RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/W/16
27August 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-3370)
Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Ninth Session
12September 1996
IMPLEMENTATION OFURUGUAY ROUND PROVISIONS
INFAVOUR OFDEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS
Note bytheSecretariat
Theimplementation oftheUruguay Round provisions infavour ofdeveloping country (LDC)
Members isoneofthepriorities ofthework programme oftheCommittee onTrade andDevelopment
(CTD) for1996, withaviewtomaking aninput intotheSingapore Ministerial Conference.1Tothis
end,theChairman oftheCTDrequested theSecretariat, atitsEight Session, toprepare anoteorganizing
thereplies received tohisrequest forrelevant information from theChairpersons ofWTO Bodies
responsible formonitoring theimplementation oftheUruguay Round results. Thisnoteisaresponse
tothatrequest andistobetaken upunder agenda itemBoftheNinth Session oftheCTD,
Implementation ofUruguay Round Provisions inFavour ofDeveloping Country Members .
Theinformation provided below doesnotcover allthelegal instruments resulting from the
Uruguay Round fortworeasons: notallinstruments contain provisions iffavour ofdeveloping country
Members and,second, theinformation received todatedoesnotcover allrelevant WTO Bodies.2
Also, onlythose provisions which areaction-oriented andaretherefore relevant forthereview have
beenincluded. Provisions contained inthePreamble ofthevarious agreements aswellasthose in
theDecision onMeasures inFavour ofLeast-Developing Countries (LLDCs) havenotbeenincluded,
astheydonotprovide foraction perse,butrather describe thebackground against which action is
tobetaken.3
Inthefollowing, theleft-hand column summarizes theaction-oriented provisions infavour
ofLDCs. Theright-hand column indicates therelevant information -thatis,theextent towhich the
provision hasbeenimplemented -provided bytheChairperson oftheWTO Body. Forthose agreements
where theChairperson hasmade ageneral observation, thisappears asthefirstentry intheright-hand
column (therefore there isnocorresponding textintheleft-hand column). Inturn, ifnocomments
were received from theChairperson withrespect tospecific provisions, thentheright-hand column
isblank. Finally, provisions relating toLLDCs havebeengrouped attheendofthecommentaries
oneachoftheagreements.
1Thisisinaccordance withthefollowing statement made bytheChairman oftheCommittee onTrade and
Development atthemeeting heldon12July1996: "The Chairman recalled thatafter informal consultations,
theCommittee haddecided thatthereview oftheimplementation ofUruguay Round provisions infavour of
developing country Members should beoneofthepriorities oftheitswork programme forthisyear, witha
view tomaking aninput totheSingapore Ministerial Conference." (See paragraph 2ofdocument
WT/COMTD/M/8.)
2Replies received atalater stage willbeincluded inanAddenda tothisdocument.
3Oneexception, however, istheAgreement onAgriculture. Foracomprehensive description ofallspecial
provisions relating todeveloping countries seeADescription oftheProvisions Relating toDeveloping Countries
intheUruguay Round Agreements, Legal Instruments and Ministerial Decisions ,COM.TD/W/510,
2November 1994.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
Understanding onBalance-of-Payments Provisions
Since theentry intoforce oftheWTO, 11LDCs
(including 1LLDC) have heldBOP consultations.
Two LDCs disinvoked BOP provisions in1995.
Assisting inpreparing documentation forthe
consultations (Para. 12).
ForLLDCs only
Simplified procedures forconsultations (Para. 8).Bangladesh heldconsultations under simplified
procedures.
Agreement onAgriculture
LLDCs aretomake notifications ondomestic
support onlyevery twoyears; LDCs aretonotify
annually buttheCommittee onAgriculture may,
upon request, setaside parts ofthenotification.
Technical assistance withrespect totheAgreement
(including seminars) hasbeen provided.
Inimplementing their commitments, developed
country Members aretotakeintoaccount the
needs oftheLDCs (Preamble).Schedules ofdeveloped country Members show
commitments ofgreater-than-average reductions in
tariffs onproducts ofinterest toLDCs (e.g.
average reduction intropical agricultural products
tariffs of43%) andtheir accelerated
implementation.
