RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/W/85
14 May 2001
(01-2473)
Committee on Trade and Development
SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT:
IMPLEMENTATION AND PROPOSALS
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This document updates the information contained in document WT/COMTD/W/77 on the
implementation of provisions relating special and differential treatment in WTO Agreements,
Decisions, Understandings and Declarations.  The structure of the document resembles that of
document WT/COMTD/W/77.  Updated information is  either provided in the form of "general
comments" or in the form of a table, where the updated information relates to a specific provision.
Only those provisions for which updated information exists are listed.  For a full compilation ofspecial and differential treatment provisions, the reader is refered to document WT/COMTD/W77.
2. The document makes use of the typology of special and differential treatment categories used
in WT/COMTD/W77.  As stated in that document, there are six categories of special and differential
treatment provision:
(i) provisions aimed at increasing the trade opportunities of developing country
Members;
(ii) provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing
country Members;
(iii) flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments;
(iv) transitional time periods;
(v) technical assistance;
(vi) provisions relating to least-developed country Members.
3. In addition to information on the implementation on existing provisions relating to special and
differential treatment, this paper contains a section on proposals relating to special and differential
treatment in the area of agriculture.  This section draws on the proposals submitted to the Special
Session of the Committee on Agriculture (as compiled in the series G/AG/NG//W--).  The specific
elements of these different proposals have been grouped by category using the typology of special anddifferential treatment presented above.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 2
II. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT: INFORMATION BY AGREEMENT
A. GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
1. Understanding on Balance-of-Payments Provisions
General Comments with Respect to the Understanding on Balance-of-payments Provisions
In preparing for its full consultation in 2000, a least-developed country requested and
received technical assistance from the Secretariat in drawing up a plan to phase-out the remaining
restrictions it maintains for balance-of-payments purposes.
B. AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE
The Agreement on Agriculture, together with the Decision on Members Concerning the
Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing
Developing Countries, contain 18 special and differential treatment provisions.  The special and
differential treatment provisions of the Agreement and the Decisons jointly cover all six types of
special and differential treatment provisions.
1. Provisions aimed at increasing trade opportunities for developing countries:
One provision (the Preamble to the agreement).
2. Transition time periods:
One provision (Article 15.2).
3. Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments:
Nine provisions (Article 6.2; Article 6.4; Ar ticle 9.2(b)(iv);  Article 9.4;  Article 12.2;
Article 15.1;  Public stockholding for food security purposes:  Annex 2, para. 3, footnote 5;
Domestic food aid:  Annex 2, para. 4, footnotes 5 & 6; Annex 5, Section B).
4. Provisions relating to measures to -developed country Members:
Two provisions (Article 16.1 and Article 16.2).
The General Council Decision on Implementation-related issues of 15 December 2000 stated
that:  "the Committee on Agriculture shall examine possible means of improving the effectiveness of
the implementation of the Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the
Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food -Importing Developing Countries and report to
the General Council at the second regular meeting of the Council in 2001."
Flexibility
Article 6.2
(Domestic Support Commitments). In accordance
with the Mid-Term Review Agreement thatgovernment measures of assistance, whether
direct or indirect, to encourage agricultural and
rural development are an integral part of the
development programmes of developing
countries, investment subsidies which aregenerally available to agriculture in developing
country Members and agricultural inputDeveloping countries took account of the
provision in the establishment of their Schedules.Documents G/AG/NG/S/1 and Corr. 1 (dated
13 and 25 April 2000), G/AG/NG/S/2 (dated
19 April 2000) and G/AG/NG/S/12 and
G/AG/NG/S/12/Rev.1WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 3
subsidies generally available to low-income or
resource-poor producers in developing country
Members shall be exempt from domestic support
reduction commitments that would otherwise be
applicable to such measures, as shall domesticsupport to producers in developing country
Members to encourage diversification from
growing illicit narcotic crops.  Domestic support
meeting the criteria of this paragraph shall not
be required to be included in a Member's
calculation of its Current Total AMS.
Article 6.4 (b)(Domestic Support Commitments- calculation of
current total AMS) For developing countryMembers, the de minimis percentage under this
paragraph shall be 10 per centDeveloping countries took account of the
provision in the establishment of their Schedules.Actual use of this provision is reflected in
document G/AG/NG/S/2 and
G/AG/NG/S/12/Rev.1.
C. DECISION ON MEASURES CONCERNING THE POSSIBLE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE REFORM
PROGRAMME ON LEAST -DEVELOPED AND NET FOOD-IMPORTING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
1. Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members:
Four provisions:  (the Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the
Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries,
paragraphs 3(i) and paragraph 3 (ii);  4 and 5.
2. Technical assistance:
One provision (the Decision on Measures Concer ning the Possible Negative Effects of the
Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries,
paragraph 3(iii).
All the provisions of the Decision cover positive actions to be taken by members with respect
to developing country Members, including least developed countries.  The right hand column providesinformation on their implementation.
General comments
The WTO list of net food-importing developing countries as it currently stands includes:  all
LDCs; and Barbados, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire , Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Honduras,
Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Pakistan, Pe ru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Venezuela (G/AG/5/Rev.4,
dated 3 April 2001, refers).WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 4
Provision Comment
Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members
Paragraph 3(I)To review the level of food aid established
periodically by the Committee on Food Aid under
the Food Aid Convention 1986 and to initiate
negotiations in the appropriate forum to establish
a level of food aid commitments sufficient to meetthe legitimate needs of developing countries
during the reform programme.In 1998/99, food aid shipments by Food Aid
Convention (FAC) donors reached an estimated
8.1 million tonnes, 2 million tonnes more than in
1997/98 and 2.8 million tonnes more than the
aggregate annual minimum commitment.Preliminary data for 1999/2000 indicate that FAC
donors collectively supplied 8.3 million tonnes
(wheat equivalent) to eligible recipients, with a
further €150 million supplied against
commitments expressed in value terms.Document G/AG/W/42/Rev.3 refers
Paragraph 3(ii)To adopt guidelines to ensure that an increasing
proportion of basic foodstuffs is provided to
least-developed and net food-importing
developing countries in fully grant form and/or
on appropriate concessional terms in line with
Article IV of the Food Aid Convention 1986.The Singapore Ministerial Conference agreed that
the recommendations referred to above should
include guidelines to ensure that an increasing
proportion of food aid is provided to least-
developed and net food-importing developing
countries in fully grant form and/or on
appropriate concessional terms in line withArticle IV of the current FAC, as well as means
to improve the effectiveness and positive impact
of food aid.  Document G/AG/NG/S/4, Section 2;
Table 6 of document G/AG/NG/S/3; and Table 6
of G/AG/W/42/Rev.3 show that thisrecommendation is largely followed by all food
donor Members.
Paragraph 4Ensure that any agreement relating to
agricultural export credits makes appropriate
provision for differential treatment in favour of
least-developed and net food-importingdeveloping countries.Ministers reaffirmed this commitment at the
SMC.  In the ongoing negotiations on an
understanding regarding agricultural export
credits undertaken within the framework of theOECD, consideration is being given to this matter
(OECD statement in G/AG/GEN/15, page 8
refers).  The further negotiations which have
taken place in 2000 have advanced the
discussions in a number of areas but thenegotiations have not yet been concluded.
(G/AG/W/42/Rev.3 refers).
At its meeting on 18 October 2000, the Special
Session of the General Council referred to theCommittee on Agriculture implementation
related issues which had been identified in the
report presented by the Director-General and the
Chairman of the General Council on their
consultations on implementation issues and
concerns as being appropriate for such action.
The relevant part of this report, which constitutesWT/COMTD/W/85
Page 5
Provision Comment
the Committee's mandate in this matter, is as
follows:
"On tiret 6, regarding the development of
internationally agreed disciplines to govern the
provision of export credits, export credit
guarantees or insurance programmes pursuant toArticle 10.2 of the Agreement, I propose, on the
basis of our discussions, that the General Council
instruct the Committee on Agriculture to include
in the agenda of its regular meetings an item on
the implementation of Article 10.2 and to report
back on the Committee's progress on this issue to
the General Council at its last regular meeting ofthis year.
It is my understanding that in pursuing
their work on export credits in accordance with
Article 10.2, Members will of course take into
account the provisions of paragraph 4 of theMarrakesh Decision on net food-importing
countries, in which Ministers agreed that any
agreement on export credits should ensure
appropriate provision for differential treatment in
favour of least-developed and net food-importingdeveloping countries."
Documents G/AG/6 and G/AG/8 refer.
Paragraph 5
As a result of the Uruguay Round certain
developing countries may experience short-term
difficulties in financing normal levels ofcommercial imports and that these countries may
be eligible to draw on the resources of
international financial institutions under existing
facilities, or such facilities as may be established,
in the context of adjustment programmes, inorder to address such financing difficulties.  In
this regard, Ministers take note of paragraph 37
of the report of the Director-General to the
CONTRACTING PARTIES to GATT 1947 on his
consultations with the Managing Director of theInternational Monetary Fund and the President
of the World Bank (MTN.GNG/NG14/W/35).Document G/AG/W/42/Rev.3, pages 10-15
provides data on the ability to finance
commercial imports, and the availability of fundsfrom relevant financing facilities.
Technical assistance
Paragraph 3(iii)To give full consideration in the context of their
aid programmes to requests for the provision of
technical and financial assistance to least-
developed and net food-importing developing
countries to improve their agriculturalproductivity and infrastructure.In addition, Attachment 6 of G/AG/W42/Rev.3
provides an overview of spending on bilateral
technical and financial assistance programmes as
notified by Members, including in a number of
cases funding given to multilateral organizationsand other aid programmes.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 6
D. SANITARY AND PHYTO -SANITARY MEASURES .
Special and Differential Treatment provisions under the SPS Agreement fall under three
broad categories:
1. Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members
Two provisions (Articles 10.1 and 10.4).
2. Transitional time periods:
Three provisions (Articles 10.2, 10.3 and 14).
3. Technical assistance:
One provision (Article 9).
General comments
At its Special Session on 18 October 2000, General Council requested the SPS Committee "to
examine the concerns of developing countries regarding the equivalence of SPS measures and to
come up with concrete options as to how to deal with them".
