to ask questions and discuss issues of interest. A number of delegations expressed concerns about the exemption and called for a meaningful review which should consider if the conditions for the exemption still prevailed.

4. Ukraine’s Article XXVIII notification — Statements by ASEAN, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, European Union, Guatemala, Hong Kong China, Iceland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Turkey and the United States

Twenty-four delegations, some of them speaking on behalf of WTO groups, expressed again concerns about Ukraine’s notification to modify its schedule of tariff concessions under GATT Art. XXVIII. They called on Ukraine to reconsider its position. In its statement, Ukraine provided some facts and figures related to its notification under Article XXVIII and took note of the views expressed. 

5. Improving the Guidelines for granting Intergovernmental Organizations Permanent Observer Status in the WTO — Statement by the Chair

The General Council Chair provided an update on her consultations on this matter.

6. Appointment of Officers to WTO Bodies

In line with the Guidelines for Appointment of Officers (WT/L/510), the General Council took note of the consensus on the slate of names for chairpersons to WTO bodies, as per Annex I.

7. Election of Chairperson

The Council elected by acclamation Amb. Shahid Bashir (Pakistan) as Chair for 2013.