WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35
TN/MA/S/12 
13 October 2004 
 (04-4299) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries 
Negotiating Group on Market Access  
 
 
 
MARKET ACCESS ISSUES RELATED TO PRODUCTS OF EXPORT INTEREST 
ORIGINATING FROM LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 
 
Note by the Secretariat1 
 
Table of Contents 
 
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... .3 
II. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................3  
III. LDC EXPORT PROFILE........................................................................................................4  
A. MAJOR PRODUCTS ......................................................................................................................7  
B. MAJOR MARKETS ........................................................................................................................9  
IV. TARIFF MEASURES ............................................................................................................15  
V. THE UTILIZATION OF PREFERENCES .........................................................................19  
A. PREFERENCE UTILIZATION IN CANADA , THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , JAPAN AND 
THE UNITED  STATES .................................................................................................................21  
(i) The utilization of non-reciprocal preferences is less than 100 per cent. ..................................21  
(ii) The utilization of preferences varies by product within a scheme............................................22  
(iii) The utilization of preferences varies acro ss beneficiaries within a scheme .............................22  
(iv) The utilization of preferences varies wi thin a market for given LDCs .....................................22  
B. SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS .......................................................................................................23  
VI. RECENT INITIATIVES TO IM PROVE MARKET ACCESS .........................................23  
VII. REFERENCES..................................................................................................................... ...25 
 
                                                      
 1 This document has been prepared under the Secr etariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 2 
 
 
List of Tables  
 
Table 1: Merchandise exports and imports of least-developed countries by selected country 
grouping, 2003................................................................................................................. .........5
 
Table 2: Exports of commercial services of least-developed countries by category, 2002 ....................6  
Table 3:  Leading merchandise exports of least-developed countries in 2003  ......................................7  
Table 4: Merchandise exports and imports of least-developed countries by selected country 
grouping, 2003................................................................................................................. .......10  
Table 5: Imports of agricultural products, fuels and manufactures of the European 
Communities, Asia and North America from least-developed countries, 2002 .....................12  
Table 6: Imports of the five major traders by major product group from least-developed 
countries, 2002-03 ............................................................................................................. .....13  
Table 7: Proportion of developed country imports from developing countries and LDCs 
entering duty-free ............................................................................................................. ......17  
Table 8: Tariff profile for LDC exports in developed country markets, 2002......................................17  
Table 9: Tariff profile of MFN and prefer ential duties in selected developed country 
markets, 2002 .................................................................................................................. .......18  
Table 10: Number of international peaks faci ng LDCs exporters in major markets, 2002 ....................19  
 
 
List of Annex Tables  
 
Annex Table 1:  Leading exports of selected least-developed countries ...............................................26  
Annex Table 2:  China imports from least-developed countries, 2003..................................................30  
Annex Table 3:  European Communities (15) imports from least-developed countries, 2003..............31  
Annex Table 4:  India imports from least-developed countries, 2002...................................................32  
Annex Table 5:  Japan imports from least-developed countries, 2003 ..................................................33  
Annex Table 6:  Republic of Korea imports  from least-developed countries, 2002..............................34  
Annex Table 7:  Chinese imports from least-developed countries, 2002 ..............................................35  
Annex Table 8:  Thailand imports fro m least-developed countries, 2003.............................................36  
Annex Table 9:  United States imports from least-developed countries, 2003......................................37  
Annex Table 10:  Measures in favour of exports originating from LDCs .............................................38  
 
 
List of Charts 
 
Chart 1: LDCs participation in world merchandise trade, 1990-2003....................................................4  
Chart 2: Share of leading products in  total merchandise exports for LDCs...........................................8  
Chart 3: Exports of least-developed count ries by major product, 1995 and 2002..................................9  
Chart 4: Merchandise exports of least-dev eloped countries by selected product group and 
destination, 2002.............................................................................................................. .......11  
Chart 5:  Share of developing countries in merchandise exports of LDCs, 2002 ..................................14  
 
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
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I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This Note by the Secretariat has been pr epared in response to paragraph 7 of the 
Least-Developed Countries' (LDCs) Work Programme , which mandates an annual review of market 
access for products originating from LDCs (WT/COMTD/LDC/11).  It builds on previous Secretariat 
studies by updating the relevant data on tre nds in LDC trade and market access conditions.2  The Note 
also presents as its special topic the issue of preference utilization.  
2. The next section presents introductory remarks concerning methodological issues.  It is 
followed by an examination of the LDC export prof ile (Section III) for the purpose of identifying the 
major markets and products of export interest to LDCs.  Section IV reviews the market access 
landscape for products originating from LDCs, based on available tariff data.  Section V presents the 
special topic for this study, which is the utiliza tion of preferences.  Recent initiatives by Members to 
improve market access for LDCs, especially those that are not taken into account in the available data, 
are reported in Section VI.   
II. METHODOLOGY 
3. Research work on issues of market access is difficult due to a significant number of data and 
methodological problems.  The purpose of this section is  to outline some of the data difficulties that 
have been encountered and the general approaches that have been taken to resolve them.  Where 
necessary, specific actions relating to speci fic problems are outlined in the text.  
4. Data difficulties associated with this Note can be divided into two parts; those relating to 
trade data and those related to market access data.  With respect to trade data, the main difficulty is 
lack of available reported data.  The principal source  for trade data is the United Nations Statistical 
Database.  Only 21 out of 50 LDCs regularly repor t their data, making it difficult to construct a full 
dataset.  In order to circumvent this problem this study uses 'mirror' data when reported data is not 
available.  This methodology involves estimating the total exports of a country by summing the 
imports from that country in all markets for which da ta is available.  While effective in yielding a 
value, this approach does not work if trad e is conducted predominantly between non-reporting 
countries.  In such a case, no trade data can be made available.  
5. Since the landscape of market access for LDC e xporters is conditioned by a combination of 
most-favored-nation (MFN) duties and duties determined  by reciprocal and non-reciprocal schemes, a 
variety of tariff data is required for an effective analysis of border barriers.  The WTO's tariff database, the Integrated Data Base (IDB), contains MFN applied data for most WTO Members.  
However, since it is not a requirement for Members to  notify preferential tariff data to the IDB, this 
database is not comprehensive on two accounts: market coverage and data covera ge.  As a result, this 
Note uses data from a number of other sources.
3 
6. Another difficulty related to tariff data is the time interval between a policy announcement 
and the availability of relevant data.  In this resp ect, market analysis related to barriers facing exports 
from LDCs is slightly easier due to the fact that  many recent initiatives are predominantly duty- and 
quota-free.  In such cases, as was done in the World Trade Report 2004  (WTO, 2004), duty rates can 
be set to zero.  However, this cannot be done for all cases.  The approach taken in this Note is to use 
only the reported tariff data for a given year.  No ad justments were made to take into account policies 
announced after the relevant time period for the data. 
                                                      
2The previous studies are contained in document WT/COMTD/LDC/W/31 and 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/28. 
3 In this regard, the assistance of the United  Nations Conference on Trade and Development is 
gratefully acknowledged. WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 4 
 
 
III. LDC EXPORT PROFILE 
7. This section provides background trade data for the analysis on market access in the next 
section.  It identifies the principal products that are exported by LDCs and the principal markets for 
these products.  Chart 1 provides a picture of the ov erall performance of LDCs in world merchandise 
trade.  It shows that LDCs have posted stronger gr owth rates in their exports than the world figure, 
resulting in an increase in their share of world tr ade.  In 2003, LDCs accounted for 0.67 per cent of 
world exports (Table 1).  The chart also shows that over the past five years export growth rates have 
exceeded that of import growth rates.  Table 1 breaks down the aggregate merchandise exports at the country level into three broad categories of expor ters: oil exporters, exporte rs of manufacturers and 
exporters of non-fuel primary commodities.  It s hows that the aggregate export performance of LDCs 
in 2002 and 2003 has been positive with growth rates of 8 and 13 per cent, respectively.  Between 
1995 and 2000 the average growth rate of exports wa s 8 per cent, whereas the growth rate of imports 
was 4 per cent.  This trend, however, appears to be reversing, since the growth rates for imports 
exceed that of exports in the years 2001 and 2003.  In 2003, imports grew at 20 per cent, compared to 
a growth rate of 13 per cent for exports. 
Chart 1:  LDCs participation in world merchandise trade, 1990-2003 
(Indices 1989-91 = 100) 
90100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003LDCs exports
LDCs imports
World exports
 
Source :  WTO. 
8. The aggregate growth rates hide a substan tial variation in the export performance across 
LDCs.  Table 1 shows that the growth rate of oil e xports, the most important e xport in terms of value, 
was 16 per cent and that of manufactures and comm odities was 9 and 12 per cent, respectively.  The 
table also shows that the growth rate of commod ities exports varied considerably across commodity 
exporters.  Sierra Leone posted an 88 per cent growth rate, whereas exports from the Democratic 
Republic of Congo shrunk by 28 per cent.  In contrast, among oil and ma nufactures exporters, only 
Yemen (10 per cent) and Myanmar (-15 per cent) post ed lower growth rates than the LDC average. 
9. Data on the exports of commercial services origin ating from LDCs is not widely available.  
Table 2 presents data based on estim ations for many LDCs.  It shows that in 2002, LDCs account for  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
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 0.4 per cent of world trade in commercial services.  Se venty per cent of this value was in the transport 
and travel sectors.  In 1995, these two sectors accounted for 62 per cent of total services exports. 
Table 1:  Merchandise exports and imports of least-developed countries by selected country 
grouping, 2003 
(Million dollars and percentage) 
 
 Exports  Imports 
 Value  Annual Percentage Change  Value  Annual Percentage Change 
 2003  1995-00 2001 2002 2003  2003  1995-00 2001 2002 2003 
                            
Total LDCs 43657  8 0 8 13  55522  4 8 1 20 
Oil exporters 17592  19 -11 14 16  11210  11 16 -1 32 
Angola 8790  17 -18 15 17  4130  16 5 -7 40 
Yemen 3802  16 -21 7 10  3390  8 -1 13 30 
Equatorial Guinea 2640  54 67 21 19  1020  30 58 -38 132 
Sudan 2360  27 -6 15 21  2670  5 51 6 7 
Exporters of manufactures 13751  11 6 2 9  19468  5 2 -6 20 
Bangladesh 6942  11 -5 0 14  9476  5 0 -5 20 
Myanmar 2600  14 45 28 -15  2600  12 20 -18 11 
Cambodia 1690  6 15 11 17  1715  4 2 11 6 
Nepal 662  18 -8 -23 17  1754  3 -6 -4 24 
Madagascar 655  10 13 -48 35  1190  10 -4 -37 97 
Lesotho 477  7 28 29 31  1021  -6 -6 15 30 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 378  1 0 -10 27  524  -2 -1 -18 22 
Haiti 347  24 -14 2 24  1188  10 -2 12 5 
Exporters of commodities 12314  -3 12 8 12  24845  1 10 8 16 
Senegal 1331  -2 9 6 25  2364  1 14 13 21 
Tanzania 1222  -1 17 13 40  2193  -2 12 -1 30 
Zambia 940  -9 48 -6 1  1503  7 32 -4 20 
Mali 930  5 32 22 5  1251  1 23 -12 44 
Mozambique 880  17 93 -3 29  1365  10 -8 27 1 
Guinea 824  3 10 21 -7  820  -6 -2 19 15 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of 815  -14 24 20 -28  1750  -2 16 37 20 
Uganda 562  0 -1 -3 27  1252  8 4 -30 13 
Benin 541  -1 -5 20 21  758  -4 -10 23 12 
Ethiopia 535  3 -6 5 11  2015  2 44 -8 21 
Malawi 463  -1 18 -9 14  702  2 6 19 5 
Togo 440  -1 -2 20 3  568  -1 -2 7 -4 
Mauritania 420  -6 -3 11 9  500  -9 20 19 12 
Niger 339  0 -4 3 22  551  1 -6 8 38 
Burkina Faso 315  5 12 1 33  855  6 7 13 16 
Chad 260  -6 3 -2 41  852  -3 114 47 -15 
Liberia 230  -17 -26 -7 1  560  6 -7 -5 -5 
Somalia 202  -1 5 15 20  180  3 -6 8 -20 
Afghanistan 135  3 -49 -5 50  1190  8 0 73 25 
Central African Republic 130  -1 -12 4 -12  115  -8 -9 12 -4 
Bhutan 120  2 -12 10 11  200  13 -6 -14 21 
Maldives 113  9 0 18 26  471  8 1 0 20 
Sierra Leone 92  -21 123 69 88  303  2 22 45 15 
Djibouti 85  15 1 9 2  305  5 -6 6 13 
Solomon Islands 75  -16 -32 23 29  67  -10 -12 -42 43 
Guinea-Bissau 69  21 2 -14 28  140  -15 25 41 35 
Rwanda 60  -1 63 -34 7  240  -2 18 -19 18 
Eritrea 56  -16 -49 174 8  670  1 -10 27 25 
Burundi 38  -14 -22 -23 27  157  -9 -6 -7 22 
Vanuatu 27  -1 4 -26 35  105  -1 4 -4 18 
Samoa 15  9 14 -13 7  137  2 23 4 1 
Comoros 15  -9 71 8 15  125  3 18 11 33 
Gambia 13  -1 -33 30 0  185  1 -28 10 25 
Cape Verde 12  7 -9 10 9  305  -2 2 18 11 
Sao Tome and Principe 7  -10 0 67 40  42  1 -7 11 35 
Kiribati 3  -11 25 -40 0  40  3 2 5 -7 
Tuvalu 0  0 ... ... ...  9  -11 -20 175 -18 
Timor Leste ...  ... ... ... ...  ...  ... ... ... ... 
Memorandum item:              
World  a 648100
0  5 -4 5 16  67140
00  5 -4 4 16 
                            
a  Includes significant re-exports or imports for re-export.            
Note :  Data for 2003 are largely estimated. 
Source:  WTO                         
 
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 6 
 
 
Table 2:  Exports of commercial services of  least-developed countries by category, 2002  
(Million dollars and percentage) 
 