On the basis of the discussions held to date, the Committee endorsed the following
conclusions:
(i) While noting the concept of equivalence is not about "duplication" or
"sameness of measures", the Committee recognized that equivalence may
take many different forms, ranging from the acceptance of the equivalence of
particular sanitary and phytosanitary measures to protect against specific
risks in a specific product, to formal systems-wide or broad-rangingagreements on equivalence.  The Committee also recognized that the more
broad-ranging the equivalence agreement, the more difficult it may be to
conclude.
(ii) The provision and exchange of data and information is critical for the
recognition of equivalence.  Therefore, Members reaffirm their commitment,
in accordance with Article 7 and Annex B, paragraph 3, of the SPS
Agreement, that their SPS Enquiry Point will provide requested informationon recognition of equivalence, as well as on their participation in any bilateral
or multilateral equivalence agreements, including the texts of such
agreements.
(iii) To further enhance transparency, Members will inform the SPS Committee of
their recognition of the equivalence of the sanitary and phytosanitarymeasures of other Members.
The Committee agreed to continue its work with  regard to equivalence to develop concrete
guidance, based on contributions from Members and in close cooperation with the relevant standard-
setting bodies, that will enhance the opportunity for all Members, and in particular developing country
Members, to benefit from the recognition of equivalence, including through equivalence agreements.
(See G/L/423 and G/L/445)WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 7
Provision Comment
Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members
Article 10.4Members should encourage and facilitate the
active participation of developing country
Members in the relevant international
organisations.The General Council Decision of
15 December 2000 stated that: " In accordance
with the request to the Director-General to work
with the relevant international standard-setting
organizations on the issue of the participation of
developing countries in their work, theseorganizations are urged to ensure the
participation of Members at different levels of
development and from all geographic regions,
throughout all phases of standard development."
(see WT/L/384).
At its Special Session on 18 October 2000 the
General Council agreed to the proposal by the
Chairman, with respect to the SPS Agreement,
that the Director-General explore with the
relevant international standard-setting
organizations and relevant intergovernmentalorganizations financial and technical mechanisms
to assist the participation of developing countries
in standard-setting activities; and that the
Director-General coordinate efforts with the
relevant international standard-settingorganizations to identify SPS-related technical
assistance needs and how best to address these,
taking into consideration the importance of
bilateral and regional technical assistance in this
regard.
The reports on actions taken by the Director-
General pursuant to the mandate handed to him
are contained in documentsWT/GC/42 and
WT/GC/45.  The latter also contains informationon issues raised by the heads of different
standard-setting organisations with respect to the
participation of developing countries.
E. THE AGREEMENT ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade contains provisions under five of the six
categories of Special and Differential Treatment.  The 17 provisions for special and differential
treatment can be classified as follows:
1. Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members:
Seven provisions (Article 10.6;  Article 12.1;  Article 12.2;  Article 12.3;  Article 12.5;
Article 12.9;  and Article 12.10).WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 8
2. Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments:
One provision (Article 12.4).
3. Transition Time Periods:  One provision (Article 12.8).
4. Technical Assistance:
Seven Provisions. (Article 11.1;  Article 11.2;  Article 11.3;  Article 11.4;  Article 11.5;
Article 11.6;  Article 12.7).
5. Provisions relating to measures to assist least-developed country Members:
One provision (Article 11.8).
General comments
The subjects of technical assistance and special and differential treatment was an integral part
of the Second Triennial Review of the implementation and operation of the agreement conducted by
the Committee.
The Committee recognized the importance of ensuring that solutions were targeted at the
specific priorities and needs identified by individual or groups of developing country Members that
would allow them to effectively implement as well as benefit from the Agreement.  This called for an
assessment at the national level taking into account the specific situation of each Member.  Effectivecoordination at the national level between authorities, agencies and other interested parties was
considered essential to identify relevant infrastr ucture requirements and needs and to establish
priorities.
The Committee noted that in accordance with the mandate provided by the General Council,
the Director-General had been requested through hi s good offices to contact relevant international
standardizing bodies and intergovernmental organizations to explore financial and technical
mechanisms to assist the participation of develo ping countries in international standard-setting
activities and to identify TBT-related technical assistance needs and how best to address these.  In
pursuing its further work, the Committee emphasized the importance of ensuring that its efforts
complemented, and did not duplicate, the work by the Director-General and other WTO bodies in this
field.
The Committee noted the importance of the coordination and cooperation of donor countries
and organizations.  The Committee took note of a number of capacity building programmes involving
joint efforts to combine the expertise and experience of different organizations.
Recognizing the Integrated Fr amework for Least Developed Countries, and the ongoing work
in other fora of the WTO, including the General Council and the Committee on Trade andDevelopment, the Committee agreed that coordination and cooperation between the Committee and
other relevant WTO bodies should be strengthened in order to effectively and efficiently address the
issue of trade-related technical assistance in the context of the TBT Agreement.
The Committee noted that provision of technical assistance, including technical assistance
under Article 11, could be directed at both the national and regional level.  In this context, theCommittee recognized the importance of technical cooperation and capacity-building, pursued
through a range of cooperative activities, as an appropriate means of enhancing technical confidence.
The Committee noted that technical assistance and cooperation could be delivered in different forms.
The Committee recognized the importance of enhancing the effectiveness of technical
assistance and cooperation and agreed to build on the results of the Workshop held in July 2000 withWT/COMTD/W/85
Page 9
a view to identifying realistic and practical options for progress.  The objective would be to develop a
demand driven technical cooperation programme related to the Agreement, taking into account
existing and proposed technical assistance activities, as well as seeking ways to achieve more
effective cooperation and coordination among donors to better target the needs identified by
developing country Members.  The Committee invited Members on a voluntary basis to furthercommunicate information on technical assistance programmes they proposed, provided or received.
The Committee agreed that the programme would n eed to evolve on the basis of the following
elements:  design of a survey with the assistance of relevant international, regional and bilateral
organisations to assist developing countries in needs identification; identification and prioritization by
developing and least developed country Members of their specific needs in the TBT field;
consideration of existing technical assistance activities by multilateral, regional and bilateral
organizations with a view to the effective and efficient development of technical assistanceprogrammes; enhancement of co-operation between donors; reassessment of needs in light of agreed
priorities, identification of technical assistance partners and financial considerations.  The Committee
agreed that the progress made in implementing the programme should be assessed by the Committee
in the context of the Third Triennial Review and the Committee should also reflect its work on the
programme in its Annual Report to the General Council.
The Committee also recalled its decision (G/TBT/1/Rev 6, page 22) in relation to technical
assistance that "Technical assistance would remain as an item of the agenda of the Committee on a
permanent basis and would be included on the agenda of a regular meeting of the Committee when so
requested by a Member in accordance with the agreed procedures."
At its special Session on 18 October 2000, the General Council requested the TBT Committee
"to examine the problems faced by developing countries in both international standards and
conformity assessment, and to explore possible solutions in the context of the ongoing Triennial
Review."  A summary of discussions held by the TBT Committee in the context of the Second
Triennial Review of the TBT Agreement is contained in document G/L/422.  The General Council
also requested the Director-General to explore with relevant organizations, financial and technicalmechanisms to assist the participation of developing countries in international standard-setting
activities.  Following a meeting with a number of organisations, the Secretariat has started a project,
with the help of these relevant organizations, to compile information on the following headings:
(i) specific TBT-needs of different groups of developing countries;  and (ii) existing technical
assistance activities provided by the various organizations.  Members were invited to submit relevant
information
1 to the Secretariat by 31 May 2001 on their specific needs and national experiences in
relation to technical assistance received and provided in the TBT area. (see G/TBT/SPEC/18)
                                                     
1 G/TBT/9 – The Second Triennial Review Report – sets out the observations of the Committee on the
challenges faced by developing countries in the various TBT areas, and Members may find this a useful
reference resource in compiling their national information.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 10
Provision Comment
Article 12.5
Members shall take such reasonable measures as
may be available to them to ensure that
international standardizing bodies andinternational systems fo r conformity assessment
are organized and operated in a way which
facilitates active and representative participationof relevant bodies in all Members, taking into
account the special problems of developing
country Members.The General Council Decision of
15 December 2001 stated that: "In accordance
with the request to the Director-General to work
with the relevant international standard-setting
organizations on the issue of the participation of
developing countries in their work, theseorganizations are urged to ensure the
participation of Members at different levels of
development and from all geographic regions,
throughout all phases of standard development."
At its Special Session on 18 October 2000 the
General Council agreed to the proposal by the
Chairman, with respect to the TBT Agreement,that the Director-General explore with the
relevant international standard-setting
organizations and relevant intergovernmental
organizations financial and technical mechanisms
to assist the participation of developing countriesin standard-setting activities; and that the
Director-General coordinate efforts with the
relevant international standard-setting
organizations to identify TBT-related technical
assistance needs and how best to address these,taking into consideration the importance of
bilateral and regional technical assistance in this
regard.
A report on actions taken by the Director-General
pursuant to the mandates handed to him can befound in GC/W/42.
The TBT committee adopted a decision on
principles for the development of international
standards, guides and recommendations with
respect to artcile2, 5 and annex III of the TBTagreement, to ensure transparency, openness,
impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and
relevance, coherence, and to address the concerns
of developing countries. The decision states the
same principles should also be observed when
technical work or a part of the international
standard development is delegated underagreements or contracts by international
standardizing bodies to other relevant
organizations, including regional bodies.
F. TRADE -RELATED INVESTMENT MEASURES
There are four special and differential treatmen t provisions in the TRIMS agreement, which
fall into three separate categories as follows:
1. Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments:
One provision (Article 4).WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 11
2. Transitional time periods:
Two provisions (Article 5.1 and 5.2).
3. Provisions relating to least-developed country Members:
One (Article 5.2).  It should be noted that the provision for least-developed countries is a
modified version of the transition time-period provision available to all developing countries.
Article 5:3
On request, the Council for Trade in Goods may
extend the transition period for the elimination of
TRIMs notified under Article 5.1 for a developingcountry Member, including a least-developed
country Member, which demonstrates particular
difficulties in implementing the provisions of this
Agreement.  In considering such a request, the
Council for Trade in Goods shall take intoaccount the individual development, financial
and trade needs of the Member in question.As of 1 April 2001, 10 developing country
Members have requested extensions of the
transition period pursuant to Article 5.3.  In theCouncil for Trade in Goods there has been
discussion on how these requests might be
handled. (G/C/M/41-45).
G. AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VI (A NTI-DUMPING ) OF THE GATT 1994
The agreement on the implementation of Article VI contains one provision for the special and
differential treatment of developing country members (Article 15), which falls under the category of
provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members.
Provision Comment
Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members
Article 15 (Developing Country Members)It is recognized that special regard must be given
by developed country Members to the special
situation of developing country Members when
considering the application of anti-dumping
measures under this Agreement.  Possibilities ofconstructive remedies provided for by this
Agreement shall be explored before applying
anti-dumping duties where they would affect the
essential interests of developing country
Members.The Panel in European Communities – Anti-
Dumping Duties on Imports of Cotton-Type Bed
Linen from India  was requested to rule whether
the European Communities had complied with
Article 15 of the AD Agreement.  India asserted
that the European Communities had actedinconsistently with Article 15 by not "exploring
possibilities of a constructive remedy" prior to
the imposition of anti-dumping duties. The Panel
findings on the legal issues included the
following:
• Imposition of a lesser duty or a price
undertaking would constitute "constructive
remedies" within the meaning of Article 15.
The Panel did not come to any conclusions as
to what other actions might in addition be
considered to constitute "constructiveremedies" under Article 15,
2 but did note that
a decision not to impose a duty, while within
                                                     
2 Paragraph 6.229WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 12
Provision Comment
the authority of a Members, was not a
remedy of any type, constructive or
otherwise.3
• The phrase "before applying anti-dumping
duties" in Article 15 means before the
application of definitive antidumping duties.
Therefore, the Article 15 does not requiredeveloped country Members to explore the
possibilities of price undertakings prior to the
imposition of provisional measures.
 4
• While Article 15 requires that possibilities of
constructive remedies be "explored", this
imposes no obligation to actually provide oraccept any constructive remedy that may be
identified and/or offered.  It does, however,
impose an obligation to actively consider,
with an open mind, the possibility of such a
remedy prior to the imposition of an anti-
dumping measure that would affect the
essential interests of a developing country.
• The Panel ruled that, in the particular factual
circumstances of the dispute, the EC had
failed to act consistently with its obligations
under Article 15.
One Member expressed the view that a developed
Member had not complied with Article 15 when
imposing anti-dumping duties. (See
G/ADP/W/416)
H. AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GATT 1994,  AND THE DECISION
ON TEXTS RELATING TO MINIMUM VALUES AND IMPORTS BY SOLE AGENTS , SOLE
DISTRIBUTORS AND SOLE CONCESSIONAIRES .
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994
The eight provisions for special and differential treatment under the Agreement fall under the
following broad headings:
1. Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members:
One provision (Annex III.5).
2. Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments:
Two provisions (Annex III.3 and Annex III.4).
3. Transitional Time Periods:
Four provisions (Article 20.1;  article 20.2; Annex III:1;  and Annex III.2).
                                                                                                                                                                    
3 Paragraph 6.228
4 Paragraph 6.231WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 13
4. Technical Assistance:
One provision (Article 20.3)
At its meeting of 18-20 October 2000, the General Council refered to the Committee on
Customs Valuation the following issues related to  the implementation of the agreement: the idea of
information exchange between customs administrati ons on export values in doubtful cases, the
addition of the cost of services in Article 8:1(b)(iv) and aspects of the residual method of determining
customs value under Article 7 of the Customs Valuation Agreement.  The Chairman's report to the
General Council on work in the Committee on these subjects is contained in document G/VAL/36.
Provision Comment
Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members
Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments
Annex III:3
Developing countries which consider that thereversal of the sequential order at the request of
the importer provided for in Article 4 of the
Agreement may give rise to real difficulties forthem may wish to make a reservation to Article 4
in the following terms:
"The Government of …......... reserves the right toprovide that the relevant provision of Article 4 of
the Agreement shall apply only when the customs
authorities agree to the request to reverse theorder of Articles 5 and 6."
If developing countries make such a reservation,
the Members shall consent to it under Article 21 ofthe Agreement.Fifty-three developing country Members, of
which 13 least-developed country members, have
invoked this paragraph.
5
Annex III:4
Developing countries may wish to make a
reservation with respect to Article 5:2 of the
Agreement in the following terms:
"The Government of …......... reserves the right to
provide that Article 5:2 of the Agreement shall beapplied in accordance with the provisions of the
relevant note thereto whether or not the importer
so requests."
If developing countries make such a reservation,
the Members shall consent to it under Article 21of the Agreement.Fifty-one developing coun try Members, of which
eleven least developed country members, have
invoked this paragraph.
6
Transitional time periods
Article 20.1Developing country Members not party to theAgreement on Implementation of Article VII of
the GATT (Tokyo Round), may delay application
of the provisions of this Agreement for a periodThis provision was invoked by 56 developing
countries (of which 12 least-developed
countries).  For 29 of these Members the
provision expired on 1 January 2000 and for
                                                     
5 G/VAL/W/77
6 G/VAL/2/Rev.10/Corr.2WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 14
Provision Comment
not exceeding five years from the date of entry
into force of the WTO Agreement for such
Members.  Developing country Members who
choose to delay application of this Agreement
shall notify the Director-General of the WTO
accordingly.another 23, the provision expired during the year
up to March 2001.
The General Council decision of 15 December
2000 stated that: "Noting that the process of
examination and approval, in the CustomsValuation Committee, of individual requests from
Members for extension of the five-year delay
period in Article 20.1 is proceeding well, the
General Council encourages the Committee to
continue this work."  (WT/L/384)
Article 20:2In addition to paragraph 1, developing countryMembers not party to the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT
(Tokyo Round), may delay application of
paragraph 2(b)(iii) of Article 1 and Article 6 for
a period not exceeding three years following
their application of all other provisions of this
Agreement.  Developing country Members thatchoose to delay application of the provisions
specified in this paragraph shall notify the
Director-General of the WTO accordingly.This provision was invoked by 48 developing
countries  (of which 11 are least-developed
countries).
Annex III.1The five-year delay in the application of the
provision  of the Agreement by developingcountry Members provided for in paragraph 1 of
Article 20 may, in practice, be insufficient for
certain developing country members.  In such
cases a developing country Member may request
before the end of the period referred to inparagraph 1 of Article 20 an extension of such
period, it being understood that the Members will
give sympathetic consideration to such a request
in cases where the developing country Member in
question can show good cause.A total of 20 Members have requested extensions
under this provision, and one Member requested
a second extension; 17 of which have beengranted.  The duration of extensions granted
range from 10 months to two years.
Annex III.2
Developing countries which currently valuegoods on the basis of officially established
minimum values may wish to make a reservation
to enable them to retain such values on a limited
and transitional basis under such terms and
conditions as may be agreed to by the Members.(please also refer to Decision on texts relating to
minimum values and imports by sole agents, sole
distributors and sole concessionaires.)Seventeen developing country Members havereserved their rights to retain minimum values
under Annex III.2.
7  The Committee has adopted
7 Decisions containing the terms and conditions
under which 7 Members may continue to use
minimum values while applying the Agreement.8
                                                     
7 G/VAL/W/77
8 G/VAL/2/Rev12WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 15
Provision Comment
Technical assistance
Article 20:3
Developed country Members shall furnish, onmutually agreed terms, technical assistance to
developing country Members that so request.  On
this basis developed country Members shall draw
up programmes of technical assistance which
may include, inter alia, training of personnel,assistance in preparing implementation
measures, access to sources of information
regarding customs valuation methodology, and
advice on the application of the provisions of this
Agreement.In April 1998, the Committee on Customs
Valuation published an inventory of all technicalassistance activities undertaken up to that time by
WTO and WCO, on the basis of information
made available to the Secretariat.  Activities
relating to 52 Members were listed.
(G/VAL/W/25).  The Secretariat prepared achecklist of priority activities for technical
assistance to assist Members in identifying gaps
in activities aimed at the implementation of the
Agreement (G/VAL/W/30).  A number of
developed country Members have, in the contextof the Committee on Customs Valuation,
provided information on technical cooperation
activities provided to developing country
members.
9  One developing country Member also
drew attention to the technical cooperation
activities it had carried out.10.  In June 2000, the
EC submitted a proposal on technical assistancedesigned to reinvigorate the Committee's work in
this area.
11  After consultations by the chair, the
Committee agreed to pursue this proposal and is
actively engaged in defining the new approach. 12
I. AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
The agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures contains 16 special and differential
treatment provisions some of which fall into more than one of the following categories:
1. Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members:
Two provisions (Articles 27.1;  and 27.15).
2. Flexibility of Commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments:
Ten provisions (Articles 27.2 (a) and Annex VII;  Article 27.4;  27.7;  27.8;  27.9;  27.10;
27.11;   27.12, and 27.13).  It should be noted that article 27.2(a) is applicable to a subset of
developing countries, listed in Annex VII, and not developing countries as a whole.
3. Transitional Time Periods:
Seven provisions (Article 27.2 (b); Article 27.3;  Articles 27.4 and 27.14 ;  Article 27.5;
Article 27.6;  and Article 27.11).
Articles 27.4, 27.6 and 27.11 are listed in both the flexibility and transition time periods
category, as their hybrid nature combines characteristics of both these categories.
                                                     
9 G/VAL/M/12;  G/VAL/W/36;  G/VAL/W/37 and Add.1;  G/VAL/W/48;  and G/VAL/W/49.
10 G/VAL/M/14
11 G/VAL/W/71
12 G/VAL/M/17WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 16
In addition to these provisions applicable to developing countries, or a sub-group thereof, are
four provisions (Articles 29, 1-4) which apply to members in the process of transformation from a
centrally planned into a market, free-enterprise economy.
Provision Comment
Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments
Article 27, paragraph 2(a)
The prohibition of paragraph 1 (a) of the
Article 3 shall not apply to developing country
members refered to in Annex VII.
Annex VII (Developing Country Members,
referred to in paragraph 2(a) of Article 27) Thedeveloping country Members not subject to the
provisions of Article 3:1 (a)  under the terms of
Article 27:2 (a) are: (a) Least-developed
countries designated as such by the United
Nations which are Members of the WTO.
