RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/IPL/M/2
FOR THE 13July1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-1450)
SUB-COMMITTEE ONINSTITUTIONAL,
PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON4JULY 1994
1. TheSub-Committee onInstitutional, Procedural andLegal Matters helditssecond meeting
on4July1994 under theChairmanship ofMr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore).
2. TheChairman drewattention totheproposed agenda inPC/AIR/9/Add. 1,andsuggested that
theSub-Committee begin withtheconsideration ofitems 1and2,which concerned itsmandate inregard
toparagraph 8(b)(ii) oftheDecision establishing thePreparatory Committee, followed bythe
consideration ofitem2,andthatunder "Other Business", theSub-Committee takeuparequest by
theFood andAgriculture Organization forobserver status. With these modifications, theagenda
contained inPC/AIR/9/Add.1 wasadopted.
Paragraph 8(b)(ii) oftheDecision establishing thePreparatory Committee
3. TheChairman recalled thattheSub-Committee hadrequested theSecretariat toprepare a
background noteonterms ofreference andrules ofprocedure fortheWTO bodies inorder toassist
initsdiscussion onthispartofitsmandate. Afirstexchange ofviews ontheSecretariat 'spaper
(PC/IPL/W/1) hadtaken place ataninformal meeting on22June, following which theSecretariat
hadbeenrequested toprepare afollow-up paper inwhich standard terms ofreference forWTO bodies
andacommon setofrulesofprocedure applicable toallWTO bodies would besuggested. Thishad
beencirculated asanon-paper, dated 28June. Asindicated inthenon-paper, work onbody-specific
terms ofreference wasbeing pursued separately inrespect ofthreeWTO bodies, namely theCommittees
onBalance-of-PaymentsRestrictions,Budget,FinanceandAdministration,andTradeandDevelopment.
Hewould beconsulting withtheChairmen oftheexisting GATT 1947 bodies onthismatter, and
would report ontheoutcome ofthose consultations totheSub-Committee. Therules ofprocedure
proposed inthenon-paper represented astraightforward adaptation ofthecurrent rulesfortheSessions
oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES toGATT 1947. Assuch, theywould notapply across theboard
toalltheWTO bodies, andfurther refinements might benecessary totakeintoaccount thework of
theGeneral Council andother particular aspects ofWTO bodies. Thenon-paper hadalsoindicated
those areas thatwould require advance work tobeundertaken inorder thattheAgreements concerned
could beimplemented ondayoneoftheentry intoforce oftheWTO. Inthisregard, ithadappeared
thatwork relating totheAgriculture Agreement hadhadtobeundertaken. TRIPS andAnti-dumping
andSubsidies weretwoother areas inwhich suchaction might berequired. Onagriculture, thecontact
groupthathadbeenestablishedearlierhadbeenworkingonthespecifictopicofnotificationrequirements
inrespect oftheAgreement onAgriculture. Thatcontact group hadfound noneedtotouch uponthe
questions ofterms ofreference andrulesofprocedure. OntheissueofTRIPS, approaches hadbeen
made byanumber ofdelegations forwork tocommence onthissubject, andhehadsuggested that
inorder thatwork commence assoonaspossible, amultilateral process intheformofacontact group
beestablished. Onthequestion ofanti-dumping andsubsidies, itwasagain hissuggestion thatany
work thatneeded tobeundertaken should alsobeundertaken inthecontext ofacontact group. These
twoadditional contact groups would operate onthesame basis asthatonagriculture, namely, they
would beinformal andopen ended. Allthree groups would function under theaegis oftheSub-
Committee andwould submit periodic reports toit.With theirestablishment, hewould suggest thatPC/IPL/M/2
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amoratorium beplaced ontheformation offurther suchgroups forthepresent. Moreover, assoon
astheirparticular tasks hadbeencompleted, thecontact groups would cease toexist.
4. Therepresentative ofEgypt, referring tothecontact groups, saidthatthearrangements proposed
bytheChairman inthisregard weresatisfactory. Hisdelegation believed, however, thatthecontact
group onanti-dumping andsubsidies should alsoaddress thequestion ofsafeguards.
5. TheChairman saidthatdelegations hadapproached himwithveryspecific requests forwork
intheareaofanti-dumping andsubsidies. OnEgypt 'srequest toinclude safeguards inthiswork, he
would wishtobeguided bytheSub-Committee.
