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24 August 2003
Draft Canc鷑 Ministerial Text
General Council chairperson Carlos P閞ez del Castillo and Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi submitted their draft Canc鷑 Ministerial Declaration to ministers on 31 August 2003. In a covering letter, they stress that it has not been agreed 搃n any part? and does not include many of the member governments? proposals. But, 搃t remains our best judgement of what could constitute a workable framework for action by Ministers at Canc鷑. We believe it constitutes an adequate and manageable basis for discussion, and we hope it will prove a useful tool in our search for common ground in Canc鷑?
> The Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference
Other WTO Ministerials:
>
Doha
9?4 Nov. 2001
>
Seattle
30 Nov? Dec 1999
> Geneva 18 & 20 May 1998
>
Singapore 9?3 Dec. 1996
1. We reaffirm our Declarations made at Doha and the decisions we took there. We take note of the progress that has been made towards carrying out the Work Programme agreed at Doha, and recommit ourselves to completing it fully. We also renew our determination to conclude the negotiations launched at Doha successfully by the agreed date of 1 January 2005.
2. In pursuance of these objectives, we agree as follows:
TRIPS & |
3. We welcome the decision
on implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS
Agreement and Public Health set out in document [匽. |
Agriculture negotiations |
4. We reaffirm our
commitment to the mandate on agriculture as set out in paragraph 13 of the
Doha Ministerial Declaration. We take note of the progress made by the
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture in this regard and agree
to intensify work to translate the Doha objectives into reform modalities.
To this end, we adopt the framework set out in Annex A to this document
concerning the further commitments and related disciplines on key
outstanding issues on market access, export competition and domestic
support as the basis for concluding the work in these areas. We direct the
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture to conclude its work on
establishing modalities for the further commitments, including provisions
for special and differential treatment, by [...]. We agree that
participants will submit their comprehensive draft Schedules based on
these modalities no later than [...] and confirm that the negotiations,
including with respect to rules and disciplines and related legal texts,
shall be concluded as part and at the date of conclusion of the
negotiating agenda as a whole. |
NAMA negotiations |
5. We reaffirm our
commitment to the mandate for negotiations on market access for
non-agricultural products as set out in paragraph 16 of the Doha
Ministerial Declaration. We take note of the progress made by the
Negotiating Group on Market Access in this regard and agree to intensify
work to translate the Doha objectives into modalities for these
negotiations. To this end, we adopt the framework for modalities for
negotiations on non-agricultural products set out in Annex B to this
document. We direct the Negotiating Group to conclude its work on
establishing modalities by [...] and to take the necessary further steps
to ensure the conclusion of negotiations by the agreed date. |
Services negotiations |
6. We are committed to intensifying our efforts to bring the negotiations on specific commitments to conclusion. We stress the importance of full engagement by all participants, inter alia through the continuous exchange of requests and offers. With a view to providing effective market access to all Members, due regard shall be given to the quality of offers, particularly in sectors and modes of supply of export interest to developing countries. We call upon those participants who have not yet submitted their initial offers to do so as soon as possible. Improved offers should be submitted by [...]. We are also committed to intensifying our efforts to conclude the negotiations on rule-making under GATS Articles VI:4, X, XIII, and XV in accordance with their respective mandates and deadlines, noting the deadline of 15 March 2004 for emergency safeguard measures. The Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services shall review progress in these negotiations by 31 March 2004. We reaffirm that the negotiations shall aim to achieve progressively higher levels of liberalization with no a priori exclusion of any service sector or mode of supply and shall give special attention to sectors and modes of supply of export interest to developing countries. We note the interest of developing countries, as well as other Members, in Mode 4.In accordance with GATS provisions, there shall be due respect for the right of Members to regulate and to introduce new regulations in pursuance of national policy objectives.
