WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION
WT/MIN(01)/DEC/W/1
14 November 2001
(01-5769)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth Session
Doha, 9 - 14 November 2001
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
1. The multilateral trading system embodied in the World Trade Organization has contributed significantly to
economic growth, development and employment throughout the past fifty years. We are determined, particularly in the
light of the global economic slowdown, to maintain the process of reform and liberalization of trade policies, thus
ensuring that the system plays its full part in promoting recovery, growth and development. We therefore strongly
reaffirm the principles and objectives set out in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, and
pledge to reject the use of protectionism.
2. International trade can play a major role in the promotion of economic development and the alleviation of
poverty. We recognize the need for all our peoples to benefit from the increased opportunities and welfare gains that
the multilateral trading system generates. The majority of WTO Members are developing countries. We seek to place their
needs and interests at the heart of the Work Programme adopted in this Declaration. Recalling the Preamble to the
Marrakesh Agreement, we shall continue to make positive efforts designed to ensure that developing countries, and
especially the least-developed among them, secure a share in the growth of world trade commensurate with the needs of
their economic development. In this context, enhanced market access, balanced rules, and well targeted, sustainably
financed technical assistance and capacity-building programmes have important roles to play.
3. We recognize the particular vulnerability of the least-developed countries and the special structural
difficulties they face in the global economy. We are committed to addressing the marginalization of least-developed
countries in international trade and to improving their effective participation in the multilateral trading system. We
recall the commitments made by Ministers at our meetings in Marrakesh, Singapore and Geneva, and by the international
community at the Third UN Conference on Least-Developed Countries in Brussels, to help least-developed countries secure
beneficial and meaningful integration into the multilateral trading system and the global economy. We are determined
that the WTO will play its part in building effectively on these commitments under the Work Programme we are
establishing.
4. We stress our commitment to the WTO as the unique forum for global trade rule-making and liberalization, while
also recognizing that regional trade agreements can play an important role in promoting the liberalization and expansion
of trade and in fostering development.
5. We are aware that the challenges Members face in a rapidly changing international environment cannot be
addressed through measures taken in the trade field alone. We shall continue to work with the Bretton Woods institutions
for greater coherence in global economic policy-making.
6. We strongly reaffirm our commitment to the objective of sustainable development, as stated in the Preamble to
the Marrakesh Agreement. We are convinced that the aims of upholding and safeguarding an open and non-discriminatory
multilateral trading system, and acting for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable
development can and must be mutually supportive. We take note of the efforts by Members to conduct national
environmental assessments of trade policies on a voluntary basis. We recognize that under WTO rules no country should be
prevented from taking measures for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health, or of the environment at the
levels it considers appropriate, subject to the requirement that they are not applied in a manner which would constitute
a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail, or a disguised
restriction on international trade, and are otherwise in accordance with the provisions of the WTO Agreements. We
welcome the WTO´s continued cooperation with UNEP and other inter-governmental environmental organizations. We encourage
efforts to promote cooperation between the WTO and relevant international environmental and developmental organizations,
especially in the lead-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in
September 2002.
7. We reaffirm the right of Members under the General Agreement on Trade in Services to regulate, and to introduce
new regulations on, the supply of services.
8. We reaffirm our declaration made at the Singapore Ministerial Conference regarding internationally recognized
core labour standards. We take note of work under way in the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the social
dimension of globalization.
9. We note with particular satisfaction that this Conference has completed the WTO accession procedures for China
and Chinese Taipei. We also welcome the accession as new Members, since our last Session, of Albania, Croatia, Georgia,
Jordan, Lithuania, Moldova and Oman, and note the extensive market-access commitments already made by these countries on
accession. These accessions will greatly strengthen the multilateral trading system, as will those of the 28 countries
now negotiating their accession. We therefore attach great importance to concluding accession proceedings as quickly as
possible. In particular, we are committed to accelerating the accession of least-developed countries.
10. Recognizing the challenges posed by an expanding WTO membership, we confirm our collective responsibility to
ensure internal transparency and the effective participation of all Members. While emphasizing the intergovernmental
character of the organization, we are committed to making the WTO’s operations more transparent, including through more
effective and prompt dissemination of information, and to improve dialogue with the public. We shall therefore at the
national and multilateral levels continue to promote a better public understanding of the WTO and to communicate the
benefits of a liberal, rules-based multilateral trading system.