Exclusion ofsome domestic support policies from
thereduction commitments (Art. 6:2).Thevastmajority ofLDCs have reflected such
exclusion intheir Schedules. Asfor
implementation, only4LDCs have made
notifications ondomestic support; ofthese, 3
made useofthisprovision and1indicated the
absence ofsubsidies.
Greater deminimis allowance ondomestic support
(Art. 6:4).Thevastmajority ofLDCs have reflected such
provision intheir Schedules. Asfor
implementation, only4LDCs have made
notifications ondomestic support; ofthese, 2
made useofthisprovision and1indicated the
absence ofsubsidies.
Lower export subsidy reduction commitments
(Art. 9:2(b)(iv)).Used byallLDCs.
Exclusion ofsome export subsidies from the
reduction commitments (Art. 9:4).Thevastmajority ofLDCs have reflected such
exclusion intheir Schedules. Asfor
implementation, 14LDCs have made notifications
onexport subsidies; ofthese, 2made useofthis
provision.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
Thedisciplines onexport prohibition and
restriction onlyapply toLDCs which arenet-
exporters oftheconcerned foodstuff (Art. 12:2).
Special anddifferential (S&D) treatment inrespect
ofcommitments shall beapplied inlinewiththe
Agreement andtheSchedules (Art. 15).TheSchedules ofLDCs andLLDCs reflect the
flexibility onceiling bindings, longer
implementation period andlower reduction
commitments intariffs, domestic support and
export subsidies.
Actions forimplementing, andmonitoring ofthe
implementation oftheDecision onNet-Food
Importing Developing Countries (Art. 16).Seepages 10-11 ofthisdocument.
Consideration ofS&D treatment inthenegotiations
onthecontinuation ofthereform process in
agricultural trade (Art. 20(c)).
More flexible criteria andconditions toexempt
some domestic support policies from thereduction
commitments (Annex 2,paras. 3-4).Thevastmajority ofLDCs have reflected such
provisions intheir Schedules. Asfor
implementation, only4LDCs have made
notifications ondomestic support; ofthese, one
indicated theabsence ofsubsidies.
LDCs have more flexible criteria fordeferring
tariffication forcertain products, andtherequired
market opening insuch cases issubstantially lower
(Annex 5,Section B).Certain Schedules from LDCs reflect recourse to
thisprovision.
ForLLDCs only
Norequirement toundertake reduction
commitments (Art. 15:2).Used byallLLDCs.
Agreement onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures (SPS)
AMember shall accept other Members 'SPS
measures asequivalent iftheexporting Member
demonstrates thatitsmeasures achieve the
importing Member 'sappropriate level ofSPS
protection (Art. 4:1).Several LDCs have reported totheSPSCommittee
thattheyhave entered intoconsultations withother
Members andachieved bilateral recognition ofthe
equivalence ofspecific SPSmeasures.
Recognition oftheconcepts ofpest- ordisease-free
areas andlowpestordisease prevalence
(Art. 6:1-3).With theaimofhaving their territories (orparts
thereof) recognized aspest- ordisease-free areas
orareas oflowpestordisease prevalence, a
number ofLDCs initiated negotiations andrisk
assessment procedures withimporting Members.
Some ofthese negotiations have been successfully
concluded andtrade hastherefore been facilitated
between theMembers concerned.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
Facilitate theprovisions ofassistance tohelpLDCs
incomplying withtrading partners 'requirements
(Art. 9:1).
Providing assistance where substantial investments
arerequired forcomplying withtrading partners '
requirements (Art. 9:2).Technical assistance hasfocused oninforming
LDCs oftheSPSAgreement. TheSecretariat
organized sixregional seminars incooperation with
other international organizations andanadditional
seminar isplanned. TheSecretariat has
participated inanumber ofseminars organized by
Members orbyother international organizations.
