RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/M/48 
29 March 2004 
 
 (04-1415) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Forty-eighth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 18 FEBRUARY 2004 
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Habib Mansour (Tunisia) for items A-B 
and H.E. Mr. Trevor Clarke (Barbados) for items C-K 
 
Subjects discussed : 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ........................................................................................................1  
B. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON ................................................................................................2  
C. OBSERVERS ............................................................................................................................... ..2 
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers ...............................................................................2  
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, 
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Internationale de la 
Francophonie, and the Common Fund for Commodities ...........................................................3
 
D. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING ................................................................................3  
E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE ........................................................................5  
(i) Notification from Iceland (WT/COMTD/N/17 and Corr.1) ........................................................5  
(ii) Notification from Australia (WT/COMTD/N/18)........................................................................5  
F. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO 
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD/W/113) ............................................................................................................... .6 
G. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED .............16  
H. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ..........................................................................................................22  
I. WORK PROGRAMME FOR 2004..................................................................................................24  
J. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON FOR THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST -DEVELOPED 
COUNTRIES ............................................................................................................................... .27 
K. OTHER BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................28  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The Chairman  said that the draft Agenda for the meeting was contained in Airgram 
WTO/AIR/2240 of 27 January 2004.   He proposed that item "I", the "Election of the Chairperson", be 
brought forward and be dealt with before  item "B" relating to "Observers".   WT/COMTD/M/48 
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 2. The representative of th e European Communities
 indicated that his delegation wished to share 
information under "Other Business" on the "Expan ding Exports Help Desk" which was a database 
recently launched by the Eur opean Communities' Commission. 
3. The agenda was adopted  as amended. 
 
B. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  
4. The Chairman  said that the outgoing Chairman of the General Council H.E. Mr. Carlos Pérez 
del Castillo at the General Council's meeting of 11 and 12 February had announced that his 
consultations had led to the suggestion for H.E. Mr . Trevor Clarke of Barbados to be elected as 
Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD).   
5. The Committee elected  H.E. Mr. Trevor Clarke of Barbados as Chairman of the CTD. 
6. The outgoing Chairman  said that Ambassador Clarke was a man of communication and great 
thought whose strategic vision was always backed by a plan towards obtaining concrete results.  That 
was not surprising given his engineering background and management career both at the corporate and community levels which had culminated in hi s being awarded the Barbados Centennial Honours 
(BCH) in 2000, and Gold Crown of Merit (GCM) in  2003 for his work in telecommunications and 
industrial development.  Before arriving in Geneva, Ambassador Clarke was the trade representative 
of the Barbados Private Sector Trade Team for which he recruited and coordinated a team of 
professionals to look after the interests of the Barb ados private sector in all matters related to the 
regional, hemispheric and multilateral trade negotiati ons.  At the same time, Ambassador Clarke was 
Executive Vice President of Cable & Wireless West  Indies Ltd. with responsibility for the business 
performance of the company’s telecommunications  operations on five islands in the Eastern 
Caribbean, including Barbados.  He also guided the merger of the domestic an d international carriers 
in Barbados, which were both majority owned by Cable & Wireless, and he led his Government's 
negotiations for the transition from monopoly to the competitive supply of telecommunications services, while preparing merged co mpanies for competition.  He said that he was certain that the 
Committee would achieve positive results under Am bassador Clarke's able Chairmanship.  
7. The Chairmanship of the Comm ittee was accordingly handed ov er by Ambassador Mansour 
of Tunisia to Ambassador Clarke of Barbados.  
8. The incoming Chairman
 thanked Ambassador Mansour on behalf of the Members and the 
Secretariat for the good work he had done in steeri ng the work of the Committee over the last year.  
He said that it was his intention to move the wo rk of the Committee even mo re decisively in 2004.  
Any urgency on his part was due to the fact that the Committee had a lot of work to carry out in a 
faster and more decisive manner.  He thanked Me mbers for the confidence that they had put in him 
and said that, in accepting the chairmanship he w as well aware that the challenge of leadership 
depended on the support of the followe rs.  He said that success of the Committee required Members' 
support and an urgency towards finding conclusion s on those issues to which a solution could be 
found.   
C. OBSERVERS  
(i) Request for attendance of ad hoc observers 
9. The Chairman  recalled that, at previous sessions of the CTD, Members had agreed to invite 
the following intergovernmental organizations on an  ad hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis:  the Arab 
Maghreb Union (AMU);  the Economic Community  of West African States (ECOWAS);  the  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO);  the Inte r-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation;  the 
Islamic Development Bank (IDB);  the African Union (AU);  the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC);  the South Centre;  the South Pacific Forum;  the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);  the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU);  and the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  Fo llowing the decision taken by Members at the 
Committee's previous meeting those organizations had been invited to that day's meeting.  
He therefore proposed that, in acco rdance with the Committee's procedures, those organizations also 
be invited to the next formal meeting of the CTD.   
10. It was so agreed
. 
(ii) Further consideration of requests for observer status by the League of Arab States, the 
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gulf Organization for 
Industrial Consulting, the Organisation Interna tionale de la Francophonie, and the Common 
Fund for Commodities 
11. The Chairman  said that, at previous meetings, the Committee had also had before it a number 
of outstanding requests for observer status.  Tho se came from the League of Arab States, OPEC, the 
Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the Or ganisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and 
the Common Fund for Commodities.  As positions of  delegations were well known and on the record, 
he proposed that, unless there had been any r ecent change in Members' positions, the Committee 
revert to those requests at its next formal meeting. 
12. It was so agreed . 
 
D. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND TRAINING  
13. The Secretariat  said that the note on "Technical Assistance: Outstanding Business" contained 
in document WT/COMTD/W/123 was self-explanatory an d referred to the outstanding issues that had 
not been approved as part of the adoption of the 20 04 Technical Assistance (TA) Plan.  Those issues 
related to two items, one was the regional trad e policy course for francophone Africa, and the other 
was the outreach activities which had both been placed in an Addendum 
(WT/COMTD/W/119/Rev.2/Add.1) to the 2004 TA Plan .  Members would recall that the venue for 
the regional trade policy course for francophone Africa had not been determined at the last meeting 
and the Committee had agreed that the implementation of the four trade policy courses could begin once that issue had been resolved.  Docume nt WT/COMTD/W/123 informed Members of the 
Director-General's decision, after the necessary cons ultations, of holding the course at the Université 
Mohammed V (Souissi) in Rabat in the latter part of 2004.  With the resolution of that issue, the four 
regional trade policy courses, including the one for fr ancophone Africa, could be reintegrated into the 
2004 TA Plan and a revision of the Plan would be issued.  That would leave only the outreach activities in the Addendum to the 2004 TA Plan. 
14. The representative of Mauritius
, speaking on behalf of the African Group, expressed 
satisfaction with the resolution of the venue fo r the regional trade policy course for francophone 
Africa, an issue that had remained outstanding for quite some time.  He said that efforts had been 
made to identify an African university where the course could be held.  The African Group was aware 
that it had been a difficult issue to resolve and th anked the Director-General who had been a linchpin 
in the process, and all those that had played a ro le in resolving the problem.  Members were aware 
how important TA was for Africa and his delegati on was pleased that Kenya would host the regional 
trade policy course for anglophone Africa and that  Morocco would host the regional trade policy 
course for francophone Africa.  His delegation hoped th at the Secretariat would take the measures 
necessary to ensure that those courses could begin as soon as possible.  He said that the Secretariat WT/COMTD/M/48 
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 had mentioned that the courses would be held in the latter part of 2004 a nd hoped that the courses 
would be successful.  It made no difference whether those courses were for anglophone or 
francophone Africa since all African country Members needed TA, especially in 2004.  Both Robert Zoellick and Pascal Lamy had stated the im portance of not wasting any time in 2004 and TA 
was of utmost importance for Africa to be able to participate in the negotiations. 
15. The representative of Canada
 said that her delegation was pleased that the issue relating to the 
venue for the regional trade policy course for franc ophone Africa had been resolved and hoped that 
those courses would begin quickly.  Her delegation wa s also grateful that the success of the pilot 
courses had led to the extension of such courses to the Caribbean region.  The Canadian Government 
had already contributed money towards the support of that course and would make an announcement 
of its contributions to the ongoing 2004 TA Plan at the next meeting of the CTD. 
16. The Committee took note  of the oral report and the statements made and adopted  
document WT/COMTD/W/123. 
17. The Chairman  said that the Secretariat would give a brief update regarding other technical 
cooperation and training matters. 
18. The Secretariat  said that it wished to bring the Committee up to date on TA activities carried 
out until mid February 2004.  The Secretariat had begun its consultations with Members on a number 
of policy-oriented issues such as needs assessment, how to engage least-developed countries (LDCs) 
more actively in TA activities, and on some ev aluation and monitoring issues.  The Secretariat 
intended to continue with those consultations on a re gular basis.  With respect to the implementation 
of the 2004 TA Plan, the Secretariat reported that 48  activities had been carried out to date and that 
dates had been confirmed for another 77 activities.   Those 125 activities were equally split between 
regional and national activities. The Secretariat would provide fuller repor ting as required in the 
periodic reports. 
19. The representative of the European Communities  said that his delegation was pleased that the 
consultation process was underway and had proceeded in the manner that Members had agreed when 
adopting the 2004 TA Plan.  The first phase of the c onsultations had been devoted to deciding on the 
issues that needed to be addressed and when those issues would be considered .  His delegation looked 
forward to the continuation of that consultative process.  It was also pleasing to hear that the 
implementation of the 2004 TA Plan had begun well.  That demonstrated the Secretariat's ability to 
both implement the 2004 TA Plan and deliver on the consultation exercise to pursue improvements 
and mutually beneficial progress.  It was good that a resolution had been found on the venue for the 
regional trade policy course for francophone Africa, an  important element of the 2004 TA Plan which 
could be reinstated in the programme of courses to be carried out in 2004. 
20. The representative of Canada  said that her delegation was grateful for the informal process of 
consultations that was underway which would impr ove as it proceeded and speed up the delivery of 
the 2004 TA Plan.  She proposed that a list of al l the trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) 
requests received by the Secretariat from beneficiar y countries be made available to Members.  That 
was particularly important for bilateral donors to  ensure co-ordination an d allow them to offer 
assistance when engaging in bilateral activities in the beneficiary countries. 
21. The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
  WT/COMTD/M/48 
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 E. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE ENABLING CLAUSE  
(i) Notification from Iceland (WT/COMTD/N/17 and Corr.1) 
22. The Chairman  reminded Members that the Committee ha d referred two notifications to the 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (Sub-Committee) for substantive consideration and reporting back, namely the notification by the Government of Japan contained in document 
WT/COMTD/N/2/Add.12 and the notification by the G overnment of Iceland contained in document 
WT/COMTD/N/17 and Corrigendum 1.  He said that  the Chairman of the Sub-Committee had written 
to the previous Chairperson of the CTD to in form Members about the deliberations in the 
Sub-Committee with respect to those notifications .  The Chairman of the Sub-Committee had then 
informed Members that the Sub-Committee had we lcomed the initiatives taken by the Governments 
of Iceland and Japan.  A copy of the letter with  the report on the proceedings in the Sub-Committee 
was made available at the meeting. 
23. The Chairman
 went on to say that the Committee had tw o notifications before it, an old and a 
new one.  The first notification from the Governme nt of Iceland (WT/COMTD/N/17 and Corr.1) had 
remained on the agenda of the CTD upon the request of one delegation. 
24. The representative of Paraguay  thanked the delegation of Iceland for its communication in 
response to its question concerning the notification of  the Government of Iceland of 10 October 2003 
communicating its decision to grant unilateral duty-free and quota-free market access for products from LDCs.  He noted that the Government of  Iceland did not apply import quotas to products 
covered by the concession.  His delegation therefore considered that it would be appropriate to amend 
the notification by deleting the words "and quota-fr ee market access" which was not applicable.  He 
reiterated his delegation's view th at when the intention was to remove quantitative restrictions in 
favour of developing countries, that had to be no tified under Article XIII of the GATT and not under 
the Enabling Clause, which only covered duty exemptions.  He said that his delegation was not against the granting of tariff reductions for LDCs under the Enabling Clause. 
25. The representative of Iceland
 said that she was pleased to clarify that the scope of the 
measures provided for in the notification related to tariff measures.  She said that the notification of 
the Government of Iceland was a reply to an appeal by a former Director-General to Members to grant 
duty-free and quota-free market access for LDCs, and th e notification therefore also mentioned that 
the Government of Iceland did not apply any q uotas to any WTO Members.  Her Government was 
reluctant to amend the notification since the notif ication did not prejudice under what article it was 
notified. 
(ii) Notification from Australia (WT/COMTD/N/18) 
26. The Chairman  said that it was important that work within the WTO was carried out in the 
most efficient way possible.  He reminded Members that, at its 32nd Session, the CTD had decided 
that any market access measures taken specifically in favour of LDCs under the Enabling Clause, and 
therefore notified to the CTD, be transmitted to th e Sub-Committee for substantive consideration with 
the request that the Sub-Committee report back to the CTD on its discussions.  Following the waiver 
adopted in 1999, developing countries who improved ma rket access for products originating in LDCs 
notified such measures to the Council for Trade in G oods (CTG).  The CTG therefore also decided to 
transmit any such notifications to the Sub-Comm ittee for substantive consideration and reporting 
back.  The objective of those decisions by th e CTG and the CTD was to allow for a unified 
consideration in one forum, i.e. in the Sub-Committ ee, of measures taken in  favour of the LDCs, but 
without any change in existing notification obligatio ns.  The intention was thus to make the system 
more efficient by considering notifications of th e same type in one forum.  However, in a few 
instances in the past, that decision had led to a duplication of discussions relating to notifications of WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 6  
 