6. Therepresentative ofIndia saidthattheWTO Agreement wasselfsufficient withregard to
theterms ofreference forsuchbodies astheMinisterial Conference, theGeneral Council, theCouncil
forTrade inGoods, theCouncil onTrade inServices andtheCouncil onTRIPS, andthatithadset
outthepowers, functions andthescope ofthese bodies. Hewondered, therefore, whether itwasat
allnecessary fortheSub-Committee todefine standard terms ofreference formost, ifnotall,ofthese
bodies. TheSub-Committee would avoid anumber ofunnecessary problems bynotgoing down that
route. Asregards rules ofprocedure, amore detailed examination wasnecessary. India favoured
standardrules,althoughadistinctionwouldneedtobemadebetweenthosefortheMinisterialConference
andthose fortheGeneral Council. Rules fortheGeneral Council should bedrawn upalong thelines
ofthepractices followed bytheGATT 1947 Council, forexample withregard tothenotice required
fortheconvening ofmeetings, which wasfiveweeks inthecaseofSessions oftheCONTRACTING
PARTIES. Parallels should bedrawn between theCONTRACTING PARTIES toGATT 1947 and
theMinisterial Conference, andbetween theGATT 1947 Council andtheGeneral Council. Further
consideration would needtobegiven torulesregarding decision making andvoting procedures, which
hadalready beensetoutindetail intheWTO Agreement.
7. Withregard tocontact groups, hisdelegation would havepreferred themtohavebeenappointed
bytheSub-Committee assub-groups withspecific terms ofreference. Intheprocess thusfar,itwas
hisunderstanding thatthecontact group onAgriculture hadtentatively come totheconclusion that
itwasnotnecessary todraw upterms ofreference orrules ofprocedure fortheWTO Committees
onAgriculture andonSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, although work would needtobedone
onnotification procedures, withpriority being given tonotifications required asofdayoneoftheentry
intoforce oftheWTO. OnTRIPS, itwashisunderstanding thatthecontact group thereon would
address onlynotification obligations thatwould enter intoforce ondayoneoftheWTO, andnothing
more. Furthermore, itwashisunderstanding thatiftheTRIPS contact group came totheconclusion
atitsfirstmeeting thatnothing further needed tobedone, thenthatgroup would bediscontinued.
Ontheseunderstandings, hisdelegation wasapartytothedecision toestablish thesegroups. OnEgypt 's
proposal, hesaidthatifthere wasanything intheAgreement onSafeguards concerning notifications
thatwerenecessary toenable theAgreement tobeoperational fromdayone,thenIndia would support
it.Itwashisunderstanding thatintheotherareastoo,workwould belimited onlytowhatwasnecessary
ondayoneoftheWTO. Byandlarge, thiswork related toformats forthenotifications pursuant to
thenotification obligations under thevarious Agreements.
8. TheChairman saidthattheSecretariat 'snon-paper hadbeenintended tobefactual, andto
leave thedecision onwhether ornottodefine anystandard terms ofreference forWTO bodies tothe
Sub-Committee itself. Defining standard terms ofreference foreachWTO bodymight notbenecessary
because itwould, inmany instances, bestating theobvious. However, thatwould beforthe
Sub-Committee todecide. Onrules ofprocedure too,theSecretariat hadbeenasked onlytoadapt
thecurrent rules forSessions oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES toGATT 1947. Hewould agree
thatseparate rules ofprocedure should bedrawn upfortheMinisterial Conference andthe
General Council. That, however, would bethenextstep. Hewould propose, inthisregard, thatthePC/IPL/M/2
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Secretariat drawupseparate rulesofprocedure fortheMinisterial Council, theGeneral Council, and
athirdsetthatwould beapplicable toallsubsidiary bodies. These rules ofprocedure could thenbe
collated intoaWTO handbook onrules ofprocedure. Astonotification obligations, heagreed with
India thatonlythose thatwere required inorder foranAgreement tobeimplemented immediately
would betaken up.
9. Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthathisdelegation wasnotconvinced oftheneedfor
standard terms ofreference forWTO bodies. Therolesandfunctions ofthesebodies hadbeenclearly
provided intheirrespective Agreements, mostofwhich hadbeenheavily negotiated. Moreover, some
comparable existing bodies under theTokyo Round Codes didnothave anyterms ofreference.