TheFAO hasnumerous programmes focusing on
meeting multilateral trade requirements, in
particular regarding food safety andCodex
standards. However, assistance intheareaof
plant quarantine isverylimited.
Consideration ofspecial needs inthepreparation
andapplication ofSPSmeasures (Art. 10:1).
Longer time-frames forcompliance withnewSPS
measures (Art. 10:2).
Specified, time-limited exceptions inwhole orin
partfrom obligations under thisAgreement maybe
granted upon request (Art. 10:3).While theimplementation ofthetransparency
provisions hasbeen identified asaserious problem
formany LDCs, noLDC hasasyetrequested any
exceptions from theobligations oftheAgreement.
Encourage andfacilitate LDCs 'active participation
ininternational organizations related toSPS
regulations (Art10:4).
Delayed implementation forsome obligations for
LLDCs (5years) andforLDCs (2years)
(Art. 14).With thetransition period forLDCs elapsing atthe
endof1996, specific requests forS&D treatment
maybecome more evident asfrom 1997.
Infrastructure shortages withregard toSPS
services aswellasdeficient functioning ofnational
regulatory bodies areamong possible problem-
causing areas.
Allow areasonable interval between thepublication
andentry intoforce ofaSPSregulation (Annex B,
para. 2).
TheSecretariat istodraw theattention ofLDCs to
notifications relating toproducts ofparticular
interest tothem (Annex B,para. 9).TheSecretariat hasdone soonseveral occasions.
Agreement onTextiles andClothing
More favourable growth factor forsmall exporters,
newentrants andpossibly LLDCs (Art. 1:2,2:18).Restrictions applied under Article 2:1vis-à-vis
LLDCs have been notified byCanada andUS
(three LLDCs each). Inthatcontext, Canada has
advanced byonestage thegrowth rates fortwo
LLDCs, andtheUSdidthesame foroneLLDC.
Consideration ofparticular interests ofcotton-
producing exporting Members (Art.1:4).Nomeasure hasbeen notified.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
AMember mayautonomously eliminate any
restrictions4(Art. 2:15).Norway eliminated asfrom 1.1.96 some
restrictions which benefit 12LDCs.
Some small exporters move ahead onestage inthe
growth process (Art. 2:18).Thegrowth rates were advanced byonestage for
allexporters falling within thecriteria. This
covers 12LDCs (ofwhich 2LLDCs) inCanada,
2LDCs intheEC,18LDCs (ofwhich 1LLDC)
intheUS.
More favourable treatment regarding the
application ofquota levels, growth rates and
flexibility inthetransitional safeguard forsmall
suppliers, newentrants andpossibly LLDCs
(Art. 1:2,6:6(b)).Nosafeguard action involving exports ofLLDCs
hasbeen notified. Fortheother categories of
countries, theTextiles Monitoring Body (TMB)
received noinformation ontheextent towhich
recourse wasmade tothisprovision insetting the
parameters oftherestraints.
Special consideration oftheexport needs of
Members dependent onwool exports inthe
application ofquota levels, growth rates and
flexibility inthetransitional safeguard
(Art. 6:6(c)).Nosafeguard action involving exports ofthis
category ofcountries hasbeen notified.
More favourable treatment regarding the
transitional safeguard applied onsome products
exported byMembers active inoutward-processing
trade (Art. 6:6(d))TheUShasprovided more favourable treatment to
these products exported by6LDCs.
Notransitional safeguard tobeapplied onLDCs
exporting handloom fabrics andLLDCs exporting
certain other products (Annex, para. 3).Nosafeguard action involving exports ofthese
categories ofcountries hasbeen introduced.
ForLLDCs only
Significantly more favourable treatment regarding
thetransitional safeguard (Art. 6:6(a)).Nosafeguard action involving exports ofLLDCs
hasbeen notified.
Agreement onAnti-Dumping
Anumber ofMembers have provided technical
assistance andtraining inareas relevant tothe
operation oftheAgreement.
Ithasbeen suggested thattechnical assistance be
granted bytheCommittee andMembers with
experience intheadministration ofanti-dumping
laws tonewusers andLDCs.