 market access improvements for LDCs  in the CTD and in its Sub-Co mmittee.  He therefore reminded 
Members of the decision to refer notifications of market access improvements for LDCs to the 
Sub-Committee for substantive consideration there.  However, he said that should Members wish to 
add to the discussions held in the Sub-Committee, they  had a possibility of doing so at the time when 
the Sub-Committee reported back to the CTD.  In k eeping with his statement he suggested that the 
CTD refer the notification form Australia, without  discussion, to the Sub-Committee for substantive 
consideration and reporting back, following th e reporting procedures agreed to at the 32
nd Session of 
the Committee. 
27. The representative of Australia  said that his delegation accepted the suggestion made by the 
Chairman of referring the notification to the Sub- Committee and would engage in a more substantive 
discussion at that time.  His delegation believed that  the initiative by the Government of Australia of 
providing duty-free and quota-free access for LDC e xports set a high standard with no products 
excluded and no phasing in periods.  It also containe d a broad definition of local content in order to 
assist LDCs meet the rules of origin.  His de legation looked forward to elaborating on those 
components of the decision that the Government of  Australia had taken at the Sub-Committee.  That 
initiative, which had been introduced in July 20 03 was a visible demonstration that trade-related 
support to developing countries could and should ex tend beyond aid.  The Government of Australia 
maintained a strong coherence betwee n its aid and trade policies in that regard.  The Government of 
Australia had increased its trade-related aid fundi ng by more than 70 per cent which amounted to 
spending approximately $A 31 million on TRTA in 2003-2004.  He said that his delegation looked 
forward to a more detailed discussion in the Sub-Committee. 
28. The Committee took note  of the statements made and referred the notification from the 
Government of Australia to the Sub-Committee fo r substantive considera tion and reporting back, 
following the reporting procedures agreed to at its 32nd Session. 
 
F. DECLINING TERMS OF TRADE FOR PRIMARY COMMODITIES , AND ITS IMPLICATION TO TRADE 
AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES 
(WT/COMTD/W/113) 
29. The Chairman  said that, at the last meeting, Members had had before them both the initial 
submission made by the delegations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (WT/COMTD/W/113) and the 
inventory prepared by the Secretariat containe d in document WT/COMTD/W/121.  Members had 
then suggested that the discussion be referred to that meeting.   
30. The representative of Kenya  said that the inventory prepared by the Secretariat was 
comprehensive and her delegation, d espite its limited capacity, had been  able to make a first reading 
of the papers in the inventory and would briefly high light some of the issues raised in those papers.  
She said that one of the issues that had struck her delegation was that most of the world’s poor lived 
in countries which were dependent on exports of one or two primary commodities for the bulk of their 
export earnings.  That demonstrated the link betw een commodity dependency and poverty.  Another 
point was that the secular trend towards declining prices of those commodities was continuing.  The 
upward trend in the past two years of the prices of  some agricultural commod ities was largely due to 
unfavourable weather conditions in the main produci ng countries or political uncertainties in some of 
those countries.  Additionally, prices continued to be  volatile for most of those commodities.  She said 
that past efforts made at the international level to stabilise prices through commodity agreements had 
failed.  That was due to the suspension of eco nomic clauses which enab led the international 
organizations dealing with coffee, cocoa, sugar a nd rubber to intervene in the markets to stabilise 
prices when they were falling.  She said that  primary commodity producing countries had been 
persuaded to liberalize internal markets by abolishing inter alia  marketing boards which hitherto 
ensured that farmers received minimum prices for th eir production.  The farmers were therefore left  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 7 
 
 
 completely to the mercy of market forces.  Another point that had struck her delegation was that 
purchasing power had become increasingly concentrated  in the hands of a few foreign companies.  
Large trading companies dealing in many commod ities were being replaced by more specialized 
companies.  As an example she mentioned that only  five companies accounted for half of the trade in 
green coffee, while cocoa trading companies in L ondon had fallen from 30 to 10 companies.  Half of 
that trade was now controlled by chocolate manuf acturers.  Both those trends represented the 
concentration of buying power in the hands of a few companies who could as a result dictate prices.  She said that almost all the studies emphasized that the only long term solution would be the diversification of production in other agricultural crops or the encouragement of the development of 
manufacturing or service sectors.  However, most of the studies also demonstrated that past 
experience had shown that it would be difficult to find another agricultural crop that was suitable for 
production.  A few of the studies also recognized that for a large number of countries which were 
dependent on exports of a few primary commodities, diversifying into the manufacturing or service 
economy was likely to be a long term objective as it would take years to develop the physical and 
human infrastructure that was needed for their development, not mentioning the transfer of 
appropriate technology. 
31. She went on to say that most of the studies in the inventory, particularly those by experts from 
the International Financial Institutions, referred to  the important role that commodity derivative 
instruments could play in reducing price volatability and providing predictability in producer's earnings.  Some commentators, however, considered that even though those private sector instruments 
could be useful in covering risks arising from temp orary fluctuation in prices, they would not have 
perceptible effects where there was a persistent decl ine in prices as a result of structural over supply.  
The coverage of risks under those instruments was al so fairly limited.  While for metals like copper, it 
might have been possible to cover risks up to thr ee years, for agricultural commodities, the coverage 
was limited to a few months,  generally three mont hs.  The experience had further shown that those 
instruments were used in some developing countries through the financial support from foreign banks.  
The instruments also enabled exporters to cover thei r risks and the benefits were rarely passed on to 
the farmers whose day to day livelihood was de pendent on export earnings.  She said that the 
summary of the findings which her delegation had ma de might not fully reflect the various nuances 
and emphases that were placed by the authors in  coming to those conclusions.  Despite those 
limitations, her delegation considered that those findings and conclusions could provide two useful 
guidelines for Members' discussions.  First, divers ification was not going to provide an immediate 
answer to the problems for a large number of developing countries heavily dependent on exports of 
primary commodities.  Despite the assistance that might be provided to them in transforming their 
economies into manufacturing and service economies, mo st of those countries, and particularly those 
in Africa, would continue to depend on exports of commodities for a long period of time, perhaps 
even for the next two to three decades.  Second, despite all the enthusiasm shown by International 
Financial Institutions for the market-based financia l instruments like commodity derivatives, their use 
would have little effect in dealing with situa tions where the decline in prices was due to a 
disequilibrium in demand and supply caused by struct ural over supply.  As had been emphasized in 
their submission (WT/COMTD/W/113) the crisis situ ation that had been created in the trade of 
commodities like coffee and cocoa was due to structural oversupply in the world market. 
32. She continued by saying that she would sugg est how future work in the Committee on the 
issue could be organised.  In that context, sh e recalled the progress made before Cancún on the 
commodity issue and its inclusion in paragraph 28  of the Cancún draft Ministerial Text.  That 
underscored the importance of the issue and the need to find a solution in a rule based system.  She 
noted that there had been no controversy at Cancún on the issue and therefore urged Members to continue to engage constructively in discussions on commodities in the spirit of paragraph 5 of the 
Cancún Ministerial Statement.  In doing so, Member s needed to bear in mind that the long term 
solution to the commodities crisis would need a mu ltifaceted approach.  In that regard, although the 
primary responsibility for discussions on the issues ra ised in their submission should remain in the WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 8  
 
 CTD, there was a need to involve other WTO bodies, as stated by her delegation at previous meetings.  
Towards that end, her delegation intended to subm it an additional proposal specifically highlighting 
which issues should be handled by other working groups and negotiating bodies.  That proposal would borrow heavily from the illustrative list of elem ents for action highlighted in paragraph 37 in 
document WT/COMTD/W/113. 
33. The representative of India
 said that his delegation had take n note of the intervention made by 
the representative of Kenya regarding its analysis of some of the main arguments from the studies listed in the inventory.  His delegation had also  listened attentively to the pragmatic approach 
suggested by the delegation of Kenya on the possi ble way forward on the commodity issue in the 
CTD, or perhaps in other relevant WTO bodies as mi ght be agreed by the Committee.  His delegation 
welcomed the submission that the delegation of Ke nya intended to make identifying elements from its 
submission which could perhaps be forwarded to relevant WTO bodies for in-depth discussions.  He 
said that in his delegation's view, the key elemen t was to recognize the seriousness of the long-term 
decline in commodity prices and its trade and de velopmental impact on many primary commodity 
exporting developing countries, something that was of  legitimate concern to the WTO.  He recalled 
the comments made at previous meetings that that was an area in which it would benefit to explore 
cooperation with other interna tional organizations such as UNCTAD which had carried out 
considerable work.  He said that the issue was im portant and that his delegation looked forward to 
further inputs from the delegation of Kenya w ith a view to structure future discussions. 
34. The representative of Colombia
 said that the inventory prepared by the Secretariat was 
detailed and complemented the subm ission made by the delegations of  Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.  
Her Government attached great importance to and fo llowed closely the issue of commodities and even 
had experience in producing some primary commodities such as coffee and cocoa.   She said that her 
delegation believed that the CTD could play an importa nt role.  It was therefore important to continue 
work on that issue in the Committee.  The submis sion by the delegations of Kenya, Uganda and 
Tanzania considered important elements from wh ich the Committee could draw specific objectives to 
focus its work on.  Members should also consider  how other WTO bodies or international institutions 
could contribute and report to the CTD. 
35. The representative of Brazil  said that the issue of commodities was a sensitive one.  It was an 
important issue in the ongoing negotiations a nd his delegation supported Kenya's initiative of 
referring it to the appropriate WTO bodies. That woul d allow the discussions to proceed effectively, 
not only for the benefit of the proponents but also  to the benefit of a large number of developing 
countries that were affected by the declin ing terms of trade for primary commodities. 
36. The representative of Cuba  said that her delegation agreed with the substantive analysis 
carried out by the delegation of Kenya on the tr ade of primary commodities.  The problem of 
declining prices for primary commodities was aggravat ed by the structural dependency of more than 
half of the developing countries in such products .  Those countries were involved in negotiations 
which needed to ensure access for pr imary commodities to the internati onal market.  Other issues that 
exacerbated the situation included environmental st andards and sanitary and phytosanitary measures 
as well as the direct link between declining commodity prices and foreign debt.  A Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance had been set up where proposals from the CTD on primary commodities could be dealt with.  She said that her delegati on fully supported the recommendations contained in 
document WT/COMTD/W/113 and believed that it was time for the Committee to put forward 
concrete objectives in order to move forward in that area within the WTO. 
37. The representative of Cote d'Ivoire
 said that 40 per cent of Cote d'Ivoire's export earnings 
were derived from primary commodities.  His delega tion could not be indifferent when considering 
the decline in prices for primary commodities and we lcomed the statement made by the representative 
of Kenya.  He said that he regretted that his de legation had not been more involved in the discussions  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 9 
 