11. In view of these considerations, we hereby agree to undertake the broad and balanced Work Programme set out
below. This incorporates both an expanded negotiating agenda and other important decisions and activities necessary to
address the challenges facing the multilateral trading system.
WORK PROGRAMME
IMPLEMENTATION-RELATED ISSUES AND CONCERNS
12. We attach the utmost importance to the implementation-related issues and concerns raised by Members and are
determined to find appropriate solutions to them. In this connection, and having regard to the General Council Decisions
of 3 May and 15 December 2000, we further adopt the Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns in document
WT/MIN(01)/W/10 to address a number of implementation problems faced by Members. We agree that negotiations on
outstanding implementation issues shall be an integral part of the Work Programme we are establishing, and that
agreements reached at an early stage in these negotiations shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 47 below. In this regard, we shall proceed as follows: (a) where we provide a specific negotiating mandate in
this Declaration, the relevant implementation issues shall be addressed under that mandate; (b) the other outstanding
implementation issues shall be addressed as a matter of priority by the relevant WTO bodies, which shall report to the
Trade Negotiations Committee, established under paragraph 46 below, by the end of 2002 for appropriate action.
AGRICULTURE
13. We recognize the work already undertaken in the negotiations initiated in early 2000 under Article 20 of the
Agreement on Agriculture, including the large number of negotiating proposals submitted on behalf of a total of 121
Members. We recall the long-term objective referred to in the Agreement to establish a fair and market-oriented trading
system through a programme of fundamental reform encompassing strengthened rules and specific commitments on support and
protection in order to correct and prevent restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets. We reconfirm our
commitment to this programme. Building on the work carried out to date and without prejudging the outcome of the
negotiations we commit ourselves to comprehensive negotiations aimed at: substantial improvements in market access;
reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies; and substantial reductions in trade-distorting
domestic support. We agree that special and differential treatment for developing countries shall be an integral part of
all elements of the negotiations and shall be embodied in the Schedules of concessions and commitments and as
appropriate in the rules and disciplines to be negotiated, so as to be operationally effective and to enable developing
countries to effectively take account of their development needs, including food security and rural development. We take
note of the non-trade concerns reflected in the negotiating proposals submitted by Members and confirm that non-trade
concerns will be taken into account in the negotiations as provided for in the Agreement on Agriculture.
14. Modalities for the further commitments, including provisions for special and differential treatment, shall be
established no later than 31 March 2003. Participants shall submit their comprehensive draft Schedules based on these
modalities no later than the date of the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference. 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.
SERVICES
15. The negotiations on trade in services shall be conducted with a view to promoting the economic growth of all
trading partners and the development of developing and least-developed countries. We recognize the work already
undertaken in the negotiations, initiated in January 2000 under Article XIX of the General Agreement on Trade in
Services, and the large number of proposals submitted by Members on a wide range of sectors and several horizontal
issues, as well as on movement of natural persons. We reaffirm the Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiations
adopted by the Council for Trade in Services on 28 March 2001 as the basis for continuing the negotiations, with a view
to achieving the objectives of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, as stipulated in the Preamble, Article IV and
Article XIX of that Agreement. Participants shall submit initial requests for specific commitments by 30 June 2002 and
initial offers by 31 March 2003.
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
16. We agree to negotiations which shall aim, by modalities to be agreed, to reduce or as appropriate eliminate
tariffs, including the reduction or elimination of tariff peaks, high tariffs, and tariff escalation, as well as
non-tariff barriers, in particular on products of export interest to developing countries. Product coverage shall be
comprehensive and without a priori exclusions. The negotiations shall take fully into account the special needs and
interests of developing and least-developed country participants, including through less than full reciprocity in
reduction commitments, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article XXVIII bis of GATT 1994 and the provisions
cited in paragraph 50 below. To this end, the modalities to be agreed will include appropriate studies and
capacity-building measures to assist least-developed countries to participate effectively in the negotiations.
TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
17. We stress the importance we attach to implementation and interpretation of the Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in a manner supportive of public health, by promoting both
access to existing medicines and research and development into new medicines and, in this connection, are adopting a
separate Declaration.