4May benefit allMembers, andnotonlyLDCs/LLDCs.WT/COMTD/W/16
Page6
Provision Implementation
Special regard tospecial situation ofLDCs when
considering theapplication ofanti-dumping
measures (Art. 15).Some oftheanti-dumping legislation and
regulations reviewed bytheCommittee reflect this
provision. Inthecontext ofthereview of
notifications ofanti-dumping actions, noLDC has
raised aquestion concerning theapplication ofthis
provision.
Exploring constructive remedies before applying
anti-dumping duties (Art. 15).Some oftheanti-dumping legislation and
regulations reviewed bytheCommittee reflect this
provision. Inthecontext ofthereview of
notifications ofanti-dumping actions, noLDC has
raised aquestion concerning theapplication ofthis
provision.
Agreement onCustoms Valuation
Delayed application oftheprovisions ofthe
Agreement (Art. 20:1).Invoked by48LDCs (ofwhich 10LLDCs).
Delayed application ofthecomputed value method
(Art. 20:2).Invoked by43LDCs (ofwhich 8LLDCs).
Technical assistance ingeneral, upon request
(Art. 20:3).TheWorld Customs Organization (WCO) is
conducting anextensive programme oftechnical
assistance.
Reservation concerning minimum values
(Annex III,para. 2).Invoked by27LDCs (ofwhich 6LLDCs).
Reservation concerning reversal ofsequential order
ofArt.5and6(Annex III,para. 3).Invoked by42LDCs (ofwhich 8LLDCs).
Reservation concerning application ofArt.5:2
whether ornottheimporter sorequests (Annex III,
para. 4).Invoked by41LDCs (ofwhich 7LLDCs).
Upon request, preparation ofastudy onthe
problem regarding thenon-inclusion inthecustoms
value ofspecial discounts andcommissions
obtained bysoleagents, soleconcessionaires and
soledistributors, (Annex III,para. 5).
Preparation bytheWCO ofstudies inareas of
potential concern toLDCs (Text 2oftheDecision
relating totheAgreement).TheTechnical Committee oftheWCO finalized its
consideration ofadaftcasestudy related toan
importation byasoledistributor.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
Agreement onImport Licensing Procedures
Consideration ofLDCs 'economic development
purposes andfinancial andtrade needs to
preventing trade distortions arising from an
inappropriate operation ofadministrative
procedures used toimplement import licensing
régimes (Art. 1:2).
Upon invocation, delay byamaximum oftwo
years oftheimplementation ofsome obligations
related toautomatic licensing (Art. 2:2and
Footnote 5).24LDCs (including 3LLDCs) have invoked this
provision.
Better treatment intheallocation ofquotas
administered through animport licensing system
when itconcerns products originating inLDCs and
inparticular LLDCs (Art. 3:5(j)).
Agreement onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
Anumber ofMembers have provided technical
assistance andtraining inareas relevant tothe
operation oftheAgreement.
When theGNP percapita ofanAnnex VII(b)
country reaches US$1,000 perannum, such
Member becomes subject totheprohibition of
granting export subsidies (Art. 27:2).TheCommittee onSubsidies tooknotethatthe
GNP percapita perannum of3LDCs listed in
Annex VII(b) have exceeded thisfigure.
More favourable dispute resolution during the
transition period (Art. 27:7).
Positive demonstration thatArticle 6:1subsidies
caused serious prejudice (Art. 27:8).
Limitations onactionability (Art. 27:9).
Application ofdefined threshold forclassifying the
volume ofsubsidized imports asnegligible, and
more favourable threshold forclassifying thelevel
ofsubsidization asdeminimis (Art. 27:10, 27:11).Some ofthecountervailing dutylegislation and
regulations reviewed bytheCommittee include
provisions relating tosuch favourable treatment.
Noactionability under multilateral rules ofdirect
forgiveness ofdebtandcertain other subsidies in
thecontext ofaprivatization programme
(Art. 27:13).TheCommittee received anddiscussed one
notification made pursuant tothisprovision.