Text to be added on modalities for the special treatment of
least-developed country Members depending on the outcome of the ongoing
consultations. |
Rules negotiations |
7. We instruct the
Negotiating Group on Rules to accelerate its work on anti-dumping and
subsidies and countervailing measures, including fisheries subsidies, with
a view to shifting its emphasis from identifying issues to seeking
solutions. We note the progress that has been made in the negotiations on
improving transparency in Regional Trade Agreements and encourage the
Group to reach a provisional decision soon on its work on transparency and
to accelerate its work on the clarification and improvement of RTA
disciplines under existing WTO provisions, taking into account the
developmental aspects of RTAs. |
TRIPS negotiations |
8. We take note of the
progress made in the negotiations on the establishment of a multilateral
system of notification and registration of geographical indications for
wines and spirits and instruct the Special Session of the Council for
TRIPS to continue the work as mandated in Article 23.4 of the TRIPS
Agreement and paragraph 18 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. We agree
that the negotiations shall be completed by [...]. |
Environment negotiations |
9. We take note of the
progress made by the Special Session of the Committee on Trade and
Environment in developing a common understanding of the concepts contained
in its mandate in paragraph 31 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. We
reaffirm our commitment to these negotiations. |
DSU negotiations |
10. We take note of the progress that
has been made in the negotiations on dispute settlement. We renew our
determination to pursue these negotiations with the aim of completing them
not later than May 2004. Further negotiations shall be carried out on the
basis of work done thus far, including the Chairman's text of 28 May 2003
and other proposals by participants. |
S&D treatment |
11. We reaffirm that provisions for
special and differential treatment are an integral part of WTO Agreements.
We recall our decision in Doha to review special and differential
treatment provisions with a view to strengthening and making them more
precise, effective and operational. We note the progress that has been
made towards meeting these objectives and adopt the decisions in Annex C
to this document. We instruct the General Council to continue to monitor
closely work on the proposals referred to negotiating groups and other WTO
bodies, and direct these bodies to report to the General Council no later
than [...]. We instruct the Committee on Trade and Development in Special
Session to pursue expeditiously, within the parameters of the Doha
mandate, the work on remaining agreement-specific proposals and other
outstanding issues referred to in TN/CTD/7 and report with
recommendations, as appropriate, to the General Council by [...]. The
General Council shall submit a report on all these issues to our next
Session. |
Implementation |
12. We note that, while some progress
has been made under the mandates we gave at Doha concerning
implementation-related issues and concerns, a number of the issues and
concerns raised in this context remain outstanding. We reaffirm the
mandates we gave in paragraph 12 of our Doha Ministerial Declaration and
our Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns, and we renew
our determination to find appropriate solutions to these issues. We
instruct the Trade Negotiations Committee, negotiating bodies and other WTO bodies concerned to redouble their efforts to find appropriate
solutions as a priority, and we request the Director-General to continue
the consultations he has undertaken on certain issues, including issues
related to the extension of the protection of geographical indications
provided for in Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement to products other than
wines and spirits. The General Council shall review progress and take any
appropriate action no later than [...]. |
Investment |
13. [Taking note of the work done by the Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment under the mandate in paragraphs 20-22 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, we decide to commence negotiations on the basis of the modalities set out in Annex D to this document.]
[We take note of the discussions that have taken place in the Working
Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment since the Fourth
Ministerial Conference. The situation does not provide a basis for the
commencement of negotiations in this area. Accordingly, we decide that
further clarification of the issues be undertaken in the Working Group.] |
Competition |
14. [Taking note of the work done by the Working Group on the Interaction between Trade and Competition Policy under the mandate in paragraphs 23-25 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, we decide to commence negotiations on the basis of the modalities set out in Annex E to this document.]
[We take note of the discussions that have taken place in the Working
Group on the Interaction between Trade and Competition Policy since the
Fourth Ministerial Conference. The situation does not provide a basis
for the commencement of negotiations in this area. Accordingly, we
decide that further clarification of the issues be undertaken in the
Working Group.] |
Government Procurement |
15. [Taking note of the work done by the Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement under the mandate in paragraph 26 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, we decide to commence negotiations on the basis of the modalities set out in Annex F to this document.]