 
 on the issue due to the political climate in Cote d' Ivoire.  However, his delegation would begin to 
make serious efforts towards increased participation. 
38. The representative of Ecuador  said that the Government of  Ecuador depended on the export 
of primary commodities, particularly in connection w ith the payment of its foreign debt.  He said that 
it was important to carry out joint activities with  other international organizations on primary 
commodities.  His delegation had taken note of what  the representative of Kenya had said and agreed 
on the need to draft concrete proposals on commodities. 
39. The representative of China  said that the commodity issue was of great importance to 
developing countries, particularly low and middle in come countries.  Many of those countries relied 
heavily on the export of commodities for economic de velopment.  However, over the past years the 
decline in prices for primary commodities was an issue which had not only been discussed in the 
WTO but also during the GATT and in other internati onal organizations.  He believed that an urgent 
solution needed to be found on that issue.  He said that, in addition to the activities that needed to be 
carried out in cooperation with other internati onal organizations, such as UNCTAD and the World 
Bank which were part of the WTO's coherence policy,  the WTO needed to make efforts in the area of 
trade and development.  As far as the development aspects were concerned he said that his delegation 
would join others in further deliberations and explore means of helping resolve the issue for 
developing countries as soon and as effectively as possi ble.  As far as the trade-related aspects were 
concerned, he said that the election of the Chairp ersons of the different negotiating bodies meant the 
resumption of the Doha Round negotiations.  In that  connection, he drew Members' attention to the 
work of the Special Session of the Committee on Ag riculture which was of great importance to the 
work on commodities.  He said that there were th ree pillars of the agricultural negotiations which 
were of relevance to the export of primary co mmodities.  The high level of domestic support and 
export subsidies provided by de veloped country governments to their agricultural commodity 
producers meant that developing country exports co uld never be competitive.  That was a problem.  
With respect to market access, tariff peaks and ta riff escalation were obstacles to developing country 
commodity exports.  Members needed to exert their influence in the CTD and in the negotiations of 
the Special Session of the Comm ittee on Agriculture in order to accelerate the negotiations on 
agriculture for them to assist in resolving the issue of declin ing prices for primary commodities. 
40. The representative of Barbados  said that the inventory prepared by the Secretariat would be 
an important tool in Members' deliberations on the issue of commodities.  She said that the representative of Kenya had ably highlighted th e problems faced by commodity-export dependent 
countries and pinpointed the numerous challenges faced by those countries in finding sustainable and 
effective solutions to their dire situation.  She reiterated her delegation's full support for the initiative 
being spearheaded by the delegation of Kenya.  Th e commodity issue was also an issue and problem 
of significant importance to producers in her country .  Her delegation agreed with the representative 
of India and others that had indicated that th e WTO should collaborate with other international 
organizations such as UNCTAD, which were also undert aking work in that area.  She emphasized that 
commodity export dependency was clearly a trade is sue.  The WTO Membership  therefore needed to 
work in a constructive manner with an aim of fo rmulating concrete and pos itive measures to address 
the trade-related problems of commodity export dependency. 
41. The representative of Rwanda
 said that his delegation supported the statement that had been 
made by the representative of Kenya and supported the remarks made on moving forward in the CTD 
and in other WTO bodies on the problems pertaining to primary commodities.  He said that it was 
clear from the various studies that, among the vari ous ways to address the problem, diversification 
was no longer a solution, especially for LDCs.  An alysis had shown that the decline in prices of 
primary commodities would continue due to the struct ural problems in international trade.  He said 
that he would share the experience of his country.  When he was young, people would sell coffee in 
the summer.  Families could then use the proceeds to buy various household utensils and other WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 10  
 
 essentials.  That was no longer possible because pr ices had dropped and farmers could no longer 
afford to grow coffee.  The decline in prices fo r primary commodities affected households as well as 
trade because importers could also benefit durin g the coffee selling season.  He said that it was 
important for the Committee to discuss the differe nt aspects of the declining prices of primary 
commodities and, on the basis of the aspects menti oned by the representative of China, see how they 
could be addressed. 
42. The representative of Senegal
 said that the decline in pri ces for primary commodities was of 
particular importance to developing countries as a vast  majority of them depended on trade in primary 
commodities and were in the early stages of devel opment.  It was therefore important that those 
countries be able to use export earnings from prim ary commodities for economic development.  He 
said that his delegation supported the proposals ma de by the delegation of Kenya and the other 
co-sponsors of the submission and believed that th e WTO needed to seriously address the issue in 
order to find adequate solutions to the problems faced by many developing countries in the trade of 
primary commodities.  That would help address deve loping country needs in the multilateral trading 
system and be consistent with the goals of the WTO. 
43. The representative of Benin  said that the decline in pri ces for primary commodities was an 
important issue as developing countries depended mainly on the trade of primary commodities, with most of them depending on a single primary commodity. His delegation therefore firmly supported the recommendations made by the delegations of Keny a, Uganda and Tanzania in their submission.  
He underlined the need to find appropriate solutions  to solve the situation of countries that depended 
on the trade of primary commodities.  That soluti on could be found if Members showed a spirit of 
solidarity and ensured that their work was guide d by a sense of purpose in finding a consensus 
solution to the issue.  He said that the inventory pr epared by the Secretariat illustrated that the trade in 
primary commodities was a sensitive and important issue because since the 1950's development economists and researchers had studied it and underlined  the necessity to find adequate solutions to 
the problem.  Raul Prebish had studied the problem which was still causing problems 50 years later.  
He said that the inventory would allow Members to pi npoint elements that woul d contribute to finding 
appropriate solutions to the situation faced by  primary commodity export dependent countries, 
integrate them into the multilateral trading system and eradicate poverty. 
44. The representative of the United States
 said that her delegation had reviewed many of the 
documents contained in the invent ory and was considering that information in an attempt to see how 
the issue of declining prices for primary commodities might be addressed.  She said that the inventory 
demonstrated that that issue had been a topic of  great academic interest for a number of years and 
commanded significant attention by the internati onal community.  There were many issues that 
Members could focus on in the inventory, but she would highlight those that had caught her delegation's attention.  The study by Dehn, J. (2000) "The Effects on Growth of Commodity Price Uncertainty and Shocks," World Bank Policy Resea rch Working Paper No. 24 55 concluded that the 
price shocks had negative effects for countries th at were not diversified and earlier work by 
Paul Collier in 1999 had illustrated that the policies in place in some countries compounded problems of growth created by those price shocks.  The diffi culties were clear but many of the strategies that 
had been taken by Governments and international organizations in the past had proven somewhat 
ineffective.  The study by Cashin, Liang, and Mc Dermott pointed to reasons why past experience had 
not been effective and to the fact that resea rch suggested that price stabilisation schemes and 
compensatory mechanisms were likely to be ineffectiv e because the low price levels tended to persist.  
There was some encouragement in a study by Yabuki , N., Varangis, P. and Larson, D. F. (1998) 
"Commodity Risk Management and Development," World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 
No. 1963 where they took note of the rise in mark et-based commodity risk management instruments 
over the last 10-15 years.  Those authors also su ggested the scope for international institutions, 
national governments and the private sector to improv e access to those types of  derivative markets.  
That was welcome news and it was also welc ome news that the World Bank Global Economic  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 11 
 
 
 Prospects Report suggested a rise in international prices in cotton and rubber for example.  She said 
that there had certainly been some price rises and her delegation did not share the view of the representative of Kenya on the precise reasons for th at.  Her delegation continued to consider the 
appropriate role of internationa l institutions in addressing the problems related to the commodity 
issue.  However, her delegation con tinued to believe that the answer did not lie in schemes to manage 
global supply.  Her delegation believed that mark et-based approaches were most likely to produce 
positive results. 
45. She continued by saying that her delegation had al so highlighted that the best approach was to 
recognize that Members had a common desire to ma ke their industries more competitive and diverse 
and that that was a starting point.  There were proven ways to accomplish that objective and there 
were well known ways to attract investment, particul arly in higher value added sectors.  That meant a 
need for appropriate policies at the national leve l, including among others, a commitment to better 
governance and enhancing accountability.  Other constructive approaches included improving 
efficiency in commodity production, encouraging ve rtical and horizontal diversification of exports, 
increasing responsiveness to changing market co nditions and improving transparency through 
exchanges of views and information among producers a nd consumers.  Of partic ular importance to the 
CTD in that regard was contemplating the role of the WTO on that issue.  Her delegation continued to believe that the WTO was a forum to address the trade policy related aspects of that issue and 
believed that the potential of the Doha Round to open  markets and remove market distortions was the 
key to the WTO's contributions.  She said that she agreed with the representative of China that the 
Committee on Agriculture had an important role to pl ay in trying to find WTO solutions as part of a 
policy mix to solve the problem of declining prices for primary commodities.  Although her 
delegation viewed the analysis of risk manageme nt strategies for commodity prices as outside the 
scope of the WTO, it might be an area for further research or TA from UNCTAD and where coherence among international institutions that we re assessing and evaluating the problem would be 
appropriate.  She noted that a number of privat e sector participants and developing country 
governments had increasingly used commodity derivativ e markets to hedge price risks.  They came 
from Argentina, Brazil, China, Hungary, India, Ma laysia, Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe.  
As Members considered how to proceed in the CTD, the WTO and elsewhere, she said that her 
delegation continued to have str ong reservations regarding initiatives to stabilise commodity prices 
through supply management, including such ac tions as reducing production, buying buffer stocks, 
forming international commodity cartels or banning exports of low quality products.  She said that 
there were a number of proposals contained in document WT/COMTD/W/113 that moved in that 
direction and her delegation did not believe that they suggested  productive ways to advance 
discussions on the issue.  Her delegation was prepared  to participate actively in the discussions but 
Members needed to find a constructive and appropri ate way of defining a work programme that would 
be consistent with WTO objectives. 
46. The representative of Australia
 said that the implications of declining prices for developing 
countries was an issue which his delegation had a great degree of sympathy for and on which it was important to find solutions.  In that regard his delegation welcomed the inventory prepared by the 
Secretariat.  He said that an initial review of the inventory had raised some issues that he wished to 
comment on.  First, the issue of commodities was co mplex and there was a wealth of information on 
it.  Second, there were a number of institutions, such as UNCTAD, that had a role to play in 
addressing the problem.  There therefore was a need for policy coherence in the way that Members 
approached the issue.  Third, work could be done in the WTO to contribute to the serious problem of 
low commodity prices.  In that regard, as his dele gation had mentioned at previous meetings, there 
was a particular role for the agriculture negotiations  to play in delivering on the Doha mandate in an 
area where the WTO had specific trade-related wo rk it could do and whic h could make a real 
contribution to overcoming the commodity problem.  He therefore supported the comments made by 
the representative of China.  His delegation wished  to await the paper that the delegation of Kenya 
had said it would submit before deci ding how to proceed with the agenda item in the CTD.  He said WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 12  
 