 Value  Share in commercial services 
                    
 Commercial  Transport  Tr avel  Other services 
  services          
 2002  1995 2002  1995 2002  1995 2002 
                      
Total LDCs 6500  21 21  41 50  38 30 
Afghanistan ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Angola 229  32 ...  ... ...  68 ... 
Bangladesh 305  15 30  5 19  80 51 
Benin 140  26 ...  53 ...  21 ... 
Bhutan 32  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Burkina Faso 43  17 ...  48 ...  35 ... 
Burundi 4  46 23  32 31  21 46 
Cambodia 593  31 15  52 77  18 8 
Cape Verde 144  59 43  17 45  24 11 
Central African Republic 6  45 8  28 48  27 44 
Chad 34  23 3  68 73  9 23 
Comoros 23  16 20  77 63  7 17 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Djibouti 79  58 76  16 11  26 13 
Equatorial Guinea 18  ... ...  ... 80  ... ... 
Eritrea 118  70 ...  3 ...  27 ... 
Ethiopia 450  77 56  5 16  18 28 
Gambia 56  22 ...  73 74  5 ... 
Guinea 43  75 20  5 0  20 80 
Guinea-Bissau ...  18 ...  13 ...  69 ... 
Haiti 143  5 2  92 64  3 34 
Kiribati ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. .. .  23 ...  76 ...  1 ... 
Lesotho 31  7 1  91 64  2 35 
Liberia ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Madagascar 158  30 27  26 23  44 50 
Malawi 49  28 33  72 67  0 0 
Maldives 352  7 4  92 94  1 1 
Mali 150  32 ...  37 ...  30 ... 
Mauritania 46  9 0  58 8  33 92 
Mozambique 337  25 30  24 19  52 51 
Myanmar ...  6 ...  43 ...  51 ... 
Nepal 192  9 ...  30 ...  61 ... 
Niger 48  3 ...  58 ...  39 ... 
Rwanda 48  61 26  22 65  18 9 
Samoa ...  3 ...  66 ...  31 ... 
Sao Tome and Principe 13  0 2  56 78  44 20 
Senegal 389  15 ...  46 49  38 ... 
Sierra Leone 38  14 ...  80 ...  6 ... 
Solomon Islands 16  4 6  44 4  52 89 
Somalia ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Sudan 130  1 13  10 83  89 4 
Tanzania 609  0 10  89 72  11 18 
Togo 72  34 ...  20 ...  46 ... 
Tuvalu ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Uganda 230  18 16  75 76  7 8 
Vanuatu ...  15 ...  60 ...  25 ... 
Yemen 129  22 16  35 29  43 55 
Zambia ...  ... ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Memorandum item:           
World 1586400  26 23  34 30  41 47 
                      
Note:   Data are estimated for most countries.  The improvement of the quality of data in recent years may have resulted in changes r elating to the breakdown of exports 
of commercial services by category of series.   
                      
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
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 A. M
AJOR PRODUCTS  
10. LDC exports, in addition to their low share of  world exports, are characterized by a highly 
concentrated export profile.  Table 3 shows th at petroleum products and apparel account for 
66 per cent of the total value of all LDC exports in 2003.  This fact is also supported by data on the 
export profile of individual LDCs as shown in Chart 2 and Annex Table 1.  The product shares in 
Annex Table 1 are calculated at the 2 and 3 digit level  of the Standard Industrial Trade Classification 
(SITC) for each LDC for which data is available.   Chart 2 identifies a number of countries with a 
highly concentrated export structure.  For exampl e, petroleum exports for Angola and Equatorial 
Guinea are respectively 92 per cent and 90 per cent of  their total exports.  Similarly, apparel and 
clothing account for 86 per cent of Cambodia's total exports and 98 per cent of Lesotho's exports. 
Table 3:  Leading merchandise exports of least-developed countries in 2003a 
(Million dollars and percentage) 
 
 LDCs Exports  World  
   Share in    Share in  
Product description (SITC Rev. 3) Value   Total 
Exports    Value   Total 
World  
         
All commodities (0 to 9) 35438  100  548872
4  1  
Petroleum, petrol. products (33) 14904  42  440633  3  
Petroleum products (334) 14413  41  315934  5  
Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 8632  24  191990  4  
Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 2102  6  34196  6  
Women, girls' clothing, excluding knitted textiles (842) 1876  5  44352  4  
Men's', boys' clothing, knitted (843) 508  1  8478  6  
Women, girl clothing knitted (844) 730  2  16291  4  
Other Textile, Apparel, n.e.s. (845) 3239  9  64912  5  
Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic invertebrates, and preparations 
thereof (03) 1457  4  47974  3  
Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 500  1  21440  2  
Crustaceans, mollussc etc.  (036) 819  2  15555  5  
Pearls, precious and semi-precious stones (667) 1114  3  46753  2  
Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 905  3  25968  3  
Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 390  1  8267  5  
Spices (075) 393  1  2001  20  
Non-ferrous metals (68) 845  2  93414  1  
Copper (682) 228  1  24357  1  
Aluminium (684) 517  1  41908  1  
Metalliferous ores, scrap (28) 776  2  52742  1  
Aluminium ore, concentrate (285) 337  1  6319  5  
Ore, concentrates. base metals (287) 99  0  5341  2  
Gas, natural, manufactured (34) 759  2  92946  1  
Cork and wood (24) 754  2  32685  2  
Wood rough, rough squared (247) 514  1  8108  6  
Wood, simply worked (248) 237  1  21719  1  
Ships, boats, and floating struct ures (793)  (b) 600  2  16186  4  
Textile fibres (26) 624  2  17495  4  
Cotton (263) 549  2  5635  10  
Textiles, yarn, fabrics,etc... (65) 498  1  118582  0  
Textile articles nes (658) 220  1  17975  1  
Tobacco, tobacco manufactures (12) 427  1  15965  3  
Tobacco, unmanufactured (121) 392  1  4984  8  
Footwear (85) 264  1  47740  1  
Vegetables and fruit (05) 231  1  69646  0  
Vegetables (054) 110  0  19402  1  
Fruits, nuts excluding oil nuts (057) 107  0  29192  0  
Leather (611) 230  1  13746  2  
Crude fertilizer, mineral (27) 230  1  13840  2  
Fertilizer crude(272) 41  0  960  4  
Natural abrasives, nes (277) 144  0  896  16  
Oil seed, oleaginous fruit (22) 184  1  15237  1  
Total above  33434  94  135354
2  2  
                 
a   Data shown are imports from LDCs' by 124 countries and ec onomies reporting their trade to the UNSD Comtrade Database.   
b  Data refer to imports flag of convenience by reporting countries and economies from Liberia.      
Source :  UNSD Comtrade Database.          
 
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 8 
 
 
Chart 2:  Share of leading products in total merchandise exports for LDCs 
(Percentage) 
 
0 1 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 01 0 0Togo Senegal Djibouti Nepal Gambia Uganda Somalia Niger M adagascar Tanzania My a n ma r  Bhutan Ethiopia M aldives Benin Rwanda Afghanistan Central African Rep.Comoros M auritania Tuvalu Vanatu Cape Verde Guinea Bangladesh Moz a mb i q u e  Sudan M ali Burundi Eritrea Zambia Burkina Faso Ma l a w i  Solomon Islands Samoa Congo Dem. Rep. of Guinea-Bissau Chad Sierra Leone Lao People's Dem.  Rep.  Haiti Liberia Kiribati Cambodia Yemen Sao Tome and Principe Equatorial Guinea Angola Lesotho 
 
Source:  WTO.  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 9 
 
  11. It is also important to note that, while concen tration levels of exports are high, the leading 
export product for each country differs across LDCs.  This implies that the export interests of LDCs 
as a group are far from identical highlighting the fact that LDCs do not have homogenous market 
access interests (Annex Table 1), a point that  will be taken up in the next section. 
12. Chart 3 illustrates a distinct shift in the rela tive importance of different product groups in the 
total exports of LDCs.  In 1995,  food was the most important e xport, representing 21.7 per cent of 
total exports, followed closely by fuels representi ng 21.5 per cent.  By 2002, fuel was the most 
important export representing 33.8 per cent of ex ports, while clothing became the second most 
important, representing 19.7 per cent of total export s.  Food became fourth, behind the aggregate 
category of all other products.  Much of this significant shift is due to changes in oil prices, but at the same time, it also represents significan t increases in LDCs' clothing exports. 
Chart 3:  Exports of least-developed countries by major product, 1995 and 2002 
(Percentage) 
 
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40OthersTextilesOther semi-manufacturesRaw  materialsFoodClothingFuels
1995
2002
 
Source:  WTO. 
 
B. MAJOR MARKETS  
13. In terms of specific country markets, Table 4 shows that the EC and the United States 
continue to be the most important destinations for LDC exports.  Although the EC's share of total 
LDC exports declined in 2003 to 31.6 per cent from 34. 5 per cent in 2002, it is still the most important 
market.  The US' share of total LDC exports of  around a quarter of LDC exports, is largely 
unchanged.  Table 4 using data for the years 2002 and 2003, as well as the last year's report, indicates that China is the third most important market and after that the top ten markets have approximately 
the same share.  These markets are:  Thailand;  Ja pan;  India;  Republic of Korea;  the Separate 
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Ma tsu (Chinese Taipei);  Canada and Singapore.  
14. Western Europe and North America differ in th eir importance as importers of agricultural 
products.
4  In 2002, Western Europe absorbed 36 per cen t of total LDC agricultural exports, whereas 
                                                      
4 The WTO Agreement on Agriculture definition of agricultural products is used to construct this chart.  
The regional definitions are contained in the WTO's annual publication International Trade Statistics . WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 10 
 
 North America imported 7 per cent (Chart 4).  Western Europe is also an important destination of fish 
products, absorbing 58 per cent of LDC exports.  In  comparison, North America imported 34 per cent 
of total LDC non-agricultural exports.
5  In terms of broad categories, North America is a more 
important market than Western Europe for clothing and fuels.  The two regions combine together to 
import 97 per cent of total LDC exports of clothing.  The Chart also shows that Asia's importance as a 
market is predominantly for exports of agricu ltural and fuel products, accounting for respectively 
34 per cent and 47 per cent of total LDC exports. Additional detail in terms of the importance of 
different individual markets for selected  LDCs is contained in Table 5. 
 Table 4:  Merchandise exports and imports of least-developed countries by selected country 
grouping, 2003 
(Million dollars) 
 
 Imports from LDCs 
  Share in total 
 
Importers 
 2002 
 2003 
   2002 
 2003 
 
All reporters (world) 37794 44914  100.0 100.0 
EC(15) 13057 14186  34.5 31.6 
United States 959 1 11525  25.4 25.7 
China 3502 6268  9.3 14.0 
Thailand ... 2346  ... 5.2 
Japan 1591 1584  4.2 3.5 
      
India 1312 ...  3.5 ... 
Korea, Republic of 990 ...  2.6 ... 
Chinese Taipei 870 999  2.3 2.2 
Canada 403 771  1.1 1.7 
Singapore 547 508  1.4 1.1 
      
Saudi Arabia 445 ...  1.2 ... 
Malaysia 438 361  1.2 0.8 
Indonesia 221 293  0.6 0.7 
South Africa  a 252 238  0.7 0.5 
Hong Kong, China 237 225  0.6 0.5 
            
a   Excluding trade with Lesotho         
Source : UNSD Comtrade Database.  
 
 
                                                      
5 Fish and fish products are not listed in the definition of products covered under the WTO Agreement 
on Agriculture.   WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 11 
 
 
Chart 4:   Merchandise exports of least-developed countries by selected product group and 
destination, 2002  
Asia, 28%
North 
America, 
7%Others, 
28%
Western 
Europe, 
36%Agricultural Products a
Asia, 8%
Western 
Eur ope, 
52%Others, 
6%
North 
Am erica
34%Manufactures
 
Fish
North 
America, 
8%
Western 
Europe, 
58%Others, 
10%
Asia, 24%Clothing
North 
America, 
52%Western 
Eur ope, 
44%Asia, 3%Others, 
1%
 
Fuels
Asia, 46%
North 
America, 
33%Western 
Eur ope, 
18%Others, 
2%All products
Asia, 27%
North 
Am erica, 
27%Western 
Eur ope, 
38%Others, 
8%
 
a Agreement on Agriculture  
Note : Estimates are based on impo rt statistics of partners  
Source : UNSD/OECD Comtrade database.  
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 12 
 
 
Table 5:  Imports of agricultural produc ts, fuels and manufactures of the European 
Communities, Asia and North America from least-developed countries, 2002 
(Million dollars and percentage) 
 
 
   Annual     Annual     Annual 
   percentage     percentage     percentage 
 Value  change   Value  change   Value  change 
                          