[We take note of the discussions that have taken place in the Working
Group on Transparency in Government Procurement since the Fourth
Ministerial Conference. The situation does not provide a basis for the
commencement of negotiations in this area. Accordingly, we decide that
further clarification of the issues be undertaken in the Working Group.] |
Trade Facilitation |
16. [Taking note of the work done on trade facilitation by the Council for Trade in Goods under the mandate in paragraph 27 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, we decide to commence negotiations on the basis of the modalities set out in Annex G to this document.]
[We take note of the discussions that have taken place on Trade
Facilitation in the Council for Trade in Goods since the Fourth
Ministerial Conference. The situation does not provide a basis for the
commencement of negotiations in this area. Accordingly, we decide that
further clarification of the issues be undertaken in the Council for
Trade in Goods.] |
Small Economies |
17. We reaffirm our commitment to the
Work Programme on Small Economies and urge Members to adopt specific
measures that would facilitate the fuller integration of small, vulnerable
economies into the multilateral trading system. We take note of the report
of the Committee on Trade and Development in Dedicated Session on the Work
Programme on Small Economies to the General Council and the
recommendations made therein. We instruct the Committee on Trade and
Development, under the overall responsibility of the General Council, to
continue the work in the dedicated sessions with the aim of completing it
as soon as possible but no later than 1 January 2005. We instruct the
General Council to report on progress and action taken, together with any
further recommendations as appropriate, to our next Session. |
Trade, Debt & Finance |
18. We take note of the report
transmitted by the General Council on progress in the examination of the
relationship between trade, debt and finance and agree that this work
shall continue on the basis of the mandate contained in paragraph 36 of
the Doha Ministerial Declaration and the progress made in the Working
Group to date. The General Council shall report further to our next
Session. |
Trade & Transfer of Technology |
19. We take note of the report
transmitted by the General Council on progress in the examination of the
relationship between trade and transfer of technology and agree that this
work shall continue on the basis of the mandate contained in paragraph 37
of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and the progress made in the Working
Group to date. The General Council shall report further to our next
Session. |
CTE report |
20. We take note of the report
transmitted by the General Council on the work undertaken by the Committee
on Trade and Environment pursuant to paragraphs 32 and 33 of the Doha
Ministerial Declaration. We agree that this work shall continue on the
basis of the progress made thus far and instruct the General Council to
report to our next Session. |
TRIPS non-violation |
21. We take note of the work done by
the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
pursuant to paragraph 11.1 of the Doha Decision on Implementation-Related
Issues and Concerns and direct it to continue its examination of the scope
and modalities for complaints of the types provided for under
subparagraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of Article XXIII of GATT 1994 and make
recommendations by [...]. It is agreed that, in the meantime, Members will
not initiate such complaints under the TRIPS Agreement. |
E-commerce |
22. We take note of the reports from
the General Council and subsidiary bodies on the Work Programme on
Electronic Commerce, and agree to continue the examination of issues under
that ongoing Work Programme, with the current institutional arrangements.