(b) Each of the following developing countries
which are Members of the WTO shall be subjectto the provisions which are applicable to other
developing country Members according to
Article 27.2 (b) when GNP per capita has
reached $1,000 per annum;  Bolivia, Cameroon,
Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic,Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, India,
Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka and
Zimbabwe.The General Council's decision of
15 December 2000 stated that, "Taking into
account the unique situation of Honduras as the
only original Member of the WTO with a GNP
per capita of less than US$ 1000 that was not
included in Annex VII(b) to the Agreement onSubsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM
Agreement), Members call upon the Director-
General to take appropriate steps, in accordance
with WTO usual practice, to rectify the omission
of Honduras from the list of Annex VII(b)
countries."
Transitional time periods
Article 27.5
A developing country Member which has reached
export competitiveness  in any given product
shall phase out its export subsidies for suchproduct(s) over a period of two years.  However,
for a developing country Member which is
referred to in Annex VII and which has reached
export  competitiveness in one or more products,
export subsidies on such products shall begradually phased out over a period of eight
years.The General Council's decision of
15 December 2000 stated that: "The Committee
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM
Committee) shall examine as an important part ofits work all issues relating to Articles 27.5
and 27.6 of the SCM Agreement, including the
possibility to establish export competitiveness on
the basis of a period longer than two years."WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 17
Provision Comment
Flexibility of commitments, of action, and use of policy instruments
Article 27.6
Export competitiveness in a product exists if adeveloping country Member's exports of that
product have reached a share of at least
3.25 per cent  in world trade of that product for
two consecutive calendar years.  Export
competitiveness shall exist either (a) on the basisof notification by the developing country Member
having reached export competitiveness or (b) on
the basis of a computation undertaken by the
Secretariat at the request of any Member.  For
the purposes of this paragraph, a products isdefined as a section heading of the Harmonised
System Nomenclature.  The Committee is to
review the operation of this provision  (i.e
Article 27:6) five years from its date of the entry
into force.)The General Council's decision of
15 December 2000 stated that: "The Committeeon Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM
Committee) shall examine as an important part of
its work all issues relating to Articles 27.5
and 27.6 of the SCM Agreement, including the
possibility to establish export competitiveness onthe basis of a period longer than two years."
J. GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES
The GATS contains 8 special and differential treatment provisions.  Their classification can
be broken down as follows:
1. Provisions aimed at increasing trade opportunities:
Two provisions (Article IV:1 and Article IV:2).
2. Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing country
Members:
One provision (Article XIX:3).
3. Flexibility of commitments, of action. and use of policy instruments:
Two provisions (Article V:3;  and Article XIX:2).
4. Technical Assistance:
Two provisions (Article XXV:2 and Paragraph 6 of the Annex on Telecommunication).
5. Provisions relating to least developed country Members:
One Provision (Article IV:3).WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 18
Provision Comment
Provisions aimed at increasing trade opportunities
Article IV:1
The increasing participation of developingcountry Members in world trade shall be
facilitated through negotiated specific
commitments, by different Members pursuant to
Parts III and IV of this Agreement, relating to:
(a) the strengthening of their domestic servicescapacity and its efficiency and competitiveness,
inter alia through access to technology on a
commercial basis;  (b) the improvement of their
access to distribution channels and information
networks;  and (c) the liberalization of marketaccess in sectors and modes of supply of export
interest to themThe requirements of the provisions of this article
are reflected in S/L/93 "Guidelines andProcedures for the Negotiations on Trade in
Services"
Provisions under which WTO Members should safeguard the interests of developing countryMembers
Article XIX:3For each round, negotiating guidelines and
procedures shall be established.  For purposes of
establishing such guidelines, the Council for
Trade in Services shall carry out an assessmentof trade in services in overall terms and on a
sectoral basis with reference to the objectives of
this Agreement, including those set out in
paragraph 1 of Article IV.  Negotiating
guidelines shall establish modalities for the
treatment of liberalization undertaken
autonomously by Members since previousnegotiations, as well as for the special treatment
for least-developed country Members under the
provisions of paragraph 3 of Article IV.The requirements of the provisions of this article
are reflected in S/L/93 "Guidelines and
Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in
Services"
Flexibility of commitments, of action,  and use of policy instruments
Article XIX:2Negotiation of Specific Commitments  The
process of liberalization shall take place with due
respect for national policy objectives and the
level of development of individual Members, bothoverall and in individual sectors.  There shall be
appropriate flexibility for individual developing
country Members for opening fewer sectors,
liberalizing fewer types of transactions,
progressively extending market access in linewith their development situation and, when
making access to their markets available to
foreign service suppliers, attaching to such
access conditions aimed at achieving the
objectives referred to in Article IV.  (See section
on Article IV).The requirements of the provisions of this article
are reflected in S/L/93 "Guidelines and
Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in
Services"WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 19
Provision Comment
Provisions relating to least-developed country Members
Article IV:3 Increasing Participation of
Developing CountriesSpecial priority shall be given to the least-
developed country Members in the
implementation of Article IV:1 and 2.  Particular
account shall be taken of the serious difficulty of
the least-developed countries in acceptingnegotiated specific commitments in view of their
special economic situation and their
development, trade and financial needs.The requirements of the provisions of this article
are reflected in S/L/93 "Guidelines andProcedures for the Negotiations on Trade in
Services"
K. THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE -RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
The TRIPs agreement contains four provisions relating to special and differential treatment,
which can be classified in the following four categories:
1. Transitional Time Periods:
Two provisions (Article 65.2 and 65.4).
2. Technical assistance:
One provision (Article 67).
3. Provisions relating to least-developed country Members:
Three provisions (part of the Preamble to the Agreement;  Article 66.1;  and 66.2).
Provision Comment
Transitional time periods
Article 65:2
A developing country Member is entitled to delay
for a further period of four years the date of
application, as defined in paragraph 1, of the
provisions of this Agreement other than Articles 3,
4 and 5.Extensive use has been made of the transition
periods provided for developing and
least-developed countries in Articles 65 and 66 of
the TRIPS Agreement.  Generally, no difficulties
with respect to the use of these provisions have
been raised in the TRIPS Council, though the
extension of transition time-periods has beendiscussed elsewhere.  The transition period for
developing countries under Article 65.2 expired on
1 January 2000.  At its meeting of
20-21 October 1999, the Council agreed that, for
the review of the national implementing legislationof Members for whom the general transitional
period under Article 65 of the Agreement would
expire on 1 January 2000, procedures would be
used as had been employed in the reviews of
legislation that had taken place so far (for conciseprocedures, see JOB(99)/ 6928).  Three meetings
have been held so far (June and November 2000,WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 20
Provision Comment
and April 2001); and two more such meetings will
take place in June and November 2001.
To the extent that a developing country Member isobliged by this Agreement to extend product patent
protection to areas of technology not so
protectable in its territory on the general date of
application of this Agreement for that Member, as
defined in paragraph 2, it may delay theapplication of the provisions on product patents of
Section 5 of Part II to such areas of technology for
an additional period of five years. (Article 65.4)A number of issues have arisen in regard to
compliance with the re lated "mailbox" and
exclusive marketing right provisions of
Article 70.8 and 70.9.  This matter has figured
regularly on the agenda of the TRIPS Council
Moreover, it has been the subject of fourinvocations of the dispute settlement mechanism
relating to three separate matters, one of which
was settled with a mutually agreed solution
(IP/D/2/Add.1), another of  which was the subject
of two Panel Reports (WT/DS50/R, WT/DS79/R)
and an Appellate Body  Report (WT/DS50/AB/R)
and the last of which is at the consultation
phase (IP/D/18).
Technical assistance
Article 67
In order to facilitate the implementation of this
Agreement, developed country Members shall
provide, on request and on mutually agreed terms
and conditions, technical and financialcooperation in favour of developing and
least-developed country Members.  Such
cooperation shall include assistance in the
preparation of laws and regulations on the
protection and enforcement of intellectual
property rights as well as on the prevention of
their abuse, and shall include support regardingthe establishment or reinforcement of domestic
offices and agencies relevant to these matters,
including the training of personnel.Considerable attention has been given by the
TRIPS Council to the provision of technical
cooperation pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS
Agreement.  This issue has been a regular item on
the agenda of the Council's meetings, with a viewto monitoring complian ce with the obligation
contained in Article 67, sharing information on the
technical cooperation possibilities available and
providing an opportunity to identify any needs not
adequately being addressed.  Developed countries
have provided, on an annual basis, for a special
technical cooperation review meeting normallyheld in September of each year, reports on their
technical and financial cooperation activities of
relevance (most recently in documents
IP/C/W/203 and addenda).  No significant
concerns regarding the adequate availability oftechnical cooperation have been formulated in the
TRIPS Council.  Intergovernmental organizations
with observer status in the TRIPS Council have
also provided written information on their
technical cooperation activities relating to TRIPSmatters (IP/C/W/202 and addenda 1-6), as has the
WTO Secretariat (IP/C/W/201).
Developed country Members have notified
contact points in their administrations fortechnical cooperation on TRIPS (IP/N/7,
revisions and addenda).  In addition, pursuant to a
joint proposal by Australia;  Bangladesh;  the
European Communities and their member States;
Hong Kong, China;  Norway and Zambia
(document IP/C/W/241), a number of Members
have notified contact points for technicalWT/COMTD/W/85
Page 21
Provision Comment
assistance on TRIPS notifications between WTO
Members.  A list of Members offering technical
assistance on TRIPS notifications under the
scheme can be found in document IP/C/W/253
and its revisions and addenda;  the contact points
for this purpose can be found in document IP/N/7and its revisions and addenda.
Provisions relating to leas t-developed country Members
Preamble
Recognizing also the special needs of theleast-developed country Members in respect of
maximum flexibility in the domestic
implementation of laws and regulations in order
to enable them to create a sound and viable
technological base
Article 66.1In view of the special needs and requirements ofleast-developed country Members, their economic,
financial and administrative constraints, and their
need for flexibility to create a viable technological
base, such Members shall not be required to apply
the provisions of this Agreement, other thanArticles 3, 4 and 5, for a period of 10 years from
the date of application as defined under
Article 65.1.  The Council for TRIPS shall, upon
duly motivated request by a least-developed
country Member, accord extensions of this period.(see previous section on transition time periods).