 2002  2001 2002   2002  2001 2002   2002  2001 2002 
                                 
 European Communities (15) Asia  a    North America 
A. Agricultural Products b             
Total LDCs 1360  -17 3  Total LDCs 1150  17 -6  Total LDCs 302  18 0 
Malawi 166  -13 -1  Myanmar 368  140 -4  Madagascar 126  102 42 
Uganda 152  -21 6  Tanzania 119  14 -8  Malawi 65  40 -12 
Madagascar 145  -6 11  Nepal 96  58 -36  Ethiopia 29  0 -9 
Ethiopia 127  -46 31  Benin 69  -18 17  Haiti 15  -40 67 
Senegal 108  1 -12  Ethiopia 60  -4 -17  Uganda 12  -18 -14 
Tanzania 103  -9 -11  Guinea 
Bissau 47  -84 370  Tanzania 11  -9 10 
Sudan 101  -10 10  Malawi 45  -20 -15  Mozambiqu
e 7  -69 -13 
Zambia 57  16 12  Mozambiqu
e 43  -50 291  Chad 6  0 20 
Mali 47  -38 68  Madagascar 41  5 -62  Comoros 5  175 -55 
Chad 38  -4 -24  Mali 39  -25 44  Rwanda 3  100 -25 
Togo 36  -7 33  Togo 36  23 -5  Yemen 3  67 -40 
Other (38) 280  -23 -6  Other (38) 57  -14 2  Others (38) 20  -7 -51 
B. Fish                 
Total LDCs 1054  7 11  Total LDCs 440  -23 6  Total LDCs 153  -26 -7 
Senegal 212  1 13  Myanmar 110  -19 10  Bangladesh 93  -37 -7 
Bangladesh 183  -5 14  Mauritania 58  -45 21  Myanmar 34  -0 -8 
Madagascar 149  7 30  Bangladesh 45  -24 -13  Tanzania 6  67 20 
Tanzania 133  -10 21  Mozambiqu
e 39  -9 34  Haiti 5  0 25 
Other (38) 377  25 -1  Other (45) 224  -17 2  Other (45) 139  -27 -7 
C. Manufactures                
Total LDCs 6686  6 -4  Total LDCs 1163  14 -8  Total LDCs 4970  4 -4 
Bangladesh 2838  6 1  Bangladesh 341  -8 -3  Bangladesh 2295  -2 -9 
Congo, Dem. 
Rep. of 975  1 29  Nepal 192  -3 3  Cambodia 1155  16 12 
Angola 527  -11 -8  Cambodia 179  -16 20  Myanmar 366  -1 -25 
Cambodia 476  33 10  Senegal 154  505 34  Lesotho 346  52 50 
Liberia 352  88 -37  Myanmar 116  5 1  Haiti 246  -10 -6 
Myanmar 352  18 -7  Bhutan 27  26 13  Nepal 169  -16 -22 
Madagascar 174  1 -38  Zambia 21  27 50  Maldives 122  6 11 
Central African   Republic 126  -40 25  Sudan 20  71 67  Madagascar 101  62 -49 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 126  9 3  Samoa 20  12 -57  Equatorial 
Guinea 63  290
0 110 
Guinea 96  -22 -28  Vanuatu 19  -98 1800  Congo, 
Dem. Rep. 
of 28  18 115 
Others (40) 644  -6 -19  Others (40) 74  186 -70  Others (40) 79  -25 -11 
D. Fuels                 
Total LDCs 2360  28 22  Total LDCs 6062  -20 19  Total LDCs 4366  -5 5 
Angola 1567  64 33  Angola 2324  -49 64  Angola 3268  -13 -1 
Equatorial 
Guinea 637  -5 4  Yemen 1573  1 -9  Equatorial 
Guinea 673  219 31 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of 55  -50 817  Sudan 1533  9 11  Yemen 253  -12 13 
Sudan 52  -23 13  Equatorial 
Guinea 397  75 -12  Congo, 
Dem. Rep. 
of 172  -29 35 
Yemen 11  -24 -66  Guinea 104  -43 225       
Others (44) 38  108 -30  Other (44) 131  -68 44  Other (45) 0  - - 
                                  
a  China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Si ngapore, Chinese Taipei, India, Australia, Indonesia and Philippines . 
b Agreement on Agriculture                
Source : UNSD Comtrade Database.             
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 13 
 
 15. An interesting and important feature of LDC expor ts is the diversity of exports to different 
markets.  This point was highlighted earlier with re ference to Chart 4.  It is further emphasized in 
Table 6, which presents the structure of imports from LDCs into five major markets.  For China, Japan, Thailand and the United States, import struct ures are heavily dominated by fuels.  In 2003, 
88 per cent of China's imports from LDCs was fuel and the similar figure for Thailand was 
73 per cent.  For Japan and the United States, the fi gures are, respectively, 44 and 48 per cent.  The 
second most important import for these two countries is different.  For Japan, it is agricultural 
products, whereas for the United States, it is clothing .  Annex Tables 2 to 9 present, for reference, 
import data into the top eight markets for LDC products as defined in Table 4. 
16. Despite the dominance of the EC and the Un ited States as markets, the importance of 
developing countries as markets for LDC products s hould not be underestimated.  When export data 
for individual LDCs are examined, the point can be further emphasized, as illustrated in Chart 5.  It 
shows that 17 LDCs from different regions expor t more than 50 per cent of their products to 
developing countries.  Table 6:  Imports of the five major traders by major product group from least-developed 
countries, 2002-03 
(Million dollars and percentage) 
 
  EC (15) United 
States China Thailand Japan 
Product group           
All commodities      
2002 13057 9591 3502 ... 1591 
2003 14184 11525 6268 2346 1584 
Percentage change 9 20 79 ... 0 
Agricultural products a      
2002 2632 483 363 ... 407 
2003 2980 568 607 420 452 
Percentage change 13 18 67 ... 11 
Fish, crustaceans and moluscs      
2002 1054 143 17 ... 241 
2003 1173 128 22 ... 253 
Percentage change 11 -10 29 ... 5 
Coffee      
2002 406 172 1 ... 67 
2003 522 259 2 ... 78 
Percentage change 29 51 100 ... 16 
Mining products      
2002 3498 4255 3087 ... 958 
2003 3362 5700 5607 1799 827 
Percentage change -4 34 82 ... -14 
Fuels      
2002 2360 4179 2994 ... 816 
2003 1995 5608 5497 1705 699 
Percentage change -15 34 84 ... -14 
Manufactures      
2002 6686 4807 52 ... 219 
2003 7333 5206 55 69 288 
Percentage change 10 8 6 ... 32 
Textiles      
2002 214 187 2 ... 13 
2003 222 172 6 ... 15 
Percentage change 4 -8 200 ... 15 
Clothing      
2002 3581 4387 2 ... 45 
2003 4587 4747 1 ... 67 
Percentage change 28 8 -50 ... 49 
            
a  WTO, ITS definition including fish and forestry products.     
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database and Eurostat data for the EC(15).     
 
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 14 
 
 
Chart 5:  Share of developing countries in merchandise exports of LDCs, 2002 
(Percentage) 
 
0 1 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 01 0 0Cape VerdeLesothoGuineaHaitiSaoTomeCongo, Dem.RepBangladeshSierra LeoneCambodiaCentral A RLiberiaM adagascarComorosGambiaM auritaniaSamoaBurundiChadKiribatiEq GuineaRwandaAngolaMa l a w iTanzaniaMoz a mb i q u eM aldivesZambiaUgandaLao People's Dem RepNepalEthiopiaSenegalMa l iMy a n ma rBurkina FasoNigerAfghanistanSolomon IslandVanuatuBeninEritreaTogoSudanDjiboutiYemenBhutanGuinea-BissauSomalia
 
 
Note :  Excluding Tuvalu and Timor Leste.    
Source : UN Comtrade; IMF, Direction of Trade Statis tics and estimates based on partner statistics.  
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 15 
 
 
IV. TARIFF MEASURES 
17. A number of different measures, which can be classified as either tariff or non-tariff barriers, 
combine to determine the market access conditions faced by LDC exporters.  Empirical difficulties, 
however, make it almost impossible to develop an accurate overall measure of market access 
conditions.  Instead, if data permits, the approach th at is usually adopted is to focus separately on 
tariff and non-tariff barriers.   
18. This split is done for practical reasons.  Ad valorem  tariffs give a precise measure of market 
access conditions and under certain assumptions non- ad valorem  tariffs can be converted into 
ad valorem  equivalents.  The estimation of ad valorem  equivalents of non-tariff barriers on the other 
hand is difficult, due to a range of assumptions that are required to facilitate the task.  These 
assumptions, in some cases, can be so rigid as to raise doubt about the validity of the estimate.   
19. For these reasons the focus of this section will be on tariffs.  This approach should not in any 
way be interpreted as concluding that tariffs are mo re important than non-tariff barriers, or that 
non-tariff barriers are not important.  WTO S ecretariat documents WT/COMTD/LDC/W/28 and 
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/31 highlighted some of the non-tariff barriers that LDC exporters face. 
20. Annex Table 10 presents a non-exhaustive list of  non-reciprocal preferences granted to 
exports originating from LDCs.  The list include s initiatives by both developed and developing 
countries, most of which have been notified to the GATT/WTO under the Enabling Clause.  It shows a wide variety of measures that are implemented under different institutional arrangements.  Some 
countries use existing schemes such as the Gene ralized System of Preferences (GSP) whereby 
developed countries grant non-reciprocal preferenc es to developing countries, while others have 
specific and dedicated schemes for LDCs.  Some deve loping countries also grant preferences within 
the context of the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP)
6, as well as within preferential regional 
trading agreements.  While the table makes no atte mpt to quantify the value of these preferences, it 
does indicate that a certain degree of importance has been attached to continuing efforts to improve 
and expand market access opp ortunities for LDC exporters. 
21. In the process of continuing these efforts, the international community has placed a greater 
burden on developed countries.  In th is context, an official indicator of Goal 8 of the United Nations 
Millennium Development Goals is achieving duty-f ree and quota-free market access into developed 
country markets.7  Data indicating the extent that this objective has been achieved is presented in 
Table 7.  It shows an overall upward trend for no n-arms exports from LDCs between 1996 and 2002.  
By 2002, 81 per cent of LDC expor ts (excluding arms) is assumed to  enter developed country markets 
duty-free.  When these imports are adjusted  for oil the figure drops to 75 per cent. 
22. The principal mechanisms by which developed countries improve access into their markets 
for LDC products is through non-discriminatory MF N treatment and non-reciprocal market schemes 
that discriminate in favour of LDC products.  The data in Table 7 includes the net effect of both 
                                                      
6 The first round of negotiations within the context of the GSTP took place in 1988.  At the conclusion, 
48 countries exchanged concessions and ratified the agreement.  A new round of negotiations under the GSTP 
framework was launched in June 2004.   
7 The data presented in Table 7 is calculated by a number of international organizations, including the 
WTO Secretariat.  It is an official  indicator of progress by the international community towards meeting Goal 8 
of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.  Although official, it should be noted that the 
methodology used to calculate these indicators differs from the general methodology used in this Note. Therefore, caution should be exercised in comparing the data in this table against the results in other tables 
presenting tariff data.  Despite this caveat, it is important to note that the general conclusions about market 
access are not sensitive to the different methodologies. WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 16 
 
 mechanisms.  In order to gauge the effect of  schemes specific to LDCs, Tables 8 and 9 present, 
respectively, tariff profiles of selected developed country Members. 
23. The data in Table 8 presents the progress of selected developed countries in meeting the 
objective of duty-free and quota-free access for imports originating from LDCs.  The table is based on 
2002 data, hence does not take into account recent changes in the tariffs and quota regimes that 
countries have made in favor of LDCs from 2003 a nd beyond.  Despite this caveat, the table is 
instructive in a number of ways, since it provides a breakdown of progress based on the WTO agriculture definition.  Second, it indicates the extent  to which a significant proportion of LDC market 
access to developed countries is based on MFN duty-free rates.  For example, the EC's exceptions to 
full access are in agriculture, whereas for Canada, Ja pan and the United States the exceptions are also 
predominantly in the agriculture sector.  
24. Table 9 presents a comparison of the average MFN duty rates and the preferential duty rates 
by sector for a number of major developed country ma rkets.  Again, as with Table 8, the data in 
Table 9 is for the year 2002, hence it does not take  into account recent initiatives.  The table provides 
a significant amount of data related to the tariff profile of these markets, including the number of 
national and international peaks.
8  The table also includes a column  that provides the percentage of 
non ad valorem  lines.  This column is important, since the ad valorem  equivalents have not been 
calculated.  As can be noticed from the table, th e percentage is quite high (above 10 per cent) for 
agricultural lines in some markets.   This observation means that the tariff averages computed in the 
table are biased. 
25. Even with the caveat regarding non ad valorem  duties, the principal point is that the average 
LDC duty of developed countries indicated in Table 9 is less than the MFN duty.  This implies that 
when examining market access for these countries, the relevant indicator is the preferential duty rate, 
not the MFN duty rate. 
26. In contrast, although a number of developing co untries have some measures in favor of 
LDCs, as described in Annex Table 10, the depth of these preferences is not substantial.  As such, for 
developing countries that are major markets for LDC products, the relevant tariff indicator is the MFN 
rate.  The only means of comparing two markets with different regimes is to find a common indicator.  
In this case, the number of international peaks can be indicative, since it counts the number of tariff 
lines above a value of 15 per cent.  Table 10 s hows the frequency count of international peaks by 
sector, in the order of market importance to LDC exports.9  While instructive, it should be noted that 
Table 10 is only a frequency count is does not ta ke into account the value and volume of imports 
affected by these measures. 
                                                      
8 A national peak is defined as the number of tari ff lines above three times the national average (see 
Technical Notes).  An international peak is  defined as tariffs above 15 per cent.  
9 It should be noted that the agriculture sector has fewer tariff lines than th e non-agricultural sector.  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 17 
 
 
Table 7:  Proportion of developed country imports from developing countries and LDCs 
entering duty-free 
(Percentage) 
 
  1996 2000 2001 2002 
          
(a)  Excluding arms     
Developing countries                     46 62 61 57 
Least-developed countries    68 77 77 81 
  
(b)  Excluding arms and oil  
Developing countries  47 61 59 56 
Least-developed countries  77 70 70 75 
 
Source :  WTO, UNCTAD and ITC. 
Table 8:  Tariff profile for LDC exports in developed country markets, 2002  
 
Number of Tariff Lines Imports (000'000s US $) 
MFN   LDC LDC 
Market Sector Total With 
imports   Dutiable With 
imports Dutiable 
imports Total 
Total Dutiable 
Australia   6,103 5,696  938 632 167 68,941 103 5 
Australia Agri 773 646  5 66 0 3,092 8 ... 
Australia NonAg 5,330 5,050  933 566 167 65,849 95 5 
Canada   8,523 8,293   880 1361 265 217,886 372 119 
Canada Agri 1,395 1,261  166 174 2 12,989 15 0 
Canada NonAg 7,128 7,032   714 1187 263 204,897 357 119 
European Communities  10,400 10,137  67 3496 17 813,400 12,448 56 
European Communities Agri 2,113 1,931  42 510 13 55,403 1,186 56 
European Communities NonAg 8,287 8,206  25 2986 4 757,997 11,262 0 
Japan   9,303 8,199   1,340 789 90 330,856 1,579 964 
Japan Agri 1,856 1,436  1,040 107 34 33,973 141 4 
Japan NonAg 7,447 6,763  300 682 56 296,883 1,438 961 
New Zealand   7,432 6,570   ... 457 ... 14,967 12 ... 
New Zealand Agri 1,026 817  ... 64 ... 1,326 5 ... 
New Zealand NonAg 6,406 5,753   ... 393 ... 13,641 7 ... 
Norway  7,133 6,548  293 485 2 34,393 198 0 
Norway Agri 1,337 1,076  290 66 2 2,185 22 0 
Norway NonAg 5,796 5,472  3 419 0 32,208 177 ... 
Switzerland   8,477 7,815   1,173 627 20 83,500 94 5 
Switzerland Agri 2,227 1,771  1,162 122 20 5,337 32 5 
Switzerland NonAg 6,250 6,044   11 505 0 78,163 62 ... 
United States  10,493 10,109  1,914 1387 570 1,102,069 8,392 3,841 
United States Agri 1,808 1,553  274 171 3 45,378 263 1 
United States NonAg 8,685 8,556  1,640 1216 567 1,056,691 8,128 3,841 
                      
Source:  WTO-IDB.                      
 