Review oftheconsistency ofaMember 's
countervailing measure withspecial anddifferential
treatment, upon request (Art. 27:15).WT/COMTD/W/16
Page8
Provision Implementation
Agreement onSafeguards
Anumber ofMembers have provided technical
assistance andtraining inareas relevant tothe
operation oftheAgreement.
LDCs exports aretobeexempted from safeguard
measures provided theyremain below acertain
threshold (Art. 9:1).While nosafeguard measure hasyetbeen applied
pursuant totheAgreement -andtherefore this
provision remains unused forthetimebeing -
some ofthesafeguard legislation andregulations
reviewed bytheCommittee reflect thisprovision.
LDCs mayapply safeguard measures forlonger
timeperiods andre-impose them after shorter
periods (Art. 9:2).While nosafeguard measure hasyetbeen applied
pursuant totheAgreement -andtherefore this
provision remains unused forthetimebeing -
some ofthesafeguard legislation andregulations
reviewed bytheCommittee reflect thisprovision.
TRIPS Agreement
Transition period forLDCs (Art. 65:2 and65:4)
andforLLDCs (Art. 66:1).While these transition periods apply automatically
andnonotification isrequired, some Members
which canclaim these benefits have indicated to
theTRIPS Council their intentions withrespect to
thetransition periods.
Developed country Members aretoprovide
technical andfinancial cooperation infavour of
LDCs andLLDCs, upon request (Art. 67).Technical cooperation hasbeen aprominent issue
intheTRIPS Council, which hasassembled
information onsuch activities provided by
developed country Members (tobeupdated
annually) andintergovernmental organizations,
notably WIPO. Thisyear, theSeptember meeting
oftheCouncil willhave aspecial focus onthis
issue andLDCs have been encouraged toindicate
their technical cooperation needs 'totheCouncil.
Inaddition, theCouncil hasendorsed aSecretariat
proposal forapilot thematic workshop onborder
enforcement, totakeplace immediately before the
September meeting oftheCouncil. Furthermore,
theAgreement between theWIPO andtheWTO
(inforce since 1.1.96) provides forcooperation
between thetwoorganizations intheareas oflegal-
technical assistance andtechnical cooperation
relating totheTRIPS Agreement, including the
requirement thattheInternational Bureau ofWIPO
make available toLDC Members oftheWTO, but
notMembers ofWIPO, thesame legal-technical
assistance relating totheTRIPS Agreement asit
makes available toMember States ofWIPO which
areLDCs (theWTO Secretariat isrequired to
reciprocate). Pursuant tothis,thetwoSecretariats
cooperated inanumber ofprojects andare
planning additional projects.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
ForLLDCs only
Incentives toenterprises andinstitutions in
developed country Members territories forthe
purpose ofpromoting andencouraging technology
transfer toLLDCs(Art. 66:2).
Trade Policy Review Mechanism
Byend-1996, reviews willhave been heldfor57
Members (counting theECasone), including 41
LDCs; some Members (including 8LDCs) will
have been reviewed twice. Thisleaves 51LDCs
forwhich areview isyettobescheduled
(including numerous LLDCs), thereby depriving
them ofthebenefits thereviews bring tothe
Members concerned.
TheTPRB islooking atmore effective ways than
theonepresently being used tochannel the
experience gained from reviews intowider WTO
deliberations.
Some flexibility might beneeded byLLDCs in
compiling their reports (Section D).
Assistance inthecompilation ofnational reports,
upon request (Section D).TheSecretariat hasbeen providing technical
assistance forMembers under review.
Decision onMeasures inFavour ofLLDCs
Extended timeperiod topresent Schedules of
Concessions andCommitments (Para. 1).Allthe29LLDCs contracting parties totheGATT
1947 presented their Schedules intimetobecome
original WTO Members. Currently, 24LLDCs
areWTO Members; fortheother 5,membership
willbecome effective once theWTO Agreement is
ratified domestically.
Regular reviews forensuring expeditious
implementation ofallspecial anddifferential
measures (Para. 2(i)).
