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FTAA.TNC/20/Rev.1
October 18, 2002
Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat
FTAA - TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE
METHODS AND MODALITIES FOR NEGOTIATIONS
General Principles
Negotiations in goods and services shall be consistent with GATT 1994 Art.
XXIV and GATS Art. V.
Differences in the levels of development and size of economies shall be
taken into account in the development of proposals, offers and throughout
the negotiation process in accordance, inter alia, with the guidelines and
directives established by the TNC at its Ninth Meeting held in Nicaragua
in September 2001 and reflected in document FTAA.TNC/18.
There shall be progressive liberalization in agricultural and
non-agricultural goods, services, investment and government procurement.
Offers shall be contingent on the overall results of the negotiations.
General Instructions for the Negotiating Groups
The Groups shall initiate market access negotiations on 15 May 2002.
Offers for agricultural and nonagricultural products, services,
investment, and government procurement shall be presented in accordance
with the following timetable:
Presentation of offers: between 15 December 2002 and 15 February 2003.
Submission of requests for improvements to the offers: between 16 February
2003 and 15 June 2003
Initiation of process for the presentation of revised offers: 15 July
2003.
A country may have access to the offers made by the other countries only
once it has submitted its own offer.
Technical assistance shall be provided to the countries that need such
assistance to prepare their government procurement offers. These countries
shall submit their offers no later than 15 July 2003.
NEGOTIATING GROUPS ON MARKET
ACCESS AND AGRICULTURE
Scope of the Negotiations
The entire tariff universe shall be subject to negotiation.
Base Tariff
The base tariff shall be the MFN applied tariff on the date of
notification. Such notification shall occur between 15 August and 15
October 2002.
CARICOM shall make its best efforts to notify its base tariff before the
Ministerial meeting in Quito, but in any event it shall do so no later
than 14 December 2002. The base tariff to be used by CARICOM countries for
a limited list of goods shall be no higher than that allowed under WTO
obligations.
The regional sub-groupings that have a common external tariff shall notify
the tariff for the purposes of the base tariff, even if one of the member
countries may be availing itself of temporary exceptions to the CET. The
option to adjust it by 15 April 2003 is retained, at which time it shall
be notified for the purposes of the base tariff.
For groups of countries developing a common external tariff, the base
tariff shall be the applied tariff as at 1 January 2004, which shall be
equivalent to the tariff notified by 15 April 2003. This tariff would
include the adjustments to the base tariff that was initially notified.
Type of Tariff Concessions
Tariff elimination shall be linear, with the possibility of non-linear
exceptions.
Schedules and Paces for Tariff Elimination
The schedules and paces for the progressive elimination of tariffs shall
comprise four phases. The four phases shall be: immediate, no more than 5
years, no more than 10 years, and longer.
Each country shall make significant offers for immediate tariff
elimination.
Methods for Making Concessions
The NGMA and the NGAG are instructed to coordinate and
submit to the TNC at its next meeting their proposals for making
concessions. The work on these proposals shall take into account the
Guidelines and Directives for the Treatment of the Differences in the
Levels of Development and Size of Economies (FTAA.TNC/18), as well as the
proposals made by the NGMA in its report (FTAA.ngma/03/Rev.1/Add.1) and
the NGAG (FTAA.ngag/05/Add.1/Rev.1) to the TNC.
Rules of Origin
Timetable and Modalities
The NGMA shall continue negotiations on general rules, inter alia, the
level of de minimis, the application of the principle of accumulation,
including during the transition period, and other relevant aspects, and
shall present its initial proposals to the TNC at its next meeting. An ad
hoc group shall be established and shall initiate, by 30 September 2002,
negotiations on specific rules of origin. To this end, the ad hoc group
shall establish a schedule for the submission and review of specific rules
of origin product by product, by chapter or groups of chapters.
Identification and Inventory of Non-Tariff Measures
Without prejudice to completing the negotiation of their respective
Chapters, the NGMA and the NGAG shall continue the process of notification
and counter-notification of non-tariff measures and both groups shall
present an initial report on 15 November 2002.
The NGMA and the NGAG shall begin, in their next meetings, to develop a
methodology, which includes a schedule, where appropriate, for the
elimination, reduction, definition, further definition, further
disciplining and/or prevention of non-tariff barriers. This methodology
shall be completed by 15 February 2003.
Hemispheric Database
The countries shall complete the Hemispheric Data Base within a period
between 15 September and 15 November 2002 and shall keep it updated.
Agricultural Subsidies and Disciplines on Practices that Distort Trade
in Agricultural Products
The NGAG shall continue its work toward fulfilling the mandates of the
Buenos Aires Ministerial Declaration on the scope of and methodology for
the elimination of export subsidies affecting trade in agricultural
products in the hemisphere and on the types of measures and the
methodology for developing the disciplines to be adopted for the treatment
of all the other practices that distort trade in agricultural products,
including those that have an effect equivalent to agricultural export
subsidies. It shall submit a report on its progress at the next TNC
meeting.
The NGAG shall continue its consideration of all the other issues and
proposals submitted for its consideration and shall submit a report with
the results of its deliberations to the next TNC.
NEGOTIATING GROUP ON SERVICES
The information inventory shall be updated, including
the available statistics on trade in services.
Negotiating Modality
The initial offer shall be comprehensive and shall be in accordance with
current laws and regulations. It shall be based on existing levels of
international obligations or existing or improved domestic access
opportunities.
Commercial Presence
Investment offers for the supply of services through commercial presence
may be submitted and discussed in the NGSV, in the NGIN, or in both.
NEGOTIATING GROUP ON INVESTMENT
Negotiating Modality
The initial offer shall be comprehensive and shall be in accordance with
current laws and regulations. A negative list approach shall be used.
Commercial Presence
Investment offers for the supply of services through commercial presence
may be submitted and discussed in the NGSV, in the NGIN, or in both.
The Negotiating Groups on Services and Investment shall, as a general
rule, continue to meet separately. However, if deemed necessary, both
Groups may meet to hold joint discussions on issues in common,
particularly commercial presence.
NEGOTIATING GROUP ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Entities
There shall be broad coverage. Offers shall include central or federal
level government entities, and may include entities belonging to other
categories of government.
The NGGP is instructed to develop specific measures that take into account
the differences in the level of development and size of the economies.
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