 that it was also unclear how the overall negotia tions under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) 
would proceed in 2004.  That had to be known before  referrals of various issues to other WTO bodies 
could be considered.  However, by the time th e new paper was submitted Members might know more 
about the state of the overall negotiations, and th e direction of the agricultural negotiations in 
particular.  The issue of falling commodity prices was important and his dele gation could understand 
the frustration felt by the proponents.  There were serious issues that had to be addressed and his 
delegation would aim to be constructively involved  in future discussions on the issue in the CTD. 
47. The representative of th e European Communities
 said that his delegation did not have any 
specific comments on the inventory.  The reason was not that his delegation had been idle.  In fact, his 
delegation had been active with respect to the i ssue of commodities and th e European Communities' 
Commission had, the previous week, issued a set of  proposals for an EU action plan in the area of 
agricultural commodities.  In add ition, a specific proposal for an action plan between the EU and 
Africa in the commodity sector of cotton had also be en issued at the same time.  If any Member had 
perused those proposals, it would have seen the seriousness with which the European Communities' 
Commission and its member States were addressing the whole issue of commodities and commodity 
dependency.  The initiative taken by his delegation ha d been inspired by the calls and proposals made 
by the delegation of Kenya and other proponents in the run-up to the Fifth Ministerial Conference in 2003.  The proponents had provided added focus to th e issue and had stressed the importance of the 
exercise. 
48. He continued by saying that he would provi de a brief introduction to his delegation's 
proposals which would be further discussed with the member States of th e European Communities 
(EC) in the European Council and the European Pa rliament.  He said that the proposals already 
showed the direction of thinking and confirmed th e orientation his delegation had presented in earlier 
discussions on commodities in the CTD.  The first thing to note was that commodity-related issues 
were complex, and that both trade and developmental aspects had to be addressed.  It was also an area involving many players.  Any action therefore had to  be contemplated at several levels, including the 
international community, what could be done by his delegation alone, and action to be taken and 
policy choices to be made at the national level,  especially by countries who were dependent on 
commodities.  Similarly to other areas of develo pment policy, there was a need for a partnership 
between individual governments and the interna tional community to support the international 
community in finding the answers to the problems faced by commodity dependent developing countries.  The responsibility was shared a nd action had to be taken across the board. 
49. He went on to say that he would give Members an idea of the range of issues addressed by his 
delegation.  His delegation had explored the possibility  for action in six areas, action that either had to 
be taken by his delegation, intern ational organizations, or developing country governments.  The first 
issue was to put commodity dependence high on the international agenda.  That had already been 
achieved thanks to the efforts made by the proponent s before the Fifth Ministerial Conference.  In 
parallel to putting it on the international agenda, th e issue had to be integrated into development 
strategies applied at the national level.  In addi tion, the link to poverty alleviation and other 
developmental aspects had to be made.  The second area related to what the appropriate response to 
the long-term price decline of commodities should be.  He said that it might be difficult to reverse the economic reality of that trend.  However, ideas on how to deal with the situation might be explored 
for example at the regional level through cooperative efforts by developing countries themselves to 
promote supply-side improvements and by arra nging cooperation among producers in order to 
improve quality and enhance services.  The third ar ea was risk-management and access to finance.  
The European Communities' Commission had tabled a proposal concerning a specific measure that it 
operated for ACP countries under the Cotonou Agreemen t.  The proposal, if enacted, would simplify 
the operation of that scheme to allow more developi ng countries to benefit from it.  The fourth area 
was support for diversification.  He agreed with the representative of Kenya that it was an issue of 
diversifying down the production chain for value-adde d but also possibly diversification into other  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 13 
 
 
 goods and services.  The fifth area included effort s to enhance sustainable corporate practices and 
investment in commodity dependent developing countri es.  That related to private-sector behaviour in 
terms of corporate social responsibility, other co des of conduct and promo tion of public/private 
partnerships and international competition.  The fina l, but not the least important area, related to the 
WTO and support for the successful integration of commodity dependent developing countries into 
the international trading system.  He said that he  agreed with the representatives of China, the 
United States and Australia that the WTO coul d primarily offer support through the ongoing DDA 
negotiations.  He said that it was well-known that  his delegation supported an immediate resumption 
of negotiations and their rapid conclusion, as well as an outcome that would support the pro-
development aspects set at the Fourth Ministerial Conference when the negotiations were launched, 
including in the areas of agriculture and non-agri cultural market access.  The objective Members were 
striving for where reductions in trade-distorting su bsidies in the agricultural sector, market-access 
improvements across the board, not only for imports into developed countries but also in a way which 
would support expanded possibilities for South-South trade, as well as the elimination of export subsidies.  His delegation had put forward propos als for the elimination of export subsidies on 
products of interest to developing countries a nd was awaiting a response to its proposals in the 
negotiations. 
50. He further said that it followed from that brie f overview of the proposals tabled by his 
delegation that the EC as a whole took the questions put on the table by the commodity dependent developing countries seriously.  That did not mean that the answers would always be found in the CTD, or even in the WTO.  There was a need fo r a parallel response from other agencies and from the 
donor community in terms of TA and capacity buildi ng.  His delegation looked forward to further 
discussions on the precise follow-up to the proposal s for further work which the representative of 
Kenya had indicated would be submitted in the near future. 
51. The representative of Uganda
 said that there was no contradiction between the inventory 
prepared by the Secretariat and the document submitted by his delegation and the delegations of 
Kenya and Tanzania.  He said that the majority of the delegations that had intervened on the issue of 
declining commodity prices had recognized th e existence of a problem and shown a clear 
understanding of it.  Second, Members had also rea lized that the problem w as multifaceted and that it 
could be partly resolved in the WTO and partly by  other institutions dealing with the issue such as 
UNCTAD, ITC, and the Common Fund for Commodities.  It could also partly be dealt with by 
financial institutions, even though it primarily had to be addressed by the governments of the 
countries affected.  However, all of the actors menti oned had to play their roles.  He said that there 
had been a few divergent views, but that they ha d been expressed in good faith.  Those views were 
that the governments of the countries affected had to address the issue of democracy, production had 
to be diversified and be geared to increase value-adde d, and that efficiency had to be improved.  He 
said that he did not object to that, but said that many Members had already done so in the context of 
their structural adjustment programmes as well as by own efforts to address those issues.  However, 
his delegation still insisted that declining commod ity prices was a trade and development issue which 
had to be appropriately dealt with within the WTO.   Paragraphs 37 to 40 of the paper submitted by his 
delegation and the delegations of  Kenya and Tanzania contained concrete proposals on how to 
proceed.  An additional paper would also be subm itted which would concreti ze how those delegations 
wished to proceed.  He said that he wished to  see an endorsement by th e CTD for the commodity 
issues to be taken up in other relevant WTO bodies.   Other institutions and the countries affected 
should also play their parts. 
52. The representative of Zambia  said that his delegation supported the proposals put forward by 
the delegations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda , and he believed that those proposals required 
favourable consideration.  As a point of informati on, he said that Zambia was dependent on the export 
of copper.  In 1969, one tonne of  copper exported would enable the purchase of a Jaguar car.  Three 
years later, the required amount of copper for the same purchase was twenty times higher.  In WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 14  
 
 February 2004, one Jaguar car could only be purchased  for eighty times the amount of copper needed 
in 1969.  The commodity issue had to be discussed in  different institutions and fora of which the CTD 
was one, in order for a solution to be found. 
53. The representative of Cuba
 said that the commodity issue would naturally give rise to 
controversy in the CTD.  Her delegation was ready to consider any approach and any proposal that 
could lead to a solution for commodity dependent  exporters.  The issue required a constructive 
response, both by various international institutions and by individual countries, as far as the different 
options were concerned.  Even if commodity depe ndent countries were recommended to increase their 
use of market access opportunities, diversify produc tion, increase the share of higher value-added 
goods, improve technology an d develop export capacity, they would still face problems as they lacked 
the infrastructure, technology, financial a nd human resources necessary to follow the 
recommendations.  The financial resources available we nt towards repaying existing external debts.  
She therefore wondered how commodity-dependent developing countries could use increased market 
access if they lacked the productive capacity.  Solutions to the problems faced could only be found in 
a multi-facetted approach.  The elimination of de veloped country subsidies might help solve the 
problem.  There were interesting figures for cotton in that respect.  Direct aid and buy-support to the 
cotton industry was US$ 5,8 billion  for 2001 and 2002 and US$ 3,8 b illion for 2002 to 2003.  The 
Government of the United States had supported its cotton industry for US$ 3 billion in 2001 and 
2002, and US$ 2 billion in aid in 2 003 and 2002.  Without those subs idies the price of cotton would 
have been 70 per cent higher in 2001/2002 and 15 per cent higher in 2002/2003.  The loss of income for farmers in Sub-Saharan African countri es was around US$ 920 million in 2001/2002 and 
represented US$ 230 million in 2002/2003.  That w as why her delegation considered that the WTO 
had an important role to play in solving the problems through the agricultural negotiations. 
54. The representative of Switzerland
 said that his delegation welcomed a discussion of 
commodity issues in the WTO both because the topic related to an important development problem and because it had an interface with the WTO.  In creasing the knowledge at the WTO about the issue 
was relevant in the context of the ongoing negotiatio ns and could bring about a better outcome of the 
negotiations.  An important contribution by the CTD could be to discuss the whole range of relevant 
issues in order to provide delegations with the b asic facts which would enable them to bring up the 
relevant topics in the respective negotiating bodies,  such as the Special Sessions on agriculture and 
non-agricultural market access.  Knowledge could be  built in the CTD through the inventory which 
contained useful information for further in-depth stud ies.  He asked if the transfer of know-how could 
be undertaken in a more condensed form and suggested  that the CTD invite the relevant international 
organizations to present their views and report on their work.  Another way would be for the WTO 
Secretariat to elaborate a synthesis of the topic, explaining the current state of know-how in the 
specialized fora, tackle the reasons for the crisis , elaborating on the instruments currently discussed, 
and describe the advantages and problems with such instruments.  However, there were clearly no 
easy solutions as the topic had been on the agenda fo r almost 50 years.  That was why the CTD should 
undertake a more in-depth analysis. 
55. The representative of Tanzania
 associated his delegation with the statement made by the 
representative of Kenya.  He also thanked those de legations that had expressed their support for the 
issue of declining prices for primary commodities to be  taken up in a serious and structured manner.  
He emphasized that for the delegations of Ke nya, Tanzania and Uganda and for many other 
developing countries, the issue was a reality whose importance was not only confined to trade, but 
also to development and needed to be comprehensiv ely addressed.  In additio n to continued internal 
restructuring of developing country economies, in many cases as a result of advice of the World Bank, 
the IMF, or other institutions, it was high time that the WTO addressed the matter as it related to the 
fundamental objectives of the WTO itself.  He  said that WTO Members should benefit from a 
multilateral trading system based on fairness, which en sured that its benefits accrued to all Members.  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 15 
 
