He reported that delegations maintained divergent positions during the informal consultations he conducted on 16-17 February and 14-15 March on two main topics of the Group's work on regional trade agreements (RTAs): the review of the transparency mechanism for RTAs, and systemic issues.

Transparency Mechanism

The Group resumed its review, which started on 4 February, of the provisional transparency mechanism.

Under the provisional transparency mechanism, the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements considers RTAs falling under Article XXIV of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The Committee on Trade and Development considers RTAs falling under the Enabling Clause (trade arrangements between developing countries).

On the issue of agreements that have been notified under both Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and the Enabling Clause, the United States reiterated that its proposal for all RTAs notified to the WTO to be considered in the CRTAs would lead to more efficiency. The European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Switzerland, El Salvador and Costa Rica supported the US proposal.

India reiterated that the US proposal was beyond the mandate of the Group. It proposed that the Committee on Trade and Development consider RTAs notified both under GATT XXIV and the Enabling Clause. Egypt, St. Lucia China and Bolivia supported India's proposal.

Chinese Taipei said that since the Group was still divided on this issue, it had proposed in the informal consultations for dual notifications to be considered in a joint session of the Committee on Trade and Development and the Committee on RTAs. Canada, Korea, Switzerland, Chile, Norway, Thailand, Vietnam and Peru expressed interest in Chinese Taipei's proposal.

Systemic Issues

Bolivia underlined the need for the Group to reach development-oriented results, and reiterated its proposal for flexibilities to be granted in Article XXIV of GATT 1994 to developing countries when they are negotiating an RTA with a developed country. India, Saint Lucia, Kenya, China, Ecuador and South Africa supported Bolivia's proposal.

The United States said Bolivia's proposal would send the negotiations in the wrong direction, and urged instead the Group to focus on agreeing to a post-Doha work programme on systemic issues. Also supporting establishing a work programme were the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Peru. El Salvador and Peru also asked about the possible impact of such a change to Article XXIV for existing agreements between developing and developed countries.

The Chair announced that the next plenary meeting on RTAs would be held on 8 April, with small group sessions to be held on 4 and 13 April.