18. With a view to completing the work started in the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (Council for TRIPS) on the implementation of Article 23.4, we agree to negotiate the establishment of a
multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines and spirits by the Fifth
Session of the Ministerial Conference. We note that issues related to the extension of the protection of geographical
indications provided for in Article 23 to products other than wines and spirits will be addressed in the Council for
TRIPS pursuant to paragraph 12 of this Declaration.
19. We instruct the Council for TRIPS, in pursuing its work programme including under the review of Article 27.3(b),
the review of the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement under Article 71.1 and the work foreseen pursuant to paragraph
12 of this Declaration, to examine, inter alia, the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on
Biological Diversity, the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore, and other relevant new developments raised
by Members pursuant to Article 71.1. In undertaking this work, the TRIPS Council shall be guided by the objectives and
principles set out in Articles 7 and 8 of the TRIPS Agreement and shall take fully into account the development
dimension.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND INVESTMENT
20. Recognizing the case for a multilateral framework to secure transparent, stable and predictable conditions for
long-term cross-border investment, particularly foreign direct investment, that will contribute to the expansion of
trade, and the need for enhanced technical assistance and capacity-building in this area as referred to in paragraph 21,
we agree that negotiations will take place after the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference on the basis of a
decision to be taken, by explicit consensus, at that Session on modalities of negotiations.
21. We recognize the needs of developing and least-developed countries for enhanced support for technical assistance
and capacity building in this area, including policy analysis and development so that they may better evaluate the
implications of closer multilateral cooperation for their development policies and objectives, and human and
institutional development. To this end, we shall work in cooperation with other relevant intergovernmental
organisations, including UNCTAD, and through appropriate regional and bilateral channels, to provide strengthened and
adequately resourced assistance to respond to these needs.
22. In the period until the Fifth Session, further work in the Working Group on the Relationship Between Trade and
Investment will focus on the clarification of: scope and definition; transparency; non-discrimination; modalities for
pre-establishment commitments based on a GATS-type, positive list approach; development provisions; exceptions and
balance-of-payments safeguards; consultation and the settlement of disputes between Members. Any framework should
reflect in a balanced manner the interests of home and host countries, and take due account of the development policies
and objectives of host governments as well as their right to regulate in the public interest. The special development,
trade and financial needs of developing and least-developed countries should be taken into account as an integral part
of any framework, which should enable Members to undertake obligations and commitments commensurate with their
individual needs and circumstances. Due regard should be paid to other relevant WTO provisions. Account should be taken,
as appropriate, of existing bilateral and regional arrangements on investment.
INTERACTION BETWEEN TRADE AND COMPETITION POLICY
23. Recognizing the case for a multilateral framework to enhance the contribution of competition policy to
international trade and development, and the need for enhanced technical assistance and capacity-building in this area
as referred to in paragraph 24, we agree that negotiations will take place after the Fifth Session of the Ministerial
Conference on the basis of a decision to be taken, by explicit consensus, at that Session on modalities of negotiations.
24. We recognize the needs of developing and least-developed countries for enhanced support for technical assistance
and capacity building in this area, including policy analysis and development so that they may better evaluate the
implications of closer multilateral cooperation for their development policies and objectives, and human and
institutional development. To this end, we shall work in cooperation with other relevant intergovernmental
organisations, including UNCTAD, and through appropriate regional and bilateral channels, to provide strengthened and
adequately resourced assistance to respond to these needs.
25. In the period until the Fifth Session, further work in the Working Group on the Interaction between Trade and
Competition Policy will focus on the clarification of: core principles, including transparency, non-discrimination and
procedural fairness, and provisions on hardcore cartels; modalities for voluntary cooperation; and support for
progressive reinforcement of competition institutions in developing countries through capacity building. Full account
shall be taken of the needs of developing and least-developed country participants and appropriate flexibility provided
to address them.
TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
26. Recognizing the case for a multilateral agreement on transparency in government procurement and the need for
enhanced technical assistance and capacity building in this area, we agree that negotiations will take place after the
Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference on the basis of a decision to be taken, by explicit consensus, at that
Session on modalities of negotiations. These negotiations will build on the progress made in the Working Group on
Transparency in Government Procurement by that time and take into account participants' development priorities,
especially those of least-developed country participants. Negotiations shall be limited to the transparency aspects and
therefore will not restrict the scope for countries to give preferences to domestic supplies and suppliers. We commit
ourselves to ensuring adequate technical assistance and support for capacity building both during the negotiations and
after their conclusion.
TRADE FACILITATION
27. Recognizing the case for further expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in
transit, and the need for enhanced technical assistance and capacity building in this area, we agree that negotiations
will take place after the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference on the basis of a decision to be taken, by
explicit consensus, at that Session on modalities of negotiations. In the period until the Fifth Session, the Council
for Trade in Goods shall review and as appropriate, clarify and improve relevant aspects of Articles V, VIII and X of
the GATT 1994 and identify the trade facilitation needs and priorities of Members, in particular developing and
least-developed countries. We commit ourselves to ensuring adequate technical assistance and support for capacity
building in this area.
WTO RULES
28. In the light of experience and of the increasing application of these instruments by Members, we agree to
negotiations aimed at clarifying and improving disciplines under the Agreements on Implementation of Article VI of the
GATT 1994 and on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, while preserving the basic concepts, principles and
effectiveness of these Agreements and their instruments and objectives, and taking into account the needs of developing
and least-developed participants. In the initial phase of the negotiations, participants will indicate the provisions,
including disciplines on trade distorting practices, that they seek to clarify and improve in the subsequent phase. In
the context of these negotiations, participants shall also aim to clarify and improve WTO disciplines on fisheries
subsidies, taking into account the importance of this sector to developing countries. We note that fisheries subsidies
are also referred to in paragraph 31.
29. We also agree to negotiations aimed at clarifying and improving disciplines and procedures under the existing
WTO provisions applying to regional trade agreements. The negotiations shall take into account the developmental aspects
of regional trade agreements.
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT UNDERSTANDING
30. We agree to negotiations on improvements and clarifications of the Dispute Settlement Understanding. The
negotiations should be based on the work done thus far as well as any additional proposals by Members, and aim to agree
on improvements and clarifications not later than May 2003, at which time we will take steps to ensure that the results
enter into force as soon as possible thereafter.
TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT
31. With a view to enhancing the mutual supportiveness of trade and environment, we agree to negotiations, without
prejudging their outcome, on:
(i) the relationship between existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations set out in multilateral
environmental agreements (MEAs). The negotiations shall be limited in scope to the applicability of such existing WTO
rules as among parties to the MEA in question. The negotiations shall not prejudice the WTO rights of any Member that is
not a party to the MEA in question;
(ii) procedures for regular information exchange between MEA Secretariats and the relevant WTO committees, and the
criteria for the granting of observer status;
(iii) the reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and
services.
We note that fisheries subsidies form part of the negotiations provided for in paragraph 28.
32. We instruct the Committee on Trade and Environment, in pursuing work on all items on its agenda within its
current terms of reference, to give particular attention to:
(i) the effect of environmental measures on market access, especially in relation to developing countries,
in particular the least-developed among them, and those situations in which the elimination or reduction of trade
restrictions and distortions would benefit trade, the environment and development;
(ii) the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; and
(iii) labelling requirements for environmental purposes.
Work on these issues should include the identification of any need to clarify relevant WTO rules. The Committee shall
report to the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference, and make recommendations, where appropriate, with respect to
future action, including the desirability of negotiations. The outcome of this work as well as the negotiations carried
out under paragraph 31(i) and (ii) shall be compatible with the open and non-discriminatory nature of the multilateral
trading system, shall not add to or diminish the rights and obligations of Members under existing WTO agreements, in
particular the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, nor alter the balance of these
rights and obligations, and will take into account the needs of developing and least-developed countries.