Assigning standard terms might either expand orlimitthenegotiated rolesandfunctions oftheWTO
bodies andthereby create confusion. There wereproblems aswellwiththewording ofsome ofthe
proposed standard terms ofreference assetoutintheSecretariat 'snon-paper. Also, thestandard terms
ofreference didnotreflect thehierarchy ofbodies inAnnex 1AoftheWTO Agreement, namely that
theCouncil forTrade inGoods shalloversee thefunctioning ofallMultilateral Trade Agreements
inAnnex 1Aandthattheother bodies under theseAgreements shalloperate under thegeneral guidance
ofthatCouncil. Hong Kong didnotfavour thecreation ofnewWTO bodies, suchasforPre-shipment
Inspection andMarket Access, astheneedforsuchbodies wasnotforeseen during theUruguay Round
negotiations. There wasnoreason whytheCouncil forTrade inGoods could notoversee the
implementation ofthese Agreements. Hong Kong agreed tofurther examine theappropriate terms
ofreference fortheCommittees onTrade andDevelopment, Balance-of-Payments Restrictions, and
Budget, Finance andAdministration. With regard torules ofprocedure, Hong Kong believed that
thepractice ofdecision-making byconsensus intheGATT 1947 should bepreserved, andthatinthe
event ofinconsistency orconflict between theWTO Agreement andtheRules ofProcedure, theformer
should prevail. Hong Kong wasnotclear astothelegalstatus ofthesetofruleofprocedures.
10. Withregard toadditional arrangements, Hong Kong noted thatmostofthearrangements listed
intheSecretariat 'snon-paper referred tonotification formats andprocedures, andcould seenoproblem
instarting work inthisarea. Hong Kong assumed thatthethreecontact groups established could follow
uponthese issues intheirrespective areas. Itwas,however, unclear astotheforum inwhich the
workforTRIMs, andtextiles andclothing would becarried out.Although Hong Kong sawnoproblem
inasking thecontact group onanti-dumping andsubsidies tostartwork onmatters relating tothe
Permanent Expert Group under theSubsidies Committee, itdoubted whether matters covering
membership, election ofChairman anddates ofthefirstmeetings could bedealtwithatthisstage.
Themembership oftheWTO could onlybeknown bytheendofthetwo-year window asprovided
inArticle XIVoftheWTO Agreement. Finally, Hong Kong believed thatissues relating tooutstanding
dispute settlement cases arising from theTokyo Round Agreements onanti-dumping andsubsidies
could onlybedealtwithbytheTokyo Round Committees andnotbythecontact group onanti-dumping
andsubsidies.
11. TheChairman, addressing Hong Kong'squestion astothestatus oftheproposed handbook
onrules ofprocedure, saidthatonce theproposed rules ofprocedure hadbeen approved bythe
Sub-Committee andsubsequently thePreparatory Committee, they would besubmitted tothe
General Council oftheWTO. Once theGeneral Council hadaccepted those rulesofprocedure, they
would become legal, inthesense ofhaving beenadopted bytheGeneral Council.
12. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatIndia hadraised interesting questions withregard to
terms ofreference, inparticular astowhether insome cases oneneeded anyterms ofreference at
all.However, onewould indeed needterms ofreference fortheCommittees onTrade andDevelopment,
Budget, Finance andAdministration, andBalance-of-Payments Restrictions, andCanada looked forward
toreceiving proposals inthisregard. Ifgeneral terms ofreference weretobedrawn upforother bodies,
akeyguiding factor should bethatthere benochange insubstance. Onrules ofprocedure, CanadaPC/IPL/M/2
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believed thatstandard rules would beagood idea. However, rules fortheSessions ofthe
CONTRACTINGPARTIEStoGATT1947didnottranslatereadilytoWTOCouncilsandCommittees.
Onewould havetobecareful topreserve anyspecial rules ofprocedure forspecific bodies sothat
these werenotoverturned, suchasforexample theprocedures oftheDispute Settlement Body. With
regard tocontact groups, Canada believed thattheremight beaneedinthefuture forother suchgroups,
andthatthisoption should notbeforeclosed byapermanent moratorium ontheirestablishment. Canada
hadanopen mind onincluding safeguards intheambit ofthecontact group onanti-dumping and
subsidies.
13. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidheagreed withIndia thatthere didnotseem tobeany
utility inattempting totouch whatwasalready quiteadequately covered intheWTO Agreement with
regard toterms ofreference fortheMinisterial Conference andtheCouncils, andindeed forthebodies
under theAgreements onServices andTRIPS andtheAnnex 1AAgreements. Thepossible exception
wasagriculture, forwhich aone-sentence entry under Article 17oftheAgriculture Agreement stated
simply thattheCommittee onAgriculture wasthereby established. Also, theterms ofreference of
theGATT Committees onTrade andDevelopment, Balance-of-Payments Restrictions, andBudget,
Finance andAdministration might needtobeamended totakeintoaccount thenewresponsibilities
oftheircounterpart bodies under theWTO. Asregards other bodies, there already existed agreed
terms ofreference intheUruguay Round Agreements. TheSub-Committee 'smain work inrespect
oftheWTO bodies related totheadditional arrangements necessary tosetupnotification procedures
invarious areas oftheWTO Agreement prior toitsentry intoforce, andforwhich various contact
groups hadbeenestablished. Australia hadnoobjections toEgypt 'sproposal thatwork bedonealso
inrespect ofsafeguards inthecontact group onanti-dumping andsubsidies. Onrules ofprocedure,
Australia agreed withothers thatsuchrules should beasgeneric aspossible. Australia alsoagreed
withtheChairman 'ssuggestion thattheSecretariat draw uprevised rules ofprocedure inthethree
categories thattheformer hadmentioned.
14. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheCommunity wished torevert
tothequestion ofterms ofreference andrulesofprocedure atalaterdate,afterhaving examined the
Secretariat 'snon-paper more closely. TheCommunity therefore hadsome difficulty withasking the
Secretariat atthisstage todraw uparevised paper along thelinessuggested bytheChairman. It
appeared thatthere wasalready agood basis intheagreed WTO textsasregards terms ofreference,
inparticular inArticle IVoftheWTO Agreement. TheCommunity didnotwishtorepeat whatwas
intheWTO texts. There wasarelated question ofwhowould adopt theseterms ofreference andhow.
With regard torules ofprocedure, onewould needtoexamine howgeneric rules might work inthe
different bodies thathadbeenestablished intheframework oftheWTO. Anyrulesrelating todecision
making would havetotakeintoaccount theprovisions inArticle IXoftheWTO Agreement, andthe
Community wondered whether itwasnecessary togobeyond theprovisions ofthatArticle andtohave
anyfurther rulesinthechapter onvoting. TheCommunity needed moretimetoreflect onthesematters.
With regard toadditional arrangements, inparticular onnotification procedures thatneeded tobein
place asofdayoneoftheWTO, orimmediately thereafter, theCommunity hadnoreservations on
theestablishment ofcontact groups toexamine these questions. TheCommunity didnotobject either
toEgypt 'sproposal onincluding safeguards intheambit ofthecontact group onanti-dumping and
subsidies.
15. Therepresentative ofBrazil saidhisdelegation agreed withIndia that,withafewexceptions,
theWTO Agreements wereselfsufficient withrespect toterms ofreference forthebodies established
thereunder. Among theexceptions, mention hadalready beenmade oftheCommittees onBudget,
FinanceandAdministration,Balance-of-PaymentsRestrictions,andTradeandDevelopment.Asregards
contact groups, Brazil hadnoreservations concerning theirestablishment, andagreed thattheyshould
discuss thequestion ofadditional arrangements. However, thesearrangements should bedefined clearly
because,asHongKonghadmentioned,thereweresomespecifictasksthattheTokyoRoundCommitteesPC/IPL/M/2
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onanti-dumping andsubsidies hadtotakeupon themselves andwhich hadnothing todowith
arrangements fortheWTO Agreements. Withregard torulesofprocedure, Brazil believed thatstandard
rules should beadopted, andfound interesting theideathatatsome point theSub-Committee could
examine ahandbook onsuchruleswhich would beapproved andlaterforwarded totheGeneral Council
oftheWTO foradoption.
16. Therepresentative ofPoland sought aclarification withrespect tothetime-frames mentioned
inrules 1and2oftheRules ofProcedure intheAnnex totheSecretariat 'snon-paper. Asregards
contact groups, Poland fullyendorsed them.
17. TheChairman saidthatthetime-frames inRules 1and2differed simply because Rule1referred
toSessions other thanregular ones, while Rule2dealtwithregular Sessions.
18. Therepresentative ofTunisia sought aclarification astothe"Multilateral Trade Agreements"
mentioned inthestandard terms ofreference fortheMinisterial Conference. Withregard tothework
being done intheexisting GATT Committees onBudget, Finance andAdministration, Balance-of-
Payments Restrictions, andTrade andDevelopment concerning terms ofreference fortheircounterpart
bodies intheWTO, hisdelegation hoped thattheSub-Committee would induecourse have the
opportunity toexamine theirproposals. Onrulesofprocedure, hisdelegation sought clarification as
totheinterpretation of"Secretary" inRule2intheAnnex totheSecretariat 'snon-paper, andonthe
powers andduties oftheChairman. Likeearlier speakers, Tunisia believed thatreference tothepractice
ofdecision-making byconsensus should bemade inRule 28.With respect tocontact groups, he
expressed thehopethatthere would betransparency, andthattheChairman would report totheSub-
Committee onthequestions considered bythegroups.