 
 56. The representative of Kenya  said that the inventory prepared by the Secretariat had proven 
that there was a trade problem in the commodity area, and as it was a trade problem, it had to be 
addressed by the WTO.  As it also related to deve lopment it should be dealt with in the CTD which 
was the WTO body focussing on trade and developmen t issues.  All Members seemed to recognize 
that there was a problem.  However, he said that  his delegation saw it from a different angle, and 
believed that the problem had to be tackled fro m a united front.  The inventory had proven that 
commodity prices had fallen to their lowest levels .  That was also demonstrated by the example 
provided by the representative of Zambia.  Fa lling commodity prices had accentuated the debt 
problem and made debt repayment more difficult.  It was no surprise that 60 per cent of the value of what was produced in Africa went towards repaym ents of debt.  Savings could thus not be 
accumulated for development.  That was the reason why Part IV of GATT 1994 was as relevant to the 
commodity issue in 2004 as it had been in the 1960's when it had been incorpor ated into the GATT.  
Some Members might believe that falling commodity prices was not a trade issue.  However, it was more of a trade issue than anything else, even if it was dealt with by other organizations, such as UNCTAD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).  If the relevant 
articles of GATT 1994 were consider ed, and Article XXXVI in particular, it was clear that almost all 
paragraphs referred to commodity prices and the need to help developing countries improve their 
export earnings.  In addition, Article XXXVIII re lated to joint action and that was where the 
coherence, referred to by some delegations  such as China, came into the picture. 
57. A number of delegations had said that the issu e could only be resolved through the current 
negotiations.  It was correct that part of the probl em could be solved through the negotiations.  That 
was the case for the issue of adding value if tariff escalation and high tariffs were addressed in the 
negotiations.  Issues such as market entry barriers a nd some of the rules might nevertheless not be 
dealt with as they were not being addressed in the ongoing negotiations.  It was clear that issues 
relating to falling commodity prices were dealt with  elsewhere, such as the work on trade, debt and 
finance which considered the debt problem affec ting many African countries.  Those countries could 
be taken out of the debt-trap if the issue of falling commodity prices was addressed, which would 
make them earn more foreign exchange to repa y their debts and still save for development.  The 
Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance therefore had a role to play.  The Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology also had a role  to play as value was added through technology and 
as the issue of adding value was discussed there.   He asked how accessible new technologies were 
since the TRIPS Agreement came into force.  Th at was the type of question Members had to ask 
themselves, and that was why the problem had to be tackled within the WTO.  He further asked 
whether domestic policies in the major importing countri es were completely unrelated to the issue.  In 
addition, he asked what those Members did to  address their domestic policies which affected 
commodity prices.  It had to be kept in mind that the prices were not set in the commodity producing countries, but elsewhere.  The blame should therefore not be shifted to the domestic policies of the 
producing countries, even if the measures taken in the producing countries did have a role to play.  
That was nevertheless not where the main problem la y.  The global picture had to be clear before 
national situations were examined. 
58. The representative of Pakistan
 said that the ongoing discussion in the CTD on commodities 
was positive and he thanked the delegations of Keny a, Uganda and Tanzania for their submission.  
His delegation agreed that the issue was important, even if it was not a new one on the international 
scene.  It had been discussed for some forty, fifty ye ars.  He said that his delegation was grateful for 
other Members having brought the issue to the WTO as, like many other speakers, his delegation believed that it was a trade and development issue.  He said that he was pleased to see that there was 
recognition by the larger membership that it was a multi-facetted issue and that it involved many other 
international institutions, other than the WTO.  He said that his delegation was in favour of the 
proposal made by the representative of Switzerland to invite representatives from other international 
organizations with a direct relevance to the subject  matter to share their views with the CTD.  That 
could be educative and helpful in carrying the work of the CTD forward.  He said that he was WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 16  
 
 perplexed, in light of the history of the WTO, of sending an important subject such as commodity 
prices to other WTO bodies.  He said that his delega tion recognized that it was relevant to agriculture 
and that the aspects of the discussions were relevant  for non-agricultural market access.  However, his 
delegation was still sceptical to dividing the work of the CTD and sending the composite work of 
trade and development in relation to commodity pri ces in pieces to other bodies.  History had shown 
that nothing had been achieved wherever that appro ach had been taken.  He said that, although it was 
unfortunate to have to state it, his recollection told him that that might be a dangerous path to follow.  
While having a more in-depth discussion of the subjec t, there was a need to k eep the issue within the 
ambit of the CTD as it was a pure trade and deve lopment matter which could be supplemented by 
views of other international organi zations.  He said that his delega tion in large supported the content 
of the paper submitted by the delegatio ns of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. 
59. The Chairman
 said that he looked forward to receiving the specific proposals foreshadowed 
on how the matter should be dealt with in the CTD at the next meeting. 
60. The Committee took note  of the statements made. 
 
G. PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON IDENTIFYING AND DEBATING 
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS , IN ORDER TO HELP ACHIEVE THE 
OBJECTIVE OF HAVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATELY REFLECTED  
- Presentation by the Legal Affairs Division on the Developmental Aspects of the Dispute 
Settlement Negotiations 
61. The Chairman  said that the next item, which related to  paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration, was a standing item on the Committee's Agenda which dealt with how the CTD, within 
its mandate, could help achieve the objective of having sustaina ble development appropriately 
reflected in the negotiations.  At the last meeti ng of the Committee, it had been suggested that a 
representative of the Secretariat be invited to explain the developmental aspects of the dispute 
settlement negotiations.  As Members also had requested, a fax had been  sent to Members the 
previous day containing some written in formation regarding the presentation. 
62. The Secretariat  said that the fax that had been sent ha d not included a checklist of documents 
issued in the context of the DSU negotiations.  Th at checklist was therefore available in the room.  
The work on the review of the Dispute Settlement  Understanding (DSU) had a long history.  It had 
started prior to the Seattle Ministerial Conference and had continued in various formats until the Doha 
Ministerial Conference and the Doha Ministerial Declaration contained a specific mandate in that 
respect.  The current work built on nine years of e xperience of applying the DSU.  The DSU had been 
extensively resorted to in the course of tho se years with more than 300 cases initiated, i.e. 
300 requests for consultations.  Although many of those cases had not required a full assessment 
through the Panel and Appellate Body in further stag es, a great number had undergone that process.  
A large body of experience with the implementati on of the DSU was therefore available to build 
upon.  It was notable that a large number of developing countries had been active users of the system, 
although their participation had been unevenly spread  in terms of the number of Members actually 
resorting to it.  Some large developing countries had been more frequent us ers than other smaller 
economies or regions, although that uneven use of the DSU seemed to be evolving.  It was also worth remembering, at the outset, that the nature of the DSU negotiations was somewhat different from 
others in the DDA in the sense that they specifica lly addressed an institutiona l mechanism within the 
WTO which was available to all Members and which was not per se  aimed at further trade 
liberalization or trade disciplines.  That systemic dimension of the dispute settlement system had been 
highlighted in the negotiations and was an impo rtant feature affecting the substance of the 
negotiations.  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 17 
 
 
 63. The Secretariat went on to say that it would not  treat the framework of the negotiations in 
great detail.  However, Members might note that th e initial date for conclusion of the negotiations was 
May 2003.  That time-frame had been extended by  the General Council in July 2003, following the 
absence of an agreement at the end of the time-fra me initially foreseen.  The current time-frame for 
completion was May 2004.  Two elements formed the basis of the further work  since the extension.  
The first was a Chairman's text of 28 May 2003 and the other was proposals by Members.  It was also 
worth remembering that the DSU negotiations were placed outside the single undertaking.  That reflected their systemic dimension.  With regard to the developmental aspects of the negotiations, the 
Secretariat said that it was difficult to classify the proposals in other clusters than the stages of the 
dispute settlement procedures, as the proposals pu t forward by Members, including developing 
country Members, had been quite diverse.  They covered a vast range of issues and their level of 
ambition varied.  One key factor highlighted by developing countries at the beginning of the negotiations, and which had remained pertinent in th e proposals, was that whatever the outcome of the 
negotiations was, it should not lead to any reduc tion in the accessibility or user-friendliness of the 
dispute settlement procedures to developing countri es.  That was reflected in a number of proposals 
which aimed at ensuring effective developing coun try participation in the proceedings and that 
adequate account be taken of development interests in the various  stages of the proceedings.  Special 
and differential treatment (S&D) had been an in tegral part of the negotiations.  A number of 
developing country proposals had how ever not related specifically to  S&D, and some of the non-S&D 
issues might reflect concerns which had a special  development dimension but might also reflect 
general systemic concerns. 
64. The Secretariat further said that it would, with out being exhaustive, highlight some elements 
raised in the discussions with respect to the va rious phases of dispute settlement procedures: the 
consultations stage, the panel stage, the appellate process, and the implementation stage.  Three main 
issues relating to the consultations stage had been  the subject of negotiations:  the time-frame for 
consultations, the conditions under which Members who were not parties to the dispute might join the 
consultation, and the enhancement of the already existing S&D provisions.  The developing country 
concern with respect to time-frames was that the process should not be shortened so that it would no 
longer allow effective opportunities for consultations .  Developing countries had suggested sufficient 
flexibility should be maintained, or at least that the time-frames not be redu ced.  There was, on the 
other hand, the concern that the proceedings shoul d not be too lengthy, as it was important for the 
complainant in the dispute to get fast relief.  Th at concern was true for the discussions regarding the 
consultation phase, but also for the discussions regard ing all other time-frames of the proceedings.  It 
illustrated that it was often an issue of finding a ba lance between different interests, which might not 
only depend on the status of the Member within the WTO, but also on the particular status of the Member within the actual dispute.  The conditions  for joining consultations was another issue of 
particular interest to a number of developing c ountries.  It was developing countries who had been 
proponents for clarifying the conditions for Members to  join consultations.  Jo ining consultations was 
a less burdensome opportunity for Members to enga ge in a dispute than being a party to it. 
65. The need for flexibility with respect to time-fra mes was an issue that had been raised with 
respect to panel procedures as well.  Another issue which had been the object of much discussion was the composition of the panels.  The proposals were wide-ranging in that respect, including one to enhance the existing provision in the DSU which foresee that, in a dispute involving a developing 
country Member, at least one panelists would be a national of a developing country, if the developing 
country party to the dispute so requested.  The adeq uate participation of developing country nationals 
had been an issue in all discussions on the vari ous formulas that had been suggested for the 
improvement of the panel composition.  The possibility  to participate as a third party was another area 
with respect to panel procedures which had been of  particular interest to  a number of developing 
countries.  It was similar to the notion of joini ng consultations as it was a way of providing access to 
the proceedings to Members who were not directly par ties to the dispute.  That was one of the issues 
on which the convergence of views had been the greatest, although the issue again would be to find a WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 18  
 
 balance between the interests of the third parties and the interests of the main parties to the dispute.  
An area in which, to the contrary, there had hard ly been any convergence of views so far, but on 
which some developing countries had expressed st rong opinions, was the question of opening up 
access to the dispute settlement mechanism.  Such  issues were often referred to as "transparency 
issues" and concerned whether submissions to panels should be made  public, whether panel 
proceedings should be opened to the public, and whether spontaneous submissions by non-members 
should be accepted.  Diverging views had been expressed by Members already prior to the negotiations and they continued to be expressed , either by proposals to enhance access or by 
proposals to limit access.  A number of developing c ountries in particular had expressed the view that 
enhanced access could prove particularly burdensom e for delegations with limited human resources 
who already struggled to handle the substance of the case.  That was of particular concern for amicus 
curiae  briefs, i.e. unsolicited briefs.  There were ot her proposals with respect to panel proceedings, 
some of which came from developing country me mbers or groups, but which did not necessarily 
relate to S&D treatment.  They related for ex ample to the introduction of provisional measures, 
accelerated procedures, or increased party- control by Members over the procedure. 
66. Concerning appellate review, the Secretariat sai d that, apart from some issues which were 
common to the panel procedures, issues discussed had been of a more general systemic nature rather than specifically development related.  Particular concerns had been raised as to whether a remand 
procedure should be introduced in the process (whi ch meant a possibility for the Appellate Body to 
revert the case back to the panel in case some fact ual issues had to be clarified) and whether an 
interim review stage should be introduced in the pr ocess (which meant that the parties to the dispute 
would get an advance indication of the contents of  the report).  An interim review stage currently 
existed at the panel stage but not at the appellate stage. 
67. Implementation was another area which had trig gered much discussion and the submission of 
many proposals.  Some of the proposals were fa r-reaching, including some submitted by developing 
countries.  One key aspect was to consider how the remedies available under the DSU could be 
improved.  That issue had solicited particular inte rest from developing countries to the extent that 
developing country Members might find it more di fficult to implement any remedies, especially 
retaliation, in situations of non compliance.  So far, retaliation had only been authorized in a few 
cases.  Some Members considered the possibility to  ensure compliance as a key aspect to be addressed 
in the negotiations.  A number of  detailed proposals had been s ubmitted, ranging from enhancing the 
procedures for compensation to strengthening retalia tion, either by facilitating cross retaliation for 
developing countries, or by enhancing the effec tive accessibility of the remedies, up to a proposal 
which had been described as most radical and consis ted in having negotiable remedies.  That showed 
that there was a broad range of issues, not all in the form of S&D, which aimed at providing Members, including developing countries, with enha nced remedies.  Those issues had led to complex 
debates regarding what role the remedies should play and where the right balance should lie in 
determining what the remedies should be. 
68. Finally, the Secretariat said that some more horizontal S&D-type proposals had been made.  
Those aimed at providing additional support means for developing countries involved in disputes, 
rather than at the content of the procedures.  They related to either  a reinforcement of the TA to be 
provided by the Secretariat as foreseen in the DSU, or the creation of a specific fund to assist developing countries involved in disputes.  Anothe r possibility mentioned in that respect was to 
provide for the award of litigation costs for a devel oping country which prevailed in a dispute.  That 
last aspect would entail bringing in a new aspect into the WTO dispute settlement system and had 
given rise to discussions as to its operation.  Se veral of those proposals were reflected in the 
Chairman's text of 28 May 2003. 
69. The representative of Mexico
 said that the DSU was an agreement of systemic importance to 
all Members of the WTO.  It was the only agreement which had repercussions on the functioning of  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 19 
 