Article 66:2
Developed country Members shall provide
incentives to enterprises and institutions in their
territories for the purpose of promoting andencouraging technology transfer to
least-developed country  Members in order to
enable them to create a sound and viable
technological base.In response to an invitation by the TRIPS Council
to developed country Members to supply
information on how Article 66.2 of  the TRIPSAgreement is being implemented, information has
been provided in writing by 20 developed country
Members (the number includes 12 member States
of the European Union).
The Special Session of the General Council agreed
on 18 October 2000 to invite the Council for
TRIPS, with a view  to facilitating full
implementation of Article 66.2, to give
consideration to drawing up an illustrative ofincentives of the sort envisaged by Article 66.2,
and to put on a regular and systematic basis its
procedure for the notification and monitoring of
measures in accordance with the provisions of
Article 66.2.  During subsequent informalconsultations in the Council for TRIPS, all
interested delegations were urged to submit either
in writing or orally suggestions for an illustrative
list of incentives and also for a regular notification
and monitoring procedure.  No such proposalsWT/COMTD/W/85
Page 22
Provision Comment
were submitted before the Council's meeting in
April 2001.
At the invitation of the Special Session of the
General Council, the Council for TRIPS invited
the Secretariats of the UNCTAD, WIPO, UNIDO,
the World Bank, and the CBD to provide to it,written information on their activities on
technology capacity-building. At the Council's
meeting in April 2001, such information was
available from the UNCTAD, WIPO, UNIDO, and
the CBD. ( documents IP/C/W/243 and addenda.)
L. LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Decision on Measures in Favour of Least-Developed Countries
Provision Comment
Paragraph 2 (ii)
To the extent possible, MFN concessions on
tariff and non-tariff measures agreed in theUruguay Round on products of export interest
to the least-developed countries may be
implemented autonomously, in advance andwithout staging.
Consideration shall be given to further improve
GSP and other schemes for products ofparticular export interest to least-developedcountries.At the High Level Meeting (HLM) held on
27-28 October 1997, several Members
announced new or additional preferentialmarket access measures for LDCs that they had
taken, or proposed to take, and/or made
statements drawing attention to existing liberalmarket access for LDCs under GSP or GSTP
regimes and other preferential arrangements.
Based on the WTO Director-General'scontinuing efforts to improve market access
opportunities for LDCs, 28 Members
announced measures they had taken or proposedto take in this regard at the General Councilmeeting on 3 and 8 May 2000:
Argentina; Australia; Bulgaria; Canada; Chile;
Czech Republic; Egypt; European Union;  HongKong, China; Hungary; Iceland; India;
Indonesia; Japan; Korea, Rep. Of; Malaysia;
Mauritius; Morocco; New Zealand; Norway;Poland; Singapore; Slovak Republic; Slovenia;Switzerland; Thailand; Turkey; United States.
Paragraph 2 (v)Least-developed countries shall be accorded
substantially increased technical assistance in
the development, strengthening anddiversification of their production and exportThe Sub-Committee on Least-Developed
Countries at its 23
rd Session on
12 February 2001, adopted the attached
proposal for an Integrated Framework PilotScheme.  This is a concrete step in theWT/COMTD/W/85
Page 23
Provision Comment
bases including those of services, as well as in
trade promotion, to enable them to maximizethe benefits from liberalized access to markets.implementation of the decision by the Heads of
the six Core Agencies,
13 in the Joint Statement
on 6 July 2000,14 to improve the functioning of
the Framework.
                                                     
13 International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Trade Center (ITC), United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) , and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
14 WT/LDC/SWG/IF/2, 12 July 2000.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 24III. PROPOSALS RELATING TO SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS TO THE SPECIAL SESSION
OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE.
1. This information draws on material contained in the proposals submitted to date in the context of the negotiations on agricul ture.  Elements of the
different proposals have been classified using the typology of sp ecial and differential treatment employed elsewhere in this do cument.  Most proposals contained
elements of special and differential treatment in more than one of the six categories of the typology.  By far the most frequen t types of proposal relating to special
and differential treatment were those coming under the category of provisions relating to flexibility of commitments, of action , and use of policy instruments.  At
the other end of the scale, only one provision related specifically to least-developed countries.
2. In addition to specific negotiating proposals recorded and classi fied below, many Members have made formal statements to the Special Session of the
Committee on Agriculture.  The contents of these statements are not reproduced below.  They can be found in the document series  G/AG/NG/W/--.
A. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS RELATING TO PROVISIONS AIMED AT INCREASING THE TRADE OPPORTUNITIES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS
Proposal Contents
G/AG/NG/W/13
Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Honduras,
Pakistan, Haiti, Nicaragua,
Kenya, Uganda,Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and
El Salvador- The OECD countries which continue to have very high tariff peaks and escalations should drastically reduce these tariff
levels, specially for products of interest to developing countries.
G/AG/NG/W/15
United States- All WTO members consider products of interest to developing countries, in particular least-developed countries, when making
tariff reductions; [and] give special consideration to least developed countries when they implement tariff reductioncommitments.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 25G/AG/NG/W/36rev1
Barbados, Burundi,
Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Dominica, Estonia, theEuropean Communities,
Fiji, Iceland, Israel, Japan,
Korea, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Madagascar,
Malta, Mauritania,Mauritius, Mongolia,
Norway, Poland, Romania,
Saint Lucia, Slovak
Republic, Slovenia,
Switzerland, and Trinidad
and Tobago- The problem and needs of developing countries should be duly taken into consideration in the negotiations and properly
reflected in the outcome, inter alia; helping developing countries , especially LDCs, to participate in the world market and the
WTO system, taking duly into account their exporting interests.
- Developing countries, in particular least-developed and net- food importing, should be granted improved market access, not
only to markets of developed countries, but possibly also to mark ets of other developing countries, in particular of those that  are
somewhat more developed.  Of course, tariff concessions grante d to developing countries must be considered in conjunction
with overall tariff concessions.
- Many of these developing countries rely on agricultural exports, often as part of preferential market access schemes.  It is
therefore of particular importance to ensure continued and improved market access for products originating in these countries,especially the least-developed and net food-importing of them.
G/AG/NG/W/37 +Corr.1Cuba, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador,
Haiti, Honduras, Kenya,India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Uganda and
Zimbabwe- Variable tariffs used by developed countries such as price band schemes, as well as seasonal tariffs, should be eliminated.
Variable tariffs should only be allowed as a Special and Differential Treatment for developing countries.
- Appropriate arrangements to ensure that new suppliers from developing countries should have equal access to allotment
within the tariff rate quotas (TRQs).- Regular enhancement of the TRQs administered by developed countries so as to improve market access for developing
countries.
G/AG/NG/W/54Cairns Group- Faster and deeper cuts in, or elimination of, tariffs on all agricultural products, including value added products, produced in
and exported by developing countries;
- Tariff quota administration rules which provide improved opportunities for exports from developing countries;
- Differential treatment and related modalities as appropriate in the area of market access.
G/AG/NG/W/55ASEAN- The next round must result in the elimination of tariff disparities, with developed countries committing to greater tariff
reductions.  (…)The next reform programme must therefore pursue the fullest liberalization of trade in tropical products, by
among others, applying further tariff reductions and eliminating tariff peaks and tariff escalation on these products.
- The GSP principles already encapsulated in the Enabling Clause should be elaborated and maintained in the framework of the
Agreement, with an explicit commitment by developed countries to conform to the principles of non-discrimination and non-reciprocity.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 26G/AG/NG/W/90
EC- It is proposed that, in addition to multilateral liberalisation and in order to increase market access to products originatin g in
developing countries, that developed countries and the wealthie st developing countries provide significant trade preferences to
developing countries, and in particular the least-developed.
- It is proposed that an examination is undertaken on ways to ensure that these trade preferences are rendered stable andpredictable, in order to create the appropriate conditions for further investment in, and development of, the agricultural and agri-
food sectors in developing countries.
G/AG/NG/W/94
Switzerland- In the market access area, for example, instruments should be  introduced that would enable the small emerging economies that
depend heavily on exports of a few specific goods to face the increasing competition resulting from tariff reductions agreed
multilaterally, and to protect themselves against the consequent erosion of preferential margins.
G/AG/NG/W/95Swaziland- The current preferential market access arrangements enjoyed by small Developing Countries should be protected under the
current round of negotiations for agricultural trade reform.  Th e period of protection should be sufficiently long to enable th e
small DCs improve their welfare by significant measurable marg ins.  The margins can be nego tiated in the context of the
criteria listed above.  One important area of the protection being recommended herein is guaranteed market access at guaranteed
prices for sensitive products from small DCs over an agreed period of time.  The period should be long enough for meaningful
development and adjustment to occur.
- Tariff escalations should be reduced so as to enable the sm all DCs move from the exportation of raw materials to that of
processed products.
G/AG/NG/W/96MauritiusSpecial and Differential Treatment should seek to achieve security of access for SIDS and smaller producers, in particular thos e
that are unable to take advantage of any increase in de minimis levels or greater flexibility in providing domestic support
measures.
G/AG/NG/W/97+Corr.1Commonwealth of
Dominica, Jamaica,
Mauritius, St. Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, St.
Vincent and the
Grenadines & Trinidad andTobago- Small Island Development States (SIDS) should be provided with security of access for the one or two commodities which
they are able to produce on a commercial basis.
- Non-reciprocal preferential tariff rates provided to developing countries, in particular SIDS, in the agricultural sector sho uld
be improved and bound under the framework of the AoA while the reform process is underway, w ith a view to ensuring that
existing access conditions are not undermined by the continuation of the reform process.
- Market access opportunities under the AoA should ensure that certain percentage increases in minimum access tariff rate
quotas (TRQs) will be allocated with 0 per cent within-quota rate to SIDS.  Specific duty-free TRQs outside minimum accessquotas should also be provided to SIDS.
G/AG/NG/W/100CARICOM- Members examine options aimed at rendering the market access concessions offered to developing countries through trade
preferences, under the auspices of the Generalized System of  Preferences (GSP), reciprocal or non-reciprocal arrangements,
stable, transparent and predictable.  This will facilitate the adjustments which these economies will be required to undertake in
transitioning to more liberalized trade in agricultural market s.  Binding preferential schemes and arrangements within the
framework of the AoA should be accorded considered attention.
