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WTO Documents

Latest Negotiating Texts and Reports

 

• Mini-Ministerial Fails – But No Absolute Losses for Caribbean

 

•  CARICOM Statement to the Trade Negotiations Committee, July 21, 2008

 

•  Report by the Chairman to the Trade Negotiations Committee, July 17, 2008

 

•  Services Chair Releases Elements Required for the Services Negotiations, July 17, 2008

 

• WTO DG and TNC Committee Chair, Pascal Lamy outlines the next steps in the process towards establishing modalities in Agriculture and NAMA, July 15, 2008

 

•  Chair Outlines Future Work In Rules Negotiations

 

•  WTO Unofficial Guide to the Revised Draft Modalities — Agriculture, 10 July 2008

 

•  Revised Draft Modalities for Agriculture, July 10, 2008

 

•  Revised Draft Modalities for Non-Agricultural Market Access, July 10,2008

 

General Issues

 

Bretton Woods chiefs underscore importance of Doha success for development:

IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato and World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn addressed a WTO General Council meeting on Coherence in Global Economic Policy-making, October 22.  The WTO Director General and General Council Chair also addressed the forum.

The text of the WTO General Council’s decision on the Doha Agenda work programme (the “July package”), agreed on 1 August 2004

 

Opening Statement by WTO Director-General, Supachai Panitchpakdi, at the WTO public symposium "Multilateralism at a Crossroads", May 25, 2004

 

WTO public symposium: "Multilateralism at a crossroads" - SYMPOSIUM PROGRAMME

 

WTO DG remarks to delegations at the Twelfth Meeting of the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee, April 21, 2004

 

Statement by the Chairman of the General Council in Preparation for the Meeting on Dec 15, 2003

 

•  Declaration from the LDC Trade Ministers’ Meeting, Maseru, Lesotho, 27-28 February 2008

 

• USTR and Bush Administration have no authority to sign Doha deal' by Lori Wallach, Washington DC  (Third World Network: 10 March 2008)

 

WTO chairpersons for 2005

On February 15, 2005, the WTO General Council noted the consensus on the slate of names of chairpersons for WTO bodies > Press release

 

WTO eTraining Course for government officials

 

Revised draft text for Hong Kong Ministerial                                                                                                           WTO General Council Chair Ambassador Amina Mohamed and Director General Pascal Lamy, on 1 December 2005, informed delegations of the availability of the Text

G-33 Ministerial Jakarta, 12 June 2005

• Statement by Barbados on Behalf of the SVEs on Fisheries Subsidies (31 January 2008)

• Joint Statement - The G-20, the G-33, the NAMA-11, the ACP Group, the LDCs, the African Group,

   the Small, Vulnerable Economies (SVEs), and the Cotton-4, 15 Nov 2007

• Draft Modalities on NAMA from the Chairman of WTO Committee on NAMA

• Draft Modalities Proposal from Chairman of the WTO Committee on Agriculture

• Declaration on Development Concerns and Issues in the Current WTO Negotiations, Geneva 21 June 2007

 

• G90 Declaration on the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference

• ACP Declaration on the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference

 

• Second South Summit of the Group of 77 and China (Doha, Qatar, June 12 to 16, 2005)

Final documents adopted by the Summit

• G-20 New Delhi Declaration, March 21, 2005

• Caribbean Declaration on the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference

 

Doha WTO Ministerial

• DOHA WTO MINISTERIAL 2001 : MINISTERIAL DECLARATION

 

• Ministerial Declaration: The ACP-EC Partnership Agreement

 

• Ministerial Declaration: Transitional Regime for the EC Autonomous Tariff Rate Quotas on Imports of Bananas

 

• Ministerial Declaration: Implementation-Related Issues and concerns

 

• Ministerial Declaration: Proposed Procedures for Extensions Under Article 27.4 for Certain Developing Country Members

 

• Ministerial Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health

 

• The Chairman of services negotiations has released a report entitled ‘Elements Required for the Completion of the Services Negotiations”.  Click Here.

 

• The Chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules on 28 May 2008 issued a working document regarding negotiations on rules. View the Chair’s Working Document and the Annexes.

>> Annex A – Anti-Dumping               >> Annex B – Subsidies And Countervailing Measures

>> Annex C – Fisheries Subsidies

 

• The May 19 2008 Drafts of the revised text on Agriculture prepared by Agriculture Negotiations Chairperson Ambassador Crawford Falconer; and the revised text on non-agricultural market access (NAMA) prepared by NAMA Negotiations Chairperson Don Stephenson are now available.

>> Agriculture Text        >>  NAMA Text

>> Compare to February 2008 Texts.  Use the hyperlink: http://www.crnm.org/wto_doc.htm

 

• WTO Rules against EU in Banana Dispute

 

• G-10 Declaration on the State of the DDA/Agriculture Negotiations, 23 March 2007

 

• G-33 Ministerial Communiqué, Jakarta, 21 March 2007

• Lamy Calls For Continuous Negotiations As Chairs Report Modalities Deadline Will Be Missed

 

• Caribbean and Small Economies Statements Delivered at the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference  (Statements in PDF )

 

• Fourth Meeting of the Ministerial Follow-up Committee on the Cotton Dossier

 

Goods

Agriculture and Agriculture Negotiations

 

• Open letter to the EU Council and the Parliament regarding Sugar, 3 March 2008

 

•  Update on WTO Agriculture Negotiations

 

• The WTO Compliance Panel has issued its report on the EU's regime for the importation sale and distribution of bananas.     Review the conclusions of the Panel here.