19. TheChairman saidthatthe"Multilateral Trade Agreements" mentioned inthestandard terms
ofreference fortheMinisterial Conference referred onlytotheAgreements intheAnnexes totheWTO
Agreement. Asregards thecontact groups, herecalled thattheywereopen-ended. Furthermore, the
outcome ofthediscussion inthese groups would bereported totheSub-Committee.
20. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatthequestion raised byIndia astowhether
standard terms ofreference werereally needed forallWTO bodies needed careful reflection. Onrules
ofprocedure, theUnited States agreed withprevious speakers andwiththeChairman ontheapparent
inadequacy oftherulesforthesessions oftheCONTRACTING PARTIES toGATT 1947asthebasis
fortherulesofallWTO bodies, andontheusefulness ofestablishing different setsofrulesalong the
linessuggested bytheChairman. More specifically, theUnited States questioned whether rules8and
9onobserverswentfarenough,andnotedthattheymadenomentionofnon-governmentalorganizations.
Suchorganizations, however, werementioned specifically inArticle V:2oftheWTO Agreement and
inthemandate oftheSub-Committee, andobserver status forthese organizations intheWTO would
facilitate theobjective ofco-operation withthem. Furthermore, theSub-Committee needed toconsider
what participation byobservers really entailed. TheUnited States shared others 'concern atthe
formulation ofthevoting procedure inRule28,inlightofArticle IX:1oftheWTO Agreement. With
regard torules35and36onrecords, theUnited States believed thatongoing discussions intheGATT
1947 Council about theflowofdocuments should beconsidered andreflected inthese rules. Asto
therulesonpublicity ofmeetings, inrules37and38,theUnited States wondered whether theyexpressed
adequately theneedforefficiency andopenness intheneworganization. Furthermore, ifthere were
tobeahandbook ofrules, onecould consider whether thatshould alsoinclude StaffRules, inwhich
previously raised concerns about theavoidance oftheappearance ofimpropriety andtheconflicts of
interest inethical issues could beaddressed. TheUnited States agreed withtheChairman onthequestion
ofadditional arrangements andtheuseofcontact groups, andhadnoobjection totheaddition of
safeguards tothework ofthecontact group onanti-dumping andsubsidies. While priority hadtobePC/IPL/M/2
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given totheimmediate needs oftheWTO asofitsentry intoforce, inthework ofthecontact groups,
thereshould besome flexibility sothatneeds inthebeginning phase oftheWTO could alsobeaddressed.
21. Therepresentative ofUruguay agreed withIndia andothers thatterms ofreference should
bedrawn uponlyforthose WTO bodies forwhich theywerereally required, suchastheCommittees
onBalance-of-PaymentsRestrictions,Budget,FinanceandAdministration,andTradeandDevelopment.
Uruguay shared Hong Kong'sconcerns onthewording ofsome oftheproposed standard terms of
reference, which didnotreflect thehierarchy ofbodies inAnnex 1AoftheWTO Agreement. With
regard torulesofprocedure, Uruguay believed thatseparate rulesfortheMinisterial Conference, the
General Council andforsubsidiary bodies would bethemost complete approach since theseparate
needs ofeachofthesebodies would havetobeprovided for.Onvoting procedures inrule28,Uruguay
believed, likeothers, thatthepresent wording would needtobealtered inlightofArticle IXofthe
WTO Agreement. Uruguay supported theChairman 'sproposals oncontact groups, andhisendeavour
toprovide forthecomplete transparency ofthatprocess. Uruguay wasnotopposed tosafeguards being
included inthework ofthecontact group onanti-dumping andsubsidies. Inestablishing thesegroups,
however, thedifficulties ofsmaller delegations inparticipating inmeetings ofvarious groups heldat
thesame timeshould bekeptinmind, aswellastheneedforacalendar ofmeetings.
22. TheChairman saidthataschedule ofmeetings ofthePreparatory Committee anditsSub-
Committee would bemade available tomembers soon, which would include schedules ofmeetings
ofthisSub-Committee andofthecontact groups operating under itsaegis. Tothegreatest extent
possible, clashes between meetings ofdifferent bodies would beavoided.
23. Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthathisdelegation, likeothers, wished togivefurther
consideration toIndia'sconcern about notunnecessarily creating additional textsonterms ofreference.