 
 all the agreements it covered, it was a mechanism whic h aimed to ensure that the obligations of other 
agreements were observed, and it rebalanced the leve l of concessions when there was a violation.  The 
DSU, with its efficiencies and inefficiencies,  mainly affected developing and least-developed 
countries.  Having recourse to the DSU was the only option for a Member which did not have the political or economic capacity to pressure anothe r Member into observing the dispositions of an 
agreement.  That was why it was so important fo r development.  He said that his delegation had 
presented a diagnosis
1 in November 2003 of the problems whic h affected the DSU mechanism.  One 
problem diagnosed by his delegation related to the developing and least-developed country access to 
the dispute settlement mechanism.  His delegati on had found that no LDC had been party to any 
"procedures of special groups", panels or Appellate Body procedures.  Forty-four developing country 
Members had not been party to any panel or Appella te Body procedure.  Those statistics covered the 
period since 1995.  What was worse was that the GDP of the weaker Members was more dependent 
on international trade than that of other Members.   That reflected how important it was for a weak 
Member to be able to present its  case in the WTO.  The second problem diagnosed by his delegation 
in November 2003 related to compliance.  The aver age number of days that elapsed from the request 
for a consultation until the Member in question had to comply with the ruling was 1507 days.  That 
meant that a developing country Member had to go through a difficult and complicated procedure for 
more than four years before the dispute settlement pr ocess led to a measure to eliminate the violation.  
The Member who had to comply might then still no t comply.  The complainant could then begin to 
negotiate compensation, but there had only been  two cases when compensation had been granted 
since 1995.  As compensation was normally not grante d, the complainant could request authorization 
to suspend concessions or other obligations.  He th erefore asked how efficient retaliatory measures 
could be when they came from a developing or l east-developed country.  He further asked how such 
Members could impose compliance when they were th e complainant and what they could obtain, even 
when they had proven that there had been a violatio n.  It was necessary to re inforce the DSU to settle 
such issues.  That was the reason why his delegatio n had put forward a proposal in order to resolve 
the problem of the de facto waiver consisting of th e time which a measure that was in violation of 
WTO rules could be in force without a rebalancing of the concessions.  That proposal was on the table 
in the DSU and his delegation hoped that it would be  approved as it would benefit all Members.  It 
was a systemic proposal, but it was especially in tended to benefit developing and least-developed 
countries as it reinforced the only r eal mechanism that was available fo r Members to ensure that their 
rights were respected.  His delegation therefore asked all Members to review that proposal. 
70. The representative of India  said that his delegation too believed that there were many 
important issues in the ongoing DSU review on whic h the development dimens ion could be enhanced, 
such as flexibility in time-frames to take into acc ount capacity and resource constraints of developing 
countries, sufficient flexibility for developing countri es to reap the benefits of the dispute settlement 
mechanism, including through cross-retaliation, reta ining the Member-driven character of the dispute 
settlement mechanism, and addressing the burden of the litigation costs.  The DSU negotiations had 
been ongoing in various formats for some time.  It  was therefore natural that there was a large number 
of proposals from Members.  However, the underlying conceptual focus of developing country concerns had been uniform and related to the need  to preserve and enhance the S&D element in the 
DSU, keeping in view the broad objective of effe ctive participation and acce ssiblility for developing 
country Members to the dispute settlement  proceedings. 
71. The representative of Australia
 said that, as far as his delegation was concerned, the outcome 
of the DSU negotiations needed to take developing  country concerns into account.  The negotiations 
had not been easy.  All Members had to work to wards the new May 2004 deadline and his delegation 
was prepared to do so.  However, there also had to be a sense of realism of what might be possible in 
that short time-frame.  He said that his delegation' s starting point in the DSU negotiations had been 
that the DSU was largely functioning well and th at there was no need for major changes to the 
                                                      
1 Contained in document Job(03)/208. WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 20  
 
 agreement.  If sensible operationa l improvements were suggested, his delegation could support them.  
One such practical suggestion which his delegation had supported was the proposal to strengthen the 
right of developing country representa tion on a panel.  It was at the same time clear that there were a 
range of competing views in the proposals tabled and that there were differences of views between 
developing countries, just as there were differences  of views between developed countries.  Members 
therefore had a lot of work ahead of them.  It was im portant to try to bridge some of those differences 
of views.  His delegation would participate in the ongoing discussion with that objective in mind. 
72. The representative of China
 said that, according to the Secretariat's statistics, some 
developing countries were frequent users of the dis pute settlement mechanism.   That reflected the 
credibility, merits, and attraction of the disput e settlement mechanism to  developing countries.  
Conceptual and issue by issue discussions had take n place in the Special Session of the DSB, and a 
textual discussion would be held in the future.  Hi s delegation was an active participant in the Special 
Session of the DSB.  With respect to the development dimension of the dispute settlement negotiations, he said that he wished to highlight th ree points.  The first was that flexibility should be 
given to developing countries with respect to the time-frames of the proceedings, bearing in mind 
their financial and human resource constraints.  Second, third party rights should be enhanced to 
facilitate developing country Members' access.  As th e Secretariat had pointed out, his delegation was 
pleased to note the high convergence of views in that regard.  Third, the implementation-related rules 
had to be improved to give Members more incentiv es to comply with DSB rulings, and for a balance 
to be achieved between developed and developing countries ability to  retaliate.  He said that his 
delegation would be working with other Members to a rrive at a fruitful result of the dispute settlement 
negotiations. 
73. The representative of Mexico
 said that many delegations had mentioned that the DSB was 
working reasonably well.  His delegation considered that the DSU had two tracks.  The first track was 
to get an outcome on the validity of a measure, i.e.  to examine whether the challenged measure was in 
violation of WTO rules.  He said that the DSU wa s working reasonably well with respect to that first 
track as it produced an outcome with good reports .  However, the second track, relating to the 
implementation of those reports was where the DSU w as not working as desired.  That was a systemic 
problem that his delegation was concerned about, an d which did not only affect small and vulnerable 
Members but also big and powerful ones. 
74. The representative of Bangladesh  said that the LDC Group had agreed on a set of specific 
objectives in the dispute settlement negotiations .  The interests of the LDC Group had been 
highlighted in their submissions.  The issues related to  the suggestion that consultations be held in the 
LDC capitals and enhanced LDC pa rticipation in the panels.  Tho se issues were important for the 
participation of LDCs in the dispute settleme nt process, and the LDC Group hoped that other 
Members would consider them in a favourable manner.   As a piece of information, he said that his 
delegation for the first time had invoked the dispute settlement mech anism and was consulting with 
the delegation of India. 
75. The representative of Pakistan  said that he wished to add his voice to the comments made by 
the representative of Mexico.  The second track which referred to the implementation of DSB rulings was a concern of special importance to developing countries.  While he said that he did not wish to enter into the details of specific rulings which ha d not been implemented or  which had taken long to 
be implemented, he said that his delegation's experience was that when it had won a case, it had to 
wait long for the other party to comply.  Once the ruling was implemented it was presented as if a 
concession had been given to his Government.  The non-implementation or the delayed implementation of rulings was a problem with system ic implications for the working of the dispute 
settlement mechanism.  He agreed  that the most important concerns regarding the working of the 
Dispute Settlement Understanding were not with respect to the first track and the rulings of the panels 
but with the compliance of those rulings, especially  for Members with lesser negotiating strength and  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 21 
 
 
 few bargaining chips, due to the size of their eco nomies, which made retaliation difficult.  The 
question of what Members in that position could do had to be answered from a developmental 
perspective. 
76. The representative of the United States  sought clarification from the Secretariat with respect 
to the rule that a developing country party to a di spute had the right to have a developing country 
national serve on the panel, and asked if there ever had been a problem with that particular provision 
and what the focus of the discussions on that topic had been.  She said that she asked the question as 
she thought that it was an automatic right and did therefore not understand what the concern with it 
was. 
77. The Secretariat  said that the current provision of the DSU which related to that issue foresaw 
that in a case involving a developing country Memb er, at the request of the developing country 
Member concerned, there should be at least one panelists from a developing country member.  The 
Secretariat was not aware of any difficulties encountered  with respect to that provision.  What was at 
stake in the discussions was a suggestion to make that provision more automatic.  A developing 
country member currently had to request that that provision be put into action.  The objective of the 
suggested change was that the ap pointment of a developing coun try panelists in cases involving a 
developing country Member be made more syst ematic.  There was also a proposal from the LDC 
Group which suggested that if an LDC Member was pa rty to a dispute, then at least one panelists 
should be an LDC national.  There was also a proposal to strengthe n that paragraph by suggesting that 
there should be two developing country nationals on the panel when a developing country Member 
was party to a dispute.  The Chairman's text of May 2003 proposed a "reversal of the presumption", so 
that a developing country nati onal would be appointed as panelists unless the developing country 
Member party to the dispute agreed otherwise,  and had also proposed to retain the possibility for an 
LDC national as panelists to serve  on the panel if an LDC Member was party to the dispute. 
78. The Chairman  asked if the approach of inviting present ations by the Secretariat regarding the 
developmental aspects of the negotiations was useful , and if so, if Members wished to suggest a 
negotiation topic to be presented at  the next meeting.  He also invited ideas on how the CTD could 
fulfil the mandate given in paragraph 51 of the Doha  Ministerial Declaration, which was to identify 
and debate developmental aspects of  the negotiations, in order to he lp achieve the objective of having 
sustainable development appropriately reflected in the outcome of the negotiations.  He said that 
immediate responses could be given at the meeting, but that Members could otherwise provide feedback to him or the Secretariat at a subsequent date. 
79. The representative of Cuba
 asked how the Chairman would proceed if there were several 
different suggestions for how to take the agenda it em relating to paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration forward.  She said that  her delegation had a proposal for a topic but that she wished to 
consult with other delegations to ensure that the topic was of inte rest to all.  She said that her 
delegation therefore wished to ask for more time before making a proposal. 
80. The Chairman  said that he had put two questions to Members with respect to the Committee's 
future work on the agenda item relating to ha ving the developmental aspects of sustainable 
development reflected in the negotiations.  First,  he had asked if Members wished to receive a 
presentation of the developmental aspects of another part of the negotiations at the next meeting.  
Members were free to consult among themselves befo re they communicated any such suggestion to 
him or the Secretariat.  If there were several suggestions, at least one presentation would be made at 
the next meeting.  Other suggestions would be shared with Members at that time for Members to 
prioritize for future presentations.  Second, he ha d asked if Members had any suggestions for other 
work the CTD could undertake with respect to pa ragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
81. The Committee took note  of the presentation and the statements made. WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 22  
 