33. We recognize the importance of technical assistance and capacity building in the field of trade and environment
to developing countries, in particular the least-developed among them. We also encourage that expertise and experience
be shared with Members wishing to perform environmental reviews at the national level. A report shall be prepared on
these activities for the Fifth Session.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
34. We take note of the work which has been done in the General Council and other relevant bodies since the
Ministerial Declaration of 20 May 1998 and agree to continue the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce. The work to date
demonstrates that electronic commerce creates new challenges and opportunities for trade for Members at all stages of
development, and we recognize the importance of creating and maintaining an environment which is favourable to the
future development of electronic commerce. We instruct the General Council to consider the most appropriate
institutional arrangements for handling the Work Programme, and to report on further progress to the Fifth Session of
the Ministerial Conference. We declare that Members will maintain their current practice of not imposing customs duties
on electronic transmissions until the Fifth Session.
SMALL ECONOMIES
35. We agree to a work programme, under the auspices of the General Council, to examine issues relating to the trade
of small economies. The objective of this work is to frame responses to the trade-related issues identified for the
fuller integration of small, vulnerable economies into the multilateral trading system, and not to create a sub-category
of WTO Members. The General Council shall review the work programme and make recommendations for action to the Fifth
Session of the Ministerial Conference.
TRADE, DEBT AND FINANCE
36. We agree to an examination, in a Working Group under the auspices of the General Council, of the relationship
between trade, debt and finance, and of any possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within the mandate and
competence of the WTO to enhance the capacity of the multilateral trading system to contribute to a durable solution to
the problem of external indebtedness of developing and least-developed countries, and to strengthen the coherence of
international trade and financial policies, with a view to safeguarding the multilateral trading system from the effects
of financial and monetary instability. The General Council shall report to the Fifth Session of the Ministerial
Conference on progress in the examination.
TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY
37. We agree to an examination, in a Working Group under the auspices of the General Council, of the relationship
between trade and transfer of technology, and of any possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within the
mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries. The General Council shall report to the
Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference on progress in the examination.
TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING
38. We confirm that technical cooperation and capacity building are core elements of the development dimension of
the multilateral trading system, and we welcome and endorse the New Strategy for WTO Technical Cooperation for Capacity
Building, Growth and Integration. We instruct the Secretariat, in coordination with other relevant agencies, to support
domestic efforts for mainstreaming trade into national plans for economic development and strategies for poverty
reduction. The delivery of WTO technical assistance shall be designed to assist developing and least-developed countries
and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines, implement obligations and exercise the
rights of membership, including drawing on the benefits of an open, rules-based multilateral trading system. Priority
shall also be accorded to small, vulnerable, and transition economies, as well as to Members and Observers without
representation in Geneva. We reaffirm our support for the valuable work of the International Trade Centre, which should
be enhanced.
39. We underscore the urgent necessity for the effective coordinated delivery of technical assistance with bilateral
donors, in the OECD Development Assistance Committee and relevant international and regional intergovernmental
institutions, within a coherent policy framework and timetable. In the coordinated delivery of technical assistance, we
instruct the Director-General to consult with the relevant agencies, bilateral donors and beneficiaries, to identify
ways of enhancing and rationalizing the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least-Developed
Countries and the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP).
40. We agree that there is a need for technical assistance to benefit from secure and predictable funding. We
therefore instruct the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration to develop a plan for adoption by the General
Council in December 2001 that will ensure long-term funding for WTO technical assistance at an overall level no lower
than that of the current year and commensurate with the activities outlined above.
41. We have established firm commitments on technical cooperation and capacity building in various paragraphs in
this Ministerial Declaration. We reaffirm these specific commitments contained in paragraphs 16, 22, 25-27, 33, 38-40,
42 and 43, and also reaffirm the understanding in paragraph 2 on the important role of sustainably financed technical
assistance and capacity-building programmes. We instruct the Director-General to report to the Fifth Session of the
Ministerial Conference, with an interim report to the General Council in December 2002 on the implementation and
adequacy of these commitments in the identified paragraphs.
LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
42. We acknowledge the seriousness of the concerns expressed by the least-developed countries (LDCs) in the Zanzibar
Declaration adopted by their Ministers in July 2001. We recognize that the integration of the LDCs into the multilateral
trading system requires meaningful market access, support for the diversification of their production and export base,
and trade-related technical assistance and capacity building. We agree that the meaningful integration of LDCs into the
trading system and the global economy will involve efforts by all WTO Members. We commit ourselves to the objective of
duty-free, quota-free market access for products originating from LDCs. In this regard, we welcome the significant
market access improvements by WTO Members in advance of the Third UN Conference on LDCs (LDC-III), in Brussels, May
2001. We further commit ourselves to consider additional measures for progressive improvements in market access for
LDCs. Accession of LDCs remains a priority for the Membership. We agree to work to facilitate and accelerate
negotiations with acceding LDCs. We instruct the Secretariat to reflect the priority we attach to LDCs' accessions in
the annual plans for technical assistance. We reaffirm the commitments we undertook at LDC-III, and agree that the WTO
should take into account, in designing its work programme for LDCs, the trade-related elements of the Brussels
Declaration and Programme of Action, consistent with the WTO's mandate, adopted at LDC-III. We instruct the
Sub-Committee for Least-Developed Countries to design such a work programme and to report on the agreed work programme
to the General Council at its first meeting in 2002.
43. We endorse the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least-Developed Countries (IF) as
a viable model for LDCs' trade development. We urge development partners to significantly increase contributions to the
IF Trust Fund and WTO extra-budgetary trust funds in favour of LDCs. We urge the core agencies, in coordination with
development partners, to explore the enhancement of the IF with a view to addressing the supply-side constraints of LDCs
and the extension of the model to all LDCs, following the review of the IF and the appraisal of the ongoing Pilot Scheme
in selected LDCs. We request the Director-General, following coordination with heads of the other agencies, to provide
an interim report to the General Council in December 2002 and a full report to the Fifth Session of the Ministerial
Conference on all issues affecting LDCs.
SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT
44. We reaffirm that provisions for special and differential treatment are an integral part of the WTO Agreements.
We note the concerns expressed regarding their operation in addressing specific constraints faced by developing
countries, particularly least-developed countries. In that connection, we also note that some Members have proposed a
Framework Agreement on Special and Differential Treatment (WT/GC/W/442). We therefore agree that all special and
differential treatment provisions shall be reviewed with a view to strengthening them and making them more precise,
effective and operational. In this connection, we endorse the work programme on special and differential treatment set
out in the Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns.
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE WORK PROGRAMME
45. The negotiations to be pursued under the terms of this Declaration shall be concluded not later than 1 January
2005. The Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference will take stock of progress in the negotiations, provide any
necessary political guidance, and take decisions as necessary. When the results of the negotiations in all areas have
been established, a Special Session of the Ministerial Conference will be held to take decisions regarding the adoption
and implementation of those results.
46. The overall conduct of the negotiations shall be supervised by a Trade Negotiations Committee under the
authority of the General Council. The Trade Negotiations Committee shall hold its first meeting not later than 31
January 2002. It shall establish appropriate negotiating mechanisms as required and supervise the progress of the
negotiations.
47. With the exception of the improvements and clarifications of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the conduct,
conclusion and entry into force of the outcome of the negotiations shall be treated as parts of a single undertaking.
However, agreements reached at an early stage may be implemented on a provisional or a definitive basis. Early
agreements shall be taken into account in assessing the overall balance of the negotiations.
48. Negotiations shall be open to:
(i) all Members of the WTO; and
(ii) States and separate customs territories currently in the process of accession and those that inform
Members, at a regular meeting of the General Council, of their intention to negotiate the terms of their membership and
for whom an accession working party is established.
Decisions on the outcomes of the negotiations shall be taken only by WTO Members.
49. The negotiations shall be conducted in a transparent manner among participants, in order to facilitate the
effective participation of all. They shall be conducted with a view to ensuring benefits to all participants and to
achieving an overall balance in the outcome of the negotiations.
50. The negotiations and the other aspects of the Work Programme shall take fully into account the principle of
special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries embodied in: Part IV of the GATT 1994;
the Decision of 28 November 1979 on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of
Developing Countries; the Uruguay Round Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries; and all other
relevant WTO provisions.
51. The Committee on Trade and Development and the Committee on Trade and Environment shall, within their respective
mandates, each act as a forum to identify and debate developmental and environmental aspects of the negotiations, in
order to help achieve the objective of having sustainable development appropriately reflected.
52. Those elements of the Work Programme which do not involve negotiations are also accorded a high priority. They
shall be pursued under the overall supervision of the General Council, which shall report on progress to the Fifth
Session of the Ministerial Conference.