Note:  The tariff calculations are based on data available in  the Integrated Data Base (IDB), complemented by 
UNCTAD's TRAINs database.  Only tariff lines in chapter 01 to 97 are taken into account in the calculations.  
Tariff suffixes are not included.  
 
Important data refer to figures to the WTO Secretariat for inclusion in the IDB; total imports may not be fully in 
line with national or other international sources as they  do not include all products (chapters 98 and 99 are 
excluded) or some trade flows may not be included for confidentiality reasons.     WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 
Page 18 Table 9:  Tariff profile of MFN and preferential duties in selected developed country markets, 2002 
 
All Agriculture Non-agriculture 
Duty averages Number of 
peaks Duty averages Number of 
peaks Duty averages Number of 
peaks 
Dutiable Dutiable Dutiable MFN % of 
non 
Ad-
valorem 
subhea
dings Sim
ple Weig
hted Sim
ple Weig
hted Inter
-
natio
nal Natio
nal % of 
non 
Ad-
valorem 
subhea
dings Sim
ple Weig
hted Sim
ple Weig
hted Inter
-
natio
nal Natio
nal % of 
non 
Ad-
valorem 
subhea
dings Sim
ple Weig
hted Sim
ple Weig
hted Inter
-
natio
nal Natio
nal 
Australia 0.33 4.2 3.9 7.8 6.9 215 541 1.30 1.2 2.1 4.7 4.7 . . 0.18 4.6 3.9 8.0 7.0 215 541 
Canada 2.95 4.1 3.1 6.9 5.1 419 495 20.12 3.1 3.7 7.1 7.1 9 22 0.33 4.2 3.0 6.9 5.0 410 473 
Japan 6.22 3.2 2.5 6.0 6.8 149 447 22.58 7.3 7.3 10.9 10.8 114 187 3.73 2.7 1.9 5.1 5.8 35 260 
New Zealand 3.83 3.2 4.0 7.2 7.1 241 319 0.29 1.7 2.7 5.0 5.4 . . 4.37 3.5 4.1 7.4 7.2 241 319 
Norway 9.40 2.2 1.5 12.5 10.6 124 582 70.33 8.4 10.8 52.2 48.5 18 37 0.11 1.7 1.1 9.6 8.1 106 545 
United States 0.31 3.9 2.9 5.6 4.6 226 411 1.45 5.1 4.8 7.0 6.6 55 85 0.13 3.7 2.8 5.4 4.5 171 326 
European Communities 5.90 4.4 3.2 5.4 5.4 101 135 39.94 5.9 5.3 9.6 9.7 57 74 0.71 4.2 3.0 5.1 5.2 44 61 
                      
                      
All   Agriculture Non-agriculture 
Duty averages Number of 
peaks Duty averages Number of 
peaks Duty averages Number of 
peaks 
Dutiable Dutiable Dutiable LDC % of 
non 
Ad-
valorem 
subhea
dings Sim
ple Weig
hted Sim
ple Weig
hted Inter
-
natio
nal Natio
nal % of 
non 
Ad-
valorem 
subhea
dings Sim
ple Weig
hted Sim
ple Weig
hted Inter
-
natio
nal Natio
nal % of 
non 
Ad-
valorem 
subhea
dings Sim
ple Weig
hted Sim
ple Weig
hted Inter
-
natio
nal Natio
nal 
Australia 0.25 1.7 1.4 10.3 6.8 202 559 0.72 0.0 0.0 . . . . 0.18 2.0 1.4 10.3 6.8 202 559 
Canada 1.88 1.6 0.5 12.9 14.0 341 544 12.16 0.4 0.8 16.0 12.3 5 11 0.31 1.8 0.5 12.8 14.2 336 533 
Japan 2.83 0.9 0.9 10.2 7.5 103 412 20.98 5.8 5.6 11.8 9.7 100 299 0.07 0.2 0.3 6.2 4.7 3 113 
New Zealand 0.00 0.0 0.0 . . . . 0.00 0.0 0.0 . . . . 0.00 0.0 0.0 . . . . 
Norway 0.34 0.1 0.1 3.5 3.8 12 183 2.46 1.0 1.2 3.6 3.8 12 181 0.02 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.6 . 2 
United States 0.00 1.9 1.2 10.5 11.0 187 733 0.00 1.9 2.3 14.2 9.5 24 60 0.00 1.9 1.1 10.1 11.1 163 673 
European Communities 0.17 0.0 0.0 3.1 2.7 . 17 1.30 0.0 0.0 7.7 7.7 . 1 0.00 0.0 0.0 2.8 2.6 . 16 
                      
 
Note :  The first step in the calculations consisted of aggregating all tariff line duties up to the level of HS 6-digit subheadings  of the Harmonized System (HS) which offers a 
common structure that is not biased by the different levels of disaggregation in Members' tariffs.  For the calculation of HS 6 -digit duty averages only ad valorem  duties have 
been considered.  All subsequent steps in the calculations were based on these 'pre-aggregated' HS 6-digit duty averages.   
 The number of international speaks refers to the number of 6-digit subheadings where the duty rate is higher than 15%, while th e number of national peaks are based on HS 6-
digit duties that are three times higher than the Member's overa ll simple average.  The same threshold (three times the nationa l average) has been used, both for agricultural and 
non-agricultural sectors.  
Percentage of non ad valorem  subheadings relates to the number of HS 6-digit subheadings having at least one ad valorem  duty that is not expressed in ad valorem  terms, divided 
by the total number of 6-digit subheadings.  Duties not provided were treated as non ad valorem . 
 
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 19 
 
 
Table 10:  Number of international peaks fa cing LDCs exporters in major markets, 2002 
 
 Agriculture Non-Agriculture 
European Communities 0 0  
United States 24 163  
China 385 1195  
Thailand 476 1924  
Japan 100 3  
  
India 27 119  
Korea, Rep. 340 74  
Chinese Taipei 248 178  
Canada 9 410  
Singapore 0 0  
  
Saudi Arabia 9 116  
Malaysia 37 1323  
Indonesia 27 119  
South Africa 150 471  
Hong Kong, China 0 0  
        
 
 Source:  WTO 
 
V. THE UTILIZATION OF PREFERENCES  
27. The previous section mapped the duties faced by ex ports of LDCs in their major markets.  It 
highlighted the fact that market access in devel oped country markets is determined primarily through 
preferential agreements.  In contrast, in developing  country markets, market access for LDC exports is 
determined primarily through most-favoured-nation tari ffs and in some cases reciprocal agreements.  
If preferential duties are fully u tilized, then the preferential duty  is an accurate market access 
indicator.  If not, then they underestimate the impe diments to market access.   In the extreme case, 
where the utilization rate is zero, it follows that  the accurate market access indicator would be the 
MFN tariff.  Therefore, when comparing mark et access conditions across various markets, the 
utilization rate could dictate whether or not the MF N rate or the preferential rate should be the 
comparative indicator.  
28. While this description of market access in the pr esence of preferential rates is fine in theory, 
in practice, it is very difficult to estimate the degr ee of preference utilization.  Preferential duty rates 
are public information, since these are the statutor y applied border tax rates.  The search costs for 
retrieving this information depends on the w illingness of a national government to make the 
information available.10  Utilization data, however, is different .  When a good enters a market, there is 
a possibility of either the MFN duty or the preferen tial duty being applied.  The actual duty that is 
applied depends upon a range of factors in both the importing and exporting countries.  A precise 
record is required as to the application of the duty, and in many cases, this data is either not collected, 
nor made publicly available. 
                                                      
10 Notification of preferential duty ra tes to the WTO Secretariat is currently not required.  Only the 
notification of MFN rates is required.  Therefore, in the first instance all available data from the WTO Integrated 
Database is used.  This information is then supplemented with public available data from other sources 
including the United Nations Confer ence on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Trade 
Centre (ITC).  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 20 
 
 
29. Lack of widely available data on preference utilization, therefore, makes the study of 
preference utilization and the broader issue on the value of preferences difficult.  Nevertheless, the 
available data, as limited as it is, has still allowed the research community to identify some stylised 
characteristics.  The purpose of this section is to  distil these characteristics.  The next sub-section 
examines preference utilization in selected developed country markets.  
30. The stock of knowledge on the topic of preference utilization presented in the Note is based 
on a number of recently released studies.  Before pr oceeding with this expositio n on the utilization of 
preferences, an important caveat needs to be menti oned.  In some cases, utilization data is made 
available to only selected researchers, which makes it difficult to evaluate and replicate their results.  
One can only take the results as given, based on an evaluation of the methodology.  For example, two 
researchers analysing the same question with data sets at different levels of aggregation could lead to 
very different results.  Comparing results across resear chers should, therefore, be treated with caution.  
A second important caveat is that the material to be presented should not be interpreted as the total Box 1 Measuring the utilization of preferences 
 
Two methods for measuring the utilization of prefer ences currently exist.  Each has different data 
requirements.  The first, which is the most common, is based on customs data, trying to estimate 
the value of imports upon which the preferential dut y is applied.  The second is based on the total 
customs revenue collected. 
 
The methodology for calculating the first indicator is  straight forward; the estimated value of 
imports receiving preferential treatment is divided by the total value of imports from preference 
receiving countries that are eligible for preference s.  This figure, or ratio, is the preference 
utilization rate.  
 
Despite the simplicity of this methodology, implemen ting it in practice is quite difficult.  Official 
data on the exact duty levied on a specific import originating from a specific exporter is rarely 
available.  If it is available, it is usually based on exporter request information.  This means, an 
exporter submits a request for a preferential duty to be  applied to his product.  Whether or not this 
duty is applied depends upon a custom official's evaluation of the request.  This 'request' data, 
therefore, could severely bias an estimate of pr eference utilization.  The assumption is that the 
exporter has full information about the preference sc heme he is requesting to be applied to his 
product.  This may not necessarily be the case.  It is  also possible for a customs official to apply a 
preferential duty on an import, when a MFN dut y has been requested.  Again, however, such 
detailed information is not available.  
 
Despite these difficulties, such 'request' data has recently beco me available for some major 
preference granting countries, and has allowed for some general analysis (UNCTAD, 2003; 
Brenton and Ikezuki, 2004a and 2004b, Candau et. al, 2004). 
 
The second method based on revenue collection is, in  practice, more reliable, since it involves a 
sum of the duties collected for government reve nue purposes.  Using this method, total customs 
revenue collected from a preference-beneficiary c ountry is divided by total imports from that 
country.  The result can be called an e ffective tariff, which is the average ad valorem  duty paid on 
imports.  This value can then be compared to the average MFN tariff and the average preferential 
tariff to determine the utilization rate.  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 21 
 
 evidence regarding the value of preferences.  The va lue of preferences is determined by a wide range 
of factors, of which the utilization rate is but  one (Brenton, 2003; Brenton and Ikezuki, 2004a).  
31. In addition to data issues, there are a va riety of methodologies available to estimate 
preference utilization (Box 1).  This Note reviews only those studies that rely on data about the tariff 
treatment of exports that is requested by exporters. 
A. P
REFERENCE UTILIZATION IN CANADA , THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , JAPAN AND THE 
UNITED  STATES  
32. The evaluation of LDC preference utilization across markets is difficult due to important 
differences between the various schemes.  Since non-reciprocal schemes are autonomous, a 
preference-granting country has discretion over the design of the scheme, including the rules 
determining product and country eligib ility, and the depth of preference afforded to eligible exporters.  
This implies that differences across markets for a given exporting country in the same product should 
be expected.   
33. The purpose of this section is to review the av ailable evidence about preference utilization in 
the four largest developed country markets for LDC exports that offer non-reciprocal market access.  
These are the European Communities, United States, Jap an and Canada.  Given the diversity of their 
schemes, the section is structured around four sty lised characteristics of non-reciprocal schemes 
regarding their utilization.  By structuring the sect ion in this way, the emphasis is on what policy 
makers can learn about the effectiv eness of the scheme.  The structur e is also conducive to the fact 
that much of the research work in this area is preliminary, hence, it is difficult to obtain precise 
estimates regarding utilization.  Nevertheless, th e range of markets studied and the increasing number 
of studies in this area points to the some br oad conclusions, each of which will be taken up 
individually. 
(i) The utilization of non-reciprocal preferences is less than 100 per cent. 
34. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) , which was developed under the auspices of 
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Deve lopment (UNCTAD) is one of the better known 
non-reciprocal schemes.  Since its inception, GSP be neficiary countries have notified their schemes 
and the their utilization to UNCTAD.  A number of recent studies using the data show that GSP utilization is consistently below 100 per cent.  UNC TAD (2003) reports that the aggregate utilization 
of GSP schemes by LDCs across Quad
11 members varied from as low as 26 per cent in the EC in 1998 
to as high as 96 per cent in the United States in 2001.12 
35. While the fact that GSP utilization was less than 100 per cent was well known across all GSP 
granting markets, an outstanding issue was whether or not this conclusion can be extended to other 
schemes.  Recently available data on the utilizati on of EC's non-reciprocal scheme in favour of 
African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and from their GSP amendment in favour of LDCs confirm 
that the utilization rates of these schemes ar e also less than 100 per cent (UNCTAD, 2003). 
Preliminary work, by Candau et. al (2004), on the EC's preferential scheme indicates that the 
utilization rate into the EC for all non-reciprocal schemes was 81.2 per cent in 2001.  In contrast, 
Stevens and Kennan (2004) estimate that only 2.4 per cen t of all imports into the EC that were eligible 
for duty-free treatment paid a tariff.  
                                                      