  
H. E
LECTRONIC COMMERCE  
82. The Chairman  said that agenda item H, relating to electronic commerce (e-commerce), was 
another standing item on the Committee's agenda.  Ho wever, no specific suggestions for how to build 
on the previous work done by the Committee had re cently been made.  He therefore asked Members 
how they wished to see the CTD take the issue forward. 
83. The representative of the United States  said that she did not have substantive suggestions to 
make on the issue, nor did she have any instructions  from her authorities on the issue.  That however 
did raise the question, which was similar for other standing items, of whether it might be appropriate for the Committee to consider what it wished to do  with those items, if the Committee might either 
advance them or set them aside for a period of time, even if not necessarily permanently.  Items 
sometimes became standing items in WTO bodies a nd appeared on agendas regardless of whether 
Members had something to say with respect to them or not.  That might be the case for some issues, 
but maybe not for all.  Members might have relevant  ideas for how to take the issues forward if asked 
by the Chairman and if they stim ulated discussions among themselves.  She said that she had a recent 
experience from the Committee of Participants on th e Expansion of Trade in Information Technology 
Products where Members informally had taken a step  back and considered what they wished the 
Committee to do.  The Chairman of that body had th en brought the ideas back to a formal meeting of 
that Committee.  That approach of having an informal brainstorming might assist the CTD as well.  Her delegation was willing to consider work on e-co mmerce and other items.  However, ideas seemed 
to be lacking at the moment. 
84. The representative of Pakistan
 said that, like the representative of the United States, he did not 
have any instructions with respect to the item on e- commerce.  Although he ag reed that standing items 
sometimes became routine exerci ses without value, he was concerned that e-commerce was not a 
stand alone item in the CTD.  E-commerce was an item which was steered by a Dedicated Session of 
the General Council.  The mandate to work on e-comme rce had appeared at the last three Ministerial 
Conferences in different forms and the three sect oral councils under the General Council (i.e. the 
Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in  Services and the TRIPS Council) were also 
involved in the WTO Work Programme on e-commerce.  He was therefore concerned with the effect 
the deletion of the agenda item as a standing agenda  item in the CTD could have on the work of the 
three sectoral councils, and ultimately on the work of the Dedicated Session of the General Council.  
That parallel work had to be cons idered before the CTD ceased its work on the issue.  The idea of 
involving the CTD had been that the CTD would co nsider the developmenta l aspects of e-commerce, 
and that those aspects were important.  The CTD' s input to the Dedicated Session of the General 
Council would be valuable.  With some triggering questions from the Chairman of the CTD, Members 
might come with suggestions for further work.  That  was also the idea of having the item as a standing 
item.  If the larger Membership nevertheless thought that it was best to have the item of e-commerce 
temporarily taken off the CTD Agenda, his delegation would not oppose it. 
85. The representative of the United States  said that she wished to clarify that she had not 
suggested that any item would fall off the agenda.  What she had said was that Members should be 
stimulated to consider what useful work the CT D could do on the items on its agenda.  However, if 
Members did not have any ideas for such work, some items might be set aside until a time for 
example, when there was an event in other WTO bodies that triggered action by the CTD.  She said 
that her intention was not to delete items from the ag enda but that useful work should be done if an 
agenda item was to be kept.  The representative of Pa kistan had made some interesting remarks in that 
respect.  The Committee needed to think more creativ ely about what it should be doing with respect to 
the different items.  If the items had been important  in the past, Members had to consider why they 
were currently not important enough for any Member  to have any instructions on them for four 
consecutive meetings.  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 23 
 
 
 86. The representative of Pakistan  said he had done some resear ch on the developmental aspects 
of e-commerce and had come across useful documents .  His delegation had, at that point, made an 
intervention giving its views on the developmental aspects of e-commerce, what the digital divide 
was, and what his delegation thought  could be done.  However, he said that he admitted not having 
done much more after that.  As the Chairman had ask ed for ideas he suggested that there should be a 
presentation on e-commerce with respect to Paragraph 51  of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  That 
might stimulate discussions on e-commerce and ma ke Members better aware of the developmental 
aspects of e-commerce. 
87. The representative of Rwanda  said that he was of the vi ew that e-commerce should be 
removed from the agenda, if Members had no substantiv e contribution to make with respect to it.  It 
was not useful to have it on the agenda of the CTD to give the impression that progress was being 
made on developmental aspects of e-commerce wh ile nothing was being done in reality.  He 
nevertheless assumed that, with the promise by the Ch air to advance matters, with recent events such 
as the World Summit on the Information Society, and with the proposal made by the representative of 
Pakistan it should be possible for the CTD to contri bute to the issue in the near future.  Without 
committing himself he said that it should be possi ble for Members to suggest a contribution for the 
following meeting of the Committee. 
88. The representative of Benin  said that it might be good for Members to begin by investigating 
things.  As the CTD was supposed to treat trade a nd development issues, it should be possible to find 
topics related to e-commerce on which Members wished to do substantial work in the coming months.  
The international economic and commercial environm ent demanded further work on the issue of the 
developmental implications of e-commerce.  The World Summit on the Information Society gave the 
opportunity to seriously consider the matter.  He said that it would be useful to consider the constraints faced by developing countries, and ot her Members' experiences with e-commerce could be 
useful for advancing the discussion, even if those were only small steps forward. 
89. The Chairman
 said that some more work could easily  be done.  However, he said that he 
wished to see an objective for any work to be unde rtaken.  Members had to ask themselves why they 
were going to do some more work and what the objectiv e with that work was.  He suggested that three 
things be done.  Similar to the procedure for the previous item, he proposed that Members could make 
suggestions either to the Chair or to the Secretar iat, for how the CTD might deal with e-commerce.  
Second, he requested the Secretariat to contact co lleagues in the three sectoral councils to see what 
had happened with the issue of e-commerce in those bodies.  Third, he said that he would meet the 
Chairpersons of the other WTO bodies and that he w ould raise the question of e-commerce with them.  
Even if answers could not be found then, he woul d alert the other Chairs that something productive 
had to be done about e-commerce and that Members had to consider the objective and the time-frame. 
90. The representative of Barbados  suggested that, in order to complete the record, the Secretariat 
might also be asked to consider the progress made  in the consultations undertaken in Dedicated 
Sessions of the General Council. 
91. The representative of Cuba  asked if e-commerce would be considered under the item relating 
to Paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration at the next meeting of the CTD.  Her delegation 
would have a suggestion for a different topic to be  treated under the item relating to Paragraph 51 of 
the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  She only needed some more time to consult with other delegations 
before making a suggestion.  If Members were in terested in examining questions related to 
e-commerce and development in the future, then  it should be done under the item relating to 
e-commerce. 
92. The Chairman  said that his understanding of the intervention made by the representative of 
Pakistan was not that the item of e-commerce be taken off the agenda and dealt with under the item WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 24  
 
 relating to Paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial De claration.  If Members wished to undertake some 
substantive work on e-commerce, th en the item should remain on the agenda.  He said that he had 
requested Members' ideas for how to deal with th e issue of e-commerce.  He had also, as a separate 
matter, asked for Members' views on what they wi shed to achieve under the agenda item relating to 
Paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  
93. The representative of Pakistan
 said that he wished to clarify that his delegation had made an 
improved proposal regarding Paragr aph 51 of the Doha Ministerial De claration in order to trigger 
some thoughts on e-commerce in the CTD.  He said that his delegation would be pleased to receive that presentation subsequent to any presentation ma de following the suggestion to be made by the 
representative of Cuba relating to Paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
94. The Chairman
 said that he had asked for Members' inputs regarding any productive work 
Members wished to undertake with respect to e- commerce and that he would get back to Members 
following his consultations with other Chairs.  He  suggested that all proposals and information on 
e-commerce be brought together at the following meeting. 
95. It was so agreed . 
 
I. WORK PROGRAMME FOR 2004 
96. The Chairman  said that the next agenda item related to the Committee's Work Programme for 
2004.  A draft CTD Work Programme for 2004 had been made available to Members at the meeting.  He said that the terms of reference of the CTD stated that "The Committee will establish a programme of work which may be reviewed as necessary each year."  The draft Work Programme he pr oposed was 
quite simple and its intention was to give Member s the possibility to discuss how they wished to see 
work progress in the CTD in 2004.  He said that the terms of reference of the Committee also stated that the Committee should "keep under continuous review the participation of developing country 
Members in the multila teral trading system and to consider meas ures and initiatives to assist developing 
country Members, and in particular the least-developed country Members,  in the expansion of their trade 
and investment opportunities, including support for their measures of trad e liberalization."  The 
Committee had therefore from time to time consid ered reports on the part icipation of developing 
country Members in the mu ltilateral trading syst em.  He asked whether that was something the 
Committee might wish to consider during the course of  2004.  He said that the last such report had been 
considered in 2002.  If that was an  item Members wished to consider he asked what aspects Members 
were particularly interested in, and whether Members wished to base their discussions on that topic on a 
background document by the Secretariat.   
97. The representative of Canada
 said that she recalled that the Committee's discussions in 2002 
on the participation of developing countries in worl d trade had been interesting and had been based on 
an interesting statistical document.  She said that  she was not certain from what angle the Committee 
should consider the issue, but that she believed th at it should be an item on the Committee's agenda in 
2004.  She suggested that the CTD Work Programme be  left in a draft form until the next meeting, 
i.e. that the Committee proceeded with it but still a llowed for more inputs from Members.  Both the 
existing working groups on trade, debt and finance and the one on trade and transfer of technology 
had emanated from the CTD.  The CTD had also given rise to the WTO bodies treating small economies and LDCs.  However, it was only those repr esentatives which participated in the work of 
all the other development-related WTO bodies who ha d an overview of developmental issues on the 
whole.  The CTD might in that sense have lost some of its role of providing an overview of 
development-related matters.  Members therefore n eeded to reflect on what additional depth could be 
added to the CTD Work Programme fo r it to be deepened and enriched.  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 25 
 
 
 98. The representative of the European Communities  said that there was one area where more 
detail might be provided in terms of what the Comm ittee planned to do during the year and the role it 
intended to play, and that concerned technical c ooperation.  At the end of 2003, the Committee had 
decided to envisage a global overview exercise in the second quarter of 2004 at the back of the informal consultation process the Secretariat had re ported on.  Since the Committee had already taken 
the decision to envisage that type of exercise, it w ould make sense to flag it in the Work Programme.  
There were other issues in the area of technical  cooperation and training which were worthwhile 
mentioning in the Work Programme to assist Memb ers in knowing what would be examined when.  
Even if an item on TA and training would be take n up at every meeting of the Committee, the aspect 
to be discussed would vary.  It would sometimes re late to a report on the activities carried out, an 
evaluation would at some stage be before Me mbers at which time monitoring would also be 
discussed, and Members would at some stage hold a more strategic policy-oriented discussion.  He said that his initial reaction to the comment made by  the representative of Canada was that it would be 
interesting for the CTD to consider developing count ry participation in world trade as part of its 2004 
Work Programme.  However, more thought was need ed to identify the preci se focus Members might 
find most useful, if there was a willingness to envisage that as part of the Work Programme. 
99. The representative of Cuba
 said that her delegation found the proposals made by the 
representative of Canada interesting and shared the same interests.  She said that a study on the 
participation of developing countries in world trade should be considered in the CTD.  Other related 
questions could be dealt with in the Working Gr oups on Trade, Debt and Finance and Trade and 
Transfer of Technology as well as in the CTD.  She said that in 2003, the delegation of Kenya had 
proposed a meeting specifically devoted to the issu e of primary commodities.  As she was not aware 
of the idea getting discarded in other meetings she asked what the status of that proposal was. 
100. The Secretariat  said that there had hardly been any discussion of such a meeting since the 
proposal was made and no decision had been taken to  hold such a meeting.  The commodity issue was 
currently moving in a particular direction but no de cision had been taken with respect to the idea of 
holding a special meeting to discuss the commodity issue.  However, it might be something Members 
might wish to consider in the future.  The Secr etariat also sought clarification on how Members 
envisaged the suggestions of bringing elements of tr ade and transfer of technology and trade, debt and 
finance into the CTD.  Those i ssues were already dealt with in  the designated working groups, 
although their work had been suspended since the Fifth Ministerial Conference. 
101. The Chairman  said that he had not understood the su ggestion by the representative of Canada 
to mean that the issues be brought to the CTD.  He had rather interpreted the remarks as a recognition 
that work on the issue had previously been undert aken in the CTD and that those working groups had 
spun off from the CTD, reflecting the progress made.  The question of what the CTD should do still remained. 
102.  The representative of Canada
 said that, as she had mentioned, her remarks had been 
preliminary.  When she considered Paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration it asked the 
CTD to consider the negotiations whereas those other working groups were outside of the 
negotiations in that regard.  However, they we re at the same time undertaking work related to 
development.  Her question related more to how that work could come back in some form of 
productive holistic discussion.  Members also sp ent many weeks discussing those matters in 
UNCTAD at the same time.  Her idea was not to du plicate those discussions in the WTO.  However, 
matters seemed to be split within the WTO and Members had to consider how to deal with 
development in the WTO, and especially w ith respect to the CTD Work Programme. 
103. The representative of Pakistan  said that, in response to the in tervention by the representative 
of Canada, he feared that keeping the CTD Wo rk Programme in draft form until the following 
meeting of the Committee would leave Members with onl y half the year, i.e. two formal meetings, to WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 26  
 