AsAustralia hadindicated, however, theAgreement onAgriculture hadestablished abody without
clearly specifying itsterms ofreference, which might therefore havetobeelaborated, inaddition to
those fortheCommittees onBalance-of-Payments, Budget, Finance andAdministration, andTrade
andDevelopment. Asregards additional arrangements, theSecretariat 'snon-paper hadreferred to
anunderstanding tobereached concerning the"participation" ofthethree organizations referred to
intheAgreement onSanitary andPhytosanitary measures. Hisdelegation wished tomake clear,
however, thatonehadnotspoken oftheparticipation ofother organizations inthisAgreement, but
rather of"relations" withother organizations. Asregards rulesofprocedure, hesaidthatinsufficient
attention hadbeengiven tothedifference between theMinisterial Conference andtheGeneral Council
andtotherelations between thelatter andtheotherthreemainCouncils onGoods, Services andTRIPS.
More work, therefore, wasneeded ontheproposed rules. Astoobservers, thisissuehadbeendiscussed
elsewhere andshould perhaps beconsidered inanother forum.
24. Therepresentative ofMexico saidthatwhatever hadbeensetoutinthenegotiated Agreements
withregard toterms ofreference should befollowed asclosely aspossible. Hisdelegation wished
toreflect further onthequestion ofdifferent rules ofprocedure fortheMinisterial Conference, the
General Council andforsubsidiary bodies. Asregards additional arrangements, hisdelegation agreed
withHong Kong andBrazil thatadistinction should bemade between issues concerning notification
procedures necessary fortheimmediate implementation oftheWTO Agreement, andthose otherissues
which concerned Tokyo Round Agreements, andtherefore required adecision bytheCommittees
established thereunder.
25. TheChairman saiditappeared, byandlarge, thatmembers wished toleave thequestion of
standard terms ofreference alone. Some members hadindicated theneedformore timetoreflect
onthismatter. While hedidnotwishtorushtheprocess, hewished toseetheSub-Committee far
advanced overthecoming twoweeks inthispartofitswork. Onrules ofprocedure, Hong Kong
hasraised anumber ofissues thatwould needtobeconsidered. Heproposed, however, thatthePC/IPL/M/2
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Secretariat berequested inthemeantime, andinconsultation withdelegations, todraw updraftrules
ofprocedure fortheMinisterial Conference, theGeneral Council andsubsidiary bodies, which could
beconsideredatthenextmeetingoftheSub-Committee.Onadditionalarrangements,membersappeared
tobeinagreement thatthework onagriculture should continue andthatthatonTRIPS goahead.
Withregard toanti-dumping andsubsidies, hesuggested thattheChairmen oftheexisting Tokyo Round
Committees continue withtheirwork inthisarea, andthattheSub-Committee revert tothisissue at
alaterdate. Astotheinclusion ofsafeguards inthework onadditional arrangements, hewould wish
toconsult further withdelegations.
26. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements andagreed totheChairman 'sproposals.
Paragraph 8(b)(iii) oftheDecision establishing thePreparatory Committee
27. TheChairman drew attention toabackground notebytheSecretariat ontheWTO andother
inter-governmentalorganizations,indocumentPC/IPL/W/2.Thenoteincludedonlyinter-governmental
organizations thatwere global innature andwhose membership wasopen-ended. There were two
exceptions tothis,namely theISOandtheIEC,which werenon-governmental organizations. These
were included inthenote, however, owing tothefactthattheywere specifically referred tointhe
textspertaining totheAgreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade. Secretariats ofregional economic
groupings andother inter-governmental organizations withalimited membership, which might be
interested inbeing associated withthework oftheWTO, butwhose membership wasnotopen-ended,
werenotincluded inthenote, eventhough theymight havebeenassociated withthework ofGATT
1947 oroftheUruguay Round inoneform oranother. These organizations could belooked at,if
thiswereconsidered appropriate, atalaterstage. Asindicated inthenote, thelistoforganizations
reviewed inSection IIIwasnotexhaustive anddidnotprejudge theorganizations thattheSub-Committee
might wishtoinclude initsconsideration ofthispartofitsmandate.
28. Therepresentative ofIndia saidthathisdelegation would needmore timetoreflect onthe
approach tothispartoftheSub-Committee 'smandate. Atalaterdate,itmight benecessary toestablish
smaller groups toaddress relations withspecific institutions aswellasspecific issues.
29. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthat, inaddition totheorganizations mentioned inthe
Secretariat 'spaper, relations withtheInternational Textiles andClothing Bureau (ITCB) should also
beconsidered. TheITCB hadbeengranted observer status intheTextiles Committee, andshould
beassociated withthework ofanyoverseeing body under theAgreement onTextiles andClothing.