11 The members of the Quad are Canada, the European Communities, Japan and the United States. 
12 These are aggregate utilization figures, hence do not  take into account the value of dutiable imports 
and product coverage.  In some cases, the value of impo rts eligible for preferences is a low percentage of 
dutiable imports. WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 22 
 
 
(ii) The utilization of preferences varies by product within a scheme 
36. Many reasons exist as to why utilization rates vary across products for a given scheme.  The 
most cited reason is differences in product eligibility criteria, such as rules of origin (Brenton, 2003;  
UNCTAD, 2003).  These intrinsic differences make it easier to produce eligible products and in some 
cases more difficult.  For the EC, in 2001, the aggr egate utilization rates across all their schemes are 
estimated to be between 79.6 per cent in textil es and wearing and 93.1 per cent in agricultural 
products that are neither raw, nor processed.  For GSP schemes offered by the Quad, UNCTAD 
(2003) using HS sections estimates  the utilization rate  to be above 90 per cent in certain products, but 
as low as 56 per cent in others for some LDC beneficiaries.  
(iii) The utilization of preferences varies ac ross beneficiaries within a scheme 
37. The proposition that aggregate utilization rates for all beneficiaries of the same scheme should 
be different makes economic sense, since their expor t profiles differ.  As outlined in the previous 
section, there is a wide range of products that are the principal export of LDCs.  Moreover, some of 
the key factors that determine preference utilizati on, such as information about the benefits of a 
scheme and also the eligibility conditions of a scheme,  could vary across beneficiaries and sectors.   
38. To illustrate this point by way of example, Br enton and Iktezuki (2004b) show that in 2002 
Madagascar and Ivory Coast exported similar amounts of products that are eligible for preferences 
(about US$95 million).  However, while 85 per cent of  the exports from Madagascar that are eligible  
actually requested preferential access, only 51 per cen t of eligible exports from Ivory Coast requested 
such access.  Lesotho, on the other hand, has a utilization rate of almost 100 per cent. 
(iv) The utilization of preferences varies within a market for given LDCs 
39. A common misperception about non-reciprocal ma rket access schemes for LDCs is that they 
face the exact same market  access conditions in a given market.  The reality is that some countries 
offer schemes, which can discriminate across benefici aries even if they meet the criteria for LDC 
status as defined by the United Nations.  Two examples of such schemes are the EC's Everything But 
Arms (EBA) initiative and th e United States' African Growth and Opportunity Act  (AGOA).  In the 
context of this sub-section, however , it is important to note that the type of discrimination applied to 
LDCs by these markets differ in one significant respect.  AGOA is regionally based, as its name 
suggests, and its beneficiaries are those countries lo cated in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Non-African LDCs 
are not eligible to benefit from improved market  access offered by the United States under that 
scheme, although many of them are eligible for LDC-specific preferences granted under the US' GSP 
scheme.  This form of discrimination is different from that applied by the EC , which offers the same 
level of access to all LDCs, as measured by the pr eferential duty, but applies different rules governing 
how products are eligible for that access.  This, theref ore, is not discrimination on the basis of eligible 
exporter, but on the basis of eligible product.  
40. The EC's EBA programme is an amendment of their GSP scheme, which is available to all 
LDCs (Brenton, 2003).  However, LDCs that me et the EC eligibility criteria for the Cotonou 
Arrangement, which applies to countries from the AC P region, are eligible to export to the EC under 
either scheme.
13  Non ACP-LDC countries can export only under the GSP scheme.  Both schemes 
provide essentially duty-free and quota-free access in to the EC, however, the rules governing this 
access differ.  Therefore, a priori, it is not surprising for utilization rates to differ across beneficiaries 
that have the same preferential duty rate and prefer ential margin.  This reasoning is confirmed by the 
available data, which shows that the utilization rate  for textiles and apparel into the EC for ACP-LDC 
                                                      
13 Forty of the 79 ACP States are LDCs.   WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 23 
 
 countries is approximately 95 per cent, wherea s for non ACP-LDC countries it is approximately 
50 per cent.  
B. S
UMMARY OBSERVATIONS  
41. This section has highlighted four stylised char acteristics of the utilization of non-reciprocal 
schemes.  Its purpose is to inject another dimens ion into the issue of market access for products 
originating from LDCs.  Together they make it clea r that comparing the preferential duty rate to the 
MFN rate, while instructive, is unsatisfactory. 
42. Unfortunately, data limitations in terms of qua lity and availability make it difficult to estimate 
with any degree of precision, the effectiveness a nd impact of such schemes.  Numerous research 
studies on multilateral trade policy often fail to take  non-reciprocal preferences into account in the 
context of their simulations.  Furthermore, where they  do, they do not take into account the fact that 
available preferences are not utili zed to their complete potential. 
43. The section has not conducted an analysis as to why preference rates are low.  As shown in 
WTO (2004) and the previous report WT/COMTD/W/31,  the margin of prefer ences can sometimes be 
greater than 10 per cent, as in the case of prepar ed fruits and vegetables (12.9 per cent), footwear 
(11.8 per cent) and tobacco (10.8 per cent) in the Quad markets in 2002.  In other cases, however, the 
margin can be as little as 5 per cent.  The marg in of preferences could be considered as the 
commercial advantage provided to an exporter.  Not utilising this advantage makes little commercial 
sense.   
VI. RECENT INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE MARKET ACCESS 
44. Annex Table 10 provides a non-exhaustive list of market access initiatives granted to products 
originating from LDCs.  Since the last Secretaria t report, the following notifications have been 
received on improvements in market access for products originating from the LDCs: 
(a) Canada notified its decision to extend th e General Preferential Tariff (GPT) and 
Least-Developed Country Tariff (LDCT) for a further ten years, to 30 June 2014.  It 
also made notification with respect to chang es to the list of beneficiaries to the LDCT 
(i.e. addition of Senega l effective 30 May 2002);14 
(b) Switzerland notified that as part of the market access initiative announced in 200215, 
the second stage of tariff reduction of an  average 30 per cent applicable to the 
50 LDCs in the agricultural section had been implemented on 1 April 2004;16 
(c) Australia submitted a written notification,  in January 2004, of its duty-free and 
quota-free entry initiative for LDCs, which had come into force on 1 July 2003;17 
(d) China notified its accession to the Bangkok Ag reement, which entered into force on 
1 January 2002.  China offers tariff concessi ons on 739 lines at the HS 6 digit level to 
the participating states (Bangladesh, India,  the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the 
Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka).  Special 18 additional tariff concessions are 
exclusively granted to Bangladesh.18  
                                                      
14 The notification is contained in  document WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.2. 
15 The initiative is contained in document WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.1. 
16 The notification is contained in WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.2. 
17 The notification is contained in document WT/COMTD/N/18. 
18 The notification is contained in document WT/COMTD/N/19.    WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 24 
 
 45. In addition to the above notifications made to the WTO, the following developments have 
been noted since the last report issued in Octobe r 2003.  With regard to preference beneficiaries, 
Timor Leste was added to the LDC list on 17 Decem ber 2003, bringing the total number of LDCs to 
50.   
46. With regard to preference-granting countries,  the expansion of the European Communities, 
which came into force 1 May 2004, has effectivel y enlarged the market destination from 15 to 25 
countries for LDC exports which enjoy duty-free and quota-free access under the EBA initiative.  
According to the notifications made before th eir accession to the EC, the Czech Republic, Hungary, 
Poland and the Slovak Republic had previously offe red duty-free and quota-free access for all or a 
range of LDC exports under their respective GSP schemes.
19  In addition to the expansion of the 
market destination for LDC products, the EC expansi on would bring together the rules and regulations 
governing various preference schemes into a single set of rules, such in the origin and other 
administrative requirements.  
47. The United States extended provisions of the A frican Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) 
by signing the AGOA Acceleration Act (AGOA III) in July 2004.20  In 2004, twenty-five of the 
37 Sub-Saharan African beneficiaries are LDCs.21  AGOA III has extended, inter alia , the overall 
programme from 2008 until 2015 an d the third country fabric provision for three years, from 
September 2004 until September 2007.22 
 
                                                      
19 According to other sources of information, Est onia had offered duty-free and quota-free access for all 
LDC exports.  
20 The notification on AGOA is contai ned in document WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.3.  
21 In 2004, the number of the AGOA beneficiaries changed to 37 from 38 in 2003 (of which LDC 
beneficiaries to 25 from 26) by adding Angola and removing Eritrea and the Central African Republic on the 
list.  
22 For more details, see the official AGOA website at http://www.agoa.gov/index.html.  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 25 
 
  
VII. REFERENCES 
Brenton, P (2003), "Integrating the Least Develope d Economies into the World Trading System:  The 
Current Impact of EU Preferences under Everything but Arms", Journal of World Trade , 37, 623-46. 
 
Brenton, P and T. Ikezuki (2004a), "The Initial and Potential Impact of  Preferential Access to the U.S. 
Market under the African Growth and Opportuni ty Act", Policy Research Working Paper 3262, 
World Bank.  
Brenton, P and T. Ikezuki (2004b), "The Impact of  Agricultural Trade Preferences, with Particular 
Attention to the Least Developed Count ries", A. Aksoy and J. Beghin (eds) Global Agricultural Trade 
and Developing Countries , Oxford University Press and th e World Bank, Washington D.C., 
(forthcoming).  
Candau, F, L Fontagne, and S. Jean (2004), "The utili sation rate of preferences in the EU", mimeo, 
CEPII, Paris.  Stevens, C. and J. Kennan (2004), "The utilization of EU preferences to th e ACP", mimeo, U. of 
Sussex, Institute for Development Studies.   
United Nations Conference on Trade and Developm ent (2003), "Trade Preferences for LDCs:  An 
Early Assessments of Benefits and Possi ble Improvements", UNCTAD/ITCD/TSB/2003/8, 
UNCTAD, World Bank.  World Trade Organization (2004), World Trade Report 2004 , Geneva, World Trade Organization.  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 26 
 
 
Annex Table 1:  Leading exports of selected least-developed countries 
(Millions dollars and percentage)         
    Exports 
  Value   Share in 
Country Product description (SITC Rev. 3) Total  Total exports  
          
     
Afghanistan 2002a Vegetables and fruit (05) 43  44 
 Fruits, nuts excluding oil nuts (057) 37  38 
 Furskins, raw (212) 9  10 
 Textile fibres (26) 8  9 
Angola, 2002 a Petroleum, petrol. products (33) 7198  92 
 Petroleum oils, crude (333) 7060  90 
 Pearls, precious and semi-precious stones (667) 495  6 
Bangladesh, 2003 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 3652  53 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 972  14 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 399  6 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 490  7 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 1495  22 
Benin, 2002 Cotton (263) 128  42 
 Other meat, meat offal (012) 67  22 
 Gold, non-monetary excluding ores (971) 27  9 
Bhutan, 2002 a Inorganic chemical elements (522) 14  39 
 Pig iron, spiegeleisn, etc. (671) 11  31 
 Wood rough, rough squared (247) 2  5 
Burkina Faso, 2002 Cotton (263) 105  61 
Burundi, 2002 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 18  60 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 17  58 
 Gold, non-monetary excluding ores (971) 3  11 
Cambodia, 2002 a Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 1641  86 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 317  17 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 433  23 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 121  6 
 Women's, girls', clothing, knitted (844) 183  10 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 567  30 
 Footwear (851) 145  8 
Cape Verde, 2001 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 5  48 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 1  7 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 3  30 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 1  9 
 Footwear (851) 4  41 
Central African Republic, 2001 Non-metal.minerals manufactured (66) 33  45 
 Pearls,precious stones (667) 33  45 
 Natural abrasives, nes (277) 15  20 
 Cork and wood (24) 14  19 
 Wood rough, rough squared   (247) 11  15 
 Wood, simply worked (248) 3  4 
Chad, 2002 a Cotton (263) 50  75 
 Crude veg. materials, nes (292) 10  15 
 Aircraft associated equipment (792) 3  5 
Comoros, 2002 a Ships, boats, and floating structures (793) b 27  45 
 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 26  43 
 Spices (075) 26  43 
 Essential oils, perfumes, flavours (551) 4  7 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of, 2002 a Pearls, precious and semi-precious stones (667) 993  70 
 Petroleum, petrol. products (33) 227  16 
 Petroleum oils, crude (333) 166  12 
 Petroleum products (334) 61  4 
Djibouti, 2002 a Road vehicles (78) 20  19 
 Petroleum, petrol. products (33) 13  13 
 Petroleum products (334) 8  8 
 Residual petroleum products (335) 5  5 
 Vegetables and fruit (05) 10  10 
 Sugars, Molasses, honey (061) 9  9 
Equatorial Guinea, 2002 a Petroleum, petrol. products (33) 1705  90  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 27 
 
 
(Millions dollars and percentage)         
    Exports 
  Value   Share in 
Country Product description (SITC Rev. 3) Total  Total exports  
          
