./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/AG/NG/7
29 March 2001
(01-1551)
Committee on Agriculture
Special Session
SEVENTH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Report by the Chairman, Ambassador Jorge Voto-Bernales, to the General Council
1. The Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture, which was established by the General
Council to conduct the negotiations for continuing the reform process under Article 20 of the
Agreement on Agriculture (WT/GC/M/53, paragraph 39 refers), held its seventh meeting on
26-27 March 2001.
2. The agenda as set out in WTO/AIR/1504 was adopted.
3. In the course of the stock-taking exercise undertaken at this meeting in accordance with
paragraph 6(b) of G/AG/NG/1, a number of genera l statements were made in which participants
outlined, inter alia, their respective views regarding the 47 negotiating proposals and other
submissions which had been presented and examined in the course of the first phase of the
negotiations, as well as with respect to the organisation of the further work of the negotiations.  It wasgenerally agreed that the first phase of the negotiations for continuing the reform process had been
satisfactorily completed.  The statements made in the context of the stock-taking exercise and the
related discussion will be fully reflected as appropriate in the detailed summary report of the meeting
to be prepared by the Secretariat.
4. The Committee adopted the following work programme for the second phase of the
negotiations for continuing the reform process under Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture:
• Nature and scope of  Work Programme:  work in depth on all issues and options for policy reform
set out in Members' proposals, with further elaboration as appropriate.
• Basis of work:  Article 20, negotiating proposals submitted by Members and their additional
elaborated proposals.
• Special and differential treatment is an integral part of all elements of the negotiations.
• Organisation of Work Programme:  work to be conducted in informal and formal meetings of the
Special Sessions;  Chair to prepare reports on the informal meetings and prepare annotatedagendas ahead of the meetings.
• Sequencing of Work Programme and Timetable:  three Special Session meetings to be held back-
to-back with the regular meetings of the Committee on Agriculture in September and December
2001 and in March 2002 (each of these Special Sessions would convene informally and conclude
with short formal meetings), plus three inform al Special Session meetings in May and July 2001
and in February 2002.  Any additional meetings would be scheduled by the Chair after
consultations with Members.G/AG/NG/7
Page 2
• Review of progress of the negotiations shall take place in the formal March 2002 meeting.
Without prejudice to Article 20, which details the objective of the negotiations and the factors to be
taken into account, the Chair recommends the following list of trade and non-trade issues drawn from
Members' proposals for the first two/three meetings:
Tariff quota administration
TariffsAmber Box
Export subsidies
Export credits
State trading enterprises
Export restrictions
Food security
Food safetyRural development
The foregoing work programme is adopted without prejudice to the decisions that may be taken at the
fourth Ministerial Conference.
5. In adopting this work programme it was noted, with regard to the list of trade and non-trade
issues for the first two or three meetings, that this  listing was not exhaustive and that other issues will
be taken up in the subsequent meetings, so that all issues will be covered as appropriate under the
work programme for the second phase of the negotiations.
6. A number of the statements made at this meeting are to be circulated in the series
G/AG/NG/W/- at the request of the delegations concerned.  These statements will be listed in anaddendum to this report in due course.
7. Subject to confirmation the planned dates for the informal meeting in May would be
21-23 May;  and for the informal meeting in July, 23-27 July.
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