The Trade Negotiations Committee

The Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) has been set up by the Doha Declaration to supervise the conduct of the negotiations. It operates under the authority of the General Council and its chairperson reports regularly to each meeting of the GC on the progress made in the negotiations.

ТThe 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 establish appropriate negotiating mechanisms as required and supervise the progress of the negotiations.У

Doha Declaration, paragraph 46

Pursuant to paragraph 46 of the Doha Declaration, the TNC held its first meeting on 28 January and 1 February 2002. This meeting was chaired by the chairperson of the GC. During this meeting, members adopted the principles and practices that govern the negotiating process[25]. This includes the definition of the tasks and roles of the chairpersons of the TNC and the other negotiating bodies, as well as guidelines to follow regarding the transparency and the conduct of the process.

Members appointed ex officio the Director-General (DG) of the WTO as the chairperson of the TNC. This was an exceptional arrangement that should not set a precedent for future negotiations. The WTO is a member-driven organization and usually neither the DG nor the Secretariat staff chair any of the negotiating groups or other bodies.

The TNC's first meeting also set up the institutional structure of the negotiations. Negotiations take place either in newly set up negotiating groups or in special sessions of the existing bodies. Each of these negotiating bodies handles a special negotiating issue of the Doha Development Agenda. These bodies currently are as follows:

New negotiating groups:

б Negotiating Group on Market access

б Negotiating Group on Rules (anti-dumping, subsidies, regional trade agreements)

б Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation

Special sessions of existing bodies:

б Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services

б Special Session of the Council for TRIPS

б Special Session of the Dispute Settlement Body

б Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture

б Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Environment

б Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Development

б Sub-Committee on Cotton

It was decided that the TNC would meet every three months or whenever necessary to oversee the progress made in the negotiating bodies. The negotiating bodies had suspended their work prior to the Cancњn Ministerial Conference in September 2003, to allow time for the preparation of the meeting. Following the failure to reach a consensus on how to proceed with the Doha negotiations during the Cancњn Ministerial Conference, the work of the negotiating bodies remained suspended until the General Council decision of 1 August 2004.[26] The decision, also called the July Framework of Decisions, is an important milestone in the Doha Round of Negotiations. Members reaffirmed their willingness to re-engage in the negotiations, building on the elements of consensus achieved with regard to the Doha Development Agenda.

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