The Twenty-seventh meeting of the Negotiating Group on Market Access (NGMA) was held in Puebla, Mexico from June 2-6, 2003. Mr. Felipe Jaramillo of Colombia chaired the meeting. The Vice-chair is Mr. Manuel Diaz of the Dominican Republic. In attendance were delegates from the following countries: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and United States. The Tripartite Committee provided technical support to the meeting.

The NGMA agreed on an agenda, which is attached hereto. All the items on the agenda were satisfactorily addressed.

The Group made significant advances in the discussion about substantive issues related to origin regime, customs procedures related to rules of origin, customs procedures, safeguard measures, and tariff and non tariff measures. A parallel meeting on standards and technical barriers to trade was also held and significant progress was made on this issue.

The Tripartite Committee reported to the Group on the status of, and contributions submitted to, the Hemispheric Data Base (HDB).

The Group acknowledged receipt of eight civil society contributions forwarded by the Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society to the NGMA. Delegations called attention to the quantity and quality of the contributions received, which came from a wide spectrum of participants in civil society. This highlights the interest of civil society and the transparency of the negotiating process. Some delegations indicated that there is a high degree of coincidence between the civil society contributions and many of their negotiating positions. Delegations agreed to continue to take into account these contributions when defining their negotiating positions.

The Group’s next meeting will be held in Puebla, Mexico and is tentatively scheduled to take place July 21-25, 2003.
 

1. Approval of Agenda

2. General Issues

3. Methods and Modalities for Tariff Negotiations

4. Text on Origin Regime

5. Text on Origin-related [Customs] Procedures

6. Text on Customs Procedures

7. Text on Safeguards

8. Tariff and Non Tariff Measures

9. Text on Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade

10. Civil Society Contributions

11. Agenda for the next meeting

12. Other business