 Petroleum oils, crude (333) 1705  90 
 Cork and wood (24) 76  4 
Eritrea, 2002 Sugar, sugar, preparations honey (06) 32  61 
 Sugars, Molasses, honey (061) 32  61 
Ethiopia, 2002 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 165  40 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 160  39 
 Leather (611) 53  13 
 Crude vegetable materials, nes (292) 46  11 
Gambia, 2002 a Fixed veg. fats, oils, soft (421) 10  27 
 Vegetables and fruit (05) 7  18 
 Fruits, nuts excluding oil nuts (057) 5  13 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 4  11 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 2  5 
 Crustaceans, molluscs, etc. (036) 2  5 
 Ore, concentrate base metals (287) 2  4 
Guinea, 2002 Metalliferous ore, scrap (28) 257  49 
 Aluminium ore, concentrate etc. (285) 257  49 
 Gold, non-monetary excluding ores (971) 130  25 
 Inorganic chemical  elements (522) 90  17 
Guinea-Bissau, 2002 a Fruits, nuts excluding oil nuts (057) 47  75 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 6  10 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 4  6 
Haiti, 2002 a Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 230  80 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 23  8 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 13  5 
 Women's, girls', clothing, knitted (844) 32  11 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 145  50 
 Vegetables and fruit (05) 11  4 
Kiribati, 2002 a Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 21  83 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 21  82 
Lao People's Dem. Rep., 2002 a Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 129  76 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 47  28 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 20  12 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 13  7 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 47  28 
 Cork and wood (24) 15  9 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 12  7 
Lesotho, 2002 a Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 348  98 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 70  20 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 55  16 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 30  9 
 Women's, girls', clothing, knitted (844) 54  15 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 139  39 
Liberia, 2002 a Ships, boats, and floating structures (793) b 967  80 
 Cork and wood (24) 147  12 
 Wood rough, rough squared (247) 137  11 
 Natural rubber, etc. (231) 73  6 
Madagascar, 2003 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 229  35 
 Spices (075) 219  33 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 64  10 
 Crustaceans, molluscs, etc. (036) 62  9 
Malawi, 2001 Tobacco, tobacco manufactures (12) 262  64 
 Tobacco unmanufactured (121) 259  64 
Malawi, 2002 a Tobacco, tobacco manufactures (12) 312  68 
 Tobacco unmanufactured (121) 312  68 
 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 42  9 
 Tea and mate (074) 37  8 
Maldives, 2003 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 46  41 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 17  15 
 Fish, dried, salted, smoked (035) 13  12 
 Fish etc. prepared, preserved nes (037) 13  11 
 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 36  32 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 4  4 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 28 
 
 
(Millions dollars and percentage)         
    Exports 
  Value   Share in 
Country Product description (SITC Rev. 3) Total  Total exports  
          
 Women's, girls', clothing, knitted (844) 28  25 
Mali, 2002 a Cotton (263) 104  59 
 Cereals, cereal preparations (04) 8  5 
 Electrical machinery, mechanical appa ratus, and parts thereof, nes (77) 7  4 
Mauritania, 2002 a Metalliferous ores, scrap (28) 269  47 
 Iron ores, concentrates (281) 269  47 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 259  45 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 135  24 
Mozambique, 2001 Non-ferrous metals (68) 383  54 
 Aluminium (684) 383  54 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 100  14 
 Crustaceans, molluscs, etc. (036) 94  13 
 Electric current (351) 57  8 
Mozambique, 2002 a Non-ferrous metals (68) 533  60 
 Aluminium (684) 533  60 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 112  13 
 Crustaceans, molluscs, etc. (036) 106  12 
 Petroleum products (334) 33  4 
Myanmar, 2002 a Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 692  38 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 156  9 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 85  5 
 Men's, boys', clothing, knitted (843) 46  3 
 Women's, girls', clothing, knitted (844) 64  4 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 334  18 
 Vegetables and fruit (05) 323  18 
 Vegetables (054) 311  17 
 Cork and wood (24) 313  17 
 Wood rough, rough squared (247) 192  11 
Nepal, 2002 a Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (84) 156  27 
 Men's, boys' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (841) 39  7 
 Women's, girls' clothing,  excluding knitted textiles (842) 51  9 
 Other Textile, Apparel, Nes (845) 35  6 
 Textiles, yarn, fabrics,etc... (65) 129  22 
 Floor coverings, etc. (659) 87  15 
 Essential oils, perfumes, etc. (55) 52  9 
Niger, 2003 Metalliferous ore, scrap (28) 112  33 
 Uranium, thorium ores, etc. (286) 111  33 
 Live animals (001) 40  12 
Rwanda, 2003 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 26  43 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 14  23 
 Tea and mate (074) 12  20 
 Metalliferous ore, scrap (28) 12  20 
 Ore, concentrate base metals (287) 11  19 
Samoa, 2003 Electrical machinery apparatus and appliances,  parts thereof, nes (77) 60  69 
 Equipment for distributing electricity (773) 60  69 
Sao Tome and Principe, 2003 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 6  88 
 Cocoa (072) 6  88 
Senegal, 2002 Inorganic chemical elements (522) 171  16 
 Petroleum, petrol. Products (33) 157  15 
 Petroleum products (334) 134  13 
 Fixed veg. fats, oils, soft (421) 53  5 
 Fertilizers, not included in group 272 (562) 38  4 
 Essential oils, perfumes, etc. (55) 28  3 
Sierra Leone, 2002 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 37  76 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 36  73 
Sudan, 2002 Petroleum, petrol. Products (33) 1100  56 
 Petroleum oils, crude (333) 129  7 
 Petroleum products (334) 971  50 
 Live animals (001) 125  6 
 Oil seed, oleaginous fruit (22) 82  4 
 Oil  seed (soft, fixed vegetable oils) (222) 72  4 
 Gold, non-monetary excluding ores (971) 73  4 
 Cotton (263) 55  3  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 29 
 
 
(Millions dollars and percentage)         
    Exports 
  Value   Share in 
Country Product description (SITC Rev. 3) Total  Total exports  
          
Solomon Islands, 2002 a Cork and wood (24) 55  67 
 Wood rough, rough squared (247) 54  65 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 16  19 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 8  10 
 Fish etc. prepared, preserved nes (037) 6  7 
Somalia, 2002 a Pulp and waste paper (251) 20  32 
 Live animals (001) 17  28 
 Cork and wood (24) 7  11 
 Hides, skins (excluding furs) ,raw (211) 4  7 
Tanzania, 2003 Gold, non-monetary excluding ores (971) 439  36 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 135  11 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 117  10 
 Crustaceans, molluscs, etc. (036) 18  1 
 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 94  8 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 50  4 
 Cocoa (072) 8  1 
 Tea and mate (074) 25  2 
 Vegetables and fruit (05) 77  6 
 Vegetables (054) 30  2 
 Fruits, nuts  excluding oil nuts (057) 46  4 
Togo, 2002 Non-metal.minerals manufactured (66) 67  16 
 Lime, cement, construction material (661) 66  16 
 Fertilizers, crude (272) 41  10 
 Textile fibres (26) 40  9 
 Cotton (263) 40  9 
Tuvalu, 2002 a Organic-inorganic compounds (515) 1  47 
 General industrial machinery, nes (74) 0  7 
 Plastic plate, sh eets, etc (582) 0  5 
Uganda, 2003 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices (07) 49  30 
 Coffee, coffee substitutes (071) 37  22 
 Textile fibres (26) 26  16 
 Cotton (263) 25  15 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 24  14 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 23  14 
Vanuatu, 2002 a Ships, boats, and floating structures (793) b 20  47 
 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs (03) 4  10 
 Fish, fresh, chilled, frozen (034) 3  8 
 Fixed veg. fats, oils, others (422) 4  10 
Yemen, 2002 a Petroleum, petrol. products (33) 1878  87 
 Petroleum oils, crude (333) 1789  82 
 Petroleum products (334) 68  3 
Zambia, 2002 Non-ferrous metals (68) 569  61 
 Copper (682) 484  52 
          
a   Data are based on partner statistics of 1 24 reporting countries to Comtrade database.       
b  Data refer to imports flag of convenience by reporting countries and economies from Liberia.    
Source :  UNSD/OECD Comtrade database.        
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 30 
 
 
Annex Table 2:  China imports from least-developed countries, 2003 
(Million dollars)                   
  All 
commodities   Agricultural 
products   Manufactures   Mining 
products   Of which 
                  Fuels 
Total LDCs 5784 465 54 5265 5181 
Afghanistan 1 1 0 ... ... 
Angola 2206 0 0 2206 2206 
Bangladesh 33 9 25 0 ... 
Benin 68 68 0 ... ... 
Bhutan 0 ... 0 0 0 
Burkina Faso 32 32 0 ... ... 
Burundi 2 0 ... 2 ... 
Cambodia 26 14 12 ... ... 
Cape Verde 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Central African Republic ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Chad 3 3 0 ... ... 
Comoros 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of ... ... ... ... ... 
Djibouti 0 0 0 ... ... 
Equatorial Guinea ... ... ... ... ... 
Eritrea 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Ethiopia 5 1 3 1 ... 
Gambia 2 0 0 2 ... 
Guinea 10 0 0 10 ... 
Guinea-Bissau ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Haiti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Kiribati ... ... ... ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. ... ... ... ... ... 
Lesotho 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Liberia 42 42 0 ... ... 
Madagascar 7 6 1 0 ... 
Malawi 0 0 0 ... ... 
Maldives 0 0 0 ... ... 
Mali 28 28 0 ... ... 
Mauritania 8 8 0 0 ... 
      
Mozambique 27 27 0 ... ... 
Myanmar 170 147 9 13 0 
Nepal 5 3 2 0 ... 
Niger 0 0 ... 0 ... 
Rwanda 7 0 ... 7 ... 
Samoa 0 0 0 ... ... 
Sao Tome and Principe ... ... ... ... ... 
Senegal 6 6 0 0 ... 
Sierra Leone 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Solomon Islands ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Somalia 7 7 ... ... ... 
Sudan 1442 10 0 1431 1431 
Tanzania 28 26 0 1 ... 
Timor  del Leste ... ... ... ... ... 
Togo 22 22 0 0 ... 
Tuvalu ... ... ... ... ... 
Uganda 4 3 0 0 ... 
Vanuatu 0 0 ... 0 ... 
Yemen 1546 0 0 1545 1545 
Zambia 48 2 1 45 ... 
Memorandum item:      
World 412760 30482 328571 52419 29189 
                    
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
         
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 31 
 
 
Annex Table 3:  European Communities (15) imports from least-developed countries, 2003 
(Million dollars)           
  All 
commodities Agricultural 
products Manufactures Mining 
products Of which 
     Fuels 
            
Total LDCs 14184 2980 7333 3362 1995 
Afghanistan 59 17 40 1 .... 
Angola 1284 4 279 1000 988 
Bangladesh 4050 244 3801 0 .... 
Benin 38 32 5 0 0 
Bhutan 1 0 1 1 0 
Burkina Faso 47 30 15 0 0 
Burundi 24 22 2 .... .... 
Cambodia 553 4 549 0 .... 
Cape Verde 22 1 21 0 .... 
Central African Republic 103 46 56 1 0 
      
Chad 45 41 4 0 .... 
Comoros 22 18 4 0 0 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of 818 50 526 241 24 
Djibouti 6 1 5 0 .... 
Equatorial Guinea 1078 22 157 900 900 
Eritrea 3 1 2 0 .... 
Ethiopia 206 150 53 0 .... 
Gambia 9 8 5 0 0 
Guinea 416 66 59 248 1 
Guinea-Bissau 9 8 0 .... .... 
      
Haiti 16 9 7 0 .... 
Kiribati 1 0 0 .... .... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 136 6 129 .... .... 
Lesotho 6 0 6 .... .... 
Liberia (a) 679 74 582 21 21 
Madagascar 568 373 186 0 0 
Malawi 215 211 3 .... .... 
Maldives 24 17 7 .... .... 
Mali 51 41 9 0 0 
Mauritania 344 121 6 217 .... 
      
Mozambique 674 116 3 554 1 
Myanmar 434 68 366 .... .... 
Nepal 102 7 95 0 .... 
Niger 88 3 83 2 .... 
Rwanda 20 13 2 6 0 
Samoa 3 1 1 .... .... 
Sao Tome and Principe 8 7 4 0 .... 
Senegal 382 336 25 19 .... 
Sierra Leone 124 10 103 10 0 
Solomon Islands 2 2 0 0 .... 
      
Somalia 2 1 1 0 .... 
Sudan 260 111 44 42 42 
Tanzania 690 270 39 11 .... 
Timor Leste 3 2 1 .... .... 
Togo 69 54 10 5 .... 
Tuvalu 1 0 1 .... .... 
Uganda 267 246 12 1 .... 
Vanuatu 3 3 0 0 .... 
Yemen 78 41 15 19 18 
Zambia 143 71 17 54 .... 
Memorandum item      
World 2270576 241096 1696749 248441 183561 
            
a Data refer to imports of ships with flags of convenience from Liberia.   
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database.      
            
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 32 
 
 
Annex Table 4:  India imports from least-developed countries, 2002 
(Million dollars)                   
  All 
commodities   Agricultural 
products   Manufactures   Mining 
products   Of which 
                  Fuels 
Total LDCs 1264 716 441 102 45 
Afghanistan 18 18 0 0 ... 
Angola 7 ... ... 7 7 
Bangladesh 62 36 25 0 ... 
Benin 38 38 ... 0 ... 
Bhutan 32 4 27 1 0 
Burkina Faso 10 9 0 0 ... 
Burundi ... ... ... ... ... 
Cambodia 1 0 0 0 ... 
Cape Verde ... ... ... ... ... 
Central African Republic ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Chad 2 2 ... ... ... 
Comoros 0 0 0 0 ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of ... ... ... ... ... 
Djibouti 1 1 0 0 ... 
Equatorial Guinea ... ... ... ... ... 
Eritrea ... ... ... ... ... 
Ethiopia 11 9 1 0 ... 
Gambia 5 4 0 0 ... 
Guinea 15 2 0 13 ... 
Guinea-Bissau ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Haiti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Kiribati ... ... ... ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. ... ... ... ... ... 
Lesotho 0 0 ... ... ... 
Liberia 2 1 0 1 ... 
Madagascar 4 4 0 0 ... 
Malawi 2 2 0 ... ... 
Maldives 0 0 0 0 ... 
Mali 20 19 1 0 ... 
Mauritania 0 0 0 0 ... 
      