TheSub-Committee should alsoaddress thequestion ofthestatus, andrights andobligations, of
international organizations tobegranted observer status intheWTO, aswellasthequestion ofrelations
withnon-governmental organizations (NGOs).
30. TheChairman saidthattheSub-Committee would haveoccasion, atasubsequent meeting,
toaddress theissues raised byEgypt, including thatofrelations withNGOs.
31. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthatadistinction should bemade between
theorganizations mentioned inArticle III:5oftheWTO Agreement, namely theIMFandtheWorld
Bank, andthosementioned intheAgreements annexed totheWTO Agreement. TheWTO hadaspecific
interest intheIMFandtheWorld Bank which would justify reciprocal arrangements withthese
organizations. Theother organizations mentioned intheFinal Acttextswereinadifferent situation,
andtheCommunity wondered whether there wasanyurgency totheestablishment ofrelations with
them, inparticular thesectoral organizations, andwhether thismatter might notbelefttotheWTO
bodies themselves toconsider. Thequestion waswhether relations withsuchorganizations wereneeded
asofdayoneoftheWTO. Itwasperhaps toosoonasyet,withtheWTO notyetinforce, todiscuss
indetail which ofthese organizations should beaccorded some status intheWTO. TheCommunityPC/IPL/M/2
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believed itwould behelpful ifsome information could beprovided astotheexisting arrangements
between theGATT andtheinter-governmental organizations mentioned insection IIIoftheSecretariat 's
note.
32. TheChairman saidthat,inaddition totheIMFandtheWorld Bank, there weresome other
organizations, suchastheWIPO andtheFAO, withwhich relations might needtobeinplace asof
dayone.InthecaseoftheUNCTAD, too,relations might needtobeestablished assoonaspossible,
inviewofthenature ofthatorganization 'swork, which would overlap thatoftheWTO. Henoted,
inthisconnection, thatatarecent meeting inNewYork ofallinter-governmental bodies, concern
hadbeenraised astotheneedtoavoid overlap andtheduplication ofresources. Itshould berecognized
thatthere weresome things theWTO could dowell, andsome things thatother organizations could
dowell. There were, however, avenues forinteraction suchthatthestrengths ofallorganizations
could beusedforthebenefit oftheinternational community. Thequestion oftheWTO 'slinkswith
other organizations should therefore belooked atfrom abroader point ofviewrather thanthatofits
requirements asofdayone.
33. Therepresentative ofNewZealand saidthatapaper setting outtheexisting relations between
theGATT andtheUruguay Round bodies ontheonehand, andother international organizations on
theother, would beuseful.
34. TheChairman saidthatthesuggestion byNewZealand andtheEuropean Communities for
apaper bytheSecretariat were useful.
35. Therepresentative ofMalaysia agreed withtheCommunity andtheChairman thatthere were
some international organizations inrespect ofwhich there wasaneedforanimmediate relationship.
Theproblem wasthenature oftherelationship, andhisdelegation agreed thatwiththeIMFandthe
World Bank there would needtobereciprocal arrangements. There were other organizations with
which itwould beuseful tohaveaconsultative relationship immediately, suchastheUNEP. Other
organizations weretheUNCTAD, thesectoral organizations inservices, andtheWIPO. There was
certainly aneedtodetermine which organizations would berelevant asofdayone,andthose with
which relations would needtobedeveloped inthelongterm. Hisdelegation agreed withtheChairman
thatonehadtoaccept thefactthatsome organizations hadproven capabilities incertain areas, and
thatthere wasaneedforclose collaboration between theWTO andother organizations.
36. Therepresentative ofArgentina agreed thatthere wasaneedtoestablish relations withsome
organizations assoonaspossible. Hisdelegation would include inthislisttheorganizations mentioned
intheAgreement onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, asalsotheWIPO inrespect oftheTRIPS
Agreement. Onewould havetowork onacase-by-case basis toestablish clearly andprecisely the
requirements inrespect ofeachoftheorganizations.
37. Therepresentative ofAustralia saidthatadiscussion onthequestion ofrelations withother
organizations should beheldsooner rather thanlater. Oneneeded tohaveanideaofwhattheWTO 's
relationship wasgoing tobewithkeyinternational organizations suchastheIMF, World Bank, FAO,
WIPO, UNCTAD andtheorganizations inthesanitary andphytosanitary area. Consideration should
begiven inthediscussion notonlytoestablishing relations withandgranting observer status tosome
ofthese organizations, butalsotohaving reciprocal arrangements withthem aswell. Hisdelegation
supported thesuggestion byNewZealand forapaper bytheSecretariat spelling outtheterms ofthe
present relationships withvarious organizations.
