IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
ASPECTS OF THE
COTTON-RELATED DECISIONS IN THE 2004 JULY
PACKAGE AND
PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE HONG KONG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
Item 2C - Coherence between Trade and Development
Aspects:
Update on the Development Aspects of Cotton
Report of the 26th Round of the
Director-General's
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton[1]
23 November 2016
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The 26th Round of the Director-General's Consultative
Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) took place on 23 November 2016, under
the chairmanship of Deputy Director-General David Shark.
STATEMENT BY THE C4 COORDINATOR
1.2 The Ambassador of Mali, speaking on behalf of the C4
countries and all other cotton‑producing countries from ACP, Africa and LDCs, expressed
disappointment at the lack of progress in the negotiations on the cotton
dossier.
1.3 She made reference to the C4 Ministerial meeting held in Bamako from
26 to 28 October 2016, whereby Ministers reaffirmed the importance of
the cotton sector in their countries and made an earnest appeal to eliminate
all kind of export subsidies and domestic support for the cotton sector in the
run up to the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) to be held in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, in December 2017.
1.4 She expressed concern with the continued drop of international
cotton prices which, compounded by high production costs, constituted a high
obstacle for African countries to continue reforming their cotton sector and
enhancing their competitiveness.
1.5 She thanked North-South and South-South partners for their technical
assistance and financial support to develop the cotton sector in Africa. She
expressed appreciation to China for its financial support which had made
possible the participation of the C4 focal points in the DGCFMC. She encouraged
donor countries to facilitate the participation of other LDC cotton sector
focal points in the DGCFMC consultations.
1.6 The Ambassador of Benin, speaking on behalf of the LDC Group,
stressed that the cotton sector for LDCs in Africa was of utmost importance for
their economies. He pointed out that WTO Members should tackle the issue of
domestic support for cotton which had not been addressed satisfactorily for the
past 14 years. He urged developing country Members to implement the commitments
on cotton in relation to export competition as of 1 January 2017.
[1] This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own
responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their
rights and obligations under the WTO.