Mozambique 28 26 0 1 1 
Myanmar 334 332 2 0 ... 
Nepal 280 93 178 10 ... 
Niger 0 0 0 ... ... 
Rwanda ... ... ... ... ... 
Samoa 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Sao Tome and Principe ... ... ... ... ... 
Senegal 172 5 153 13 ... 
Sierra Leone 4 1 2 1 ... 
Solomon Islands ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Somalia 27 24 1 2 ... 
Sudan 24 6 15 3 3 
Tanzania 91 73 13 2 ... 
Timor Leste ... ... ... ... ... 
Togo 13 5 ... 7 ... 
Tuvalu ... ... ... ... ... 
Uganda 2 1 1 0 ... 
Vanuatu 4 ... 4 ... ... 
Yemen 42 3 0 39 34 
Zambia 14 0 14 0 ... 
Memorandum item:      
World 61118 5069 29318 22179 19588 
                    
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
                 
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 33 
 
 
Annex Table 5:  Japan imports from least-developed countries, 2003 
(Million dollars)                   
  All 
commodities   Agricultural 
products   Manufactures   Mining 
products   Of which 
                  Fuels 
Total LDCs 1584 452 288 827  699 
Afghanistan 2 0 2 ...  ... 
Angola 84 4 0 80  80 
Bangladesh 132 18 103 2  ... 
Benin 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Bhutan 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Burkina Faso 9 9 0 ...  ... 
Burundi 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Cambodia 89 0 88 0  ... 
Cape Verde 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Central African Republic 2 2 ... ...  ... 
       
Chad 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Comoros 1 1 0 ...  ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of 14 0 11 3  ... 
Djibouti 0 0 ... 0  ... 
Equatorial Guinea 0 0 ... ...  ... 
Eritrea 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Ethiopia 45 45 0 ...  ... 
Gambia 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Guinea 1 1 0 ...  ... 
Guinea-Bissau 0 0 ... ...  ... 
       
Haiti 1 0 0 ...  ... 
Kiribati 20 20 0 ...  ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 7 6 2 ...  ... 
Lesotho 1 ... 1 ...  ... 
Liberia 0 ... 0 0  ... 
Madagascar 32 30 2 1  ... 
Malawi 27 27 0 ...  ... 
Maldives 16 16 0 ...  ... 
Mali 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Mauritania 79 78 1 ...  ... 
       
Mozambique 14 14 0 ...  ... 
Myanmar 139 71 67 4  ... 
 
 
Nepal 7 1 6 0  ... 
Niger 6 0 2 ...  ... 
Rwanda 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Samoa 1 1 0 ...  ... 
Sao Tome and Principe 0 ... ... ...  ... 
Senegal 12 12 1 ...  ... 
Sierra Leone 0 0 ... 0  0 
Solomon Islands 18 18 ... ...  ... 
       
Somalia 0 0 0 ...  ... 
Sudan 514 6 0 508  508 
Tanzania 101 34 2 64  ... 
Timor Leste ... ... ... ...  ... 
Togo 1 1 0 ...  ... 
Tuvalu ... ... ... ...  ... 
Uganda 10 10 0 0  ... 
Vanuatu 8 8 0 ...  ... 
Yemen 120 8 0 112  112 
Zambia 68 10 0 58  ... 
Memorandum item:       
World 337609 55089 193749 81689  65636 
            
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
                 
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 34 
 
 
Annex Table 6:  Republic of Korea imports from least-developed countries, 2002 
(Million dollars)                   
 All 
commodities  Agricultural 
products  Manufactures  Mining 
products  Of which 
                  Fuels 
Total LDCs 971 45 54 872 811 
Afghanistan 0 0 0 ... ... 
Angola 178 0 0 178 178 
Bangladesh 22 1 21 1 ... 
Benin 1 1 0 ... ... 
Bhutan ... ... ... ... ... 
Burkina Faso 5 5 0 ... ... 
Burundi 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Cambodia 3 1 2 ... ... 
Cape Verde 0 0 ... ... ... 
Central African Republic ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Chad 0 0 ... ... ... 
Comoros ... ... ... ... ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of ... ... ... ... ... 
Djibouti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Equatorial Guinea ... ... ... ... ... 
Eritrea 0 0 0 ... ... 
Ethiopia 1 1 0 ... ... 
Gambia 0 0 0 ... ... 
Guinea 164 6 0 158 104 
Guinea-Bissau ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Haiti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Kiribati 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. ... ... ... ... ... 
Lesotho 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Liberia 1 0 0 1 1 
Madagascar 0 0 0 0 ... 
Malawi 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Maldives 0 0 0 ... ... 
Mali 4 4 0 ... ... 
Mauritania 1 1 0 ... ... 
      
Mozambique 4 4 0 0 ... 
Myanmar 56 8 18 30 29 
Nepal 1 0 1 ... ... 
Niger 0 0 0 0 ... 
Rwanda 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Samoa 0 0 0 ... ... 
Sao Tome and Principe ... ... ... ... ... 
Senegal 3 2 0 ... ... 
Sierra Leone 1 0 0 ... ... 
Solomon Islands ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Somalia ... ... ... ... ... 
Sudan 80 8 0 72 71 
Tanzania 1 1 0 0 ... 
Timor Leste ... ... ... ... ... 
Togo 1 1 0 ... ... 
Tuvalu ... ... ... ... ... 
Uganda 0 0 0 0 ... 
Vanuatu 9 ... 9 0 0 
Yemen 429 0 0 429 428 
Zambia 5 0 0 5 ... 
Memorandum item:      
World 149572 13358 94221 39999 31846 
            
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
         
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 35 
 
 
Annex Table 7:  Chinese imports from least-developed countries, 2002 
(Million dollars)                   
 All 
commodities  Agricultural 
products  Manufactures  Mining 
products  Of which 
                  Fuels 
Total LDCs 841 94 22 725 685 
Afghanistan 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Angola 599 ... ... 599 599 
Bangladesh 14 1 13 0 ... 
Benin 1 1 ... ... ... 
Bhutan 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Burkina Faso 6 6 0 ... ... 
Burundi 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Cambodia 6 1 5 0 ... 
Cape Verde ... ... ... ... ... 
Central African Republic ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Chad 1 1 ... ... ... 
Comoros 0 0 0 ... ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of ... ... ... ... ... 
Djibouti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Equatorial Guinea ... ... ... ... ... 
Eritrea 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Ethiopia 2 2 0 0 ... 
Gambia 0 0 0 ... ... 
Guinea 2 1 0 ... ... 
Guinea-Bissau ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Haiti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Kiribati 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. ... ... ... ... ... 
Lesotho 0 ... ... ... ... 
Liberia 0 0 0 ... ... 
Madagascar 1 0 0 ... ... 
Malawi 2 2 0 ... ... 
Maldives 0 0 0 ... ... 
Mali 9 9 0 ... ... 
Mauritania 0 ... 0 ... ... 
      
Mozambique 2 2 ... ... ... 
Myanmar 34 32 2 0 ... 
Nepal 1 0 1 0 ... 
Niger 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Rwanda ... ... ... ... ... 
Samoa 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Sao Tome and Principe ... ... ... ... ... 
Senegal 1 1 0 ... ... 
Sierra Leone 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Solomon Islands ... ... ... ... ... 
      
Somalia 0 0 0 ... ... 
Sudan 12 0 0 12 12 
Tanzania 3 3 0 ... ... 
Timor Leste ... ... ... ... ... 
Togo 22 22 0 ... ... 
Tuvalu ... ... ... ... ... 
Uganda 11 10 0 1 ... 
Vanuatu 0 0 0 ... ... 
Yemen 76 1 0 75 75 
Zambia 38 0 0 38 ... 
Memorandum item:      
World 112522 7209 86156 16954 11648 
                    
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
         
 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 Page 36 
 
 
Annex Table 8:  Thailand imports from least-developed countries, 2003 
(Million dollars)                   
 All 
commodities  Agricultural 
products  Manufactures  Mining 
products  Of which 
                  Fuels 
Total LDCs 2346 420 69 1799 1705 
Afghanistan 0 0 0 0 ... 
Angola 2 2 0 ... ... 
Bangladesh 30 11 16 3 3 
Benin 22 22 0 ... ... 
Bhutan 0 0 0 ... ... 
Burkina Faso 22 21 0 ... ... 
Burundi 0 0 0 0 ... 
Cambodia 12 3 4 4 ... 
Cape Verde 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Central African Republic 1 1 ... 0 ... 
      
Chad 1 0 0 ... ... 
Comoros 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Djibouti 0 1 0 ... ... 
Equatorial Guinea ... ... ... ... ... 
Eritrea 0 0 0 ... ... 
Ethiopia 1 1 0 ... ... 
Gambia 1  1 ... ... 
Guinea 0 2 0 ... ... 
Guinea-Bissau 0 ... 0 ... ... 
      
Haiti 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Kiribati 1 ... ... ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 104 ... 11 5 2 
Lesotho 0 0 0 ... ... 
Liberia 51 1 0 ... ... 
Madagascar 5 4 1 ... ... 
Malawi 0 2 0 ... ... 
Maldives 27 0 0 ... ... 
Mali 33 19 1 ... ... 
Mauritania 2 0 0 ... ... 
      
Mozambique 4 26 0 0 ... 
Myanmar 899 332 24 760 729 
Nepal 1 93 1 0 ... 
Niger 1 0 0 1 ... 
Rwanda 2 ... 0 2 ... 
Samoa 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Sao Tome and Principe 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Senegal 4 5 0 ... ... 
Sierra Leone 0 1 0 ... ... 
Solomon Islands 8 ... 0 ... ... 
      
Somalia 1 24 ... ... ... 
Sudan 19 6 0 ... ... 
Tanzania 14 73 6 1 ... 
Timor Leste ... ... ... ... ... 
Togo 5 5 0 0 ... 
Tuvalu 0 ... 0 ... ... 
Uganda 1 1 1 ... ... 
Vanuatu 27 ... ... ... ... 
Yemen 990 3 0 972 972 
Zambia 53 0 0 52 ... 
Memorandum item:      
World 75805 5719 56990 11540 9009 
                    
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
                 
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
 TN/MA/S/12 
 Page 37 
 
 
Annex Table 9:  United States imports from least-developed countries, 2003 
(Million dollars)                   
 All 
commodities  Agricultural 
products  Manufactures  Mining 
products  Of which 
                  Fuels 
          
Total LDCs 10368  563 5057  4705 4617 
Afghanistan 63  1 5  49 49 
Angola 4506  0 21  4480 4480 
Bangladesh 2213  90 2122  ... ... 
Benin 1  0 0  ... ... 
Bhutan 1  0 0  ... ... 
Burkina Faso 1  0 0  ... ... 
Burundi 7  7 0  ... ... 
Cambodia 1336  2 1332  ... ... 
Cape Verde 6  0 4  ... ... 
Central African Republic ...  ... ...  ... ... 
        
Chad 25  4 0  20 20 
Comoros 4  4 0  ... ... 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Djibouti 1  0 0  ... ... 
Equatorial Guinea ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Eritrea 0  0 0  ... ... 
Ethiopia 34  30 2  ... ... 
Gambia 0  0 0  0 ... 
Guinea 87  1 11  75 ... 
Guinea-Bissau ...  ... ...  ... ... 
        
Haiti 341  14 321  1 ... 
Kiribati 2  1 0  ... ... 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Lesotho 420  ... 419  ... ... 
Liberia 62  58 1  2 2 
Madagascar 401  183 215  1 ... 
Malawi 83  58 25  ... ... 
Maldives 98  1 97  ... ... 
Mali 3  0 2  0 ... 
Mauritania 1  1 0  0 0 
        
Mozambique 9  6 3  ... ... 
Myanmar 295  31 263  ... ... 
Nepal 186  0 183  0 ... 
Niger 4  2 2  ... ... 
Rwanda 3  2 0  1 ... 
Samoa 5  3 1  ... ... 
Sao Tome and Principe ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Senegal 5  1 3  ... ... 
Sierra Leone 7  0 6  0 ... 
Solomon Islands ...  ... ...  ... ... 
        
Somalia 0  0 0  ... ... 
Sudan 3  3 0  ... ... 
Tanzania 26  14 12  0 ... 
Timor Leste ...  ... ...  ... ... 
Togo 6  1 0  ... ... 
Tuvalu 0  ... 0  ... ... 
Uganda 38  36 2  0 ... 
Vanuatu 1  1 0  ... ... 
Yemen 72  5 0  65 65 
Zambia 13  2 1  10 ... 
Memorandum item:        
World 1305092  77273 989973  185412 163252 
                
 
Source :  UNSD Comtrade database. 
         