 

• Draft Modalities Proposal from Chairman of the WTO Committee on Agriculture

 

•  ACP reacts to WTO DG Banana Proposal

 

• European Commission ready to accept Pascal Lamy's proposals on bananas, in order to make progress in Agriculture in the Doha trade talks, July 16, 2008

 

Market Access for Goods & Related Negotiations

 

• On 8 February the WTO released two documents on Agriculture and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), which are the outcome of discussions in both negotiating groups and will be negotiated further within the WTO. They include the formulas for reducing tariffs and trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, the implications of which need to be studied for informing negotiating positions. The RNM would be pleased to receive specific comments.  

>> NAMA Text  (283KB ) >>  Agriculture Text  (413KB )

 

 Subsidies and Countervailing Measures & Rules Negotiations

• WTO DSB Adopts Ruling on EC Sugar Export Subsidies

On May 19 the Dispute Settlement Body adopted the Appellate Body and the panel reports on the European Communities’ export subsidies on sugar (see Adoption of Appellate Body and panel reports DS265, DS266 & DS283: European Communities — Export subsidies on sugar).  Mauritius spoke on behalf of ACP WTO member States, expressing concern as regards the socio-economic impact of the findings on weak and vulnerable ACP States.  Mauritius explained that some ACP countries, for example St. Kitts & Nevis, were already being forced out of their sugar production.

 

Services

 

Services Negotiations

 

• United States – Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services Recourse to Arbitration by the United States under Article 22.6 of the DSU - Decision by the Arbitrator

 

• Antigua seeks WTO Arbitration in US Gambling Dispute (Reuters: 31 Jan 2008)

 

Intellectual Property

 

Geographical Indications

 

•  Multilateral System of Notification and Registration of Geographical Indications for Wines and Spirits - Report of the Chairman Ambassador Manzoor Ahmad

 

•  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 and those related to the Relationship between the Trips Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity - Report by the WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.  Click Here.

 

Trade Policy Reviews

Haiti undergoes a WTO Trade Policy Review

•  Haiti Government Report

 

Guyana undergoes its first WTO Trade Policy Review

•  WTO Secretariat Report (Summary)

•  Guyana Government Report

 

Accessions

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has a new publication and interactive website on the WTO accession process. The book, A Handbook on Accession to the WTO, describes how the process of accession has evolved and offers details on the process as it is now applied. The website was developed by WTO specialists on the accession process and includes interactive tests to measure progress in learning the content.

 

Disputes

 

Dispute Settlement

•  Antigua Makes First Submission to WTO Arbitration Panel (301KB )

 

• WTO DSB Establishes Panel for Gambling Services Dispute (19 July 2006)

 

• Antigua & Barbuda Makes Submissions To US House Of Representatives Judiciary Committee (Article from RNM UPDATE 0610) 

•  WTO Arbitrator rules in favour of Antigua and Barbuda in its Internet Gaming case against the United States

•  CARICOM Statement Regarding Compliance By The United States With The WTO DSB Ruling In

•  Favour Of Antigua & Barbuda On The Crossborder Internet Gaming Case (available in )

 

• Antigua Wins WTO Gaming Ruling (available in )

 

• United States still not Indicating when and how it intends to comply with WTO Ruling in Gaming Dispute

With the implementation deadline of April 3, 2006 looming as regards the US-Antigua 'Gaming Dispute', there is little indication from the United States as to when and how it will come into compliance with the recommendations and rulings of the WTO DSB, handed down last year.  Below are some relevant documents as regards the convening the week of March 13 of a Meeting of the WTO DSB in Geneva.

• Antigua Surprised by US Victory Claims in WTO Case  (available in )

The WTO, on 10 November 2004, issued the report of a panel that had examined Antigua and Barbuda's complaint against United States — Measures affecting the cross-border supply of gambling and betting services (DS285).
> Download the panel report:

In Word format:
Panel report (287 pages, 2540KB)
 Annex A-C (114 pages, 841KB)
 Annex D (8 pages, 79KB)

Annex E (21 pages, 278KB)

Annex F (10 pages, 72KB)

Annex G (11 pages, 256KB)

In pdf format:
Panel report (287 pages, 1166KB)
Annex A-C (114 pages, 441KB)
 Annex D (8 pages, 24KB)

Annex E (21 pages, 96KB)

Annex F (10 pages, 31KB)

Annex G (11 pages, 55KB)

> All documentation on the case DS285

• Appellate Body Issues Report on Gambling Dispute

The Appellate Body, on 7 April 2005, issued its report on the complaint of

Antigua and Barbuda against “United States – Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services"

• Antigua and Barbuda welcomes the release of the WTO Report on its dispute with the United States  (in )     

 

        WTO Issues Panel Report on Gambling Dispute

          Office of the USTR PR on WTO Gambling Dispute with Antigua and Barbuda  (in )

 

 

 

• US has until April 2006 to Comply with Antigua Gambling Decision, says WTO Arbitrator

The “reasonable period of time” for the United States to implement the recommendations and rulings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) regarding the complaint by Antigua & Barbuda against the United States in the dispute “United States - Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services” (WT/DS285/13) is 11 months and 2 weeks from April 20, 2005; which was the date on which the DSB adopted the Panel and Appellate Body Reports.  The Award of the Arbitrator further states that, the reasonable period of time will therefore expire on April 3, 2006.
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