- Stricter disciplines and improved transparency in the administration of tariff rate quotas (TRQs). In its manifestation, TRQreforms should not result in the diminution of market access opportunities, particularly for small developing economies.
- Developed countries should explore ways of ensuring that "non-substantial" suppliers from small developing economies are
provided with meaningful access to market opportunities within TRQs.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 27G/AG/NG/W/101
Norway- When considering further MFN tariff reductions, special attention should be paid to products of particular interest to
developing countries.
- Market access for products originating in LDCs should be improved in terms of predictability and product coverage.  Both
developed countries and the more developed of the developing countries should as a first step grant duty-free and quota-freemarket access on a preferential basis for essentially all products from LDCs.
- Tariff quotas should be administered in ways that are transparent, equitable and do not place developing countries at a
disadvantage.
- Developing countries, in particular the least developed, should be given the opportunity to benefit from a preferential
allocation of existing tariff quotas, for instance through preferential in-quota tariff rates.
G/AG/NG/W/143
NamibiaCountries that benefit from trade preferences be accorded a period of time to adjust and make the required structural changes.
B. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS RELATING TO PROVISIONS UNDER WHICH WTO M EMBERS SHOULD SAFEGUARD THE INTERESTS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY
MEMBERS
Proposal Contents
G/AG/NG/W/13
Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Honduras, Pakistan, Haiti,
Nicaragua, Kenya, Uganda,Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and
El Salvador.- Prohibit developed countries from the use of the Special Safegu ard Clause.  This Clause instead should be opened up to all
developing countries.  Developing countries should be allowed to invoke this based on low prices or excess volume.
- Dumping in any form must be prohibited.  All forms of export subsidies (direct or indirect) by developed countries must be
eliminated immediately.- Competition policy in agriculture must be addressed in [the review of the Agreement on Agriculture].  Developing countries
must be given an easily accessible mechanism to protect themselves against the abuse of monopoly power and to seek
compensation.
G/AG/NG/W/14Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Honduras,
Pakistan, Haiti, Nicaragua,
Kenya, Uganda,
Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka andEl Salvador- The Due Restraint Clause should be a special and differential treatment provision that will protect only developing countries
in the "General Supports" box and the "Development" box.  The purpose of the Due Restraint Clause should be to protect
developing countries in their efforts to increase food security (food accessibility and availability to all), ensure rural
employment and to increase domestic production capacity.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 28G/AG/NG/W/15
United States- Renew the commitment to food aid as expressed in the Ur uguay Round’s "Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible
Negative Effects of the Reform Program on Least Deve loped and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries";
- Continue the WTO disciplines on food aid contained in Arti cle 10.4 of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, which
have proven to be appropriate;- The disciplines to be developed at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development for agricultural export credits
and credit guarantees should not prevent WTO members from using such programs to improve the food security status of other
members;
- To establish export reporting systems in all members to increase information on the level and direction of international grai n
and oilseed transactions;  and- To strengthen substantially WTO disciplines on export restrictions to increase the reliability of global food supply.
G/AG/NG/W/36rev1Barbados, Burundi,Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Dominica, Estonia, the
European Communities,
Fiji, Iceland, Israel, Japan,
Korea, Latvia,Liechtenstein, Madagascar,
Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mongolia,
Norway, Poland, Romania,
Saint Lucia, Slovak
Republic, Slovenia,
Switzerland, and Trinidadand Tobago- The problem and needs of developing countries should be duly taken into consideration in the negotiations and properly
reflected in the outcome; inter alia adequate food aid for coun tries in need (especially NFIDCs), avoiding negative impacts on
the enhancement of their domestic production.
G/AG/NG/W/54Cairns Group- The preservation of the current special safeguard for developing countries to assist with domestic and international agricult ural
reform efforts and in countering subsidised competition.
G/AG/NG/W/90EC- The provision of food aid to the least developed countries and to net-food import developing countries only in fully grant fo rm
and in ways which do not damage local food production and marketing capacities of the recipient countries, is another
important means to contribute to food security in the recipien t countries.  Providing food aid under credit terms increases the
debt burden of these countries, and is therefore detrimental to their long-term interests.
G/AG/NG/W/91Japan- The idea of a possible framework for international food stockh olding should be examined, in order to complement existing
bilateral and multilateral food aid schemes and to enable loan of food in the case of temporary shortage.
G/AG/NG/W/93Cairns- The agriculture negotiations should: preserve Article 12.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture and provide additional special and
differential treatment provisions to address the legitimate needs of developing countries, including least developed and net
food-importing developing countries.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 29G/AG/NG/W/95
Swaziland- The reduction of support measures in more developed countries should be approached with flexibility, imagination and
innovation so that the progress of small Developing Countries is not stunted.
- In general, no small Developing Countries should be disadvantaged in the wake of giving Special and Differential Treatment
to other Developing Countries.  In particular, the existing pref erential arrangements are one of the main avenues for meaningfu l
human development in the Developing Countries involved.
G/AG/NG/W/97+Corr.1Dominica, Jamaica,Mauritius, St. Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, St.
Vincent and the
Grenadines & Trinidad and
Tobago- Where a free-trade area or a customs union involving SIDS and developed countries is established, the "substantially all the
trade" provision given in the GATT Article XXIV should not apply.- Given the very small size and fragility of the productive sectors of SIDS, which are invariably NFIDCs, they should not be
obliged to provide reciprocal access for their agricultural e xports under preferential trading arrangements with developed
countries.
- Small farmers in LDCs, NFIDCs and other developing countrie s, including SIDS, need to be protected against import surges
particularly when the latter affect the production of key staples of the domestic diet and negatively impact on rural developme nt
and poverty alleviation.  To meet this need, use of the special safeguard provision should be allowed.
- With regard to actions under the Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform
Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries, separate mechanisms should be formulated for
operationalizing the provision of financial and technical assistan ce, including the transfer of relevant agricultural technolog y
(for example, the accessing of new seed varieties), to LDCs and NFIDCs to improve agricultural productivity in those countries,
as well as for short-term mitigation programmes to address negative effects of the liberalization process.
- Whenever agricultural production is severely damaged through natural disasters, which occur frequently in SIDS, the latter's
obligations under the AoA should be waived until recovery is achieved.
G/AG/NG/W/98Korea- Increase of food aid, financial and technical assistance.
G/AG/NG/W/101
Norway- The Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-
Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries  should be reviewed in order to ensure its effective implementation.
G/AG/NG/W/107
Egypt- A further effort is needed on the part of developed country Members to enhance their capital and technical investment in the
agriculture sectors of developing country Members, with a view to support rural development and incomes.
- An urgent review of the Decision on NFIDCs (in accordance with paragraph 6) to strengthen the language and make it moremandatory.
- An increased level of technical and financial assistance shoul d be afforded to NFIDC's and LDC's. Such assistance should
have the aim of improving the capability of the beneficiaries to produce their food requirements locally, through the
amelioration of the technologies used and basic agricultural infrastructure available.  Special mention should be made of the
need for improving the export marketing capabilities of NFID C's and LDC's, to allow them to move from being net food-
importers into the category of self-sufficiency (and at a later stage, to potentially become net agricultural-exporters).
- The creation of a Fund for the Support of NFIDC and LDC's, whereby the beneficiaries would obtain a rebate on their food
import bills after they have purchased their requirements on the open market at unsubsidized prices.  The Fund would be
financed from a number of sources, prominent amongst which would be international financial organizations, specialized UN
agencies, developed country donors, and major exporters.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 30G/AG/NG/W/136
Kenya- The S&D provisions should target at filling the gaps between developed countries and developing countries in terms of supply
capacity, economic development, and financial resources, so as to enable developing countries to face multilateral trade rules
and disciplines without further burdening the domestic population in terms of, among others, food insecurity and perpetuation
of poverty.
G/AG/NG/W/139
MERCOSUR (Argentina,
Brazil, Paraguay andUruguay), Bolivia, Chile,
Costa Rica, Guatemala,
India and MalaysiaIn recognition of the "Decision on Measures Concerning the Po ssible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-
Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries", adopted in Marrakech, the disciplines to be adopted must include
appropriate provisions for differential treatment in favour of least-developed and net food-importing developing countries.These provisions should include longer repayment periods and shoul d be consistent with the exemptions already provided in the
Agreement on Agriculture for developing countries and with the modifications resulting from the negotiations to the general
rules and disciplines applicable to export subsidies.
G/AG/NG/W/142AFRICAN GROUP- In the context of current negotiations, the following issues s hould be fully addressed to ensure the urgent resolution of bot h the
short- and long-term food security problems of LDCs and NFIDCs:
- Create an inter-agency revolving fund to assist LDCs and NFIDCs  with their food import bills in accordance with future price
increases above a certain threshold, on condition that imports are from open and competitive markets;
- Regularly monitor and evaluate the impact of the reform programme on LDCs and NFIDCs, and elaborate appropriate
instruments to address concerns of those countries within a specified timeframe.  Food Aid should be in fully grant form;
- Establish a mechanism to ensure that food aid would not disrupt domestic production in recipient countries;
- Provide further technical and financial cooperation especially in regard to: enhancing agricultural productivity; infrastruct ure
building; product diversification;  transfer of new technology; market information dissemination; and export development;
- Ensure that the implementation of the Marrakesh Decisi on is a binding commitment under Article 16 of the AoA.
C. PROVISIONS RELATING TO FLEXIBILITY OF COMMITMENTS , OF ACTION , AND USE OF POLICY INSTRUMENTS
Proposal Contents
G/AG/NG/W/13
Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Honduras,
Pakistan, Haiti, Nicaragua,
Kenya, Uganda,Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and
El Salvador- All developing countries should be able to use a positive list approach to declare which agricultural products or sectors the y
would like disciplined under AoA provisions.