 
  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 
Page 38 Annex Table 10:  Measures in favour of exports originating from LDCs23 
Preference granting country 
 Description Beneficiary(ies) Coverage/margin  of preference  Reference 
(latest notification in bold) 
Algeria  
 Global System of Trade Preferences 
(GSTP)
24; 
Entry into force: 14 April 1989 LDC Participants of GSTP 
(Bangladesh, Benin,  Guinea, Haiti, 
Mozambique, Sudan and Tanzania) In addition to 8 tariff concessions 
available for all GSTP participants, 3 
concessions are exclusively granted 
to LDC participants  L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Argentina GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC Participants of GSTP  In addition to 4 tariff concessions 
available for all GSTP participants, 
one concession is exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Australia 
 Duty- and quota-free entry   
Entry into force: 1 July 2003 LDCs  All products WT/COMTD/N/18 (21 January 
2004) 
 
Bangladesh GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC Participants of GSTP  In addition to 6 tariff concessions 
available for all GSTP participants, 
one concession is exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Belarus GSP  LDCs  50% reduction from the MFN rate is 
granted to all GSP beneficiaries, and 
duties are exempted for goods 
originating from LDCs.   
Bulgaria GSP  LDCs Concessions of 70% of the MFN rate 
are granted on 917 tariff (HS 8 digit) 
for all GSP beneficiaries, duties are 
exempted for LDCs  WT/TPR/S/121 
WT/GC/M/55 
WT/LDC/HL/M/1 (1997) 
Cameroon GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989  LDC Participants of GSTP In addition to one biding concession 
available to all GSTP participants, 2 
binding  concessions are exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Canada GSP – preferential  
scheme for LDCs; duty-free and 
quota-free access    
Entry into force:  January 2003 LDCs  All products ex cept dairy, poultry 
and egg products WT/COMTD/N/15/Add.2 (11 May 
2004) 
China  Bangkok Agreement25  
Entry into force of the accession to 
the agreement: 1 January 2002 Bangladesh  In addition to 739 tariff  concessions 
(HS 6-digit) available to all Bangkok 
Agreement members, 18 tariff 
concessions are exclusively granted 
to LDC member. WT/COMTD/N/19 (29 July 2004) 
 
Democratic People's Republic of GSTP  LDC Particip ants of GSTP In additi on to 7 tariff concessions L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
                                                      
23 This table simplifies and updates the information cont ained in the previous report WT/COMTD/LDC/W/31.   
24 Participants to the GSTP include: Algeria, Argentina, Bangla desh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dem ocratic People's Republic of Korea, 
Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeri a. Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Republic of 
Korea, Romania, Singapore, Sri La nka, Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisi a, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam. Yugoslavia a nd Zimbabwe.   
25 Members of the Bangkok Agreement are: Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka.   WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35
 TN/MA/S/12
 Page 39Preference granting country 
 Description Beneficiary(ies) Coverage/margin  of preference  Reference 
(latest notification in bold) 
Korea Entry into force: 19 April 1989 av ailable for all GSTP  participants, 9 
concessions are exclusively granted 
to LDC participants  1989) 
 
European Communities Everything but Arms (EBA) 
initiative - dut y and quota-free 
market access 
Entry into force: 5 March, 2001   LDCs  All products except bananas, sugar 
and rice which are subject to 
transition periods between 2002 and 
2009   WT/COMTD/N/4/Add.2 
(5 October 2001) 
WT/TPR/S/128 
 Cotonou Agreement  
Entry into force: 1 April 2003 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific 
(ACP) countries, 40 of which are 
LDCs Duty-free treatment is granted on 
industrial, processed agricultural, 
and fishery products, subject to a 
safeguard clause.  For certain 
products (bananas, beef and veal, 
and sugar), special market access is 
governed by commodity protocols WT/TPR/S/136  
Egypt  GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC Participants of GSTP In a ddition to 20 tariff concessions 
available for all GSTP participants, 4 
concessions are exclusively granted 
to LDC participants  WT/COMTD/W/47& 
Add.1 (1998/1999) 
 
Iceland GSP – duty- and quota-free market 
access  
Entry into force: 29 January 2002 
  LDCs  Essentially all products  with some 
exceptions in agricultural products 
(HS chapters: 04, 15, 18, 19, 21 and 
22) and non-agricultural products 
(HS sub-headings:  3502 and 3823, 
and all of HS 16 with the exception 
of sub-headings 1603 to 1605)    WT/COMTD/N/17.Corr.1 (20 
January 2004)  
India Bangkok Agreement 
Entry into force: 16 June 1976 Bangladesh 
Lao PDR In addition to 188 tariff concessions 
(HS 6-digit; 0-35% lower than the 
base rate) available to all Bangkok 
Agreement members, 33 tariff 
concessions (0-35% lower than the 
standard rate) are exclusively offered 
to LDC members  L/4418 and Corr.1 (2 November 
1976) 
WT/TPR/S/100 
 
 South Asian Preferential Trade 
Agreement (SAPTA)26  
Entry into force: 7 December 1995 Bangladesh 
Bhutan 
Maldives 
Nepal 
 
 
 In addition to 475 tariff concessions 
(HS 6-digit; generally 10% lower 
than the standard rate) available to 
all SAPTA members, 2210 
concessions (generally, 50% lower 
than the standard date) are 
exclusively granted to LDC 
members    WT/COMTD/10 (22 September 
1993) 
WT/TPR/S/100 
 GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC participants of GSTP 
 Special tariff concessions of 50% 
apply to specific tariff lines HS 
4104.21, 4104.22 and 4104.29, in 
addition to tariff concessions of 10-L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
WT/TPR/S/100 
                                                      
26 Members of SAPTA are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.   WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 
Page 40 Preference granting country 
 Description Beneficiary(ies) Coverage/margin  of preference  Reference 
(latest notification in bold) 
50% on 53 tariff lines offered to 
other GSTP participants.  
 Bilateral agreement Myanmar 
 Standard duty of 5% for rice, pulses 
and beans, Chana, mustard and 
rapeseed, ground nuts, fresh 
vegetables and fruit, garlic and 
onions, reed brooms, sesame seeds, 
betel nuts, turmeric, dried ginger, 
coriander, fried ch illies, poppy seeds, 
and wood in the rough. WT/LDC/HL/M/1 WT/TPR/S/100 
 
 Bilateral agreement Nepal 
 In addition to duty exemption on 
mutually agreed primary products on 
a reciprocal basis, duty-free entry is 
granted to most of Nepal's industrial 
products on a non-reciprocal basis.  WT/LDC/HL/M/1 WT/TPR/S/100 
WT/ACC/NPL/16 
Iran GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC participants of GSTP In addition to 8 tariff concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 4 
tariff concessions are exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Japan GSP - duty and quota-free market 
access 
Entry into force: 1 April 2003 LDCs All products with some exceptions in  
agricultural products (HS chapters 
from 01-04 and 07-24) and non-
agricultural products (HS chapters:  
03, 16, 25, 27, 29, 35, 42, 43, 44, 50, 
64, 72, 75, 76, 90 and 91), 
accounting for   
90% LDC products entering Japan WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.12 (5 
October 2001) 
Kazakhstan GSP LDCs While goods  originating in 
developing countries are subject to a 
duty rate which is 50% of the tariff 
rate, goods produced in and imported 
from LDCs are free of duty. WT/ACC/KGZ/26  
Korea, Rep. of Presidential Decree on Preferential 
Tarriff for LDCs 
Entry into force: 1 January 2000 LDCs Duty-free access is granted on 87 
tariff items (HS 6-digit).  WT/COMTD/N/12/ 
Rev.1 (28 April 2000)  
WT/TPR/S/137 
 Bangkok Agreement 
Entry into force: 16 June 1976 Bangladesh 
 In addition to concessions on 
223 tariff items (HS 6-digit) at 62%-
78% of the MFN rate available to all 
Bangkok Agreement members, 
special concessions on 19 items at 
50-80% of the MFN duty are granted 
to LDC participant.  L/4418 and Corr.1 [2 November 
1976] 
WT/TPR/S/137 
   WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35
 TN/MA/S/12
 Page 41Preference granting country 
 Description Beneficiary(ies) Coverage/margin  of preference  Reference 
(latest notification in bold) 
  L a o  P D R  
 In addition to concessions on 223  
tariff items (6-digit) at 62%-78% of 
the MFN rate available to all 
Bangkok Agreement members, 
special concessions are granted 
exclusively to LDCs on 8 items at 
66-69% of the MFN rate.  L/4418 and Corr.1 [2 November 
1976] 
WT/TPR/S/137 
 
 GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC participants of the GSTP In addition to 22 tariff concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 4 
concessions are exclusively granted 
to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Mauritius  LDCs 5 tariff lines at the HS 6-digit level, 
comprising certain crustaceans; 
guavas, mangoes, mangosteens; axes 
and billhooks; handsaws and files. WT/COMTD/W/53  
WT/LDC/HL/M/1 (1997) 
Moldova GSP – duty free LDCs A ll products WT/ACC/MOL/2 and 37  
Morocco Preferential tariff treatment for 
LDCs 
(effective 1 January 2001) 33 African LDCs  Duty-free access on 61 products (at 
the HS 4 to 10 digit level)  WT/LDC/SWG/IF/18 and G/C/6 
(2001)  
 
 GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989  
 LDC participants of the GSTP In addition to 12 tariff concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 6 
concessions are exclusively granted 
to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
New Zealand Duty and quota-free market access 
Entry into force: 1 July 2001 LDCs All products WT/COMTD/27  
(20 November 2000) 
WT/TPR/S/115 
Norway  GSP - Duty and quota-free market 
access 
Entry into force: 1 July 2002 LDCs All products, except  flour, grains, 
and feeding stuffs which are subject 
to a special safeguard mechanism.  WT/TPR/S/138 
WT/COMTD/N6/Add.2 (18 
January 2001)  
Pakistan Unilateral duty exemptions in excess 
of 25% ad valorem  tariff rates Afganistan, Nepal (a s well as China 
and Iran)  17 product categories, including all 
manufactured articles, manufactured 
tobacco, silk, motor vehicles and 
parts thereof, tea, apples, etc, which 
are imported by land only.  WT/TPR/S/95 
 SAPTA  
Entry into force: 7 December 1995 Bangladesh 
Bhutan 
Maldives 
Nepal In addition to 287 tariff concessions 
(HS 6-digit; generally 10% lower 
than the standard rate) available to 
all SAPTA members, 408 
concessions (15-30% lower than the 
standard date) are exclusively 
granted to LDC members    WT/COMTD/10 (22 September 
1992) 
WT/TPR/S/95  WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35 
TN/MA/S/12 
Page 42 Preference granting country 
 Description Beneficiary(ies) Coverage/margin  of preference  Reference 
(latest notification in bold) 
 GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989  LDC participants of GSTP In addition to 6 tariff concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 
one  concession is exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Romania GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC participants of GSTP In a ddition to 88 tariff concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 
22 concessions is exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Singapore   
 Duty-free  LDCs In addition to the almost duty-free 
regime accorded on an MFN basis, 
107 items (HS 6 digit) of export 
interest to LDCs enter duty-free   WT/LDC/HL/M/1 Annex 1  
 
 
South Africa Bilateral agreement  
Entry into force: 1990 Malawi  Duty free for all products, but 
subject to preferential quotas for 
some products (e.g. tea)  WT/TPR/S/114 
 Bilateral agreement Mozambique Du ty-free for fish, shrimp, prawns, 
rock lobsters, cashew nuts, citrus 
fruit, coconut oil, wooden furniture, 
cigarettes, tyres and tubes, clothing, 
textiles, and cotton-seed oilcake, but 
subject to annual quota  WT/TPR/S/114 
Sri Lanka SAPTA  
Entry into force: 7 December 1995 Bangladesh 
Bhutan 
Maldives 
Nepal 
 
 
 In addition to 152 tariff concessions 
(HS 6-digit; generally 10% lower 
than the standard rate) available to 
all SAPTA members, 105 
concessions (10-50% lower than the 
standard date) are exclusively 
granted to LDC members    WT/COMTD/10 (22 September 
1992) 
WT/TPR/S/128 
 Bangkok Agreement 
Entry into force: 16 June 1976 Bangladesh 
Lao PDR In addition to concessional entry to 
288 items (HS 6 and 8 digit levels) 
available to all Bangkok Agreement 
members, concessions are granted to 
Bangladesh on 30 tariff lines, and to 
the Lao PDR on seed lac and stick 
lac (HS 1301.10.01) and cotton 
linters (HS 1404.20) L/4418 and Corr.1 (2 November 
1976) 
WT/TPR/S/128 
Switzerland Duty-free for all industrial products 
and reduction of duties on 
agricultural products Entry into 
force: 1 March 1997  LDCs Agricultural products enter at 55-
100% reduction on normal rate, and 
non-agricultural products enter duty-
free with the exception of HS 
chapters 35 and 38  WT/COMTD/N/7/Add.2 (16 July 
2004) 
   WT/COMTD/LDC/W/35
 TN/MA/S/12
 Page 43Preference granting country 
 Description Beneficiary(ies) Coverage/margin  of preference  Reference 
(latest notification in bold) 
Sudan GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC participants of GSTP In a ddition to 29 binding concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 
two  concessions are exclusively 
granted to LDC participants  L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Tajikistan GSP LDCs All products  
 Bilateral agreement 
Entry into force: 20 June 1991 Lao PDR Preferential tariffs are granted on 
specific goods which are decided by 
Thailand L/6949 (29 November 1991) 
Tunisia GSTP  
Entry into force: 19 April 1989 LDC participants of GSTP In addition to 7 tariff concessions 
available to all GSTP participants, 
one  concession is exclusively 
granted to LDC participants L/6564 and Add.1 (25 September 
1989) 
 
Turkey GSP 
Entry into force: 1 January 2002 All LDCs In addition to duty-free entry on 
2,174 items (HS-12 digit), including 
mainly raw materials and semi-
finished products, granted to all GSP 
beneficiaries, LDCs are granted with 
duty-free on 710 items where 
preferences of 3.5% reduction from 
the MFN rate is grated to others.  WT/TPR/S/125 
 
Russia GSP – duty free All LDCs All goods   
United States GSP – duty-free market access 
Entry into force: 30 May 1997 Designated LDCs: 41 LDCs in 2004  In addition the standard 
approximately 4,650 duty-free tariff 
items available for all GSP 
beneficiaries, additional 
approximately 1,770 tariff items are 
available for LDC beneficiaries  WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.2 
(8 December 1998) 
WT/TPR/S/126 
 African Growth and Opportunities 
Act (AGOA) Entry into force: 
December 2000 To be determined by the President 
every year based on the eligibility 
criteria; in 2004, there are 37 Sub-
Saharan African Countries (including 25 LDCs) beneficiaries  In addition to the standard GSP 
benefits described above, 1,835 tariff 
items, including textiles and apparel, 
are duty free   WT/COMTD/N/1/Add.3 
(1 March 2001) 
WT/TPR/S/126 
 U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade 
Partnership Act (CBTPA) 
Entry into force: 1 October 2000 24 designated beneficiaries 
(including one LDC, i.e. Haiti) in  
Central America and the Caribbean  Duty free for most products, 
including textiles and apparels.  WT/TPR/S/126  
 
  
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