Autonomous implementation, inadvance and
without staging, ofUruguay Round concessions on
tariffs andnon-tariff measures (Para. 2(ii)).TheSecretariat isnotaware ofanyautonomous
advanced implementation ofconcessions on
products ofexport interest toLLDCs.
Consideration ofimproving preferential treatment
(Para. 2(ii)).Some developing country Members have notified
improvements intheir GSP schemes.
Special consideration ofexport interests when
applying import restrictions (Para.2(iv)).WT/COMTD/W/16
Page10
Provision Implementation
Increased technical assistance indeveloping,
strengthening anddiversifying production and
export bases including those ofservices
(Para. 2(v)).Discussions onthetypeoftechnical assistance to
beprovided bytheWTO Secretariat, byother
international organizations andbytheMembers
themselves intheareas covered bytheWTO are
being heldintheCTD andareintended toproduce
guidelines fortechnical cooperation. Extra (non-
budgetary) resources have been made available for
technical assistance toLLDCs byvarious
Members, e.g.theGovernment ofNorway andthe
European Communities.
Theproblems oftheLLDCs shall bekeptunder
continuous review andcontinuous efforts shall be
made toadopt positive measures which facilitate
theexpansion oftheir trading opportunities
(paragraph 3).Thereview oftheLLDCs 'problems andthe
adoption ofpositive measures tofacilitate their
trade expansion arepartoftheterms ofreference
oftheSub-Committee onLLDCs. These two
items were ontheagenda ofthelastmeeting ofthe
Sub-Committee, which arrived atthefollowing
conclusions: LLDCs needed assistance in
strengthening their human andinstitutional
capacity; theroleoftheWTO inefforts to
increase theparticipation ofLLDCs inworld trade
wastobedefined bytheSub-Committee; and
LLDCs should beencouraged toparticipate more
fully inWTO work. Work intheSub-Committee
onLLDCs incontinuing.
Decision Relating toLLDCs andNetFood-Importing Developing Countries (NFICs)
Thefollow-up oftheDecision hasrepresented an
important partofthework oftheCommittee on
Agriculture in1995-96. Agreement wasfound on
anumber ofelements related totheDecision.
That is-(i)annual review (November) ofthe
implementation oftheDecision, including a
preparatory work programme forthereviews; (ii)
notification requirements foractions taken under
theDecision; (iii)basis/criteria forthe
establishment ofaWTO listofNFICs, which
comprises currently the48LLDCs asdefined by
theUnited Nations and15LDC Members. Inthe
firstreview oftheDecision, theInternational
Grains Council, theWorld Food Programme, the
FAO, theWorld Bank, theIMF andMembers
reported ontheir work relevant totheDecision.
Periodical review ofthelevel offood aid
(Para. 3(i)).TheCommittee agreed onapreparatory work
programme forthisreview.
Adoption ofguidelines toensure thatanincreasing
proportion ofbasic foodstuffs isprovided
(Para. 3(ii)).TheCommittee agreed onapreparatory work
programme.WT/COMTD/W/16
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Provision Implementation
Consideration torequests fortheprovision of
technical andfinancial assistance toimprove
agricultural productivity andinfrastructure
(Para. 3(iii)).
Ensuring thatanyagreement relating toagricultural
export credits makes appropriate provision for
differential treatment (Para. 4).
Possibility ofdrawing ontheresources of
international financial institutions incases ofshort-
term difficulties infinancing normal levels of
commercial imports (Para. 5).TheDirector-General oftheWTO raised the
question oftheimplementation oftheDecision in
hiscontacts withthePresident oftheWorld Bank
andtheManaging Director oftheIMF. Their
reactions canbefound indocuments G/AG/W/12
andAdd.1.
ForLLDCs only
Establishing alevel offood aidcommitments
sufficient tomeet legitimate needs during the
reform programme (Para. 3(i)).
Decision onNotification Procedures
Some LDCs mayneed technical assistance in
meeting their notification (Part III).TheWTO Secretariat ispreparing apractical
handbook onnotification obligations.