 actually carry out work.  Out of the agenda items  listed in the draft Work Programme, five were 
recurring at every meeting.  The other items were of  a more procedural nature such as the election of 
the CTD Chair and the Chair for the Sub-Committee on LDCs.  Future meetings would thus seem to 
be repetitions of the current meeting.  In order to assist delegations plan, he suggested that the 
Committee take a decision with resp ect to the regularly recurring items but that it be left open to add 
to the Committee's work if Memb ers wished to add other items or had well thought through ideas in 
the future.  However, that should not prev ent the Committee from adopting its 2004 Work 
Programme.  The Committee would have to await the May 2004 meeting to adopt its Work Programme.  He said that he was hesitant to bring the work of the Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Finance and Trade and Transfer of Technology to the CTD.  They were independent working 
groups with specific development-related work progr ammes and they carried out good work in their 
specific areas.  There was no value added in bringing their work to the CTD.  There would rather be a 
risk of duplicating work.  The CTD should therefore let them carry on their work without interfering. 
104. The Chairman
 said that it might be best to leave the Working Groups on Trade, Debt and 
Finance and Trade and Transfer of Technology to carry out their work.  CTD Members with ideas on 
that matter might also consult among themselves. 
105. The representative of Kenya  said that she wished to respond to the representative of Cuba's 
remarks on the issue of a high-leve l meeting on commodities.  That was a proposal her delegation had 
made in 2003.  However, Members had said that they first wished to have more substance to continue 
the discussion on the commodity issue.  The Secret ariat had therefore been asked to compile an 
inventory on the commodity issue.  Members curren tly had to consider if the inventory could assist 
the discussions on the paper submitted by her delegati on and others.  That path might be explored 
before Members came back to consider the holdi ng of a high level meeting.  The proposal for a 
high-level meeting on commodities was still on the ta ble, although a decision with respect to it was 
pending. 
106. The representative of India  said that he agreed with the re presentative of Pakistan that the 
CTD had its terms of reference and had a good template for its agenda which it had been following so 
far.  That looked flexible and broad enough for Me mbers to be able to add to.  The Committee should 
therefore agree to follow the same format for the next meeting, although some Members had 
suggested possible ways for the CTD to get a broad overview of developmental issues.  He said that 
overlap with the work of other WTO bodies also had to be avoided.  Members should therefore carefully consider the CTD's Work Programme a nd any action regarding Paragraph 51 of the Doha 
Ministerial Declaration and be given a chance to come back to it.  The Committee could in the 
meantime continue its work based on following the existing template. 
107. The representative of Cuba
 said that her delegation had not ag reed with other Members' views 
expressed in 2003 that the Committee did not have e nough substance to do real work on commodities.  
Her delegation had nevertheless had to accept the c onsensus of the Membership and would therefore 
consider the inventory.  When considering bringi ng the work of the Working Groups on Trade, Debt 
and Finance and Trade and Transfer of Technology in to the CTD, her delegation did not have reports 
in mind.  The CTD agenda was bogged down and her de legation hoped that progress could be made in 
order for Members to make contributions.  Simply receiving reports was not useful.  WTO Members could read such reports when they were issued by the working groups and did not need to have such 
reports referred to the CTD.  She said that what her delegation wished to see were substantive debates 
on those issues in the CTD, rather than a repetitio n of what other WTO bodies had already done.  
There were interesting proposals in other WTO bodies that affected the CTD, such as in the area of 
services for example.  Her delegation sought substa ntive debates in the CTD which would integrate 
all development issues.  WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 27 
 
 
 108. The representative of Barbados  said that, while her delegation fully agreed that scarce human 
resources should not be spent on duplicating work ongoing  in other fora, she was still attracted by the 
idea of having a holistic debate on WTO-related development issues in the CTD.  That was timely and 
constituted a useful exercise for Members to engage  in.  Some informal consultations and further 
thought on that issue might be beneficial.  The CTD should be able to ha ve a holistic debate on 
development issues of a non-negotiating nature w ithout duplicating work of other WTO bodies, and 
should be able to find good objectives and extract useful lessons. 
109. The representative of Canada  said that the issue might be resolved if the Committee could 
agree with the proposal made by the representative of  Pakistan that the Work Programme be adopted 
with a slight caveat at the end of the first para graph which stated that "the Chairman would hold 
informal meetings when necessary".  The phrase "and add subjects to the agenda as agreed by 
Members" could be added there so that, if there wa s a buy-in to something new that the Membership 
wished to discuss, the Chairman could bring it forward. 
110. The representative of the United States  said that she could accept the change suggested by the 
representative of Canada.  However, the previous discussion had already related to the fact that 
standing items might not remain standing items fore ver.  Members might therefore wish to take a 
somewhat different approach and agree to consid er the Work Programme in time for the following 
meeting, to see if items should be added or possibly temporarily deleted and to keep the same agenda 
for the next meeting.  If the agenda should be c onsidered from the point of adding items, Members 
should also consider whether there were reasons to  keep items on which there had not been any active 
substantive discussion for more than a year. 
111. The representative of Pakistan  said that the proposal made by the representative of Canada 
was acceptable to his delegation. 
112. The Chairman  said that that did not remove the word "draft" from the document and that he 
still was looking forward to inputs and recommendations  from Members as to the work they wish to 
undertake.  He suggested that feedback be provided e ither to himself or to the Secretariat.  Taking the 
point made by Pakistan into account, that if it was agreed to in May, only two subsequent formal 
meetings of the Committee remain ed, he asked Members to provide their inputs by the end of March 
so that the Committee by May 2004 would have an  updated draft 2004 Work Programme before it as 
well as an agenda for that meeting which took Me mbers wishes into account.  Members' contributions 
would assist him to both create the agenda Members wished to see for the May meeting but also to suggest a 2004 Work Programme outlining subseque nt work requested by Members.  He urged 
Members to contribute towards a positive May meetin g with in-depth discussions, at which decisions 
could also be taken on how to move forward. 
113. The Committee took note
 of the statements made and agreed  to the proposal made by the 
Chair. 
J. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON FOR THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON LEAST -DEVELOPED 
COUNTRIES  
114. The Chairman  said that he had been informed that consultations had led to a proposal for 
H.E. Mr. Ian de Jong, Ambassador of the Neth erlands, to become the next Chairman of the 
Sub-Committee.  He asked if that was acceptable to Members. 
115. It was so agreed . 
116. The Chairman  said that  Ambassador de Jong had vast diplom atic experience.  Before taking 
up his post as Ambassador in Geneva he had be en the Deputy Permanent Representative of WT/COMTD/M/48 
Page 28  
 
 the Netherlands to the European Union in Bru ssels, before which he had served as Minister 
Plenipotentiary at the Netherlands Embassy in Bonn.  He had served in several other capitals 
including the Hague, Washington, Khartoum, and Beir ut and he had actually been stationed with the 
Permanent Mission of the Netherlands in Geneva  from 1977 to 1981.  He had also served as an 
Executive Director of the In ter-American Investment Cooperation in Washington.  
Ambassador de Jong's vast experien ce would be a valuable asset to the work that he was about to 
undertake.  Before concluding the item, he re minded Members that the next meeting of the 
Sub-Committee was scheduled for Tuesday, 9 March 2004. 
 
K. O
THER BUSINESS  
117. The Chairman  said that the representative of the EC had indicated its wish to take the floor 
under "Other Business". 
118. The representative of th e European Communities  said that his delegation wished to inform 
Members of the launch of a new database service by the European Communities' Commission called 
the "Expanding Exports Helpdesk".2  It was a database on the Internet which was freely accessible.  
However, the intended audience was exporters in developing countries.  The main rationale behind 
the initiative was that one reason why exporters in de veloping countries did not take full advantage of 
market access concessions offered was because of in sufficient information ab out the preferences and 
the requirements applicable in order to benefit fro m them.  The new database had been established in 
response to that perceived need.  It was a servi ce with a user-friendly interface.  The information 
provided covered import tariffs for the EC, including  under preferential regimes such as the GSP, the 
ACP and free-trade agreements.  It provided information on the customs documents that had to be 
presented with particular shipments and the require ments that had to be fulfilled.  It provided 
information on the rules of origin applicable in  order to qualify for preferences, and it provided 
statistical information on the EC market in terms of  exports of individual products at the level of EC 
member States.  There was also a service provide d called the "Trade Forum" which was a bulletin 
board and meeting place for potential buyers and selle rs in the EC market.  In addition, the site 
included a list of links to other relevant sources of information on the EC market, including customs 
authorities and additional information on the EC's Europa-site as well as trade associations, chambers 
of commerce, relevant international organizations  such as the ITC and the WTO.  The help desk 
would be developed and improved in several stages.  For example, the intention was to include 
information on internal taxation of particular products, information on im port documentation, and 
legislation affecting access to the EC market such  as in the area of technical barriers to trade and 
sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.  His delega tion was well aware that the tariff levied was not 
the only requirement on which an exporter might wish  to obtain information.  Non-tariff measures and 
regulations were also an area in which informati on was needed.  He said that the aim was also to 
provide information in other EC languages other th an English, once the resources permitted.  He said 
that he admitted that it was a weakness that the data base only existed in English, but repeated that the 
intention was to pursue further improvements and add additional modules and services in due course.  
Any feed-back from users of the site regarding improvements would accordingly be welcome and his 
delegation in Geneva could serve as an intermedia ry for any delegation wishing to comment.  There 
was also a contact link on the site itself which brought up an e-mail link to the manager of the 
database in Brussels, if Members preferred to comment that way.  He said that his delegation felt that 
there was a genuine need to meet existing inform ation gaps between potentia l exporters and potential 
export markets.  His delegation was aware that desp ite the preferences offered for several years, their 
use had not been exhausted and one reason that po tentially contributed to that was the lack of 
information on the requirements that had to be fulfille d to utilize the preferences.  It was an effort by 
his delegation to respond to that need by developi ng country exporters.  He said that his delegation 
                                                      
2 Internet location:  http://export-help.cec.eu.int   WT/COMTD/M/48 
 Page 29 
 
 
 was ready to advice any other delegation seeking more information about a particular tool or element 
of the database. 
119. The Committee took note  of the statement made. 
 
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