Rules Negotiations

At the Doha Ministerial Conference in 2001, Ministers agreed to negotiations aimed at clarifying and improving disciplines under the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (the Antidumping Agreement) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (the SCM Agreement), while preserving the basic concepts, principles and effectiveness of these Agreements and their instruments and objectives.

Ministers also directed that the negotiations take into account the needs of developing and least-developed country Members.

The Doha Round mandate also calls for clarified and improved WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies, and directs the negotiations to clarify and improve disciplines and procedures governing Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) under the existing WTO provisions.