TNC GUIDANCE ON THE DISCUSSION OF THE STATUS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE OBJECTIVES FOR THE MIAMI MINISTERIAL AND FOR CONCLUDING THE FTAA NEGOTIATIONS BY JANUARY 2005.

1. Delegations presented their different perceptions of the problems faced in individual areas, as well as in the overall structure of the negotiations. Some delegations made the case for an ambitious and comprehensive agreement and their interest in continuing to negotiate in all areas toward that end. These and other delegations believe there is a need to produce adjustments in the negotiating agenda to accommodate the aspirations and concerns of all 34 countries, in order to lead the negotiations to a successful and balanced conclusion by January 1^st, 2005. Delegations decided to continue to work together with the Co-Chairs in order to find a solution by the Miami Ministerial.

TNC GUIDANCE ON THE DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION.

2. The TNC discussed the document “Draft Ministerial Declaration”, which is a compilation of the texts of the Ministerial Declaration proposed by delegations. TNC delegations are invited to provide to the TNC Co-Chairs comments on the document, including additional text, no later than October 10, 2003. The TNC Co-Chairs will forward these comments to the TNC delegations by October 14. The TNC Co-Chairs will prepare a revised version of the document, which will reflect the contributions in a literal way, and provide it to the TNC delegations no later than October 17, 2003. TNC delegations will be invited to provide comments on this new version of the document by November 1.

TNC GUIDANCE ON THE TEXTS: DISCUSSION OF ISSUES, IF ANY, FOR TNC GUIDANCE TO THE NEGOTIATING GROUPS AND TCI.

3. Regarding the text found in the “Report of the Negotiating Group on Subsidies, Antidumping, and Countervailing Duties (NGADCV) to the Trade Negotiations Committee”, Part II, the TNC instructs the TNC Co-Chairs to delete the references on page 23 to “II.2. PROPOSAL (document FTAA.ngadcv/w/153)”, insert the heading “CHAPTER [INSERT NUMBER] ON SUBSIDIES ANTI-DUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING DUTIES”, place the text in brackets; and, remove on page 4 “II.1.- DRAFT CHAPTER ON SUBSIDIES ANTI-DUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING DUTIES”, (document FTAA.ngadcv/w/68/Rev.16)”.

4. Regarding the TCI text, Part II, to avoid inconsistent treatment of issues, the TNC instructs the TNC Co-Chairs to delete the commentary on the cover notes found on pages 16 and 21 and to insert in the draft text the text proposal from Mexico and Mercosur (“Proposal on Environmental Issues and Labor Issues”) within brackets.

5. In order to ensure the consistent application of the template, the TNC instructs the Tripartite Committee (TPC) to work with the TNC Co-Chairs, and with the assistance of the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups and of the TCI, to harmonize the texts of the nine Negotiating Groups and the Technical Committee on Institutional Issues (TCI) based on the guidance in the Template.

6. The TNC instructed the TNC Co-Chairs to work with Canada and Brazil to ensure the translations of the texts into French and Portuguese are ready before the Miami Ministerial meeting, but no later than November [TBD]. The TNC instructed the TNC Co-Chairs to ensure that the texts in all four languages are ready to be printed by November [TBD].

7. The TNC instructed the TPC to arrange the preparation of the CD-ROMs with texts.

TNC GUIDANCE OF THE HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION PROGRAM

8. Delegations are invited to provide comments to the Chair of the Consultative Group on Smaller Economies (CGSE) on a document found in a letter from the Chair of the CGSE to the Co-Chairmanship of the TNC by October 10. The TNC instructed the CGSE to provide an update for the TNC Report on the implementation of the Hemispheric Cooperation Program (HCP) after the October 16-17 CGSE meeting but no later than October 24, 2003. The TNC Co-Chairs will provide to TNC delegations a draft of the TNC Report to Ministers no later than October 24, 2003. Delegations will be invited to provide comments no later than October 31, 2003. The TNC Co-Chairs will provide a revised draft Report no later than November 6 for approval under a no objection procedure so that the final report may be finalized before the TNC meeting in Miami.

9. The TNC urges countries seeking assistance to complete their trade capacity building strategies and to submit them to the CGSE in time to be considered at the HCP roundtable meeting October 14-15 in Washington, D.C.

10. To enable countries to effectively distribute information on projects for which they are seeking financing through the Hemispheric Cooperation Program, and building on the decision in document TNC/23 paragraph 24, the TNC agreed that new Project Profiles documents provided to the CGSE may be derestricted.