- Allow developing countries to re-evaluate and adjust their tariff levels.  Where it has been established that cheap imports a re
destroying or threatening domestic producers, developing countries should be allowed to raise their tariff bindings on key
products to protect food security.- Flexibility in levels of domestic supports.  Developing countries should be allowed an additional 10 per cent on their de min is
support level, i.e. bringing the level from 10 to 20 per cent.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 31G/AG/NG/W/14
Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Honduras,
Pakistan, Haiti, Nicaragua,Kenya, Uganda,
Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and
El Salvador- A common level of supports should be allowed eg. 10 per cent of production for all countries.  This level of subsidies should
be non-actionable.  Subsidies of 5 per cent above this 10 per cent level will be 'actionable' for developed countries. (Develop ing
countries should be protected under the Due Restraint Clause).  Subsidies beyond this level should be treated as prohibited.
Developing countries, however, will be allowed additional flexibility under a "Development" box.- The Development box should provide developing countries with flexibility of import controls, tariffs barriers and domestic
supports for items which are already being produced in sufficient quantities or which countries would like produced in
sufficient quantities locally, until such time they are exporters of these products.
G/AG/NG/W/15
United States- Create additional criteria for exempt support measures deemed essential to the development and food security objectives of
developing countries to facilitate the development of targeted programs to increase investment and improve infrastructure,
enhance domestic marketing systems, help farmers manage risk, provide access to new technologies promoting sustainability
and resource conservation and increase productivity of subsistence producers.
G/AG/NG/W/16United States- The unique development challenges facing developing and least developed countries [are recognised], and supports the
exemption of additional criteria-based support measures deemed essential to the development objectives of these countries.
G/AG/NG/W/35Cairns Group- S&D provisions relating to domestic support should build on the existing WTO provisions and include:
- Enhanced green box provisions for developing countries which would address their specific concerns regarding food security,
rural development and poverty eradication;
- Differentiated AMS formula and commitments for developing c ountries, including preserving de minimis provisions and
exceptions for investment and input subsidies, and domestic suppo rt to encourage diversification from growing illicit narcotic
crops;
G/AG/NG/W/36/Rev.1Barbados, Burundi,
Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Dominica, Estonia, the
European Communities,
Fiji, Iceland, Israel, Japan,
Korea, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Madagascar,Malta, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mongolia,
Norway, Poland, Romania,
Saint Lucia, Slovak
Republic, Slovenia,Switzerland, and Trinidad
and Tobago- Developing countries may need continued protection of their own agricultural markets, in order to safeguard food security and
other non-trade concerns and foster economic development.  One may therefore consider whether tariff reductions undertaken
by developing countries should be undertaken in a different manner compared to other Members.  One may also consider to
what extent the least-developed countries should continue to be ex empt from tariff reductions.  Furthermore, in cases in which
present rules and commitments do not provide sufficient leeway and protection against sudden import surges one may consider
extending the right to have recourse to the special safeguard provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture to net-food importing
developing countries and least-developed countries not having this possibility at present.
- As regards domestic support, an increase of the De Minimis levels and the inclusion into the Green Box of additionalmeasures adapted to the specific situation in developing countries could be considered.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 32G/AG/NG/W/55
ASEAN- The Agreement must therefore afford developing countries to adopt reforms in a differential and more gradual basis.  As such,
flexibility in terms of longer timeframe for the implementation of commitments, which must continue to be given to developing
countries, will not suffice.  The nature, depth and substance of commitments must also be different.
- As a first general obligation, developed countries must immediately eliminate all forms of export subsidies and commit totheir unconditional prohibition.  Developing countries, on the other hand, must be able to continue using existing flexibility
with respect to export subsidies (i.e. Article 9.4).
- Furthermore, disciplines in export credits, export credit guarantee or insurance programmes should be developed and
concluded before the end of the implementation period.  The development of these disciplines should provide adequate
flexibility for developing countries.- Direct or indirect measures that are an integral part of the development programmes of developing countries, including
investment and input subsidies, as identified in Article 6.2 of the present Agreement, must remain exempt from reduction
commitments during the next phase of the reform programme.
- Measures intended to promote agricultural diversification must be exempt from reduction commitments.
- The existing de minimis concept and threshold must be continued to be applied but only to developing countries.
- Developing countries must be given an effective and meaningful degree of autonomy on policy instruments to address food
security concerns.- In addition, the Agreement must be able to make an appropriate differentiation between domestic measures which result in
overproduction and the ability to carve out a niche in the international market, and those measures designed to face the
challenges of food security of developing countries.
- Developing countries must have differential commitments and modalities as appropriate, in the area of market access.  In
addition, developing countries must be allowed the flexibility to continue the application of special safeguards.
G/AG/NG/W/56
Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia,
the Czech Republic,Georgia, Hungary, the
Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia,
Lithuania, Mongolia,
Slovak Republic and
Slovenia- [Transition economies] propose to include a specific provision into the Agreement on Agriculture which would address the
particular needs of Members that are in the difficult process of transformation to a fully-fledged market system or consolidati ng
the results of such a deep-going economic process in the agricult ural sector.  This provision wo uld exempt investment subsidies
and input subsidies generally available to agriculture, interest subsidies to reduce the costs of financing as well as grants t o
cover debt repayment from domestic support reduction commitments that would otherwise be applicable to such measures.  It
would also increase the de minimis  threshold applicable to the transition economies.  The provision could be invoked by
individual countries only until the problems in the agricultural sector described above do persist.
G/AG/NG/W/57
Bulgaria, Czech Republic,Estonia, Georgia, Hungary,
Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia,
Slovak Republic, Slovenia,
Croatia and Lithuania- It is a strong expectation of these countries that in the course of the negotiations, the high level of trade liberalization and
market opening and extreme vulnerability resulting from the difficult and painful process of transformation to a fully-fledgedmarket economy will be fully recognized.  These countries therefore propose that a specific flexibility provision be included i n
any negotiating guidelines and modalities to be agreed for the purpose of future tariff reductions and other market access
commitments.  Such a provision would, inter alia, exempt low tariffs from further reduction commitments for these countries, as
well as would allow for selective reduction commitments.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 33G/AG/NG/W/88
Argentina- Non-trade concerns should be pursued consistently with th e objective of these negotiations, not at the expense of other  trading
partners.  Argentina, just as every other Member, is committed to achieve substantial and progressive reductions in support and
protection in the agricultural sector.  This is the frame in which we all should explore the consistent ways and means to take into
account legitimate "non- trade concerns" while being mindful of consequences for developing countries.
G/AG/NG/W/90
EC- Domestic support measures that promote the sustainable vitality of rural areas and the food security concerns of developing
countries as a means of poverty alleviation are of great importance.  The EC propose that these measures where appropriate be
exempted from any reduction commitments.- [It is proposed] that other ways are examined in order to prov ide the necessary flexibility to developing countries to addres s
these concerns, notably through a revision of the de minimis clause for developing countries.
G/AG/NG/W/91Japan- A wide range of flexibility should be given to developing countries with regard to the rules and disciplines on border measur es
and their application, in order to ensure their food security.
- Flexibility should also be given to developing countries concerning the rules and disciplines on domestic support and their
application, in order not to affect the support necessary to increase food production for domestic consumption.
- When strengthening the rules and disciplines on exports and state trading, measures to exempt or ease obligations should be
taken so as not to cause an excessive burden on developing countries.
G/AG/NG/W/95Swaziland- Provisions must be allowed for small Developing Countries to protect their local agricultural production from imports that
threaten the existence of the local industry.
G/AG/NG/W/96Mauritius- Special and Differential Treatment could include the elabor ation of instruments that would: exempt from reduction
commitments any measures aimed at poverty alleviation; make  available appropriate technology with a view to enhancing
competitivity.
G/AG/NG/W/97+Corr.1Commonwealth of
Dominica, Jamaica,
Mauritius, St. Kitts andNevis, Saint Lucia, St.
Vincent and the
Grenadines & Trinidad and
Tobago- Small Island Development States  which undertook unilateral deregulation and liberalization in the agricultural sector should be
exempted from further reduction commitments on support and protection.  Whilst the financial constraints of SIDS make it
difficult for them to provide support measures currently, this possibility should not be excluded as revenue through agricultur e
increases.  Those SIDS which entered into the commitments under the AoA during Structural  Adjustment Programmes should
be allowed to receive a higher de minimis  level on domestic support and to renegotiate the AoA commitments on market access,
such that the commitments reflect the long-term development pol icy objective of those countries rather than their short-term
financial circumstances.
G/AG/NG/W/98
Korea- Special consideration for key staple crops, and greater flexibility in reducing border protection measures, such as alleviati on of
tariff reduction commitments, especially on products related to non-trade concerns.
- Alleviation of reduction commitment, additional flexibility to  Green Box (especially for measures to improve food security
and rural employment even if they have possible impact on trade), and specific criteria that can reflect the scarcity of financ ial
resources in developing countries.
- Expansion of export subsidies exempt from reduction commitm ents for developing countries, alleviation of export subsidy
reduction commitments, establishment of rules and disciplines on export-related measures for developing countries so that they
may be able to compete in the global market.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 34G/AG/NG/W/100
CARICOM- Small developing economies must have differential commitments and modalities as appropriate, including the possibility of
exemption from further tariff reductions, particularly in ci rcumstances where substantial liberalization has already been
undertaken.
G/AG/NG/W/101
Norway-The right to have recourse to the SSG provisions should be extended to all developing countries that do not have this right
today.
- De minimis  levels should be increased for developing countries.
- S&D domestic support provisions adapted to the specific situation of developing countries should be expanded as asupplement to the existing Green Box measures.