38. TheChairman saidhebelieved thatmostorganizations would respond positively toarequest
forobserver status fromtheWTO, andthatthiswasanissue thattheSub-Committee might takeup.PC/IPL/M/2
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39. Therepresentative oftheUnited States agreed thatspecial attention would needtobegiven
torelations withtheIMFandtheWorld Bank, particularly inlightoftheDeclaration ontheWTO 's
contribution toachieving greater coherence inglobal economic policy-making. Hisdelegation hoped
thatatitsnextdiscussion onrelations withorganizations, theSub-Committee would alsoaddress the
issueofNGOs, because ofthelanguage ofArticle V:2oftheWTO Agreement. Ifthiswasanissue
theSecretariat found awkward toreflect inabackground note, thenhisdelegation would attempt to
provide aninput inthework oftheSub-Committee.
40. TheChairman welcomed theUnited States 'offertoprovide aninput totheSub-Committee 's
work. Hesaiditwasclearthatmore timewasrequired todiscuss thispartoftheSub-Committee 's
mandate. Heproposed thatinthemeantime theSecretariat prepare apaper setting outtheexisting
relations between theGATT andtheUruguay Round bodies ontheonehand, andother international
organizations ontheother. While there wasawhole range ofinternational organizations withwhich
theWTO might envisage relations, theSub-Committee would have toestablish priorities among
organizations andtodetermine, atitsnextmeeting, those thatwereessential, andtrytobeasselective
aspossible. Organizations suchastheWorld Bank, IMF, UNCTAD, UNEP, WIPO andFAO were
some thathecould suggest.
41. Therepresentative ofArgentina saidthathisdelegation would suggest thatpriority alsobe
given torelations withtheorganizations referred tointheAgreement onSanitary andPhytosanitary
Measures.
42. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements andagreed thattheSecretariat berequested
toprepare apaper setting outtheexisting relations between theGATT andtheUruguay Round bodies
ontheonehand, andother international organizations ontheother.
Observers
43. TheChairman saidthathehadreceived acommunication from theFood andAgriculture
Organization (FAO) requesting observer status atmeetings oftheSub-Committee inviewoftheFAO's
responsibilities related tothose oftheWTO. Thecommunication stated that:"The areas ofFAO
responsibility related tothoseofWTO include closeworking relationships onsanitary andphytosanitary
matters, especially inrelation tothenewCommittee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures which
expresslymentionscollaborationwithFAO/WHOCodexAlimentariusCommissionandtheInternational
Plant Protection Convention, theSecretariats ofwhich aremainly inFAO. These responsibilities also
include collaboration onfoodaidissues, especially theinvolvement ofourConsultative Sub-Committee
onSurplus Disposal, which oversees theapplication ofFAO'sPrinciples onSurplus Disposal andthe
System ofUsual Marketing Requirements, alsocitedintheAgreement onAgriculture. There arein
addition areas ofmutual interest onfoodsecurity andenvironmental measures ...".
44. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheFAO wasasectoral body, and
thathisdelegation wished toreflect onwhether thisjustified itsobserver status intheSub-Committee.
TheSub-Committee might finditselffaced withfurther requests ofthiskindfromanumber ofsectoral
organizations andwould needtodecide where tosetthelimit. Heasked whether theChairman had
received requests from anyother organizations forobserver status intheSub-Committee.
45. TheChairman saidthatnoother organization hadthusfarmade arequest forobserver status
intheSub-Committee. Ifthere weresuchrequests, andifthose organizations could indicate clearly
theirinterests andthespecific Agreements inwhich theircooperation might beneeded, thentheSub-
Committee could examine eachrequest onacase-by-case basis. Hewould hesitate totakeanoverall
approach.PC/IPL/M/2
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46. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities requested thathisdelegation beallowed to
reflect onthismatter untilthenextmeeting oftheSub-Committee.
47. Therepresentative ofIndia saiditwasworth reflecting ontheissueraised bytheCommunity.
Ifmostofthesectoral issues weregoing tobedecided incontact groups orininformal consultations,
there would benopoint ininviting sectoral organizations asobservers intheSub-Committee. He
suggested thattheChairman might wishtoconsult withdelegations before proposing adecision on
therequest bytheFAO.
48. TheChairman suggested thattheSub-Committee revert tothismatter atitsnextmeeting.
49. TheSub-Committee tooknoteofthestatements.