We instruct the General Council to report on further progress to our next
Session. We declare that Members will maintain their current practice of
not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until that
Session. |
Technical Cooperation |
23. We welcome the report by the
Director-General on the implementation and adequacy of the commitments on
technical cooperation and capacity building we made in our Doha
Ministerial Declaration and request him to report further to our next
Session. We note with satisfaction the establishment of the Doha
Development Agenda Global Trust Fund since our last meeting and encourage
Members to ensure adequate financing for future technical cooperation and
capacity building programmes. We direct that in the planning of such
programmes, consultations should be undertaken with beneficiary countries
and priority given to their individual needs through both regional and
national activities. We welcome the improved collaboration and
coordination with other agencies, including under the Integrated Framework
for Trade-Related Technical Assistance for the Least-Developed Countries
and Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme. We commend the work
undertaken in this respect by the Director-General and the Secretariat,
and encourage the continuation of these and other efforts so as to
facilitate the greater participation of developing countries in the
multilateral trading system. |
LDCs |
24. We welcome the report by the
Director-General on issues affecting Least-Developed Countries (LDCs). We
reaffirm our commitment to effectively integrate LDCs into the
multilateral trading system. In this regard, we acknowledge the
seriousness of the concerns of the LDCs, as expressed in the Dhaka
Declaration, adopted by their Ministers in June 2003. We take note that
issues of interest to LDCs are being addressed in all areas of the
negotiations. Building upon our commitment in the Doha Declaration we
shall continue to expeditiously pursue the objective of duty-free and
quota-free market access for products originating from LDCs. We urge
Members to adopt and implement rules of origin so as to facilitate exports
from LDCs. In this regard, we appreciate the improved market access
measures adopted by several Members. Furthermore, in accordance with our
commitment in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, we shall take additional
measures for progressive improvements in market access, both at the border
and otherwise. In services, we [shall give priority to the sectors and
modes of supply of export interest to LDCs, particularly in regard to
movement of service providers under Mode 4.] We further commit
ourselves to provide effective trade-related technical assistance and
capacity building to LDCs on a priority basis in helping to overcome their
weak human, institutional and trade-related capacity. In this regard, we
reiterate our endorsement of the Integrated Framework (IF) and agree that
it can truly become a viable model for LDCs' trade development if it
effectively contributes to reducing supply-side constraints including
through mainstreaming trade into their national development and poverty
reduction strategies. We welcome the joint communiqu?adopted by the six
IF core agencies at their Third Heads of Agency meeting and urge them to
intensify their assistance in trade-related infrastructure, private sector
development and institution building to help countries expand and
diversify their export base. We also urge cooperation with other bilateral
and multilateral development partners. We request the Director-General to
report to our next Session on further developments. |
Sectoral Initiative on Cotton |
25. We take note of the proposal by
Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad and Mali entitled 揚overty Reduction: Sectoral
Initiative in Favour of Cotton?and agree that [...]. |
Commodity Issues |
26. Taking into account the dependence
of many developing countries on a few commodities and the problems created
by long-term declines and sharp fluctuations in the prices of these
commodities, we instruct the Committee on Trade and Development, within
its mandate, to continue with its work on this issue in cooperation with
other relevant international organizations and report on progress to the
General Council before our next Session. We recognize also that various
trade-related aspects of this issue could be addressed in the ongoing
negotiations, particularly in the framework of the negotiations on
agriculture and non-agricultural market access. |
Coherence |
27. We appreciate the efforts that
have been made by the Director-General to strengthen the WTO's
collaboration with the IMF and the World Bank in the context of our
Marrakesh mandate on achieving greater coherence in global economic
policy-making. We encourage the Director-General and the General Council
to follow-up on the General Council meeting on Coherence that was held in
May 2003. We particularly welcome the statement of support from the
Executive Heads of the IMF and the World Bank, contained in their letter
to the Director-General of 20 August 2003, to work with the WTO to address
problems that some developing-country Members may encounter in adjusting
to a more liberal trade environment, through preference erosion, loss of
tariff revenue, or other factors. We invite the Director-General to report
to us at our next Session on initiatives that have been taken in this
area. |
Accessions |
28. We note with particular satisfaction that this Conference has completed the accession procedures for Cambodia and Nepal. This marks the entry of the first two LDCs into the WTO under Article XII of the WTO Agreement. In this regard, we take the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the Guidelines on the Accession of LDCs adopted by the General Council on 10 December 2002, and to facilitate and accelerate their accession. We also welcome Armenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as new Members since our last Session. We confirm that these accessions, as those of the 25 governments now negotiating accession, will greatly strengthen our multilateral trading system. We shall therefore continue to give our attention and priority to concluding the ongoing accession proceedings as rapidly as possible. |