G/AG/NW/W/102India- All existing provisions of Annex 2 of AoA except paras. 5, 6 & 7 should be continued, being an integral part of the food
security measures required to be taken by developing countries;
- All measures taken by the developing countries for pov erty alleviation, rural development, rural employment and
diversification of agriculture should be exempted from any form of reduction commitments;
- Flexibility to be given to developing countries in the manner of providing subsidies to key farm inputs, which nevertheless
should continue to be accounted for in the Non-product specific support AMS calculations;
- ln addition to the provisions contained in Article 6.2 of Agr eement on Agriculture, relating to agricultural investment and
input subsidies, Product specific support given to low income and resource poor farmers should also be excluded for AMScalculations;
- Negative Product specific support to be permitted to be adjusted against positive Non-product specific support;
- Appropriate level of tariff bindings to be allowed to be ma intained by developing countries as a special and differential
measure, keeping in mind their developmental needs and high distor tions prevalent in the international markets so as to protect
the livelihood of their very large percentage of population dependent on agriculture.  The appropriate levels of tariff binding s
will have to necessarily relate to the trade distortions in the areas of market access, domestic support and export competition
being practised by the developed countries;
- Low tariff bindings in developing countries, as could not be  rationalised in the earlier negotiations, should be allowed to b e
raised to the ceiling bindings for similar category of products, committed during the Uruguay Round;
- A separate safeguard mechanism on the lines of the Special Safeguard provisions (Article 5 of AoA) including a provision forimposition of Quantitative Restrictions under specified circumstances, should be made available to all developing countries
irrespective of tariffication in the event of a surge in the imports or decline in prices and to ensure food and livelihood sec urity
of their people;
- Developing country members should be exempt from any obligation to provide any minimum market access;
- The product coverage of the Agreement on Agriculture requires  rationalisation by including primary agricultural commodities
such as rubber, primary forest produce, jute, coir, abaca and si sal etc. which are much more agricultural than hides and skins
which are already covered under AoA.
G/AG/NW/W/103
Poland- It is essential to provide an opportunity for the least developed and many developing countries to apply a flexible approach
while undertaking new commitments and to benefit from preferenti al treatment in the market access arrangements in other
countries at the same time.
G/AG/NW/W/105Morocco [It is proposed] for the developing countries, a more marked asymmetry between the developed and the developing countries
than during the first stage of dismantling; greater flexib ility in the preconditions for introducing a safeguard clause.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 35G/AG/NW/W/106
Turkey- The " de minimis " level for developing countries should be increased to a mutually agreed level.
- Developing countries should be granted the flexibility to appl y "de minimis" on an aggregate basis, instead of product basis,
taking into consideration the changing production conditions.
- Special and Differential Treatment granted for developing countries under Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture, whichstipulates the use of investment and input subsidies with the aim of encouraging agricultural and rural development, should be
continued to be exempted from reduction commitments.
G/AG/NW/W/107
Egypt- Developing countries should be afforded greater flexibility to  re-evaluate and adjust their tariff schedules, with a view to
overcome the negative effects of cheap subsidized agricultural imports.
- All tariff reductions made by developing country Members s hould be made from the basis of their bound, rather than applied,
rates.
- Greater flexibility should be granted to developing country Members to increase their levels of domestic support within the
framework of Green Box (Annex II) measures.
G/AG/NG/W/130Nigeria- The negotiations should recognize the need for flexibi lity for developing countries in the following areas:
(i) flexibility in reducing tariffs, particularly on sensitive products;
(ii) flexibility on domestic support measures to be able to address the concerns of the rural population in this sector for the
sustenance of their livelihood and employment;  and
(iii) flexibility on attainment of certain degree of food self sufficiency to ensure that all/any measures aimed at enhancing
domestic production is exempt from reduction commitments.
G/AG/NW/W/135Democratic Republic of
CongoImprovement of the Amber Box:  possibility for the least-developed countries to go beyond their base level AMS.
G/AG/NW/W/136
Kenya- A Development Box should be designed with a view to cons olidating, strengthening and operationalizing the special and
differential treatment for developing countries.  This should allow for policy flexibility in applying urgent safeguard measure s
and domestic support measures that are closely linked to policy measures to meet developmental concerns of developing
countries.  Such concerns should include; high dependency on food imports, the need to increase agricultural productivity, food
security, and the need to protect small farmers and poverty alleviation.
- WTO members should identify those border measures and domestic support measures that are pertinent to those
developmental concerns, with a view to starting concrete negotiations on what type of flexibility should be provided to those
measures in developing countries during the continuation of the reform process.
G/AG/NW/W/137Senegal- Give developing countries with low agricultural production flexibility in all instruments relating to agricultural production , to
enable them to undertake reforms necessary for maintaining thei r level of food production in the short term and significantly
improving agricultural productivity in the long term.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 36G/AG/NW/W/139
MERCOSUR (Argentina,
Brazil, Paraguay and
Uruguay),Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, India and
Malaysia- Appropriate minimum interest rates, inter alia , shall be established  to address the interests of  exporting developing countries.
G/AG/NW/W/140
Jordan- All measures taken by developing countries for poverty allevi ation, rural development, rural employment, desert reclamation
and diversification of agriculture should be exempted from any reduction commitments.
- Direct or indirect measures that are an integral part of  the development programs of developing countries, including
investment and input subsidies, as identified in Article 6.2 of the present Agreement, must remain exempt from reduction
commitments during the next phase of the reform program.- The existing de minimis concept and threshold must be continued to be applied only to developing countries.
G/AG/NW/W/142
African Group- The Agreement on Agriculture should be reviewed so as to:  (a) increase flexibility in the use by developing countries of the
de minimis  measures;  (b) allow developing countries with zero AMS to provide such support if required under their
development programmes;  and (c) provide that input and investment subsidies available to low-income farmers and toresource-poor farmers will be non-actionable;
- The expansion of the scope of S&D treatment in the area of  domestic support should allow developing countries to employ
policy measures which target the viability of small-scale and subsistence farmers, rural poverty alleviation, food security, as
well as product diversification.  Such elements should take in to account the need to strengthen vulnerable producers and to
improve their export competitiveness.
G/AG/NW/W/143Namibia- Countries with low bound tariff rates be exempted from making further reductions until such a time that other countries catch
up.
D. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS  RELATING TO TRANSITIONAL TIME PERIODS
Proposal Contents
G/AG/NG/W/11
Cairns Group- Commitments on export subsidies could include concrete special and differential treatment provisions:  (…)These could
include:  A longer implementation timeframe for developing countries;  and-extension of existing special and differential
treatment for developing countries under Article 9.4 of the Agreement on Agriculture until the elimination and prohibition of
export subsidies are completed.
G/AG/NW/W/105Morocco- [It is proposed] for the developing countries, (…) a transitional period (the duration of which remains to be defined) during
which the dismantling of tariffs can be suspended;
G/AG/NW/W/135Democratic Republic of
Congo- Extension of the implementation period [for reduction commitments in domestic support and export subsidies]WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 37G/AG/NW/W/137
Senegal- Envisage replacing criteria in the form of deadlines, which are often fixed arbitrarily, with objectively verifiable economic  –
indicators, based in particular on the level of development or growth of the sector;
- Accordingly, make provision for revising the deadlines granted to developing countries, in particular as regards the granting  of
marketing subsidies provided for under Articles 9.4 and 9.1(d) and (e) of the Agreement on Agriculture.
E. SPECIFIC PROPOSALS RELATING TO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
G/AG/NG/W/15
United States- It is proposed that that WTO members intensify ongoing t echnical assistance through governmental and non-governmental
entities in parallel with these negotiations.
G/AG/NG/W/35
Cairns Group- Enhanced technical assistance and the promotion of internationa l cooperation to assist agricultural and rural development, an d
food security programs in developing countries.
G/AG/NG/W/36rev1.Barbados, Burundi,
Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Dominica, Estonia, theEuropean Communities,
Fiji, Iceland, Israel, Japan,
Korea, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Madagascar,
Malta, Mauritania,Mauritius, Mongolia,
Norway, Poland, Romania,
Saint Lucia, Slovak
Republic, Slovenia,
Switzerland, and Trinidad
and Tobago on Non-Trade
Concerns- The problem and needs of developing countries should be duly taken into consideration in the negotiations and properly
reflected in the outcome; inter alia sufficient assistance and capacity building to enhance domestic food production in
developing countries.
- Increased technical assistance to developing countries is necessary as the policy reform process proceeds.  The MinisterialDecision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effe cts of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-
Importing Developing Countries should be effectively impl emented.  Furthermore, one should work towards reaching
agreement on commitments for the provision of financial and techni cal assistance relating to the Decision as well as to trade-
related capacity-building and trade-facilitating measures.
G/AG/NG/W/97+Corr.1
Commonwealth ofDominica, Jamaica,
Mauritius, St. Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, St.
Vincent and the
Grenadines & Trinidad andTobago- Negotiations should address the need for establishing a framework to ensure the provision of technical assistance to
developing countries, in particular SIDS, for meeting the costs of compliance with SPS measures and technical standards(e.g. costs to obtain certification, costs incurred from delays in  authorization) in the international market.  Developing coun tries,
including SIDS, should also be assisted with a view to enabling  their participation in the activities of international standard -
setting bodies.WT/COMTD/W/85
Page 38G/AG/NG/W/100
CARICOM- A technical assistance fund should be established to support initiatives by developing countries which are aimed at complying
with standards, market norms and other import regulations, required for enterability in particular agricultural product markets  of
developed countries.
- Developed countries should commit to provide timely and tangible technical assistance to developing countries in areaspertinent to the implementation of the WTO Agreements, incl uding, inter alia, commitments regarding anti-dumping and
countervailing duties.  Such assistance should be coordinated with the multilateral development institutions and should be
subject to routine monitoring by developed and developing countries.  Development assistance to developing countries should
be exempt from reduction commitments.
G/AG/NG/W/107
EgyptTechnical assistance afforded developing country Members should  include the study of the effects of further liberalization of
agriculture trade under the auspices of the WTO on their agriculture sectors;  with a view to seek ways and means to minimize
the effect of the negative aspects of said liberalization.
G/AG/NG/W/136KenyaThe establishment of a mechanism to ensure in a concrete way technical and financial assistance to developing country
exporters to meet SPS standards and regulations in developed country market.  Such mechanism should be built within the
commitments in the continuation of the reform process, well programmed and closely coordinated with the provisions given in
the SPS Agreement.
G/AG/NG/W/140JordanRegarding market access, the establishment of an export promotion program [is proposed], aiming to provide technical
assistance to developing countries to increase their capacity and capabilities in the market access fields.
It is also proposed to establish a trade policy impact-m onitoring program to provide the Committee on Agriculture with
information on main indicators regarding the adoption of the AoA provisions, and their effect on small farmer incomes as well
as impacts on environment and food security.
F. SPECIFIC PRPOPOSALS RELATING TO PROVISIONS RELATING TO LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS
G/AG/NG/W/135
Democratic Republic of
CongoTax- and duty-free admission of those products originating in least developed countries.
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