TNC GUIDANCE OF THE DIFFERENCES IN LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SIZE OF ECONOMIES

11. The TNC reviewed the input from the CGSE on the Results and the Progress Achieved Regarding the Treatment of Differences in the Levels of Development and Size of Economies for the TNC Report regarding the results of the progress achieved in relation to the treatment of differences in levels of development and size of economies in each of the Negotiating Groups. Based on the discussion in the TNC meeting, the TNC Co-Chairs will develop a first draft of the TNC Report to Ministers and provide it to TNC delegations no later than October 10, 2003. Delegations will be invited to provide comments no later than October 24, 2003. The TNC Co-Chairs will provided a revised draft Report no later than October 31, so that a final report may be finalized before the TNC meeting in Miami using a no objection procedure.

12. The TNC requests the CGSE to continue to advance in the preparation of the proposal contained in the document “Treatment of Differences in the Levels of Development and Size of Economies” to the degree possible and without prejudice to that established in the relevant paragraphs in FTAA.TNC/23 and that it report its progress to the TNC at its sixteenth meeting.

TNC GUIDANCE ON TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY

13. The TNC approved the document “Suggested Model for Press Communiqués” and instructs all FTAA entities to take it into consideration at their future meetings.

14. The TNC agreed to schedule a meeting of the SOC on December 8-9, 2003, during which the Committee may discuss further, among other issues, the possibility of establishing after the entry into force of the FTAA, a civil society consultative committee with in the institutional structure of the FTAA.

15. Delegations are invited to provide comments to the TNC Co-Chairs by October 15 on the proposal of having the next ministerial meetings broadcast on radio and television.

16. The TNC took note that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago held a civil society event on September 29 and requested that a report on the event be forwarded to the SOC as soon as possible.

17. The TNC received the latest version of the Report of the Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society (SOC) to the TNC and instructed the SOC Chair to add the update regarding the Issue meeting on Services held in Santiago, Chile and provide the revised Report to the TNC Co-Chairs no later than October 24, 2003. The TNC Co-Chairs will provide the revised version to TNC delegations for approval under a no objection procedure. The TNC Co-Chairs expect that the final version will be ready by October 31.

TNC GUIDANCE ON THE REPORT OF THE TNC PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEGOTIATION AND THE FULFILLMENT OF THE MANDATES ISSUED TO THE NEGOTIATING GROUPS.

18. The TNC delegations agreed that the report to be submitted to the Ministers should be a concise and factual document. The TNC Co-Chairs will prepare a draft report and will submit it to the TNC delegations by October 10. The TNC delegations are invited to comment on the draft report by October 17. The Co-Chairs will submit to the TNC delegations a second version of the report by October 24 under a no objection procedure.

TNC GUIDANCE ON BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

Elements for evaluating candidate sites for the FTAA Secretariat and discussion of the process for selection of the Secretariat site.

19. As requested by the TNC, the TNC Subcommittee on Budget and Administration revised the compilation of proposed elements for the evaluation of the candidate sites for the FTAA Secretariat. The TNC agreed that this document is for information only to serve as a guide which may be used by countries in the selection process. The TNC examined the revised document and a number of changes to the text were proposed by TNC delegations. The TNC delegations were invited to provide comments to the TNC Co-Chairs by October 17. The TNC Co-Chairs will prepare an updated document to be distributed to the TNC delegations by October 31. The TNC made clear that candidate sites will not necessarily have to provide information on all elements listed in the document. The TNC considered proposals, including one entitled “Submission on Elements for the Evaluation of Candidate Countries and the Selection Process for the Site of the Permanent Secretariat of the FTAA”, on the process for selection of the site of the FTAA Secretariat and agreed to continue discussions on this topic at the next TNC.

Derestriction Requests

20. The TNC decided that all documents classified as “public” will be automatically posted on the FTAA official website.

21. The TNC received and derestricted document FTAA.soc/24 “Best Practices and Illustrative Examples of Consultations with Civil Society at the National/Regional Level” and instructs the SOC to continue to update it on an ongoing basis.

Report of the Co-Chairs of the Subcommittee on Budget and Administration

22. The TNC directed the Co-Chairs of the Subcommittee on Budget and Administration (ADM) to prepare a document for review by the ADM at its meeting on November 15 in Miami on the estimated costs and possible sources of financing for Portuguese and French interpretation services during TNC meetings. The ADM should provide a recommendation to the TNC at its meeting on November 16-18.

23. The TNC has agreed that the week of October 20 the facilities of the Secretariat will be set aside for those delegations who wish to conduct market access negotiations in services, investment, and government procurement and that the week of October 27 will be set aside for those delegations who wish to conduct market access negotiations on agricultural and non-agricultural products.

TNC GUIDANCE ON OTHER BUSINESS

Chair and Vice-Chair Vacancies

24. The TNC Co-Chairs distributed to the TNC heads of delegation a list about the availability of the Chairs and Vice Chairs to continue in their responsibilities through the end of the negotiations.